little ms foodie

Thanks for your report! I think I would have been a little disappointed in the "brief but charming appearances" i guess I thought they would be more actively participating/speaking/etc.

At Whole Paycheck there is a freezer next to the meat dept. and they have packaged veal and beef bones for soup and stock. Also turkey necks.

Jägerschnitzel veal/pork cutlet with mushrooms and peppers Wiener Schnitzel breaded veal/pork cutlet Zigeunerschnitzel cutlet with spicy sauce of red and green peppers

My friend and I saw kangaroo on a menu in a lodge in the Swiss Oberland region, very strange indeed. They described it as very exotic meat and were very proud to be serving it. I ordered fondue!

lala, the espresso I had yesterday at the one on 1st ave s. was from Cafe Vita. it was really good! I don't know if they made the biscotti in house ( chefpeon?) but it was orange flavored dipped in white chocolate. yum!!!

My girlfriend who grew up in Germany makes me schnitzel- seasoned flour, eggs, breadcrumbs- into a pan of hot oil. Serve with frites! yum

LOL! I'm honored!

4 of us had dinner at Dandelion last night. They were packed! we had made reservations but they only had a 7:45 available so we started the evening off at Sambar with cocktails. How can an evening possibly be bad if you start it that way? Waited about 5 mins for our table. The restaurant is warm, inviting, loud, jovial, and cute! It immediately reminded me of the set up at Le Pichet only here the open area against the wall is the kitchen instead of the bar. We decided to try the figs wrapped in procuitto appetizer, YUM! they were excellent, served on a bed of arugula drizzled with balsamic and evoo. 2 had the pork chop, one had the scallops on polenta and I had the rib eye with carmelized onions. All was excellent and very large in portion size. 2 bottles of Belle Pont Pinot Noir was very well priced at $34. My girlfriend and I shared the cheese plate for dessert- excellent cheeses and they even subbed out the blue for me and gave us extra tallegio. Glass of maderia. The boys had the molten chocolate cake which was good- not the best ever but excellent none the less, hubby had a glass of tawny port. We really liked the restaurant, food, service. In fact they had a little mini celebration after most had left, celebrating their 6 month anniversary. From the crowd and some obvious regulars I'd say another 6 months will come easily. My only *gripe* is that our table was between two others both with young children. This really isn't a kid place as it is so small. Don't get me wrong- I'm not against the kids, in fact our friends had theres at home with the sitter. The one child was really fussy (8:30pm) and they had his stroller pulled up between the tables which meant he was right next to me. They were trying everything to quiet him but he wasn't happy. I gave him the wine cork which pleased him for a bit but really this isn't my job. Not the restaurants fault....I just wish people would be a little more realistic when it comes to their small children in restaurants.

So did anyone go Julia's Last Meal last night? We really wanted to but we have a few dining splurges coming up so we had to pass. Very interested in hearing about the event though!

We make Ginger-ini's- macerate ginger in gin, make ginger-simple syrup, 2 parts gin, 1 part ginger syrup, 1 part lime juice mixed with muddled ice and macerated ginger. Strained into martini glasses. Happy Hour!

I agree about the prices mentioned, it always throws me when they order the bare bones and call it $150. Then I go and the bill is $300 and I haven't even ordered anything of an amazing vintage! But that Hedonist Dinner sounds amazing! Can you imagine??? Hold on, i'm trying!!

I had never heard of it but had a client meeting today and this is where he decided we should meet. 1st and Orcas- SODO area. I just had latte and a biscotti but the place was packed with soup and salad goers. I heard many people raving about the clam chowder. So whats the skinny? anyone been and if so how is it?

I love this recipe on epicurious for PAPPARDELLE IN LEMON CREAM SAUCE WITH ASPARAGUS AND SMOKED SALMON:

excellent looking lunch rachel, and is that ice water you had?! Good for you! idea for the Chicken, how about some easy egg noodles tossed in butter and a ton of chopped up herbs?

Last night I was going to try a new appetizer for an upcoming dinner party we are having, puff pastry with caviar. Sounds good hu? Well my grocery told me I could store the caviar jar in the freezer and me not knowing anything about caviar did it. Grrrr!! You are NOT suppose to put caviar in the freezer! But I had already made the pate choux and the egg/parsley mixture so I improvised: I added some finely chopped red onion to the mix, stuffed it into the profiteroles and dabbed a bit of creme fraiche on top. Served with chilled POP champagne. Dinner was easy peasy since we were watching the debates. Hand made pumpkin ravioli (but not made by my hand! we buy it at our local farmers market on Saturdays) with brown butter, sage and parm. And a merlot. Sorry my pictures aren't very good, I'm going to practice and get better! Now my spelling is another story, I wouldn't hold out for anything there!

More great posts Rachel! Great work! Mango's were my enemy for many years until this summer I saw some chefs on Today Show showing how to cut them. Now it is easy, but you have to be ok with how much it looks like you are wasting. They pointed out that if you put a mango on it end it will resemble an egg shape (pointing up and down). the entire center is that tough pithy part. Peel the mango with a veggie peeler, stand it on it's end like an egg, and cut off the flesh in large arc's or c shapes staying away from the core. You will get 2 thick sides and 2 thinner. Then dice. Does that make sense to anyone?? I'm not very good at writing things out but it works like magic. And I think I normally get about 3/4 c. with 1 mango. I love mango salsa! I add drained and rinsed black beans, queso fresco or blanco and the diced up orange pieces and serve with tortilla chips. It's a party staple at our house!!

John thanks for posting your pictures! My husband and I had lunch at Arzak in July and also took photos of each course but I haven't posted them. I also had the coffee veiled lamb....yum!!! But most of your dishes were different which is what I expect of a great restaurant. We had fabulous service, the gentleman who waited on us - I forget his name- was just wonderful. And we left with a signed menu which I thought was very nice. Thanks for bringing back great memories!!!

I haven't used it but there are little expensive jars sold at Met Market and also Williams Sonoma sells some too. What are you making???

Good morning Rachel! In our fridge a chicken takes 2 days to thaw (in the meat drawer). I have to always plan way in advance! With regard to prep time, are they maybe starting some of the cooking process while still chopping other things? I know I generally read thru the recipe then decide what needs to be done and started sauteeing, sweating, etc. and what I can be doing while things are cooking.... just a thought! looking forward to your tagine!

China Harbor???? WTF? hmmmm....

those sound great!! And cute!! Thanks for asking the question Kiliki and thanks for providing the answer sladeums!

I love love love barrio! Please say you will go there and order the table made guacamole and write down all the ingrediants for me. I forgot to do this and now I see pomegranates are coming around and I want to make it! Yes, they put pomegranate seeds in their guac!

I agree it's beautiful to look at. I've been poking around the website and I think it's really great. Really well done and very thoughtful.

just a head's up, Columbia City –This Wednesday, October13th University District: This Saturday, October 16th and November 13th. West Seattle: This Sunday, October 17th and November 14th. Kitchen Song Knife Sharpening will be open at the start of each Market and will stop taking knives one hour before the Market ends to ensure everyone’s knives are done by closing time. Prices range from $2 to $4.50 per knife. IMPORTANT: To bring your knives to market, wrap them in a thick layer of newspaper. Do NOT wrap them in plastic bags or in cloth towels.

I'm so glad you enjoyed your Seattle trip so much! You sound so enthusiastic, I love that!!! Murray is definately a staple to Seattle cocktails. He use to serve quite a few of us at Il Bistro under the market years ago and still has a following now at Zig Zag! It sounds like you really did Seattle proud!!! Great job