Gingerbread Cookies

I thought I was craving gingerbread cookies. I hadn't had any yet this holiday season and thought I was craving them. So I started looking online for a recipe. Not sure why, but I decided on this one.

I have to admit to skipping the icing and the black pepper. While many gingerbread recipes call for black pepper, I just couldn't imagine it and left it out. I figured if the final product did not taste right I would try the recipe again with the black pepper. The icing was more an issue of Jennifer being pregnant and it is recommended not to have undercooked eggs while pregnant.

Another possible change I made to the recipe was that I used fresh ginger. The recipe does not actually specify, but I wanted a cookie where I could taste the ginger and opted for fresh. I may have also made it a heaping tablespoon, but hard to tell. It takes a fair amount of effort to Microplane one tablespoon of ginger root.

Upon mixing the dough it becomes very sticky. Probably due to the molasses. I was only going to separate it into half instead of the recommended thirds, but due to the sticky nature I made three balls of various sizes. I put it in the fridge for longer than an hour and baked the first batch cutting the cookies with cutters we had that were fairly small. For whatever reason, it was easy to roll out the first batch to an even consistency. The second batch which I made a week later for a party were more difficult to roll out, and I blame that on it being the largest ball of dough out of the three. And possibly because I used larger cookie cutters which made inconsistencies in the depth of the dough more apparent.

I cooked them for seven minutes because I like my cookies soft. Supposedly cooking them longer would produce a more traditional hard gingerbread cookie, but that was not what I wanted.

Everyone who has tried them seemed to like them. I actually found them good, but not what I desired. I think my original craving was for a molasses ginger cookie like the type Starbucks sells. That type of cookie is thick and soft and has more ginger and molasses flavor in my opinion. Well, I guess the next time I want to make cookies, I'll search for one of those recipes.

The finished product

Snack Time!

So most people are not into chilies like I am into chilies. That is fine. Recently I have been just taking some pickled chilies out of the jar and putting them in a bowl to eat as a snack. (And last week I ate a fresh habanero while watching TV, although I don't recommend that as a snack, I couldn't resist it in the store and then didn't want it to go bad once I got it home and couldn't find a use for it.)

Last month I purchased a jar of Peri-Peri Peppadrops from Trader Joes. They are pickled in vinegar. I have seen and used similar peppers called peppadew for the same purpose. They are "cherry peppers" with just a little heat that often come cored and with the stem removed. They are great for stuffing. When I first started using peppadews as a snack I stuffed them with Gorgonzola or goat cheese. This time around I used feta. (Higher ANDI score.) A fun snack that also looks pretty nice at parties.

Plum Bistro

Last night for our holiday dinner we went to the Plum Bistro. Once again we had a discount coupon that was taking ~$12 off our meal. This restaurant quickly moved up into my favorites after the first time Jennifer and I went there around a year ago. (Prompted by a coupon once again.)

Surprisingly this is a vegan restaurant. Well, maybe there is no surprise in it. The food is mostly comfort style food that is vegan. Perhaps the surprising thing is that I like it so much. The first few times we were there we went for happy hour, which is a nice way to sample. The happy hour sliders are great! And at two dollars a slider you can order a whole bunch and sample them among the table. I would like to tell you which I like best, but I can never remember. They all seem so good to me anyway that it may be that difficult to pick a clear winner.

Going for happy hour also gets you a lunch menu. There are different items on it than the dinner menu and some fun stuff to choose from. I've had the teriyaki bowl and the Jamaican tofu wrap. Both of which were good. Also at happy hour they have good deals on fries. We usually get the yam or sweet potato fries there. Although last time we were there for happy hour we got "cheese" or gravy fries and we didn't find them as good.

Yesterday we went post happy hour for dinner and only received the dinner menu. While Plum does not appear to change their menu seasonally, there are changes in the menu. The menus we had last night did not appear old (dog eared and tattered) but they were different from the menu online which is the one we had seen the last time we were there for dinner. Off of this menu I've had the Paella stuffed peppers and Jennifer had the cornmeal seitan steak. I remember the stuffed peppers to be good, but a bit disappointing. And I remember the seitan steak to be wonderful.

