218 replies to this topic

[Abra]

Remember how Pogo sang, to the tune of Deck the Halls "Walla Walla Wash and Kalamazoo?" You don't? You're too young!

In any case, this blog will take you from Walla Walla, not to Kalamazoo, but to Orcas Island, by way of Bainbridge Island. That's all the way from the extreme southeast corner to the absolute northwest corner of Washington. You'll see things you never imagined about Washington, and we'll cook and eat all along the way.

As you might remember from my first foodblog, I'm a personal chef. This week I'm going to show you Extreme Personal Cheffing, as well as lower-case personal cheffing and just plain cooking. And I'm going to show you lots of beautiful parts of our state, especially if there's good food to be found there. Ready, set, go!

A couple of months ago a guy down in Walla Walla asked me to do the food for his 30th anniversary party, in a church kitchen, with a staff of teenagers. There'd be no opportunity to see the kitchen before the event, it was a sit-down plated dinner for 50 (17 of whom were small children), and the crew would be kids from 12-15 years old, none of whom I'd get to meet in advance of the event. Oh, and no weird food, please!

What would you have done in a case like that? If you were smarter than I am, you'd have gotten under the bed and sucked your thumb. Me, I said, sure, what the hell, why not?

Thus begins our tale. Taking my husband with me for moral support, I set out for Walla Walla, some 6 hours away, with a car full of cooking implements and foods that might be hard to find in Walla Walla. It's quite a journey from Puget Sound.

Now, I have a zillion pictures for you, but ImageGullet "is experiencing technical difficulties," so this first post is just to say hi and give you a little teaser about what's to come. As soon as I can get my pictures posted, we'll be on our merry way. I'm glad you're along for the ride!

Edited by Abra, 14 November 2005 - 10:21 AM.

[jackal10]

Looking forward to this one!

[Daniel]

Hey Abra,

Cant wait to read your post.. Washington is a State I know little about, cant wait to get the grand tour..

[therese]

Too cool. Thanks for blogging again!

[Chris Amirault]

Most excellent, Abra! We'll be here for moral support along the way!

[jasie]

wow. i can't wait. i enjoyed your first blog immensely. :)

[ludja]

How nice to see you're blogging again, Abra!

By coincidence, just last week I had re-read parts of your excellent first blog when I was searching for something else on egullet. The week ahead sounds exciting; thanks for taking us along for the ride!

[GourmetLight$]

Hi Abra: waving and smiling from the other side of the Sound! Looking forward to reading your blog this week. So lucky to have tried your wares in the past, and looking forward to the next time.

Edited by GourmetLight$, 14 November 2005 - 10:38 AM.

[whatsup1]

I am glad to see you blogging again, Abra. As always, I am awe of your food.

Peg

[Safran]

Oh Abra, ....a sitdown affair six hours away, you had no chance to see the kitchen beforehand and your 'helpers' were under 15????? With a storyline like that, I'm hooked for the week.... Blog on!

[rajsuman]

I'm not sure if I told you this Abra, but I enjoyed your last blog so much I often re-visit it for inspiration. Those raspberry fudge bars still make me drool! Naturally I'm thrilled about another blog from you! Yay!

[Smithy]

Oh Abra, ....a sitdown affair six hours away, you had no chance to see the kitchen beforehand and your 'helpers' were under 15?????  With a storyline like that, I'm hooked for the week.... Blog on!

Wot he said.

I thoroughly enjoyed your first blog, and am looking forward to this one, as well. What a setup! Unfortunately my computer time is limited right now, but I look forward to popping in from time to time and seeing how the story unfolds.

[Chufi]

Abra!! you're blogging!!
I'm so excited. I loved your first blog, I always enjoy your posts, and I think of you every time I take out the jar of chestnuthoney. You said somewhere on EGullet that this was good.. I bought it.. and I'm hooked.
Looking forward to this week!

[bergerka]

Oh, Abra, I can't wait to read this - your last blog was awesome, and you've been so helpful to me!!!

*rubbing hands together in anticipation*

K

[johnnyd]

There'd be no opportunity to see the kitchen before the event, it was a sit-down plated dinner for 50 (17 of whom were small children), and the crew would be kids from 12-15 years old, none of whom I'd get to meet in advance of the event. Oh, and no weird food, please!

Tell me you made several sheetpans of rice krispie treats... you know, to use as a base!

[rmockler]

Well .. I missed the first one, but clearly now must review, given the inspiration it has provided others! Not to mention the lead-in to this one.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee

[handmc]

Having just come out of a four day stint in a church kitchen all I can say is, "oh boy I bet you had fun!"

