kiliki

I love all these ideas for savory gift foods. It's so easy to get overloaded with sweets and baked goods during the holidays, so I've been trying to come up with non-sweet (or if sweet, non-perishable) items I can give.

Wow! I'm jealous. They are ripe when they are quite soft, almost squishy (the inside will have almost a jelly/pudding like consistancy). But, as I've never picked them off a tree I wonder if you want to leave them on the tree until they are that ripe, or maybe harvest them when they are slightly firmer and ripen them inside?

I know the place had its neighborhood fans but I wouldn't say you missed anything special.

Those linked threads have lots of great tips, but I'll second the suggestion above to make sure you use rice paper wrappers. Sometimes I have a hard time finding these, even in Asian groceries, while there are many brands of tapioca wrappers that are sold for the same purpose. However, tapioca wrappers have a terrible musty taste-rice is much better.

And I'm still grateful for all the additional suggestions, since I will want more. If anyone has good internet sources (I know, of course, that some of the stores mentioned above, like Pottery Barn, Macy's and Sur la Table have websites) I'd love to hear them as well. My own google searches came up with astounding ugly choices.

I've been thinking about your question since you posted it...it seems to me that the edges wouldn't get banged up by your guests-I mean, it's their bellies that will mostly be in contact with the edges, right?-but that the surface might get scratched, for example if someone drags a heavy ceramic plate across it. As you can see from the pictures, we have a bar area above the range that could be seating (though right now it's mostly just being used either as a buffet or as a dandy spot for putting prepped ingredients when I cook). I wouldn't hesitate to eat there. But, if you anticipate that you or your guests will be dragging or banging heavy dinnerware or pots on this surface, maybe soapstone wouldn't be the best.

That granita looks fantastic-like the real thing.

$4.98??? Holy cow. The Central, Ballard and Greenwood Markets always seem to have the same specials. I did try to double check this on the T & C website, but it appears to be down. Various venders at Pike Place have them for $6.99/lb. As an aside, if anyone here shops at Ballard or Greenwood Markets, you can save your receipts, turn them into the Phinney Neighborhood Center, and T&C Markets will donate a percentage of your total to the Phinney soup kitchen.

Mrs. Cook's had exactly the kind of linens I was looking for and I did buy a tablecloth and some napkins. But good lord, I need to learn to sew-$40 seems like a lot for a square of fabric, and that was the low end.

Thanks-I'll check those places out. That French store looks dangerous. Good thing I hardly ever make it over that way.

Thanks Moose! Just to make everything more confusing, I think soapstone can vary in hardness even when it's from the same place. This thread got me thinking about the fact that the stone on our counters and on the bar, which came from two different slabs but from the same source, have always felt a little different. They match, but the bar stone seemed...harder. Sure enough, I just went and tried to scratch both stones with my fingernail, underneath their overhangs, and while the counter stone scratches easily, the bar stone does not.

I'm looking for tablecloths in particular. Some kitchen stores, like City Kitchens, don't carry them at all, and some, like Sur La Table, don't carry very many. I see a few here and there at various gift or home stores, but I'm wondering if anyone can tip me off to stores that carry a particularly good/well-chosen selection?

I think you hit the nail on the head there-it depends on what you feel is acceptable, as well as your own personal definition of beauty. I look at the scratches as character, as evidence that the counters are broken in and used. I feel the same way about the fir floors in my house. They're 100 years old, scratched up, scuffed up, and pretty dinged up in places, but I think they're gorgeous and I'd never dream of replacing them. I will say, as a cavaet, the counters are still new-ish and it's possible I'll be singing a different song in 5 years. You never know.

Yes! Another one of my favorite things about it.

We just put one huge one in when we remodeled and it is SO NICE to be able to wash cookie sheets and stock pots without banging the sides of the sink and dripping water everywhere. It's big enough so that if I do have something in it there's still lots of room to drain pasta or rinse vegetables or whatever. It's probably my favorite thing about our new kitchen-I HATED having two smaller sinks. If I had the problem above (two people using the sink simultaneously) I'd have another sink put in an island, if there was room.

I'm not all that crazy about donuts, but I do really like Sophie's (on Eastlake), especially the cream-filled, chocolate topped kind. Sophie's fillings seem like a quality, homemade product, as opposed to those brightly colored, sickeningly sweet fililngs you see in most donuts.

I'd have to think that the people who buy Kraft "parmesan" cheese and the real thing are two entirely different groups, so it's hard to believe this could hurt Italian producers.

Thanks for the dumpling house recommendation. We went last night and had boiled dumplings, "little bit of everything" soup and hot and sour soup. I liked everthing we tried though the roast chicken and hot and sour dumpling soup at the next table looked liked better picks-I'll try those next time. Dinner for two was $15.

I've seen both at PCC over the years, though I haven't looked for these things lately. The mustard seeds have been in packets with the Indian food.

Terrasanct, I'm not a dim sum expert but I've repeatedly heard that Imperial Garden, in the Great Wall Mall in Tukwila, is the place to go.

The sweet baked goods at Piroshky Piroshky are along the lines of cinnamon rolls-they are yeasted doughs with things like apples and cinnamon. Not bad, but not in the league of Dahlia. The savory items are good for a cheap lunch.

Did you know your new neighborhood used to supply produce to the Pike Place Market? South Park History

How about a potato gatto? Lightly mashed potatoes, parmesan, mozzerella, salami topped with bread crumbs...with a glass of white wine and a salad, mmm. There's a nice version in Lynn Rosetto Kasper's Italian Country Cooking.

For all you soapstone junkies, here are some pics of our recently installed counters. They are a bit smudgy from their recent oiling. I included pictures that show how the counters look with a stainless undermount sink as was discussed on the sink thread. Notice how we've already stunk up the place with the old white microwave.

At Fran's, try a scoop (or at least a sample) of the lemon ice cream. It's out of this world. Some of my favorite items at Dahlia are the buttermilk loaf, the russian teacakes and the little lemon tarts. You really can't go wrong there or at Macrina. Not in the same league as these, but fun if you like donuts, is Top Pot donuts at 2124 5th Ave in Belltown (close to Dahlia). It's a much beloved spot by donut lovers.