Food and Crafts for All Occasions

More Roasted Poultry: Goose for Thanksgiving

The other day we've been chatting with Sen, an owner of the best coffee shop in north Seattle 'Seattle Sunshine Coffee' (killer macchiatos, guys!) and the conversation gradually led to discussing favorite Thanksgiving treats. Well, with Thanksgiving being only a month away it's high time we started talking about holiday food here as well.

In our family, no one is big on roasted turkey. We’re just not fans of “white meat” overall, and turkey with its huge breast is mostly white meat. So, whenever we celebrate Thanksgiving at home, we prefer to roast some other kind of poultry: Cornish game hens, duck or, best of all, goose. When it comes to dark meat, nothing can beat goose!

Romancing the Potato: Roasted Potato Wedges

I’ve already posted one roasted potato recipe here. This time, it’s different potatoes, different cut and different presentation.

Roasted potato wedges can be served as a finger food which together with a great bold flavor makes them an ultimate crowd pleaser. And given that they are no hassle to make, they please a cook no less. Just get nice long and relatively thin potatoes - Yukon or, which is even better, small Russets - and you’re good to go.

I love my potato wedges spicy and herby, served with a cooling sauce like tartar. On the other hand, you can go light on spicing potatoes and put some hot pepper into the accompanying sauce instead, your call. Either way, it’s a winner.

Green Salad with Smoked Trout, Poached Eggs, Potatoes and Asparagus

This has been one of my favorite salads lately. Sort of a version of Niçoise salad with smoked trout instead of tuna and poached eggs instead of boiled ones. My greens choice for this salad is a mix of frisee (I love ’em bitter!) and Asian greens mix (not to be confused with Asian salad mix!) which includes mizuna, pak choi, baby tat soi and other fancy and very tasty herbs.  If you cannot find Asian mix in stores, go for Spring Salad Mix or something like it.

As for the trout, you can smoke it yourself or buy it in a store. Trader Joe’s carries quite delicious and inexpensive smoked trout. If you want to smoke trout yourself and are a happy owner of a Green egg grill, follow the instructions given here for salmon. The only difference with trout would be that you would need much less salt and shorter time to cure it in the fridge since trout fillets are much smaller and thinner than salmon. For the same reason, the cooking time will be shorter too. Shoot for 45-50 min.

Pearl Onions in Balsamic Vinegar

Let me tell you that these onions are seriously addictive (ask my neighbor Maren!). I prefer to always have them in my fridge as they make a great snack for an impromptu party. Serve them cold or at room temperature with soft goat cheese on a piece of crusty rustic baguette or ciabatta. Blue cheese will work as well. They also make quite a terrific topping for steaks, lamb roast and pan seared duck breast.

Nokedli or Spaetzle, Super Simple Homemade Pasta

Nokedli (Hungarian) or Spaetzle (German) is a free-form pasta made from a thick batter that is grated into boiling water through a special nokedli/spaetzle maker or pressed through a colander.

Tomato Based BBQ Sauce

This delicious sauce takes mere minutes to make.  It goes great with Smoked Pork Baby Back Ribs as well as other meat and poultry dishes.

Pizza, Part II: the Tomato Sauce

While the dough is rising, we have enough time to make the tomato sauce and prep the toppings.

Traditionally, the sauce would be made with fresh skinned and seeded tomatoes, but I haven’t yet come across the tomatoes in Seattle that would inspire me to make sauce out of them. Even during the tomato season, I find local tomatoes either not meaty and sweet enough for the sauce or super expensive to use for it. The latter I would better eat fresh!

Beans in Tomato Sauce wit Cinnamon and Fresh Dill

These beans seemed to be quite popular at our last Society lunch. I myself happen to be a big fan of this Greek inspired dish. I make it using either cannellini or garbanzo beans, though the Greeks, I believe, would take large white beans called Gigandes, which are, unfortunately, are not available in our stores yet.

Baby Octopus, Potatoes and Chard Stew with Paprika and Saffron

Whenever I happen to be in an Asian supermarket like Ranch 99 or HT Market, I go to a frozen seafood isle and get a package of baby octopus. They are very delicious and can be braised in a variety of sauces and served with pasta, couscous, beans or potatoes. If you love seafood, you should definitely give these guys a try.

Blistered Shishito Peppers with Garlic Aioli

With all the holidays and then my B-day, I have completely abandoned my blog.

Well, I'm back now with my new favorite appetizer – blistered shishito peppers with garlic aioli.

Shishito peppers are slender and relatively small peppers with a mild flavor. In Seattle, you can buy them at Uwajimaya. They can be substituted with Spanish padron peppers, which have similar taste, but are shorter and rounder and look more like miniature green bell peppers.

Rau Ram Pesto

By pesto many mean only basil pesto, a paste-like sauce made of basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese. But, in fact, any edible herb can be turned into a pesto. Like, for instance, my favorite Asian herb rau ram. So far, it can be found only in Asian supermarkets like HT Market and Ranch 99. Though, there is a hope that it will appear in regular supermarkets in the nearest future as the interest towards Asian and other world cuisines in Seattle keeps on growing.

In the late spring, you can buy a rau ram seedling in Swansons Nursery and grow your own plant.

In Loving Memory of the Summer Gone Too Fast: A Salad with Avocadoes, Tomatoes, Palm Hearts and Bell Peppers with Cilantro Dressing

Summer is suddenly gone and just like most Seattleites I am not ready to let it go. I’m currently in the denial stage of grief, especially because of the sun peeking out from behind the clouds more and more often and a patch of blue sky here and there becoming larger and larger. A perfect setting for me to pretend that it is as warm and vibrant outside as it was just a month ago.

Langoustine, Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli with Lemon Brown Butter

I was raiding my bottomless freezer yesterday and came across an open package of cooked langoustines from Trader Joe’s. I remember they tasted quite unremarkable and that’s why were exiled to the freezer in the first place.

Skordalia, a Garlicky Greek Dip

Skordalia (with the stress on the last syllable) is a garlicky Greek dip that goes fabulous with warm pita or deep fried seafood and fish. It can be made either with potatoes or white bread. I prefer the former since, to my taste, it gives lighter and smoother consistency. The other day, I served it with the deep fried smelt and the pairing of the two was surprisingly good. Like they were meant for each other, really.

Niçoise Salad

Whenever we’re in a mood for a lighter dinner, I made a large “all inclusive” salad like Caesar with chicken or fried oysters or Niçoise. Here you have your proteins, greens and starches all in one light and healthy dish.