COOKBOOK PROJECT: Penne Alla Vodka Two Ways

 

Penne Alla Vodka Two Ways

For my second recipe from the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook, I went with Penne Alla Vodka Two Ways. The tomatoes are used two ways in this recipe, crushed and sun-dried. This was a pretty easy recipe, and it didn't take long at all to make. I love pasta, so I was looking forward to making this dish. 

Minced garlic

The ingredients for this recipe include: butter, garlic, crushed red pepper, vodka, crushed tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, pepper, heavy cream, penne pasta, Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. I will not list the recipe here. You will need to purchase Tieghan Gerard's Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook for that.

Sun-dried tomatoes

Like I mentioned before, this recipe was pretty easy. The pasta turned out great, and I would definitely make this dish again. The cookbook offers a second recipe for this dish to be prepared as a pasta bake as well. I think next time I will try the pasta bake recipe.

COOKBOOK PROJECT: No-Knead Bread

No-Knead Bread

As I mentioned last week, one of my New Year's resolutions is to cook more at home. I figured a good way to motivate myself would be to cook my way through one of my favorite cookbooks. I chose Tieghan Gerard's Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook. I have been following Half Baked Harvest on social media for years from the recommendation of my Niece. I instantly fell in love with the amazing food photos. Everything looked so delicious! I have purchased two of Tieghan's cookbooks and have used every excuse to not cook more. I'm hoping the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook project will keep me motivated throughout the year to cook more, blog more and have fun with cooking!

I decided to start with an easy recipe, No-Knead Bread. I have never actually made homemade bread, except for banana bread. This bread recipe was super simple. Which I guess is why it's the title of the cookbook. 

Ingredients

I won't be posting the full recipes in any of my posts. If you would like the recipes for any of the food I make from the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple cookbook, you can purchase a copy here.

Furious IPA from Surly Brewing Company

I will list the ingredients for this recipe, but again, I will not publish the full recipe. Flour, instant yeast, kosher salt, beer and olive oil are all you need to make this bread. The beer I used for this recipe is Furious IPA from Surly Brewing Company out of Minneapolis, MN. I would have used a much lighter beer, but this is all I had in my fridge, as I don't really drink light beer. I would definitely recommend using a light beer for this recipe. The bread had a pretty strong beer smell and taste to it, due to the fact that I used an IPA.

Dough before rising

Dough going into the oven

Bread out of the oven

Fresh baked bread

This bread was very easy to make. The bread itself turned out great! The crust was perfectly crispy, and the bread was the perfect consistency. The next time I make this bread I will use the lighter beer. It will be perfect then! For my first time ever making a loaf of bread, I would say this was a success!

Now it's time to explore the cookbook to find the next recipe I will try.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!! Chow Down Seattle is Back!!

 

Happy New Year!! Chow Down Seattle is back!! It's been over two years since my last blog post, and over seven years since I posted on a regular basis. I have missed food blogging over the years, and one of my New Year's resolutions is to start food blogging again. I'm looking forward to blogging again. I have been using social media over the years to post about my food adventures, but I truly missed blogging. I know nowadays people would rather go to social media to get their news, food inspiration and daily distractions, but I'm hoping there are still a few of us out there that like to actually read blogs.

Another one of my New Year's resolutions is to cook at home more often. I figured the best way to do this would be to cook my way through one of my cookbooks. I know it's been done a thousand times, but I figured it would be a good way for me to stay motivated, try some new recipes and hopefully learn how to make some delicious food.

The cookbook I will be cooking through is Tieghan Gerard's Half Baked Harvest Super Simple. Tieghan's food looks so delicious and her food photography is amazing! I can't wait to start cooking my way through her recipes. You can check out the Half Baked Harvest website here.

So check back often as I cook my way through one of my favorite cookbooks!

Cheers!

Seattle Restaurants Still Open for Delivery or Take Out

As we all live with the new normal of being quarantined at home, there are still restaurants open for delivery or take-out. Here is a list of some of those restaurants that are still open. Please support your favorite restaurants so they can continue to remain open! I'll update the list with more restaurants soon. Stay home, and be safe! You can check out all of the Seattle restaurants that are open for delivery and/or take-out with the new City of Seattle interactive map #SupportSeattleSmallBiz

- Plenty of Clouds
- Bar Cotto
- Cafe Juanita
- The Shambles
- JuneBaby
- Addo
- La Carta de Oaxaca
- Harvest Beast
- Kamonegi
- Canlis
- Hitchcock
- Kedai Makan
- Nue
- Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar
- Bateau
- Little Neon Taco
- Matt's in the Market
- Meskel
- Ba Bar
- L'Oursin
- Nirmal's
- Il Nido
- Homer
- Bar del Corso
- Noodle Boat Thai Cuisine
- Taqueria la Fondita
- Veraci Pizza
- Poke Square
- 8oz Burger & Co.
- Bai Tong Thai Street Food

FOOD NEWS: Dino's Tomato Pie Opens on Capitol Hill

Photo Credit to Alex Garland

Brandon Pettit, owner of Delancey and Essex, opened Dino's Tomato Pie on Capitol Hill! The new bar and pizzeria is on the corner of Denny and East Olive Way. Brandon is bringing his delicious pizza to Capitol Hill after having much success at his popular Delancey in Ballard.

