A hot dog walks into a bar...

Stopped by Bird Dog and had a chicken fried hotdog covered in sausage gravy. The illustrious Jr had a rueban dog and some really greasy chili fries. We then vowed to return and eat sausage until the end of the world. This is a hard life. 

Espresso and chamomile

Ok, first things first: OMSI After Dark is awesome. They (Oregon Science Museum peoples) stay open late for the 21 and over, with microbreweries set up in booths all over the place. There are special activities and presentations geared towards adults (think: Taiko drumming and the science behind beer tricks, not XXX) and music, and you get a pint glass and there was a sausage truck and and and...PROS: Awesome! Beer! Science! No kids!
CONS: Really crowded and long lines.

Just had to throw that in there because for some reason I really like it when reviews sum it all up in a "Pros" vs "Cons" sorta way.

I was at first determined to sample all the brews available at the event, but I abandoned that quest after a short while when I found myself gravitating towards two repeatedly.

Beer #1: Oakshire Espresso Stout by Oakshire Brewing
This stout was so crazy good I think Tara had two pints. Oakshire Brewing is in Eugene. While James immediately recognized it, I had never heard of it. This stout was heavenly, creamy, coffee, thick and smooth. I just purchased two bottles as a hard week's reward. And because I couldn't get it out of my mind.
PROS: Delicious. Stout. Tastes like coffee.
CONS: Filling! And I think it may have got me drunkish but who's to know?

Beer #2: Chamomellow by Buckman Brewery
This was the first sample that I tried and kept going back for, and then they ran out and I cried for two seconds before running over to the Oakshire stand again.
Chamomile beer. Two of the most comforting things in this world, beer and chamomile tea, got together and had a beautiful baby, that when imbibed, will immediately transport you to a state of relaxation and unicorns. For some reason, it just works. Looks like Buckman Brewery is right here in P-town; I will soon be hunting it down...
PROS: Beer was never more soothing. Herbal and light.
CONS: Beer was never more soothing.

Musings on green pastes

A while back I got Paris this book, which I read before I gave him (as I do with all books that I buy as gifts.) However, back to the point- this author, Robert Wolke, says that outside of Japan what passes as wasabi is in fact regular HORSERADISH, dyed green. Apparently, wasabi is tricky to grow, and thusly more pricey. He also says though, that true wasabi is a delicate and nuanced taste, perhaps less suited to the american habit of excessive condiment slathering.
Of course, this sort of language makes me crazed with the desire to have some true wasabi. (Perhaps not quite as crazed as Paris gets when it comes to tortas, but I may be prone to hyperbole.) So when this earth-shattering book of culinary secrets mentioned how a wasabi farm can now be found in Florence, Oregon, I was like, hellz YEAH.

Pacific Farms
"Back in 1992, we took up the difficult challenge to grow authentic wasabi in North America. Along the central Oregon coast we found the perfect weather that matched the premier wasabi growing regions in Japan. Here we began our journey. By 1995, we were growing the finest varieties of Japanese wasabi right here in Florence Oregon." 6x small tubes = $20.75

On a different note, this umami paste has me intrigued as well. A heavenly description by Dean de Luca has me salivating: "Rich, deep and intensely savory, umami exists in a number of foods, many of which are blended into this mouthwatering puree of tomato, garlic, anchovy paste, black olives, balsamic vinegar, porcini mushrooms, parmesan cheese, olive oil and just a touch of sugar and salt."
On the Dean de Luca website, check out the customer reviews below the product pricing for evidence of how crazed the rest of the world is; one woman claims her sister dabbed it behind her ears and received compliments. 
13.95 for a 3 pack on Amazon



 And last but not least: an NPR story, including tasting reviews, about the many flavors of KitKat candy bars in Japan, including soy sauce and "Intense Roasted Soy Bean."

Revelations and a slew of crappy pics

It's been so long ago that this actually happened; I think I can only talk about the major points here:

1. Tara had some savory tarts while in Spain that inspired us creatively. We created flat ones, cup-shaped and pop-tart style tarts, filled with amazing things.

2. Actual caramelized onion and/or fruit is delicious. Previously, I believe anything I've ever had that claimed to be caramelized was truly only greased up and warmed. Don't get me wrong: warm and greasy can be just what I need sometimes- but these pears! They were something else.