Last night we had a different menu to choose from. Jennifer got a different seitan steak that was like a chicken fried steak with country gravy. It was delicious. I got the goddess burger which was served with yam fries. It too was delicious. We also got Plum's signature mac 'n' yeas, their vegan version of macaroni and cheese. Jennifer had it before as an entree and we both enjoyed it this time as side. Unfortunately we are out of coupons, so it may be a while before we get to eat at Plum again.

Fatty's Corner Pizza

When this place opened earlier in the year Jennifer came home after walking past it and exclaimed "I think that place has real pizza!" We went to check it out shortly afterward and chatted with the owners. They are both from NY (I believe Brooklyn, but I am not sure.) Jennifer talked about the Mets and Giants with them while I waited patiently. As children of the NY Metro area, we are dissatisfied with most of what is called pizza in the Seattle area.

We ordered just a cheese pie and a calzone. I asked for extra garlic on the calzone, which was not a menu option. The pizza was definitely a New York style pizza and different than the typical Seattle pizza. The calzone was fantastic! It could be because I hadn't had one since moving to Seattle, or that they really do make a nice calzone.

Jennifer had been craving "pizza made by someone else" for a while. On occasion we make pizza at home using the Trader Joe's (whole wheat) crust from the refrigerated section. Jennifer often craves pizza we do not make and begs me to get on board with getting some. We were skiing yesterday and got home at a weird time and needed to buy groceries in order to prepare dinner, so we stopped at Fatty's on the way home. (It is close.) This time we got a cheese pie and a sausage, pepper and onion stromboli to bring home.

The pizza was good once again, but I think I like home made pizza more. (Most of my favorite pizza joints in NJ are brick oven.) The stromboli was disappointing to me as I felt it was mostly just a different shaped calzone. I am used to a stromboli being rolled, and not just filled. More like this. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I felt it could have had more sausage, pepper and onion in it. I think for anyone in Seattle missing New York style pizza this is the place to go.

Dahlia Lounge

Last night Jennifer wanted to go downtown to check out the holiday lights and walk around. I suggested we combine that with a trip to one of Tom Douglas' restaurants. I had recently found a gift card in the house that I forgot we had. We also had one that we used once and still had money on it, so off we went.

On the bus ride into downtown, we discussed looking at the menus for both Dahlia Lounge and the Palace Kitchen before making a decision. I love both restaurants, but sometimes enjoy the more laid back atmosphere of The Palace Kitchen over the more dressy Dahlia Lounge. We arrived at the Dahlia's menu first and looked it over. Then a few blocks walk to The Palace to peruse the menu there. An item stood out on The Palace menu that appeared to be vegetarian biscuits and gravy which interested Jennifer. I told her it might not be and then we opted to walk back to Dahlia for dinner. We were lucky and were able to get a seat within five minutes of walking in. While waiting for our server, I overheard the bartender tell someone seated at the bar that Tom was opening a new place (or three) in the South Lake Union area supposedly consisting of another Serious Pie, topped by a brew pub and a fine dining establishment next door.

I don't know if Tom Douglas started it, but his restaurants represent quintessential Seattle cuisine; local foods, in season with sustainably, humanely raised meats and cheeses. I love Dahlia, but I can say this is one of those restaurants where I almost always order the same thing. It is usually between the duck and the pork, and I cannot remember ever ordering anything different. I was swayed by one of the vegetarian dishes [Cornmeal spoonbread, beechers flagship cheddar, caramelized broccoli, bruleed figs. fig molasses chili butter], but stuck with the pork again. This was a large pork chop on top of whipped potatoes covered with cranberry conserves with a side of brussel sprouts with bacon. There were also spiced cashews. Our server's face lit up when I told him that was what I was ordering. Jennifer ordered the celeriac souffle. We each had an appetizer, and Jennifer's was chestnut soup, while I had the samosa. Both were great! Jennifer wasn't super pleased with her main course, but liked it enough. I found mine to be perfect.

Afterward, Jennifer wasn't going to leave without coconut cream pie. So we ordered dessert. She, of course, got the pie and since none of the current special desserts struck me I went with the donuts as my dessert. As usual they came with mascarpone cheese and the seasonal jam was cranberry!

It turned out that we had enough on the cards to pay for dinner, so we left a tip in cash and wandered downtown in the cold, but not rainy weather.

Vegetarian Cottage Pie

In keeping with the one pot theme, I made a Cottage Pie today for dinner. I had made the mashed potatoes the other day when steaming potatoes for dinner that night. However, I may have undercooked the potatoes slightly and also did a poor mashing job, so they weren't the most creamy topping. For future reference, I think I'll err on the side of overcooked mashers for the top.

