Seattle Delights

It's Spring Break and Michael's Birthday Week - a happy time in the Gossett home. We decided to come up to Seattle to play, eat, celebrate and explore. It's been a lovely 34 hours.

First stop in the Emerald City was lunch at Tom Douglas' Serious Pie. It is serious Pizza pie. Our Server Cassie was amazing and the food was wonderful.

Prior to checking into our Base Station at the Seattle Hyatt Place, we meandered over to The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. After agonizing over the day's selections, we each chose 2 for after Dinner. Surprisingly difficult to do on full tummies.

The afternoon activity was Experience Music Project. While we do appreciate Jimi Hendrix and his genius, I would not consider any of us Gossetts3 rabid fans. We are not Battlestar Galactica officianados. The guitars were very cool. We should have saved our $42 for another time.

To salvage our afternoon, we decided to take the trip up to the top of the Space Needle. Quinn decided weeks ago that she wanted to treat Michael to his ride for his Birthday gift. She took the $$ out of her ipod savings and rolled it up in a special card that she designed herself. We spent twice as much time up there, seeing what we could see and learning what we could learn, than we did at EMP. It was glorious.

Dinner at Wild Ginger was tasty and dissapointing, all at the same time. The food was quite good, but not extraordinary, and the service was "coy". Either our server was over-stationed or he just didn't really care about us. Don't need to go back.

Our late-night (and am post work-out!) cupcakes were delicious.

Today was spent exploring neighborhoods we've only had time to get lost and turned around in on previous trips. We drove around Queen Anne a bit, spent most of the day in Ballard - wasting a meal on a forgettable lunch at "whatever Coast Cafe" - stopped in at The Chef Shop (oh. my.) and then drove up in to Magnolia. So lovely.

Oh, did I mention it was a GORGEOUS day?

I would have to say that the highlight of the past 2 days has been tonight's dinner. Last Summer, I reconnected with a childhood friend on Facebook. Our parents were good friends when we were little and we spent a lot of time together as families (she had the best Barbies) Sadly, we lost track of each other in middle and high school.

"Rosie" joined us for dinner tonight at la Carta de Oaxaca. The food was delicious and the place was hopping on a Weds night. The line was getting longer outside and we were finding it hard to leave and say goodbye. They were very polite as they took away every soiled plate, utensil and salsa ramekin and wiped the table in front of us twice.

It was just delightful to lay eyes and arms on her and have the opportunity to just start to scratch the surface of sharing our stories with each other. She's gorgeous and vibrant and talented and creative and a survivor. I honestly can't wait to make up for the 38+ years! There is no photograph recording this momentous occassion and that makes me sad. Can we get a Do-over?

Tomorrow: we take Capitol Hill and Pike Place. Then Home.

Daddy Sunday Dinner

Something I've tried to encourage here at Chez Gossett is Michael's culinary endeavours. Every now and then I remind The Dad and The Child that Dad should cook on Sundays, hoping (beyond my wildest dreams) that it will become tradition.

This past Sunday, The Dad cooked, and it was good. Really good.

He had visions of a pork crockpot stew. He announced this at lunch with many errands to run. I smiled.

When he arrived back home at 2:50 with a hunk of pork shoulder and a melange of root vegies, I announced this would be an oven/braising application as I wanted to eat by 7.

Armed with the MacBook (3 different recipes), my santoku and a cutting board - he was off. I peaked in every now & then with a query/observation. (These are often met with a curt suggestion I leave him alone only to be summoned 7-10 minutes later with a request for direction.) This is how we roll.

In the end, The Dad served up a gorgeous stew; one that I intend to share when it's my turn to deliver a meal!

Here's what he did:

2# Pork shoulder - diced into 1" cubes.

Saute' in 2 T Olive Oil in a dutch oven until lovely, crusty brown.

Add 2 T flour. mix well and saute' for 3-5 minutes.

Add 1 cup each:

Sliced Onion, peeled & 1" chunks Carrots & Parsnip and

1 Bulb fresh fennel, sliced into 1" wedges.

Saute' for a bit.

Deglaze pot w/ 1 cup White Wine. Add chicken stock to just under the vegies and meat. Stir in 3 fresh rosemary fronds and fresh ground pepper. Braise in 325 oven for 1.5-2 hours - til pork hunks are tender. Add a bit of fresh Thyme.

I made "toast" as if I were making a grilled cheese - w/o the cheese. It was perfect with the stew.

The anise of the fennel perfectly balanced the clove-y sweetness of the parsnip...so good.

The Child loved it.

I was sad when it was gone.

Daddy Sunday Dinners rock.

Finding the balance in disaster and triumph

Tonight was the night I finally cooked the Prime Prime Rib purchased at Christmas time. Our calender filled up and we couldn't find an evening to give it the center-stage it deserved.

