David Ross

Those tots look crisp. I've got the air fryer on my Christmas list

One time my Father put oysters in the stuffing, and it was awful. But he always said that we should eat oysters at Thanksgiving because that's what the Pilgrims ate.

Seafood chowder, perfect for cool nights. Cod, shrimp, WA oysters and potatoes. Today I'll put in some Alaska smoked salmon for a seafood chowder for Thanksgiving.

Very simple salmon dish, rubbed with brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, then served with cannelini beans sauteed in olive oil with red pepper flakes, garlic, spinach and lemon zest.

Stout-braised lamb shank with red chard, roasted pumpkin, toasted hazelnuts, chanterelles and pumpkin seed vinaigrette. One of the markets I shop at had these gargantuan lamb shanks and they had fresh, wild, WA chanterelles at $7.99 a pound. The wild mushrooms up here have been booming this year with a bumper crop of morels this past Spring and now skads of chanterelles. I braised the lamb in Guiness for about 4 1/2 hours. I do a lot of sauteed red chard in garlic and olive oil. This time I added some toasted hazelnuts, some chanterelles, and roasted pumpkin. The vinaigrette is an old standby perfect for Fall--apple cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, pumpkin puree, ground toasted pumpkin seeds.

Folks I think it's that time of year. Before we know it, we'll be scrambling to write down our shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner. So what traditions are you continuing with this year--and are you introducing any new menu items? Last year I tried a pumpkin roll rather than pie and it was a good first try. But this year I think I'll add some candied ginger and come up with some sort of sauce of fruit compote to serve with it. I also tested, and failed, a gargantuan stuffed turkey roulade. My butchery skills left something to be desired, and tieing the turkey into a roast ended with something that sure didn't look like a turkey roulade. But the flavor and idea was spot-on. It was the start of something and I'll work on it again this year. What say you?

I'm old school. I use a hand-held pastry cutter. It's got thick blades that cut through the butter, Crisco or lard I'm using for the pastry dough. I don't know if it's operator error, personal preference or both, but I just don't have good luck with food processors. For the recipe I use as my gold standard, the food processor blades work so fast it turns the butter into dust, even on a pulse of the blades.

The halibut is really easy-just place the filets on top of sliced lemon that's in the bottom of a casserole pot, (I use a Le Cresuet pot), then the halibut on top of the lemon, toss in some garlic cloves, capers, Italian parsley and a few sprigs of thyme, rosemary and sage. Cover and bake in the oven at 200 for about 1 1/2 hours. Strain the oil and drizzle over the halibut and use for tossing into pasta. My pesto is sort of a hybrid version I suppose. The basic fresh basil, toasted pine nuts and parmesan, garlic, but now I'm in the mode of adding anchovy and lemon juice and I stir in the olive oil rather than pulse the oil with the other ingredients in the food processor. It's very tasty, but even with the anchovy still needs a bit of salt and pepper.

Sorry, my poor, too-much green in this photo doesn't do the dish justice, it was delicious. Olive-oil poached halibut (a Mario Batali recipe), homemade ricotta ravioli and pesto.

Looks really delicious and just the right ramen dish I can fix in a short amount of time.

I start with my basic pie crust recipe, (for the tarte tatin, I find that puff pastry isn't sturdy enough to support the apples and it turns soggy really quickly under the caramel) 2 cups flour 1/2 cup cake flour (the finely milled cake flour seems to give the pastry added flaky texture) 2 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup Crisco 1 stick chilled butter (I use salted butter for the flavor) About 1/3 cup ice water I go the old fashioned route and cut the butter and Crisco into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter. I don't use the typical wire type pastry cutters but one with really rigid blades. I try to avoid the food processor because even with a few pulses, the blades spin so fast that it basically make sand out of the Crisco and butter in the flour. Then I may use more or less of the ice water, depending how the dough comes together. I want it supple enough to insure it will roll out properly later. I cover with cling film and put it in the fridge to rest and chill about two hours. I only use Golden Delicious apples. I've tried it with Fuji, Granny Smith and a few other tart apples and they just don't work. The Golden Delicious holds its shape, is sweet and soaks in the caramel sauce. Maybe it's just an old baking tale but the Golden Delicious never fail. I use a T-fal non-stick 10" frying pan. I've used cast iron, but the caramel and apples burn. The recipe I use out of "Saveur Cooks French" calls for a tarte tatin pan, but I've never sought out buying one. I like the non-stick because it helps release the tarte tatin when you invert it. Peel, cut in half and core about 8 Golden Delicious apples In the pan melt 2 1/2 stick butter with 1 1/2 cups sugar At this point I add 1 tbsp. corn syrup as I find it thickens the caramel during baking and gives it more of a glaze when the tarte tatin is finished. It's a bit tedious putting the apples in the pan. You stand them up on their sides, and pack them in tight. You'll be surprised to see the apples reaching upwards of over an inch above the rim of the pan. Then pack two apple halves in the middle. Don't worry, during cooking they will sink down into the pan. Bake at 400 for 1 hour 45 minutes. I know it sounds incredibly long but that's the key to getting the apples to cook down into the caramel. Now another trick is to let it cool on the counter after you take it out of the oven, cover with cling film and put in the fridge overnight. As Saveur notes, "to further let the apples confit." Next day I roll out the pastry, place it on top of the apples in the pan and trim the edges. I fold over the edge into the center of the frying pan to give more structure to the edge. Into a 350 oven for about 25 minutes to melt the caramel and bake the pastry to golden brown. Here's another trick, let the tarte tatin sit on a rack for about 8 minutes after you pull it out of the oven. Invert the tarte tatin too early and it may fall apart, wait too long and the caramel starts to cool and harden and you can't get the tarte out very easily. My cousin thought it was odd I served it with ice cream and she always thought whipped cream was the best accompaniment, but I love cool vanilla ice cream with a slice of the warm apple tarte tatin.