I've made versions of vegetarian cottage pie before but I claim no expertise of the subject. For me it is a mince meat (or in this case, Yves Meatless Grounds) filling with a mashed potato topping. As far as other ingredients? Well, being a British dish I think peas should be in there. I often make mine with leeks instead of onion because I associate them with British food more. And I also have plenty of leeks in the garden to use right now so it is an easy decision. Typically I will put carrot and celery in as well. For tonight's dish, I added mushrooms and a little frozen corn too. In taking a cue from earlier this week I added a literal hand full of spinach leaves. (About 1/3-1/2 cup chopped.) This was more for nutrients than flavor. A couple of cloves of garlic rounded out the list.

It seems like all recipes on the Internet call for Worcestershire Sauce and some broth. I added both, which included a mock beef broth. I think previously I have omitted both of these ingredients. Most call for butter too as the fat to saute in. I think I have usually used oil, but I used butter this time, and I cannot say it made a difference. I used some rosemary and thyme to season it. The end result had a really great texture filling, but seemed to be missing something in the flavor department. The mashers, as previous stated were not ideal but Jennifer corrected her plate with a bit of sour cream to bring them back to life.

Araya's Place

Last month Jennifer and I had a coupon and went to Araya for dinner. This was the first time we had ordered off the menu there and not had the all you can eat buffet. Araya is known for vegan cuisine, and they serve no meat. Thai food makes an easy transition to vegan as dairy is not traditionally used in the food, so only meat needs to be removed.

I do not exactly remember what Jennifer had on that visit last month, but I believe it was avocado curry. I had the pineapple curry which I really enjoyed. Although I did find it lacking in complexity. It was peppers and pineapple in a coconut curry with multiple mock meats. The addition of another vegetable would have enhanced it greatly I felt.

We just went back again for the buffet Tuesday due to us not having power at our house. That, and I had been fasting for a blood test so all you can eat was a good way to break the fast. Araya does not have many items for the buffet, but that does not worry me too much. However, two of the items had zucchini as a prominent vegetable and summer squashes are down on my list in foods I like to eat. I mostly stuck to the Pad Thai and added some steamed broccoli to it. It is also good time to get fried rice as I am unlikely to order that as an entree when dining at a Thai restaurant. I also had plenty of the fried spring rolls too.

While I would never say that Thai restaurants in New Jersey serve better food than in Seattle, I have a complaint about Thai in Seattle. When dining in a Thai restaurant in New Jersey, you frequently get chile sauces brought to the table. In Seattle, you usually have to ask for them. In addition, a "sauce" that often appears in NJ restaurants is almost nonexistent in Seattle. This sauce consists of mostly green hot chilies (Serrano? Thai?) in a broth that I believe is mostly soy sauce. The only place I find this sauce is in the mall at the food court. A bummer because I really like adding hot sauces to my food at a Thai restaurant. Araya does have a very nicely flavored chile paste available and I used copious amounts the other day while dining there.

Another wonderful thing about the buffet is the black sticky rice and coconut milk dessert. I finished my meal with a small dish of the dessert and was quite content.

Peasant Potatoes

Not sure what to call this dish. I don't recall where I got the idea to make it, but I am thinking it came about after our trip to France. But I also have a feeling I had been making it prior that that point and Jennifer seems to think so too. The reason I think it is French inspired is because it reminds me of a tartiflette.

Once again on the theme of easy, one pot peasant meals this is a dish I make occasionally when we have the ingredients. Although I mostly make it in the Autumn when we have potatoes and broccoli from our garden. The usual main ingredients are potatoes and cheese. The potatoes vary due to what I buy. (This time it was the all red Mountain Rose variety.) The primary vegetable changes as well. Mostly I use broccoli, but this time I cut up some spinach to use. I think I always include onion and carrot. I added some mushrooms and one stalk of celery this time around as well. I have been known to add protein as well and this time it was Tofurkey Italian Sausage.

