Thanksgiving traditions, and other interpretations

Thanksgiving is a day of tradition. This, of course, means everyone does it a little differently, and the differences make it interesting.

The first year I really enjoyed Thanksgiving was when my sister and I told both our sets of divorced parents that we'd attend the other family's festivities. Then, with all parents out of town, we went for thanksgiving Phad Thai (very exotic, in our early teenage years), then home to watch TV in our pajamas.

A few years later, I was studying in Berlin and all my friends went away for the weekend. So I retreated to the place that reminded me most of home: Starbucks. A very long evening with snow outside, my laptop and homework, and lattes with their slightly-off taste from the German milch. It sounds a little lonely, but I loved it.

While my Thanksgiving 2009 followed a more traditional pattern, I was still very interested to hear where friends found their turkey. Some highlights:

• In the grand spirit of avoiding family, a friend took her Australian boyfriend to Leavenworth. Presumably he cares more for faux Bavarian history than for pilgrims. To this Thanksgiving getaway idea, I raise my stein and say, "Prost!"
  
• A more traditionally-spirited co-worker flew to her family farm in Virgina, for a Thanksgiving feast with 60+ relatives. Facebook photos confirm that the farm is ridiculously picturesque: a perfect white house surrounded by orange trees and rolling hills. One more Normal Rockwell touch: despite the huge crowd, every table is covered in a pristine tablecloth and set with fine china and silver.
• A friend in NYC hosted a small party, but still purchased a 22-pound turkey -- that's 3 to 4 pounds of turkey per person. I was doubly shocked that her Manhattan kitchen would fit a bird this big. Her plan: lots of home-made stock and turkey in the freezer, for "delicious soup all winter!" (This, of course, made my 13-pound turkey feel like paltry rations for winter, so Brian and I went back to the store for another turkey -- purely for soup purposes. Thanks for the soup-inspiration, Kelsey.)
• Jill, always an enthusiastic dinner participant, was not to be outdone by Kelsey (note: this turkey competition is purely in my head, not intentional), and so hosted thanksgiving at home. For just her + boyfriend. The table for two had everything at my table for six, including all sides and the turkey. That's like 6 pounds of turkey per person, plus god-knows-how-many pounds of holiday starch and carbs. Congrats, Jill, for being the hostest with the mostest gluttonous, glutinous thanksgiving feast!

Countdown to Thanksgiving: one day!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so I have the day off work to make sure everything from the table to the turkey is ready. My To Do list includes cleaning, setting out my serving dishes to make sure I have everything covered, and prepping a few dishes that can be started in advance.  

My day-before cooking list:

• Prep the green bean casserole - trim and blanch the beans and fry the shallots
  
• Cut the sweet potatoes into wedges for bourbon sweet potatoes
  
• Trim and cut the brussels sprouts in half
• Start the dough for no-knead bread

All of my sides are coming from Everyday Food's excellent Thanksgiving spread. Two of the recipes I mentioned in a previous post as compromises between traditional and what I actually want to make and eat. The green bean casserole uses fresh ingredients, instead of everything from a can, and the sweet potatoes are baked with bourbon, but can still be topped with a dusting of marshmallows -- hopefully satiating everyone's needs for jet-puffed fluff.

Buster, a big fan of raw vegetables, thoroughly enjoyed his brussels sprout. 

The Cupcake That Takes 1st Place

I'm lucky to live with a boyfriend who works near Trophy Cupcakes, and today I was lucky to taste one of their newer seasonal flavors: a candied yam with marshmallow cupcake.

The sticky-soft, lightly toasted marshmallow frosting made Trophy's s'mores cupcake my original favorite, even if the rich chocolate + graham cracker cake was a bit overwhelming. This new combination beats everything, in my humble opinion: the divine frosting paired with a cupcake flavor that's sweet but not cloying -- like a slightly over-sugared muffin or breakfasty quick bread. 

So even though I haven't loved that ubiquitous sugar-drenched sweet potato thanksgiving favorite since I was very young, candied yam with marshmallow now has a place in my heart -- in the form of a cupcake. 

Autumn treats to make today, serve tomorrow

I love Mark Bittman's 101 lists for the NY Times, and his 101 Things To Prep In Advance (of Thanksgiving) has some interesting fall-food ideas for non-holidays as well. Particularly:

24. Combine a little cooked wild rice with much more cooked quinoa; sauté crumbled sweet Italian sausage with onion and fresh rosemary. Toss together. Bake in an oiled dish or use as stuffing.

