Do you ever feel just stupidly lucky? I do. All. The. Time. I’m not really sure what I’ve done to deserve all the amazing good fortune I’ve had. So, when my friend Nathan called me up a month or so and asked if I’d be interested in doing a bit of photography work in trade for a weekend at The Inn at Langley, I got to experience yet another one of those moments, and sent a big Thank You to the powers of the universe. The Inn at Langley is very high up there on one of my favorite places in the Northwest. The town of Langley, on Whidbey Island, manages to hit all the quaint buttons without actually turning sickeningly sweet. There’s a good coffee shop packed with as many locals as tourists, a natural food store that you can poke around in for hours, two weekly farmers markets within a stones throw, and a thrift store perfect for cheap-os like me who aren’t into paying antique store prices. But when I think of Langley, I think of The Inn.

It was just over two years ago that I first experienced one of Matt Costello’s seasonal dinners. Matt is the General Manager of The Inn, but most people know more about his kitchen prowess. The Inn does 3 (sometimes 4) single seating, prix fixe dinners a week. Everyone sits down and eats the same thing (dietary restrictions of course are respected) at the same time. Matt starts each dinner with a brief introduction about the area, the producers, and which seasonal ingredients went into the nights courses… sometimes including things he’s foraged himself or that are brought in from the herb garden.

Then, the work begins. The open kitchen gives all the diners a chance to see all the action while dinner is prepared.

There’s never a pause in the work, but somehow the atmosphere remains calm. And, well, it’s easy to get distracted away from the busyness as the plates arrive at the table. Each dish starts as a visual treat, which quickly turns to so much more. Your spoon brings a translucent corn broth or an icy fresh strawberry sorbet to your mouth, and the flavors unravel. Words simply can’t do it justice… so here are a few more shots to help you see what I mean.

Could anything be more stunning than that crystal clear corn broth with fresh Dungeness crab and sage blossoms? Well, maybe these:

The meal is reason enough to visit The Inn, but then, so are the tranquil waterfront and forest views.

So, a big thank you to Nathan and Matt for such an enjoyable visit, and the universe for bringing such good fortune my way. Hope you all enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed my weekend!

Last week, I got the range of my dreams. I’ve been pining away for a commercialesque gas range now for about as long as I can remember. Some people dream about their wedding dress or owning a fancy car. I dream about cooking with gas. I have pretty much always made do with a simple electric range… there was that one span in college when the apartment came with a old, white enamel gas stove from the 50s which put out about as much heat as a few votive candles huddled together for warmth. I’ve managed to cook up some pretty amazing stuff with the electrics too. But always there was a longing for something industrial and packed with BTUs. In April, we had natural gas run to the house. We were just doing the furnace (which like many older Seattle homes was still running on oil). The stove would have to wait. Then, work picked up, and suddenly Cam and I decided, hey… let’s just bite the bullet and get the stove. At long last, my stove was coming home.

Of course, nothing is all that simple. To begin with, I had to figure out what stove I wanted. It became pretty clear to me pretty quickly that the Viking I had been envisioning was not a great choice. Although fit and finishwise, they are gorgeous machines, even a little bit of digging and you’ll soon see that they tend to be ultra prone with problems. That research lead me to Wolf and DCS, which subsequently lead me to a company called Bluestar. Although not available (at least at the moment) in the dual-fuel version I was hoping for, everyone who had a Bluestar was in love. To start with, they are one of the least expensive high-end ranges you can get, and have the most powerful cooktop, with a blazing 22,000 BTUs. I was pretty sold, until I went and looked at one that is. Cool and industrial, definitely… but the fit and finish started to scare me. The oven didn’t feel like it closed quite tightly enough and had some sharp edges. The open burners intimidated me as I thought of my panache for boiling over. While in the store, we stumbled across the American Ranges. These ranges have a similar price point to the Bluestars, but have closed burners with an easy to clean stainless top, and the oven is the largest in its class… easily able to fit full sized commercial baking pans. The edges were smooth all around, and while the burners weren’t quite the same as the Bluestars’, 17,000 BTU seemed like plenty for me (and about the same as the Wolf, DCS and Vikings). We went home to do more research, happily finding that American Range owners are nearly as religious about their stoves as the Bluestar owners. We were sold.

