Arroyo Monthly December 2014

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA DECEMBER 2014

CHEFS on Holiday Dishing Up Memories and Recipes Zombies from South Pasadena

Stargate Studios’ Very Special Effects

Actor John Michael Higgins

A Face You Know

(His Name, Not So Much)

Holiday Gift and Event Guides

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arroyo

VOLUME 10 | NUMBER 12 | DECEMBER 2014

36 10

16

ENTERTAINING AND ENTERTAINMENT PHOTOS, TOP: Courtesy of Michael Mina, BOTTOM LEFT: Sam Nicholson, BOTTOM RIGHT: Darcy Casucci

36 CHEFS’ HOLIDAYS Three top Arroyoland chefs share their seasonal traditions and recipes.

—By Bettijane Levine

10 A VISUAL VISIONARY Sam Nicholson pushes the boundaries of special effects at Stargate Studios in South Pasadena.

—By Tariq Kamal

16 A FAMILIAR FACE Eagle Rock actor John Michael Higgins has made a career out of playing memorable comic characters.

—By Ilsa Setziol

31 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Who cares about keeping up with the Kardashians? These artisan gifts make a unique statement.

—By Irene Lacher

DEPARTMENTS 9

FESTIVITIES Blue Ribbon, Five Acres, Arcadia Chamber of Commerce and more

20

ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX

43

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Gift holiday hostesses with a spice blend you create yourself.

46

THE LIST Christmas classics take the stage, LA Master Chorale reprises Messiah, Caltech presents Irish Christmas music and more

ABOUT THE COVER: Photo of gingerbread cookies courtesy of Patina Group 12.14 ARROYO | 7

EDITOR’S NOTE

Chefs’ lives aren’t all glamor, despite their relatively recent elevation to the world of celebrity. Most work when other people are working and when other people aren’t working.

For many, the holidays are still a bust for their personal lives.

While most people are unwrapping presents with family, they’re prepping in the kitchen.

Unless they’re the boss, that is. A big plus of being a chef/owner is the freedom to be home on Christmas. That’s certainly the route taken by three top chefs in Arroyoland who shared their holiday memories and recipes with Bettijane Levine. Read on for tasty reminiscences and favorite dishes of Patina’s Joachim Splichal, Michael Mina of Bourbon Steak and Sean Lowenthal of Little Beast.

Entertaining is a staple of our year-end issue, as is entertainment.

This year, we check in on two industry vets whose work you’ve doubtless enjoyed — even if you don’t know their names.

John Michael Higgins may not be a name that springs to your mind, but you’ve probably seen him in numerous film, TV and stage comedies. Ilsa Setziol visits him in Eagle Rock and unearths the serious intellectual behind the humor, the guy who avoids the Hollywood scene and prefers reading books to watching television.

And Tariq Kamal talks to Sam Nicholson, whose acclaimed South Pasadena–based visual effects company has worked on some of TV’s biggest hits, including Grey’s Anatomy and The Walking Dead. Ever wonder where zombies come from? Now you know.

—Irene Lacher

EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher ART DIRECTOR Nadeen Torio ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Tim Oliver, Kristin Skaggs-Kirby EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Bilderback, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Carole Dixon, Lisa Dupuy, Lynne Heffley, Tariq Kamal, Kathy Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Brenda Rees, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Brenda Clarke, Joseluis Correa, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bruce Haring ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Tim Oliver, Stephanie Torres HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker PAYROLL Linda Lam ACCOUNTING Alysia Chavez, Kacie Sturek OFFICE ASSISTANT Ann Weathersbee PUBLISHER Jon Guynn 8 | ARROYO | 12.14

arroyo FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING V.P. OF FINANCE Michael Nagami V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin CONTACT US ADVERTISING dinas@pasadenaweekly.com EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 ArroyoMonthly.com ©2014 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

10 | ARROYO | 12.14

A Visual Visionary Sam Nicholson pushes the boundaries of special effects at Stargate Studios, his global visual effects company in South Pasadena.

BY TARIQ KAMAL

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Stargate

Y

ou’ve seen Sam Nicholson’s work if you’re a fan of CBS’s Grey’s Anatomy or The Walking Dead, AMC’s highly rated and critically praised post-zombie apocalypse drama. “Seven-and-a-half-million people watching, and all those zombies are coming out of South Pasadena,” Nicholson quips.

South Pasadena is home to CEO Nicholson’s Stargate Studios, the virtual production and visual effects company he founded in 1989. From his offices at the corner of El Centro Street and Meridian Avenue, Nicholson has direct access to his company’s 1,000-plus computers in seven offices around the world. It’s the most efficient and productive way to run the company, which employs more than 200 artists and technicians. More than half work full-time at the company’s headquarters — a rare arrangement in a field known for employing armies of freelancers — while the rest clock in at satellite offices in Atlanta, Berlin, Dubai, Malta, Toronto and Vancouver. Nicholson says working remotely allows him to hire from a larger talent pool, educate artists on the latest software and techniques and maintain a high standard of quality.

Companies like Stargate enhance the viewing experience by producing effects that would be difficult or impossible to capture live. For The Walking Dead, for example, Stargate’s artists and technicians used techniques such as “compositing,” in which visual effects are combined with live-action film to depict everything from computer-rendered characters, vehicles and buildings to beheadings and blood spatter. For less effects-heavy shows, such as NBC’s The Office and Parks and Recreation, Nicholson’s team could be tasked with inserting backgrounds in the windows of cars as the characters “drive” around town, for example, to create the illusion that the show was shot somewhere else. Those are leaps from effects around since the earliest motion pictures, when filmmakers used large-format paintings in place of backgrounds.

For filmmakers with limited budgets, Stargate’s digital effects can help keep down production costs. The studio’s camera crews and Nicholson himself travel the world to shoot far-off locales, then add the footage to the company’s ever-expanding “virtual backlot,” a growing library of locations. “It is the ultimate control for runaway production. If you’re on a tight budget or schedule, it’s a godsend,” Nicholson says. “Transportation is not getting cheaper, but our ability to digitize the Vatican? We can do that.”

Bill Russell, a longtime colleague and vice president for camera products at ARRI, the world’s largest manufacturer of motion picture cameras, says Nicholson’s innovative eye has made him the go-to guy for testing ARRI’s products in development. “The best way I can describe him is as a futurist,” Russell says. “He is always dreaming, always thinking ahead, always wondering, ‘What if?’ And [he’s] certainly a creative individual all the way around. He’s a futurist and, ultimately, he’s a storyteller.”

Photo Op: Colorado Street Bridge (Pasadena Series) by Sam Nicholson

Nicholson took an unusual path to his career. Rather than attend film school like so many of his peers, he studied painting and photography as an undergraduate and graduate student at UCLA. “Without a fine arts understanding, I don’t see how you can be a good photographer or cinematographer,” he says. “It’s the art of taking what you see, literally or in your mind’s eye, and the ability to create that through multiple photographic elements.”

Nicholson broke into the film industry in 1979, as a member of the lighting crew for the first Star Trek movie. He would go on to earn credits as a cinematographer, visual effects supervisor or opening title designer on blockbuster movies such as Star Trek II: –continued on page 13 12.14 ARROYO | 11

12 | ARROYO | 12.14

Photo Finish: (top) Zebra (Africa Series), (bottom) Girl on the Spanish Steps (Umbrellas Series), both by Nicholson –continued from page 11

The Wrath of Khan, The Running Man and Twister, as well as a long list of hit TV series, including Max Headroom, ER and 24, to name a few. He won Emmy Awards for his work on TNT’s Battleground and NBC’s Heroes.

Yet Nicholson says he remains a still photographer at heart. He has tested and experimented with the latest digital imaging equipment from a long list of manufacturers in addition to ARRI — including Sony, Canon and Panavision. He creates stunning digital images, many of which can be found at samnicholsonfineart.com, by applying many of the same sensibilities — and many of the same techniques — utilized in film. A photo of pedestrians navigating a rainy sidewalk can be enhanced by adding blurring, color saturation and texture to better depict the photographer’s perception of the scene.

–continued on page 14

12.14 ARROYO | 13

Sam Nicholson –continued from page 13

Nicholson donates 25 percent of Stargate’s profits to Hillsides, a Pasadena charity that offers counseling and educational programs to at-risk youths. Not surprisingly, he says he wears his affinity for Southern California — particularly South Pasadena, where he lives with his family — on his sleeve. From his home on San Rafael, overlooking the Arroyo, the commute to Stargate Studios takes only four minutes. It’s an advantage he shares with his employees, who enjoy a relaxed lifestyle and good schools. He moved the company to South Pasadena in 2001, after stops in Venice, Hollywood, Burbank and Glendale.

“The proximity is an obvious advantage, but the lifestyle is even more important,” he says. “I figured if our work was good enough and our artists were good enough, the world would come to us.” In fact, clients who visit the office often comment on the neighborhood’s bucolic, tree-lined streets — not to mention the weekly South Pasadena Farmers’ Market adjacent to Stargate Studios. “They can find a parking space,” Nicholson observes. “They can shop for fresh vegetables on Thursday. They say they can’t believe that L.A. has this to offer. It’s a wonderful place to live and a wonderful place to work.”

His industry is a little trickier. Asked whether we are living in a golden age of visual effects, Nicholson says that, although today’s technology makes any effect possible, the business itself is a “gladiator pit.” Globalization has put Stargate Studios in direct competition with companies such as India’s Prana Studios, which employs thousands of artists and technicians, who are paid a fraction of American wages. “And the studios are happy to use them,” he says. “It’s a shame...Their first option should always be to shoot in California.”

Indeed, as a 35-year veteran of the industry, Nicholson has observed firsthand the flight of projects from Southern California to other states and countries that offer tax incentives to filmmakers. Until recently, few tax incentives were available to producers who wished to remain local. “We have managed to keep the highest level of artistry and engineering in South Pasadena, but it’s for shows produced outside of the state,” Nicholson says. “How we have managed to keep people busy and employed is by sending them all over the world.”

Nicholson believes that, with the help of lawmakers in Sacramento, L.A.–based production could make a comeback. Meanwhile, Stargate Studios will continue to produce visual effects for properties both foreign and domestic, and Nicholson will stick to the formula that has made his company a success: skilled artistry and technical proficiency in an ideal location. “We’re still alive after 25 years,” says Nicholson. “I owe it to the integrity of our artists, the generosity of our clients and the vision of future technology.” |||| 14 | ARROYO | 12.14

12.14 ARROYO | 15

Actor John Michael Higgins has made a career out of playing memorable comic characters.

BY ILSA SETZIOL 16 | ARROYO | 12.14

PHOTO By Darcy Casucci

A FAMILIAR FACE

Y

PHOTOS Courtesy of TV Land

PHOTO By Darcy Casucci

ou know this guy. At least you’d think you did, if you ran into him on the streets of Eagle Rock, his hometown. He’s a lawyer? Shrink? Publicist? Works with dogs?

Let me help you out here. John Michael Higgins is an actor. Perhaps you recognize him from one of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries — Best in Show, A Mighty Wind or For Your Consideration. He was the adorable Scott Dolan, a flamboyantly gay dog handler in Best in Show. He and Jane Lynch played sweater-vested, color-worshiping members of the New Main Street Singers in A Mighty Wind. Back in the day, Higgins was privy to Ally McBeal’s love-life angst as her shrink, Steven Milter. Or maybe he looks familiar as Elaine’s balding boyfriend on an episode of Seinfeld. Or super-serious, duck-behindthe-sofa attorney Wayne Jarvis on Arrested Development. Perhaps the zoo inspector in Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo? He also costarred with Fran Drescher on TV Land’s Happily Divorced sitcom. The list goes on.

