What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

Polynesian Peanut Butter Cups

2011-10-08T12:54:00.001-07:00

With Halloween (aka the greatest holiday ever created) coming up, my attention has been turning to sweets - much to the detriment of my weight loss goals.

Today, I retried my hand at tempering chocolate properly - this time attempting to make a chocolate peanut butter cup. I've tried before, but not had the results I wanted. This time around I had help from the Culinary Institute of America and their book Chocolates and Confections at Home with The Culinary Institute of America.

Using their technique and testing for proper tempering, I was much more successful. I also used their guidance for making filled chocolates, and their recipe (loosely) for a peanut butter filling.

For a mold, I used the Fred & Friends Stone Cold Ice Trays silicon ice cube tray. It makes Moai head shapes - those infamous stone sculptures found on Rapa Nui (aka Easter Island), which was populated by Polynesians from the Marquesas, making it the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle.

Anyway... After tempering the chocolate and testing by dipping a spoon and patiently waiting for it to dry, I used a silicone pastry brush to paint a layer of chocolate into the molds. After that cooled, I did another layer, and repeated a couple more times - until it seemed like I had a good solid layer and no holes. Then I piped in the peanut butter mixture, leaving room at the top. Finally, I poured the remaining melted chocolate over the mold and used my bench scraper (and some tapping on the counter) to make sure all the bubbles were out and the molds were full of chocolate. I wiped the top clean with the bench scraper (to make sure the candies didn't have messy backs), and then let them cool off before popping them out of the tray.

They turned out so well (and tasty) that I plan to make more - perhaps to give out to neighbors for Halloween? And to make the tempering part even easier, I invested in a Mastercool MSC52224A Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer with Laser. It'll come in handy for all sorts of things in the kitchen and around the house - and Hilo already loves the laser it emits.

Homemade Blackberry Glazed Cake Donuts

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, a coworker gave me a copy of the new Top Pot cookbook - Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker. I've been wanting to try my hand at donut making for awhile now, and this was just the nudge I needed. Apparently, it was also the nudge I needed to get back to blogging a bit.

I procured the ingredients I needed, and last night made the surprisingly simple batter for cake donuts, which then rested in the fridge overnight.

This morning, I got up bright and early (for me) and got to work, first on the glaze - which I made from some failed freezer jam I tried to make using blackberries foraged from our neighbors overgrown yard. Then I started on a batch of four dozen chocolate chip cookies (for my students on the last day of class this afternoon), and finally on the donuts themselves.

It turns out cake donut dough is more like batter, and very difficult to keep in a specific shape. I executed one actual donut shaped donut, before resigning myself to making donut holes. Problem with those is they roll around in the oil, and it can be difficult to get them to cook evenly. Finally, I figured out that a hole poked in the middle of a donut hole would make it a little like a mini-donut.

What I realized I really need is one of these things. Next batch I make, I'll invest in one.

After getting glazed* and cooling a bit, I packed up the donuts and cookies and headed to work - where the donuts went fast and received a great response. It felt good to spend the morning working hard to create something for people to enjoy. Maybe there is a future in baking for me someday.

Simple Cake Donuts
315 g cake flour
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn salt
130 g sugar
2 Tbspn shortening
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
2/3 cup whole milk
Canola oil for frying

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl, and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the sugar and shortening together for 1 minute on low speed, until sandy. Add the eggs and mix for 1 more minute on medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed, until the mixture is light colored and thick. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three separate additions, alternating with milk, mixing until just combined on low speed. The dough will be very sticky. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover directly on the surface of the dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 to 24 hours.

Heat your oil to 370 degrees F. Gently roll the chilled dough on a counter floured with 1/4 cup cake flour, rolling to 1/2 inch thickness. Be sure to flour the rolling pin, and flour the top of the dough before rolling to avoid sticking. Cut into doughnuts and holes - just a few at a time - transferring them to the oil with a metal spatula. Try to shake off excess flour before adding them to the hot oil - a few at a time. Once they float, fry for about 60 seconds per side. Flip them over when you see a deep golden brown color creeping up from the bottom. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to capture oil and eventually the glaze).

Blackberry Glaze
350g confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tspn light corn syrup
1/4 tspn iodized salt
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1 Tbspn berry jam
1/3 cup hot water

Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and all the sugar is incorporated. If the glaze seems too thick, add more hot water, 1 tspn at a time.

To glaze donuts, dip one side of each hot donut into the warm glaze then invert and place on the cooling rack to dry.

*Per advice in the book, I stuck with a glaze because I didn't have time to let the donuts cool - which is required for icings. Glazes are applied while the donut is hot and the glaze is warm, so they create a thin coating of sugary goodness.

Homemade Treats for the New Addition to the Family

2011-07-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly a month now since I posted, so clearly I'm way, way behind. So much has happened - a trip to Vegas where I ate a $60 burger that featured foie gras and black truffle, a seven course anniversary dinner at Seattle's Canlis, and the last round of Memento Meal for this year (hosted by Dan & I). And I promise I'll get back to all of those culinary adventures... but a new addition to the family has meant my attention is focused in another direction. Two weeks ago, Hilo Dembiczak-Garlington joined the family.

Hilo's proven to be a big ball of love and energy, and requires a lot more time than Caesar the cat or the chickens - but it's well worth it when he flashes a big smile at us or gives us a gentle lick. And I've discovered having a dog also creates a new baking opportunity: dog biscuits!

Today I did some web searching and discovered DogTreatKitchen.com - a site full of recipes and advice for dog loving home bakers, and even those interested in starting a dog bakery. For now, I'll stick to the recipes - and will surely be tweaking them as I learn to make them my own. My first attempt are a simple peanut butter, oats and wheat flour biscuit. I made mine in the shape of butterflies for Summer - and so I could call them...

Hilo's Oat & Peanut Butterflies
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
1 1/4 cups hot water
Additional flour for rolling

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, mix the flour and oats together. Stir in the peanut butter. Stir in hot water, a little at a time, until you have a solid dough. The oats will soak up some of the water, so go slow. You may need to add more flour if the dough gets too sticky. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Roll out the dough into 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheets for 40 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Store in a sealed container for one week at room temperature, in the refrigerator for 3 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

(Recipe courtesy of DogTreatKitchen.com)

Goodbye Lunch @ Flying Fish

2011-06-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day for my office mate, who scored a job at one of the biggest and best law firms in Seattle. To send her off properly, a bunch joined her for lunch at Flying Fish.

I sipped a hibiscus drink called Aqua d' Jamiaca, which was a little strong in flavor (it wasn't alcoholic, but could've used something to water it down a bit.)

For my lunch, I went with a sandwich billed as a Chicken Banh Mi - the Vietnamese sandwiches that many folks at my company became positively addicted to while we worked in the International District. This, however, was not anything like the banh mi I love. It was served on ciabatta bread, slathered in so much mayo that my hands became covered every time I took a bite, and the ingredients fell all over the place when I tried to eat it. Good banh mi are often considered such because of the amazing baguettes with which they are made - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, denoting the French influence on Vietnamese cuisine. The baguette is sliced only part way through, creating a perfect pocket to safely house the tasty filling, held in place with just a light spread of mayo. Ciabatta was too dense, and being sliced in half didn't hold anything in place - which may have explained the extra mayo as an attempt to cement the filling to the bread. The sandwich also looked a little lonely on the plate.

That said, maybe I would've enjoyed my lunch more if our server wasn't so obviously having a bad day, and visibly frustrated with our table for not giving him all our attention when he wanted it. The restaurant is fairly loud at lunch, so I think our group of 8 didn't all hear him ask about drinks - creating some confusion.

I wasn't the only one who ordered the "banh mi", and the other folks seemed to enjoy it - though one smartly asked for no mayo. But the two people that REALLY enjoyed their lunch were the two that got the Kobe burger. It came with fries and looked delicious.

Carb Loading Courtesy of Padrino's Pizza

2011-06-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning Dan & I will be getting up bright and early and heading down to meet a bunch of my coworkers and their loved ones for the Race for the Cure - a 5K to benefit Breast Cancer research. Although most folks are walking, we're running the 5K, so tonight, we carb load.

Conveniently enough, Padrino's Pizza just opened a new location on Rainier Ave S, giving us another delivery option.

We kicked things off with their 'Pepperoni Sticks', which are like pizza breadsticks with loads of pepperoni (rather than friend mozzarella sticks with pepperoni sticks inside, as I'd secretly hoped).

I went for the Bella pasta for my carb loading - a big pile of penne pasta with shrimp and goat cheese in a creamy sauce.

The pasta was good, but I would've preferred my shrimp to have the tails removed. Eating shrimp tails is like chewing glass - both seem to shred my gums - so I ended up detailing my shrimp by hand.

Dan got the classic spaghetti & meatballs with marinara. Both came with garlic bread, so we were plenty carb loaded by the time we were full (which came long before the food was gone).

Welcome Lunch @ Laadla

2011-06-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

To welcome my new employee to our team, I planned a lunch for me, him and a few of our coworkers. Based on his favorite cuisines, I picked the closest Indian restaurant to our office building: Laadla Cuisine of India.

What I failed to realize is that the restaurant is a buffet, and has some of the worst reviews I've ever seen on Yelp. On top of that, almost none of the folks I invited were able to come. Not exactly the nice welcome lunch I'd hoped to give. And given that none of the Indian employees I invited came, maybe I should have picked another spot.

That said, Laadla turned out to have a well stocked spread of decent vegetarian and meat dishes, the buffet meant we could get in and out quickly (the few folks who came had meetings to run to after), and we avoided what most of the Yelp reviews criticized heavily: the service.

Hopefully I can make it up to everyone soon with some treats or another lunch somewhere with a little more elegance.

Mochiko Chicken & Mochiko the Chicken

2011-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Date Night after the farmers market tonight found us at Wabi Sabi - the Sushi Bar in Columbia City. Dan had been doing recon online and discovered they added some more Hawaiian favorites to their menu, so we had to go back.

In order to give all my hens equal attention, I went for another of their namesake dishes: Mochiko Chicken - a Japanese/Hawaiian style breaded fried chicken that I've only ever had at Kona Kitchen (where I recently ate my brown hen's namesake dish).

Besides being a delicious plate of food, Mochiko is also the name of our biggest hen - the big, black Australorp. She's grown faster than her sisters, and already lets out some very grown up clucks. It's the chicken equivalent of her voice changing, I suppose. Teri and Huli are sure to catch up soon, as they're all growing fast. They even get to do some free ranging in the yard (under supervision) these days.

I suppose I better track down some Huli Huli chicken soon - or somebody's gonna get jealous.

The Boss Brought Cookies

2011-05-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

Today was my first official day as someone's boss. Forty-five days ago I hired someone, and it's been a long wait - but today he joined my team (which consists of him and me). I couldn't resist taking advantage of the opportunity to do a little baking - bringing in some blackberry muffins and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. I figured food was a way to give people an excuse to introduce themselves, so I set up the goodies outside his cubicle and invited everyone to come by.

Coincidentally, today was also the day that our EA brought in treats to celebrate May birthdays and anniversaries - in the form of Babycakes from Cupcake Royale. I'm normally a bit of a Cupcake Royale hater (preferring Trophy Cupcakes by a wide margin), but the Babycakes diminutive size seem to prevent the dryness that have plagued the full size cupcakes I've tried from their shop.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup chunky or smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars until light. Add the egg and mix until fluffy. Blend the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together well. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes

Recipe courtesy of SouthernFood.About.com

Lured Back to Verve

2011-05-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

The folks at Verve know the power of social networking - and lured us back in tonight with a Facebook post about a new menu item: Lamb Burgers.

There was no question what we wanted - both ordering the lamb burger. It came with red onion, lettuce and tomato, and topped with goat cheese and a chutney. And like the beef burger, it was paired with perfectly cooked fingerling potatoes (which I'll be mimicking soon).

To share, we order the Spring Veggies - a perfect pairing with the super seasonal lamb. Asparagus, kale, young artichokes, baby bok choy, and some tasty mushrooms all cooked to the point of being bright and flavorful.

El Sombrero - Still Our Go-To Spot

2011-05-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't written about El Sombrero in a long while - not because of some change of allegience, but perhaps because it's become such a staple for us. We go at least once a month, and sometimes once (or twice) a week - more than any other restaurant. The staff have come to know us, and it's a comfortable place with delicious food and great cocktails. My Foodspotting addiction (which our server, Saul, mentioned during our meal tonight) can attest to our frequent visits, and inspires me to try to find something new to eat or drink every time we go.

This time, I went for the Victoria beer they're now carrying, and a Torta (a Mexican sandwich) filled with "al pastor" - aka barbecued pork. Just like that time at Reuben's in Hilo, I failed to anticipate that the sandwich would come with fries - which I (mostly) had to pass on after enjoying a few too many chips before our meal. I've never been disappointed by anything I've tried - from the borrego to the sopitas (which Dan enjoyed tonight) - and they keep surprising us with new items, like the amazing new hibiscus margaritas.

Finding Foragables in Peculiar Places

2011-05-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

My interest in foragable foods has been increasing lately, and each time I learn of a new plant that is edible, I begin seeing it everywhere. It started two years back when I learned about Pineapple Weed from reading the blog Fat of the Land. Then a trip to the farmers market revealed that Japanese Knotweed is edible, and particularly good when it first sprouts - looking and tasting a bit like a hybrid of asparagus and rhubarb. Each time, I start seeing the plant at every turn, and often in the oddest places. Cracks in the sidewalk seem to be a particularly good environment for many Seattle edibles - including both the aforementioned plants, plus dandelion and plantain.

With three extra mouths to feed, learning which of the plants growing in and around our yard can be consumed means free food for the chickens (and us), so I decided this year I'd make a more concerted effort. I bought a copy of the paperback Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager (by the same author, Langdon Cook, as the blog), and a 1970's classic, Northwest Foraging, by Doug Benoliel.

Neither includes photos, but by cross referencing the species mentioned with good ol' Google, I'm beginning to build on my knowledge of foragables in the area and their culinary uses, and am again seeing them at every turn.

Case in point: the Morel Mushrooms I discovered growing in the garden beds at my brand new office building. I walked by them a couple times wondering if they could possibly be what I thought they were, but disbelieving that such a coveted edible, which pulls in $50 per pound at Whole Foods down the street, could possible be growing in a garden bed. After consulting with my friends Jason and Martha, dozens of web sites and even more photos, I confirmed they were in fact morels - lots of them - free for the picking. So I grabbed a few on the way home today.

