tighe

I don't drink white zin by itself, but it was demonstrated to me at a wine/food interaction seminar that it is an excellent match for pepper steak. Really, try it.

While I agree with mamster's premise that absolutely anyone can become a competent cook with a little practice and the right learning resources, I'm a firm believer that natural talent plays a large roll in really good cooking. [WARNING: sports analogy coming] I could memorize Tiger Woods' book on playing golf, get hours of personal instruction from him and/or his coach, practice until by hands bled for years and never be anything like the player he is, although I might be a better than average amateur. My mother is probably the most naturally talented cook I've ever known. I can count on my hands the number of times I saw her use a recipe or cookbook when I was growing up and she never had any real training (she certainly didn't learn it from my grandmother!), but she had an uncanny ability to take whatever random selection of ingredients were available and make something really, really good out of them.

Obviously UPN made a complete hash of their attempt to import the Iron Chef concept to this country, but I think it could work if done well. I thought the cooking done on the abortive American Iron Chef was actually more interesting than much of what was done on the original. What are your thoughts on the possiblity of an American version?

Scrat and I checked out the International Food Bazaar yesterday. They have an amazing selection of Indian, Pakistani and Middle Eastern products, both raw ingredients and pre-made sauces, snacks, etc. They also have some interesting European specialty items and are planning on adding more. Prices seem very reasonable, particularly on spices.

I believe there are two strains, because some have Italian accents.... YYG is right, they do a great job with special events. My friend had his rehearsal dinner was there and it was fantastic, plus the service is a lot better at regular service.

The only time I ate at The Cloud Room was on the night of my high school prom. Given how that evening turned out, I wasn't anxious to relive the experience. It is a cool, funky place though...

Not within walking distance, but Willows Lodge is a short ways away.

Is that a good "*$&%*#@^#%!!!!" or a bad "*$&%*#@^#%!!!!", and in regards to what or whom???

I had lunch at La Spiga and found out the Mario Battali is in town filming an episode of Molto Mario that will feature, in part, La Spiga. Apparently they filmed most of the dinner service last night and will be in the retaurant tomorrow from 8-11 am, to do some in-kitchen work. I'm contemplating going over for an early lunch to see if I can catch Mario on his way out.

Nuh-uh, I saw him first.....

Maybe I'm actually among the undead now. A few people this weekend said I looked a little pale....

I saw Matt (of Matt's in the Market) having lunch at La Spiga, I even had a glass of wine with him. I'm told that Pietro (of La Spiga) eats at Matt's pretty regularly as well....

I was doing some Seattle-area sushi-related surfing today and came accross this web site: SushiSeattle As a source for ratings, it suffers from the same problems as any user-rating based site, but I think its a good reference on the different places around town. BTW, if you find yourself in downtown Des Moines and are considering THE sushi place (called Sushi Saki, and something else), AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

This sounds really cool, unfortunately I have at least two conflicts that evening....

Yes, you would be a particularly valuable addition to the PNW group if you can smoke meats, make fabulous desserts AND mix killer cocktails. We're about to lose some of our core competencies to points East....

Welcome! If you've read some of the PNW threads, you'll see that opinions are not something we're short on nor is the willingness to share them. (Of course this brings to mind the old saying about what opinions are like.... ) Look forward to meeting you at an upcoming event.

Yes, that was indeed us. Next time we're at one of these things, I'm just going to stand up and yell, "will the real SeAAttle please stand up!" So you were the glass ringers? I think I remember what you looked like.

A) Does Laurie know that you talk about her like that publicly?? B) I admit that there appears to be conflicting information about this out there, but there's nothing like a good ol' biology throw down. According to this web page, which is consistent with what we were told the other evening, cipollini is genus muscari, the bulb of the grape hyacinth, not genus allium to which onions belong. Further, from the Food Lover's Companion Bring it!

Along with the Ramseys, scrat and I enjoyed another wine dinner at Brasserie Margaux last Sunday. In my opinion, neither the food nor wine reached the heights of the Rhone Valley dinner, but both were still quite good and, yet again, the pairings were remarkable. We were shown to a nicely set table. For whatever reason, I particularly like the X-shaped arrangement of the wine glasses. Soppressata Sausage with Marinated White Beans and Arugula Argiolas Costamolino - Sardegna 2001 A 'flower' of thinly sliced soppresata filled with chopped arugula, propped up by marinated white beans in a radicchio cup. A very balanced combination of flavors, paired with an interesting, fairly grassy, white wine that cut the fattiness of the sausage well. Orecchietti with Eggplant Caponata and shaved Pecorino Siciliana Morgante Nero D’Avola – Sicilia 2001 Both my favorite dish and my favorite wine of the evening. If you are a sauce minimalist with your pasta, this one was for you. Smoky roasted eggplant, accented with bits of sautéed bacon and capers. The chef sought out Sicilian pecorino to be true to the origins of the dish and the wine. This was a profound wine with nice earthiness. Apparently it is available at Esquin for less than $10/bottle. Grilled Octopus with Caramelized Cipollini, Spring Greens and a Balsamic Dressing Pichierri Primotivo di Manduria 2001 A somewhat disappointing dish, as the octopus didn't have a lot of flavor or a very satisfying texture. The cipollini were the best part of the dish and we learned that they are actually not related to onions, who knew? Although the wine was Zinfandel (or was it Grenache?) based, it struck me as very much like a pinot noir in flavor and weight. Pan Roasted Veal Chop stuffed with Smoked Mozzarella, Grilled Polenta, Portobello Mushroom Ragout and Fava Beans Taurino Salice Salentino Riserva - Puglia 1999 A huge veal chop that was made by the pepper seasoning on the outside and the smoked mozzarella inside. I don't care for polenta, but I devoured this one; I don't even want to know how much butter was in it. Maybe because of its young age, this was a very assertive wine that I enjoyed, but scrat couldn't stand. Lemon Cannoli – Almond-Laced Pastry Shell filled with an Italian Lemon Cream Ricotta Colosi Malvasia Della Lipari - Sicilia 2000 Unlike any cannoli I've ever had, this would be a hit with the "I don't want my dessert to be sweet" crowd. The shell was tuile, filled with a very lemony, but not at all sweet, ricotta. A decent dessert wine, but not a good as other Italians I've had, such as Vin Santo or Passito di Pantelleria. One general comment is that there was distinctly less sauce involved in this meal than in others I've had at BM. I hope that was just a function of the cuisine being prepared; I would hate to think that Chris actually took that drivel from the Stranger to heart. After dinner we had a nice conversation with Arnie Milan about all things wine. He just knows a tremendous amount about the wine itself and its historical context, and has incredible passion for it. Sommelier Arnie Milan & Chef Chris Zarkades Chef Chris Zarkades & his kitchen crew Edited multiple times because I desperately need an editor....

Don't you mean 'Morel' of the story? In any case, its the same reason that you haven't tried Brasserie Margaux despite me gushing over their crappy sauces for at least six months now....

I would enthusiastically second Locanda dell'Amorosa both as a dining destination and a beautiful place to stay.

If its available in your part of the country, the Snoqualmie Syrah is a total steal at $8-$9/per.

Exacto knife? Again, this isn't something I've ever done, so don't quote me, but again, I think it would take a circular saw, router or some such thing with a diamond tipped blade attached and a constant flow of water....

Depends on how thick it is, but if its relatively thin and you own a sledge hammer, yes....

I believe that you can cut stone yourself if you rent a wet saw from some place like Home Depot and use a diamond tipped blade. Trying to do it using saws made for wood would be a serious mistake.