Robert Walden, his Happily Divorced co-star and a three-time Emmy nominee, calls Higgins “a very, very strong actor” who will easily outshine performers who can’t keep up with him. “He’s as inventive and committed and solid with delivery as anyone I’ve ever worked with.”

And yet, Hollywood has, to a certain extent, pigeonholed him. Not surprising in an industry that often resorts to typecasting. “They’ve responded to one thing he does really well, which is this big comedy,” says his wife, Margaret Welsh, a yoga instructor and former actor herself. “He’s frustrated because he knows he can do other things.”

After the success of Best In Show in 2000, Hollywood frequently wanted Higgins to play gay characters. As a straight man, it put him in an awkward position, especially when the characters were supposed to be funny. Some in the gay community objected to his depiction of dog handler Scott Dolan, calling it stereotyped. “Which I was astonished by,” says Higgins, 51. “I thought Michael McKean and I were the only happy couple in the entire movie.” Having grown up in the theater, Higgins had plenty of gay friends. “I wasn’t exaggerating anything, I was just doing what I had observed,” he explains. The complaints ultimately faded away and the character remains much beloved.

Higgins now charges more to play gay parts. “Gay pays,” he and Welsh joke.

Higgins is a born actor. “I always say it chose me,” he says. “I just knew how to do it from the minute I could stand up and speak — I would pretend to be somebody else, put on little shows.”

His precocious performances surprised his parents — a Naval officer and a school and hospital administrator — who appreciated the arts but didn’t have any experience with that pretend stuff. Funnily enough, being a Navy brat prepared Higgins for an actor’s peripatetic life. “We moved almost every year — anywhere in the U.S. where there was a big gray boat in the water,” he recalls. Again and again, he had to adapt to a new setting, a new set of players. “You have to be able to make friends fast and drop them permanently if necessary,” says the reedyvoiced actor.

A frequent mooring, however, was Washington, D.C., where his father, Captain E. C. Michael Higgins, worked at the Pentagon and eventually the White House on the National Security Council staff, under Presidents Ford and Carter. There young Michael started what would become extensive training at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland. At age 9, he began studying acting, voice, dance and mime. Higgins considers the mime training especially valuable. “Knowing where your body is in space, isolating pieces of it and controlling focus with

(Background and below). Higgins and Drescher on the set of Happily Divorced.

your body is, besides listening, the whole ballgame for an actor — at least this actor,” he says.

Higgins began performing professionally in fifth grade and later appeared at such venues as D.C.’s Folger Theatre, renowned for its productions of Shakespeare and other classics.

By college, Higgins had so much experience under his belt, a theater degree seemed redundant. Plus, he’d become interested in other kinds of narratives, so he studied English literature at Amherst College. His stage work informed his reading — and vice versa. “You have to inhabit each character as you read,” he explains. As an actor would, Higgins explored literary characters’ motivations. “You can’t call Cleopatra a spoiled child,” he explains. “[She’s] a child who has needs that may not agree with the people around her.” Throughout his career, Higgins has focused his acting on the story.

“That’s the difference between a good actor and a bad actor,” he says. “One is telling a story and the other isn’t — he’s showing off or, whatever his choices are on stage, they’re not related to the story.”

Novels, which often explore the nuances of human psychology and social interactions, are fertile soil for actors whose work involves embodying different characters. “Acting is largely a feat of listening and empathy, of the ability to imagine the interiority of someone else by unbiased observation and imagination,” Higgins says. The story “just blossoms” when actors really listen, he adds. This empathy and attentive listening is readily apparent in Higgins’ work. It’s part of what makes many of his characters so likable.

To this day, Higgins is an obsessive reader, though he’s now more interested in nonfiction. “I don’t care about fake people anymore, because I have children,” he says. Periodicals like The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Review of Books are fi xtures in the capacious Craftsman home he shares with his wife, his two elementary-school-age kids, a high-strung bluenose pit bull named Jimmy and three free-range pet rats. His –continued on page 19 12.14 ARROYO | 17

18 | ARROYO | 12.14

–continued from page 17

intellectual prowess and dressing room habits amuse and awe his fellow actors. “He writes music arrangements,” Walden says. “He can do this while listening to The New York Times read aloud from Audible, which he speeds up…so he can get through the paper even faster.”

At Amherst, Higgins sang with the Zumbyes, an a cappella group. He wrote vocal arrangements for A Mighty Wind and still performs with musician friends, albeit not as often as he’d like. “I’m left driving around singing middle harmonies in the car,” he laments, “imagining the parts above and below.”

After college, he moved to New York City, a base from which he landed roles in equity theaters across the country, as well as in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. In 1991, he appeared in the Tony-nominated production of David Hirson’s La Bête. A couple of years later, he originated the title role in the Off-Broadway production of Paul Rudnick’s Jeffrey, a hit comedy about a gay actor/waiter. He also played the lead in director Stephen Wadsworth’s productions of The Marivaux Trilogy by 18th-century French playwright Pierre de Marivaux.

His Harlequin was a whirlwind of physical comedy. Originated at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, N.J., one of the plays, Changes of Heart, was restaged in 1996 at L.A.’s Mark Taper Forum, where the production and Higgins’ acting were critically acclaimed. Strangers in L.A. still stop Higgins to rave about that performance.

He returned to the Taper in 2005 to play Donald Rumsfeld in David Hare’s Stuff Happens. By then, he was already living in L.A. and well into a successful film and television career. Higgins had come west to portray David Letterman in the HBO film The Late Shift (about the scuffle to succeed Johnny Carson) and then relocated permanently.

Right out of the gate, he thrived in Hollywood. “I think he’s done well because he’s diligent and consistent and very talented,” says Welsh.

Indeed, he laid out firm parameters when he took on the role of Peter Lovett, the gay ex-husband of Fran Drescher’s character on Happily Divorced (2011–13), a sitcom loosely

based on her real-life marriage. “I told them in the beginning, ‘I’m not going to flounce,’” he says. “This character had lived as a straight man for his whole life and now suddenly he’s going to be flouncing around? It doesn’t make sense.” In the series, Peter and Fran are divorced but still living together because they can’t afford to separate. The show’s strength lay in the tender relationship between the two, as well as its cast of show-business veterans (including Walden and Rita Moreno as Drescher’s parents). The show was canceled after two seasons, but it demonstrates how well Higgins, who usually plays supporting characters, can carry a show.

In addition to a wider range of roles, Higgins would like do more university speaking and teaching. “I think I get more out of it than the students,” he says. “It helps to have to explain yourself.” Welsh says she hopes he’ll get to play a double agent in a spy movie.

When not working or chauffeuring his kids, he likes to hang out with his wife, go to concerts (classical mostly) and, yes, read. “I have little interest in Hollywood parties, events or culture,” he confesses. “It all bores me senseless.” In fact, Higgins rarely watches film or television. “And I don’t like talking about it,” he says.

A friendly guy at heart, Higgins can sometimes seem aloof. Perhaps it stems from what he identifies as an occupational hazard of constantly observing people. “You end up being a spy on your own life, or this person’s trying to explain something to me and I’m watching the mechanics of it,” he says. Welsh chalks it up to a combination of “distraction fueled by anxiety and a typical actor’s paradox that he’s sort of a quiet, private person who would rather read books or float on the periphery of a social situation.”

What could a talented and successful actor have to feel anxious about? “I struggle as all freelancers struggle with anxiety and the fear that the whole thing was an illusion — that a reasonable person could never make a living as an artist,” he says.

Perhaps Higgins should sit down with himself, call up one of his therapist characters, and have a chat. After all, he is a good listener. |||| 12.14 ARROYO | 19

arroyo

™

~HOME SALES INDEX~

ALTADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. ARCADIA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. EAGLE ROCK Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. GLENDALE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. LA CAÑADA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SAN MARINO Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SIERRA MADRE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SOUTH PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. TOTAL Homes Sold Avg Price/Sq. Ft.

OCT ‘13 47 $550,000 1509 OCT ‘13 46 877,500 2025 OCT ‘13 30 $599,250 1324 OCT ‘13 127 $509,000 1330 OCT ‘13 26 $1,145,000 1996 OCT ‘13 209 $610,000 1430 OCT ‘13 17 $1,725,000 2706 OCT ‘13 20 $825,500 1873 OCT ‘13 34 $867,500 1774 OCT ‘13 556 $503

HOMES SOLD

+4.17%

2014

383

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.

2013

oct.

556

-31.12%

oct.

HOMES SOLD

HOME SALES

OCT ‘14 35 $629,000 1440 OCT ‘14 36 $1,115,500 1920 OCT ‘14 22 $675,000 1908 OCT ‘14 106 $592,500 1457 OCT ‘14 18 $1,492,000 2765 OCT ‘14 122 $625,000 1408 OCT ‘14 8 $1,713,750 2091 OCT ‘14 13 $779,000 1786 OCT ‘14 23 $1,000,000 1911 OCT ‘14 383 $524

HOME SALES ABOVE

RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT ADDRESS CLOSE DATE ALTADENA 2101 Midlothian Drive 10/28/14 2010 Midwick Drive 10/24/14 2073 Crescent Drive 10/16/14 1879 Meadowbrook Road 10/27/14 2820 Maiden Lane 10/29/14 1954 Holliston Avenue 10/15/14 924 East Mt. Curve Avenue 10/24/14 1796 East Mendocino Street 10/31/14 1260 Pleasantridge Drive 10/22/14 ARCADIA 957 Hampton Road 10/06/14 2222 South 2nd Avenue 10/10/14 850 West Orange Grove Avenue 10/02/14 2230 South 6th Avenue 10/31/14 332 Danimere Avenue 10/06/14 1215 South 1st Avenue 10/14/14 1510 South 4th Avenue 10/16/14 1643 Rodeo Road 10/31/14 808 Magnolia Lane 10/29/14 1624 South 6th Avenue 10/22/14 1747 Alta Oaks Drive 10/31/14 501 East Sandra Avenue 10/22/14 2209 Cielo Place 10/17/14 1312 South 10th Avenue 10/06/14 1621 Old Oak Lane 10/23/14 34 East Winnie Way 10/22/14 1502 South 2nd Avenue 10/16/14 1636 La Ramada Avenue 10/03/14 1400 South 5th Avenue 10/30/14 1022 South 9th Avenue 10/23/14 1047 Loma Lisa Lane 10/06/14 1715 Watson Drive 10/09/14 1306 Standish Place 10/06/14 1100 South Santa Anita Avenue 10/08/14 1606 South 5th Avenue 10/15/14 203 South 3rd Avenue #B 10/31/14 EAGLE ROCK 2055 Escarpa Drive 10/28/14 4908 Mt. Royal Drive 10/27/14 2253 Hill Drive 10/14/14 5218 Argus Drive 10/14/14 4046 York Hill Place 10/28/14 GLENDALE 1623 Hillcrest Avenue 10/30/14 1910 Melwood Drive 10/15/14 1627 Don Carlos Avenue 10/10/14 983 Calle Canta 10/08/14 1615 Hillside Drive 10/21/14 1226 North Louise Street 10/22/14 1734 Hillside Drive 10/30/14 1909 Niodrara Drive 10/09/14 1514 Valley View Road 10/14/14 1630 Puebla Drive 10/23/14 291 West Kenneth Road 10/23/14 222 Edwards Place 10/30/14 3535 Las Palmas Avenue 10/15/14 969 Calle Del Pacifico 10/15/14 3450 Sierra Glen Road 10/01/14 1828 Calle Suenos 10/30/14 2655 Risa Drive 10/30/14 3501 Fallenleaf Place 10/08/14 2547 Altura Avenue 10/16/14 1152 Sonora Avenue 10/31/14 3520 Paraiso Way 10/06/14 1414 Dixon Street 10/30/14 2724 East Chevy Chase Drive 10/31/14 3310 Vickers Drive 10/16/14 1369 Winchester Avenue 10/22/14 2852 Pinelawn Drive 10/21/14 2551 Sleepy Hollow Drive 10/31/14 1510 Arboles Drive 10/09/14 1331 Branta Drive 10/22/14