I put it in the freezer.

I took it out yesterday.

I consulted the Cooks Illustrated recipe for Grill-Roasted Prime Rib; read it over and over and began the process at 1:30 this afternoon. Oiled and salt-rubbed (no pepper as it burns on the grill; ironic) it sat on the counter for 90 minutes. Soaked, drained and foil-wrapped the hickory/mesquite chips; started the coals at 3:30 and the roast went on at 4:10...indirect heat.

For the next hour that magnificent hunk of beef slowly grill-roasted and developed the most gorgeous caramel, deep honey color exterior I've ever seen on anything.

At 60 minutes, the roast registered only 95 degrees. At 75 minutes: 105 degrees. I moved it directly over the waning coals, on to side one. Check 5 minutes later: gorgeous. On to side two. This is where everything went terrribly wrong.

Seems I neglected to remove the wasted, very dry, smoke chip packet. Within 5 minutes, the packet went up in flames and singed - SINGED - the entire roast: a PRIME PRIME RIB.

WHAT?!

I was horrified.

What a waste. What a comeuppance.

I almost started crying.

But that would have been pitiful. How spoiled am I? Don't answer that.

I let it rest.

I turned my attention to the vegies roasting in the hothot oven. They were nearly perfect and provided the saving grace and precious moments of the meal.

Quinn was complimentary of the steak, although both she and Michael required ketchup. Which isn't all that unusual, but it was a PRIME PRIME. It deserved to go through life w/o the senseless dousing of ketchup, (Trader Joe's Organic, which is actually "healthy" ketchup, but still)

This is where it gets really good. Lovely. And triumphant. At the end of the meal, I challenged Quinn to a blind tasting test with the vegies. She was all for it, which in and of itself delighted me beyond reason. But she was freaking brilliant! She guessed most and actually fell in love with a few she had previously shunned and would never try. Then, THEN...she went all in on "2 level" and "3 level" combos! Guessing most, coming very close to those she missed.

This is what she ate: Fennel, Brocolli, Garnet Yam, Carrot, Parsnip, Onion, Golden Beet, Zucchini and Celery Root.

She turned 9...one week ago.

Culinary redemption. For now.

I'm gonna go have a spoonful of my Mexi-Mocha Chocolate Sauce. That's another post...

New Recipes

One of the things I've been trying to do in 2010 is execute new recipes. As with many things in my life: sometimes I follow through and mix it up...sometimes it's the same old, tried and true.

Last week yielded 3 new recipes - all compliments of Christopher Kimball and his gang at Cooks Illustrated.

Thursday night was Stir-fry Night. I chose Spicy Stir-fried Sesame Chicken with Green Beans and Shiitake Mushrooms out of The New Best Recipe; my version substituted Sugar Snaps and Creminis.

A critical step in a successful stir-fry is

mis en place: "get your stuff ready"!

Loved some of the tips the recipe offered; the finished dish proved to be too sweet and too oily. And not terribly spicy. Not as advertised. But I'll go back another time and do it "MY WAY".

Saturday night was a much more successful venture!

America's Test Kitchen Best Recipes and Reviews 2010 offered up a lovely dinner.

I did their Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Classic Roast Beef and Gravy. Oh my.

Followed both recipes very closely this time. The only change I made was the Roast: Trader Joe's didn't have a top sirloin roast (and I wasn't going to make another stop) so I chose a 2.5# TriTip.

I'm not a huge fan of the TriTip - it's a little chewy in my opinion. This Roast was cooked perfectly. The gravy was absolutely delicious and the Mashies were perfect. This was a truly wonderful dinner. Finished off the dish with TJ's Blue Lake Green Beans and a bottle of Cana's Feast 2007 Two Rivers. Dee-lish.

Sunday Lunch: finely sliced roast beast, a bit of gravy, sauteed creminis...all stuffed in a still-warm-freshly-baked-pita from Barbur World Foods with a bit of mayo and a slice of Jarlsberg. I don't have a pic. There wasn't time.

I'm going to see Christopher Kimball on Wednesday night at Powells Books in Cedar Hills - I'm rather geeked.

Italian Wedding Soup ala Jilly

We love soup in our house.

I love making soup. One of our favorites is Italian Wedding soup, with the little meatballs and the teeny-tiny, acini de pepe pastas floating around. Sometimes I cheat. I made my version today.

Jilly's Italian Wedding...Soup:

4-5 links of Trader Joe's Chicken Sicilian Sausage - casings removed and cut up into 1/2" chunks.

Saute' Sausage in 1 T Olive Oil over med high heat til it begins to brown.

