Seattle’s iconic Space Needle celebrates it’s 50th year anniversary this year. To commemorate this landmark event since it’s debut at the 1962 World’s Fair, SkyCity at the Needle is offering a unique tasting menu for only $62 lasting through the entire month of May. Wow!

Featuring 5 dinner entrees from 5 restaurant icons inspired from the last 5 decades, this tasting menu is full of deliciouness. I’m thrilled to share my Fullers’ Warm Spinach Salad with Warmed Duck dish to represent the 80’s!

Come celebrate and make your reservations fast for this momentous occasion! Cheers to the Space Needle!

Seattle foodies get your appetites ready; the Mobile Food Rodeo is back again! This ultimate food truck experience, will gather more than 20 food trucks from all over the city — and a few from Portland. There’ll be something for everyone!

Last year I judged with Table Talk Radio Host Jamie Peha and the Chef in the Hat Thierry Rautureau along with other fun, foodie luminaries. There were prizes for Best New Food Wagon, Best Side Dish, Best Dessert, and the most coveted award, the Wagon Wheel Award (Best in Show)!

The Food “Sheriffs” ready to chow down!

Food, food and more food!

Let me tell you that it was fun but I was stuffed by the end of the day! After tasting different approaches to pizza to curries as well as hand-dipped ice cream cookie sandwiches to sliders, I rolled my way home!

This year I will be out of town and missing out on the grub but keep me posted on your adventures – tweet me @KathyCaseyChef your favorites – so I can live/eat vicariously through you!

The Mobile Food Rodeo will take place on Sunday, May 6^th from 11 – 6 just outside of Fremont Studios. The admission is free* so you can save your bucks for all the tasty treats. And to wash it all down there is a charity beer garden so you can hunker down and enjoy your chow!

Among the trucks participating are Seattle institutions Where Ya at Matt (one of my all-time faves), Skillet, Maximus Minimus, Molly Moon, and Street Donuts. And that’s just to name a few!

Even the Food Network’s Eat St. will be on hand to showcase Seattle’s vibrant street food culture and help crown the top food truck at the prestigious Wagon Awards.

So get your appetite ready and giddy on up; it’s going to be another fantastic food rodeo! -Kathy

*Since this is a free event, expect long lines at each truck. To beat the lines, you may want to consider getting a VIF (Very Important Foodie!) Express Badge.

Make sure to mark your May calendars! Award-winning chef Chloe Coscarelli will be coming to the Pacific Northwest to promote her debut cookbook, Chloe’s Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way.

After earning the top prize on Food Network’s 2010 Cupcake Wars with her all-vegan recipes, she’s been winning over new fans and turning heads with her scrumptious recipes. On May 23^rd, she’ll be at Seattle’s Book Larder at 6:30pm and on May 24^th, she’ll be at Mill Creek’s University Book Store starting at 7:00pm!

The Children’s Trust Foundation is hosting A Place at the Table on Saturday, April 28th from 6:30 – 10:00pm in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. This special 5-course dinner event will take place at the Blue Ribbon Cooking & Culinary Center and features a fun line-up of cooking classes including Traditional French Sauces, a Chocolate Workshop & Truffle Making and Pasta Making as well as a slew of special guests! Make sure that you buy your tickets soon, as proceeds from this event will support the foundation’s mission.

Cherry trees in bloom are always a sure-fire sign that spring is here. It’s also a great reminder that the Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Culture Festival will be happening soon. Seattle has a rich connection to Japanese culture and you can join in on the celebration from April 13^th-15^th at the Center House Pavilion.

For a great view of cherry blossoms, I love to visit the University of Washington’s campus and walk around all their beautiful blooming trees.

(Photo Courtesy of the University of Washington)

There will be lots to experience! Everything to help enjoy the culture and admire the beauty of spring: learn how to play the traditional game of GO (it’s like chess); watch and listen to the rhythmic playing of taiko drumming; participate in a tea ceremony demonstration and more. Oh, and don’t forget about the food!

If you can’t make it, there are plenty of other ways to taste the culture. And there is no better way to way to fill-up than with a good roll of sushi and sake!

Tomoko Moriguchi – CEO of the Seattle institution Uwajimaya – proudly told me that her family’s company was the first grocery store in the US to sell fresh sushi. She said her parents would be so amazed to see how popular it has become over the years – kids even taking it to school in their lunch boxes! (I know I would if I was a kid these days!)

A few of my favorite sushi spots to hit are Nishino in Madison Park – their plates are like works of art. Also, check out Shiro’s in Belltown…he’s the Godfather of creative sushi in Seattle. And in Ballard have a seat at Shiku – I love their Dragon Roll!

This week celebrate the beautiful cherry blossoms blooming and Seattle’s rich Japanese culture! -Kathy

This one is for all the cupcake enthusiasts! Back by popular demand, Cupcake Camp Seattle is holding it’s 3rd Annual event on Sunday, April 15th at the Canal from 11:30am – 2:00pm! Proceeds for this event will benefit the Hope Heart Institute. Make sure you get your tickets soon!

Well who knew – but April is National Food Month here in the US!  So let’s talk about our favorite things to cook at home.

We all have our go-to and must-have recipes from the All-American mac & cheese and Filipino lumpia to handmade Mexican tamales.

As a chef, I see LOTS of food in my everyday life from product testing to client recipe development to creative ideation sessions. Some might think it would be hard for me to pick a dish or two and deem it as my all-time-fave. Hands down, it’s no contest to what meal soars above the rest – and makes me feel all cozy inside!