48. Cut sweet potatoes into wedges; boil until tender. Drain and toss with olive oil. Wrap each with a prosciutto slice and a sage leaf, then roast until browned.

53. Steam cauliflower florets and toss with olive oil. Roast with peeled whole garlic cloves and chopped bacon at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Chopped parsley is a worthwhile addition.

64. Mushroom Bread Pudding: Put 6 cups of good bread (day-old is best) cut into 1-inch chunks into a buttered baking dish. Beat 4 eggs with 2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and pour over the bread. Sauté 4 cups of sliced mushrooms until tender with a teaspoon or two fresh thyme leaves and mix into the bread. Bake until just set, about 40 minutes.

73. Roast beets until tender, then peel and cut into chunks. Toss with olive oil, sherry vinegar, toasted chopped hazelnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

84. Sage Crackers: Pulse 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup Parmesan and 4 tablespoons cold butter in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup cream and 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage. When just combined, roll as thinly as possible, score into squares, sprinkle with salt and bake at 400 degrees until golden. Let cool, then break into pieces.

92. Cranberry Truffles: Heat 1/2 cup simple syrup and 1/2 cup bourbon or water; add 2 cups dried cranberries and steep until soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Pulse the fruit in a food processor, adding just enough liquid so the mixture comes together. Roll spoonfuls of the cranberry filling into balls, then roll them in cocoa, mixed with pulverized nuts if you like.

Thanksgiving preparations: Mulled wine

I wanted a beverage that was fun and not too boozy for thanksgiving, so Megan at work suggested mulled wine. My mom suggested the crock pot, for keeping the wine consistently warm and leaving the stove free. 

I decided to practice my mulling today. Most recipes are similar, but I picked a German glühwine based on my very fond memories of studying in Berlin in winter -- glühwine is not a fancy drink, but something you find at kiosks on the street and in cheap boxes in the supermarket. 

I needed cloves and cinnamon sticks, and found them with the Mexican spices, among plastic baggies of peppers. These were less expensive than those I found in the larger spice section -- and since they're soaking in cheap wine, I'm not too worried if it's the very best cinnamon stick in the world.

For my practice round, I'm mulling one bottle of wine in my smaller crock pot -- one standard 750 ml bottle of wine is about 1 quart. Wine type doesn't seem to matter much, beyond something red and dry. Different sources online suggest burgundy and zinfandel.  

 

I considered buying some festive mugs for serving, but while I was looking for this crock pot I found a box of heavy goblets and glasses inherited from my grandmother. The style is a bit too elaborate for daily use (spent much time trying to find the right word), but I think they'll be fun for having family over. And I'm glad to finally have a chance to use them.

Cranberry vodka, part II

My cranberry vodka steeped for a week, and is now beautifully bottled. 

Last saturday: the ingredients. (Pardon the cheapo vodka -- it will be wrapped in cranberry and sugar soon.)

A pitcher of vodka, then a simple syrup with orange peel with cranberries.

 

This week: my original cranberries were too thoroughly macerated to use as pretty garnish, so I made a new little pot of sugary berries and distributed among the bottles.

After much (non-photogenic) straining and filtering to remove berry pulp, the pink booze went into the bottles. So pretty!

Popcorn secrets and lies

"Popcorn's Dark Secret" said the headline. 

Dark secret?! I thought. What have they been hiding? Child labor on popcorn farms? Popcorn as a cover for drug cartels?

Apparently the dark secret is that a tub of butter-laden, over-salted movie theater popcorn is full of fat and sodium. Um, not exactly a secret -- but the fact that some theaters advertised their popcorns as significantly fewer calories is a pretty dastardly lie.

My own popcorn secret is not so dark. I've used olive oil instead of butter for the past couple years, sprayed straight from my Crate and Barrel oil mister. It started as a health effort, but it's honestly just way easier than melting butter. You can evenly cover a big bowl with a tablespoons or two of oil without greasing up any extra dishes. It tastes just as good (IMO, and Brian doesn't seem to mind). And while it's not exactly a health food, it's definitely an improvement: the calories in olive oil are about the same as in butter, but the saturated fat is about one-fourth. 

If you want to avoid the sodium, try substituting another flavor for at least part of your salt. Pepper is easy (though, cartoonishly, it makes me sneeze). A ground spice like mustard, coriander, or nutmeg could be interesting. Some herbs, like dill, work well too, but they must be light enough to stick to the popped corn when you sprinkle it over. 

I think this is plenty of motivation for us to all have our own popcorn secrets.

Countdown to Turkey: one week!

Thanksgiving is only one week away. Yike!

