Life's a Banquet
'...and most poor fools are starvin to death!' ~Mame

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

It's snowing! Crazy and true, I gotta love the weather here. It's odd since it is about 40 degrees, and has been all day... and it has been spitting snow all day as well. It was gloriously sunny for awhile, just like it was last week, though today it only lasted a couple of hours at best. It isn't sticking, and I don't even think it is scary to those who get scared about snow. (I never have been one of those, though since owning a restaurant and losing massive amounts of business to it I no longer love snow during business hours like I once did.) I have been trying to catch up and clear out my piles of email and desk papers that accumulated more than usual last week since Sharon was on vacation. Funny how doing her job made doing mine so much more difficult! Then I looked up and saw the snow again and had this overwhelming urge to talk to you. Last week I just did not have time to write anything and today my piles are finally dwindling to a manageable stack (for a moment) so I am taking this time to say hello. Are you hungry? I have some things to tell you about!

I got to attend my favorite Chef's Collaborative event last week, the 'Farmer, Fisher, Chef Connection', where we all gather to learn more about supporting each other by sourcing locally and using sustainable practices. It is an all day event and since it is farmers, chefs and other food producers there is certainly food involved. I had the honor of making a dish for the massive lunch (400 people!) and they asked me to make a vegan salad using grains from Finnriver Farm & Cidery. Ironically I had just met them a couple of weeks ago at the culinary/agri-turism conference put on by the state up in Port Townsend! I also used apple cider vinegar from another local cidery, greens and root veggies from 2 Olympic Peninsula farms, and locally produced tofu from Small Planet Tofu on Vashon. I pickled red onions with the vinegar and laid them atop the grain and veggie salad, and dressed the whole thing very simply in premium olive oil, salt and pepper, just like I do at the cafe.(Sidenote: the snow is REALLY coming down! Big, ploppy, puffy snow! Super wet so it melts right away... it is so pretty!) So anyway I was so excited to make this dish and I spend the better part of Sunday working on it, with Mark's help of course. It was delicious and I was proud to present it to this very esteemed group of food professionals. I mean we are talking about chefs like Maria Hines, Jason Franey & Seth Caswell! Farm folks from such fame as Full Circle Farms and Nash's Organics (whose veggies I used!) so this was not small time by any means. I was so honored to cook for some of the finest food professionals in the world, never mind our region! Ok, now I am nervous again just thinking about it... and I was nervous! My dish was great and I believe I did the fine foods I was offered justice; and I can't help but hope they all thought that as well.

One thing I got out of it is that delicious baked tofu from Small Planet. Many of you may know that I do not generally find the need to use a meat 'replacer' because the foods we make are good and if they don't use meat there is nothing wrong with that. In this dish I used it because I could not use cheese and I really wanted a creamy element to the dish, so I opted for Phil's tofu. It was so delicious! I am definitely going to build some recipes around this tofu so you can taste it. Tofu skeptics and haters be warned: your tongue will not know you are eating tofu, only that you are eating delicious food!

This Chef's Collaborative event is my inspiration for creating the Harvest Meal even that we all adored last September and will again this September 19th. If you haven't joined the Kitsap Community & Agricultural Alliance yet (it's a measley 20 bucks for the year!) you should do it now to begin taking advantage of events like the harvest meal. Go HERE to see about joining if you are interested in local food. The next meeting is tomorrow night (Tuesday March 9)at 6:30 at the Silverdale Grange on Clear Creek Rd NW. Come on out to hear about the Puget Sound Food Network!

Last Friday was our Spanish wine tasting and it was a blast! I made several 'tapas' style dishes for the wines and everyone seemed to enjoy the food and wine immensely. Tristan educated us all in the wines and regions of Spain, and I made a couple of new friends who love Italy as much as I do! Angie & Bill have been lucky enough to live in Italy (twice-he is in the Navy) and they talk about the food, wine, people and culture at least as passionately as I do. They are a gorgeous couple and I can tell we will be fast friends since we all have such fabulous taste!

On Saturday Mark and I met his parents at Cosmo's in Port Orchard to support the Kitsap Community Food Co-op, as if Cosmo's great food weren't reason enough. They are the only place (that I know of) in Kitsap to get wonderful, fresh Gelato! That is as excellent a reason as any to stop by! They will give you tastes of the various flavors and you will fall in love with the creaminess and intensity of flavor. Unless you are crazy for really crappy ice cream, in which case you may not love this stuff as I do.

This Friday is the Art Walk in Old Town from 6-8, and we have new photography by Timothy Johnsrude upstairs for it. I always love our artists and have a difficult time when they take their work down, as Shirley Sakatani did last week, and I mourned the loss of her beautiful colors. And then we get new stuff and I fall in love with that and it starts all over again. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough for you to walk around and check things out down here because it is a really fun event. We always take donations for the food bank and homeless dinners (food, toiletries, clothing, camping equipment, etc...) and in exchange we offer cookies. I also offer complimentary coffee for everyone and wine tastes for adults. Most of us down here offer something for fun and the art is beautiful so I hope we will see you Friday night.

Meanwhile I put the beef brisket in the brine last Thursday and I will be tending to it until Saturday when I prepare it for the braising it will get to become Corned Beef. I am so excited about this! We will serve it all week with braised cabbage and roasted Ozette potatoes. The Ozette is lumpy potato which was introduced to Makah Nation people in 1791. Since then, the Ozette potato has been passed down by generations of Makah gardeners, who prize it for its distinctive flavor, and we got 20 lbs to roast up and serve to you, my friends. We will also slice up the brisket and offer it to you on sandwiches next week. I may even make some corned beef hash to serve up towards the end of the week if we are all really very lucky! It all starts on the 15th and runs until it is gone. I got 40 lbs of beef so it should have a pretty good run! Mark will be busy with Irish soda bread and St Patty's Day cookies next week, and whatever else we think you might like. Last year we did a fabulous Shepard's pie, and decided not to this year since we just did lamb shanks last month. I think the next comfort meal will be Pasta e Fagioli, as taught to me by Giacomo while at Parco Fiorito in Umbria, Italy last October. You can meet him if you go with us on our trip later this year!

Of course, I am open to suggestion on the comfort meal so send me your ideas. We have lots of fun stuff coming up next month and I am looking forward to sharing a new farmer's market season with all of you! Our recipes will stem from what's in season then.

For this recipe I will tell you a different way to pan roast potatoes. It is so simple and so delicious, I think it will be your new favorite way to do this. It goes with any main, or you can do what my dad does and pile all kinds of stuff onto your potatoes to make that the main event. From beans and salsa to salad and dressing, dad loves a good potato for dinner. For this style you want the small potatoes, they could be white, gold or red, but not russets. Ozette's would be great here!

Place one potato at a time on your cutting board; take your frying pan and gently smack the potatoes until the skin just splits and the insides are exposed.

Take a clean, dry, heavy bottom pan and put it on a low heat burner.

Place your potatoes in the pan, in one layer-don't stack them-so they are firmly on the bottom and not tilted or crowded.

Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Let them cook and just give the pan a good shake every 5 minutes or so, so they don't stick. Cook them 10+ plus minutes, making sure that the heat is not too high and they are not burning on the bottom. Flip then over and do it again, letting them cook 5+ minutes, undisturbed, and check them for doneness. (A fork will move in/out of them easily.) If they need a few more minutes just cover them back up and let them go.

Remove the lid and let them cook for a couple of minutes, until any condensation is evaporated. (If you are going to add garlic to the potatoes now would be a good time to add it to the pan, along with a touch of olive oil, simply moving the spuds out of the center of the pan so the garlic can cook a bita.

Turn off the pan and toss the potatoes in premium olive oil, salt and pepper, and I love to add fresh herbs and garlic, though even if I don't these are delicious.

Do you want to taste our region's heritage potatoes? Want to try Ozette potatoes and can't get them? Talk to me and I will help you get some.

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

THANK YOU SUNSHINE! Business was great this past week and I believe it is in large part due to the fabulous sunshine that we have been experiencing. Mother Nature has been great to us and even as it is pouring down rain right now I am so grateful for those few days of abundance. We even found time to grill some Lopez Island Farm pork on Sunday and it was GOOD. The sun-filled memories are recent enough to keep me calm about our broken coffee machine and leaking espresso machine and on and on it rolls. Have you had any great local meals lately?

Mark and I went to the West Sound Business Expo last week to see if it is something we may want to participate in next year. We sampled every restaurant and caterer's offerings and hands down the best food to be had was CJ's Evergreen Store from Bremerton. I know they have been growing their catering and their food is truly fantastic. CJ, Richard and the staff utilize local food whenever they can and they are fiercely loyal to local goods and causes. Who wouldn't love that??

This week I am going to go out on a limb here and champion a cause that is near to my heart. Aside from constantly beating the 'value local' thing into you all, I have not done this before on this blog to this extent. I hope that you will love the idea and if you do not, I hope that it will at least open our minds and hearts to be able to come up with a mutually agreeable answer. Rather than a recipe at the end, I am offering a recipe for the true meaning of community in this writing.

Chief Lusk of Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue has begun a wonderful thing for our community. He was the first in the state to apply for, and become granted, a piece of history. Steel from the Twin Towers is being made available to communities across the nation who want to honor those lives lost. Chief Lusk will be receiving a large piece of steel and he wants to erect a memorial monument somewhere in Kitsap County, his current first choice being Old Town Silverdale. This is a huge step towards offering healing, education, and remembrance to our community and those around us who can make the pilgrimage to Kitsap, and may never have the opportunity to get to New York City. Even those of us who have been to Ground Zero will appreciate the opportunity to reach out and touch this piece of steel that represents so much more than nearly 3000 lives lost on September 11, 2001. So many more lives have been lost since that day, and we continue to lose souls to the fight for freedom from terrorist acts.

I think that there are only 2 other areas across the state that have definitely been approved, and 2 others under consideration. I am surprised by a few people's negative reaction to having a September 11 monument erected at the Old Town Silverdale waterfront. The vehement objection that I first heard was that the park is for everyone, including 'children and older people' and that a memorial monument would be 'too depressing' for the community to endure. This reaction was from someone who was hearing about the artifact for the first time, had very little information about what it was, and no information whatsoever about the plans for this beautiful site that is being proposed for our area. The closed-minded statements being uttered instantly reminded me of the reasons that we even have this topic to discuss in the first place. It was an uninformed fear reaction to proposed change. I know that most of us struggle with change, even when we want and look forward to it, and for reasons that I do not understand this topic is making a few people feel challenged at their power base.

Did they have this reaction to Kitsap County's only Veteran's Memorial, which is located at Waterfront Park? That monument represents far more lives lost and I do not believe that anyone views it as too depressing to endure. The 9-11 artifact will bring many people to our area, especially at first, and that will continue to be true. The initial plans include art tiles made by children who were born in 2001, a meditative walk that represents a timeline of the day, a pentagon shaped area to surround the steel and seating along the way for folks to reflect with the beautiful views of the inlet and mountain beyond. The plans are no where near finalized as this site is actually the second that Chief Lusk has proposed, and his team needs to personalize the plans to the space available.

The first site was at the new Y in Silverdale and the monument was rejected by that site in the end because it was 'too depressing'. I am sure that my law enforcement background has skewed my thinking around this, and I am having a difficult time getting past 'SERIOUSLY'?? Do we really not see what an honor it will be to have such an amazing thing in our midst? Parents can educate their children, people can pay their respects and touch a real piece of our recent history which happens to be one of the major historical events of the world.

I certainly hope that the Port commissioners find a way to work this piece in to their property in Old Town. It will be good for our economy and for our community on so many different levels. When the steel is brought across the nation there will be an escort by the Patriot Guard Riders who estimate as many as 80,000 bikes will join the ride at different points in the journey. It is coming to Kitsap, we just don't know where or when yet. It would thrill me to be able to meet the steel when it hits Spokane and escort it across the state. Who wants to join me?

So far the funds for this project are entirely based on donations. If you want to donate you can do so through us, or at the Silverdale American Marine Bank. Donations should be directed to the 9/11 Memorial Fund. You can email the committee here: 911ArtifactCommittee@ckfr.org. If you want to encourage the Port of Silverdale to consider this (or to discourage them, after all that is what our freedom of speech is about!) you can email them here.

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

I ordered Boeuf Bourguignon last Saturday at Brix 25. Mark and I had dinner there with my BFF Linda and her husband Bob, and it was fabulous. I have not ordered beef in a restaurant for nearly 20 years, so this was a momentous occasion! Chef Lyman uses grass fed beef of course, and I had sampled this dish of his in the past off of Mark's plate, and I had never forgotten it. So I decided to go crazy and have that for dinner. As tender as warm chocolate and certainly as dark, the flavors and texture were as rich and comfortable in my mouth as Etta James' version of "At Last" is in my ears. Heaven. We all enjoyed our food immensely and the co-owner Katie had this wonderful idea that I loved so much I may just borrow it some time. On the way out we passed by a self serve candy 'bar', so lovely to see, decorated in all shades of pink, were several glass dishes in varying shapes and sizes, filled with valentines candies such as conversation hearts and pastel MnM's. Each guest was encouraged to fill a little cellophane bag with the candies and tie them with the gold twist ties to take home and enjoy later. You start with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine and end with candy, how can you not have a wonderful time here??

On Sunday Mark and I went to mom and dad's to celebrate Chinese New Year and mom made traditional Chinese Hot Pot (it's basically fondue with broth rather than oil) which she learned from her cousin-in-law Mae, who is from China. It was delightful! I made a mess on myself slurping noodles and broth and my very favoritest (yes it's a word!) combo was the bok choy/spinach/rice noodles in the sauces. It is definitely a fun group meal to have and it tasted great making all our own little flavor combos out of our choices of shrimp, scallops, pork, beef, mushrooms, tofu, noodles, greens, and other things. There was cilantro and green onions to top it (though I kept forgetting to use it!) and a couple of different sauces to mix in. Did you celebrate Valentine's day or Chinese New Year with a great meal? I would love to hear about it! It is the year of the tiger now by the way, so congratulations to you tigers out there!

I had a wonderfully full week and I can only see that continuing. I attended a culinary and agri-tourism workshop put on by the state in Port Townsend and it was a fantastic event to get my creative juices working. We did some farm tours including Hamma Hamma Oyster Company, which I have been visiting since I was a little girl. They have a new building with a little store full of locally produced items, a commercial kitchen and you can view the shuckers as they race through piles of oysters. There is an outdoor area where they are going to make into another commercial kitchen with seating and a great view! This summer I am going to work with them to create a day trip that will combine a cooking class, wine tasting, meal and fun for whoever wants to go! It is going to be a blast and I will keep you posted so you can sign up the minute we announce it. We also went to a place up towards Chimacum called Finn River Farm & Cidery that will make another fantastic day trip, as they have a pizza oven and lots of great activities on and near the farm. It is really close to the Olympic Music Festival and if you go you should definitely stop in to see the place, get some berries and hard cider (which is very much like sparkling wine: dry, delicate and lovely) for the concert.

The best restaurant that we ate at was in Sequim, called The Alder Wood Bistro. Chef Gabriel put out some amazing food and he is fiercely into the local food movement so of course I love that! If you find yourself anywhere near Sequim I cannot recommend this place enough, and I hope that we can get to know Chef Gabriel and his wife Jessica in the future. After the conference I raced back to Port Orchard to attend my first official meeting as a member of the newly formed Kitsap Food & Farm Policy Council. This is some seriously good work we are going to be doing and bringing up awareness of local food and agriculture within the county, as well as making agricultural pursuits more attainable and accessible to everyone. When you go read that article I hope you will look around the site a bit and consider joining the Kitsap Community & Agricultural Alliance, as it is the best $20 bucks you will spend to join anything this year. You will be supporting your interest in local, fresh food and we definitely need that support! I was recently asked to write a column for the "What's Up" section of the local papers, and you can see my first one here.

Some fun things are coming up including our Ivy is turning 21 tomorrow! We will be toasting her and then if I have time I will stop by the Bremerton Green Drinks event at the Downtown Bremerton Library. 612 5 St from 6-9 and they love it when we RSVP. Bring your own glass and save the earth! These events are always fun and this is special because it is their 2 year anniversary for the group. Join the fun and see what is happening in your community.

Another event that I can guarantee will be super fun is the "For The Love of Wine"
talk and tasting that I am hosting at the Port Orchard Library. The talk is free, and starts at 6 pm at the Library. The tasting is $10 and will be held at Puget Sound Wine Cellers so if you don't have your reservation call to get one, because it may sell out; the one in Silverdale did!

I have yet another call to action for you: If you know of (or are) any Old Town Silverdale business owners please pass this information on to them: We are having a meeting to discuss the revitalization of Old Town on Monday February 22, 4 pm, at the Port commissioners' office. The Port, the County, the Chamber and many others will be there. The community at large is not invited to this meeting, as there is not enough room, once we have a general plan down we will have a much larger community meeting to get all the input that we can. For now we just want to see who the major stake holders for Old Town are and what they are willing to do to step up business down there. Building owners count! I have no way to get the word out to everyone so please pass it on and they can call me or email for more info if they need it.

So I wonder what sort of recipe you would like for today. I think I will go with an oyster stew since it is super easy to make and Hamma Hamma is on my mind. I put a little bit of a Thai twist in my recipe because it is really good that way and I keep it easy with a store-bought ingredient. You can leave the thai stuff out if you want to, but I think you want to try it!

1 quart shucked oysters in their liquor (I use medium Pacifics; use any kind you like)
about 1 cup fish stock or clam broth
Salt and black pepper
4 stalks celery, cut in medium-sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
Canola oil
4 cups coconut milk
2 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Thai Green Curry paste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
Paprika
Chopped fresh parsley or lime leaves

Pick over the oysters for shells. Strain the oysters to get the liquor out and hold both aside.

Cook the celery and onion in a little canola oil until tender, season with salt and pepper. Add the oyster liquor and fish or clam broth(should measure about 2 cups)to the pot, and then add the coconut milk and cream.

Heat the butter in a small sauce pan, then whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook just a few minutes, no need to brown this, and add the roux to the stock mixture; stir briskly until thickened and smooth. Add the Thai curry paste (Start with 1 heaping Tablespoon and see if you like the heat level. You can keep adding until you have the level that you are happy with), the lime juice, and fish sauce. Correct the seasonings.

Add in the oysters and mix well; cook until done, about 6 minutes, depending on the size. Top with the fresh herbs, keep warm over hot water until time to serve. (Option: You can blend this soup to make it smooth, or you can hold out the onions, celery and oysters and just blend them together.)

Garnish with paprika and fresh herbs and even some Creme Fraiche if you like.

Eat this and love it!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

I know I have been away longer than usual... I have had writing-shyness for some reason that I do not fully understand. It isn't exactly writer's block since I am not really a writer and I have lots of things to talk about. It is more like this: sometimes when I get to the page where I write this blog, I get a little overwhelmed, and I just can't start. When I do start it flows ok and I forget all about it, though once in a while simply starting is too much, so I don't. I know it is partly because I feel very busy and with the economy now effecting (and affecting) our finances (it didn't seem to at first) I get to feeling anxious and conflicted: I am never doing enough, I can always do better, and yet I sometimes feel overwhelmed and in need of a break. I steal time hear and there... read a few pages just for pleasure, go to a movie alone (I love that and it is such a rare treat!) or, like last night, get together with someone I love for a couple of hours.

Mom and I schedule time together once a month to connect, just the two of us, and catch up. We have always met somewhere, usually a restaurant, and we sit for 2-3 hours and talk. This week I asked her to come to the house, as I could not think of a place that I would rather be. She had asked me to bring home some fresh rolls for her dinner with friends the next day, though due to a conspiracy against me (technology sucks sometimes) I did not get in to the cafe yesterday, I worked on the computer all day long. So at 2 I started some dough and made the rolls for her, which happily reminded me how easy making bread is, and how satisfyingly it fulfills me. The smell of the yeast is so comforting, and the process of kneading is meditative for me. I feel creative and since I was making them for someone else, nurturing. It is pure pleasure and I don't do it very often at home. When mom got here I pulled out the makings for a jambalaya and we worked together as we talked. There is very little that is more satisfying to me than cooking with loved ones. It embodies the spirit of community and hearkens back to a time that we remember, if only cellularly. Mom peeled shrimp while I chopped veggies and added them to the pot. I opened the wine (some for the pot, some for us!) and she stirred the pot. It turned out soupier than it should have: too much liquid, not enough rice. It tastes great! We had one of those warm rolls and with it and finished that bottle of wine. We played with the kitties and laughed and talked and now I feel a bit more energized.

