Eating My Way Through Portland- Part 2

So, of course our dining itinerary did not end with fried bananas. We still had two days to go!

Sunday only consisted of two major meals for two reasons: 1) We slept through breakfast time, and by the time we were up and ready and to a restaurant it was noon, and 2) We were so stuffed by the end of brunch that there was no way we were eating again until dinner.

So for my Sunday (actual birthday) brunch Raj took me to Mother's Bistro and Bar. Again, a highly popular place- they had two huge dining rooms, but the wait was still 45 minutes! Totally worth the wait, though. I lurved the decor- a little vintage loft like with brick walls, but also full of glamour with gorgeous chandeliers and plush velvet furniture. Just lovely! The service was nice enough, but they were very busy after all. The food was definitely the star of the show. I was craving a waffle, because it was my birthday, dangit! Lo and behold on their specials was a belgian waffle with pear ginger compote. Oooh it was just what I wanted. And the serving was just enough that I was ridiculously full but not stuffed. Raj ordered their famous French Toast, and decided that he was still hungry so he ordered the "Mother's Scramble," and loved every bite of both.



The best part is that it was very reasonably priced. For all our food and a pot of tea we got out of there for $30, which is great when we wanted to stretch our eating dollar to the max but also eat great food.



We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Portland, shopping, exploring and walking off our huge breakfast so that we would be ready for dinner that night....

My big, special, pull out all the stops birthday dinner was at a restaurant Raj found called Oba - a Latin Fusion place. We both had the prix fixe dinners, and enjoyed every single bite. I was to into my food to recall what Raj had, but I had a Latin Caesar salad, mesquite chicken breast with poblano mashed potatoes, and tres leches pumpkin cake for dessert. Oh, and two pomegranate sangrias (which is uncommon of us, but I'm telling you they were sooo good!). Props to Raj for planning the perfect birthday dinner!

Eating My Way Through Portland

Last weekend was my birthday! And for my birthday gift, my wonderful husband took me down to Portland for the weekend. There are many great things I could share with you about Portland- it was a great city! However, what you care about is food, so let's get on with it. Shall we?

~ Oh, a bit of a housekeeping note: Obviously, I was not around a computer to check my blogs, so I didn't realize the photos of my pokeball cake did not post until recently. Sorry 'bout that. It's fixed now, so you can go back and look~

We both had a lot going on Saturday, so we couldn't leave until about 5 that evening. After a wonderful car riding of catching up on our lives and listening to music, we got to Portland and went straight to the first restaurant on our itinerary. We pulled up about an hour before closing at Apizza Scholls- pizza, obviously. And what a pizza! This pizzeria was highly recommended to us, and were it in Seattle would easily top my pizza list. We both agreed that it was one of the best- if not THEE best pizza we've ever had.


~Another note: We did not bring our camera, so my blogs about Portland are going to be "phono blogs"- that is, blogs where all the pictures came from a cell phone camera.~

We then checked in to Hotel Lucia (which was also recommended to us and was fantastic, by the way!), and ordered dessert room service style. Since it was late, the menu was limited so we went with fried bananas in chocolate sauce. We weren't expecting much, honestly, because usually room service is overpriced and just ordered for the novelty of eating in bed. But wowee! I might have guessed since the hotel's restaurant was Asian Fusion had I thought about it, but I was very surprised to see the bananas were tempura fried! This is definitely something I want to try in the future. Oishi!

A New Find

I love our house, but one sad thing about it is that it's not really close to anything.  If we want to go to a good restaurant, it is almost always a 20 minute drive.  This is one of the downsides to living in an "up and coming" neighborhood.  The positive side is that we are next to another "up and coming" neighborhood (In case you didn't know, Seattle is divided up in to neighborhoods; all distinct little sub-divisions with personalities all their own).  

About five minutes away from out house is a neighborhood called Georgetown.  There are a couple bars, a vegan restaurant, a few little shops and some other things.  Although nothing is too enticing, we have always talked about exploring it since it is so close to us.  Well, necessity is the mother of exploring new restaurants, and we finally got around to this on Friday night when I needed a sandwich at 11:45 pm, but didn't want to go very far and/ or deal with Halloween crowds (by crowds I mean parking).

