Experimental indulgence - at the store

During my indulgent phase cooking at home, I decided to try some other things found at the grocery store.

This first one is not new, but always a good classic. IPA with those spicy peanuts!

At Metropolitan Market in lower Queen Anne I found this: Pork, chicken AND truffle??!!!

They also had rosemary flat bread:

Out of the package:

There's also rosemary Wasa crackers that aren't thick like the regular fiber ones!!!

Wasa- gourmet.

Also at Metropolitan Market they have truffle cheese with HUGE chunks of real truffles in them! I had to get myself a tiny wedge. This was our appetizer to no-red-meat food club. So good with the nebbiolo.

My friend also brought these little mint cookies over for no-red-meat food club.

Kind of like thin mints, but not thin and super crispy!

Experimental Indulgence - At Home

I had prepared horseradish in my fridge for bloody mary's, and still hadn't fully experimented with the steak rub from the spice store in Colorado. Sounds like steak time, no?

Steam some green beans or asparagus and look at you with your healthy meal. Oh so fancy.

I used the spice and rubbed it into my steak. Took Worcestershire sauce and threw those bad boys in a plastic sandwhich bag to marinate for a day or two. I found that cooking for one means you have repeated meals, but it can still be fresh. The first day had no marination, but if you prep all the meat in the package the same day you can get increased marination each day.

Medium rare - beautiful.

Life had been stressful for my coworkers so I decided comfort food was in order. Made a giant batch of jalapeno-mustard and hot dog mac and cheese. I used the basic ratios from Rachel Ray's Reuban Mac n Cheese recipe then just changed up the ingredients. All cheese - medium cheddar. Replace spicy brown mustard with jalapeno mustard. Add turkey hot dogs to the pasta. Done.

I found that if you wanted more heat you can add the mustard to your individual dish and just mix it up. Still tastes delicious!

I had furniture advisor and Mar over for bfast one fine Saturday. I had a huge box of grits and discovered a wonderful find at Grocery Outlet - shredded habanero cheddar.

Put it all together and what do you get? Cindy-ized shrimp and grits.

I was feeling scattery so I brain-summarized the recipe to go as follows:

Cook turkey bacon (1 piece for person?). Remove from pan and set aside for chopping when you won't burn your fingers off from the grease.

In the same pan throw in shrimp. Salt, pepper, etc. Place with what should now be chopped bacon. (While those are cooking start to boil water for your grits. Use however much the box tells you to boil. Also get a little pot of water boiling for your eggs).

Same pan. Throw in diced onions mushrooms. Add enough chicken broth to coat those suckers in the caramelized meat juices.

While those are cooking make grits per box directions. (Takes about 5 min). Stir frequently - it's a bitch to clean if you let it stick to the bottom of the pan. When those are done throw in the habanero cheddar til the cheese melts. Don't add too much - it's REALLY SPICY.

While your 2 things are cooking and periodically getting their stir on, poach some eggs. (Read put eggs in silicone poacher). It actually takes about the same amount of time if not less, to cook as the grits. I recommend 3min < time < 5min for runny. If you can't read that go back to school.

Plate your crap up.

Fresh ground pepper and green onions sprinkled on top.

I also made a vegetarian version the next day that was much simpler. Just skip the meat, throw in veggies in a pan (here it's zucchini, mushrooms, and onions). I still did the chicken broth thing because veggies make their own caramels too.

Later that week I decided I wanted rosemary bread. So I made this recipe for rosemary focaccia. I get carried away flouring anything doughy and sticky because I hate when the dough sticks to my hands. I could have baked it longer to get more of a brown crust, but I was tired.

Balsamic vinegar and olive oil - best late night, post-drinking snack evarrrrrr.

At this point through various recipes I had a bunch of random crap in my fridge and I wanted another use for the habanero cheddar. Can't have grits EVERY day now can we? We can. But that's not the point.

My tomato also needed to be eaten STAT so I made a grilled cheese sandwhich. Habanero cheddar mixed with regular cheddar, sour cream, fresh arugula, dried basil, and tomatoes.

