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3/26/2007 Scottsdale: Olive and Ivy I'm just back from a quick trip to the Phoenix area for Spring Training - baseball that is! As usual, M and I stayed in Scottsdale as we always seem to end up there for dinners. We stayed in a cute little "hotel" - more of a motel really. Loved the place except that there wasn't much within walking distance which put a little damper on my morning walks. Of course the thunderstorms that kept blowing through didn't help much either!
I did come across a great little place to pick up an early morning cup of tea or coffee and a light bite to eat, Olive and Ivy. They are actually more of a lunch/dinner place and have a great patio overlooking the Scottsdale Canal but we only made it over for breakfast.
M was pleasantly surprised to learn they served Victrola Coffee - that's a local Seattle company - and the staff was happy to know that someone recognized the brand as a quality offering.
I had a lovely cinnamon roll that was actually more like a croissant dough - lots and lots of butter; M had a yummy breakfast egg sandwich. The staff was very nice and next time I'd like to try a lunch or dinner.
 Olive and Ivy
7135 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 195
Scottsdale
480.751.2200
 3/19/2007 Bialetti's Mukka Express I drink a lot of tea. But I also drink coffee. Just not nearly as much. But it's time that I gave a little equal time to this other warming (and oh-so-Seattle) beverage.
When I'm at home a perfect mid-morning "snack" is a mocha or cappuccino. Since I don't have them that often I chose to go with a lo-tech machine to do the job for me. Bialetti Mukka Express Cappuccino Maker
 is the perfect solution! In theory, this pot makes 2 cups but personally I think one potful is just right for one! This is a stove-top maker and works purely through the pressure of steam. The bottom compartment holds water, a basket for your ground coffee fits on top of that, then you screw on the top. The top section holds milk.
The boiling water and steam are forced up through the coffee and eventually into the top container where it heats and froths the milk. I actually prefer to heat the milk in the microwave a little before adding it to he pot as I find that cold milk doesn't get quite as hot as I would like.
To make a mocha I just add a little chocolate to my cup and let it mix in as I pour the coffee into the cup.
Either way it's a nice treat that's also a little pick-me-up!
Bialetti has several other
 versions of stove-top pots, too. Some make larger quantities - perfect for serving a few friends!  Tea at Zoka Saturday morning found M and I at the Zoka in the University District sipping tea and chatting. This is a great coffee house (that serves lots of great teas and food, too) just behind University Village. With free Wi-Fi, lots of room with nice tables and a cozy atmosphere I really should be spending more time here!
And, for bulk purchases, the website even says that they roast coffee to order! Now that is fresh-roasted!
Zoka has two locations - this one in the U District, and another on the East side of Greenlake. Isn't one of them calling your name?
 3/18/2007 The 2006 Gourmet Institute Upfront disclaimer: Most photos from this event will be marginal. Lighting, the size of the classes and the ever-moving chefs made photos a real challenge! I chose not to interfere with others' enjoyment of sessions over getting a perfect shot. So photos are provided just so you get some sort of feel for the event.
Well, it certainly took me some time to get this post (and what will be a series of posts) written up! Last October M and I treated ourselves to a long weekend in New York for our (shared) birthday. We've done that several times but this year was a little different. We decided to attend Gourmet Institute, a full weekend of presentations, cooking demonstrations, panels and food events sponsored by Gourmet Magazine.
It's an expensive weekend but for your money you get two "dinners" at high-end New York restaurants (one dinner was actually a cocktail party/reception but with tons of hors d'oeuvre); your choice of eight seminars and presentations; breakfasts and lunches for two days at the event hotel; access to a very nice sponsor lounge with all kinds of samples presented all day long; a huge bag of sponsor give-aways when you checked in; and if you purchased cookbooks, the opportunity to have them signed by the celebrity chefs. And, depending on your timing and choices you have access to some of the hottest chefs and much of the Gourmet staff, including Ruth Reichl, throughout the weekend.
Looking back it's a little hard for me to say if I thought the price was a good value for the weekend. The problem I have is that the things (just like the girl with the pretty little curl...) that were good were very, very good, but those that were bad were horrid.