PRICE $3,257,000 $2,000,000 $1,500,000 $1,450,000 $985,000 $950,000 $835,000 $830,000 $825,000

source: CalREsource

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD

4 5 5 3 3 3 2 3

5558 3699 2868 3574 1674 1941 1963 1752 1912

1931 1922 1996 1925 1942 1937 1928 1950 1972

$1,750,000 $2,008,000 $175,000 $570,000 $611,000 $481,000 $385,000

10/31/2000 10/24/2014 03/31/1994 12/01/1999 08/02/2013 05/04/2000 04/22/2010

$2,730,000 $636,000 $1,025,000 $2,180,000 $745,000 $1,410,000

06/09/2010 09/23/2003 07/23/2003 01/08/2014 07/23/2012 07/20/2011

$612,000 $723,000

08/31/1998 12/28/2000

$512,000 $545,000

06/23/1994 07/11/2001

$807,500

08/19/2013

$225,000 $688,000 $750,000 $127,000 $740,000 $570,000

09/13/1985 07/05/2012 12/30/2005 10/23/1984 08/20/2010 07/27/2010

$729,000

04/10/2006

$4,000,000 $3,280,000 $2,670,000 $2,610,000 $2,355,000 $2,080,000 $1,930,000 $1,877,000 $1,758,000 $1,700,000 $1,588,000 $1,500,000 $1,435,000 $1,400,000 $1,375,000 $1,290,000 $1,200,000 $1,165,000 $1,146,000 $960,000 $939,000 $917,500 $890,000 $860,000 $830,000 $788,500

5 5 5

4269 6981 3565

1937 2004 1957

3 4 2 5 5 3 4 3 5 4 4 3 2 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3

1459 4062 1345 3023 3957 1652 2652 2539 2935 1920 2303 1467 1785 2517 1968 2146 2062 1444 1856 1896 1622 2350

1950 1989 1938 1950 2001 1946 1952 1976 1965 1952 1973 1956 1957 1953 1956 1958 1976 1951 1969 1963 1954 2005

$1,235,000 $1,024,000 $825,000 $810,000 $750,000

5 5 4 3 4

2404 2386 2149 1741 2042

1923 1918 1959 1925 1930

$2,135,000 $1,375,000 $1,349,000 $1,280,000 $1,278,000 $1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,204,000 $1,128,500 $1,095,000 $1,070,000 $999,000 $965,000 $950,000 $931,000 $923,000 $900,000 $895,500 $885,000 $875,000 $861,000 $860,000 $860,000 $850,500 $850,000 $846,500 $810,000 $805,000 $800,000

4 3 4 4 4

4291 2019 2792 3343 2953 180 3320 2426 2595 2423 2391 2504 2479 2397 2132 2524 3069 2498 2651 2839 2244 4272 3385 1790 1607 1908 2748 1805 2530

1951 1940 1936 1990 1942 1909 1929 1950 1935 1959 1950 1967 1937 1989 1956 1990 1958 1985 1922 1927 1956 1927 1977 1953 1923 1971 1968 1937 1968

7 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 5 3 4 4 2 3 4 4 2 4

$225,000

06/01/1999

$1,550,000 $775,000

05/13/2004 12/21/2000

$620,000

08/19/1992

$1,100,000 $852,000 $750,000 $289,000 $830,000 $410,000 $475,000 $435,000

10/08/2008 09/09/2011 06/05/2012 10/10/1996 11/03/2011 05/24/2002 04/10/1998 01/19/2000

$1,160,000 $431,000 $272,500 $170,000 $663,000 $660,000 $225,000 $589,000 $785,000 $985,000 $680,000 $795,000

01/14/2003 06/21/1996 05/31/1991 07/15/1998 07/08/2010 03/09/2010 12/17/1979 10/28/2003 05/22/2007 12/16/2005 07/16/2010 02/16/2005

The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2014. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.

20 | ARROYO | 12.14

ADDRESS CLOSE DATE GLENDALE 1662 Larco Way 10/09/14 1320 North Pacific Avenue 10/24/14 1470 East Mountain Street 10/31/14 2276 Hollister Terrace 10/31/14 711 East Mountain Street 10/16/14 4321 Chula Senda Lane 10/21/14 721 Berkshire Avenue 10/28/14 375 Berkshire Avenue 10/15/14 655 Hillcrest Avenue 10/21/14 5347 Vista Lejana Lane 10/15/14 4849 Fairlawn Drive 10/01/14 4937 Angeles Crest Highway 10/07/14 4926 Palm Drive 10/29/14 5437 Castle Knoll Road 10/23/14 484 Berkshire Avenue 10/01/14 4048 Hampstead Road 10/01/14 1000 White Deer Drive 10/30/14 4523 Alta Canyada Road 10/31/14 2015 Lombardy Drive 10/15/14 4826 Daleridge Road 10/21/14 736 Galaxy Heights Drive 10/20/14 608 Durwood Drive 10/21/14 4641 Crown Avenue 10/22/14 PASADENA 581 Madre Street 10/10/14 474 South Arroyo Boulevard 10/10/14 630 Prospect Boulevard 10/01/14 2025 Glen Springs Road 10/28/14 1080 Glen Oaks Boulevard 10/21/14 345 East Colorado Boulevard #401 10/15/14 345 East Colorado Boulevard #206 10/01/14 581 Garden Lane 10/17/14 160 Glen Summer Road 10/20/14 1455 Old House Road 10/09/14 345 West Bellevue Drive #1 10/28/14 918 South San Gabriel Boulevard 10/30/14 2445 Vista Laguna Terrace 10/31/14 42 Yale Street 10/29/14 920 Granite Drive #503 10/22/14 1602 North Harding Avenue 10/31/14 870 North Mar Vista Avenue 10/31/14 3645 Cartwright Street 10/28/14 1969 Oakwood Street 10/22/14 1635 Loma Vista Street 10/10/14 1040 South Orange Grove Blvd. #1810/22/14 67 Palmetto Drive 10/01/14 1224 North Altadena Drive #B 10/14/14 1913 Kaweah Drive 10/14/14 2861 Paloma Street 10/07/14 2024 Queensberry Road 10/24/14 1095 North Mar Vista Avenue 10/08/14 1990 Fox Ridge Drive 10/01/14 1146 Wotkyns Drive 10/31/14 1889 Oakwood Street 10/10/14 2450 Paloma Street 10/28/14 2747 East Villa Street 10/03/14 1645 East Villa Street 10/23/14 2665 Deodar Circle 10/22/14 700 East Union Street #203 10/22/14 565 Mercedes Avenue 10/16/14 1733 North Raymond Avenue 10/30/14 1964 East Woodlyn Road 10/30/14 2126 Casa Grande Street 10/03/14 700 East Union Street #207 10/30/14 645 North Raymond Avenue 10/20/14 267 South Roosevelt Avenue 10/22/14 SAN MARINO 1940 Kerns Avenue 10/17/14 1571 Wembley Road 10/15/14 815 Plymouth Road 10/14/14 2950 Monterey Road 10/27/14 1335 Vandyke Road 10/17/14 572 South Berkeley Avenue 10/15/14 2885 Huntington Drive 10/08/14 1358 San Marino Avenue 10/21/14 SIERRA MADRE 110 Rancho Road 10/31/14 747 Canyon Crest Drive 10/22/14 1975 Liliano Drive 10/10/14 440 Gatewood Terrace 10/15/14 74 West Alegria Avenue 10/15/14 164 Grove Street 10/10/14 210 Mariposa Avenue 10/28/14 304 North Sunnyside Avenue 10/15/14 SOUTH PASADENA 300 Orange Grove Avenue 10/15/14 1122 Stratford Avenue 10/15/14 2045 Primrose Avenue 10/24/14 1429 Monterey Road 10/15/14 1619 Fletcher Avenue 10/31/14 306 Los Alisos Street 10/03/14 1740 Monterey Road 10/31/14 1750 Via Del Rey 10/10/14 1615 Lyndon Street 10/10/14 703 Orange Grove Terrace 10/07/14 1333 Mountain View Avenue 10/17/14 840 Bank Street 10/02/14 1848 Peterson Avenue 10/14/14 1910 Hill Drive 10/15/14 664 Monterey Road 10/17/14 1314 Fremont Avenue 10/08/14

PRICE

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD

$777,000 $775,000 $775,000 $760,000 $760,000 $6,900,000 $6,430,000 $5,300,000 $3,180,000 $2,125,000 $1,825,000 $1,800,000 $1,699,000 $1,689,000 $1,295,000 $1,280,000 $1,280,000 $1,240,000 $1,175,000 $1,102,000 $995,000 $975,000 $900,000

3 2 5 2 3 5 6 5 4 4 4 5 4 5 3 2 4 3 3 2 3 3 3

1757 1393 2556 1538 2625 9669 7906 8533 3899 3858 4031 3728 2765 2765 2742 2775 2140 2373 1674 1610 1932 1933 1647

1956 1941 1928 1936 1923 2006 1924 1990 1953 1964 1984 1945 1923 1960 1953 1951 1967 1980 1951 1949 1974 1955 1955

$2,420,000 $2,300,000 $2,296,000 $2,219,000 $2,200,000 $2,150,000 $2,000,000 $1,625,000 $1,625,000 $1,325,000 $1,249,000 $1,235,000 $1,100,000 $1,100,000 $1,025,000 $998,000 $960,000 $960,000 $947,500 $930,000 $905,000 $900,000 $885,000 $848,000 $839,000 $824,000 $822,500 $820,000 $805,000 $805,000 $800,000 $798,000 $782,500 $780,000 $775,000 $775,000 $770,000 $759,500 $755,000 $750,000 $750,000 $750,000

3 5 6 4 5 3 3 3 4 3 2 4 4 8 3 3 3 3 4 3 2 3 5 3 3 3 3 3 2 4 2 4 3 2 2 3 6 4 3 2 4 3

3128 3305 4536 2958 3438 3580 3560 2446 3189 2562 1877 2012 3916 3584 1910 2517 1217 1551 2436 1993 1456 878 2009 2689 1662 1478 1450 1972 1436 2112 1503 1906 1444 2089 1390 1608 3056 2100 1976 1210 2705 1348

1952 1930 1911 1964 1952 2007 2007 1950 1931 1951 1978 1951 1936 1955 2009 1939 1914 1951 1978 1921 1963 1902 1950 1990 1947 1926 1914 1953 1924 1945 1940 1941 1922 1940 2006 1937 1907 1928 1928 2006 1902 1925

