nightscotsman

It's hacker-speak for "evil". You're welcome.

Thanks for the excellent report, Schielke. Can't wait to eat there in April. Let us know if you hear back about the "Fuzzy Guiseppe". Sounds like a yummy cocktail.

And don't forget Brasa, which is about a block and a half farther than Daliah Lounge. Lot's of info here on the bar menu (half price from 5-7 pm), but the regular dinner menu is great, too. If he likes tapas and doesn't mind walking a few more blocks, Tango is really good (see my review here). What kind of food does your husband like? If he's serious about what he eats, he should make an effort to get to Salumi for lunch - it's Mario Batali's Dad's place.

I expect they'll start promoting the "gangsta-bitch martini" any time now.

Last night I opened a bottle of italian dessert wine called "Malvira" from Birbét. Has anyone heard of this before or tried it? It was deep red and lightly sparkling with a bright flavor similar to a moscato, but with subtle cherry notes. Delicious! I got it at Central Market here in Seattle - must go get some more.

I was told the pastry chef is only there in the morning prepping all the desserts (to be plated later by the garde manger). I plan on calling later this week to see if I can meet her.

Oh, almost forgot: the web site.

Another great article, mamster. By the way, where can the "average Seattleite" find "slightly off-dry ciders from England, such as Weston's, and Normandy cider from France"? Without having to drive all the way to Cananda, of course.

Cool - I'll have to stop by there this week. Here is the warehouse info from the web site: Our address: 1435 Elliot Avenue West, between the Queen Anne and Magnolia neighborhoods north of downtown Seattle. Our retail location: We have a retail space in front of the warehouse, where people can come in, taste most anything we sell, and purchase store-only items, and local online customers can pick up their orders. The warehouse: In the back we store, pack, and ship our products, host events, and create the web site.

You've got some naked guy locked in your bathroom?

Sunday night I took myself out for what turned out to be a wonderful dinner at Tango, an upscale Seattle "tapas restaurant and cocktail lounge". Being situated at the corner of Pike and Boren, the view out the windows is nothing to get excited about, but the interior is warm, romantic and slightly funky with high ceilings and and a wide-open kitchen. Even though it got quite busy by the time I left, The music was soft and it never got noticeably noisy at all. As you would expect at a tapas restaurant, most dishes are smallish (though quite generous) and designed to be shared, ranging from $6.50 for a salad to $17 for grilled lamb. As usual, I started out with a cocktail - in this case it was called a "Sevillana" and consisted of vodka, sweet vermouth and fresh Seville orange juice. It reminded me a bit of the Flaming Orange Gully with it's fresh orange flavor, but without the spice flavors and a slight bitter edge from the sour oranges. Very good. They also make a great, not too sweet mojito that I had a little later in the meal. First course: Hongoes y Jamón - sautéed mixed wild mushrooms with red Russian kale, Serrano ham, & Xerés reduction. Sweet, salty, earthy and rich, but not heavy. This was a great dish and perfect with the house-made bread, which is kind of halfway between a baguette and cornbread - tender and fine grained with a crunchy crust. Next: Gambas Picantes - chipotle tiger prawns with tamarind roasted bananas and pumpkin seed-cilantro pipien. Wow, this was just an amazing combination of flavors and textures. The prawns were perfectly cooked and just a little charred around the edges giving a slightly smoky flavor, the bananas were creamy, but sparked up by the fruity acidity of the tamarind, and the cilantro pipien (essentially a pesto) added depth and richness with some crunch from the pumpkin seeds. My only minor quibble was the mound of banana slices were served cold (as the waiter assured my they were supposed to be), and I think the dish would have been better had they been warm. There were several other dishes on the menu I was dying to try, but I was actually getting quite full, so I moved on to dessert. When I called to make my reservation I mentioned that it was to be my birthday dinner and that I had heard great things about their desserts, so I asked if the pastry chef would be willing to prepare tasting portions of several of her signature dishes. They indicated they would pass on the request and it should not be a problem at all. I really have to thank Fat Guy and many of the other posters on the "Going Off Menu" thread for encouraging this kind of thing, because not only did they grant my request, they actually comped me the entire dessert service because it was my birthday! So here's what I had: El Diablo - a bittersweet cube of rich dark chocolate with a touch of cayenne pepper, burnt meringue, spiced almonds & cocoa nibs, finished with tequila-caramel sauce. The chocolate cube was light and soft like a mousse, but dense and fine textured like a flourless cake and just barely sweet. One of the best chocolate desserts I've ever had. Flan Azafran - saffron scented Spanish custard served with honey vanilla bean-poached apricots. The flan was very creamy and smooth and the apricots complex and buttery. A generous scoop of mango sorbet with light and crisp Mexican wedding cookies. Torta del Cielo - sponge cake filled with sweet milk, white rum & coconut cream, served with ruby rhubarb hibiscus flower sauce. The cake was very moist and light with nice coconut flavor, and though the sauce was OK, though the flavors didn't really come through as much as I would have liked. Overall an excellent dining experience and I will certainly be back. By the way, they have a nice, cozy looking private dining room with a long table just calling out for an eGullet gathering...

