Thanksgiving

Recipes 9, 10, 11 – Vegetarian Entrées and Side Dishes – Apple Yam Holiday Casserole, Raspberry Snap Peas, and Thanksgiving Stuffing

Three recipes from the book made it onto the Thanksgiving menu. In addition to the usual suspects of turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, I made Apple Yam Holiday Casserole, Raspberry Snap Peas, and Thanksgiving Stuffing. All in all, this thanksgiving feast was fruitier than most years.

Apple Yam Holiday Casserole

I’ve never had yams or sweet potatoes partnered with apples in a lasagna-like layered casserole. I’ve also never used mini-marshmallows in any of my holiday cooking, so that was a first for me as well. It was hard to keep those little suckers from burning when I put it under the boiler for a light melting. The combination of yams and apples with an appropriate amount of brown sugar was pleasing.

Raspberry Snap Peas

These were not my favorite. The raspberry vinegar – while fruity – is just too tart and didn’t balance well with anything else on the plate (or in the glass for that matter).

Thanksgiving Stuffing

Finally, the Thanksgiving Stuffing, like all stuffing (and carbs generally), was the star of the plate (after the turkey, of course!). It also had fruity flair. In the mix are granny smith apples, dried apricots, and currants. All the fruit was a nice change to the usual menu and gave a primal, hunter gatherer edge, to the traditional fair.

Recipe 8 – Desserts – Sour Cream Cranberry Pie

Nuts or no nuts? That is the question. The sour cream cranberry pie recipe calls for one cup chopped walnuts. Being the good student of the cookbook project, I dutifully added them, even though in general, I’m not a big nuts-in-things kind of person. I found the crunch of the walnuts to be a distraction in the otherwise light and slightly sweet tart pie. My counterpart, however, respectfully disagreed and couldn’t imagine the pie without the walnuts. So, it comes down to whether one feels like a nut. Or not.

The rest of the recipe is as easy as pie. It calls for a ready-made crust, so it’s basically the time it takes to beat up the eggs and add the other ingredients. Because I couldn’t find fresh cranberries at the time, I made this recipe with canned cranberries. [This dates how far behind I am in blog entries – now, of course, cranberries are widely available due to the holidays.] I have to say that it still turned out tasty. An important modification to accommodate the substitution is to reduce the amount of honey to compensate for the sugar in the can. It would likely be better with fresh cranberries, but the substitution works in a pinch!

Little fruit balloons.

Also known as plumcots, pluots are a cross between a plum and an apricot. J and I purchased a pound or so from Tiny's Organics, because we wanted to see what all the hype was about. They are clearly the starfruit of 2009. I have to admit that they deserve the hype. More plum than apricot, these are juicy, sweet, and delicious. They reminded me of concord grapes in a way, just how the skin is slightly tough and then the fleshy part bursts out with juice and sweetness. I would advise eating pluots over the sink or with a fistfull of paper towels nearby. They may look small and harmless, but they are little fruit balloons, waiting to pop.

Recipe 7 – Vegetarian Entrée and Side Dish - Cheese-Macaroni Asparagus Bake

The special ingredient in this vegetarian entrée or side dish is cheese! The recipe calls for 2.5 cups Swedish fontina or Red Leicester cheese.

J and I ventured into Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, in our opinion the mecca for cheese in Pike Place Market, and asked if they make either a fontina or Red Leicester. They do not but recommended a substitute: Beecher’s Flagship cheddar. We accepted the substitute and used it to make this fancy mac & cheese, which is basically what this casserole dish is all about. Here are some views inside the shop:

You can see that Beecher's also makes their own fancy Mac & Cheese using the Flagship and Just Jack cheese.

Honestly, there isn’t too much to say about this one. If you like mac & cheese and don’t mind grating up a mound of speciality cheese and then watching it melt, this recipe is for you.

Recipe 6 - Seafood Entrees - Halibut Cheeks en Papillote

This is a recipe that I would have never tackled had it not been for this project. First of all, what the heck does en papillote mean? And second of all, are halibut cheeks really fish cheeks?