Last year I kept a Google spreadsheet with the important Thanksgiving menu components, and notes for each: when to prep in advance, where I found the perfect-sounding recipe, recommendations for wine. If this sounds a little neurotic, consider The Great Thanksgiving Revolt that will ensue when you forget the pie.

Reviewing my orderly list and the number of questions I had about Turkey alone, I thought some Thanksgiving tips could be helpful. So I present to you:

Turkey FAQ!


How much turkey do I need?
One pound per person is standard. But you may want to 'size-up' for extra leftovers, and you may need to if you have a very small crowd like me (a 6 pound turkey? I might as well get a chicken). So I'm planning for a 10-12 pound turkey. Perhaps excessive, but this is the nation's most enthusiastically glutinous holiday.

When to buy? When to defrost?
A 12-pound turkey is not a last-minute venture. Most from the supermarket are frozen, and you need 24 hours of defrosting for each 5 pounds of bird. So my 12 pound turkey needs to defrost for two and a half days.

And remember food safety! Always defrost in the fridge to avoid that tepid-temperature danger zone. No one wants to be the chef in charge of the family's 2009 salmonella incident.

Defrost for three days?! Thanksgiving is tomorrow! How can I avoid serving birdsicle instead of beautiful golden roasted turkey?
You can defrost more quickly by putting the bird (still wrapped) in a giant pot of cold water in the sink, and changing the water every 30 minutes ... but is this how you want to spend your night before thanksgiving? No. Buy the turkey in advance, or find a fresh one (unfrozen).

Tom or Hen?
I do love gender topics, but in the case of thanksgiving turkeys gender only affects size. Toms (the man birds) are more than 16 pounds; hens are under 16 pounds. Feel free to discuss in the comments the oppression of these weight-obsessed lady birds.

Free range? Organic?
Will anyone notice the subtle difference in turkey flavor when their palates are coated with sweet potato and marshmallow? Probably not. I'm also generally skeptical of marketing that suggests a hen spent her days lounging around daisy-filled pastures, nibbling sweet grass and rose petals.

Nonetheless, the turkey is the centerpiece of the holiday and the rest of your meal components are pretty inexpensive. My family does not need a $60 turkey, but a little extra for something organic and/or free-range seems reasonable.

However, if you want something guaranteed juicy and thoroughly un-trendy, a salt-water-injected "brined" turkey from the supermarket bin may stay moist and plump. Or get the best of both worlds, and brine your own organic turkey.

How long to roast?
Roast at 325 degrees until a thermometer reads 170 degrees. Let it rest for 20 minutes before carving.

For an un-stuffed turkey over 10 pounds, roast about 15 minutes for each pound of turkey -- my 12-pound lady will need three hours. A smaller turkey should actually roast 20 minutes per pound. Also note that stuffing your turkey adds additional cooking time and presents food-safety risks in the form of bread crumbs steeped in raw bird blood. Mmmm.

What about my vegetarian loved-ones?
Make sure you have plenty of vegetarian sides, and no one will go hungry. If an otherwise meat-free recipe calls for beef or chicken stock, use vegetable. If only one family member will touch a tofurky, s/he can offer to bring one.

One more tip: Carve in the kitchen. Unless you're an expert at bird disassembly, keep the messy business of cutting up the carcass in the privacy of the kitchen. Present the evenly-sliced meat on a lovely platter, and no one will know you wrestled off the drumsticks with bare hands or dropped that wing on the floor.

Happy birthday to me! Dinner at Cafe Bizarro

Tuesday birthdays are not conducive to large parties, but I definitely don't want my special day ignored. After work and an entertaining drink at the UW Club (formerly the Faculty Club, now open to lowly staff as well), Brian and I went to Bizarro for dinner.

I picked Bizarro from Seattle's many restaurants because it's unpretentious, interesting, and has never failed to offer fantastic Italian. The decor is immediately striking , an overwhelming jumble of chandeliers, paintings, mismatched chairs and tables, and all sorts of large odds-and-ends dangling from the ceiling. It's a smallish space (maybe 12 tables?), and my first visit was spent preoccupied about whether I'd be impaled by a falling bicycle or candelabra if we had an earthquake. A sign near the entrance reads, "No one is "fine" with water."

So the decor sets a tone. But once you look beyond it (seemingly impossible at first glance, but trust me), the food stands out. The menu is varied but not overwhelming - a small array of pastas, including seasonal and special dishes.

