the palace kitchen

I know. It's been too long since my last post. I've been very busy packing, sorting, cleaning and otherwise trying to prepare both physically and mentally for my upcoming move to New York. I think I might be a teensy bit depressed. I haven't lost my appetite, I just haven't felt like writing. I hope you understand. I promise to be more diligent in the future. I really shouldn't make these kind of promises. Who knows what I'll do in the future?

Tonight I went to the Palace Kitchen. It was on my "before I leave I have to eat here just one more time" list. It was perfect. I started with a "pink drink": a blend of stoli vanilla and raspberry and fruit juices, shaken into a frothy pink frenzy and served strained into a martini glass. My companion had whiskey on the rocks.

Our first course was the Laura Chenel goat cheese fondue and Palace olive poppers. (Laura Chenel was the first person in the US to make chevre. Photo from www.williams-sonoma.com)
The fondue was creamy goat goodness and was served simply over a small flame with grilled bread and red apple slices.

The poppers were very good, but nothing too incredible. I think they would have been better if they had been served just a tiny bit hotter. Trisha said that the word "popper" should be banned on all menus. I'd order them again despite the name.

Our next course was tom's barbeque pork spareribs and the semolina fried local smelt. The ribs were very tender and juicy and topped with a spicy enough sauce to justify the melon slices and pickled walla walla onions on the side. Unfortunately, the glass of Cote du Rhone I had ordered was no match for the barbeque sauce, so I set it aside for later.

It was my first experience with smelt and um, wow. My first bite was filled with tiny semi hard edible (??) bits of bone. Lost in conversation, I had really put a good bite in before I became aware of the strange sensation in my mouth. It felt like there were fingernail clippings mixed in with my fish & breading. Yuck. Luckily, the rest of the small fish body was bone free and believe it or not, really delicious.

But wait there's more! I suggested that we finish with dessert or cheese, but my friend ignored my comments and ordered the "plin" a piedmontese style ravioli and the beacon hill arugula salad. The server had pushed the raviolis earlier, but the $13/$18 cost for an appetizer had deterred me. Wow, I'm so glad we tried these! The $13 portion was actually quite substantial. Plin means "pinched" according to our server, so each ravioli was actually a small misshapen little guy, stuffed with pork and chard and tossed in a butter sage sauce. The peppery arugula was an excellent match.

Finally for dessert we ordered churros and coffee. The churros arrived extra hot with a generous portion of mascarpone (I'm 88% sure it was mascarpone...) and strawberry preserves. Absolutely excellent.

I really enjoyed myself and I'm glad I got to indulge in a truly Seattle style dining experience before I leave NEXT FRIDAY. Oh god, I'm going to miss all this so much.
***********By the way, sorry about the lack of photos for this entry. I didn't bring my camera! Weird, I know.************

Another new drink (at Cafe Septieme)

I'm not kidding. This time instead of Limonata though, which is apparently my favorite mixer, it's Orangina. As in those cute little bottles of lightly carbonated orange flavored fun. Yes, I saw that on the menu and I thought to myself, "self, what would you like to mix with that delicious, refreshing soda pop?" Of course I thought of an orange flavored vodka.

The waiter came over. I ran my idea past him.
"Oh yeah, we call that a mangina," he said. As in Mandarin/Orangina. Man/gina. Eeww. I ordered it anyway.

Look at the nice shot of absolut they gave me before I even added the mixer. And you could look at the nice waiter serving it to me except he flat out refused to let me even photograph his hand setting down the drink. Your identity is safe with me, sweetheart. Oh well.

banana bread

I made banana bread this past week. Not being someone who bakes very often, I like banana bread because it's almost fool proof and doesn't really require any special equipment. Looking for a basic recipe, I turned to a trusted source: Cook's Illustrated. If you don't know about CI run, don't walk, to your nearest newsstand and pick up a copy. This magazine is a excellent source for straight forward, detailed information about all things food. I recently picked up their newest edition of The Best Recipe cookbook.
These people, by the way, are crazy. They will start off a recipe with, "We roasted 50 chickens to figure out the best method for crisp skin and juicy meat." That's right, 50 chickens. But the best part is that they explain to you why they choose each method or ingredient. So you learn as you go. I find that most recipes I've made from CI are excellent. The few that I haven't liked as much are still very good recipes, just not my style.

Oddly enough, Cook's Illustrated has some photos. They are black & white and are used merely in a supporting role. At the back of each issue is a page with a small color photo of each recipe. On the front cover is an illustration of a food still life. And on the back cover is another illustration, this time showing varieties of whatever type of food they decide to feature. This varies from tubers to herbs to shellfish to plums, and on. My boyfriend and I try to guess what's on the back of each issue when it arrives. It usually has no relation to the front or the contents of the issue, but we pretend to try to figure out what would go on the back by reading the list of articles on the front.

So the recipe for banana bread tested all kinds of ingredient variations. I had everything except the 1/4 cup of yogurt, so I substituted sour cream which I diluted slightly with half and half to avoid the density that straight sour cream would give the loaf according to the recipe. I happened to have the recommended loaf pan: metal with a nonstick coating. My loaf took a bit longer to cook than the approximate 55 minutes, but it didn't seem to brown too much before the center finally yielded a clean toothpick. I left out the nuts because the boyfriend's allergic. The final result: A moist, sweet, banana and vanilla scented loaf with a good crumb and nice crust. It's definitely not too sweet, which I appreciate. I think if you wanted to add something to the slices, a softened cream cheese with orange zest and honey would be perfect.

grilled carrots a la catherine

At a friend's bbq last night our hostess revealed her "secret" recipe for grilled carrots:

Peel and chop some carrots
Steam them until half-way cooked
Toss with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and salt (grated ginger optional)
Wrap in a foil packet and fold at top to seal
Place on grill until cooked through.
delicious!
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I had forgotten about the bbq until the very last minute. So I grabbed the bottle of Choya Plum Wine that Travis gave me (yes, it's been in my fridge for a while,) and stopped at the Ballard Market for some Hard Cider and snacks on my way over. Choya is a brand of plum wine from Japan. This variety (Choya Umeshu 750) has little plum guys floating around at the bottom. Catherine (of carrots,) and I poured a little taste for a few of us and holy crap is it sweet! The website says the following:

"All varieties of Choya Umeshu have a natural taste that does not depend on food additives such as acids and spices. We select only the finest fully ripened Ume (plums) and preserve them within 24 hours after harvest. We then let them mature for about one year in order to extract their essence and flavor."

If that doesn't convince you, I also found this tidbit:

"Backed by well-substantiated scientific proof, UME-fruit liqueur is synonymous with good health."
(www.choya.com)

I think the consensus of our group was
a.) don't shoot it (jon,) sip it
b.) very sweet
c.) serve with a dry, not overly sweet dessert like a biscotti or ciambella (for some reason I can't think of non-italian dessert that would suit here)

Pho Cyclo

Tried out the new (to me) Pho Cyclo this week. I am just starting to appreciate Vietnamese food and I found this to be very good. The chicken noodle bowl (#25 Bun Ga Xao) was a perfect blend of flavors. I couldn't get it into my mouth fast enough. And although I tried my best, I just couldn't finish the whole thing. The best part is that even though you feel satisfied, the meal doesn't weigh you down. The boyfriend had the charbroiled pork noodle bowl (#16 Bun Thit Nuong.) We will definitely sample some appetizers on our next visit and I want to try their Vietnamese sandwich. Check out their extensive website. Unlike Lemongrass further south on 12th, Pho Cyclo's photographs (on their menu and website) will not dissuade you from ordering certain dishes!