We had dinner at Serious Pie Downtown last night and found the menu loaded with the Prosser veggies that are lovingly grown and harvested by Jackie Cross and her team at Prosser Farm.
We started with three vibrant vegetable appetizers: heirloom cucumber (from Prosser) salad with Walla Walla onions and herbs; tomato (from Prosser) bread salad with fennel; and a roasted beet (from Prosser) and purslane salad showered with shaved cheese and toasted nuts. Chef Audrey knows how to treat perfect summer veg with both finesse and restraint.
Next we proceeded to devour our pizzas, which included the night’s special with tomatoes (from Prosser), roasted eggplant (from Prosser), and fontina cheese. Delicious, especially with a lovely glass of Dolcetto in hand.
It may be odd to go gaga over cake when eating at Pie, but the majestic slice of pastry chef Stacy’s olive oil cake, soaked with honey syrup and crowned with softly whipped cream, sent us right over the edge. Crusty on the outside and deliciously moist inside, this is one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten!
August 31st, 2011 | No Comments »
These gorgeous fruits are delivered straight to our pastry kitchen from City Fruit, an incredible company that circles around the Seattle area picking neighborhood fruit that would otherwise go to waste. We order from them weekly, and the recent gems that have arrived in pristine condition include figs, apples, crab apples, and plums!
Ordering from City Fruits is a triple whammy… you can’t get more local, the fruit is beautiful and delicious, and you’re doing a great thing since proceeds from the program help feed the needy.
August 30th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Last week I stopped by the Palace Kitchen for a tasting of Prosser Farm veggies (raised by farmer-in-chief Jackie Cross) paired with Chinook Wines (created by winemaker Kay Simon).
This is the second taste, a tasting of heirloom tomatoes paired with Chinook Rosé 2010. On the plate:
Aunt Ruby’s German green, smoked pork belly, iceberg
Cherokee red, fromage blanc, fennel flower
Ceylon, curried potato vinaigrette, fresh coriander
These were the best tomato bites I’ve had all summer- both the tomatoes themselves and the presentations by Palace Chef Dezi. I wish I had a pint of that curried potato vinaigrette in my refrigerator at home, and I wish I had a dozen Aunt Ruby’s German green tomatoes!
August 30th, 2011 | No Comments »
Dekyi filiming an episode of United Tastes of America with Jeffrey Saad coming up in November!
August 30th, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Elliot, Ben, and I took the inside passage through Deception Pass Friday and up to South San Juan Island.
We fished the South Side of Salmon Bank by Cattle Point Friday and Saturday and limited out on 11 Pinks and 1 Silver.
We caught 6 Dungeness for dinner Friday night and cooked em up on the BBQ.
Saturday night we cooked up the 1 Silver and 1 Pink.
Sunday morning we caught 4 more fish and headed back to Seattle through the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
Editor’s note: Chris is our amazing Technology Consultant and all-around IT Guy. He brought his delicious smoked salmon to the office for us to taste today.
August 29th, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I want to share with all of you this fantastic email I received from a Rub with Love customer which included a photo of this beautiful woman holding our Chicken Rub!!
To Carol,
On our recent trip to Zimbabwe we took a few Seattle based gifts for local villagers. This is a picture of Ms. Johnson of Ngamo Village, Zimbabwe, with a container of Chicken Rub. To the left, you can see the pen where they raise the chickens for the family compound meals. All the cooking is done communally and on outside fires with large cast-iron pots and pans. She is the main cook for the compound and was very happy to have something new to try!
from,
Susan Cook
Seattle, WA
August 29th, 2011 | No Comments »
In Fremont, just three doors north of the future Book Larder is a new little deli named Dot’s. Their cases are full of house made patés and sausages, and they serve a delicious selection of sandwiches and sides to go with them! I had the perfect blt and the jalapeno coleslaw! And their mortadella sandwich is to die for!
August 25th, 2011 | No Comments »
This week I got the chance to meet up with our friend, Lara Hamilton, at her still-under-construction cookbook store on Fremont Ave. The store is opening in October and will be a fun place to shop for your favorite cookbook, meet authors, and take cooking classes. Can’t wait to see the finished store, it’s going to be an awesome gathering spot! Congrats, Lara!