To get the stove in with the necessary duct work required some semi-serious kitchen demolition that included very large holes in the ceiling, cabinets, and eventually brick work. Amazingly, thanks mostly to Cam, it all came together, and after just over a week with chaotic kitchen construction, I ended up with one kick-ass stove and some killer ventilation to boot. Of course, before I got a chance to use it, we left town.

But, finally, I’ve fired up the gas and started searing away. While my first meal on it wasn’t so much a great test (pasta and sauce on top with a zucchini gratin baking in the oven), tonight’s dinner was made for this stove. At the Pike Place market, I picked up four enormous sea scallops to sear. Just a little smoked sea salt, aleppo pepper and olive oil, one really hot frying pan and enough patience to let each side sear before touching them (this is always the hardest part). Topped with a little mango and green garlic salsa… yum.

First, it was making my own lard. Now, I’ve gone and bought myself a deep fryer! What’s next? I’m pretty sure it’s moon pies and Dr. Pepper.

Anyway, the deep fryer arrived this afternoon and I happen to have a lotus root that I had been hoping to make into chips. A few minutes later, after the gallons of oil I had to use got hot, I had super crispy chips, warm and not even a little greasy. The good news is that once the oil cools down, it can be reused a few times. Chips, fries, sopapillas, tempura… oh, my list of things to make is growing and growing. I really don’t have a recipe today… just had to share a little deep-fry love with you. Yes, I am that much of a food geek.

 

By now, you certainly know it’s Menu for Hope time again.

If you’ve never heard of Menu of Hope, well you are in for a treat. It is the food blog world’s an annual fundraising event in support of the UN World Food Programme. Last year everyone raised over $60,000 to help the UN World Food Programme by buying $10 raffle tickets to some of the coolest foodie prizes you can imagine… fabulous dinners, great kitchen gear, scrumptious stuffs for the pantry, unbelievable experiences, and beautiful art. This year, there is more of the same… so it’s time to start your bidding!

With a special permission from the WFP, the funds raised by Menu for Hope 4 will be earmarked for the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa. We chose to support the school lunch program because providing food for the children not only keeps them alive, but helps them stay in school so that they learn the skills to feed themselves in the future.

We chose to support the program in Lesotho because it is a model program in local procurement - buying food locally to support local farmers and the local economy. Instead of shipping surplus corn across the ocean, the WFP is buying directly from local subsistent farmers who practice conservation farming methods in Lesotho to feed the children there.

We feed the kids, keep them in school, and support their parents and community farming. This sustainable approach to aid is something we believe in and strongly support.

For my part, Cook & Eat is sponsoring something that is near and dear to me… a Theo Chocolate Extravaganza (UW25).

Seattle’s very own Theo chocolates is one of the few chocolatiers that actually makes their own chocolate from the beans, supporting Fair Trade & organic whenever possible. The result? Amazing flavors and social responsibility. This package includes one of every bar that Theo makes, from their Theo single origin bars (ranging from 65% to a whopping 91% cacao content) to the innovative flavor combinations of their 3400 line (the six bar types include Vanilla Milk Chocolate, Chai Milk Chocolate, Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate, Bread & Chocolate Dark, Nib Brittle Dark and Coffee Dark) as well as a 6 piece collection box of the shops own exquisite confections (burnt sugar, lemon, pb&j, fig fennel, mint, Ivory Coast), a big box of cocoa nibs, and a 1lb bag of spicy Sipping Chocolate. That’s a lot of chocolate!

And, to help keep the memory alive, I’m also including a framed 8×10 print of one of my chocolate photos (exact print to be decided later between myself and the winner).

Finally, if you are in Seattle (or will be visiting), we’ll take a tour of the Theo factory and spend some time talking food, chocolate, photography or whatever you’d like.

Shipping, for everything but the Theo Factory and myself, is included wherever it is not prohibited by law.

