Nosh Pit

Valentine’s Day Desserts

Still don’t know what to get yours truly? Act fast and order these delicious sweet-nothings.

Posted by: Kaitlin Nunn on Feb 09, 2010 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

The Porcupine Chocolate Heart at Essential Bakery Cafe. Photo courtesy the establishment.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

The Porcupine Chocolate Heart at Essential Bakery Cafe. Photo courtesy the establishment.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Cupcake Royale’s Deathcake Royale. Photo courtesy the establishment.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Cara Mia at Essential Bakery Cafe. Photo courtesy the establishment.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Shoofly Pies. Photo courtesy Kimmy Hsieh Tomlinson.

If you can supply the sweetheart, we’ve got all sorts of local goods to really sweeten up your Valentine’s Day. Five bakeries and pastry shops point us to their best-selling treats this time of year.

Bella Dolce
This wee storefront has been perfecting their deservedly famous red velvet cake for over seven years. If you’ve already been there, done that, try a rich hazelnut raspberry linzer tart. The price for a 10-inch torte is $35, although you can get the four-inch version—perfect for two—for $7.98. Order ASAP.

Cupcake Royale
For the fourth year in a row owner Jody Hall whips up a lethal combination of local ingredients—Theo Chocolate, Stumptown-derived espresso ganache, Royale’s signature chocolate cake—to create Deathcake Royale. One costs $6.65 (“Just a penny shy of evil!” says Hall) and is meant to be shared. Ordering several days in advance is highly recommended. Call 206-883-7656 or go online to do so.

Essential Bakery Cafe
The must-try seasonal sweetbread is the Cara Mia, $9, a heart-shaped chocolate French bread stuffed with chunks of chocolate and cherries. Also of note is the Porcupine Chocolate Heart, a chocolate chiffon cake laced with Grand Marnier, Belgian dark chocolate mousse, and sprinkled with shards of white and dark chocolate. It sells for $10.50. Place your order by noon 48 hours in advance of pick up.

Hoffman’s Fine Cakes and Pastries
At this Eastside establishment the cake of the month is Strawberry Kisses: devil’s food cake draped with strawberry mousse, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. $22.25. Order ASAP.

Shoofly Pie Co.
Their dry-bottomed shoofly really is the standout item, but for Valentine’s the hottest-selling pies are cherry (nicknamed Bleeding Hearts) and chocolate cream. A nine-inch pie goes for $20, five-inch minis are $6.50, and slices are $3.50. Call at least 48 hours in advance to make sure your pie of choice is available.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Valentine's Day, Desserts

Three Seattle Restaurants Make OpenTable’s Most Romantic 2010

What do you think of OT’s picks?

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 03, 2010 at 11:32AM 2 Comments

Lowlit and intimate, Spring Hill is romantic by night. And the food is great all the time.

Just saw this on Eater.com. For Valentine’s Day, Open Table listed 50 romantic restaurants around the country. In Seattle: Chez Shea, Il Bistro, and Canlis.

The two market spots are admittedly romantic, and happy hour at Il Bistro is a thing of beauty. But they’re also a little bit…how to say…past their prime. And Canlis is such a no-duh choice. If I had to pick just three romantic Valentine’s destinations where the food is also up to snuff: Crush (although it’s already booked), Spring Hill, and Spinasse.

What are your three?

Add a Comment »

Tags: Valentine's Day, Pike Place Market, Seattle in the News,

V-Day Dinners

Reserve your seats now for these special Valentine’s Day dinners around Seattle.

Posted by: Hayley Poole on Feb 02, 2010 at 04:02PM 3 Comments

Here is your complete list of special Valentine’s dinners all around the town. Reservations are still available except when indicated.

Feb 14 Anchovies and Olives
Amuse yourself at Ethan Stowell’s Cap Hill eater with kusshi oysters topped with horseradish granita. Follow it up with faro sea scallops, risotto nero, arctic char, cod covered in eggplant puree and puttanesca sauce, and chocolate terrine with white chocolate cream and an almond crumble crust. $75/person; reservations recommended.

Feb 14 Canlis
By now the 60-year old Seattle restaurant has reserved all of its two-top tables, but larger groups can still get in on velvety parsnip veloute, King salmon, beef tenderloins in creamy celery root puree, and a smooth chocolate creme brulee. Or opt for the vegetarian special of fennel-flavored poached eggs and handmade wild mushroom ravioli with mascarpone and black truffle foam. $125/person, vegetarian menu $95/person; reservations recommended.