Even though I was confident in my identification (there really aren't any mushrooms that are similar to a morel, and the closest are obviously different in key ways, such as not being hollow like a morel), I took advice I heard and read many places to cook it well (in butter), and eat only a small piece (a tablespoon or less) at first. Some people have bad reactions to even edible mushrooms, so a test is best.

The bite was meaty, buttery (no surprise there) and very satisfying. We'll eat some of the others, and save a couple to try to propagate a batch in our own yard. I hear they like apple trees, so maybe the overgrown behemoth that offers only an apple or two each year can finally help produce something tasty.

Beef Fest @ Verve

2011-05-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

After our return to the Columbia City Farmers Market today (picking up some tasty food for the near term and some carrot, rhubarb and pea plants for the future), Dan & I had a heck of a time figuring out where to go for Date Night. It was drizzling out, which made picking something quick ideal, but given my follow up treatment Friday, I intended to go somewhere with soup. But somehow, the pull of the Verve burger was too great.

I've been longing to try the Verve Burger ever since our first visit to Verve Wine Bar over a year ago. So much so that I included it on my 'Discover South Seattle: Columbia City' Foodspotting guide, as a reminder. Why it's taken me this long to finally get it on a plate in front of me, I don't know - but tonight I skipped the soup and got a Verve Burger with bleu cheese and avocado that was heaven.

Turning our dinner into a full fledged Beef Fest was Dan's choice for dinner: The Painted Hills Steak. Our server, Heather, was incredibly friendly and (unlike too many places out there) was fully supportive of us ordering our beef rare - apparently also supported by our chef, who prefers his meat rare, too. Both the burger and steak were delicious, flavorful and tender, and paired with great sides. Mine came with roasted fingerling potatoes, while Dan's featured garlic smashed potatoes and eggplant with a demiglace. Dan's plate was clean before I knew it, and mine wasn't far behind.

And what to drink along with pink meat? Pink wine, of course! We had a great Yakima Valley Cabernet Franc Rosé called 'Pink Paintbrush', and we got a bottle cuz the re-corking fee is waived on Wednesdays.

As we walked back to our car, me lugging our 3/4 full bottle of wine, we both noted how great every experience at Verve has been. The food and drinks are excellent, but the friendly staff really make the place. Heather was the component that made our dinner great, just as Dan (the bartender, not either of us) has on visits when we sat at the bar.

I just discovered they've added a lamb burger to the menu, so another visit soon has moved to the top of my Date Night wish list.

Tantalizing Tripe Tacos @ El Paisano

2011-05-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

After our drink at Company, we all headed over to Rosticeria y Cocina El Paisano for a bite to eat before hitting the rink.

I decided to get a trio of offal tacos: tripas, lengua, and cabeza (stomach, tongue and brain). Unfortunately, they were out of cabeza, so I went for the birria (pronouncing it horribly). I asked what it was, and not knowing the word, our incredibly friendly hostess (who later serenaded us at our table with her beautiful voice) made the sound of the animal - goat or sheep, it would seem - so I'd know what I was getting into.

Paul and I ended up with our tacos intermingled, and an extra each, so there was plenty to go around and lots of flavors to explore. All my tacos were full of flavor and really delicious. But I found the tripe tacos were the most amazing - melt in your mouth good, in fact - and something I'll be seeking out in the future.

After we had our fill, we all headed over to the Southgate Roller Rink - the same roller skating rink Dan's Mom went to as a girl. It's been revitalized, reopened, and was positively hopping tonight. The crowd is a mix of young and old, seemingly from all walks of life - much like White Center itself. We had a great time going in circles, getting used to having wheels on our feet for the first time in ages. Hopefully, we'll get another chance to relive those middle school memories (and work out apparently neglected muscles in our inner thighs and lower backs) again soon.

Great Drinks, Great Bathroom & Great Company @ Company

2011-05-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight was another installment of White Center fun, hosted by Ruth & Paul. We met up at Ruth's place for a cocktail, then headed out on the town... with the ultimate stop being the newly reopened Southgate Skate Rink. But first, we hit the newest neighborhood bar: Company.

As with every other White Center hotspot, Ruth and Paul already know the bartender, and he hooked us up with a round of delicious margaritas. Ruth recommended I snap all of them at once, and the shot turned out great.

But not as great as, oddly enough, the shot I was compelled to take of the men's room at Company. I went in to use the facilities, and the paint design floored me. Literally - I ended up laying on the floor in the corner of the bathroom to get as much of the room in the shot as possible, and I'm pleased with the results.

Lunch w/ Leah @ Row House Cafe

2011-05-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Lunch today was courtesy of my friend Leah - one of the first people I met when I joined this little internet book company back in February 1999. Leah has a unique role these days, representing our entire software development community to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed. That includes creating a mentorship program, establishing both a distributed library (where people post the books they have at their desk and other folks can check them out) as well as a central library, and organizing speakers and conferences. Thanks to using The Row House Cafe as the caterer for one of those events, she landed a $25 gift certificate - and today we made good use of it.

The Row House menu is a collection of soups, salads, pasta dishes and grilled sandwiches. One might assume they're panninis, but they're more akin to classic grilled cheese - buttered bread cooked to golden perfection on a flat top, with melty gooey cheese (and other delights) inside.

I checked out the specials menu, and was immediately won over by the Prosciutto and Pimento Cheese Spread sandwich. I figured a little more reminiscing over pimento spread was in order.

I also ordered a cup of the soup. I ordered the gruyere & mushroom soup (one of the specials), but somehow ended up with the beef and cabbage soup. Not quite what I was hoping for, but not bad - and I wasn't in the mood to make a fuss. The folks working were so friendly, and given that we arrived right before the line-out-the-door lunch rush, a little soup mix-up wasn't worth bothering anyone about. And when you're enjoying one of the first sunny days in Seattle, hanging out with a friend at a cute little restaurant, why spoil it with complaints about soup?

Beba's Fix in SLU

2011-05-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

After another run along Lake Union today in the beautiful (and all too transient) Seattl esunshine, I made my way over to Yale Avenue - home of REI. But it wasn't about carabiners and camping gear for me today... I was seeking out Beba's Deli.

The move of my office to SLU has opened up a lot of food options, but there are going to be a couple places back at Columbia Tower that I'll miss. One of those was Beba's & Amigos - a little restaurant at the Municipal Tower with cheap, fresh Mexican fare and deli sandwiches. I was so happy to discover another outpost of Beba's in the SLU area - this one serving an even wider range of cuisines, from Mexican to Italian to Indian... and even some fusion offerings, like the Texas Tijuana Taco Penne pasta.

I didn't get quite that adventurous, opting for the carne asada quesadilla - a favorite at the downtown Beba's. It was just what I expected and just what I wanted, and I'm very glad my Beba's fix is only a few blocks away.

Pimento Cheese Memories @ Brave Horse Tavern

2011-05-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Dan & I decided to forgo the farmers market today (we're well stocked and really need to burn through some frozen meats), so we skipped ahead to Date Night. Dan met me after work at a restaurant I walk by every day - since it's practically underneath my office: Brave Horse Tavern.

After having a beer and a cider, we decided to order some food - and burgers were on the menu again.

So that I don't backslide too far in my weight loss, I decided to go with the Black Bean and Green Chile burger... then top it with pimento cheese spread and avocado. I'm fairly sure pimento cheese is a southern thing, but I'm sure glad that it's making an appearance in Seattle. I don't think I'd had pimento cheese in 8 years - since a short trip to Lexington, Kentucky for work.

In fact, it was the night I returned from that work trip that Dan & I went to a party together at a friend's house on Queen Anne, and he surprised me with a kiss when we were alone for a moment in the kitchen. The rest, as they say, is history - and eight years later we're enjoying a date night out, before heading back to the home we've made together in Seward Park to check on our chickens and give our cat some love.

Dan ordered the slow cooked pork shoulder sandwich with some fries (that we shared). He made note of how perfect the Dahlia Workshop buns they use are - and I realized I hadn't noticed the bun - which (in my opinion) is just about perfect for a burger. Too often, burgers are put on buns that are bready, dense, and overwhelm the subtleties of a good burger. Tom Douglas' crew knows better - putting their burgers and pulled pork on soft, airy buns that let the toppings shine.

I overheard the folks next to us make a joke that everyone in the restaurant was from the same company - and the blue badges hanging from many a neck (mine included) seemed like a strong testament to that. It definitely seems like it's going to be a great spot for a team lunch or an after work happy-hour. And I'm eager to give the shuffleboard tables a spin.

A Whole New Kinda Kebab @ The Berliner

2011-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

After my first lunchtime run, I found myself wandering the streets of South Lake Union trying to decide what to grab for lunch. There are lots of options, but not all of them seem like the kinda place you can get something quick to go. Then I stumbled on The Berliner.

Apparently, at some point, there was some amazing cross-culture coordination between Turkey and Germany, resulting in the Döner Kebab: slow cooked meat on a big spit, that's then shaved off and put in a hollowed out fladenbrot (flatbread) and grilled in a panini press.

I went for The Fiery Kreuzberg Döner with Lamb on Fladenbrot. It came with just enough chili yogurt sauce, plus peppers, cilantro, tomato, cucumber, red cabbage and onion. The fladenbrot itself was coated with seeds - which I failed to capture on camera (not realizing I had it upside down until I picked it up and dug in).

If you give The Berliner a try - and I strongly suggest you do - be sure to be prepared with the answers to three questions:

1. Which Döner do you want? (You can order by number, to avoid trying to speak German.)

2. What protein do you want - Chicken, Lamb, or Tofu?

3. What type of bread do you want - Fladenbrot, Ciabatta, Pita, Spinach Wrap or Wheat Wrap.

(You'd be surprised how many people didn't know the answers to these questions after standing in line for 10 minutes listening to every single person ahead of them order.)

Splitting a Burger @ Quinn's Pub

2011-05-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

Dan & I had plans to meet up with Ruth at Quinn's Pub for a bite before seeing 'Women In Peril' at Annex Theater. Ever since they inked the date on the calendar, we've been dreaming of a Quinn's burger.

Sadly, Ruth fell under the weather this week, and couldn't join us. But the play's director, our pal Jason, was able to come by and share a drink with us.

I enjoyed The Conquistador - a tequila/rum cocktail with honey and habanero - which had just enough heat to warm your throat, but no enough to make your lips burn. And the tequila/rum combo was surprisingly delicious, rather than overwhelmingly boozy. I guess I've been a sucker for a spicy cocktail lately. I figure, if a bloody mary can have tabasco and horseradish sauce, why not put some heat in a tequila drink?

Even though we'd both been dreaming of their burger, we did the sensible thing and split one.

We ordered it rare and for the first time in my life, the chef cooked the burger REALLY rare. It was borderline tartare in the middle - pink and delicious. We cut it in half and each devoured them, pausing only to shove some of their hand cut fries into our pie holes...

... or to scarf down some of the delicious grilled asparagus we ordered as a side.

The service and the food were impeccable, and even though Ruth couldn't join us, we had Jason as wonderful company. And Jason's show - a campy parody of all those 90's Lifetime movies starring folks like Judith Light and Meredith Baxter Birney (and often Aiden Quinn) - was a perfect end to the evening.

Suprise Lunch w/ Dad @ Bad Monkey Bistro

2011-05-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Dan & I were stuffed after our brunch yesterday, so I ended up not making the lamb chops for dinner we'd planned on - meaning I had no leftovers for lunch today.

By some cosmic-synergy-coincidence, my Dad happened to call today to see if I wanted to grab lunch. Turns out he was working in a building about 1 block away! We popped across the street to Bad Monkey Bistro.

Our server, Kit, got us seated right away and let us know the special: a French Dip sandwich with house-made, reduced jus ("not the powder stuff"). My Dad was sold, and reported it was delicious, and that the layers of meat were cut paper thin, making it really tender.

My indulgent weekend pushed me toward the Asian Salmon Salad - which turned out to be a generous portion, but still not the gut bomb a burger or buffalo chicken sandwich might've been. It had plenty of salmon, a zesty, tangy vinaigrette (a word I have to spell check every time I write it), and lots of crispy "exploded noodles". It was definitely something I'd order again.

Bad Monkey looks like it might be a great happy hour spot - as the piano in the corner suggests they might do live music? I'll have to find out.

Dad & I had a great talk - as always - and then I took him to check out my new office, the spectacular view, and my office mates Darla and her Jack Russell, Taco, before he had to head back to work. I guess the 2 hours of commute each day has some upside, huh? Sounds like Dad's in the 'hood pretty often, so hopefully we'll get to grab lunch again sometime soon.

Beat the Bridge Brunch @ Kona Kitchen

2011-05-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today was the 'Beat the Bridge' 8K run to benefit juvenile diabetes research, and my husband, two of his sisters, our nephew and and some of their friends all ran... and all beat the bridge! (I was going to run, too, but had to stop training when I got sick - so will instead be running the 5K Race for the Cure next month.)

I slept in, but did do 30 minutes of 'Free Run' on the Wii at the same time they started their 8K. After the race, I met up with the cold and wet runners at Kona Kitchen, an awesome Hawaiian restaurant in the Maple Leaf/Ravenna neighborhood. We were extra lucky to have Angela working - a friend we met through our participation with the Live Aloha Festival. She took great care of us, and gave me some of the scoop on her wedding - planned for next May.

Most of the group opted for breakfast foods - Eggs Benedict, Hawaiian Sweet Bread French Toast, and Pancakes, all of which sounded enticing - but Dan & I decided to go for some lunch options.

Dan got the North Shore Plate Lunch - a big heaping plate of Chicken Katsu, with mac salad, two scoops of white rice (the plate lunch classics), PLUS two spring rolls. The spring rolls are an extra touch that I've only seen Kona Kitchen do.

I also got a plate lunch - the Banzai Pipeline - with all the standards and Teri Chicken.

I figured I should get either the Mochiko or the Teri Chicken, in honor of the newest members of our household - Mochi, Teri, and Huli the chickens. Yes, we named our chickens after Hawaiian chicken dishes. What else?

Here's a pic of Teri - currently the runt, though she may end up being the prettiest, as Golden Laced Wyandottes have beautiful feather patterns.