The pizza is not the same as those served at Delancey. It is served square and with a thick crust. The name of the new pizzeria is an homage to a New Jersey pizzeria called Joe's Tomato Pie. I can't wait to try the pizza at Dino's!

Dino's Tomato Pie
1524 East Olive Way
Seattle, WA  98122

FOOD NEWS: James Beard Award Semifinalists

On February 17th The James Beard Foundation announced its list of Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists. Below is a list of all the Seattle area Semifinalists.

Best New Restaurant
Girin Steakhouse & Ssam Bar - Seattle

Outstanding Baker
Evan Andres, Columbia City Bakery - Seattle

Outstanding Bar Program
Canon - Seattle

Outstanding Chef
Matt Dillon, Bar Sajor - Seattle
Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy - Seattle

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Junko Mine, Café Juanita - Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Restaurant
Lark - Seattle

Outstanding Restaurateur
Ethan Stowell, Ethan Stowell Restaurants - Seattle (Anchovies and Olives, Ballard Pizza Co., Bar Cotto, Bramling Cross, Goldfinch Tavern, How to Cook a Wolf, MKT., Red Cow, Rione XIII, Staple and Fancy, Tavolàta)

Outstanding Service
Café Juanita - Kirkland, WA

Outstanding Wine Program
Canlis - Seattle
Wild Ginger - Seattle

Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional
Wayne Carpenter, Skagit Valley Malting - Burlington, WA

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Jay Blackinton, Hogstone Wood Oven - Orcas Island, WA
Maximillian Petty, Eden Hill - Seattle

Best Chefs: Northwest
Eric Donnelly, RockCreek - Seattle
Mike Easton, Il Corvo Pasta - Seattle
Renee Erickson, The Whale Wins - Seattle
Edouardo Jordan, Salare - Seattle
Nathan Lockwood, Altura - Seattle
Dustin Ronspies, Art of the Table - Seattle
Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi, Joule - Seattle

Congratulations to all of the Seattle area Semifinalists!! Best of luck in the Finals!!

FOOD EVENT: Dine Around Seattle

Get your appetites ready! Dine Around Seattle runs March 6 – 31st, Sundays through Thursdays. Participating restaurants offer 3-course dinner menus of one appetizer, one entree, and a dessert for just $33, with many restaurants offering a 3-course lunch menu for just $18. Check their website on February 11th for a complete listing of all participating restaurants.

FOOD EVENT: Dine Around Seattle Going On Now!

Dine Around Seattle is going on now! 45 of your favorite Seattle area restaurants offer 3-course dinners for only $33! 3-course lunches are only $18. Dine Around Seattle takes place November 1st - 25th, Sundays through Thursdays, excluding Sunday Brunch and Holidays. Get the full list of participating restaurants here, and get more info on their website.

Now get out and eat!

FUNNY: Everything Wrong with Trendy Restaurants

TV SHOWS: Jason Stratton on Top Chef!

Jason Stratton (Photo Bravo TV)

Seattle's Jason Stratton (General Manager/Executive Chef, Mamnoon) will be on season 13 of Top Chef! The two-night premiere airs Wednesday, December 2nd and Thursday, December 3rd on Bravo. Top Chef will be road tripping across the Golden State of California with stops in San Diego, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Oakland and San Francisco. Padma, Tom, Gail, Richard and Emeril will be judging the chefs culinary creations through their six-city expedition.

Check out the Top Chef Season 13 preview! Top Chef California: West Coast Here We Come!

Here is Jason's bio from Bravo's Top Chef website:

AGE: 35
HOMETOWN: Seattle, WA
PROFESSION: General Manager/Executive Chef, Mamnoon
CULINARY EDUCATION: No formal training; Worked under the mentorship of great chefs including Bruce Naftaly (Le Gourmand), Holly Smith (Cafe Juanita) and Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy)
FAVORITE SIMPLE FALL RECIPE: Bagna Caoda Flan with Sunchoke Puree

Jason Stratton started in the kitchen at age 16 working as a dishwasher for the "Godfather of Northwest cuisine" Bruce Naftaly where he was immersed in seasonal cooking. While applying to graduate school for poetry, he secured a Sous Chef position with Holly Smith at Cafe Juanita which sparked his long love of regional Italian cuisine. He would later helm the celebrated Spinasse in Seattle, where he was awarded "2010 Food & Wine Best New Chef" after just 6 months in the position.  He went on to open Artusi, a Bon Apetít Best New Restaurant in 2012, and Aragona, a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2014 before taking on his current role of General Manager and Executive Chef for Mamnoon.