To answer the first, en papillote means in French “in parchment.” Instead of parchment paper, other materials such as aluminum foil or cooking plastic bags may also be used. Foil or plastic do not have the fanfare that the parchment paper does, but can be easier, quicker, and just as effective. Because I’ve been trying to stick to the directions as closely as possible and it didn’t seem right to cheat on my very first encounter with en papillote, I purchased the parchment paper and tried my best to seal the pouches. After I had already made my pouches, I then did some online research to see just how badly I had implemented this French cooking technique. My pouches looked more like parchment paper burritos rather than the elegant, delicately folded pouches that I found online. If you are a newbie to this technique and ever decide to give it a try, I’d recommend watching this instructional video where the chef shows how he folds the pouch and also the cheat about using egg white to act as a glue or seal at the edges.

In my attempt, I cut the paper properly – a big heart shape. It was the folding the tripped me up. When I folded the paper over and started to fold the edges, it wasn’t forming a tight seal. From watching the video, I figured out that the folds at the edge need to be smaller and more frequent and then the egg white provides some assurance that the packet will seal once it gets heated up. I started off well with the heart shaped parchment paper:

But didn't do so well with the sealing. I ended up with parchment burritos instead of pouches:

Now as to the contents of the pouch, I needed to find halibut cheeks. Halibut cheeks are just that – the cheeks of a halibut. I guess they have a fleshy face that allows a cut of an elliptical sized piece of fish that is about 1.5 inches in diameter. Here is a diagram showing that halibut cheeks are indeed fish cheeks:

Image Credit

And what they look like at the point of sale:

Image Credit

J and I picked up 1.5 pounds from Jack’s Fish Spot. They are spendy but not a bank breaking splurge at $12.00 per pound.

As an afternote, the house still smells fishy about five days after making this recipe. Even though the cheeks were incredibly fresh, there is something about baking this dish that infuses the home with fishy smells. I thought it was a tasty dish and less time consuming to prepare than I initially thought, but I would have to think twice about preparing it a second time, mostly due to its lasting presence!

The best sandwich ever.

Recipe 5 - Vegetarian Entrée and Side Dish – Panini Brutti

This recipe is the contribution of The Pink Door, which is a Seattle favorite, primarily because of its secret, unmarked location. It’s not that secret, though. There is a pink door almost directly across from the entry to Kell’s in Post Alley and behind the pink door in the alley is, well, The Pink Door, a lovely Italian restaurant with a bar and patio area. The bar area has a lot of charisma and frequently on the weekends live music. The patio area is another popular spot, almost always jammed in the summertime. I think in my almost decade of living in Seattle, I’ve only made it to the patio once or twice.

The matter at hand, though, is the panini brutti and how J and I faired preparing the ugly sandwich, the translation of its name. I have to say that so far this is my favorite recipe, which is an oddity because it’s just a sandwich. It has everything to do with the ingredients:

Fresh Mozzarella from DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine
The cheese counter was hopping on the Saturday we decided to stop in. Once we finally had our chance in the spotlight, we lucked out and got the last of their in-store made fresh mozzarella cheese. What makes it special is that it has never been refrigerated, which makes it as fresh as fresh can be. We were directed to not refrigerate it and use it within 24 hours, if possible. The reason being – once the fresh mozzarella is refrigerated, the texture changes and not for the better. They only had a half pound of their in-store made mozzarella so we made up the rest that we needed with the Wisconsin dairy version. We had a little taste test on our hand, and the difference in texture could definitely be tasted in a side-by-side comparison. What a difference refrigeration makes! While the choice may be obvious, I will confirm that if you have the choice between freshly made, never refrigerated mozzarella and something else, go with the former. It will knock your socks off.

Crusty Country Style Bread from Three Girls Bakery
It’s a sandwich so you’re going to need some high quality bread and this can be easily found at Three Girls Bakery. I picked up a loaf of the country white and asked them to slice it. The baker gave me the lesson on how to store the bread – get it out of the plastic bag and into paper as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to comply with his request. I frequently experience a paper bag shortage since I use almost entire reusable bags at the grocery store these days. And when I forget – which also happens – the only choice is usually plastic. I didn’t store it in paper but rather plastic in the refrigerator. I have to say that it fared okay. It never got too hard and was the perfect choice for the panini brutti.