So exactly six minutes away from our house in Georgetown is a bar called Smarty Pants.  But they don't serve greasy, nasty bar food.  They serve really good sandwiches!  I also got house made potato salad on the side. Let me tell you, I was so excited because not only is this place super close, but I think I might actually prefer these sandwiches over our other favorite sandwich place, Honeyhole (which as good as it is, it's about 25 minutes away, has no parking, and is always crowded).

Now I am inspired to further explore Georgetown and all it may have to offer.  I'll tell you what I find!

Smarty Pants

Airport Way S and Bailey Street

21 and over

Hours
Mon - Thur: 11am - 2am
Fri - Sat: 10am - 2am
Fri/Sat/Sun Brunch: 10am - 3pm
Kitchen open until midnight M - Sat.
Closed Sundays after 3pm.

Pastry Chef Things

Have you ever heard of a Pokeball? I hadn't. According to some angelfire website, a Pokeball is "A small red and white round object that will contain a pokemon when it is caught. To catch a Pokemon, first you weaken it and then you throw a Pokeball at it." So how does that become a birthday cake? Like so....

The biggest question I had is how to make a ball shaped cake. I didn't learn that is pastry school. You can buy a half-dome cake pan, bake two, and stick them together. Or you can do what I saw on Ace of Cakes, and make half of the cake a styrofoam ball, and on the top half carve a ball shape. I kinda did my own little mix of everything.

I used red velvet cake for the inside, and frosted it with cream cheese icing. I figured this would make it yummy enough for the fondant toppings, and also look really cute when it was cut into. Below are the photos. Ooohs and aaahs are welcomed. Thank you, thank you.

My Chili

I think I have brushed on my love for chili in other posts, but in case you didn't catch it: I love chili! There is hardly ever a time between the months of October-April when chili doesn't sound good to me. It's so simple, a one pot dish, and very easy to make! There are also an infinite varieties out there.

And speaking of variety, chili is a very personal dish, indeed. PLEASE, oh please, I hope that you make your own chili and that you don't buy it in a can! It is such an experience, and putting together a pot full of your own favorite ingredients and flavors is a very important practice of meditation and self-awareness.

With that said, my chili preference came from my mother. I don't know if it's the best chili recipe in the world, but it's my choice. To me, it is the way chili is supposed to taste.  As much as I am like my mother I am not a clone, so I have definitely made a few minor adjustments.  I use a different variety of beans, and have added a few more spices.  

So, the recipe uses just about the only two foods I do allow to come from a can- tomatoes and beans.  Of course, it would be healthier and tastier if I crushed the tomatoes and cooked the beans myself, but I say that would definitely take the 'easy' out of the recipe.  And it's pretty healthy and tasty as is.  I usually double the recipe, and use all organic ingredients.

Annika's Chili

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 lb ground beef

1-28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1-14 ounce can kidney beans

1-14 ounce can black beans

1-14 ounce can pinto beans

1/2 can tomato paste

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons cinnamon

salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat saute the onions and garlic in a little bit of oil until clear and tender.  Add the beef and cook until browned.  Add the tomatoes, beans, and tomato paste.  Add the spices, adjusting for your personal taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer on low for as long as you can, or better yet let chili sit in the fridge overnight.

Cookie Caucus day 2

Did you vote? I did!

Ok, be honest, how many Democrats made those cookies? That's the beauty about food- it goes beyond party lines and past politics.  So, on the other side, I would highly recommend you conservatives to try out this amazing chocolate chip recipe.  

-A note on the recipe-

It calls for a mixture of cake and bread flours.  If you want to go through this fuss, be my guest, but in pastry school we did experiments with recipes that mixed these flours versus with just AP flour.  The difference? None that we could tell.  So, in conclusion, if you replace both flours with all purpose the cookies out just fine.  Fantastic, even.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)

Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

Cookie Caucus

Well, we all know what's coming tomorrow.....a very important election that could quite literally change the world as we know it.  We've been debating and choosing sides for nearly 2 years now, blah, blah, BLAH! Ok, really, not to take away from the importance of the election tomorrow, but sometimes we need a break! A cookie break, that is.

