Most of the eastern part of the United States has had a long, nasty, cold, snowy winter. I feel very sorry for them. Here in beautiful Seattle we are enjoying sunshine, 60 degrees, and full-on Spring weather. I feel quite smug! Tulips and daffodils have been blooming almost a month early. Cherry trees are putting on their full display of delicate blossoms. The Robins are back and singing at sunrise. I love it! My Aussie husband hates it, because the flies are also back.
Apparently flies are a HUGE nuisance in Australia where some will actually bite you. My Aussie husband goes insane when one gets into our house here, and will not rest until he has tracked it down and made sure that it is an EX fly. I have tried to point out that here they are quite harmless, but he will not listen to me. It doesn't matter, he says. It is a fly and must be dispatched!
I think I will buy a mega-sized fly swatter for him as an early birthday present...
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Australian Coffee invades the US
In the wide world of coffee, I would not expect Australia to be a major influence. How then to explain Starbucks' recent addition of the Australian "Flat White" to its drink line up? This is from their press release - "Starbucks today introduced a new core espresso offering with the launch
of the Flat White handcrafted espresso beverage, available at
participating Starbucks® stores in the US and Canada. Since originating in
Australia in the 1980s, the Flat White became a coffeehouse staple in
the UK and is now a budding favorite among coffee aficionados in the
United States and Canada."
I'm a little upset about this, as I will no longer feel like a smug world traveler when ordering a coffee in Australia, as I can now get a Flat White anywhere. I won't even have to translate the coffee options!
I'm a little upset about this, as I will no longer feel like a smug world traveler when ordering a coffee in Australia, as I can now get a Flat White anywhere. I won't even have to translate the coffee options!
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Fresh From the Farm
Well I didn't have to wait very long into the new year to have my first amazing meal. This past weekend we journeyed by ferry out to Vashon Island to have a "farm to table" meal in several courses, presented by the chef owner of Pink Tractor Farms and his lovely wife, whom we met several years ago on our culinary trip to Italy. Most of the ingredients came from the farm, including the goose liver for the first course, the guanciali perched atop the heirloom corn grits, and the chicken and lamb for the sausage in the cassoulet. It was all very, very tasty; my two favorite courses were the Tunisian Brik with smoked trout and the coffee liquor panna cotta.
They are planning on presenting these dinners quarterly - I cannot wait to see what will be on the menu for the next one!
They are planning on presenting these dinners quarterly - I cannot wait to see what will be on the menu for the next one!
 |
| Goose Liver Flan |
 |
| Tunisian Brik |
 |
| Pumpkin soup with apple dumpling |
 |
| Corn Grits with Guanciale |
 |
| Cassoulet! |
 |
| Panna Cotta |
Sunday, February 1, 2015
2014 Outstanding Meals
I noticed everyone was compiling end of the year lists for just about everything, so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and compile my list of my most amazing meals of 2014. I will try to limit the list to meals that I took pictures of, so you don't fall asleep through my detailed descriptions...
One of the best was in France, as I would expect, in Epernay. This was during the "girls' trip" in May and we were just in the town for the day, mainly for Champagne tasting. I had to find a place where 8 of us could dine and since it was the guest of honor's actual birthday, I thought it should be at least a little swanky. La Cave a Champagne kept showing up with positive reviews so that became my first choice. When we arrived in town it was a beautiful day and we almost chose another place, as the Cave (true to its name) was all indoors and a little on the dark side. Don't let that sway you! The food is outstanding. We all ordered off the prix fixe lunch menu, and for a very reasonable 19 Euros all had 3 courses of amazing food. Sweetbread and lamb's tongue, beautiful cassoulet, vegetable tians; it was all delicious. This was my escargot and artichoke heart appetizer -
Another best was on our trip to Buenos Aires. We were wandering around a neighborhood that was a little touristy when my Aussie husband spotted a sign that immediately grabbed his attention. Because I sadly cannot read Spanish, I had no idea why he looked so happy until he explained that they served a tasting menu of local specialties. Like llama. And Rhea. Sign us up! The dishes were all beautifully presented and perfectly paired with local wines. Here is the menu, and a photo of the first course of various varieties of Andean potatoes, fried and pureed. And it just got better after that! Llama carpaccio. Hare in a mole-like chocolate sauce. Rhea that was served under glass, on a bed of smoked, charred onions. Every dish was amazing at El Baqueano. If we had discovered it earlier in our visit, we would have gone back for a second night.