In addition to the white bread and fresh mozzarella, there is garlic, zucchini, eggplant, and red bell pepper along with herbs and seasonings on a panini brutti. All the veggies are grilled and then the sandwich assembled. In my mind, it seemed like a lot of work for a sandwich, but it was among the best sandwiches I’ve had so well worth it.

Recipe 4 - Entrees - Pork Chops with Cabbage Potatoes

M made this one but I ate it so I feel that I can at least comment on how it tasted. It was very good! It cooked up like a casserole with the chops nestled down in the pan underneath the cabbage leaves and potatoes. This method kept the chops moist even though we picked up thinly cut pork. These are the kind of chops I have a hard time doing on the grill since they dry up so easily.

The cabbage and potatoes were very mild and made a nice side to the meat. Most of the flavors in this dish come right from the main ingredients as onion, pepper, and caraway seeds are the only spices. M went off the script a little and made a risotto and lentils side not found in the Market Coookbook. I really, really liked this side and hope that it makes its way into future meals.

Lunch at Lowells

What would a Pike Place blog be without posts about Pike Place? When M and I went to the market to pick up ingredients for this week's recipes we decided to stop by Lowells and have lunch. For those who haven't been there in a while, Lowells is located in the upper floor of the market and is generally a place you either work hard to get into or simply are pushed into. The near-constant stream of humanity shuffling along the main market corridor will either block your entrance or shove you right in. Once inside you'll notice a cafeteria-style counter oddly bereft of food in front of booths sporting first class views of Elliot Bay. Signs will tell you to order first at the counter and then have a seat after which servers will magically find you and deliver your food.
What is really interesting about Lowells is that a steep staircase runs along one side of the restaurant and provides access to the second and third floors of the restaurant. Even if you walk up to an upper floor the servers will come, they will find you, they will serve your food.

The second floor is where the magic happens and is my favorite. It is dark and atmospheric, featuring dark wood tones and high booths around the outside. Also, a bar sits squarely in the middle of it all taking up about a third of the total floor. Oh yeah, it also has great views of the water.

M and I dodged the wait and snagged two stools at the bar. We struck up a conversation with a vendor from Constantino’s Produce. He told us about his 14 years of working the market while he cheered on the Huskys as they played USC on the bar tv. It seems that over the years he tried many times to find work outside the market but failed. I'm still not sure if it speaks of the positive power of the market or the evil side, like The Firm or something. Either way he finished up his PBR and hustled off to face the "cattle herd" of tourists who visit his booth.

The bartender revealed that he was a huge football fan and even coached at Whidbey Island High School. He winced at the tv as the dawgs took their knocks and then took the opportunity to tease two WSU fans who unwisely wore their crimson and gray into the bar.

Lunch was served and was absolutely fabulous. I had the seafood plate with grilled salmon, prawns, and a crab cake and broccoli and rice for sides. The salmon was delicious with subtle seasoning allowing the salmon's flavor to come through, same for the prawns. For me the rice and crabcake were the stars of the plate however. The crab was very fresh and the cake was not overly oily. A house cocktail sauce added a fair amount of heat. The rice appeared unassuming but was buttery and spicy. I washed it down with a glass of Georgetown Brewery's Mannys.

There's sweets in the house.

Recipe 3 - Breads - Strawberry-Nut Bread

The best part of this project is that I usually don't have sweets in the house - sweet breads or otherwise - so it is quite unusual to have Strawberry-Nut Bread around. I'm particularly looking forward to the cakes and other treats in the Desserts chapter. Yum smack.

