Saturday, November 26, 2005

Expectations

I think a lot of times misunderstandings in relationships occur because of differences in our expecatations of what another person is supposed to do in a given situation. For example, we expect our boyfriends to remember things like our birthdays and valentine's day (what I believe to be reasonable expectations) and certain boyfriends may expect us to do all the cooking, cleaning, and bringing home our own bacon while they sit back (what I believe to be unreasonable expectations). When our expections aren't met, we get angry and disappointed. But my point is that we can only have expectations of people that we care about.

Day 1-2 - Montreal - homesick

It's been an exhausting couple of days in Montreal. We stepped off our flight from La Guardia around noon on Thanksgiving day as snow was falling all around. There's something so romantic and peaceful about that dusting of white over everything.

Everyone here is gorgeous, the women on the streets with their beautiful long coats and the men all sharply dressed in armani designer splendour. It's hard to be in this city and not be consumed by desire for expensive things and I can't deny that feeling of absolute confidence that walking down the street in impeccably tailored clothes can give you, but I can't wait to be back in Seattle and be in a room where I know with certainty that I'm better dressed then the men. Why is it that these things can affect me when I know they shouldn't? I had a conversation with IW and she said that she feels happy just having window shopped, just having tried on nice things. I wish I had the same positive feelings about the experience, but it's usually just a sad reminder of things that I can't have or as IW puts it, things that I 'choose' not to buy.

I think I'm homesick.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

NYC - Day 3

Slept in once again today and got to our 2pm destination just a little late to meet a 'mafia' character to start a walking tour of New York hosted by New York Accomplice. The idea is that you're an accomplice taking a job with the mafia and you follow clues to various drop off spots throughout Manhattan. The tour took about 3 and half hours and they started us off by pointing us to a bar for a round of drinks. I guess I can't write too much detail about what we saw since it's all supposed to be a secret, but the weather was about perfect. Not as cold as the last two days, so it wasn't too hard walking around. The trees had that wonderful, stark, barren, fall/winter look to them (if that makes any sense) with their branches reaching towards the sky against the gigantic backdrop of New York architecture. The groups were small, so it was interesting to meet and talk with the other people while working together to get to the next destination. There were plenty of surprises including live frogs, a bike ride on the Brooklyn Bridge, a russian doll, and Frank Sinatra - ask me and I'll explain more. The producers and actors did a wonderful job of putting it all together and it ended with a bang :)

Saturday, November 19, 2005

nyc day 2

Day 2 in NYC
Woke up today after IW had gone off to study and ventured out by myself in the Big Apple. I walked over to Ground Zero and decided it was too sad to try and take a picture of it. However, there were plenty of tourists doing so. IW hosted a party at her place this evening with appy's and chocolate fondue so we headed out for a day of grocery shopping and prep work. I couldn't wait to see what a NY market would be like. We hit Fairway on the upper west side after being whisked to our destination via the subway. I really love not having to drive! We walked by H and H bagels so I had to stop in and try one. It was tough and a little like day old bread. Definitely not my kind of bagel. Fairway was insanely busy with narrow aisles and too many people and shopping carts, but a good selection of products (minus the west coast emphasis on 'organic'). There'll be pictures that I'll update with later. The products were the same for the most part as some of my favorite places in Seattle.
After getting back to IW's I made steak au poivre with a quick beef stock, 2003 MontGras Cab, Syrah reduction - recommended at a tiny wine shop that IW and I stumbled across in Soho last night - and cream sauce served over sauteed vidalia onions and sauteed asparagus. Yummy and quick. We then started prepping salsa, cutting fruit for the chocolate fondue and served a brie and manchego with crackers. There was plenty of wine and good conversation at the party and not a single person out of the 15 or so people was a native New Yorker. I did manage to meet someone who promised to show me some of the good restaurants in Brooklyn. Can't wait!