One of the things mom pointed out to me was that in my last blog entry I talked about snorkeling, and my neck. When I wrote that I did not connect the fact that my neck had been stiff and sore since the end of December. It got so bad at one point that the spasms kept me from even sleeping at night. Dad had gone with mom to So Cal for 3 weeks so he wasn't around to help it (the best massage therapist around!) so I suffered. A lot. When they got back I saw dad 4 times in one week, so he did one almost full massage, with most of the focus on my neck, shoulders, & back, a couple days later he did some concentrated energy work on my neck and shoulders, then he did a full body massage that was pure heaven. The last appointment I had he did more energy work and really pinpointed the worst spot in my neck and the next morning I woke up and did not cry out in pain for the first time in a month! I realized it after I had been working for about an hour (I get up and hit the computer around 5 these days... sleeping in to 5 is fabulous!) and I am so grateful that dad is so good with those healing hands. There is still a tiny tinge spot in there and I know we will get it with another massage. You should get one, they are fabulous!

So now there is so much to tell you about and I will weed it down a bit and try to stay more timely in writing the blog! I think there are a few more of you out there reading it, which gives me a little thrill. Perhaps because if you aren't reading it then I am talking to myself, which I am very good at and don't need much practice. First of all, I have been told that my "Local Food" column was published in the paper today. The 'What's Up' section of all the local papers for the county has it, though it is not online. I wrote it a month ago, I hope I still like it! It is very exciting to be spreading the word of local food out there so I really hope someone reads it. I was appointed to an 'at large' spot on Kitsap County's new Food & Farm Policy Council 2 weeks ago and I join 13 others in making Kitsap a fantastic place to grow, purchase, cook and eat local foods. I have always loved making up my own rules and now I get to help do that for the whole county! How cool is that!

I did a really fun thing last week by attending Kim Ricketts book event at the Palace Ballroom in Seattle. The author was Gretchen Rubin, who found out that very day that her latest book hit #1 on the NY Times best seller list! The book is called 'The Happiness Project' and am happy to report that it is not frivolous by any means. Ms. Rubin spent a year researching and living her project and she shares her experiences with the rest of us so that we can start our own project. It was never that she was an unhappy person, more that she believed she could be open to having more 'happiness', more contentment and satisfaction with her life, so she focused her intent in that area. I am starting a happiness project for anyone who wants to join in on it! We can meet at the cafe at first, and as the project grows we can move it around. Anyone out there want to create more happiness in their lives? Drop me an email at monica@waterfrontbakery.com. If you want to take me to a Kim Ricketts book event I am all for it! There are a few coming up that I am very interested in!

I need to get going as I have a quick meeting this morning with one of the Port Commissioners to talk about the revitalization of Old Town. It is a preliminary meeting where I will ask for help and/or guidance from the Port with the economic development of Old Town. We are suffering and it does not look to be improving any time soon. My friend Skip gave me some wonderful ideas for Old Town and I am going to see what we can do to get them to come to fruition. I am instigating this because I don't have time to actually run with the whole thing myself and if I have learned anything these past few years it is that asking for help and delegating are keys to success!

Plus I am brining some lamb shanks so I can prep them up for braising on Monday. Braised lamb shanks and polenta will be the comfort meal next week and they have been so popular that I am increasing the frequency from once a month, to every other week. We have some fab new wines for Valentine's day and for the Winter/Spring transition-we are focusing on WA/OR wines this time, along with our Italian favorites, and we have a great selection for the tasting coming up. I hope we will see you there!

I am going to write up the guidelines for making the jambalya style dish I made last night. I will tell you to use less liquid than I did, though you can always add more later if you want to!

olive oil
1 1/2-2 onions, chopped (depending on size)
celery heart and a stalk or two, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
1-2 red peppers, chopped
1 TBS garlic
S&P
Creole seasoning blend
smoked paprika (I used bittersweet)
1-2 cups red wine
2 cups rice (I use brown or thai red; if you use white hold back one cup broth until you know if you need it)
4 cups chicken broth (if you need more liquid you can add broth or plain water later)
28 oz can tomatoes
flat leaf parsley
1 package Hempler's andouille sausage (made in Ferndale)
1 lb raw shrimp (32-40's), peel/devein them

Heat the olive oil and add the chopped veg to it as you finish them. Stir it, add the seasonings through paprika and cook for about 10 minutes on med low (gas) or medium (electric) heat.

Add the wine and let it reduce by about half. Stir in the rice for about 3 minutes and then add the broth, tomatoes and parsley. Let it go about 8 minutes, then stir in the sausage. (You can also use chicken, or any other meat in combination here) and let it cook until the rice is done. Stir it every few minutes and add hot liquid if you need to.

Toss the shrimp in at the end, it will only take a couple of minutes to cook them and you are done. There is not alot of spicy heat to this, so if you like alot of heat you should add cayenne (1/2 tsp) at the beginning, and then you can add hot sauce to taste at the end. I just add my own hot sauce since mom and Mark don't like it as spicy as I do.

YUM! This pot will last us a couple of days and we love leftovers!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Snorkeling has become my cheesy allegory for life these days. When I wake up in the middle of the night and the stress of my mind gets busy keeping me awake, I relax by going snorkeling. I envision the warm water enveloping my skin, the sun on my back, the beautiful fish and corals that I can see... and usually I am asleep again pretty quickly. It does not always work. For instance last night I was mentally submerging my body into the water and I started analyzing what I love about snorkeling. On the first day of any snorkeling vacation it has been a very long time since I last snorkeled. The water has control so that first dip into the water is always a bit stressful and I struggle to get my fins on, keep the mask clear, regulate my breathing, and to get my swimming rhythm back. I love being in that salt water, the buoyancy is so great! I don't even need a PFD, I just float along so nicely I can even relax completely and take a nap in the water! I know you think I am kidding but last time I was snorkeling I got a big fever and I was not feeling well at all... which would not keep me out of the Mexican Caribbean! And I did drift off for a second... Anyway when I first get out there after a long time I tend to be so excited by everything that I am seeing that I keep my head up so that I can look ahead. After a while my neck gets tired and I realize that I am missing what is directly in front of me by doing this. If I rest my neck too long and only look at what is directly in front of me, I begin to miss opportunities to see and do more, and I fail to plot my course appropriately and have more than once ended up over some tall coral that I cannot get around, so I must backtrack. Keeping the balance between watching the beauty unfold right in front of me, and keeping an eye on what is to come so that I can have a general plan for my course, is the best way to snorkel. My neck doesn't get too sore, I can stay out there far longer, and then every once in a while I flip over and gaze out on where I have been and what is all around me from a different angle. It is relaxing and it helps me remember how to get back on to the beach, since I haven't figured out a way to live in the water yet. Snorkeling keeps my attention in the moment so well that there is not room for worrying or complaining or obsessing over silly problems. Once in a while something really scary (to me) happens, like the barracuda get too close and I do not like that! Though more likely I will see a giant turtle and begin squealing with excitement (which sounds even funnier with a snorkel in my mouth) and follow it all around for as long as I can.

I still drifted off again last night even with all that mumbo jumbo going on...though when I woke up this morning I decided to share that with you. Maybe you will get something out of it, or at least try snorkeling on your next vacation because it is THE BEST! (Sidenote for the divers: I cannot dive because I have an inner ear imbalance that cannot be fixed... I can barely fly without pain.. so yes, I imagine diving is awesome but it is not available to all of us like snorkeling is.)

Last week I went the grocery store and for the first time in ages... probably since last winter, I needed to buy onions. I have been getting them from farmers markets, direct from farmers, and from FreshLocal in Bremerton. I walked up to the onion bin and I was confused: every onion in the bin had the root ends cut off and they were all trimmed. It looked strange to me and I couldn't figure out why they would do that. A grocery store employee saw my befuddlement and asked if she could help me and I asked if there were any onions that had the hairy root ends left on. She must have thought I was a nut job, but she looked around (not the red onions, they too are trimmed) and found some big white onions that she could point out to me. Yes they had the roots... they were $1.79lb and they were from Peru! I am not buying onions from Peru if I can help it... unless I go to Peru, in which case I will be happy to! So I looked around a little more and found a corner with some bagged onions that were whole and happy with their roots still attached. They were from a farm in Prosser, WA, Thank you! Too bad they weren't more prominently displayed, I can't believe I am the only one who wants the whole food from a more local source...at least I hope I am not! As I looked around I realized that much of the produce was like this. I had not noticed because even when I do shop for produce at the grocery store I am in the organic section and they offer more of the whole foods, like carrots with the greens, and that type of thing. It seems strange to me that our society is obsessed with 'clean' and trimmed produce. The meat is one thing, but are we so out of touch that we cannot stand the thought of a little dirt on our food before we prepare it? The cashier who checked me out mentioned how 'dirty' those onions are and they would need their own plastic bag. I told her they were fine and that my cloth bags were used at the farmer's markets so they were used to having dirt in them, it would not hurt their feelings. She thought that was very funny as she sanitized her hands after touching the dirty onions. Sigh.

We are casting out our luck lines and trying to win a local business grant that would help us pay our taxes this quarter and we could REALLY use the help! So if you have a minute please go to the Intuit Love A Local Business site and vote for us. Just put in "Monica's" for the business name, "Silverdale, WA" for city and state, and we are the first business to pop up. Click on our business name, write a nomination in, and send it. You can see all the nominations for us (and other businesses) so far and I thank you in advance for taking the time to do this!

This month we tried our hand at biscuits and gravy. Jason Parker, one of our highest points-earning customers, has been requesting this dish for some time, and I have been wanting to make it since we opened! It is difficult to find time to do new projects like this... so I made the gravy and a recipe for the biscuits, which Mark perfected for me. We make them with butter so they are not quite as flaky as the shortening versions, though they taste great. It was a big hit and I am going to get it on the menu at least once a month from now on. Jason told me that he thought the biscuits were the best ever, and the taste of the gravy was fantastic, and he would only want the consistency a bit runnier if he could. Well we can certainly see about that! We also did chicken and dumplings as our monthly comfort meal 'Diner Classics' and it was a huge hit! I made the stock on Saturday and our Navy intern Marcus took all the meat off the bones for me, which was a huge help! I made the dish on Monday, which turned out to be our slowest business day in a year! Tuesday was not much busier and yet we sold out of the chicken and dumplings! I thought it would last 3-4 days and it did not even make it 2 days! So I think this idea of doing these comfort meals is a good one. Next month: Lamb Shanks in Tomato Sauce on Polenta. We will start serving them up on February 8 and see how it goes.

Sunday Mark and I were at The Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor, ironically to say 'farewell' to Jason Winniford, who's great service skills I told you about in my last blog. Right after I wrote that I found out that Jason is leaving Brix 25 and having a celebration party at the Tides. We went early and were lucky to snag a few private moments of conversation with Jason before the big crowds got there. He is following his former bosses, Nick & Joleen Reynolds, over to their business Seabeck Pizza. This is great news for our industry because it means that Jason will be teaching and mentoring the next generation of food service professionals, and we need people like him for that! His high standards and thorough mind will be a huge asset to his new company and we are very happy that he is keeping his talents in this region.

Tonight I am headed to the Bremerton GreenDrinks event at La Fermata. Dave from Full Circle Farm will be the speaker. He came to our place last week to talk about us being a host site for their CSA program, which we are really excited about! This should be an extra fun green drinks and I would love to see you all there! I will be there at 5, though it is open house and runs until 8 pm.

The next event we are doing is at the Libraries, both in Silverdale on the 13th and Port Orchard on the 23rd. They have asked me to give a talk on wine, which I entitled "For the Love of Wine", in homage to Valentine's day. I am excited to talk about wine and loving it! Each talk will be followed up with a tasting nearby (the Library cannot have wine on premise) so the Silverdale tasting will be at Monica's and the Port Orchard tasting will be at Puget Sound Wine Cellars. It will be tons of fun for all types of wine drinkers!

I am extremely excited to have been asked by the Sound Publishing Group to write a local food column for their 'What's Up' section of the area newspapers. I wrote my first column for last week's paper, though it got postponed because the whole section was 4 pages shorter than usual and they had to drop some things. I am really hoping it gets in this time and I would love to hear feedback and suggestions from you! What does local food mean to you and what would you like to know about it? What information would you like to share? What do you wish everyone knew? There is lots of potential here for us to get the word out and the movement going to generate a strong local food network! I will post a link to the article once it does come out and you can get back to me on the rest.

I have been in the mood for beans and rice and that sort of thing, so yesterday I made up a huge pot of lentils and sausages. For our vegetarian/vegan friends all you need to do is use veggie broth and whatever you use for sausage, although they could be left out all together. This is a hearty dish and could be a side dish if you prefer, though I just ate a big bowl of it for breakfast. Please note that for most of the veggies, I just processed them quickly in the food processor so that they pieces were tiny and melted right into the dish. You can finely chop everything by hand if you do not have a food processor.

Makes a smaller pot than what I did:

4 sausages (I used spicy Italian-use what you like)
Olive Oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 TBS tomato paste
3-4 carrots, finely chopped (chop up the greens if you have them on)
2-3 celery, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper
1/2 lb french green puy lentils (or whatever kind you like)
1 1/2 c red wine
chicken broth
1 bunch red chard or your favorite green, torn into manageable pieces
2 cups broccoli, chopped
Italian parsley, chopped

You can leave it like this and it will be fabulous! Or you can sneak in more flavor and veggies that no one will know about like this:
On the same pan roast some cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil; 1-2 bell peppers of any color (whole) and 1 poblano or other spicy chili (whole). Remove them to cool as they are done. Deskin, deseed and destem the peppers and chili, throw it all in the food processor and blend the heck out of it. Stir it in to the pot and no one will know it is there, but they will notice the great flavors, texture and of course the nutrients will pack it up nicely!

Otherwise... brown the sausages in a bit of oil and set aside.
Add a couple of TBS olive oil to the pot and throw in the onions and tomato paste. Cook them on med low, stirring once in awhile to keep from sticking. As they begin to deepen in color toss in the carrots and celery and cook them until they are sweating, about 5 minutes.

When everything is humming happily along in the pot, add in everything from garlic through lentils and stir it up nicely. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to keep everything coated, and then pour in the wine. In the words of Lydia Bastianich: "remember: cooking wine is drinking wine and we never cook with anything that we wouldn't want to be drinking".

Keep it stirring for a minute or so and then pour in enough chicken broth to cover the lentils. Slice up the cooled sausages and put them in along with the chard, broccoli and parsley, and season with a bit more salt and pepper. If you need more liquid to make sure everything is mostly covered, add it now, stir it up, cover and turn it to low heat. If you pureed the extra veggies this where you will add them in.

Let it bubble away for about 20 minutes and then give it a stir. When you put the lid back on don't seal it up, but tilt it off to the side just a bit so there is a small gap. Let it bubble away for anther 20 minutes or so and check it. If the lentils are tender you are good to go... everything else will be cooked just fine. If it needs more time it won't be much more, most of the liquid will be gone and you should check for seasoning, you may want to add salt and pepper to it.

We like to add hot sauce, you could serve it on rice to bulk it up if you don't have the meat in it and this will keep you very warm this winter! Buon Appetito!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I am not sure I ever thought the year 2010 would be real to me when I was a kid. That seemed so far away! And here we are, 4 days in and we should probably start Christmas shopping so we don't get too far behind! Just kidding...sort of. Did you ring in the new year? To many people I know it is not really a big deal, though I love celebrating the new year even if I do celebrate it on East Coast time. I have been excited to write this because our New Year's Eve celebration dinner was SO FABULOUS that I even got a copy of the menu so I would not forget a thing about it. Mark and I went to Brix 25 because we know we can depend on them for fabulous service and food... and it was even better than we expected!

First, I know you are dying to find out how the wine was. Mark's Uncle Johnny gave us a bottle of wine for Christmas: Siskiyou Vineyards (Oregon) 1987 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. (Siskiyou Vineyards is now Bear Creek Winery) and we had no idea how it had cellared all these years. We got to the restaurant and were greeted by manager Jason Winniford who was on crutches and sporting a cast boot! I was feeling for him for sure since my ankle has still not fully recovered from that fateful fall in the kitchen-but I digress. Jason took our bottle and brought a decanter for it. As he peeled away the outer layer to reveal the cork, it did not look promising. The cork was soft and there was quite a bit of 'crud' that was crumbling off it. He was very careful in opening the bottle and did a perfect job of not getting any cork or crud into the wine. He decanted and then poured...and we sniffed. So far so good... swirling and letting it open and sniffed again: It smelled great! I took a tentative slurp and it was glorious! Jason shared a glass with us and this wine really was a very good wine. As it opened and blossomed throughout the evening we went from plums to prunes, molasses, tobacco and a little spice. It went nicely with a few of our courses and it was a marriage made in heaven with the beef.

They start every guest with a glass of sparkling wine and that is only the beginning of the great service they offer at Brix. Next comes some fresh bread and 2 compound butters that change nightly (I think). Ours was a black pepper butter (YUM!) and a marsala butter, which had a hint of sweetness to it. This is the only restaurant where I actually put butter on my bread! After all, if they are going to focus on details so well as to personalize their butters, I am going to appreciate that. As Mark and I perused the main menu I saw sturgeon and knew I was in for a treat. It is my favorite swimming fish, after all! Then Mark said-rather tentatively- that I should look at the fresh sheet. There were 2 special menus: A 4-course New Year's Eve Menu and a 5-course Old Year's Night Menu. (Each course was offered with a perfectly paired wine, which would have been great but we had Uncle Johnnie's wine and did not need 11 more glasses.) We decided to share those 2 menus and we did not regret one single thing..unless of course you count wanting more oysters as a regret.

The first course was the Grilled Romaine Caesar (which is on their regular menu and remains my favorite salad ever!) and an Apple & Endive Salad with apple cider dressing, Rogue Creamery (Oregon) Blue Cheese, & toasted pecans. Luckily Mark loved that one even more than I did so I got a bit more than my fair share of the grilled romaine. Yay!

Next came the broiled oysters that had a touch of sweet and a touch of acid, both from a sabayon (fancy for foam) of preserved lemons, and dropped down on them was some caviar. Divine! We really did want more...though we by no means left hungry!

The next course was a Seafood Bisque with butter poached lobster, jeweled yam gratin, and a buttermilk foam. It was rich and velvety and truly lovely. We also got the Japanese Braised Pork Belly (I forgot to ask what made it Japanese) with a drizzle of mulled berries and molasses, and a drop of dijon. This pork belly was so tender and supremely cooked that I wanted to run back and kiss Chef Lyman! It melted in my mouth and the cuts were carefully chosen and had a fantastic meat-to-fat ratio.. I have never had pork belly done better than this. It brought out beautifully a smokiness, and certainly the molasses, I was tasting in the wine.

The 'main' courses were Grass Fed Filet Mignon, cooked perfectly medium rare, and served with a caramelized onion bread pudding, baby carrots and green peppercorn 'jus'. A bite of this beef with a sip of the wine and our tastebuds were transported! Then I tasted the Oven Poached Black Cod. The fish was poached in white wine with capers, dill and shallots, and served over a bed of kale, which topped lemon risotto, and the whole thing was topped with a buerre blanc. Now I have to admit I was not overly excited about having boring ol' cod with a too-rich butter sauce. I knew it would be good, you know, just fine for sure. HA! How I underestimated the talents of this kitchen! First of all the cod was as tender as butter and the flavors were full and beautiful! Then I tasted the lemon risotto, which you know I was skeptical of since I make a mean risotto...and the bright lemon flavor floored me! The rice was creamy and perfectly cooked, which is so hard to do in a restaurant! Ok so all aspects were superb until I tasted them together: buttery (and NOT too rich!) sauce, tender fresh fish with a salty tang of capers, a fresh herbiness of dill, a sweetness from the wine, shallots & rice, and then the burst of lemon combined to make it SUBLIME! I will rethink my attitude towards black cod, thank you Chef Lyman!

We were quite sated at this point and with dessert still to come we needed a moment. We had taken our time through these courses and 2 hours later we were just finishing up. Yes, I asked for more bread so we could sop up the sauce...I am always willing to forgo class when the food is that good! Be warned if you are dining with me! Mark did it too...