The other 2 meals that made it on my list for 2014 were a lot closer to home. Both outstanding, but very, very different.
Sushi Kappo Tamura offered an omakase tasting menu that piqued our interest so we corralled another couple and tried it out. This was not your basic sushi parade! Chawan mushi with lobster was my favorite course, followed closely by the albacore toro. They even had a dessert course - a Yuzu yogurt panna cotta. It was all delicious.
The most memorable of all?
Dining at the Chef's Table in the kitchen of the private Rainier Club in Seattle. One of our friends knows the chef well, and arranged to have dinner IN the kitchen prep area of the club. Being always curious to see how things are done, I made sure we sat at the table so we were facing the action-packed kitchen. We were able to watch all of the grill and saute' stations, as well as the final assembly of the plates before the wait staff whisked them away to the diners "out there". We were fascinated at how quickly and smoothly everything was executed. I now know that I could never work in a professional kitchen, as I could not keep track of everything fast enough to keep the flow going. And now, a word about the food. This was October, so the menu was full of wonderful fall favorites. Chanterelle mushrooms; black truffles, perfectly seared duck. Every dish was classically prepared, but usually with a twist to the ingredients or presentation. My absolute favorite was the agnolotti covered in shaved truffles. Covered! Here is the chef shaving the truffles, and here is the finished dish. Unbelievable.
I am ready to see what meals await in 2015!
One of the best was in France, as I would expect, in Epernay. This was during the "girls' trip" in May and we were just in the town for the day, mainly for Champagne tasting. I had to find a place where 8 of us could dine and since it was the guest of honor's actual birthday, I thought it should be at least a little swanky. La Cave a Champagne kept showing up with positive reviews so that became my first choice. When we arrived in town it was a beautiful day and we almost chose another place, as the Cave (true to its name) was all indoors and a little on the dark side. Don't let that sway you! The food is outstanding. We all ordered off the prix fixe lunch menu, and for a very reasonable 19 Euros all had 3 courses of amazing food. Sweetbread and lamb's tongue, beautiful cassoulet, vegetable tians; it was all delicious. This was my escargot and artichoke heart appetizer -
The other 2 meals that made it on my list for 2014 were a lot closer to home. Both outstanding, but very, very different.
Sushi Kappo Tamura offered an omakase tasting menu that piqued our interest so we corralled another couple and tried it out. This was not your basic sushi parade! Chawan mushi with lobster was my favorite course, followed closely by the albacore toro. They even had a dessert course - a Yuzu yogurt panna cotta. It was all delicious.
The most memorable of all?
Dining at the Chef's Table in the kitchen of the private Rainier Club in Seattle. One of our friends knows the chef well, and arranged to have dinner IN the kitchen prep area of the club. Being always curious to see how things are done, I made sure we sat at the table so we were facing the action-packed kitchen. We were able to watch all of the grill and saute' stations, as well as the final assembly of the plates before the wait staff whisked them away to the diners "out there". We were fascinated at how quickly and smoothly everything was executed. I now know that I could never work in a professional kitchen, as I could not keep track of everything fast enough to keep the flow going. And now, a word about the food. This was October, so the menu was full of wonderful fall favorites. Chanterelle mushrooms; black truffles, perfectly seared duck. Every dish was classically prepared, but usually with a twist to the ingredients or presentation. My absolute favorite was the agnolotti covered in shaved truffles. Covered! Here is the chef shaving the truffles, and here is the finished dish. Unbelievable.
I am ready to see what meals await in 2015!
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
A Day at the Zoo in Buenos Aires
As I mentioned previously, we planned our itinerary all wrong. We only had a couple of days in Montevideo, Uruguay, and then we moved on to Buenos Aires. For six days. I had actually done some research on Argentina's largest city and thought we could easily roam around for at LEAST six days. The city was huge! It was the "Paris of South America"! Not so much.
