Homage to Local Producers

Monday, May 12, 2008

$45 per person; $20 wine pairings

Featuring
Oxbow Farm
Carnation, WA

Purple Broccoli Soup
cheddar tuile, preserved lemon, chive

Local Baby Lettuces
patty pan, estrella domino, spring garlic vinaigrette

Spring Carrot Risotto
sweet pea, parmesan, pistou

Pine Nut Tart
fig mostarda, citrus caramel

About Oxbow Farm:

Oxbow Farm is operated by couple Luke Woodward and Sarah Cassidy, and their managing partner, Adam McCurdy. The farm borders an oxbow (horseshoe-shaped) lake adjacent to the Snoqualmie River in Carnation. Oxbow grows vegetables, berries and tree fruits. The river, which brings glacial till from the Cascades, feeds the lake and the lake supports the farm, the owners have dedicated themselves to ensuring the property is safe for salmon and wildlife.

Sous Chef
Larkin Young

Chef-Owner
Maria Hines

Homage to Local Producers
May 5, 2008

Featuring
Theo Chocolate
Seattle, WA

Smoked Potato Soup
goat cheese, ivory coast chocolate, sea salt

White Asparagus Salad
cocoa nib hollandaise, fines herbes, lemon

Oregon Pork Tenderloin
fingerling potatoes, haricot verts, cocoa vinaigrette

Chocolate Terrine
caramel, hazelnut

$45 prix fixe

$20 wine pairings
ABOUT THEO CHOCOLATE
Theo Chocolate is the only roaster of organic cocoa beans and the first to roast Fair Trade Certified cocoa beans in the United States. Founder, Joe Whinney, converted the former Red Hook Brewery in Fremont into his dream chocolate factory, where beans are not only roasted, but transformed into intensely flavored chocolate bars and confections. Whinney is so dedicated to the topic of chocolate that he hired a biologist to map the genetics of the beans he uses. Theo chocolates have wowed chefs and national media, garnering mentions in O Magazine as well as Food & Wine Magazine. Tours of the factory are available. Learn more at theochocolate.com.
Chef de Cuisine
Dana Tough

Chef-Owner
Maria Hines

We were mentioned in the Los Angeles Times. Check it out. Read the story.

Homage to Local Producers

Monday April 28, 2008

Featuring
Fresh Breeze Dairy
Lyndon, WA

Creamed Nettle Soup
shallot jam, thyme, parmesan crisp

Local Baby Lettuces
fromage blanc, dill, skagit bacon

Braised Pork Cheek Tagliatelle
sprouted broccoli, stewed olives, ricotta

Crème Fraiche + Sassafras Sorbet
tarragon shortbread, orange gel
About Fresh Breeze:

Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy is located in Lynden, Washington, on land passed down from Grandpa Blankers to grandson Shawn Langley and his wife, Clarissa. The milk and cream that come from Fresh Breeze are vat-pasteurized, which means the milk is heated to 145 degrees, held for 30 minutes and then immediately cooled to 39 degrees. Unlike commercial pasteurization processes that heat the milk to much higher temperatures, vat pasteurization destroys any potential pathogens without compromising the good proteins and rich flavor in the milk.

$45 prix fixe
$20 wine pairings

Chef de Cuisine
Dana Tough

Chef-Owner
Maria Hines

There are still a few spots left for the Buty Winemaker Dinner on May 19 at 6:30 p.m. It’s $95 for five courses:

Fava Bean Flan
morel emulsion, fava bean, spring onion
02’ Chardonnay, Rosa Berge Vineyard, Yakima Valley

Pan Seared Alaskan Sablefish
green apple chutney, almond, baby spinach
04’ 72% Semillon, 28% Sauvigon Blanc, Columbia Valley

Skagit River Ranch Pork Cheek
rhubarb, bluebird grains farrow, pea leaves
06’ 54% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley

Slow Cooked Ostrich Ragout
tagliatelle, oven-roasted tomato, parmesan
02’ Rediviva of the Stones, 86% Syrah, 14% Cabernet Sauvigon, Walla Walla Valley

Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake
cherry compote, candied bacon, smoked salt

Winemakers  Caleb and Nina Foster
Chef / Owner Maria Hines

We are booked for a private event on Monday, April 14.

Please join us on another night. Here is the menu for April 21:

Homage to Local Producers
April 21, 2008

Featuring
Loki Fish Co.
Seattle, WA

Glazed Carrot Soup
salmon tartare, coriander, crème fraiche

Cold-Smoked Lox
mascarpone, pickled shallot, fried caper

Pete’s Sockeye Salmon
english peas, cous cous, thumbelina carrot

Muscat Grape Sorbet
hazelnut butter, vanilla shortbread

$45 prix fixe
$20 wine pairings

ABOUT LOKI FISH CO.

Since 1979, Pete Knutson and his wife, Hing Lau Ng, have fished the waters of Southeast Alaska and Puget Sound. Along the way, Knutson, who is also a PhD professor in anthropology at Seattle Central Community College, taught his two sons, Jonah and Dylan, the importance of respecting the sea and the beautiful salmon that they bring to the market. All the fish are caught, immediately processed and chilled to below freezing in order to maintain the pristine quality of the flesh. Then, the catch is flown back to Seattle within 48 hours of harvest, where people can buy the fish at a number of farmers markets and at the West Wall at Fishermen’s Terminal.

Chef de Cuisine
Dana Tough

Chef-Owner
Maria Hines

These photos were taken by Tom Barwick. They speak for themselves.

