Pasta and Meatballs

I wasn't feel well today, and Dan had an appointment in the evening, so our plan to make pasta with meatballs worked out great. I rolled up some veggie sausage into meatballs, and seared them in a pan while I was defrosting and heating up some pasta sauce. Once the meatballs were browned and the sauce was liquid again, I plopped them in the sauce and let it simmer on very low heat until Dan got home. Then I tossed some pasta in boiling water, and grated some parmesan cheese into the sauce (saving a bit) when he got home, and in 10 minutes I had pasta with meatballs for us.

Falafel

Tonight was another quick dinner - just some falafel & hummus made from mixes (just add water), some veggies (carrots, red & yellow bell peppers) to dip in the hummus, a cucumber/yogurt sauce with tomatoes, and pitas.

Shrimp Tacos

Tonight being Monday, we stuck to a simple dinner. I just marinated some shrimp in lime juice and mexican seasonings, chopped up some peppers, tomatoes and lettuce, and pan seared the shrimp. All rolled up in a couple tortillas with some salsa and chips & guac on the side, it was a nice, quick, tasty dinner.

Burgers and Tots

After gorging ourselves on delicious food at Salish Lodge this morning and last night, we barely ate all day. But we finally started getting hungry in the late evening, and so I threw together some more bacon guacamole burgers, and cooked up some tater tots.

Breakfast at Salish Lodge

After a great nights sleep in a really comfy bed, Dan & I met up with his folks for our 9:30am breakfast reservation at the formal dining room of Salish Lodge.



The lodge is known for it's breakfasts, which is why you need a reservation just to get in (last time we stayed at the lodge, we didn't think to make a reservation for breakfast, and had to go elsewhere). They're particularly well known for their pancakes & oatmeal (and tableside presentation of local honey dripped from above), but none of us went for those dishes. I enjoyed a mushroom frittata and some fresh squeezed OJ...



While Dan had a smoked salmon brioche served with salmon roe on top. And his folks both enjoyed the Eggs Benedict. Everything was great, and the service was good - though sometimes came across insincere and rehearsed, rather than genuine - though that doesn't really impact service level.

After breakfast, we ran into a couple friends we knew were staying at the lodge and expected to see at breakfast (they had a 9am reservation), but found out after their duo massages, they retreated to their room and ate dinner and breakfast there.

The Attic at Salish Lodge

This afternoon, Dan's parents came over and we all loaded into their car to head up to Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls for a night. Dan & I drew Don & Carolyn's names, but chance, in this past Christmas' gift exchange, so we pooled our resources and got them a gift certificate to the lodge (having enjoyed it immensely as a gift from my parents a couple years back). Don & Carolyn asked us to join them, which we had a hard time saying 'No' to.



After a little wine in our room, a vodka tonic in Dan's folks room, a little time in the sauna/steamroom/hot pools, we did some photographing of the falls and surrounding area. Taking all these close-ups of food has made me a little addicted to the macro feature on our camera, so I was busy snapping shots of lichen while Dan took shots of the falls.



Afterwards, we all met up again and headed up to the 'Attic' - a dining room on the top floor of the lodge that offers a more casual attitude, but still delivers high quality meals with great presentation.



Things began innocently enough with some beers, wine, bread and butter.



Then, as a starter, Dan & I shared the ahi tuna niçoise salad, which was almost too beautiful to eat, paired with bright green beans set against the red ahi.



Dan's entree was roasted pork loin with rosemary potatoes, which his father also ordered. His Mom ordered a steak, which was reportedly delicious, but so big that she was trying to get everyone else to help her finish it.



My entree was a dungeness crab cake sandwich, which (unbeknownst to me) came served with my favorite spice - bacon.



Which came with a ridiculous portion of wonderfully presented, and perfectly crispy pomme frites. The presentation was enough to drive everyone at the table to sneak a couple fries.



For dessert, Dan & I shared a pineapple torte with caramel gelato.