Truth is this is a two pot dish as I steam the potatoes to cook them before they enter the main dish. I also steam the broccoli as well. Mostly I saute the vegetables and then turn it into a roux and eventually a cheese sauce. Once the cheese sauce is to my liking I add the potatoes and stick the pot in the oven until the sauce is bubbling. Then I top it with a gratin and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. I used some generic Swiss Cheese this time around and it worked well for the sauce and the gratin. I often add some Romano Cheese to the gratin, but was feeling lazy and didn't. Actually I didn't want to dirty the cheese grater as I had finely chopped the Swiss Cheese to use in the dish. I was suspicious of how it would melt, but as you can see, no little cubes were left.


This a fun dish to make and can be made with ingredients on hand. You can have fun with it by using chorizo (in our case vegetarian) and pepper jack to make it a more Mexican style dish. I like to keep it a bit simple and usually use a cheddar and broccoli combination. Also, using a red or all blue potato is supposed to be a little more nutritious (more antioxidants) than a white potato too.

Vegetarian Onion Soup

I realize it is no great feat to produce onion soup in vegetarian form. Being an omnivore, I feel the soup usually lacks without some animal fat. In my recipe that comes by way of butter. I find the hardest trick in making the soup is not eating the salted buttery onions while I saute them. Since living with Jennifer I have been working on this recipe. And as with most of my own recipes, it is unwritten and varies each time I create it. Today I did not saute the onions long enough which made for a crunchier soup.

(French) Onion Soup is pretty easy. And while it is rumoured to be the only French dish created in Paris, it is a peasant meal, that seems more at home in the countryside. This is the one dish type of meals I like to make. The ingredients are simple: onions, bread and cheese.

There are many recipes for onion soup, and they vary. Which is why it is an interesting yet simple dish. I think my recipe started, or was based on the America's Test Kitchen version. Although recent reviews of that recipe state to use yellow onions, and for some reason I am using red. Like I said my recipe varies and I almost never use all of one type of onion. (I think last year I once made the soup with four different types of onion!) I think this is an important step although I cannot say I have ever tasted two of my soups side by side to notice if one had more red, cipollini, yellow, or walla walla in it. But you have to figure that different onions give the soup more body, so I use multiple onion varieties. The possible exception is when I harvest the cipollinis from our garden and I might make a soup consisting of only cipollini onions. I also used to use a shallot in my soup, but I have been skipping this ingredient this Autumn. Today I used four red onions and one walla walla.

I half and then slice the onions on the thinner end of the spectrum. I do this with a knife, but if you like thinner more uniform onions I recommend a mandoline. The onions then get sauteed in butter for as long as I can bear. (I do not let them get to the point of browning, but they are usually quite limp and noodle like.) Then I add some vegetarian "beef" stock and an equal amount of mushroom stock. I like my soup to be full of onions, but if you like it to be more broth, measure accordingly. This time I shorted the stock even too much for my taste.

Side note: I cannot remember where I got this information, but I am pretty sure it was NPR. There is an ingredient that I cannot recall the name of that mimics the taste of meat. (I have to say I do not recall as well if it was beef or all meat.) This ingredient is found in mushrooms, soy sauce and red wine. So I feel adding these ingredients to the soup gives it more of the flavor you are lacking from not using real meat stock.

Once I add the stocks, I add a few bay leaves and some fresh cut thyme from the garden. I splash some red wine in and a little soy sauce and simmer for a while. This usually means until I think the soup is ready. Once ready, I put it into small bowls and cut some slices of baguette and place them on top. Usually I try to use stale bread. If no stale bread is available for a proper crouton, then I just toast some fresh bread. My cheese of choice right now is Emmentaler. I'd prefer Gruyere but that is too expensive to use. I think generic Swiss or Fontina would also work and I may have used them in the past. A little time under the broiler and the soup is ready to eat. Not much to it. Onion soup is always a comfort food and is a nice dinner on a rainy December day in Seattle.

Lucy Ethiopian

An Ethiopian restaurant opened near us this past year and Jennifer and I had gone there earlier in the year to eat. We both had the vegetarian plate and really enjoyed it.

Last week, I found out my friend Rod had never tried Ethiopian cuisine, so a bunch of decided to get together at Lucy. Since I had friends who were meat eaters, we decided to try a few different meat dishes. Jennifer would get the vegetarian combo once again while the other four of us would split one vege combo and three meat dishes.