I know that the time of the caucus is far behind us, but I liked the alliteration in the title.  Over the next two days I am going to post two cookie recipes in honor of the election.  Two delicious, but very different recipes.  One, for the GOP, is Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies.  The other, for the left wing, comes to us from the New York Times (the most reliable source for the DEMs, am I right?).

So without further ado, for all you right wingest conservative republican McCain voters, here is your
recipe!

Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 sticks butter at room temperature

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups sweetened flake coconut

2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl.

In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed till smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugars and continue beating to combine, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each.

Beat in vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans.

For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake 17 to 20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove to rack to cool.

Makes 3 dozen large cookies.

Top 5 Pizza Places in Seattle

No fluff, no story. Just a plain old survey of my five favorite pizza places in Seattle. It's not some snobby list of only hole-in-the walls that no one's heard of. In fact, most are popular chains in this city. But I like pizza, plain and simple, easy, and fairly predictable. When I want a pizza I want it to taste like a pizza. This list is purely my humble opinion and some may disagree with my order, but this is MY blog! I didn't even consult Raj. Ha!

5. Zeeks Pizza- This was the first pizza place I went to roughly two days after moving here, and it stuck with me. Zeeks has good toppings choices and just the right amount of cheese. Large (16") plain cheese costs $16.95.

4. Piecoras- Seattle's "New York" style pizza. Great ground sausage, and a good atmosphere if you want to eat in. Also if you eat in, a great selection of beers. Large plain cheese costs $15.95.

3. Palermo- when I want a pie loaded with cheese and a darned good sauce I call here. They also have a lot of other menu options like pastas and a Greek salad that tastes great with the pizza. 15" large cheese costs $15.50.

2. Pagliacci- the best for a quick slice or take home, and by far the best chewy home made tasting crust (almost as good as my home made pizza crust). Also, the sauceless pizzas like the Agog, are fantastic. 17" large cheese costs $16.49.

1. Mad pizza- I was so happy with Pagliacci that I stopped exploring for a while, but I have recently discovered Mad. Like I said, I'm sure many in Seattle would disagree with my choice for the best Pizza in Seattle. The thing that I like about Mad is that it's simple. It's pizza. Also, you can place your order online. How fun is that? 17" large cheese costs $17.99.

Now, if only any one of these places would FRIGGIN DELIVER TO MY HOUSE they would automatically move up on my list.

Other noteworthy places to buy pizza:

Gourmet- Serious Pie
Neopolitan (Italian style)- Tutta Bella
Chicago deep dish- Delfinos

Here's the kick-off!

Halloween is a fun holiday- in my opinion there aren't enough days in the year where people get to dress in costume. Honestly though, I have much bigger things to look forward to, and the main reason I anticipate Halloween is that it is the start of all of the end of the year fun! First comes Halloween, then my birthday, then Thanksgiving, and then the Christmas season where I can eat seasonal treats and listen to Christmas music 'til my ears are bleeding eggnog! I reserve those two things, by the way (Christmas music and eggnog), for only the days between Thanksgiving and New Years, so I usually totally overindulge when the time comes.

Anyway, back to Halloween... I figured you are getting enough candy and sweets, so I thought today I'd give you something healthy, comforting, and digestible. Not to mention easy, since usually during the holiday season things tend to get a little CRAZY when I can't control myself and end up staying up all night baking, sewing aprons for Christmas presents, and listening to John Denver and the Muppets.

