Sunday Suppers at Cuoco!! Wow, what a lovely menu!
For $25 per person, Cuoco features a family style menu every Sunday. Each Sunday begins with sous chef Jack firing up the Big Green Egg to smoke the fennel rubbed pork shoulder
nice and slow.
The menu starts off with an amuse. Last Sunday we had a perfect crostini of ricotta and sweet and sour eggplants. This dreamy bite introduced the menu and really made you look forward to what was about to be brought to the table:
Fork fulls of tagliatelle, zucchini, and marjoram; just picked Prosser green beans, lemon zest, and bread crumbs; colorful heirloom tomatoes with basil and Murray River sea salt; fennel rubbed pork shoulder with radicchio and escarole- we were drooling over the thought of all this even before it came to our table!
Then, to finish, we had a chocolate semifreddo with hazelnut crunch and cherries. That’s a soulful Sunday supper!
August 18th, 2011 | No Comments »
Anticipation is high for the new Red Mill in Ballard. Fish and chips and burgers across from the magnificently scenic Locks. Doesn’t get much better.
A big shout out to our friend Babe Shepherd and her brother/partner for restoring the totem pole on the front of the building. Projected September opening.
August 18th, 2011 | No Comments »
Mark Bitterman, author of Salted, traveled from Portland and his shop, The Meadow, to demo cooking on a salt block and provide a tasting of several of his fabulous imported salts!
The block was on an open flame for about 30 to 40 minutes in order for the surface to be hot enough to sear the small bites of steak that stayed on the block for 3 minutes and then, voila! they were perfectly cooked and salted and absolutely delicious. Chuck Tessaro, this year’s grand prize winner of the Daily Challenge competition assisting Mark in the photo above.
Behind the scenes…. the talented catering staff that cooked and plated 50 tastes every 2 hours for summer campers, led by uber chef Matt Anderson!!!
Behind the scenes…. plating up 50 bento boxes (photo above), each with 6 items is no small task- but our catering staff whipped them out in about 10 mintues!!! Kudos to Matt Anderson and his stellar staff!!!
Liam, Lola chef, and Audrey, Serious Pie Virginia chef (photo above), served up a Greek influenced demo including 2 versions of tzatziki, 2 different dolmades, and they taught the technique of turning out a perfectly grilled fish!
August 18th, 2011 | No Comments »
Block party!!!
South Lake Union was bursting at the seams with tasty bites and a beer garden on Friday, August 12. Many local restaurants came to the party and prepared treats for thousands of peeps. Chef Brian of Brave Horse made amazingly delicious burgers, each topped with a cute little corn dog skewer!
The Dahlia Workshop and Cuoco connected their booths to make one big party! Besse from the Dahlia Workshop made Rub with Love Ancho Molasses pulled pork sliders, and Cuoco wheeled over the Big Green Egg and prepared slow cooked lamb bruschetta with salsa verde and arugula. Between the two restaurants we served over 1,500 bites to the lucky attendees at only $1 a bite!
Besides food and drink, the block party had booths featuring fun local businesses, a row of food trucks, a burger competition, a kids area, DJs, and at dusk they played Scott Pilgrim vs the World on a gigantic movie screen.
We can’t wait for next year!
(Editor’s note: photos courtesy of Bruce Miyahara)
August 17th, 2011 | No Comments »
Here’s what pastry chef Garrett Melkonian is serving for dessert for the dinner menu at the Inn at Langley. (Chef Matt Costello, another TDR alumnus, creates and cooks the dinner menu, and Garrett comes up with the dessert.) The weather is perfect this weekend, which makes me wish I was headed up to Whidbey Island to indulge in this fabulous dinner at the luxurious (though delightfully casual) Inn.
Garrett’s description of the blackberry dessert:
“The dish was inspired by the drive into Langley- highways littered with blackberry bushes… here’s the set up:
blackberry verbena sorbet
warm “fermented” berries (cooked in red wine reduction)
smashed berries (dropped into liquid nitro and broken into the cells that make up the berry)
Broken “glass” (caramelized sugar shards, pulverized) flavored with chamomile
Tiny herb blossoms from the garden: thyme, lavender, verbena
A lavender honey cream
and “a sweet forest air” (it’s a tea made with spruce tips, rosemary, thyme, chamomile, lemon and vanilla that gets whipped into frothy lightness and blankets all the berry goodness.)