We enjoyed their locally roasted coffee and then our lovely and talented waitress, Holly, brought out our desserts. Mark had asked her to bring the recommended wine pairings with this course, so we enjoyed: Whipped White Chocolate Mousse with cinnamon poached pear and fresh berries, which was paired with 2007 Nobility Late Harvest Riesling. The other dessert that I ate way too much of was: Valrhona Chocolate 'Snickers'-a de-constructed dish of house-made chocolate/almond nougat, hazelnut semi freddo (sort of like an ice cream) and crispy salted caramel, which was presented in sheets (like gelatin sheets, only way better!) and this was served with Churchill's 20 Year Tawny. Oh. My.

We savored each course, lingering and enjoying every bit of it. We made reservations for Valentine's weekend on the way out. This particular location has been our favorite restaurant since we moved here 12 years ago. First it was an Italian style restaurant called Marco's, then it was Brix 25 under different owners than it is currently, and now Katie Doherty & Chef Thad Lyman have improved it even more. Keeping the manager was brilliant, and (as I know all too well) not changing too much about the menu, though improving it with their own twists is a great business plan! And their menu, much like ours, changes with the seasons and available foods, and that gives them a much greater creative license than a restaurant with a set menu that never changes. Fantastic service and fabulous food will win me over every time! Exceeding my expectations will keep me coming back and of course I will blab about it all over town so that you will go there, too! They are the best restaurant in Gig Harbor and one of the best restaurants ANYWHERE. They are world class and we are lucky to have them so close!

Ok, ok, I will stop blathering, I think it was revisiting the menu that got me going. Now it is back to earth! For New Year's Day both sets of parents came over and we made our Halusky (my family's tradition) and Mark's mom brought their family's tradition of sweet rolls to go with it. We had a really wonderful afternoon of visiting, and Mark finally got to show his parents ALL the Italy pictures (it took awhile) and we got almost all the holiday decorations put away. Or rather, Mark got them put away. It's a nice deal: I put it out and he puts it away. On Saturday we went to see the Sherlock Holmes movie and I remembered that I hate the seats at the Gig Harbor Uptown Theater. It's a great theater with great sound and all that goes with being new, but the seats force you to sit back, which cuts off circulation in my legs and bothered my already sore (from coughing last week) neck. I prefer the rocking style seats where you can sit back if you want to, or sit up straight which I always prefer unless my legs can be up, too. How whiney is that! Sheesh!

We are gearing up for the week and I think that this Friday/Saturday will be the debut of our biscuits and gravy for the morning! Then next week we will have Chicken & Dumplings for our Monthly Comfort Classic Meal. Farm fresh chickens and veggies, how can that be anything but fabulous?! We are also focusing our soup & salad specials (as always) towards wholesome, healthy options for those who are renewing their commitment to healthy eating, and we are even going to have some smaller cookies and 'better' dessert choices offered this month to help folks get on track. We are nothing if not supportive of our community!

I saw my favorite tv chef (Anne Burrell) do an interesting cauliflower ragu and so I am going to present that to you for this week's recipe, though I am going things a bit differently than she did. This is a great thing to eat on it's own, with some polenta, on some pasta, or as a side dish. It is wintery and warm and quite easy to make, so go ahead and make it!

Cauliflower Ragu

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
Kosher salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes (always buy whole tomatoes-I prefer San Marzano) crushed by hand or run through a food mill.
Water or broth (chicken or veg, your preference)
1 large head cauliflower, divided into bite-sized florets
1 lemon, zested
1/4 cup slivered Gaeta or kalamata olives
1/4 cup sliced caperberries, cut into thin rounds (or more olives if you can't find the caper berries, which are near the olives in the grocery store)
A good bunch of Italian Parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350

Coat a large saucepan with olive oil. Add the onions and bring to a medium heat. Add a generous pinch of salt and a small pinch of crushed red pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the onions look wilted and cooked but do not have any color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and 3/4 of a can of water (or broth), and season with salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste, it should taste good.

Toss the cauliflower with olive oil, salt & pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put into preheated oven. Turn after 20 minutes and let it roast another 15 before checking. When done it should be really soft with some caramelization on the outside. Add the cooked cauliflower & parsley to the tomato mixture. Cook the cauliflower in the tomato sauce until the cauliflower has completely broken up and the sauce clings to the cauliflower, about 20 to 30 minutes. Taste to see if the seasoning needs to be adjusted. Stir in the lemon zest, olives and caperberries.

Enjoy!!!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Did you have a nice Christmas? I always wonder about folks who do not celebrate the holiday. Is it enjoyable down time? Or annoying because you cannot get anything done since the majority of people are off for at least a couple of days if not more. I know that trying to get business accomplished on Christmas Eve was difficult, as I made calls in between getting orders out, I found that almost everyone else was already out of their offices. We did enjoy some nice family time: Christmas Eve at our house with my family, which was perfect because we were exhausted! So we got home and they already had the music on, candles lit, food out and wine opened. Aaaahhh... that was so nice! We got into our pj's and just enjoyed the evening and then when everyone left we crawled into bed. No driving home, or packing anything up... mom and dad even did a bunch of clean up and all we had to do was put some food away and turn out the lights. The rest was attended to later. The next morning we slept in until 6:45! It was fabulous to sleep in and then lounge in bed. Santa came so we checked out our stockings and then got ready to spend the day at the Downen's.

Breakfast, presents, lounging around and visiting, then dinner and home by 7. So nice to get into bed and read! My favorite gift: A photo book of our Italy trip that my mom created online, using Mark's amazing photos. You must come to the cafe and see this! He is a wonderful photographer and mom put together a fantastic rendition of our Food & Wine Tour... it took our breath away. It is really beautiful and I will have it to share with everyone at the cafe.

Saturday was a free day so I read A LOT. Sunday Mark had to go in to work for a few hours to prep up for Monday. It is always a big job when we have more than one day off because we give all the food that won't make it (bread, cookies, sliced veg, soup, salad, etc...) to the homeless outreach program that we work with. So when we go in on Monday we have to start completely over from scratch from nothing, and there is quite a bit of prep work involved. I cleaned up the house and did a little work on the computer-usually a big no on Sunday, but again there is too much catchup to do if I don't at least clean up the emails. I did not have to cook at all over the weekend because we had lots of leftovers! From Christmas Eve we had smoked salmon, cheeses, crackers, grilled radicchio, pasta, braised chicken, roasted beef, bbq'd turkey (dad does it best!), and lots more. No one even noticed that we forgot to bring Christmas cookies home for the family! Christmas day leftovers included steak and turkey and we just ate off the leftovers all weekend.

Our catering went really well on Wednesday and Thursday, and that always makes me so very happy. All the special orders got out and we only screwed up one order (Mark dropped the Key Lime Pie...That Sucked!) and they were exceedingly nice and understanding and accepted the caramel macadamia nut tart that we offered in lieu of the pie. Whew! The tart is worth more than twice the pie, but if I didn't get what I ordered and had counted on, I might still be disappointed at first. Everything worked out and Erin got to her plane on time (as far as I know!) after coming in to bake early, and we all got home safe and sound. I hope you did, as well.

Next up: New Year's Eve! It has always been one of my top favorite holidays and even though I can no longer make it up until Pacific Coast midnight (I celebrate East Coast New Year's Eve!) I still love it. I like to have a special meal with great wine to celebrate the end of the year, and to welcome in the new one. I love the feeling of a fresh new year and this year we want to stay close to home, so we saved up and are going to enjoy the FABULOUS service and food of Brix 25 in Gig Harbor. Unfortunately I waited too long to get a reservation so we have to be there at 5:30. We can draw it out nicely, but that is a bit early even for me. It will be worth it though, and I can hardly wait! We wanted to invite friends and family over to watch the Olalla Polar Bear Jump, but we cannot find out when it will be. High tide is usually the time, and that is at 0635, so I don't think anyone will want to come watch at that hour! It is pretty funny to watch all those crazy people jump into the cold Puget Sound! Brr... they also blast a stupid cannon that I hate (yes, it is really an actual cannon!) so I won't be sad at all to miss that this year if they don't do the jump.

I added a new appetizer to our catering menu based on something I learned from Rima in Florence. I finally found the cherry peppers, although they are already cleaned and pickled, which actually makes my life much easier! I made a tuna mousse by adding our totally fabulous sardines in lemon (everyone who says they hate sardines LOVES these!), some capers, some olive oil... and stuffed the little peppers (which are mostly sweet with just a bit of a kick) and oh man are they good! It is a great addition to our party foods and I can't wait to add them to someone's party. We will serve then up at our Winter Blahs party in January so you all can sample them along with some of our other goodies.

There are lots and lots of new year food traditions around the world, and when I was a little girl the men made our New Year's Day celebration meal. It was called Halusky and if you click that link you can see my blog post about it from last January. I will make my version of halusky again this year because I just plain love to eat it!

Beans and rice are a very traditional dish to serve for good luck at the new year so here is a recipe for you. It uses dried beans, though you can easily use canned if you like, just be sure to rinse them really well so you get the tinny can taste off of them.

1 pound dried red beans, rinsed and sorted over
3 tablespoons bacon grease or olive oil
1/4 cup chopped tasso, or chopped ham
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/2 pound smoked sausage, split in half lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound smoked ham hocks, scored
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
10 cups chicken stock, or water
4 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup chopped green onions, garnish
Directions
Place the beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight at room temperature. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the bacon grease or oil over medium-high heat. Add the tasso and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the onions, celery and bell peppers to the grease in the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves, parsley, thyme, sausage, and ham hocks, and cook, stirring, to brown the sausage and ham hocks, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and stock or water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2 hours. (Should the beans become too thick and dry, add more water, about 1/4 cup at a time.)

Remove from the heat and with the back of a heavy spoon, mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pot. Continue to cook until the beans are tender and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and remove the bay leaves.

Serve over rice and garnish with green onions. Serve with some hot sauce for people like me who like it spicy!!

Good luck in the new year!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

It's a foggy morning and the quiet morning belies the panic in Erin's eyes. Erin is our morning baker and she had a longer than usual day yesterday. She was here for close to 12 hours helping Mark with special orders and other prep. Mark worked close to 17 hours yesterday so he could finish up the Christmas cookies and Erin was a big help taking care of other things. So Erin was tired and this morning she slept in. Sharon arrived at the cafe close to 6 this morning and the thing we have dreaded since we opened had happened: the baker over slept. Sharon called me and Mark just happened to be on his way out to get back here when I hollered out to him to wait a second. I told him that Erin was not there, so he shot out the door saying 'see ya later'.

I called Erin and she woke up grabbing the phone already apologizing. I said to her calmly 'it's ok, just go now, as fast as you can, and be safe'. I shut down my computer and hit the shower (we will be here until 9 or so tonight, I HAD to take a shower!) and realized that I was not panicked, and neither was Mark when I spoke to him a few minutes after he left. This was simply a thing that we had to adjust to and so be it. We knew what needed to be done and luckily there were no special orders first thing, so it would all get out when it got out. I got here and Erin had beat me, thank goodness. You should have seen the look in her eyes... so disappointed and still panicky, even verging on teary. I gave her a hug, didn't say anything and just got to work. They had worked so efficiently and quickly that there was not much for me to help with (though there will be when the bread has risen) so I am here to blog about it. We have already started teasing her about it (oh yes, there will be merciless teasing!) and she is relaxing and realizing that even when her idea of the worst happened, it wasn't exactly a crisis.

So we are all here settling in to serve dinner for 25 upstairs tonight, among tons of other special orders. The group upstairs is having a choice of 4 entrees: Braised Chicken w/Almonds & Mushrooms; locally smoked wild coho salmon & crab in cream sauce over fresh taglietelle pasta; grass fed beef tenderloin roast from Oregon Country, crusted in pink peppercorns; and for the littlest kids fresh raviolis with butter and parmesan. There will be roasted veggies, mashed or roasted potatoes, dinner rolls, salads, and of course dessert as well. My mom and sister and Lori are coming to help with service (thank you!!!) so Mark and I will be exhausted and yet quite satisfied by the end of the day. Tomorrow we have another beef tenderloin dinner for 10, and lots and lots of special order quiche and things. I had to clean, trim and tie those tenderloins and even though I have not had to do that in so detailed a way (in a restaurant) in over 20 years, I did a beautiful job! These are some beautiful cuts of beef.

This holiday season has been a billion times better for us than last year because the snow forced so many cancellations that we never recovered. Our customers are the best in the world and they have truly rallied around us this season! We can tell that they are choosing to support us and I am grateful every moment of each day lately. Every time someone walks through that door I can't help but grin. Thank you thank you thank you is all I can think!

Last Saturday Mark and I went to the Seattle Symphony show of 'Messiah' with my parents and we had a wonderful time! After the show we drove around and stopped in Tacoma for dinner at il Trattoria di Merende and had a fabulous meal. 'Merende' literally translates as 'snacks', and in this case they mean it as it relates to small plates. They have lots of shareable options and boy did we ever share! We tried the risotto and it is the best restaurant risotto I have had in the states, outside of New York City. Most places disappoint me with their risotto and Merende absolutely did not. We also tried the broccolini which had been put on the grill and it may have been everyone's favorite thing. Simply seasoned with olive oil, salt and red chili flakes, the grill gave it fantastic flavor. I had the bolognese and I LOVED it! We all loved our food and we enjoyed some wine and I have to say that they have some of the best Italian food around. And you all know I have very high standards for Italian food!

The next day we headed to Bellevue to the home of Mark's Aunt Dee & Uncle Johnny. It was the annual extended family gift exchange: Mark's mom and her sister and all of their families were there. Someone brought in some Cougar Gold cheese and it is delicious! Sharp and tangy, a bit crumbly with a great salty bite... we were all eating it up quickly. It was a really fun day catching up with the cousins (we missed it last year because of the snow!) and even though Mark and I got there an hour early (we thought it started at one...oops!) it went by really quickly! The annual pictures were snapped and we were all merrily on our way. Dee and Johnny have always given us wonderful gifts for as long as we have known them, and this year was certainly no exception. Johnny has collected wine over the years, buying one to drink and one to cellar for his retirement years. Now that he is retired, fate has conspired against him and he is unable to drink the wine that he so lovingly cellared. (He says 'let that be a lesson for you'!) They honored us with the gift of a bottle of French Cabernet from 1987! Can you believe that?? We were so surprised and thrilled! This will be the most special bottle of wine we have ever had and I have a specific plan for it, with a toast to Johnny being the first part of it! I will let you know how it turns out.

So I need to get busy and start prepping for the dinners tonight and tomorrow. I hope we get some great New Year's Eve parties to do as well, since that is my favorite cooking to do. For the recipe this week I will tell you how to cook the beef tenderloin, in case you have one in your fridge as well. It is so easy, and I think it showcases this mildly flavored cut beautifully. It is based on about a 5 lb tenderloin, already trimmed and tied. (You want it tied with the small end tucked under, so that it cooks evenly without charring any part of it.)

olive oil
salt
peppercorns (a medley of colors is nice; I use just pink, though white and black could easily be thrown into that mix)

Pull the tenderloin out 2 hours before you will cook it, so it can gently come up to room temperature.

Lay out the beef on an oversized piece of plastic wrap. Rub it all over with the olive oil.
Sprinkle salt on all sides and then press in the peppercorns. Pull up on the sides of the plastic wrap to help pick up all the dropped spices, and be sure they get pressed into all sides of the beef, even the bottom.

Lay the beef on a cooking rack, on top of a baking sheet and set aside until time to cook.

Preheat the oven to 350 (325 convect) and when it is ready place the beef in the center of the oven. Turn it at 20 minutes. It may cook upwards of 40 minutes, though you should start checking the temperature at 30. If you are eating a cut this expensive, I am assuming you will not cook it past medium rare-medium, and therefore you want the internal temperature to be around 125.

Pull it out, tent some foil over it, and let it rest for about 30 minutes (20 minimum) before you slice it.

We like to slice it about finger width, and then lay it all out on a bed of arugula, surrounded by tomato slices or cherry tomatoes. We offer a little horseradish on the side, and I do even that with trepidition. This cut of meat is not the most flavorful, and you could even sear it all around before baking it to get a bit more flavor, though I think this presentation is perfect. Tender and juicy and perfectly cooked; you can't go wrong.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

I am so happy our real winter is back! I know it is not the popular view: I love the rain for many reasons. It is cold but not too cold, and when I walk out the door I smell the trees, the sea, a whisper of smoke from someone's fireplace... I can smell the place we live and I love that! I also love the sound of the rain and the only thing I don't love is the cold rain hitting my head and face. (Sidenote: We really need a breezeway from the back door to the walk-in door at work, if anyone has some spare time and that sort of talent!) Plus, when we do have one of those gorgeous, sunny and cold days, I appreciate the beauty of it even more. This time of year I want stews and soups and one-pot dishes like risotto more than anything. Comforting, warm, simple and hearty.

Last Saturday was two of my favorite holiday traditions: Story time with Mrs. Claus at the cafe (Mrs. Claus is phenomenal!) and the Gig Harbor Lighted Boat Parade. For the past few years we have been invited to watch from the yacht club at Arabella's Landing. We all bring food for a potluck, some wine to share, and we can watch from the warmth inside, or step out onto the deck for a chillier, albeit livelier view. It is the only non-family holiday party that we are always invited to and we thoroughly enjoy! I was disappointed though because we never did see a real Santa out there. I don't think they had one this year, because I waited out there in the freezing cold and he never went by. I was very pouty about it! I admit to being a Santaphile (did I make that word up?) and ever since he stopped his route in Olalla every year I really miss him! sigh.

Ok so I have to sidetrack here and ask if you have seen the Travel Channel show "Meet the Natives"? It is about 5 tribesmen from a remote South Pacific island called Tanna. They are traditional hunters and farmers, wearing grass skirts and penis sheaths. Per the show: "They have no electricity or TV, and a very limited idea of the world beyond their tiny island until now." ... I guess someone with lots of money and time convinced them to come to the US and stay with different people across the nation. Mark and I stumbled across it and we could not stop watching. It is tabloid television, to be sure, and yet these men have a mission to learn about the state of our nation, and they truly want to help us find a better way of life. They speak of peace and mutual care. They think it is odd when in Peoria the food for Thanksgiving comes from cans. They look at the canned yams and whisper 'does she know this food has no life?' They are shocked to find a homeless man in Central Park, and do not understand why the rest of us do not build him a house. That is what they would do on their island, after all. What a ridiculous notion to go homeless when there are plenty of people who can help you out. If everyone would work together and respect each other, treating each other at least as well as we treat our pets, the world would be a more peaceful and more advanced place. I think they consider themselves more emotionally and spiritually advanced than we are in general, because we refuse to see how easy it is to take care of each other and set aside, or even celebrate, differences. Hmm. I have heard some say that their way of life would be Socialism. I disagree. The definition of Socialism is generally having to do with economics and government, while the definition of Democracy generally has more to do with power coming from the citizens (or our elected officials) and majority rule. So actually I think they are a better example of Democracy than we are at times. If you watch the show, focus on the tribesmen and their questions, as well as their answers. It is an interesting insight into their culture, as well as our own.

I am going in this morning and I have a couple of new things I want to make-hopefully I have time to get those recipes in! I will 'twitter' when we put them out so you can get them fresh (hint: one project is soft pretzels!) Next Saturday we are joining my parents at Benaroya to see Messiah, which I have wanted to see there for years so I am very excited! After the show we will probably go get some great Italian at Via Tribunali (I have yet to get there and hear so much about it!) or Trattoria Merende and I can't wait to report back about that food! On Sunday we have Mark's extended family (maternal side) Christmas party, and then on to the holiday! So fast! We have the tree up and even decorations out, though I did only about half of what I used to do. We don't have the time or the energy to set it up OR take it down these days. I know I will get back to my Holiday House some day, where I clear out almost every room and decorate with Christmas, Hanukkah and Solstice decor. It is fun, and it takes a lot of time! Most of my Santas are out, and they are my favorites. Do you have a favorite holiday decoration? I would love to hear about it or see it!

So what recipe would you like this week? How about a comforting breakfast dish that you can actually mix up the night before, combine in the morning and bake to keep it super simple. It will work for guests as well as a warm weekday breakfast. Here you go:

BAKED OATMEAL

4 cups rolled oats
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup chopped almonds
2/3 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit
2 apples, chopped
3 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 TBS canola
4 TBS honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 and butter an 8 inch baking dish.

