Ling

Pics from our meal...I didn't follow any recipes, but looked at the list of ingredients for the caponata and the calamari before cooking. Everything turned out really well...I think this is one of the best dinners we've had in awhile. arancini (carnaroli, pecorino romano, peas, guanciale) we all ate way too many of these (I fried about 25) but here's one I plated for the camera rosemary ciabatta from Essential Baking Company ...served with oregano salami from Salumi, and eggplant caponata (a Batali recipe I very loosely followed) Sicilian Lifeguard calamari...again, a Batali recipe I loosely followed Henry grilled the ribeyes perfectly...the sauce is anchovy, parlsey, garlic, and olive oil chocolate pistachio cannoli...we couldn't find metal tubes to fry the shells, so we had to use store bought shells not shown--lots of bread with Vermont Butter & Cheese butter, white peach ice-cream, and way too many cocktails and glasses of Perrier Jouet champagne

Yesterday...either the ika I had as part of my lunch, or the coconut sorbet after dinner. Today--chocolate pistachio cannoli! They're supposed to be the dessert for our Sicilian dinner party, but I'm sneaking the filling already and it's wickedly good.

Have you all been to "Hiroyuki" in Green Lake? It's across the street from Eva. I heard about Hiroyuki from the pastry chef at Eva, and we had breakfast there this morning. We chose the matcha tiramisu, which is his signature item. It's two thin layers of very buttery, very soft cake and layers of creamy matcha...for me, it had a bit more sugar than necessary, but hhlodesign thought it was nice because it wasn't very sweet compared to typical American desserts (which is true.) The sweetness level is probably what you'd expect from a typical French bakery. The other desserts Hiroyuki had this morning were what looked like raspberry mousse cups, pots de creme with coffee gelee, different coffee cakes with various fruits, and a few cookies. What I enjoyed most about the matcha tiramisu was that there wasn't too much gelatin in the mousse. I thought the quality was very good, and Hiroyuki is a really nice guy.

Thanks mamster, I went to Zoka this morning and I thought the coffee was a bit better than Vivace. It seemed to me that the roast was a bit lighter than Vivace. It was excellent! Caffe Senso Unico next...

I just heard about a wine dinner at Veil on Monday night. Here's the info: ******** DUNHAM CELLARS WINE DINNER AT VEIL RESTAURANT & LOUNGE Local Wine Maker Eric Dunham joins Chef Shannon Galusha for 6-Course Wine Dinner Seattle, June 28, 2006 – Veil Public Relations proudly welcomes on Monday, July 17th, Eric Dunham and Dunham Cellars for an intimate five-course seasonal dinner at Veil Restaurant, carefully prepared by Chef Shannon Galusha to pair with Dunham’s world-class wines. Using grapes from some of the finest vineyards in the Walla Walla, Yakima and Columbia Valleys, Dunham Cellars has established an award-winning reputation for their Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. When Eric’s first vintage, a 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon was released, it was deemed one of the finest wines made in Washington by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Dunham Cellars Syrah is also earning high marks with wine writers and consumers alike. Eric shows his artistic side by creating original artworks for all of Dunham Cellars vineyard designated and special bottlings. Dunham wines featured will include the Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Trutina (a Bordeaux style blend), Chardonnay, Rose, and an Ice Wine. Cocktail reception to commence at 6pm. Dinner to follow at 7pm sharp. The restaurant will be closed exclusively for this event. Space is limited to 45 guests. Cost is $110 per person excluding tax and gratuity. Reservations can be made by calling Veil directly 206.216.0600 Menu amuse bread salad, spanish chorizo and parmigiano reggiano wild striped bass tar tare / Rose 2005 french green melons and pickled oysters smoked salmon carpaccio/ Chardonnay 2005 jumbo asparagus and parsley hoffman farms quail / Syrah 2005 confit leg, bramble fruits vinaigrette and foie de canard smoked ham knuckles / Trutina 2003 braised legumes, pole beans and trutina vinaigrette intermezzo lemon and thyme sorbet roasted “best end” of venison / Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 beets, sultana and wild herbs goat cheese sherbet / Ice wine cold hollow apricot salad and pistachio praline

The vegetarian couple are in LA this weekend, so we invited another couple. Originally, the plan was to make the cannoli from scratch, but we couldn't find suitable metal tubes for the frying. So we purchased cannoli shells from a gourmet Italian market...I hope they'll taste OK. I agree on the alcohol issue, but I want to respect her dietary concerns.

I would put them on top, just like how I do my salted caramel cheesecakes. Yesterday, I had mini donuts from Pike Place Market (an enormous bag for only $2 as they were closing), and then at Mistral I had strawberry, coconut, and passionfruit sorbet, and a blackberry and mango cobbler with lemonbalm sauce and vanilla ice-cream. Mmmm! The coconut sorbet was my favourite!

My mom works near the Sage Bistro and she's eaten there numerous times over the year. She's always enjoyed the food.

I could give you some ideas about the dessert, if you'd like. You mentioned chocolate--chocolate ganache tarts are easy to do and plate. I try to do individual tarts and things whenever possible, but like you mentioned, it is difficult without buying a ton of equipment. You could do a bunch of accompaniments to dress up the tart slices...or even have a dessert bar where the guests can choose from a bunch of sauces, and toppings for their own tart. Another option is profiteroles, which can easily serve a crowd. You could fill them with anything--homemade ice-cream or any sort of pastry cream, top with chocolate sauce, and sprinkle with candied nuts. You could also do chocolate napoleons--make your own chocolate puff pastry, bake and slice into triangles, and layer it with whatever you want. That way, you can still have a "fancy" individual dessert without having to buy additional molds/rings. Or, since it IS your birthday, how about a chocolate birthday cake? I love making cakes because there's so many different possibilities with frostings, fillings, ganache, decorations...

