little ms foodie

really great blog alinka thank you so much!!

Great pictures Ken! Although I am from the school of "only eat oysters with months with an R in them"! I think that Elliot's being on the pier gets more than it's fair share of tourists- we go to the Brooklyn for our oyster fix. Maybe will have to try Elliott's again when the tourist season dies down!!!

Thanks all, with RHR being closed on the days we are there (SAT SUN) that isn't an option for us. Will check into the others for ressies!

Thanks johnsmith, there is a very nice website also which shows sample menus, etc: GR Restaurants I was looking at the first one but I think they are only open Mon thru Fri. We will be there Sat and Sunday. Is that pretty normal in London for some restaurants to be closed on Sat?

My husband and I will be in London for 2 days in mid September after being in Italy for a few weeks before heading home to Seattle. Well before the tv hype I have wanted to dine at one of Ramsay's restaurants so am now checking them out. But there are quite a few and I'm not familiar with the differences. locations, cuisine, etc. Can any of you give me a primer and also suggest which ones are your favorite and why? Thank you so much!

Thank you Alinka!! that shop looks just like the ones we frequented. Great photos of everything! I noticed that the Italian place had items listed in Russian and English, is this for tourists or is that becoming more common in general do you think? The weather just looks great! and you mentioned your mom, she is living in Moscow also? sorry if I missed that somewhere.

Jeez, even the Russian cities are referred to with diminuitives? ← I'm sorry, is this rude to do? When we were there the locals referred to the city as Peter so I thought it was common??? I certainly didn't mean to offend. ← Sorry, I should have added a wink to my post. Alinka was commenting upthread on the widespread use of diminuitives in Russian, and I noticed your use of the word Russians themselves use to refer to the city I grew up calling Leningrad. Nice of them to give it back its original name. ← excellent! I thought that is what you were referring to but I wanted to check!

Jeez, even the Russian cities are referred to with diminuitives? ← I'm sorry, is this rude to do? When we were there the locals referred to the city as Peter so I thought it was common??? I certainly didn't mean to offend.

yes, that is what we were looking for! Isn't it strange that we never found any? Are they mainly sold off of the street carts or in shops? Now I have another question regarding the grocery stores. In Peter the small neighborhood shops were set up where all the grocery items were behind a counter and each counter was run by a different woman- you paid each one seperately. Is that just a step below the larger grocery store? Do you have that set up in Moscow also? Peter is beautiful Alinka, you and your husband should go for a weekend! Thanks again for answering all these questions and reporting so well on Moscow, it is so interesting! The only Russian word I learned was bap!

Alinka thank you for blogging this week! We were in St Petersberg for new years eve with friends just last year and found it to be so interesting- we all really want to go to Moscow now also! A question for you, and I know you said that obviously things are different all over Russia so you may not be able to answer but just in case. We looked all over for pirosky when we were in Peter but honestly never saw a shop- maybe they are sold in the carts? Anyway my real question is are they still a popular food in Russia? I've actuallly only seen them and eaten them here in Seattle! weird!!

I love tartines. Anyone been? ← We took some friends there for lunch yesterday, it is fantastic! wonderful tartines all about $6.50. beautiful tiny little room and Jean-Michel is the best host! They have some nice soups and desserts also. Wines by the glass, half and bottle as well as a good selection of nice liquor. Go go and have a tartine, i don't know anyone else doing them like this in seattle!

Just got back from the Olympic National forest area, we've been spending some time there lately. LOVE Hurricane Ridge! Amazing! You can drive up to the visitors center and then if you like take a short easy hike to the top. Easy to do from port angeles. Lake Crescent is beautiful! Haven't had a chance to stay at the lodge but I hear good things. We usually take the Kingston ferry to edmonds from that area and then an easy drive into seattle. If the weather is nice a drive up to Mt. Rainier and paradise is so pretty! I suggest exploring interesting neighborhoods in seattle- Ballard and Fremont are 2 of my favorites!

wow wow wow, looks like an amazing party!! good job and happy birthday! and bon voyage!

4 of us will be in Milan for just one night before heading to Cinque Terre. We want to go out for a really great casual dinner- thinking of a great osteria or the like. It will be my husbands first night in Italy and he loves rustic food from this region. we are staying near the Duomo and would love any advise on places to go for drinks before and after too!

thanks everyone, I've got the schmaltz in the fridge- should stay good for a while right? and will make something yummy with it next week!

my dishes would definately be either pasta or rice based but I could do a lot! I also always have a lot of cheese and salumi around, and snacks like pistacios and olives, those would be good for an anti pasta plate

The other day i made a batch of chicken stock and had let it set up overnight in the fridge so I could remove the fat easily- when I was taking the thick fat 'cap' off I wondered if this is what 'scmaltz' (sp) is?? should I be saving this and cooking with it or just trash it like I normally do?

OMG, that is so sad and scary! I can't believe you were all at home. so glad no one was hurt!

Dicks is no where near either of those other 2 burger joints I'd save your money unless you are drunk and it is late- very very late!

If you want to try some Seattle local norms I would throw in Tom Douglas' Palace Kitchen and also Lola, both right downtown. Matts in the Market is a wonderful local/fresh tiny restaurant in the market. Brasa has fabulous med inspired food. The Brooklyn if you want to belly up to the bar and eat your weight in oysters. Lark is my favorite, up on capital hill. and their new bar Licorous has really interesting bite and drink pairings. Union is always stellar and Salumi is a must for lunch!

just catching up on this thread, so glad that both doc and molto have had a chance to get to Schwa!

I'm a dude. ← I'm sooo sorry, I guess I always think only women are organized enough to throw this kind of a party! seriously my apologies! ← That is seriously funny! ok, I'm glad I wasn't the only one! I would definately do pitcher type things- margaritas on the rocks, capriahnas (sp), mojitos, stirred martinis. With the cucumber sorbet it is great with a grind of black pepper on top! FANTASTIC menu!

Hi Ann, you are going to do great!! I LOVE those dishes in the scone picture- beautiful!!

I also had this question but nobody answered it so I had to experiment! the green onion (not chive as a typed) had been in the freezer for a few weeks. I heated up the same pan I made them in with some butter and warmed them first. This morning I did a take on Chufi's melted cheese crepe and warmed them in the pan and them put in some melted swiss like a quesadilla- YUM! great out of the freezer and they didn't stick together at all.

the left over crepes from a few weeks ago were stored in the freezer. tonight I made duck confit crepes with the last of my confit. I also made a little red onion marmalade to go. served with with some french gnocchi with summer veggies