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If you love to entertain, but your wallet is still sore from Christmas shopping, try a few of surprise bargains.  Just because your stocks tanked doesn’t mean its time for canned cheese.

Oysters Rockefeller (pictured above)

Nothing says “classy party” quite like a plate of oysters.  However, not everyone enjoys the slimy, raw mollusks as much as you do.  This classic recipe adds chopped greens, bacon and bread crumbs, then bakes the whole shebang for delicious, elegant bite.  If you shop with a keen eye, you can get 1-2 oysters for a buck, making them a reasonably priced treat after all.

Mini Beef Wellington Hors D’Oeuvres

Serving beef doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank.  Rather than serving this rich entree, try my bite-size version.  I ended up paying less than $1 per piece, but all the guests just remembered getting to eat great beef!

Rosemary Fudge

A lot of chocolate and a little rosemary goes a long way to producing memorable dessert bites.  Rather than splurge for artisanal  bonbons, try this bulk-batch recipe.  Your guests will ooh and aah at the sophistication of what would otherwise be regular fudge.

Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust

If you’re not an expert baker (I’m certainly not), but you’re somehow in charge of dessert, try this easy chocolate tart with a kick of ginger.  Thinly sliced candied ginger says “Celebration!” and the richness of this tart means you can serve small slices, stretching your dollar all that much further. 

The Christmas shopping season is upon us and that means its time to find the perfect  present for the food geek in your life.  The list below include some of my favorite socket stuffers for 2008. 

Space Invaders Cutting Board

This is probably my favorite item on the list this year!  This very clever cutting board uses dark and light end-grain “pixels” to represent those pesky aliens from the classic video game Space Invaders.  Also, it gives you an excuse to make the PEW PEW noise when cutting vegetables.  Now, if they could only build a Leisure Suit Larry cutting board…

$129.99 from ThinkGeek

300-Watt Cruzin Cooler

If there is a better way to drink and drive, I’ve never seen it.  This motorized cooler travels up to 15 miles on a single charge.  That’ll get you far enough away that you won’t recognize anything when you wake up naked and covered mustard outside a Dunkin Donuts off the Jersey turnpike.  With a maximum load of 210 pounds (you plus your chilled Chardonnay), it won’t haul your lazy ass up any steep hills, but you should be able to smoke those Rascal drivers on the quarter mile.

$399 from Smarthome

Infinite Circulon Portable Induction Burner

Folks, we’re living in the future.  This induction burner is a portable, heatless, electric cooktop, which must have been sent back through time from the year 2025, at least.  Induction cooking uses a yet-to-be-discovered principle of electromagnetics whereby a strong magnetic field in the thingamajigie causes heat due to some electrical resistance voodoo in the bottom of your frying pan.  The result?  Heat with 90% energy effeciency.  Now, if we can only reduce our dependency on foreign olive oil…

$244.31 from Amazon

Good Chemistry Salt & Pepper Shakers

Proudly declare your geekdom with these sodium chloride and  Pe +(Pe)r shakers.  After all, cooking is chemistry, so why not make your kitchen look more like a laboratory?  Order a whole mess of these things and keep them neatly arranged in a crystal formation. 

$14.99 from ThinkGeek

Salt: A World History

Just can’t get enough Salt?  I sure can’t.  This book discusses the profound impact that salt and the salt industry have had on world civilizations since, uh, a lot BC.  From the production and harvest of salt, to salt’s use as currency, to our modern-day culinary love affair with the compound, this book is a fascinating read.  And, when you’re done, you can use the pages to kill snails.

$10.29 from Amazon

Geek Shot Glass

If 1 out of 10 geeks suffer from alcoholism, does that mean the other 9 enjoy it?  If so, its probably because they one one of these sweet geek shot glasses!  Use them for your next happy hour, all-night coding session, or anytime you’re drinking with the other Matheletes. 

$3.99 from ThinkGeek

Star Wars Cookbooks

That’s right, there are multiple Star Wars cookbooks.  And you can have them both!  Learn how to make Jedi Juice Bars, Dark Side Salsa, Boba Fett-Uccine, and more delicious meals to eat by myself in my mother’s basement, er, I mean, to cook for dates.  With women.  Real life ones. 

