eG Foodblog: Abra - Walla Walla Wash and Orcas Island too!

[Smithy]

I'll be interested to learn the results of the food pairings with oaky wines. I personally don't like oak in wine if I can detect it; I suspect it's been severely overdone in the wines I've tried, and I've developed an aversion as a result. (It's entirely possible, at my usual price range, that the "oak" has come from wood chips thrown in instead of proper barrel aging.) That being said, I've been under the impression that the heavily oaked chardonnays don't pair well with food because they shout it down. Was that incorrect? Should I be suspicious that the person who says that is also a non-oak person?

As to the arm: this part may get too personal, and if so, please accept my apologies and ignore it. I went through something like that last year, and it turned out to be related more to posture and lack of stretching than to heavy lifting. The lifting (more specifically, the heavy briefcase suspended from a shoulder strap) was a contributing factor, but the stretching and muscle strengthening were what helped. Are you satisfied that the chiropractor is giving you sufficient information?

I don't know much about persimmons except that they grow readily where I grew up, in central California. Do they grow in your climate?

[Abra]

Here we are at the Bainbridge Island Town and Country store.

It's a community institution, the sort of place that serves free coffee to people when the power is out on the island, organizes food donations to the local food bank, has a float in the 4th of July parade, and is a thoroughly wonderful place to shop.

There's excellent bread

a huge organic produce section, of which this picture shows about 1/6 of the stock

a mind-boggling assortment of upscale oils and vinegars

a gorgeous fish counter

and even interesting housewares.

I spend a lot of time there, and I always enjoy it. We have a Safeway on the island too, but I go there as little as possible.

Riley loves to go shopping with me.

This is his favorite store, another community institution that's part nursery, part feed store, and also specializes in useful outdoor clothing.

Riley especially likes it because they let him come in and pick out his own cookies. I know, it looks like he's so well-mannered. You have no idea how hard it was to get him to keep his nose out of the bins and sit semi-still for this shot!

Yikes, I see that it's getting past lunchtime. Let me go whip up something with that skate before I post the coffee photos. Need a coffee fix? You'll just have to wait a minute!

[Genny]

Hi Abra! What beautiful pix you have here! OMG my mouth literally started to water looking at the poached egg on the salad...I had to go make one for myself!!!! (Seriously, I really did!) How do you get your photos so well lit and crisp? Do you doctor them at all or just publish them as is?

Persimmons sound wonderful. I haven't had one in years but I just saw them at my local grocers, I may just have to pick one up to see if they are any good. Here is a fabulous looking idea: frozen persimmon = sorbet for dessert. A beautiful presentation for sure. Here is the Mark Bittman site describing: Frozen Persimmon

I'm looking forward to the Belgian dinner (I was reading through thinking DUTCH, please do Dutch!) so it looks like you'll be able to please both sides with this one

Happy Blogging!

Genny

[Chris Amirault]

Abra, I'm a bit late, but can you tell me where you get your Urfa pepper? I hadn't heard of it before, but a bit of googling has me curious!

[Abra]

So, coffee.

This is the sign behind my husband's espresso bar. He's a certifiable coffee nut. I actually think he likes the machine as much as he likes the coffee.

He also has a ton of coffee gear - it sure makes it easy to find gifts for him.

Here's a cappucino he made for me. Well, actually, he made it for you.

Whenever Riley and Sushi hear the coffee grinder, which, in truth, can be heard all over the house, they come running. They're very ritualistic pets. Every morning Sushi jumps right up on the bar for a little coffeetime snack of dried crunchies. I might point out that she'll ignore these crunchies at mealtime, but as a coffee break treat, she laps them up.

She's not too photogenic, being all one dark color, and she refuses to smile for the camera. In fact, she stuck out her tongue at the very idea. Now Riley, his coffee break thing is to catch little cookies in his mouth. He has learned the command "back up" just so he can catch cookies from further away. He looks like he needs orthodontia in this shot, but if you look carefully you can see that he is just about to close on a little cheese heart.

[tryingsomethingnew]

that cappucino looks to die for! drool.......

[Chufi]

So, coffee.

Here's a cappucino he made for me.  Well, actually, he made it for you.

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thanks.

That's just what I need as a midnight pick me up

very impressive coffeestation! It looks so professional!

Thanks for the shopping pictures. Pics of foodmarkets and shops are one of my favorite things in the blogs, it's so interesting to see how these things are differently organized in other parts of the world.

Hey, and cute pets too! this blog is getting better and better...