The bag of goodies was amazing! M and I were staying in an apartment a 20-minute, or so subway ride away. After registering and picking up our bag we had to haul that thing back to the apartment and it probably weighed 35 pounds or so and was large and bulky - I'm not complaining by any means - just saying it was an adventure getting it back to our place. Some of the tools that were included in that bag have now become staples in my kitchen - sponsors take note! I'll probably tell you about some of those in the future.
   On the other hand the breakfast and lunch served at the hotel were, uhm, not good at all. We tried one of each - left during the first lunch to go find something more suitable and didn't even try the second day. Very surprising since the hotel would know this was a foodie crowd! And I would say I've had much better dining experiences at the free breakfasts places like Marriott Courtyard provide.
  Our first session was a cooking demonstration by Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto. He was ill-prepared; didn't know how to use an electric stove; had no understanding of what could be accomplished in an hour; was easily distracted - many times not finishing "point 2" when wanting to say "two things"; and served a marginal, undercooked sample of his work. Based on this experience I wouldn't waste my time in his restaurants. On the other hand, I fell in love with Scott Conant (both the man and his food!), someone I knew nothing about prior to this class. He was highly entertaining, educational and organized. I learned all about goat, loved the dish he prepared and have been thinking about making it myself sometime soon. Based on this class I will definitely stop at either L'Imperio or Alto (maybe both!) the next time I'm in New York.
  Morimoto's (restaurants in Philadelphia and New York, as well as one of Food Network's Iron Chefs) class was also superb! And what I really loved was seeing his true personality (he's very funny) come out during the session. He prepared a light soup to start off and then made the most amazing "party dish" of sashimi on rice. I need to find my notes from the session to see if I know what it was really called. But we watched him clean and cut about ten different kinds of fish, assemble and present it on a bed of special rice (mixed with a confetti of vegetables and herbs) in a huge traditional wooden serving bowl. The bowl was nearly 3' in diameter!
 I attended a couple of panel sessions and found those to be the biggest disappointments. Somehow the description and what was presented were just a tad off. The part I found frustrating was that these sessions were moderated by Gourmet staff. They asked specific questions, which I'm sure was meant to keep the discussion moving, but what they asked wasn't what I would have asked and I would have preferred that the presenters just talk. So these were okay. One panel I really enjoyed though was with Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin and Tony Bourdain, the bad-boy chef from Les Halles. They bantered about a number of topics but it was apparent they respect each other and perhaps are even friends - or so it seemed. I really enjoyed seeing this slightly different side of Tony, who is most often in the middle of some controversy or another it seems. I also attended to drinks focused classes. The one on Champagne, Veuve Cliquot to be precise was really amazing and educational! Francois Chirumberro, the winemaker led us through a tasting of seven different Champagnes and increased my understanding and knowledge of the history and process immensely! It was a wonderful session. The one that followed, Celebrating the Holiday Season with Cocktails (Sponsored by Grey Goose Vodka) presented by Nick Mautone of (I think formerly) of Gramercy Tavern was a huge waste of time. Although it kept me from buying his book. I have a nagging feeling though that I would like the book, Raising the Bar: Better Drinks, Better Entertaining
 , but for some reason the drinks presented in this session were sub par.  But then I attended one session which was almost worth the price on its own. This was sort of a working session by Gourmet photographer, Romulo Yanes and Editor/Stylist, Paul Grimes. They were so open with how their process worked, things they've learned over the years, showed us all kinds of tools and methods they use, plus did little photo shoot right on the spot. I came away inspired to improve my photography - and in fact just bought a new camera partially due to this session. I also found the two dinners, the opening party at Bhuddakan and our Saturday night dinner at Craft, to be amazing.
So with all these pros and cons, when I add it all up I'm not sure of the actual value. Although I do think that now that I've had the experience I could do a better job at selecting sessions that were all on the valuable side. We met many people who had attended the three previous events and swore they'd be back every year in the future. I guess time will tell - when it comes time to register will I do it? Not sure yet. Maybe it will depend on who's going to be there and the sessions they are presenting.