Anyway, back to Halloween....This recipe is especially good for tomorrow night, when the kids are itchy in their costumes and too hopped up on sugar to actually sit down and have a meal. I found it when I was searching for something that resembles these vegetable-type pancake thingies that I had when I was in Japan. They were amazingly tasty and I wanted to recreate them, so I went to foodtv.com and hopelessly searched for "vegetable pancakes." Well, to my surprise what came up but a recipe by Paula Deen- the queen of fatty (but pretty darned good sometimes) middle America food! It'd not quite the same as what I had in Japan, but it's almost better for me since I don't have to make a trip to Uwajimaya for my ingredients.

I now make these quite often. I don't even think I make any changes to the recipe. Just make sure you cook them all the way through- sometimes it's hard to tell when they're done.

Vegetable Pancakes by Paula Deen

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated zucchini
2 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons oil
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In another bowl, beat together the egg, milk, carrots, zucchini, and onions. Add this to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Using a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Pour the batter by tablespoons into the pan, making a few pancakes at a time. Cook about 2 minutes on each side and golden brown. Add the remaining oil to the pan as needed. Serve pancakes at once.

And just in case you haven't seen the "Halloween Moon" yet:

Fighting the war- one battle at a time.

Ok, our commercial of the week comes to you from I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.  Another obviously unhealthy food taking advantage of people's ignorance by trying to pass themselves off as good as, or even better than, the real thing. 

You may wonder what problem I have with this commercial, and I will tell you it is all LIES! LIES!!! 

Lie #1- People ate butter in the 50's- well, of course some did, but the 50's is when what I like to call the "great artificial food boom" really got going.  This is when margarine and butter substitutes became really popular, and eating lots of THAT can be detrimental to your health.

Lie #2- Butter is all saturated fat and bad for you-  30% of butter's fat is monounsaturated (the kind of fat that gives olive oil its good name).  Yes, butter does raise cholesterol, so if you have cholesterol problems butter should be monitored.  But did you know just like good fats and bad fats, there is good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL)?  Guess which one butter has? Well, both, actually, but the HDL is counteractive to the LDL. Butter also contains vitamin A and linoleic acid (CLA).

Lie #3- "Buttery Spreads" are better for you- I can pretty much say that in regards to anything that has to do with food that "[blank]-y spread" or "[blank] like substitute" or "I Can't Believe It's Not [Blank]" is not going to be as good for you as the real thing.  I will even say this about the natural versions like Earth Balance and Smart Balance.  The reason: processing! 

Butter is one of the oldest and most natural foods on the planet, and has been a part of the human diet for thousands of years.  All it takes is a little churning.  "Buttery spread" takes 12 steps, the first of which is "refining" oils, which basically means "taking all of the nutritious parts of it out."

Lie #4- no trans fats-  Oh, but there IS! How can they say there's not?  Wellllll, the FDA passed a law that if a food has less than 1 gram of trans fat per serving- even if that still makes up 10% of the food, but the serving size is tiny- that the manufacturer is allowed to claim that there are no trans fats.  Here's another shout out to the FDA looking out for our well being!

In conclusion, do yourself a favor and eat butter!  The question here is not amount of fat per serving- "buttery spreads" may have less saturated fat, but they come with a lot more crap and are ultimately worse for your cholesterol, body composition, heart, and arteries.  

Take that!

Why I Love....Greek Yogurt

We have a lovely home, but it's not huge. In order to keep it comfortable I need to be very selective about what I keep in here.  What I'm saying is that I don't like single use items. Everything I have from clothes to kitchen utensils must be able to multitask.  

I looked at the the ingredients of a serving of strawberry yogurt- which is not a multitasking food.  Have you ever looked at the nutrition facts of flavored yogurt? SO MUCH SUGAR!!! A single serving of flavored yogurt can have anywhere from 20 to 40 grams of sugar, and if I'm going to eat something that full of sugar it had sure better be something gooey, delicious and satisfying.  Let me rephrase this for those of you watching your weight- flavored yogurt is NOT  a diet food.

So anyway, I tried to like plain yogurt.  I tried oh so hard.  I know that they eat it all over the world and I sure like it in smoothies, but the plain tart yogurt never did it for me.  Enter Greek Yogurt.  I don't know about all Greek Yogurts, but there's this brand called 'Fage' (pronounced "fah-ye") that I am totally addicted to.  You see, when you buy the full fat version (none of this 2% or non-fat business), you get an entirely rich treat without all the sugar.  Yes, yes, it's fattening, but if you compare it to how much fat a piece of cake or a dollop of sour cream have, it's nothin'!