[Abra]

I was a skate wing virgin. I might wanna be one again. Assuming that you too have never cooked it, here's the graphic lowdown on why we don't much eat this creature. Not that it's in any way bad. It's just...weird to prepare, and very underwhelming to eat. If Wendy hadn't suggested the browned butter, I'm not sure it would have had any flavor at all. Here's what came home from the fish counter

The fish lady had told me that you have to peel the cartilage off after you pan fry it. I had no idea! I gave it a light dusting of seasoned flour, pan fried it in some browned butter, and voila. Half of the thing was the aforementioned cartilage. But it's kind of beautiful, no?

Here's what was left, plopped on a salad. I don't want to blame the poor skate, since there may be many better ways to prepare same, but I think this might be another one of those things that Only Comes Once a Year. Or even less often.

Perkiins is waiting to see whether any skate wing is coming his way. He's a very elderly cat, and patient, but he didn't get any.

Now off I go to work on tonight's dinner. But first, let me say that the Urfa Pepper, as well as Marash Pepper, come from Zingerman's. They're both really worth having. And yes, I've thought of a hint of vanilla with the Chard. Is there a seafood risotto with a vanilla bean in it?

The photos in this blog are taken without a flash, as opposed to my first blog, where I han't learned that trick. I do doctor them a little, "fixing" the contrast, sometimes the "levels" (whatever that really is) and occasionally also sharpening the focus. Perkins is still fuzzy though, even with doctoring. Mostly that's the indoor photos - the outdoors is beautiful all by itself, mainly I just crop and post.

I always love it when people post pictures of their markets, and their towns. My first blog was really tightly focused on the stove and the plate, so this time I wanted to open my world up a bit more for you. It's so nice to have you all here. Let's go play in the kitchen!

[Toliver]

Regarding the skate, here was a previous discussion on the beast:

"What do you think of skate?, Love it or hate it?"

I'd heard some not-so-reputable fish mongers will cut circular pieces from it and try to pass it off as scallops. So I'm thinking you could use whatever scallops recipes you have on the skate.

And I love your photos! What camera are you using?

[Dianne]

I am one of those who "lurks" and reads, but I must say here how much I enjoy veryone's blog. This one, however, is exceptioal. The photography is amazing and that food store had me drooling. I thought I had good shopping!!! Can't wait for the rest.

Dianne Ross.

[Daddy-A]

This is the sign behind my husband's espresso bar.  He's a certifiable coffee nut.  I actually think he likes the machine as much as he likes the coffee.

He also has a ton of coffee gear - it sure makes it easy to find gifts for him.

Here's a cappucino he made for me.  Well, actually, he made it for you.

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

Now I know why I like the coffee culture so much ... all those shiney chrome things. It's the next best thing to automotive chrome!

A.

[Abra]

Eek, Klary, are you still up? Why oh why does Holland have to be 9 hours ahead of me? Should that beef be covered? I have the lid ajar right now, awaiting inspiration. And I've done a non-standard thing with the speculaas too. I hope the Netherlands Cooking Goddess is watching over me! Now to tackle the French stuff. Shouldn't I have started this about 2 hours earlier?

[MT-Tarragon]

I noticed that the apple orchard had a lot of fruit on the ground.  Do you happen to know whether the orchard had been picked and the stuff on the ground were the culls?  Or did that orchard just start dropping its load before the pickers got there?  (Don't you love these questions, fired away about something you were just happened to see on the way?  )

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Apples on the ground are typically both culls and apples that have fallen off of the tree of their own accord. Also, earlier in the season the trees are thinned and a lot of small apples are removed and tossed on the ground. These apples are not sold for cider because it costs more to pick up the apples than the grower would get paid for the apples. The pay for cider apples is dismal.

[Placebo]

I've had fantastically tender and delicious skate wing at Crave. I was going to take a stab at Bourdaine's skate wing grenobloise but I got too much and had a lot of difficulty getting the cartilege ogff. It's the only food that's really actively weirded me out to work with. It felt alien in a way I'd never experienced. I will try again though.

[ludja]

When Riley gets to 'pick' which food he likes at the store does he always pick the same kind? (I also wonder what type of breed or mix he is; he's beautiful!)

Hope you're having a wonderful time at your dinner!

[Sharon]

Hi Abra:

GREAT blog! Thanks for showing us the world around your food, it all looks wonderful.

[Abra]

All I can say about that dinner is Oh My God. If you want to make a dinner that will wow your friends into food nirvana, make that exact dinner.

The Duck Confit Salad with Red Cabbage, Chestnuts, and Watercress is easily one of the best salads I've ever tasted. The combination of flavors and textures knocked my socks off.