The sticy buns look so good, Abra...better than ones I see at bakeries. I have to make some for myself sometime, and cover them with a really rich, buttery caramel. Henry was reading over my shoulder and begged me to make a strawberry pie for our Southern meal. I actually haven't made strawberry pie before! I hope I'll have time to render lard for the crust.

That baked arborio rice dish looks like just the thing for a rainy day! (It was pouring in Vancouver yesterday...I could've used a steaming bowl of that for dinner. ) OK I finally decided on the menu for tomorrow night. I dropped the cauliflower fritters in favour of chickpea fritters b/c there's only 2 ingredients in the chickpea fritter recipe (chickpea flour, parsley, and seasoning and water) and we're trying to pull off a longer menu... So the menu is: -antipasto platter (meats from Salumi) -eggplant caponata, chickpea fritters -arancini (guanciali, pea, pecorino romano) -ribeyes with anchovy, parsley and garlic sauce -Sicilian lifeguard calamari -chocolate pistachio cannoli Originally, I was going to do "Ling-style" cassata -- chocolate sponge cake, chocolate ricotta chestnut cream with pistachios, and chocolate ganache instead of the chocolate buttercream I see in the more modern recipes, but one of our guests is pregnant and is abstaining from alcohol, so I decided to go with the cannoli instead.

^Oh wow, you're so lucky! Your blackberry desserts look incredible...wish I could have some! Today I had some vanilla ice-cream and I'm busy trying to decide which two desserts to make this week. One has to be a Sicilian dessert for our Sicilian dinner (I'm thinking of doing an interpretation of cassata) and the other will be a Southern dessert for a biscuits and gravy meal!

It's good. My parents seem to like it well enough. I do enjoy some of the dishes there, but it's not the best Chinese food I've eaten. I like this fried taro dish they have there that comes with Chinese mustard and a slice of scallop on top served at dimsum.

I ate this at Empire about 3 weeks ago. ← Did you like (love) it? ← I enjoyed it, but the rest of my family didn't like it very much. (It was our first time trying this preparation).

Thanks for all your advice! I especially like the idea of the cauliflower fritters and caponata on the same plate. Did I miss the link to the recipe? Or could you give me a rough recipe? Another thing--we invited another (meat-eating ) couple to our dinner since the vegetarians are in LA this weekend. So, since we're in Seattle, I figure a salumi platter from Armandino's famed Salumi is in order. Then the cauliflower fritters and caponata. We have to do arancini because Henry's really looking forward to that... Then we'll do the salad, and then the dessert. I want to keep the meal relatively light (well, except for the cassata) because we're going to have a really heavy day of eating the next day. Actually, the cassata might be iffy because I really hate commercial candied fruit...I guess I can candy my own citrus peel though.

I ate this at Empire about 3 weeks ago.

yesterday: buffalo tenderloin, port wine sauce today: leftover creamy leeks

^The bad risotto could've just been that one night we were in. At the same time, I don't think the lobster risotto we got should have been fit to send out of the kitchen. I've made risotto countless times so I think I'm a fairly good judge of whether that dish was done well or not. The risotto you got on your visits could have been much better for all we know. Regarding Michael Mina...I was there with five other diners (one of them was Ena) and as I recall, we were all a bit disappointed considering the price. Here's a link to the Micahel Mina post...the thread also contains pictures and comments about Chez Panisse Cafe, French Laundry, Don Giovanni, and more. San Fran trip

I think the trios at Sanafir, using different parts of the animal (or different varieties, like the tuna trio), is more interesting than, say, Michael Mina's, where they use three cuts of the same meat and serve different accompaniments. (I ate at Michael Mina a few months ago, and though I didn't have any problem with the trio concept, but the food wasn't good.) I do like smaller portions, more dishes, and agree with Keller's theory of diminishing returns. I have no issue with the whole trio concept, but the flavour combinations in the tuna trio didn't work for me, and some of the other dishes (like the short rib, the lamb shank, the pork bun, the lobster risotto) were either just poorly cooked, or lacking in flavour.

^The show made it seem as if there was a bit of an attraction there.

Oops, sorry to confuse you...when I said I might make the pasta, I meant for myself, not for the vegetarians. Yes, they don't eat anchovies...darn. But I guess that's what I'm eating for lunch sometime this week... Pontormo--no need to apologize, the superstition is kind of silly. I'm not generally a superstitious person, but the number "4" is a big one for Chinese people...there is usually no Level 4 in buildings in Asia (especially in hospitals, as 4 is phonetically very close to the word "die")...even some Chinese-owned buildings here in Vancouver don't have Level 4, or 14...strange, isn't it? If there's escarole at the market, I'll make the stuffed escarole. I guess we'll use cheese, wild mushrooms ragu, and peas for the arancini. Elie, thanks so much for the recipe! If I can't find good berries, I'll make limoncello this month.

Thanks!

The Arctic Circle dessert looks great. What did you drink with your meals?

Hi Joe, thanks so much for your reply. So I gather the Jean Gaugry epoisses is raw milk? (not pasteurized, not thermalized?)

How about raw oysters as an appetizer? Or another seafood because you don't have seafood on the menu yet. Maybe celeriac as your other vegetable puree? I would use Valrhona for the souffles (or Michel Cluizel or Amedei if you can get some). What are you serving with the souffles? ETA: That is really sweet, what you're doing for your gf. I know she will love it no matter what you make!