$2,500,000 $2,320,000 $1,950,000 $1,837,500 $1,590,000 $1,390,000 $1,000,000 $800,000

4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2

2822 2927 2356 2517 1578 1518 1496 1826

2013 1949 1935 1927 1941 1925 1952 1952

$1,800,000 $1,030,000 $1,001,000 $950,000 $906,000 $790,000 $779,000 $775,000

3 3 4 3 4 3 4 3

2544 2789 2392 1846 1896 1480 2086 1590

1936 1980 1959 1960 1966 1924 1939 1958

$3,000,000 $1,675,000 $1,630,000 $1,590,000 $1,520,000 $1,312,000 $1,265,000 $1,204,000 $1,105,000 $1,102,500 $1,063,000 $1,000,000 $988,000 $950,000 $945,000 $759,000

6 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 4 3 2 3 4 4 3 2

4530 2601 2200 5124 2217 2247 2728 1966 1911 1966 1546 1336 3144 2636 1858 1128

1928 1908 1924 1923 1908 1971 1925 1964 1921 1958 1968 1949 1985 1941 1946 1904

$425,000 $525,000

01/18/2002 10/16/2009 LA CAĂ‘ADA

$3,733,000 $2,000,000 $1,355,000 $609,000 $89,000 $685,000 $1,395,000 $727,500

06/11/2003 10/25/1991 11/07/1997 11/30/1995 04/19/1984 03/21/2003 07/22/2009 07/19/1991

$1,312,500

05/14/2004

$789,000 $255,000 $182,000 $790,000 $900,000 $805,000

01/09/2004 12/12/1985 05/10/1984 04/29/2011 10/17/2013 04/04/2005

$85,000

09/20/1974

$2,300,000 $938,000

11/22/2006 01/09/2004

$1,120,000 $609,000 $92,500 $595,000

12/18/2003 06/25/1998 05/25/1979 07/10/2002

$375,000

05/10/2011

$880,000 $435,000 $685,000

06/19/2009 12/11/2012 12/06/2013

$850,000 $655,000

08/31/2005 06/17/2011

$282,500 $375,000 $550,000 $361,000 $288,000

05/20/1999 05/20/1996 08/30/2012 03/17/2000 12/11/1992

$608,000 $685,000 $645,000 $670,500 $640,000

08/08/2003 10/09/2012 12/09/2004 09/13/2005 04/10/2008

$741,500 $271,500 $825,000

05/20/2008 08/03/1998 07/13/2005

$542,000 $675,000

07/30/2013 06/28/2005

$2,380,000 $698,000 $1,480,000 $650,000

04/04/2014 02/10/1994 09/02/2011 12/17/2001

$1,040,000 $367,000 $555,000

05/06/2009 11/22/1999 04/05/1991

$640,000 $155,000

07/29/1993 04/20/1984

$480,000

06/25/2010

$2,400,000 $1,795,000 $910,000 $1,385,000 $1,260,000

05/31/2007 06/19/2008 05/25/2004 02/08/2013 05/20/2009

$345,000

09/27/1996

$866,000

03/15/2006

$320,000 $352,000 $470,000 $598,000 $346,000 $301,000

06/22/1993 12/17/2002 09/20/2001 07/05/2002 03/29/2002 03/01/2002 12.14 ARROYO | 21

ARROYO HOME & DESIGN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

ANYTHING GOES IN KIDS BEDROOM DESIGNS Create a space that works by

A BEDROOM IS A SANCTUARY. IT’S A PLACE WHERE YOU GO TO RETREAT FROM THE WORLD, RELAX, AND TAKE COMFORT AMIDST FAMILIAR AND RELAXING FURNITURE. That’s the typical worldview of a bedroom. But it gets a tad more complicated when you’re deciding what to do to redecorate the room where your child (or children, if you have more than one sharing the space) spends the night. That room needs to be a combination of functional, fun and restful, no easy task when your client (the child) probably has a limited sense of their own personal taste and changes their mind quite a bit.

Your goal, as the bedroom designer, is to make the room memorable and a place where your child will want to spend time. But it also has to serve as a place to do homework, as a lounge for visiting friends, a creative space and a place to dream, and a dressing/sleeping room.

Living up to that multitude of challenges is a task that has humbled

talking to your child, the client.

many a parent. But the good news is there are ample possibilities to

BY BRUCE HARING

a base of operations for all of their activities. All it takes is a little imagina-

create a bedroom that your child will be proud to showcase and use as tion and a lot of thoughtful discussion.

–continued on page 24

22 | ARROYO | 12.14

12.14 | ARROYO | 23

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Scott Montgomery Design

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 22

First: keep in mind that it’s your child’s room, not yours. You may have endless ideas for what should be in it, the color, and the layout. But you will not be the one living there, and, as such, it’s probably wise to have a conversation with the child. Keep it short and to the point, ask about colors and specific features (bunk bed or flat? Chair or couch? Desk or work station? Bed by the window or the wall?). The idea is to get a basic sense of what your child likes.

You’ll both be happier if there’s some early input. Children are blunt, and won’t hesitate at the new bedroom’s “reveal” to let you know that they hate it, so it’s best to consult, even with the smallest child.

Scott Montgomery of Scott Montgomery Design in La Canada Flintridge says “there’s no set rules” when it comes to decorating a child’s bedroom.

While he notices that there’s a trend toward more “whimsical” design, anything goes. Determining what works and what does not for a client is something “you either know or you don’t know,” he says.

Montgomery and associate Michael Hernandez tackle the challenge of children’s bedroom design by doing a thorough pre-interview. They sit down with a client and find out what they’re envisioning for the room. “Then you take bits and pieces of what they like and transform it into something that works together,” Hernandez says. “Clients will often have a vision, or they will see something in a magazine and say, ‘This is what I want.’ You dissect that and add your own touches to that.”

Never copy, Hernandez says. Designing a bedroom is a personal matter, and while it looks good in the magazine, it may not work in your home or for your child.

BASICS OF YOUR DREAM BEDROOM 1) Comfort is your biggest concern. You may love a look that comes straight out of the Museum of Modern Art, but raising a child in that environment may not be right for your family. Keep in mind that there’s a reason traditional styles have stuck around for centuries.

2) Second on your checklist of priorities is safety. Sharp edges, shelves or furniture that can fall and block the door, or obstacles that can cause falls when it’s the middle of the night and your child needs a drink of water are musts to avoid. Keep the room layout simple, with a well-defined path to the door.

3) Storage, storage, storage. As we all know, children are kings and queens of clutter, so you’ll want to have ample storage in the sanctuary. Yes, we understand that most children will leave things scattered no matter what is available, but the axiom about “a place for everything and everything in its place” is a time-tested idea that will build life-long habits of organization for your budding genius. Dual-purpose beds with sliding –continued on page 26 24 | ARROYO | 12.14

12.14 | ARROYO | 25

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 24 storage shelves are great ways to find utility in space that’s normally wasted. A bed that folds out can serve as a great couch for guests during the day and a perfect sleeper at night for extra guests.

4) Color scheme is one of the biggest considerations when designing a child’s room.

Too bright, and you’ll keep your child up at night with the glare from the walls. Too dark, and you might be raising the next Kierkegaard. One compromise – go with a traditional white or beige wall, then infuse it with an appropriate and strategically placed splash of color that accents the activities in that particular sector of the room. But anything goes, says Michael Hernandez: “I love a black room. I’ve actually seen kids’ rooms done in black. You just have to feel the temperature of your client.

5) Themes are a big trend in children’s rooms. Enhance your motif with wall graphics that reflect a particular passion. You can stage the room so that your young athlete can imagine herself winning the Olympics, or encourage scientific exploration with an ocean theme. Just don’t create clutter by going overboard on the accessories. It’s a living space, not a museum, so a subtle hint at a theme is far better than an over-thetop display that looks like a Las Vegas family restaurant. A wall hanging or two, perhaps some appropriate color splashes, and you’ll convey the message without overwhelming the space.

6) Study space is needed. Homework starts earlier and earlier, and there’s more and more of it, so make sure you have an uncluttered, well-lighted workspace for your child.

This is where your storage genius comes in handy, as homework projects often require colored paper, assorted crayons and markers in various colors, glue, scissors, staples and other items that can easily be scattered across a household. Find a small storage container and make it the home for these items, which are to be exclusively used for homework. The night before a child’s project is due makes an advertising agency before the presentation seem sane, so thank us later for this tip. Should you include electronics?

“Yes,” says Michael Hernandez.

7) The furniture in your child’s space serves several purposes. A good comfy chair or sofa is a must, as it’s great for reading, talking to your child, or even (dare we say it) quietly planning the week’s activities. Overstuffed couches, a cushy oversized chair, or even a futon are a perfect match with your child’s needs.

8) What’s the budget? Scott Montgomery says it’s really about the client’s needs and expectations. It can be anywhere from $2500 to $50,000. But it can be less or more.

AMH&D

26 | ARROYO | 12.14

12.14 | ARROYO | 27

HOLIDAY FROM

28 | ARROYO | 12.14

GIVING A TO Z

12.14 | ARROYO | 29

30 | ARROYO | 12.14

Holiday Gift Guide Who cares about keeping up with the Kardashians?

These artisan gifts make a unique statement.

BY IRENE LACHER

Sharon Gellerman hand-dyes and signs colorful silk scarves to order, so each is one of a kind.

The San Luis Obispo–area artist, inspired by the landscapes of her native Israel and the colors of the California coast, describes the centuries-old process as marbling and offers scarves in seven sizes. $58–$118, colorvibedesigns.com 12.14 ARROYO | 31

Pasadena woodturner Joel Feinblatt carves his 4½-inch-tall Lotus Bowl from a single piece of alder, using a complicated process of carving and finishing that takes months. $695, greenwoodartist.com

These 18-karat-gold stud earrings are hand-carved to resemble burl wood and surrounded by a half-carat worth of champagne diamonds. They’re from Baxter Moerman, a.k.a. the duo of Matthew Baxter and Matthew Moerman, who create “modern classic jewelry” in San Luis Obispo. $2,200, baxtermoerman.com

32 | ARROYO | 12.14

Mount Washington artists Kat and Roger, a.k.a. Kat Hutter and Roger Lee, make colorful graphic vases that work equally well in contemporary, modern or Craftsman homes.

The vases range from 4 to 8 inches high. $60–$150, Mohawk General Store, 24 Smith Alley, Pasadena; Pasadena Museum of California Art, 490 E. Union St., Pasadena

The nostalgic Girl With a Rose Pillow cover, designed by Maureen Smullen of Glendale’s Oso and Bean, straddles that fine line between traditional and contemporary décor, enhancing both. Digitally printed on cotton and linen, the cover fits a standard 18-inch pillow insert, which can be purchased separately. $52, etsy.com/listing/194695970/pillow-cover-girl-with-rosefits-18

This 6-inch-tall wood carving of a polar bear, an unusual subject for Mexican folk crafts, is handmade

by Armando and Moises Jimenez, grandsons of Oaxaca’s master woodcarver Manuel Jimenez. $278.50, The Folk Tree, 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, (626) 795-8733, the-folk-tree.myshopify.com/

STOCKING STUFFERS Artisans in Moradabad, India, use recycled bicycle chains to craft this 5-inch diameter picture frame, perfect for industrial-chic décor. $20, Ten Thousand Villages Oso and Bean’s charming Lotería Cards Flask is wrapped in bright colors and the fanciful images of Mexico’s game of chance. $20, etsy.com’s Oso and Bean shop

OR MAKE YOUR OWN...

