Crush, Seattle

I’d been reading and hearing about Crush for years, but every visit to Seattle was so planned out that an indulgence of that scale was impossible.  Not so for my 30^th birthday weekend in gorgeous Seattle!  I had three full nights to plan out and Crush was at the top of my list.

The restaurant is technically in Madison Valley, but feels like the backside of Capitol Hill.  A sweet Victorian house opens into a downstairs bar with open kitchen.  The style throughout is modern mixed with traditional and the sustainable food theme is carried straight through to the green glass and foliage decoration.

For our first course, we shared the steak tartare and ahi tuna crudo.  The steak was prepared two ways: chopped, with Dijon mustard and pickles in a sweet-savory combination that melted in my mouth, and as carpaccio.  I couldn’t say what cut of meat the carpaccio was, but it was fire engine red, generously salty and served atop funky chopped hard-boiled egg.  The tartare was most impressive when added to a toasted baguette slice, smothered in cippolini onion compote.  The tuna was an interesting foil to the steak because it was equally flavorful paired with far more delicate flavors: crème fraiche, compressed celery, and foam made from something sweet, maybe a berry.  There’s something about the richness of raw beef that is very satisfying.

Our second course was a show-stopper.  Never one to pass up foie gras (unless at French Laundry! Why!?) I was drawn to Crush’s unique preparation and appreciated our waiter’s suggestion to bring it as its own course.  It arrived lightly charred on a bed of clove cake, perfectly warm on the outside and room temperature on the inside.  Rather than a terrine, as is how many restaurants serve foie gras, we were savoring the actual “steak” itself, an unmatched decadence. 

My main course was highly recommended by the waiter and I was not disappointed.  Perfectly cooked duck sliced thin over a bed of root vegetables, Brussels sprouts and candied kumquats.  Across the board, the flavors were perfectly matched to the sustainable fish, meat and poultry on our plates. 

As we waited for a cab, we sat at the bar facing the open kitchen and chatted with the chefs as they shut down for the night.  The owner and maître’d poured us a few glasses of champagne to celebrate my birthday and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to celebrate!  The funniest part of the evening was our hilarious discussion about the California law banning foie gras, and our intention to return to Crush to satisfy our ridiculously indulgent appetite for it!

Butternut Squash & Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto

Here's the kicker with this recipe: millet.  I can't remember ever having eaten millet before, let alone purchased it in order to cook risotto, but here we are.  Buttery, creamy risotto without butter or white rice or gluten.

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped chanterelle mushrooms
• 1 cup millet
• 4-6 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 20 sage leaves
• 2 cups cubed butternut squash

To start off, sautée the shallots and mushrooms in oil until soft, about 5 min.  Add a cup of water and bring to a boil before adding the millet.  Then start adding in the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, every time the stock is about absorbed by the risotto.  I thought it was way too soupy at first, but after stirring and adding for 2 hours, I had added the full 6 cups of stock.  Meanwhile, in the oven, toss the squash and sage leaves in a Tbs of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes until the squash is soft and the leaves are crispy.  Stir in half the sage leaves, crumbled.  Serve the risotto first, then top with the roasted squash and a few leaves for garnish.  I don't know how it's achieved, but this is the butteriest risotto I've ever tasted!

Juicy Lucy

This sounds foul, but the Juicy Lucy (I understand) is actually a St. Paul, MN tradition.  At the Blue Door Pub, the highlight is generally the melted-cheese-filled burgers, but I found deep-fried cheese curds dipped in tomato sauce even more compelling.  Fried green beans sounded like a good idea (vegetables, right?) but had nothing on the chewy, just-barely-melty cheese curd appetizer.  My blue cheese "Blucy" was good too, if not a little too greasy.

Chicken & Quinoa Tabbouleh

This is a great spring or summer salad or one-dish dinner for a lighter night.  It's inspired by a Clean recipe but modified to be appetizing for even my husband.

Ingredients:
• Rainbow quinoa (or really any type)
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped into small but crunchy pieces
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• Juice of 2 good-sized lemons, plus teaspoon zest
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into small bite-size pieces (I poached them in vegetable broth but would grill them with olive oil and sea salt next time)

Cook the quinoa in water, making sure to wash the grains first.  While quinoa is cooking, chop the vegetables and mix in olive oil, salt and lemon and grill the chicken, setting aside to cool before dicing.  Mix everything together in a large bowl and cool to room temperature.  (This is ok to refrigerate, but best served at room temp rather than ice cold.)

