Check out the Dahlia Bakery farm stand with good stuff from Josh at Newaukum Farms. Every Friday, from 4 to 6 pm, save your pennies to buy some awesome produce from him right outside the Dahlia Bakery. Way to go Molly and Adrienne!!
On Monday, after eating pizza at Pulino’s with the Tom Douglas gang, Frank and I discovered it was not too far from there to walk to Russ and Daughters on the Lower East Side. We found it over on East Houston St, near Katz’s. Russ and Daughters is what New Yorkers call an “appetizing store” (this basically means: all the foods you would eat with a bagel), and it has been in this location since 1914. For anyone crazy about Jewish-style smoked and pickled fish, you are worshiping at the shrine when you walk into this place. There are plenty of products packed into the space, from caviar to deli salads to cheeses to halvah. They will also make you a sandwich with a cute name like Yum Kippered, Oy Vey Schmear, or Fancy Delancey. But for us, it was all about the fish. Wow! What an awesome array from nova to kippered salmon to belly lox to pickled lox. In addition to salmon, there’s sable, sturgeon, whitefish, and chubs, plus herring in every style, pickle, and sauce imaginable. Oh, if only we could pick this place up and set it down in Seattle, we would be the happiest creatures alive!
After having already eaten that day at both Momofuku Ssam Bar and Pulino’s, I couldn’t imagine eating one more bite, unfortunately. But my ever intrepid husband, Frank, went ahead and bought three slices of belly lox. While the counterman was slicing the lox, Frank asked him how long he’d been working at Russ and Daughters. “Oh, about 35 years,” came the casual response. It’s that kind of place.
After we cabbed it back to our hotel, Frank popped the slices of lox into his mouth right out of the paper wrapper before we headed up to our room. He said it was delicious.
It was 85° in Menlo Park, CA, for the Sunset Magazine Celebration weekend. It was hot, hot, hot, but at least we dried off from Seattle’s rainy weather. Team Rub with Love worked hard cooking samples for over 5,000 Rub customers over the 2-day show which drew a crowd of about 20,000 people. Tom manned the grill as we passed out tasty bits of pork shoulder flavored with Rub with Love Smoky BBQ rub drizzled with our Ancho Molasses BBQ Sauce. We also treated the attendees to salmon rubbed with our newest product, Rub with Love Roast Rub. Tom’s demo had the crowd laughing!
Editor’s note: Team Rub with Love, in the photo from left to right: Carol, Katie, Loretta, Tom, Jackie, and Herschell
Earlier this year, a team of dedicated individuals including teacher Marguerite Humphrey and parents Andrea Huber and Trudy Tessaro, set out with a vision to transform the outdoor classroom and learning garden at Daniel Bagley Elementary. Their goal is to create an open, beautiful, and inviting space where all classrooms can actively participate and learn through garden based lessons spanning all subject matters.
Dubbed the “Bees in the Garden Committee,” (the school’s mascot is a sprightly bumble bee), a committee of parents and teachers developed a site plan that includes 18 new raised cedar beds, a garden shed, a large community table, a cedar trellis, and two water spigots on each end of the space. The raised beds will be assembled by the fourth and fifth grade students this September, during the first weeks of school! (The kits are being ordered from a company called Natural Yards in Oregon, a supplier to countless school gardens around the country.)
The committee recently partnered with Green Lake Wines and hosted two fundraising events to raise money to purchase the materials for the hardscape. Each fundraiser included a flight of three gorgeous wines, selected by proprietor Richard Kinssies, paired with three delectable tastes that I created to go with them. The wine and food pairings included: Cono Sur Sparkling Brut NV (Chile) with crostini, smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and pickled red onion; 2006 Bridgeman White Table Wine (Yakima Valley) with risotto, spring pea pistou, toasted walnuts and pecorino; and 2005 Seven Peaks Pinot Noir (France) with rosemary and balsamic braised pork sliders, shaved fennel salad.
Another highlight included custom menus- adorned with artwork created by grateful students, which were given to all attendees.