Mix together oats, baking powder and salt. Stir in nuts, fruit and apple (you can do this the night before and set it aside)

In a separate bowl pour in milk, whisk in eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey and cinnamon. (you can do this the night before and put it in the fridge.)

The next morning, or whenever you are ready to cook the dish: Combine dry ingredients with wet and stir together. Poor into the baking dish.

Bake until liquid is absorbed and top is golden brown (about 45-1hr?) Serve warm in bowls.

Maybe we will offer this at the cafe... what do you think?

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

As you all know, last week 4 Lakewood police officers were ambushed and executed by, for lack of a better word, a psychopath. We have all seen the anguish of the community and the incomprehensible grief of the families. We have seen the police family rally and encase the families and community in love and support. We have even heard about the trauma of the employees and other customers who were at the Forza Coffee Co that morning. What we have not seen is the communications staff who was behind the scenes of this event. I imagine this so clearly, after having done that job for 15 years in King County. There was at least one 9-1-1 operator who took a call about the shootings while it was happening. She probably stood up and called out to the dispatcher to check on her officers who were at Forza just before she wrote the call into the system. Adrenaline was kicking in, though denial was at the forefront to begin with. The dispatcher probably called for her officers on the air. I am sure the radio silence made her blood run cold with terror. All she could do was stare at the radio and try willing them to answer; willing backup to GET THERE NOW and say it was ok. Willing someone, or something, to fix this and let it not be true. Not on her watch. Not 4 of them. She had to remain calm and professional so that she could reassure the other officers out there that she was there for them. These are the stories we will not hear and I can only hope and pray that those call receivers and dispatchers are getting as much help and support from admin as they can possibly stand.

Mark and I were honored to be offered a ride in the funeral procession by a King County detective who I used to work with and remain friends with. It felt important to be able to show our support and quietly honor all those involved in This Inconceivable Loss. This was not my first police funeral procession, though it was certainly the biggest. The biggest any of us have ever heard of. We rode in honor of the fallen, their families, and certainly I rode to honor the valor of those communications specialists who go to work every day hoping for the best. You can see some pictures that Mark took, including car shields from many of the different agencies there, though I bet he didn't even get half of them. Some of my friends who are still on the job went down to the Pierce County communications center and worked for the call receivers and dispatchers so they could attend the services. (Sidenote: When I learned they were doing that, it was the only time since I quit 5 years ago that I actually wished I was still certified so that I could help.) Law enforcement communications specialists go in each day to be there for the community and to be there for the cops who need them, whether they know it or not. In my experience there is no where near the level of administrative support for communications, as there is for the officers, even though they are a part of every call. Yet they continue on. It is a call to duty no less strong than any other, and we are very lucky that they show up to fulfill that call every day. May blessings shower upon every one of them, and may they never know the terror of that radio silence when they call one of their units.

Mark and I did not go in to the funeral, as we knew space was limited and we did not want to take up 2 seats that could go to officers who traveled across the country to be there. Instead, we hopped on the LINK train with the intention of catching a bus back to the park and ride where we left our car. We ended up near the Pacific Grill and we went in to enjoy a happy hour. We could see the King County helicopter circling the Tacoma Dome and it somehow felt right to stay nearby during the service. We were able to relax a little and get distracted by some fabulous food while we processed the day's emotions. Pacific Grill has a phenomenal happy hour (as do a few of the downtown Tacoma restaurants) as nearly everything on their extensive bar menu is 50% off, and they have drink specials as well.

What we had was all really great, though we did not have much. Gorgonzola tater tots are awesome! I loved them more than Mark did and he thinks it is because they were hush-puppy like, and I love those. I think it was the gorgonzola sauce that got me. We shared the cheeseburger sliders-which sound so simple and yet were the best little burgers I have ever had. Remember, I don't love beef unless it is grass fed and even then only in small amounts. Whatever this was it was tender and had excellent flavor. They came with 'fries'... very thinly sliced and heavily seasoned (just the way I LOVE them!) and then tossed with roasted garlic cloves and fried sage and rosemary. Oh man were those awesome! We also shared the Vietnamese "Bahn Mi" pork sandwich and coleslaw. It was the best coleslaw I have ever had and possibly the favorite thing I ate that day. The sandwich was tangy and zingy and flavorful, and just a little messy which is always a good sign. I enjoyed a glass of house red wine which turned out to be something worth looking for in the stores. The waitress said it was 'Gladiator Cabernet Sauvignon' and the only thing I am finding that might be it is Cycles Gladiator. We are going to check out the wine shops to see if they have it as we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

We felt a little better, or at least a little calmer and fortified, after sharing that food, and I know that the comfort comes from both the sharing, and the excellent food. We watched the helicopter make protective circles over the dome, until the bus came to take us out to Purdy, wishing peace upon every soul in and near that arena. When we got home we watched it on the news channels and I cried some more. I hope that as you watched the proceedings you had someone to share your thoughts and emotions with, or at least to hold hands with while you watched. Business was slow all day and I have a feeling many of you were glued to your tv's and radios, showing your support the only way you could. Now it is time for all of us to move forward a little bit and breathe together a sigh of determination. We must be determined to support each other and let pettiness pass. We must be determined to make the best of what we have, and share it whenever we can, with everyone that we can. We must be determined to work through our grievances and to show respect for ourselves, as well as those we come into contact with, even when they annoy us. And when we are not able to resist a burst of anger or frustration, we must be determined to take responsibility for it and do what we can to make it right. We do need each other, and we all need a little help now and then, no matter how much alone time we might cherish.

We are working on lots of catering and special orders this month, which we are abundantly grateful for, as well as some extra goodies that we hope are appealing to all of you as great Hanukkah, Solstice and Christmas gifts. Next month, which is next year by the way, we are going to start a new tradition of once a month offering diner classic comfort meals. Things like chicken and dumplings, corned beef brisket and braised cabbage, lamb shanks, and so on. We will make our own fabulous version of these dishes and offer them as a special until they are gone, then move on to the next item. I am hoping the comfort of 'down home goodness' will work its magic and help bring us together in ways that only great food can. We want to be a cornerstone for our community and in feeding and nourishing your bodies, we hope to be feeding and nourishing your hearts and minds, as well.

It has been so icy cold outside that soup seems to be the recipe I should share this week. I have had a lovely head cold and so I am thinking something to boost our immune systems would be nice. How about some Spanish spicy garlic soup? mmmm...

Sopa da Ajo (about 10 servings)

olive oil
10 garlic cloves
1 large onion, chopped
10 slices of day old, peasant style bread (1/4 inch thick) OR even better would be our croutons
2 TBS smoked paprika (I use the piquant, or spicier version)
12 cups water or broth (at home I use chicken broth; at the cafe I would use our veg broth)
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted in a pan and then crushed in a spice grinder (or 1/2 tsp ground cumin)
salt & pepper
chopped parsley
1 egg per serving if you want to do this part

Put a good amount of oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium high. Drop in the garlic cloves and saute, stirring frequently, until they are a lovely, golden brown. Keep them moving so they do not burn or they will get bitter. They will be soft and puffy and a rich golden color, then you will remove them with a slotted spoon and set them aside.

If you are using bread lay in the slices and toast them on both sides in the oil. Left them out and set them aside.

Add a little oil if you need to and get it hot, then drop in the onions and saute them until they begin to caramelize. Reduce the heat a bit so you can take them as far as you like, of course the more you cook them the sweeter they will get.

Stir in the paprika, which will absorb the oil and become sort of a paste. Pour in the water or broth, and add the cumin. Crush the garlic cloves with a fork and add them to the soup. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the parsley.

Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for about 8-10 minutes total.

You can stop here and serve the soup with the bread placed in each bowl, or garnish with the croutons instead. This is a very brothy, comforting soup, a little sweet from the onions and garlic, and a little spice from the paprika and cumin.
OR
You can do the egg thing. There are a few different ways to do this, you get to choose. You can dish the soup into oven proof bowls, then break an egg into each bowl. Place the bread or croutons over the top (gently so as not to break the egg) and bake in the oven for about 4 minutes, until the egg is set.

You can use the casserole you cooked the soup in and 'poach' the eggs in the soup on the stove top.

You can use the casserole and place one egg per person on top, then top it all with the bread/croutons, and bake it all at once in the oven for about 4 minutes until the eggs are set.
No matter which of those methods you use the egg yolk should be soft, so as to blend with the soup when it is stirred in.

You can beat the eggs (use 1 egg for every 2 servings) and cover the top of the soup with them, then place it under the broiler until it is set.

Any of these ways would be super yummy and you can make this soup for me any time!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Can you believe Thanksgiving was just last week? Truly, it seems like a long time ago. So much has happened in our region, and in our neighborhood, and my little mind has been whirling and twirling like crazy. There are good ideas coming out of there so stay tuned! I hope you all had plenty of good food to eat on your holiday and I hope that at least one thing you ate this past week was locally produced. You know me, I cannot-or perhaps will not- get off that Think Local First soapbox. I am tenacious when I feel something is this important and just!

We had a wonderful time with Mark's family; we do not get to see them as often as we would like to. You may be as shocked as I was to find out that our nephew Travis has grown about 3 inches and 1.5 shoe sizes since he left us for home in August! His voice is deeper and he has been running cross country so he is long and lean. I think this cross country is really good for him! He is a quiet kid and now is more relaxed... it seems that he has gained some self confidence, or maybe just a certain amount of comfort in his own skin. Do you remember 15 years old? It was pretty uncomfortable! So we enjoyed him even more than usual, if that is even possible. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he comes back to work with us again next year, though he will be driving and I do not look forward to the year that he decides to get a job closer to home. Of course we will give him a great reference, even if we do miss him like crazy!

Erin's birthday dinner at Indochine was as good as always, and we were glad she asked us to join her! If you go to Tacoma, that is definitely a good place to go. After dinner we walked with her and her dad across the Chihuly bridge, which neither of them had ever seen, and that is a fantastic way to end an evening! If you haven't been to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma you are missing out on some amazing art. The outdoor exhibits are always up and always free, and the Dale Chihuly glass art that lines and covers the bridge over the freeway is absolutely beautiful. I would love a ceiling like that in my bedroom! Very often when I have trouble quieting my mind for sleep I imagine/remember snorkeling in Mexico. I envision the colors and textures as clearly as I can, focusing on details, so my mind can stop and relax. A ceiling like that would be wonderful to relax to. Now you know what to get me for Christmas! and please don't forget the backlighting, it is crucial to the experience!

So this Saturday there is a great event called Stockings For A Cause in Silverdale, at Judy's Junk & Java, from 2-5 pm. Our beloved coffee roasters, Paul & Dean, own this lovely vintage items store, and it is right next door to Lisa Stirrett's Art Glass Studio. This silent auction and festive event has proceeds going directly to benefit families and individuals living with HIV AIDS in Kitsap County. Come on out and join us for a fabulous cup of coffee and some fundraising fun!

Then boom we are into the Hanukkah, Solstice and Christmas season! Decorated cookies, red envelope prizes, specialized goodies, gifts and our now famous chocolate dessert wine will all be in full swing next week! Let's hope the weather stays mild and even beautiful like it has been so we can all get out and enjoy our community this season. Art Walk is next Friday and we are combining that with the Old Town Ladies Night so it should be very festive and fun. Then we have Mrs Claus, lots of catering going on and Christmas is 3 weeks away. Sheesh! I will go into those things more next week, this is just a teaser.

I had a long and arduous day today (read: I had to think about numbers a lot so I am tired and would love a glass of wine!) so I will bid you adieu a bit early. However, I know you must have frozen your Washington grown turkey carcass and are wondering what you should do with it now. Here is what I did to make a great broth that I have yet to strain and get into the freezer:

Pulled out the giant Le Creuset stock pot/dutch oven that I bought on ebay a few years ago for a steal!!

Broke up the turkey carcass and threw that in with a chicken carcass I had in the freezer as well.

Layered in a bit of olive oil, layed out some onions (with skins on) on their flat sides in the olive oil, then threw in some: peeled carrots, a few ribs of celery, a few bay leaves, a handful of pepper corns, a bundle of thyme, a scant handful of salt, a bunch of Italian parsley, about 20 cloves of garlic with the skins on, a bit of freshly grated nutmeg, and a round of panchetta that was loitering in the freezer and would add some body to the broth.

I turned up the burner and let the olive oil get hot and the onions start to sizzle a little bit.

I covered the whole lot with water, put the lid on and lit the fire on high. When it came to a boil I turned it down, tilted the lid and let her rock and roll for about 4 hours.

Then I strained out the solids, pressing on them to get out all the good stuff, and strained the broth again just to be sure. I put it in the fridge and it is now awaiting a nice skimming of the fat that I will do with some cheese cloth over a 'spider' (a Japanese strainer with a long, bamboo handle) to be sure to get the icky stuff out. Then I will freeze it in quart containers to use in risotto and soups for the next few months. YUM.

Notice I said a scant handful of salt. I like to salt things pretty well and I use good salt, though every dish calls for a different amount. Therefore I just gave it a nudge and will salt each dish appropriately as I use the broth up. It is difficult to take back a heavy dose of salt and usually even if you can adjust it the balance of other flavors is thrown off irreversibly. So go easy on the salt, just give the broth a taste of it, so it can see it's own great potential!

Now. What will you do with your broth? Let me know if you want ideas!

Here we are at the cafe, Erin, Mark and I. We have already worked 6 hours and Mark and I only have 7 1/2 left before we close up for the weekend. I love the mornings here, when folks trickle in and pick up lots of yummy treats for the day, or just grab their latte for the road. I love that we are the first stop of the morning for a few special people and we get to start their day off nicely! While we normally go out of town and escape during this holiday weekend (it is, after all, the longest stretch of time off we all get here) this year I have extra projects to do. Since we are staying home I will work part of Thursday & most of Friday, and hopefully be able to have all of Saturday & Sunday off. That would be really nice! We will go to Mark's mom and dad's for Thanksgiving dinner and it is always nice and relaxing over there. I always end up sitting in a chair with my feet up just enjoying the company and down time.

We did not get nearly as many pre-orders this year as we have in past years. I am not sure what this signifies, though that fact, combined with sales being down 14% and costs of goods being up 13%, we are worried. Nonetheless we are forging on and still baking all the extra rolls, pies and cinnamon bread that we usually do in hopes of a big walk in traffic day. I have a big plan perking around in my head that I will announce next month, and the my FABULOUS staff team is rallying and coming up with some great ideas of their own, and we are going to turn this thing around. Until then, we will hang on tight and keep on trying! December is our 'No Peeking' red envelope giveaway, where we give out 1000 envelopes, each containing a secret prize, that the bearer may not open until s/he returns in January. Each envelope gets opened in front of us and we award the bearer the prize right away. It is so much fun! No one can see through the envelopes to try to see their prize before hand, though many have tried. Plus Mrs Claus will visit on the 12th and that is a wonderful family event for the kids.

Last Saturday was our staff meeting and we had so much fun. We always invite our past staffers to join us at the 'after party', and our current team is welcome to stay after the meeting for us to wine and dine them. While us gals take care of business for a couple of hours, Mark makes pizza dough, pizza sauce, cranks up the ovens and gets all the toppings ready for us. When the meeting is over and we have all hugged it out we tromp down the stairs and there is a flurry of activity. The girls go in the kitchen and are all chatting, getting wine glasses out and pouring for each other, getting excited for a fun evening. I am always the last one down and my very most favoritest thing in the world is slightly self indulgent (as all the best things are) and just a quiet moment. As I come through the door into the downstairs dining room I pause and listen. The happy chatter of those I love, all working together and happy to be with one another, is delightful to my ears and heart. It is slightly self indulgent because I know that I have created this loving environment and built this fabulous team, and it is some of the best results of my hard work. From the moment I decided to be a boss it has been my goal to be the kind of boss that I always wanted and never had. I work on it every day, and some days I am more successful than others, and yet every day I have at least a small victory in reaching that goal. Our gals are awesome! (and yes, it is in part because they let me call them 'my girls'! Even though one is slightly older than me...)

We also had a new discovery that has gone over very well. Now mind you I KNOW it sounds disgusting, and it doesn't even look very good. It is called "Chocovine" and the label says it is a blend of 'Dutch Chocolate and Fine French Cabernet Wine'! Gross, right? You shake it up, serve it cold and it would last up to 6 months in the fridge if you could possibly resist drinking it all. It has the alcohol content of wine (14%, so a high alcohol wine) and only costs $12.95 a bottle (or $20 for 2 in a lovely gift box) and it is SO good! We handed out samples at the wine tasting Friday night, all day Saturday, and for a couple of hours on Monday, and all 4 cases are gone. That is how good it is! It tastes like a cross between Kahlua and Bailey's, and at half the price of those bottles how can you go wrong? We have more on order and will get it Friday December 4 and I wish it were going to be sooner because everybody wants more now. It is the oddest wine I have ever carried, though since it is very unique I think it fits our quirky little wine collection. Such great wine and so little time!

Sunday was my first MLS game, at the MLS cup (thanks to Kat who gave us great tickets!!) and it was awesome! Especially since LA went DOWN! We were outside at the peanut stand where the peanuts are far more reasonably priced than inside, and I noticed a familiar package. They had CB's Nuts!! From Kingston! I bought a bag right away and a woman asked me 'what's the difference between those and the others?" I was very happy to tell her that they are roasted in Kitsap County and the best nuts you can eat! She bought a bag too... keepin' it local, baby! I can't wait to go to a Sounders game next season, so anyone who wants to take me to one let me know.

Friday is Erin's birthday and she wants us all to meet at Indochine in Tacoma, which is really not a chore since we LOVE their food. It's her birthday and she gets to eat what she wants on that day for sure! Saturday for fun we could go to the 55th annual Silverdale Christmas Tree Lighting around 5 pm (Santa arrives at 5:45 by police escort (though I think that speaks more to his dignitary status than to any criminal tendencies) and lights the 131 foot tall Douglas Grand Fir. (I have mixed feelings about that... though I don't know where they got it.) Another fun activity this weekend will be the Harrison Foundation's Festival of Trees which runs both Saturday and Sunday. For those of us in the south end there is always WinterFest at Peninsula High School in Purdy. I love that festival and have not gotten there in several years so I may just take a peek this weekend.

What will you do to get into the holiday spirit? Or would you rather not? I enjoy it for the month of December and not before or after, so we don't get burned out on it. I need to go pull the turkey out of the fridge so it can rest at room temp before I cook it. Thanks to Farmer George's meats in Port Orchard we got a 15 lb local bird and it is gonna be good! I will share with you my mashed potatoes method (as it is more a method than a recipe) in case you want to change up your method a bit. Have a wonderful weekend!

A bunch of yukon gold potatoes (It depends on how many you want to feed)
Cut them into chunks and boil them in chicken broth. I use a food mill so I just leave the skins on.

Meanwhile, carmelize an onion or two, and roast a few heads of garlic.
set out a tub of mascarpone cheese so it gets to room temp, as well as some unsalted butter.

When the spuds are done (fork tender) drain them, reserving the liquid for later.

Put them through the food mill (or ricer, or masher, or whatever you use and plop in a good blob of mascarpone and butter (yes, 'plop' and 'blob' are technical terms!) while the potatoes are still hot so the butter and creamy cheese can melt.

Salt the heck out of em, add some pepper, toss in the onions and garlic (you can chop those up more if you want to) and blend it all together. If you need more liquid add in a little of the broth that you set aside earlier. Keep mixing until you have it they way you want it. Eat em up! YUM!

You can use that broth later for your turkey soup, the starchy from the spuds is quite all right.

Ciao for now!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

I am cold this week! I keep hearing everyone bemoaning the 'nasty' weather and everyone seems to be so surprised at how rainy and cold it is. I looked up the averages and our temps are very normal for November. We do have about an inch more rain than average, though I don't think that is so much that we are noticing. What I really think happened is that the combination of the onset of our blustery November weather, combined with a later changing of the clocks, has thrown us off. Personally, I think it is ridiculous to change our clocks and if I could stand Arizona at all I would be tempted to move there so I wouldn't have to do it! It's an outdated and irrelevant practice, and I think we should stop. Pick a time and stay with it! Although I do remember fully enjoying being on graveyard shift when it was time to 'Spring forward'. I hated it extra on graves when we had to 'Fall back', that was never fun.