Experiences, that is. Splurge on a six-course white-truffle tasting menu at Patina in downtown L.A. But you’d better hurry — this is a banner year for the subterranean delicacy, and even at $310 per person, the extravagant meal is available only as long as the season lasts...Trace the roots of your family tree with a DNA test that will put you in touch with your closest genetic matches. Family Tree DNA (familytreedna. com) claims the world’s largest ancestry database, and test prices start at $169.

AND AROUND TOWN...

The aptly named Elegance Chopstick Set is handmade by Mai Vietnamese Handicrafts artisans. Four pairs of wood chopsticks with rests are presented in a silk-covered folder that closes with traditional frog fasteners. $49, Ten Thousand Villages, 567 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena, (626) 229-9892, tenthousandvillages.com

Artisanal L.A. is partnering with the City of Pasadena on a Holiday City Market on Dec. 6 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Some 150 artisans will offer a curated selection of handmade goods throughout Old Pasadena (artisanalla.com)...More handmade crafts will be for sale at a holiday boutique on Dec. 4 and 5 from 4 to 10 p.m. at The First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, 3700 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 351-9631 (paznaz. org)...Handmade items by Baxter Moerman, Oso and Bean, Sharon Gellerman and Joel Feinblatt will be available at the Contemporary Crafts Market June 5–7, 2015, at the Pasadena Convention Center (contemporarycraftsmarket.com).

12.14 ARROYO | 33

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

Education A DIRECTORY OF LEARNING OPTIONS

34 | ARROYO | 12.14

Aa Bb Cc

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

Barnhart

HPA is co-educational and serves students in grades kindergarten through eight.

Barnhart School offers a private elementary and middle school education for children

We invite you to learn more about us at www.HighPointAcademy.org and would love

in kindergarten through 8th grade from the Arcadia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and

to have you join us for a tour!

other San Gabriel Valley communities. Distinguished programs of Barnhart School are the Writers’ Workshop, the 7th grade Biotech project sponsored by Amgen, Spanish

Lycée International de Los Angeles

at all grade levels with a conversation club in 8th grade, early literacy emphasis, the

Students at LILA (Lycée International de Los Angeles), an international French school

Virtues character development program, and continued integration of technology,

with five campuses: Pasadena, Burbank, Los Feliz, Orange County, and West Valley,

arts, and physical education.

benefit from a full bilingual immersion program. A bilingual education paves more

240 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia. barnhartschool.org (626)446-5588

pathways in the brain, resulting in better academic performance. LILA is a preschool

OPEN HOUSE IS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 FROM 11AM – 1PM

through 12th-grade school committed to academic excellence in a nurturing and intimate environment that encourages personal initiative, creativity and curiosity.

Drucker School of Management

Students are challenged through the rigorous and well-balanced bilingual curricula

The Drucker School of Management in Claremont offers a world-class graduate man-

of the French and International Baccalaureate institutions. LILA aims to develop con-

agement education through our MBA, Professional MBA, Executive MBA, Financial En-

fident, caring, and open-minded critical thinkers who will thrive in a diverse competi-

gineering, Art Business, and Arts Management degree programs. Our programs infuse

tive world.

Peter Drucker’s principle of management as a liberal art along with our core strengths

www.lilaschool.com - (626) 695-5159 admissions@lilaschool.com

in strategy and leadership. We offer individualized, flexible course scheduling, an innovative curriculum focusing on values-based management, and the opportunity to

Pasadena Waldorf School

learn from world-renowned faculty.

Pasadena Waldorf School ignites a life-long love of learning; the arts -infused cur-

To learn more, visit us at www.drucker.cgu.edu

riculum advances from play-based early childhood classes to a vigorous academic program through middle and high school. Lively lessons inspire creative thinking, and

High Point Academy

students distill concepts of knowledge through joyful learning experiences. Call the

Since 1965, High Point Academy has offered a whole-child approach to education

Admissions Office (626)794-9564 to tour the school many a parent has said is “the kind

with emphasis placed on core subjects as well as technology, art history, instrumental

of school I wish I went to.”

and choral music, daily PE, foreign language, green living and community service.

209 E. Mariposa St., Altadena 91001 www.pasadenawaldorf.org

12.14 | ARROYO | 35

Chefs’ Holidays Three top Arroyoland chefs share their seasonal traditions and recipes.

W

BY BETTIJANE LEVINE

e thought it might be fun to look in on a couple of Arroyoland’s most renowned chefs to learn how they celebrate the holidays. On luxury yachts cruising exotic waters? At fantastic family feasts catered by their very own restaurant kitchens? Maybe with caviar, truffles and a table full of A-list friends? We chatted with San Marino’s Joachim Splichal, who has some 60 Patina Restaurants dotting both coasts and a new one in Tokyo, and with Michael Mina, whose fi ne-dining empire recently expanded into Glendale, with Bourbon Steak Los Angeles at the Americana at Brand. And for the lowdown from a talented chef and first-time restaurant owner, we talked with Sean Lowenthal, proprietor of The Little Beast in Eagle Rock. They all served up surprisingly heartwarming answers. And some favorite holiday recipes to match.

Michael Mina Michael Mina, 45, discovered a precocious penchant for cooking at age 15 after emigrating from Egypt with his parents at age 2. He spent his high-school years toiling part-time in the kitchen of a little French restaurant near his home in Ellensburg, Washington. At 22, Mina won national critical acclaim for his innovative cuisine as head chef at Aqua, a swanky seafood restaurant in San Francisco. And now, little more than 20 years later, he has parlayed his talents into an epicurean empire. As head of the Mina Group, he oversees 21 fine-dining establishments that dot the country’s upscale zip codes — a diverse group of high-concept eateries with specialties that range from seafood and steak to Mediterranean. He has won Michelin stars, James Beard awards and numerous “best chef ” and “best restaurant” citations. When the power elite meet in Washington, D.C., for example, they tend to gravitate to Mina’s Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, where President Obama and wife Michelle have twice chosen to celebrate their wedding anniversary. He lives on three pastoral acres in the Bay Area with his wife, Diane, and two teenage sons.

36 | ARROYO | 12.14

You have new restaurants opening across the country and tremendous responsibilities. Do you get time to spend the holidays with your family?

In my early years, I had to work on holidays. And now, when you’re building new projects, you try to make sure you’ll have free time at the holidays to be with family.

But sometimes construction falls behind and you have to work. In my family, we’re very big on holidays, and I try always to be there. Christmas is more intimate than Thanksgiving, when we have 60 or 70 people, usually those we work with who can’t get home for the holiday. But Christmas is smaller, more family-oriented.

Do you dine at home? What’s the menu like?

We have a very set Christmas Eve tradition that we’ve been doing for many years. My wife’s mother — my mother-in-law — started this, and it had been going on for years even before I met my wife. I sort of got adopted into the tradition. Every Christmas Eve my mother-in-law would make crab cioppino from scratch. Unfortunately, she passed away some years ago at a young age. And so we’ve kept the tradition going.

Every year for Christmas Eve we make her crab cioppino from scratch. We get very dirty, break crabs open with our hands and have a lot of fun. And all day long the whole house smells like this beautiful crab and tomato stew. Then everybody comes over at about 4 p.m. and has cioppino.

What happens Christmas Day? What do you serve for dinner, and who cooks?

On the morning of Christmas Eve, while we’re making cioppino, I also prep my prime rib for Christmas Day. And I get everything else ready for that meal, so that on Christmas Day I just have to literally turn on the oven and throw everything in.

Then our family can spend the day opening presents and relaxing and just being together, and then we have the prime rib dinner.

Do your kids have any favorites? Do they and your wife do any of the cooking?

We all cook together. It has worked out great with the two children. My younger son loves pasta and we always do egg noodles with the cioppino. He makes those.

He cooks them with olive oil and garlic and herbs and chili flakes, and he’ll grate all his cheese and cut all his herbs and cook all his pasta himself. He does the pasta for Christmas Eve. My older son helps for Christmas Day, with prepping the prime rib, chopping potatoes, cleaning the vegetables. My wife cooks both days.

What side dishes do you serve with the prime rib?

It’s usually very straightforward and traditional. Baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, a little bit of beef jus from the drippings.

And for dessert?

I usually bake a big apple crisp. It’s one of those things I can prepare ahead so we can relax.

Your parents must be very proud of your success, especially when the president came to your restaurant for dinner.

(Mina laughs.) I’ve cooked for three presidents, and for President Obama twice. My parents weren’t so proud when I announced I wasn’t going to college, but to cooking school instead. We are Egyptian, and that didn’t go over too well. But I think it’s all just perfect now.

Judith’s Dungeness Crab Cioppino

For Christmas Eve dinner, my mother-in-law, Judith Tirado, always prepared cioppino — the San Francisco seafood stew that owes its origins to fishermen from Italy’s Ligurian Coast. She’d spend the whole day infusing the broth with basil and tomatoes. Though she’s no longer here with us, we carry on the tradition by making her hearty, briny recipe, full of crab, shrimp and clams. —M.M.

SERVES 10 INGREDIENTS ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil 8 large garlic cloves (6 finely chopped, 2 whole) 3 jalapeños, seeded and minced 2 red bell peppers, finely chopped 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 large bay leaf 2 tablespoons tomato paste ½ cup dry red wine One 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved Four 8-ounce bottles clam broth 1½ cups water Salt and freshly ground pepper ½ cup packed basil leaves ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper 4 steamed Dungeness crabs, about 2 pounds each (see note below) 2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed 2 pounds firm, white-fleshed fish fillets, such as halibut, skinned and cut into 1½-inch chunks 2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined 2 pounds mussels, scrubbed 1 pound sea scallops, halved vertically if large Crusty bread, for serving

PHOTO: Joachim Splichal by Andrea Bricco

METHOD 1. In a very large soup pot, heat a quarter cup of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the chopped garlic, jalapeños, bell peppers, onion and bay leaf, and cook, stirring occasionally, over moderately high heat until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the wine and cook until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute longer.

Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and cook over moderately high heat until slightly thickened, about

5 minutes. Add the clam broth and water, season lightly with salt and generously with pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until the broth is reduced to about 8 cups, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a mini food processor, combine the basil leaves with the whole garlic and process until the garlic is finely chopped. Add the remaining half-cup of olive oil and the crushed red pepper and process the basil purée until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Working over the sink, pull off the flap on the undersides of the crabs.

Remove the top shells and discard.

Pry out the brownish insides and pull off the feathery lungs and discard.

Rinse the crab bodies in cold water and quarter them so that each piece has body and leg.

4. Add the crabs and clams to the pot. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the clams begin to open, about 5 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the crabs to a large platter. Add the fish, shrimp, mussels and scallops to the pot, pushing them into the broth. Return the crabs to the pot, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the clams and mussels are fully open and the fish, shrimp and scallops are cooked through, about 8 minutes longer.

5. Ladle the cioppino into deep bowls and drizzle each serving with some of the basil purée. Serve with crusty bread and pass the remaining basil purée separately.

MAKE AHEAD: The Dungeness crab cioppino can be prepared through step 1 and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

NOTE: Have the fishmonger steam the crabs for you.