I can't wait for the start of Season 13 of Top Chef, and I wish Jason Stratton the best of luck!

OPENING: Pecado Bueno has Soft Opening in Eastlake

 Pecado Bueno's third location on Eastlake Ave. E. in Eastlake just opened their doors for their soft opening. They still have a few things to finish work on, but the restaurant looks about 95% complete.

 

 When you enter the restaurant, you walk to the back counter and place your order. They give you a number and you take a seat at one of their tables or you can grab a stool at their bar. I order their three soft tacos dinner. It comes with three tacos of your choice on corn or flour tortillas, and a side of beans and rice. I went with the grilled chicken, pork carnitas and roasted butternut squash tacos. All three were delicious and the ingredients were very flavorful! I had never tried a butternut squash taco before. It was very tasty. I'll definitely order more of those!

 

Pecado Bueno is home of the $#, 100% Agave Tequila Margarita. Very tasty!

 The owners of Pecado Bueno have done a great job transforming the old Quick Stop convenience store into a new cantina. I'm looking forward to sitting out in the bar exterior. Hopefully they will have it open soon as long as the weather permits. Since they opened on Wednesday, I have noticed a steady stream of people checking out the new location. I have a feeling I will be frequenting this place quite a bit. Welcome to Eastlake Pecado Bueno!    

FOOD EVENT: Seattle Restaurant Week

It's time again for the Fall edition of Seattle Restaurant Week! More than 165 local restaurants are serving up three-course dinners for just $30, and many also offer two-course lunches for only $15. Seattle Restaurant Week runs from October 18-22 and October 25-29. The dinner and lunch deals are only good Sunday through Thursday.

For a complete listing of all the participating restaurants, check out the Seattle Restaurant Week website. You can also follow on Twitter.

This is a great promotion that gives you the opportunity to try out some restaurants you may have been meaning to visit, and you can do it at a great price! Now map out your restaurants and GO EAT!

FOOD REVIEW: Brunswick and Hunt

Brunswick and Hunt menus.

This review has been a long time coming. Brunswick and Hunt is one of my new favorite restaurants in Seattle. The restaurant is owned by longtime Seattle restauranteurs and brothers, Barry Rogel and Scott Rogel. The name of the restaurant, located at 70th and 15th in Ballard, has a great story rich in history.

When you enter the restaurant, you will notice the beautiful front bar to the right, made of American oak and birch. There is also an accompanying back bar in front of the kitchen. They were built near the end of the 1800's in Iowa by Brunswick Balke Collender and Company. In the early 1900's, the bars made their way to Winlock, Washington. That's where Barry and Scott found them. They had the bars moved to Seattle for a complete restoration. Opposite the front bar is a massive landscape painting by RJ Bocense titled, "The Hunt". As the story goes, The Hunt was painted as a companion piece for the "Brunswick", the front bar. The bar and painting have been together for over 100 years. The brothers had them both installed in their restored glory in the aptly named W.E. Hunt building in Ballard, and Brunswick and Hunt was born.

Heavenly Brunswick fried chicken with slaw and potato salad.

Brunswick and Hunt prepares fried chicken, one of my favorite foods, to perfection. The portion is generous with a breast, the leg and thigh joint. The chicken was juicy with a crispy, golden brown skin that is drizzled with truffle-honey. I could have easily ordered another helping. It is accompanied by a delicious coleslaw and a purple potato salad.

This ain't your Grandma's cornbread!

My friends and I also ordered the corn bread with honey butter to share. That is some seriously tasty corn bread.

Open kitchen offers great views of food preparation.

Brunswick and Hunt offers seating at the back bar that faces the kitchen. I love restaurants that allow you to watch the chefs in action. You get to witness all the fresh ingredients that are combined to create their delicious dishes. Not only is it entertaining, but you can learn a few things in the kitchen!

Brunswick and Hunt delivers farm-to-neighborhood food, and they do it right. I'm looking forward to many more visits to try out all of their other tasty offerings!

Happy National Coffee Day!

In honor of National Coffee Day, you can enjoy some of these great deals at your favorite coffee retailer.

Dunkin' Dounuts: Get a free medium cup of Dunkin' Donuts hot or iced dark roast coffee. Limit one per guest, and is available at participating locations.

Peet's Coffee and Tea: Get a free small cup of Peet's Major Dickason Blend with any purchase of a baked good, oatmeal or fresh food item.

