You've Got to Taste This!

Noah Galuten's Porcini Rosemary Tomato Pasta, Plus: Dinners at République and Mother Wolf.

Hey everyone,

I’m so excited to share with you my new podcast, “You’ve Got to Taste This!” Here’s the concept: I ask food people to send me a recipe that they’re wildly passionate about, I make the recipe, and then we talk all about it. Today’s debut episode features Noah Galuten, star of Don’t Panic Pantry on YouTube (with his wife, comedian Iliza Shlesinger) and author of the brand new Don’t Panic Pantry Cookbook.

The recipe that Noah shared with me — which you can find on the podcast episode page — really did stun me with its complexity and simplicity. I’ve cooked with dried mushrooms before; mostly in stews, where the mushroom soaking liquid becomes a potent elixir. Usually that liquid gets dispersed through a quart or two of stock and other flavors, dissipating in the process.

What makes Noah’s recipe so special is that the ratio’s are such that the mushroom flavor explodes through. Especially when you chop the soaked mushrooms and sauté them, like bacon, with the onions and garlic until they’re caramelized, then you add fresh rosemary, before deglazing with white wine — finishing with canned tomatoes which burble away while you cook the pasta.

If you’re cooking for vegetarians, you can do no better than this. And even if you’re cooking for meat eaters, it’s sure to induce a “You’ve Got to Taste This!” moment. So listen wherever you listen to podcasts or right here on Spotify; and if you do make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram @amateurgourmet.

In non-podcast news, my parents are in town: they took a cruise from Miami all the way to Los Angeles through the Panama Canal. We had an amazing dinner on Friday night at République, which never fails to disappoint. (Actually this is us at Mother Wolf, but we’re not up to that yet.)

Our dinner at République started with tuna tartare and potato croquettes served on this beautiful silver tower:

We had a salad with avocado and green goddess dressing:

Of course we had to order the baguette with Normandy butter, probably my favorite bread in all of L.A.:

My entree totally blew me away: Black Hawk Wagyu Beef Zabuton (zabuton apparently means shaped like a Japanese cushion).

They say that French cooking is all about the sauces and that’s what really got me here: the demiglace that the beef was sitting on was beyond perfection. Maybe it’s time for me to crack open the old Julia Child and get started on my sauce cookery. (Or I could take James Peterson’s Sauces out on Libby. Actually, I’ll do that now!)

For dessert, we asked for a slice of the off-menu salted caramel chocolate cake (off-menu only because it’s a daytime item). My parents wisely asked for a side of vanilla ice cream.

Best chocolate cake in the country? I’d honestly put it up there.

Last night, we had dinner at Mother Wolf which I enjoyed so much more this time around. The first time, I went with my friend Ryan, they sat us in the bar, and the place was like a circus. Last night — a Sunday — it was way more mellow.

We loved this pizza bread appetizer:

And the puntarelle with anchovy dressing whisked us away to Rome:

For my entree, I had the carbonara which was pretty unbeatable considering that they make the rigatoni in-house:

And then, of course, for dessert we had to get the Maritozzo which is like a giant brioche bun stuffed with lemon cream. Pretty delish.

Now for some links:

• Gjelina opened in NY? I always thought of that as the restaurant that felt the most L.A. and least like NYC (Eater NY);

• Can You Stop Beans from Making You Fart? (Serious Eats);

• Noma is closing! And after reading this article — where workers were forbidden to laugh? — I say: “good riddance” (NYT);

• Critics are calling this new food podcast “unmissable” and “good for the soul” and “the breakout hit of 2023” — I plan to listen right now (The New Yorker).

That’s all for today, folks!

If you missed Thursday’s paid-subscriber’s only dispatch, you missed my peanut soy ginger cabbage salad, Alice Medrich’s cocoa brownies, and an Elvis sandwich made with hot honey. Subscribe now and don’t miss this Thursday’s:

Your pal,

Adam