I look forward to the week ahead.

[lancastermike]

Happy to see you blogging. I hope you will have time to do some smoking.

[tejon]

Abra! Thoroughly enjoyed your last blog and looking forward to this one as it plays through the week.

Oh, and the 30th anniversary dinner? My response would have been just the same as yours. Of course, I admit to being completely insane when it comes to cooking challenges, but I bet you have an incredible time

[Abra]

It's so sad that ImageGullet refuses to cooperate! I have a lot of really nice pictures that I can't wait to show you. But for now, let me give a little rundown of the week.

I'll tell all about the Walla Walla gig. Just for starters, there were no Rice Krispie Treats involved! This was plated courses, served by pre-pubescent persons. Here's the menu:

Passed appetizers:
Mini Quiches with Caramelized Onions and Bacon
Tiny Chinese Pork Tartlets

Salad with Hazelnuts and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Rosemary and Golden Raisin Mini Muffins

Chicken in a Cider and Mushroom Cream Sauce with Caramelized Apples
Mini Pumpkins stuffed with Wild Rice, Cherry, and Toasted Pecan Dressing
Edamame and Marjoram Succotash

Carrot Cake (their request, baked for me by Chefpeon and hauled down there in boxes)

Then tomorrow I'm having dinner guests. I'm trying to decide between a meal from The Cooking of Southwest France, because we've been cooking through it here, and there's a spotlight on Paula Wolfert going on right now, or an all-Dutch dinner based on Chufi's wonderful thread. Let's have a vote! What should I cook tomorrow for two food-loving friends?

Then Wednesday I'm cooking for a client, a single woman who likes mostly vegetarian food. And then we'll have the run-up to a dinner up on Orcas Island on Sunday. My blog will end on Saturday, but we're going up on Friday, so you'll get to see the islands and the ferries, and you'll get to see me sweat. I need to make this dinner really impressive, and match the host's wines, which will be hard since I've never tasted any of them. He loves big, oaky New World wines, the $100 a bottle kind, whereas I'm more of a $25 Old World wine person. I still haven't figured out the menu, so I'll be fretting over that for the next few days, and asking for your advice. Any big, oaky wine lovers out there?

[little ms foodie]

ah ha!! I finally guessed one correct! Welcome to the world of blogging Abra!

[jackal10]

You can bend Imagegullet to your will.

Upload your pictures as normal.
In the view frame do NOT click on the desired thumbnail, but right click and select properties. Copy the URL, which will be someting like "http://forums.egulle...135_25762.jpg".
Paste inside IMG tags, but remove the "tn_" to give
"http://forums.egulle..._135_25762.jpg", and hey presto


Tonights dinner: Steak and Kidney (and smoked oyster) pudding in suet pastry

Edited by jackal10, 14 November 2005 - 03:12 PM.

[Abra]

Thanks, Jack. That doesn't work for me, although I've tried it several times today. I can post pictures from a non-eG server, and I guess I'll do that soon, if all else fails. It is better to host the images on eG, so they're preserved for posterity, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Edited by Abra, 14 November 2005 - 03:34 PM.

[Smithy]

Thanks, Jack.  That doesn't work for me, although I've tried it several times today.  I can post pictures from a non-eG server, and I guess I'll do that soon, if all else fails.  It is better to host the images on eG, so they're preserved for posterity, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

The other reason it's good to post photos to ImageGullet is that some firewalls refuse access to some web sites. Case in point: my computer's firewall won't allow me to connect to anything at Geocities. But you're right: ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Abra]

But boring technical details aside, c'mon, y'all. What dinner shall I make tomorrow? French or Dutch?

[Jake]

French or Dutch!?! Nothing like starting off the blog with a difficult question. I've been following both threads and I want it all!

Seriously, just based on what I'm craving now, I'd vote for French. Of course, if you slipped in some of Klary's speculaas for dessert that would be yummy....

Looking forward to the blog, Abra.

[tamiam]

Hi Abra. Glad to see that you are blogging and cheffing again. And really putting in the road miles too. You must have superpowers that let you cook creatively and well, plus post while driving. Looking forward to sharing your week.

[Smithy]

Oh dear oh dear, what a choice! Both French and Dutch sound good, particularly in light of the current threads. Could you, er, do a bit of both and claim it's a Belgian meal?

[tejon]

One vote for Dutch - that thread has me drooling! I made the braised beef and it was the perfect comfort food .

[Safran]

The Dutch theme looks wonderful, but seeing that Paula is the guest this week, why not do French??