Sunday, Etta’s participated in the 13th Taste of Washington where over 200 wineries and more than 60 restaurants gather at Qwest Field Event Center to serve up food and wine to over 2,000 hungry and thirsty participants! Here are Ron Anderson, Etta’s chef, and Sarah Schaff, Etta’s General Manager, putting the final touches on our crab salad that was smeared all over “hot off the griddle” buttery toasted brioche buns, fresh from Dahlia Bakery… and they were delicious!! Thank you to everyone that prepped for and worked the event. It was another successful Taste!!
March 29th, 2010 | No Comments »
My sister and I have been swimming since we were 3 years old. After every swim- it was always pasta. And lots of it. As we got older, sauces changed a bit, but it was still pasta and still lots of it!
I am a terrible cook, but after all these years, it is still pasta (although not quite as much) after a good swim, and I am excellent at boiling water…..
Editor’s note: this is our 4th entry in the staff “First Thing I Learned to Cook” blog contest.
March 29th, 2010 | No Comments »
Kevin and Terresa Davis’ new venture, Blueacre Seafood, in the old Oceanaire space, is now open to the public, so Robyn, Sean, and I strolled over for lunch to check it out.
A little background: Terresa is a Tom Douglas alumna (from our accounting department). Kevin was the opening chef at the now departed Oceanaire. The Davis’ first restaurant is the popular Steelhead Diner in the Pike Place Market.
Blueacre is a vast restaurant space on 7th and Olive, and Kevin has matched the space with an equally vast menu.
From this menu we chose several delights. The kasu marinated salmon collars (photo top right) make a great starter. Some of the richest, most flavorful flesh of the salmon is nestled in the collar which is often thrown away- and shouldn’t be! The sugar in the kasu marinade browns when grilled, so the collars arrive at the table burnished and beautiful!
I’m a big fan of Kevin’s gumbo (He was a chef in New Orleans for several years, at Arnaud’s no less, so he’s the real deal). Blueacre’s seafood and andouille gumbo (photo top left) did not disappoint; it was dark and deeply flavorful.
A handsomely crispy whole fried catfish (photo 3rd from top) was Robyn’s favorite. Pull pieces of fish off the bone and wrap in lettuce leaves.
We also enjoyed a nice, moist fillet of Texas Redfish (photo 2nd from top)- served “on the half shell,” meaning right in the charred skin (which we were advised not to cut through so as not to get the char and scales on our palate.)
For delicious seafood at lunch or dinner, you’ll want to check out Blueacre soon. I’d like to sit at the posh looking bar (photo bottom) for my next visit. Terresa pointed out that all the Happy Hour cocktails have legal sounding names (like “Diminished Capacity”) which should amuse my husband, Frank, who’s a lawyer and may entice over some legal-eagles from the nearby Courthouse.
March 28th, 2010 | No Comments »
My mother was from Montgomery, Alabama, and the first dishes she taught me to cook were black-eyed peas, corn pone, and collard greens. I cannot remember a New Year’s celebration in my life without these staples on the menu.
The most difficult ingredients to procure were the greens. My mother had married a cowboy from Wyoming who had been stationed in Alabama during World Wall II, and after the war she came west with my father and my two older brothers. Collard greens are not native to Wyoming’s high, dry climate, and my grandfather would send seeds from Alabama so my mother could grow greens in our garden. In spite of the very short growing season at 5,000+ feet, our garden produced some delicious collards. Into the pot they would go with a hamhock, not from the local Safeway, but a fresh one from the “packing house” at the edge of town.
Next to the “collard” pot, another hamhock bubbled along with the black-eyed (NOT “black eye”) peas. Canned peas were unacceptable; these legumes were purchased dry, sorted through, soaked, then boiled along with the pork.
