hhlodesign

Look who forgot to post a picture of my Valdeon Cheesecake. I guess someone doesn't want to be associated with any less than perfect baking project!

Please send in ingredient suggestions for our Iron Chef Competition on Monday night. We will select one out of a hat on Sunday night and have all day Monday to plan our menus, shop, and cook.

Hello all. When last we spoke, I had just ended my blog after Lorna had been blatantly flirting with me. So I responded in kind and tried to finagle myself into a French Laundry dinner. In case any of you were wondering if I got an invite, wonder no more. You can read all about our trip to SF and Napa here: Weekend in SF / Napa We have since been dating long distance between Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA for the past 5 months and thought it would be fun to invite you all into our lives for the next week. We hope you enjoy the experience. Here's an informal list of the events we have planned for the coming week: Saturday Aug. 26th Tapas Party in Poulsbo Sunday Aug. 27th Wedding Present Dinner Monday Aug. 28th Iron Chef Competition between Ling and HhLodesign Guest Judges froom Mistral Tuesday Aug. 29th TBD Wednesday Aug. 30th 5 month Anniversary Dinner at Union Thursday Aug. 31st Rooftop Cocktail and Dessert Party with Belltown Lofts resident Cocktail expert Morpheous Friday Sept. 1st Chinese Banquet Saturday Sept. 2nd Rooftop BBQ

Of course the UCLA recipe would be the best one! Go Bruins!

I was a big fan of Fatburger when there were just a handful in SoCal. It was the first burger I had that included a fried egg and relish. (I used to tip the cashier to make my fried egg extra runny ) I was extremely excited when they opened one up here in Bellevue. Unfortunately, I found that the memory was far greater than the real thing. I found the one I tried up here to be no better than any average burger. I'll have to try one again when I'm back in SoCal. So I'll have to stand by my old favorite In-N-Out as the best fast food burger I've had. Although a Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger comes in a close second! I can't wait to try Taylor's Refresher in SF and Burgerville in Portland!

Bare in mind, this is only my opinion as a Californian raised on In-N-Out. I respectfully give it knowing others may disagree: Dick's is not OK!!!! Dick's is CRAP!!!! It is, without a doubt, the worst tasting, worst quality, worst texture, worst in all other catagories, fast food burger on the face of the earth! Other than the immense gap in the quality of the burger between In-N-Out and Dick's, the beauty of In-N-Out is the fact that as long as they have the ingredients in the back, they will make anything for you. Whether you know about the "secret menu" or not. Just ask them for anything they have in any combination and they'll do it. This as opposed to Dick's who will make no changes to any of their menu items whatsoever. Including adding cheese to a burger. Not only will they not add it, they give you shit when you ask for it. The fries at In-N-Out and Dick's are equally bad. I haven't been to Burgerville, but Jan and Michael Stern rave about it.

Check out my eGullet blog for a pretty thorough description of my favorite places: eG foodblog Some others I didn't get a chance to get to: Union Lark Harvest Vine Monsoon for dinner Green Leaf I will say that most places within walking distance of the Hilton are not worth walking to. BOKA is the new player in town, and I was underwelmed. The Purple Cafe looks like it has promise, I've yet to go. But if you want informed opinion, my must dine at places for visitors to Seattle are: Mistral Veil Salumi Monsoon Paseo Market Grill Baguette Box

Ohhhh...but I can see the deliciousness! That looks amazing!

Yesterday--matcha tiramisu, chocolate and pistachio cannoli from our Sicilian dinner, Bread and chocolate bar from Phinney 3400. Today--strawberry pie and cream, white peach ice-cream, Snickerdoodles ETA: oops, that was from me...(Ling) forgot to log out of bf's account

We had more ice-cream tonight and took a picture just for you!

Grilled ribeye with anchovy, garlic, and parsley sauce... and Sicilian Lifegaurd Calamari... both made by Ling!

Just catching up on what I was going to help cook on Friday NO PONTORMO!!! You will not get rid of my arancini!! What is the traditional arancini filling? The ones I got from the corner trattoria in Florence seemed to be filled with leftover risotto from the night before. I love the idea of fennel orange salad. I think I might be able to find sicilian blood oranges in the market right now! I gotta try the Priest's Mistress Potatoes for the name alone! What a great thread, I have to drop by more often! Sorry for the overuse of excamation points!

Sorry Megan!

"Putting pressure on" is vastly different from from introducing legislation. The New York ban was introduced by the Humane Society of the United States (amongst other organizations) Humane Society Press Release Granted, not PETA. But the point being that they know the general public will be much less sympathetic to their cause if the production methods they are trying to ban (vs. putting pressure against) affects working class citizens buying cheap chicken, vs. the perceived "privileged few" eating foie. This is exactly why this issue gets to me so much. Not that fact that I want to eat foie gras, and they are trying to take that away. But the idea that certain people have less rights than others.

Herein lies the problem. Foie gras lovers will always be a minority. Does this mean we have less rights as citizens to eat what we choose? We are so insignificant in number that we are a non-issue to our elected officials. They listen to the people who will vote for them and the lobbies. Who wants to start a citizens for foie gras lobby! I am proud to live in a country where people can hold views different from the majority without fear of persecution. But since Neo-Nazis (or athiests, or Buddists, or vegans, or fill in the under-represented minority) hold such an insignificant number of followers, can the people who hold differing beliefs propose legislation to eliminate them from existence? Not in America!

