Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Happiness is...Free Cheese!

Let the Festival Season Begin!  The Seattle Cheese Fest is... crowded... hectic... unorganized ...and littered with long lines...but hey, It's Free Cheese!  And really good cheese too...

I don't mind standing in line for Cheese, it's actually fun.  You get to talk Cheese with fellow Cheese lovers, and since the lines move really slow you get to learn a lot about the varieties and how the cheeses are made from the enthusiastic artisans themselves.

Washed Rind...Cave Aged...Triple Cream...Raw Milk...Semisoft...You'll get to know and taste it all.



We always begin the day at the Piroshky shop, to buy the 
Cheddar Cheese Rolls with Green Onions and Garlic.  M'm m'm.
You have to get them early or else the lines get too long.
Oh, and you don't eat them until you get home.  
You must have an empty stomach for all the Free Cheese to come.




You can easily consume the equivalent of a baby loaf of cheese,
which sounds disgusting, but it's actually FANTASTIC!
Aged Cheddar, White Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Bacon Cheddar...




Sheep's Milk Cheese was in abundance this year as well as
a huge variety of yummy Goat's Milk Cheeses.
They ranged from soft melty Camemberts, sweet and buttery
Farmers Cheese, stinky veiny Blues, to hard crumbly Orange Rinded beauties.




Always fun...watching the cheeky Frenchmen melt huge blocks of
cheese under a portable broiler to be scraped off and served
over a pile of roasted potatoes and fresh herbs.




Also making a strong presence was Butter.
Who knew there were so many different kinds...
Irish, Scottish, French, Cultured, Spiced, Raw Cream...
I am in love with this Organic European Style Cultured Butter.



You should always bring some cash to the festival
because the vendors sell cheese for really incredible prices.
On average a big wedge of cheese will run you around $2-$4.
Such a deal!




While waiting in line there is plenty of entertainment...
Yes, I got to hold a Parrot on his back!




Juggling Cyclists, Performing Cats, Piano Players,
Balloon-Twisting Clowns, Singers and Musicians of all sorts
will entertain you while you wait in line or take a breather from
all the Cheesy Fun.


Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Happiness is...Egg on Your Pizza

Have I ever told you, I LOVE EGGS?  Well, I do.  I could eat them at every meal. Seriously.  Fried, poached, scrambled, hard-boiled, deviled, any way I love them.

So, when I was told that the Special Pizza, at Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, was topped with fresh Ricotta Cheese, Rosemary Ham, and EGGS, there was Now Way I was NOT ordering that!

Okay, Tutta Bella already makes some of the Best Damn Pizza I've ever had the pleasure of eating.  They cook their pizzas in a wood-fired stone oven that makes the thin crust super crispy with hints of aromatic charred goodness.

There is no pepperoni here.  No pineapple, no Canadian bacon, no shredded cheese blend.  They only use certified organic San Marzano tomatoes and carefully selected fresh cheeses and herbs and wonderful cured meats and sausages.  You can taste the care in each pizza.  I've never had a bad one yet.

Oh yeah!  This was just as good as I wanted it to be.  The crust was super thin and crispy.  I like that you can actually taste salt in their crust (so many places fail by falling flat on crust flavor).  The fresh ricotta cheese added a creamy sweetness that was contrasted by the salty herby rosemary ham.  And the rich ness of the perfectly cooked yolky egg took the whole thing to a stellar new level.

We were very nearly licking the platter as they were prying it out of our hands at the end of the meal.  It was that good!

Tutta bella also makes delicious salads.  We ordered the Insalata Mista which was comprised of super fresh mixed field greens, white beans, kalamata olives, and fire roasted red peppers all tossed in a light balsamic vinegrette with lots of freshly ground pepper.  Very refreshing against the richness of our egg topped pizza.

Next time I come back I'm getting the Pizza Insalata, where they put any one of their salads on the pizza...yum.

www.tuttabellapizza.com




Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Happiness is...Green

Not one of the  Primary colors,
but no less beautiful...


Green Sea Anemone
at the Aquarium in Vancouver, BC.




Green Algae 
at Dry Falls, in Eastern Washington.


