eG Foodblog: Ling & HhLodesign - The cool kids at Belltown Lofts

[H. du Bois]

Loved the drunken typing!

I wouldn't be able to choose an iron chef winner from photographs alone, but I can tell you that I so wished I was eating at that dinner table. Thought the peach foie gras was a fascinating touch. My only feedback, beyond saying that everything looked enticing, is that the deconstructed Bellini would be a terrific amuse. Put that at the head of the meal and finish up with the other dessert, and all would be heavenly.

[Swisskaese]

Lorna, I know this will sound odd, but thanks for posting while drunk. Everything you wrote was totally understandable and made sense, but your posting was slurred.

So that way, we got to share the experience of all that wine vicariously.

May you have a sound sleep and wake up with no hangover!

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Lorna, you are funny. Brings me back to my crazy college days.

[I_call_the_duck]

Lorna,

I love your drunken entry!

You mentioned that it was hot and crowded in Henry’s kitchen, but it seems that otherwise you work well together. How do you coordinate your cooking when you're not doing an Iron Chef competition? Can we have a kitchen shot, or did I miss it?

Wow, that was some first date! Has he been up to Vancouver yet?

Edited August 30, 2006 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[racheld]

HEY, MODERATORS!!! Somebody kill the "EDIT" button before Ling can fix this!!! She needs to see it in the light of day!

I think maybe those last seven "drinsk,s" did her in.

Hye everyone, we eneded up gong to Elemtnal onight because Sista and Spruce was c losed! We took a tpicture. Anwyay, we both had a great time at elemetnal, we too k pic tures and had way tooo much to drink... I tnink I had ike 10 drinks tonight and my limi ts is usually 2 or 3 drinsk,s we il l post pictures torooow because we are too drunk and henry already fell asleep  .

here's what we have lined up fr you'

tomorrow" we are going to see one of seattle's (if not america's!) biggest private cookbook collectins. we are super excited to show you this! it is owned by egulleter "heyjude" and she graciously lends me her cooking/baking books

tomorrow night's dinner is at union

tnuirsday: since moorpheous will b e out of town for his sister's bday celebration, we are going to Porcella with the sous chef at Mistral (Charles) a d his wife Melissa/

Thursday night we are going to a wine bar with Wiillaiam (the chef at Mistral)

obviously i am too drunk to be posting about Elementa tnight so see you tomorrow morning!

(p.. s . the above post has been edited to the best of my abilty  ) goodnight!~

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[alanamoana]

at least lorna can't give henry a hard time about his spelling anymore! you know how you show your "true" self when drunk...

i know i can check out henry's last blog to see what his kitchen looks like, etc., but lorna, this is your first blog, right? can you tell us a bit more about yourself as much as it can relate to food?

well, it's only 8:30 am on the west coast, so i'm sure you're still sleeping soundly

edited to add: i notice that lorna often gives cantonese names for chinese food and henry gives mandarin names. but lorna, you said your mom comes from shanghai (one of your parents at least) and the other from guangdong...do you speak any chinese? henry, you speak mandarin, right?

Edited August 30, 2006 by alanamoana (log)

[Ling]

OH GEEZ! I woke up early because I remembered the drunken post and I was going to edit it before too many saw it, if it was really bad (AND IT IS!!)

...but I guess I will leave it up...I guess it does make the live-blog thing more "real".

I_call_the_duck: Usually when Henry and I are cooking together, we write a menu and we both tackle different tasks on the same dish (i.e. in the case of the Wedding Present dinner from a few nights ago, I did the wattleseed pastry, and then shelled those damn peas ( !!!!) for the soup while Henry sauteed the lamb for the filling and made the pea soup.)

We were just talking about it over dinner last night--I am so glad to have met someone who can cook, but at the same time, it was/is kind of weird giving up "control" in the kitchen. All my life, I've been used to doing my own cooking/baking from start-to-finish. (My parents don't touch my stuff when I'm cooking/baking, it's like an unspoken rule in my family...I think it is because my mom hated it when my grandma would dictate what she should do in the kitchen). So when I met Henry, it was kind of strange having someone work on a dish with me. I think I can be kind of overbearing in the kitchen, even though 95% of the time I bite my tongue and try to remember it's his dish too, and he can do it how he wants. Still, the vast majority of the dinner photos we've posted on EG were plated and photographed by myself...I still have to work on that.

I'll try to get a picture of us working in the kitchen together later this week!

[Ling]

i know i can check out henry's last blog to see what his kitchen looks like, etc., but lorna, this is your first blog, right?  can you tell us a bit more about yourself as much as it can relate to food?

well, it's only 8:30 am on the west coast, so i'm sure you're still sleeping soundly 

edited to add:  i notice that lorna often gives cantonese names for chinese food and henry gives mandarin names.  but lorna, you said your mom comes from shanghai (one of your parents at least) and the other from guangdong...do you speak any chinese?  henry, you speak mandarin, right?

