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Culinary FoolCulinary and cocktail adventures in the kitchen, out on the town and (sometimes) around the world!
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5/12/2008 Mini Donuts and More! Yesterday morning I finally made it (on the closing day...) to the special exhibit at SAM of Roman art from the Louvre. The show was amazing and I so wish I had gone earlier so that I could have gone back a couple times. On Sunday I arrived early, anticipating the crowds that would come on this last day, and when finished found myself downtown on a crisp, clear morning. I wandered up to Pike Place Market. I love the time before The Market is officially open but many of the early-bird vendors are open or are setting up.
The first thing I noticed was that the Daily Dozen Doughnuts stand was in full operation and there was no line! That is nearly unheard of on the weekends. I wandered over and ordered a half dozen of cinnamon-sugar minis. They came straight out of the fryer into the paper bag where they were tossed with a generous coating of cinnamon-sugar. The last one (number 7 - sort of a baker's half-dozen) was tossed with a flourish into the air and then expertly dropped into the bag courtesy of the guy behind the counter. Something that most likely wouldn't have happened had I been there during the rush hours. He told me he'd been practicing a lot so that he could add that little flourish - sort of like flair bartending. I love that! A couple of those hot-off-the-grill donuts were enjoyed right at that moment; the rest followed me home to be savored while sipping a mocha and reading the morning paper.
Wandering through the market at this time of morning you'll find the vendors relaxed and willing to spend a bit extra time. Don't get me wrong, the vendors in the market are some of the friendliest, most helpful people I know but when you are part of a long line the focus is more on business and getting everyone in and out - not so much on non-essential interactions.
I encountered this several times yesterday. Two of the most notable interactions were with the periodical vendors, one the guy I bought my Real Change from and the other the man at First and Pike News. The Real Change guy not only told me a joke but actually gave me a list of joke topics to choose from! By the way, if you don't know about this organization take a look at them. It's a great way to help out without giving a handout.
If you haven't been to The Market early in the morning I suggest you give it a try one of these weekends. Especially with summer on the way (hopefully, anyway!) it's a great way to get to the market, get some shopping done and avoid the tourists who are dilly-dallying in the aisles.
 5/11/2008 Farmers' Markets Although my local farmers' market is now open year 'round it's only now that I really think of it as a farmers' market. Over the winter months you'll find lots of cheese-mongers; folks selling meat, fish and shellfish; food stalls with lovely pastries and breads but only now do you start seeing the flowers and produce that have traditionally been the heart and soul of the markets. I am so happy.
I picked up a few fresh veggies on Saturday and also bought several starts: tomatoes, peppers and herbs. Now it's time to get to planting!
5/10/2008 36th Dinner Club Meeting: Germany Thursday night my group met once again for our on-going dinner club activity. This was a notable event for two different reasons. One, this is the first time anyone has ever had to miss a meeting. ;-( Normally we select a time and get it on our calendars and if something happens to come up for someone we reschedule. But on Thursday M2 was sick (she thinks with food poisoning) and by the time she was able to let us know she couldn't make it, all of our courses and dishes were well under way so the show had to go on.
 The good news is that she seems to have recovered now so she's back in the game. The second thing was the theme, Germany, seemed to prove a bit challenging. This doesn't happen very often but every now and then we have a meal that isn't quite as gratifying as some of the others. Then again, that's half the point of this group: we are trying to stretch our skills, knowledge and experience and sometimes that means you'll fall down!
M2 was scheduled to bring the appetizer, which sounded so good! She was hand-making big pretzels and was going to serve them with a cheese spread. But since she didn't come we didn't have them - dang it! We'll just have to try those at some other point.
For the main course I chose to make Braised Knuckle of Lamb with Shallots (recipe below). "Knuckle" is what we call shank. I was really happy with this dish! As you may have read in this blog in the past, I love braising as it allows you to do all the work early on and then, while it finishes cooking in the oven (generally for 2 or 3 or more hours), you have plenty of time to do other last minute things or just be ready and relaxed when your guests arrive.
This is a real Flintstones dish as, while braising, the lamb shrinks on the bone and when finished you have a "handle" on one end and all the meat in a sort of ball on the other. This was a great dish that I'd make again.
 To accompany the lamb K made a super cheesy Spaetzle and R made a refreshing cucumber salad. Unfortunately the recipe for the cucumber salad called for paprika and she used a smoked Spanish style that she had on hand. It wasn't the best choice. Still I loved the refreshing cucumbers and sour cream, especially when paired with the rich lamb and spaetzle.
 And finally, M made her first cake ever! It was a Black Forest Cake. It looked great but it didn't turn out quite right. After much discussion we think her baking powder was too old. Still it was a very nice effort and you could see how great it might be.
All in all we had a fun evening, even though we missed M2. But since she is hosting next time, that won't happen again!
 Braised Knuckle of Lamb with Shallots
In a hot pan, fry the knuckles of lamb in a little oil for about 12 minutes. Peel the carrot, onions, garlic and celeriac and cut into cubes. Add the cubes to the meat along with some thyme and rosemary. Salt and pepper.
Stir for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the tomato paste. Stir for a moment over medium-high heat.