$14.99 from ThinkGeek

Deni LED Cake Tray with Lid

OMG, OMG, OMG.  This has got to be one of the all time most superfluous kitchen gadgets I’ve ever seen.  Which means it’s perfect for the food geek in your life.  Just place your cake in the middle, then use the buttons to select between 2 and 12 slices.  LED lights on the outer ring shows you where to cut.  And, if that isn’t reason enough to buy this breakthrough digital portioning system, it even plays “Happy Birthday”.

$39.99 from Amazon

Cuisinart Brick Oven with Rotisserie

I’ve been drooling over these toaster ovens since they first came on the scene.  With a .9 cubic foot capacity, this little oven is perfect for smaller jobs like pizzas, casseroles, and shrinky-dinks.  Plus, the ceramic brick-lined interior promises even cooking, and the 500-degree temperature means you can tandori the night away!  The built-in rotisserie is another reason to keep your big oven off.  We are in an energy crisis, you know.

$279.99 from Amazon

Sylvania LED Fiber Optic Lighted Table Runner

Are your Star Trek: The Next Generation-themed dinner parties lacking a certain flair?  You’ve got the costumes, the 3D chess set, even a sage, black ex-comedian to dispense advice and lend a friendly ear.  But something’s still missing… a fiber optic table runner!  Fret no more, Ensign Billy.  You may now boldly decorate as no man has decorated before.

$85.99 from Smarthome

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I had the recent privilege of attending a “Farmhouse Dinner,” a sort of underground dinner club hosted by a Seattle-area farmer and prepared by a local chef.  Underground dinner clubs are neither new nor rare in Seattle, but I will remember (and rave about) this meal until I’m old and senile. 

Usually terms like locally grown, organic, hormone-free, hell, even fresh have a distant, intangible relationship with the foods we normally eat.  When I stand in front of a pile of organic grapes at Whole Foods, I’m not necessarily moved by the extra care and attention paid to the grapes in order to earn that badge of superiority.  But, when you eat a meal knowing that all of its components were grown, raised, picked or slaughtered within a triangle bell’s ring from the dining room… there is a tangible relationship. 

Anyone could, presumably, go to the farmer’s market and grab a dinner’s worth of locally grown ingredients and invite some guests over – I’d even recommend it.  But that is child’s play compared to the dinners served at the farm.  Literally everything except salt, pepper, flour, coffee beans and wine came directly from the farm.  Everything.  That includes butter, cheese, pancetta, pickles, chilies, and of course all the meat and vegetables you can shake a fork at.  And if you’ve ever doubted that freshness makes a difference, I hope you get an invitation.

We ate 10 or so courses, beginning with thin crust, wood oven fired pizzas eaten casually with a glass of wine as the evening’s guests arrived.  We moved to the table to enjoy a divine beef broth and pea soup.  Next we tasted thinly-shaved pigs heart with pickled shallots, braised ox tail, tomato jam, fresh pickles, and an assortment of homemade cheeses.  Then there were several vegetable courses: the freshest, most vibrant carrots I’ve ever seen, a slaw of brussels sprouts and roasted peppers, and a superb roasted squash.  The main courses (yes, there were multiple) included handmade pasta with braised lamb shoulder and what I declare to be the best roast beef I’ve ever tasted.  I guess it helps when the guy cooking the beef knew the cow personally.

So, what’s the message here, that we should slaughter our own cows and only eat carrots that we’ve personally removed from the ground?  Of course not.  For most of us, its infeasible – both economically, and practically.  However, if you have the opportunity to experience the staggering impact of really fresh ingredients in a place where you are one degree of freedom away from the person who grew your food, don’t let it pass you by.  I guarantee it will be an meal to remember!

 
Coronets may be a little oldschool, but I’m a sucker for shapely finger food.  These fish cones are a little labor intensive, but totally worth it.  Plus, there’s something I love about toiling over the intricate details of hors d’oeuvres in anticipation of a party.  If you don’t have coronet molds lying around, you can use large pastry tips, or anything else cone-shaped to roll the parmesan crisps into a lovely conical form.