This has been an unusual growing year here in Eastern Washington. Peaches and huckleberries were ripe in July, nearly three weeks early and the same is holding true so far with our annual apple harvest. Apples are already showing up in the markets and early reports are for Washington to have a record crop. The weather couldn't be more perfect this year--hot in July, warm but not scorching in August, and now we are beginning September with sunny, yet mild days in the low 70's and overnight temperatures in the mid-40's. I'm hoping we'll see the apples ripen and sweeten-up more in the next few weeks and we may have some fresh apples into early October. As I always do each year to kick-off my apple cookery, an apple Tarte Tatin...................

Blueberries and huckleberries are two very different berries. Fresh huckleberries are usually only sold in farmer's markets up here in the Pacific Northwest, but I have seen them in small upscale grocery stores. The season is usually July-August-September, but this year they came early. We had them in the Spokane area by mid-July and they were done by the third week of August. Huckleberries do freeze well, so we have some local farmer's market co-ops where we can buy them frozen year-round, and I think there are some online sources. When I tasted the blueberry crostatta I realized why I don't buy many blueberries. They just don't have the burst of sweet yet tangy flavor and the floral perfume of a huckleberry. So when it comes to small, and smaller, purplish blue round berries, I prefer the huckleberry. I made some blueberry muffins this morning and they were decent, but....................

I don't know why, but I've never really eaten many blueberries. I've been making this summer "crostatta" for years now, basically a round of your favorite pasty dough or puff pastry, some fruit in the middle, and whatever type of crumb topping you like. I usually make it with huckleberries, but we have had, and still are having, a wonderful blueberry season up here. Probably won't last through the end of this week as our night temps are now dipping into the 40's. I didn't do anything to the blueberries other than place them in the center of the dough. Then brushed the edges of the pastry with egg wash, folded the pastry to create a sort of open pillow, then the crumb topping-a mixture of sugar, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. The crostatta was brushed with more egg wash and sprinkled with demera sugar, then into the oven at 375 for about 35 minutes. It's really easy and really delicious.

This year I need to start a few new fruitcakes, but I won't serve them during the Holidays. I've still got two "aging." I think they are about 7 years old and had their last dressing of brandy in July.

Really all I can say is wonderful and what a gift.

I thought I would have this dish ready last weekend, but I had to keep tinkering with it. Our peach crop this year has been one of the best in recent memory. The ripened about 3 weeks early, but our hot temperatures have really brought out the natural sugars in the peaches. I make a custard-style base for my ice creams, a blend of egg yolk, sugar, then tempered and cooked with milk, cream and vanilla bean. Chilled overnight then into my electric Cuisinart ice cream maker. It's a real beast of a machine, heavy and terribly loud, but it's done the job for about 15 years. For the peaches, I blanch them in boiling water about 90 seconds to loosen the skin, then peel and puree the peach with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. No extra sugar was needed for these peaches. Then when the ice cream is running through the Cuisinart, I pour in the peach puree. I've tried making this ice cream with chunks of peach, but ended up with frozen peach nuggets suspended in vanilla ice cream. The peach puree method gives a good measure of flavor in the ice cream. The grilled peach was simply cut in half, the pit removed and grilled for about 2 minutes on a cast iron grill pan. The peach puree on the plate was the same puree used in the ice cream, but warmed up slightly for serving. The empanada still needs some work. I used my standard pie crust dough, a blend of flour, cake flour, butter, shortening and sugar. But this time I didn't get the amount of ice water just right, so the pasty was too loose and I couldn't get it rolled out properly to form the empanada. That was just a presentation issue though because the pasty was light, crispy and very buttery. The filling was simply diced peach. No sugar or spices added. The empanadas were deep-fried at 350 for about 3 minutes, then dusted with powdered sugar. Peach Ice Cream, Grilled Peach, Peach Empanada and Peach Puree-

I just can't stay away from huckleberries this time of year. This is a very easy, old-fashioned coffee cake recipe usually made with blueberries. I used huckleberries and added almonds to the topping. Huckleberry Almond Buckle-

Just cut in half, twist to open the peach, remove the pit. Then I cut the halves in quarters, don't peel, then vacuum seal. They are really good throughout the year in dishes where I don't need the texture and semi-firmness of fresh peaches.

More local peaches, this time from the Green Bluff area North of Spokane. It's a co-op of fruit and vegetable growers with many farm stands and shops dotted along the farm roads. Bought these beautiful "Angelus" peaches. Incredibly sweet and juicy, not too small but not gargantuan in size. We sliced and froze some to use throughout the year, but I'll be using fresh peaches in three recipes today. I love the branded boxes.

I had the same thing happen years back when Daniel Boulud's place at Wynn closed and they re-branded it as SW Steakhouse. I was with a local food writer and we both knew the Chef. Service was horrific and when he came out to chat, my friend showed him the raw lamb chops. Talk about an embarrassing moment. At this level, that shouldn't ever happen, whether they just opened or not. I've got to get back down there soon. So many newer places to try.

Thanks. Haven't been there but been to Wing Lei many times. For the most part I've always had great food and service at the Wynn/Encore. Great report.

Great pics. Is the opening photo Wing Lei at the Wynn Hotel?

Angelus peaches from Green Bluff, a cluster of fruit growers in the foothills of Mount Spokane.

Wow thanks for sharing the technique on the pork roast. I'm going to try that.