Bartell Drugs and Northwest Harvest
24-Apr-2007
I noticed in yesterday’s paper that Bartell Drugs is setting up food collection sites in their stores from now through April 29th. As you may know I’m a big supporter of NW Harvest and thought I’d call these collections points to your attention. We all tend to think about donating during the winter months but what most people don’t realize is that the need is actually greater during the summer.
Many children are fed through school breakfast and lunch programs. When they are out of school for the summer they no longer have access to these programs and therefore more demand is on the families to provide. You can help out by donating non-perishable goods at the Bartell locations or you can donate cash online or through the mail.
For a list of Bartell’s locations see this store locater.
Culinary Communion: Charcuterie Class
22-Apr-2007
I just spent the better part of today wallowing in pork. And beef and lamb and chicken. But mostly pork. And I loved every minute of it! This is my third class at Culinary Communion, the school run by Chef Gabriel Claycamp and his supporting crew – of which there are many!
You may remember that I first took a bread class, Enriched Doughs to be specific, back in September. As a side note I am still using the recipes and techniques from that class. Then, a couple months ago, I took a sinfully indulgent class all about Fois Gras – I have yet to write that up but I learned a ton! And then today, I was back again to learn the art of charcuterie – or basically all about salami, salumi, sausages, curing, aging, smoking, etc.
As has been the case with past classes Chef Gabe doesn’t just give you some recipes and send you on your way. There is background information – both provided as a handout and as a little lecture/presentation at the start of the class. Then the class splits up to begin work on the recipes, stopping every now and then to watch the presentation of a technique that we may need. Today’s class was five hours and I left with my head bursting from all the info presented! Luckily I have that handy packet of background information to jog my memory in the future.
We made 11 types of charcuterie – although I may have lost one recipe, as I thought there were 12 – plus spaetzle and cabbage to have along with lunch. As with all classes here the beginning instruction covers all recipes but then you break into small groups and only do hands-on for some of the recipes.
And, as with all the classes I’ve been part of, all the other students are a lot of fun. There are always a range of ages, people from all walks of life and many interesting stories to hear. The one thing that struck me today was that this class was all men. The only other woman besides me was married to one of the other students – although it seemed she was the one who had scheduled the class. Who knew you could get so many men to spend a Sunday at a cooking class?
Anyway, I’m not sure that I can really give you specific information about making these recipes – you really need to take the class to understand all the ins and outs and potential challenges you might come up against. But I will leave you with a few photos and highly encourage you to sign up for this (or any other class) at Culinary Communion. You’ll be glad you did!
Culinary Communion Schedule of Classes and Travel Events.
New Urban Eats
22-Apr-2007
Did you miss Twenty Five for $25? Or maybe you made it to a few places but wished you had time for more? Well, there’s a new promotion running this year that might be just what you are looking for. This new event is called New Urban Eats. It’s sponsored by NW Source and while similar to the Twenty Five for $25 has a few interesting differences.
First, there’s no limit on how many restaurants can participate. 
Next there are a couple of requirements for those who wish to participate: they have to have been in business for three years or less; their average entrée price must be between $15 and $25; and they must have had a major review of 2 stars or more. These rules are meant to do a couple things. The first rule means that you’ll see new and different places participating each year – while that’s a good idea, I do enjoy getting back to some of my "old" favorites. And the next two rules help ensure that you receive quality for your dining dollar.
Next there are a couple of requirements for those who wish to participate: they have to have been in business for three years or less; their average entrée price must be between $15 and $25; and they must have had a major review of 2 stars or more. These rules are meant to do a couple things. The first rule means that you’ll see new and different places participating each year – while that’s a good idea, I do enjoy getting back to some of my "old" favorites. And the next two rules help ensure that you receive quality for your dining dollar. Also, the price for the three-course dinners will be $30 – still a pretty good deal for an appetizer, entrée and dessert!
The promotion runs from May 1 – May 31, Sundays – Thursdays (except Mother’s Day). So far there are twenty restaurants on the list – it’s possible that more will be added so check back to see. And you should check the website for all of the details.
Just Say Cheese!
21-Apr-2007
Rogue Creamery’s Smokey Blue – creamy, a little sharp, a little sweet smoke – spreadable happiness. Go find it.
611 Supreme
21-Apr-2007
One of my favorite little places for breakfast is 611 Supreme. It’s one of those places that sits quiet and unobtrusively on the stretch between downtown and Broadway. So many places line that stretch that sometimes it’s hard to find the gems, but 611 Supreme definitely is worth the discovery. This is actually the place where our cooking club was officially born – R, M and I met to hammer out the details and then started recruiting others.
The menu is not extensive but what they do they do very well – the menu is nearly 100% crepes, although there is one option at the end of the menu that is something like bacon and eggs. But I don’t know why you’d want anything other than one of their yummy crepes.
And the mochas are great, too. And there’s fresh-squeezed orange juice, too! Oh, and some time ago, they added a bar on the other side of the building. I keep meaning to go in and check that out but haven’t quite made it yet.
I did learn something new on my last visit, however. Apparently I don’t like hot smoked salmon – or maybe it’s just that there was so much in the crepe I ordered that it was a little overwhelming. I can’t really say it was bad but I didn’t care for it. But that’s the first thing ever in my history of visits that I didn’t like.
I highly recommend this place. And lots of others like it, too, so if you plan to visit on a weekend morning get there on the early side. With only about a dozen tables it doesn’t take long for the place to fill.
