Special K

Oh, man! As soon as I get my hands on some, this butter is gonna be my favorite comfort food!

I don't (yet) have this one: http://www.bbqproshop.com/silicone-fish-spatula.html but I want it! I do have one very similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Outset-QT59-Stainless-Slotted-Spatula/dp/B000O5H5P4 and it's great on non-nonstick pans.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/11/2010-03-11_assault_on_salt_an_insult_chefs.html

Yep. Same thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishstick

Do make sure you remind the guys not to dump grease down the sink!

Here's the lineup for Part Un: http://www.yelp.com/events/seattle-dine-around-seattle-2010-part-un---march-1st-to-31st We rarely go out to eat (our entire entertainment budget is taken up by the opera ), so we won't be participating -- but what an impressive list!

Thanks. I'll try it. We love Seattle, too - it's a great place to live - and EAT!

Agreed, they're great! And apparently they aren't lined with BPA, as cans are. http://blog.greenpress.com/2010/02/can-we-be-bpa-free/

Goodness, how did I miss this topic? Roasted butternut squash! Roasted cauliflower! Eggs! Risotto! I've even used it in the no-knead bread (although it lost a lot of flavor in the baking). I always use it to season meats. I truffle salt!

Thanks, Mano! I just read this aloud to my husband - we both got a much-needed laugh out of it. K

I just bought some here in Seattle last week (PCC market in Fremont). Haven't tried it yet - thanks for reminding me.

I have just a few minutes to post this (it's parent night here at school), but I just wanted to post a quick note about how much we enjoyed this place. We've passed it for years (it's just a few blocks from the school) and never thought much about it, but the other day I read a very good review of the place in the Ballard weekly newspaper http://www.ballardnewstribune.com/2010/01/16/features/ballard-food-police-meatballs-are-calling-pasta-bella , so we decided to try it tonight. Wonderful food, wonderful service, and just an all-around great experience. I recommend it whole-heartedly. I'm definitely going back. http://www.pastabellaseattle.com/

So, this is probably going to get me kicked out of the Society, but here goes: May I call it lasagne if I use thinly sliced zucchini or eggplant? I press as much liquid out of the slices as possible, and grill them lightly before assembling the dish. (I use a bolognese sauce and spinach and ricotta.) Nah, I guess if the noodles are the lasagne, as slkinsey says, then my dish would have to be called Faux Lasagne (or maybe "Zuchini Sottilmente Affettato al forno"). It's not the same as with noodles, of course, but I'm trying to stay away from starchy foods right now. It's pretty good!

You must have been very, verygood in a past life!

One tiny quibble: both times I've been in Savour, I've been helped by the same clerk. Both times, she said, "You'll have to come back in and tell me how that tastes." Now, wouldn't you think you should taste your products yourself before you sell them? I'm sure the owner does, but shouldn't her clerks, too? If I were clerking in a store like this, you'd better believe I'd taste everything in the inventory! (Of course, that wouldn't necessarily be only for altruistic purposes ) All in all, though, I'm pleased with this shop. It looks like it's going to be a success. I hope so.

I went by today, after emailing Holly (the owner) yesterday about the truffle salt. I also gave her my list, and she emailed back, saying they were working on their second jamon iberico(and would be getting more) and now carry truffle butter and Madagascar vanilla bean paste as well. I didn't see the iberico today, but I got some serrano and the truffle butter. (I was in a tearing hurry, and I forgot the VBP, dang it.) I can't wait to get home alone with that truffle butter! On my way there I stopped at the new QFC and got a different brand of truffle salt - Fusion, it is, Artisan Salt Company, and at about $15 a jar it's every bit as good as the more expensive stuff I mentioned above, and it comes in a nicer jar (plastic rather than glass - good for butterfingers in the kitchen - and with a shaker top, which I've wished for). I meant to recommend it to Holly, because I didn't see it at Savour (also didn't see the cheaper stuff I bought there - I guess they had other complaints). I love giving this salt, with bread, etc., to new homeowners, and I'm helping a friend move this weekend. The clerk at QFC said they also have truffle oil, but I've been burned by "truffle oil" before. I think he said they also have truffle paste, and actual truffles, but I had to fly to get to Savour (lunch hour). I guess another trip is in order! Oh, yes, definitely. One day I will O.D. on truffles!

Yes, thank you for reminding me - I did stop in shortly after they opened, but I only looked, didn't shop because I had no time. I need to go back. I really like the QFC up on Holman Road. I went there only after the one by Value Village (the one that's going to become Value Village in another week or two) closed. It's great, but two bus rides away from work. The one around the corner from Savour I can walk to.

Here's another note from my friend in Tampa: "We went to a restaurant in Safety Harbor called Cello’s and it was fantastic. It’s in a little concrete block house just off Main Street that’s been converted into a restaurant. The food was fabulous and the wait staff was very entertaining. They read the menu out loud in very theatrical tones, which was very amusing. Another table of diners broke out into song (God Bless America) and everyone in the restaurant chimed in, which was a lot of fun. It’s cash only and BYOB, so you have to bring your own libations. They must not have a liquor license. I’d highly recommend it to your eGullet friends if they make it anywhere near Safety Harbor." Hope it's not too late.

