daves

Thanks for the suggestions. We ended up doing the trip in a single long day midweek. Total time: 14 hours (8.5 hours driving). 411 miles. Very cool to go from Seattle weather to the passes (still snow on the side of the roads at Rainy, Washington, and Stevens passes) to the desert on the east side of the state. As noted, there wasn't much of a selection of food on the route. We ended up buying picnic supplies in a grocery store in Darrington, and then stopped at one of the lookouts on the way to Rainy summit. Lunch in the middle of the Cascades overlooking Diablo lake was pretty cool (both view-wise and temperature-wise). Dinner in Leavenworth was pretty good for our yearly ration of Bavarian food, although I'm still trying to find a place that serves potato-and-bread dumplings (Kartoffelkloesse?) instead of spaztle. We passed the Cascadian Farm stand just past the 530/20 interchange, but we decided not to pull over. They had quite a crowd there already, but we didn't want to stop again before lunch.

I'm planning a short roadtrip for a bunch of guys from Seattle to the North Cascade Highway, east through the Methow valley, south to Chelan, and then back to Seattle through Stevens Pass. This might be 2 days, but it is likely to be compressed into a single long day of lots of driving, eating, and looking at the Cascades. It will also be on a weekday if that makes a difference. We're looking for food or picnic ideas along that route. If we do this in the single day, we're thinking lunch will be somewhere Winthrop or Twisp, but we'd like to avoid the touristy thing (even though we're tourists). Dinner will probably be in Leavenworth. Any recommendations of interesting places along the route, and even places to avoid? Everyone is adventuous, everyone loves great food, and I'd prefer that we be chain- and touristy-free.

That is precisely, exactly what I would've suggested right off the bat (probably because it's an idea I have considered for a while, but haven't gotten to yet.) I bet they rock. ← I third this idea. I had kalua pork potstickers in Maui at Nick's Fishmarket (main restaurant at the Fairmont) last year, and they were excellent. Made extra large -- so great pork : dough ratio -- and with a pineapple/vinegar dipping sauce. If I remember right, they were fried/steamed in the pan rather than just steamed. I've been meaning to make it at home with my smoked pork, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Best part of the thermopen or any other fast-read thermometer: you can put it into the meat-under-scrutiny and it'll stablize quickly. You can then move it up and down to find the lowest temp. By doing this, you've effectively removed the "placement" issue. When cooking a roast (usually cylindrical shaped), I only have to insert near the middle and work it up/down once. If I'm cooking a bird, then I check both breasts for doneness. The dark meat gets checked when the white is done. I have to admit that before I started using the thermopen, my meat cooking was ok but a little random. And I hate hate hate overcooked meat (esp pork). A few years ago, my wife got me a thermopen for the bbq and I rarely overcook anything anymore. Steaks are perfectly MR. Pork (or what we call pork today) is still tasty and juicy. No dry turkey breasts. Is the 'pen expensive? Yes. Was it worth it in food goodness to pick it up? Yes. Could I have found or jury-rigged something to work just as well? Yes. But I'd rather be cooking/eating

If the other pork was great, then I would keep it simple. I would brine it, score the fat and skin so that it doesn't roll up as it cooks/crackles, and simple olive oil/pepper before going into a 350 oven with fat-side up. When it registers 140, turn on the broiler to finish up the skin. Take it out, remove the crackling, and rest with foil for 20 minutes. Certified by who? The pig?

Go for the bbq. Same sort of thing happen to us a few years ago, except it was a Kitchenaid oven and my wife was 8.5 months pregnant with our first, so her stress level was rather high. I volunteered me and the bbq for dinner duties. Prime rib was on the menu, and I was able to complete the whole thing on the grill. The rib was prepped the same as for the oven, and went into a low'n'slow bbq with 225* indirect heat. I used a bit of mesquite for a slight smoke flavor. After it reached 115*, I pulled it off and rested it while I brought the bbq up to 700*+. On it went for browning/charring the outside -- about 3 minutes per side. And then immediately carved. I think the time was about 20 minutes per pound for the initial 225* stage, 20 minutes for resting/stoking the fire, and then about 15 minutes more for the crust. So the roast I cooked (4 ribs, approx 8#) took just over 3 hours from the time it went on. The result was fabulous -- so much so that this has become the prep of choice for prime rib. Outside was very crusty; inside was med-rare and extremely uniform from the edge to the center. Best part: no thick gray layer of overdone meat near the outside. The only downside is that there is a minimum of pan juices to make a nice jus or gravy. I'm going to put a second pan under the roast with some veggies to catch more of the droppings this year to see if that'll work better. Spuds were also cooked on the bbq, and veggies on the stove. I can't remember what we had for dessert, but it was something she didn't need an oven for...

Please post if you are successful in buying casings from Seattle-area WFs. I tried at the Redmond one last year, and the guys behind the counter looked confused and eventually said no. I haven't tried recently...

We also use binder clips. We started with the black ones, but found the ones we had would rust in high humidy environments like the fridge/freezer. We found a bunch of stainless steel ones at some office supply store that are holding up much better.

At our cookout this afternoon: thick slice of blue cheese, tomato, red onion, and arugula.

Anyone know the story with Kikuya? Last time I was there, there seems to be all new staff, and they've renovated. The food is updated, although some has remained the same.

