The Tilth Blog

People ask me all the time where I like to eat when I’m not cooking. Here is my current list:

• Brasa (brasa.com): Because Tamara’s food is full of earthy and robustly warm flavors.
• Cafe Juanita (cafejuanita.com): Because Holly’s pasta is amazing.
• La Carta de Oaxaca (lacartadeoaxaca.com): Because you’ve never seen an all-female line rock the kitchen the way they do and put out consistent, fast, incredible food traditional to Oaxaca.
• Chiso (chisoseattle.com): Because I can never get enough of Taichi’s kasu black cod and the chawan mushi.
• Cremant (cremantseattle.com): Because Scott makes the best French onion soup and fries I’ve ever had.
• The Harvest Vine (harvestvine.com): Because Joseba’s food tastes sun-drenched.
• Oliver’s Twist (oliverstwistseattle.com): Because Dan makes delicious food that works so well with the creative cocktail list they have.
• Sambar (address): Because Jay makes the best drinks in town.
• Serious Pie (tomdouglas.com): Because the wood-fired clam and pancetta pizza is insanely delicious.
• Tavolata (tavolata.com): Because it’s meant for restaurant industry folks to come in and have a great late-night dinner after work. Thanks Ethan and Patrick!
• Tilth (tilthrestaurant.com): Because the weekend brunch features a croque madame and an heirloom tomato Bloody Mary that will make your day.
• Trophy Cupcakes (trophycupcakes.com): Because it makes your day better by eating the best cupcake ever — I like the PB & J flavor and the red velvet.

I love our local mussels. They taste even better with pork!

NORTHWEST STEAMED MUSSELS
SERVES 4 TO 6

5 pounds Mediterranean mussels (from Puget Sound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
5 pork sausage links, sliced thickly
½ cup white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

• Sort through the mussels and discard any that have broken shells. If there are any that have beards, remove the beards. Set aside.
• In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and shallots. Saute until they soften, about 1 minute. Add sausage slices. Let the pieces sear, turning as needed. Add the white wine. Stir and gently scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze it. Let the wine reduce until the pot is almost dry. Add the chicken broth and cook until it has reduced by half.
• Add lemon juice, butter, salt and pepper to taste, and thyme leaves. Stir to make sure the butter is incorporated into the broth. Raise the heat to high. Add the mussels, cover the pot and steam until all the shells are open, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Jason was trying to create a strawberry sidecar, but it didn’t work out. He decided to change course and he will now offer a classic strawberry dacquiri. We’re going to order several flats of Billy Allstot’s  strawberries to puree and freeze for the dacquiris.

To a certain degree, magazine photo shoots are all about smoke and mirrors. When you look at a magazine spread, it looks like the chef cooked the meal. Actually, it’s the food stylist who cooked the food off site and adds the finishing touches on location. Sunset Magazine took over Tilth on a recent Monday from 8 in the morning until 7 at night to do a Thanksgiving spread for the November issue. The place looked like a movie set.

There was quite the entourage: photographer, photo assistant, art director, food writer, food stylist. They brought the whole nine yards from the tablecloth to the apples used to garnish the turkey platter. The only things they used of mine were the silverware and stemware. They must have had eight bags of stuff from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel. I can see why they went to the trouble, because they’re going for a certain fall color theme. They told me and my family each to bring two fall outfits. Then the art director told us which outfits to wear.

They also mixed up the shapes that appeared on the table, which was interesting. Instead of every platter being the same rectangle or square shape, they chose ovals and rounds and such to keep everything from looking the same. I didn’t realize how much work is involved in a photo shoot. It was all so carefully done and it was cool!

I gave Molly Watson, the writer, all my recipes about eight months ago. She personally tested all of them to make sure they worked. Then the food stylist used the recipes to create the meal for the photographer. We all had to wait around for them to finish photographing the food first before they took pictures of my family at the table. They were running a little behind, so we were three sheets to the wind by the time they did get to us. It was fun — even though we couldn’t eat the turkey because the stylist had painted it with some substance to make it glisten.

Maria

mhines@tilthrestaurant.com

My guys are brewing some fun beverages. Jason Carp is the lead server and he’s in charge of the cocktail menu. The other night, he called me from home to ask if one of the chefs could make a puree of strawberries so that he could experiment the next day. He was so inspired by the sweetness of the berries that he wanted to make a strawberry Sidecar. He’s going to call it Sidecar Billy after Billy Allstot, whose farm is the source of the strawberries.

We now have an organic vodka. It’s called Square One. The company is based in the Bay Area, but the vodka is distilled in Rigby, Idaho, from organic rye grown in North Dakota. The secret fermentation process creates a clean, smooth vodka.

James Lawton, my lead cook, has brewed his own kombucha, which we are serving now. It’s a refreshing elixir that claims many health properties and is supposed to be good for your digestion. According to James, who is studying for a food science degree, the commercial brands of kombucha tend to taste really acidic, like vinegar. The version he’s made tastes like lychees. It’s smooth and refreshing. He starts by brewing tea — we use teas from Remedy Teas — and when the tea has cooled, he adds a kombucha culture (which is a mushroom culture). He covers the jar with cheesecloth and then, depending on the temperature in the kitchen, the finished product is available in seven to 30 days.

Stop by to taste our kombucha soon!

Maria

Tamara Murphy, who is the chef/owner of Brasa, organizes this amazing event in order to raise money for the local farmers markets. The Incredible Feast features 20 chefs, who honor the local farmers, ranchers, fishermen and foragers by cooking small plates using their bounty. I’m really excited to be invited this year and hope to see a lot of you there.

Sunday, Aug. 26, 4 to 7 p.m. at the Phinney Neighborhood Center (6532 Phinney Ave. N.). There will be live music, games and plenty of food. Tickets are $50 per person; $10 for children. Go to brownpapertickets.com or call 206-632-5234. Tickets sell out, so act soon.

Maria

We haven’t made a big deal about it, but we do serve a great brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Our signature brunch items include the Truffled Scrambled Eggs/$12, Mini Duck Burgers/$17, Grand Marnier French Toast/$11, and Sockeye Smoked Salmon Hash/$13. We offer a seasonal scone, which currently is blueberry buttermilk and it’s served with lemon curd and mint for $6. Since local strawberries are in season, we present them simply in cream for $6.

Stop by. We’d love to feed you.

Thank you.

It’s been nearly a year since I opened Tilth and I have to thank our customers, friends and the media for supporting the restaurant and the philosophy behind it.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog. It will be a place for me and my staff to share our culinary thoughts and for you to find the most current information about our seasonal menus.

Thank you again.

Maria Hines, owner/chef

Tilth Restaurant
1411 N. 45th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
206 633 0801
tilthrestaurant.com