The French Pastry School has several "Guest Chef" classes on chocolate techniques: May 6-8 Producing Belgian Chocolate Candies - Jean Pierre Wybauw, Master Chocolatier Jean Pierre Wybauw will define the sophisticated science behind handling chocolate products. Students will create extensive hand-made and machine enrobed chocolates candies under Jean Pierre's close supervision. $720 August 5-7 Old and New World Sugar Confectionaries - Sebastien Canonne Sebastien Canonne will take our students back to their childhoods with his extensive selection of sugar confections and candies. Nougats, caramels, pate de fruit, hard candies, marshmallows, lollipops and berlingots will be taught in this course. Students will learn about and make elaborate chocolates, chocolate candies and confectioneries, such as fruit paste, guimauve, praline, caramels, truffles, nougats, gummies and much more. This class is based on using quick and efficient methods of production and demonstrates how to translate these techniques into increased sales. $720 August 19-21 Chocolate Centerpieces and Sculptures - Norman Love Students will create whimsical and architectural chocolate centerpieces using the latest chocolate and cocoa butter techniques. These sculptures can be used as room amenities or for buffet showpieces. $720 More info here: http://www.frenchpastryschool.com

loufood: can't wait to hear what your instructors have to say. I've tried five or six different recipes including the Pierre Herme version and always had them pop up in the molds as I described earlier. I haven't baked them for a few months, so maybe it's time to try again.

I actually find their frozen Australian a little too gamey. The New Zealander is more mild and tender. Glad you had such a great time at TJ's. Next time, leave some for the rest of us!

Glaze the taco shells with cinnamon caramel. Fill with taco flavored sorbet made with a base of pureed potatoes. Top with apples sauteed with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Garnish with marshmallows melted and bruleed with blow torch. Do I win?

And there's an Uwajimaya (best grocery store ever) in Beaverton.

Ooh, sounds good - especially the cinnamon duck for $4.95. And how can you pass up a dish that's "finger-leaking good!!", or one that's stewed in "special incidents". Thanks for the tip.

Is this the book to get? It looks like there is only a section on chocolate making and the book costs $120. I will get it though if it is the best resource. They recommended another book at JB Prince (I will post it when I check my notes at home. The downside of the other book was that the recipes all use professional, European sourced ingredients. The Bau book is excellent, but the section on chocolates - while impressive - is quite small. I'm not sure it's worth the expense if you only want info on chocolate work. If it were me, I would look into these books from L'Ecole Lenotre: http://www.pastrychef.com/htmlpages/produc...otre_books.html

Jello.

Sure, I'll meet ya there. Last time it got pretty crowded on the buffet line, so I think I'll try to get there at 11:30.

Actually more like 3,000+! I have 122 to add to the pile. About half pastry and dessert books.

Their personal-care products tend to be natural, healthfood store brands such as Tom's of Maine and Kiss My Face, though some are under their house brand name. Great prices on vitamins and supplements, by the way.

Small cubes of cream cheese mixed in before cooking gives the eggs a rich, creamy texture and flavor. Similar to the small cubes of butter mentioned above, but while some of the cream cheese melts into and combines with the eggs, some remains separate and you run into pockets and streaks of melty goodness as you eat.

You can also make yourself some wooden bars instead of pricey metal ones. Home depot caries a range of pre-sanded lengths of wood in different dimensions. You can either cut them yourself at the store, or have one of their helpers do it for you. To make cleanup easier, just wrap them in foil. Worked great for me.