The Bees in the Garden Committee created “Giving Trees” with tags representing the cost of each raised bed and assorted dollar increments. Thank you gifts to fundraising participants were graciously donated by local businesses, including Tom Douglas Rub with Love, shopping totes from Whole Foods, PCC, and Town and Country Markets, and bottles of wine from Andrew Will WInery. Richard Kinssies generously donated 25% of the day’s wine sales to the garden project. Those individuals and businesses donating more than $250 before August 31 will also have their names engraved on a brass plaque that will be displayed in the finished garden.
Overall, the fundraising projects were a huge success and thus far raised over $7,000 for the school garden project! Coupled with a matching grant the Committee hopes to obtain from the City of Seattle and additional donations, the money raised will be enough to make this dream school garden a reality this September! We look forward to watching the garden grow!
Thanks to Bruce Miyahara for the great photos!
Editor’s note: Guest blogger Chuck Tessaro and gifted photographer, Bruce Miyahara, are Tom Douglas Summer Camp Lifers and members of Seattle Foodies.
Sunday night, after dinner with friends at Recette, a charmingly romantic little restaurant in Greenwich Village, we cabbed it over to Gramercy/Flatiron to hear Paquito d’Rivera, the Cuban alto-saxophonist, play at the Jazz Standard.
Though we were aware that this jazz club is owned by the famed restaurateur, Danny Meyer, we didn’t realize until we got there that it’s located right down the stairs from Meyer’s barbecue joint, Blue Smoke , which means, in addition to drinks, you can order dinner off the Blue Smoke menu while you enjoy the music. Double score!! Especially for my husband, Frank, who is zealous about both good jazz and good barbecue!
Jazz Standard is a delightfully intimate, clubby, and civilized space for listening to music, and we were seated only a few feet from d’Rivera (who used to play with Dizzie Gillespie back in the day, Frank tells me). Which is to say, if you’re in New York and you want to go to a jazz club, put the Jazz Standard at the top of your list.
I foolishly assumed we were too full to order any food, but Frank, claiming we had only eaten “small plates” at Recette, boldly ordered a Rib Sampler plate which was composed of two Memphis baby back ribs, two Kansas City spareribs, and two Texas salt and pepper beef ribs. The ribs came with a plate of coleslaw, just chopped green cabbage pleasantly dressed with vinegar and oil- a good foil to the rich meat. While I only had room to nibble on one excellent Memphis baby back rib, that was enough for me to decide that I like Blue Smoke’s ribs. The emphasis is on the meat, and they’re not too saucy. Next time we’re in New York, we’re coming back for more jazz and barbecue!
Early Monday afternoon, the day before our last day in New York, we made it over to Momofuku Ssam Bar in the East Village. After having attended the David Chang cookbook dinner at Mark Fuller’s Spring Hill restaurant the previous November, we were determined to at least eat a pork bun in a Chang restaurant in New York. And so we did. They were exactly as delicious as we expected them to be: perfect buns, soft succulent pork, the crunch of cucumbers, and the heat of spicy Sriracha. We also had a plate of Fuji apple kimchee with jowl bacon, maple labne, and arugula. (Yes, there was jowl bacon in the kimchee. If you order a plate of fruit or vegetables at Momofuku you are almost certain to find a bit of pig in there somewhere.) This unusual apple kimchee was an inspired little dish- spicy, bright, and refreshing. I also enjoyed the fact that instead of the usual salumi and prosciutto, the menu features a “Country Ham” category, with 4 different Southern hams on offer. We tried the Smoky Mountain Country Ham from Madisonville, TN which was served with a little dish of mustardy redeye gravy.
Right around the corner is Momofuku Milk Bar, home of the famous crack pie and compost cookie. We took a peek, but didn’t buy anything. Which was a good thing because just then my cell phone rang and ET asked us to join the gang at Pulino’s. (Note on the 4 small photos above: 2 to the left are Milk Bar and 2 to the right are Ssam Bar. Also, my husband, Frank, wants me to tell you that you can click on the small photos to make them larger, if you don’t know that already.)
Yesterday afternoon at Serious Pie, Tom Kooiman (in photos above) of Provvista showed up with a selection of Italian and Oregon cheeses which all of our staff and customers were invited to taste. Provvista is one of the purveyors that Serious Pie Chef, Gray Brooks, uses to source those luscious cheeses he uses on pizzas or in appetizers.