Our picks last night are pictured above: clockwise from top right, crostini with wine-poached figs and gorgonzola, Brian's seasonal elk sugo, my saucy lasagna, and the empty remains of our bananas foster. All the dishes were excellent, with the possible exception of dessert: Brian liked it, but the taste reminded me overwhelmingly of instant oatmeal. The house cabernet sauvingnon was somewhere between OK and decent -- sweet and fruity, but not at all bold or interesting.

Compared to thai, pho, and other Asian options, Seattle has a pretty limited selection of Italian restaurants -- and nothing I can think of in a very budget price range. Bizarro entrees are $14-18, placing it conveniently between the cheap eats of most midweek dinners and the more fancy fare you'd normally reserve for night-out dinners.

In addition to the atmosphere and food, Bizarro offers one more thing you won't find anywhere else in the city (fortunately discovered on observing our neighbors, not through participation): on birthdays, the servers will present your cake while meowing happy birthday.

Housewarming Treats!

I debated long and hard about what to make for my housewarming party this past Saturday. And by long and hard, I mean I thought about it for all of 10 min on Friday night. I didn't feel like over thinking it or agonizing over various dishes, so I opened my favorite no-brainer-I-know-most-everything-will-be-delicious cookbook: Giada's Family Dinners. Now I know there are a lot of Giada haters out there who think her recipes are boring and lack a lot of flavor. I for one, LOVE her cookbooks and think she is adorably sweet. The recipes and ingredients are simple and unpretentious, and are most often relatively easy to make. They are also easy to improvise on and add your own personal touches.

Here's the recipes I selected:

Rose Wine with Sage and Lemon Peel
I only got to try one sip, but I thought the sage flavor was perfect for fall and the lemon made the entire drink crisp and refreshing. Such an easy twist to liven up an otherwise dull bottle of rose wine. Next time I might leave the sage leaves and lemon peel in the pitcher instead of straining them out just for added visual interest.

Pizza Rustica
I'm always impatient with dough, so waiting for the dough to firm up in the refrigerator was the most difficult part of this recipe. Giada's recommends serving this dish at room temperature, but I think it would be better just outta the oven.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Always a winner. I love how the oatmeal make these a little more chewy and fluffy. The Heath bar adds just a hint of toffee flavor. Yum!

Though not a Giada recipe, I also baked a fresh loaf of the famous NY Times no-knead bread. Raven first introduced me to this recipe about a year ago, and I absolutely love it. The perfect rustic loaf of bread to accompany a cheese plate, soup, or pretty much anything.

All of these dishes (+ plus a cheese plate and veggie tray) easily fed 20+ hungry guests and were fairly inexpensive, which is definitely a good thing when you've just purchased a house. Though I chose to have a cooking marathon Friday night, -- making all of these dishes in an intense 4-5 hour time span -- a sane person could easily make these dishes a few days in advance so your kitchen doesn't wind up looking like a hurricane of flour blew threw hours before your party.

Cranberry vodka, direct from Martha Stewart

Last winter I took a trip to visit all the friends who've left me for the other side of the country: two weeks in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Manhattan, and Northampton and Boston, MA. Along the way, I stopped to see someone else: Martha Stewart.  

It's no secret I love Martha, primarily because she carries her general air of perfection with such non-chalance. (You didn't hand-sew the 24 linen napkins for thanksgiving dinner, or raise the turkey on your farm upstate, while managing your commercial empire, recording a daily TV show, and maintaining perfect skin? What exactly are you doing with your time?) 

It's easy to apologize for or feel uncomfortable about our success -- we are uncertain of our cooking or entertaining skills, and women rarely ask for raises or promotions at work. Martha turned a catering business into an major corporation, and elevated the traditionally feminine skills of entertaining and home-keeping to be commercially significant (if still not quite glamorous or professionally well-respected). She managed to navigate a prison term without losing her image. She's not a chef or an artist, but she knows how to bring elegant food to a beautiful table -- and, more importantly, she knows how to sell you the idea and the supplies for the feast, and still seem like your too-perfect, enviable friend.  

So I stood in line in Chelsea, with scores of giddy Martha fans from around the country. Inside, during a lengthy warm-up session by Martha assistants, I was picked to ask a question. I would stand up, on camera, in a new grey dress and a bright red scarf, and Martha Stewart would say hello to me, and I would ask her a question.  

Martha: Please raise your hand if you do have a question. Oh, a lot of people have questions.  

Me (with exceptional awkwardness): Hi Martha. My name's Raven, and I'm from Seattle, WA, and I was wondering if you had a favorite holiday drink recipe that you could mix ahead of time for a party, to serve to a group of people.

