Serious Pie Seattle.

Serious Pie My MIL and I went to Tom Douglas's Pizza place Serious Pie, in Seattle during her visit. We were there during 'happy hour' from 3-5 (I think!) and a 1/2 sized pizza was $5. We sampled what I have highlighted in bold. It was really really good! The crust was the typical wood fired oven crispy with air pockets. However, the dough seemed to have a fair amount of cornmeal in it which loosened up the gluten in the crust and gave it a very easy 'bite through'.

The house made duck prosciutto was truly amazing! The texture was identical to Jamon and the flavor was all duck. This was a real treat! We also had a salad that was on special that has roasted baby beets and turnip and snap peas.

I wish I'd written down all of the ingredients because I'd love to try and replicate it. The peas tasted of anise or fennel. which was a really nice summer combo that I am going to use myself!

Starter Menu
baby lettuces, radish, muscatel vinaigrette 8
duck proscuitto, pickled apricot, arugula 9
asparagus, anchovy, pecorino salvatore 7
fava beans, local radishes, miner's lettuce 8
artichokes, proscuitto, baked egg 9
house lomo, arbequina olive oil 8

Again the pizza in bold are the ones we tried. The concierge at Nordstroms recommended the potato pizza and just as she said it was really wonderful. A simple rustic no brainer if you think back to the basic economics of Italy when pizza evolved.

I was really excited to try both the egg and the clam pizza's because I had just watched Jamie At Home ant the pizza episode a few days prior. I was not a letdown and I will say it's a tie between these two combinations for the best artisan pizza ever!

Pizza Menu
buffalo mozzarella, san marzano tomato 14
yukon gold potato, rosemary, olive oil 14
cherry bomb peppers, sweet fennel sausage 16
roasted chanterelles, truffle cheese 16
guanciale, soft egg, arugula 15
penn cove clams, house pancetta, lemon thyme 15
house salumi, caramelized onions, sole di sardegna 16
roasted porcini, smoked pancetta, wood violet 16

Top Chef Masters Round Three

Chef Rick Bayless is one class act! He just seems like such a good guy. He really has an easy command of his idea, and the execution of it. He was in the zone.

Chef Fabio shows us how to make Bayless Tounge Taco's step by step.

Seperated at birth ...?

Lutefisk TV Dinners: An ode to Norwegian Culture

By John and Sally Macdonald
Special to The Seattle Times Thursday, May 9, 2002

Oh, I'm glad it's time for lu-te-fisk again, Even though it makes the house smell like an old pig pen,I'm glad it's time for lu-te-fisk again.— Stan Boreson song

POULSBO, Kitsap County — "You know what's wrong with Norwegian food?" a friend asked, not waiting for an answer. "It's all white. It tastes really yucky. And it smells."
Well, veteran Northwest entertainer Stan Boreson and squeamish friends notwithstanding, what would one expect from a country that straddles the Arctic Circle, where fresh produce isn't exactly a year-round commodity, and whose 4 million people have three dozen ways to describe features of glacial ice?
The conversation soon degenerated to a dare: Bet you can't find something Norwegians eat that tastes good, isn't white and doesn't smell up the kitchen.
And so we found ourselves in Poulsbo, the most typically Norwegian of Washington communities, asking about lutefisk, lefse and other pale dishes from the motherland.
Residents were finalizing plans for Viking Fest, their version of old-home week, when they celebrate the adoption of Norway's constitution May 17, 1814, give a nod to Viking ancestors and raise money for scholarships for deserving high-school graduates. The celebration is May 17-19 in the waterfront area along Liberty Bay, where Norwegian immigrants founded the town.
Poulsbo was founded when Jorgen Eliason, his sister Rakel and his 6-year-old son E.J. settled at the head of the bay. They were attracted no doubt by the look of the place — the sparkling water reaches deep into the rich farmland like the fjords of home.
Pale food, everywhere
It was still a little early for lunch when we arrived at Poulsbo's Front Street, the main shopping area with its faux old-world storefronts and Scandinavian-import shops. So we stopped at Sluy's Poulsbo Bakery. There, among a sweet array of smiley-face cookies and gooey breakfast treats, was a tray of lefse.
Lefse is to Norway what tortillas are to Mexico — plate-sized griddle cakes made, in this case, of potato dough. White, though not smelly, we smirked. Although, if you do as the Norwegians sometimes do and add a little sugar and cinnamon, lefse takes on a definite brownish cast and a delightfully sweet taste.
Our next stop was the Marina Market in the next block north. "Sure, we have all kinds of Norwegian stuff here," said owner Jonathan Rowe from behind the counter where he was restocking the candy.
"We have romme grot over here. It's packaged sour-cream porridge that you can fix at home. The herring in sour cream is in the refrigerator case."
Let's see now. That's white lefse, white porridge and herring in white sauce. It wasn't looking good for the non-white food groups.
"The lutefisk TV dinners are over there in the freezer case," Rowe offered. They cost $8.99

each.
Lutefisk is definitely white. And it's the smelliest dish in the Norwegian repertoire. It's dried codfish that's been soaked in a lye solution made of birch ashes.
If you bought lutefisk "fresh" (and that's a relative term) as opposed to frozen — you'd put it in a cheesecloth bag and reconstitute it by soaking it in boiling water. Then you'd smother it with white sauce or butter and serve it with boiled potatoes. A very pale menu.
Rowe's TV dinner had color, though: in one corner was a little pile of green peas. We bought a couple of the TV dinners and headed over to the Sons of Norway Hall, just off Front Street on King Olav V Vei.
Every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the sons serve a Norwegian lunch to the public for $7. They call it Kaffe Stua, which translates to something like coffee house.