Krispy Kreme: Get a free small coffee and an original glazed donut!

Tim Hortons: Get any size coffee in Regular or Dark Roast for just $1 at participating U.S. restaurants.

Whole Foods: The grocery store is celebrating all month long with 25 cent cups of 12-ounce coffee.

Caribou Coffee: Coffee with a cause. Instead of giving people free coffee, for every cup of Amy's Blend purchased on Sept. 29th, Caribou will donate a cup of coffee to nurses and families in cancer centers throughout the country.

Enjoy your day with a good cup of coffee! I love Caribou's tagline....Life is short. Stay awake for it.

BEER EVENT: BREW Seattle 2015

If you're a lover of Seattle beer, then you have to check out BREW Seattle at Bell Harbor on October 23rd from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. The 3rd annual local-breweries-only tasting event features over 20 breweries from Seattle. Your $28 ticket gets you six tasting tokens, a BREW Seattle mini-mug, music and giveaways. You can purchase tickets here. At the event you can also vote for the Brewery of the Year! Pike Brewery currently holds the title. Let your taste buds help you select the next winner! Check out their website for all the info.

Here's a listing of all the breweries who will be pouring their tasty brews....

Counterbalance Brewing
Big Al Brewing
Bluebird Microcreamery & Brewery
Elysian Brewing
Elliott Bay Brewing
Fremont Brewing
Hellbent Brewing
Lowercase Brewing
Lantern Brewing
Machine House
Peddler Brewing Company
Pike Brewing
Reuben’s Brews
Rooftop Brew Co.
Seapine Brewing Company
Spinnaker Bay Brewing
Stoup Brewing
Two Beers Brewing
Triple R Brewing
Tin Dog Brewing
West Seattle Brewing
Seattle Cider Company
Schilling Cider
Number 6 Cider
The Soda Jerk
Outlander Brewing

FUNNY: Bespoke Water from the Timmy Brothers

The Timmy Brothers – Water Makers from Paul Riccio on Vimeo.

OPENING SOON: Pecado Bueno is coming to Eastlake!

Pecado Bueno is coming to my neighborhood, Eastlake! I'm excited to see a business finally take over the former Quick Stop Grocery & Deli location at 2352 Eastlake Ave. E., and I'm really excited that it's Pecado Bueno! This will be the third location with the other two in Fremont and West Seattle. They are owned by James Schmidt who co-founded Taco Del Mar with his brother. James is no longer affiliated with the Taco Del Mar chain. The Pecado Bueno Eastlake location is scheduled to open the second week of September. I'm looking forward to the opening, and I'll write another post after my first visit.

FUNNY: Whine About It

If you haven't checked out Matt Bellassai from BuzzFeed, please do yourself a favor and check out this video. Matt produces a new video every Wednesday called "Whine About It!". He guzzles down a huge glass of wine, and then proceeds to whine about what he hates that week. This past week he whined about the worst people at every restaurant. I must say he is spot on regarding most of these descriptions of people. Check him out. He's hilarious!

http://whineaboutit.tumblr.com/post/127083346676/this-week-on-whine-about-it-the-worst-people-at

FOOD EVENT RECAP: Pike Place Market Sunset Supper

Last Friday was Pike Place Market's annual Sunset Supper. Luckily the heavy rain let up just in time for the event and it was a huge success! Some of the area's best chefs, restaurants, wineries, breweries and distilleries sampled their delicious food and drinks. This is my favorite food event of the year. To be able to take in the market setting in the evening with great food and drinks is truly an awesome experience!

Proceeds from the Sunset Supper benefit The Market Foundation's mission to end hunger, care for the sick, educate kids, and find homes for those without, right at Pike Place Market. The Market Foundation is the heart of the Market. Their programs allow the diverse community to live and thrive at Pike Place Market. Learn more about The Market Foundation here.

If you didn't have a chance to attend this year, I highly recommend making the Sunset Supper a must-attend event for next year! Also, check out the Pike Up! website to learn all about the Market's expansion!

Please enjoy some pictures from this year's Sunset Supper.....

Food and drinks out on the bricks!

Rachel's Ginger Beer

Blue C Sushi

Blue C Sushi

Crowd enjoying the delicious food at the Sunset Supper.

Cafe Campagne

Rodeo Donut

Rodeo Donut

Macrina Bakery

Scutter's Gourmet Popcorn in Seattle Seahawks colors.

Pike Place Chowder

Fremont Brewing

Maninis

Heritage Distilling

Wilridge Winery

Treveri Cellars

Dry Sparkling Soda

Gazpacho from Luc.

Seattle Seahawks popcorn from Scutter's Gourmet Popcorn.

Dancing the night away at the Sunset Supper.

Hope to see you at the Pike Place Market Sunset Supper next year! Cheers!