So back to the multitasking thing.  This yogurt is so amazing that (on top of being healthy because of the live cultures) it can go from sweet to savory with little effort.  It's an awesome replacement for sour cream (put in on your Mexican food!), regular yogurt (Indian food!), creme fraiche (French food), cheese (Greek food), or whipped cream (any dessert).  But most often I end up eating it with a spoonful of honey and some berries, and it becomes the perfect dessert.  Or add granola, and it's the perfect breakfast!

My favorite uses are:

-Like I just mentioned, to replace sour cream.  Mix it with salsa and it makes a great dip.

-Also, as aforementioned, with honey it's a fantastic any time treat or healthy dessert.

-Mix with walnuts and crumbled feta for a pita dip.

-Put a spoonful on pies and fruity desserts instead of whipped cream. Or dip fruit in it. mmm.

So anyway, I'm pretty sure you can get it at most grocery stores, but if you can't try to find your own brand and let me know how  it tastes!

Back to Pastry School

Ok, I had a very very busy week. As a matter of fact, I did not even come home from Wednesday until yesterday. I know the previous blog was a bit of a cop out, and I intend to make it up to you. With something I have saved for this very occasion. Taking into consideration that 1. You deserve a treat, and 2. It is the season for treats, I have decided to bypass all of my good recipes reach into Annika's box of so-amazing-you-can't-stop-stuffing-your-face recipes.

So...

Just like any other school, pastry school has a detailed, outlined curriculum of things that students need to know and master upon graduating. On that list are many components- pastry cream, genoise, meringue, etc...- that make up the basic structure or nearly any desert a person could make. Caramel is on that list. Caramel by definition is actually just plain old sugar heated to 320-350 degrees. When it cools it becomes very hard and not all that much fun to eat.

But....

Add a little butter and heavy cream to that caramel, and you have an amazing and delicious sauce that you can't stop dipping anything you can possibly get your hands on- fruit, fingers, utensils. You think I'm exaggerating, but you're wrong. Someone mentioned recently that the ultimate measure of good comfort food is whether or not you would lie down in a vat of it. I agree. I also know that if I could I would go swimming in caramel sauce.

Caramel intimidates people, and rightfully so. It deserves a certain amount of respect, seeing as the sugar gets so hot that you could do some serious damage if you are not careful. Really, though, all you need are certain guidelines to follow, and if you are kind to the caramel it will be kind to you in return. And once you master it it becomes so easy that it is a great idea for Christmas gifts (on second thought, scratch that. Don't give caramel for Christmas gifts because I'm going to).

First of all, my recipe has corn syrup in it to make your life much easier. NOT the high fructose corn syrup that my preachy blog has forbidden, but plain old light corn syrup that you can get at the grocery store. There is a difference between the two, and although regular corn syrup is not very good for you either, I do allow it in a choice few things that really need it (being caramel, molding chocolate, and pecan pie).

Second of all, it goes quick. You have to have all your ingredients out and ready, lest you burn the caramel and it doesn't taste very good after that.

So here is your recipe. I suggest serving it with honey crisp apples, and when those are gone, cookies are fun to dip, and when those are gone it's also pretty darned good by the spoonful.


Annika's Fool-Proof Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream

Put the sugar in an at least 2 quart heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add 1/2 cup of water to the sugar and the corn syrup. Stir once and put over high heat. Meanwhile, put heavy cream in the microwave for about 45 seconds.

Caramel is ready when it reaches about 320 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, it should be a medium amber color. Remove caramel from heat and wait three seconds before adding butter. Pour heavy cream in slowly while stirring constantly. Let cool and store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

My Grocery Receipt

Maybe I'm weird (I know, I've said that before) or maybe I'm just nosey, but I always like to peek at other people's grocery store receipts if I can. I find grocery shopping to be a very personal process, so I think you can tell a lot about people by their grocery receipts.