In deciding on the dishes we opted for one chicken, one lamb, and one beef. Under the direction of the waitress we got the Green Chicken (not on their online menu.) It was cubed chicken with collard greens and was good. Sabrina picked the Yo Beg Tibs as the lamb dish which was quite nice as well. I lobbied for the Gored Gored as the beef entree. This is a dish that is usually served raw. The waitress warned us of that and went to check with the kitchen to see if they had the meat for it. They did have it and we did get it. In previous cases where I have ordered raw beef, it has been ground (like the Ethiopian dish Kitfo.) I guess I wasn't thinking because the Gored Gored description clearly states cubed. At least on the web, I don't recall it on the paper menu, but I doubt the description would vary. Anyway, the Gored Gored was the last dish plated and it was a bowl of bright red (seasoned) cubed beef. It looked good, but we all found it to be far too chewy. After a few moments of mastication, you were still chomping away, and most of the seasoning was gone. Then it was a matter of getting the piece of raw beef small enough to swallow. I had as much as I could, but we were unsuccessful in finishing it. A shame, because I do not like food to go to waste.

The rest of dinner was great and I would go to Lucy again. I cannot say it is the best Ethiopian food in town, but it sure does rival others that I have gone to in Seattle. As may be noted on Yelp, they appear to have some service issues. For one thing, we did not get water for quite some time when dining there. Once we were served water though, (Jennifer got up to ask) we had a full carafe on the table from that point on. They also seem to run out on items. Noted in the Yelp reviews, but Rod also tried to order a Beck's Beer, and they were out. Next time we go, I will probably stick to the really delicious vegetarian combo.

Vegetarian "Chicken" Paprikash

This is a family recipe. Well, the base is a family recipe, while my modification to vegetarian is of course not. I believe the recipe comes from my father's family, but my mother was always the one to make the dish, and she passed the recipe to me. When my brother, sister and I were younger we got to pick dinner on the day of our birthday. (Aside from trips to the HoJo to have dinner of course. Where we always got free ice cream on our birthday and we always chose black raspberry.) Chicken Paprikash was one of the dishes I would choose on my birthday. The other was my mom's Chinese style spare ribs. I think when we were younger, or for holidays with relatives my mom would make spaetzel as well. But I remember it mostly being served with small shell noodles like the kind you'd get in boxed mac and cheese. Anyway, it is hard not to like a dish where the sauce's main ingredient is sour cream.

I started making a vegetarian version when Jennifer and I moved to Seattle. I missed my mom's version and wanted to make my own. In the first year we lived in Seattle, I had ordered the Paprikaschnitzel at the People's Pub in Ballard. I thought it would be great, as I prefer pork to chicken, but the sauce lacked. Yet they did have an element I have incorporated into my sauce since; bell peppers. Most traditional recipes for Paprikash include only an onion, so adding the bell pepper works for me since the sauce is named after a pepper.

I do not change much in the recipe other than using Quorn's Chik'N Tenders as the meat. I also adjust the ingredient levels as well. For one thing the recipe calls for a set amount of onion but I always just use one yellow onion. Since I add bell pepper, I usually add one red if I have it. I like to keep the amount of pepper about 2/3 of the level of onion. The amount of chicken is supposed to be over a pound, but I usually only use one bag (12 oz.) of the chicken substitute. And because I like my chiles, I tend to add more paprika than my recipe calls for. [The recipe calls for 2-3 tablespoons. I come close to doubling that.] Another element that I am following from my mother, but not the recipe is at the point of making the roux, I use the flour with paprika in it that is left over from coating the "chicken."

This time around I meant to add crimini mushrooms, but forgot them in the fridge. Also, most recipes I see call for 12 oz. of sour cream. I usually stick the whole 16 oz. tub in, but stopped short yesterday in attempt to reduce the fat and calories. (I was already using reduced fat sour cream.) Since I have never made spaetzel, I usually use store bought from the Bavarian Meats Deli at Pike Market. I think Jennifer once made spaetzel for this dish and last night I used the last resort; egg noodles. These noodles were whole wheat and egg noodles that we got cheap from the grocery outlet. I wouldn't by them again, but they were probably a bit healthier than standard noodles.

The way I make the dish it gets assembled in the serving bowl. Noodles first, topped with the "chicken" and then covered with sauce. So I neglected to take any pictures of the finished product in the bowl.

Sweet Potato Soup

We have a bunch of recipes for sweet potato soup. Only I didn't follow any. If I recall, most involve peanuts or more ingredients that we didn't have. I had two white and one orange sweet potato left over from Thanksgiving. I had purchased a jalapeno at the store in the hope of using it with the sweet potatoes to make a soup. (Turns out I forgot to use the jalapeno.)

