Schielke

Really? I made a batch with 74% Shonikag and they seemed sweet enough. I made a batch of batter last night with the same chocolate, and am baking them today. I will report back on their sweetness. Ben

Roast turkey on whole wheat w/ Dijon, Coarse Salt, White Pepper, and EVOO. I sang a turkey sandwich eating song while I ate it. {Baritone} Turkey Sandwich Turkey Sandwich Oh how I love my Turkey Sandwich Turkey Sandwich Turkey Sandwich I wish I had another Turkey Sandwich {/Baritone}

Success!

Just a quick side, how much do those ranges listed above cost? They are so beautiful...I think I shed a tear when I saw the Diva Island.

Ginger perhaps? I like ginger.

It seems that you might have a bit wetter dough than I had. What is the feel of the dough for you? Dosas are one of the next items on my hit list.

Thanks for the kind words Suvir, the one thing that confused me was your reccomendation for no salt. After I made the chapatis, I checked out the recipe archive listing for chapatis to compare notes. The recipe here listed 1/2 tsp salt for 2 C flour. I can see how it would bring more flavor out of the bread, but is this untraditional as you said? After experiencing how easy chapatis are, I plan on making them more and more until I can make perfectly round ones every time! Ben

Mashiko's in West Seattle is top notch and very inventive. Our own Col Klink exposed us to it and I owe him forever for doing so. Klink on Mashikos Other awesome sushi: Saito's and Shiro's in Belltown: Great all around sushi. Izumi Sushi in Kirkland: All the great stuff here is in Nigri form. Really great fish and cut generously. Enjoy! Ben

The other day I decided to buy some atta flour (Indian Wheat Flour) for chapatis. I had never made them before, but they sounded fun. I used the recipe on the side of the bag since I was too eager to go look up Suvir's recipe in the Archive. The recipe called for 1/3 C of water to every 1 C of flour. I went with 2C of flour and 2/3 C of water. The dough turned out pretty good and was easy to work with. In order to get a ~5 inch chapati, I had to take dough balls a little smaller than Golf balls and roll them out. When you make chapatis, do you roll and cook them one or two at a time or do you roll all of them out and then cook them? To cook them I got my large nonstick skillet out and put it on high heat. I tossed a chapati in there and waited. Slowly it turned slightly opaque and then little bubbles started to fill with air. I turned it over when there were golden brown spots on the one side. I let the other side cook as the chapati filled with hot air. I took it out of the pan with tongs and then put it to an open burner. Poof! It filled up with air and was nearly as thick as it was wide. Success! I kept the finished chapatis warm on a plate covered with a towel. The result was very nice and fun to eat with the Turkey Masala I made. Next time I think I will salt the dough for some more flavor. I was thinking that even a bit of ground Garam Masala in the dough might work out too. Any other chapati tips or tricks out there? Ben

Sweet Mother of God.

I rather like you, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. As for the pine: In theory I can easily see how it can be flippantly dismissed, but (again without tasting the dish or even hearing the recipe) I dont think that untraditional ingredients should be written off at face value. Perhaps there really is something to pine that can enhance the enjoyment of a dish. I do like gin afterall. Ben

Do you think that a chef's table automatically implies aspirations toward celebrety chefdom? Personally, I view the benefit of these kind of tables as being able to watch the cooking and what goes into your dishes. I dont want to sit there for the status of being 10 ft from the chef, just to watch the kitchen. If a chef's table (I think it should be Kitchen Table) were offered to you on the night of your reservation and it did not have any extra strings attached, would you reject the opportunity? I can understand wanting to do so if a quieter ambiance is desired, but otherwise? Ben

I understand what you are going for, but I feel we cant really talk much about the dish's relevancy until we experience it. Ben

I bet salted water would go a long way. Ben

You can sometimes find Umpqua ice cream in grocery stores around these parts (Pac NW). Ben

Oh yeah, also: the dish does have meat in it.

Achatz vs. Spencer!!! Rumble in the woods! Who will come out on top? Who's cuisine will reign supreme?!!!!

Is Rasam a kind of dip or topping? Also, how would that recipe work with tamarind paste? Thanks! Ben

Are you saying that you would categorically dislike the dish without even tasting it?

It is a Trio dish Mike. The intent is less to take you to a place and more to reintroduce the dinning public to a flavor (pine) that has been mostly forgotten over the years. With the execption of pine nuts, juniper, rosemary, cedar planks, maple syrup to name the few on the top of my head. Who's been longing to eat pine? That is his point.

What is a mug punter? On the Chef's table note, I have yet to see one that charges more just for sitting at this table. Generally the cost of having a meal at the table is higher, but the meal given might have more courses or the like. Personally, I enjoy any view of the kitchen I can get. I enjoy watching cooking as much as I like eating. Watching good cooks is a valuable experience for me and my own cooking. Ben

Nooooo, I had no idea the brewworks was going under. I was just starting to like this place.

While, I might not use such harsh words about Seastar, I did eat there one time and had a mediocre experience. I have not tried his salmon so I cannot attest to its quality. My food was ok, but somewhat uninspired. The copper river dinner though, might be fun if you were made of money. I too would much rather go to Mistral.

I will give this a try next time, thanks. mmmm, le pichet.

I usually end up with them like this when I roast a chicken. They are fully cooked, but there are these pieces of fat deep inside them that dont go anywhere. I dont see how these could render when roasting.