Last week I picked up some chicken from Shannon Harkness, a local farmer and purveyor of excellent chicken. They are plump and juicy and so flavorful! We just finished the last of our Sunday chicken last night and we can't wait to roast anther one, so thank you, Shannon for taking such good care of us by growing great food! For Thanksgiving we have an order from Farmer George for a locally grown turkey. I tried to find a farmer to go to directly, but no one had any around here. We did order a heritage turkey, like last year, though that one is down by my sister's place in Bingen so my family will get to enjoy that one without us. Fresh-Local Bremerton is now open so we can get local produce, grains, and other items at this great new store! I love that! They will serve their own blend of coffee, soups, sandwiches & other food that they make at their commercial kitchen across the street, and generally just be a wonderful place to gather and enjoy our community. I love that Jean Schanen has forged ahead with this fabulous project! It is so exciting!

On Saturday night we went to dinner in Covington with my 'BFF' and her husband. They took us to Trapper's Sushi: a locally owned place with a modern decor and fantastic fresh sushi. Their menu is simple in that it really is primarily sushi and sashimi, with a few appetizers and I noticed one or two teriyaki style dishes as well, though I really only read the sushi part. Lots of sushi long rolls, and several hand rolls (the cone shaped ones) as well. I got the sushi/sashimi combo plate to share and Mark got a long roll called 'extreme', and it was plenty for the two of us. I liked the snapper and the 'tako' (octopus) the best, though I did not taste any sushi that I didn't love. The best part, of course, was seeing my friend Linda, who I miss so much that it hurts sometimes! It wasn't enough time and we didn't get a chance to really dig in and talk as much as I would have liked, so next time we get together (it won't be soon enough) I will push for just the two of us to get together, I think. I miss my girl time with her!

We started gearing up for a busy week on Tuesday, when Italian wine maker Antonio Sanguineti came in for a couple of hours to sign bottles and schmooze with us wine drinkers! As always he was charming and pleasant and even though we only had a couple of days' notice for his arrival, quite a few folks came in and enjoyed the afternoon. We handed out samples of our caramelized onion tart and Gorgonzola pizza 'truffles' that were such a big hit at our last party. We tasted his white blend 'Vincero', his red blend 'Caruso', and his beloved 'Chianti'. It was just a tease preview of our Friday night wine tasting where I will open several of our new Small Vineyards wines to pour, as well as a super secret treat that I will unveil that evening. Teaser: it has wine in it, it is more for dessert than for with the meal, and it is really fun to sip! Friday night is going to be so much fun! It is our last wine tasting of the year and I am excited to premier these amazing wintry wines.

Saturday we have our quarterly staff meeting, which I always look forward to. After every meeting we invite the staff to stay for our 'after party'. They are each welcome to bring a guest, and we invite our past staffers to join us as well. Mark makes pizza dough & sauce, and gets all the toppings ready while we are in the meeting, and then once everyone is there they can top their own pizzas however they like! We enjoy a little wine, some great conversation, and sometimes even play a board game or two. It is a fun family night and Mark and I enjoy feeding our family this way. I love being surrounded by our 'girls', it makes me very happy.

Sunday is a special day for two reasons: 1)it is our little kitty's 1st anniversary with us. Mark fell in love with her and brought her home last year and since she is clearly part Persian, and very cute, I decided she should have a show name. You know how they do those super long names that we don't really understand but somehow delineate the cat's heritage... though they always call the cat by a very shortened part of the name. Well our Callie is technically: Madamoiselle Amouse Bouche Callebaut Bonnie Blue Butterfly McQueen. (I can explain it if you really want me to...) The #2 reason Sunday is special is that we are going to the MLS cup!!! THANK YOU, KAT! My friend Kat got us great seats with her via the Coast Guard and while my Sounders won't be on the pitch (frown) it will still be a blast to have my first pro soccer match be the superbowl of soccer! I remember going to my little sister's games (she played for many years) and as I got older I was forced to go (it was my little sister, after all!)... then I married a guy who played soccer and here I am a huge fan of the game! It was a surprise to me how much I loved it this year since I only watched the first game to hear my beloved Kevin Calabro. (I missed him after the Sonics left. Sore spot!)I watched every Sounders game that I could, as well as the other playoff games. It's crazy fun!

So that is our week in a large nutshell... we are getting our Thanksgiving pre order forms in and can't wait to get tons more! Rolls, pies, croutons, wine and more for the big day, quiche and pastries for the day after when all the company still has to get fed, and anything else anyone could want to make their holiday as easy as possible! The day before Thanksgiving is busy and hectic and we love it! Mark and I will be there for 14 hours at least, then go home exhausted and happy and sleep for a long time. It will be good.

Are you roasting, bbq'ing, or otherwise cooking a turkey next week? If so, I highly recommend using a brine first. The brine locks in juices and flavor, and makes it really hard to have a dry turkey, even if you cook it to the government's ridiculous recommendation of 190 degrees. If you don't brine it and cook it that long, your turkey will be dry every time. Not cat food dry... just dry enough to where it is fine, it is edible, and you need extra gravy to get the outside white meat down your throat. We have all had them and there is no need to continue suffering! Just do this:

Take out the gizards and neck if they are stuffed inside and place the turkey in a clean and sanitized bucket. for every quart of water that you put in to cover the entire turkey, also add 1/2 cup coarse salt (or 1/4 cup table grind salt) and let it soak for 48 hours, keeping it refrigerated. Pull out the turkey the night before you want to cook it, pat it dry all around and inside, and place it in the fridge, uncovered, until the morning. You have to be careful to give it a shelf all it's own, so you do not risk any other food touching it and getting cross contaminated. Cook the turkey however you want to and this super easy brine method will ensure that your turkey remains juicy to the end.

If you want a bit more flavor to your brine here is what I am going to do to our 15-ish pound organic, non enhanced turkey (this is good for 12-15 lbs):

6 quarts water & apple cider combined
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 c. kosher salt
5 bay leaves
3 T. whole coriander seed
3 T. crushed chili flakes
3 T black peppercorns
3 T. fennel seed
3 T. mustard seed
1 bunch thyme
10 cloves garlic
1 quart bourbon

a big wad of cheesecloth in the brine as well.

Later you will need the below mentioned dry rub, as well as a quart or so each of chicken broth and apple cider,

Submerge turkey in brine and soak 24-48 hours. Keep refrigerated!
Remove turkey and get all the herbs and spices off; pat dry inside and out.
Place in fridge on it's own shelf over night before roasting.

I get the roasting pan ready with all my veggies in 1/2 inch dice thrown in the bottom:
1 onion, 1-2 carrots, 2 celery, 4 garlic cloves, 2 granny smith apples, 4-5 bay leaves, and 1 bunch thyme and then season it well with salt. Arrange the turkey on top of the veggies and refrigerate overnight UNCOVERED! This will help the skin dry out and become really brown and crispy. Make sure that there is no raw food near the turkey in the refrigerator. After refrigerating overnight, the turkey is ready to go in the oven.
Keep the cheesecloth in the brine and refrigerated, though you could certainly move it to a smaller vessel.

The next day, pull the turkey out of the fridge 1-1.5 hours before roasting, and get it on the counter to come up closer to room temp. This is perfectly safe to do as long as you keep all raw foods away from the raw turkey, and do not let it out for more than 2 hours. Get that cheesecloth out of the brine, ring it out a little bit, but keep it good and wet, and then place it in the cavity of the bird. You do not want so much in there that there is no room for air movement, but you do want it touching all surfaces to leach out it's briney flavors into the cavity.

Preheat the oven to 450

Pour 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup apple cider into the roasting pan, over the veg. Massage your turkey with the dry rub as follows:
Dry rub: Combine: 2 cups bro sugar; 2 cups salt; 1 cup ground pepper; 1 cup smoked paprika

Loosen the skin on the turkey (use gloves and really work your hands under the skin)rub olive oil (or butter) all over the bird, under and over the skin. Grab up some of that dry rub and schmear that all over the outside of the bird, making sure to get some under the skin for extra flavor. (I do this on chickens as well)

Roast the turkey in the 450 oven for about 40 minutes, or until the skin is getting brown. Lower the heat to 350 for the rest of the cooking time, and turn the bird around every hour or so. You can baste your turkey every 30 minutes to really keep the flavors flowing over the whole bird. You may need to add extra chicken stock and apple cider to the base to keep it all moist and happy. (ps this veg base will make a great gravy later on!!)

You should cook it about 17 minutes for every pound, and if it begins to get too brown you can put a piece of foil lightly over the top (don't seal the edges) and it will stop browning. You want the bird to get to at least 160 degrees. Make sure your thermometer is in a thick part of the meat, not touching bone or pan, and check multiple areas to make sure it is accurate all over.

Once it has cooked long enough, take it out and place it in a safe spot on the counter, tent it with foil, and let it sit for AT LEAST 30 minutes. It will continue to cook from the residual heat, the juices that were swirling and bubbling on the surface of the bird will all soak back into the meat and the meat will relax and get super tender for you. The skin will get crispy and this sounds so good I am salivating! I can't wait!

If you want to make gravy out of the juices just throw the whole thing into a strainer, pressing on the veg to get all the juicy goodness out, toss them aside and then go on to make gravy as usual with the drippings. If you kept up on the broth and juice additions you should have a good amount of drippings to use. You can always enhance it with more chicken stock and herbs and spices.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

What a lovely day it was today! The sun was shining most the day and while it was definitely chilly, it was really very nice. In case you want to see the many pictures that Mark took while we were in Italy, he has posted them HEREfor you to peruse. There are many photos, and he is a very talented photographer, so hopefully you will find the experience quite pleasant. Hosting 18 people was more work than we thought it would be, and yet we will definitely do it again next year! You can check out the details of the new trip HERE and then sign up to go with us!

I have been busy for the past couple of weeks due to staffing issues. First Sharon had a nasty cold that she is still not completely over, so I was working for her for a couple of days. Now Rheycel is on vacation and Victoria is still rather new, so I have been closing with her and working the opposite end of the day. It's actually good that Rhey is gone for now, because we have been really slow. Everyone's hours get cut a bit, though far less since we are technically 'down' one person. Hopefully business in Old Town will pick up next week, I have heard several business owners bemoaning the state of our community lately. We want so much to be a destination that is convenient and service oriented, as well as homey and community-centric. We know we have more to offer than the mall and it's surroundings, yet we seem to get forgotten down here more easily than not.

We are all working on different ideas about how to make Old Town more appealing, and specifically how our business can cater to the needs and desires of the community. We would love to hear from you and get your input and ideas, since you are who matters to us the most! What is on your mind these days? What do you wish Old Town had more of? Less of? Was different from? We could use your help for sure.

Meanwhile I have a couple of fun things for you to know about that, unfortunately, are not in Old Town Silverdale. They are a part of our community, nonetheless, so of course I want you to hear about them. First is Port Orchard's wine store the Puget Sound Wine Cellar, which is more than just a whimsical play on words. On Saturdays they have a $5 wine tasting from 2-5 and it is generally a great time to be had. John & Ann Ready are the 'new' owners, having bought the place in the past year or so, and they are quite fun and funny to hang out with for an hour or two if you are on the bay front in Port Orchard, or taking the foot ferry over from Bremerton. It's too bad the farmer's market isn't there anymore, the two places combined made for a fabulous summer Saturday!

You may remember how much I enjoyed my first visit to Suzy's Kitchen in Bremerton, from this blog post last April. It is a Korean BBQ joint and I think it is really fabulous. Her food is so good and her prices so reasonable, that she deserves to be more packed than she is, so I thought I would remind you about her. You can get food to go, and I think that much of her business is done in this style, though I would encourage you to try the Korean food for the first time in the restaurant while it is fresh and you can ask questions if you want to. I don't expect you to fall in love with the decor, the ambiance, or the oddly styled menu. Go straight for the Korean dishes (I am sure the other stuff is great, it's just that her Korean food is Fabulous, and she IS Korean, so that is what I think you should try there) and remember that when you order a main dish, you get the traditional 6 sides and rice with it.

The other night I needed a quiet moment to myself between working the cafe and heading to a busy meeting, so I stopped in for some 'soup'. My meal was comforting and wonderfully tasty, and I am so glad that I stopped! For under 10 bucks I had hot tea, a bowl of spicy chicken & pork 'stew' with big potatoes, onions, and other things, a bowl of rice, and the 6 side dishes. I love those side dishes! The potatoes were soft and warm, spiced similarly to my 'stew'. (I just don't know what else to call it, other than yummy!) Next were some pickled yellow radishes that had sweet undertones to the tang of the pickliness. They were cold and refreshing, crisp and delightful! The soy bean sprouts tasted of sesame oil; also cold and crispy and a nice intermittent bite to take the sting from the spicier dishes. Suzy's kim-chee is very good. 'Al dente' is a good descriptor here, and very spicy, just the way I like it. The broccoli side dish was a surprise, perfectly cooked and reminiscent of the same sesame oil from the sprouts. The last little side was a white pickled radish and it was spicier than the yellow was. It is so much fun to take a bite of one taste, then another, and have the juxtaposition of contrasting & similar flavors and textures, and then jump around to different combinations.

I was told that traditionally Koreans love their food HOT (I mean temperature-wise) and that the bowl of rice is meant for you to spoon a few bites of your main dish into, then eat with the rice. The one thing I noticed is that nearly every dish had some form or another of egg in it, and I am curious to find out what, if any, significants this has to Korean cooking and/or culture. Do you know and will you tell me?

One week until our wine tasting of the new Italian wines that we ordered and I can hardly wait! They have arrived and I have them up and listed, if you want to come in for a preview, or go to the web site wine page.

Last week I said I would offer you the Shrimp Risotto recipe and so here it is. Risotto is a style of cooking that can seem intimidating, though it should not be. After you make it the first time you may be like me and get hooked on making it frequently. It can be homey and comforting, elegant and impressive, and anything in between. Follow a few simple tricks and it will be easy to make, no matter what kind you do. Do pay attention to ingredients and prep everything before you start, and you will have no trouble at all. You may have heard that you must watch the pot and stir constantly; this is not exactly true. There is stirring involved, though it is not constant by any means.

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen pink shrimp (32-40 or 42-50 work well): head off, shells on, uncooked
2 cups fish or clam broth
2 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups chicken broth/1 cup water if you don't have the other stuff)
Old Bay Seasoning (optional; readily available in either the seafood or the spice department of your grocery store)
olive oil
1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice (arborio should be easy to find)
salt & pepper
1/2-1 cup dry white wine (whatever you will serve with the dish)
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
hand full of asiago (or parmesan) cheese (maybe 1/2 cup or so) (optional)
2 TBS unsalted butter, cold and cubed (optional)

Peel the shrimp and throw all the waste into a sauce pan, add the broths and a few dashes of old bay seasoning, put a lid on it, bring to boil, reduce to simmer

Coat the bottom of a heavy bottom skillet or pot with olive oil. Season the shrimp and place them in the pan, cooking them on each side for about 1 minute. You want them to just brown a bit, and barely start to cook; they should begin to turn more pink and curl up. Get them out of the pan and onto a plate; set aside.

Recoat the pan with oil; do not clean it out. Add in the rice and stir to coat all the grains with the oil. You are going to 'toast' the rice on medium heat and this step is very important. Keep stirring it around, you do not want it to stick, though you do want to give it a chance to toast evenly, so let it be between stirs.

After it has toasted for a couple of minutes add in the salt, pepper, and wine. You want enough wine to not have it evaporate immediately, but not so much that it completely drowns the rice. Give it a stir and let the rice begin to soak in the liquid.

Strain the broth back into the sauce pan and keep it hot on the stove, over low heat. (You want to add warm broth so the cooking process will not slow or stop.) Once the wine is fairly well soaked in and evaporated put in 2 ladles full of broth. Give it a stir and put the heat down to med-low. Add in the parsley.

You will know when it is time to add more broth when you give it a stir, and slide the spoon across the bottom of the pan. If the liquid rushes back in to fill the space, it needs more time. If the spoon leaves sort of a trail behind it, where the liquid is very slowly filling in, then it is time for another ladle or two full of broth. As the rice cooks, the time between adding in broth will lengthen.

Do give it a stir now and then to check the progress and to ensure that it does not stick. You do not need to constantly stir the pot. As you are adding the broth you may begin to run out. Simply add some more of the broths and Old Bay Seasoning, or just add hot water and Old Bay if you are out of the broth.

When you think it might be ready give it a taste. Make sure the spices are where you want them to be. (If you are adding butter, you may want a pinch of extra salt to go with it; if you are adding one of the hard cheeses, you may want a little less salt, because they will add a bit of salty bite to it as well.)
The rice grains will be 'al dente', just like good pasta, not mushy and not hard. Each grain will stand on it's own; you will feel them individually as well as all together. The 'sauce' will be creamy and thick, so that when you spoon it onto a flat-bottom bowl or plate, it will slowly spread, and there will not be any 'liquid' or runniness around the edges.

If it is just about where you want it to be, stir in the shrimp and turn off the heat. If you are not adding the butter or cheese, give it a couple of brisk stirs, put a lid on, and leave it while you pour the wine and set the table. If you are adding the cheese or butter do that, then stir it briskly until it is incorporated, and cover for a few minutes.

Plate it up and it will be eaten! The shrimp should be cooked perfectly and the rice very flavorful. You will kiss yourself!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Last Saturday we hosted a party at the cafe and we had a blast! Several people came in and got to sample the dishes we made and a couple of wines that we loved in Italy, as well as check out some of our pictures that Mark took on the trip. We had a pot of Pasta e Fagioli (pasta and beans... on the east coast it is commonly referred to as 'pasta fazoole') and we topped it with our fabulous olive oil. Everyone loved that so much that we offered it for sale while we handed out the samples. I made a caramelized onion tart that was so popular and had such an enthusiastically positive reception, that I have gladly added it to our catering menu. Mark made 'pizza truffles': little rounds of pizza dough stuffed with gorgonzola cheese, drizzled with olive oil and baked. Oh yea, they were fabulous, though better hot than after they got cold. Mark made our olive oil cake, which we usually make with hazlenuts, but instead we made with fresh chestnuts thanks to Ron who brought them in to us. That was a huge hit, as well. I made some marinated zucchini and that went over nicely, as did the wines we served.

I left my computer on with a slide show of our photos, and we got to see 5 of our fellow travelers who all came out for the festivities! Our tour coordinator, Doumina Whyman, was on hand to talk about next year's trip and the whole day had a festive and fun atmosphere. I poured some 100% Vernaccia from Le Rote (near San Gemignano), and 2 wines from our beloved Perazzeta: Erio (50% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet, 20% Syrah, 10% Merlot) and Sara 90% Sangiovese 10% Ciliegiolo, all of which are nearly gone now. We sold out of the Rigoloccio Rosato (100% Cabernet Franc) which is still the best rose I have ever had and I am very sad that we will not be able to get any more. Folks always say 'oh, I don't drink rose', thinking it will be like white zinfandel. Then they taste and are, without exception, very surprised at the wine. Even if they still do not prefer the wine, it is always surprising as to how good the quality is. Europeans drink rose all the time and theirs is good, we just have to get used to thinking of it differently over here. And while I decidedly do not enjoy white zin, I never bash it because that is the wine that actually got me started drinking wine in the first place. Bartels & James wine coolers got me to Sutter Home White Zinfandel (I preferred it over Beringer for some reason), then on to Gewurztraminer, and then on to an array of different wines. So hooray for white zin!

All in all I am calling the party a success because everyone had a good time and we introduced some new flavors to our friends and family at the cafe. We will have another party in January or February and serve up some more goodies and wine, since we are always looking for an excuse to have fun!

Last week I told you about a new place that is opening and Friday is the grand opening! Fresh-Local Bremerton is the place to be on Friday from 3-8 to see this new concept for a grocery store. I am so excited and I plan to be there the minute they open! First I am going to go check out the new bakery that has taken the space where Luigi was. Heidi & Lowell, of Hi-Lo's 15th St Cafe fame have opened The 15th St Bakery and they hired Luigi's former staff to fill the place with breads and baked goods. They also have an art gallery in there, merchandise for sale, as well as their fabulous coffee. Heidi took me around the space last summer as she shared the plans with me so I have been very excited to see this come to fruition. Heidi is one smart business cookie and I love just love that whole gang! I will get there before the grand opening at Fresh-Local and have a lovely full day of fabulous local food! I hope to see you all there and when I ask the question: What did you buy locally this week? You will have an easy answer!