Still, this was a very fun weekend. In addition to the Gourmet Institute classes M and I managed to check out several new (and some old favorite) places in town. Living on the Lower Eastside for a few days was an adventure. The place we stayed in was small overall but had a really large living area - perfect for a cocktail party, if I'd only had a bunch of friends to invite over!
More details on some of our adventures in upcoming posts! 3/8/2007 Domaine Drouhin Arthur I used to drink a lot of Chardonnay. And then I drifted away from it. I became so tired of the heavily oaked California wines - I used to feel like I was lucky that my mouth wasn't full of splinters after a glass or two! Every now and then I'd have a French wine that I loved but I didn't really know enough to look for a white Burgundy when perusing the wine shop aisles. I still have a hard time remembering which varietals come from which regions, although I am catching on... And so I slowly drifted off to other whites like Sauvignon (Fume) Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Pinot Blanc or the dry Rieslings that are becoming easier to find.
Every now and then I'd also have a Washington Chardonnay that caught my interest but they always seemed a bit expensive to me or those in my price range were a bit blah. And then, a few years ago, I tasted an Oregon Chardonnay and I fell in love all over again!
Not that every Oregon Chardonnay is perfect by any means! But, in general, most of the winemakers in Oregon use stainless or only keep the wine in oak for a short time. This allows the beautiful flavor of the grape to shine through. Many of the Oregon wines are also rather spendy - most producers there are on the small side and the hand-crafted wines come at a price. Plus, I don't find as many of them as I would like here in Washington. But that seems to be changing.
I recently picked up a couple bottles of a wine I first learned about when I visited the Domaine Drouhin estate a couple years ago.
All of Domaine Drouhin's estate wines are named for Véronique Drouhin's children. She is the winemaker and has been since the winery first started producing. Her wonderfully crafted wines are a delight. Today we are talking about her Chardonnay, Arthur. This is a wine blended from several grapes some of which have been on stainless steel and some have spent a short time on oak.
The 2005 wine is a clear butter yellow. The nose is light and floral. In the mouth it is clean, crisp, almost lemony but not tart. I tasted a bit of pineapple and maybe even a little vanilla that brought out a richness but yet there is an acidity that keeps it all in balance.
This wine is delightful on its own or pairs well with a variety of foods such as cheese, roasted chicken and seafood. This 2005 allotment is hitting stores now so if you are interested in trying it don't wait long! I have no doubt it will sell out long before the demand has been filled.
Roasted Chicken One of my favorite recipes is one of the simplest - although it's no 30 minute meal! It takes a little time but it's time that you have to sit and enjoy a glass of wine, a little conversation, to relax from the hectic day before you sit down to eat. And the leftovers are great many different ways - a little time upfront yields savings on future days.
Roasted Chicken 1 4lb to 5lb chicken 1 large onion, 2 small or 2 shallots 1 or 2 lemons Several sprigs of rosemary Several garlic cloves Olive oil Salt and pepper Remove any giblets from the cavities of the chicken. Slice part of the onion into rings and place in the bottom of the 9x12 baking pan. Cut the balance of the onion into wedges. Cut a few lemon slices and place in the bottom of the baking pan. Cut the balance of the lemon into wedges. Place 2 or 3 sprigs of rosemary into the baking pan. The lemon, onion and rosemary in the pan create a flavorful baking rack for the chicken. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the onion and lemon wedges, the additional sprigs of rosemary and the garlic cloves. Tie the chicken legs and wings close to the body. Place the chicken breast side up in the baking pan. Coat the chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 375°F for 75 - 90 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before slicing.
25 for $25 Contest at Urbanspoon!As you will remember March is 25 for $25 here in Seattle. To reward frequent diners/contributors Urbanspoon is running a contest to see who can sample the most participating restaurants this month. The winner gets dinner at a restaurant of their choice (up to $200!).
I'm out of town too many days this month so I need you to get out there and do the reviews! Check out all the details on the Urbanspoon site! 3/5/2007 Thanks!!Thanks to all who came out last night! We had several hundred people there and the auction seemed to be raising a lot of funds, too! |
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