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

[Abra]

Blanc. Maybe brandade de morue? I have the cod.

[bleudauvergne]

I would definitely go simple, something like dried sausages sliced thin - do you have a source for that? It is also really simple to transport...

Is this guy too far out of the way?

[little ms foodie]

Does she have a source for that?? She has the best source around!!

Salumi

Abra, back to the persimmons, I must try them I now realize! So you just eat the fruit skin and all?

[Abra]

That cute guy is several hours from here. And unfortunately, even Salumi is too far away at the moment, since we will be heading north first thing in the morning, before they're open. But we might have something here, and we definitely have Marcona almonds to go with the membrillo and Manchego.

Does anyone have thoughts on my roasted root vegetable question?

[gini]

Great blog Abra, I've really enjoyed reading it (I used to be a caterer, though not as fabulous as a personal chef, I still love your musings about transporting all of your gear!)!

Does anyone have thoughts on my roasted root vegetable question?

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In terms of root vegetable tartes, the following three things come to mind:

1) Cornmeal crusts remind me of mascarpone and fig tartes. Too sweet for the wine you had in mind, I think.

2) A root vegetable cobbler from epicurious: Root Vegetable Cobbler with Chive Biscuit I'm little skeptical on this one though.

3) Some sort of Gratin with gruyere and creme fraiche. The combination would probably stand up to the wine, but I'm not sure about how to incorporate the cornmeal crust. How about a gratin/tarte hybred? (Gosh, this sounds awful, but I love cheese and want to put it in everything!) I think layering the creme fraiche on the cornmeal might be a good binding agent.

Ok, really, I know nothing Good luck!

[jackal10]

Hmm..coming after the duck and before lamb

Roast cauliflower risotto?

And for the brandade: Truffled brandade is wonderful for this time of year. Also serve black and white: two croustades, one of brandade and one of Tapenade. Are you sure about Lillet? There are other things I would prefer before such dinner, such as Champagne (maybe with some creme de peche) or a dry sherry.

[Abra]

Ok, the one, the only, the ultimate, Treacle Test.

Here you can see regular dark U.S. molasses, and black treacle. They're not the same, but I think they're probably interchangeable. They're about the same color, although the treacle is a bit darker, and the treacle is a lot more viscous, as you can see. Regular molasses won't stay on my finger at all.

To me, the taste is similar, but the treacle has something of a burnt licorice with a whiff of burnt rubber sort of thing going on. I find it a little more interesting, more toffee-like. But in a completely unbiased taste test

Riley absolutely prefers the treacle. I offer him treacle first, then molasses. He laps up the treacle, then reluctantly licks the molasses and seems dejected, ears drooping, looking at the other finger, hoping for more treacle to appear. I reward him for his participation with another blob of treacle, which perks him right up. This is undoubted proof that he's an Old English Sheepdog, and not an Old American Sheepdog.

All that was by way of avoiding going into the garage to get my kit together. But the time has come. If I'm not back in an hour, send out a posse.

[FoodMan]

Riley absolutely prefers the treacle. I offer him treacle first, then molasses. He laps up the treacle, then reluctantly licks the molasses and seems dejected, ears drooping, looking at the other finger, hoping for more treacle to appear. I reward him for his participation with another blob of treacle, which perks him right up. This is undoubted proof that he's an Old English Sheepdog, and not an Old American Sheepdog.

That is too funny! Thanks for answering my 2-year old question

[MGLloyd]

Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd's life, at least from the food shopping perspective, took an upswing earlier this year with the opening of the new Central Market in the Mill Creek Town Center. Yes, it is of the same Town and Country Markets chain that operate the Ballard Market, Greenwood Market, Town and Country Market on Bainbridge and the Central Markets in Poulsbo, Shoreline and Mill Creek. Lovely produce, meat, cheese, deli, seafood and an Asian section to just die for.

Now if there was just a Larry's Market closer to me than 25 miles away round trip.....

[handmc]

I think that tart looks great. That Chard is stunning.

[Abra]

Amazingly enough, I made it out of the garage alive. For those of you that wondered what I schlep about with me when I'm working, here goes.

A hideous sight greeted me in the garage.

Stuff tossed everywhere. This is always what happens at the end of a party, you toss it all in there any which way, in order to get out of there as soon as possible. Ideally you clean it all up that same night. More likely a nice glass or two of wine seems like a better idea. This is extreme, though, to haul such a mess 300 miles and then let it age in the garage for several days. Ugh.