Maybe it was where we stayed, in the microcenter of the business district. Maybe it was the time of year - early spring, and the trees were bare and nothing was blooming. Maybe it was just a bad week to be there. Whatever the reason, it just was not appealing. It was drab and dirty and we never felt safe out on the streets. I had heard that the areas to the north of the business district were more residential and a lot nicer, so we headed up there one day to check it out. We took the Subte (subway) and when we went up to street level we realized we were at the entrance to the zoo. Let's go! It was unlike any zoo I had ever seen. Some of the big cages right inside the gate were empty, except for the stray house cats that seemed to roam everywhere. They had taken up residence in them to get out of the rain.
They were, however, outnumbered by the Mara running all over the place. These large rodents look like a cross between a rabbit and a guinea pig, and were actually cute. They were also fairly tame, and knew the sight of the bags containing the "zoo food" pellets meant treats for them. We saw children feeding lots of them almost everywhere in the zoo.
There were also other cats here. Big cats. White Lions (which I had never seen before) and a White Tiger, with 3 adorable cubs. We spent a lot of time watching them play, as their enclosure was big and gave them plenty of room to chase each other around Aren't they cuuute?
Maybe it was where we stayed, in the microcenter of the business district. Maybe it was the time of year - early spring, and the trees were bare and nothing was blooming. Maybe it was just a bad week to be there. Whatever the reason, it just was not appealing. It was drab and dirty and we never felt safe out on the streets. I had heard that the areas to the north of the business district were more residential and a lot nicer, so we headed up there one day to check it out. We took the Subte (subway) and when we went up to street level we realized we were at the entrance to the zoo. Let's go! It was unlike any zoo I had ever seen. Some of the big cages right inside the gate were empty, except for the stray house cats that seemed to roam everywhere. They had taken up residence in them to get out of the rain.
Friday, December 12, 2014
MEAT - it is what's for dinner!
Meat, with a side or two of meat. That is what we had for dinner - and lunch - in Montevideo, Uruguay. An obscene amount of meat. And did I mention that it was grilled? At the Paradillas we saw, they had massive racks covered in different types of meat, all grilling over different levels of wood coals. Long coils of sausages sizzling over low coals, gently cooking through... flank steaks searing over the hotter coals... steaks of all sizes... chorizo and morcilla and kidneys and sweetbreads were all wedged onto the grill.
And a token vegetable, something that could double as starch like squash or yam. Bigger than my hand, and heaped on top of all the meat. My Aussie husband decided it was his duty to consume all that was put in front of him, but even he had to give up on this platter!
And a token vegetable, something that could double as starch like squash or yam. Bigger than my hand, and heaped on top of all the meat. My Aussie husband decided it was his duty to consume all that was put in front of him, but even he had to give up on this platter!
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Alternative Thanksgiving
It is Thanksgiving, and we will be at a friend's house eating wonderfully standard T-day fare. Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes. We will eat it all and love it.
But I am also loving a new tradition started with our TFS group - the "alternative" Thanksgiving. We start with all the standard ingredients, but prepare them in a vastly different manner. This year we went with the theme of Indian food, and had some amazingly tasty dishes. The host marinated turkey in a tandoori spice mix, then confited it in ghee. It was unbelievably moist and tender. Someone else made a curry-spiced pumpkin soup. We had green beans with coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Savory cranberry chutney with fennel seeds and garam masala. Chai-spiced pumpkin pie for dessert. I am already looking forward to next year's menu!
But I am also loving a new tradition started with our TFS group - the "alternative" Thanksgiving. We start with all the standard ingredients, but prepare them in a vastly different manner. This year we went with the theme of Indian food, and had some amazingly tasty dishes. The host marinated turkey in a tandoori spice mix, then confited it in ghee. It was unbelievably moist and tender. Someone else made a curry-spiced pumpkin soup. We had green beans with coconut, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Savory cranberry chutney with fennel seeds and garam masala. Chai-spiced pumpkin pie for dessert. I am already looking forward to next year's menu!
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