So Yum

Skillet =

2008-02-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

Insanely good.

maple braised oregon pork belly, fried egg, cornmeal waffle

roasted washington fingerling potato hash, caramelized onion, herbs, slab bacon, two fried eggs

Yes, that's 1 piece of bacon.

breakfast tacos, roasted chile braised pork, chili sauce, scrambled eggs, corn tortilla, cilantro crema

Hungarian Heart

2007-09-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

tomatoes:

My sweet husband grew these because I'm his Hungarian Heart. Love that sweet man.

The Grand Experiment

2007-09-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ever since Cafe Juanita last year, I have been jonesing for some Burnt Sugar Ice Cream. Last night I started The Grand Experiment, my quest to find the perfect BSIC recipe. My first attempt was divine. I used this recipe and the result was incredible. Although, because I haven't cooked much with sugar, I was afraid to let the sugar carmelize too far - for fear of burning it. The result was *almost* exactly like what we had a Cafe Juanita. Could it be that I stumbled upon perfection with my first attempt? Perhaps. But I will perservere and try several more before I call it quits.

Last night's batch, though, did advance the conversation a bit: salted or not? Salted Caramel is a classic combination and I actually love it quite a bit. Smooth sweet caramel with crunchy saltiness is a fabulous and unexpected combination. Another question then arises, just because my husband likes salt, black salt, like in the recipe or pink Australian finishing salt? I like the black, the mister says the pink - the black being a little too much. Hmmmm. Le Grande Experiment continues...

Not Salted?

Pink Salt?

or Black Salt?

Quail

2007-08-28T19:18:00.001-07:00

Mike made us roasted quail stuffed with porcini mushroom risotto in a golden raisin port wine sauce last night.

SO YUM!

Photos from tonight's meal

2007-08-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Huge Tuscan beans

Huge Roman beans

Squash blossoms

The garden

2007-08-17T22:45:00.001-07:00

Bizzarro

2007-08-14T21:11:00.001-07:00

Some pics I took recently at one of our favorite joints.

Amaranth

2007-08-14T21:08:00.001-07:00

greens are delicious. Amaranth is usually associated with it's seed, eaten as a grain and used as a alternative to wheat flour. Chris got a hankering to grow it and we've been enjoying it as a salad green, or purple, as the case may be.

Photo Inspiration

2007-07-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

from my new favorite blog

photo by Keiko

Quail Eggs

2007-07-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

are cute.

Summer dinner

2007-07-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

I love summer dinners. We had an impromptu barbeque with Mike and Victoria the other night and enjoyed some great food and wine with great friends. Here's the menu:

green bean salad with heirloom tomatoes, walla walla sweets, micro basil and Mike's own pancetta:

green garlic capellini with quail eggs:

Skagit Valley pork ribs with the mister's famous sauce:

Salvadorean Bakery

2007-06-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite places for breakfast is the Salvadorean Bakery in White Center. This morning we had our usuals...

I love the scrambled eggs with chorizo, crema and beans

Chris gets the platter with fried plantains, whole chorizo, crema, beans and eggs over easy with fresh homemade hard cheese.

Each plate comes with tortillas that are hot and pillowy, thicker than Mexican tortillas, and perfect for scooping up the crema and beans.

Close up of that amazing mildly salty cheese.

yum

Remember those tomatoes

2007-06-23T22:04:00.001-07:00

from the Farmer's Market?

Paired with heirloom lettuce (Grandpa's Admire) and green onions from the garden, olive oil, a dash of sherry vinegar along with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar, you get this mouthwatering salad:

Primi Secondi was a pasta of garden artichokes and Skagit Valley pancetta.

And some sweeties from Pam and Byron for taking care of Captain today

Damn.

Father's Day Farmer's Market Finds

2007-06-17T19:46:00.001-07:00

As summer approaches, the fresh produce offerings at the farmer's market keep getting better and more varied. A few of the highlights today were:

Rainier Cherries

Heirloom and Beefsteak Tomatoes

Dinner tonight was a Green Garlic, Fresh Garden Pea and Skagit Valley Pancetta Pasta

Unbelievably yum.

Borage and Chive Blossoms

2007-05-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

with tomatoes, manchego and garden-fresh lettuce:

Farmers Market Finds

2007-05-24T21:58:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was the Columbia City farmers market and I picked up some interesting stuff:

Fresh Bamboo shoots:

After peeling away the tough outer layers, this is what's inside:

You have to boil bamboo shoots for 20 minutes to take away the bitterness. Once they're boiled, they're crisp and ready to stir fry.

I added these japanese greens to the bamboo shoots, along with thinly sliced pork:

Yummy.

Also, at the farmers market I snapped this pic of a little girl holding a baby goat:

Blindingly Cute.

Clams with Fettuccini

2007-05-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

arugula and yellow tomatoes:

Just how I like my saturday nights

2007-05-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

Roasted fingerlings with parmesan and oregano:

Grilled asparagus wrapped in prosciutto:

Alaskan halibut with backyard fennel:

All made by the mister with love.