I decided that one random day I would take my grocery receipt and share it with you. If by chance you are weird and/or nosey also, you might enjoy this. Today wasn't all that interesting of a day- just stocking up on a few things so Raj will be able to have things to grab and eat even though I am going to be incredibly busy- so I feel it will be a very honest look into what kind of person I am.

Store: Madison Market

1/2 lb sliced chicken breast
1/2 lb sliced roast beef
Organic Valley provolone
2 lb Ranger boneless skinless chicken breast
PJ's frozen chicken burrito
PJ's frozen beef burrito
PJ's frozen breakfast burrito
1 lb Pork kielbasa sausage
Organic Garden Time orzo
2 packages Bueno corn tortillas
San Juan Salsa Co tortilla chips
2 loaves Dave's Blues whole grain bread
Amore double concentrated tomato paste tube
3 lb garnet yams
Emerald Valley medium salsa

Total bill: $72.98 (lots of meats and cheeses adds up!)

More on Shopping

Ok, so I never really thought Columbus Day was anything to celebrate.  You don't get it off school or work anyway.  Leave it to stores, though, to make a big to do about anything they can possibly think of.

Today I was driving up north from a weekend away from home, and decided to stop at the Seattle Premium Outlets to poke around and see what was going on.  And by the way, when they say "Seattle" outlets, they really mean "An hour North of Seattle" outlets.  Don't let that get you down, though.  This place has a surprising amount of good things to offer!

Sometimes outlet malls bug me.  Either it's those odd brand name stores, but with clothes that were purposely made for the factory stores and are really cheap and low in quality- you know what I'm talking about?- or it's designer stores with off-season merchandise that's barely marked down, and I could probably find a better deal in a regular store. Well, going back to Columbus day, I was pleasantly surprised to find many a great mark down, with many of the stores having an additional 15-30% off everything they sell.

Since this is a food blog I won't go into detail about all the non-cooking related things I got (like the awesome $40 rug and $8 pillows from Restoration Hardware, or the $2 lotion from L'Occitaine), but I would like to brag to all you food lovers out there about my finds, and then send you on your way to have your own fun.

So, the outlets have quite a few cooking stores: Kitchen Collection and Le Gourmet Chef (which means, "The Gourmet Chef"), are general cooking stores, which, honestly I have not checked out much.  The real fun for me lies in the Le Creuset and Calphalon outlet stores:  Real outlet stores, that have the discontinued merchandise and stuff with the tiny little scratches that I would gladly take if I can have 70% off. 

So Sunday I got this 

for $25, and this 






in white for $15 (Not on my kitchen wish list, but I broke my old pie dish and needed a new one).

The bottom line is, all you Seattlites, you may find something very special at these outlets.  They are definitely worth the drive.

Also, everyone in Southern Cal, remember the Camarillo outlet mall? I'm sure by now that it's the size of a small country, and I'm guessing it's worth re-checking out.  I'm not sure about kitchen stores, but I know they have a Theory outlet store that I'm dying to go to.

So You Can't Say I Never Told You

I get random comments sometimes that lead me to believe that some people from Seattle are actually reading my blog.  Also, maybe someone planning on coming to Seattle (Christie...).  I feel it is my duty as a blogger of food in this city to check off of my list a restaurant that I'm sure has been posted on every Seattle food blog in existence.  It's the staple of food blogs everywhere.

Salumi is a world famous Salumeria owned by Armandino Batali (last name sound familiar?).  They take their model straight from Italians in order to produce the best darned cured meats you've ever tasted in your life- I am not making this up.

Honestly, I am getting kinda sick of over priced restaurants with pretentious decorations and tiny dishes with weird ingredients.  Sometimes I just want a sandwich, yo!  This is when we go to Salumi's storefront, which inevitably always has a line out the door of locals and tourists alike waiting for one of their salami sandwiches.  Besides the fact that it's awesome and gets word of mouth, Salumi's popularity is a result of being reviewed in the New York Times, LA Times, and on travel TV shows like "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations."  It's a must see of Seattle if you visit (Christie), especially since it's in the middle of Pioneer's Square and so close to the downtown waterfront.  Also, the atmosphere is totally authentic, with its tiny hallway storefront and community tables that don't ever fit as many people as want to eat; very New York City soup nazi-esque.