I hold my nose, toss the laundry into the washer, and face the music. These are the things that I take with me every time I go to any sort of work

Just ask questions if you're curious about any of this stuff. There's actually nothing exotic, it's just the stuff I can't live without if a client doesn't already have it.

I always have my own herbs and spices. I only have one client that cooks on a regular basis. The others have jars of dust in their spice cabinets.

The pressure cooker doesn't go with me 100% of the time, but usually in cold weather it really gets a workout.

Here's the additional stuff that I needed for Walla Walla.

For each party, I pack only what I need, to minimize the load. But sometimes that backfires, like the time I forgot the baking powder, it was a house I'd never been in, it was a surprise anniversary party, there was nobody home, and guess what? They never bake. What kind of people have no baking powder? Because of the distance to a store, I was reduced to running out in my apron and knocking on neighbors' doors. Fortunately, a nice lady took pity upon me and loaned me her baking powder. I'd say "never again" except that this sort of shit really does happen, no matter how careful you are.

So now I have one bin repacked to take to Orcas

and as soon as my towels and aprons are dry, and I get the menu finalized, which had better be in the next half hour, I'll pack the other one.

Cutting it kind of close, aren't I? Because I still need to shop for whatever take-alongs there are before we go out to dinner. I've been hearing really good things about this new restaurant. Just today someone whispered "sake-braised lamb" to me, so I'm really looking forward to it.

If you have any last menu suggestions, now's the time. I've got to make a shopping list. And yes, if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that I love Lillet. I'm hoping the other people will too. But I have no truffle!

The roasted root vegetable tart is eluding me, even with Gini's helpful ideas. I might need to reboot on that one. Maybe it's not a tart, maybe it's just a heap of vegetables. Seems kind of underwhelming for a $100 bottle of wine, a big pile of vegetables.

[SobaAddict70]

Instead of a roasted root vegetable tart, could it be a roasted vegetable bayaldi? (scroll down, it's an accompaniment for the salmon)

[appreciator]

I'm really enjoying this foodblog Abra, your photos are great.... and Riley is such a cutie patootie...

As to your roasted vegetable tart query, I've made this recipe several times now with good results. Of course I do it the lazy way and use prepared pie crusts but I'm sure it would be way better if one was to make their own.

[tsquare]

Had a lovely puree of root vegetables at Matt's in the Market today. It had swordfish on top, but I would have been fine with just the bacon and onions that were on top of that (and a touch of watercress for color.) There was a little butter and buttermilk mixed in with turnips, rutabegas (hmm, spelling?), parsnips, potatoes, and some acorn squash (cheaters.)

[Abra]

Well, with that super-oaked Cab, I really don't think it can be summer vegetables. I'm thinking that parsnips, squash, rutabaga are the way to go. So, here's what I finally settled on. I thank you all for your suggestions, and if I didn't take them, please know that I considered them all seriously.

Lillet course: Homemade Membrillo with Manchego, Herb and Spice Roasted Nuts

Chardonnay course: Ravioli with Dungeness Crab Sauce, Pan-Roasted Corn and Chanterelle/Shiitake Garnish

Pinot Noir course: Salad of Duck Confit, Red Cabbage, Chestnuts, and Watercress

Cabernet Sauvignon course: Galette of Roasted Root Vegetables with Stilton, and a tapenade garnish

Syrah course: Paula's Fall-Apart Lamb Shanks with Chocolate-Almond Picada, and Celery Root and Apple Puree

Vin de Noix course: Speculaas-Spiced Panna Cotta

Sound good?

As soon as I make a grocery list, we're off to eat someone else's cooking. I'm really looking forward to it.

Edited November 18, 2005 by Abra (log)

[Pan]

[...]Really, though, your blog is awesome.  I can only imagine how much time it takes, and want to thank you for your contribution and dedication.  You Rock!!

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Seconded, with feeling! But someday, perhaps you, too, will choose to grace us with a blog. Then, you'll know how much time it takes.

[Chef Metcalf]

Great blog Abra, the writing, scenery pictures and food shots, all fantastic!

A interesting and diverse slice of Washington life.

Glad you did a few Mario recipes too, I have the same book just gathering dust here so far.

As far as all that equipment and your back...how about a granny cart (yah, I know, but your back will thank you) and using rolling suitcases for hauling the equipment around in? Just a thought.

