Sunday May 18th eight NW chefs will be gathering gotether to create a 6-course dinner at the Grand Hyatt Seattle to benefit Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Tickets are $250 per person. Click here for ticket infomation.

Chefs Mike Davis (26 Brix, in Walla Walla), Robin Leventhal (Crave), Russell Lowell (Russell’s), Tamara Murphy (Brasa), Felix Penn (Pair), Brian Scheehser (Trellis), Jason Wilson (Crush) and certified executive pastry chef Kim Smith are donating their time and talents to prepare an elaborate culinary adventure. With this line up, dinner is sure to be spectacular!

One of the dinner hilights will be that guests will be among the first to sample Tamara Murphy’s prosciutto, which she raised, prepared and cured for a year.  The ham will be served as a starter dish with minted Yakima asparagus, foraged greens, fava beans and aged pecorino from Estrella Creamery of Montesano. (You can learn more about Tamara’s passion for pigs at her website Life of A Pig.)

Each course of dinner will be paired with an exceptional wine provided by Washington state wineries including Camaraderie Cellars, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Desert Wind, DiStefano Winery, Sheridan Vineyards, Three Rivers Winery, Va Piano Vineyards and Wineglass Cellars .The live auction features one-of-a-kind culinary experiences, most notably Chef Lowell’s signature Elk Camp feast of wild game and fine wines. At the Elk Camp dinner, guests are served a fully appointed eight-course meal in a warm tent surrounded by a snowy, old-growth forest.  This alone would be worth attending to bid on this!!! I have heard these “camp dinners” are truly wild!

The Premier Chefs Dinner is presented annually by the Premier Chefs Dinner Advisory Board and the Hutchinson Center’s Magnolia Guild. All proceeds benefit the Center’s general fund, which sustains vital programs such as faculty recruitment, pilot-research projects, shared-research facilities and patient-family support.  Here is the delicious menu!……….

Appetizers
Oregon Rabbit and Pistachio Rillettes
with  Local Rhubarb Compote, Bakery Nouveau Crouton
Felix Penn, Pair
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2007 Wineglass Cellars Sangiovese Rosé

Minted Yakima Asparagus with Tamara’s House Cured Prosciutto
Foraged Greens, Fava Beans, Estrella Creamery Aged Pecorino
Tamara Murphy, Brasa
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2006 Chateau St. Michelle Horse Heaven Sauvignon Blanc

Torchon of Sonoma Valley Artisan Foie Gras
Black Currant – Citrus Marmalade and Lemon Thyme Brioche
Mike Davis, 26brix
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2003 DiStefano Saint John

Local Spot Prawns Stuffed with Dungeness Crab
Yukon Gold Brandade with Wild Ramps, Vadouvan Lemon Butter
Jason Wilson, Crush
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2005 Desert Wind Chardonnay

Pan Seared Wild King Salmon with Trellis Garden Leeks
Fine Herbes Salad, Artichokes, Tomato Vinaigrette
Brian Scheehser, Trellis
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2003 Three Rivers Meritage

Coriander Crusted Northwest Lamb Rack
Saffron Israeli Cous Cous, Sautéed Pea Vines, Chermoulah
Robin Leventhal, Crave
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2005 Camaraderie Cellars Malbec

Roasted Filet Mignon with Yukon Gold and Ricotta Croquette
Glazed Baby Vegetables, Roasted Shallot and Morel Demi-Glace
Russell Lowell, Russell’s
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2005 Va Piano Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Cheese Course
Beecher’s Flagship Reserve and Humbolt Fog California Goat’s Milk Blue
Buckwheat Sablée and Vinum Hyppocraticum Gelee
Brent Martin, Seattle Grand Hyatt

Dessert
Trio of Desserts
Gingered Chocolate Torte, Jasmine Plum Coulis
Local Rhubarb Tart with Hazelnut Crumble
White Chocolate Latte Semi-Freddo, Sesame Lace Tuile, Single Malt Scotch Caramel
Kim Smith, CEPC
 

You all remember Aaron Brown don’t you? The newman extraordinaire from Seattle that went on to CNN? Well, now Aaron is on NPR, and he invited me to be a guest on his show, The Aaron Brown Show.

Aaron and I had a great time chatting, and if you are a fan of my KOMO spot, you are going to love this.

The show isn’t airing locally, but you can listen to it online, or if you happen to be in Phoenix, on KJZZ 91.5 FM.

