Blue Heron

Thank you for the article link. Soft cooked eggs have long been my favorite way to eat them (could be a genetic predispositon, as it's also my dad's favorite, too). I have never tried to remove the egg from the shell, though, preferring to scoop it out of the shell a spoonful at a time. Over the years, I have gone through 2 automatic egg cookers, and since the last one finally conked out a few months ago, I've been having a hard time cooking them the old fashioned way, and getting the yolk just right. I'm going to try the method outlined in the article, and even attempt to serve it out of the shell in some of the ways suggested by Bux, which sound absolutely delicious. Bux, I also enjoyed reading where the term molley coddle comes from...I love that name, as it reminds me of one of my favorite Masterpiece Theater's... "Summer's Lease" w/ Sir John Gielgud.

Congratulations... 3 lbs, wow! I can't wait to read about your morel feast. How did you prepare/serve them?

I liked your response to the question about souffles, that is not to be intimidated by them. I am curious (and am hoping), are there other impressive dishes or techniques that you would say are easier to do than one would think for the home cook to try? Can you recommend a couple more? I am fairly intimidated by much of French cuisine, especially things involving flambee (I love coq au vin but am afraid to light the brandy) or trying to make something en croute, for instance. Are these techniques difficult?

Do you wear the Chef's clogs I've (recently) heard so much about? If not, is there another style or type of shoe that you like &/or recommend for wearing for comfort while working? Thanks.

This weekend I ordered takeout Greek Salad & pizza from Pegasus on Alki. The salad was delicious, but overdressed on this day, or perhaps the lettuce wasn't dry before dressing, or perhaps it just doesn't travel well. It's a good salad though otherwise, and next time, I'll ask for the dressing on the side to add when I get home. I agree a good salad seems hard to come by. I have a weakness for Blackened Salmon Caesars and a good Cobb Salad, so if anyone knows of a good place to get these, please let me know. Whenever I find myself at Salty's or The Lighthouse restaurants (both on Alki beach), I always order the Blackened Salmon Caesar. Salty's also sells the rub, so I can duplicate somewhat at home now. Their's is a sweet hot rub, and not overly hot. For Cobb Salad, Mary Mac's at McCormick Woods in Port Orchard has a good one. Kinda far to go for a salad, though, unless you're already in the neighborhood. I had a Cobb Salad a few months ago at Redhook brewery in Redmond/Woodinville area. It was good, but nothing to really write home about. Etta's Seafood has a good Spinach, Frisee, Pear and Smoked Bacon salad.

Jim, I'm so glad you mentioned the wild fennel growing in the NW, as I didn't think fennel pollen would be anything that would relate to me, so I was basically skimming through this thread. Now the lightbulb just went on, so to speak. I have seen wild fennel growing around our neighborhoods, and was always a bit curious about it. Some neighbors also have it growing in their yards, kind of like a wild ornamental...probably not Italian, but regular ornamental fennel. I've never noticed the pollen, or thought of harvesting the fronds, but since it grows so readily, it's something I will consider. Sandra, I was sorry to read that you aren't able to have lilacs in your home They are one of my favorite flowers, but the scent is rather strong.

Thanks for clearing that up. So, in other words, B Edulis is also the King Porcini Good luck with the morels today...I'm envious.

I have a couple of packages of sliced dried boletes from Switzerland. I was planning to soak them, sautee in butter and spoon over steaks, for lack of knowledge of what to do with them. Any recommendations on how best utilize these treats?

A couple other wonderful mushrooms I remembered I love are the Matsutake and the Hedgehog mushrooms. I discovered the matsutake at the fall mushroom show in Seattle. Freshly picked, it has an intoxicating perfumy earthy aroma that really made me want to keep sniffing it, ha. During the show we sampled many varities of cooked wild mushrooms, and that one was truly a favorite. Unfortunately, they are very rare & hard to find. We also learned about the hedgehog mushroom at the show, and have subsequently found them while foraging for mushrooms in the late fall. They are delicious sauteed in butter. Does anyone else love either of these two?

What are your favorite bites there? Please tell us more... I'm intrigued

I have been known to eat tinned mushrooms right out of the can

Has anyone that likes mushrooms had a mushroom they didn't like? I would love to try the exotic ones that members have mentioned, like black trumpet and ink cap. So far I've loved every mushroom I've ever tasted. My favorite is probably chantrelles. In the fall we often have chantrelles in a cream & cheese sauce (like a ragout) over rice as a main dish, it's one of our favorites. I also loved grilled portobellos. Looking forward to some morels this Spring, which I have limited experience with. I also love those mushrooms in Chinese soups & Vietnamese Spring Rolls, I think they're called tree ear or wood ear mushroom. The have a wonderful texture.

girlchow, thanks for the Taqueria El Rinconsito rec. I have had the one in Burien on my radar screen for the last few months, so glad to hear it is good. I even drove by the place, so I would know for future reference where to find it (That was the day I ended up at El Trapiche Pupuseria). Burien lost one of their taqueria's (Zacatecas) last summer when the hot water tank blew through the roof and landed a block away at Pizza Hut, having crossed 6 lanes of traffic..wow. Next time I am able to go Trader Joes Burien, I'm stopping at El Riconsito for sure.