Makes: about 9 cones
Total kitchen time: 1 hour

Special equipment

• 9 coronet molds (or large pastry tips)
• 1 Silpat Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat
• 1 pastry bag
• 1 4” circle pastry ring (optional)

Shopping list:

• 1 lb. parmesan cheese, very finely shredded
• 1/2 lb. lox (smoked salmon fillet)
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 2 tbsp. chives, finely diced
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. butter
• crème fraîche, to garnish

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and place the top rack in the middle of the oven. 
2. Prepare the silplat on a baking sheet.  Place the pastry ring on the silplat and gently sprinkle with an even layer of the shredded parmesan.  The layer should only be thick enough so that there are no large holes.  Repeat, leaving at least 1” of space between circles.  You’ll probably have to make parmesan rounds in 2 batches.
3. Lightly salt the parmesan rounds and bake for 5-7 minutes.  Keep a close eye on the rounds – once the cheese is completely melted and just barely starting to brown around the outer edges, remove the pan from the oven and rest it on the open oven door.  The heat from the door will keep the cheese soft and warm as you shape the rounds into cones.
4. Working one by one, roll each round of cheese onto a coronet mold and place on a stack of paper towels to dry.  The cheese will be hot to touch, and you may want to use an offset spatula to help lift the first edge of cheese off the silplat.
5. Once all of the cheese rounds have been formed onto the molds, let them rest for at least 10 minutes to cool.  Wipe any grease off the silplat, then return the cheesy molds to the baking sheet and bake 2-3 minutes more, until lightly browned.  Its important to keep the molds in for this step, otherwise your cones will deflate into triangles.  Place the cones on paper towels to drain until ready to serve.  Can be made the day before and refrigerated.
6. Using a knife (not a food processor) finely chop the salmon lox.  In a large bowl, smash the butter with the back of a fork until it is lightly whipped.  Stir in the salmon, shallot, chives and lemon juice.  Can be made up to 4 hours ahead and covered and refrigerated.
7. When you’re ready to serve, pipe the salmon mixture into the cones carefully using a pastry bag with a wide tip (or no tip at all).  The cones will be very fragile, so you may want to recruit a second pair of hands for this part of the operation.
8. Finally, using a small, decorative tip, pipe a dollop of crème fraîche on top of the salmon.  Serve on a platter, or standing up on a plate full of holes!

If you’ve been paying close attention to my timestamps, you’ll notice a gap in recent posts.  You’ll have to forgive me, I was on a “business trip”.  Since I don’t make my living as a food blogger, occasionally I have to spend time doing actual “work”.  In this case, that work involved spending a week in Barcelona, then, due to an AirFrane pilot strike, spending 4 days unexpectedly in Paris.  Oh, and I got to bring my girlfriend, Rachel.  Oh, and due to the overwhelming romance of Paris, we’re engaged now!  Isn’t work just the worst?!

Here are some food shots from the trip.  I’m pretty convinced there are no bad meals in Europe (♫ and the streets are filled with chee-eze ♫).

Fran’s, the beloved, family-owned chocolate shop has opened their third location just below the Four Season’s hotel in downtown Seattle.  The new store, situated directly across the street from the Seattle Art Museum, hopes to attract some of the area’s foot traffic.  Chocolate, after all, is not always a premeditated purchase. 

I had a chance to chat with Fran about the store and the Seattle chocolate business in general.  It’s easy to tell why Fran’s customers adore her – now a grandmother, Fran exudes such warmth that, just for a minute, I forgot she wasn’t my grandmother!  For the past 26 years, she has been pursuing her passion for perfection, a theme that is especially prevalent in Seattle artisans.  The business is run by her daughter (CEO) and her son (Chocolatier), who was recently invited by the Valrhona company to make his own blend of chocolate for the store. 

The first thing you’ll notice when you enter the new Seattle location is an absolutely giant pointillist portrait hanging on the wall. The subject is Fran’s granddaughter, but it is the medium of this image that is fascinating.  The picture is actually a life-size photograph of a collection of chocolate truffles, ranging from dark to white.  Mmmm, chocolate pixels… That’s good geek food!