3. Regular pie crust dough can be used for tarts but must be rolled as thin as you can possibly stand it.

4. I can drink the crappiest champagne in the world as long as I have raspberries to muddle.

5. My phone takes the crappiest photos in the world. Especially when you have food smeared across the lens and don't realize until the end of the night.

Have mixer, will bake.

With the holidays fast approaching, I'm daydreaming of all the delicious recipes I've been stockpiling. I FREAK out come the end of the year, getting preoccupied with making sugary sweets, frothy eggnog and all sorts of roasted spicy things. It gets a little insane at times, until before I know it, Tara and I are trying to shape home made marshmallows out of cookie presses, surrounded by champagne or trying to force people to try our eggnog meringue. Getting into the spirit of things, Tara and I have begun compiling a list of all goodies we will be attempting (and possibly even failing at a few, but who cares when it involves ingredients like these.) Here's my check list so far- all from recipe sites that I really enjoy- lots of other great non-sugar related recipes on most all of them:

Dulce de Leche Marshmallows from: The Spiced Life
My marshmallow love knows no bounds. I've killed hand mixers on batches of them, experimented with espresso and cocoa mixes and am now ready to move on to the next.

Buckeyes from: Smitten Kitchen
I have made a home made peanutbutter cup thing in past years, but now I'm looking forward to trying these. They look a bit more sophisticated, but that may just be the beautiful photography that Smitten Kitchen consistently provides.

Cherry-limade Bars from: Cheeky Kitchen
The lemon bar is a CLASSIC. My cookie book's page that holds this recipe is neatly annotated by my mother's hand but is gummed down by layers of sugar and lemon. I'm not quite sure I can get behind the maraschino cherries and food coloring called for in this version, but it opens up some great possiblities that I never imagined. Layered lemon bars? Holiday colors? Yes. YES

Salted Gingersnap & Hazelnut Bark from: Bitchin Camero
I LOVE how grown up this looks. Like, Harry and David good. Like, I ordered this from some catalog just for you this Christmas. But wait, I actually made it! This is what I imagine the conversation will go like when I gift my friends sweet packets of this salted chocolate confection. Oh, and I also love how freaking EASY it sounds to make. But I leave that part out of my imaginary conversations.



French Bread Pudding from: Epicurious
Tara and I are also going to be doing a bread pudding- however, most recipes I have been looking at call for chocolate, french toast, sweet breads, caramel and other extras when all I really want is plain good bread, eggs, cream and sugar. This recipe looks simple enough to satisfy those cravings, with dried cherries to add some tartness.


Burnt Sugar Lollipops from: Fig & Kindle
These rustic candies look so unassuming. I imagine all the better to appreciate all the differing degrees of caramelization. I can see these wrapped up in stiff cellophane and brown bows.


Hooray for the holidays! Time to dust off those rolling pins and start stocking up on refined sugars. YES. What are YOU guys making for Thanksgiving/Christmas/whatever?

Hold on a minute, summer

I love fresh corn. And cherry tomatoes. I could eat those all day long come summer. Tried out a corn pancake recipe from Smitten Kitchen this morning. I'm not particularly into pancakes- they've got nothing on waffles, IMHO. But man, these fresh corn ones were doing right: very light and fluffy, savory and soft, with chunks of fresh corn folded throughout. Smitten Kitchen suggested they may pair well with fresh tomatoes, so I made a topping of cherry tomatoes, some more fresh corn (lightly sauteed in the breakfast sausage juice), tons of basil, green onion and a pinch of salt, sugar and thyme. I took one bite and kind of freaked out. James added syrup to his plate, but I did fine without.
I will def be making these again. They would be a prime candidate for upping the savory factory- perhaps some green onion or shallots would be good thrown into the batter...

A Baker's Dozen!

My friend Abby and I went to take this class on decorating cupcakes. Feast your eyes upon these babies!

You win some, you lose some.

Finished an otherwise excellent dinner tonight with a scoop of bacon ice cream with the Jocy & the Luis. Let's just say: some things are better off without a liberal dose of bacon grease. Many hours later and my gut is still feeling it.
Tapalaya verdict: Stick with the pulled pork and the steak specials and steer clear of any dairy/pork combos.