For some extra greens, I served it with dino kale sauteed in olive oil, sea salt and turmeric.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken & Wild Rice Pilaf

This is a wintry meal with strong and sensitive flavors.  The recipe came from Clean but includes my modifications below.  It's gluten-free, dairy-free.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts (I used skin removed, but can use skin-on)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly lengthwise
• 1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

In an oven-proof skillet, cook the balsamic vinegar, rosemary and garlic until it's been reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 20 minutes.  Heat oven to 425°.  Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and salt, then place in skillet.  The balsamic reduction should be about 1/4" to 1/2" of liquid in the skillet.  Cover the skillet with a lid and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until breasts are cooked through, and spooning the reduction over the tops of the chicken every few minutes.

Wild Rice Pilaf Ingredients:
• 2 cups cooked wild rice, made with a vegetable stock
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Bring vegetable stock to a boil according to the directions of the wile rice you purchase.  Cook the rice, about 50 minutes.  While the rice is cooking, chop the shallots, cilantro and mint and toss in olive oil and salt.  Once cooked, stir in the rice and drained sunflower seeds (soaking them for water for 2 hours gives them a nutty, chewy texture).  Served with the chicken, the pilaf contributes a foil for the intensity of the chicken.

Clean Eating

2011 was the year of feeling under the weather.  To kick-start 2012, I decided to attempt the Clean Program, a cleanse meant to reset the immune system and some other bonus side-effects.  The main concept is to reduce food toxins in the body that cannibalize your immune system by requiring too much of it for digestion.  Once those foods are eliminated and the toxins make their way out of the system, you sleep better, see greater skin clarity, feel less joint pain and even shed some pounds.

The first step was to eliminate gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, caffeine and alcohol.  Whoa.  At first, I thought there were tons of recipes and options.  After literally three days, I felt the opposite.  It's crazy how many gluten-free products contain soy or milk and how vegetables start to taste like eating grass after weeks of exclusive consumption.  The shakes I ate for breakfast and dinner were horrible—gritty and flavorless—yet satisfying in a way that helped me not be hungry for real food.

Did I feel different after 3 weeks?  Maybe.  I felt lighter and was sleeping great.  But let's get real for a minute.  I write a food blog.  I'm obsessed with fine dining.  I want to taste ever flavor on the planet and I want to cook for as many hours a day as I can manage.  Removing delicious food from my life did not a happy Ellen make.  I would certainly recommend removing dairy from your diet for a few weeks to see how you feel.  I noticed a big difference in something random, my throat was totally clear every morning.  Now that I've added cheese and yogurt back into my diet, I often wake up with a sore throat that takes an hour or so (and a shower and a multivitamin) to clear up.

I'm still going to post the best recipes I tried, since they're worth trying again!

Quinoa Cooler

Lunch at Cafe del Sol is a multiple-time-per-week occurrence, mainly because of the Quinoa Cool dish comprised of warm and soft quinoa, rinsed and cold black beans, halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado and the silkiest, most crave-able lime dressing.  I attempted to recreate this masterpiece at home on a Saturday night when I was craving Mexican food yet trying not to overindulge.  Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• Juice of 2 very juicy limes (go for three if you're not sure)
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• Generous sea salt
• 1 avocado per person (no need to skimp on the best part!)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1/4 chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup cilantro, mostly chopped with a few leaves for garnish

After tossing the quinoa in the lime juice, olive oil and salt, tenderly stir in the beans, onion and cilantro.  Top with avocado and garnish.  Healthy, light, but very filling!

Tribute to Laiola

Photo from Bay Area Bites

It's hard to believe I haven't lamented the loss of my previously favorite SF restaurant on this blog, despite its being closed for over two years. The upside is we now have Tacolicious and the pan con chocolate remains on the menu! The downside is we lose a pleasant atmosphere filled with conversational bar backs, excellent tapas, and being seated quickly (in this city, it's a huge loss).  I will miss you, Laiola!

San Francisco Favorites

In no particular order, my top restaurants in San Francisco: Ellen V's SF

Sherry's Succulent Shrimp "Ceviche"

Imagine me using giant air quotes to call this dish "ceviche" because you don't actually have to use raw shrimp.

• 3 limes
• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 3 tomatoes
• green pepper
• diced white onion
• bunch of cilantro
• salt pepper
• oregano
• jalapeno
• 1 tb white wine vinegar

This citrusy, cilantro-riddled tapa is a great way to kick-start a Spanish or South-American meal, which is exactly how I first encountered it, skinny marg in-hand.  The key is to totally overdo it with the cilantro.  You'll think, "that's probably enough" and then my advice to you is: double it.  Chop up the whole bunch and go nuts, you won't regret it.

