By Kevin Finch on November 27, 2009
This might have been the first year we’ve ever stayed home and simply eaten as a family for Thanksgiving. Our usual holiday agenda involved extended family or a meal with close friends where the actual meal preparation is divided up.
This year we did the meal in-house and from scratch with a few key local ingredients such as a turkey from Gary and So of Rocky Ridge Ranch and wild rice from St Maries, Idaho. Here is the run-down and rating for the meal.
Herb Roasted Turkey. We scored with a November 09 Saveur recipe and a Rocky Ridge Ranch 15 ¼ pound turkey that we brined overnight in an orange juice brown sugar brine and then roasted. Brining consultant: John Sowers. Turkey Rating: 5 stars
Butternut Squash, Kale, and Cheddar Bread Pudding. This was designed as the vegetarian main dish for Megan’s benefit and came from the Molly Wizenberg’s recipe in November 09 Bon Appetit. Karen loved it. Megan didn’t. I might have used a bit less kale, but like the flavor profile. Rating: three stars
Wild Rice Stuffing with Wild Mushrooms and Dried Pears. Megan also suggested we try a wild rice stuffing this year and the caramelized onions and mushrooms in this smelled wonderful in the pan. The dried pears were an interesting addition, but the finally result wasn’t as stunning as I expected. Puzzling. The recipe came from Epicurious.com and I’ll have to chew on what might bump up the flavor while I eat leftovers. Rating: three stars
Mashed Potatoes. We used some monster potatoes we received as part of our CSA deliveries from Rocky Ridge Ranch. Overcooked slightly but workable with butter, cream, and salt. Rating: three stars
Pan Gravy. Brilliant. Crafted on the fly from email notes from mom using flour to thicken the seriously wonderful pan drippings. Rating: 5 stars
Fresh Green Beans. Organic beans ala Huckleberry’s since Costco was cleaned out. Blanched and than sauteed with a bit of butter and salt. Rating: 4 stars
Cy’s Cranberries. The brandy gives these baby’s a great kick. The recipe is Cynthia Brown’s and was passed along by her sister, Renee Dickenson. Rating: 5 stars
Raw Cranberry Orange Relish. Unable to do just one cranberry side, this simple and stunning relish from Mary Beth Baker was a great use of the 2nd pound of berries. Rating: 5 stars
Grandma Gould’s Butter Rolls. This was the second recipe from the Gould family along with Cy’s Cranberry’s and was possibly the biggest hit of the holiday. Thanks Renee. Rating: 5 stars
Homemade Lemonade. Mark Bittman’s How-T0-Cook-Everything recipe. Rating: three stars (due to whimpy lemons)
Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream. The crust is Donna Brigg’s shortening crust that she taught me to make in high school and the filling came off the Libby can. It has been a while since I’ve made a crust but it was a respectable effort, but I need your suggestions on a better filling recipe or else an entirely different direction to go for dessert. Came within seconds of turning the whipped cream into butter. Rating: 2.5 stars
Posted in cooking, culture, play | Tagged Bon Appetit, butter rolls, cranberries, Epicurious, Herbed Roast Turkey, Mark Bittman, pan gravy, pumpkin pie, Rocky Ridge Ranch, Saveur, Thanksgiving, wild rice |
By Kevin Finch on November 21, 2009
The restaurant in Browne’s Addition with the most Inland Northwest mindshare is clearly The Elk. It is an institution and for good reason, but I find I head into Browne’s Addition more often to slip into Cafe Marron across the street. It is a bit quieter, and I enjoy both the space and like the menu. Yesterday it was for lunch and I settled on the roasted beet salad that tosses the greens with the beets, candied walnuts, and soft goat cheese. A little Bouzies bread on the side rounded out a nice meal.
Posted in dining | Tagged beets, Browne's Addition, Cafe Marron, Northwest restaurants, roasted beets, salad, Spokane restaurants, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on November 20, 2009
Full Disclosure: I’m not a coffee aficionado. I know plenty: Lea Greene, Daryl Geffken, Jake Reidt come to mind immediately.