Because it was a first course, I used only two duck confit legs for four people. Since I had to shred the meat, I used the skin for cracklings. And since my chestnuts had been frozen, and seemed a bit dry and mealy once thawed, I flashed them through a pan of hot duck fat. Other than that, I made it exactly as written. We ate it with the utmost devotion.

Klary's beef in butter is indescribably delicious. She PM'd me to be sure to brown the meat long and low, and so I did.

I braised it for about 3 hours, maybe a little more. I don't usually find beef very interesting to eat, but this was absolutely killer. And with the Potatoes from Quercy and the Puree of Celery Root and Apples, well, words escape me. My friend and dinner guest said "I don't know that I've ever eaten a better dinner" and that pretty well sums up this combination. You've got to try them all together.

For Klary's speculaas, I did make a few changes. My dough looked a lot lighter than hers did, which I assume relates to the amount of molasses in our brown sugar. I added about 3 T of molasses to the dough to darken it up. That made the dough pretty soft, but I wasn't planning to roll it out in any case. I wanted individual servings with no cut edges, so I made it in my mini cheesecake pan, with removable bottoms. I divided the dough into 24 pieces and pressed dough into the bottom of each little pan.

Then I spooned the almond paste on top of the dough and covered each pan with a second round of dough. By the way, I added a few drops of almond extract to the almond paste, to get a more almondy flavor. I think maybe Klary's almonds are different from ours.

This made really cute small cakes

which I plated with a little creme Anglaise made with Earl Grey tea that I got from Epicurious. That proved to be a truly lovely combination, especially served with a glass of vin de noix.

So Paula and Klary, and all of you vin de noix crew, and the duck confit crew, thank you for being with us tonight for a genuinely fabulous dinner. It was quite a treat. Oh, and I should mention that it didn't take forever to prepare either. I spent about 4 1/2 hours cooking, which is not at all bad for the number and complexity of dishes. So, what are you waiting for?

[helenjp]

Celery root and apples sound perfect with the Dutch-style beef - but the whole dinner is such an Ode to Autumn. Thanks for a great blog!

[Pan]

[...]I spent about 4 1/2 hours cooking, which is not at all bad for the number and complexity of dishes.  So, what are you waiting for?

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That would be like me telling my high-school-aged flute students: "I can play that piece easily, and it didn't take me long to practice it up. So, what are you waiting for?"

You are a very advanced cook. Sure, you can do that in 4 1/2 hours. You think I can?

Beautiful meal, though.

[Chufi]

Oh my goodness. My first thought when I woke up was: how did Abra's dinner go.. and then I rushed to the computer before doing anything else..

Should that beef be covered?  I have the lid ajar right now, awaiting inspiration. 

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My mom always keeps the lid slightly ajar. I cover it, but with a lid that has a small hole in it, so that's the same thing.

I don't usually find beef very interesting to eat, but this was absolutely killer.  And with the Potatoes from Quercy and the Puree of Celery Root and Apples, well, words escape me.  My friend and dinner guest said "I don't know that I've ever eaten a better dinner" and that pretty well sums up this combination.  You've got to try them all together.

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That looks so good.. I'm so glad you liked the beef.. you said before that you thought this plate needed color, but it looks just perfect. What a lovely autumn dinner.

This made really cute small cakes

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They are adorable.. see, that's what I meant when I said you would work magic with my recipes. Like Pan said, you are an advanced cook, who can make the right decisions based on knowledge and experience.

Now I want to try these!

I hope the Netherlands Cooking Goddess is watching over me! 

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she sure was. And some other Cooking Goddesses, too.

[Swisskaese]

The meal looks delicious.

Speculaas are my 94-year-old grandmother's favorite dessert. My cousin's in Holland always send her a big box of them for Chanukah.

I will have to make her some when I go to the States.

[rjwong]

You are a very advanced cook with a good sense of presentation, Abra!

I really like your plates. You must like blue, ehh? Where did you get them?

In the duck confit salad, could you describe the combination of flavors and textures, please? To me, watercress is an acquired taste. How prominent was its flavor in the salad?

[bleudauvergne]

What a breautiful well thought out meal, Abra. Bravo!

[jackal10]

My internet conection has been off, one of the perils of living int he countryside, so I come to this late. Great photos, great food.

Skate is traditionally served pan fried with BLACK butter - deeper than brown, and a few capers and vinegar. Oaky chardonnay would go well.

Okay reds go well with deep flavoured such as long braised meats...