Here’s a little interview I did with Lara about the new shop:
Q: How long have you had a vision for your own cookbook shop and cooking niche?
A: I’ve been interested in cookbooks for many years and always thought Seattle needed its own shop like those I’d visited or read about in other cities. When I started working with Kim Ricketts last summer, we realized opening a cookbook store that was a real gathering place for cooks and food lovers was a dream we shared and we started brainstorming ideas. When she passed away in April, I became the new owner of the company and decided the cookbook store just couldn’t wait any longer. So with lots of support from friends and the local food community, here we are!
Q: How did you come up with the name?
A: I’m an Anglophile married to a Brit, so the store is going to have a bit of an English bent. I thought the idea of finding your larder (pantry) full of books was a nice one, so the name stuck.
Q: What types of events will you be offering in your shop other than hands-on demo classes for 8 and tasting demos for 12?
A: Author events will be a big part of what we do, and I’m excited that we’ll be able to host a wide range of authors and chefs. Since we have a kitchen in the store, we’ll be able to let the authors do demos and share their skill with our customers, but we’ll also offer talks and signings. Sometimes the last thing a chef on book tour wants to do is cook! Starting in November or so, we’ll offer cooking classes centered on books, so we’ll be able to cover a broad range of topics and have lots of fun featuring an author’s work, even when they can’t be here themselves.
The Book Larder address: 4252 Fremont Avenue
The people in the photo are, left to right: Jenny Gialenes, office manager/ Lara Hamilton, owner/ Clodagh Reeves, store manager
August 25th, 2011 | No Comments »
While strolling through the restaurants of Tom Douglas, one will run across many tattooed arms, necks, knuckles, ankles,
and calves that grace the bodies of our ever talented staff….
and here are just a few of them!! (The photos: top left- Brave Horse bouncer, Dennis. Top right- Dahlia Server, Brian. Middle left- Sparkle (Master of English Muffins, Darren). Middle right, Kelsey in pastry (how appropriate!) Bottom left- Marisa with a beautiful tattoo that says “faith,” and upside down it says “trust.” Bottom right- our own Jerrilyn!
August 23rd, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Yesterday was the day that my husband, Frank, and I finally made it over to South Lake Union to try the Brave Horse Fried Chicken Dinner, served only on Sundays. Sunday evenings are a great time to try out Brave Horse if you want to avoid the crowds, and to top it off you can get fried chicken! When we entered Brave Horse, the space was not empty, but it was not packed to the rafters either- just mellow and calm. Yesterday was a rare, warm Seattle day with temperatures in the 80′s, so though we thought a moment about the appealing outdoor tables, the dim cool interior of the tavern was the greater draw. After much deliberation over the extensive beer menu, I chose a Racer 5 IPA, which came to the table cold and pleasantly hoppy, and Frank sipped a Maritime Old Seattle Lager. Brave Horse’s sous chef, Warren Peterson, helped me pick out my beer. He’s also the creator of the BH fried chicken recipe.
Marinated beets served with sour cream, dill, and pickled onions made a delightful starter. They were cleverly served with a side of pretzel chips (sliced from Brave Horse’s famous hand-made pretzels). We also shared a cool summery bowl of gazpacho, made with Jackie’s Prosser tomatoes.
Then on to the main event: three delicious pieces of fried chicken with a crisp crackly well seasoned crust outside and moist chicken (it’s pickle brined after all) inside. The plate was filled out (massively over-filled) with a fresh tasting macaroni salad, some pickled green beans and cherry tomatoes, and a giant wedge of sweet, ripe watermelon. Everything was terrific, but next to the fried chicken the prize winner was the big, light, fluffy American-style soft bun baked specially for this plate by the Tom Douglas bread bakers. At $14, this dinner is a steal. If you’re in the mood for fried chicken (and who isn’t?), mark your calendar to stop by Brave Horse next Sunday for dinner.
August 22nd, 2011 | No Comments »
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