Le Pichet

2007-05-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Once again, we had another great night of fine dining with our friends Mike and Victoria. We went to Le Pichet, a favorite from our old neighborhood. Most of the pictures I took didn't turn out, but here are the ones that did:

Sweet Garlic Soup with a Poached Egg and Asparagus

Chicken Liver Terrine

We also had beef tongue which had been lightly fried and nestled atop an unexpectedly delicious bed of carrots with currants and a light cumin vinaigrette. Pork belly over sweet beets. Victoria had the trout with crispy fried polenta triangles. Mike had pork loin stuffed with apricots and accompanied by white beans. And the mister and I had the Steak Frites. Sparking wine for the girls, Brandy and Cognac for the boys and a cheese plate ended the night. Oh. So. Yum.

Horseradish

2007-04-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

We made fresh Horseradish today. While we do have some growing in the garden:

these roots were from the produce box:

We peeled and chopped them:

Put them in the food proccesor along with vinegar, sugar and salt and got this:

Home Made Horseradish

My favorite pasta dish

2007-04-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

is Broccoli Rabe and Sausage. I was thrilled when the produce box arrived with some broccoli rabe and I remembered that I had just bought some sweet Italian sausage and pasta at the Trader Joe's the other day. Chris grows broccoli rabe in the garden, and we've already had some this season, but this broccoli rabe was different - it was purple:

It actually turned that water I blanched it in purple.

Along with a salad of watercress and mache, dried cherries and candied walnuts:

We had this delish dish of Broccoli Rabe and Sausage with Taglietelli:

Baked Goods For Breakfast

2007-04-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

What a splurge. We got a lemon blueberry brioche, a twice baked almond croissant and a pear danish to thank my mom and Terry for coming by and helping us with some household things. Chris got a chocolate croissant, but it was gone by the time I went to take these pics. He said it was just about the most delicious thing ever.

Close up of the adorable pear danish

Twice baking the croissant almost carmelizes the pastry. Oh God, so yum.

Fava Beans

2007-04-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

The sleeper hit of spring, the seriously underrated: Fava bean. It takes some doing, but once you shell these mama's, you're rewarded with a verdant crisp bean, similar to edemame, with a slightly meaty undertone. Meaty, yes - and so yum. I got a new Chez Panisse cookbook Chez Panisse Cooking which happened to have a simple fava recipe in it - Sauteed Fava's with Garlic and Rosemary and so I made it with the organic fava's straight from the CSA. I loved it - the mister thought the rosemary was overpowering and a little bitter. Next time, I'll use a less intense herb, I think.

This is one big bean:

After shelling them they are a soft celandine color:

Parboiled and shelled again they turn a bright glossy green:

At this point, the beans are semi cooked - after about 15 minutes in the sautee pan, they're ready to eat.

Artichokes

2007-04-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

I have always loved them and the mister loves them too, so we try to eat them whenever they're available. We got a bunch of baby ones in our CSA box and decided to shake things up a little and grill them, They turned out incredible. Chris steamed them for about 15 minutes, cut them in half and grilled them face down on the charcoal grill. We dipped the leaves in red chile mayo, speciality de la casa. Those along with grilled asparagus drizzled with miso dressing made for some delish spring veg sides.

Best Sandwich Ever

2007-03-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

From Bakery Nouveau in West Seattle. Ham and cheese on a baguette with mustard and pickles. Very French. Tres Yum.

More Morels

2007-03-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Aren't they strange looking? They were delish though. Chris made a cream sauce with them and drizzled it over prosciutto wrapped scallops. You should be jealous, that dish rocked.

Wow

2007-03-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

When I came home from a busy day of errands and pediatrician appointments, the mister had a treat waiting for me:

How fancy. I got a mother of pearl caviar spoon at The Seattle Caviar Company a few years ago when we had a tasting there with Uncle Craig. It was a fun day, even though we all left with a bellyache from too much caviar and champagne. Sounds rough, i know. Anyhoo, I was so happy to see it being used - we don't see much caviar at our house.

Chris is also making us a big dinner of pasta and halibut. He's using a recipe from Alice Waters that calls for morels and carrots, two things we happen to have in our garden currently. Right now the kitchen is redolent in shallots and thyme, so yum!

Mizuna and Purple Kale

2007-03-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

I made a delish stirfry with mizuna and purple kale along with shitakes and minced chicken for dinner tonight. Mizuna is an Asian green from the Mustard family with a slight bitter flavor. Chris got some at his organic gardening class yesterday. I chopped up the whole plant, flowers all and then threw them in at the last minute to slightly wilt them.

The purple kale was a variety of kale that I had never had before - it was so much more delicate than the kale I'm used to.

So many greens in one dish. Now we're strong, like Pop-Eye.