The Strawberry-Nut Bread did not disappoint. I did make a substitution that is noteworthy. The recipe calls for 1.25 cups vegetable oil and I just couldn't bring myself to use that much oil. I am not under any delusion that the recipes in this book are low fat but I wouldn't be able to actually consume any of the bread knowing that there was that much oil. A quick and easy substitution that lowers the fat but still preserves the moistness is to substitute applesauce for the oil. I, of course, accidentally picked up sweetened apple sauce and then forgot to reduce the amount of sugar that I added. Woops. It actually was fortuitous forgetfulness, though, because it worked out to have the appropriate level of sweetness.

J and I will actually head down to Pike Place Market this weekend for some ingredient shopping and hunting around for the stores and restaurants that we've cooked from so far. On the list are the Biringer Farm Store (existed as of 1992), LoPriore Bros. Pasta Bar & Eatery, and more!

Mushroomy

Recipe 2 - Sauces, Relishes, and Dips - Marinara Vegetable Sauce

This is a great vegetarian sauce that I put over pasta that got the reaction, "mushroomy." Indeed, it does include a pound of mushrooms, which is perhaps more mushroom than I would ordinarily use. Seafood can also be added for a more sophisticated version, but I was feeling veg so excluded sea creatures this time around.

There is an abundance of leftovers -- recipe makes 8 cups of sauce -- so both J and I will be having pasta time in our cubes tomorrow. For the effort and investment, though, this is a tasty and economical dish that I would make again.

Starting out with a tough one.

Recipe 1 - Beverages - The Perfect Cup of Coffee

Usually when I brew coffee, I'm bleary eyed, unhappy to be awake, and even more unhappy about heading off to work, which is where I'm usually headed. All this sleepiness and unhappiness doesn't provide a lot of motivation for measuring, a key ingredient to the perfect cup of coffee. In fact, I tend to pour some water into the coffee maker until it looks right, in other words how many cups I'll need to make it through the day in a coherent manner. The next step is to pour ground coffee into the filter until it also looks right. According to the trusty Guide, though, this is not the way to end up with a consistent and tasty cuppa joe.

And it's true, sometimes it doesn't end up tasty. Sometimes, it ends up so thick that I have to chew and other times it ends up so thin it doesn't do the job. Yet, on special mornings, the planets align and my guesstimation results in the perfect blend, which is all the more meaningful because it occurs as if by chance and as a result of my wherewithal. Those are the days that I know will be great.

This morning, though, I measured. I gave away my daily magic eight ball out of dedication to this project. For those also new to this whole measuring thing, the ideal ratio is 1 tablespoon ground coffee per 6 oz. water. A perfect and consistent brew every time. Maybe overrated, maybe less interesting than rolling the dice, but tasty reliability nonetheless.

The project begins.

So, I'm not going to lie. J and I went to see the movie Julie & Julia last evening and this is one of many derivative blogs that are going to try -- and fail -- to duplicate the magic. With that said, it's still good incentive to work one's way through an entire cookbook -- something I've never done before -- and learn something along the way. Plus, cooking and eating is something that, try hard as one might not to do so or to do less of, has to be done on a daily basis. This seems like fair fodder for a project and a way to make things a bit more interesting.

After much debating, we have decided to select a book out of our small cookbook library to use as the basis of this project: Pike Place Market Cookbook, 1992, Sasquatch Books. There are many reasons to select this book: (1) Pike Place Market is a top destination and a place that I enjoy going to even after living in Seattle nearly a decade and despite the dense population of tourists most of the year, (2) it is a treasure trove of fun and interesting ingredients and restaurants to which we have easy, year-round access, (3) we already own this book thanks to a wedding gift from a wonderful couple several years ago, and (4) we've only cooked a few recipes out of the book so most of the recipes will be new to us.

There are 154 recipes in the book, breaking out into the following categories:

Appetizers = 10
Soups & Salads = 15
Vegetarian Entrees & Side Dishes = 24
Entrees = 23
Seafood Entrees = 13
Local Chefs Cook at the Market = 6
Desserts = 27
Breads = 9
Sauces, Relishes, & Dips = 15
Beverages = 12

This is a reasonable number of recipes but still a big project, all said and done. J and I will trade back and forth writing about where we go in Pike's Place Market, how the time in the kitchen goes, and of course how it all turns out.