By the way last week was Mark's birthday and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at home, and then later in the week I made him shrimp risotto that he loved so much he almost married it! I was going to give that recipe today and then was asked so many times about caramelized onions that I decided to do that instead. You can email me if you want the risotto, or maybe I will do it next week, you never know! Or maybe you have a recipe to share with me, I would love that, too.

Caramelized onions have many uses and while they are naturally very sweet, they are great in savory things, too. You can caramelize onions a little, so they are a light brown and not too sweet, but still soft and supple and add a great depth of flavor to sauces, soups, pastas and more. Or you can give them such an extreme, deep caramel that they are fabulous on toast and act as fruit preserves only better! I love them on pizza with roasted cashews and while that sounds odd, I did it as a lark and that is what I always have at our staff meeting pizza parties now! Last Saturday when I put them into a quick pastry dough the crowds went wild. Everyone who tastes caramelized onions always asks 'what is this??' because no one expects it to really just be onions, but it is, and it is so simple. The only difference in preparation between lightly caramelized and deeply caramelized is time. That is entirely up to you! It takes time, but not much work.

How much do you want to make? 4 onions will reduce down to 1-2 cups, depending on original size and cooking time.

Peel, cut in half, then slice the onions to the size you like. I do 1/4 inch slices

Pour some olive oil (I use my good stuff for this) into the bottom of a heavy bottom pot or deep sided skillet. Coat the bottom of the pan.

Drop the onions in and if they are not sweet onions (you can do this with any kind at all) you can add a touch of honey to get the sugars going. Just a quick drizzle is all you need.

Stir to coat all the onions in the oil, turn it up to medium high, put a lid on, and let it go for 5-7 minutes, until the juices start to release and the bottom of the pan is fairly wet.

Remove the lid, give it all a really good stir, turn it down to medium low and leave it alone. Do not stir it too often, though do stir it often enough to keep it from sticking to the bottom. If it does stick, vigorous stirring usually loosens it right up. The first half hour I might stir it 3 times at the most, then less after that. I usually turn it down a bit more after the first half hour as well. The longer it goes, the lower you can make the heat, and the less you need to stir.

They will go a minimum of an hour for a light caramel and you will be surprised at how much they reduce. They will go upwards of 3 hours for the deepest caramel, and they will be a golden lump of goodness by that time.

When they are as done as you want them give them a little salt, which will brighten up the flavors and balance a bit of the sweetness. For 4 onions maybe a 1/2 teaspoon will do... start light because you can always add more but you can never take it out.

Voila! That is all it takes! You will love this result and you can do many things with these onions. I know the farmer's markets are pretty well shut down by now, so check out the fresh-local store for onions from our farmers.

And remember to Think Local First! It's better for all of us!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

It has been tough getting back into the swing of things. Jet lag and having a ton to catch up on combined to make me exceedingly tired the first week, and now I am just 'normal' tired, though still further behind than I like to be. What I really do not like about coming back from any trip is how quickly the feelings and memories fade when we get into our daily lives. I am good at living in the moment and fully enjoying where I am and what I am doing, and in Italy those feelings of joy and satisfaction were intense! It is a good thing we took pictures and wrote the blog while we were there because it is really really tough to portray those feelings after some time has gone by. sigh.

This Saturday at the cafe we are having a PARTAY as my friend Manny would say. I learned lots of new recipes in Italy and I cannot wait to try them out! We will have them for sampling and of course some wine to sample from the wineries that we visited. The flavors of the food will not be completely true since we do not have access to the same quality of ingredients here, and my recipes will be based on my perceptions and preferences. So I can guarantee that they will be fabulous! And I can hope that anyone who has been to Italy and tasted similar dishes will be able to appreciate that we are trying to get as close to those flavors as we can.

The smartest thing that we did on our return was to ask Dawn, our house/kitty sitter, to pull some items out of the freezer for us on Friday. When we got home on Sunday they were defrosted in the fridge and we were able to eat well right off the bat. Plus Sharon from the cafe dropped our last CSA box on the porch for us so we had an abundance of fresh produce to use as well. Mom and dad had to go to the store when they got home, I felt so lucky to have someone to pull the food out of the freezer for us! If you go on a long vacation and you empty your fridge before hand, try to find someone to put something in it for when you get back. That way you don't have to go to the store right off the bat when you are tired and just want to snuggle back into your own home. It's a great gift to give yourself!

We made some wonderful friends on this trip and it is really difficult to plan next year's trip now. We want to do all the same things and add more, which simply will not work. So culling out any of the fantastic things that we did is really hard! I am going to ask the folks who went with us for their feedback as well, and that may help me decide. The most exciting news about that is I already have names on my list for next year's trip! It is going to be great!

What is new locally? Well some extremely exciting news for those of us who cherish locally grown and produced foods: Fresh Local Bremerton is opening soon! A group of farmers have gotten together and are opening a 'grocery' store which features locally grown and produced foods. This is a non profit organization and they are partnering with the commercial kitchen next door: this is going to be one great resource. You can join it, much like a CSA, and prepay an amount to help them with capital, and then you get that back in store credit. Sort of a gift card that you buy for your self! They will not just have produce, either. They will have meat, eggs, dairy products, coffee, honey, grains & flour, soup to go, baked items and more. The store is at 540 4 ST in Bremerton, and they are still working on the permit process to get it open. It could happen any day now! I am keeping my fingers crossed!

The Kitsap Community Food Co-Op is getting closer to fruition as well. We are member number 30! It is a great time for thinking local first, and we are proud to be in the thick of it. The Poulsbo Farmer's Market is going to have an 'Eat Local For Thanksgiving' Market on November 21 where you can fill your holiday table with a bounty of locally produced foods. That is fabulous!

We are busy prepping up pumpkins and getting things ready for our own Thanksgiving orders these next few weeks. Our next shipment of Italian wines are due in by the 15th and our tasting is scheduled on the 20th. We are really looking forward to our busy season this year, especially because last year's was the beginning of a major decline in sales. The snow last year forced us to cancel Mrs Claus, many caters cancelled or did not schedule at all, and the number of special orders were extremely low. We did not even make as many Christmas and Hanukkah cookies as we normally do, because folks could not get out to buy them. Sales the rest of the year have been down as well, but December through February was the worst, and we are really looking forward to putting that behind us and starting fresh this holiday season. I want you to have the tastiest holiday season possible!

So let's raise a glass of wine (that we bought from the vineyard or from a locally owned, independent business) to THINKING LOCAL FIRST! The local stores and services may not have every single thing we need, but if we try them first we may be surprised at what they CAN do for us. And it is guaranteed to keep our local economy healthier and stronger than it would be if we all shopped at the big boxes and ate at the chains, all of the time. Cheers!

The recipe this week comes from my favorite tv chef Anne Burrell. I modified to makeit my own for Mark's birthday dessert on Monday, and you all seemed to love it! For the bread I used our cinnamon bread (we keep unsold 'day old' loaves in the freezer just for this purpose) and I loved it more than pie or cake to be sure. Give it a try, you can always make it at night and then bake it in the morning, the longer the soak the better! Just don't soak more than 24 hours or the bread will start to dissolve in it. Here you go:

1 (4-pound) sugar pumpkin
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups heavy cream
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 loaf (about 10 cups) diced cinnamon bread, challah or plain pound cake
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup diced crystallized ginger
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish if you like it

Special equipment: 11 by 7-inch baking dish

For the squash: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the squash in quarters and remove the seeds. Brush the insides with a little oil and arrange on a baking sheet, skin side up. Roast in the preheated oven until the squash is soft all they way through, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool. (This can be done 1 or 2 days ahead.) When the squash is cold, remove it from the skin and puree in a food processor. You'll need 2 1/2 cups of squash puree for this recipe. If the mixture is dry while pureeing, add a ladleful of the pudding mixture.

For the pudding: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and vanilla and mix well to combine. Mix in the pumpkin puree. Combine the bread, raisins and ginger in the baking dish. Pour the pudding mixture over the bread to cover and let sit for 15 minutes.

Cook's Note: You may not use all of the filling. Add more filling if there's room in the dish once the bread has soaked.

Bake in the preheated oven until the custard is set, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Link: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Silverdale-WA/Monicas-Waterfront-Bakery-Cafe/132937776561?v=photos

Click this link to see our Italy pictures! I managed to only pick out 170 out of the over 2000 pictures that Mark took!

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Three years ago on my last night in Florence I took myself to dinner. I don't remember how I heard about this place, I think it was in one of my books. So I walked myself along the Arno river to dinner and when I finally found this little place, tucked into an alley, it was not open yet. I could see in through the big glass doors and the crew was in the middle of their 'family meal' that many dinner places do before service. I stayed a respectful distance from the door and peeked at them, remembering the family meals I had been a part of in my restaurant past, and knowing that this place was special. Very rarely in any restaurant that I worked in, was the crew allowed to eat in the dining room, never mind the entire crew. And the food and wine were both abundant, not little tastes of the daily specials. They looked like a real family, enjoying themselves, possibly passing on information, and being nourished by one another as well as the food. This was Il Latini.

This was a popular place. Soon there was a crowd of hopeful diners gathered in the alley and pressing against those big glass doors trying to be the first in line. My respectful distance from the windows made me lose my place in line, so I just watched. The man opened the door as much as the crowd made room for, and people began calling out to him: "I have a reservation!" or "Table for 4!" and on it went. The man made eye contact with each person and they held up their fingers to show how many in their party, and slowly he began letting folks in. He had made eye contact with me, I shyly held up one finger, and he gave me a smile and a reassuring look, as if to say 'don't worry, I know you are there'. I did not wait long before he ushered me in and to the front table!

I sat at one of the long communal tables, a Japanese couple sitting across from each other on my left, and a couple from the US sitting across from one another on my right. The chair across from me remained empty for only a few minutes. The waiter plunked down a jug of wine and told me to let him know how many glasses I had at the end of the meal. Allrighty then! He asked if I had preferences between this or that, or if he should just start bringing me the house courses. Yes, please! A distinguished man was seated across from me and introduced himself. He was Parisian, just in town for a while, as he worked for (are you ready for this???) THE HOUSE OF PUCCI! Ok, I may not wear designer clothes, or even think about them, but I know Pucci is one of the oldest, most established, best houses of fashion in the industry. Gulp. I poured him some wine. He was so nice, we ended up sharing the meal as if it had been planned. This was his 'go to' joint in Florence and we were dining a bit early (I had to leave very early in the morning and he was tired) so there were more tourists in the place than there would be later. And as we took our time dining we watched the atmosphere change as locals took the place of tourists, and the conversations got livelier and more... Italian. This restaurant has it's own farm estate. They make their own wine, press their own olive oil, and cure their own prosciutto-much of which is hanging from the ceilings. They grow their own produce, raise and hunt their own meats, and on and on it goes. Every morsel was delectable.

Now, three years later, I got to share this place with my parents and Mark, which was a dream come true moment for me. This time we had reservations, though still early because of an early flight. We all saw the tail end of the family meal, and though the commotion at the front was more civilized than it had been before, it was still fun to watch. We got in, got our table and began to dine. They plunked a 2 liter bottle of wine on the table and we drank it all! Plus 2 or 3 litres of water. The antipasti was many things, from their proscuitto (THANK YOU GOD!) and the best chicken liver pate I have ever eaten on yummy crostini, other meats, little balls of fresh mozzarella, olive oil, fresh tomatoes and I don't remember what else. It was a meal in and of itself! We had options for the primi piatti. Mom and I both got the ribollita, dad got the cheese and spinach ravioli, and Mark got the papperadelle with Bolgnese sauce. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! We all shared and loved each bite.

We also had choices for the secondi and we had seen the portions on the other tables! There was grilled Chianina steak, the size of which is difficult to describe. Think of 3rd base and I think you will be close, but still not big enough! We could have roast chicken, pork, rabbit, or lamb too. We got one order of pork and one of steak. It was more than enough for all of us! Plus of course there were contorni, side dishes of spinach, farro, and beans. Oh and bread, of course! So we continued to dine. All of this followed by vin santo e cantuccini, and things we did not even order like another bubbly dessert wine, a small fruit tart (divine!) and another little tart that they brought us, and espresso! We were very glad for the walk back, which turned out to be not quite long enough. This meal in this place was absolute perfection. To be able to share such a special place with Mark and my parents was absolutely priceless and I am so happy even just remembering. They loved it to, and it was definitely a highlight for each of us.

We stayed that night at a fine hotel called Hotel Atlantic Palace, which was a fairly quiet, nicely appointed, and very well priced option not too far from the train station. We would have gotten breakfast included if we had not had to leave so early. I will not bore you with the hellish trip home and the details of cancelled flights and horrifying customer service. Instead I will now give in to random thoughts:

Random thoughts:
The weather:
was great for the whole time: rained only a bit on only a couple of days. Very warm (wouldn't want it ANY warmer) in Florence; a bit cooler in cortona, which is good, and the nights were even more so. Clear skies, sunny, gorgeous. Rained 2 nights, not during the day. Chianti it was even cooler, especially at night. Still gorgeous, some fog, mostly sunny, some clouds, rained when we went to the Maremma but only for a bit. Cinque Terre sunny, cooler again, last morning quite chilly. Florence very chilly, sunny, clear skies, perfect last day.

Online: at least I had a way to do it some of the time. In cortona I had to use Parco Fiorito's, which is fine; in florence with the WIND internet signal was medium, and worked well enough. It worked best on the train! Not hardly any signal in Cinque Terre, though enough to get checked in for our flights and do a little email.

Cost for food and wine: Like any city you can spend a little or a lot, for anything. We researched and sought out low & medium priced places, and were extremely happy with the food and wine that we had in Florence. In the more touristy towns, like San Gemignano, the prices were higher and the quality was lower. We got the best deal, and perhaps the best meals in Cortona at La Bucaccia and in Firenze at Il Latini. Our last day in Florence we were wandering and revisiting a few places, and we stopped at a street cart and got 2 BIG pork sandwiches served hot (fresh ciabatta style bread, roasted pork pieces, marinated mushrooms & artichokes) and 2 glasses of wine for 9 euro. Morning macchiato or cappucino was under 2 euro each. A litre of wine with some snacks in a bar on the beach in Monterosso was 10 euro. Tips, or 'cover and service' are usually included and even if not it is not much like in the states. Groceries, too seemed reasonably, if not low priced.

The byob wine shop we saw in Florence with Rima e Francesco was super affordable, and the meats, cheeses, produce, etc at the San Ambrogio market were, too. You had to know where to look, or be willing to shop around a bit. Beautiful pagminas for 5 euro or you could pay as much as 20 for the same thing if you were not careful. Clothing was very expensive in Florence, but you are paying for major names like Prada, Pucci, Gucci, etc... and it is much less expensive to get it there if you are in the market for such a thing. Water at the train station was 2 or 3 euro for 1.5 litres! Train and bus tickets were around 5 euro each from Florence to Cortona, Siena to Cortona, Florence to 5Terre and back. Less than 2 euro for 5terre.

Hotel was 80 euro for one night, near the train station, very decent place. The 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment was 560 euro for 4 nights, between two couples, really not bad at all. The 5Terre apartments were 80 a night, stairs were free.

Terrain was so obviously different: Tuscany had many cypress, olives, grape vines, other crops, green trees that were turning color and some not; grasses, sun flowers, etc... Chianti (still Tuscany, though more Western) was more like home w/pine trees and more forested, rosemary everywhere, still olives though not as many and of course grape vines. Maremma (again, still Tuscany) had many sea grasses, still olives-about the same as Chianti, cactus, many grapes, different trees, more citrus trees, even more cypress. 5Terre was all seaside with lots more cactus & bouganvillea...

Bells! Church bells at all hours, especially 7 am and on Saturday. I loved them; Mark, not so much at night.

Do you have questions, comments, or anything else? Want to go with us next year? Our trip will start in Piedmont and end in Tuscany and will include the Slow Food Festival if we can help it. Drop me an email, come by the cafe, or give us a call if you are at all interested. We can talk about the rest!

Ciao Ciao!

~Monica

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Tuesday October 13-

We were all quite ready to NOT drive so much after the long travels the day before, and Doumina had seen that coming after trying this part of our itinerary on another group. As beautiful and paradisical (yes, I made that word up, why not?) as Mamma Franca's place is at Podere Ciona, it is very remote. I am used to a sort of remoteness but this is really far from anything. It took 30 minutes on narrow, windy roads, just to get to a main road, so we needed to keep the driving to a minimum. We went to Le Rote, one of our Small Vineyards, and the grounds were some of the most beautiful thus far. Hard to believe that every place is amazingly beautiful, I know, and even harder to believe when you are there! I would think to myself ah yes, another vineyard, another tasting room... and then we would be in another completely different setting, each one beautiful, unique and amazing.

Le Rote is near the small hill town of San Gemignano ("san gem-in-NYAH-no). This region had even more vineyards than we had seen and this estate made me think of Tara. I half expected Ashley & Melanie Wilkes to float down the massive staircase to greet us... instead we were treated to a meeting with Paolo, the enologist on the estate. He had very little English, so we all had to follow along and figure things out together: luckily this was not our first vineyard tour. As we walked into the tank room everyone grew quiet. Instead of the usual stainless steel tanks that we had been seeing, this place had walls of concrete tanks. From the ceiling to the floor, running along 2 different walls, these tanks were mammoth! The opening was big enough for a small man to fit through for cleaning purposes! The cellar where they keep the barriques was one of the most beautiful we had seen, with bricks that had to be as old as the 19th century villa.

Here they cultivate their 35+ year old vines to make the white wine of the region, Vernaccia, and they make it beautifully. It is one of my favorite whites that we had, to be sure. They also make Chianti Colli Senesi, and they have played with the sangiovese grape far more than their neighbors have, and make 'Cosimo', named after one of their sons. This winery puts out about 2500 cases per year and here we were sitting around yet another wonderful table, enjoying the bread, olive oil, and cheeses of the region, tasting some of the best wine in the world! And it wasn't even noon yet! Yes, we know how to live it up in Italy!

We bid farewell to this, our last estate winery, and piled back into Fabio's beautiful machine to journey on to the town of San Gemignano. The drive was wonderful and glimpses of the massive towers could be gathered through the hills as we wound our way around the vineyards of the area. We had to check the bus in at the base of the hill and walk up to the gates of the town, as no buses were allowed in or near the gates. This town was hands down the most touristy that we had experienced and I have to say it is my least favorite. The very reason I did not have it on the itinerary in the first place is the touristy vibe that I heard so much about. On the walk up to the main square there are many shops filled with beautiful things...and the prices are outrageous. We had our first bad meal here, and I mean we could have gotten better food and certainly nicer service at an 'Italian' restaurant in Kitsap. All that said, I must admit that the architecture of this town is nothing less than stunning. San Gemignano got wealthy in the middle ages, with many towers built between the 11th and 13th centuries. If you are in the area I have to encourage you to check out this beautiful spot. Just be prepared for throngs of tourists and opportunistic shops.

We got back to Podere Ciona in time to start organizing our packing and rest up a bit for dinner. Well, everyone else could anyway, I had to hand write out notes for the wine tasting at that evening's farewell dinner, since I could not hook up to a printer. I am such a technology junky! Fabio picked us up and we headed over to Mamma Mimma's estate (Franca's sister) which was about a half an hour away. Mimma's amazing home was built in 1437!!! 1437!!! Seriously. And we get all misty eyed over 100 year old barns at home. There were tables out on the patio that had tops made from bricks, it was pretty neat looking. We started sipping wine right away of course, as we milled about and checked out our host's digs. We began to get seated around yet another massive table, as they were bringing out the first course.

The antipasti was a pinwheel, with a 'biscuity' outer layer, rolled with ham, cheese, and a special homemade style of mayonnaise. The pasta course was a fresh lasagna made with arugula pesto and mom says that was one of her favorite dishes of the whole trip. For the secondi we had dark meat chicken fashioned into 'drumsticks' and served with a creamy 'fricassee' sauce, and mashed carrots on the side. Mashed carrots, you say? How weird! Well yes... until you tasted them! Lightly gingery and every bit as satisfying as mashed potatoes, these pillows of orange were rather sublime! The whisked away our plates and everyone was chatting and laughing and suddenly the room got quiet. The mammas had brought dessert in and it was a masterpiece. Something to behold!