Homage to Local Producers

Featuring
Taylor Shellfish
Seattle, WA

Monday, April 7, 2008

Caramelized Cauliflower Soup
manila clam, smoked oil, almond

Local Oysters
citrus jellies, horseradish, chives

Oregon Pork Tenderloin
heirloom bean, mussels, romesco

Red Wine Fig Tart
chantilly, anise syrup

$45 Prix Fixe
$20 Wine Pairing

About Taylor Shellfish
Taylor Shellfish Farms was founded in the 1880s. The Taylor family specializes in oysters, mussels, clams and geoducks. Most notably, the company is recognized for bringing the native Olympia oyster back into culinary fashion. Because the quality of shellfish is directly related to the quality of the water, Taylor Shellfish is committed to preserving the environment.

CHEF DE CUISINE
DANA TOUGH

CHEF/OWNER
MARIA HINES

Thailand
eat + rock climb = happy

The street food in Thailand is incredible. Me and my partner, Bahia, spent eighty percent of the time eating from food carts. Almost every day there was a new food experience to be had. I have been working in kitchens for eighteen years. I have traveled through western Europe and Morocco, I have cooked in France, and I’ve worked in four regions in the U.S. As a result, I have been exposed to quite a bit of food. So you can imagine how exciting and inspiring it was to come across foods and preparations of dishes that I have never heard of before. My eyes, nose, ears, palate, and hands were constantly engaged.

First I must mention that experiencing the street food in Thailand is not for the squeamish. Leave your safety and sanitation guide at home. If you approach the experience with an open mind and not worry about the lack of plastic food service gloves, dirt, mangy cats, dirty dishes being washed in a plastic bin of still water, and large flying insects that bite, then you’re in for a real treat. But please don’t let this discourage you, because the food is truly amazing.

The green papaya salad is prepared to order in a deep wooden mortar and pestle with green papaya, garlic clove, fresh Thai chili, fish sauce, peanut, basil, mung bean, lime, dried shrimp, and tomato. The textures are all varied and the flavors are spicy, sweet and sour!

They have these Thai “roti” carts that make these delicious thin circular crispy pancakes filled with all sorts of items, such as cashews and condensed milk, banana and nutella, tuna and tomato, and more!
Some of the phad thai carts offer a selection of three different styles of noodles that you choose from and then they make it for you right on the spot on a large flat wok. They have sugar, red chili flakes, spicy vinegar, and chopped peanuts on the side that you put on yourself.

The BBQ carts have grilled meats and fish lightly coated with a sweet, smoky, mildly tangy sauce. Depending on the cart, you can get chicken, pigeon, octopus, squid, catfish, etc. There’s an additional spicy, bright sauce made with cilantro, Thai chilis, garlic, onion and fish sauce that are given for dipping.
There are fried chicken carts that give you fiery sweet garlic sauce and a side of steamed sticky rice.
For something refreshing and cool, there’s fruit shake carts that blend mango, pineapple, papaya, or whatever they have, to order with ice. They also have yogurt to add.

The mango sticky rice carts is where it’s at for dessert. The mangoes are so juicy, floral and sweet with the perfect firm-flesh texture. It was like having a mango for the very first time the way it should be, picked at the perfect time of ripeness, where if you look at it cross-eyed it’ll bruise and leach out its syrupy sugary nectar. Very much the way our peaches and strawberries do in Washington State during peak season.

There were so many tropical fruits I have never even heard of or tasted before. I didn’t get the English names of a lot them, but I have photos you can check out on the Tilth blog. They all had their unique personalities, shapes, sizes, skins, and husks, but all shared the characteristics of being sweet, floral, fleshy, intoxicatingly fragrant, and tasted like the warmth of the sun just exploded in your mouth.

Some areas have a bunch of food stalls clustered together. We went to a night food market in Krabi that had well over fifty food stalls! They had everything from boiled and chopped cow innards in a rich broth, fried doughnuts, banana with mung bean and sweet sticky rice all wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled, satay of everything, fried rice dishes galore, a variety of rice noodle dishes, green curry, panang curry, massaman curry, cast iron fried quail eggs, coconut pancakes and more!

There were little thin-skinned bananas with a vegetal quality that were slow grilled, which gave them a meaty quality. The heat transforms the skin into a leathery texture and it becomes an oven for the banana. When you bite into it, out comes this hot steam, a smoky, semi-sweet flavor and creamy texture – and it’s on a skewer.

The beauty of eating street food is it allows you to enjoy small flavorful portions as frequently as you want. You can just stumble around from destination to destination eating along the way. How cool is that?! And it’s usually cheap (about $.75 to $3.00 a plate). It’s always so amazing to journey through another country far from home and experience the wonderful flavors that make up their culture and gives you a sense of place outside of your own region.

The other main purpose of this trip was to indulge one of my other passions, which is rock climbing. The rock climbing in Southern Thailand has a world renowned reputation for being one of the best places to climb. It certainly lives up to it.

The cliffs line the beaches in Railey, Tonsai Bay, and Phi Phi Island. There are no cars or roads in these areas. You really feel like you are communing with nature in these paradise locations. We were climbing on limestone sea cliffs dripping with stalactites, shadowed by small caves, bulging with tufas, and beautiful black and red streaks following the length of the crags.

There were some critters to be aware of when climbing in the beach areas or the jungle. We saw plenty of snakes, water monitors (large lizard similar to the komodo dragon), monkeys, wasps, spiders, lizards, etc.
It was also interesting to have to time our climbing with not only the sun but the tide. We found ourselves enjoying a nice day out climbing only to find the tide coming in so quickly that we were waist-deep in water with our climbing packs over our head trying to make it back to land.

Overall, Southern Thailand is a fabulous place to visit! Hope you make it there sometime.

Cheers,
Maria

There’s a new page that lists some of my upcoming appearances and events. Check it out — click on the link on the left side of the page.