nightscotsman

Although I am intimately familiar with both Portland (30 years) and Seattle (9 years), this is a very hard question to answer. But here's a shot: Setting - Seattle has by far the more beautiful setting with the hills, Sound, lake and mountain views. The Seattle skyline is also more attractive, though individual buildings are mostly rather bland in architecture. It is much easier to get to the Pacific Coast and beaches from Portland than Seattle, But Seattle's proximity to Vancouver Canada and the San Juans is a big plus. Both cities have lots of biking and hiking opportunities. Also, both seem to get about equal amounts of sun and rain and are very moderate, though Portland tends to get hotter in the summer and colder in the winter (but NOTHING compared to the Midwest or east coast). Food - my impression is that Seattle has more high-end, serious restaurants than Portland, but that Portland places tend to be more creative or playful. This may have something to do with the lower cost of overhead in Portland lowering barriers to entry. Portland also has easier access to U-pick produce and farm stands than Seattle. Seattle, on the other hand has better seafood. Cost of living - Seattle is more expensive, especially housing. Politics - both cities are very liberal. Portland is probably a little more liberal in some ways, leaning more toward the "hippie" than the corporate mentality. Seattle politics can be frustrating since the City Council members do not represent actual neighborhoods, so they tend to end up serving downtown developers and corporate interests (there is a movement to have this changed). And though the cities may be liberal, the surrounding suburbs and the rest of the state's counties tend to be socially conservative and resentful and this can leak into urban politics. Public transportation is better in Portland, mostly due to the light rail which they started building many years ago. Seattle is supposed to begin building a light rail line soon, but it's looking like a pointless fiasco. The planned monorail line may be more successful, but both of these projects won't be completed for many years (if even in our lifetimes). Traffic in Seattle is regularly pointed to as some of the worst in the nation. Overall Seattle is larger and has more of a "City" feeling (though coming from New York you may find that laughable) with more of the cultural amenites that one would expect in a city. Portland is smaller (the city blocks are physically smaller) and has a small city/large town feeling - more relaxed and less serious. Living in Seattle there are certainly things I missed about Portland. I will be moving to Chicago in a few weeks and I can tell you there are probably more things I will miss about Seattle. Just my personal feeling.

Good to hear the silcone molds work well. What brand of molds did you end up using? Are they the black ones or the red ones? I also finally got around to testing the Malgieri recipe that was published in the LA Times (which is the same as the one charlotte baker posted some time ago). They had a good, thick crust and nice interior, but I had the same problem with them rising out of the molds that I mentioned before. I think I will stick with the Silverton recipe since that's the one I've had the most success with.

Chocolate Malt Ice Cream We used Horlicks malt powder 10 oz milk chocolate 8 egg yolks (told ya it was rich) 2 c heavy cream 2 c whole milk 1/4 c malt powder 2 T Bailey's Irish Cream Make a custard as usual from the cream, milk, malt powder and eggs. While still hot pour over the chocolate and stir to melt and blend. Chill and add Bailey's. Process. Keywords: Dessert, Chocolate, Ice Cream Maker, Ice Cream ( RG541 )

Blue Cheese Ice Cream The texture of this one was really luscious and remained smooth and crystal-free for several days in the freezer. 2 c heavy cream 1/2 c whole milk 4 egg yolks 1/4 c sugar 3 T corn syrup 4 oz blue cheese (the Australian stuff we used was really good, but for this I would recommend Stilton for it's mild, rich flavor) blend together cheese and corn syrup util smooth (immersion blender is great for this) - set aside. bring milk and cream to a boil. whisk together egg yolks and sugar and slowly whisk in some of the hot cream to temper. pour eggs into cream mixture and continue to cook over medium heat until thickened slightly and it coats the back of a spoon (like creme anglais). Off heat whisk cheese and syrup into hot custard until smooth, then strain through fine sieve into a bowl. chill until very cold and process in ice cream maker. The fig compote was kind of made up along the lines of: roughly chop a couple handfulls of dried mission figs. put them in a sauce pan with ruby port and red wine to almost cover. add a couple Tbs of sugar (or less, depending on how much port you use), half a stick of cinnamon, half a star anise, a couple strips of orange zest with a clove stuck in one, and maybe 10 black pepper corns. simmer until the figs are soft, but not falling apart and the liquid reduces and gets syrupy. Keywords: Dessert, Cheese, Ice Cream, Ice Cream Maker ( RG540 )

Instead of just adding strawberry puree to the lemon curd (which would make it too soft and liquid for a cake filling), I would suggest making Rose's strawberry conserve from the Cake Bible and adding that instead. Her mothod greatly intensifies the flavor and the finished product is gelled enough to not water down the curd. Just be sure to whisk the conserve or pass it through a strainer to make it very smooth just before adding it so you don't get lumps. Or you might try warming to melt it and adding it to the still warm curd. I wanted to make a blackberry curd a couple weeks ago and had problems with several recipes not thickening enough. I finally ended up having to add a bit of cornstarch and bringing it to a full boil - sort of like a berry pastry cream. My understanding is that the acid in the lemon juice helps to thicken the curd - it curdles the eggs, thus the name. Most other fruits don't have enough acid to thicken as well as lemons do.

You can get the Bamix in Canada from Golda's Kitchen. They are a lot more expensive than the Brauns and Cuininarts, but the Bamix really is in a different league. I had the Braun for years and there is no comparison. The big differences are the Bamix has way more power, you can change the working blade quickly and easily for different uses (yes, you can create foams), and the way the working end is designed (metal, not plastic) allows for more flow-through of whatever you're blending, so it works a lot like a conventional cup blender. I use mine all the time. You might also be interested in a previous discussions here and here.