No cooking involved. Just pile ingredients on bread, shove in toaster oven. Set to medium. Come back at the ding and smoosh.

I also revisted gingerbread pudding for book club night dessert. I can't find the recipe, but it's the gingerbread pudding cake recipe from the December 2007 issue of Bon Appetite.

Add soy vanilla ice cream - look at the gooey center...

I started a no-red-meat/pork food club with my friends that had such dietary restrictions. For our first dinner we had italian sausage and bean soup. Very simple recipe, and it took maybe 40 minutes to cook with chatting and losing track of time.

Bubble bubble..

With nebbiolo and some shaved pecorino on top

Zoom in - the pasta was gluten free macaroni!

Yes, it did get bigger and bigger the longer it sat. I think quinoa pasta just never stops. Oh yea, we had french bread too! They made a garlic butter (chop up garlic mix with room temp butter).

There was also gluten and dairy free chocolate cake. Made in a springform pan. It was made with black eyed peas and tofu. Tasted a lot like a red bean cake.

But the tofu made it very moist, and who doesn't like red bean anyway?

My friend and I had recently been gifted some flavored salts. I don't normally cook with salt, and she is not a big meat eater. So we experimented with my smoked salt. We made baked chicken with smoked salt; baked zuchinni with shaved parmesean, salt & pepper, and thyme; and mashed potatoes with peas, quinoa, sour cream, and green onions. The quinoa gives the potatoes a creamy texture if you can't have too much dairy (obviously you would also leave out the sour cream).

Foodie Time with SoCal Visitors

2 sets of SoCal cousins migrated up here for visits. For the first timers we took them to Ivar's on the pier, because they wanted the standard for chowder and seafood out there. Of course, I encouraged them to visit World Spice Market on their way from the pier to Pike's.

The second set were seasoned visitors, so I brought them some pastries from my favorite bakery, Nielsen's in lower Queen Anne. They were brunching at Salty's at the time, so I got myself an espresso and a snitter. Look at the menu.

Espresso here is ALWAYS better than Starbuck's. They use Olympia Roasting Company's beans.

Pit stop for happy hour at Elliott's Oyster House on Pier 56. Fresh baked sourdough bread, and a huge selection of oysters. Their sauces include horseradish, cocktail sauce, lemon, and I think there was a vinegar. I like the sauce selection at Walrus and the Carpenter better.

The waitress new we liked creamier oysters, so when these huge creamy oysters came out after we had paid she made us try them for free! Just so we could appreciate the goodness.

You can't beat the freshness of these bad boys.

Next up - the standard visit to Le Pichet. We were all pretty stuffed from our earlier meals so we tried the Lyon-style French Onion Soup. It comes in a shallow bowl and a giant piece of crouton in the middle so every bite has some bread, soup, and gruyere in it.

Some one ordered a side of fries since they are simple and delicious there. This is what I did with it:

Look at how nicely browned that is!

Cousin got the hangar steak, and I told her to dip it in my soup:

I bet you never had aus jus as savory.

For dessert we ordered pratically all of them. Drinking chocolate with creme fraiche.

Chocolate mousse with I think a lemon creme?

And beignets with a berry sauce

Next up, and evening out in Ballard ending at The Sexton. The guests were actually out on capital hill I believe. Or at Lola. Cousin and I were out with our book club for some post book discussion roaming. Both sauces to our dishes had an extra kick to them, but I can't remember what it was that was in them.

Yam fries - there was something savory - maybe bell pepper or citrus? I can't remember. There was something distinct. It worked though.

More importantly, look at how big they are!

Our friend had never had hush puppies before (deep fried seasoned corn bread). This sauce definitely had something spicy added to it. I think spicy and garlicy. They over fried them though so it was overly crisp and just burnt tasting on the outside. I would try them again. It could have been a late night fluke.

Low key atmosphere, interesting drinks (and strong!). I would recommend a return visit to the Sexton to anyone. It should be interesting to see what their dinner menu tastes like.