[Abra]

Good morning! No glorious sunrise for us today, instead we have this admittedly much more typical view for this time of year. And I had a much more typical breakfast too

I love Boca breakfast patties. I'm still an unreconstructed hippy when it comes to certain kinds of food, and my roots are deep in whole-earth, vegetarian, whole-grain, soy and nuts type eating, even though I've considerably broadened my spectrum over the years.

I want to catch up on the comments from yeaterday and this morning.

Toliver, the camera is a Sony DSC V1. It's not at all high end, and it's not at all new, and it's still got dozens of features that I haven't mastered. That instruction manual is really intimidating!

Ludja, I really do play a cookie-choosing game with Riley where I put a different kind of cookie in each hand, let him sniff them, and then let him choose one. He'll almost always go for one with peanut butter, next would be cheese, and he also loves the charcoal ones. If I take a little cookie and spread a bit of people peanut butter on it, he's absolutely in heaven. But no, he's not at all spoiled. He's an Old English Sheepdog, with a haircut, weighing about 100 lbs.

Sharon, welcome to eGullet! How nice to see you here in my other world.

Pan, since you don't cook much, it would probably take you longer, but there's nothing hard about that meal. By doing my personal chef gig I have learned to have 3-5 things cooking at once without stressing over it unduly, and that comes in handy at home too.

Klary, thank you for your faith in me, but your food already looks so beautiful and delicious that it really needs no reinterpretation at all. I don't have very good pastry cutting skills, which is why I wanted individual servings on the speculaas. I know, hot knife, wipe after every cut, and so on, but I think that a perfectly clean pastry cut is one of the hardest things to accomplish. If any of you have good tips and secrets for that, please, bring 'em on!

Rjwong, you must have been reading my mind about the blue plates. In truth, I'm looking for some new plates, since we don't have the required 20 for Thanksgiving dinner, and I keep having to force myself not to look at any more blue plates. The ones you see most of in this blog are from China, and we got them at an Asian ceramic place. The nice ones from last night (our "good" dishes) are Heath, from Sausalito. I keep thinking that for presentation purposes I need some white plates, but every time I see them in the store I get bored before I can even get them to the register.

As to the salad, it was rich and complex. The watercress wasn't a discernible separate note at all, more of a brightening flavor. The cabbage with walnut oil, the duck, the chestnuts, walnuts, and cracklings, are all so earthy and sweet, with a nice bit of salt from the confit process, that you really want that spicy little dark green thing from the watercress. The cabbage softens during a short marinating period in the dressing, so it's not crunchy, but the toasted walnuts and the cracklings do provide crunch. The whole thing feels good in your mouth, smooth and inviting. It's very hearty,and with a bit bigger serving and more duck it would be a lovely main dish.

And Jack, I wish I'd thought of capers and vinegar for that skate. That would have livened it up considerably. The wine last night wasn't oaky at all. It was a Wilridge Klipsun Vineyard Nebbiolo, a wine that goes brilliantly with salty foods. I'd opened it for the confit, but it kept on being really nice with the main course.

So, what shall we do today and tomorrow? I feel like a kid on a snow day, being forbidden to work and invited to play. Friday morning we'll head up to Orcas Island, and tomorrow night we want to try out a new restaurant here on Bainbridge that's been getting great reviews, but in the meantime, the world's our oyster. Mmmm, oysters. Some ideas:

1) I have a lot of weird ingredients in my cupboards. Often I buy things that I don't know how to use, or that are seldom used. I could pull them all out, take a picture, and let you guys request a dish or a meal from my pantry.

2) I could take you to Seattle and show you Pike Place Market and other foodie-mecca-type places, if that hasn't already been done to death.

3) I have the new Mario Batali cookbook and haven't even cracked it yet. We could have an Italian dinner.

4) I could go in the opposite direction from Seattle and show you Poulsbo, a little Norwegian-emphasis town on the Kitsap Peninsula.

5) You could help me refine the menu for my Orcas wine pairing dinner.

6) We could all work together on our Thanksgiving menus.

7) We could have a cyber-dinner. That's a thing we used to do on another food board, where a group of people would all cook the same meal on the same night, wherever they were in the world, and we'd talk about how it came out, what tweaks we made, and pretend that we were all gathered together around a big, virtual table.

8) I need to clean up all of my personal chef kit, repairing the chaos caused by the Walla Walla gig, and geting ready to take some stuff up to Orcas with me. It's in the garage, and it's a messy job. Normally I'd never let anyone see me do it, but if any of you have a morbid curiosity about messy garages...

9) We could roast some coffee.

Or anything else. So, whad'll ya have? Whad'll ya have?