Called 'Dolce Bianca ai Frutti', or sweet white with fruit, you must see this to believe it. Centered on a huge serving platter was a lovely round of pure white. It turns out that it was a mixture of unsweetened, homemade yogurt, and whipped cream. This cloud of white was surrounded by an abundance of stunning fruit: Kiwi, banana, dried apricots, figs, prunes, pear, grapes, and hazelnuts. We served the Tre Donne Moscato D'Asti with this dessert and it was really fun to compare the differences between that moscato, and the one we enjoyed from Podere Elia on the prior Saturday. We enjoyed Small Vineyards wines for each course, some new and some we had already had, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

The mammas of course poured limoncello and home made Vin Santo. Fabio had joined us for our farewell dinner (he didn't drink, he never does!) and we all showered him with appreciation ... I think he felt the love. At the third course Antonio joined us, having raced from a meeting in Rome to join us on our last night of the tour. He talked about the wines and winemakers and got his picture taken with some of the randier gals at the table (mom!). It was all in all a very fun night and a fabulous way to end the trip.

Wednesday October 14-Fabio took us all to Siena to catch our various modes of transportation out of the area. We had planned to see the center, taste some pan forte, get a tour of the duomo and do a little shopping, but it was a total bust. Partly because we got out late due to a little snafu, and mostly because there was a huge market going on and the roads were closed. We are talking about a flea market of fantasy proportions for people my friend Manny who owns an antique stall at the Pike Place Antique Mall. It was all very hectic and we really wish we had known it would be there because it would have been worth the trip alone! Unfortunately, due to these circumstances, we were unable to see any of Siena. I was very upset, I felt like I had let the group down and since the Duomo in Siena is my favorite in all of Italy (I haven't seen them all yet, but I will some day) I really wanted my family to see it. And I wanted to see it again. I knew we had to get going to make our train connection to the Cinque Terre, and it would be great there, but it was my only moment of true disappointment in the whole trip.

Everyone said goodbye at either the train or the bus station and a couple of folks when with the tour guide to see the duomo, which did make me happy for them. Mom, dad, Mark and I got on the rapido bus to Florence, walked over to the train station, and paid 30 euro to store our bigger luggage until we got back on Friday. Thank GOODNESS we did that! It was my MOST brilliant thought ever to do that! I cannot even IMAGINE all those stairs to the apartment with even more luggage than the one bag each we had. No way. I would still be there, lying in a heap at the foot of the 86 stairs, sucking in my dying breath. Travel light my friends, it is totally worth it.

You already know the highlights from the Cinque Terre so I have only the last night, our last fabulous meal to tell you about, and a few random thoughts. I will make that a separate post so as to break it up a bit for you. Mark is right this very minute loading pictures from his camera to the computer and we will get more of those for you very soon. Thank you for travelling with us!

Ciao for now,

~MnM

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

We are finally home and I want to catch you up on what you missed when I did not have a great connection for the computer. I will keep it somewhat short (it's all relative!) and hopefully sweet, so that you do not take days to read this.

Monday October 12-Maremma

We had a very long drive to the sea, the western-most region of Tuscany called the Maremma. Grossetto is the 'largest town' in the region and we went well past there to the estate of Terre del Marchesato, the smallest winery in their region. This area is ground zero for the "Super Tuscan" wines and the terrain changed significantly as we watched out the window and it was really beautiful. More Cypress trees, cacti, lots and lots of seagrasses. Fewer olive trees and more citrus. Super tall pine trees that Doumina called "Umbrella Pines": their trunks were very tall and no foliage appeared until the very top. They were grown in rows or clusters so it looked like an unmbrella had opened high above the ground. For the first time during this trip it rained during the day.

We were quite happy to finally reach our destination, as many of us needed to stretch and breathe some fresh air. The winemaker's son, Ricardo, greeted us as we gathered under a covered area where he showed us the machinery they use to crush the grapes and get the wine process started. We moved inside to the tank room and gazed with wonder at the rows of stainless steel tanks and their green glass tops. The next stop was the barrel room and it never ceases to amaze me that each winemaker has such different methods and processes to make their wonderful wines. I am not even referring to the types of grapes and barrels they use to make the wines; more like things as basic as how they turn their barrels and move them from room to room.

We gradually migrated to the house and the communal dining room where winemakers Maurizio and Giovanna Fuselli were preparing a marvelous lunch for us, using all things they make right there on their self-sustaining farm. We walked in to the room and saw the table set for 30! This table was amazing: all wood and custom 'leafed' as there was a large round table at either end, and a large rectangular table in the middle. The custom leafs (leaves?) they used to make it into one table butted up against the rectangular table at one side, and then curved around the round table on the other. It all came together as one table with no gaps! The family began placing plates upon plates of cured meats, cheeses, savory tarts, bread, their homemade olive oil and bruschetta on this work of art, and they were passed around and devoured hungrily by all. We should know by now that there is always more to come! My favorite taste was a piece of their bread topped with fresh tomatoes and olive oil. So simple and yet the most delicious bite there was! Next came steaming bowls of that wonderfully comforting dish 'pasta e fagioli' lightly drizzled with their excellent olive oil, and their version was luscious and filling and as wonderful as I expected. I was more than done by then and of course there was dessert: a rustic blackberry tart that I only had one bite of to taste (it was so beautifully perfumed with the berries and the taste was pure, with a wonderful texture by the tart dough. Mark happily finished it off for me! I cannot believe how wonderful this family was as hosts, since they do not normally have strangers of any kind visit their farm. Again, Doumina has forged these very special relationships and we are so lucky to be able to have these experiences!

This farm is located in a region called 'Bolgheri' and the Fuselli family has approximately 10 hectares, which are only 25 or so meters above sea level. They have over just 7000 vines with only 2 meters between each row, so they use very small tractors. Their vines range in age from 7 to 20+ years, and they get about 1/2 bottle PER PLANT!!! During this delicious repast we tasted 4 of their wines, including the Emilio Primo and Tarabusco. Emilio Primo is a smoky blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon/30% Merlot/20% Syrah that spends 6 months in French oak and 6 months in the bottle. They make 2500 cases of this wine. The Tarabusco is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon/40% Merlot/20% Petit Verdot and while it is tanked differently, it also spends 6 months in oak and 6 in the bottle. This wine was a bit more complex than the first and they only make 300 cases! We are lucky to be able to get both wines for the restaurant. After lunch and tasting we went outside to enjoy the grounds, make a few purchases, and love on the estate's big black newfie. What a sweety!

We traveled to the next estate, happily not too far from Terre del Marchesato. Rigoloccio is very unique, situated on top of an old pyrite mine (fool's gold, that is!) which lends a gun metal minerality to the estate's wines. Here we were invited to tour the vineyards and we could see up the hills to the openings of the old mines. We made our way to the tank and barrel room and for the first time (ever, for me!) during this tour we got to taste wines from the tanks, and then taste them later from the bottle. It was one of the neatest experiences that I had! It was so cool to be able to see the wine poured from the tank, smell and taste and let it grown and keep tasting... then to go down to the tasting room and taste the finished product. Very cool!

Rigoloccio makes my very favorite rose, called 'rosato' in Italian. This wine is nothing like the American white zinfandel, which unfortunately has given good rose a bad name. 100% Cabernet Franc, they take the skins out very early in order to keep the color lighter. It is a beautiful pink and goes with nearly any meal, and they let us taste it while we were their. We have (I think) a little less than 2 cases left at the restaurant and I think it will be the perfect holiday wine. We also tasted a white wine and a couple of reds. The one that we got from the tank and from the bottle was 'Sorvegliante', equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Alicante and it was one of Mark's favorites of the whole trip. The saddest news was imparted while we were there: They would no longer be sending their wines to the states for awhile. What is there is it and when it is gone we don't know when we can get more. You can bet I have a message in to find out what I can get while I can. You must have some and I must get it for you!! Of course while we were tasting they put out MORE meats, cheeses and breads, all locally made of course and all amazingly good in spite of not being hungry. It is a must to have a bit of food with each wine and pretty soon you cannot believe that you are still eating! The drinking part is fine though...

We broke up the long drive back via Castellina in Chianti for a walk and a gelato; no dinner thank you! The town was pretty much closed up for the night and it was a lovely walk on a crisp fall evening. Much needed after a long time on the bus today!

I promised to try to keep it short and so I will break this entry up and do a second one. This is plenty for now! Thanks for reading and feel free to send me messages, comments, & questions!

Ciao for now,

~M

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

I am sorry I was not able to get a good signal the entire time we were in Riomaggiore. The Cinque Terre are beautiful! Everything you imagine and even more charming. Each town is built into the hillside and 4 of them have beaches, though the best beach is in the last town, Monterosso. The train ride from Pisa to La Spezia was really fun because we passed through Carrera and we could see piles of marble! This is where Michelangelo and so many other artists got their marble for their sculptures and the history here is really amazing. It is not so much a pretty town, being more of an industrial area, but I have never seen so much marble ever! Some finished slabs and tons of raw blocks. After that we hit La Spezia and changed trains to Riomaggiore.

It was only an 8 minute train ride, mostly through tunnels, and when we broke through we were next to the ocean and it was such a wonderful sight! We got in around 5:15 and found our apartments quickly. Mom and dad went up to find their landlady and we went up, one building away, to find ours. We had known there would be steps, it was a 4th floor walkup after all... but we had really no idea of these steps. Marble stairs, extremely steep and the actual steps were narrow. Going up was steep and when we finally got to the 3rd floor where our landlady lived we were out of breath. Sara took us up the rest of the stairs to our apartment at the top of the building. We got inside and we were looking at a tiny galley kitchen, and then a doorway to the bathroom which was crammed full with a single sink, bidet, toilet and shower stall.

Then there were more stairs up to a little table with 2 chairs on a landing. a few more steps behind us led to the platform bed with a narrow wardrobe on either side of it. Or we could proceed ahead up another flight of stairs to the rooftop patio, with spectacular views. Holy stair climbs!!! We decided to count: 86 steps from the front door to the apartment door; 11 steps up to the table; 4 steps up to the bed; 12 more steps to the rooftop patio. WHAT??? By the way Mark had the 4 steps to his side of the bed; I had a couple of drawers that doubled as steps, but they were super high, so it was hard to get up and down them, especially early in the morning! From our rooftop patio we could see mom and dad's terrace and we waved to them, 2 stories down, as we enjoyed some wine with a view of the sea.

We all met downstairs (mom and dad had 60 steep steps to their door, and no steps in their apartment... but the strangest bathtub thing ever!) We went to the seawall to watch the sunset and really enjoy ourselves! We wandered up to the little restaurant that our landlady had recommended and stuck to the regional foods. Cingue Terre lies in the region of Liguria, and is known for it's seafood, especially fresh anchovies, and for pesto and white wine. We enjoyed marinated acchiuge (anchovies) that were lemony and fresh and deeelicious! some trofie pasta with pesto, some swordfish and branzino (sea bass) and lemon sorbetto for dessert. It was really great and much lighter fare than we had been seeing in Tuscany and Umbria.

We hiked up to bed and had an early evening since we were all tired. The next morning mom and dad surprised us by coming up to see our apartment and they agreed: no description does it justice! You must see it to believe it!! Then we hit the hiking trail. You can walk a trail through all 5 towns and there are also trains and buses and a passenger-only ferry that helps with all the transit going on throughout the towns. We decided to walk the first 3 towns, which are the easiest, and then train to the last two. We also wanted to take the ferry back so we could see them all from the water.

The first bit from Riomaggiore to Manorola is paved and very easy. It is called the walk of love, and there are little benches along the way to enjoy the sea views from. Then entire trail goes along the side of the ocean and it is really a spectacular hike to do. We checked out the town a bit (absolutely lovely! There were shops and cafes and beautiful buildings filled with terraced apartments... Mom checked out the gelato and then headed down the trail to corniglia. This part of the trail was definitely more rough--unpaved, parts of it pretty steep, and a few times lacking a guard rail so falling to your death would be no problem. One mis step and you are a goner! As beautiful as it was, the ocean and rocks below us did not look very forgiving. There was one rope bridge to go over; it was not a long one, but that is something that I have serious trouble with so I got a chance to hyperventilate a bit before moving on.

We got to the bottom of Corniglia and you had 3 choices to get to the town up on the top of the hill: climb the 382 steps with switchbacks, walk up the road with switchbacks, or take a bus. Dad and Mark chose the staircase, mom and I chose the road. We got to the top at exactly the same time! Luckily there was a restaurant and we all collapsed into chairs at an outdoor table with views, of course! We enjoyed an abundance of seafood: octopus, anchovies, mussels, clams, shrimp, cuttlefish, and seabass. A bit of pasta and a salad and soon we were back on our feet. We explored the high, steep town and that was when we decided to take the train to the last 2. It was getting late and dad decided to walk the trail back. The rest of us trained to Vernazza, another impossibly lovely town with wonderful views and a little beach. Mark and I checked out the gelato there and I think it was among the best we have had, for sure.

Soon we were back on the train and going to Monterosso, with the best beach and the most tourists, I wasn't sure if I would like this one or not. We got off the train and read a sign that was in Italian and we are pretty sure it said that anyone who got to see all 5 towns was required by law to enjoy a litre of wine at a seaside cafe. Of course we obey all laws so we found the nearest outdoor seating and enjoyed that wine! The sun set while we were there and so we explored at dusk. I saw a fisherman on the rocky shore with the longest fishing pole in the world! I swear it was 20 feet long at least! I don't know what he was fishing for, we had to get back on the train to get back to Riomaggiore.

Sleeping was not so great: it is a very noisy town!

We got on an express and were back in 8 minutes! We picked up a few groceries and all met up at mom and dads for an al fresco meal. The goal was to finish all the food and wine that we had so we could travel back more lightly than we came. This was not fully to occur since we had 5 bottles of wine and none of us wanted to wake up with a headache! This morning we packed up and hit the trains again. Oh and we found a 'back' door to our place that was a much easier trip with larger, less steep stairs to the piazza! Nice to find it now as we are leaving!!

The next train directly to Florence was not until 1341 so we decided to take a train to Pisa and see if we could get there quicker. The train we got on was the nicest so far! We had our own little compartment with climate control and comfy seats, and even a little tray table to work on! We figured we would be tossed off since we were in first class or something and we were close to being right. The conductor came around and looked at our tickets. We were on the intercity train and we had only regional train tickets... we could either get off at the next station or pay 5.20 euro each to continue on. This was the most comfort we had traveled on so we paid up!! It was totally worth it!

We got to Pisa and sure enough there was a train to florence in just a few minutes: good plan! So this is where we are now and I know I owe you a few days back to fill in the blanks and you will get them. They were absolutely fabulous wineries and I will not leave them out! My battery is getting low now so I will finish later, perhaps even when I got home tomorrow. We have reservations for a wonderful dinner tonight at il Latini, my favorite restaurant in Florence, then we leave for Paris in the morning around 7, I think. We only have an hour or so there and then we are enroute home again.

This is a bittersweet time: I could stay here forever and I am ready to get home to my kitties, the cafe and our girls who we have missed so much, and into the familiar daily routine that we have so grown to love. I love this place and I have gotten to know it even better this trip than last, so I can hardly wait for next time. My dreams come true, I hope yours do too!!

Ciao for now. See you soon girls! I love you!!!

~M

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Buona Sera! I don't think I can write much, we are on a train from Florence to Cinque Terre and my signal keeps fading, plus typing on a moving train w/the computer on my lap is much trickier than one would think!

WE JUST PASSED THE TOWER OF PISA!! We didn't stop, maybe we will on Friday when we go back to Florence for our last day in Italy. I know I have missed a couple of days of the tour and I will get them in here...

Teaser: Great food and wine! Lots of time on the bus, thank goodness we love Fabio, and San Gemignano is NOT my favorite place. Siena may be, but we did not have the time there that we hoped to. I was sad about that....

We miss you! Back on Saturday and hopefully a good enough connection to fill in the blog blanks before then.

Ciao for now!!!

~MnM

Link: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Silverdale-WA/Monicas-Waterfront-Bakery-Cafe/132937776561

We got a few pics on Facebook! GO HERE

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com/events.htm#Italy

It's official, I am in heaven. I cannot express how happy I am; there are no words. Just emotion and more emotion. We are at Podere Ciona with the women of Tutti a Tavola and I have found my soul mates. Ya ya sisters of another kind, for no one can replace my ya-ya's, this place is so uniquely special that I will be hard pressed to leave. I will be back. Acres of wine grapes and olive trees, all sloping down to the unseen valley floor. The views here are the most spectacular that we have seen; this region is the most beautiful so far.

We are in Chianti and I would have never guessed that I could love it this much. We arrived in this remote area after only an hour and a half at most, and it is worlds away, even from the beautiful Tuscany. It is a more mountainous region, with the smell of pine trees in the air on this many acres of grape vines and olive groves. We have territorial views that can compete with anything in Western Washington and for me, that is saying something. Unfortunately our apartment has only one bedroom and a sofa-bed, so we will take turns with mom and dad in the suffering at night department. Otherwise this place is idyllic and after meeting the family I want to stay on and on, learning from the 'mammas' who are all professional cooking teachers.

We enjoyed some wine on our terrace, overlooking the vineyards and valley, and then went up to the tasting room for a winery tour, wine tasting, cooking lesson, and dinner. I love touring these small production vineyards; everything is pristine and it is small enough to see truly how it all works. Podere Ciona makes the one chianti wine that I have loved and now that I have tasted their other wines I know I will enjoy them all. We have some at the cafe for sale and when we get back the folks on this trip will probably grab what is left, so if you want some go get it now. It's the monterosso, and it is fabulous!

When we got back to the tasting room kitchen we had a wine tasting and a little Podere Ciona History lesson from Franca's son Lorenzo, who is here for the crush. Then we had more wine and sisters Franca and Mimma, cousin Lele, and cohort, and a few others, all welcomed us into their kitchen and leaped into my heart immediately. Franca kissed me, Mimma hugged me, Lele grabbed my hand and led me around the table to start the tomato peeling process and the cooking lesson was off! These women are so nurturing and natural and it is like being with a favorite grandmother...times five. The love and the learning that go hand in hand there cannot possibly produce anything that tastes bad! I want so much to be a part of this club!! Cooking, learning, teaching, traveling... Elissa lives here only 6 months out of the year and goes back home to Wisconsin 6 months... and when the mammas come to the states to travel and teach she meets up with them. What a dream of a life, in spite of the hard work that goes into it. Really, this is such an amazing experience, I will be bringing it back to all of you and I hope you can get even just a glimpse of this beauty that I am so blessed with. I have won the lottery of life and this trip is my prize!!!

We got some fabulous recipes: watch for the onion tart and peperonata at the cafe right off the bat! Mimma gave me a CD with 150 of their recipes on it and I am so excited about that! Those of us who wanted to keep cooking did, and slowly we all filed out onto the terrace for more wine and relaxation. More onion tarts and soon it was time to sit down for dinner. Penne all'Amatriciana to start, then pork loin with rosemary, parsley and garlic, and peperonata alongside it. We ended with tiramisu and the wine flowed constantly throughout the meal. Elissa sang to us: Somewhere over the Rainbow seemed so appropriate for watching my dreams come true right before my eyes. Then one of our group, the beautiful Sirena, got up (at our coaxing) and sang a wonderful rendition of Puff the Magic Dragon! It is still early, by Italian dining times, and it is great to be done and enjoying the clear Chianti skies and Siena skyline in the far distance.

Tonight we retire early, and I am ready for that! Tomorrow we have a long day of travel, wine tasting, eating and site seeing. We will report back... this afternoon I could not get the signal and right now I can, so it may be iffy. We will do our best to keep you updated!!

Ciao for now,

~MnM

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com/events.htm#Italy

Aloha Linda! It sounds like you two are having a wonderful time and I love getting your posts so keep it up. Eat some raw fish for me!!!

No raw fish here in Tuscany... in fact very little fish at all since it is not a coastal community. You can get it, but it is better on the coast, which we will be in a few days. Today we move to the Maremma, to the vineyards of Podere Ciona. Last night's dinner with winemakers Antonio Sanguineti, and Alessandro & Rita Bocci, was fabulous of course! Giacomo and Roberto made a wonderful meal and the wines flowed nicely. First, we all learned to make the pasta pici, in a great cooking demonstration by Roberto and his very pregnant (any day now) daughter Claudia. Then we had a couple of hours to rest and I think Mark finally got some pics on the computer so maybe we will get them posted for you soon... we are trying!