THIS IS THE ONLY CHRISTMAS PIC I HAVE

Ok now, fast forward a few months. Christmastime! Tara and I once again indulged in eggnog for about 3 days straight until Mama refused to get us more eggs. Well, I guess there is some debate as to whether it was really eggnog or not, as we like to add a banana into the mix and some people are in hot opposition (HATERZ) but whatevs. Anyway, we wanted to get creative with our last batch, and so what you see here is the fruit of our hard labor. Egg meringue nog! We whipped up egg whites and then folded the rest of the ingredients in after. Here it is pictured, floating on a brandy shot. YUM! James declined a full serving, Memo was polite and drank some and Mama proclaimed it was the most disgusting idea ever. Way to kill our creativity, Mama! This reminds me of the horse drawing all over again.

Soda

Found these at my QFC and they were amazing! Just tried the orange cream and the vanilla cream, they they were great!
Crater Lake Soda

Seattle Hamburger Project: Teddy’s Bigger Burgers

Teddy's Bigger Burgers opened up in Woodinville this year, and its reputation already grew enough to be included in my list of hamburger places to try in the Seattle area.  The hamburger recommended was the Hawaiian burger.

The place is pure Hawaiian and hamburger kitsch.  From the fish tank to the Coke a Cola signs it is very cliché.  The Hawaiian burger was pretty good, with a slice of pineapple, but it was also very messy.  My preferred hamburger is the Cajun burger with onion rings on the side.  It is so tasty, spicy and beefy, with cool pickles and the onions rings are crispy.

Overall a great place to get a hamburger, I found I can bike there from my house, it makes a great Saturday outing.  Look at these pictures!  Aren’t you hungry?

I went down to LA a while ago for an animation conference. After the conference ended for the day, we would spend our nights searching for the Korean taco truck, Kogi, that my friend Shawna had heard about/obsessed with. Driving around LA late at night, we finally found it. I only had my cellphone for photos. Sorry about the quality.



Two sweet spare rib tacos on the bottom and a spicy pork taco in red sauce on the top. Both topped with greens tossed with soy, chile, salsa, and lime. Both really good.


But my favorite was the kimchi quesadilla. With a really nice spicy green salsa to top them. Super messy and awesome. Totally something I have to try to recreate....

and we went to disneylands...

Food That You Step On

Potatoes are a staple in Peruvian and Bolivian food, and one dish, chuño, is particularly interesting. I watched a fascinating episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, where, in Bolivia, he visited a farm where they prepared this potato.

The process is strange- potatoes are left in cold mountain air, to freeze at night, thaw in daylight sun, freeze again, and so on. The end result is a naturally freeze dried potato, and can be white or black in appearance. Within the freezing process, the potatoes are trampled by bare feet, I believe in order to remove the skins to further aid the freezing process. Andrew Zimmern even had the opportunity to try his hand (or foot, haha) at trampling the potatoes, but was soon told he was smashing them too harshly as he did it with too little love, and was too overweight. What a bummer, eh?

The whole process dates back to before the Inca Empire, and, not surprisingly, the potatoes can then last for years. Now, you can even get chuñu in a can, although I have no idea if you could find it here in America.

Anyway, I was watching this show with my friend Erika, who is from Bolivia, when she then told me she actually had some chuño from when her father last visited. I was totally fascinated by the whole thing, and nibbled off some of the potatoes she had. They were extremely light, hard as clay rocks, and tasted like potato flour. Travis, her husband, claimed they (chuño) made one nasty dish, which of course made me desperate to try them in a prepared dish.


Well, tonight I got home and Erika had dropped some off some prepared chuño for me! Just what I'd been craving. :)

She had mentioned she usually makes a soup, but this was a sort of stir fried preparation, dark and crumbly, with a very inviting aroma. She had included a mild sort of pico, which I just spooned on top and dug into. The consistency and texture reminded me of a ground beef, mild and meaty, with a slight potato under taste. I'll have to ask her if she cooked it in an animal fat of some sort; there also appeared to be perhaps flecks of scrambled egg thrown in as well. The whole thing was delicious. I ate it so quickly that I couldn't take a pic, and James had only one bite, but now I am dying to have the chuño soup.

I have no idea why Travis doesn't care for the dish. It wasn't tripe-with-ginger and green-onion amazing (I'll eat three plates of that in one dim sum sitting, easy), but it was tasty, comforting and intriguing. I can imagine it makes a great breakfast base, and I just may have to go throw some potatoes out my back door and hope it freezes tonight.