The generous portions at Kona Kitchen were just what our group needed to get their energy back up (and to warm up) after the race. I could've probably stopped at half my plate, but it was so good I had a hard time stopping. Brunch was delicious and I'm very proud of Dan, Lisa, Jenn, Blake and the whole group for running 5 miles in the pouring rain to support such a great cause. Maybe Dan & I will have to head back to Kona Kitchen after the Race for the Cure... any excuse for some tasty Hawaiian food, great service, and comfortable atmosphere.

(If you'd like to donate to the Race for the Cure, check out my page.)

Loud but Delicious @ re:public

2011-05-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

Monday I started working at the new campus at South Lake Union - which has turned out to be a bit of a mixed blessing. My commute nearly doubled in length, taking an hour or more to go 8 miles via public transportation. I've tried multiple options, all worse than the last. That's turned out to be a real frustration. But... I have a nice new office that I share with a great person and her wonderfully behaved little Jack Russell. I'm on the top floor with an unobstructed view of the Seattle Center and the Sound beyond it. And I'm excited to explore the neighborhood - particularly all the restaurants: like Cuoco, Brave Horse Tavern, Ting Momo, Mistral Kitchen and Dahlia Workshop.

One restaurant that wasn't yet on my radar (because it's not on my commute route) is re:public. Thankfully, it was on Dan's radar, so when I suggested we meet up for dinner after work tonight, he suggested it.

After a little confusion whether we were there for happy hour or dinner (they led us to a tiny, dark little ledge that could barely be considered a place to eat), we got a table in the restaurant and ordered a couple cocktails, followed by a selection of their small plates.

I started with the Roasted Beets with Cara Cara Orange, Avocado Mousse and Lime Citronette. The sweet/sour/creaminess of the lime & avocado helped offset the earthiness of the beets - though not enough for Dan.

He was a sport and tried one of the golden beets, only confirming he still doesn't like them. I, however, devoured the plate - even though they tried to take it away before I was done. (The service had an odd pace - sometimes overly attentive, sometimes distant, but overall good.)

The Crispy Pork Belly on Poached Local Rhubarb kept Dan busy while I ate the beets, though I made sure to get a few bites in, too. The pork belly was rich and melt-in-your-mouth wonderful... even unctuous... but the rhubarb didn't really stand up to the pork flavors when eaten together. By itself, however, the rhubarb had a great acid touch, while still a little sweet.

After those plates were cleared, out came round two...

...starting with Grilled Asparagus, Hot Coppa, Torn Croutons and Smoked Soft Egg. The egg is the thing in the picture that looks alternately like an orange or a blob of toasted meringue in these photos. It had a slightly runny center, and a solid white with a light smokey flavor. A big with a little bit of each of the four components was perfect.

The smoky meal continued with Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras sitting atop a circle of toasted Brioche, and paired with dollops of Rhubarb Butter.

By itself, the rhubarb butter was quite sweet, but with the foie it was wonderful. The brioche offered just enough texture to the dish, without taking away from the way a bite of foie gras feels in your mouth.

Our final plate was the first thing Dan saw on their menu that caught his attention - even before we were there (he tends to check out restaurant menus online ahead of time, so he has some ideas of what he'll try).

The Charred Octopus, Chickpeas and Chorizo with Salsa Verde was again a smoky dish - which went perfectly with my smokey reposado tequila cocktail (the "Wild Rose"). The octopus was fairly tender (cut easily with a knife, not a fork), wasn't at all chewy, and went as well with the flavors of the chickpeas and chorizo as it did with their names. If only the Salsa Verde was a Chimichurri (for the sake of alliteration).

Indulging as we were (for no other reason than a sunny day in Seattle), I decided to check out the dessert menu - and couldn't resist a S'mores inspired dish: Chocolate Budino, Toasted Marshmallow Gelato and Graham Cracker Crumbs.

Seated atop a round of rich chocolate ganache rolled in graham cracker crumbs was a scoop of toasted marshmallow gelato, topped with a chocolate cookie. From a s'mores perspective, the toasted marshmallow flavor didn't come through as much as I expected, but that didn't keep this from being a wonderful end to a delicious meal.

The high quality of the ingredients - sourced locally where possible, the excellent execution of the dishes, and their stunning presentation made this a meal we'll likely be talking about for some time. My only complaint would be that on a Friday at 5pm, happy hour is in full swing and dominates the space. With my hearing issues, the constant din of the bar (which takes up approximately half the restaurant and is only separated by a low railing) made conversation sometimes difficult. But as soon as the food began to arrive, I forgot all about that and just dug in. I also forgot all about my long commute... and we grabbed a cab home.

Memento Meal - Penelope's Ancestry Edition

2011-05-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Marcy & James hosted the latest edition of Memento Meal at their Tacoma home. The theme this time around was the ancestry of their daughter, Penelope - with each course representing one of the nationalities that make up her heritage.

Our gracious hosts whetted our appetites with some charcuterie and cheese, and plenty of wine, of course, before introducing the first appetizer.

Accompanied by Marcy singing the Luxembourg national anthem, the course was a hearty serving of Mussels in a wine sauce with onion, shallots, thyme, and tarragon, accompanied by a bowl of creamy potato & leek soup. A very decadent, rich start to the meal.

Next up were the guests for this round - Lyssa & Andrew - with a tribute to French Canada. These two really brought it - with music of Quebec in the background while they served us Bootlegger's Lemonade - a pink lemonade spiked with homemade ginger syrup and a bottle of gin (passed around the table so each guest could control the amount of gin in their cocktail).

Then the plates arrived, with crisp, gluten-free homemade crackers perched across the plates, stacked high with maple baked beans, slow roasted tomatoes, bacon, and basque salt. The flavors were really wonderful, each standing out and marrying together with the others simultaneously. The baked beans seemed to strike a familiar note with a lot of folks, Dan included - reminding them of baked beans of their own childhoods.

Dan & I then served our Italian "Salad" course. Italian Salad said one thing to Dan & I: Insalta Caprese - the classic salad of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, often drizzled with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper. Dan had the great idea to reimagine it as a chilled soup, something like a gazpacho... and then I got involved.

I placed some orders with Le Sanctuaire and Amazon.com for a variety of food grade chemicals and additives, to enable a molecular gastronomic take on a chilled caprese soup. My thought was that since the original inspiration is a deconstructed dish to begin with, I'd maintain the integrity of that by making the soup deconstructed - also adding in the element of interactivity as the guests combine the components together to create the soup on the fly.

We started with ramekins (a nod to the dish that would follow us), and filled them half-way with a simple chilled gazpacho of peeled & seeded vine-ripened tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt and white pepper. We topped that with an espuma of basil created using my Isi charger and the help of soy lecithin and xanthan gum. (Oddly enough, an ingredient also found in the dish preceding us - in the crackers.) The ramekin was then covered by a balsamic tuile (a sweet, crisp, thin cracker), again mimicking the next dish of the night. On top of the tuile was a pile of powdered olive oil (made using tapioca maltodextrin), and then a sphere of liquefied Buffalo mozzarella created using 'reverse' spherification via calcium lactate and a sodium alginate bath.

Somehow I failed to get a shot of the full dish, or the dish after each guest broke through the mozzarella sphere and the tuile to mix all the components together. The bright pink of the tomato and the brilliant green of the basil were set off nicely by the brown, cream and white of the other ingredients, and beyond being beautiful, it turned out to be tasty, too. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, but if I ever make it again, the mozzarella sphere will be bigger (or there will be multiple), as there just wasn't enough mozzarella for more than "one perfect bite".

Accompanying our dish was a bubbly Prosecco wine.

For the first entree course, Anna & Jason took us to Ireland.

We started with a Black & Tan, and were presented with a placemat made especially for the occasion, depicting the "Irish Food Pyramid".

Then a gorgeous and delicious plate of food arrived, featuring a lamb shepard's pie (a family recipe), soda bread, orange marmalade, and homemade butter topped with sea salt (and in the shape of flowers, with little raspberry drupes.

Next up were Gerald and Robyn with a tribute to Penelope's Germanic roots - in the form of homemade veal and pork sausage, braised in beer (of course), and served with saurkraut and homemade spaetzle topped with orange zest, plus a honey mustard for dipping. I ended up eating all of mine, plus half of Carolyn's sausage, and licking the mustard bowl clean.

As the meal wound down toward it's finish, Carolyn and David served up decaf in three French Presses, accompanied by fresh whipped cream.

They had run into challenges with their Spanish dessert course - possibly the most challenging combination, given none of us could think of a dessert that epitomized Spain. But the end result of the difficult process was wonderful.

Visually, it appeared to be a dense, crisp dish, but when I cut off a piece and put it in my mouth, the airiness of their Almond cake with orange reduction blew me away. Made using whipped egg whites, it was akin to a angel food cake in consistency, but to a French macaron in flavor. It was served with a dollop of almond whipped cream, as well. It was a perfect light finish to a meal that took us all over the map, in many senses of the word.

Watching the proceedings from her perch on high was one of Marcy & James cats, who it turned out was eagerly awaiting her own dinner.

In preparation for the next Memento, Dan and I put together some packets to inspire our fellow chefs.

A few Memento meals ago, the idea came up of a Science Fiction theme - which Dan & I loved. I measured out 5 gram quantities of 8 different food chemicals, put in small food grade zip lock bags, and all placed in mylar food grade envelopes. On the front, I put a Star Trek logo with a whisk added, and altered the classic opening voice over of the original Star Trek show with a more culinary version:

Food: The Final Frontier. These are the dinner parties of the Supper Club Memento. Our June 25th, 2011 mission: To explore strange new ingredients, to seek out new techniques and new flavors, to boldly go where no chef has gone before.

(though now I realize it had a typo)

I'm excited to see how our friends intepret "Science Fiction" in their dishes. Despite my Star Trek leanings, science fiction is a broad concept - from post-apocalyptic dystopia scenarios like Mad Max, to space drama like Stargate, to things like Lost - and is as much a literary genre as it is a film and TV genre. Each dish could really represent something very, very different. We'll just have to wait to see!

Mozzarella Spheres
220 g Buffalo Mozzarella
150 g Mozzarella whey (the liquid from the tub)
5 g Calcium Lactate

Combine well with an immersion blender.

1 L Purified Water (with little or no mineral content)
5 g Sodium Alginate
5 g Sugar

Warm on stove an blend with immersion blender.

Using a large measuring spoon or a ice cream scoop, spoon balls of the mozzarella mixture into the sodium alginate bath, and let them sit for 5 minutes, turning once gently with your fingers. Remove from the bath and rinse gently with cold water. Store in a airtight jar of water in the refrigerator.

Olive Oil Powder
80 g olive oil
60 g tapioca maltodextrin
3 g sea salt

Whisk to combine, adding tapioca maltodextrin until a powder forms. If a finer powder is desired, press through a chinoise. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Balsamic Tuile
30 ml balsamic vinegar
30 g organic sugar
10 g butter
40 g flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend all ingredients together well. Spoon onto a silicon baking sheet lined sheet pan, and spread with the back of a rubber spatula until thin and in the desired shape. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Basil Foam
500 ml water
1 bunch basil
5g Lecithin
5g Xanthan Gum

Blanch basil in boiling water for 30 seconds, then shock in ice water. Pulse in blender with enough of the blanching water to create a paste. Strain the paste through a chinoise back into the blanching liquid, pouring some of the liquid over the paste to extract as much of the flavor and color as possible. Chill. Add liquid, lecithin and gum to Isi and charge. Keep chilled until serving.

Cinco de Mayo Guac-Off 2011

2011-05-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Last year, I was invited by some friends who work in another retail team at my company to judge their Cinco de Mayo Guacamole contest. It was a LOT of fun, and I was very excited to be asked back this year to judge the second annual event - this time encompassing multiple teams.

There were a lot more people, but a similar number of entries this year. But most notably different was me shaming my culinary prowess by selecting a store-bought guac as the winner. Truth be told, it was the only one that had any amount of spiciness to it - and it had a lot. Those who know me know I'm a bit of a whore for heat, so the mellow burn left by that guac led me to my decision. Given the texture (very, very smooth), I should've deduced it was store-bought, but I couldn't resist the spice.

After much of the guac was consumed and many margaritas drunk, another team popped over with bowls of creme brulee - and a butane torch - and began bruleeing them a la minute. It was so seemingly random but so wonderful. I didn't score a bite, but the empty bowls made it pretty clear how good they were.

Hong Kong Seafood

2011-05-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

Our next-door neighbor told me about a Chinese restaurant that had reopened a little South of us, that she and her kids used to frequent and were excited to visit again. It's been reopened awhile, but tonight Dan & I finally made it down to the Rainier Beach area to try out Hong Kong Seafood. And boy, were we glad we did.

After settling into a window table and getting some tea and Tsingtao, our waiter popped back by to take our order - and make helpful suggestions. Our meal started out with the best Salt & Pepper Squid I've ever tasted.

They looked a little like pork rinds, and were light and crispy and packed with flavor from the hot peppers and salt. I couldn't stop eating them, and imagined they'd be perfect for snacking on during a movie - like spicy seafood popcorn.

Next up, we had the Hot Pepper Chicken - which our waiter jokingly asked "Extra spicy, right?". Dan deadpanned back "Yes", but I don't think our waiter took us seriously - as the dish wasn't as spicy as the squid, though still tasty.

We also ordered the Crab Meat Egg Foo Yung, which was enormous. Three thick, fluffy cakes packed with meat and veggies, and cooked to a golden brown. We ended up sharing just one of the three, and taking the others home for lunches later in the week.

At our waiter's suggestion (after Dan asked if any of our dishes had any veggies in them), we also went for the Pea Vines.

They were very good, and had a distinct flavor that was similar to peas themselves, but with the texture of baby bok choy or spinach. Definitely something I'd seek out again, and I'm glad our waiter told us about them. I later overheard the woman at the next table (who was dining for the second night in a row at HKSeafood) that she really loved the pea vines, too.

My only regret is that we hadn't been sooner. The restaurant was comfortable, the service was excellent, and the food was bright and flavorful... and generous. We'll definitely be back for the Salt & Pepper Squid - and to try more of our favorites, and more of their suggestions.

Papaya Vietnamese Cafe via Delivery

2011-04-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ruth and Sarah came over tonight for some cocktails and Karaoke in our tiki bar - and after belting out some numbers, we got a little peckish.

2goServices came to the rescue, enabling us to get a Vietnamese fix without having to leave the bar - by way of Papaya Vietnamese Cafe.

We ordered Pork Skewers with Vermicelli, Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp, Soft Shell Crab Summer Rolls, and Coconut Fried Rice with Chicken - all of which were delicious... though I have to admit that after a couple margaritas, my palate might not have been as discerning.