Deglaze the preparation with the red wine. Fill the pan with water. (until the shanks are about 3/4 covered)
Cook in the oven at 200°C/390°F for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Peel the potatoes and shallots. Cut both into cubes of similar size. In hot oil, fry the shallots and salted and peppered potatoes. Serve with the knuckles of lamb with their sauce, surrounded by the golden potatoes and shallots. Garnish with thyme and rosemary.
Recipe from Culina Mundi World Cooking, p 726
5/9/2008 Fooled Yesterday, while wandering through the grocery store picking up a few things for last night's dinner club dinner I noticed a big stack of corn. Now it's way too early for corn from our area but the gorgeous kernels were irresistible. This corn didn't just call my name it actually jumped into my cart all on its own!
I only bought one ear since dinner club is always a big meal and generally there are leftovers but I thought I could make this one ear for lunch. And I did. And I should have known better. The kernels were large but I was prepared to overlook that. However, it had been off the stalk for too long and the sugars were already well on their way to becoming starch which meant it had very little sweetness left at all. Now, I'm not a big fan of the super sweet corn that we see so much of today - the kind that tastes more of sugar than corn - but this tasted like farm animal food to me.
Oh well. For a minute I was full of anticipation and now I know to just wait for the "real" stuff. I think I actually knew that but still one can always hope! 5/7/2008 Belated Cinco de Mayo I ended up being busier than expected on Cinco de Mayo and so I didn't do anything special to celebrate. Yes, I know this is something we celebrate here and it's really not that big of a deal - at least celebration wise - in Mexico. But I still like to be a little festive. So tonight I pulled together a simple, belated Cinco de Mayo meal.
I had some leftover small steak pieces that I just quickly sauteed then drizzled with a little lime juice; warmed up a couple of corn tortilla shells; added the steak, some onion slices, avocado and drizzled a spicy sour cream (made with a little chipotle in adobo sauce mixed with the sour cream) over it all.
Add a bottle of chilled Mexican beer and you have a simple celebratory dinner.
5/6/2008 Orcas Island: Cafe Olga I just got back from a weekend on Orcas Island in the San Juans. It's a gorgeous place, although it rained a bit much even for me. Still, I managed to get out and about and enjoy much of the island.
On my first day there I had lunch at Cafe Olga a little place co-located with the Orcas Island Artworks, an artist co-op, in the little hamlet of Olga. Located in a historic strawberry packing building it's a charming place with great food. The regular menu is small but creative and the numerous daily specials add seasonal variety.
 For my lunch I had the special Crab Quesadilla. It was packed with amazingly fresh, sweet Dungeness crab, Monterey Jack cheese (a bit too much) and mild green chilies. Really quite wonderful.
 Cafe Olga
103 Olga Road
Eastsound
Orcas Island
360.376.5098 5/1/2008 Osteria La Spiga Grabbed a little dinner with M last night at Osteria La Spiga. This place has been consistently good - for years! A couple of years ago they moved to a new, larger location and managed to keep the charm of their old space and, if possible, even improve it.
 Last night we had a bit of everything. We started with Stuzzicchini, a chef's selection of small bites; and then moved on to Tortelli ai Carciofi, an artichoke filled pasta flavored with brown butter and sage; and Crostini del Poggio Rosso, crostini topped with a luscious pate, slices of grilled tenderloin and truffle oil - so decadently rich.
 Osteria La Spiga
1429 12th Ave
Seattle
206.323.8881
 4/30/2008 Rhubarb Reminds Me of SoCal I know that rhubarb and Southern California are really not generally associated with each other. In fact it seems a bit odd to think of them together since rhubarb is a cool weather vegetable and needs lots of water to stay "sweet", which is a relative term since rhubarb is actually quite tart all of the time. Because of those two factors I'm fairly certain rhubarb is not grown commercially in SoCal, although maybe for Farmers' Markets there is some production. But still rhubarb and SoCal for me are forever intertwined.
When I was in college three friends and I took a road trip from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon to Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California to attend a conference for the student chapter of the IIE. It was a memorable trip for a variety of reasons: the fact that one person, Jeff, drove the entire 14+ hour trip without ever sleeping and we drove overnight and it wasn't until later that I realized he was dropping speed the entire trip; the mudslide that closed I-5 at The Grapevine just north of Los Angeles allowing my friends and I to play Frisbee on the freeway for 2 hours; we stayed at Jeff's family's house in one of the ritzy neighborhoods near UCLA which was my first exposure to real wealth; the Silver Fizzes Jeff's dad served us for cocktail hour; and the rhubarb cake his mom made for dessert.
The Silver Fizzes had made all of us feel very grown-up and we were in a very festive mood throughout dinner. At that time in my life there was never even a thought of turning down dessert and so I eagerly accepted a piece of the cake, at the time not knowing it was rhubarb. Moist and tender, fragrant with cinnamon and topped with cream cheese frosting I thought it was amazingly good. I had grown up with rhubarb but we mostly had pies or sauce - I'd never had a rhubarb cake before! I was hooked.
I got the recipe that night and I still have the original plain, white, lined 3"x5" card that we all used to share recipes in those days.