Txori and Herbivoracious! We’re participating in a group review of Txori with Herbivoracious. Be sure to click the link to see what they have to say about this hot tapas spot!

Lately, it seems Spanish cuisine is popping up everywhere in my life. From being invited to a spanish cookbook release party and spanish olive oil tasting to most recently, a lunch with girlfriends at Txori, Seattle’s hip Belltown neighborhoods new restaurant featuring San Sebastian-style pintxos (little bites), wines, sherries and cocktails.

It is owned by Carolin Messier de Jiménez and Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez, who opened the Harvest Vine in 1998 and this newest gem just a few months ago. This dynamic duo certainly has a knack for finding small, intimate locations with lots of character — but then, they have lots of character themselves, and it comes through in all they do, from the interior to the tasty nibbles to the smart wines and cocktails.

We gals enjoyed about four dishes each — including pera a la plancha con valdeón (pear, blue cheese and walnut toasts) and tortilla española, the classic potato omelet with aioli (done perfectly!) — which made a splendid little meal. Be sure to check out the the daily offering of seasonal bites on the chalkboard. This great new bar-and-tapas snackery is just right for a light lunch or late-night sip and bite.

In love with this romantic cuisine — I was inspired to create a new cocktail. My Spanish Corrida Cocktail is enhanced with a splash of dry sherry and a smoked paprika-sugar rim, it is a perfect tapas-party or pre-dinner sipper.

Spanish Corrida Cocktail
Makes 1 drink

½ ounce dry Spanish sherry, preferably a Manzanilla
1 ½ ounces vodka
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce simple syrup*
Garnish: Smoked Paprika Sugar rim (procedure follows**)

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Measure in sherry, vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup. Cap shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into Smoked Paprika Sugar-rimmed martini glass.

Kathy’s Notes: This cocktail is also great made with an added squeeze of fresh blood orange.

* To make simple syrup, combine 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water in a small heavy pan. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool. Bottle and store refrigerated until needed.

** To make a Smoked Paprika Sugar rim: Mix together 1 cup superfine or baker’s sugar with 2 teaspoons smoked paprika. Place mixture in a small deep bowl. Set aside. Slit a wedge of orange, lemon or lime halfway through. Slide the wedge over the rim of a cocktail glass, and press lightly against the rim as you slowly rotate the glass, moistening the outside of the rim. Then lightly dip the outside rim into the sugar, making a 1-inch-deep frost. (The goal is not to get sugar on the inside of the rim.) Copyright 2008, Kathy Casey Food Studios

Today after a business appointment in Manhattan I was close to Les Halles Downtown – Chef-large Anthony Bordain’s home base. Not super busy – but good food and good service. And for Manhattan, very reasonable in price. It was actually really nice to sit at a table and have a little room (Note: all the new hip places have tiny stools at long bars with 1″ in between them — so most times the guy/gal next you is actually sitting on you!)

I started with a grilled vegetable and goat cheese terrine served with a simple salad vinaigrette – very tasty. For my entree I had the Portugues Mussels Frites. It was a huge portion of steamed mussels with garlic, cilantro, chorizo and tomate with perfectly salted crisp fries on the side. Lunch was just under $30. A deal by NY standards.

I interveiwed Anthony Bordain a few years back and he is just as cool in person as he is on TV. I personally love his tell-it -like-it-is style. He is a smart guy and very well spoken. His certainly can tell a great story – be it print, or on air.

If you haven’t read his book Nasty Bits it’s a great read. And if your visiting Les Halles – pick up a copy of Les Halles Cookbook. You’ll want to make those delicious mussels at home …….

This past week I attended a super fun event at Ivar’s Salmon House on Seattle’s Lake Union…. Cocktails and Crafts! It was a last minute fun thing consisting of making our own totem poles or Ivar’s Bobble Heads into crazy crafty works of … art?? At least I like to think so!
    
The table was laden with trinkets, glue guns and feathers. We were also encouraged to bring our own adornments. I eagerly dipped into my craft drawers pulling out pearls, found starfish, singing scallop shells and other goofy garnishments. As we created, we sipped wine and nibbled on Oysters on the Half Shell with Pink Peppercorn Mignonette and heard about the restaurants American Indian art collection and shared Ivar stories.
As the evening moved on and our glue guns were blaring we dined on lightly smoke-kissed, first of the season Spring Chinook Salmon and Asparagus served with Old School Maltaise Sauce. Yum! Maltaise sauce is an orange enhanced variation on hollandaise and is fantastic with asparagus … and salmon – rarely seen these days, I was thrilled to see it again in this perfect pairing!