Palace Kitchen PreFunc

2011-04-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Dan & I met up with some friends from our supper club to check out the Rocky Horror Show (a stage rendition being done by several friends of ours), so beforehand I met Dan at Palace Kitchen for a light dinner and a cocktail. We had planned to meet at a bar in Belltown - but everyone seemed so darn young down there. When did we get so old?

I sipped on a couple Orange Spritz cocktails (bourbon meets creamsicle), and we ordered some bar food to tide us over. I couldn't resist the Fried Pig's ear after seeing the girls next to us order it. It was beautiful, and I can't resist trying offal dishes when the opportunity arises.

Our bartender likened them to tortilla chips crossed with beef jerky. The guy sitting next to us, who I convinced to try a little piece, said it reminded him of popcorn. His vegetarian date wasn't game, so I couldn't get her opinion. (I did love that he ordered a big, bloody steak.) The strips of fried ear were a little chewy, but no where near as much as a jerky, and it had tons of great pork flavor. I would order it again in a heartbeat.

I was more lukewarm about the Lavender and Goat Cheese Fondue, mostly because the apples served with it were mealy. I may have to try it again when apples are in their peak - rather than when we're all enjoying fruit that's been overwintering. Or maybe I'll just get a double order of ears - one for each side of my head, right?

I Judged You Unfairly, Los Tinos

2011-03-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, the closest Mexican restaurant to our house (just a few blocks away, actually) switched hands. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that and Dan headed over to get some take-out one evening, with me trying to order based on the menu online. The new owners didn't have that item on the menu, so improvised - and the result (by the time it made it back to our house) was really disappointing. We ended up not returning until today.

It turns out Los Tinos (the new name of the place) does a great job - when you actually order off of their menu. And not being run by Seventh Day Adventists, they're open 7 days a week and serve beer & liquor.

They even have margarita specials on Saturdays (though we stuck with some Pacifico's today, which were served in frosty mugs with salted rims and lime!).

I ended up going for some Tacos Al Carbon (a favorite of mine since the days of Jalisco's on Capitol Hill). Today I went for chicken, though they offer steak as well.

The tacos were good, and had that smokiness that I love about the Al Carbon method (cooking over charcoal). They were served with beans and rice and lettuce, tomato & guacamole.

Dan went for a simple chicken quesadilla.

The service was excellent and the food was good - and we can't really beat the location - so we'll surely be back again sooner this time. I'm eager to give their margaritas a try!

French Macrons for an Irish Holiday

2011-03-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

My friend & coworker, Adam, found a free copy of Cecile Cannone's Macarons cookbook for me recently, so I promised I'd make something and bring it in.

Rumor has it that French macarons are the new pie (which was the new cupcake for a hot-second). I'd never had one, but the technique seemed straightforward enough and the cookies themselves are so interesting looking that I was eager to bake and taste one. The versatility of them (you can fill them with ganache or buttercream or any number of creamy things) reminded me of profiteroles, for which I have a special place in my heart.

Not to be confused with Macaroons (the coconut & egg white cookie that I believe was an American adaptation of the French original), these are sandwich cookies made of almond meal, confectioner's sugar and egg whites, which are then filled. They tend to be tinted in a pyschadelic array of colors.

I ended up with free time this past weekend, and time in the evenings the early part of the week, so that gave me the opportunity to make a batch of macarons over the course of a few days - making the cookies first, then the ganache, then filling them, then dipping them. Since this week was St. Patrick's Day, Dan suggested I tint the cookies green. They ended up looking a little sci-fi, which I don't mind.

Having not had one before, I wasn't sure if I cooked them long enough. I think I actually made most of them a little too big, which resulted in them being a little chewier and more fragile than ideal. I filled them with dark chocolate ganache mixed with peanut butter, then dipped them in melted milk chocolate. The ganache actually broke on me, but I was able to get it to come back together. Despite my concerns, when I took them in to work my coworkers didn't seem to mind at all. My director even came back for seconds! And Adam said they were great, so I did my job.

French Macarons
250 grams almond flour
350 grams confectioner's sugar
1 cup egg white at room temperature
pinch of salt
2 tspn powdered egg whites (if humid)
150 grams superfine granulated sugar
5-7 drops gel paste food coloring (optional)

Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Blend the almond flour with powdered sugar in a food processor to make a fine powder. Then sift the mixture through a strainer until it's as fine as you can get it. This keeps crumbs from forming on the macaron as they bake.

Using a wire whisk attachment on an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt and the powdered egg whites (if using them). Start slowly and then increase the speed as the whites start to rise. Add the granulated sugar and the food coloring. Beat until the egg whites form stiff peaks and your meringue is firm and shiny.

Pour the beaten egg whites onto your almond flour mixture and gently fold them in using a rubber spatula. Move the spatula from the bottom of the bowl to the edges with one hand, using the other hand to rotate the bowl. Now hit the spatula against the rim of the bowl until the batter falls in a wide ribbon when you raise the spatula. When you can't see any crumbs of almond flour and the mixture is shiny and flowing, you're ready to start piping.

Fit the pastry bag with a number 8 tip and fill with batter. Start by squeezing a small amount of mix onto a parchment lined baking sheet to form a 2.5 inch diameter circle. Be sure to leave an inch of space between macarons so they won't touch when they bake. If the peaks that form on the top of the macarons don't disappear after piping, you could have beaten the mixture a bit more - but a tap of the baking sheet on the counter should remedy the problem.

Let the piped macarons rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake for 14 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, open the oven door briefly to let the steam out.

Let the macarons cool completely on a rack before taking them off the parchment paper and filling.

Baked Snapper with Ginger Salsa

2011-03-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Dan has been itchin' to try some new recipes from his favorite cookbook - Best of the Best from Hawaii - and this week he found one that looked promising: Baked Snapper with Ginger Salsa.

We had to do a little hunting around for the snapper, but after a little research we realized it's often referred to as Rockfish. That became absolutely clear when I opened the package and the smell of the uncooked fish reached my nose. I was hit with memories of fishing with my family as a kid, in our big orange boat. Then the flavors of batter fried Rockfish and chips came into my head. This was the same fish that we ate a lot when I was growing up, which I must not have eaten in years, maybe decades.

This preparation is pretty different than the fish & chips of my memories, but is equally delicious. Rockfish is a pretty bony little fish, however, so either spend some time pulling out the spines, or be sure to warn your diners. I did a little of both, pulling out those I could find after cooking (when the slip out easily), but still letting Dan know to be careful. I also still have memories of nearly swallowing a bone now and again.

Baked Snapper with Ginger Salsa
3 medium tomatoes
2 Tbspn chopped scallions
2 Tbspn chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbspn diced jicama
2 Tbspn fresh lime juice
2-3 tspn minced chili pepper
2 tspn peeled and minced fresh ginger

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Cover and let sit for at least an hour.

4 six-ounce fillets of red snapper
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbspn lime juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place snapper fillets in a shallow pan and cover with wine and remaining one tablespoon lime juice. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Arrange fish on serving plate and spoon salsa on top.

Fancy Brunch at Verve

2011-03-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Long Lunch at LunchBox Laboratory

2011-03-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

Tear Jerker - Pepper-jack cheese and "Lunchbox onions" with jalapenos, habanero mayo, and Satan ketchup.

Potato salad

South End Filipino at Kawali Grill

2011-03-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

Inihaw Na Bangus (grilled milkfish)

Pinakbet - Sautéed eggplant, green beans, okra, squash, bittermelon, ginger, onions, tomatoes and pan roasted pork belly (lechon kawali) in anchovy sauce.

Tamarind candy

Green Papaya Salad

2011-03-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Dan & I have acquired a taste for the classic Thai Green Papaya Salad, and it's even helping us warm up to papaya (which I used to think tasted like feet). It was no surprise that Dan put it on our meal plan for this week. The only problem was finding green papaya, red chilies and shrimp paste, which wasn't available from our usual source.

But while we were down at Southcenter yesterday for lunch, we swung by Seafood City (a Filipino Superstore) and they had everything we needed.

I ended up using 3 red chilies, and thought it could still use some red pepper flakes. But we tend to like things spicy.

Green Papaya Salad
1 small green papaya, or 1/2 large (your papaya should be very firm, the flesh white to light orange in color)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1-2 cups bean sprouts
1 to 2 tomatoes, cut into long thin strips
1 red chili, minced (seeds removed if you prefer a milder salad)
3 green onions, sliced into long matchstick-like pieces
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped if leaves are large
1 lb peeled, cooked shrimp

DRESSING:
1/2 tsp. shrimp paste
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 to 1 Tbsp. liquid honey

Prepare the dressing by mixing together all dressing ingredients together in a cup. Make sure shrimp paste and honey dissolve fully. Set aside. Peel the green papaya, then slice it in half and remove all the seeds. Using the largest grater you have, grate the papaya (or you can use a potato peeler to create thin, ribbon-like strips). Place in a large bowl. Add the sliced tomato, onion, chili, bean sprouts, and basil. Add the dressing, tossing to combine. Add the peanuts and shrimp. Toss again. Taste-test the salad. If not sweet enough, add a little more honey. If not salty enough, add a little more fish sauce. If too sweet or salty, add more lime juice. If you prefer it spicier, add more fresh-cut chili or dried crushed chili.

(Recipe courtesy About.com)

Bahama Breeze Now Has a Happy Hour!

2011-03-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

My 5 day migraine finally broke today, so we headed out for lunch to celebrate. I'm still working on meeting my 25 lb weight loss goal, so a place with light options was necessary. Bahama Breeze fit the bill.

We started with a couple cocktails (what better way to celebrate not being in pain for the first day in almost a week?). Dan got the Passionfruitini, and I tried their Passionfruit White Sangria - which had chunks of mango in it and was very refreshing.

As always, there were some tempting new menu items (like Chorizo sliders), but I took a peek at the nutritional info at the back of the drink menu, and Dan reminded me of how good the Chicken Tortilla Soup was. At around 350 calories, it was perfect, and still surprisingly filling. Dan got soup and a lobster quesadilla, and I snuck a couple bites.

Our waitress was really friendly, and let us know that they've added a happy hour on weekdays from 4-6pm, so we'll have to figure out how to leave work early enough to make it down sometime.

Memento Meal - Old School

2011-03-05T20:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight's Memento Meal brought us back to the original premise - no theme, no gimmicks, just a great meal planned backwards. Okay, I suppose that's a gimmick... but it's the ORIGINAL gimmick.

Our hosts, Carolyn & David, kicked things off with a subtle and elegant Potato Leek Soup, topped with Creme Fraiche, Bacon and Parsley. It was flavorful and had a wonderful creamy mouthfeel, despite having a chicken stock (not cream) base.

The trio of toppings payed homage to our next dish...

Created by this month's guests, Lizzie and Jay, it was a sophisticated appetizer titled "Proscuitto filled with Happiness" - with happiness in this case being provided by pine nuts, goat cheese and arugula. The goat cheese and proscuitto were the stars, with pine nuts providing a little crunch and arugula lending a little spice.

Both the goat cheese and arugula mirrored the next dish...

Marcy & James followed with the salad course, inspired by a salad they enjoyed while in NYC. Mixing arugula, endive and other greens, tossed with shallots and a delicious vinegar dressing, the salad provided a beautiful base for amazing fritters of panko breaded goat cheese that Marcy and James fried a la minute. As my fork broke into the little pillows of cheese, it's melted goodness became a second dressing for the salad, balancing the bite of the vinegar and spice of the greens.

And that fritter was a hint at what was to come next...

Beginning a second act of sorts (as noted by Memento founder, Jason), the first entree was created by Dan & I. Titled "Bombay Bar Crawl", the plates featured a generous heap of homemade curry mustard, with a homemade Indian duck sausage corn dog nestled into it. This was our first time making sausage from scratch, and although we had a few minor struggles, they turned out great. We seasoned the meat with garlic, ginger, salt and fresh garam masala (made by toasting cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods, cumin seed, corainder, grated nutmeg, and black peppercorns). Unfortunately, the mustard flavor in the mustard masked all the curry powder I included - something I worried about and then forgot to check - but that didn't stop the corn dogs from being a hit. I made sure to save an extra jar of the mustard for our group's resident condiment expert - Marcy (aka Condiment Girl).

The spices used in our dish, the protein, as well as the bar food nature of it, were all inspired by the next dish...

Our inspiration came from the second entree, concocted by Anna & Jason: Middle Eastern Lamb Sliders with mini gerkins and homemade fingerling potato chips (in purple and yellow). The sliders featured a delicious aioli, lettuce and tomato, and sat atop homemade brioche buns. My favorite dish of the night, it was also clearly the main dish - providing the most bulk (in a very good way). Their dish also featured a unique technique for making potato chips that I'm eager to try out. The fingerling potatoes were sliced paper thin, brushed with olive oil, placed on a plate and microwaved. They turned out perfectly crispy, perfectly browned, and perfectly flat (which gives this technique a leg up over deep frying in terms of presentation possibilities, in my mind).

The simple, classic nature of their burger and chips transitioned perfectly to the final dish...

As a tribute to his father (who passed away on this date), Gerald & Diana's dessert course finished the meal with beautifully executed comfort, and plenty of booze. Our plate featured two homemade cookies of chocolate chips, cocao nibs and hazelnuts, perched next to homemade vanilla bean ice cream, and a dish of homemade chocolate syrup. But before we dug in, we raised our pint glasses of Guinness, dropped in a shot of Bailey's and Jameson, and chugged our Irish Immigrant Car Bombs in honor of the late Mr. Sexton.

Bringing Memento back to it's roots was a great experience, and something I expect others will repeat in the future. It reminded us all of how well the premise - planning a meal backwards - can create a unique story with food, with each course introducing the next in it's own way. Sometimes we aim to create balance with the next dish (as in the subtle soup setting the stage for the bold proscuitto & goat cheese). Sometimes it's the repetition of a technique (such as the fritters and the corn dogs). Sometimes it's flavors (like the Indian and Middle Eastern spices). And sometimes it's echoing a concept, like elevated comfort foods. Tonight's unique story took us from a simple and elegant soup to a bold, down-home dessert - with twists and turns along the way, and around the globe.