What timeframe would be new to you? And Porcella (see up-thread) is just down the Bellevue Way on Main.

why?

Ever had any problems? I was about to park in there, but just as I was turning in, I noticed a (new?) sign stating: Parking for Park Visitors Only.

My little girl is hooked on their kid's pizza. Last week I made her pizza with home-made dough. I thought it was pretty good. She was certainly wolfing it down. And then I had to ask: Who makes the best pizza? She yells... RED ROBIN! I was a little bummed.

Last night my wife and I visited Cafe Juanita. As usual, the meal was excellent. My wife had a great braised rabbit, and I had what was probably the best steak I've ever had (the wagyu rib-eye). Dessert, wine, service: they were all great. Holly Smith was in the FoH last night. We chatted with her about wine as well as the James Beard nomination. Now, I love this restaurant. I think they do things right on so many levels... except for parking/location. Their own 7-8 car lot was full, as was the spill-over down the street. Where do people park when they head here at a reasonable time (say, anytime after 7:30pm)?

My understanding, from the news reports, that the American Hog Farm *was* a local, buy-whole, sort of place. I'm googling, but can't find more details...

I've been following a 4 step process: 1. Acid to deglaze. Here I've used: wine, vinegar (esp champagne), brandy, tomato water, etc. 2. Flavorings: stock, mustards, fruit, shallots, etc. 3. Seasoning: salt and pepper 4. Some type of fat: usually butter or cream. About a year ago I read an interview with some chef, and he said the two top differences, in his humble opinion, between most home-cooked food and restaurant food was proper seasoning and acidity. So I started upping the acidity content of my pan sauces, and they've been good. Tonight I made pan-seared and oven finished pork chops for dinner. Seared 2 in a stainless frypan on top of the stove, then finished to 150 in the oven. Tented the chops while I deglazed with calvadoes. Added chix stock and thinly sliced apples. Reduced. Seasoned and finished with 1t butter. We thought it was pretty good, and that included my 3yo daughter who was dipping her pork in the sauce and eating it up

With ceramics, you can close the vents at the top and bottom, and the coals will snuff out pretty quickly due to lack of oxygen. Then I just re-use what's left for the next cook. I never burn out the coals completely.

Very true. But you also need to take into consideration that it'll do double duty as both grill and smoker (although not at the same time).

one more thing I just thought of on the safety issue: weight. My K5 probably tips the scale at 500-600 lbs. Depending on wood balcony construction, that might be too much. Pretty sure BGEs weigh less.

I don't have a BGE, but I do have a Kamado (actually I had 2 for a while), so I'll take a stab with ceramic-generic answers. Safety: as safe as any other grill with something on fire inside. I seriously doubt it is any more dangerous than a charcoal weber. When I light lump (esp mesquite), there sure are a lot of sparks flying all over the place. I wouldn't want that to land into a pile of dry newspapers lying anywhere nearby. Size: I think there's different size BGE, and I personally have had a K1 and a K5 from Kamado (still have the K5). One year we had burgers at our annual end-of-summer bbq -- was great to cook for 25+ people. Another year did low-n-slow pork for 35+ people: 4 pork butts probably weighing in at 30+ lbs. Better than a smoker and a grill: hell no ! I gave away my metal smoker when I got the K, and the propane grill wasn't used much longer... If you're considering the BGE, take a look at the Kamados. Beautiful yard art and much thicker ceramic construction. I saw pics a while ago of a clone of the Kamados that looked very nice, but I think they came with bigger price tags...

That 'purdy-ness' sold my wife on it. The K originally replaced a metal smoker, but I kept a propane grill next to it for 'fast' weeknight grilling. Within a few months, I figured out how to light the K and get up to temp in about the same amount of time it takes the gas burner to pre-heat. The secret was the 500K BTU propane torch (aka the jet engine).

I've used the Kamado stuff. I find it especially good for a long low-n-slow. I can load up my K (see the avatar) with enough in a single load to smoke at 200F for 20+ hours. I find the coconut is more difficult to start than oak lump, but it'll burn at a low temp for a long long time. I also find it doesn't produce nearly as much ash as oak, so it doesn't tend to snuff itself out. Foodwise, I think it smokes a bit more than oak -- nothing really visible, but you'll end up with a slight smoke ring. It does not impart any type of heavy flavor like fruitwood, but it is slightly different than oak. But when I want some 700F searing temps, I go back to oak.

Well, mom and dad like to cook, and our 3YO is interested in what we're interested in. She will pull up a chair to the center island whenever we are prepping something for her "to help." Most of the time, she's just supervising. If we're making something that really interests her (pizza and most pastry/cakes/etc), she'll insist on measuring and pouring ingredients. We help a lot with the measuring, and not as much with the pouring. I've been surprised that her interest is maintained during the whole process, and she'll usually make pretty definitive statements like "I like pepperoni!" She doesn't like pepperoni on pizza, but she happily stood there and ate a bunch of it. She doesn't get to touch knives, and she's been really good on this point. She even hands us the table knives if we're eating out and one is in front of her. Lately she's been playing with playdough, and she's been 'cooking' up lunch every day. She does seem relieved when she gets real phone instead of her creations at lunch. She did make a playdough fried egg yesterday, and asked for fried eggs for breakfast.

What else besides a Belgium ale? Chimay Red for me...