Anyway, back to the food.  You have your choice of bread (soft olive oil or baguette), various salamis, cheeses (house made mozzarella, provolone, or gorgonzola), and toppings (tapinade, onions, green bell peppers).  I wish I could send the smell and taste over the blog, but I guess you'll just have to come here (Christie) and try it for yourself!

Look What I Can Do!

I think I said before that I have much more fun making birthday and shower cakes as opposed to wedding cakes.  They are soooo much less stressful.  I had the opportunity a couple of weekends ago to make a birthday cake for a one year old.  This is the ultimate of non-stressful, because pleasing a one year old is just not that difficult (Although, I've heard that some people go crazy for their kid's first birthdays, so I may be wrong. Luckily, I knew the family I made the cake for, and they are very relaxed).  

Anyway, my assignment was clear- make a duck cake.  Oh yes, a cake shaped like a duck, and  I had a total blast making it!  I also got a very approving, "OOOOh!" from the birthday boy.

So what I did was bake a couple of vanilla sheet cakes, and cut out a duck silhouette with a template I made.  After that I filled the cake with a cream cheese and raspberry icing.  I frosted and decorated with simple vanilla buttercream- my favorite kind.  Below are the results:

I am telling you, I think this was one of the most fun and cutest cakes I have ever made. I know the picture is fairly unprofessional, but I hope you can see my work well enough.  I have come a long way since pastry school, and quite honestly I am proud of myself!

Oh no they Di'in't

Ok, so I was watching TV today, and this ad came on:

I swear to you, my jaw almost hit the floor.  And there are more like it! 

In case your computer is working, or you just didn't get the gist, the Corn Refiners Association have started an ad campaign promoting high fructose corn syrup.  

The first woman says, "Don't you know what they say about high fructose corn syrup?"

And the second woman says, "No- what?"

And the first woman says, "Ummm..."

And the second woman says (the clincher), "That it's made from corn, has the same amount of calories as table sugar, and like sugar is ok in moderation."

Then there is a link for this website  

Where, oh where do I begin?  Let's start by analyzing the facts that the campaign has stated.

1.  It's made from corn.  The website I listed also says that high fructose corn syrup is natural.  Well, they must be paying the FDA  ton of money to alter their definition of the term natural, because I don't know how they can get away with this.  Yes, it is made from corn.  Genetically modified corn with inedible kernels, I'm not lying.  These kernels are broken down until they are made into corn starch, then chemicals and enzymes are added, and then manufacturers process the living daylights out of it and you have corn syrup.  Mmmm, very natural.

2. It has the same amount of calories as sugar.  Oh, but bleach has less, so maybe you should eat that instead, hmm?  I am not going to blame the obesity epidemic solely on high fructose corn syrup, but studies have shown direct correlation between the rise of obesity and the growing popularity of high fructose corn syrup.

3. Like sugar, it's ok in moderation. Like lead paint and mercury, it's ok in moderation! EXCEPT YOU CAN'T GET IT IN MODERATION!!! Unless you shop at a natural foods store, look at the ingredients on the back of your cereal, bread, chips, juice drinks, spaghetti sauce, pancake syrup, salad dressings, ketchup, peanut butter, jellies, beans, yogurts, and- lest we forget- desserts and sodas.  

Here are other important facts to note about high fructose corn syrup:

-Why is it in everything? Because it's cheap! Why is it cheap? Because the government subsidizes it! Why does the government subsidize it? Because during the depression and post WWII, cane and beet sugars were too expensive.  Why haven't they stopped? Because the big businesses like McDonalds and Pepsi need more money! ....?

-The US is nearly the ONLY country in the WORLD that allows it into our food, along with cloned meats.  Thanks, for lookin' out for us, FDA!

