Robert Frost once said, “Good fences make good neighbors,” but if you live next to Amy Pennington, of Go Go Green Garden and author of Urban Pantry, a fence is not the tie that binds. Rather it’s the bounty of food and culinary knowledge that is bestowed upon you, simply by proxy of your location.
I could go on and on about the times that I have basked in the glory of Amy’s kitchen prowess- like the time she fed me milk braised pork shoulder when she was recipe testing, or the countless times she’s made me Manhattans out of the boozy cherries she jarred up, or the time I bought a big brown sack of Bartlett pears, neglected them, went on vacation, only to come home to find them made into a savory pear chutney. She’s my food fairy- leaving little food gifts here and there for me.
Just a few weeks ago, we had taken a trip out to eastern Washington, and while driving back, she suggested we pull the car over the side of the road to forage wild elderberries. I, up to this point, had no clue what an elderberry looked like, even though we had consumed them in medicinal syrups from PCC. I asked Amy if it was possible to make these berries that we were picking into something similar, and without hesitation she answered, “of course!”
She steered me in the direction of making my own homemade elderberry tincture. I grabbed on to this idea mostly because the idea of making a “tincture” just seems so hip. My elderberry tincture was a simple mixture of vodka and berries. That’s it!
Little did I know that today, a few weeks after making my tincture, Amy would be featured in the New York Times dining section in an article on preserving fruits in alcohol, which you can read here.
A great article for anyone thinking about saving the last of summer’s fruits!
September 23rd, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Construction is underway for our new bread and pastry bakeries in South Lake Union. It takes a small army (of construction workers) to create a work space for another small army (of bread and pastry bakers.) The steps should be done today. Look for frequent posts updating our construction work!
September 22nd, 2010 | No Comments »
Make that a big cake- a big garden cake for all the students, teachers, families, friends and neighbors who are turning out to help move a mountain of Cedar Grove compost into the garden the students at Daniel Bagley Elementary are building this week!
Daniel Bagley Elementary is in the midst of a rejuvenation project that began earlier this year. The school is transforming a neglected and underused outdoor classroom into a beautiful and thriving school garden, complete with a cute cedar storage shed, two water spigots, and 17 natural cedar raised garden beds that will be planted and tended at this public K-5 Montessori school. The largest raised bed is dedicated to growing produce for the Greenwood Food Bank throughout the year, and the other classrooms are likely to donate some of their crops too.
This week is “Garden Week” at the school and every classroom has a part in creating the new school garden!
Tonight, our new principal, Anitra Pinchback-Jones, teachers, students, and their families, friends and neighbors will participate in a “Move the Mountain” garden work party. When the task is complete, we will be thrilled to celebrate with a beautiful and delicious Garden Cake specially designed for the event by the pastry chefs at the Dahlia Bakery!! (Thank you, Robyn Wolfe, and all the wonderful bakers!)
There are more exciting events in store this week including more garden construction by students- even the kindergarteners are participating- and an all-school “Apple Social” on the playground this coming Friday. We’ll snack on organic apples and admire the students’ work. We’ll have special guests such as guests from the Greenwood Food Bank, and Lettuce Link, and also Eric Boutin, the new Seattle Public Schools Director of Nutrition Services.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers and supporters who have helped this project soar!!!
Editor’s Note: Trudy Tessaro is a member of Seattle Foodies and is married to Chuck, a Tom Douglas Summer Camp lifer.
In the middle row of photos: our Pastry Sous Chef Randi Johansen (photo left) designed this amazing cake which says “Eat Your Veggies” along the side. The photo to the right is a close up of the top of the cake. There are gardening gloves, all kinds of veggies, and even a slug in the “dirt” on top of the cake. In case you’re wondering, this is a chocolate cake.
September 22nd, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Pok Pok, in the Clinton/Division neighborhood, is one of my favorite Portland restaurants, and I was excited to take my husband, Frank, there on our weekend vacation. I love the casual outdoor seating and the vibrant flavors of chef/owner Andy Ricker’s (yep! a white guy) Thai (mostly) food. We started with drinking vinegars- Pok Pok has a long list of vinegars- some housemade- mostly fruit-based but also made from tamarind and honey and other ingredients. The drinking vinegars are also used in cocktails, but for the middle of the day I like them best just mixed with sparkling water. I had the pineapple (delicious!) and Frank had Taiwan Lemon.
Pok Pok, named for the sound a mortar and pestle makes, is busy, fast, friendly, and efficient. It always looks like the place is mobbed, but you’re seated and served pretty quickly. We ordered one of their most popular dishes- fish sauce chicken wings. The sweet, caramel-y fish sauce glaze is addictive! Frank called it “chicken dessert.” (Though perhaps the wings could have been cooked a few minutes less so the chicken would have been a little bit juicier.)
We also got a tasty flank steak salad, and- my favorite- smoky charcoal grilled eggplant salad with boiled farm egg, fried garlic, dried shrimp, cilantro, shallots, and Thai chilies in a spicy sweet sour dressing. That dish was packed with flavor! The eggplant was peeled and sexy-soft. The hard boiled egg was chopped and strewn over the top. Altogether amazing. Our sticky rice came in little bamboo steamers and it was interesting to me that the rice was tucked inside a little plastic bag.
Our $40 lunch at Pok Pok turned out to be Frank’s favorite meal of the whole weekend!
