Aching for Blueacre

Today, Rob and I had the priviledge of dining at the soft opening of Blueacre, the new restaurant owned and operated by Kevin and Terresa Davis of Steelhead Diner - something I've been waiting for since they made the announcement several months ago. I view tonight as a homecoming for Kevin of sorts returning to the kitchen at 7th and Olive and where Oceanaire once stood (and where I met Kevin), Blueacre is now truly his kitchen and his restaurant.

With headings such as "the hunger" for starters, "boil and bubble" for soups and "belly full-o-steam" for the steamed spiny goodness of crab and lobster, the menu is chock full of tasty sea treats and I could hardly decide where to start.  New things right?  OK.

We decided to begin with the Totten Inlet Geoduck Tiradito. A Peruvian seafood dish, similar to a ceviche but where the fish is cut into strips instead of diced and then is garnished with an aji amarillo or a yellow pepper sauce. Very pungent, very tasty. The crab bisque was next.  Deep in both color and flavour, it was creamy, rich and topped with a large crab leg section that was gone in two bites.  Definitely the best either Rob or I have had.  

I found my braised lamb shank under "the craggy moor" and Rob found his olive topped halibut in "the briny sea".  Both entrees did not disappoint.  As to be expected, they were full of flavor and cooked to perfection as was our "sideways" fried green tomatoes.  I was so full I couldn't finish my entree or even take a bite of the tomatoes but they did come home with us so I will consume them later.

Now just because I was full doesn't mean that I couldn't take a bite of something found in the "burnt sugar" section.  Rob selected the butterscotch pudding.  Definitely not of the Bill Cosby Jello pudding genre, this was more like a creamy but not overly whipped mousse.  Nothing like the caramel colored butterscotch I was expecting.  It was similar in color that I can only describe as cookies-n-cream with the cream appearing as itself and the cookie part being speckles of vanilla bean.  On top, a homemade vanilla wafer that was remiscent of a crispy snickerdoodle.  A fine ending to a fine meal.

Blueacre officially opens on Friday, March 19th.  Eat there. 

*Flavors of Seattle 2010, the annual dinner and auction benefitting the American Liver Foundation will be held on Monday, April 26th at the Grand Hyatt Seattle.  This is a fantastic culinary with local chefs showing off their skills.  For more information, please feel free to email me or check the Flavors website.   With his new endeavour, Kevin will not be cooking at this event but many of your favourite chefs will be. Hope to see you there.

Street Food

What is is about street food?  As the Mobile Chowdown proves, many people including myself and my friend Karen love it.  What used to be a roach coach is now uber gourmet.  But why?  What is the draw?  It can't be the cleanliness after all, if you think about it, probably not so clean - no running water, no where to wash up, etc.  Oh well, who cares?  Street food is good food.

Last Saturday was yet another Mobile Chowdown.  The skies were clear but the winds were blowing.  Still, people including myself braved the gusts and waited patiently in line for Marination. (@curb_cusine)  It was my first experience with this food truck and I waited with great anticipation, anticipating for 20 minutes.

Finally, I got my delicious box.  Kimchee fried rice, topped with ginger chicken and a sunny-side up egg.  YUM.  Well worth the wait.  Karen got the "tacos around the world" which included a Korean beef, the ginger chicken, a spicy pork and a sexy tofu taco.  They looked great but were gone before I got a chance to take a bite.  :)  OK, admittedly I was too busy stuffing my own face.  The draw on street food?  Its quick, its good and heck it comes from a truck - how awesome is that?

Guacamole Goddess

What I have discovered is, for me anyway, trying to blog once a week is hard. Work, outside work commitments and life in general makes one’s schedule very busy. So, I will try and keep this up and schedule time in to write – which in itself is a learning experience for me.

We headed off in a group of 7 to my friend’s “cabin” in Packwood aka Elk Trail Lodge for a skiing weekend. The theme was Mexican and I was requested to bring guacamole. How many avocadoes does one need to make for 7 guac lovers? The answer is 15.

I have often been asked for my guacamole recipe. “Sure!” I say, but it is not that easy as I don’t use a recipe, just a list of ingredients. Avocadoes, ripened to the point they just slightly give under your thumb. (If you need to ripen your avocadoes, put them in a brown paper bag with an apple or a banana for a few days. The fruits emit a gas that helps to ripen avocadoes.) Shallots and garlic, both minced; fresh cilantro, chopped or torn; fresh lime juice; green jalapeños, seeded and minced; salt and pepper. Quantities all depend on how much guacamole you are making and then everything is to taste. Admittedly, I do have a secret sauce that I add as well – but that’s an ancient Chinese secret.

Mash everything in a bowl – potato mashers work great. Start with small quantities of everything, including the avocado – don’t put it all in there at once. The primary reason for this is because you need to taste along the way and after adding more of each ingredient; you need to mix/mash again. Personally, I like my guacamole a little lumpy so that is why I reserve some avocado to add in later.

I know you’re probably wondering about quantity so here is an example: for the 15 medium avocadoes used, I added one large shallot, 4 cloves of garlic, one large jalapeño and about a tablespoon each of cilantro, salt and pepper. This made about 8 cups of guacamole.

Did we eat it all? Yes, we ate most of it that night and polished off the rest the next morning. Yum.