Maybe I’ve hung back a bit because I so mercilessly made fun of my mom for her coffee addiction when I was in high school. Or I maybe the taste of coffee itself never thrilled me without so much sugar it made more sense to order something else. As the risk of being expelled from the Northwest, I’ll admit we still don’t brew a pot at home except when guests (or mom) comes over. But after hanging out with enough people who are borderline fanatical about their coffee, I’m working to develop an appreciation for different roasts and blends if only not to embarrass myself in public.
This said, I met two friends at Caffe Delicio on North Monroe yesterday, and I suggest you go out of your way to try not only their coffee, but enjoy the space they’ve created. I’ve driven by their double lane commuter establishment for years and never turned in. Yesterday I parked and walked in only to be surprised and delighted by the design work inside. I also appreciated the collection of unique mugs they use to serve customers who plan to drink their coffee at a table rather than in traffic.
Posted in culture, drinks | Tagged Caffe Delicio, coffee, coffee aficionados, coffee fanatics, Daryl Geffken, Jake Reidt, Lea Greene, Spokane |
By Kevin Finch on November 19, 2009
Geoff and Debbie White opened the Perry Street Cafe in the fall of 2006. I’ve driven by often, but never stopped in. This morning I did and the number one item on my hit list was to try Debbie’s signature cinnamon roll. Our waitress also suggested the home fries over the hashbrowns with the omelete, and I was grateful for the recommendation. I’ll be back for both.
Here is the visual rundown:
Posted in dining | Tagged breakfast, cinnamon roll, Debbie White, Geoff White, home fries, Northwest restaurants, Perry Street Cafe, South Perry District, Spokane, Spokane restaurants, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on November 10, 2009
Last night the table was set for 28 guests – nearly all of them connected to the restaurant and hospitality industry. I’m sure I’m biased, but it was a brilliant evening with wonderful food from Jeremy Hansen at Sante, an amazing space compliments of the Brad and Sara Greene of The Purple Turtle, and an actual Big Table due to the creativity of Chris Olson of NOC Architects. We will post more pictures soon, but here is one from the evening.
Posted in dining, play, wine | Tagged Big Table, Chris Olson, Jeremy Hansen, non-profit, restaurant industry, Robert Karl Winery, Sante, Spokane, The Purple Turtle |
By Kevin Finch on October 31, 2009
I might have grown up in Montana on meat and potatoes, but often when I come back to visit my aunt and uncle we go a bit more exotic for at least one dinner: Thai food. Steven Lympus taught my aunt to cook Thai, and she passed on the cookbook Steven shared with her: Simply Thai by Wandee Young and Byron Ayanoglu.
For both of us, the cookbook functions as our Thai cooking bible and last night we went for a dinner of three of our favorite dishes in the volume.
Phad Thai.
Cold Spring Rolls
And Cucumber Salad.
Posted in cooking | Tagged Montana, Simply Thai, Thai food |
By Kevin Finch on October 29, 2009
Lakeside MT: Signs are critical when you are traveling. GPS devices can be brilliant, but I still appreciate a physical sign to confirm where I’m headed. In Montana, some of the best signs are nailed to trees alongside dirt roads.
Near my parent’s and my uncle and aunt’s homes south of Lakeside is a cluster of signs nailed to a tree, and some of them have been hanging there my whole life. But every now and then a new one is added. Not too long ago one in particular appeared. I noticed it again today because it simply stands out.
I have yet to meet Mr. or Mrs. Von Schledorn, but if their sign is any indication, they are colorful people.
Posted in culture, travel | Tagged color, contrast, Lakeside MT, Photoshop, road signs, signs |
By Kevin Finch on October 25, 2009
I regularly ask friends who traveling to send in pictures from their eating adventures abroad. Here are a few posted from France by Charley and Pam Bartlett.
First is a crepe storefront that is offering brilliant product placement for Nutella and several soft drinks.
Then there is a meat case with whole rabbits… a great protein that makes most Americans a bit squeamish. The “fluffy bunny” effect.
And finally a lunch spread… I particularly love the Instant French guide under the bread basket. Thanks Charley and Pam.