Feb 14 Crush
An ideal place to bring your crush with a new Valentine’s menu of crudo, caviar, and sashimi, handmade pasta with Dungeness crab, sautéed Rhode Island black bass with Meyer lemon sabayon, grilled Wagyu beef rib steak, and poppyseed-lemon brittle, coconut truffles, and Earl Grey caramels. This event is now booked, call to be placed on wait list.

Feb 12–14 Fresh Bistro
Chef Dalis Chea embraces the culinary aphrodisiacs with a hearty Valentine’s five-course dinner featuring Kumamoto oysters, avocado, mango, and seared ahi tuna, creamy kabocha squash soup with marcona almonds, frizzled leeks, and truffle honey, Wagyu filet mignon and imported lobster from Maine. Starting at $75/person; reservations recommended.

Feb 14 How to Cook a Wolf
Stellar bay oysters with zesty lemon and black pepper are featured on the Ethan Stowell restaurant menu, preceding potato gnocchi with pork shoulder ragu, beef short rib with soft polenta, wild mushroom, and marjoram, and vanilla panna cotta sugared with wild berries. $75/person; reservations recommended.

Feb 14 The Hunt Club at the Sorrento Hotel
Choose between lobster bisque and wild mushroom soup at the Hotel’s Hunt Club, with a roasted beet salad, petite filet and grilled prawns, pan roasted quail, or seared scallops and caviar, and a champagne sorbet with strawberries doused in chocolate. $75/person; call for reservations.

Feb 14 Lakeside Bistro
Prawn cocktails paired with tempura, champagne spinach salad with teriyaki chicken, fire wok’d filet mignon, grilled mango halibut, or the bistro’s highly requested fire-roasted pork chops grace the Valentine’s menu. Or just love the raspberry white chocolate cheesecake with a covering of smooth chocolate strawberries. $85/couple; call for reservations.

Feb 14 Pomegranate Bistro
Lisa Dupar pairs a Valentine’s dinner with an array of wines, including a pumpkin and pink lady apple veloute with Dungeness crab and a glass of pinot grigio, leading up to a warm winter leek and mizuna salad with carrot butter vinaigrette, and sheep’s milk ricotta gnocchi with lamb bolognaise, and finally a warm banana brulee split paired with Marenco Pineto Brachetto d’Acqui from 2008. $65–$105/person; call for reservations.

Feb 13–14 Poppy
For these days only, Chef Jerry Traunfeld has created a three-course prix-fixe dinner. It begins with starters that include chervil lobster roll and herbed crepinette with savoy, prunes, and shallots, and moves on to a 10-dish thali for two (Anderson Ranch lamb Loin with black truffle sauce, wild sturgeon with lentils, bacon, fennel, and capers) and a dessert thali from pastry chef Dana Cree. It’s $50/person, call 206-324-1108 after 2pm for reservations.

Feb 13–14 Salty’s
From a romaine heart Caesar salad with blackened wild salmon to southern fried Jidori chicken, Salty’s on Alki and Redondo offer up a Valentine’s sea-loving menu set on the Puget Sound shores. Individual items $9–$99/person; call for reservations.

Feb 14 Six Seven Restaurant at the Edgewater Hotel
Chef Jordan Mackey of Edgewater’s Six Seven Restaurant prepares a six-course meal. Settle in with Ahi tuna crudo, an apple and watercress salad, and rose sorbet with pomegranate and lime. After the butter-roasted poussin or rich broth over a garlic rubbed baguette and slow braised oxtail with burgundy and root vegetables, complement the meal with the “bleeding heart” pavlova meringue with macerated berries. $75/person; This event is now booked, call restaurant for wait list.

Feb 12–14 Tidbit Bistro
Spice up the night with a fiery fiesta de Espana. Asturian-style beef tenderloins are on the menu, alongside patata and gamba, skewers with potato and prawn, ensalada con queso de cabra, with candied walnuts and warm hazelnut-crusted goat cheese truffles, and a white profiterole puff pastry finish. $55/person; call for reservations.

Feb 14 Volunteer Park Café
The café debuts a new heartfelt menu of blood orange, avocado and prawn salad, brown butter and sweet potato bisque, seared ling cod with Meyer lemon, ricotta dumplings, and shellfish stock nage. End with tangy strawberry balsamic ice cream with a bittersweet chocolate sauce drizzling. $65–$95/person; call for reservations.