Martha: Well, we have that great cranberry vodka that I just love, and the recipe's on our website at marthastewart.com. Make that ahead of time, it tastes better after a week or two. 

So make it today or tomorrow, and you will have it in time for the holidays. It's really great. 

So I bought the cranberries and the largest jug of vodka I could find (complete with plastic handle, for pouring). The recipe is super easy, and -- from what I remember of the pink concoction pouring through our New Year's Eve party last year -- super easy to drink. It would be lovely with club soda or mixed with something fruity, but you can drink it straight. 

Cranberry-and-orange Vodka from Martha Stewart

• 1 cup fresh cranberries 
  
• 1/4 cup sugar 
  
• 2 tablespoons water 
  
• 1 piece fresh orange peel (2-by-1-inch) 
  
• 3 cups vodka
  

Dissolve sugar in water in a saucepan, and add cranberries and orange peel. When the berries just begin to pop and the sugary liquid is pink, pour into vodka, stir, and store for at least 1-2 weeks (up to 3 months). Strain out berries before serving.

Sugar and spice and everything nice

Anyone who's seen a marathon of Bang For Your Buck knows kitchen upgrades can drain your savings without any guaranteed payoff. I do not recommend the bizarre choice of a leather-topped kitchen island. What I do recommend, and what won't even empty your wallet: an in-drawer spice organizer. 

More expensive versions exists, but I don't think your cumin cares if it rests against mahogany or plastic. I found this expandable version on Amazon for about $15. Size does matter -- these come in sizes from a few inches wide to more than 20 (this one conveniently expands from 12" to 20"). Most hold jars help at an angle -- making labels easier to read, and leaving less chance of liquids dripping. 

Organizing this drawer made me realize I have fewer spices than I thought (which of course makes me want more), but they're all easier to find now. Previously, I had a mess of bottles and jars in a dark, vaguely crummy cupboard, with only the front few easily accessible -- it was like some dingy, back-alley spice party, incompatible strangers crammed together and god-knows-what going on in the dark corners of the room. If you're looking for a simple, instant-gratification update, save your spices from awkward mingling and opt for some in-drawer organization.

Charming

Though I gave up wearing charm bracelets in middle school, I could totally get behind these seasonal and sleek wine glass charms -- sold where else, but Etsy -- the most amazingly cool online marketplace that is wholly devoted to the buying and selling of all things homemade. I love their simplistic look and warm color palette - perfect for a cozy late fall gathering. Snatch these babies up before they're gone for your Thanksgiving dinner party which is crazily only 1.5 weeks away! I'm looking forward to hearing Raven's Thanksgiving menu plans!

A drink for saints and sinners

All Saint's Day has passed, but you can celebrate St Germain any day. The lovely liqueur was introduced to us by friends with a suspiciously well-stocked bar for people who insists they are not lushes.

Made from elderflower, St Germain is quite sweet and fruity, not floral as you might expect. Around $35 a bottle, it's an indulgence for people who regularly buy under-$10 wine -- but it can be used sparingly to great effect.

The beautiful bottle reminds me of Guerlain Shalimar, and comes with a small booklet of recipes. Intriguing options:

• Sangria Flora (with fresh fruit and white wine)
• Winter Cup (with spiced rum, mint, and fresh strawberry, lemon, lime, orange)
• Pear Tree Martini (with pear vodka, fresh lime juice, and Angostura Bitters -- another cocktail ingredient to explore)
  

My favorite uses so far are a splash in champagne or a gin & tonic. The original St Germain cocktail is a slightly more involved version of the former:

• 2 parts champagne, sparkling wine, or dry white wine
• 1 ½ parts St-Germain
• 2 parts sparkling water or club soda

Stir ingredients in a tall ice-filled Collins glass, mixing completely. Think of Paris circa 1947. Garnish with a lemon twist. (Instructions from www.stgermain.fr/cocktails.php)

Not Always the Breadwinner

Let's be honest folks, cooking is not always a victorious triumph that ends with a beautifully presented and delicious dish. Sometimes, it's a pain in the ass. You can slave away in the kitchen for hours with the end result an inedible and unappetizing failure that only leaves you confused, frustrated and hungry. You followed the directions. You checked and double checked your measurements. Yet, something went wrong. In the case of my honey wheat bread - terribly wrong.

