♫ Tis the Season for Clogging Arteries ♫

November is Dine Around Seattle month. Good chance to sample some fancy (or the not as fancy, but questionably priced) restaurants for $30.

Smash and I went to Nishino's - which my work used to hire out the chefs for our Holiday parties back in the times of plenty. Pricey, but fresh fish and they have inventive rolls. Plus the Central district just doesn't get explored as much as it should.

I got the wine pairing option, which meant dessert came with sake! I haven't been much a fan of it in the past, but sake is definitely growing on me.

I think it's the sourness. I'm not sure. Anyway, they had yummy cakes made by Hiroki’s Specialty Desserts, because what's the point of the title of this post if I didn't shove heart clogging food into each meal??

Green tea tiramisu and pumpkin something cheesecake.

Sorry, I should update more often. I'm beginning to forget what I ate!!

I re-visited my favorite lasagna recipe to test out my new deep dish ceramic cooker! The scraper is not designed for lasagna I don't think. I probably should have cooked something else the first time I used it to get that "base." The premise is like a wok or the grills you would use camping. You grease it up, and don't wash it. As you keep using the dish it'll develop its own non-stick layer.

I don't know why lasagna's always runny. I think maybe because I shove more spinach and mushrooms than the recipe calls for. (it cooks down... so why not? besides the runny-ness). That's what makes it "lean" right?

This meal re-affirmed how much of a foodie my friend is. We geeked out over my recipe books and planned a feast that is probably not going to happen. But it'd be so good if we actually made it...

Speaking of which, the Stranger had an article about fried foods. I'm not much of a fried food person in general (in fact, feeling a little nauseated as I type this) BUT! they also said corn dog! I have soft spots for certain types of fried food that come and go. And after reading about their interesting spin on corn dogs how can you not want to try out the Unicorn?

Start out with your basic chili cheese corn dog -

Ok it looks a little bit like poop, but it was good! Not very wow-good. Just more like -hm. Why haven't I thought of this before? It's good.- good.

What I really loved was the cat-dog!

That's right! catfish! On a stick! Deep fried in corn dog breading with orange sauce! I have no idea what the sauce is. Website says "frank's red hot aioli." Anybody else thinking of a buffalo wing spin off from the red hot?

They also had deep fried burger (bleh. kind of like a mini Big Mac).

and Mac and Cheese (I have out grown you, plain cheddar mac&cheese. I prefer sharper cheeses like Dubliner and Gruyure).

Seriously, it was like part American cheese part plain cheddar.... yich to American cheese.

And what would a blog post these days be like without a contribution from my Ladies' Dinner Club?

Psych it's brunch. (Remember when it used to be spelled "sike" or was I just illiterate back in the day?)

I was an hour late but they saved me a plate. Cousin met the host for this meal right before the event so I had a couple of days of anticipation after hearing the cooking process.

Top: pumpkin cake, poached eggs with spinach and tomatoes and short rib hash.

The hash was rubbed with kona and cooked ahead the day prior. You know what that means? A tender piece of meat. With caramelized onions, peppers, asparagus, and potatoes. Savory goodness.

But there was more!! I just couldn't fit it all on one plate.

Pumpkin scones with home made maple icing, chocolate-peanut butter dipped oreos, peanut butter cookie with a Reese's mini

Yes, you see seconds of the hash and the pumpkin cake.