And now for the most important question....does Riley naturally cross his paws like that or did you bribe him with cofit?

He's very cute.

Okay, off to google Canadian sources for the mini cheesecake pan.

Done, for all my fellow Canucks, I found them online here.

Looks a little smaller than Abra's though.

[fou de Bassan]

Abra,

When you get the time please do make the chicken with mint and olives. It really is very good.

If you have access to any of Charmaine Solomon's books they are full of recipes that use your closet ingredients.

Lastly, I loved seeing your kit! The spice storage is ingenious!

[little ms foodie]

Abra I love Lillet Blanc also and I think the nuts and manchego will be perfect. Do you add twists of orange to your Lillet? I just love it that way.

You know, I love Mario and Babbo is my favorite place to eat in NYC but so far I've only cooked a few things out of that book that would make it to my table again. I haven't done the chicken with mint but Della has and she said it is great. I do love the pan fried squash blossoms when in season though.

Your dinner party sounds great. And those wines (oh god they have a Leonetti??? drool!!!) are right up my ally. I'll wait for a full report. Photos I hope???

[Petrissage]

...I dug a bunch of stuff out of the deep recesses of my cupboard.  Now, I have plenty of weird stuff that I use occasionally, or even that I've only used once, but here I confined myself to unopened packages that have been in the cupboard for, ahem, something over a year.  "Over" is a pretty loose term.  There's one item that I know for sure has been in there for (deep breath) at least 5 years.  Actually, more than one.  More than two, even.

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I was thrilled to see that you have the same package of candle nuts that I do! Mine have also been aging in my pantry. I look at them every so often and wonder what possessed me to buy them.

On the other hand, more than two years ago I bought a bag of dried black lemons, limoon, and just this week got a recipe that uses them, so don't give up on your oldies but goodies.

I hope someone will tell us how to use the candle nuts...

[Pan]

[...]I hope someone will tell us how to use the candle nuts...

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Did you read my post about them earlier in this blog? They're an Indonesian staple, used for both thickening and richness. People often substitute macadamia nuts if they can't find candlenuts. The major difference is that, as I understand it (someone should correct me if I'm wrong), candlenuts cannot be eaten raw.

Edited November 18, 2005 by Pan (log)

[Abra]

Tonight was dinner at Madoka, which calls itself a Pan-Pacific restaurant. I was actually prepared not to like it, because it replaced an old favorite of ours that we really miss. But the food was, in fact, exceptionally delicious. Well-conceived, deftly executed, thoughtful and creative food. A bit too expensive for regular dining, but good for special dinners. I didn't want to use a flash in the restaurant, so forgive the light in these pictures.

We started by sharing American Kobe Beef Quesadilla with queso fresco, caramelized onion, and charred tomatillo salsa. The beef was meltingly tender, although it was a bit eclipsed by an excellent fresh salsa.

For a main course I had Red Curry Risotto Mixed Grill with white gulf prawns, the smallest mussels (in terms of shell/mussel ratio) that I've ever seen, and white king salmon, with basil oil. Every bite was delicious, and that's saying a lot. It went perfectly with a glass of Yellow Hawk's brilliant Muscat Cannelli.

Shel had Sake Braised Lamb Shank with roasted garlic Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, crispy parsnip chips and scallion gremolata. The meat and sauce were out of this world. It looks a bit prehistoric in this shot, but honest, it was luscious.

Shel has Manners, and so would never dream of picking up a bone in a restaurant. I, on the other hand, have none. Want to see how good his lamb shank was?

I hope Madoka makes it. Just for comparison with prices in your town, this dinner was $75 with tip, for one starter, two mains, and one glass of wine. That's more than we like to spend on a weeknight dinner on the island, but there's lots of money here, and I hope those folks keep the place in business.

I'm off to bed now. Sleep tight.

[bleudauvergne]

What a wonderful day, Abra. Sleep well!

[Chufi]

Abra, thank you for taking us on your shopping trips... I love to look around foreign shops!

and then, what's this?  Dutch food!  Klary, look!

In fact, I got lots of Dutch stuff that I can use in your recipes, especially the bitterkoekjes for that gorgeous pudding.

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This is amazing. Those are the exact same products I buy in my supermarket!!

And, great picture of You and the Lambshank. Who needs manners when you can have good food?

[jackal10]

I still think a roasted cauliflower risotto would be good for the Cab course