Fran’s Chocolates
1325 1st Avenue at Union Street
Seattle, WA 98101 
www.franschocolates.com

Have you ever walked into a place and immediately felt like you’d found what you’ve always been looking for?  That’s how I feel about  Bricco della Regina Anna (or “Bricco” for short).  Bricco is a restaurant and wine bar located on the main drag of upper Queen Anne, on a sleepy block that’s also home to Betty, Chocopolis, and the boarded-up shell of the former Queen Anne hardware store.  The best thing about this location?  I can walk to it!  But don’t let that color my review – being within my promenade-radius is not a requirement for a great eatery.

A freestanding ledge loosely segregates Bricco’s dining room between dinner guests and passers-by who have stopped in for a glass of wine.  The latter group is quite fortunate: the wine list, carefully selected by Wine Director Andrew Bresnik, is formidable.  This isn’t surprising, given that the back wall of the dining room is a window to their walk-in wine cellar.  But if you don’t know your Semillon from your Chardonnay, don’t fret.  The wait staff is not only helpful and knowledgeable, but non-judgmental – if you can swallow your ego long enough to ask for a recommendation, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s more than just the wine that keeps me coming back to Bricco, though.  For starters, the first page of their menu lists only cheese and salumi.  In my opinion, this should have been the 11th commandment.  The rest of the menu is composed of frequently-changing, à la carte salads, panini and entreés ($4 to approx. $18).  Though the menu is small, everything is exquisitely executed.  Chef and owner Kevin Erickson has hit a bulls eye with his balance of traditional and inventive bistro fare.  And most of the dishes are so rich and beautifully presented that I feel nether guilty nor hungry when the meal is over.  A few of my personal favorites: smoked trout salad with roasted beets and crème fraîche ($12), smoked salmon bruschetta ($4), and lamb sliders (pictured bottom left).

I’d recommend leaving room for dessert, too.  Bricco’s roasted pears with huckleberry honey, aged balsamic vinegar and mascarpone is heavenly.  Throw in a glass of port, and you’ve just enjoyed the kind of leisurely decompression that’s normally reserved for European poets.

Contrary to rumors that the restaurant was up for sale, the folks behind Bricco are actually expanding its horizons.  Starting soon, Bricco will feature a full alcohol bar, complete with the sophisticated libations Seattleites have come to expect from expert mixologists.  The owners are also opening Moshi Moshi Sushi (name unconfirmed) in Ballard.  If they manage to create the same restaurant charisma as they’ve done with Bricco, I’ll be first in line, chopsticks in hand!

[photo (clockwise from upper left): cheese and salumi platter, beef tenderloin, lamb sliders, Nutella panini]

  
Imagine, if you will, an art museum restaurant.  Make the image in your head very vivid, very detailed.  In fact, close your eyes and picture this restaurant…  (OK, open your eyes now so you can keep reading.)  Now, imagine the sterile, lifeless walls of that restaurant covered with vibrant Seattle artwork.  Those heat lamps you’re picturing in the kitchen?  Replace them with pans of slowly roasting, locally-raised pork shoulders.  The cafeteria-inspired, cavernous dining room?  Swap it for about an upscale, inviting decor with a first-class bar and a wall full of Pacific Northwest wine.  Now you’re just barely starting to get the picture of TASTE, the Seattle Art Museum’s bold, revitalized restaurant.

On a recent visit to TASTE, I was very impressed with not only the atmosphere and the quality of the food, but also the karmic value of my dinner.  In the last two years, TASTE has managed to source 69% of its ingredients from local farmers, infusing over $1M back into family-owned farms.  Particularly relevant to today’s economy, TASTE’s dedication to supporting small and local farms is commendable.

(more…)

 
Every year I’ve been in Seattle I’ve come to appreciate more and more what a spectacular part of the country we live in.  It’s not just because Frasier took place here, or because we have such a great baseball team – it’s because of our proximity to such excellent landscape, such wonderful natural resources, and such good people.  A recent trip to Lake Chelan, a small town about 4 hours outside of Seattle, cemented my beliefs all the more.  From the orchard- and vineyard-covered rolling hills, to the deep, serene lake, I’d highly recommend Chelan for a peaceful weekend getaway.  And, since everyone likes a list, here’s my top 10.