I know it sounds like a lot of stuff, but when you eat this, the lingering flavor is blackberry. I think it’s one of the best dishes I’ve ever put together.”
August 17th, 2011 | No Comments »
Brave Horse Fried Chicken Dinners on Sunday for only 14 buckaroos!!!
Our fried chicken is pickle-brined!! WHAT!!? We make our very own pickles and we use that juice to pickle brine the chicken, then we dredge and fry it! C’mon in next Sunday and give it a try!
August 17th, 2011 | No Comments »
An advance copy of Brad Parsons’ new book, Bitters, (Ten Speed Press) came across my desk a couple days ago.
The publication of Bitters is brilliantly timed, since these alcoholic infusions made from a complex mix of herbs, roots, bark, seeds, spices, and flowers are the hottest of hot ingredients on the white-hot modern bar scene.
Who knew that two of my top favorite cocktails, the Manhattan and the Sazerac, would make it into Brad’s “Bitters Hall of Fame?” (Though, since I’ve never had a good one in Seattle, I only drink Sazeracs when I’m in New Orleans or in the home of a good friend who keeps a bottle of Peychaud’s Bitters and a bottle of Herbsaint in his cupboard at all times.)
Along with many at Tom Douglas Restaurants, I’ve known Brad for years, from the days he lived in Seattle (he has since relocated to Brooklyn) and was a senior editor for Amazon. I knew he was smart, intense, and enthusiastic about everything food and drink, but I did not realize what a graceful and gifted writer he is. Because Brad is a lifelong cocktail geek and a dedicated bitters fan, his erudite prose goes down as smoothly as a sip of an Old Fashioned crafted with a dash of pear bitters. (Pear bitters!! How delicious does that sound?) Yes, in addition to the “spirited history” of bitters and a handy guide to setting up your home bar, there are recipes, about 60 of them, for cocktails, handmade bitters (including the pear bitters), and even a few sweets and savories.
Bitters comes out in November- good timing again- so you can pick up a copy for yourself and a few more for Christmas gifts. (The above mentioned Sazerac-making friend is on my gift list.)
Photo credit: Ed Anderson 2011
“Reprinted with permission from Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons, copyright 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.”
August 16th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
While circling the Tom Douglas Restaurants globe, photo-journalist extraordinaire, Bruce Miyahara, has become fascinated by the incredible tattoo art sported by many of the TDR staff! Above, Nate.
Besse
Lauren
and Molly.
August 15th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
A gloomy and chilly Saturday turned into a sunny warm afternoon just in time for our 3rd Salmon Chanted evening in Victor Steinbrueck Park in the Pike Place Market on August 13. For only $15, guests received a delicious plate of perfectly grilled salmon, potato salad, grilled corn on the cob, green beans, blueberry cobbler with fresh whipped cream, and a beverage! And for free- the fabulous view of the Sound!!
Wow, we live in a gorgeous city, and Victor Steinbrueck Park has one of the best vantage points! Thanks to all of the local residents who volunteered to help serve the dinner, which in turn will serve the parks!
Our goal for every Salmon Chanted Evening of Fish, Friendship, and Fun is to celebrate this historic area of our city and inspire a committment to a positive community presence in the park. All proceeds from these events benefit the Seattle Parks Department. The last Salmon Chanted Evening of the summer will be Sept 10th, so come on over the the Market and chow down on a delicious grilled salmon dinner with us!
August 15th, 2011 | No Comments »
The Dahlia Bakery, Dahlia Workshop, and Rub with Love Shack all served up freshly grilled s’mores made with Theo chocolate, housemade marshmallows, and graham crackers- by the end of the day we will have served a total of about 250 hot-off-the-grill s’mores between the 3 joints!!
August 10th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
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