lala

I understand that we're getting close to the season. Has anyone seen any at a store/fishmonger? I've never cooked one, but have eaten them with relish (so to speak...). I'd like to try my hand at frying up a few this year. Thanks for any sightings (with price, please!)

It's funny, I can't think of anything that I miss from living where I have in America. But that was the Midwest and SF, and there ain't nothing I can't get as good, or better here. But having lived in London, I do miss (with a passion), Neals Yard in Covent Garden. Now, I know, their cheeses are available here, but what some of you have been saying about regional foods being special in their regions holds true for their cheeses. The cheeses they send to the States are not handled as well, so simply aren't as good. (I won't accuse them of sending us inferior cheeses! ) I also miss the incredible array of fruits and veggies available in London, at almost any store or market. The EU and Mediterranean gives them a stunning availability of gorgeous foodstuffs, at remarkable prices. I can't afford a Passionfruit here ($2.00 per!), but at any store, or market stall in London, I could buy them by the bagful. The Spanish Oranges were amazing, and the French fraises du bois could make you weep...

What the others have said about going through the market and making up a basket is perfect. For max flavor, no fat, get a few half bottles of flavored vinegars from Sotto Voce. They're great on salads, and with a tiny bit of oil, to marinate meats and fish. I find the flavor and quality to be superior to mass produced flavored vinegars. Their oils are terrific, but may not be on her diet? I second Tighe's suggestion of NW wines. Pike & Western has a great selection, and the staff is very knowedgable and able to help. When you say they have enough smoked salmon, do they have the hot smoked that is traditional here? If not, it could make an interesting comparison for them. A gift that I often give is a couple of fresh cooked crabs and smoked salmon from Jacks. Always a hit! For jammy things, there are quite a few good producers. The Canterbury Farms Blueberry syrup and jam is lovely. And some Pepper jelly from the place by the footbridge from the Market Garage is great. Nonfat, lots of flavor, and can be used in many ways. Oh, and World Spice merchants sells the best herbs and spices. If she's into cooking, they beat the pants off what you can get at the supermarket, and they make spice blends, too. And Tom Douglas makes a line of Rubs for all kinds of meat and fish. Again, lowfat, max flavor!

Cost Plus usually carries German brand marzipans.

Dungies can freeze fairly well, and of course the final quality also depends on the handling before, and during it's frozen state. I will say that I have noted that many of the Dungies sold at the Pike Place Market have been frozen. It was one of those 'Damn, I wish I had my camera' moments. A couple of summers ago, I was in the Market very early, and saw a pallet of clearly marked FROZEN crabs in front of one of the seafood vendors. I was horrified. I don't know who they're selling to, but they've been doing it for a long time, with success. So maybe, if that's all you can get, frozen Dungies may not be so bad. Maybe better than no Dungies at all.

It's common in catering to make the tea sandwiches the day before. They're then stored, covered with a barely damp towel/paper towel, then tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. The moisture in the towel prevents the bread from drying out. While this is a good technique, you should note that this is best done with meat/cheese/cream cheese fillings (sturdy, without an excess of moisture). Any sandwich made with a vegetable next to the bread (tomato, cucumber, etc) will turn soggy overnight. And any lettuce will usually wilt overnight in a sandwich.

I was questioning the insult.

Excuse Me?

Yep, 'For Sale' sign out there. Go grab it, kiliki!

Hot dog and ice cream shack at the beach. Nothin' like a good chili dog at the beach...

Steve, when you do figure it out, would you please post? You've shot down just about every idea/resource posted here, so it would be interesting to see how you redefine Pacific NW cooking.

No, that's a different issue. For me, too much salad dressing ruins the salad. It's impossible to remove, unless one wants to squeegee each leaf. Too much sauce (if there is any) on an entree is easier to deal with. But then, entree sauces are a whole different animal from salad dressings. Entree sauces are usually eagerly sopped up with the bread and enjoyed. However, if a diner requests anything on the side, I don't think it should be a huge issue for the kitchen. People have dietary issues, and just plain quirks, but they're getting out there and supporting restaurants, which can only be a good thing, right?

I have lived and worked in England at various times in my life, and without exception, have never seen a hand-washed dish rinsed with clean running water, even when mixer taps were used. This has held true in both private homes, and a very posh country hotel. The city restaurants where I worked had dishwashers.

If the dish matches the description, with all ingredients present and accounted for, and prepared well, and I don't like it, then I shouldn't have ordered it, and it's my problem. If the dish doesn't match the description, is missing ingredients, or is out of whack (say, too vinegary, or an offensive amount of rosemary), it goes back. As an example, I ordered a 'Seafood Melange' (horrible name, I know) in Mendocino, and one of the ingredients, Capers was the predominant flavor in the dish. When I seperated the capers from the seafood, there was a good half cup of them! Now, capers are just fine in their place, but when the volume is as much as the main ingredient, and it's all I can taste, it's a problem. I sent it back, and they nicely brought out a fresh version of the entree, with appropriate caper volume, and it was quite nice.

Zillah, in a perfect world, every cook would be as conciencious as you in making good salads. Unfortunatley, it's not a perfect world. I always give the benefit of the doubt and order the salad as is when I go to a new place. If I go back, and order the dressing on the side, that means that there was too much dressing the first time (there's not much hope in asking for the right amount of dressing to be put on the salad if it's their habit to overdress). I eat salad to get my veggies, and there's just no point if it's doused in fat and sugar.

