Three B's at Sweet Iron Waffles

I once predicted in a tweet that there was a Brie, Basil and Bacon waffle in my future and today it came to be. My husband Rob and I went to Sweet Iron Waffles in downtown Seattle. Tucked away next to the Jimmy John's on Third Avenue between Seneca and Union is this small shop that cranks out a small part of culinary heaven, traditional Liege (leej) Belgian waffles.

Waffle schmaffle, why venture into the outskirts of Seattle's financial district for a waffle? Well, honestly, what first drew my attention to it is the fact that the little girl shown on the website happens to be the granddaughter of a woman I work with (no relation to the shop); second, it is the only place I know of that serves savory waffles. Hmmm, the thought of a savory waffle makes my heart go pitter-patter so, off we went.

My choice, the three B waffle was a tastebud treat. The traditional Liege waffle, for those of you that didn't follow the link, is made with a brioche type of raised dough that incorporates pearl sugar. So even though I chose a savory option, the waffle itself was sweet. The sugar also gives the waffle a glistening crunch that would stand up to a syrupy and fruity topping without sogging out ala IHOP, but I digress. Back to my waffle...warm, sweet and crunchy waffle topped with Val de Saone brie melting from the heat of the waffle, topped with fresh basil chiffonade and crispy Applegate bacon. In true male fashion, Rob chose the Bacon waffle. A perfectly simple concoction of waffle, topped with a generous portion of the aforementioned bacon and drizzled with pure maple syrup.

Portland favorite, Stumptown coffee rounded out our morning meal and helped our Sunday get off to a great start. Would I go there again? Yes, next time 'round I'm going for the date and blue cheese waffle. Simply and smartly decorated with three small tables and a coffee condiment bar, Sweet Iron provided a little ray of sunshine on a gray and rainy morning.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention they're doing their part to keep it green - TaterWare cutlery, compostable plates, everything but lids and straws.

Visual samplings provided by Rob's iPhone. He takes much better pictures than I do.

Wayback Wontons

As mentioned before, I made wontons for my audition tape. I did this because this was one of my earliest memories of cooking more than searing a steak on the Jenn-Aire grill and making rice in the cooker. Hence the "wayback".

When I was a child, my mother and I would spend a Saturday afternoon making wontons. I really enjoyed the time but most of all I enjoyed eating them! Funny, I'm still the same way.

Below is my "recipe" for the filling. I included the quote marks on purpose because most of my Chinese cooking is done by sense, not be recipe. If it looks right, smells right, tastes right, etc. Now, while I don't recommend tasting the raw meat, you can cook a bit of it and adjust seasoning accordingly. In the wayback days, the ingredients list would include a shake or two of MSG or Accent seasoning as it really does enhance the flavor. If you've still got it in your spice rack, use it and start with less salt. If you want to try it, you can still find it in the Asian markets. When you are seasoning, remember that it is easy to add more flavor but you cannot take it away. Well, in this case you kinda can by adding more meat, but then that just makes more work!

Pork Wontons

One pound unseasoned ground pork, raw
1/2 cup soft tofu (optional)
3-4 medium dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted in hot (not boiling) water, stems removed and then minced
2 TBSP finely chopped green onion
1 TBSP fresh garlic, finely minced
1 TBSP grated or finely minced ginger - remember to remove the skin!
1 TBSP soy sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 dz medium raw shrimp (40 count size)cut into thirds and set aside
1 pkg of wonton wrappers, thick or thin, your choice
1 ramekin or other small bowl of warm water

In a large bowl combine all items together except for the shrimp. It is best to use your hands and make sure all ingredients are combined together but do not overwork as it will make the meat tough. If you add the tofu, it will help soften the meat and keep it moist.

Set up your work area so that you have the wrappers, meat and shrimp all within easy reach. I also suggest lining a cooking sheet with parchment paper that you can place the finished wontons on for easy freezing.

Take a wrapper and put it in one palm with the heavily floured side up. Using chopsticks or a fork, place about 1 well rounded teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center and one piece of shrimp. Take your fingers and gently wet the wrapper from the pork out to the edges. The water and the flour will form the glue that will hold everything together.

