On our trip to Las Vegas, we stayed at the marvelous resort: Encore. Next door is the Wynn, where we had a great lunch at the Buffet at the Wynn. I typically do not like buffets where there are massive amounts of people attacking food, but the quality of this food was remarkable.
I had lox with delicious garnishes, smoked trout, pickled herring, tandoori chicken, prime rib with horseradish cream, and a cup of teriyaki beef noodle salad. Yes, an adult Strawberry Lemonade was necessary!
For dessert, the pretty and equally delicious fruit mousse parfait topped with a raspberry and white chocolate curl.
January 13th, 2010 | No Comments »
On his Politics of the Plate website, Barry Estabrook writes about the people who will be hurt the most by the freezing weather in Florida. Not the consumers, not not the growers… the people who will really suffer are the migrant farm workers who harvest our food. Read “Florida Farm Workers Left Out in the Cold.”
(By the way, Barry used to be a regular contributor to Gourmet magazine, which used to have the best food politics articles of any glossy, foodie magazine. Another reason I still miss Gourmet.)
Also, many thanks to Ed Levine of Serious Eats and his wife, Vicky Bijur (in her Serious Eats writing debut!), for their articulate rebuttal to that absurd Atlantic Monthly magazine piece. Read the Levine/Bijur argument here: “Alice Waters-Edible Schoolyard Takedown in the Altlantic Monthly is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.”
January 13th, 2010 | No Comments »
Here’s is a pic of the deep fried pickles (photo left ) that we had at the Jane and Michael Stern event held by Seattle Arts and Lectures at Palace Ballroom last night.
We were inspried by Road Food, of course! Roadfood.com is Jane and Michael Stern’s website and the name of one of their books.
The deep fried pickles were paired with chicken fried steak sandwiches on biscuits (photo right), then slathered in gravy.
Michael Stern even wrote about the Triple Coconut Cream Pie- where he called it the Triple Coconut Holy Grail.
January 12th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Winter Blues??
Cheer up! Tom and Thierry are together in the studio this week to put a smile on your food lovin’ face!
This week we have a very special friend coming into the studio: Kathryn Robinson of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine! She’ll be in to catch up with the boys on the food scene as well as talk about her latest article for the mag.
Amy Pennington, author of the soon to be released book “Urban Pantry” will be on to do OUR Urban Pantry segment where she’ll take one ingredient that you can keep in your house for mulitple uses. This week: Beer! Yes, it’s great to have a cold one lying around the house for an after work drink, but there are other uses for this commonly stocked beverage. Tune in to Amy’s segment to hear how she, Tom and Thierry might utilize it.
Mike Teer, from Pike and Western Wine Shop, will also be on to talk about the 2007 Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir. A delicious French pinot featured at the shop for only $12.99. Affordable luxury!
During the 6 o’clock hour, producer Katie O. heads to the Rendezvous in Belltown for Jell-o! Wrestling. She wont be getting in the jello, but she’ll give you the low down on what goes into this special event! Are they going to use a kiddie pool? Lime jello? She’ll fill you in.
Listen to the show here!:
First hour
Second hour
Third hour
January 12th, 2010 | No Comments »
Last night I had my first chance to slowly savor the January issue of Saveur Magazine with its first ever reader-generated Saveur 100. (Usually the editors of the magazine choose the year’s 100.) Though I agree with Ed Levine of Serious Eats that this issue may be a little bit less edgy or quirky than the usual editors’ picks, I also agree that it is full of fun stuff and great-looking recipes, and there’s something very hip and timely about opening it up to the readers.
Some of my favorites: I want to make that mile high Chocolate Cream Pie (# 10) and also the Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings (#92). The coolest sustainable entry: Cape Ann Fresh Catch (#13)- the first community supported fishing program in Massachusetts (and how utterly cool to learn to fillet your own fish or cook it whole on the bone, as the reader of this entry has done.) I completely agree that the food at the New Orleans Jazz Fest(# 35) is the best fair food in the country, but can’t understand how I’ve never yet eaten a hot dog at Hot Doug’s (# 71) in Chicago (this must be corrected on the next trip home to see the family.)
I spent a few moments thinking about what tools, tips, or ingredients I would have chosen for this year’s Saveur 100. I think my entry would have been a tribute to the Weber grill. We have two grills: a gas grill on the deck (shhh…don’t tell Tom- he doesn’t approve of gas grills) for everyday cooking and a gas-ignition charcoal kettle grill in the backyard where my husband, Frank, diligently perfects his technique for slowly bbq’d pork and ribs, and charcoal grilled steak, butterflied lamb, and burgers. These grills are warhorses! The gas grill is almost 20 years old and still works!! But it’s the 12 year old charcoal grill (so effortless to light with the gas ignition) that adds a huge layer of pleasure to our lives.
(Editor’s note: image from Saveur.com)
January 12th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Severe cold snap in Florida causes some “heavy fruit damage.” (Frank and I were in Fort Lauderdale for a day on January 3, on the way back from our family cruise, and it was cold, baby, cold!)