Feb 12–15 Waterfront Seafood Grill
Fish for love with Waterfront’s seared scallops, roasted King salmon, and freshly imported lobster from Maine. Add a little sweetness with chocolate panna cotta with brandied bing cherries, molten soufflé with Chantilly cream, and ganache with mint syrup. Individual items $12–$48/person; call for reservations.

Feb 14 Zaw Artisan Pizza
Keep things casual with a Zaw pizza this Valentine’s Day, the special features the Marg and Rita pizza with halved red cherry tomatoes, roasted organic garlic cloves, fresh basil, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. It’s all organic, of course. Step it up with a house salad, and bottle of DSM Blanc de Blanc.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Valentine's Day, Holiday Events, Special Dinners

Kitchen Counsel

Valentine’s goodies don’t have to be chocolate or cherry, or heart-shaped for that matter.

Posted by: Kaitlin Nunn on Feb 01, 2010 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Photo courtesy Geoffrey Smith, LookatLao Studio

Valentine’s sweets are traditionally relegated to the realm of chocolates, cherries, and anything of the heart-shaped variety. This year, think outside the red laminate, frilly-laced box. Give hush puppies.

We’re not talking your typical deep-South, deep-fried taters, but caramel-stuffed nuggets swimming in brown-butter ice cream and pear- and hard-cider soup. Garrett Melkonian, the new pastry chef at Spring Hill, shares his six-step, DIY recipe. (It’s laborious, but surely a labor of love, no?) All you need is the ingredients, a bit of culinary know-how, and a darling to eat up these dumplings.

Popcorn Hushpuppy with a Caramel Center, Bartlett Pear & Hard Cider Soup, and Brown Butter Ice Cream

Hushpuppy Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal (we use Bob’s Red Mill)
1½ cups popcorn powder (just put popped popcorn in a blender until it resembles powder)
2 eggs (at room temp)
1cup buttermilk (at room temp)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar

Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. Mix together the eggs and buttermilk, and then gently mix into the dry ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

Caramel center
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups corn syrup
4 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 ea. vanilla bean (split and scraped)
1 Tblsp salt
1 Tblsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups butter
1 ¼ cups heavy cream to be added at end

In a very large pot (the sugar mixture will boil over when the cream is added if the pot is not big enough) combine the sugar and corn syrup with just enough water to make a sandy texture and place on medium heat. In a separate pot, combine the cream, butter, vanilla, and salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat. When the sugar mixture reaches 225 F, slowly add the cream mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, constantly towards the end, until the mixture reaches 243 F. Turn off heat and immediately remove from pot and allow to cool for approximately 1 hour, then finish with the second amount of cream and the vanilla extract. Allow to cool covered in the refrigerator overnight so it can be scooped and hold its shape.

Brown Butter Ice Cream
1½ lbs. butter
1 liter milk
1 ½ cup heavy cream
½ cup milk powder
¾ cups egg yolks
¾ cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt

Brown butter and strain, reserving the browned milk solids; discard the rest. In a saucepot, bring the milk, cream, milk powder to a scald. Allow to settle. In a mixing bowl, combine the yolks and sugar, and whip until just pale. Ladle in a small amount of the scalded milk mixture into the yolks to temper them, then combine everything in the saucepot and cook to 180 F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and cool immediately in an ice bath. Before the mixture has cooled, take a small amount and combine it with the reserved brown butter solids in a blender, and blend for at least 30 seconds, up to one minute. Add this mixture to the rest of the ice cream base and season with salt and vanilla extract. Once completely chilled, strain through a fine mesh strainer, and spin in an ice cream machine.

Bartlett Pear & Hard Cider Soup
2 ea. ripe Bartlett pears
2 cups water
½ cup sugar
1 tblsp lemon juice
½ cup pear hard cider

Peel and chop the pears and combine with water, sugar, lemon juice, and place in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until completely tender. Remove from heat and place in blender and blend until completely smooth. Chill completely, then finish with the hard cider.

Poppycock
1 qt. popped popcorn
4 oz. butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
½ cup corn syrup
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda

Set aside popcorn in a large mixing bowl. Combine remaining ingredients except the salt and baking soda in a pot and place on medium heat. Cook until temperature reaches 295 F. Remove sugar mixture from stove and add baking soda, then immediately pour over the popcorn, stirring quickly to coat evenly, then finish with salt. Allow to cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Assembly
You will need to have two ice cream scoops for this, one about twice the size of the other. Scoop one small scoop of the caramel, coat in cornmeal and set aside. Now scoop the hushpuppy batter with the larger scoop but leave it in the scoop. Place the caramel scoop in the center of the hushpuppy scoop, pressing it into the center of the batter. With your fingers, gently fold the edges of the hushpuppy batter over the visible portion of the caramel so it is completely surrounded, resting in the center of the hushpuppy batter. Scoop the hushpuppy into a 350 F fryer and cook until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes. In a serving bowl, add about 2 oz. of the pear & hard cider soup. Add a few pieces of the poppycock, and a little pile of diced ripe Bartlett pears. Place a scoop of the brown butter ice cream on top of the diced pears and finish with the popcorn hushpuppy. If you have a little popcorn powder leftover, sprinkle a tiny bit on the hushpuppy and the ice cream.