Friday, November 18, 2005

new york city

Just arrived in NYC today after one rough flight with a screaming child in front of me. I've never really had thoughts about strangling children before, but after 5 hours of screaming I was ready to muffle her for good. On the flip side, there were 2 infants and a young girl who sat on either side of me with their parents and they were perfect angels the whole flight. I just hope I have better luck on the flight home.
I took the cab from JFK to my friend IW's place in the financial district and had an interesting conversation with the cab driver. He was basically criticizing how oversexed young women have become and how women share their sexual exploits freely now, be it menage a trois or 3am booty calls being made from the back of his cab. Having grown up in the 60s he thought that sex was ok, but with discretion. He thought it is a man's job to be the aggressor and if a women wanted to 'get laid' she could suggest it in a way without just coming out and asking for it a la Samantha Jones. Have shows like 'Sex and the City' done a disservice to women by making us believe that we can be emulate it's characters and still land Mr. Nice Guy who'll stick around for more than 2 seconds?
After getting to IW's we stepped out and I got my introduction to the NY subway system followed by dinner in Soho at Cafe Habana. We shared a plate of their spicy grilled corn sprinkled with cheese (I'd like to say cotija, but I'm not sure), fresh lime and plenty of butter - a steal at less than $4 for 2 cobs. It was absolutely delicious. I then had the corn hominy stew with chicken. Satisfying and perfect given the cold temperatures outside. I keep wondering why I've chosen to visit NY and Montreal at a time when it's colder than Seattle. More to report tomorrow....

Thursday, November 03, 2005

2 sushi spots in one day

I had japanese for lunch and dinner today. The first was Sanmi Sushi right next to Palisades on Elliot Bay. BD and I shared hamachi kama, nabeyaki udon and crab temaki. The food was good and simple if a little unexciting. The egg for the nabeyaki udon arrived more cooked then I'd like, but the flavors were good. The crab temaki was real crab, and maybe it was the amount of mayonnaise, but it lacked the freshness that I've had with other crab sushi. BD mentioned that they may be going out of business, but I suspect that's due to low visibility. The restaurant seems to be just an extension of the Palisades building next door when seen from the street.

The second place I went to was Blue C Sushi in the University Village. PC and I went immediately after spin class still dressed in our gym clothes.

On a side note (skip to the next paragraph if you're looking for food stuff only and are easily offended), we're still puzzled by the gender of our spin class instructor who definitely had the physique and voice of a male, but went by the name of Heather. I think 'she' underwent a sex change, but PC wasn't sure and kept insisting 'she' is a 'he'. I think the telltale sign was that 'she' wore tight spandex and didn't seem to have the requisite parts for a 'he'.

Blue C Sushi is the exact opposite kind of place that Sanmi Sush was. Sanmi was understated traditional japanese. Blue C is trendy, hip, the waitstaff are dressed in sexy sophisticated NY black, and there's trance playing in the background with 2 large projection screens against the wall streaming j-pop videos. Blue C Sushi is kaiten sushi where patrons grab plates of sushi that circulate the restaurant on conveyor belts. I was actually impressed by how fresh everything was since I've been to other kaiten sushi places before and have not really been eager to go to another one. There's nothing intimidating about eating sushi here, all the plates have little signs underneath listing the ingredients and whether things are 'raw' or 'cooked' (For the sushi virgins I suppose). Items sampled included their spider roll, spicy tuna roll, shrimp tempura roll, sesame noodles, salmon, hamachi (very fresh), chopped scallop and unagi nigiri, gomae, and a dessert cream puff (which I'll pass on next time). All in all, prices were inexpensive for the quality of food since the bill for the two of us (~$40) was just about what we paid for lunch at Sanmi.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Tequila and Tamales

I went to a tequila and tamale class last night. The tequila tasting was hosted by a woman from Sauza and we tasted 6 different tequilas from the Sauza line. My favorite one was the triple distilled Tres Generaciones Plata, but I think that was because it tasted the least like tequila to me. The flavors were clean and smooth. I have a greater appreciation for tequila after the class, but I think I'll stick to vodka...on second thought, maybe the occasional margarita.
The tamale portion was taught by Anthony Hubbard of Coastal Kitchen. The best tamales I've ever had are still the ones that were sold out of a stand at the Bothell Farmer's Market in the Country Village. Excellent pork or chicken tamales with salsa verde. I wasn't able to get to them this summer since I no longer work in Bothell, but maybe I'll figure out whether they go to other markets sometime. That said, I'm not sure that I can ever look at a tamale the same way again after learning how to make them. The idea was to beat lard until light and fluffy, then add masa. Drop a small portion of the dough into boiling water and if it floats, it contains enough lard for a good 'light' tamale. If it doesn't float, beat more lard and reincorporate the dough. No wonder they always taste so good.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Stumbling Goat's Pastl