←

I'm going back to bed for a bit...I just woke up because I remembered the drunken post and wanted to get to it before too many people saw it, and I come online only to find out people actually liked it!

So I'll post more about my background when I wake up...

Yes, I can speak Chinese. I speak Cantonese but I took a few years of Mandarin classes so I can speak a little bit of Mandarin too. And yes, Henry speaks Mandarin. He thinks he is speaking Cantonese when he randomly bastardizes Mandarin words by changing them slightly...it sounds sooooo horrible, but it's so funny.

[hhlodesign]

IRON CHEF RESULTS

Course 1 scores

Lorna - 7, 9, 5, 10, 9.5

Henry - 7.5, 8.6, 6, 9, 8.5

Course 2 scores

Lorna - 6.5, 7.6, 6, 8, 7.5

Henry - 6.5, 8, 6, 9, 8

Course 3 scores

Lorna - 7.5, 9, 7, 8.5, 9

Henry - 7.5, 8.6, 8, 8, 9

total "live" scores

Lorna - 117.1

Henry - 118.2

average "virtual" scores

Lorna - 8.43

Henry - 7.815

Final Scores

Lorna - 125.53

Henry - 126.015

While it appears that I squeaked by, I'll say that we fall within statistical error. So we tie! Rematch next year.

[Ling]

I think I was totally robbed by the judge who gave me a "5" on my first course!!!

Oh well...re-match next year!

[Daniel]

I was thinking the same thing.. How could one person give you a perfect score and another person drop the bomb like that.. I think you might have invited that French Ice Skating Judge..

[Swisskaese]

OH GEEZ!  I woke up early because I remembered the drunken post and I was going to edit it before too many saw it, if it was really bad (AND IT IS!!) 

...but I guess I will leave it up...I guess it does make the live-blog thing more "real". 

I_call_the_duck: Usually when Henry and I are cooking together, we write a menu and we both tackle different tasks on the same dish (i.e. in the case of the Wedding Present dinner from a few nights ago, I did the wattleseed pastry, and then shelled those damn peas ( !!!!) for the soup while Henry sauteed the lamb for the filling and made the pea soup.)

We were just talking about it over dinner last night--I am so glad to have met someone who can cook, but at the same time, it was/is kind of weird giving up "control" in the kitchen. All my life, I've been used to doing my own cooking/baking from start-to-finish. (My parents don't touch my stuff when I'm cooking/baking, it's like an unspoken rule in my family...I think it is because my mom hated it when my grandma would dictate what she should do in the kitchen). So when I met Henry, it was kind of strange having someone work on a dish with me. I think I can be kind of overbearing in the kitchen, even though 95% of the time I bite my tongue and try to remember it's his dish too, and he can do it how he wants. Still, the vast majority of the dinner photos we've posted on EG were plated and photographed by myself...I still have to work on that. 

I'll try to get a picture of us working in the kitchen together later this week!

←

I know what you mean. David and I decided it is better for us to work on separate things. Otherwise, we would drive each other nuts. Sometimes, we are each others sous chefs, but generally we prepare dishes or meals separately. In the beginning of our relationship, David used to criticize every dish and it used to piss me off. Now, I understand that he was just trying to suggest things.

[Ling]

I was thinking the same thing.. How could one person give you a perfect score and another person drop the bomb like that..  I think you might have invited that French Ice Skating Judge..

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I agree! Ah well.

I also got robbed by the judge who didn't like fresh mint ice-cream, but likes the GREEN STUFF you buy at the supermarket!

[hhlodesign]

Some commetns from the judges:

"Daring flavor combination, gastrique made it work."

"This is the best thing ever!"

"Interesting presentation. Peaches a little tart."

"It's like summer in a bowl."

"Gorgonzola flavor too mild."

"Pork a little dry."

"Very refreshing."

"Crust a little thick, great flavors."

I should note that the thinking for my dessert course was this:

Having seen the size of Lorna's tart and ice cream, I didn't want to overwhelm the judges with a large dessert of my own. Espescially since even the "savory" courses were sweet as well. So I thought a small "pre-dessert" would be perfect.

[Ling]

I know what you mean. David and I decided it is better for us to work on separate things. Otherwise, we would drive each other nuts. Sometimes, we are each others sous chefs, but generally we prepare dishes or meals separately. In the beginning of our relationship, David used to criticize every dish and it used to piss me off. Now, I understand that he was just trying to suggest things.

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Yes, it's much better when Henry and I work on separate components of the same dish, and bring it together at the last moment. That way, we're not getting in one another's way.