Buy New Day Fisheries Lutefisk Here and Poulsbo Pickled Herring

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Father's Day! We celebrated my going to see Night at the Museam: Biggest Battle in History

Funny Monkey's best Stiller

This was dinner!

TC Masters Suzanne Tracht for The Win to SOVA!!

My initial Top Chef Masters excitement was about Suzanne and her awesome charity SOVA. We are happy peeps!

Although I admit to being swayed by science -combine food with Science... I aim to sell all of those Wylie style ingredients.

To me Food Banks are the only place I consider to donate from our store. The person that becomes produce manager employees produce and I've donated time as well. No person should be hungry.

My initial post and excitement was about Suzanne and her awesome charity SOVA. We are happy peeps

Let's hear it for the girls! Here is a bit about the kids classes Susanne Tracht

Here is a bit abour Suzannes partner in cooking (and Jar) for many years Preech Narkthong

the James Beard Foundation reviews them as a 'fantastic team'. After reading about and seeing the food I look forward to eating one of their meals in my lifetime:) I'm rooting for you Suzanne!

Kick A$$ TC Masters Round One

And for the win of the night and the first slot in Top Chef Masters finale I give you Hurbert Keller. I had no doubt that h e would win this round. He quite frankly blew the other Chefs out of the water!





Salmon Mi Cuit
Recipe source: Formulas for Flavor, adaptation
Required time (salmon only): prep. 5 min., cooking 40 min., serves: 2

Ingredients salmon:
2 pieces sushi-quality salmon fillet, 150g each (washed & trimmed, we also cut each in half)

Ingredients cooking oil:
150ml corn oil
150ml olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 large vanilla bean
15-20 peppercorns

Basil Oil
Ingredients:
150ml olive oil
about a hand full fresh basil leaves & half as much fresh parsley leaves

Potato Puree
Recipe source: my mum
Required time: cooking 15-20 min., prep. 5 min., serves: 2-3
6 mid-sized potatoes
2 tbsp butter
about 75 ml milk (or even heavy cream!), amount can vary - depending on the desired consistency
a good pinch of coarse sea salt

Protest Songs Mid to late 20th Century w/citations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protest_songs

The non-stop activism in the music of Rage Against the Machine debuted in the 1990s. And Oi! music also noted a resurgence - important to the topic of protest songs in such bands' countless lyrics devoted to the mistreatment of veterans.
A wide variety of rap from acts such as NWA, Public Enemy and others picked up the slack, focusing on the ills of government, including the shuffling off of black men to war to die.
U2 and the Cranberries were both beacons of music advocating non-violence.

Win RJ's Licorice in a Foodie Blogroll contest!

Foodie Blogroll has been giving away licorice packages (1 per week) of Chocolate and Licorice treats from Andrea of Licorice, Chocolate and other foods to love.

She is celebrating the 11th anniversary of her store Marina Market. This week's (week 5 out of 11) Foodie Blogroll Licorice Goodies Bag Giveaway winner is Dave who writes Dave's Cupboard. Dave's blog was randomly selected from the pool of eligible members.
Dave will receive a package filled with licorice goodies: RJ's New Zealand Natural Licorice Raspberry Licorice Logs, Raspberry Chocolate Log, natural licorice and a licorice lollipop!

You will not want to miss a chance to win .. Trust me, even if you don't think you like licorice, you will love these tasty treats. We did a tasting of them at my house with several people who “don't like licorice” and they really enjoyed these treats from Marina Market.

Marina Market carries Sweet and Salty real Black Licorice drop Lakrid, salmaik lakritz, salmiakki liquorice, from Holland, Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Australia, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, Ireland and the United States.

Eligibility:To be eligible, you must be an active member of The Foodie Blogroll. All current active eligible Foodie Blogroll members are automatically enrolled in the contest.
Legal Notice: No purchase necessary to enter. Contest void where prohibited. Contest open to members who are 18 years or older. Contest open only to currently eligible Foodie Blogroll Members. Restrictions may apply.

top chef masters compete for charity

SOVA is a Hebrew word that means "eat and be satisfied." At SOVA’s three comprehensive service centers in the Los Angeles area, we offer:
Sustenance— free nutritious food that nourishes families, helps children perform better in school, and strengthens the elderly
Opportunity— free on-site services at our three food pantries, including legal advocacy, job counseling, nutrition counseling by a Registered Dietitian, information and referral and food stamp enrollment
Volunteerism— hundreds of people of all ages working together each week to provide a helping hand for others
Advocacy— educating the community and legislators on hunger issues.
The three SOVA food pantries provide free groceries and supportive resources to nearly 5000 men, women and children each month. SOVA participants represent our community’s diverse cultures, faiths and ethnicities. Experienced staff and dedicated volunteers excel at responding to each person’s needs, always respecting their dignity, individuality and privacy. With extraordinary community support and a service approach that has been described as “the model for food assistance in the future,” SOVA has been providing outstanding community service for 25 years.

"Suzanne Tracht is on top of the culinary world as Executive Chef and Owner of two distinct California restaurants – Jar, a modern chophouse in the center of Los Angeles".... for more click on her photo!

Top Chef Masters starts on June 10th and is going to be SO exciting that I feel like going all Randy Jackson about it... Wiley D, you are DOPE!!

And at the same time being like Paula massively bowing like a repetitive praying mantis to Gael Green Paula says"Gael, you look very nice tonight, I love when people read your reviews to me, all my caloric needs are done for the year in one review!"

Other amazing Chefs include:
Cindy Pawlcyn Hubert Keller Mark Peel!

I am so happy I actually have heard of all- each and every one of you- wow..!

And hey you chefs Mario B. buys New Day Fisheries Poulsbo Pickled herring for his friend from me ...