Add a Comment »

Tags: DIY cooking, Cooking, Recipes, Valentine's Day, Desserts

Kitchen Counsel

Good food and good champagne make for a fine Valentine’s Day. Here’s how to have both, and at home.

Posted by: Kaitlin Nunn on Jan 27, 2010 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

“Thanks for the lovely meal, dear.”

A Valentine’s Day without a champagne-drenched feast is like a Valentine’s Day without nookie. Miss out on either and the holiday totally flatlines. We can’t help you with that second thing, sorry, but we will suggest this: seduce your sweetie with a homemade multi-course meal paired with surefire brands of bubbly.

Not sure what to make, and what to pair with it? Art Restaurant ’s sous chef James Deimling and wine-and-spirits guy Amir Vahdahi have you covered.

Start with prawns (Deimling likes African blue) tossed with pickled vegetables and horseradish, which goes nicely with a Billecart Salmon Champagne Brut Reserve. Next, try macaroni tossed in Beechers cheddar sauce. Bake it with blue cheese—English Shropshire is suggested—and add a crispy pretzel crust. A Gaston Chiquet, 1er Cru, Brut adds nice finish.

Break out Pierre Gimmonet, Cuis 1er Cru, Brut for the main course, pan-roasted loin of lamb. If you’re looking to really impress, dress up the dish with this recipe. Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto, from Piedmont, Italy makes for a fine dessert beverage, especially when it’s washing down what Art calls the “bubble bath”—a white chocolate tub filled with angel food cake, white peaches, and strawberry ice cream.

If you want to test-drive some of these dishes, head to Art February 1-13, when the restaurant is offering the Bubble Menu, a champagne-driven three-course meal. Deimling and Vahdahi said all mentioned champagnes are available at Pike and Western for $45 and under.

Add a Comment »

Tags: DIY cooking, Cooking, Valentine's Day

Lusty!

The critic holds forth on the perfect restaurants for Valentine’s Day.

Posted by: Kathryn Robinson on Jan 25, 2010 at 09:00AM 9 Comments

I’ll have seconds, please!

Being a restaurant critic, I can sometimes get a little overheated about restaurant food. Imagine. But for occasions like Valentine’s Day, who’s kidding who. It’s all about the atmo, cowboys.

For instance, there are restaurants I wouldn’t necessarily make a beeline for on a regular night; places like that lush nightspot Ibiza in Pioneer Square or the perfectly serviceable new Thai storefront in Madrona, Naam.

But for Valentine’s Day? (It’s on a Sunday this year, so the following recommendations might as well pertain to Saturday…or—who cares?—another random night.) Seeing as how both joints have beds for tables…I might make an exception. At Ibiza, where the fare is Mediterranean, it’s more like chaises…but at Naam a few of the tables rise shallowly from a sea of cushions, with triangular pillows for a little lumbar uplift.

Throw in some Champagne or a couple of sparkly cocktails and things could get festive.

Serafina of course gets my vote for sexiest restaurant in Seattle, with its candlelit Italian soul. Lesser known but every bit as romantic is its foxy little sister just across the courtyard, Cicchetti, where the Venetian tapas (try the pizzas from the wood-fired oven) always hit the spot. The G-spot.

Ha!

Other little cocktaily small plate joints good for canoodling include the ever-Parisian Sambar and the late-night Licorous.

If a very private table is your dream, how about one of the high-high-high-backed booths at Belltown’s lush Queen City Grill? They’re like studio apartments.

Or that one table, the curtained one near the door, at the winsome little Capitol Hill secret spot Chez Gaudy?

Or Table #19 at Fremont’s bizarro Bizzarro, a terribly intimate little deuce behind a framing post? I can’t imagine a hotter place to twirl pasta and whisper sweet nothings.

Unless it’s home. But there you have to do the dishes.

Add a Comment »

Tags: New Restaurants, Cocktails, Restaurants, critic's picks, romance, Valentine's Day