Joachim Splichal What Frank Gehry is to architecture, Splichal is to food. He is the master chef who helped transform the culinary landscape of Southern California, and whose talents took wing nationwide. So it’s fitting that his flagship Los Angeles restaurant, Patina, is housed in Gehry’s Disney Hall. For much of his early life, Christmas was just another hard day at work, he says. Born in Germany, he started toiling in hotel kitchens at age 18, in Canada, Morocco, Israel, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. He then trained at La Bonne Auberge, a Michelin-starred restaurant on the French Riviera. At 23, he started winning awards for his work at The Hotel Negresco’s Le Chantecler restaurant in Nice, where he was named France’s “Youngest and Most Creative Chef.”

He’s been accruing awards ever since, both local and international. Splichal arrived in California in 1981 and held executive chef jobs until opening his first Patina Restaurant in 1989, and then a series of Pinots — bistros and cafés in museums and cultural centers along the coast. He lives in San Marino with his 18-year-old twin sons, Nicolas and Stefane. Splichal says he named his award-winning L.A. steakhouse, Nick + Stef ’s, for them.

With 60 restaurants to oversee, can you take time off for the holidays?

For many, many years, I had to work on all the holidays. Now I take it a little bit easier. I take holidays off and celebrate with my kids and have an incredibly great time.

Do you travel or stay at home?

Traditionally we stay in town during Christmas and New Year’s, and we get together with a couple of friends and cook together an incredible meal.

What, for you, would be a traditional Christmas dinner?

I’m German, and we have our particular delicacies for the holidays. If I would cook at home for Christmas, we have a dish we do in the south of Germany, where I’m from. It’s rack of venison roasted in the oven with juniper berries and pepper, and we serve it with spaetzle. Those are little noodles that are a specialty of where I’m from. And I would serve it with roasted Brussels sprouts, Jerusalem artichokes, celery-root mousse and winter carrots.

–continued on page 38 12.14 ARROYO | 37

Sounds delicious. But you say you would cook that if you were at home, meaning that you don’t cook at home for Christmas?

No. We go to our friends, and the lady of the house cooks.

When did that start?

About 10 years ago. We have a very strong friendship with our neighbors, the Schaefer family. They have three boys, I have two boys and they all grew up together. So we do it at the Schaefers’ house. Lilia is an amazing chef, absolutely amazing. For Christmas, she always does a big turkey with all the different trimmings and roasted vegetables.

So you don’t have to do any cooking?

(He laughs.) That’s why I love to go there.

Isn’t it traumatic for her to cook for such a world-famous chef?

The first time they invited us she was freaking out, asking, “What should I do? What should I do?” But then her food was so very, very good. I loved it. And she’s been cooking for me for 10 years now, and it’s always incredible. I love to go there.

So the chef takes a holiday at Christmas?

You got that right.

Sean Lowenthal

Joachim’s Gingerbread Cookies MAKES 20 TO 25 COOKIES INGREDIENTS 1½ cups all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda 1/8 teaspoon salt ½ tablespoon ground ginger ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 3 tablespoons unsalted butter ¼ cup dark brown sugar ½ large egg ¼ cup molasses 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional) METHOD 1. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves until well blended.

3. In a large bowl (a KitchenAid mixer is great for this), beat butter, brown sugar and egg on medium speed until well blended.

4. Add molasses, vanilla and lemon zest, and continue to mix until well blended.

5. Gradually stir in dry ingredients

until blended and smooth.

6. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic; let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. (Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but in that case, return to room temp before using.)

7. Reheat oven to 375°. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

8. Place 1 portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle flour over dough and rolling pin.

9. Roll dough to a scant quarter-inch thick. Use additional flour to avoid sticking.

10. Cut out cookies with desired cutter.

(The gingerbread man is our favorite, of course.)

11. Space cookies 1½ inches apart.

12. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 7 to 10 minutes. (The lower time will give you softer cookies — very good!)

13. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let cookies stand until they are firm enough to move to a wire rack.

14. After cookies are cool you may decorate them any way you like. I usually brush them with a powdered sugar glaze when I am in a hurry, but they look wonderful decorated with royal icing.

Sean Lowenthal, 37, has won enthusiastic reviews since he opened The Little Beast restaurant in a 1911 Craftsman bungalow in Eagle Rock about 18 months ago. Both the setting and menu are classic and simple. “We serve progressive American comfort food — seasonal modern cuisine that’s fresh, vibrant and delicious,” Lowenthal says. But opening an eatery is a risky business, and only the most dedicated and fearless will survive, he notes. Born in Atlanta, he earned his degree in culinary arts at The Art Institute of Colorado. Then came the mandatory years of what he calls “blood, sweat and tears” while he gained experience and sophistication in a series of other restaurateurs’ kitchens.

On his way up, he was chef at the Greenbriar Inn in Boulder, Colorado, and then spent two years as sous-chef at the Chateau Marmont in L.A. Until he opened his own place, he says, he rarely got to spend Christmas at home. He and his wife, Deborah, live in Eagle Rock with their 11-year-old son, Miles, lovingly nicknamed Little Beast. The restaurant was named for him.

What are some holiday traditions at your home?

For the last 15 years I’ve had to work every holiday. That’s the life of a chef. At the Chateau Marmont and the Greenbriar, for example, they’re open on Christmas and I had to work.

In the restaurant business you work when other people do not, and that tends to be holidays, weekends and nights. Hotel restaurants, especially, have to be open all the time. At the Marmont I didn’t work one Christmas because it fell on my day off. That was a treat.

So when you opened your own place, it was a relief for you? You can take the holiday off?

(He laughs.) Yeah, exactly. The Little Beast is not open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. And you’ve built no family traditions for that time of year because you’ve been working?

I have things I do that are special and will do when I have the holiday off. I want to spend it with family, make something semi-traditional and seasonal. I love to make turkey, and each time I try to make it better than I ever have before — and a really great sauce to go with it.

I also like to do more nontraditional sides, like Brussels sprouts, maybe farro salad, maybe a green-bean salad instead of green-bean casserole. Or I might do butternut squash gratin instead of mashed potatoes. I think the sides should be more exciting than the turkey. Even if you make a really killer turkey, the sides are going to blow it out of the water. If I don’t do turkey, I like to do roasted rack of lamb or a whole roasted filet mignon.

Do your wife and son leave the work to you, since you’re the expert?

No, we like to do it together. It’s fun. My son likes to help with the prep work and to be part of the whole process of cooking. He doesn’t want to be a chef. He wants to be a hockey player.

–continued on page 41

38 | ARROYO | 12.14

12.14 ARROYO | 39

taste

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

select flavors from our area's best restaurants

PORTA VIA

nephew tried the Italian sub, which

1 W. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105 626-793-9000 • www.portaviafoods.com

high-end cured meats, and Porta Via’s

he rated “pretty strong” with its mix of heralded potato salad, accented by fennel pollen. The bread on both sand-

The elevator pitch to describe Porta Via might be to call it

wiches was perfect, fresh and tasty.

an East Coast deli, only spacious with California style. Best

To gauge their dinner entrees, we

part: this friendly spot is as capable of preparing your fam-

sampled Porta Via’s signature Italian

ily’s dinner as it is your yummy lunch.

Sausage Lasagne, which Ciulla—who

Opened seven and a half years ago on California Blvd.

previously ran such popular Pasadena

near Fair Oaks by veteran restauranteur Victor Ciulla and

eateries as Twin Palms and DeLacey’s

his partner, John Weithas, Porta Via is informed by the

Club 41—notes is spiced with Arrabiata

delicatessens John experienced growing up in Rumson, NJ,

sauce. The result: hearty and flavorful.

and the cooking of Vic’s Sicilian grandmother, who lived

Ciulla’s grandparents came from

across the street from his boyhood home in Pasadena. Two years ago, they

the same Sicilian town where the cannoli was born, so while too full for dessert,

opened a second location in San Marino.

we took home a couple to try later. Glad we did; sweet yet light, they hit the

The menu includes the standard fare one expects from an authentic deli—a wide variety of sandwiches and Panini, side dishes and various salads—but

spot.

Cuisine: Ample variety of sandwiches and Panini (including daily specials

Porta Via stays open until 7 pm, way past lunch, to accommodate a tasty take-

on weekdays), salads and Antipasti. Wide variety of pastas and Italian favor-

home menu of pastas, poultry, seafood and meats, including leg of lamb and

ites, plus meat and fish entrees. Desserts; wine and beer.

filet mignon.

I was pleased with Friday’s special sandwich, the crab salad with shrimp on a toasted brioche and my fresh side of farro with cranberry and arugula. My

40 | ARROYO | 12.14

Vibe: A New York deli that says “Welcome to California,” more spacious and welcoming than the East Coast and Chicago spots that inspired Porta Via’s concept. The shaded outdoor seating is particularly inviting.

– Geoff Mayfield

–continued from page 38

How do make your “killer turkey” that’s really moist?

I debone the turkey. Then I make a make a stock with the carcass, and I brine the rest of it.

I take it out of brine and dry it off, and then I pan-roast it on the skin side until it’s crispy.

Then I throw it in the oven on the skin side for about 45 minutes. It comes out fantastic.

What about dessert?

When I do dessert for a meal like this I try to keep it super simple and more traditional. I usually do an apple pie and another kind of fruit that I wrap in puff pastry and bake in the oven. It’s like a pie, but it’s not a pie crust. More like a strudel. Along with it a whipped cream, ice cream and a dessert sauce.

Is the new restaurant doing well enough so you can relax and take some signific ant time off this year?

We are pleasantly surprised with how well it’s doing. But it’s always frightening opening a restaurant. It’s labor-intensive and capital-heavy, and the possibility of failing is really great. It’s a very competitive business. But we feel really happy, and yes, we’re taking eight days off and renting a house in Breckinridge, Colorado, in the mountains. And we’re going to have Christmas dinner in the house. After working every holiday for so many years, this is something I’m really looking forward to.

Why Colorado, and what’s the plan?

It’s where I went to college and where I started my career. I lived there 13 years. My family is all spread out, some there, some in Georgia, Florida, Idaho. A whole group of us are going to get together at this rented house. My mom will meet us there. My wife’s mom and dad will be there, along with my cousin and his wife and kids and some uncles. Just a whole great group. We’re going to cook together, do the turkey and some great sides and desserts. It will be a blast.

Sean’s Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Brown Butter, Toasted Pistachios and Lemon Zest SERVES FOUR INGREDIENTS 1 pound Brussels sprouts 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted 1 tablespoon shallot, minced 1 garlic clove, minced ¼ cup pistachios, toasted and coarsely ground Zest from 2 lemons, blanched and shocked Salt and pepper, to taste METHOD 1. Remove the outer leaves from each Brussels sprout and discard any that are blemished. Continue to separate the Brussels sprout leaves, using a small, sharp knife to cut away the core. It’s easiest to cut them in half,

cut out the core and then peel away the leaves.

2. Once the leaves are ready, heat a large sauté pan on medium to high heat, and add 1 tablespoon of butter.

Add the garlic and shallot and slightly brown them.

3. Once the milk solids of the butter start to brown, add the Brussels sprout leaves and cook, stirring often. Try not to overcrowd the pan — this causes them to steam, not caramelize. You might need to cook in separate batches.

4. While stirring the Brussels sprout leaves over medium to high heat, they will begin to brown slightly. Now season with salt and pepper and taste. Add the toasted pistachio and lemon zest, toss and serve family-style as a side dish for the holiday feast.

