lala

Ok, I see I need to give more info...I grew up in Southern Michigan (Ann Arbor), and also lived in SF for 7 years, but I'm not ruling out Northern CA, 'cause it's so damn beautiful (wineries, spas, cheeses...yep, that's a good time!)... and I'm absolutely willing to fly anywhere, then drive... great suggestions, so far...please keep 'em coming!

OH... I should say, I live in Washington state.... sorry... ...she says, munching on her local strawberries, after eating the copper river salmon with dungeness crab, anxiously awaiting the rainier cherries which should be arriving this week...

If you were to go anywhere in the US for a vacation with great food, where would you go, and why? I'm looking for an area to keep me amused for a week (you know, scenery, museums, etc.), with lots of lucious local specialties (not necessarily expensive, just good local stuff), in September. Where do you go for this type of vacation - city, country, seashore, it doesn't matter! (Excluding New Orleans - I've already got that one penciled in for next March!)

Do you remember what the culprit was? It was a delicious Comte (gruyere) at a high end grocery store. There were toothpicks in a container on the side, but my guess is someone didn't use them...

The most sick I've ever been in my life was after sampling at a local grocery store. I was out of commission for a week, and honestly thought I'd die. Never again!!!

Hello Raych77! You didn't say what family emergency, but I hope that all went well for you and yours. The others have mentioned excellent places, so I won't add to that, but I will reccommend that you avoid Seattle Center this weekend, as it's Folk Life, and we're swamped by crowds this weekend (I live in the area). If you're looking for a calm, nuturing time, stay away from here!!! It may be too late for this, but I suggest spending some time at the Market, just wandering around, sampling delicious treats, enjoying the flowers. It's a place I go, well, often, but it's a wonderful pick-me-up, life affirming kind of place if you've been stressed, or are down.

MMM.....Lamburger on foccacia with aioli and grilled onions..mmmm

While I appreciate a well designed website, I primarily look for the obvious information when I'm going to a restaurant site: Location, phone number, hours, and current menu with prices. As well as any pertinent info: dress code, etc. It really ticks me off when the menu is last season's, or they don't say where the place is. Here in Seattle, there's a promotion twice a year, "25 for 25" - that's 25 restaurants with special 3-4 course $25 menus for a month. I'm always amazed during this promotion at the old information on some of the participating restaurant sites - still having the spring menu up for the fall season is quite common. If a restaurant is going to have a web site, they need to keep it current. I, like many others work on a computer all day, so it's simple for me to click a few buttons to find the information that I want. Except for when the information isn't there! I just regard that as poor customer service, and it would take a special reccommendation for me to then go to that restaurant.

In the Uwajimaya flyer, they're advertising Copper River (type of fish unspecified) at $5.99/lb, whole fish. May 26 - June 1 http://www.uwajimaya.com/storespecials.html

FRANKS Reliably fresh produce, great prices, knowledgable staff. They'll play it your way, either selecting for you, or handing you a bag and letting you select your own. No nasty surprises when you get home, unlike Sosio's, who regularly put old/overripe produce in my bag until I got wise and stopped going there. In the summer, they'll sell their own fresh herbs and other family grown produce, and they really do try to place an emphasis on local produce in season (no California Asparagus, Washington only.) Franks is next to to Three Girls Bakery.

Aren't some chefs using powdered, dried zest as flavorings now? On fish and such? Could be a fun experiment

If you cut a vent, you fill from that hole, so there's no leaking.

Man, this was good! I decided to add some capers to the fennel and what a match that was! The two played off each other really well. And the wine cut right through the oil and fat in the salmon. The wine was a New Zealand Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough) 2003. It was such a lovely dinner that I think we'll do it again tonight. You're right, fennel and salmon is heaven! I like the fennel braised, with a little garlic, too. Hey, y'all, What other veggies/sides do you make to go with your salmon?

Uh, no it's not. I have never done this and have always made great pate a choux (I can't say this about absolutely everything, but I can about pate a choux). It can be very useful to make a vent in the pastry so it can dry out a bit better. Especially if the person is not as adept at making pate a choux as you are.

As I understand it, it's fairly normal for the first few reveiws on Amazon to be posted by freinds and family...