I started with a Mirepoix sauteed in vegetable oil. Then I added the cubed potato once the other veggies softened. I added one can of coconut milk and then about one cup of vegetable stock to cover the potatoes. Then I brought it to a boil and simmered for a while to cook the sweet potatoes. I blended the whole thing with an immersion blender and then added some Chinese Chile to give it some heat and a little color variation.


It came out nice, but I didn't add any salt and it was lacking a bit due to that. The thing is I usually do not add salt while cooking unless it is needed for chemistry. (Like raising the boiling point of water.) So the soup needed a little salt at the table, but I'm fine with that. Jennifer wasn't so much. Next time I'll try to remember the jalapeno.

Senor Moose Cafe

In the last year or so this restaurant has catapulted into the leading spot for our favorite Mexican restaurant in Seattle. And it is a somewhat interesting way it got there. Last summer I had randomly picked up the Seattle Weekly best of issue. In that issue they had listed Senor Moose as the best Mexican in Seattle. I was in disbelief. The name of the restaurant was so odd, how could it produce the best food. Later that week I was at a picnic with former coworkers and I mentioned the Senor Moose Cafe. A former coworker of mine said he agreed with the assessment of it being best and stated that the dish he had there was just like the dish they serve on his brother's ranch (in Mexico.) I was sold and Jennifer and I went there the next week or so.

We've been back numerous times and always get the chips and salsa. The chips are fried up for each order, so they always come out hot and fresh. The five salsas you get with the chips are all delicious and a joy to eat as well. We occasionally get the Esquites as an appetizer which is great for dipping chips in as well.

They have a few vegetarian main courses for Jennifer to choose from. Last night she had the Enchiladas de Puya. The hostess said it was her favorite dish. I am pretty sure Jennifer has cycled through all the dishes that are vegetarian at this point.

I usually go with one of the pork dishes, but I have a hard time remembering which one I like best as the descriptions are similar. I am pretty sure it is the Manchamanteles as it has plaintains and pineapple. The last time I was there I had the Alambres which was a varied meat plate that was delicious and filling. Last night after having skied during the day I wanted something with a lot of protein. Easy to do with any of Senor Moose's meat dishes. I tried something new and had the Mole Colordito de Tututepec which so far was the least interesting of dishes I have had there. Not that it was bad, but I felt like I regretted my decision. A decision that was partially made by the fact that it was served with beans and not salad.

It was also nice going to Senor Moose on a Monday early as going later in the week and later than 5pm usually has us sitting at the counter because we don't wish to wait for a table. This may be one drawback of the restaurant is that it gets crowded and there is often a wait. But the wait is well worth it. Another possible detraction is that they do not appear to advertise if the meats are organic, grassfed or otherwise ethically and sustainably raised. This hasn't stopped me from ordering meat dishes there, but I am just playing ignorant so I can eat the delicious food.

Friendsgiving II

This time there was not a list on how many desserts people could bring. Which resulted in no less than six pies for twenty people! (Not including ice cream and numerous cheese cakes.) I decided to bring the cranberry crumble. I have been working on this recipe through the autumn, as I love cranberries and want to find more uses for them. I love crumble to, so it really is a nice match.

This crumble was the fourth iteration in the process. The first was actually a blueberry crumble because Jennifer doesn't like cranberries like I like cranberries. I followed a recipe I found on the Internet and made only one modification which was splitting the half cup of almonds into a quarter cup of almonds and a quarter cup of pecans. All subsequent versions use all pecans. (Ran out of almonds.) For numerous reasons, the filling came out runny and very liquid, but the crumble was perfect. Also, the filling seemed to sweet to me. So I set out making the first cranberry version.

Because I was using fresh cranberries, I opted to create the filling prior to topping it with crumble. To sweeten the cranberries I used blueberries, and I also added some sugar. The filling was still hot when I put it into the pan and topped it with the crumble resulting in a crumble that cooked a little faster closer to the filling. The result was a tasty crumble, but little cranberry shined through the 50/50 mix of blueberries and cranberries. And because of the hot filling, the crumble top was not perfect. So back to the lab. Uh, I mean kitchen.

