Desi Bonow, formerly sous-chef of Dahlia Lounge & current chef of Palace Kitchen, sent out an email through out the Tom Douglas restaurants last week to invite anyone who wanted to watch a lamb being butchered from start to finish.
Grilled spring lamb loin~french lentils, pickled beets, paprika cream
Slow cooked spring lamb~aged feta dumplings, fava beans, fiddleheads
Let us know in the comments if you try the new dishes out – I’m looking forward to a late night visit on Sunday (my gllloooorrriiioouuusss Friday) for a lamb feast!
Rub with Love brand manager, Carol Baush, asked me the other day, if I use the Roast Rub, one of our newest spice rub flavors, when cooking at home. I said, “no, I just don’t think of it,” and she handed me a jar. Last night for dinner, I had two skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the fridge. I patted the chicken on both sides with Roast Rub, then seared them for about 4 minutes in a hot cast iron pan in a little olive oil, then set the pan in a hot (425°F) oven for 12 to 15 minutes until the chicken was cooked through. Delicious!! Believe it or not, when the chicken thighs were cooking, the savory aroma in the kitchen reminded me of a classic Sunday roast! What’s fun about Roast Rub is the whole and cracked spices like coriander, fennel, and mustard seeds, plus extra coarse sea salt, which gives this rub a texture and flavor unlike any of our others. I’m a big fan of Roast Rub now, and I highly recommend it, plus you don’t need a big roast of meat to enjoy it. Has anyone else cooked with Roast Rub? What do you use it on?
Shopping at the Whole Foods in Roosevelt Square last weekend, I encountered Toby Matasar setting up a table to offer tastes from her line of Sweet Toby’s treats to the packed crowd of Mother’s Day shoppers. Years ago, Toby was Tom Douglas Restaurants’ Pastry Chef. Nowadays she is known as the chef/owner of the excellent Eats Market Cafe, in West Seattle. She also has a developed a line of treats that are sold retail at Whole Foods, Metropolitan Markets, and Madison Market. My favorite of the Sweet Toby’s line is the Crunch no. 9- a crisp and delicious hand made granola “candy” (but a wholesome candy) packed full of high quality nuts and dried fruits. It truly is the best granola treat I have ever tasted.
Thank you so much for all you fabulous volunteers that made the trek to Prosser last week.
We planted the whole friggin’ farm in 2 days- it was amazing (not to mention a bit of a thigh burn!) We had four full cold frames and a loaded greenhouse that were almost empty by the time we left. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beans, basil, broccoli raab, corn, melons, pumpkins…etc etc etc… are now in the ground and holding their own. Weather looks favorable (finally) for the next week or so at least and irrigation is back on in full force. More trays were seeded in the greenhouse, herb beds planted, and a massive amount of weeding was accomplished.
We had two delicious dinners- grilled tenderloin and asparagus by Tommy D, and halibut tacos and margaritas by Pam H, with a lot of help from ET and everyone else. A suspiciously large amount of Tecate cans seemed to fill the recycling bins…. Hmmmm. Here was also a bacon fried rice competition between Katie O and ET- personally, I think it was a tie, but the trash talk was flying.
Tuesday I met up with some near and dear friends and made some new ones while gathering at a communal table at Ting Momo. Chef Dekyi’s incredible menu makes it tough to decide- especially since I know how delicious all her hand-pinched delicacies are, having worked with her for years now at so many of the fun events we host at Palace Ballroom.
I decided on the Momo plate combining both of Dekyi’s steamed dumplings- two made of Golden Colorado yak, star anise, and bay leaf hand crafted into a beautifully pinched dumpling topped off with a carefully placed single dried cranberry- a work of art in my opinion! And two shrimp, scallion, garlic, ginger and red curry dumplings served alongside a fresh, exciting chickpea salad and Dekyi’s colorful pickled cabbage!
Dekyi was gracious enough to come to our table and educate our group about all of our different lunch items and their ingredients, and was kind enough to send me away with a lovely to-go box for my dinner that night. Two Dekyi meals in one day, how lucky can a girl get?
I recently had one of the best lunches this year at Seatown Seabar. I had a marvelous garbanzo bean stew with chunks of roasted pork, Dungeness crab, and fresh peas. The sticky ribs were awesome- so much so that I picked them up with my fingers. (Usually I eat EVERYTHING with a fork and knife.) Very meaty, tender, yes sticky, and perfectly seasoned. It was like a scene out of “When Harry Met Sally” because I captured the attention of my neighboring counter-mates who vowed to order them on the next visit.
Finished off with a half dozen Penn Cove Select oysters: perfectly chilled, plump, meaty and slightly salty with tastes of mineral. What better to wash it all down than a delicious sparkling Rosé? Waitress Gretchen brings delight to any afternoon. Heaven!!
We had a Spring gathering of friends at our house this weekend plus our annual Jello contest. ( I have Jello photos, but they may be a little “out there” for the blog!) For snacks, I made the yellow butter cupcakes with chocolate sour cream frosting that we’ve been working on for the Dahlia Bakery cookbook. I thought the cupcakes and the frosting both turned out delicious, but decorating them with the peeps brought it all together!
Welcome 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.
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