But the “piece de resistance” of this simple meal was the corn-pone or pone-bread. First, the cornmeal was poured into the big, crockery bowl. Then a generous dollop of bacon grease was added, followed by just the right amount of boiling water. After mixing this together, individual “pones” were hand-formed and placed on a greased baking sheets. I can still see the imprint of my fingers on these delicious…what were they?! Not cornbread, not crackers, not biscuits…. crisp on the outside, soft and slightly mushy on the inside…slathered with butter… crumbled into one bowl of black-eyed peas and another bowl of greens and “pot liquor” with vinegar… ooh, so good.
Family, holidays, home, tradition, love….
I made all these dishes for my brothers and myself after our Mom’s funeral in 2000. I’ve also made this meal for friends here in Seattle every New Year’s Eve since. I’ve experimented with adding sausage, rice, onions, green peppers, garlic, chilis, and many other ingredients over the years. Every addition has brought an interesting and unique touch to the meal.. but if I really want the essence, I stick close to the basics.
Home-grown greens, pork from the small-town butcher, hand-made savory ‘pastries’… more than enough to make me thankful that this was my first cooking lesson.
(Editor’s note: this is the 3rd entry in our “The First Thing I Learned to Cook” staff contest.)
March 26th, 2010 | No Comments »
Stephanie Peterson reports that Evening Magazine was just at her house interviewing her about the peeps sculpture that she and her partner in peeps, Matt Wesson, entered in the annual Seattle Times Peeps Contest.
Stephanie and Matt’s sculpture is called “Sleepless Peeps in Magnolia.”
The interview will air on April 1 at 7pm on Channel 5. The contest winners will be announced later in April.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that you’ll win the Peeps Contest, Stephanie!
March 24th, 2010 | No Comments »
(Editor’s note: I started a new link category for Wine, Beer, and Spirits that you’ll see to your right. To help get me started with some beer links, I spoke to our in-house beer expert, Warren Peterson. Here are his comments:)
Pike Beer- they have conditioned cask ale at all times. Naturally carbonated and hand-pumped, old world style.
Elysian Brewing Co. on Capitol Hill- I like the room, the ambiance- it’s a good mix of people. They make the beer on the premises. Always good and creative craft beer.
Here’s a hidden gem for beer-heads (Note: it’s not listed under the links because they don’t have a website): Kiss Cafe in Ballard. 100 beers in bottle and can- it’s mindblowing! Quirky, off-the-beaten track. I go there all the time.
March 24th, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Thursday nights were always spaghetti nights. Dad would pick up meatballs from the Dietz and Watson factory, and either Mom or Dad would make the sauce. Once I turned 12, Mom went back to work. She divided up the chores, so it would lighten up the load on both Mom and Dad. Since I was old enough, I was now in charge of Thursday dinner.
I was not happy. First of all, I never liked spaghetti and meatballs. I protested to no avail. My Dad gave me my first lesson. One can of whole tomatoes which you crush by hand once in the pot (my favorite part), one small can tomato paste, one very generous glug of sherry wine, and a couple of spices- garlic powder, oregano, basil, and black pepper. This seemed simple enough, nothing fresh to chop, just a few cans and jars to open. After I tasted my first batch, I still didn’t like it.
I figured if I had to make it, I would make it how I liked it. It was just too bitter and acidic for my taste, so I added sugar- a lot of sugar. It tasted much better. My family didn’t like it. They complained until I agreed I would make it the old way. So I tried a different approach. I would make it taste worse so I wouldn’t have to cook it at all.
The next Thursday, I opened the cans and jarred spices and looked in the cabinet for something that I could add to the sauce to make it taste bad without them seeing it. Instant coffee! I see the jar, and knowing it dissolves immediately, there would be no evidence of me tampering with the “original recipe” sauce, plus no one likes it but Mom. I added a few heaping spoonfuls. I expected horrified faces. To my surprise, they liked it! My seven year old picky eater brother even liked it. Whoa, what have I done? I tried to sabotage the sauce when I actually made it better. This single act gave me confidence in the kitchen. I then embraced my role in our spaghetti sauce Thursdays and started helping out more in the kitchen to learn different dishes. I’ll never forget my experiment on that one Thursday.