I third (or is it fourth) the pastry cafe. I have yet to find a decent brownie in this town. Something like Toy Boat in California in SF is my idea of a good time. A vast array of home baked treats, homemade ice cream, selections of teas and coffees, interesting sodas. Something for everyone. On the flip side, an elegant patisserie would be lovely, too.

Damn. All this talk of planked and hot smoked salmon. I have to go to Jack's now and get me some...

10% bleach solution. Works every time to kill those bacteria. Keep it in a spray bottle, spritz on the plastic board. Easy peasy.

Personally, Malarkey, I agree. It seemed like Steve was struggling to define his idea of Pac NW cuisine, for this historic Pac NW building in which he will be cooking, and had already decided that Asian flavors did not have a place in his lexicon. I've seen Pac NW referred to in both the more 'Natural' (in terms of local ingredients and cooking methods), as well as incorporating Asian influences. My personal definition does include Asian flavors used in the simple NW cooking style, while his does not: "Lutefisk pho and spicy thai salmon don't grab me. Fusion sucks." "I mean, Chinese, Vietnames, Japanese, Norwegiean and particularly Thai. The all represent a particular culture that was transplanted here, and has in every way remained separate and distinct, unto itself. They may be fine representations of where they originated, but they don't say "Northwest" to me. And trying to cross the boundaries and meld these cuisines has always seems silly to me. I know, lots of chefs out there are trying to do it, with varying degrees of sucess, but I've just never been a fan of that style. It's just cheap novelty that gets attention and the dies and goes away." I feel that he's limiting himself, but tried to help him define Pac NW cuisine within his own limits. Maybe I did not succeed. I quote myself: "Maybe that should be more accurately referred to as 'Pacific Rim' cuisine, and ignored, if you wish to focus solely on Pacific NW food." Again, personally, I mix it all up, feeling no reason to limit the possibilities. I had a delicious Ginger glazed Planked Salmon at Chandlers yesterday, which nicely merged traditional Pacific NW and Pacific Rim!

It's so hard to read reveiws like this when I'm chewing my way through my healthy salad at lunch... Schneier, those wine poached plums intrigue me. Do you remember the details on these? What kind of plums? Were they whole, or cut? Skin on or off? What wine were they poached in?

I definately second Reesek's recc for the Pike Place Market. Be aware that the Market proper (shops, vendors) closes at 6:00, but the restaurants remain open for evening dining. If you can get down there during the day (before 10:00, preferably), it's a real slice of Seattle. You could breakfast at the Athenean (food so-so, but high in historic value, or at Lowell's. Etta's serves a very good breakfast on weekends. If you don't want to walk, there are plenty of busses that will take you downtown, close to the Market.

Steve, this thread has me very confused. While European descendents have only been in this area for what, 150-200 years, the area was populated well before that. The locals in past eras have enjoyed the natural bounty of seafood, nuts, berries, fowl and beasts on the hoof, most of which are (so far, and luckily) still available to us. When Saydee suggests Cedar Planked Salmon, and you shoot it down, you denigrate centuries of actual Pacific Northwest cooking. Why not see this dish as a starting point, and go from there? Immigrants reflect the Melting Pot here as much as anywhere else in the US, with an emphasis on Asians and their cuisine as well. (Along with micro-immigrant pockets such as those lutefisk eaters in Ballard ) Yes, there is some fusion, as Asians move here, and we travel to Asia, and assimilate those flavors into our own. Maybe that should be more accurately referred to as 'Pacific Rim' cuisine, and ignored, if you wish to focus solely on Pacific NW food. I really think that others have done an excellent job in defining NW cuisine. This is a young area, in terms of non-native inhabitants, so maybe it's just not as developed as you wish, or maybe you wish it was a more complicated style, so it would be more of a challenge in the kitchen. Pacific NW cooking, to me, is to use the local ingredients in a simple, straightforward way, as has been amply illustrated by others here. Steve, if you're going to take the reins and run with this, more power to you. It would be great fun to see how you choose to elevate our local cuisine! Can you tell us where this restaurant is? If you don't want to make it public, would you please PM me? I'm really curious!

Ok, how about this one: how to cook a whole 4-6 pound wild salmon? I like the salt crust idea, and I've had it done with an onion stuffing? Any suggestions? I like salmon, but the prices here in Seattle are off the wall. But I can get the 4-6#'er for a reasonable price. I intend to cook it, eat some, and freeze the rest for later.

I prefer to know the dessert options before I order. That way, I can structure my meal to accommodate it, or not. Like last night, I knew I was going to have the oozy gooey chocolate cake, so I had a light dinner. The worst thing, however, is a boring dessert menu. A local steak house I've been to a couple of times has terrific meals, but they're heavy (well, it is a steak house, right?). And their desserts are cheesecakes and chocolate cake. Bad choices.

While we ate quite well in Ann Arbor (an oasis of urbanity in the Midwest), we were subjected to more typical Midwestern food when we visited relatives in Minnesota. One grandma made a specialty of serving a variety of pickled vegetables and burnt meat. The other, on a farm, served foods picked/killed that day (horrible memories of being handed the ax when I was six and being told to go out and get the chicken for dinner!). There was, of course the basement pantry full of preserves. The meal that I really remember was when I visited my Grandpa for his birthday about 5 years ago. His friends made dinner for us - jello salad, steak with corn pudding, and store bought chocolate cake. Being fancy, the coffee was served with 'whipped cream' on top, which was really Cool Whip. Those chemicals just don't melt. These were fantastic people, and this was just the way they ate.