I think I've mentioned this on a couple other threads, but "Caramel Knowledge" by Al Sicherman. Each chapter revolves around a theme menu that he swears he really served to actual humans - who ate it. Includes recipes for items like "peanut butter coffee", "herring in a cloud", "cold SPAM mousse", and "mockaguole". Hilarious stuff.

That would be interesting. So that's why we lost the Princess Market? But then the QFC has been slated for demo and redevelopment for years, so we all know the pace of change on Broadway. I just can't believe they are opening ANOTHER Asian place on Broadway. Besides the ones you mentioned on that block, there are at least another 10 within a few more blocks. Oh well, maybe this one will be good?

I LOVE her Breakfast Book. The butter-crumb eggs are brilliant.

Ah, Rockaway. The town that time forgot. I have fond memories of the family renting a house there for a week several summers in a row. The beach is completely flat and featureless, but it's still very pretty. Nobody's mentioned it yet, but just in case you're in the area, AVOID Seaside like the plague. It used to be kind of funky and run down in a cool way, but since they tried to "revitize" the town it's just horrible.

It's been a few years since I visited the Oregon coast, but I think there still aren't really any noteworthy restaurants. There is the high-end Salishan Lodge resort, but that's quite a bit farther south. Canon Beach probably has some of the "nicer" places. Nothing like the Ark, though. I highly recommend Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach for camping. Beautiful, secluded beach and lush forest. It's very popular in the summer and I don't know if you can reserve a space, so you might have to get there early.

That is very sad. It is good to hear that the hotel will be renovated, but then it will be private club members only. I must go have drinks at the Cloud Room before they close.

I see there's a new place going in at the north end of Broadway where that hair salon vacated from a couple years ago. The sign looks vaguely southeast asian, but I don't remember the name (and also wasn't sure how to pronounce it). Anybody have the scoop?

Welcome Vyrianna! Glad you found us and I hope you enjoy poking around. So was that a chocolate sponge cake in the one you remember, or was it more like a butter/devil's food type cake? either way it sounds like a worthy variation to me.

I thought the cool name was "Chin Sin". Right out of a comic book. There was a G-Trane character on Law and Order a couple nights ago... Another great article, Louisa. It actually sounds like a lot of fun.

De nada Got any more? The cocktail section of the Archive is seriously underpopulated Not originals, but I suppose the older classic cocktails are all public domain by now, right? I'll put in some of my favorites from the parties when I get a chance.

I'm sure that would work fine. The ingredients on the Sari Asam box list: tamarind, palm sugar, cane sugar, and water. It is quite sweet.

Maybe I'm actually among the undead now. A few people this weekend said I looked a little pale.... Let's see... have you developed any unusual cravings for brains lately?

Hey - I'm immortal! Thanks Marlene.

Have you ever tried to drink Los Angeles tap water? I guess you could filter it at home, but I can certainly see the appeal of bottled water. Recycle, people!

Welcome DrinkBoy! Since you're in Seattle, it's too bad you just missed my last eGullet cocktail party. It was a lot of fun and I would have enjoyed hearing your take on some of the cocktails I served and what your favorites are. I completely agree about the sad state of cocktails in general, especially in restaurants - even at the high end. Everything is mixed too sweet and nobody stocks Maraschino behind the bar . I've given up trying to order most older classic cocktails and tend to stick to the "house specials" menu if they have one. And don't get me started on all the flavored "Martinis". A Martini is gin (no, not vodka) and dry vermouth - any thing else is a cocktail, NOT a martini. I haven't been to the Zig Zag, but another place I've found the bartender to be interested in higher standards and at least willing to try new recipes is the Capitol Club. Fun place, and they have a second floor veranda that's nice in the summer. And he actually knows what a French 75 is . Brasa also does a pretty good job, though I haven't tested the bartender with an "off menu" order.

Pacific Rim Cocktail It's best to use a prepackaged tamarind drink for this cocktail. It was tested with Sari Asam brand, available at Uwajimaya 1 oz Malibu coconut rum 2 oz tamarind juice drink 1/4 oz fresh lime juice Lime and sugar for garnish 1. Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with a lime wedge, dip the glass at an angle into a shallow dish of sugar, so that the sugar sticks to only a half moon of the rim. 2. Combine the rum, tamarind juice and lime juice in a large, tall glass two-thirds full of ice. Shake, then strain into the cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wheel. Keywords: Cocktail ( RG532 )

I used to collect 30's and 40's California pottery, mostly Bauer Ware and Fiesta, but also some Harlequin. I used to pick up pieces for almost nothing at garage sales, but the dealers have multiplied like cockroaches and prices have gone way up, so it's not as fun anymore. I still love the stuff, but now I spend my money on cookbooks and pastry equipment.

It sounds really good to me, and quite reasonable considering it includes "food, wine, tax and gratuity". I'm seriously interested. It doesn't say who will be responsible for dessert, though.

From what I've read, those blocks of lard found in supermarkets are not very good for pie crust. The flavor was described as "harsh and unpleasant" and the texture wasn't as good as Crisco. What you really want is something called "leaf lard" which is from around the kidneys of the pig. Much better texture and lighter flavor. Disclaimer: I've never cooked or baked with lard, so this is all second-hand info.