Add:

1/2 c diced onions

1/2 c diced fresh fennel

1/4 c diced celery

1/4 fine diced carrots

Saute' til vegies soften and begin to caramelize - about 7 minutes.

Add:

4 c Chicken Stock

Bring to a gentle boil/simmer.

Mix one whole egg into 1/4 grated Parmesan w/ a short squeeze of lemon. Whisk into soup.

Stir in:

1/2 c acini de pepe

1 t chopped fresh oregano

1/8 t finely chopped fresh rosemary

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in 1 c fresh Chard or Kale - chiffonade (ribbon cut)

Adjust seasoning.

Serve with Rosemary Toast or Parmesan Crackers.

Here's the funny thing: it's for Q and the Sitter...tonite's Date Night.

Berries!!!

June and July mean Berries here in the PacNW. And by berries I mean: close-your-eyes-and-imagine-what-a-berry-should-taste-like-and-they-do berries.

On Saturday afternoon I realized we had berries that would get furry before we could eat them all. So I made Crisp. This recipe is adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

Topping:

In the bowl of a food processor:

12 T Flour - I haven't worked out the cup equivalent.

1/2 c each: dark brown sugar and granulated sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 t each: ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg

Whizz together and then add:

10 t cold butter - diced

Give 6-10 pulses til mixture looks like sand then add:

1 cup toasted chopped Pecans and Hazelnuts (Filberts rule the NW!)

Pulse a few more times til incorporated. Do not over-process. Put in the Fridge to chill while you're doing the berries.

Berries:

2 pints each:

Strawberries, Blueberries and Raspberries

3/4 c sugar

Zest of one lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 T finely chopped candied ginger

2 T Triple Sec

4 t quick tapioca

I had a ripe pear sitting on the counter staring at me; that

got peeled and chunked up and thrown in. So then I added a bit of Belle de Brillet - an outrageous pear liqueur from France - for good measure.

Fold together gently and let sit for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Assembly:

Spray one large (or 2 medium) casserole dish with pan spray. Give berries another good fold and pour into baking dish(es). Do not come too far up the dish or you will end up with smoky berry burntness on the bottom of your oven. Sprinkle chilled crisp topping over the top - do not smooth - in fact, with a spoon or spatula, nestle a little bit of the topping into the berries.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool! DO NOT EAT IMMEDIATELY!

Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream.

It's great for breakfast.

Honey, Can you make Asian Ribs?

You betcha'! (loosely translates to: I think so...)

On the 5th of July, which is usually officially the start of Summer here in the Pacific Northwest, I had a hankering for some Babybacks. Michael requested an Asian flavor profile. After consulting Cooks Illustrated and my spice inventory I came up with this rub:

1 T Curry Powder

1 t ground Ginger

2 t Chinese Five Spice

1 t Garlic Powder

2 T Dark Brown Sugar

1 T Kosher Salt

fresh ground Pepper

After brining the ribs, in a sugar/salt solution for one hour in the fridge (cut each rack in half to get them in the ziplok) I rinsed and dried them thoroughly. I sprinkled the rub generously over the ribs, front and back, wrapped 'em up and refrigerated them for an additional hour.

At this point, I started the coals. I used a combo of charcoal and hardwood briquettes, so I chose not to use soaked wood chips for any additional smoke. I dumped the coals to one side of the grill and set up a roasting rack (coated with pan spray) - upside down - on the opposite side of the grill. I placed a 1/2 rack in each slot. Place the lid back on the grill with the vents over the ribs.

I'm fairly sure my fire was too hot when I started, so the ribs didn't cook exactly "low & slow". I didn't close the lid tightly to accommodate for this mis-step, leaving an opening over the hot coals. They did cook beautifully, although they were finished with the grill process in a little over 2 hours. When the meat is shrinking away from the end of the bones, they're done.

****At this point, I wrapped up the ribs in foil, placed them inside a paper grocery bag, folded it closed and set the ribs inside the microwave - DO NOT TURN IT ON! - to rest for an hour. This is actually a critical step!!!****

While the Ribs were resting, I whipped up a little Asian BBQ Sauce:

3/4 Rice Wine Vinegar

1/2 c Sugar

2 T Soy Sauce

2 T Asian Sweet Chili Sauce

2 T Hoisin Sauce

Bring to a boil and let simmer for 7-10 minutes into a saucie/glazee/sticky deliciousness.

Serve alongside the ribs. Honestly, I don't think they needed the sauce. But if you're into "gilding the lily", as I am, it's worth the effort.

Bonus Application:

I used the same rub on a few Rib Eyes last night. Sliced 'em thin-ish, on the diagonal, put 'em on skewers, drizzled 'em with a little Sesame Oil and slapped 'em on the gas grill. Drizzle with the same BBQ Sauce. Garnish with Cilantro and limes. Mercy.