12.14 ARROYO | 41

taste

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

select flavors from our area's best restaurants

BISTRO DE LA GARE

night we visited, Morin suggested two of that

921 Meridian Avenue, Unit A • South Pasadena 626-799-8828 • bistrodelagare.com

ing: a crispy pig’s ear salad made with fresh

Seafood linguini in a French restaurant? That might surprise you on some menus, but at the warm and cozy Bistro

night’s special opening courses, both amazmixed greens and croustillant de volaille, the latter boneless chicken wings, prepared with curry, tarragon and eggplant.

In a less competent kitchen, a seafood

de la Gare, Chef Bruno Morin’s Linguini aux Fruits de Mar

linguini feels heavy, but here, the chunks of

makes all the sense in the world.

lobster tail mingle with shrimp, calamari, sea

A second-generation chef from the Burgundy region of

scallops, mussels and porcini mushrooms in

France, Morin started learning his trade early, at age 18, in

a pasta that can simply be described as de-

Paris at La Tour Montparnasse and later Le Pré Catelan. He

lightful. My wife was thrilled with her Dos de

moved to Los Angeles where he honed his skills under the

Saumon Rôti à l’Unilatéral: roasted salmon,

tutelage of Antonio Tomasi, the Italian chef who presided over such favorites as Ca’ Brea and Ca Del Sole.

After opening a restaurant in Chicago and working in New York, the opportunity to take over Bistro de la Gare a year and a half ago prompted Morin’s return to California weather. Based on reviews in Yelp, Open Table, Trip Advisor

seasoned just right and served in arugula pesto sauce with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes.

For dessert, we shared a Belgium chocolate mousse, a delicious but airy concoction that perfectly ended our feast.

Cuisine: Top notch French cuisine, with a variety of seafood and fi sh options,

and Urbanspoon, diners are pleased with changes that transpired under his

plus chicken, lamb steak and pasta. An ample selection of daily specials—ap-

management.

petizers, entrees and desserts—available each day.

The chef shops each day for fresh, local ingredients, often at Farmers’

Vibe: Warm and cozy atmosphere. Charming outdoor seating available

Markets. Consequently, the number of appetizer, entree and dessert specials

during warm times of year. You won’t mind sitting close to the next table as

offered daily might outnumber options available on the regular menu. On the

you’ll be curious what your neighbors are ordering.

42 | ARROYO | 12.14

– Geoff Mayfield

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

Spice Girl Gift holiday hostesses with one of these exotic spice blends you create yourself.

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK

Long before the pumpkin spice latte became a thing, fall and winter have been culinarily associated with a handful of specific spices.

Peppermint is taking center stage, along with the blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove commonly known as “pumpkin pie spice.” At this time of year it seems they are appearing in everything edible that is for sale. It’s nice for a week or two in early November. But by mid-January I am personally done with these spicy scents that are, at least in America, associated with the holiday season. These spices naturally lend themselves well to the fruits and vegetables that are traditionally ripe at this time of year. The aforementioned pumpkin (and its winter squash relatives), apples, pears, cranberries, persimmons, pomegranates and sweet potatoes are sure-fire material for these spice accompaniments.

But there are other uses too, and on the off chance that you were looking for something new to do with your holiday spices, or would like to utilize them in June, a closer historical look at your spice rack is in order.

Let’s start with peppermints, the quintessential holiday flavor, but rarely seen outside of the candy cane. When fresh mint is used, it is most commonly spearmint, whose thick, wrinkly leaves are usually crammed mindlessly on top of a dessert as an afterthought by uncreative types. (Yeah, I have mint issues.) I am not a fan of the spearmint flavor, which is, to me, reminiscent of toothpaste. The thin, smooth, darker-leafed peppermint is my mint of choice. It’s a little harder to find fresh, unless you are a gardener. But even my black thumb can’t seem to kill the peppermint taking over my yard.

Although used as a sweet herb in the West, mint has long been associated with savory foods in the East. Beans, grains and meats all get the minty treatment in the Middle East, in dishes such as tabouleh, lamb, yogurt and baharat spice blend. Asian curries, spring rolls and soups also utilize mint, which offers a nice cooling effect when paired with highly spiced foods. I cannot abide store-bought mint jelly (I will refer you to the earlier toothpaste comment), but I love lamb that has been marinating in fresh peppermint, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. It’s also great in a simple salad with peppery arugula.

Cinnamon is actually the bark from two members of the laurel family—cinnamon and cassia. When the trees are wet from seasonal rain, the inner bark is carefully stripped by skilled workers in South Asia whose tools and techniques have been passed down for many generations. Both barks are similar in flavor and aroma and are blended together in most pre-ground cinnamons. But tasted side by side they are remarkably different. Cassia

is the thicker, harder stick that is difficult to grind and fairly mild in taste. True cinnamon is thin and crumbles easily in your hand. I prefer the softer version, not only because it is easy to grind (I just crush it and grind it in my coffee mill), but because it has a slight heat, like Red Hots candy.

Cinnamon is not my favorite, probably because my students have historically overused it in their adorable attempts to be creative. Also, when too much cinnamon is added to a recipe, it takes on a slimy texture, which is never appetizing. I do, however, find it indispensable when cooking North African–style dishes. Paired with cumin, it creates an exotic and flavorful aroma that makes me want to play it again, Sam. Nutmeg is the fragrant pit found inside a fruit that looks a little like a fig or a pear.

First found in Indonesia by the Portuguese in the 1500s, the Dutch soon opened a can of whoop-ass and monopolized the nutmeg trade, displacing the natives and staffing the plantations with indentured slaves and convicts.

The nutmeg pit is covered in a lacy layer of mace, which is sold as a separate spice. Mace has a flavor that is similar to, but stronger than, nutmeg. Under the mace is a hard shell, inside of which is the nutmeg. The center is soft when fresh, but dries rock hard, and is either grated or ground for use. It is commonly used today as a sweet spice but has historically been used in many savory applications, especially in French cuisine, where it adds a touch of sophistication to vegetables, starches, grains, eggs, custards and cheese dishes. When I was in culinary school, my chef always carried a nutmeg and tiny grater in his pocket, prepared at a moment’s notice to correct our seasoning. (When we learned that the nutmeg has hallucinogenic properties, we immediately spread nefarious rumors about him.) Nutmeg is my spice of choice, and I always add a hefty pinch to my mashed potatoes.

Ginger is commonly referred to as ginger root, but it is actually a rootlike subterranean stem known as a rhizome (she said, snorting and pushing up her glasses). If left alone, it will produce beautifully tall, broad-leafed stems and purple flowers. In cooking, ginger is used in many forms. It is grated or sliced fresh, dried and powdered, pickled and candied. It plays a central role in Asian cuisine, both as a central element, and as part of more complex spice blends. Once it was introduced to Europe, it became an essential element of medieval cookery. My favorite use, besides in spice cake, is to jazz up boring glazed carrots.

–continued on page 44 12.14 | ARROYO | 43

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

Ras el Hanout The name of this North African spice mix means “top of the shop.”There is no specific recipe, as it is created by each spice merchant, and represents his best blend.This is my best blend.

INGREDIENTS ¼ cup cardamom seeds ¼ cup allspice beans ¼ cup cumin seeds ¼ cup coriander seeds 3 tablespoons dried chili pod 3 tablespoons black peppercorns 2 tablespoons whole cloves 2 tablespoons grated nutmeg 2 tablespoons dried rosebuds 2 tablespoons dried ginger 3 crushed cinnamon sticks METHOD

Toast each whole spice one by one in a hot, dry skillet until fragrant. It will take only about 30 to 60 seconds each. Keep them moving and be careful not to burn them.

Once toasted, combine them in a coffee grinder with the nutmeg, rose buds, ginger and crushed cinnamon sticks. Pulverize into a powder, cool and then store airtight, or pack in a decorative jar for giving.

Jerk Use this traditional Jamaican blend to marinate turkey, chicken, fish, pork or, as they do in Jamaica, goat.

–continued from page 43

Clove is the flower bud from an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia’s Maluku Islands (a.k.a. the Spice Islands). It is a potent nugget of volatile oil that was historically chewed as a natural anesthetic against toothaches. The popularity of clove sparked a spice race of epic proportion, and made the Maluku Islands a hot commodity, jostled among the Portuguese, Spanish, British and Dutch throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. While we use it mainly in sweet applications, the clove is a staple ingredient of curries, pickles, sausages and savory spice blends, like Chinese five-spice powder. In classic French cookery it is a crucial element of béchamel sauce, blending perfectly with onion and bay to create an essence that, unless you are in the know, you can’t quite put your finger on.

The clove has been burned as incense, smoked in cigarettes and jabbed into citrus fruit for pomander balls for centuries. Pomander balls are worthy of an entire essay, which I will probably subject you to sooner or later. Suffice to say the name comes from the French pomme d’ambre, a reference to the original pomander balls that were made from musk excreted by a variety of wildlife, and ambergris, that exotic, medieval incense that is essentially whale poop. Thankfully, modern pomander balls are made by studding citrus fruits with whole cloves. It has been an aromatic part of my family’s holiday traditions for years. I find it a useful distraction when the house is filled with bored relatives. A bowl of cloves and a plate full of oranges are a sure-fire way to avoid hearing that same old story.

Then you can strategically place these delightfully aromatic balls around the house, with an emphasis on the bathroom.

To harness the untapped spicy potential in your own holiday home, consider whipping up one of these blends to spice up your holiday cooking, or to give as a hostess gift. Trust me, it will be a welcome change of pace from the usual bottle of wine. ||||

INGREDIENTS ½ cup allspice beans 3 tablespoons coriander seeds 2 cinnamon sticks ½ cup dried thyme ½ cup fresh grated ginger ½ cup minced yellow onion ½ cup minced garlic ½ cup brown sugar 3 tablespoons ground nutmeg 3 tablespoons ground cloves 3 tablespoons kosher salt 2 or 3 Scotch bonnet peppers ½ cup vegetable oil ½ cup rum METHOD Toast the allspice and coriander in a hot, dry skillet, then pulverize them, along with the cinnamon sticks, in a coffee grinder. Combine them in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Use immediately to marinate meats (2 to 3 hours at least), or store refrigerated. This makes a great gift, but be sure to include instructions to keep refrigerated, or else the onions will begin to ferment.

Char Masala This toasted blend is commonly used in Indian and African rice dishes.

INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons cumin seeds 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds 1 teaspoon whole cloves 1 crushed cinnamon stick 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg METHOD Toast the cumin, cardamom and cloves in a hot, dry skillet, then pulverize them, along with the cinnamon sticks, in a coffee grinder. Combine them in a bowl with the nutmeg, and store airtight at room temperature.

Leslie Bilderback, a certified master baker, chef and author of Mug Cakes: 100 Speedy Microwave Treats to Satisfy your Sweet Tooth (St. Martin’s Press), lives in South Pasadena

and teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.

