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10/26/2007 Macarons I've been home from my France trip for quite some time but I managed to hold on to one little taste of France all this time! I had purchased a box of macarons in St Emilion in Bordeaux and just finished the last few a couple days ago.
The macarons found in Bordeaux are quite different than those you find in Pars (and we we generally find in French bakeries here in the US). The Bordelaise macarons are small, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and almond flavored. They sort of remind me a a Snickerdoodle but almond flavored instead of cinnamon.
The macarons made in Paris are much fluffier and are always assembled as a sandwich. They run the gamut for colors and flavors and they would never have lasted this long without going bad or at least degrading a bit - at least I don't think they would.
 10/23/2007 Dine Around Seattle Press ReleaseSometimes it's nice to just cut and paste....
NEW WEBSITE FOR DINE AROUND SEATTLE (FORMERLY 25 for $25) PROMOTIONAL DETAILS AVAILABLE FOR CITY'S POPULAR DINING EVENT AT WWW.DINEAROUNDSEATTLE.ORG (Seattle, WA.) Dine Around Seattle (formerly 25 for $25) is pleased to launch their new website, accessible at www.dinearoundseattle.org Visitors to the site will be able to view restaurant menus for the month-long promotion and find detailed, at-a-glance restaurant information including: address, telephone number, payment options and parking availability. In addition, viewers will find a featured recipe from each chef, as well as reviews from the ever-popular Secret Diner, who anonymously dines in each of the restaurants and posts comments following their meal. Now in its sixth year, Seattle's successful, bi-annual dining promotion (March and November) has become so woven into the culinary culture of our area that it is eagerly awaited by locals, as well as visitors, many of whom make their trip to Seattle to coincide with the month-long event. From November 1st through November 29th, Sundays through Thursdays, Dine Around Seattle offers diners a chance to enjoy prix-fixe dinners for $30 and prix-fixe lunches for $15.00 at some of Seattle's most delicious fine-dining establishments. This price will not include beverage, tax or gratuity and menus will not be available on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 22nd. Each restaurant will decide whether they will offer lunch, dinner or both, but all meals will offer 3 courses with choice selection among appetizers, entrées and desserts. FEATURED RESTAURANTS (new additions in bold type): Andaluca, Barolo Ristorante, Barking Frog, BOKA Kitchen + Bar, Brasa, Campagne, Cascadia Restaurant, Earth & Ocean, Etta's, Eva Restaurant, Fish Club, Flying Fish, Market Street, Mixtura, Nell's Restaurant, Nishino, Ponti Seafood Grill, Ray's Boathouse, Restaurant Zoë, Sazerac, Serafina, Six Seven, SZMANIA'S, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, The Third Floor Fish Café, 35th Street Bistro, Tulio, Veil, Wild Ginger, Yarrow Bay Grill and Beach Café 10/21/2007 Cafe Campagne Offers Take Out CassouletI offer this announcement as a public service.... I have many friends who love cassoulet but it does take a time commitment to pull it all together so here's your "easy" answer! From a PR release for Cafe Campagne:
Did you catch the reference to the cassoulet "haute" line. Ha! I've Almost Got it! For the last few years I've been trying to make a cookie that my paternal Grandmother used to make every year during the holidays. It's a very traditional German cookie called springerle. And in fact you'll find it in several European countries in addition to Germany; for instance it's also common in the Scandinavian countries.
I've had varied success over the last few years. The cookie is very interesting because the only liquid comes from 4 eggs, yet about 8 cups of dry ingredients get mixed into the eggs. So it's super important to beat the eggs thoroughly to get them very light and full of air so that all the dry ingredients can be incorporated (something I've learned through trial and error). Since my grandmother passed away over 30 years ago I haven't been able to seek her advice as what the proper techniques are and the recipe instructions are pretty sparse so there have been lots of fits and starts. There are "newer" recipes for this traditional cookie available and I'm sure they are much easier as they incorporate milk and butter but I've really been wanting to master my Grandmother's recipe.