And it’s not just cool cocktail party’s this Seattle Classics doing – they are also hosting “Salmon in the Classroom” — cultural storytelling of salmon in the NW for Washington kindergartners.  Wow — that would be a cool school day.

So if Ivar’s Salmon House has been off your radar – come give them a visit – it’s a Seattle Institution that serves salmon up …wild and proud.

Almost everybody I know loves pork, what to me is the most versatile meat in the world. Many cultures cook up this tasty porcine protein in a multitude of ways. 

In the last few years, there has been a pork resurgence—almost cult-like—with special pig dinners, books, charcuterie classes … the list goes on and on. One of my friends even told me her daughter has declared herself a “baco-tarian”: she doesn’t eat any meat, poultry, fish or other animal products EXCEPT bacon. Vegetarians, stand back—this is not my idea! I am only reporting the facts.

Recently, when working on a cruise line menu in the Southeast, our first stop was New Orleans, where we dined at Cochon. Opened by owner and chef Donald Link, who consistently received accolades for his Herbsaint Restaurant, and co-owner and chef Stephen Stryjewski, Cochon features a totally modern, inspired Southern menu. The name, which means pig in French, forecasts the bill of fare; this menu is full of pigs—pigs were flying! And it was fantastic. 

We had spicy grilled pork ribs with homemade watermelon pickle; and smoked ham hocks with grits and brown gravy; and—the pièce de résistance-Louisiana cochon with turnips, cabbage and cracklin’s. We were in pig heaven! If you get a chance to visit New Orleans and are a pork-lover, you must try Cochon.

Cruising up the big river, we stopped in Natchez, Mississippi, where the ship’s kitchen crew insisted that we venture into town to try the Pig Out Inn. There we had sauced and sloppy, pulled-pork sandwiches—made from slow-cooked pork shoulder—and tender, finger-licking ribs. Since these towns were really hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, I felt it my duty to add back into the local economy by ordering mass bags of sandwiches to take back to the fellas on the ship, where the goodies were exuberantly devoured. When I inquired about a cab in this tiny city, the restaurant manager insisted on personally driving us back to the ship. Southern hospitality and barbecue at their best! Here’s one of my favorite pork recipes: 

Slow-Braised Pork Pot Roast with Apples & Onions”
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 (2 1/2-pound) boneless pork shoulder or butt roast
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 Gala apples, each cut in 8 chunks
1 large onion, cut in 16 chunks
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
1/3 cup raspberry or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Pat dry the pork roast and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Place apples, onion, thyme, and garlic in a small roasting pan and set the pork roast on top. Sprinkle with the caraway seeds.

Mix together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, then pour it around the pork.

Place the pork in the oven and roast, uncovered, for 1 hour. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and continue roasting for about 1 1/2 hours more, until the pork is fork-tender. The total roasting time will be about 2 1/2 hours.

Recipe from Dishing with Kathy Casey: Sasquatch Books, Copyright © 2002 by Kathy Casey

Have I mentioned my trip to Vegas yet? No? Well this past February, my executive sous chef Matthew and I escaped the wet of Seattle for a few fabulous days in Las Vagas for the Annual Nightclub and Bar Magazine Convention. During the day Matthew and I went about our business delivering lectures, and shaking up some cocktail magic. But at night, we had some fun!

Tao is a fantastic restaurant/night club/lounge/and beach lounge rolled into one, and for my second time visiting, I loved it as much as the first. The pan-Asian bistro is super sexy, low lights, great people watching and a 20 foot Buddha make for a va va voom atmosphere. Celebrity sightings are one reason to come, but we couldn’t resist dining at the top grossing restaurant in the country. No joke. Tao brought in $55.2 million smackers in 2007. H-O-L-Y C-OW!  Mathew and I shared a fab dinner with such tasty dishes as Yuzu Roasted Shishito Peppers, Lacquered Roast Fillet of Pork for starters and Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass with Wok Vegetables and Sake Braised Shiitake Mushrooms-yum! If you haven’t been and are planning a trip to Vegas in the near future be sure to check Tao out.