And around the globe will be taking center stage in the next round of Memento. Marcy & James gave us a preview of what they have in store - a night honoring the ancestry of their daughter Penelope. With bloodlines from Germany, Ireland, Italy, French Canada, Luxumburg and Spain, they will be assigning each of us a different country to represent in our course. Taking one for the team, they'll be doing Luxumburg themselves. Dan & I have the salad course, and have our fingers crossed for Italy or Spain... and not Ireland, where I recall salad wasn't exactly exciting.

Homemade Mustard
3 Tbspn yellow mustard seeds
2 1/2 Tbspn brown mustard seeds
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced (about 2 Tbspn)
3/4 tspn salt
Additional spices to taste

In a non-reactive bowl, combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight, covered. Transfer the mixture to a blender and process until mustard has obtained the desired texture and thickness. It will be very thin at first, then thicken as the mustard seeds become ground and the mustard begins to emulsify.

(Based on Emerille Lagasse's recipe on FoodNetwork.com)

Homemade Indian Duck Sausage
2 lbs duck meat, boned and trimmed of skin
1 lb pork shoulder
1 lb pork backfat
2 cloves garlic
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
2 Tbpsn kosher salt
4 Tbspn Garam Masala (recipe follows)

Cut the duck, pork and backfat into pieces your grinder will be able to handle. Add garlic, ginger, salt and Garam Masala to meat and cover. Refrigerate overnight. Grind meat/fat mixture together on course setting. Hand mix the ground meat to ensure consistency. Take a small sample and pan fry to taste for seasoning, adjusting accordingly. Stuff meat into casings, tie and store.

(Adapted from this recipe, courtesy Beerotter)

Garam Masala
1 large cinnamon stick, coursely chopped
1 Tbspn whole cumin seeds
2 Tbspn coriander seeds
1 tspn cardamom pods
1/2 tspn whole cloves
1 tspn fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 Tbspn black peppercorn

Roast each spice individually in a cast iron or heavy metal pan on the stop top, until you smell the aroma of the spice. They should each take about a minute each in a hot pan, but the nutmeg will roast very briefly and the peppercorn should be roasted last and quickly. Cool the spices and gride coursely (for use in sausage) or finely for use in traditional recipes.

(From Blue Ribbon Cooking School's Introduction to Indian Cooking)

Microwave Potato Chips
(From Jason) Slice potatoes very thin. Coat them lightly in olive oil. Since I was doing so many, I poured plenty of oil in a wide flat serving dish and got a bunch of them coated all at once. Place them on a plate but don't let them touch unless you want them to bond together in crunchy goodness. I microwaved them on high for 3 minutes, turning them over half way through. You may have to experiment with the time and turning and plate. One plate fried them much faster than another.

I tossed them in a little bit of salt and pepper, but you could do anything you wanted. Did someone mention truffle oil?

Happy chipping!

Mastering Page 570 of 0375413405

2011-03-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

For tonight's Memento supper club, we're going to be making duck sausage. I bought a full duck from Uwajimaya (along with some pork back fat and hog casings), and needed to break it down before I grind it up & make the sausage using our fancy new Kitchenaid food grinder and sausage stuffer attachments. So I did what any self-respecting foodie would do when they have a full duck in front of them and some time to kill: I pulled out Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1, turned to page 570, and followed the steps to bone a duck - a process that removes the main carcass from the bird without damaging the meat or the skin, allowing you to stuff the bird with pate, roast it whole, and cut it into perfect slices. It was made famous in the book and film "Julie & Julia", as it was the last recipe in the book that Julie prepared.

I'm happy to say I did it fairly quickly, and without a single puncture to the skin. The process is simpler than it would seem, and just requires careful attention. My zoology degree may have also come in handy, given my experience with dissections and knowledge of anatomy.

How to Bone a Duck, Turkey, or Chicken

To begin with, cut a deep slit down the back of the bird from the neck to the tail, to expose the backbone.

With a small, sharp knife, its edge always cutting against the bone, scrape and cut the flesh away from the carcass bones down one side of the bird, pulling the flesh away from the carcass with your fingers as you cut.

When you come to the ball joints connecting the wings and the second joints to the carcass, sever them, and continue down the carcass until you reach just the ridge of the breast where the skin and bone meet. Then stop.

Repeat the same operation on the other side of the bird.

By the time you have completed half of this, the carcass frame, dangling legs, wings and skin will appear to be an unrecognizable mass of confusion and you will wonder how in the world any sense can be made of it all. But just continue cutting against the bone, and not slitting any skin, and all will come out as it should.

When you finally arrive at the ridge of the breastbone on the opposite side, stop again.

Then lift the carcass frame and cut very closely against the ridge of the breastbone to free the carcass, but not to slit the thin skin covering the breastbone. Chop off the wings at the elbows, to leave just the upper wing bones attached.

After that, I actually removed the skin and broke the bird down into parts, chopped up for the sausage making to come. But I'm excited to have this skill in my culinary tool box, so to speak, and think it would be a wonderful way to prepare a thanksgiving turkey some year.

Are Buckets of Margarita a Good Idea?

2011-02-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

With just one day left before the winners of the Academy Awards are revealed, and Dan & I are a little behind thanks to Hilo, Hawaii not showing any of the nominees we haven't yet seen. So today was our last chance to catch one of the Best Picture Oscar possibilities... down at Renton Landing, of course.

Beforehand, we grabbed some lunch and a drink at Rock Wood Fired Pizza - a spot we'd never tried before, but heard good things from Dan's sister.

The 'Rock' in their name turns out to be a reference to their Ed Hardy-esque theme: lots of guitars and skulls as decor, and lots of 70's musical references on the menu.

I started things off with the most ridiculous thing I saw on the drink menu: The "Lovely Rita Bucket".

Literally a child's plastic bucket, complete with a plastic shovel, filled with margarita. Along with the Lava Lamp cocktail, the menu warns an individual can only order two of these booze buckets. It honestly didn't seem all that strong, but I could see how they might catch up with you quickly.

Despite the silliness of their margaritas, they do brew their own beer, and Dan gave their "Rock Steady Red" a try. He ordered a second, so I think it was good.

For his lunch, Dan went with the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich.

I chose the "Fly By Night" Chicken Sandwich, which was decent - though the proscuitto would fare better if cut into strips, so that you don't end up pulling the whole thing out with your first bite (along with the cheese that melted and cooled onto it).

Since we were going to a movie after, I went for a second margarita - though not another bucket. Instead, I went for the "Made to Rock Margarita" - a basic Cadillac Margarita.

I have to say I didn't get any of the musical references of the drinks or my sandwich. I had to Google them to find out my "Lovely Rita" bucket pays homage to The Beatles, my sandwich to a Rush song, and Dan's beer to Bad Company. The era of music likely explained the posse of 40 to 50-something men at the table behind us, who were doing shots and pre-funking before seeing "Hall Pass".

We stuck to True Grit - though Dan is REALLY excited about the upcoming Smurfs movie.

Layover Lunch

2011-02-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

A Downtown Hilo Favorite - Cafe Pesto

2011-02-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

Hilo Bay Sugar Shack Delivers the Sweet

2011-02-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

Lau Lau at Laupahoehoe

2011-02-19T16:18:00.000-08:00

Gettin' Our Ken's Fix

2011-02-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

Hilo's Hidden Gem - In a Strip Mall

2011-02-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

Slow Food in Sleepy Pahoa at Sukothai

2011-02-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

Best Poi, EVER

2011-02-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Pillows of Goodness from Puff City

2011-02-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

We're Regulars at Reuben's!

2011-02-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

Fig and Starfruit Cookie Thing

2011-02-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

The Complete Book of Cookies

Not Eating Pho at The Pho Cafe

2011-02-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

Celebrating Love at Kaleo's

2011-02-14T17:37:00.000-08:00

Thai To Go and Seaside Critters

2011-02-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

Dinner and Makaha Sons

2011-02-12T17:23:00.000-08:00

Black Rock Cafe is not at Burning Man

2011-02-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

Lava Tubes and Lunch at Kiawe Kitchen

2011-02-11T13:14:00.000-08:00

Running to the Reindeer Dogs

2011-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

Big Island Pizza is GENIUS!

2011-02-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

This is our first visit to Hawaii since my discovery of Foodspotting, and it's been really handy to discover new restaurants and dishes to try out. In particular, Foodspotter Luke Watkins has turned out to be a virtual tour guide of sorts - thanks to his spots and nomms of foods in Hilo & Pahoa.

Today we took his advice to try the Coconut Prawn pizza at Big Island Pizza, in Hilo. And we weren't disappointed.

The pizza starts with a base of Sweet Chili Sauce, which is then topped with Shredded Coconut, butterflied Prawns, Cilantro, Peanuts, Mozzarella, Mint, Red Onions and Smoked Gouda. The pie is light on the cheese, letting the decidedly Thai toppings stand out as the stars. It was like no other pizza I've tried, and it was amazing. The flavors remind me of Phad Thai, with the chili sauce, peanuts and prawns. The nuttiness of the gruyere ties well with the coconut and peanuts, and the whole thing comes together in a beautiful, delicious package.

When we return to Seattle, I'll be starting a campaign to get one of the local pizzerias - ANY of them - to add this to their menu. It's really that good. And given Seattle's love of Phad Thai, I think this could be a real hit.

Thanks for the tip, Luke!

Post Hot Ponds Luquin's Fix

2011-02-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

After soaking at two different hot ponds (the well known Ahalanui, plus a little one at Isaac Hale Park), we drove into Pahoa town for some lunch at Luquin's Mexican Restaurant.

We arrived right around midday, and the place was hopping. We grabbed a table and were quickly served some fresh chips and salsa, and got our drink order in: two Lilikoi Margaritas with Li Hing Mui rims. They make them great here.

The hot pond at Isaac Hale was full of tiny red shrimp (the same kind used to feed baby seahorses at the Ocean Rider seahorse farm here on the Big Island). And perhaps that worked up Dan's appetite, cuz he went for a plate of two Shrimp Tacos with Rice & Beans.

And maybe swimming with the fishes (in the Hawaii sense of the term, not the Mafia one) gave me a hankering for some fish tacos, myself? Whatever the inspiration, the shrimp and fish tacos were really good (we swapped a taco, so we each got one of each).

With the exception of the weird no-alcohol incident, all our visits to Luquin's have been great - with delicious food, friendly service, a relaxed atmosphere and tasty margaritas.

So THIS is what First Class is Like!

2011-02-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Due to big projects on both our plates throughout Spring/Summer/Fall 2010, followed by the Holiday peak season at my work, we weren't able to sneak in a real vacation until 2011. So we decided if we had to wait that long to get back to Hawaii, we deserved to splurge a bit.

First on the splurge list was our introduction to flying First Class. Hawaiian Airlines is already rated #1 among US airlines, so my expectations were high for a great experience in the 'big seats' at the front of the plane.

Things kicked off nicely with a glass of champagne while we waited for the folks in the 'cheap seats' to load into the plane - though I was a little disappointed that while I sat in my aisle seat, I got kind pummeled by over-sized luggage that was clearly not carry-on appropriate. Did I mention the champagne came in a glass. A real glass, glass?

Next up, one of our flight attendants laid a tablecloth over our tray table, and brought us a ceramic bowl of mixed nuts and dried fruit, and a glass of water. Again, a GLASS of water, with a wedge of lemon.

After a little while - but before Coach even got their $5 mini bottles of wine - we were brought our brunch, featuring a dishes by Honolulu Chef Chai Chaowasaree.

I dug in first to the Scrambled Eggs "Magda" with toast points and sausage.

Then I dug into the Bananas Foster Crepe Bundle with Maple Rum sauce. And then I started dipping the fresh fruit plate into the leftover rum sauce. I wanted to try a little of everything, so I had a bite of my muffin - which was just a simple bran muffin with raisins. Soon after, my flight attended decided I was done, and took away my plate without asking (a little weird for first class, no?).

The food was delicious, and I'm very much looking forward to the trip home, when I know what to expect and will get to enjoy some dinner and cocktails on our trip home.

The Surburban Mexican Food We Grew Up On

2011-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

Both Dan & I grew up in Seattle's suburbs - Dan in the Kent/Federal Way area, and me up in Bothell/Mill Creek/Everett. This was the late 70s thru early 90s, and Mexican food here in Washington State - at least in our areas - was all pretty much the same style. It's what I call 'Family Mexican', since many of these restaurants have that in their name.

The style was, and still is, epitomized by the places where Dan & I grew up eating Mexican food with our families: Garcia's, Torero's, and, of course, Azteca. This is the Mexican food that for Dan & I is comfort food. Food that reminds us of a special night out with the family, and at the time surely seemed exotic to our palates compared to our steady diets of burgers, meatloaf and pork chops.

So when people wonder why we eat at El Sombrero Family Mexican Restaurant more than any other place, and why we would drive all the way to Tukwila to eat at an Azteca... this is why. It's a reminder of where we grew up, of family.

Today, we continued our Oscar preparations by heading down to watch Blue Valentine, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams (who's nominated for Best Actress for her performance). And beforehand, we stopped at Azteca, across from Southcenter Mall.

I decided to indulge a bit today, and went for a Top Shelf Margarita - and even had 3 tortilla chips with salsa. Those giant baskets of chips are one of my weaknesses, and a major test of my self control. But today, I successfully enjoyed them in moderation.

Both of us got taco plates - fish for Dan and shrimp for me (though we traded a taco, so I got to try both). Just as we expected, the service was great, margaritas were big and boozy, and the food brought back great memories.

It may not be what folks who've moved to Seattle from Texas, Arizona or California consider 'Authentic' Mexican food, but it's what Dan & I crave when we need a little nostalgia with our chips & salsa. And I haven't been to a taco truck yet that serves margaritas.

Chocolate Cake w/ Coconut Cream

2011-01-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

This week was my father-in-law, Don's, 80th birthday - and tonight we all got together to celebrate. I got the honor of making the cake for the big occasion!

Carolyn (my mother-in-law) tipped me off to a recipe she saw in her Woman's Day magazine, for a Chocolate Cake with Coconut Cream, which turned out to be very simple, and delicious! The decadent chocolate cake stayed really moist, and the frosting was delicate instead of cloyingly sweet (thanks to almost no sugar in it) adding a delicate textural counterpoint to the shaved coconut pressed on the outside. I'll definitely be making this chocolate cake again, and am wondering if you could replace some of the heavy cream used in the frosting with coconut cream, to bump up the coconut flavor a little bit?

