Blue Heron

col klink, thank you for that mouthwatering review. I can see that I'm going to have to get to Mashiko before sea urchin season is over, and also try some other new to me things, too. Have a great time in Vancouver and looking forward to meeting you on Monday.

It is so good, we've made it 3 times in the last 10 days. I like the way it turns out with slicing. Not only is it quicker, but the flat pieces lend to carmalizing nicely, and there are lots of pieces that crumble off which also brown nicely. To get it as brown as I like, I tended to bake it about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. John Ash on foodtv.com has done a similar recipe using slices of cauliflower, but I'm sticking with olive oil :-) '>http://dev.foodtv.com/recipes/re-c1/0,1724,13913,00.html

Well at least now we dont have to wonder about this place anymore. I really had to cringe when I read her unmouthwatering descriptions of fake crab louie and the glob of custard stuff over the lobster...yuk!

jo jo's are seasoned baked/roasted potato wedges.

mmm...broasted chicken. I have wonderful memories of many a friday night after work eating broasted chicken & jo jo's with co-workers at the Uptown Tavern in Richland, WA. Jim's right...it's a trademarked pressure-fried method of cooking chicken. As I recall, it tasted pan fried, and we used to dip it & jo jo's in mustard for maximum enjoyment. This was 20 years ago, but the memories are great. (Edited by Blue Heron at 7:48 pm on Feb. 7, 2002)

I thought it was an interesting review, made more special to me since it's a restaurant in my neighborhood that I haven't tried yet, and hadn't even given much thought to, before I read about it. I'm now looking forward to trying it. I like Michael Hood's reviews, but I must say I am a fan of most reviews (even the paid advertisement ones in magazines). I enjoy reading about food, period. I try not to be one of those people who goes through life looking for reasons to be offended. So I can enjoy a review or hearing views that I don't completely agree with regarding food, without getting into a snit over it, or take to name calling. At least this is what I aspire to :-) As for my favorite reviewer? ha ha... none other than our mamster. (do I get brownie points for that? I didn't think so :-)

just noticed there are a couple of fascinating threads going on right now on the Japan board. One has to do with Favorite Sushi Toppings (makes my sushi experiences look extremely weak by comparison). The other interesting thread over there is on Favorite Japanese Foods.

Those were great explanations. Thanks! I will now feel much more confident at the sushi bar. I have to admit I used to feel a little self conscience. The sea urchin combo you described sounds unlike anything I've ever seen before. Sounds so intriguing and delicious! I wonder if they do sushi w/ sea cucumber, too? btw...I grew up watching Hogan's Heroes...it was one of my faves.

I like Mashiko's too. Their sushi is not only fresh but big. This brings me to a couple (novice) sushi questions. Is it more proper/preferable/desirable to eat the sushi in one bite, or is 2 bites more the norm? Smaller sushi is ok in 1 bite, but Mashiko's is too big for 1 bite. 2nd question....is it more preferable to eat sushi with chopsticks or fingers? I'm sorry if I sound like a real sushi geek. Although I enjoy it, I'm never sure if I'm doing it right! Also, do you dip the sushi in the wasabi paste, or does one always mix the wasabi w/ soy sauce first (don't know why, but I like a little straight wasabi on the sushi, probably because that's how I first ate it, not knowing one mixes it with soy sauce. Any other tips I should know so not to embarass myself at the sushi bar? I really do love sushi! (and you're right...it's so expensive that I don't get to enjoy it often enough)...sigh.

I was just reading about Bearfoot Bistro in February's Sunset magazine. Looks very intriguing and expensive...here is part of what they had to say (paraphrased a bit)...Perhaps the most unusual restaurant at Whistler is the Bearfoot Bistro. It's menu combines ingredients flown in fresh from all over the world: On any given night, you might sample bluefin tuna from Maine, white truffles from Italy, or chocolate from Madagascar. "We want the best of the best, and we'll go to the ends of the world to get it" says restaurant founder Andre St. Jacques." It goes on to say many Whistler restaurants, including Bearfoot Bistro, offer live music and are very much part of the growing cultural life here, www.bearfootbistro.com Other restaurants mentioned in the article are: Araxi Restaurant & Bar (continental cuisine w/NW & Japanese influences, http://www.araxi.com/araxi/ ; Dubh Linn Gate Old Irish Pub (excellent Guinness & Crab soup); Longhorn Saloon (best burgers). note: the online menu prices are in Cdn $. To convert to US $, multiply the amount by .63 (approximately, ie ส Araxi Salmon dinner x .63 = ภ.38 US). I haven't been to Whistler yet. If you go, please give us a report when you get back! (Edited by Blue Heron at 10:40 am on Feb. 1, 2002)

some of the worst things (no nutritional value) that I will admit to eating are: -microwave popcorn -Easy Cheese (the canned cheese product) sprayed on wheat thins. -fritos, cheetos, potato chips -burger king's flamed broiled bacon cheese burger -McDonald's fries, egg McMuffin, hashbrowns Last week I also bought a couple of boxes of Camp Fire Girl cookies (Almond Caramel Clusters). These are sooo good it's really hard to eat just one...so I've been postponing opening the box for fear that once I started I couldnt stop. Last night I finally opened one box and after eating one, ended up eating 4 more...and then another just before bed). And I'm not even a "sweets" person, but these are really irrestible!