The New York City Health Department is asking for a voluntary 25% reduction in salt in packaged food and restaurant meals, with commentary from my favorite nutrition expert, Marion Nestle. But I also love Francis Lam’s well thought out “Defense of Salt” in Salon (which still makes the case that there’s way too much salt in processed food and the trick is to eat real food, judiciously seasoned).
Race riots (possibly instigated by the Mafia) involving African immigrant labor break out in the citrus groves of Calabria, Italy, according to an article in today’s New York Times. The article examines whether or not this violent incident may start a national dialogue about a situation where “both the official and underground economies increasingly rely on immigrants, while Italy remains torn between acceptance and xenophobia.” Immigrant agricultural workers in Italy “are often paid less than $30 a day picking fruit” and “live in what human rights groups describe as subhuman conditions.”
On a lighter note: Israeli cooks set a world record preparing 9,017 pounds of hummus using a borrowed satelite dish as a mixing bowl! (Found on The Food Section)
January 11th, 2010 | No Comments »
Imagine my delight, while taking my daily stroll through the “Blog Buddies” list to your right, to find that Mixed Greens blogger, Sally, has just written a post raving about our crab cake with green cocktail sauce recipe from Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen! The post includes some of Mixed Green’s typical gorgeous photos, step by step!
If you like crab cakes, don’t forget we also have a cookbook, I Love Crab Cakes, that’s composed entirely of crab cake recipes. A few of my favorites from our crab cake book: Crab Foo Yung (admittedly not a classic “cake,” but super easy and deliciously authentic tasting), and Steven’s Perfect Crab Cakes (another easy one that uses jarred mayo and panko bread crumbs in a perfect balance.)
January 11th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
What do you do with post Thanksgiving sales on turkey, a jar of Rub with Love Turkey Rub (photo bottom), leftover duck fat from Poultrygeist, and an idle immersion circulator (photo second from bottom)? Sous vide turkey confit. I brined legs and thighs in a mix of rub, sugar, and salt overnight. Patted dry and sealed each piece in Foodsaver bags with two tablespoons of duck fat…note: only two tablespoons of duck fat!
Then into the immersion circulator at 175ºF for 36 hours.
Sear and use! It was extremely flavorful! (middle photo)
The first test was on pizza. Caramelized onions, delicata squash, and turkey confit.
That was so good, I decided to try it on another pizza the next day. This time with caramelized onions and eggs. (photo second from top)
Finally, David Chang inspired pinch buns. (top photo)
(Editors note: check out Seattle Foodies under “Blog Buddies” to your right.)
January 11th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Eat exactly what your heart desires.
This is a photo of my niece Elyssa’s plate on the morning of the festive New Year’s day brunch. Pictured are 2 of the dozen or more crab claws she ate that morning plus a piece of cured and smoked fish with capers. On the same plate: a strawberry tart and fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate fondue. That’s what her heart desired, and that’s what she ate.
One of the most amusing events of the cruise for me, also on the topic of following your heart’s desires: My 11-year old nephew, Mikey, figured out how to order room service right off the TV in the stateroom. So, on the last night of the cruise, after packing her family of five so she could put the suitcases out in the hall by 11pm as part of the process of disembarkation, my sister-in-law, Carol, finally got her family to bed. They were awakened by a knock at the door at 2 am, which is when the 3 pepperoni pizzas Mikey had ordered were delivered!! Frank and I were in a stateroom right next door, and I could hear the hubbub through the wall for quite a while!!
January 10th, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Tom will be doing the show live, from the beautiful shores of Hawaii! Thierry however, will be here in our quiant little rainy city of Seattle.
Yes listeners, grab your ukulele and put on that grass skirt because we’re talking all about the food from the majestic Islands of Hawaii. Amy Pennington, of the soon to be released book, Urban Pantry, will be on talk with the guys about coconut flake and how best to utilize this tropical cupboard item.
Mike Teer of Pike and Western Wine Shop is also in Hawaii and both he and Tom will be discussing nice refreshing wines to drink while taking a winter beach vacation!
At the 5 o’clock hour we have a very special guest, Mark Peel, owner of Campanile Restaurant in LA, on to chat about his beautiful new book, “New Classic Family Dinners”. Mark is a renowned chef and a six-time James Beard Award nominee. The book is a reflection of Mark’s cooking philosophy about “drawing out the maximum flavor from good ingredients” and he’ll be sharing one of his recipes with us!
Producer, Katie O, wishes she was in Hawaii too- so instead she’ll play pretend by taking a fake island vacation sipping Mai Tais and Pina Coladas at Hula Hula in downtown Seattle. She, Tom and Thierry will talk Tiki Culture.
All that plus Hawaiian themed trivia all show long!
Mahalo!
Listen to the show here!:
First hour
Second hour
Third hour
January 9th, 2010 | No Comments »
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