Chocolate Cake with Coconut Cream

Cooking spray and flour, for the pan
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1⁄2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3⁄4 cup boiling water

1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream
1⁄2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 cups unsweetened coconut (we used flakes)

Heat oven to 350°F. Coat two 8 x 2-in. round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with wax paper; spray the paper. Dust with flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, granulated and brown sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

Add the boiling water to the batter and mix well to combine (the batter will be thin). Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream, sour cream and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Place one of the cakes on a platter and spread 1 cup frosting over the top. Top with the remaining cake and frost with the remaining icing. Gently pat the coconut all over the cake. Serve immediately or refrigerate, up to 1 day.

(Recipe Courtesy WomansDay.com)

Sushi Delivery?

2011-01-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

I stayed home from work today, not feeling great, so Date Night turned into Dinner & a Movie at home, courtesy of 2goservices and Dupont, Washington's Sushi & Teriyaki.

I had some concerns about ordering sushi from a delivery service, but figured I'd give it a try. I'm happy to report that the sushi arrived cold and the teriyaki Dan ordered arrived hot. I stuck with simple rolls: Spicy Tuna, Scallop, and a Veggie Roll.

Both the tuna and scallop rolls were tasty, but the veggie roll was a bit cumbersome (falling apart easily), and lacked much flavor at all. It was essentially a cheap salad (white button mushroom, cabbage & iceberg lettuce, and a little cucumber) rolled in rice. With a little soy sauce & wasabi, it was more palatable.

Dan's Chicken Breast Teriyaki was good (I snagged a bite), and came with rice, miso soup, and a little salad. My three rolls turned out to be too much for dinner, so I packed up Dan's salad and some leftover rolls for lunch tomorrow - with plenty of wasabi.

Chowder & a Movie

2011-01-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Dan & I headed down to Southcenter Mall (I refuse to call it Westfield) to catch another Oscar contender - The King's Speech. But beforehand, we grabbed a bite at the Duke's ChowderHouse at the mall.

The lunch menu items were all surprisingly bulky, but I found an appetizer that sounded like good, light fare - Tuna Wasabi Quesadilla. It combined marinated yellowfin tuna with cucumber pico de gallo inside a flour tortilla, and was paired with a "wasabi" mayo and a black bean & corn salad (served in a little fried tortilla bowl). I appreciated the mayo being on the side, but found the quesadilla lacked anything to really hold it all together. Though the wasabi wasn't really discernible - lacking the kick I expected - it was still a tasty lunch.

Dan went for the lunch special - a half a cod sandwich and a bowl of chowder, which we were surprised to find came with a big pile of fries. Even when you try to eat lighter, restaurants sneak fries onto your plate. And who can resist a crispy, crunchy french fry? I had to eat one. but only one.

After lunch, we still had a little to kill before the movie started, so Dan showed me Seafood City - a new Filipino supermarket inside the Southcenter mall, with TONS of fresh seafood and some pretty exotic produce. And they have a variety of tea eggs, including duck! If you ever need beef bile, a variety of bittermelon options, or quail eggs, Seafood City is the place to go.

Your New Favorite Uncle

2011-01-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ruth & Paul invited Dan & I to White Center for another tour of the hot spots. The Company (opening this week) wasn't ready for us, but we did check out Marv's Broiler (a bar with great service and frosty pint glasses), and then headed to Uncle Mike's Barbecue for some dinner.

Uncle Mike barbecues meat beautifully, with everything from brisket and pulled pork to chicken and hot links on the menu - but he fell in love with a vegetarian. It's like a Romeo & Juliet story, with a delicious ending. And his Juliet made sure the menu has something for everyone, resulting in The Queen's Delight sandwich (smoked mushrooms & eggplant) and a BBQ Tofu sandwich that I went for, which includes flavorful tofu, plus lots of veggies. I definitely didn't miss the meat.

Each entree item comes with a choice of side, so I went with the greens - a buttery mix of chopped collards.

Dan opted for the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, also with the greens.

While Paul eschewed carbs and went for the BBQ Chicken meal, with greens and beans as sides.

And Ruth selected the very delicious looking Pulled Pork Sandwich, with beans.

The portions were great, the prices were more than reasonable, and the service couldn't be beat. I always feel like a visiting dignitary when we hit the town in White Center with Ruth & Paul, cuz they know all the restaurateurs.

In lieu of an evening of beers, jello-shots & karaoke at the Triangle, we stopped in at Full Tilt after dinner for a treat. I was torn between a couple options (Vegan Ube was my second runner-up), but I decided on a kid's scoop of the Vegan Vietnamese Cinnamon, which was creamy and delicious. And I washed it down with a Rainier Tall-boy. Cuz that's how we roll in South Seattle.

When the Work is Done: Pau Hana!

2011-01-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

This week's date night was a double-date plus one. We met up with The Ja(y)sons and Craig to check out a new Hawaiian hot-spot on the North end of Capitol Hill: Pau Hana.

Literally translated as 'finished work', Pau Hana is the Hawaiian version of Happy Hour - when the work is done, and you can go out and enjoy your evening with friends and family, food and drink. So what bettah name fo' a Hawaiian kine bar/restaurant?

We kicked things off with some cocktails - Plantation & Hawaiian Iced Teas, Lava Flows, Mango Margaritas, and of course, Mai Tais (just $5!)

Then we dug deep into the delicious menu of pupus and ono grindz. Dan & I started with an Ahi Poke that was bright and flavorful, and paired with some crispy wontons and baby bok choy.

And we devoured (with a little help) a HUGE helping of Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, that was so good and so tender, and paired with plenty of steamed rice and spinach.

After explaining what musubi is, we sold Jason, Jayson and Craig to get a couple orders of Spam Musubi, which was a big hit. For the uninitiated, it's like salty-sweet Spam sushi, and makes a perfect snack, breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Although I didn't taste it, the Crispy Tuna Belly over noodles looked amazing.

And once I get down to my goal weight, Pau Hana's Kalua Pig Quesadilla with be on my short list of first things to indulge in.

The bartender was really friendly and took great care of us, including calling his partner to bring in more Li Hing Mui powder, so he could offer us their Li Hing Mui Margarita. I couldn't resist, and was surprised by my first margarita with Li Hing Mui in the drink itself - not just on the rim. And it was great!

Pau Hana has that feeling of Aloha - the warm welcome when you arrive, the friendly conversation and great service, and delicious food and drinks. You really feel transported to the islands, and it's a perfect spot to meet up with friends for happy hour. Plus, the brunch menu looks AMAZING.

Memento Meal - Rustic French Edition

2011-01-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Gerald hosted the 2nd round of the 2nd cycle of Memento Meal, choosing a Rustic French theme for our culinary adventure. He and his guest, Diana, kicked things off with a trio of meaty appetizers.

First were fried Frogs Legs that Gerald butchered himself, then soaked in milk before frying.

Next was a rich Venison Liver Pâté with toast, made from a deer Gerald shot himself.

And finally, a Homemade Venison Sausage (from the same deer), paired with a sweet-tart, Cherry-Cranberry Mustard.

Next our guests for his round, Tricia & Josh, served us a delicious plate of artichoke with a Dijon vinaigrette, and a Mushrooms à la Grecque.

For the salad course, David & Carolyn served a reserved by incredibly well balanced and flavorful combination of Arugula, super-ripe Comice Pear, Walnuts, cave-aged French Roquefort, and a Mustard-Walnut Oil dressing.

The first main course was courtesy of James & Marcy, and Dan correctly guessed that it would be Coque au Vin.

James made it from a recipe (below) he acquired from M.F.K. Fisher, combining wing drummettes with fingerling potatoes, carrots and pearl onions in the most amazing broth - so tasty that some of us simply drank it up, while others more delicately sopped it up with bread.

Dan & I provided the second entree course: a Trio of Confit with Homemade Fromage Blanc on Mini-Baguette.

We combined an olive-oil poached fennel & garlic confit with the Fromage Blanc on our homemade herb bread, and the duck and pork confits each on their own with the bread, creating three tiny, decadent sandwiches.

Our mini-baguettes were made using Jim Lahey's No-Knead method, using a recipe from his book, My Bread (copied below). The confits were all from Sensual Preservation - The Art of Confit.

Rounding things out with dessert were Anna & Jason, who made Dulce De Leche topped Cheesecake inside tiny swing-top jars, paired with Apples and Shortbread - which turned out to be perfect for dipping into the cheesecake.

The night was another wonderful time with amazing food and great conversation, and Gerald was, once again, a perfect host. The meal was very balanced and flowed nicely with lighter and heavier options, from dish to delicious dish. Everything had an air of simplicity, yet was robust in flavor and incredibly satisfying. It all would be as welcome on the table in a French Country farmhouse as an upscale French restaurant.

Next up, David & Carolyn will be hosting and have chosen a No-theme Theme - taking Memento back to it's roots and directing focus on the transitions from dish to dish, planned backwards and eaten forwards.

Did I mention I cut my finger open while cutting my baguettes? I'm proud of myself or handling it like a pro - wrapping some saran wrap around it and continuing to work.

No-Knead Small Baguette
3 cups bread flour
1/2 tspn table salt
3/4 tspn sugar
1/4 tspn active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups cool (55-65 degrees F) water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tspn coarse sea salt

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, table salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the water and mix until you have a wet, sticky dough. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours.

When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Fold the dough over itself 2-3 times and gently shape it into a flattened ball. Brush the surface with olive oil and sprinkle 1/4 tspn of salt on the surface.

Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal. Grently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If tacky, dust with a little flour. Fold the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1-2 hours. The dough is ready when almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression.

Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, with the rack in the center. Oil a 13x18 baking sheet (or line with parchment or a silicone mat.)

Cut the dough into quarters. Gently stretch each piece evenly into a stick shape, approximately the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving at least 1 inch between the loaves. Brush again with olive oil and sprinkle with remaining salt.

Bake 15-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer to a rack to cool thoroughly.

Coquette au Vin adapted from MFKF

STEP ONE
3 T butter
12 oz lean salt pork
1 bag frozen pearl onions (because life is too short)
4 oz tiny mushrooms
one nice-sized shallot

Cut the pork into lardons (1/4' in diameter, 1' to 1 1/4" long), and then simmer them in 3 cups water for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and dry. Using a stainless-steel saute pan, saute them in 1 1/2 T butter until golden but not yet crisp. Remove with slotted spoon to paper towels. Brown the onions in the rendered fat/butter. Meanwhile, melt the rest of the butter in another saute pan. Saute the shallot, stirring, for about a minute. Throw in the mushrooms, and do the same until they glisten, maybe 5 minutes. Kill the heat. When the onions are browned, put them in with the mushrooms.

STEP TWO
12 chicken drummies (wing)
A bottle of hearty red wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 rounded T flour
3 garlic cloves, minced
dried thyme
5 sprigs parsley, tied
a bay leaf
3 oz dried mushrooms

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Boil the wine until reduced by 1/4. Brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, in the leftover fat of the pork/onion saute pan, adding enough canola oil, if needed, to get you 1/8" of fat. As the chicken is browned, put it in the bottom of a dutch oven. After the chicken is all browned, put the salt pork on top. Sprinkle with the minced garlic, and dried thyme to your taste. Using a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the glazed fat in the saute pan, scraping to loosen any stuck bits. This will form a roux. Stir for a couple minutes, then pour in the reduced wine and the stock. Stir with a whisk over high heat and reduce until slightly thick and smooth. Pour this over the chicken. Push the dried mushrooms and bay leaf under the liquid. Place the parsley on top. Bring to a boil on the stovetop, put on a tight lid, and put in the oven for thirty minutes.
After thirty minutes, remove the parsley and stir in the onions/mushrooms/shallot mixture. Put back in the oven for twenty minutes.

STEP THREE
40 tiny potatoes or cut pieces of potatoes
An equal amount of baby carrots, or roughly chop a bunch of young, thin carrots
Olive oil
dried Fine Herbs or Herbs de Provence
Truffle salt
A sprig of parsley

Boil the potatoes and carrots (seperately) until just tender. Drain. Saute them in the oil. When nicely coated (5 minutes), sprinkle with dried herbs and truffle salt to taste.

To serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Use a slotted spoon to place some of the onion/mushroom/pork mixture into a bowl. Place some of the potato/carrot mixture on top. Place chicken piece on top of this. Ladle gravy over all. Snip a bit of parsley on top.

Simple Homemade Cheese

2011-01-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

For tonight's Memento, I prepared all the components ahead of time, since I knew I'd be recovering from another treatment. One of the components was something I've been meaning to try for a long time: homemade cheese.

Since the theme of tonight's supper club is Rustic French Cuisine, I stuck to simple recipes that one might make on a farm to preserve the harvest, including fromage blanc - a cheese made with just milk, buttermilk and lemon juice.

Homemade Fromage Blanc
2 quarts whole milk, as fresh as possible
2 cups fresh buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained

Put the milk in a large, heavy saucepan. In a mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon juice and stir to combine well. Add the buttermilk-lemon juice mixture to the milk and begin to heat the milk, over low heat and very slowly, to 175 degrees F. While the milk is heating, stir only twice, making 2 strokes each time, with a heat-proof spatula or other flat utensil. Check the temperature often.

As soon as the temperature reaches 175 degrees F, remove the pot from the heat and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.

Line a large colander with 2 layers of fine cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Gently ladle the curds and whey into the colander and allow to drain until the drips of whey slows, about 2 minutes.

Tie the corners of the cheesecloth together to form a hanging pouch, and hang pouch over a bowl and allow to drain until the cheese reaches the desired consistency.

I used a clamp from the garage to hang the cheesecloth pouch from the cupboards, and helped it along by twisting the cloth and squeezing out some of the excess whey. They whey, by the way, went into my bread - no waste on the rustic French farm.

(Recipe courtesy FoodNetwork.com)

Eating Blood, Tendon & Knuckle at Hoang Lan

2011-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

The area around the Othello Light Rail station is jam-packed with restaurants - from Mexican to Cajun, Chinese to Southern, Thai to African. But more than anything, there are Vietnamese restaurants. I count about a half-dozen in a two block radius. But reportedly the best is Hoang Lan.

Not much to look at, it's your typical acoustic tile ceiling, formica tables kinda place, with a TV in the corner playing Vietnamese shows, and a clientele of exclusively Vietnamese folks. In fact, a fair number of the people eating tonight appeared to be family of the owners, as they all sat together to eat.

What's not typical at Hoang Lan is the soup. I'd read some reviews that claimed it serves possibly the best Pho in Seattle - a title it vies for with Pho Bac III. But I was there for something slightly different: Bún bò Huế.

