"los angeles times" news and stories

• A Los Angeles food club has been meeting monthly for a whopping 45 years.
• An ode to the breaded goodness of pork schnitzel, plus tons of good cooking tips.
• Lost Coast Brewing adds to its proliferation of fruity brews with a Tangerine Wheat Beer, a beverage primed to be "a charming outdoor sipper."
• The delicious aspects of Chinese Hunan cooking and a positive review of Xiang Wei Lou, a "plain but spiffy café" in San Gabriel, Calif.
• This year's Anatolian Cultures & Food Festival boasted amazing, sticky dondurma ice cream, full-scale structural reproductions and even a Turkish quesadilla.
• Writer Dan Neil weighs in on Carl's Jr.'s sexy Padma Lakshmi commercial and the politics of mixing sex and fast food.
• 2006 Terra de Verema Triumvirat -- a "beautifully balanced" $30 wine that the critic says could sell for twice as much.
  
• A brief review for Costa Mesa's Pizzeria Ortica, which offers unusual fare like house-cured yellowtail and milk-braised Kurobuta pork short ribs ... plus a more detailed review by critic Irene Virbila.
• Recipes: Pork Schnitzel, German Potato Salad, Julienne's Graham Cracker Chewy Bars

Here's what's cooking in the Los Angeles Times Food Section today:

What's hot, what's not: Russ Parsons and Amy Scattergood weigh in on what a kitchen essential really is.

Celebrity chefs will cut some costs to keep their restaurants afloat in this economy. But cutting quality remains verboten.

Spice your own: Combine spices to create something special...and uniquely you.

Recipe: Columbo pork loin curry. Spicy delish!

Recipe: Grilled shrimp skewers with charmoula.

Restaurant Review: S. Irene Virbila writes an open letter to Charlie Palmer regarding his restaurant at the South Coast Plaza.

Culinary SOS: Wither Hans' ginger scones?

Datebook: Culinary doings this week in L.A.

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California's almond industry is suffering as a result of Colony Collapse Disorder, but the secret death of bees isn't keeping area pastry chefs from using honey: Wildflower honey, apple and goat cheese tart, Honey shortcakes with honey-pine nut gelato, and Recipe: Acacia panna cotta.

The interplay of textures between greens and beans make for a good meal: Cranberry bean, lacinato kale and pasta soup, Warm salad of black-eyed peas, wilted mustard greens and bacon, and Dandelion green and Christmas lima bean tacos.

In drinking, you can make your own version of southwestern France's ratafia brandy, use a stemless glass perfect for picnics, and sip SIV's Wine of the Week, 2005 Luigi Pira Langhe Nebbiolo 'Le Ombre.'

Regina Schrambling shows us how to host a Dumpling Party, with recipes for Seafood Dumplings, Vegetable Dumplings, Pork Dumplings, Dumpling Dipping Sauce, Five-spice Snickerdoodles, Cheater's Scallion Pancakes, and a comparison of Dumpling Wrappers.

Also in the kitchen, cook with jamon iberico, add tang with tamarinds, and bake Coconut Cupcakes from Auntie Ems.

On the dining scene, SIV gives new tapas joint Bar Pintxo 1½ stars and Fraiche is doing so well in Culver City, it's already thinking of expanding to additional locations.

To drink, Prosecco gets serious and the Wine of the Week is 2006 Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba.

• Russ Parsons sees nothing but Spring coming at the Farmers market with colorful cauliflower and watermelon radishes. He also goes into the kitchen and makes Spring soups: Potato and green garlic chowder, Shrimp and artichoke soup with spring herb gnocchi, and Chilled sweet pea bisque with Dungeness crab and mint.
• One the dining scene, LA restaurants are rounding dinner bills up (or down) and returning no coins in change. SIV finds Paperfish too flimsy, and takes a first look at STK Steakhouse.
• The Wine of the Week is 2005 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes-du-Rhône and there's a new, faster, bartender in town.