611 Supreme
611 E. Pine St.
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill
Seattle
206.328.0292
206.328.0292
First Look: Qube
19-Apr-2007
R and I visited Qube Restaurant a few nights ago. Open since November it’s in a bit of an odd location – not necessarily somewhere I’d be looking for a place to find a cocktail or dinner. Not that it’s a bad (as in scary) location, it’s just not in the primary flow of normal restaurant traffic. It’s a little too far south if you are out and about in Belltown and not far enough south to be part of the normal financial district traffic. Located almost kitty-corner from Macy’s parking garage it will probably someday be in the thick of things but not quite yet.
We planned our meeting to coincide with Happy Hour which, the site said, features 1/2 off food and additional discounts on drinks. Thinking back I’m not sure we were charged properly. I know we didn’t get discounts on drinks – but I hadn’t asked what specifically was included so that wasn’t surprising – but I also remember thinking that if those were Happy Hour prices on the food then Qube was over-priced. Maybe we were charged full price? Hmmmm. Normally I’m better at checking the tab – bad me!
Well, the food was good, the drinks were good too. I "accidentally" ordered an Ultimate Martini and it was very good. My accident was in that I wasn’t paying attention to the price – at $15, it should have been good! Then again it’s made with Ultimat Vodka, which runs $50 – $60 for a fifth. So I should have been expecting that.
R’s Pearsuasion was yummy and smelled great. For appetizers we ordered Beef Keftah, lovely little meatballs, and Curry Pork Dumplings. Both were good.
I think that Qube has potential but I fear it will not survive. The night we were there it was pretty dead. And while the food and drinks were good, they weren’t so exceptional that I’d be drawn out of my way to go there again. If I was in the area? Sure, I’d stop in. But it’s not going to be top of mind for most occasions. And I actually think that’s too bad. It’s a nice space; the bar has a really cozy seating area as well as some small tables and the bar itself. And I like what they are trying to do. So I guess if you are looking for a quiet place to have a conversation you might want to check it out. But for Qube to make it? I think they will need to drop prices a tad and maybe think about how to attract the dining crowd.
Qube
1901 Second Ave
Seattle
206.770.5888
Pan-Grilled Sea Scallops
18-Apr-2007
Although there are lots of times that I live to make complex recipes I am just as likely to pull together something rather simple. And that is especially likely to happen when the base ingredients are just so good and fresh that you really don’t want to hide them in anyway. Instead the goal is to showcase their attributes.
Sea scallops are something that I generally keep to a super simple preparation, as in this case. These were giant scallops – over an inch thick and two to two and a half inches in diameter! I pan grilled them in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes per side, which still left them a bit rare in the middle. I drizzled a plate with Black Bean Sauce (I was trying a bottled version which I really didn’t like – too salty), heaped some jasmine rice that had been cooked in chicken stock in the center, added three scallops (two would have been enough!) and then sprinkled some chopped green onions and black sesame over the whole thing. That was it.
The rice took some time to cook but the whole meal was done in less than 30 minutes. Take that Rachel Ray! ;-)
Caffe Lusso
15-Apr-2007
One of the items I purchased at the benefit for Moses Olmedo was a cupping at Caffe Lusso, a microroaster located out in Redmond.
A cupping is to coffee what tasting is to wine – sort of. There’s a little more of a process around it to make sure that what you experience represents the coffee at it’s best. Our cupping entailed more than just sampling, however, as we were also treated to a full-on learning experience about the company, coffee growing and selection, a recent trip to a Nicaraguan farm and more.
We sampled four coffees, one from: Costa Rica; Peru; Ethiopia; and Sumatra.
Caffe Lusso uses a lighter roast than most Seattle companies, thereby allowing the individual flavor profiles to be more evident. What surprised me more than the flavor differences, though, were the mouthfeel differences. The coffee from Ethiopia was especially lush and almost creamy in the mouth.
Tea has always been my primary beverage but I often venture into the coffee world so I found this event to be really interesting and to give me a good basis for further exploration. And since there are so many similarities to wine tasting – coffee even has it’s own flavor wheel – I can see that researching coffee might be one of my new avocations.
There is a ton of information on the web about coffee cupping so I won’t go into full detail here but instead will let the photos tell the story.
If you live in the Seattle/Redmond area Caffe Lusso offers public cuppings – not as detailed as our private event – every Thursday from 2pm – 4pm.
Caffe Lusso Coffee Roasters
17725 NE 65th Street Suite A-150
Redmond, WA 98052
866.587.6800 (toll-free)
Seattle’s own Matthew Dillon from Sitka & Spruce has been named in this annual event!
Other winners include:
- April Bloomfield The Spotted Pig, New York, NY
- Gabriel Bremer Salts, Cambridge, MA
- Steve Corry Five Fifty-Five, Portland, ME
- Gavin Kaysen El Bizcocho, San Diego, CA
- Johnny Monis Komi, Washington, DC
- Sean O’Brien Myth, San Francisco, CA
- Gabriel Rucker Le Pigeon, Portland, OR
- Ian Schnoebelen Iris, New Orleans, LA
- Paul Virant Vie, Western Springs, IL
Food and Wine’s July issue will feature all ten chefs, a bit of their history and a recipe from each of them.
Dining Out for Life
13-Apr-2007
I love that there are so many ways to eat and make a difference at the same time! Coming up on Thursday April 26 we’ll all get another opportunity to put our money where our mouth is – so to speak!
It’s the annual Dining Out for Life night – where restaurants across the country donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special night of dining to the licensed agency in their city to help fight AIDS. Over $2 million dollars a year is raised to support the missions of agencies throughout North America. Here in Seattle it’s our 14th year of participation and funds go to the Lifelong AIDS Alliance.
In Seattle we have 150 dining options that day – in fact you can plan your breakfast, lunch and dinner at participating restaurants! So check out the list of participating restaurants and start making your plans and reservations today!
Culinary Fool 