I just finished assisting the best cooking class ever. I felt like I was floating out the door after being in Matt Dillon's class. Matt Dillon up until a month and a half ago could be found at the Stumbling Goat Bistro, but has recently decided to foray into the restaurant business for himself. Unfortunately for us, it's going to be a bit of a wait; 20 Birds won't be opening until sometime next year in April in Capitol Hill. The class was a showcase of Matt's intuitive feel for flavors and timing combined with the specialty italian products imported by Ritrovo. I think the word 'heaven' sums it up nicely. The menu included:

Chanterelle, fresh corn, farro (spelt) soup,
Wild mushroom (lobster mushrooms and chanterelles) leek risotto with chanterelles harvested by Matt himself from his secret spots
Trofie Pasta Salad with walnut pesto, olives, tomato vinegar, flageolet and romano beans
Roasted Quail
Lemon chestnut honey tart

*sigh* I have no idea how to recreate the magic that was that meal, but I'll certainly have to try sometime. I feel inspired though to just play around with flavors.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

The Science (or Art ) of Cooking

I was having a discussion with a friend last night about the science of cooking and me arguing about why cooking is a science. I thought about it a little more today and am going to use cooking rice as an example of why science helps us. I think the debate stemmed from how much water one would add to rice. How much water depends on a number of variables :

a) what kind of rice are we cooking? Does it have an outer hull? Is it long grain or short grain? What kind of starch is the rice made up of?

b) what temperature are we cooking the rice? It seems to me that cooking rice in a rice cooker usually takes less water than cooking it over the stove. It's possible that less water evaporation occurs while using a rice cooker than with a stove due to lower cooking temperatures.

c) what is the desired end product - al dente, soft ?

The answers affect how long one would cook the rice and how much water the rice will absorb during cooking. With cooking there's also a certain margin of error allowed where we can add 1/4 cup of water here or leave out a couple of tablespoons there without making a significant difference to the final product. Practice (experimentation) allows us generate answers; however it's difficult to record answers without taking measurements in the first place. There's obviously a requirement for creativity in cooking to be in the realm of a being a good chef, but it always helps to know some of the science behind what we're doing so we're not left with guess work and mushy rice.

http://busycooks.about.com/library/lessons/blricesci.htm

Saturday, September 17, 2005


K on Maple Pass Loop trail.

Lake Ann from Maple Pass Loop

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Lake Diablo

Lake Diablo, Aug 26-28th, 2005

Fri - We camped at Colonial Creek Campgrounds just off milepost 130 along the the North Cascade Highway. I have to say that the North Cascades is an area that I keep going back to because of it's easy accessiblity, but not so easy as to make the area crowded a la Mount Si which seems to have become a long snaking line of people from bottom to top. The first night we got in we set up camp and KC cooked chicken apple sausages on the grill. My new favorite drink has been a lychee martini made with vodka, Soho lychee liquer and a splash of mandarin lime soda. A couple of lychee martinis later and I couldn't make anything longer than a 3 letter word in our game of travel Scrabble (maybe it wasn't the martinis?). After much worrying my friends' J and D finally arrived at camp sometime around 11pm, long after the sun had set.