Sunday night at around 7pm I decided I wanted to use my new bread maker. That was my first mistake -- who the hells bakes bread at 7pm at night? Bread -- the kind you must knead and wait to rise and...and...and...yeah genius...it takes forever! 4.5 hours to be exact. But, with thoughts of our new house smelling like a loaf of freshly baked homemade bread I headed out to the grocery store to round up my ingredients. Not feeling overly ambitious (aside from the whole baking bread at 7 o'clock at night) I decided upon a recipe that came straight from the booklet in my Cuisinart bread maker:

Basic (laughs) Honey Whole Wheat Bread -- Large, 2lb loaf:

1 1/4 cups of water 80-90°F
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbs unsalted butter 1/2 in pieces at room temperature
2 tbs honey
1 1/4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp active yeast

Place all the ingredients, in the order listed, in the bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle. Press "Menu" and select "whole wheat". Select your crust (soft, medium or hard) and loaf size then press "Start" to mix.

Hello. Could those be any simpler instructions?

I didn't actually get the loaf started until 9pm. At 12:30am I checked the bread maker and decided to call it a night (or rather, morning) after seeing the clumpy, crumbly mess illustrated in Photo A.

Here's what went wrong:
#1 The Water Temperature: Foolishly thinking that water boils a 100 °F, I boiled some water and let it cool for a few minutes in hopes of reaching the required 80-90 °F temperature. Water, in fact, boils at a scalding 212 °F. I was off by 100°F. The hot temperature of the water killed the yeast.

#2 The placement of the yeast The yeast must remain COMPLETELY separate from the wet ingredients. I sprinkled the yeast on top, and while I did place all the ingredients in the correct order, some of the yeast particles must have fallen downward and gotten into the water rendering them ineffective. The booklet says to "Create a small crater in dry ingredients using your finger or a spoon, and placed yeast within the crater."

#3 Flour measurement Do NOT pack down your flour when measuring and always measure on a flat surface. When baking, you must be as precise as possible. Spoon your flour into your measuring cup and then level with a knife or spatula to ensure the measurement is exact. By scooping and packing you could potentially add an extra tablespoon or more of extra ingredients. I packed the flour. And I packed it hard. Oops.

Not learning from Sunday's late start time (or perhaps just determined to get a successful loaf of bread!) I decided to try it again last night. After making those 3 adjustments, by 1am I had a beautiful loaf of bread and the house smelled divine.

Cooking (especially baking) takes time, patience, practice and finesse. But this recipe helped reinforce the fact that if you follow a recipe very carefully, you’re likely to have success -- no matter how difficult a recipe may be. This reassuring fact continues to give me the confidence and motivation necessary to keep trying more challenging recipes.

My next loaf: Sun-dried tomato and mozzarella bread. Well...maybe I'll just start with an old-fashioned buttermilk.

Greenwood weekend: Mr Gyros and Pig & Whistle

Moving into a new neighborhood is always a bit scary. But arson is terrifying. 

While Greenwood residents organize patrols of volunteers and firefighters, businesses are still open and busy.

So with normal eagerness to support local business amplified by communal tension throughout the blocks of Greenwood, this weekend included dinner from Mr Gyros and brunch at the Pig & Whistle.

The oniony, messy gyros from Mr Gyros would be a fairly awful first-date choice. For any other occasion, $5 buys dinner. You may question the lack of apostrophe in a seemingly possessive title (apparently "gyros" is the official Greek for the food), but you may not question the softness of pita, the tang of tzatziki, or the tastiness of lamb sliced from a rotating slab.  

This was actually our third time to the Pig & Whistle. The first was with Brian's parents just after our home inspection; the second, we met our sellers for dinner. This Sunday was no significant home-buying milestone, but it did include the Pig & Whistle brunch special: $10 for eggs, bacon, potatoes and a bloody mary. During which I decided breakfast has the very best cocktails: enthusiastic mimosas with their bubbly champagne, the caffeinated hot delight of Irish coffee, and the spicy, peppery, acidic bloody mary.  

I can't quite bring myself to make a joke about Greenwood restaurants being hot, so I'll just say I hope the arsonist is caught very soon so we can all go back to enjoying our excellent local fare without fear.

Spring Hill's secret Monday menu

For my birthday this past October, my husband took me to a restaurant called Spring Hill -- a West Seattle restaurant that has been on my food radar ever since it opened last year. The restaurant boasts a commitment to using "local ingredients from Northwest farmers and fishermen" to make dishes that are "fresh, flavorful, and simple". It recently made Bon Appetit's list of "Top Ten Best New Restaurants in America". As recent West Seattle transplants, we were eager to find our new local spot. But I'll have to say, much to my dismay, it did not make my list of top ten, or even top 20 restaurants in Seattle.