The next time around I used less blueberries to sweeten the cranberries, and used no sugar in the filling. (Except some OJ, and Grand Marnier.) I cooled the filling before baking it with the crumble and it came out great. For yesterday's feast, I used roughly the same version, but with less blueberries, OJ and GM, in an effort to make the cranberry tartness stand out even more. I think it worked.

I also made "candied yams" for the dinner. I was attempting to duplicate something my mom prepared when I was younger. I'm pretty sure it was a frozen side dish that was heated in the oven consisting of yams or sweet potatoes and apples in a cinnamon sauce. Doing searches on the Internet to find such a recipe was not easy. Most searches for "candied yams" produce recipes like the mashers I made last week with the marshmallow on top. I had to search for yams and apples, but most recipes were weird (canned yams) or had too many ingredients (pecans, cranberries.) I found one that fit close enough and I substituted the corn syrup for brown sugar and it gave it a go without really measuring anything. I was afraid it wouldn't match my memory, but it came out nice and sweet and was well received at the dinner.

Vegetarian "Chicken" Pot Pie

This is a recipe I made up on my own last month or so. Usually I like to look up some recipes first, but it didn't occur to me. I think I already thought I knew how to make a pot pie.

Dough isn't really my thing. (I don't think I've ever made dough.) So I wasn't keen on making any for the pie. I also had a plan to only make a top for the pie, and no bottom crust. This allowed me to make it in a ~2.5l pot instead of a pie pan. This is a great way to go as the dish becomes a "one pot wonder." Sort of like making a Shepherd's Pie.

I use leeks and carrots from our garden as the base, and usually celery as well if we have it in the house. Crimini mushrooms are important as they give a meaty flavor to the dish. I saute all this in butter then eventually turn it into a roux with flour and vegetarian chicken stock. Just before adding the flour I add a little thyme to it. Then I add imitation chicken. Which in my first few attempts came from Yves, but this last go around I used Trader Joe's Vegetarian Chicken Strips. They are lightly seasoned and probably better suited to a more spicy cuisine, but I couldn't seem to rinse the seasoning off so I used them anyway. It didn't make a difference. I add frozen peas before sinking it into the oven.

In all of my attempts at this recipe, I have used Trader Joe's Puff Pastry as the top on my pie. The first go around I placed a piece right on top of the pot when I put the whole dish in the oven. This resulted in the pastry sinking into the filling leaving us with a gooey (but delicious) crust over the pie and light flaky puff pastry over the edges of the pot. The second attempt failed in the same way. This last time I actually cut the pastry first to the shape of the pot and then cooked it separately before placing it on the top of the pie before serving. That system finally worked! I didn't take any pics of the final product, so you'll have to take my word for it.

The Counter

After skiing yesterday I wanted a protein rich dinner. We didn't really have much at home that Jennifer was willing to eat, so we compromised by going to The Counter. I'm not a big fan of chain restaurants, but there are many reasons we go there. (More on that later.)

Seattle is a burger town, whether Seattleites want to admit it or not. This was immediately apparent to me when I moved here by the many local burger chains such as Dick's, Kidd Valley, BurgerMaster, and Red Mill. A stretch to call the two Red Mill locations a chain, but they are sort of a local institution and even Oprah had something to say about them. In addition the national burger chain Red Robin was started here, and they still make a pretty good burger. I'm not much into the fast food style burgers that the first four offer and I usually only eat at Red Robin in big groups where we need to find common ground. My favorite burger in Seattle is at Lunchbox Laboratory, but I don't think I've been there in nine months or so. Lunchbox makes custom burgers which can be overwhelming to a new patron of the restaurant with the high quantity of fixings choices.

The Counter is similar to Lunchbox, but a more relaxed atmosphere not trying to look up the options on a chalkboard and figure out what you want by the time you are first in line. The Counter allows you to check off your options on a sheet and then wait staff come by to take your order. I like Lunchbox, and The Counter because I can make up a burger that I would make at home, assuming I have all the ingredients. I will grill in the winter, but coming home in the dark after a day of skiing in near freezing temps doesn't really make me feel like lighting fire to charcoal.

So that's why we found ourselves at The Counter. We go there because they supposedly use humanely treated animals with no hormones or antibiotics which is important to me in choosing a restaurant that serves mammals on the menu. We also had a coupon of sorts where Jennifer paid $12.50 for $25 worth of food. Jennifer also thinks they make the best shakes in town, although I'd disagree. (A topic for another blog entry I'm sure.)