As others have said, it's highly individual how each person reacts to chemo, and it does depend on what other drugs they're taking to deal with the side effects. Both my Mom and best friend have gone through extensive chemo in the last two years, with differring side affects. (And my Dad had months of Radiation for his cancer last year, couldn't eat his usual oatmeal or veggies. It's been a fun few years.) Mom could eat most things, but had to cut back on her usual full flavorings (no garlic or lemon). Her teeth loosened due to the radiation (brain tumors), so it hurt to eat, so soft foods were good. My friend couldn't tolerate any strong flavors and aromas (goodbye fish!), and could not eat any vegetables. She's been off chemo for 5 months, and is just getting back into eating salads. Mom didn't lose her appetite, Friend did. As each person is individual, so is their reaction depending on what day it is in relation to the chemo treatment. Be prepared with bland foods on the day of, and a few days after. Each of them tolerated creamy, lightly sweet things like custard. Bread pudding is a good way to get bulk and protein. Jello. Ensure. Toast and warm milk. Creamy, blended soups (add tofu for protien). Chicken with no sauce. Rice, either with a little butter and salt and pepper, or with hot milk and sugar. Regular muffins without bran. Mashed potatoes. Then, it's just a matter of getting to know what works, and what doesn't. Ask for information from his doctor, or the cancer nutrition center to see what their particular treatment may do. I'm sorry that your friend is going through this, but it sounds like he has a good support system, including you. Please know that it may be rough not only for him, but for you (it's hell to watch someone you love go through this), so be sure to treat yourself well, too. Please post again if you have any more questions.

Oh, man, please reconsider! As others have pointed out, you're going to have your hands full, anyway. You want to be able to enjoy being the proud parent, not the sweaty chef! Everyone else will be enjoying themselves, and you'll miss many memories in the making that you will never experience again! Hiring a caterer will be money very well spent. I did wedding planning, and have seen too many times where the parents overloaded themselves with jobs to do, and simply didn't enjoy the day. Besides, how are you going to dance with the bride, with meat juice all over yourself?

There have got to be hundreds of sources on the web that tell how salmon know how to go home. It is genetics, smell, and memory combined. Just as a human baby gets to know it's mother in the womb, the salmon has it's place of birth imprinted in it's brain. Before hatcheries, this was easier, as the salmon was more genetically coded from the wild salmon parents. As well, the eggs dropped in the gravel stream beds pick up memory as they grow, as opposed to being bred in tanks. The also pick up sensory memories from the journey down the river to the sea, so they have known markers for the journey back. It's quite amazing, really. Problem is, since many of these fish are actually now caught in the ocean by commercial nets, they never make it back to the stream to lay the eggs, cutting another generation out of the loop, and threatening the true, wild salmon. I'm reading The Good Rain by Timothy Egan right now and here's a quote so that you have an idea of what salmon mean around here: " When you pull a fish like a king salmon out of the water, it overwhelms you: the size, the fight, the color, the connections between a landbound two-legger and a sea-touring giant. An outsider has trouble understanding this infatuation with salmon. They're just fish, or lox on a bagel. But then you go to a waterfall deep in British Columbia's high country and see leaping sockeyes, worn and battered, with long green snouts, struggling the final miles to their alpine lake. Now you think of them as athletes. You check the elevation, nearly 3,500 feet above sea level in the Chilko River, and they become alpinists. What kind of fish climbs a mountain? A Pacific salmon, of course. And then you slow-cook one in foil over a fire, the meat rich with the oil that provides the sustenance for the long spawning journey, and they are delicacies. The flesh, rosy orange, pulls away from filament-thin bones and needs nothing to enhance the taste."

Thanks...now what about the controversial (on this board, anyway!) Copper River?

Phooey! I didn't look at City Fish, as I was desperately trying to avoid the swirls of tourists. Interesting that they had them, I didn't see them at Jack's, or Pure Fish. Anyone know what the season is, so I can get back down there in time?

Ok, it's called Topo, and it's on the main street, across from the Duck's Brand. I'm assured that the food is delicious. If you try it, let us know what you think!

Does anyone know the fat content of various salmon? I was trying to find this online, and came up with a blank.

I couple of points here (I'm a former pastry chef). You need to cook your panade more. Turn the heat down, and stir it around until it is a ball. Keep stirring (and breaking up the ball, so all of the mixture gets in contact with the hot pan), on low heat until a thin layer of cooked flour adheres to the bottom of the pan. What you're doing it cooking the flour (gelatinizing the starch), thus combining the flour and liquid. It's more work, and I've broken dozens of spoons doing it, but I promise, it'll give you the results that you want. You can let it cool a little in the mixer bowl, but only a little. Don't add your eggs one at a time, mix up all your eggs in a bowl and ladle them in in 3 parts, each part just after the previous addition is mixed in. Scrape down the bowl only after each addition. The rise doesn't come from egg whites vs eggs, it's from the pre-cooked flour rising away from the moisture in the batter. Also, when it's baked, are you cutting a vent in the bottom of each pastry and letting them dry out in the turned off oven? Makes them nice and crispy. Hope this helps!

Sometimes I make a plan to spend a day sipping on a bottle of spendy champagne while watching movies... I consider that worth the money. It just depends on what you consider a worthwhile treat. I'm not a huge salmon fan, so I hope that someone else enjoys my allotment of Copper River Fishies. I DID notice that Dungies have gone up in price...

An ex-workmate of mine, a pro cook opened a small restaurant in Winthrop. You'd think I know the name, but I don't. It will be a small building, on the river, and the menu has an asian bent to it. He made excellent food at work, and I'd certainly try his place. I'll ask at work for the name...