Piccolo

Smash introduced me to a restaurant in our neighborhood that makes their pasta from scratch (except for the spaghetti - ironically). Very simple decor. Very good food. They also offer gluten free pasta options!

$8 for a glass of house wine, or $22 for half a carafe. I suggest going with somebody so you can share the food and the wine. Better deal all around. They have their standard menu, and specials.

That night we were celebrating Smash's birthday and she was thanking me for kitty-sitting. (For those of you who are interested, kitty sitting involves sitting on the couch until they decide they'll let you pet them. I only got attacked once and she didn't use her teeth and didn't bare her claws!)

Special: Sole with truffle risotto. The fish was tender and everything was just melt in your mouth-y.

Go ahead and meditate on this picture.

From their standard menu I got the braised lamb and gnocchi (hand made, remember?) I'm not much for tomato-based sauces with meat, but I had to try lamb and gnocchi. The gnocchi was huge the flavors complex, but the lamb was simple. Which I appreciate because then you can enjoy the full flavor and texture of the meat without it being obscured by fancy crap.

So puffy.

I love truffles, so let's look at that dish again:

I also took bread and soaked up the sauce from that one. After I made sure Smash was done with her meal.

They also have ALL GLUTEN FREE desserts. In true Seattle neighborhood restaurant tradition - Smash's panna cotta was on the house.

The candle messed with my phone-camera's focus. Or the phone was drooling over the food. You decide the cause.

Vday - Also known as B's Birthday

There should be a name for foodies who like to cook. There are foodies who like to recreate to experience the same flavor profile, and then you have the foodies that can't stop cooking and mixing flavors. We are going to discount "Coodies" for its homonym - which is not an appetizing concept. "Fooks" sound offensive... Chef-dies? Chefies?

Anyway, one of those made Dinner for us Feb 14~ and it was delicious! Aerial view of the spread:

Aww, pretty flowers.

There's been some feedback that my pictures aren't detailed enough. Screw the flowers, zoom in?

Just kidding, let's break it down:

Our salad was fruity and the pine nuts went well with the brussel sprouts.

Brussel sprouts, arugula, and pine nut salad tossed with lemon vinaigrette

Next up: Orzo salad. Nice and light and warm. It wasn't too hot that it wilted the arugula.

Orzo with ricotta salata, vegetables, and herbs

And the main course: stuffed beef! The marinara was home made too! Very yummy.

Braciole (roasted flank steak, stuffed with cheese, herbs, and veggies)

Put it all together and what do you get?

A plate to warm the heart. Or stuff the belly.

Some people brought their recent local winery purchases to share:

And for dessert, home made mochiko cake!

Get a good close up of that bad boy: coconuty and crip on top, nice and chewy on the bottom.

Really, we were celebrating B's birthday without her (she got a home cooked meal from her beau).

Restaurant Twists on the Familiar

Girl time has created many adventures followed by food... with a Seattle twist.

Night out clubbing? Wake yourself up the next day with a hearty meal from Tom Douglas's Dahlia Lounge. I believe this is the Scramble: hedgehog mushrooms, caramelized onions, gruyere, thyme with a smoked pork chop. Read again: Smoked Pork Chop.

There was something about the ketchup I can't remember. I thought the biscuit would be exciting since the restaurant's affiliate is the Dahlia baker. There was no honey, so you know how I feel about that. (Not impressed). I did love the mix of flavors of the egg and pork chop.

Afternoon of Wine Tasting? Flow into your evening with kushiyaki at Kushi Bar. Since my friends have been introducing me to the diversity of okonomiyaki, the fried rice omelette topped with okonomiyaki seasonings was the chosen adventure of the evening.

Oh bonito flakes, how you flutter in the wind so yummily.

Sunday afternoon study session? Give your brain a break with Cloud City Coffee pulled pork sandwhiches. They rotate between beef brisket and pork. There's an option for spicy or non spicy. They make it there as well as the buns.

And look! It comes with veggies!! Well rounded meal for well rounded minds.

Who doesn't love Seattle?