reesek

i'm a big fan of ovio. i think they can suffer from over-ambition - and especially at the price point they're at, it's probably not ok - but i cut them some slack and order accordingly for a couple of reasons. 1) the staff and bartender are wonderful - i've never had bad service and that's so important to be able to count on. 1.5) wine mark-up is very reasonable 2) in west seattle, there are exactly 2 high end dining places - and zaffarano (where i had a good meal last week) doesn't do it for me...it feels cold and corporate in comparison to ovio. i think the kitchen can be uneven - and i've had better meals during the week than on busy weekends - i bet the bite had a lot to do with kitchen fatigue. they can overreach sometimes - certain sauces/preparations overshadowing the main ingredient...but they can elevate average to sublime enough that it keeps me going back. give it another shot lemony!

these are all brilliant - esp. the rachael ray ones. she also says whenever cutting something - "i'm just going to run my knife through these" i think it's an attempt to be breezy - cooking is easy and fun and simple - you don't even cut - just run your knife. <giggle> {reesek cocks remote like weapon and aims...} ina - i like ina, but have you ever noticed that almost all of her recipes are VERY decadent? and she knows it. typical ingredient list 2 sticks butter 12 egg yolks 2 cups sour cream 4 cups sugar then she'll dip in a spoon for a taste and say, "butter, sour cream and vanilla, how bad can that be?" (giggle) or "it's not for every day, but it's soo good" i guess i don't really believe her that it's not for her everyday when every show has her gilding the lily.

mmmm, nuts. cashews for eating. i have to be careful - not for allergies, but piggishness. nothing like a bowl of cashews to bring out the tasmasian devil in me. love all others except brazil (they always seem...stale in mixes) and black walnuts. also despise nuts in sweets, though they're ok in savory breads. one thing - hard to describe - and it happens to me with fruit too - apples, peaches and sometimes mangos though not berries or pears or bananas or citrus...untoasted nuts (especially almonds) make my lips swell - i'll get a small sore in my lip - almost like a keloid that will itch and swell. i have to be careful about eating nuts raw - once roasted, i seem to have no trouble. what's that all about and is it related to the fruit thing?

fire roasted. pan roasted.

we've had a few tomatoes already - a couple of orange and red ones. we have billions (ok, maybe millions) of tomato-lets. the tear drop and cherries are very green still...the slicing tomatoes are huge. i planted basil with my tomatoes and am stunned that it's still producing, and i'm not left with only limp huge bitter leaves. it's wonderful. i have to pick buds off them everyday though. i planted some cippolines and i can't stop myself from picking them, though they're not much bigger than very plump bottomed scallions. the flavor is absolutely extraordinary...sweet, almost garlicky. i wish i'd planted more. what should we be planting now for fall harvest? is it too late? i should post a pic so you all can see the woodstock that is my tomato box.

There's one on the corner of 5th and Olive (?) at the bottom of the Medical/Dental building (yes, I do have to walk by it on my way to Weight Watchers each Wednesday) and I think there is one in Fremont too. there is one in fremont...connected to the PCC building. i think their stuff is a little too buttery tasting. it tastes fresh, but less of cream, and more of butter - imo. maybe i should try it again...

kim - i've been curious about the menu at seesound- do you remember what was on it/what you had? thx

tarka, what's on your schedule for the weekend? i'm having such a ball reading your blog and eating chicago vicariously through you. i went to school there and will be back for a wedding in august...your blog solidified my resolve to eat at spring so thank you!

oh dear. don't tell me you're peeling the shrimp before buying them too. my fish guys are too smart for that...they keep their wares safely behind reese-glass.

batuta your menu sounds sooo good. and clever. and good. sounds like a wonderful party - please let us know how things evolve. were you planning to torch the mango? (brulee style) yum.

right. i should probably also use those shrimp shells for stock. i almost never do though. the funny thing is - i was unaware (until testing a recipe a week ago) that could even use the stems. i don't know where i got the (wrong) idea that shiitake stems were useless - even for soup, since i use other mushroom stems all the time. you know the bizarre thing? that asparagus story above outraged me. i don't know why that one sunk in - it's identical and yet...i'd never do that. oh damn it. sigh. ok. bring in the baptismal water - i'm saved.

reesek must have been shopping there a lot, pulling off those stems again. fortunately for the store - i more than make up for it in cheese and seafood consumption.