If chocolate isn’t your thing, do make sure you check out all the other great prizes and support this fantastic cause. Here’s how:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from the prize list at http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2007/12/menu-for-hope-4.html. You must make sure to check the terms and conditions for the individual prizes BEFORE you bid, as some will come with restrictions regarding where they ship to or how long the prize is valid for.

2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope4 and make a donation.

3. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. The code for my prize is UW25.

Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UW25 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xUW25, 3xEU02

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on Wednesday, January 9 for the results of the raffle. I will also post an announcement here with the the winner of my prize.

Thank you so much for your support and for helping to make this event even more successful than last year!!

Technorati Tags: MenuForHope

OK. I had this really cool recipe planned to post today, but alas, it will have to wait, due to a little trip I just made to the emergency room, and a bigger trip I have planned to Boston.

On the small trip, all I’ll say is that there is a VERY GOOD REASON for that little plastic handle thingy that they provide with your mandolin. Use it, or, you will almost certainly regret it. How many times can the doctors and nurses joke about my career as a hand model being over? More than I’d like to mention. The good news is that I should be back cooking soon enough, but the typing is a bit slow.

On the big trip, I’m headed out to Boston to catch up with the lovely Bea, as well as attend the Food Styling and Photography conference at BU. It should be a fantastic few days, and of course, you’ll hear all about it over on Still Life With… once it’s over.

If you are in Seattle on Monday, May 28th, and like good coffee, then you need to find your way downtown to Seattle Coffee Works (111 Pike Street). This tiny cafe, just on the edge of the Pike Place Market, has actually been open now for quite a while, but is finally getting around to having it’s Grand Opening party. Now, you are probably thinking, just what Seattle needs, another coffee shop. And, sure, there are plenty of places to get good coffee in Seattle. But oddly enough, not many of the really good cafes are right around Pike Place Market. And, Seattle Coffee Works happens to have a little something different that might just pull you away from time to time from your local.
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I think I’ve kept you waiting long enough, no?

Let’s start up with some surprise categories that we just couldn’t resist once we saw all the entries:
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Does My Blog Look Good in This is a team event. First, it takes all of you readers filtering through your photos to find your favorite and sending me all the info. And, boy, did you do your job well! It’s quite a gallery of photos we’ve built.

Second, it takes a groups of dedicated judges to run through and score each photo on its merits, doing their best to stay impartial and judge on the basis on the photo, and not on friendships or not too much on personal food preferences. For this round, my judges came from near and far. Some are old hats at DMBLGiT, and some are new to the event. All are fine photographers in their own right. Let me make some introductions (in no particular order):
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Wow. 103 entries for April’s Does My Blog Look Good in This! Our judges definitely have their work cut out for them! Thanks to everyone for sending in their work! There is are many beautiful photos this round! It’s going to be hard to choose.

Look for the round-up here next Friday!

Hey! How about this. I’m hosting this month’s Does My Blog Look Good In This? event. While I’ve done memes before, this is the first real event I’ve hosted on Cook & Eat, so be gentle!

Our April edition kicks off with the normal rules…

• One entry per person
• Photo must be taken by you
• Photo must have been posted on your blog in March of 2007
• Deadline is April 27th at midnight PST (U.S.)
• Judges (to be announced later) will ponder all the deliciousness and come up with the winners in the following categories:
• Aesthetics: Think composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.
• Edibility: Does the photo make us want to take a little nibble? Or gorge ourselves?
• Originality: The winner here is the photograph that captures our attention because we’ve never seen anything like it before.
• Overall Winner: This picture has it all — it’s technically, creatively and artistically compelling.

and it’s easy to join in…

• Draft an e-mail with DMBLGiT in the subject line.
• Attach one qualifying food or drink photo, preferably that is about 400px wide.
• Include the following:
• Your name
• Your blog URL
• The URL of the post where the photo first appeared
• The camera you used
• Send the e-mail to laraferroni [at] mac [dot] com before midnight on April 27th.

That’s all there is to it! Once you have sent your photo along, check back here in a day or so to make sure your photo came through and shows up in the gallery. Feel free to alert me by email or comment if it isn’t there.

Technorati Tags: Food, Food Styling, Meme, Photography, DMBLGiT