Cafe de Olla

Deciding that, after a few days of appetizers by the pool, then appetizers before dinner, then dinner and cocktails, we could have a night of only one set of appetizers.  Somehow, the logic of ordering a bowl of tortilla soup prior to chicken enchiladas still made sense, though.  I could taste the smokiness of the roast chicken and soggy, fried tortilla chips have never tasted so good.  Highly recommended to any visitors in the Romantic Zone, especially paired with the enchiladas.

Pipi's Fajitas

Somehow I remembered Pipi's as authentic Mexican food.  It's really not.  Unless it's authentic American expectations of Mexican food, in which case, it is the best.  Shrimp fajitas soaked in garlic and tequila so fresh the vegetables are still crisp.  Warm tortillas, guacamole made spicy with extra chopped jalapenos at our tableside and an ice cold light beer.  This is exactly what I wanted to be eating in Puerta Vallarta and what I'm sure to crave the minute I return!

Madera, Take Two

For Julie's 30th birthday, we all went back to the Rosewood for an amazing dinner at Madera.  I love how close the hotel is, yet how removed from daily life it feels just being on the property.  It might have something to do with the dazzling wedding memories that make me spin with delight before I can even catch myself reminiscing!

After some time by the pool where we were served spa-tastic cucumber water, we retreated to John and Julie's hotel room to sip champagne.  The shrimp cocktails we ordered were kind of incredible: the shrimp were each about the diameter of John's thumb (at the thick part) and nearly wrapped around my wrist!  The cocktail sauce was spicy with horseradish and sweet, but my favorite part was how they were served on a bed of crushed ice, giant rock salt, and seaweed.  There was a raw saltiness flavor added back to the shrimp by the seaweed and salt that hinted at the sea but was more cultivated than the way a raw oyster tasted like the sea.

The atmosphere in the Madera dining room is simultaneously modern (the way a museum is modern) and comfortable (the way an old-timey B&B is comfy) and I'm not sure how they pull it off.  There is artwork on the walls that, in any other setting might be so post-modern no connection to it could be formed, but somehow amidst wood beams, country-style chandeliers and glass sculpture, it works.  The green to grey to purple rolling hills out the window lent something special too.

Dinner was lovely.  Just that.  My artichoke soup was velvety with chewy cheese gnocchi and a pesto made from something like arugula.  For the main course, the halibut sounded amazing (bacon was listed as part of the sauce) but since Julie was ordering it, I thought to mix it up.  John was clever enough to ask the waiter for his recommendations and when I heard him say "stuffed with melted goat cheese" I wasn't sure what was stuffed but determined I needed to order it!  It turned out to be red wine arancini (fried rice balls) injected with the goat cheese so it was hot, melty and delicious.  On a bed of greens, I pretty much liked my plate clean.  It was pretty rich fare, but that's to be expected I think.

We were so stuffed after our mains that we declined dessert but that didn't stop the kitchen.  Four desserts arrived to celebrate Julie's birthday, including the pine nut cake and beignets with rhubarb compote.  They even brought out a bottle of champagne for us, on the house.  I'm so glad to have so many great experiences at Rosewood—it's definitely for special occasions only, but always memorable.

Lemon Roasted Chicken

I recently saw a cooking segment on the Today Show with a roasted chicken stuffed with lemons and decided I had to try it.  So with a bag of cute, mini lemons and a whole chicken (with the goods still lounging about inside), I set to work.  In the roasting pan went chopped rutabagas, turnips and tiny multi-colored fingerling potatoes tossed in olive oil, Italian herbs and garlic.  Chicken prep was super simple: after cleaning out the (I can never think of a decent word for this) "cavity," went 2 lemons thoroughly poked with fork holes.  The skin was rubbed with Pam spray and Italian herbs including dried basil, parsley, oregano and thyme.  Over the top of the veggies and chicken went the zest of 2 more lemons plus their juice for extra kick. 

The final product was juicy and zesty with lemon.  After removing the vegetables and while waiting for the chicken to cool before carving, the roasting pan went on the stove.  The pan deglazed with white wine and chicken stock was still in need of something more, so in went a healthy half cup of dijon mustard.  The sauce was delicious and just thick enough.

Green Monsters

My cousin Debbie has an amazing blog, Savor Life Blog, with amazing, healthful recipes, always taking advantage of fresh, in-season ingredients.  She's helped me realize I am seriously not getting enough greenery in my diet!  One solution?  Green breakfast smoothies!  My first attempts were rather good, if I say so myself, now the goal is to increase greens, flavor and time before I get hungry again.  It's delicious and I love knowing I'm getting some veggies in the morning!  Here's my daily recipe:

• 1/2 cup diced mango
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 1/2 cups water