Similar to Pho in many regards, Bún bò Huế is like its cousin from the wrong side of the tracks. Like Pho, it's a beef broth with vermicelli noodles (thicker here than at other Pho places). And it's served topped with onion and cilantro, with a plate of lemon wedges, shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos, and some sort of shredded vegetable we couldn't identify. But unlike the tamer Pho variations, Bún bò Huế has pork hock, pork blood cake, and delicious little beef tendon meatballs swimming in the broth, along with strips of beef. It's like a big bowl of offal, and it's really, really good. I can definitely see now why the words Bún bò Huế are bigger on the sign out front than Hoang Lan.

Dan stuck with the more familiar Pho Ga (chicken soup), which he said was equally great.

Lighter Options at Bahama Breeze

2011-01-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

After a great weigh in this morning, Dan & I treated ourselves to lunch out at Bahama Breeze down in Tukwila. Although there are plenty of decadent cocktails and dishes on the menu (many of which we've indulged in before), Dan reminded me that they also have lighter portion options on many menu items, as well as soup and salads.

I ended up going for the 2 fish tacos lunch (vs. the 3 taco option), and got the fruit salad as my side (which turned out to be pineapple chunks, grapes, and a papaya sorbet, of which I swear I only took one little taste). The tacos featured tilapia and avocado on a bed of shredded lettuce, and had a spicy sour cream on the side. It was the perfect amount of food, and I washed it down with a Lemon-Ginger Mojito.

Dan also tried something new - the Bahamanian Grilled Chicken Kababs, which were served on the skewer at the table, then the server carefully removed the meat and veggies for him. He said it was cooked great, and the peppers in particular had really wonderful flavor.

Thai 65 at The Landing

2011-01-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

It's Movie Awards season, which means my film-loving (obsessed?) husband has commandeered our Netflix queue to move all the Golden Globe Nominees and Oscar contenders to the top. It's only fair, given I do the same in October (pushing horror flicks to the top of the queue) - and it's a great way to see a lot of really great films, and enjoy the award shows more, since we actually have opinions about who should win. Another aspect of that is that awards season gets us out to the theater more, and last weekend we decided to check out The Black Swan. A quick check online turned up a theater down in Renton showing it, not far from our place, so we headed there. The film was great, but we were also impressed by The Landing - a little shopping/dining/movie complex that's recently cropped up there in Renton. Notable spots are a Five Guys Burgers and Thai 65 - a favorite of Dan's in the U District.

Tonight, we took date night to The Landing, and to Thai 65.

Dan started off with a Blue Mojito, while I obstained (given my weight loss plan is easily derailed by tasty cocktails). I did, however, try a sip, and it was very good. The Blue Curacao (an orange liqueur) combined with the lime to give a Margarita like flavor, but didn't overshadow the classic lime & mint flavors of the classic Mojito.

Shying away from anything with delicious, creamy (and insanely calorie-rich) coconut milk, I went for a seafood & vegetables stir fry dish called Phad Talay.

It included squid, salmon, shrimp and scallops (all your major seafood S's), all of which were wonderfully cooked, and tossed with carrots, green & red peppers, green beans, mushrooms and more. I went with 3 (out of 4) stars and it had a good kick without being guzzle-your-drink hot, and I could still enjoy the salty-sweet-sour flavors of the sauce.

Dan went for the Garlic Prawns, which he was equally happy with, and we shared a bit of a HUGE portion of rice Dan ordered - leaving about half our food and most of the rice for lunches tomorrow.

This had to be our quickest date night yet, as the service was quick yet courteous, and since we didn't devour the entirety of the huge portions, we finished fairly quickly, too. In and out and completely satisfied in maybe less than a half hour. I can definitely see why Dan enjoys their U-District location, and we'll be returning to The Landing & to Thai 65 (perhaps soon to see The King's Speech).

Oven-Roasted Aloo Gobi

2011-01-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

After getting a Wii Fit for our birthdays, I was faced with the reality that I was officially 'overweight' (at least according to Nintendo).

Mind you, not obese or even very overweight, but overweight nonetheless. That was the wake up call I apparently needed, and the tool to help me make a change, it turns out. I've been on the Wii Fit every day for 43 days now, and by late December I was finally in the 'normal' range. (Dan is, of course, perfect in the eyes of both Nintendo and me.) The thing makes exercising fun and easy, with a virtual trainer who shows me each new exercise, and tons of games, yoga poses, and strengthening exercises to keep things interesting. The more I used it, the more functionality it revealed. Now I'm around 10 lbs lighter than my worst weigh in, and still working toward my long-range and short-range goals.

Of course, exercises on the Wii wasn't my only change. I've been hitting the gym pretty hard, and Dan's been specifically planning healthier meals, while I've been strict about portion control and using lighter options in the kitchen.

Tonight we made Aloo Gobi with Tofu - a dish we've made before the traditional way, which involves frying the cauliflower and potatoes in a fair amount of oil. Tonight, I followed the same recipe as in the past, but lightly sprinkling the chopped ingredients with a little oil, then tossing them with all the seasonings and roasting them in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes - until the potatoes were tender. I can't say I noticed a difference in flavor, but it was sure a lot easier (and less messy) than pan frying.

NYE Cuban Sandwiches

2010-12-31T19:49:00.000-08:00

Dan & I have a tradition (for three years now) to make and enjoy Cuban Sandwiches on New Year's Eve. For the past two years, that's been about the extent of our NYE excitement. In fact, I don't think we've stayed awake until midnight for more years than that.

All that changed (except the sandwiches) this year, thanks to our friend & neighbor Mark organizing a NYE progressive party through the 'hood. We started at 7:30 at our place for Mai Passion punch and mini Cuban sandwiches in the tiki bar, then made our way to 4 other houses enjoying cocktails, food, and conversation. It was a ton of fun, except this lightweight wasn't prepared for 5 houses worth of cocktails. Even with some mini Cubans, a couple of Stephanie's delicious homemade egg rolls, nibbley things from Willa's, and at least one blue cheese popover courtesy of Mark in my belly, the rum/vodka/rum/vodka/champagne drinkin' proved too much for me. We did make itmade it past midnight and safely home, but I spent the night paying dearly for my indulgences.

Nathan's Grill

2010-12-30T12:49:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, my in-laws got me this cool stovetop grill and griddle, made by Nathan's - the famous hot dog people. Tonight I got to give it a test-drive, cooking up some chicken breasts for dinner. It worked perfectly, and was easy to clean. I expect I'll be using the flip side soon for a NYE treat.

Homemade Treats from Friends & Neighbors

2010-12-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

This year we received an abundance of tasty gifts from friends, neighbors and coworkers.

Stephanie & Tom down the road brought us homemade Strawberry-Basil Jam, Brandied Pears, two kinds of fudge, caramels, and these little meringue pillows with candy-cane dust. You might notice the fudge & caramels got devoured before I could snap a photo.

Anna, Jason & Otis spoil us every year with delicious gifts dropped off on our doorstep - like little culinary elves visited us. Past years have been homemade tamales and homemade s'mores fixins, and this year we came home to a bounty of sweets.

Reverse rocky-road had me very intrigued, and a taste revealed them to be homemade marshmallows with chocolate and nuts swirled inside. Incredibly unique and equally yummy.

Spicy biscotti cookies studded with bright green pistachios and bright red cranberries were more flavorful than any biscotti I've tried.

And taking the award for most beautiful was the chocolate bark, which I still can't figure out how they made. It really looks like chunks of bark, with the intricate pattern of the wood etched into the chocolate, white chocolate and almond treat.

Allergen Free Chocolate Tart

2010-12-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight we headed over to my folks place in Clearview for Christmas Eve dinner and to exchange gifts. Since they're currently remodeling their kitchen, we decided pizza and beer would be perfect. But despite the conditions in the kitchen, my Mom baked a homemade chocolate tart, using a recipe from a cookbook I got her for her birthday: Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook. It's full of tasty looking treats made with no dairy, soy, gluten, egg, etc. The crust utilized Xanthan Gum (another of my birthday gifts for her, given it's not easy to find), and turned out great.

Holiday Baking 2010

2010-12-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

In preparation for Christmas, Dan & I decided on some cookies we wanted to make for post-Christmas Day dinner. In addition to no-bake ginger-molasses rum balls, we made more traditional chewy molasses ginger cookies, and (as a nod to our love of all things Hawaiian), mango oatmeal bars. We had originally planned on making gingerbread cookies, but wanted to make something softer (and simpler), and I found this recipe while flipping through a new (to me) cookbook I picked up at work by Lisa Zwirn: Christmas Cookies: 50 Recipes to Treasure for the Holiday Season. The Mango bars are from our old standby, the Best of the Best from Hawaii.

Mango Bars
Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9x13 baking pan. Combine flour and sugar. Blend in butter and press into prepared pan. Bake 7 minutes.

Filling:
4 cups chopped mango or mango puree
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tspn lemon juice
1 tspn vanilla
1 tspn cinnamon
3 Tbspn cornstarch
3 Tbspn water

Combine mangoes, sugar, 1/3 cup water, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon in a saucepan. Simmer until mangoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Combine cornstarch and water and stir into mango mixture, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then pour over prepared crust.

Topping:
2 cups quick oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened

Combine oats, flour and sugar. Blend in butter and sprinkle over mango mixture. Bake for 50 minutes, then cool and cut into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 2 dozen.

Molasses Ginger Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn salt
2 tspn ground ginger
1 tspn cinnamon
1/4 tspn allspice
1/4 tspn freshly grated nutmeg
12 Tbspn unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling the dough
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a medium bowl. In an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until fully blended. Beat in the molasses, then the egg. Slowly blend in flour mixture until fully incorporated. Place the remaining sugar in a small bowl. Pinch off clumps of dough and roll into 1 inch balls. Roll each ball in the sugar to coat fully. Place balls about 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake 11-12 minutes, rotating the sheet pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool for two minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Both recipes were really simple and quick, and the results were mighty tasty. In the future, I hope to adapt the mango bar recipe, making it with different bases (ground up gingersnaps, graham crackers, or almonds?), and with different fruit fillings. Since I'm obsessed with the flavors in a Mai Tai, I thought an almond base with orange/pineapple/rum filling, a cherry on top and a lime icing would be delicious.

Sazerac Happy Hour

2010-12-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

Dan organized a little happy hour downtown after work tonight, with his sisters Midge & Lisa, and his folks. After our great experience on Veteran's Day, and based on Lisa's glowing recommendation, we hit up Sazerac.

It absolutely lived up to the hype, and since Midge, Carolyn & Don got their early, we had a comfy corner booth. Dan & I sipped the bar's namesake cocktail, and we all nibbled on some of their tasty bar food. The Crispy "Truffles" were amazing - little balls of mashed potatoes mixed with truffles and cheese, then deep fried (not exactly diet food).

Along with those, we had Bacon-Wrapped Medjhool Dates, mini Cheeseburgers (which were perfectly cooked and really great beef), some sweet potato fries, and a couple pizzas.

I enjoyed all the items I tried, but most of all the truffles. When you cut into them, the smell of truffle wafts up to your nostrils. Perfect for a cool winter night.

Ke Ala 'Ula Liqueurs

2010-12-19T16:02:00.001-08:00

After picking up a copy of Luscious Liqueurs: 50 Recipes for Sublime and Spirited Infusions to Sip and Savor at work, I got inspired to try my hand at making some liqueurs. Over 10 years ago I made a couple infused vodkas (satsuma and apple pie), and more recently I've made bacon infused bourbon, mint infused rum, and pumpkin pie vodka - but I'd never followed any recipes or made a liqueur, so I was excited to try something new and be able to stock our bar with homemade booze.

I picked up a couple Anchor Hocking 2-1/2-Gallon Jars from Amazon, hit the grocery store for ingredients and then Dan & I spent an afternoon peeling, chopping, zesting, cooking and stirring up the ingredients to make an Almond Liqueur (similar to Amaretto) and an Orange Liqueur (akin to TripleSec). We picked them because of their relationships to two of our favorite tropical cocktails: Mai Tais and Margaritas.

That was back in mid-November, and after a month of resting and infusing, it was time to bottle. A coworker tipped me off to Specialty Bottle down on 4th Ave S, and I acquired dozens of cool swing top and screw cap bottles, plus some big jugs, for storing our concoctions - which turned out pretty darn good, if I say so myself. I made up some labels on the computer, naming the liqueurs based on the Hawaiian words for orange and almond.

Can't wait to enjoy a drink featuring these in our bar! And to start on the next two batches of liqueurs. Maybe a pineapple rum, coconut vodka or macadamia nut liqueur?

Almond Liqueur
1 cup skin-on whole raw almonds
1 Tbspn freshly grated orange zest
2 1/2 cups brandy
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbspn vanilla extract

Coarsely chop the almonds. Put them, orange zest, and brandy in a glass container with a tight fitting lid. Stir well. Seal and place the container in a cool, dry, dark spot for 2 weeks, swirling occasionally.

Combine the sugars and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat a bit, keeping the mixture at a low boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the syrup completely cool in the pan. (This step can be done any time during the 2 weeks, then refrigerated until added to the liqueur.)

Add the syrup and vanilla to the brandy mixture, stir well and reseal. Return to a cool, dry, dark spot for 2 more weeks, swirling at least every other day.

Carefully strain the liqueur through a double layer of cheesecloth into a pitcher or easy pouring vessel. Strain again through 2 new layers of cheesecloth into storage bottles.

Royal Orchid

2010-12-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

Friday nights are quickly becoming delivery night at our house, with Royal Orchid (via 2goServices) being tonight's selection. It's a restaurant in Renton right on Rainier Ave S, so we pass it every time we drive down to Dan's folks place, or his sister Jennifer's. But we never stopped in.

Too bad, cuz the food was really good. And they take their star-rating system seriously. My Yum Woon Sen (a salad of ground chicken, crystal noodles and prawns with veggies) left me with burning lips, and the pile of chili flakes on Dan's Chicken Showering Rama was definitely intimidating.

Dan said the spice helps balance the sweetness of peanut sauce, but I'll try to remember to take it down a notch the next time I order.

Breakfast at Salish Lodge

2010-12-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

Before we checked out, we all regrouped in the dining room for some brunch, starting with a couple bloody marys for Dan & I.

I went for the Smoked Salmon Hash, topped with an egg, which was really bursting with flavor.