The cheeses presented at the tasting were:
Rossini Blue from Italy- a blue veined cheese from Lombardy
Caveman Blue from Oregon- a cow’s milk blue cheese- beautifully balanced
Quadrello di Buffula from Italy- a soft, creamy, ivory colored cheese made from buffalo milk. This one was a big favorite!
Ubriaco Venato from Italy- a semi firm wine washed cow’s milk cheese
Adelle- from Scio, Oregon- a soft oozy cheese with a texture like eggs and butter- Tom K. said it was extra rich because the sheep’s milk is so rich this time of year.
An educational and delicious tasting for all the customers (like Bruce and Dana to the left) and staff who gave it a try! Keep your eyes peeled for more tastings at the Pie!
Last Sunday morning, Baker Darren Morrey conducted a dough class for the Serious Pie team on the particulars of our marvelous crust. Here are the basics:
1. Longer fermentation- an average of 24 hours, a journey that begins with a pre-ferment starter with a pizza poolish, a second fermentation booster of a biga, mixing, and then resting overnight in the walk in. More fermentation time gives extra flavor and structure to the final dough.
2. Super wet dough, 100% hydration, equal parts flour and water- makes our dough soft instead of stiff.
3. Less yeast necessary because longer fermentation.
Bread Baker’s Glossary:
Biga: a small piece of yesterday’s dough is mixed with additional flour and water. This step enhances flavor.
Poolish: a batter-like yeast-raised starter which is allowed to ferment 16 to 24 hours.
Tom announced in the last General Manager’s meeting that he was on the look out for a new incredibly delicious fish and chips recipe!
In fact, everyone sat up and took notice when he announced the winner would receive $500 for the tastiest entry!
So last Friday, the chefs and catering team lined up to dredge their halibut or ling cod in their specially crafted batters and dry coatings before lowering them in the fryer… all were very delicious and so different- it made all of the tasters realize once again what a talented group of chefs we have in this company!
Palace Chef Brian Walczyk was the Grand Prize Winner, and he walked away with the purse, in heels!
Congrats, Brian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh flowers, how do we love thee? is there anything more universally adored than these ubiquitous beacons of seduction to both bee and human alike? Flowers make the best of our occasions, decorate every part of our lives both indoors and out and lend their likenesses to high and low arts of every kind. And without flowers, of course, the vast majority of plant propagation would not be possible.
It is Spring. May’s rain and sun have cocked the great primordial gun and we now sit poised, yet again on this turn of the endless cycle, for every bud to explode with the colors, smells, …. and tastes of flowers. Follow us into the somewhat uncharted territory of the culinary uses of flowers at our next Little Tastes of the Dahlia. Is there a world beyond stuffed squash blossoms and lavender ice cream, past candied violets? Do flowers taste like anything?
We will be joined by guest speaker Judith Weinstock, former owner of the Kingston Hotel Cafe and Streamliner Diner on Bainbridge Island, who has been using flowers in the kitchen for decades. An avid gardener and intrepid chef, she has a great knack for bringing every part of the garden indoors to whip up a feast for all of the senses. Who knows what she and our chef, Brock Johnson, will come up with together? Come and see what we learn and get inspired to cook with flowers that may already be planted right in your back yard!
Non-refundable tickets are $25 and space is limited.
Contact Jessica Prince at 206 682 4142 or jessicap@tomdouglas.com for details and tickets.
RSS SubscribeWelcome to Family Meal, a blog that examines all things new and noteworthy in the world of food, wine, and dining.
At family meal, otherwise known as staff meal, there’s no hierarchy; you’re breaking bread with your friends. For those 30 minutes, everyone is equal- and hungry. Family meal is our version of the water cooler- but with better food.
I’ll be sharing my thoughts, tips, and observations, and, in the spirit of family meal, I’ve invited our creative, energetic staff- everyone from line cook to bartender to bookkeeper- to have a say. I hope you’ll add your own comments and join in the conversation.
-Tom Douglas
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