In addition to Whisky Soda Lounge, which is right down and across the street from Pok Pok, Ricker owns another joint, Ping, in Portland’s Chinatown, an area I’ve never explored, so maybe on the next visit. (Not sure what’s there; you don’t hear about it much. I suspect it’s somewhat run-down. But I always have wanted to check out the Chinese Garden there.)
September 21st, 2010 | No Comments »
Last night we did a beer pairing dinner with Deschutes at Etta’s. We sold the event out, and everyone left happy- with bellies full of delicious food and tasty suds. Here’s a little snippet of the night:
Scott (Etta’s GM) and Ron (Etta’s Chef) manned the helm like experts while people commented on the fantastic service by Michael Young, Zoe Beba, and Ben Leslie. Another hit was Stacy’s (Pastry Chef) malted peanut butter ice cream and Black Butte Porter float!
A really fun night for all. Here’s the menu that was served to our very lucky guests:
Fried minterbrook oysters, brussel sprout mustard seed slaw/ Mirror Pond Pale Ale
Steamed manilla clams, smoked potato sausage/ Inversion IPA
Cinnamon spiced Berkshire pork belly, beer braised cipollini onions/ Jubelale
Malted peanut butter ice cream float, apple cider caramel truffle, bacon salt/ Black Butte Porter
Kudos to the whole team for a fun event and for making a new set of beer loving friends!
September 21st, 2010 | No Comments »
My husband, Frank, and I just got back from a delightful weekend visit to the City of Roses. As most everyone knows, Portland is full of great coffee houses, Stumptown being the most well known. Wandering around near the Ace Hotel, we came across Public Domain, which specializes in single origin beans and pour-over coffee. While I was debating which beans to choose for my pour-over, the counter person told me that Esmeralda Special beans from Panama were considered to make the best cup of coffee in the world, so of course I chose that one. What’s $7 for a cup of coffee when you can have the best in the world? The coffee was good, and very smooth, but honestly, a little too mild and bland for my taste. (I actually preferred the pour-over coffee that I had at Seatown Snack Bar awhile ago which was also smooth but had more acidity and a little more punch for my palate.) The best part of the experience was watching the friendly and charming baristas pour the hot water through those little glass cones. Very fun!
September 21st, 2010 | No Comments »
Raspberries, vanilla bean pastry cream, cornmeal tart shell….. isn’t this a beauty? Delicious, too. Another recipe developed for the upcoming Dahlia Bakery Cookbook.
September 21st, 2010 | No Comments »
On our birthday trip to the Big Apple, Darren and I sauntered into a restaurant, dell’anima, that was recommended by the big man (Tom Douglas) himself. To say the least, the environment was sexy, seductive and delicious. The softly lit room, friendly staff, and amazing food made an exquisite night out in Chelsea.
Our menu started with a few Goose and Ginger cocktails and bruschette with ricotta/ rapini pesto, walnuts, pecorino/soft scrambled eggs, bottarga.
The bruschette were lightly toasted and seasoned with olive oil and a dash of salt, mmmm….. The ricotta, fluffy light and mouth watering. The rapini pesto was good but not quite my style, however, Darren loved it! The soft scrambled egg was loved by all.
Our next course was cozze: mussels in a white wine, herb butter, and sausage jus.
Thereafter, we changed it up from Goose to a glass or two of the Barbaresco Masseria Vietti which danced on your palate. It was like drinking silk.
For our main course, we had risotto alla pilota with house made sausage, salumi, Pecorino Romano. Al dente grain, rich and creamy, completely decadent…. Following that was the fettucini carbonara (photo above)- bacon, garlic, freshly grated Parmesan- the noodles were dripping with butter and a beautiful egg yolk centered atop all this deliciousness.
To end it all, we had nutello gelato and scrumptious berry tart with whip. All I have to say is that there was not a crumb left on any of those plates.
What a treat to experience this place! Thank you again, Tom, for the wonderful recommendation!
Editor’s note: the small photo to the right is of Jackie and ET dining at dell’anima right after the James Beard Awards last spring.
September 16th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
What a wonderful harvest lunch we had at Prosser Farm on Saturday the 11th. Members of our Wine Press Club and new friends gathered on a perfect 75° day to share in the task of gathering food from the garden and transforming it into a luscious meal. The group was divided into teams which each produced a part of the menu. The antipasto included green beans with hazelnuts, a mixed grill of eggplant and peppers, carrots dressed with mint, drippingly ripe melons with prosciutto and the neighbors’ eggs hardboiled with flake sea salt. For lunch, we enjoyed roasted potatoes dressed with chunky pesto, Dahlia Bakery corn loaf on the grill, and a big juicy cuke and tomato salad as sides for a two species salmon sampler Tom prepared. Our pastry chef, Stacy Fortner, sent over caramelized peach upside down cakes that we topped with Mara de Bois strawberries. The camaraderie developed by eating and working together fostered a lovely atmosphere of contentment and appreciation for the experience. Can’t wait until next year!
September 14th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
We are having a bite at E*A*T Cafe on Madison Ave. The sourdough ham and cheese is mouthwatering. It oozes deliciousness. However, the meatloaf sandwich is not recommended. Cute, local Upper East Side stop.
September 13th, 2010 | No Comments »
Robert Frost once said, “Good fences make good neighbors,” but if you live next to Amy Pennington, of Go Go Green Garden and author of Urban Pantry, a fence is not the tie that binds. Rather it’s the bounty of food and culinary knowledge that is bestowed upon you, simply by proxy of your location.
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