And when we returned to the room, our bed had been 'turned down', and two chocolates were left for us. They also laid the TV remote on the bed for us, as if they knew I'd be collapsing on the bed and watching 'Groomer Has It' until I descended into a food coma.

Leftover El Sombrero

Though I failed my duty of taking my camera to dinner at El Sombrero last night, I did have leftovers. So for lunch today, I warmed up my arroz con camerones and snapped a couple shots.

Soft Boiled Eggs

Dan's dad used to make him and his sisters soft-boiled eggs in the morning before school, and today Dan offered to make them for us. I have no recollection of ever eating a soft boiled egg before, so I was excited to try it out. He used my ancient copy of The New Cookbook to determine cooking times for the eggs, and it seems like they were a bit long, as the yolks were pretty much cooked. So next time, we'll reduce the cooking time a bit to get that runny yolk, perfect for dipping toast in (or so I've seen in movies). The toast we made today was the bottom halves of a couple hamburger buns, which I toasted, buttered, and cut into quarters.

El Sombrero

Tonight, Dan picked me up after work and we headed to El Sombrero. Sadly, we forgot the camera. I took a couple shots with my phone, but until I figure out how to get them transferred to the computer, you'll just have to close your eyes and imagine a table full of chips and salsa, Cadillac Margaritas, Arroz con Camerones, and Pollo Chipotle (all of which was, as always, deliciously familiar and well executed). Dan mentioned that the chicken in his Pollo Chipotle was as tender and delicious as the Pollo Asado he often gets.

Update: It's now July, and I finally figured out how to send pictures from my phone straight to Flickr, so here's a blurry shot of my Camerones.

Mai Tai Cupcakes

This morning, I woke up thinking that this afternoon is my fortnightly team social, and it may just be my turn to bring something. After my Margarita cupcakes a couple weeks back, my mind went to work on a new recipe, using what was in the house. I bought an entire case of Cherry Chip cake mix about a year ago, because Dan's sister loves it, and still have a bunch of boxes around. Starting with cherry as my first ingredient, I somehow realized I could add orange, pineapple, lime, almond, and rum flavors to create a cupcake that tastes like a Mai Tai - which is one of my favorite drinks. They turned out better than the Margarita cupcakes, mostly because you could really taste the booze, and seemed to be successful (most people ate 2). I thought the flavor was pretty darn close to sipping a real Mai Tai, right down to the rum 'floater' on top, in the form of icing. The only problem with them is that they're not much to look at, owing to the lack of a gorgeous dollop of frosting on top, so I may need to adjust the recipe to make them prettier.

But my next cupcake cocktail recipe attempt will be a pina colada (a request from my coworker Anne).

Mai Tai Cupcakes
1 box of Cherry Chip Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1/3 cup mashed banana
6 oz of pineapple juice
1 Tbspn lime juice
1 tspn orange extract
1/2 tspn almond extract
1/4 cup + 2 Tbspn Dark Rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients into a mixer and blend until smooth. Distribute batter evenly between 2 lined cupcake pans (to make ~24 cupcakes). Bake for 20 minutes, then cool.

1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup Dark Rum

Mix sugar and rum to create a glaze. Pour on cupcakes just before serving. Best flavor is attained by biting through the entire cupcake, top to bottom, to get the taste of rum followed by the fruity finish.

Squid with Garlic Sauce

Tonight I learned how to clean squid. And I think I also inadvertently learned a little more about gastropod anatomy.

I went to Uwajimaya and bought 2 lbs of whole ika squid, and carried it home, not thinking that it might be a challenge to take them from the whole state to an edible one. Turns out the process is a bit involved, and I still have a lot to learn. You grab the head and twist and pull until it detaches from the body, and pulls all the internal organs out with it. Then you cut off the legs, just below the eyes, and make sure the beak didn't come with them. After discarding what is basically two eyeballs, a beak, and gonads, You then work on the body, which for me involved splitting it open to make sure there wasn't any more innards, and then scraping off the outer skin and pulling off the fins. A quick rinse, and they were ready to go. The one thing I'm not clear on is if the fins are good eatin' or not. They seemed comparable in texture/density to the rest of the body, but they tended to tear off when I was taking the outer skin off (and frankly, tearing them off took most of the skin with it, making the process much easier). I hope I didn't throw out a bunch of good squid meat, but in the end we had more than enough.