There was a fascinating article about Sea Salt by Robert L. Wolke I came across awhile back. Here is a link.. ps'>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv.... ps .. I love salt! I'd much rather have a salty snack than a sweet. I'd love to hear if our fellow egullitarians use sea salt, fleur de sel, etc. and if they like it better. I still haven't sprung for fleur de sel, but I'm tempted.

I've had the misfortune of witnessing a couple of coffee accidents. One was a waitress (my roommate) who broke a pot of coffee, burning herself. The other was at a party where a toddler got too close to the buffet table and pulled a party size coffee urn over, splashing himself with hot coffee. Fortunately, in both cases, the burns were not serious. They caused reddening of the skin and pain, but that was about all. The waitress was able to work the rest of her shift, and the baby, although in pain didn't require hospitalization fortunately. I think the temp of the coffee can make a big difference on how severe the burns can be. We just got a carafe coffee maker as a free gift from Gevalia. It makes coffee a lot hotter than our last model, which was a Krupps or Braun. The cup of coffee I just served myself registered 160 with my instant thermometer, but within about 1 minute was at 150 (still very hot).

Hi Sandra, Thank you for the recipe ideas. I also own a DeLonghi toaster oven...they're great. I read about your egullet dinner over on the NJ board...sounds like it was a lot of fun! The pictures of all of you turned out great, too. We had our 1st Northwest egullet dinner a couple of weeks ago and are having our 2nd on Feb. 11. I almost forgot to mention, in a couple of months it will be time for one of my favorite roasted veggie dishes, which is Roasted Asparagus. Spread asparagus in a single layer, drizzled with olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, Roast at 400 degrees for about 10-20 minutes, depending on thickness. Serve warm or room temp with a splash of balsamic vinegar. (Edited by Blue Heron at 10:28 pm on Jan. 29, 2002)

I think the cold water defeathering process might also explain the buttery/greasy skin. It definitely wasn't slimy or old. The greasy was probably fat from the chicken (which was actually lean). When they processed it with cold water, it didn't remove that coating of fat very well. Kind of like when you wash your hands with cold water, butter won't come off either. I now see the label says to expect a few quills. My Empire chicken was Ū.19/lb, but it came all the way from PA. I think next time I will try one of Jim's Rocky or Ranger chickens that are more local and try brining it myself.

Jim, I just tried your recipe for Roasted Cauliflower. My husband and I both think it was the best cauliflower we ever had (we ate a whole head of cauliflower). He's even going to translate the recipe into Swiss German, so his mom can try it. The ultimate complement from my husband was "this tastes like it has cheese on it"...I kid you not. Your tip about waiting until the edges get brown are key. It gets better tasting as it carmelizes with the olive oil. I just realized I forgot to stir it as it cooked, but it still turned out delicious. Thanks!

kosher chicken update: I called the Empire Chicken phone line twice...no answer...hmmm. I read up on their chickens on their online site. They look very reputable. The chicken was in the oven...too late to return it for a non feathered non greasy one. No response from fellow egulleters...more nervousness since this is my first kosher, I don't know what to expect. Now we have had lunch, and here is observations on the kosher chicken: the meat was very flavorful. About as good as I expected. Unfortunately I couldn't eat my favorite part (the chicken skin), due to some remaining pin feathers, plus not sure what that greasy substance was on the chicken (I washed it thoroughly before cooking, though). Highlight of the meal was Jim Dixon's recipe for Roasted Cauliflower. It is DELICIOUS! If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it. To find his recipe, one can check the Northwest board under the "In search of veggies" thread (scroll down to Jim's post) or click http://www.egullet.com/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=8&topic=48

I've been hearing so much about kosher chickens lately so when I came across one at our Trader Joes, I bought it. It's the Empire Kosher brand, touted by NY Times & Boston Globe as the best tasting chicken. It's roasting in the oven now. My first surprise, was when I opened the package, the chicken was all covered with pin feathers. Next surprise was the chicken skin had a buttery greasy feeling to it. Are both of these things normal with buying kosher chickens? I realize chickens have feathers, but I've never seen so many pin feathers on any one chicken before (a pity, because I love crisp chicken skin and I don't think I was able to remove all of them). And why do you think the chicken skin has a buttery texture? I'm hoping that the superior flavor of this chicken will make it worthwhile, especially since the price is more about twice what a non-kosher chicken costs. Which do you prefer, kosher or regular chicken?