Posted in culture, dining, travel | Tagged bread, Charley Bartlett, crepes, France, French cuisine, French food, lapin, Pam Bartlett, rabbit, street food |
By Kevin Finch on October 2, 2009
Most books take quite a bit of time and too many long sentences to share a few worthwhile ideas. Good to the Core take a different approach. Short chapters unpack the impact of values that shape your life and offer practical steps for you, the reader, to identify your own core values.
Author John Blumberg suggests throughout the book that these personal values build value for the organizations where you spend your time, and I buy this assertion. I also track with Blumberg as he describes the process of identifying personal ideals that truly are core values. Yet what I appreciated the most was reading the descriptions of the values Blumberg has built his own life around.
Other parts of the book feel more like a pep talk or presentation (not surprising since Blumberg pays the bills as a professional speaker), but when he starts describing his own values I felt like I’d been invited backstage for a tour of a life lived intentionally. I share a number of Blumberg’s values, and others got me thinking. He lists optimism, adventure, and curiosity among his values and all three stimulated reflection.
In the midst of describing his own values he also made several observations I appreciated. At one point he describes his understanding of STEWARDSHIP as the idea that “there is something better to be left behind. Not devoured, but improved upon and let as your gift for others.” Nice.
Then in the section on ADVENTURE he notes: “While technology has, in itself, been an adventure, I am beginning to wonder if it has created a whole new level of demands that takes us to such a reactive state in life that there is no time to dream. No time to let life be truly an adventure…” I wonder the same thing… as I blog, wade through email, post to Facebook, update Twitter, upgrade the maps on my GPS, play poker on my Blackberry Bold, and battle viruses on all three computers that now take up desk space in our home. Time to dream? Who has time for that?
Blumberg isn’t trying to write a book that will be nominated for a Pulitzer. It is the wrong size and shape and it has too many pictures and funky fonts. It will look much more at home on the corner of a desk or in the book rack in the bathroom rather than tucked into the Library of Congress, but then I think that is the point. It was written not so much to be read but to be used to begin to think about what you truly want to define you. And this is time well spent… after you read… thinking, making notes, and boiling down what really is at your core.
Posted in culture | Tagged adventure, books, curiosity, Good to the Core, John Blumberg, optimism, stewardship, technology, values |
By Kevin Finch on October 1, 2009
Chef Anna Vogel is offering $25 Prix Fixe Dinners on the Luna Daily Fresh Sheet inspired by the communal dinners she remembers from childhood that were served each night during the grape harvest. “Grape Picker Dinners” they are called and come with a choice of two small plates, an entree, and two options for dessert.
I stopped by Tuesday night to try the dinner along with the Vin du Jour that is offered alongside the Prix Fixe for $5 a glass. Both the dinner and the wine were a delight. I started with the Organic Roasted Beet Salad featuring greens from the restaurant garden fifty feet from the side door, and finished with a simple vanilla bean ice cream served in a martini glass and topped with grappa macerated concord grapes. Yet on the food front it will be Vogel’s “Pork Ragu” that I’ll be dreaming about for a while. She braises the pork in tomatoes and fennel along with plenty of bacon and serves the pork and the rich sauce over creamy parmesan polenta. Think high caliber comfort food.
But the other star of the evening arrived in a glass: an 2007 Cotes du Rhone from Le Pas Du Meunier.
The menu noted that this particular Cotes du Rhone was only available with the Prix Fixe dinner, and I’d say it is worth ordering the dinner just to get the wine. Of course the huge bonus is the great food, but the wine itself was quite satisfying even before the food arrive. Drinking it felt like sipping the best of autumn in a glass.
Posted in dining, drinks | Tagged Anna Vogel, Cotes du Rhone, ice cream, Le Pas du Meunier, Luna, Northwest restaurants, pork ragu, roasted beets, Spokane restaurants, Washington restaurants, wine |
By Kevin Finch on September 23, 2009
Question of the Day: What is the calorie count for WRITING about food? Does it increase the more adjectives you use?
| Tagged adjectives, calorie counting, calories, food, prayer, question, writing |
And here is the irony… I’m posting my dilemma online… on my blog which is linked to my Twitter account which will in turn update my Facebook status.