I followed the recipe, but felt like the simmering wasn't adequate to cook the sauce down much at all, which would've resulted in a soupier dish than I had planned, so I left the sauce in the pan when serving, and cranked up the heat to try to get it to reduce a bit. Next time, I think I might cut back on the amount of broth. I also added more chili pepper than called for in the original recipe, and added some Sriracha to the sauce before serving, to give it a bit more heat.

Squid with Garlic Sauce
1 1/2 lbs fresh squid, cleaned and cut into 1 inch wide strips
5 cloves garlic, chopped
6 shiitake mushroom caps, sliced
12 oz Napa cabbage, cut into 2 x 3/4 inch pieces
4 green onions (white part only), cut inot 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

sauce
1 tspn constarch
1 cup broth
2 Tbspn sherry
1 tspn sesame seeds
1 tspn chili pepper flakes

Combine cornstarch and broth in a small bowl, then add remaining sauce ingredients, mix well, and set aside. Lightly coat a wok with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until it begins to brown. Add the squid and cook until it turns white (2-3 mins). Transfer to a bowl. Increase heat to high, add mushrooms and cabbage, and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Return squid to the pan along with the sauce and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until squid is soft (5-6 mins). Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with sesame oil and green onion pieces.



(Recipe courtesy of Secrets of Fat-free Chinese Cooking.)

Crab Caesar Salad & Diet Shandy

Tonight we just chopped up some crab, some avocado, cucumber, and hard boiled eggs and added them to a prefab caesar salad out of a bag. Nice and quick, but really tasty.



I worked in the yard a bit after work, and I always seem to crave lemonade after. I was also craving a light beer, so Dan suggested I mix the two to make a Shandy - which happens to be the featured drink in one the magazines we receive this month. The lemonade was 'light', which gave it a bit of an aftertaste, but it was still good, and satisfied both my cravings.

Also of note was the way we made use of the extra crab, cucumber, and hard boiled eggs. We chopped them up and mixed them with some mayo, paprika, salt & pepper to create an egg/crab salad mix, which we'll put on hamburger buns for lunch tomorrow.

Mac & Cheese

Dan's finally well enough that we were able to make some 'Mac & Cheese'. I had an aversion to macaroni noodles for many years, so I still make my Mac & Cheese with other types of pasta. My favorite is radiatore, but tonight we went with penne. We also added baco-bits, and topped it off with some chicken (for Dan) and chik'n strips for me. I used a mix of sharp cheddar, gruyere, mozzarella and parmesan, and went with panko bread crumbs for the topping. I liked the end result, particularly the crispiness of the panko and the added color and flavor that the baco-bits added.

Mac & Cheese
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 Tbspn melted butter
8 oz penne
2 Tbspn butter
1 small white onion, minced
1 Tbspn all purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tspn dry mustard
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup cheddar
1/2 cup gruyere
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan
1/4 cup bacon bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 qt casserole dish. Place bread crumbs into a small bowl and mix well with melted butter. Set aside. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, then place into prepared casserole dish. While pasta is cooking, melt 2 Tbspn butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in minced onion and cook until softened and transluscent (about 5 minutes). Stir in flour, pepper, salt, and dry mustard until incorporated, then pour in milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring constantly until the milk has thickened (about 10 minutes). Take the milk off the heat and stir in the cheeses until melted. Pour cheese sauce over the pasta, sprinkle bacon bits evenly over the surface, then sprinkle evenly with buttered bread crumbs. Bake until the top is golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.



(Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com.)