For the first time since going to The Counter, I did not have any sort of chile on my burger. My options went something like this: 1/3lb beef patty on multi grain bun with Tillamook Cheddar, red onion, grilled pineapple (always), pickle slices, fried egg and coleslaw. The coleslaw was unexciting, and I wouldn't get it again. Can't say I really noticed the cheese either, but it is no extra charge, so I'll keep trying. We got the 50/50 appetizer of sweet potato fries and onion strings, but I tried not. I'll eat a plate if put in front of me, but most people shouldn't be eating that amount of calories in one sitting. Good thing I probably burned 4000 calories or so out skiing.

Overall, I they make a good burger and so I had a good meal, but it is not a place I am going to tell every friend of mine to go to. In some ways I am ashamed to go there instead of making a burger at home. A few friends of mine have also had bad experiences there including one friend who got a burger with no patty. So perhaps their service is spotty?

Friendsgiving

Saturday was the annual Davidson sister's Friendsgiving. It is a pot luck, and I wanted to bring more than one dish as I was excited about a few.

Autumn is the time when cranberries are in season and they are one of my favorite fruits, so I often buy them on every grocery store visit. Usually I make plenty of cranberry sauce because that is an easy way to get a cranberry fix. This year I have been experimenting with a cranberry crumble and in previous years I usually make a fair amount of cranberry bars. By the time I announced my attendance to Friendsgiving, the dessert slots were all filled. So I made a small batch of cranberry sauce as one of my dishes. I use the America's Test Kitchen recipe, but reduce the amount of sugar, as I like the tartness of the cranberries to stand out more. This time I added some orange zest and Grand Marnier.

Then I proceeded to make two separate dishes of mashed sweet potatoes. One savory, and the other sweet. The savory mashers, which I made last year (but forgot I had) are a recipe from celebrity chef Alton Brown. They are chipotle mashed sweet potatoes. I don't vary from the recipe that much except for adding more chipotle than he asks for. This time I added a bit more butter too, but that was because I expected to use more potatoes, but cut the quantity shorter after having already added the butter. These were a hit last year, and again this year.

The other dish was to duplicate the mashed sweet potatoes my mom used to make for Thanksgiving. I called her for a recipe, but she didn't give me any specifics. She just said, "Make mashed sweet potatoes, then cover with marshmallow." So I started out. She called while I was in the process and added that she also used brown sugar. So without a definite recipe I made mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and brown sugar and put them in a dish so I could cover them with marshmallows and broil them. They came out great and Jennifer already wants me to make them again.

In addition, Jennifer made a recipe she found on the Internet that turned out great. I think the recipe was called "Mushroom Wellington." It involved mushrooms, butternut squash and goat cheese in a puff pastry. She made four, and sadly there was none for us to take home.

Other food at the dinner included a turkey, vegetarian shepherd's pie, and the classic green bean casserole. Highlights for me were the vegetarian stuffing, and my dishes. The mulled wine was good too.

Croutons

I remember seeing on a Food Network television program once about why the French disliked Americans or American cuisine. The reason was that "American buy croutons." It is pretty silly to buy croutons when it is so easy to make your own. (And control the fat and flavoring of said croutons.) The minimum that is required is bread and oil. I use stale bread, olive oil and a seasoning salt. Prep time is about a minute, and then 15 minutes in the oven. I used the stale "French Bread" we got for Onion soup earlier this week and put them together today. A little more overdone than I usually make them:

Introduction

The idea for this blog was hatched after my wife and I went to France for our honeymoon. I came back having enjoyed different regional cuisines and almost every meal was great, and that includes the baguette and cheese lunches we had on the train! Once back, I thought about documenting the culinary side of the trip into a blog, but I didn't get around to it for one reason or another. Then in the months that followed, I visited restaurants, and developed recipes. I once again thought that these experiences should be documented. The US Thanksgiving is next week, and I am in a food prep frenzy for multiple events, and I think it is about time to document some of my goings on in the world of food.

So, I hope to document foods that I am making, either from recipes, or from my brain. I will also include restaurant reviews as well. Although perhaps not so much reviews of the restaurants as much as it is about specific dishes and places I like to eat. And finally there will be some garden talk, as I keep a garden in the yard, and often use the things I grow in the food I make.

Enjoy!