-Do not be fooled.  Your body reacts very differently to high fructose corn syrup than it does to table sugar.  And really, that is the most important thing to remember about all this.  Here is a very long winded, but well researched paper, that I suggest you read if you ever have the time, about exactly what it does in your body besides make you fat.

I do have one positive thought out of all this: It makes me kind of glad to see an ad campaign in this manner, because it shows that there is a need for it.  It shows that people are wising up and the CRA is losing business, and that for the first time in 70 years they need to advertise.  

Lastly, if you have never seen the movie "King Corn", I suggest you watch.  Interesting food for thought....

A Friendly Reminder from Culinary School

I may be weird, but I like scars.  Some people are very self-conscious about their scars, but I personally think they make people interesting.  Scars show historical proof of a life being lived.  Think about it:

"This one on me knee is from when I went hiking."

"This mark is from when I played the best football game ever!"

"Oh, that's a shark bite from scuba diving in Australia."

"Here's where I lost my leg in 'Nam."

I don't have any scars from wars or extreme sports, but I definitely have a few of my own anyway.  For example, I have a scar on my leg from when I tried to sew when I was about 7.  I also have quite a few on my hands and arms from being burned while baking.  To me, they are reminders of the things I've done in my life.

Other scars can be good reminders, when you look at them and they say to you, "Be careful, stupid!" Take, for example, the scar I am now going to have on my middle finger from not remembering my knife safety rules.  I won't go into detail, but lets just say it had something to do with a serrated knife and a loaf of ciabatta.

My pastry degree did not require more than a brief overview of how to properly use knives, but the students who did the culinary school program had to have a full course on knife skills.

So, unless you want lots of scars to remind you of all the meals that you have cooked, I suggest that you read this article (and watch the video) about basic knife skills.

Also, just for fun (and since I have no pictures today),  I am going to search you tube for "how not to use a knife" and post for you the first video that comes up.  Let's see what happens, shall we?

I kid you not, that was the video.  You can it search for yourself if you want!

Kitchen Wish Lust...oops I mean LIST no. 2

I told you I'd have more. This list will be shorter than the last one....maybe.



Rubbermaid Pan Organizer. $10. Seriously....infinite uses. I'll take four.



Hand thrown mug. $11. I just love cozy mugs!




Baked cookbook. $20. Heard this one's a winner.





Spice Rack. $29. It fits on your shelf, pulls out, AND folds down! Yes way!



Jill Rosenwald Ritz Tray. $56. Have you ever looked at etsy.com? It's pretty cool.



All Clad Waffler. $179. I just want perfect, crispy, square waffles. Is that too much to ask?



Granite Countertops for 1/5 of the price!! The catch? Oh, only that you have to install it yourself. I'm sure I could do it in just a few minutes.

Have ya ever had this?

Something I have altogether forgotten to mention that I love about fall is hot chocolate. I love my teas, but there's something so nostalgic in the treat of drinking hot chocolate. I just remembered that I love it so much, in fact, because I am drinking it right now.

There is a certain kind of hot chocolate I found that is sooooooooooooooooooooooo good. I will say it again. It is so gooooooooooooood. It is by Fran's Chocolates, and it can be purchased at Whole Foods for $14 for a 9 oz can. THIRTEEN DOLLARS FOR NINE OUNCES OF CHOCOLATE??? You may ask. The answer is yes, but this is no ordinary chocolate. It is not powder, nor is it that nasty overly rich chocolate syrup drink they tried to sell at St*rbucks. First of all, it is made by Fran. Yes, Fran is a real woman from here in Seattle who has started an empire of fine chocolates. They are very, very expensive, but they are also the best chocolates you will ever eat, I tell you.

Anyway, back to the Fran's Hot Chocolate. It is actually chocolate! It is very fine pieces of just sweet enough chocolate that are made to melt into your milk just as it reaches the perfect temperature for drinking. I wish I could get you to believe me and try this for yourself. I'm not going to share mine, though- that stuff's expensive!