Morels

2007-03-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

These grew in our sideyard. Apparently, they like to grow out of woodchip mulch. We picked these at the base of our lilac and forsythia plants. Morels are easy to identify apparently, but are hard to find because they are so close in color to the medium in which they grow. This is easily the best garden surprise of the year.

I'm into

2007-03-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

Omelettes these days. I've perfected my ideal one. It involves yogurt and tons of fillings.

If you're lucky, I'll make you one.

Ever Wonder

2007-03-17T21:35:00.000-07:00

What happens to an eggplant you roast in the oven for too long?

It turns into a squid. Still yum,though.

New Favorite Side Dish

2007-03-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

Zucchini and lemon is my new favorite flavor combo. I added prosciutto to this and it turned out great. Wish I'd snapped a pic.

SAUTEED ZUCCHINI RIBBONS

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 25 min

2 lb medium zucchini (about 4)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
Special equipment: a Japanese Benriner* or other adjustable-blade slicer

Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices using slicer. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.
Add half of zucchini to garlic oil and sauté, turning and stirring frequently, until just tender but not golden, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a platter using tongs.
Heat remaining tablespoon oil, then sauté and season remaining zucchini in same manner and transfer to platter. Sprinkle zucchini with zest and toss gently using tongs.
*Available at Asian markets and some specialty cookware shops

Makes 4 servings

Dukka

2007-03-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of it?

I hadn't until we stopped by the World Spice Merchants at Pike Place Market. From their website:

A relative of Zahtar, Dukka is used in Egypt as a table condiment and as a dip for bread. Sprinkle over meats and vegetables or dip a chunk of your favorite loaf into some good olive oil, then into the Dukka for an Egyptian inspired treat. Contains Sesame Seed, Roasted Chick Peas, Coriander, Cumin, Tellicherry Black Pepper, Thyme and Sea Salt.

Sounds delicious and smells heavenly. I also think it would be great on popcorn. Can't wait to try it...

Ozette

2007-03-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

We got a special treat in our CSA this week, The Ozette Potato:

From the Slow Food web site:
The Ozette came from Peru by way of Spanish explorers to the Makah Indians at Neah Bay, Washington in the late 1700s. The Ozette is also known by the names, Anna Cheeka’s Ozette and Makah Ozette. It is considered a fingerling potato, as its size ranges from 3-7 inches in length and 0.75-1.5 inches in diameter. The potato has an earthy and nutty flavor that is similar to the taste sensed in cooked dry beans. The flesh is firm and the texture is very creamy. The Ozette is generally served steamed, fried, or roasted. The Ozette is grown predominantly in private gardens for specialty menus and for personal consumption.

The mister roasted them and then used them to slightly wilt our Arugula salad with Copa and Manchego. Damn, it was delish and those potatoes were smooth and creamy. Can't wait to try them steamed and mashed. So Yum.

Cafe Juanita News

2007-03-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

My most favoritest of restaurants is Cafe Juanita in Woodinville. I just got an email from them about their Monday Evening Family Style Dinners:

Family style menu's will be available for parties of 4 and larger on Monday evenings. Below is a sample menu for our first Monday evening March 5th. The full dinner menu is also available on Mondays.
First Course

House Smoked Trout with Toasted Horseradish, Pickled Fennel and Beets
Jeremy's Watercress with Moscato Pickled Apple

Second Course

Tagliatelle with Bottarga di Muggine, Taggia Olives, Crispy Chickpeas and Marjoram

Third Course

Tagliata of Wagyu Rib Eye with Castelmagno Sauce
Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Pinenuts, Lime and Cumin

Dessert

Brown Butter Pear Crisp with Fennel Seed Gelato

$42 per person

Can't wait to check it out.

Valentine's Day Dinner

2007-02-24T16:54:00.000-08:00

The mister made some delicious shrimp with pancetta and red wine (which turned the shrimp an unusual purple color, weird but good)

and we shared an exquiste box of chocolates from Portland's own Moonstruck given to us by Josh and Anne, our Portland peeps.

These are quite possibly the most delicious chocolates I have ever eaten.

Stuffed Sopaipillas

2007-02-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant I really only craved two things: banana bread and stuffed sopas from El Patio in Albuquerque. And since I live in Seattle, the New Mexican food craving was put on indefinite hold. So on my most recent trip to New Mexico I had my sights focused on finally fulfilling my El Patio craving, 3 months post partum.

And I was not disappointed. Sopaipillas are puffed dough and are often served with honey for a sweet ending to a delicious New Mexican meal. I like them stuffed with ground beef (it reminds me of the ground beef served with Coney Island hot dogs from Detroit) and smothered in both red and green chile and topped with melted cheddar. At El Patio you get both beans and potatoes, making me the happiest mommy in all the land.

Welcome

2007-02-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

To my new blog, So Yum. Check back often for food related content, including restaurant and meal reviews, garden updates and food tv commentary.

Food...I'm into it.