44 | ARROYO | 12.14

To make char masala rice, sauté one-half chopped yellow onion and a tablespoon of this blend in a tablespoon of ghee or vegetable oil. Add 1 cup of jasmine rice and toast it all together for 1 to 2 minutes, until browned.Then add 2 cups of water and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

12.14 | ARROYO | 45

A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

THE LIST

Christmas Carol at A Noise Within

Children’s Chorus Highlights American Composers

Dec. 5 through 23 — The theater company reprises A Christmas

Dec. 7 and 14 —

Carol, Charles Dickens’ beloved tale of

The Los Angeles Children’s Chorus

greed, redemption and forgiveness pitting

celebrates American music in a pair of

Ebenezer Scrooge against the Christmas

winter concerts at Pasadena Presbyte-

spirit of generosity and compassion.The

rian Church. The program includes works

show opens at 8 p.m. today and continues

by David Montoya, Nick Strimple, Wayne

through Dec. 23.Ticket prices start at $48.

Bisbee, Abbie Betinis, David Brunner,

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill

Charles Ives, Terry Riley, John Adams,

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-3100 or visit

Philip Glass, John Jacob Niles and Wil-

anoisewithin.org.

liam Billings. Performances start at 7 p.m.

Seasonal Session of Jazz in Altadena Dec. 5 — The Altadena Library hosts a seasonal session of jazz with a free 7 p.m. concert and sing-along performed by Jazz Zone, a SoCal musicians’ collective. Roscoe Lee Owens is music director and emcee.

TWILIGHT ZONE WITH TWIST, UPDATED SLEEPING BEAUTY AT PLAYHOUSE

both nights. Tickets cost $26 to $44, halfprice for students 17 and younger.

Pasadena Presbyterian Church is located at 585 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 793-4231 or visit lachildrenschorus.org.

Master Chorale Sings Messiah and More

The Altadena Library is located at 600 E.

Dec. 4 through 21 — The innovative Impro Theatre Company presents Twilight Zone

Mariposa St., Altadena. Call (626) 798-0833

Unscripted: Special Holiday Edition at The Pasadena Playhouse’s Carrie Hamilton Theatre.

or visit altadenalibrary.org. For Jazz Zone

The company salutes Rod Serling’s science-fiction series by soliciting audience sugges-

Sing-Along,” conducted by Grant Ger-

info, visit jazzzonenetwork.net.

tions and combining them with holiday themes to create four improvised “episodes” at

shon, features soloists soprano Holly

each performance. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays

Sedillos, mezzo soprano Janelle DeStefano,

“Wonders of Winter” Songfest

and 2 p.m. Sundays (no performance Dec. 11). Tickets cost $30, $20 for students.

tenor Benjamin Cortez and bass David

Dec. 10 through Jan. 4 — Lythgoe Family Productions brings panto to The Pasadena

Castillo. It starts at 7 p.m. and tickets

Dec. 6 — The Towne

Playhouse with Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight, an updated, musical version of

cost $29 to $99.

Singers celebrate the

the beloved Grimm fairy tale with a comedic twist, directed by Bonnie Lythgoe, ex-wife

Dec. 13 — “Festival of Carols” features

season at 5 p.m. with

of American Idol mogul Nigel Lythgoe, and written by their son Kris Lythgoe. Starring

new arrangements of Christmas classics

“The Wonders of Winter” concert, a mix of

Olivia Holt, Lucy Lawless, David Engel,Tamyra Gray and Ben Giroux, it features dancing,

such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

traditional and contemporary music, at

magic, audience interaction and contemporary music by Pharrell Williams, John Leg-

and “Silent Night” at 2 p.m. Tickets cost

First United Methodist Church of Pasadena.

end, Jessie J, Survivor and others. Performances begin today at 7:30 p.m. and continue

$29 to $119, $22 to $74 for children ages

The concert includes a visit from Santa.

at 7:30 p.m.Tuesdays through Fridays; noon, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; and noon and

6 to 12.

Advance tickets cost $20, $10 for children

4 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 4. Special additional shows include 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29

Dec. 14 — “Rejoice! A Cappella

3 to 10; tickets at the door cost $25, $12 for

and matinees at 4 p.m. Dec. 24, 26 and 30. A family-oriented “winter wonderland” with

Christmas” includes works by Tomas

children.

carolers, crafts, games, Santa and photo opportunities precedes every performance in

De Vittoria, Morten Lauridsen, Matthew

The First United Methodist Church of

the courtyard.Tickets cost $34 to $125. Children’s tickets for the rear orchestra and rear

Brown, Franz Biebl, Jan Sanderstrom,

Pasadena is located at 500 E. Colorado

mezzanine cost $24 to $64.

Shawn Kirchner, Biovani Gabrieli, Francis

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (818) 275-4117 or visit

The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Call (323) 401-

Poulenc, Ariel Quintana and Hyun Chul

townesingers.org.

6162 or visit improtheatre.com.

Lee at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $29 to $129.

Dec. 7 — The 34th annual “Messiah

Dec. 17 — The concert version of Han-

Foothill Unity Center Hosts Holiday Party

(cash or check), an unwrapped gift for a

ing showcasing the 116-year-old building’s

the chorus and four soloists --- soprano

child of any age and a beverage to share.

grandeur from 1 to 5 p.m.The former hotel,

Christina Bristow, mezzo soprano Nike St.

Dec. 6 — Foothill Unity

The Lodge is located at 33 E. Sierra Madre

decked out in Victorian-era décor, offers

Claire, tenor Arnold Geis and baritone

Center, which provides

Blvd., Sierra Madre. Call (626) 358-3486 or

seasonal music, entertainment and food

Chung Uk Lee --- accompanied by an

visit foothillunitycenter.org.

and a visit from Santa. Guests can take self-

orchestra. Performances start at 7:30

guided tours of 25 of the building’s private

p.m. today, repeating at 7 p.m. Dec. 21.

apartments normally not open to the public.

Tickets cost $29 to $129.

party from 5 to 9 p.m. at The Lodge in Sierra

Open House at the Castle

Tickets cost $30 in advance, $35 at the door.

Walt Disney Concert Hall is located

Madre.The evening includes live music,

Dec. 7 — The Castle

The Castle Green is located at 99 S. Ray-

at 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Call

food and a silent auction. Guests are

Green opens its doors

mond Ave., Pasadena.Visit castlegreen.

(213) 972-7282 or visit lamc.org.

asked to bring a donation of any amount

for a holiday gather-

com/tour for tickets.

food, case management and crisis help

del’s Messiah spotlights 48 members of

for low-income and homeless residents of the San Gabriel Valley, hosts a holiday

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THE LIST –continued from page 46

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES HARPSICHORD Dec. 11 — The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra launches its five-part Baroque Conversations series with a concert highlighting the beauty of the harpsichord in a 7 p.m. concert at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall in downtown L.A. Four harpsichordists join the orchestra and Music Director Jeffrey Kahane in a performance of works

by Bach and Alvinoni, plus Vivaldi’s Concerto in A Minor for Four Harpsichords and Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 8, known as “Christmas Concerto.” A preconcert reception begins at 6 p.m. Ticket prices start at $56. The concert repeats at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Valley Performing Arts Center.

Zipper Hall is located at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Call (213) 622-7001 or visit laco.org.

An Irish Christmas at Caltech

See Scrooge at Parson’s Nose

Dec. 13 — Traditional

Dec. 20 and 21 —

Irish performing

Parson’s Nose, a

ensemble Danú

nonprofit theater

presents “A Christmas Gathering:

company producing classical theater in

Féile na Nollag” at 8 p.m. in Caltech’s

condensed adaptations of works by past

Beckman Auditorium. Danú’s high-

masters, presents its Readers’ Theater Series

energy performances are driven by

production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

fiddle, flutes, button accordion, per-

The timeless story of greed and redemption

cussion, vocalists and dancers. The

centered on the penny-pinching Ebenezer

program includes new and ancient

Scrooge and his struggling employee Bob

Irish music. Tickets cost $10 to $32.

Cratchit comes to life at Lineage Performing

Beckman Auditorium is located on

Arts Center in Pasadena. Showtimes are

Michigan Avenue south of Del Mar

7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.Tickets

Boulevard, Pasadena. Call (626) 395-

are a “pay what you will” price of $5 to $25.

4652 or visit events.caltech.edu.

Lineage Performing Arts Center is located at 89 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 403-7667 or visit parsonsnose.com.

–continued on page 50 12.14 | ARROYO | 49

THE LIST

–continued from page 49

Break Bread with St. Nick at Descanso

Seco St., Pasadena. Brookside Pavilion is

Dec. 20 and 21 —

Dec. 27 through 31 — Float-building at

Descanso Gardens

the Rose Palace can be viewed from

located at Lot I, south side of Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr., Pasadena.

celebrates the holidays with breakfast

noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

with Santa and other activities for kids.

Sunday through Tuesday and 9 a.m. to

The breakfast, catered by the Patina

1 p.m. Wednesday.

Group, features an unlimited mimosa

The Rose Palace is located at 835 S.

bar for $35. Brunch prices are $50 ($41

Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Call Sharp

for members), $29 for children 12 and

Seating at (626) 795-4171 or visit sharp-

younger ($20 for member children).

seating.com.

Seatings are at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.

deadline is Dec. 16.

Equestfest Shows Rose Parade Horse Highlights

Descanso Gardens is located at 1418

Dec. 29 — Equest-

both days. Reservations are required at patinagroup.com/descanso and the

Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Call

fest, a family-friendly

(818) 949-4200 or visit descansogardens.

showcase of horses and riders, offers a

org for information about Descanso.

preview of the equestrian units in this year’s Rose Parade performing drills

Free Holiday Gala at Chandler Pavilion

and dances, trick riding and roping

Dec. 24 — The 55

riders and learn about riding equip-

annual L.A. County

ment and breeds of horses. Live music

th

at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

Guests can tour the stables, meet the

Holiday Celebration returns to the Dorothy

is included, and food and drink is avail-

Chandler Pavilion with free performances

able for purchase. Gates open at 10:30

by music ensembles, choirs and dance

a.m. Tickets cost $15, free for children

companies representing the area’s

5 and younger; box seating and a gift

diverse neighborhoods and cultures.

bag cost $35. Tickets are available at

Entertainment starts at noon on the Music

the venue and through Sharp Seating.

Center Plaza; at 2:30 p.m., theater doors

The Los Angeles Equestrian Center is

open and the event continues inside until

located at 480 Riverside Dr., Burbank.

6 p.m. A live broadcast on PBS SoCal and

Call Sharp Seating at (626) 795-4171 or

pbssocal.org runs from 3 to 6 p.m.

visit sharpseating.com.

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A. Call (213) 9723099 or visit holidaycelebration.org.

50 | ARROYO | 12.14

Preview of Parade’s Marching Bands Dec. 29 and 30 —

Rose Parade Float Decoration Viewing

at the marching bands scheduled to

Before they strut down

perform in the New Year’s Rose Parade

Colorado Boulevard

during Bandfest at Pasadena City Col-

Get an early look

on New Year’s Day, see the floats as

lege. Bandfest I runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Mon-

they’re being decorated. Tickets cost $10,

day. Bandfest II runs from 9 a.m. to noon

available at the door or through Sharp

Tuesday and Bandfest III runs from 2 to

Seating; free for children 5 and younger.

4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets to each session

Dec. 27 through 30 — View the decorat-

cost $15, free for children 5 and younger,

ing process at Rosemont Pavilion and

and are available through Sharp Seating.

Brookside Pavilion from noon to 5 p.m.

Pasadena City College is located at

Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and

1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call

Monday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Sharp Seating at (626) 795-4171 or

Rosemont Pavilion is located at 700

visit sharpseating.com.

PROVIDENCE

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