Not to beat a dead horse, (I wonder if that's humane? ) but this statement is disingenuous at best. If the stance is simply against "extremely inhumane production methods," they would seek to ban the previously mentioned factory farmed animals bred for food. Meat eaters alike have already spoken out against (and refuse to purchase) many of the methods the major corporations practice in producing our meat products. However, to propose a ban on those methods would open a huge can of worms related to socio-econnomic issues in this country. It would also be much more transparent that the agenda is, in fact, to tell others what they can and cannot eat. When the "others" are people who eat foie gras, as opposed to working class people eating Tyson Chicken, PETA knows they will have public support, or indifference. Taken to its logical conclusion, dropping a lobster into boiling water, slicing the throat of a cow, cutting the head off a chicken, raising an animal to be consumed, or killing a wild animal in the woods can all be seen as inhumane. I'm guessing many PETAs see these acts as such. Would they propose to ban all these practices?

I should clarify about the restaurant issue. I am in the same boat as you. They don't have to have it on the menu, but if they advocate against it, they are off my list. I'm not that much of a freak!

After a quick search around the web and within eGullet, it appears that it may be possible that our children may not be able to enjoy the fabulous delicacy we take for granted today. I've found threads within eGullet discussing bans in California, New York, Chicago, and Philly (I'm sure I missed others.) As we all know, Chicago was the first American city to institute a ban. California's ban goes into affect in 2012. The consensus in New York is that the current PETA approach of classifying the ducks used for foie gras production as "diseased animals," and therefore illegal to produce and consume, has teeth. National grocery giant Whole Foods refuses to do business with anyone that produces ducks for the creation of foie gras. Which means Sonoma Foie Gras has lost its duck supplier. With California and New York being the only areas in America which produce foie gras, is it conceivable that a ban on importing the product is next, and we could be left completely without the foie gras in the near future? It should also be noted that certain juristictions in France have already banned the practice of "gavage," or forced feeding. The EU is looking to phase out the force feeding of geese over the next 15 years (as of 2004.) "Any producers not using more humane methods at the end of that time would face the prospect of being banned." It seems that many chefs have already accepted the fact that foie is going the way of the dodo. To quote Tony Bourdain, "it will likely disappear entirely from menus in my lifetime." The common notion is that the PETAs were clever in picking on something that has a small number of supporters (most of whom will be rich, apathetic, and unable to garner public support.) We all know that factory farmed chickens, swine, and cattle are treated much worse than a foie gras duck in this country. Is there anything that we can do? Apart from writing our representatives, do we have other options for turning the tide here? Would a public boycott of Whole Foods do anything? I've already stopped shopping there, (and stopped eating at restaurants that refuse to serve foie gras.) I know we are all busy people, but it seems that if we just sit back and let these PETA people tell us what we can and cannot eat, they won't just stop at Foie Gras!

Thanks mamster...is there a discernable difference between the Vivace coffee they serve at Vivace, and the coffee at Bellino (the place on 2nd Ave.) where they use Vivace beans?

Espresso...well, I drink Americanos in the morning. (that's me, Ling, too lazy to log out.)

Yesterday was Canada Day. Ling and I went to Granville Island in Vancouver for a small picnic on a gorgeous sunny day. We picked up a baguette from La Baguette and some meats and pate from Oyama. On the plate are 1. Goose and black truffle pate 2. Lamb Prosciutto 3. Goose Prosciutto 4. Carne Seca 5. Wild Boar Salami This was our view: Considering the food, the company, the view, the weather; It was one of the best lunches I've ever had!

Went to BOKA tonight. To be fair, They've only been open 2 days, so what I have to say here should be taken with a grain of fleur de sel. They have a small section of the menu called "Urban Bites" small items which range from $4 to $8. Two pieces in each order. We had the Duck confit waffles, crab cakes, lobster croquettes, and thai spice chicken lollipops. The Lobster was pure deep fried goodness. The duck confit seemed much to mild flavored. The chicken lollipops were ground chicken meatballs on pre-spiced sticks. I like the idea of the spice on the stick, but it was hard to get the spice off when you bite off the meatball. Crab-cakes were also kind of bland. I ordered the pork chop with red cabbage and apples. The cabbage apple side was very tasty, but my pork was way too dry. Also at the table was a thai boulabase (salty). Salmon (dry and underseasoned.) And Shake and Bake Chicken. The chicken was the best dish at the table. It's coated in dijon mustard then shaken in a spice-crumb mixture before it's baked. Still juicy and nicely seasoned. We had around an hour and fifteen minutes to get through dinner and catch a show. They were very accommodating and overall the server was very professional. Two minor problems which we pointed out to the server. The entres arrived at staggered intervals, as opposed to all at once; and they cleared some plates while others had not finished eating yet. (This might have had everything to do with our time constraints, but it still bugs me) One last thing, the person with the salmon didn't eat much of it, so the manager came to talk to him. We were offered a comped dessert, but when we stated that we didn't have time for dessert, they comped the dish. Very professional. Like I said, it's only the second day, they have to iron out some bugs. But I'll give them another shot in a few months.

Given Kent's request. I usually skip breakfast so.... Lunch: Porchetta Sandwich at Salumi - $9 Dinner: Monsoon grilled monetary squid stuffed with duck meat and dried shitake $8 braised korabuta pork belly with dark soy and star anise $15 Dessert: Salted Peanut Buter Ice Cream at Veil - $8

The pork Cheek Sandwich from Salumi in Seattle.

I don't really even like chocolate, but these are the best cookies ever!!