I’m sure I’m the last person to find this site, but I’m so entranced by the pictures. It almost makes me want to learn how to cut things properly…
http://www.hertzmann.com/articles/2005/fables
(Scroll to the bottom and click on the left images if you’re left handed and the right ones if you’re right handed.)
My friend K’s mother was in town for a few weeks and we thought it would be great to take her up to my mom’s place on Whidbey. It turned out to be a relaxing and fun mother-daughter weekend.
When we arrived in the early afternoon, the weather was trying it’s hardest to be nice, so we felt obliged to sit on the deck with drinks and a cheese plate. It was before noon and I felt a little weird drinking that early, but K’s mom opened a bottle of red and started pouring. The funny thing is that she was still on East-coast time and thought it was more like three in the afternoon.
Once the weather turned too cold to be outside, we headed into Coupeville to check out some antique stores and have a proper lunch at Toby’s. We had an order of the Penn Cove mussels, which were extra delicious that day and almost sweet. My mom and I split a crispy halibut burger and a pepper-jack hamburger. They are just regular burgers and there isn’t anything fancy about them, so I have a hard time explaining exactly why they are so amazing and delicious.
Later that evening it was still cold out, but the wind had died down and I was determined to be outside. K helped me build a fire in my mom’s fire pit and we opened some more bottles of wine and prosecco. It was really pleasant being out in the garden, watching the sun set through the trees and listening to the whir of the hummingbirds. K put some rosemary on the fire, so the smell of the fire was incredible. The wind picked up a bit and created a funnel through the fire, which brought the ashes up into the sky and it felt like it was snowing. It was one of those times when I just stopped thinking and had to breathe in how perfect everything can be in a single moment.
When it was too dark to see, we went inside and cooked a beautiful dinner of dry-brined salmon grilled with lovage from the garden. We also had asparagus, a fresh green salad with pear dressing and soft baked polenta with gruyere. It was a perfect end to a wonderful day on Whidbey.
A while back, Culinary Fool asked me if I’d be interested in joining her cooking club. I’ve never belonged to a cooking group but the idea has always appealed to me, so I was excited about the opportunity.
The chosen theme was New Orleans and I was in charge of dessert. I had been dying for an excuse to make the bread pudding that my uncle made at Thanksgiving. The sauce has bourbon in it, so I figured that gave it some New Orleans flair.
The night started off with Ramos Gin Fizzes and Crawfish Profiteroles with Citrus Butter Sauce. The drink was very unusual, but also very good. It was frothy and thick, like whipped milk, but also light at the same time. The profiteroles were perfect—I hate it when profiteroles get stale and chewy, but these were tender and delicate. The crawfish filling and citrus sauce were pungent and wonderful.
Our first course was a “New Orleans-style Italian Salad”. It was an unusual salad with lots of crazy pickled ingredients, but it was good and oddly refreshing. The main course was Pan-Sautéed Catfish with Cajun Crawfish Butter and it blew me away. The catfish was perfectly cooked with a light, yet crisp crust and the crawfish butter was to die for. I could have eaten it like a soup, except that it was ridiculously rich. The accompanying side dishes were Dirty Rice and Maquechoux, which was a really great corn salad.
By the time we finished dinner, I was so full that I didn’t think I could eat anymore… but bread pudding called. I had made the bread puddings ahead of time in individual ramekins, so all I had to do was warm them in the oven and prepare the bourbon sauce. I really liked the puddings, but I think I added a bit too much bourbon—or I didn’t let the alcohol cook off enough.
It was a great evening and all the cooking club members were hilarious. They had some great stories and I can’t recall laughing that hard in recent memory. And I can’t wait for the next cooking club, which is going to be Greek themed!
I attended my friend’s opening at the Traver Gallery tonight. The work was incredibly beautiful and the gallery was packed. Afterwards we went to Typhoon to celebrate. Typhoon is located in the old Wild Ginger building and, in my opinion, is about a million times better than the current Wild Ginger.
Typhoon always has great bartenders, so we asked for drink recommendations. I had my first Caipirinha and it was delicious—really light and flavored with lime, Cachaça 51, and just a touch of sugar. B had a Caipiroska, which is essentially the same drink but made with vodka instead of rum. These might turn out to be my new favorites for the summer.
There were four of us eating and we ordered plates to share:
Drunken Noodles ($11.95) – Wide rice noodles with beef and a really, really spicy sauce. Too spicy even for those who love spice.
Chicken in Green Curry ($11.95) – A light green curry sauce with chicken. A typical preparation, but very good.
Garlic Pork ($10.95) – Tender and slightly crisp bits of pork in a garlicky sauce. I loved this dish.
Five-Spice Crispy Duck ($19.95) – I order this every time I eat at Typhoon. The duck is perfectly spiced, crunchy and fatty. It comes with pillowy steamed buns and plum sauce, which makes the perfect sandwich. It’s expensive, but so so good.
I’ve been hooked on The Sneeze ever since reading Steve’s review of Beggin’ Strips. I’ve been waiting so patiently for another volume of Steve, Don’t Eat it! which is why I should be excited that Volume 7 just came out. Actually, I was excited for the first two seconds before I realized he was eating Huitlacoche. See, I’m planning a tamale party for next weekend and Tamales de Huitlacoche are on the menu.