jason, what i was saying was that i both buy broken pieces and break pieces - i'm not kidding myself - it's a fact. i just don't go through a whole hand - i only ever need a couple of inches. again - it's not an issue of money - i don't want to buy what i'm not going to use. in the case of the mushrooms - i really have no excuse...but the ginger thing...someone else could use that! what about those huge shallots - sometimes there are several lobes...is it wrong to take just the big or small lobe? the work point is brilliant btw cakwalk.

this is fascinating. maybe it is rationalization but jason - i totally disagree that it's an issue of dollar value. i wouldn't take a unpaid for piece of candy...but i don't think it's at all wrong to take the piece of ginger you're going to use - i'll happily continue to tear off of a torn piece that sits in the bin...similarly - my grocer will cut me 1/2 a cabbage - what happens to other half? presumably someone buys it - but it might just shrivel up while spliffy is out back. maybe i can rationalize my mushroom thing because i'm happy to pay for what i'm going to use. in fact - if i could buy caps only for even more $ - i would. it's the waste that kills me. it's not like buying meat on the bone - that's more flavorful - and generally you have the option of just getting the meat. but those stems just kill me.

heat. i remember when we used to get pepperoni pizza and it was too spicy for me. i was 5. now i enjoy the flavors of all kinds of hot peppers. bitter foods. i used to think my mom was a nut for liking endive and other bitter greens - now i love them. always liked sour though. i used to suck on lemons when i was a kid.

Mayhaw said something in the express checkout thread about honesty when checking out in the self-service aisle. it reminded me of my own routine crime against grocery. i consider myself a relatively honest person, but i cheat at the grocery. i love shiitake mushrooms and (when they're not pre-packaged - no doubt done to discourage my kind!) i rip the stems off and only take the caps. if the stem is thin or staff is on top of me - i'll take the stem, but i think of it as a tiny personal defeat. i feel slight shame - but really - unless you're slow cooking or making soup, the stems are inedible and at $12.99 / lb i resent paying for them. flog me. or join me in the shopping cart to hell! edit: clarity

walt - those wonderful orange "cherries" are called sungolds. i love them too.

reading the review of vios in the weekly today reminded me of this thread. i also remember reading the tragic story in the PI about what this family has endured. sounds like it's not only a great place for families and food, but also the best kind of neighborhood place to support. rk

that is freaking gorgeous. ok - these are from the weekend. wolfert's roasted scallops with pancetta, chestnuts and mushrooms and her fruit terrine with almond cream

what is it with chicago? i moved in with a friend who had just given up. our apartment was infested...and we literally kept no food in that apartment. apparently roaches can live on coffee grounds. i used to boil my toothbrush. it was all over for me when one fell out of my hair onto a letter i was writing. i wrote the roaches an evicition notice, bought a ton of boric acid and never saw them again. until we moved out and took apart the waterbed the albino queen was quite a sight. oh - our apartment was right above a restaurant that we used to eat at all the time. ice cream and bibimbap.

we're about the same age walt - i remember this campaign vividly as well. you might want to try the lodi zin again - i think it's great with cheese. there's another zin like from there - called "seven deadly zins" that i like a lot too. though i hate lucky charms (irrational, but i got sick the one and only time i ever ate them) i am enjoying your blog...that sorbet sounds amazing. edit: finish sentences!

husky deli makes their own ice cream. i've only had the strawberry but it was gigglingly good. sweet creamy fresh berryliciousness.

great article - thanks for posting. was it just me or did the cascadia mention seem oddly negative? the food review was all positive except for allusions to "foundering" but the description of the room made me NOT want to go there. hmm...maybe it was the (accurate) word "corporate" i just feel a little bad for cascadia. it's been ominously empty the last few times i've been by and i guess i'm a little paranoid - it's just that if i had just read that article - knowing nothing of seattle - cascadia is the last place on bittman's list i'd go.

no problem! - just cut them up. each boccancini (little ball - horribly misspelled by me) can be sliced into discs...maybe 4-5 discs per ball. just slice them and use them the same way you would any other cheese.

you've just reminded me of a great moment in (my) history. this past april i had the tremendous fortune to find myself in paris for a few days. my boyfriend and i went to buddha bar for a drink. it was very loud, but after we ordered our ketel & tonics i'm positive (and so is rob) that the waitress repeated back our order - 2 ketel & tonic...so i was puzzled to see the dark glasses placed in front of us. and for the record - kahlua and tonic is as gross as it sounds. but it cracked us up. i drink ketel if i can get it because i feel infinitely better the next morning than if i drink call liquor.