Sat - After talking to a ranger at the visitor's center we decided to hike Maple Pass Loop. She said it was a beautiful hike that was manageable with only aquasocks. Poor KC had to endure the 6 mile round trip hike while feeling most of the ground beneath him after leaving his boots behind. Thanks for putting up with the pain! The trail had turnoffs for Lake Ann and Rainy Lake with gorgeous views the whole way since the hike started at >4000 ft and took us to about 6500ft. Lake Ann was visible below and to our left for most of the hike to the pass with numerous Cascade peaks. We stopped numerous times for photos and finally stopped for lunch after I promised for the hundredth time that we would stop just around the next bend. We enjoyed roast beef/avocado sandwiches with spicy salami and camembert on crackers while taking in the view.
After picking up firewood at the closest store in Newhalem - an interesting town that's run by Seattle City Light - we hopped into icy Lake Diablo. It wasn't the ideal temperature for swimming in, but felt refreshing and numbing at the same time. There's still some disagreement over who could take the cold better, but I'd have to say it was me ;) KC and I did a repeat jump into the lake the following day as a couple looked on and called us 'crazy kids' :) It's kind of reassuring to know that we aren't completely old yet.
Dinner consisted of grilled lamb burgers with avocados, camembert and muenster, grilled cherry tomatoes, zuchinni and peppers. I think it was one of those meals that I'll remember for awhile. After dinner we snuck off for a brief walk along the Thunder Creek trail which starts off just on the other side of Hwy 20 from the Colonial Creek Campgrounds. Although I don't know the actual history, this area looks like an avalanche/landslide came down and took out much of what used to be a campground. There's an overturned garbage disposal, a raging creek that passes over what could have been a road feeding into Lake Diablo and broken pieces of asphalt at the beginning of the trail before it veers off into the forest. We walked until we came across 3 deer who were grazing along the trail just after sunset. I didn't have a destination in mind when starting out on the walk, but this seemed like the perfect moment to turn back.
*sigh* Can't wait to go back next year!

Friday, September 02, 2005

Egg custard scramble

It's 12:22 am and I've managed to make an egg scramble out of a creme anglais not once, but twice. It think that means it's bed time.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Everything's Just Peachy!

Our condo association hosted a picnic/BBQ for the residents today so I had a fun day making a brioche peach tart with peach mascarpone sorbet. I'm still recieving Pike Place Market vegetable basket deliveries and last week's included 6 ripe Red Haven peaches. The recipe was from 'The Chefs of the Times' for a German tart using a Brioche crust rather than a traditional pate brisee as the base. The recipe didn't call for anything being added to the peaches besides a sprinking of ground almonds, 2 tsp of sugar, and dots of butter. The peaches were sweet and ripe enough that they really didn't need much else. I also added a warm apricot glaze to brighten up the tart just before serving warm with peach mascarpone sorbet.

This was my rendition of the strawberry mascarpone sorbet that was posted on the Accidental Hedonist.

Peach Mascarpone Sorbet

1 cup simple syrup (1:1 water:sugar)
8.8 oz container of mascarpone
1 peach peeled and diced
Splash of vanilla

Chill simple syrup. Blend in mascarpone and vanilla until there are no more lumps. Mix in peaches. Freeze in ice cream maker.

The brioche base for the tart was good and pretty fool proof for even a non-baker like me, but I think I prefer the buttery flakey texture of a traditional pie crust.

Peach tart

Yeast is our friend.

Visted two wineries and a brewery in Woodinville today. The first was the rather lush, green and picturesque Chateau Ste Michelle (http://www.ste-michelle.com/). My friend KC lists their Merlot as one of her favorites, but I can't say that I share her enthusiasm for it (Sorry K!).
We followed this up by visiting a winery on the opposite end of the distribution spectrum, Facelli Winery (http://facelliwinery.com/). I loved the understated feel of their location, an office park! A whole lot of wine and glasses with a tiny counter. The tasting included their '02 Late Harvest Syrah; the most memorable wine I tried today. It had the pleasing scent of honey and blackberries, balanced very nicely with tannins. Who knew that Syrah would make such a satisfying dessert wine? Founder Lou Facelli chatted with us and autographed our purchases which are now nicely tucked into my collection. Can't wait to serve it with something rich and chocolatey.
Last stop was the Redhook Brewery (http://www.redhook.com/). I'll never be a big beer drinker and have yet to finish a beer before it comes to room temperature, but I do enjoy sampling different things when the opportunity arises. Redhook's $1 tour was lively and fun and our tour guide's enthusiasm for his subject matter; namely malt, hops and yeast, was infectious. Imagine a frat boy who landed his dream job in beer heaven after acing his finals in yeast fermentation theory. The tasting included their Sunrye, ESB, Ballard Bitter (IPA), Blonde? and their Blackhook Porter. I was about to pass on my sampler glass of the last beer, but one sip of my friend TU's and I decided to hop back into line. The Porter had wonderful chocolate and coffee flavors. Yummy! I can't wait to try it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as suggested by our guide.

Redhook for some much needed food.

Semillon toast

Oak barrels

Monday, August 15, 2005