Ooh, thanks for the tip! I happen to have a list of goodies I've been meaning to show to them. Now I have a VERY good reason to stop by soon! I also want to tell them that the cheaper brand of truffle salt(about $11 I think) they carry, which is very dark and looked like it was just chock-full of truffles, doesn't hold a candle to the more expensive Casina Rossa Truffle & Salt (around $19), which they also have. They didn't know - they didn't have either open in the store. But as soon as I opened the cheaper jar and *didn't* smell the wonderful aroma that hits me when open the Casina Rossa jar, I knew. Nuthin', just nuthin'. Didn't taste (or smell) like truffles; didn't even taste like salt! I don't know what it was. I tossed it and went to the Ballard Town 'n Country Market and got the good stuff (a little cheaper there than at Savour - sorry, but although I will spend $$$ on good ingredients, I still need to count the pennies). I probably could have returned it, but it wasn't their fault - and I did tell them when I bought it that I'd report back. Some of the things on my list that I didn't see that first trip there are: Urbani truffle paste, Gypress Grove truffle goat cheese (yes, I am addicted to all things truffle!), Duck confit (I think that Metro Mkt and De Laurenti carry it, but Ballard (where I work) is much handier for me), carnaroli rice, duck eggs . . . You're right, Ballard is becoming a very nice place to be a serious eater! OT a bit (sorry): I'm not too thrilled with the new Whole Foods nearby in Interbay, though. It's just too small to have the full range of goodies. I really only go to WF for specialty, hard-to-find items (including all of the above), and those seem to be the ones they cut out for lack of space. I haven't seen much there that I can't get at the QFC or Thriftway in Magnolia (where I live). I did have a nice thing happen there, though - the clerk dropped my jar of saffron threads and it broke into a million pieces. As he was cleaning up while his co-worker went back for another jar, he handed over the individual little plastic containers that were inside the jar - they were fine, but he said they'd just have to throw them away, so did I want 'em? Why, sure! (I did buy the new bottle the coworker fetched, too). Edetid ta korekt spelin erers.

Yes, I know, John. The letter would have to be written very carefully. But as someone who waits impatiently every week to read rebuttals from authors in the weekly book reviews magazines in the NYT and the London Times, I know that they can be written successfully. In fact, they often start out with the disclosure that the reviewer who panned the book has a vested interest in seeing the book fail. And Don Giovanni did ask what we would do.

"Clean as you go." It's a pretty good philosphy of life in general, I've found. Don't leave messes for somebody else to clean up.

Yeah, what's with these cooks who just rub a clove of garlic onto the cut slices and call that garlic bread?? When I was a kid making the garlic bread was my job on Friday nights. Mom would make a batch of spaghetti sauce and our babysitter (and later my older brother) would cook up the spaghetti for us to eat while the folks went out to dinner (Dad disliked spaghetti, but we kids loved it). Mom would slice the loaf into individual pieces, keeping the bottom crust attached as zoe b describes, and then I'd put a pat of butter and a shake of garlic powder (mom never used anything but that - no actual garlic cloves in our house!) between each slice and wrap the loaf in the foil and the sitter would warm it up in the oven to serve with the spaghetti (and a salad, if the she was really conscientious). Delicious! I don't eat bread any more, either, but thanks for that nice memory. Edited because I remembered that Mom actually sliced the bread for me; I was only allowed to use the butter knife then.)

At our TJ's a couple of weeks ago (in the new Ballard/Seattle store) I found "Dover Sole Fillet(s), wild caught" - I know there are probably not real Dover sole fillets, since they appear to have been caught in Monrovia, CA, but daaayum!!! they were good!! I just did a simple sole meuniere (and isn't it odd that there's no recipe for that in MTAOFC??) and we were in heaven. Went back yesterday to stock up, and hey! Since it was the day after Valentine's day they were giving away bouquets of a dozen red roses. Coincidentally, yesterday happened to be hubby's birthday, so that was pretty darned cool! (Guess what we had for dinner?) Edited because the color "red" has no "a" in it. Sheesh.

Here is what my friend had so say: "Here are some restaurants they may want to check out: Bern’s (very pricey steak house, is a legend around here, looks like a French bordello inside, but the food is fabulous) Mise en Place (very good French restaurant) Flemings Steak House Mitchell’s Fish Market (very good!) Malio’s (another Tampa legend, steak is specialty) Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine (people rave about it, www.roysrestaurant.com) Bella’s Italian Café (One of my all time favorite restaurants. Their Insalata Mista salad is wonderful.) Charley’s Aged Steaks and Market Fresh Fish (I’ve never eaten there, but it’s my niece’s favorite restaurant) The Palm (www.thepalm.com is at Westshore Mall, and so is Mitchell’s) That’s a good start. Most of them are somewhat pricey, but sometimes you’ve got to pay for good food. Hope that helps. If I can think of any more, I’ll let you know." I don't know if these are "chef/market driven" but I hope this helps.

I don't know if you could prove criminal malice, but if I were you I certainly would write a letter to the editor of the journal or paper where this review was published, and rebut it. You could point out that you have a history with this reviewer and that you suspect s/he was being malicious and unethical. You could also point out the other, favorable review(s) of this wine. Do it as civilly as you can; keep to the moral high ground. Let the readers, who will now have both sides of the story, decide for themselves.