I was at a party over the weekend where those little smokie's were served cooked in some kind of barbeque sauce in a pot on the stove. They weren't as good as I'd remembered (maybe too smoky and the skin was too tough). Maybe the little hotdogs are better, or as others have suggested, cut up some hot dogs, or sausages.

To continue on our theme of sauteed greens, here is a llink to a few freebie Greens recipes that Cooks Iillustrated has on their site right now By'>http://www.cooksillustrated.com/show_do....64 By the way, Southern style greens like the ones that Jim Dixon described w/vinegar & hotsauce (or red pepper flakes in my case) sure does go good with southern style mac & cheese that has a little hot pepper jack cheese mixed in with it. My brother's mother-in-law makes the BEST! She's even given me directions for making it, but it (the mac & cheese) sure never turns out as good or creamy as hers. In fact, hers frozen, thawed and microwaved tastes even better than my fresly made...arrgh. (fortunately, she keeps me supplied w/CARE pkgs of hers, though).mamster, I'm glad you liked the Trader Joe's Greens in spite of the Turnip mixed in there! One more thing about those bagged greens....I forgot to mention, that although they are picked, cleaned and ready to go, I always remove any remaining large stems before cooking, but I'm hoping you already knew that.

Hi eriks..welcome to egullet! Glad to have both you and jeffjl on the northwest board. I've also been to 74th St. Ale House. It's a great place for lunch that I had kind of forgotten about. I remember having a nice hot spicy gumbo as well as a great grilled chicken sandwich there. That was back when the U-Brew (brew your own beer) place was in the neighborbood. Sure wish U-Brew was still around. We made our own twice there, and they turned out pretty darn good. Thanks for the tip that Pho Bac has a new location. I like their locations up on Jackson St. in Little Saigon district, and the one down off Rainier Ave. on Hanford St....looking forward to trying their Greenwood location, too.

I've always liked and admired Martha Stewart. I will even admit I subscribe to her magazine (although I don't have the time or talent (or staff of hundreds like she has) to make any of the projects, it's great to browse through). I also admire her business savvy. I don't follow her quite as much as I used to, probably because there are more choices out there now, but I still hold her in high regard.

not to bash lawyers, but if there were a way to regulate the billions the lawyers make from these frivilous lawsuits so that they make more in line what other professionals make, these cases would drop off significantly. The judgements don't really hurt the big businesses anyway...they just pass on the costs to us, their customers. Basically, as I see it, it's just the lawyers that are coming out ahead. The Stella Award should go one step further, by mentioning the name of the undeserving lawyer, too. On the other side, why was McDonalds serving coffee capable of causing 3rd degree burns? Why didn't they lower the temp of their coffee after receiving 700 other burn claims against them before this elderly woman's case? Why didn't they settle her case for the ฤ,000 she initially asked for? The Ū.7 million punitive damages were later reduced to 躀,000. For other intersting facts about that case see http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

My only foodtv 'can't miss' show is Tony Bourdain's new Cook's Tour show. I will tape it if I have to. I didn't think I would like him very much because of his x-rated language in his books, but he has won me over. He exhibits a certain sense of vulnerability on his show in contrast to his bad-boy image, which is attractive (Tony Bourdain is sort of a Russell Crowe of chefdom IMHO,) and the location scenes are also attractive. I also like Ming Tsai's show, as well as occasional Jamie Oliver, Mario and Emeril (my husband won't watch Emeril, though). I also usually like the melting pot. I like Alton Brown when he has an interesting topic, like last nights cheese cake. A lot of his shows are just too wacky for me, like when he makes Barbeque in a string of gym lockers...who is going to do that? I turn the channel when I see weird stuff like that. The most boring to watch (IMHO) are the chef's schools shows, and the couple that do the restaurants around the USA, so I turn the channel then, too. One more thing I also wonder...who are those 'friends' of Bobby Flays? It's a very weird show, but quite often the recipes/food looks very nice. I hate it though, when he has one of his 'friends' chop the ingredients, etc,...it's painful to watch. Overall, I like foodtv...sure glad we have it now (just came to me us maybe 4 months ago).

That was a good tip. I never thought about trying it in a chafing dish. That way I could try it out on the deck and see how high the flames shoot, before trying it indoors. Does one just use a long match to light it, or throw a match into the ladel or pan (then fish it out later)?