Form a triangle by bringing together two opposite corners of the wrapper. Starting from the meat, gently press together the two sides, squeezing out all the excess air and water. When cooked, air pockets will cause your wontons to explode, so do you best to remove as much as possible. Then take the two corners of the "base" of the triangles and cross them together over the top of the meatball and squeeze them together forming a "bow" over the top of the meatball. This is demonstrated in the video. Placed the finished wonton on the parchment and repeat.

Once you are finished, freeze the wontons on the cookie sheet. You can store them in a container or freezer bag to use as needed. To cook, simply drop as many as desired into boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or in similar fashion to ravioli, until they float.

Serve them in your favorite broth with some fresh baby bok choy, bean sprouts and fresh shitake mushrooms; enhance Top Ramen by adding the frozen wontons to the boiling water a minute or two before adding the noodles (a personal favorite); or by themselves with a dipping sauce on the side. In our house, the dipping sauce of choice is Chiu Chow Chili Oil mixed with a little soy sauce. You can find this hot chili sauce at many grocery stores with a large Asian food section or online at Amazon.com. Last but not least, you can deep fry and eat as finger food - no chopstix required!

Bolognese and Beyond

Many of you know that I love to eat and cook, no surprise there. What you may not know is that I love both enough to stick my neck out and attend an open-call auditon for a new Fox TV reality cooking show, MasterChef, featuring Gordon Ramsay of Hell's Kitchen fame. How does one find out about these things? A co-worker sent me the Craig's List post in hopes Chef Ramsay would yell at me, and I would in turn, yell back.

First, the initial contact. I sent in my short bio and a recent photo. Holy schnikes - they called me back! A 30-minute call with a casting agent later, I am now needing to make a video no shorter than 15 minutes long to showcase my personality, my cooking skills and why I love food. Oh by the way, can you have that completed and sent to our offices within the next 10 days? Yes, I know it is two days before Christmas - but you're not busy right?

OK video done, check. Now what? A taste test. Food prepared off-site, served to a culinary judge, at room temperature. What pray tell tastes good at room temperature? UGH! Well OK, time to get creative. What tastes good at least lukewarm, transports and plates easily and that I cook well? Bolognese of course! No silly, not the wontons I made in the video, that would be too logical and what would I blog about next?

Make the marinara, season the meat, make the pasta and get ready to go. Driving up to Sur La Table in Kirkland, my husband and I find hundreds and hundreds of people in a line circling the block. All patiently waiting while their carefully prepared dishes are getting to a less-than-room temperature. Lucky for me, I had that phone call a few weeks earlier - I got scooted up to the front of the line and was inside within 5 minutes. With plate, pasta and sauce kept warm in a thermos, I'm ready.

On pins and needles, I place my dish in front of the judge - drumroll please - he takes one piece of rigatoni with a teensy bit of sauce on it and puts his plastic fork down. Then the questions roll:

• Tell me about this dish, why did you make it? Well, I really enjoy making comfort food. This dish was inspired by Assaggio's Bolognese as well as one I had in Portland at Pazzo. I think mine is different than most Bolognese sauces.


• Why do you think it is different? Most sauces have beef or a combination of beef and pork. I add lamb to mine. The lamb must be from New Zealand because it tastes better.
  
• Do you know why it tastes better? Yes, because it is grass fed. (He smiles, nailed that one.)

What other types of cuisines do you cook? What does food mean to you? Things one would expect, and then - Have you ever broken down a side of beef? C'mon really? Who besides a butcher breaks down a side of beef? This show is supposed to be for untrained home cooks that think they cook well and me, well I usually don't have a side of beef hanging around. Breaking down a side of beef - yeah, no.

More questions, more answers. I was standing there being interviewed for about 5 minutes. Finally, he says "OK thanks, go and see Lyle please". What I wanted him was to say "Go and see Tyler" as it appeared that Tyler was the one handing out appointments for second interviews but OK, I'll go and see Lyle. We talk, he asks questions, I answer them and then Lyle tells me to go and see Tyler. Finally - fingers crossed! Over to Tyler I go and she hands me a piece of paper. An appointment time yes??? No, a lovely parting gift for 15% off at the store. Thanks for playing.

The beyond you ask? I started this blog and got a twitter account @chopstixnotreq to start. Be patient as I'm learning. What's up next? You get to laugh at my audition tape and learn how to make wontons. Want my Bolognese recipe? Only if you ask nice.