I debated. Should I read it? If I read it will I have to change the menu? Will Huitlacoche really be that bad? Finally I just had to. Halfway through the post, right about where he shows the side-by-side comparison of the kernels, I lost it. I’m currently looking for a new tamale recipe.
I’m throwing down the gauntlet, Steve. Will you eat balut?
When I first started working on Capitol Hill, I was dismayed by the lack of lunch choices (my last job put me within a block of the Pike Place Market). A coworker suggested I try Honey Hole, but I resisted as long as I could. I just couldn’t get past the name. It was too similar to Honey Bucket. Finally I relented.
I got hooked on the Dirt Burger, which is a great garden-burger type sandwich. I burned out after three years of Dirt Burgers for lunch, so when Honey Hole started serving dinner, I never went. I assumed that it was the same menu as at lunch, but as usual my assumptions were wrong.
Zach said Honey Hole had really good (beef) burgers and that’s what I was craving tonight. They only had a few different items on the dinner menu, but one of them was the Western Sky Burger. I was really impressed that they used Misty Isle Beef. It seemed like an extra special touch for a burger and sandwich joint.
Either I was starving at the time, or the Western Sky Burger was the best burger I’ve ever eaten. Or maybe a little of both. Zach and I got into an argument over whether or not it was better than the blue cheese burger at Septieme. I say hell yes. I will tell you what was in it: bacon, cheddar cheese, deep-fried-crunchy-golden-yummy-yummy onion rings and BBQ sauce. It came with crisp-yet-fluffy, dangerously addictive French fries.
The only (and fairly major) downfall is that when we left, we reeked of smoke and grease. Oh yeah, and they play their music so loud that it’s hard to have a conversation. But it’s worth it for that burger.
Zach wanted to try a new breakfast place today. He’d never been to Macrina before so we headed to the Belltown location for brunch. It was of course PACKED. There were more people crammed into the bakery area waiting for a table than people eating in the dinning room. There was a list of 20+ people ahead of us, but luckily most of them had given up and left, so we got a table in about 20 minutes.
Zach had the French toast, which was thick-cut and fluffy, but I didn’t care for the peach syrup. It tasted funny to me. The pork and apple sausages that came with the French toast were great.
I had a demi baguette with ham and Dijon. The bread was awesome, but I was wishing that they had used nicer ham and saltier mustard. I also had a side order of the applewood smoked bacon, but I fear that I have been spoiled to the point of no return and nothing will ever compare to wild boar bacon.
I have eaten at Macrina before and remember it being great, so I’m not sure if today was an off day or if I’m just getting jaded. I suspect it’s the jaded thing. Although, watching the cute kid at the next table over puke his breakfast all over the floor didn’t help.
For K’s birthday, she wanted to throw an “Asian fusion” dinner party. I’ve lost track of what that actually means, but for this party it meant a Chinese and Japanese potluck. K was looking for a good rib recipe. I told her she had to make my uncle’s amazing Chinese-style ribs and I offered to help cook.
The night before the party I helped her marinate the ribs and make Scallop Dumplings with Garlic Chives and Pork Dumplings. I haven’t made dumplings before so it took me a while to catch on, but by the end of the night, my dumplings were almost pretty. (I found this handy guide after the fact.)
Everyone was asked to bring something that went with the Chinese / Japanese theme and we ended up with a wonderful feast:
B made his signature drink, called a Sneaky Steve. The crowning touch was a single Kasugai Muscat Gummy that was deposited in each drink. By the time you were done with the drink the gummy was extra soft and had soaked up the vodka. Delicious!
For dessert K had requested a fresh fruit and whipped cream cake from Sweet & Fresh Bakery. This is one of my all-time favorite cakes.
I’m throwing a tamale making party in a few weeks, so it was the perfect excuse for an early morning visit to the Pike Place Market for ingredients. I love the market, but I hate crowds, so it’s heaven to be there in the morning when the stalls are just opening and the tourists are still sleeping.
I only had a few things to pick up, so I parked down below on Western where they have free parking. My first stop was El Mercado Latino—a tiny store with narrow isles, but the shelves are packed tight. I took a cursory look around, wanting one of everything. I stuck to my list and got Maseca Masa Harina, corn husks, and an assortment of dried chilies: ancho, pasilla and New Mexico.
My next stop was La Buona Tavola, Truffle Cafe. They have a beautiful array of truffle products including oils, salts, creams and butters. Plus they sell dried pastas, wines, olive oils and real balsamic vinegars. I was there for the Casina Rossa Truffle & Salt. Zach had bought me a dish for Valentine’s day and I love it. I use it on practically everything, so now my friends are addicted to it. I needed a jar for a birthday present, but I really should have purchased a case; everyone I know wants one. While there, I couldn’t resist getting a truffled porchetta sandwich. I wasn’t hungry, as it was only ten in the morning, but I knew I’d be glad later on (I was and so was my kitty, who ate the napkin that some juices spilled on).
Next stop: Don & Joe’s Meats. I heart Don & Joe. But I think I may just have a thing for butchers. I picked up a beautiful beef shoulder roast and pre-ordered a pack of duck legs and duck fat to pick up the next week. I resisted the urge to go into DeLaurenti, but I just had to stop and buy a huge bundle of gorgeous orange tulips. I happily walked back to my car, thinking that I really should do this more often.