The other challenge with these cookies has been the tools needed. They are a molded cookie and my Grandmother had plaques (or stamps or blocks), pieces of wood cut with traditional designs that were pressed into the dough to create designs on the top of the cookies. I don't know who got her plaques when she died and I have a feeling I'll never be able to track them down which is very disappointing. I had the bright idea when I started this project to see if anyone happened to be selling some on eBay or online. Little did I know that they have become collector's items over the years and the prices are pretty amazing.
So I have resigned myself to buying newer versions - normally replicas of the old wooden blocks - that are made from a composite material or some are faced with aluminum, but most of them do not have as deep of a design as my Grandmother's did. Since the dough is very stiff getting the design firmly and cleanly imprinted has been a bit challenging at times, too.
Well, in preparation for my upcoming baking frenzy I decided to do a test run this weekend, partially motivated by a new mold I bought on Friday. And I am very excited as I think I just about have it mastered!!
Two things I need to try for my next batch: I think the dough should be rolled a little bit thinner and I still need to work on getting better imprints, although I have a new idea that I think will be just the ticket! As I was, uhm, "testing" them this morning I started thinking that these cookies are probably sort of an acquired taste. They are flavored with lemon peel and anise but the texture is crunchy on the outside and dense and chewy on the inside. They are sort of a dry cookie, meant to be consumed with tea or coffee, but in today's world of big, soft, barely-baked cookies I'm not sure people new to them would really understand my dedication to them. Oh well, that just means more for me! Zeke's Drive In There was a time in my life where I stopped by Zeke's on Hwy 2 just outside of Goldbar a couple of times a year on my way back from Stevens Pass or Lake Chelan or other points east. But over the years as the population in the state has increased, and more people moved out to those seemingly distant little towns northeast of Seattle I've come to either avoid Hwy 2 and the associated traffic or, if forced to take it, once on the road we don't stop for fear of not being able to find a break in the traffic to make the left-hand turn required to get back on the highway after a stop at Zeke's.
But last weekend I awoke to what was to become a gorgeous day and decided to do a quick trip to Leavenworth - not so much for the town and Oktoberfest, which was in process, but for the drive over Stevens Pass and the fall color that would be in full display along the highway.
After spending the morning driving, taking photographs and walking around Leavenworth I headed back west, stopping often for more photos of the gorgeous fall color that was evident everywhere. But as I approached Goldbar I realized that I was in very light traffic - so light that a stop by Zeke's would be a snap! And, as I turned into the parking lot. I was surprised to see that I was there at an "off-hour" - too late for lunch, too early for dinner so there weren't even any lines at this institution.
I ordered a cheeseburger deluxe (lettuce, tomato and onion), onion rings and a root beer shake. The burger was the same old-fashioned drive-in burger that I remembered; the onion rings were made with sweet Walla Wallas, although they could have used another minute in the fryer; instead of a shake they made me a root beer float which I just took. So not exactly the experience I had hoped for but close enough that the next time I pass I'll be hoping to stop by again.
10/19/2007 Treasure with a Burn So first I just need to admit that I am a Costco nut. I love strolling the aisles to see what new "treasures" I can find. And at this time of year I'm in hog heaven as they bring in lots of stuff for the holidays that they don't have at other times of the year. In fact, I've started my "testing" to see if there are any new items I can use throughout the holidays, especially for my big holiday party.
A couple days ago I had a little time on my hands and after picking up some photos I did a pretty thorough stroll. I found a couple new things and these Green Tea Wasabi Peanuts were one of them. Now, I love wasabi peas so these seemed like a good bet. And they are! What a perfect little snack to serve along with cocktails!
I'm sure they are available at other places but right now Costco is carrying one pound bags - try them out!
 10/18/2007 A Cozy Taste of Fall A friend mentioned to me that after an excursion this last weekend he'd come home with a big bag of apples. I told him he should make apple crisp.
A couple days later I decided I should make apple crisp!
Guess what I had for lunch today? |
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