Just back from a trip to Ukraine and tired from the long, long trip, my husband John picked me me up from the airport and took us home. As soon as I opened the door, I smelled the deliciousness – could it be? Really? My favorite Slow-Cooked Pot Roast with Half a Bottle of Wine and 20 Cloves of Garlic?!?!  What a welcome home! My favorite dish, so d’lish cozied up to fluffy mashed potatoes; now this is my comfort food!  For those of you that know us well you also know this could have been some sort of miracle: John is not one who loves to cook. As a matter of fact, this is the first time in all these years that he cooked a full on dinner for me. And it was delicious! The recipe is from my favorite cookbook the now out of print Dishing with Kathy Casey. I said, “John, wow! This is perfectly cooked.” To which he replied, “Well this is the first time that I’ve ever made one of your recipes and they really are easy to follow.” Thanks John … for a wonderful and heartfelt welcome home!

What are some of your favorite must-have dishes/recipes and family favorites? I would love to hear them. So celebrate National Food Month and gather around the table with family and friends!  -Kathy

Photo from Dishing with Kathy Casey.

Sunday Slow-Cooked Roast Beef with Half a Bottle of Wine and 20 Cloves of Garlic

Makes 6 to 8 generous servings

1 (3- to 3 1/2-pound) beef chuck roast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 bottle (about 1 1/2 cups) red wine
3 tablespoons flour
20 cloves garlic, peeled
5 sprigs fresh thyme
4 carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 stalks celery, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, optional

Preheat an oven to 325°F.

With paper towels, pat the roast dry. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof Dutch oven over high heat until hot.

Rub the roast with salt and pepper. Place in the hot pan and sear on all sides until well browned. Remove the meat to a platter. Add the onion wedges and mushrooms to the pan and stir around for a few minutes, then tuck the roast back into the pan, pulling the onion and mushroom mixture up from under the roast.

Whisk together the wine and flour until smooth and add to the roasting pan, along with the garlic and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer the pan to the oven.

Roast for about 2 hours. Add the carrots and celery and continue to roast for 1/2 hour to 1 hour, or until meat is fork-tender.

Stir the basil into the sauce.

Cut roast into thick slices or large chunks, depending on your preference, and serve with the sauce drizzled over it.

Chef’s Tips:
If the sauce is not thick enough, make a cornstarch slurry using 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water. Whisk the slurry into the simmering sauce, a little at a time, until the desired thickness is reached.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

With the Easter holiday fast approaching, it’s time to load up on all the goodies to fill up those delightful baskets: marshmallowy Peeps® (which now comes in chocolate!), brightly colored jellybeans, the classic chocolate bunny and of course, colorful and decorated hard-boiled eggs.

Aren’t they just egging you on?

Once all the goodies have been found (we hope!) and eaten, what do you do with all of the extra Easter bounty? Turn them into other d’lish goodies!

Have extra Peeps on hand? Well, they’re perfect to melt into my Jelly-Bean Rice Crispy Tweeps. I love to rip their heads and use them for “garnish!”

Peep garnished Tweeps!

For the adults, grab a few of those chocolate bunnies and stir yourself up some Bunny’Licious Chocolate Mocha Fondue using a splash of your favorite liqueur or shot of espresso. Serve with an assortment of fruits for dipping or some of those leftover Peeps.

With all those extra eggs, how about an egg salad sandwiches? I like to add a little curry twist with my Springtime Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches. Then top it off with a tasty garnish of thinly sliced radish and cucumber – oh – so springy!

Grab those extra Easter goodies and cook up some springtime fun! -Kathy

Peep & Jelly-Bean Rice Crispy Tweeps
Makes 30 treats

3 Tbsp. butter
6  packages yellow Peeps®  – 30 peeps(you can use bunnies too for pink treats)
6 cups Rice Krispies® cereal
1 cup small jellybeans

Pull 30 of the peeps heads off and set aside for garnish.

In a large sauce pan heat butter over low heat melt the butter until melted. Then add peeps and stir over low heat until melted. Then stir in rice crispies and jellybeans. Stir until cereal is well coated and jellybeans are distributed.

Place mixture in a pan sprayed 8”x8” baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and press down to compact the crispy treats. Let set for at least 15 minutes before serving. To serve cut (5×6) into 30 squares.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

Bunny’licious Chocolate Mocha Fondue
Makes 4 servings

6 ounces of left-over chocolate bunnies
1/4 cup hot, strong brewed coffee
1 tablespoon liquor such as: Grand Marnier, ameretto or Frangelico  liqueur (optional)

For dipping: fresh fruit for dipping cut into chunks, such as: pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, apple wedges and oranges

Other fun things for dipping are: pound cake chunks, holiday cookies, small chocolate chip cookies, other candy such as Peeps® …..

Break up or cut bunnies in small pieces (chocolate chip size)  into a  glass or ceramic bowl and pour hot coffee over them. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. If coffee is not hot enough to melt chocolate, then microwave  for 10 seconds. Stir in liqueur if desired.

Transfer mixture to a fondue pot or pretty bowl and serve warm with long forks and lots of goodies for dipping.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

Springtime Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (see procedure)
2 Tbsp.very thinly sliced green onions
2 Tbsp.1/8-inch-diced red onion
2 Tbsp. 1/8-inch-diced celery
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 cup mayonnaise (regular or light)
1/2 – 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
Coarse ground black pepper

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8 slices high-quality tender bread such as brioche, Macrina potato bread, or egg bread
butter lettuce leaves
16 very thin slices of peeled cucumber
4 red radishes, very, very thinly sliced

Chop hard-boiled eggs to nice 1/4-inch pieces, good for making the egg salad. In a bowl, mix chopped eggs with green onion, red onion, celery, and curry powder until evenly distributed. Mix in mayonnaise gently but thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Divide and spread the egg salad evenly among 4 slices of the bread. Layer on the lettuce and cucumber and radish slices, dividing evenly, and close the sandwiches.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®