[Pontormo]

I personally am glad the gorgonzola flavor was too mild since the rest of the second course suits me just fine. One of the reasons I objected to the blue cheese here is that it strikes me as being at odds with the wonderful, wonderful marriage of peach, corn and pork. The chutney components add the pizzazz; the blue cheese just interferes with it. The longer explanation of the relationship between the chutney in main dish and the components in the dessert increased my already high opinion of Lorna's sophistication.

I may have played with the American Idol comparison (forgive me, but I have never seen Iron Chef), but its lessons prove true. I gave IC #1 a .85 advantage over IC #2, but didn't cast a vote. I can't say there's a large contigency of dizzy 14-year old girls from the South anointing Henry the victor in THIS case, but I will congratulate the new Iron Chef and look forward to a rematch.

Now, Lorna: let's see that stash of chocolate you keep at Henry's place.

And what did you two have for breakfast to recupe from last night?

Edited August 30, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[I_call_the_duck]

Lorna, you was robbed by that French judge! What was his/her reasoning behind the 5?

"Very refreshing."

Did that come from the giggly actress?

I know what you mean. David and I decided it is better for us to work on separate things. Otherwise, we would drive each other nuts. Sometimes, we are each others sous chefs, but generally we prepare dishes or meals separately. In the beginning of our relationship, David used to criticize every dish and it used to piss me off. Now, I understand that he was just trying to suggest things.

←

Yes, it's much better when Henry and I work on separate components of the same dish, and bring it together at the last moment. That way, we're not getting in one another's way.

←

Same here. I actually do most of the cooking in the house since I'm a control freak and VERY anal about my knives. Our styles and levels of cooking are also different (Mr. Duck has a limited repertoire and skills to match). When we do cook together, we either do things separately or occasionally be each other’s sous chef. I think my New Year’s resolution this year will be to be a little more relaxed in the kitchen, because we do have fun when we cook together.

BUT he knows more about wine than I do, so I'm the cook while he's the sommelier.

[Ling]

Now, Lorna: let's see that stash of chocolate you keep at Henry's place.

And what did you two have for breakfast to recupe from last night?

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I'll post the (small) stash of chocolate in the afternoon, along with the rest of our pictures from last night. It is nothing really special so I hope I don't disappoint you all. Also, I am out of Valrhona at the moment--I used the last of it in a dessert last week, and haven't had time to go to TJ's to buy more. So what's missing from the stash is the 5-10 bars of Valrhona I usually have on hand.

Breakfast was an empty leftover hazelnut tart shell from my IC dessert, a few forkfuls of leftover pork ribs/pulled pork and a 3 shot Americano from Vivace (one of the best coffee places in Seattle.)

Now we're going to have some lunch at Salumi...the grilled cotechino is calling me....see you all soon!

I_call_the_duck: There was no comment from that judge on the peach gastrique/stilton biscuit dish.

Edited August 30, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Daniel]

Nice.. Salumi, I have been to Seattle only once and heard about Salumi after the fact.. I am looking forward to seeing it through the eyes of two good eaters like yourselves..

[FabulousFoodBabe]

OK---I'll give you the old codger-cooks definitions:    Grits is grits.  Polenta is Mush.

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Ling, you gonna ask any Italians to define Grits and Polenta?

[Ling]

^Sure! I learned a lot from Rachel's definition. I would love to hear an Italian's view on how the two differ as well.

[Ling]

I would love the recipes for the Gorganzola Polenta and the Caramel Curry Peach tart.

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For the tart, I just poached, skinned, and sliced the peaches, and gently transfered them to the pre-baked, hazelnut tart crusts. Then I made a caramel with sugar and heavy cream, and added enough curry powder so I could taste it well enough. Then I ladled the caramel over the peaches.

The gorgonzola polenta was made with 4 cups vegetable stock (I should've used 3, though...it was a bit too soft), and 1 cup of ground, organic, polenta. I stirred it on low heat for about 25 minutes, and then added half a stick of butter and a little more than a quarter pound of gorgonzola. Then I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a bit of thyme.

[Ling]

So last night began with a stop at a party at Henry's ex-boss's house in Madison. It was a posh cocktail party with open bars and lots of little nibbles. (Of course, I didn't take pictures as that would be rude.) I ate: pepper-crusted ahi, mini crab cakes, mini potato cakes, roast beef on crackers, heirloom tomato, basil and mozzarella, mini jerk chicken sandwiches...the list goes on. I drank a glass of wine and Henry had a martini.

We weren't all that hungry for dinner, but had to soldier on for the blog

First stop--Sitka and Spruce. CLOSED. Rats! (again!)

Since John wasn't at Lark (he was cooking at the Boomtown event), I suggested we go to Elemental instead.

It's REALLY small inside--only 5 tables, and 2 seats at the bar.

The infamous Phred...

"Have a palate cleanser," he said.

We drank it. It was a sherry.

"Would you like to start off with cocktails?"