I've made this recipe many times and it's always been great. A couple days ago I had the bright idea to use it to make cupcakes. Well the bright idea wasn't really all that smart. As mentioned the cake is super moist and it also doesn't raise much. While I was prepared for basically flat cupcakes I hadn't realized how unsuited the moistness makes the cake for cupcake liners - it's really just too soft to work well. I'd never want to serve these to anyone, although I don't mind eating them myself!
Here's the recipe for the cake - just don't try to get creative with the pan! And Grace was not Jeff's mom's name but who the recipe originally came from.
Grace's Rhubarb Cake
2 cups diced rhubarb
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 well-beaten egg
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Combine rhubarb with 1/2 cup sugar and set aside.
Cream remaining sugar with the shortening. Add the egg and beat until well mixed.
Sift the dry ingredients together. Add alternatively with the buttermilk.
Stir in the vanilla and the rhubarb.
Turn into greased 11"x7"x2" pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
Cool and top with Cream Cheese frosting, if desired. (It really can be left plain and used as a coffee-cake, too.)
4/29/2008 Things that make you go, hmmmmm.....I'm all for creativity and trying out new concepts when it comes to food and the dining experience. In fact there are many little gimmicks that catch my attention. For instance, Happy Hour is really a gimmick but one that has been around so long that we all just accept it as "natural". And, as you may have realized I happen to love Happy Hour! But every now and then some new promotion comes up and I really just wonder what the chef or PR person or whoever was thinking.
That's the case with this latest idea from Veil. I haven't been in for a little while so maybe they need to boost numbers or maybe they just thought this would be a fun thing to do but their latest idea is an upscale TV dinner.
Here's some info from the press release:
And there's a photo of the new compartmentalized plate. I don't know, call me a stick-in-the-mud, but for some reason this whole concept doesn't really resonate with me. Or with what I think of when I think of Veil. A Good Apple Year? Apples, like all fruits produce in cycles. A couple years ago I had a ton of apples. Last year none - which was unusual but this is a young tree. If the number of blossoms is any indicator it looks like this might be another very good year. Although if all these blossoms become apples I'm going to need to thin them - something I'm bad at. I just hate "killing" the little tiny guys. But if you don't then all the resulting apples are small. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. 4/28/2008 Sometimes all you need is... ... a burger and a beer. Best burger deal in town? McCormick and Schmick's $1.95 Happy Hour burger. Find a location near you.
Blueberry Banana Pancakes I may have shared these with you before but if I have it's been awhile. And they are so good that it's worth sharing again! This recipe makes about 8 nice sized pancakes.
 Buttermilk Banana Blueberry Pancakes1¼ cups flour 1 tbsp. baking powder 1 beaten egg
¾ cup buttermilk ¼ cup milk (maybe a bit more) 1 Tbsp. cooking oil 1 very ripe mashed banana Blueberries
Mix together dry ingredients. Combine all remaining ingredients except blueberries. Mix wet ingredients into dry just until blended. The batter should be thick but spreadable. Add more milk if necessary to get the texture right.
Cook on griddle. Add blueberries to pancakes on griddle. 4/27/2008 Strawberry Banana Daiquiri Well, our warm weather continues. Not quite summer weather yet, but close enough for me! I had a few bananas that were getting a bit too ripe and so I decided to make something that I usually reserve for the truly warm days of summer - daiquiris! In this case strawberry-banana daiquiris.
And, in case you are not aware, you can freeze bananas. So if I have some that are too ripe but can't use them right away I pop them into a plastic bag and into the freezer. They can be used in baked goods or are great in this cocktail.
One of the things I really like about this drink (as foo-foo as it is!) is that it's easy (in fact best) to make a batch at a time. If you only need one, you just put the rest of the batch in a plastic container in the freezer. Since there is alcohol in the mixture it won't freeze solid. Then, when you want one, you just scoop some of it into a glass and let it sit for a few minutes to soften and you are ready to go!
It's especially nice if you, for instance, have some hot outdoor work to do. Scoop up a glass and leave it in the fridge until you are done with your work. Then it should be ready when you are. Or it's great for entertaining as you can make up a batch (or two) well before guests arrive and then just pull the pitchers out a few minutes before your party starts.
4/26/2008 Dreaming of Summer The weather finally seems to be making progress towards more spring-like temperatures. I took advantage of yesterday afternoon's sun, sat on the deck and had what I consider to be the epitome of a summer drink - a gin and tonic.
Like any mixed drink they are so super simple. Simply add a shot or two of gin to a glass filled with ice, then fill the glass with tonic water. Finish it off with a slice of lime. Easy to make for one or a crowd! 4/25/2008 French Toast Supreme I love French Toast. For breakfast, lunch or dinner. I was buying bread over the weekend and suddenly the loaf of Raisin Pecan from The Essential Baking Company jumped into my hand demanding to be used for French Toast. I decided to oblige it. So that's exactly what I did.
I used just a basic batter - one egg and a little milk- dipped the bread and let it soak just a little, then pan-fried it until nicely browned on both sides. Then I topped it with warm maple syrup, sliced pears, and a little brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. A pretty fine way to start the day!
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