Speaking of sardine sandwiches, did you know that PapaChef's restaurant Blue Onion Bistro has a Sardine Sandwich on their menu? (Is it still on the menu PapaChef?). I clipped out the recipe when it appeared in the Seattle Times a couple of months ago. I bought the sardines, but haven't tried it yet, but the recipe looks very intriguing (a unique combo of ingredients which includes Vietnamese chili sauce or sambel olek, and served on a french baquette. The recipe is also online: The Great Sardini Sandwich

A friend of mine just got back from an 11 day dog sledding trip on Baffin Island. At the end of their trip they stayed in an Inuit village at the home of a couple who introduced them to raw Caribou meat. mamster, the item I am craving is Old Dutch Popcorn Twists. I usually have to bring 2-3 bags back with me whenever I go to Canada, as well as Marks & Spencer assam blend tea which we can't get. I also love sea salt & vinegar chips, and I was so glad when Tim's started making them in the States (at least in WA).

mamster, we're on the same wave length....I bought a package of Hempler's ends & pieces last week at Admiral Thriftway for $2.09/lb. It looks really good, too.

British Columbia, add'l items: Kamloops rainbow trout Peachland & Summerland peaches Penticton peaches, apricots Okanagon region wine Not an ingredient, but wish I could find it in the States: Old Dutch snacks, mmmmm.

Those were good tips, thanks. I cut it up and micro'd it at a low temp with nary a pop. It's a delicate balance though. When the butter melted, it was not hot enough, so I micro'd it a few seconds more (at med.) and the popping began. At least this time I had a paper towel over the top (now why didn't I think of that before?).

We've also started using Plugra. It's great on bread & toast. However, I have a problem getting it to behave properly when I'm trying to melt it (to pour over popcorn). I normally melt butter in a glass pyrex measuring cup in the microwave, but the Plugra explodes and spatters all over the place. Also tried melting some on top of the stove and had the same result (pops of butter landing on my range), even when melting at a low temp. The only thing I haven't tried is using the diffuser with it to see if that helps. I never had a problem melting other butters. Does anyone have an idea why the Plugra would behave differently from other butters? Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? I was thinking maybe too much water in the butter causes it to pop/explode, but it sounds like it has more butterfat than most butters? Maybe my melting container is too small? I'm just trying to melt enough butter for my popcorn. Any suggestions?

Never heard of it, but your post prompted me to do a quick search which turned up an amusing review of it on epinions. I had to laugh when one taster said it should be renamed Projectile. I've noticed a number of so called energy vitimin & who knows what else enhanced watery flavored drinks showing up at the grocery.

Thank you for the well wishes, and also for the link to the Vietnam Pearl's review and your restaurant notes. You are a wonderful treasure trove of knowledge. I can't wait to try some of your recommendations. I have also heard of the fresh spring rolls referred to as salad rolls (that's what Mai Pham calls them), and some people call them summer rolls. Whatever they are called, they are good! I'd like to learn how to make them, and Cook's Illustrated Magazine recently had a recipe for them I should try. I was really pleased to read about all the places you wrote about (I'm actually still reading....), especially the Moonlight as you recommended. If you go to Lee's in W. Seattle, I recommend the Seven Flavor Beef. which is a real knock-out. It's sliced flank steak with the flavors of lemon grass, peanuts, hoisin, chilies, basil, garlic & ginger quickly dry stir-fried as described by Michael Hood, his review appears here: Lee's Asian Restaurant I also had the Szechuan Eggplant & Tofu, which was pretty good, but not good enough to make me want to order it again (there are a lot of other interesting things I would like to try, but I'd definitely get the Seven Flavor Beef again). They feature mostly Chinese (Hunan, Cantonese, Szechuan, ChaiZhou), Thai, and a couple things each of Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese & Singaporian (if that's a word). Lunch deals are really good. Soup, both white & brown rice, and entree from $4.95-$6.95.

I don't think I've heard of Colors NW before. Is it like the Seattle Weekly or The Stranger? Thanks for the comments on Monsoon. I love Vietnamese food. I'm not sure why I haven't scoped it out more. At the moment I have 6 Vietnamese cookbooks checked out from the library to see if there is is one I would like to buy. I like both Mai Pham books the best (she's chef/owner of The Lemongrass Restaurant & Cafes in Sacramento), & her cookbooks are: The Best of Vietnamese & Thai Cooking, as well as Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Her stories & anecdotes, especially in the Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table are really interesting. I'd like to get them both. She gives great advice and instructions which make her cookbooks suitable for beginners like me, and adapts Vietnamese recipes for ingredients readily available in the US.

A belated welcome from me too, PerfectCircle. I'm also a fan of bahn mi's, although I'm sidelined with a bad back now, and haven't been able to get out & try these recommendations yet. I would love to know if you, or other eGulleteers also have recommendations on places for Vietnamese Spring Rolls, fried or fresh. I love both versions. I had the fried version recently at Lee's Asian Restaurant in W. Seattle (I went their after reading Michael Hood's review...great place). They were delicious. Has anyone been to Monsoon or other full scale Vietnamese restaurants? (ie Vietnam's Pearl, Viet My or others?).

Oops...I made a mistake. Hempler's is out of Bellingham, WA, not Canada as I previously mentioned. They also make a lot of things besides bacon, ie. smoked pork chops, ham hocks, weiners (all sold at Admiral Thriftway), in addition to other items as well: Click here I will edit my previous posts to reflect the correction.

We also have a fridge with the cold water & ice cube dispenser that we don't use, because we forget to change the filter on it. Today when we change our tap filter, we'll also change the refrigerator filter...then maybe we'll use the dispenser again. Our tap water tastes fine, but we use filters because the city water pipes are really old, and I think we are at the end of a line and the filters seem to catch rust and other particles. Two of our neighbors get the water barrel delivery you described (one before Sept. 11, the other after as our city reservoirs are not covered and she fears terrorists tampering with the water reservoir). As John Whiting said, bacteria is probably more of a concern than terrorists adding something to the water.