Editor’s note: This is the second entry in our staff blog contest: The First Thing I Learned to Cook
March 23rd, 2010 | No Comments »
Probably like a lot of people, as soon as I set down my copy of the new issue of Saveur featuring the foods of Rome, I had to make one of the recipes right away. Working with what I had in the house, I tried the “Broccoli with Garlic and Hot Pepper.”
The most important part is getting that nice brown on the broccoli- it smells sooo good while it’s cooking. The 1/4 cup of oil for 1 pound of broccoli was not too much. The 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes was nice and spicy- perfect for us but if you don’t like spicy heat, add it to taste. What I liked most about this dish, besides the fact that it was super easy, is that you taste each element distinctly- the browned broccoli, the garlic, the chili flakes, the oil, the salt.
If I make this again, the only thing I would change is that I would add the garlic and chilies a minute or two before adding the 2 tablespoons of water. As soon as you add the water, it evaporates in the hot pan, not surprisingly, leaving no oil for toasting the garlic.
I expect a slightly tweaked version of this dish to appear on our dinner table frequently. (In the magazine photo, it looks like they grated some Parm over the broccoli. This doesn’t appear in the recipe but it looks good; I think I’ll try it next time.)
Now I just need 2 airline tickets to Rome.
March 23rd, 2010 | No Comments »
There’s a new seasonal small plates section on the Dahlia lunch menu to celebrate Spring! Robyn and I tasted all three (of course) and couldn’t decide which was most delicious:
Grilled asparagus and Quillisascut Farms smoked ricotta- a couple sensational ingredients, handled with elegance and restraint, dressed with a little olive oil and lemon. Doesn’t this plate look beautiful? (photo middle, middle)
Roasted morels, Miner’s lettuce, and spring onions- simple, perfectly dressed salad with tiny roasted morels.(Photo middle left)
Fava bean butter, artichokes and ficelle- what a fun idea to make a compound butter with fresh fava beans. Again, simple and lovely. (photo top)
For the entrees:
A delicate, barely held together cake full of crab, nicely seasoned, with a golden crust, and served with crispy shoestrings, grilled asparagus, a pool of spicy avocado puree, and a sprinkle of bacon salt.
Doesn’t this halibut with favas, carrots, and olive oil mashers look divine? The fish was crusted on the outside, silky inside- beautifully cooked. (photo middle right)
Look at this Bento Box! Grilled rare tuna, a gorgeous coil of buckwheat soba, creamy daikon soup, a fresh little salad of pickled beets and watercress. The little pool of pale green garlic sauce was creamy, delicious, and mild. (photo bottom)
If it’s been awhile since you had lunch at the Dahlia, luckily for you there’s even another option: the Dine Around menu continues through the end of March, Monday through Thursday, and it looks terrific.
March 22nd, 2010 | 2 Comments »
My sisters and I were raised by a single mom who worked full time. She got home after 7 pm and was often too tired to cook. So my grandmother would come to our house in Long Island from Queens and stay for a few days at a time and cook up a storm. She made eggplant parmigiana, potato croquettes, baked ziti, and even pancakes. She would freeze a lot of it so we could eat it after she went home. She always tried to teach us to cook, but we were bratty teenagers and didn’t want to learn. Finally, she made us learn something super easy. She called it Mexican bean spread. So you take a can of kidney beans and put them in a mixing bowl. Then you add 3 tablespoons of ketchup and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. You mash the beans up as hard as you can with a fork, then you break out the egg beaters and mix them on high until they are kind of smooth. Then you spoon some of this onto a piece of sliced bread, top it with 2 slices of American cheese and sliced tomatoes. Then you broil it in the oven for about 3 minutes. The cheese melts and the bread gets nice and toasty, and it’s pretty good. “It’s a meal!” grandma insisted, and it was. PS. Her birthday was a few days ago, March 20, and she is 90 years old.
(Editor’s note: this is the first entry in our new staff blog contest “The First Thing I Learned to Cook.”)
March 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »
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