1.  Rent a house.  There are charming hotels and B&Bs scattered throughout the town, but there are also a wonderful private homes for rent.  Renting a house has a few advantages, particularly if you’re traveling with friends.  Look for a house right on the water – the view doesn’t get any better.  Also, try to find a house with a hot tub, if that’s your thing.  You’ll want to soak your feet after a long day of wine tasting, and a Jacuzzi overlooking the lake brings any day to a tranquil end. 2. Wake up early to go fishing.  Fishing may not necessarily be your thing, but I can’t think of a better way to relax than at the end of a dock early in the morning.  Plus, if you’re lucky, you’ll be serving fresh trout omelets – yum! 3. Visit the Blueberry Hills Farm for breakfast.  You’ll need to start your day off right, and their blueberry blintzes hit the spot.  Be forewarned, though: that $3.50 side of bacon only comes with two slices! 4. Enjoy a tasting at Wapato Point Cellars.  They have a beautiful tasting room and gift shop, and the onsite staff is friendly and knowledgable.  I enjoyed their 2006 Malbec enough to walk off with a bottle. 5. Stop for lunch (and another tasting) at the Vin du Lac Winery.  In addition to some very respectable wines, they offer an excellent light lunch menu.  We gathered around an outdoor table overlooking the lake and for a leisurely lunch that hit the spot exactly.  6. Head to the South side of the lake for a tractor ride around Tsillan Cellars (pronounced “Chelan”).  This was by far my favorite winery in Chelan, and not just ‘cause I’m a sucker for tractor rides.  Their award winning wines stood up to the hype – particularly their 2006 Estate Riesling, which was very well balanced and not overly sweet.  7. Just down the road is the Sunshine Farm Market, a great roadside market with fresh produce (and goats!).  Pick up a few Washington apples to take back home for a tarte tatin.  8. Once you’re ready for dinner, I highly recommend visiting Lake Chelan Winery for their evening barbeque.  Starting at 4:00, you’ll be able to order a glass of wine to accompany killer, fall-off-the-bone ribs and soul-warming baked beans in their permanent tent behind the gift shop.  If you thought wine and chocolate pairings were good, just try wine and ribs.

View my Windows Live Maps Collection of this tour

Arial Tour of Chelan Wineries

 
I had the recent pleasure of dining at Crémant, a captivating, authentic French bistro in Madrona.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, I plan to eat my last meal on Earth in a French bistro.  To me, the rich decadence of traditional bistro fare is a reminder that you’re alive.  Though most cardiologists agree that joie de vivre and fois gras become mutually exclusive after a few consecutive evenings, the French still manage to outlive us by 5-10 years, n’est pas?

Given my vigor for all dishes French, my recent visit to Crémant hit the spot.  In a day and age when Americans are so insecure of their own culture that they’ll only eat “Freedom Fries”, my faith in humanity is restored when witnessing chef/owner Scott Emerick’s faithful execution of the most unabashedly French dishes that have existed since Louis XIV.  For example, the Foie Gras Salade Royal ($14, pictured above)is an increasing rarity among restaurants and gourmet food shops, but its inclusion on the menu signals a steadfast allegiance to everything good about French cuisine.  Furthermore, this particular foie gras had a noticeably fresh flavor and texture that paired well with the sweet crunch of the pistachios and green beans.

My personal favorite dish was the Os à Moelle Rôti ($12, pictured above), three roasted marrow bones served with a pile of salt and a small spoon.  Again, I commend the chef for his inclusion of this staple.  I would gladly return for lunch and order several more plates.

Unfortunately, there were a few negatives to the meal as well.  Besides the foie gras and marrow bones, which were plated with generous pinch of sel gris, there was a prevailing undersaltedness to many of the dishes, including the pork rillette, salt cod and potato puree, and braised pork shoulder.  And, although the wine list at Crémant is fine enough to make an Alsatian blush (little wine humor), my glass of red was served about 10° too cold, which is a shame when your wine list includes $140 Burgundies.  If these critiques seem picky, that’s because they are.  There is a clear attention to detail and an adherence to the French culinary attitude of perfection at Crémant, so these small, correctable mistakes stood out even more.

I will gladly return to Crémant, hopefully before the eve of my death.  I wonder if they’ll accept my prescription for bone marrow?