We said sure.

We asked him to bring us a few dishes of whatever he liked. I understand how some people would have a problem with the service, as Phred gave us each wine without any explanation. I didn't mind this, as I like guessing. I got the first wine correct! It was a Riesling.

The Riesling was paired with a crab and mango salad. It was very simple, but the quality of the food is good.

I should take this time to say that we had a wonderful evening yesterday night. However, none of the dishes we had were what Henry and I consider restaurant fare--as you will see in the pictures below, there are no fancy techniques or presentations here. In fact, I think most decent cooks could make stuff like this for regular weeknight meals. So in that respect, I wasn't really impressed. However, Elemental offers a very different experience in that the wine pairings are very generous and very good/excellent.

The next course was a chicken thigh dish with tamarind glaze and couscous. Phred poured us two wines each for this dish "for comparison purposes".

Based on the nose (and before tasting), I guessed that the first wine was a New World pinot and the second was an Old World burgundy. I got it half right--the first wine was a blend from Oregon and the second was an obscure wine from France.

We got a white wine with the next course (greens and hazelnuts).

We were falling behind on the drinking...at multiple times during the meal, there were like 8 glasses on the table for the 2 of us!

The crust was nice, but the crumb too spongy.

Lamb t-bones with walnut tapenade and roasted vegetables.

We drank two more glasses of red EACH with this dish.

Excellent cheese board. We each got a glass of white and a glass of red with the cheese. (Is anyone keeping count with how much wine we've had at this point?!!!!)

Phred insisted we have a dessert drink as well. Just in case we didn't have enough alcohol with our meal, you know....

All in all, we both had a fantastic night. I do see how Elemental might rub some diners the wrong way. I think most diners would like to see a menu and choose their wines on their own--and I think they have every right to expect that as paying customers. At the same time, Henry and I both enjoy getting some direction from people much more knowledgable than we are about food/wine...we like to be educated at dinner, as that enhances our dining experience. Would I go back to Elemental? Possibly, for the cheese and wine...the food was solid, homecooking, and while it was tasty, it is not really something that appeals to either of us when we're dining out.

ETA: To clarify, Elemental does have menus, but we opted to let the kitchen choose for us, as we often do when we dine out.

Edited August 30, 2006 by Ling (log)

[hhlodesign]

We didn't want to repeat things from my last blog. However, One cannot write about food and Seattle without a trip to Salumi. Since we did the special lunch last time (read about that here) we decided to just stop in for an ordinary weekday lunch.

Fennel sausage was the special this week. That is one of my favorite specials. I'm also a fan of the pork cheeks, and oxtail.

Most days you can find Armandino back behind the counter.

Here he is slicing some bread.

The have a small curing room in the front,

but most of the curing happens in the back.

Here are a few finocciono sandwiches being made.

Finocciono is a spicy salumi with fennel and lots of black peppercorns. One of my favorites.

they have quite the selection of house cured meats

My favorites are the lamb prosciutto, finocciono, lomo, culatello, and hot soprassata.

and the sandwich menu

Lorna and I decided to split the hot meat plate.

It's a selection of all their cooked meats.

We have Porchetta, fennel sausage, meatballs, grilled lamb, grilled cotechino, and peppers.

Lorna's favorites were the grilled cotechino, meatballs, and fennel sausage.

Mine were the fennel sausage and grilled cotechino.

The other reason we had to go o Salumi was to drop off a present for Armandino and the entire Salumi gang. A few months ago, I stopped in and talked to Marilyn (Armandino's wife) about shipping salumi to Iraq for a marine friend of mine. She helped me put a package together with tons of their products all prepped and labelled so shipping it would be easy. It must have been hundreds of dollars worth of products. When I went to the front to pay, they said, "That's on us, tell him thanks from all of us at Salumi!"

Needless to say, my marine friend, Doug, was extremely grateful. As a sign of gratitude, he flew an American flag over the his base in Iraq on the 4th of July then sent it back to me to give to Salumi.

Armandino loved the gift!

He even offered to have Doug in for a special lunch when he gets home. Thanks to Armandino, Marilyn, Gina, Brian, and all the staff at Salumi. They really are wonderful people.

Edited August 30, 2006 by hhlodesign (log)

[Ling]

the chocolate stash I have at Henry's place

Thanks Klary and Abra for the pistachio chocolate (in the green wrapper)! It is really good...very dark, with a nice long finish.

Edited August 30, 2006 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

I haven't written about coffee in a few days, because I've been drinking some weakass coffees. What is up with that? I thought the quality of coffee in Seattle should be pretty good whereever you go, since it's known as the coffee capital, is it not?

Anyway, today I had great coffee from a coffee place I first visited awhile ago, thanks to the Seattle Egulleters.

cool artwork inside!

I was really happy with this morning's 3 shot Americano.