My husband and I found the menu a bit too fancy for our tastes: a section for hot foods and cold foods? Really? Should I get the "dungeness crab with spicy mayo, celery, and squid ink crouton" or the "fattened duck liver terrine?" This is their idea of a simple menu? As my husband sipped his accidental $3 order of carbonated water, we weighed our expensive options. Ultimately I decided on the $17 1/2-lb. hamburger, which, I'll admit, was quite tasty, though definitely not worth the price. My husband ordered the flank steak -- hot, please.

As we left that night, we decided maybe we'd go back once or twice a year for special occasions. That is, until we discovered their secret menu: Monday Night Supper Club, a.k.a. gigantic (and relatively inexpensive) spaghetti feed!

The menu:
Caesar salad for 2: $10
White or red spaghetti: $10 (two people could definitely share this) that comes with a cheesy slice or two of garlic bread
Meatballs: $3 each
Red or white wine: $6
Sorbet for dessert: $4

We went back the following Monday to check it out and now we're hooked. Apparently, there is somewhat of a cult following behind this supper club and I can see why: deliciously fresh, simple, and flavorful local food at a reasonable price, right in our backyard. We may not have found our staple, everyday West Seattle restaurant joint, but we certainly found one for Monday's.
All photos via www.springhillnorthwest.com

Good Things to Those Who Wait

Top courtesy Zeets Jones
Middle: via Cooking Light
Bottom: "Nuthatcher atop a Persimmon" painting by Japanese aritst, Koson Ohara

"What is that?" a curious co-worker asked as she walked past my desk last week. I laughingly replied, "I'll have to let you know", as I, too, was a bit baffled by the strange tomato-like fruit sitting on my desk. Now that I've done my research, I'll tell you what it is: a persimmon (pronunciation: \pər-ˈsi-mən\), a fruit native to China that eventually found its way to California in the mid-1800's. Its color can range from a light yellow-orange to dark orange-red and it has the most beautiful flower-like leaf pattern on top. The first sentence in Wikipedia's entry on this mystery fruit describes it as "the fruit of the gods," which certainly sets some pretty high expectations! It is packed, however, with some godly great nutrients like beta-carotene, Vitamin C and potassium.

There are essentially 2 types of persimmons:

#1 The Fuyu: Small, squatty and flat -- like a tomato. In season late October through December. They can be firm when ripe (like an apple) and you can either wait until the Fuyu gets soft before eating, or you can eat them right away when they are still firm and crisp.
Uses: Can be cooked into stews or pies, included raw in salads or yogurt, or eaten all by themselves as a fruit snack.

#2 The Hachiya: Acorn-shaped. Patience, my dear: You're going to have to wait to enjoy this one. Due to its high tannin level, if you bite into an unripe hachiya, your mouth will be puckering due to its bitter, astrigent flavor. Think a forgotten cup of tea that has been seeping all day. This happened to me the first time I tried a persimmon and it was not pretty. When ripe, it possesses a rich, sweet and somewhat spicy flavor -- though you may have to wait upwards of weeks (yes, you read that correct: WEEKS) for it to ripen.
Uses: You're probably gonna wanna bake with this one. Most commonly used as a puree in cookies, cakes, brownies, breads, puddings, flans, and sauces.

Here's a round-up of some interesting recipes I found:

Persimmon Tarte Briochée
Gorgeous photo and recipe courtesy the blog, @ Down Under


Persimmon Bread by James Beard
Recipe info and photo courtesy the blog Moveable Feasts

Persimmon Salad with Sweet Ginger Vinaigrette
Photo and recipe via Food Gal

Apple-braised chicken

8:40pm: Apple braised chicken, the first of the recipes I mentioned in my Amazon Fresh post, was described as "quick." And the instructions are simple, requiring only one pot and a few steps: pan-fry chicken to crisp the skin, remove from pot; saute shallots; add apples; return chicken to pot and bake.

An hour and a half after starting the process, however, the pot still has 20 minutes of braising. Not "quick." I check the recipe to see if I misread that word. At lease everything smells appley and chickeny and delicious, even through my heavy dutch oven lid and sturdy Viking oven door. :)

9:03pm: Opening my pot of braising chicken thighs reveals thoroughly disintegrated apples -- not the the perfectly soft, roasted wedges I had been promised. Unfortunate, but I think it's salvageable.

I let everything continue as instructed for the remaining 20 minutes, with the lid off, then remove the chicken and attempt to reduce the slushy apple/cider/chicken liquid mixture to something like applesauce. Or gravy? Something edible.