A Night at The Attic - Salish Lodge

2010-12-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

After a holiday lunch with extended family up in Snohomish, Dan & I drove through torrential rains to Snoqualmie, WA to meet up with Ruth & Paul for a night away at Salish Lodge.

There was a mini-mixup with whether we had room reservations, but in the end the lodge found us a room that was just perfect, and we headed up to meet Ruth & Paul in The Attic - the lodge's casual restaurant.

After a round of drinks, we ordered some of the bar menu fare - including a goat cheese and grilled pear pannini, a beef pot pie, a smoked paprika chicken sandwich, and Cap'n Crunch Chicken - which was pretty good, and served on a bed of it's namesake (which was also used for the breading).

Despite being fireside, the lighting was a bit dim for my camera, so the photos are a little sad - but we had a great time eating and drinking, goofing around in the library, then heading to bed.

Aloha Hawaiian Grill

2010-12-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

Although we've had some trouble with delays (nearly 2 hours is a long time to wait for dinner), our addiction to 2goServices is in full force. Tonight we ordered from Aloha Hawaiian Grill.

Dan went for a Kalua Pig dinner, while I tried Pork Lau Lau.

We love our Hawaiian food, but this wasn't the best in town. It may be the worst we've tried, unfortunately. Perhaps it didn't travel well, both of us noted that our pork was greasy. In fact, you can see the shine on the kalua pig, and the puddle of oily mess under my lau lau in the photos - and the mess spilled all over inside the bag during transit.

Probably won't order from them again, but glad to know that if we get desperate for some Spam Musubi, we can have it delivered.

Pizzuto's Pizza

2010-12-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

We hit Pizzuto's again for Date Night this week, but mixed it up by ordering a pizza and a salad. But I still got my chianti, of course.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2010-12-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

Dan found this recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup online and we gave it a try. Rather than making our own stock while cooking the chicken, I just poached the chicken in store bought chicken broth before shredding it - which passed a little extra flavor on to the broth for the soup and got the job done of cooking the chicken. We also opted for store bought chips instead of frying our own tortilla strips, making this easy enough for a weeknight (even if we did it on a Sunday).

Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium white onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
1 quart chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tortilla Chips
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
1 cup shredded Jack cheese, optional
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Ladle the hot soup into 4 soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Top with diced avocado, tortilla chips and cheese. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe on FoodNetwork.com

Columbia City Tree Lighting Post-El Sombrero

2010-12-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

While we were eating at El Sombrero tonight, a Santa Clause popped in. We couldn't hear what he was talking about, but our waitress told us that there was going to be a tree-lighting ceremony across the street.

Not quite as big as the Downtown iteration, but similar in style, Columbia City has a 'tree' of lights strung up above the florist at the corner of Rainier and Ferdinand, and they had a crowd of folks singing carols and awaiting the lighting. We got cold waiting, then just as we turned to walk to the car, they began the countdown, so we got to see the lights turn on.

Fun to get to see it happen. And my shrimp fajita taco salad wasn't half bad, either.

Stir Restaurant

2010-12-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight we took advantage of 2goServices once again, this time trying out Stir Restaurant - an Chinese place in Renton.

Everything was quite good, perhaps most so the Salt & Pepper Calamari.

Although we shared everything, I ordered the Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

and Dan chose the Beef Chow Fun. Both were generous portions and full of flavor... and exactly what we expected.

Hudson - Truckstop Diner, Grandma's House, Hipster Bar or Fancy Supper Club?

2010-12-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

Although I failed to capture it on film, we spent Sunday doing some wine tasting with Ruth, Paul, Mark, Peter and Mathew - up in Snohomish - then had dinner at Stellar Pizza in Georgetown.

And Dan left his credit card there. So tonight we had to swing back down to Georgetown, and took the opportunity to grab some dinner at a new (to us) place: Hudson.

Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, attached to the old morgue, Hudson is an enigma worth visiting.

From the outside, it seemed a little like a truck stop, and once inside some of the clientele definitely continued that vibe. But they were joined by Georgetown hipsters, surrounded by decor that reminds me of a supper club. Fancy wallpaper is covered with old family pictures, with dim lighting and wood tables topped with candles.

The menu echoes the truck stop feel - with lots of comfort food favorites. But the execution of the menu is way beyond what I expected - my awesome chicken fried steak was paired with perfectly cooked fresh green beans (where I'd expected a sad veggie medley from a bag). Dan's open faced sandwich was equally delicious, and the local beers available to wash it down were great.

Dan's Birthday Dinner Courtesy Dave's Diner

2010-11-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

Dinner turned out to be a change of plans, too - after we ordered from Ezell's via 2goServices, only to find out that they were closed.

Thankfully, Dave's Diner is also a restaurant that 2go supports, and they had a fried chicken dinner on the menu. It turned out just perfect, and hopefully Dan enjoyed his big day - despite every restaurant we planned to visit being closed.

Dan's Birthday Lunch at Cactus

2010-11-26T15:38:00.000-08:00

The theme of Dan's birthday this year turned out to be closed restaurants, as we discovered when we drove over to West Seattle to enjoy a bite and a drink at Bamboo Grill.

As we walked up, the staff waved at us, but were sitting inside the dark restaurant, waiting for the power to go back on... so we turned around and hit up the Cactus.

A favorite of Lisa (Dan's sister), Dan & I have never actually been to the Alki location - only the one in Madison Park. We grabbed a booth in the bar and ordered a couple margaritas and some chips and salsa - a perfect light lunch, since we have plans for something a little heavier for dinner.

Dan's Birthday Breakfast at Geraldine's Counter

2010-11-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

After the Thanksgiving feasting and karaoke in our tiki bar, Dan's folks stayed the night in the guest room. This morning, we all got up and headed to Columbia City for some brunch.

Dan had hoped to go to Verve, but forgot that since it was a Friday, the brunch options would be limited - and not include Verve, it turns out. We ended up at Geraldine's Counter.

I got the biscuits and gravy, and Dan got the Emerald Scramble. I've definitely had better biscuits and gravy elsewhere, and was bothered that the servers cut between our table and the next one, bumping my chair (which was as pushed in as I could get it) every few minutes.

I'm still baffled why they have a line out the door every weekend for brunch, when Verve & Lottie's Lounge offer better service and (IMHO) better food. I guess I'll count myself happy that the places I like to go aren't busy, huh?

Our First Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

We hosted our first Thanksgiving this year, and like a crazy person I made darn near everything from scratch.

I baked two types of bread for two types of stuffing (cornbread & sausage and herbed bread stuffing).

Dan & I made two pies (his famous mac nut and a veganized version of Happleberry for my Mom).

I made an apple/cranberry relish with hazelnuts.

I made turkey stock that we used to make gravy to go over the mashed potatoes.

And I roasted a whole turkey using the butter & wine technique Martha Stewart recommends. I even tucked sage leaves (from our garden) under the skin before baking, like the folks at HerbFarm told us.

Plus I made a turkey roulade and a field roast 'celebration loaf' to make sure guests with specific food needs had enough to eat.

Add to that Jennifer's Green Bean Casserole, Carolyn's Sweet Potatoes, Lisa's fruit salad, my Mom's homemade rolls, Midge's pumpkin pies and even more pies my sister brought, and it was a feast indeed.

And everything turned out great... except I forgot to take a single picture of any of it. Thankfully, Dan took a couple shots with his phone.

Island Soul - In a Bowl!

2010-11-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

We headed into Columbia City today for an early dinner, and landed on Island Soul. I'm glad we did, because we were about the only folks there, and the staff and owner were really fun to chat with - and they even took our picture!

I went for the 'Island Soul In a Bowl' entree - which includes samplings of 4 of their favorite dishes: Oxtail Stew,

Curry Goat,

Jerk Chicken,

And Red Beans & Rice.

The Oxtail was my favorite, though the goat and chicken were close runners-up. I was happy that the Jerk Chicken lived up to it's name, offering lots of spice & heat - unlike "jerk" chicken at many other Seattle places, which are bland, bland, bland.

Dan went for the Street-Side Prawns.

And I couldn't resist trying the coconut corn muffins, which were as heavenly as Calvin (Seattle's top Foodspotter) has said they were.

They also convinced us to get some collard greens, which were good - but lacked the ham hock/bacon type flavor I've come to expect.

Cafe Columbia

2010-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

I failed to make muffins this week for our breakfasts, and today couldn't resist trying an apple fritter from Cafe Columbia - a little deli counter in the Columbia Tower. I was disappointed that I didn't taste any chunks of apples, but the size of the thing almost made up for that.

Golden Indian Curry House

2010-11-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

A flyer arrived in our mail today for a new food delivery service supporting the South End of Seattle and the Eastside. With so few places willing to delivery to us way out in Seward Park, we were really excited that 2goServices has a huge selection of spots now available to us, mostly from the Renton/Kent/Tukwila areas, and including Golden Indian Curry House.

In addition to some Garlic Naan, we ordered Chicken Makni (butter chicken) and Lamb Saag Masala (a lamb & spinach curry), plus some basmati rice, of course. We ended up with WAY too much rice (we never know whether to order 1 or 2 orders, and erred on the too much side this time), but all the food was really delicious and delivered hot.

For just a $8 delivery charge and an 80 minute estimated wait, we now have dozens of new food choices open to us for delivery to our door. This time of year, when it's cold and wet and after commuting home we just want to get into our pajamas and lounge around, it's gonna be great!

Spam Phad Thai

2010-11-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

A new Hawaiian/Thai Truck (Pai's) has joined the ever-growing fleet of mobile food enterprises in Seattle, and my first thought when I heard about it was that they MUST have Spam Phad Thai on their menu.

As it turns out, they don't - but we decided we should give that combo a try at home tonight. Pretty darn delicious, though next time I'll definitely cook the Spam musubi style before slicing it and adding it to the noodles - to get that extra sweet/salty flavor and the crispy crust.

Mama Sambusa Kitchen

2010-11-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

Walking home the other day, I noticed that Grubz Grill (the burger/chicken joint that shared a parking lot with a car wash) had changed to Mama Sambusa Kitchen - an African spot specializing in Sambusas.

Sambusas are a lot like the Indian Samosas, and I imagine their similar names point to a similar food ancestry - though I wonder which came first?

I went for the Sambusa Combo - which turned out to be a HUGE amount of food, including a half-dozen sambusas, a ton of really amazing rice pilaf w/ peas and raisins and other tasty things, and a green salad. I arrived a little late for lunch, so they were short on sambusas and had to make some up from scratch - so the wait was long, but well worth it. As promised, everything was delicious. The staff were really nice and I kicked back in the dining room watching CSI on the TV while I waited, then took my food home. I could only eat about a third of it, so packed the rest up for later.

Mazatlan Birthday Brunch

2010-11-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

Today we got together with my folks and my sister for a little birthday brunch. Since my Mom's following a really strict diet to try to alleviate some of the pain she endures, we went with a restaurant I've been wanting to check out, which also hopefully would have options she could enjoy: Mazatlan in Renton.

It may have been brunch, but it was also my birthday, dammit - so I ordered a Mexican beer in a frosty mug. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one, so I didn't seem like a total lush.

For my meal, I went for the brunchiest thing I could find on the menu - an enchilada topped with sunny-side-up eggs.

Truth be told, they were a little more over-hard than sunny-side-up, but still a good addition to a classic enchilada. Mom was able to get something that fit her needs, too, and we had a great lunch together.

My family also got me a Wii for my birthday - something I've wanted a long time but couldn't justify buying for myself. I'm hopeful that it'll help me burn off some of the weight I've been packing on eating things like Sweet Potato ice cream and enchiladas topped with eggs!

Jamjuree Reunion

2010-11-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Our pal Carey moved to Portland a few years back, and we miss her smiling face very, very much. She joined the cast of Capitol Hill High in it's later incarnations, portraying a pregnant cheerleader and a gothic substitute teacher - and she definitely brought a special joy to the cast.

Tonight she was in town and we got the chance to meet up with her and Jayson at Jamjuree - in our old-old neighborhood (15th Ave on Capitol Hill). So it was a reunion with her, as well as with Jamjuree - which used to be a staple of our diets.

I was particularly excited that they had a Pumpkin dish on the menu - Pad Pumpkin, to be exact. It was mighty tasty, and fulfilled my pumpkin fix.

Dan opted for a red curry...

And Jayson had Phad Thai, which they serve with the egg on top - making it look like some sort of Thai omelette. I didn't snap a photo of Carey's dish, but everyone seemed to enjoy what they ordered and most of all the company.

Birthday Treats from Trophy & Full Tilt

2010-11-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

In addition to meeting me for lunch yesterday, and taking me out to Joy Palace tonight, Dan zipped around town this afternoon and picked up some special birthday treats for us at Trophy Cupcakes and Full Tilt Ice Cream.

The selection of cupcakes included a chocolate coconut macaroon, pineapple upside down cake...

And chocolate salted caramel (though we only indulged in one tonight).

What's birthday cake with no ice cream? Dan had that covered with two types of ice cream he picked up at Full Tilt in Columbia City.

The Huckleberry he brought home was tempting, but Sweet Potato with marshmallow and pecans won out. It was so incredibly good, like everything I've had from Full Tilt. Full of flavor but not overly sweet, so the pops of candied walnut and marshmallow were all the more satisfying.

Birthday Dinner at Joy Palace

2010-11-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Ever since I created a bunch of Foodspotting guides for South Seattle neighborhoods, I've been a little obsessed with checking out the many, MANY restaurants I discovered in our area. Of particular interest are the tons of restaurants clustered around the Othello Link Light Rail station, at Othello and MLK.

So for my birthday, Dan treated me to a night at Joy Palace - a gigantic Chinese restaurant at Graham & MLK that I'd read about.

When we arrived, we were about the only people there (except for one other couple who arrived just ahead of us). We took a table in the main dining room, with a good view of the many aquariums full of crabs, lobsters, eels and other critters destined to be dinner.

We stuck mainly with familiar favorites like BBQ pork, General Tsao's Chicken and Honey Walnut Prawns, but did start out with a Jellyfish salad - after enjoying a version of the same so much at Chiang's Gourmet.

The jellyfish didn't have the same fresh, bright flavor as the previous version we had, and the BBQ pork was a little lackluster, but overall the meal was "good not great" as Dan & I like to joke.

As we were finishing up, they brought over some warm tapioca pudding for us, which was a tasty way to end the meal. By this time, the place was starting to really fill up with huge parties, and a band was setting up on stage.

It definitely seemed like this place gets hopping in the evenings, and might be fun to check out sometime with a group.