 

A single Green Flower
after hours in a shop in SoHo, NYC.




Green Grass and a Pansy
seen through a Kaleidoscope.




Green Glass
Dale Chihuly's "Desert Towers"
at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ




Green Tomatoes
from my garden.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Happiness is...Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

 

My Mom and I share a love for an old standard, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.  It is my Mom's favorite cake and I would have to say that it is my favorite too.  Yum. Yum. Yum.

Growing up, we didn't have it very often, probably because my Dad didn't like it.  But, when my Dad went off camping or fishin' my Mom would break out the good ol' box of Bisquick Baking Mix and we would have an Upside-Down Cake in no time.

There is something so homey and charming about a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake; dense, rich cake topped with brown sugar pineapple rings, all buttery and gooey...sometimes made fancy with vibrant almond scented maraschino cherries and sometimes with walnuts and sometimes with nothing but the pineapple.  And, not only is a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake already decorated when it is flipped out of it's baking pan, but it is also ready to eat.  It is good hot, room temperature, or chilled.  I really do ❤ P.U.D.C.

I bake cookies and quick breads and sconey type things at home, but I've never really taken to cake baking.  I've always had crappy hand-me-down ovens and never seem to have enough people around to justify making a whole cake.  Why make cake at home when there are professionals out there that can do it so well...except for the P.U.D.C.  When was the last time you saw it on a dessert menu or in a bakery (and not a Wal-mart bakery)?

So, until my Aunt Du-Du (that's the Chinese spelling) made it for a party, the last time I visited, I had very nearly forgotten the delight that is P.U.D.C.  And now, I am addicted.  For two weeks I dreamt of her cake, it was so spongey and rich, so different from the shortcakey/pancakey/biscuity type cake my Mom always made.  I was thinking about it so much that I actually found myself gathering the ingredients to make my own when I was at the grocery store.

My first attempt was good but far from what I wanted.  The topping turned out perfect, caramely and crispy around the edges but the cake was crumbly like a biscuit and it was missing something.  
The next day I tried again, opting to use a mixture of sour cream and pineapple juice instead of plain milk for the liquid in the cake.  This time it was definitely more cake-like but not exactly right and still missing a flavor element.  

Two days later, after giving everyone I know the fruits of my last two attempts, I tried again with great success.  My cake turned out dense, moist, and spongey, though slightly pink from the addition of maraschino cherry juice (I like the pink).  The cake is also only slighly sweetened to compliment the buttery brown sugar topping and the sweet pineapple rings.  Just what I was aiming for and the recipe I came up with is super easy too!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Topping:
3 T. Butter, cut into cubes
3/4 c. Brown Sugar, firmly packed
6 Pineapple Rings, drained  and juice reserved
6-12 (depending on size) Maraschino Cherries, drained and juice reserved
1/2 c. Walnuts, roughly chopped

Cake:
1/2 c. cold Butter, cut into cubes
1/2 c. Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 c. all-purpose Flour
1 1/2 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Kosher Salt
1/2 c. Sour Cream
1/2 c. reserved Pineapple Juice
1 t. Vanilla Extract
2 T. reserved Maraschino Cherry Juice

Pre-heat the oven to 375˚.

Place the cubed Butter, for the topping, in a 10-inch round cake pan; place in the heated oven.  When the butter is melted and bubbling take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle in the Brown Sugar evenly; place back in the oven and cook until butter and brown sugar begin to bubble. Pull the pan out of the oven and arrange the Pineapple Rings in the bottom of the pan.  Place 1-2 Maraschino Cherries in the center of each pineapple ring and then sprinkle in Walnuts; Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the Flour, Baking Powder, and Kosher Salt; Set aside.

In another bowl, blend the Sour Cream, Pineapple Juice, Vanilla Extract, and Maraschino Cherry Juice; Set aside.

In a standing mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the cubed Butter, for the cake; gradually add in the Sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the Egg and beat well. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and then 1/2 of the sour cream mixture; beat well after each addition. Keep adding aternatley dry and wet ingredients, ending with dry ingredients. 

Pour the batter over your pineapple design and spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before turning it out onto a serving plate. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled (your choice).  Eat!