9:32pm: I added mashed potatoes to the menu, in place of the now-absent apple wedges. The chicken/apple slush reduced very quickly on the stove, and I think will work as a sauce of sorts. The chicken, fortunately, looks perfect.

Recipe preview: Everyday Foods Nov. 09

Everyday Food would be a kitchen staple for me even without my slight Martha obsession. Unpretentious, seasonal, and vaguely health-minded (without the off-putting lose-weight-now! theme of many women's mags), plus helpful tips: this month, a reminder to keep potatoes and onions separate (the onions will cause the potatoes to turn on you quickly).

This month's thanksgiving focus is practical and useful, including classic recipes, a count-down chart, and a "Do-ahead Tips" page with photos and dates for how and when to prep items in advance. Specifically: I'm not a fan of slimy/crunchy green-bean casserole, but certain people demand it. Everyday Food offers a home-made alternative with fresh beans, mushroom sauce, and home-made fried shallots in place of those canned onion sticks -- along with a plan for prepping the components in advance and assembling day-of, making the whole ordeal no more of a T-day burden than the classic canned-ingredients version. 

Bourbon sweet potatoes are another appealing alternative. While my stepdad loves a marshmallow-encrusted yam, I'm pretty sure he loves bourbon even more. 

Some of the non-holiday recipes look awesome. Of particular note: Spice-Rubbed pork with Acorn Squash, Winter Vegetable Soup, Roasted Tomato and Fennel Salad, and Lamb Chops with Herb-Mustard Crust (will attempt with cheaper meat before buying lamb).

So I've agreed to host thanksgiving for the second time, and while it went fine last year, I'd like to aim a little higher. Everyday Food recipes are not gourmet, but hopefully the practical advice will allow me to see beyond whether the menu is complete to what might make it interesting. And if not, this month's edition offers instructions for making a very large pitcher of whiskey-sour -- undoubtedly a better recipe of "interesting" than a bean casserole.

Hollandaise nights

As a fantastic girlfriend and the primary cook in our kitchen, I offered to make Brian his favorite dinner after he had a few late nights at work. His first suggestion of "CRAB??!" was not exactly what I had in mind for a Thursday night, but he quickly followed it with breakfast for dinner -- specifically eggs benedict.

My first hollandaise involved a double-boiler and much wisking. Then I discovered a more modern recipe requiring only hot butter and a blender -- much faster, easier, and less messy.

Hollandaise - my new way

• 1/2 stick of butter (could use more, if you prefer buttery sauce)
• 3 egg yolks
• dash of paprika
• splash of lemon juice

Melt the butter in a microwave, then drizzle into a small bowl containing the other ingredients while blending.

Fall Foodie Fashion

How adorable is this bracelet and necklace? Early Christmas present for the foodie in your life? Yes, I think so. Check out labyrinthvintage's etsy shop for more whimsical creations.

Getting Fresh and shopping online

Our kitchen was depleted, down to disparate items that I personally am not creative enough to combine (let me know if you have a recipe that requires blueberries, shrimp, and assorted leftover Halloween candy).

Since I'm not a fan of hurried after-work shopping on dark fall nights, I opted for incomparably convenient Amazon Fresh.


Order online, pay $5 for delivery (or spend $75 and get free delivery), and find your groceries on your doorstep at a time you request. The selection is good, only occasionally lacking -- I found delicata squash, but no turkey thighs. Everything arrives well-packed, with temperature-controlled totes for cold foods. Other grocery-delivery services never appealed to me, but I'm a bit of an Amazon addict and Fresh was a favorite service immediately.

So with a cup of tea and my October copies of Everyday Food and Living, I browsed recipes and searched for supplies -- spending a total of $53 and 15 minutes of three interesting dinners, plus extras (lots of red pepper + tomato soup). I have my recipes bookmarked, and all the ingredients will be waiting on my doorstep when I get home from work.

Shopping on Fresh always feels more expensive than our usual grocery trips, but primarily because I see my expenses add up before checkout -- something I have not mastered off-line, and I'm always too willing to forget that final total from the check-out aisle. Fresh also has frequent deals for new shoppers, and discounts on bulk items or items you order frequently.

Plus, planning ahead always pays off and it's a little easier when I can shop from my kitchen. The recipes I picked this morning are more interesting than what I'd find wandering aimlessly through Costco. So what's on the menu?

• Apple-braised chicken (recipe not available online) with kale and delicata squash
• Classic chili
• Moroccan stuffed acorn squash

Look for them in future blog posts! :)