The antipasti was a half of a small zucchini stuffed with a ragu of vegetables, topped with parmesan, bread crumbs and olive oil, then baked to a crispy brown on top. Antonio poured his 'Vincero!', a white wine that went nicely with the food and would be equally good as a quaffer on the porch. Both the food and wine very yummy! We then enjoyed the pici, dressed simply with olive oil and bread crumbs (which I watched Giacomo make earlier) and I must say we did a great job of forming the pasta! We had the Perazetta 'Sara' with that course and everyone loves that wine so much! Medium bodied and The secondi was a lamb dish, with an orange sauce, and it was so tender! They poured a Barbera D'Alba by Podere Elia and this big bodied wine was the perfect compliment to the wonderfully flavored lamb.

Dessert was zabaglione, a custard like dish, and there was a cantucco (small cookie) and a chunk of excellent chocolate tucked in as well. The wine was Podere Elia's Moscato D'Asti, which we sell at the cafe so we already knew we loved it. This moscato is florally sweet, as opposed to sugary sweet, with honey, pear and pineapple coming through on the palate. It is so light and lovely! The perfect ending.

I do not know how my connection will be at our next place; I may not be able to get online again for some time. I will do my best to keep in touch with everyone and I will post the blog as soon as I can. We will get a few pictures up and share with you the views that we have here.

The adventure continues and as we experience each step I an finessing the details for next year's trip, so it will be even better! If it could be!!! If I can get online I will check back in later tonight. It's Sunday! Eat something locally produced today!

~M

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com/events.htm#Italy

Happy Birthday Niki!! I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating your fabulous self! We will be toasting you at dinner tonight.

Yesterday we learned to make cheese! We traveled back into the walls of Cortona, up a very steep hill (it is a hill town, after all) and into the beautiful cave-like restaurant of Romano, Agostina and Francesca Magi, "La Bucaccia". This is my favorite family in Cortona: exceedingly generous and gracious hosts. Romano is so endearing as he teaches us the beauty and simplicity in making ricotta and mozzarella out of fresh (milked at 4 am before the class) cow's and sheep's milk. It really is easy to do once you have the temperatures mastered and if you can get fresh, raw milk. Agostina is a top caliber chef and their 12 year old daughter Francesca is one month away from becoming a certified sommelier! Now THAT is impressive!

Romano had his newest employee, Marta, translate for him, for he does not feel his English is up to par. Of course, he speaks English well, he is simply more comfortable in Italian. Young Marta, though shy at first, quickly warmed to our silly group and helped us all to understand the intricacies of what we were watching, and at times participating in. Romano talked about the importance of FRESH milk, and all other ingredients being of the highest quality. It was really fun to see the transformation from simple milk to the most wonderful tasting cheese. He had some aged samples for us to taste as well as the fresh cheeses that we made, and he treated us to wine with lunch as well. After lunch he poured us his reserve Vin Santo, from 1977, and it was the best I have ever had. Agostina stays mostly in la cucina, being more comfortable cooking than teaching. As we were enjoying the time with them we realized we wanted to come back for dinner, and 12 of us made reservations to dine with them last evening. What a fantastic decision that was!

As we begin to leave after lunch Romano poured us grappa and probably would have kept serving us until dinner, had we stayed! Some folks chose to stay in town, and some returned to Parco Fiorito for resting and restoring. Fabio, the most wonderful chauffeur in the world, returned at 5 for anyone wanting to go back into town, and to pick up those who had stayed. He then took 12 of us back at 7 for dinner, and waited so patiently for us to arrive a half an hour late for him to take us home! Doumina has forged some wonderful relationships that make her tours extra special, and Fabio is no small part of that.

When we got back mom, dad and Mark went to the villa to rest, and I came up to the convent to work a bit. Between answering emails, checking in with the cafe, updating the web site and paying bills, Giacomo was teaching me to make paste e fagiole, something I have wanted to learn for some time now. I definitely had some things wrong with how I thought it was done! He also went over a couple of other recipes with me... he is truly an accomplished chef. Self taught (and having learned from Roberto and other peers) and true to his culture and region, he patiently answers my questions and shows me things that I could never learn from a formal class. I am so blessed to be here and learning this way!

For dinner we put ourselves in the hands of the Magi family, and sat with anticipation! The first course, or antipasti, was an assortment of their house-cured pork: proscuitto, soprasetta, salame, and other salumi, so typical of the Tuscan region. The wine that they chose for us enhanced the meats perfectly! There were a couple of vegetarians in our group and their plates were so beautifully and thoughtfully prepared that I wished we had gotten one of each. There was really too much for one person on each plate and it would have been easy to share it all.

The primi piatti, in this case a pasta course, was so outstanding I could have cried. The first of the trio of pastas (each of them hand made by Agostina) was freshly foraged porcini mushrooms on a delicate pasta that was similar to fettucine, but thinner and more heavenly. The flavors and textures were straight from the angels and it is hard to believe that a mere mortal made this dish. Mark, who always says he does not like mushrooms, said this was his favorite of the three pastas. I said nothing except 'mmmmm' and 'oh my God' and 'oooohhhh'.

The second pasta (these are very small portions, quite perfect because they fill you up and still leave you wanting more) was a delightfully pillowy ravioli stuffed with fresh spinach and their fluffy, fresh ricotta. It was very lighty topped with a style of ragu and it melted in our mouths.

The third pasta had a spicy bite from paprika. It was a more dense pasta, that had the shape of earth worms, but was far more tender and tasted way better than worms, I am certain. It was rather rustic, as compared to the other two more refined pastas, and the porky sauce was a complimentary condiment, as opposed to being heavy and soupy. Again, I find myself lacking in adjectives for this amazing taste experience. I could not tell you which was my favorite pasta: each was very different and served a separate purpose. Each was unique and perfect and lovely and they could all be my favorite at different moments.

The wine glasses kept getting filled and soon it was time for the secondi, or meat course. The best tasting, most tender beef I have perhaps ever had. We cut it with a butter knife! It was cooked so perfectly that again, I am not sure she is human. The beef was clearly of the best quality, natural and grass-fed, and it was perfectly seasoned. The slices of the Chianina beef left wonderful drippings on our plates that we happily sopped up with the perfectly roasted potatoes that accompanied the meat. Mom and I do not eat beef and we both ate this!

When there was nothing left they brought dessert. A cake type dessert that I still do not know what it was. There was some chocolate, and some orange liqueur flavor... it was small and really good. Just when we thought we were done Francesca placed a couple of glasses of tiramisu on our table! Two to share amongst the four of us and it was heavenly! Light and flavorful and fabulous! We were contemplating staying the night when Romano brought out a 'loaf' of cantucci! This is the first cooking of biscotti (literally: twice cooked) when you form the dough into a 'loaf' and bake it. Then you slice it and if you serve it as such it is is 'cantucci' (cookies), or cantuccini if you cut it very small. It is biscotti if you then bake the individual cookies to crisp them up. So he brought the loaf of cantucci and sliced off a cookie for each of us and served it warm from the oven! HOLY CRAP!! This is the epitome of 'service'!

Suddenly the group at the other table turned to me and told me that it was 9:45! We had promised to meet Fabio across town to go home at 9:30!! We still had to pay and a few were still eating. I jumped up and ran to the kitchen to thank Ago and kiss-kiss in the Italian way, and then mom and I ran across town to wait with Fabio and apologize for being so late. Fabio is of course so generous and sweet he said no problem no problem... but his wife called while we were waiting and I am sure she was annoyed with him being so late. We will have to make it up to them somehow! The group told me that Romano filled them with grappa before he let them leave (he had been pouring a sparkling dessert wine as I left and he is such a character, he poured some right into my mouth!) Mark told me that Romano did not charge us for any service! The meal was very reasonably priced and I will never be able to have enough words to say how wonderful this family, their food, and their restaurant experience is. I love them and want to move in with them!

Everyone else is in Assisi right now, learning about the most popular Catholic saint, St Francis. I awoke with a migraine and could not open my eyes or sit up without waves of nausea so I let them go without me. While I am glad I took care of myself this morning and beat the headache back, I can't help but be wistful when I wonder what they are doing. I hope they all love the hill town and Duomo, I found it to be a magical place when I was there. I will encourage them to blog about the experience and share it with you. I know we are very remiss by not getting pictures posted on the blog. I admit that I cannot figure out how, and on top of that we have not had enough free time to load any pics onto the computer. I will try to get Mark to do that and at least put them on Kodak or Facebook for you to see. Not all of them of course, but some great ones that show some of the things I have been talking about.

I will begin helping to set up service for 30 people tonight. When the group returns we will have a pasta making demonstration to learn to make picci. (pee-chee.) Then at 8 we will have our final dinner here at Parco Fiorito, Antonio Sanguineti of Small Vineyards will give us a wine tasting to match Roberto's wonderful meal, and we will roll off to bed for our last night before we head to the Maremma. Off for more adventures and food and wine. We are so lucky!!!!

Ciao for now,

~M

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com/events.htm#Italy

I am sitting in a corner of the service area trying to stay out of the way while the staff here at Parco Fiorito is bustling around me serving about 15 guests for dinner. It smells great in here and I have opted out of the big dinner tonight, as Mark and I are extra tired so we shall retire a bit early.

We had another most wonderful day, thanks to Doumina. We hit the road by 9:30 this morning and were happily traversing the country side enroute to Pienza. It is my favorite of the lovely little hill towns in the area and I would love to live there. We began at the La Cornucopia tasting balsamic vinegars of all kinds. Doumina ran out while we were tasting and got us all a small cup of gelato and the proprietress, Lucy, spilled sweet balsamic on top and it was unbelievably good. I have heard so often about good balsamic and how it is great on strawberries or ice cream, and after being in that shop I fully understand. We also tasted sheep's milk cheese, pecorino fresca (fresh) and marmalade that was slightly spicy. Such a great combo! We explored the town a bit and piled back into the bus to move on to the vineyards that we were experiencing today.

First to Perazetta, where we met the winemaker, Alessandro Bocci, and his family. Wife Rita, daughter Sara, and father Irio, all of whom have wines named after them and you have sampled them at our wine tastings. Perhaps you have even bought a bottle or two! Sara took the group on a tour of the facility and Joyce and I sat outside trying to get our bearings. We both got a bit motion sick in the bus. We were well enough to fully enjoy the marvelous lunch that they treated us to, at a beautifully dressed table out on the terrace that overlooks their vineyards in the Montecucco valley. The food was as good as the wine, and we had nearly all of their wines. We stretched the lunch out a bit longer than we had planned because everyone was having such a wonderful time. The weather here is still very warm-certainly at least in the mid-70's and very sunny once the fog breaks at mid-morning. The night skies are even clear, full of stars and the declining moon... just absolutely beautiful.

After we bid farewell to the Bocci family were on our way to La Magia: producers of the famed Brunello di Montelcino. Fabian met us and guided us around the family's winery and we learned about what makes the process of Brunello special. Of course we enjoyed a few of the estate's wines while we sat on benches made from the wood from wine barrels, around a 'table' made from giant stones. These babies must have weighed 3 tons each: one rock acting as the pedestal and one on top for the table. All this in the middle of a small copse of trees. The views at this estate are astounding and I want to live there. Doumina made me come back with the rest of them and I will dream of that estate tonight.

The drive back took place at sunset and even though our backs were to most of the show, it was remarkable. The colors of the sky were reflected in the freshly tilled fields and all the things that make Tuscany, Tuscany was lit up better than Christmas. Cypress trees, ancient villas, fields upon fields of olive trees and grape vines. We were later than we wanted to be and most folks napped a bit after it got dark. Happily we arrived back at our convent just in time for dinner. And though I opted out of dinner I have been fed lovingly and well by Doumina and Giacomo, Roberto and Claudia... all busily serving dinner and stopping by to feed me a morsel here, a bit of wine there. It is truly heaven here.

My favorite thing that I ate just now was the zucchini. Giacomo slices the squash thin and grills it, then lets it cool. He then layers in the ingredients and marinates it all day with olive oil, pepperoncini, garlic, salt and mint. There was even a piece of bread soaked in the marinade. The smoky, picante, sweet and spicy flavors have me making yummy noises all over the sofa! Doumina moved a bit further away.

The rest of my family has gone to bed, eating and drinking all day can really be exhausting. And tomorrow we have to do it all over again! By the way, do you remember Roberto's first visit, when he made his 'chocolate explosion' cakes? The small, rich, dark chocolate cakes with a gooey center, drizzled with chocolate syrup on top? That is my dessert. Ha ha! I know you are drooling! Next year you will come with me and enjoy all this goodness!

~Ciao for now,

~M

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com/events.htm#Italy

Buon Giorno! For you it is 1145 pm and for me it is 8:45 am. I just finished a quick breakfast, which is the one meal I do not do traditionally Italian. Italians generally enjoy a croissant or sweet pastry and a cappuccino in the morning and that is all. I need a little protein to get me going and so from the buffet at Parco Fiorito is some prosciutto and a soft boiled egg on a piece of bread, with some olive oil of course! Some fresh juice, some coffee, and I am molto bene!

Last night with the steak we had antipasti of prosciutto, then a wonderful pasta dish that involves fresh vegetables 'crudo', or raw, cut up so tiny that they disappear into the dish. The heat of the pasta 'cooks' the veggies just enough to blend the flavors, and some grated pecorino tops it perfectly. Dessert was Roberto's fabulous tiramisu, which he taught Mark to make last January. It is light and lovely and everyone was quite sated by the end. The steak was very rare, and Roberto obliged those who like it cooked a bit more by putting some back on the fire after cutting it off the bone. It was charred and fabulous and everyone was smiling.

The walk back to the house was much needed and the moon was bright enough to light the way for us so we did not even need a flashlight. We woke to the roosters and other birds singing us Italian songs. As I danced in the meadow the deer and bunnies ran to me and danced... oh wait... I think that was a scene from Snow White. The birds singing was real, though, and the sun broke through the light fog as we walked over to the convent this morning. Today we head to Pienza to taste the vinegars and olive oils, and the cheese that the region is famous for, made from sheep's milk. Then we will taste wine! And Antonio Sanguineti will join us. We love Antonio!!

I don't think I remembered to tell you that Roberto is not going to come to us at the end of the Month. So Leslie, please have Sharon call any reservations that are already made since we have to cancel. He is planning a new trip in January or February and I will keep you all posted. Maybe I did tell you... I don't even know what day it is any more and I am relaxing into the pace of our trip. It is really wonderful here in Italy!

I will report more later, we must be rounding folks up for the bus. Ciao for now!

~M

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com/events.htm#Italy

Happy Birthday Aunt Susie! We could not get online last night to call you and so we are a day late, but we love you and wish you a wonderful birthday nonetheless.

We are here at Parco Fiorito and today is the first day of our official tour. We arrived yesterday by train and what a wonderful surprise, Roberto met us at the station to pick us up! Mom, dad, Mark and I are not staying at the 16th century convent-turned-agriturismo proper, we are at Doumina's rental house just a 10 minute walk away. We slept so much better last night as the cacophony of the city was replaced with the quiet sounds of the country. Much better! Roosters and dogs we are used to! As the other guests began to arrive we greeted them with wine and everyone began to relax into the pace of this lovely setting. There were only 12 of us last night for dinner and Roberto & Giacomo knocked our socks off with the fabulous 4 course meal.

Roberto brought out some bread fresh from the oven to tease our palates and it worked! As we were seated around the table and enjoying the ambiance of the candle-lit table they started bringing out the first course. Lightly fried, as in tempura light, carrots, eggplant, and zucchini. The crust was crisp and light, the veggies were 'al dente' and fresh. There was a salty bite that enhanced the sweet vegetables perfectly. The pasta course highlighted Roberto's ragu, which is a recipe from his Neopolitan mother. The artisan pasta was tube-shaped, about 2 inches long, and ridged around the outside to hold the sauce. Fresh tomatoes, bites of pork, fresh herbs... the sauce was a taste of Tuscany.

The third course, or 'secondi', or the meat course, was Polpetti. Meatballs made from the pork that is raised on this farm, mixed with bread crumbs, some lemon zest, some sage... OH. MY. GOODNESS. They were lovingly tossed in a marinara and these little morsels were the most tender, lovely meatballs ever to exist in the history of meatballs. The recipe is old, and the story goes that the young couple who had just married would go to visit the groom's mother. The mother-in-law would make these meatballs and set them outside the door to be there upon the new bride's arrival. The bride would have to decide what to do and if she chose to eat the meatballs and enter the mother-in-law's house, she was signalling that she recognized that she was second fiddle, and the mother-in-law was in charge. In this way she knew always that she must defer decisions to the mother of her husband and she could not change her mind later. This was a different time, to be sure.

The final course was a simple and elegant dessert. A small 'cake' of fresh ricotta cheese, next to a pear poached in honey and cinnamon, and all was drizzled with the honey collected here on the farm. The juxtaposition of the cold, creamy cheese 'cake' against the warm, slightly rough poached pear was a wonderful feeling in my mouth. The sweetness of the honey was the perfect thing to round out the flavors on the plate and all of it taken together in one bite made eating dessert extra fun! I was stuffed at the end and we are glad we can walk back and forth from here to the house that we stay at.

Ok so I started writing this morning and we had to leave so we went out on our adventures and now we are back. So this post will be a double day post, how about that! We are getting ready for dinner and I am so hungry!!! We shall see how I do.

This morning the final guests arrived and Fabio chauffered us all in a big 20 passenger van. Doumina picked up the slack in the SUV, a couple of the more delicate ladies were made motion sick by the van, so they rode in the SUV. (Poor mom and Ann!) We headed for the walls of Cortona and were dropped at Piazza Garibaldi, where we could see wonderful territorial views of Umbria spread out below. We strolled up Via Nazionale to the best shop in town, 'il Pozzo'. Doumina takes her guests here to give Ivan the well-deserved business. He greeted us with glasses of wine, fresh bread and both tomato and chicken liver pate to choose to top it. We learned a bit about the history of the city and how the geography has changed over the years. The shop is filled with beautiful, hand made paper, ink pens, stationary, beautifully framed photos and maps, and many other things. When you make a purchase the clerk will ask if it is a gift and when you say yes she wraps your package and makes it look like a work of art.

Soon our illustrious guide for the day, Giovanni, joined our group and began his rapid-fire style of talking and teaching us about the city we were visiting. Giovanni is filled with information about his beloved city and we could spend days with him and never retain half of it, but it is really fun to try. The architecture, the churches, the culture and traditions are all things we learn about and Giovanni's fun, almost irreverent style is a pleasure to be around.

We hoofed it up and down and all around the city, then back on to the bus to see more. To the top of the hill and back, we toured a basilica, a cathedral, saw works of art, and then down to the first hermitage that St Francis created (before he was a saint, of course), Le Celle. It is so beautiful there, still a functioning hermitage, though with just a handful of monks as opposed to the hundreds who lived there centuries ago. I won't bore you with all the wonderful details, if you want to know more about Cortona you can join us on our trip next year and love it for yourself!

Fabio then drove us to the site of Etruscan ruins just outside the city. Older than anything most of us have ever seen, it is amazing to see the work of restoration that is an ongoing project on this site. Giovanni filled us with as much education as he could and then bid us 'arrivaderci' as we proceeded to our next stop.

We were running late of course, so much to see and marvel at! We went down to the olive oil pressing mill and got a tour of the old style mill that is not functioning for the season quite yet. In another 3 weeks it will be filled with olives and workers; farmers will drop off their olives at the back door and pick up their oil at the front. The stones will be turning, the mats will be pressing and the fabulous green liquid gold will pour from the spouts. It will run for about a month and then be quiet again until next season. Last time I was here at the right time to see it and I am seriously considering changing next year's dates so that we can be again. It was worth it and we get to taste the fresh oil instead of last year's crop. While that is still wonderful, it is not the same.

On we moved to the farm of Giovanni Pucci and his family. They raise the white cow of Tuscany, the Chianina, for breeding stock. These cows are over a ton each and all white... big, brawny girls and boys, whose job it is to bring home awards and prizes for their strong lineage. This family does not speak English; they are not accustomed to having tourists or other guests on their farm. Only Doumina, who has forged wonderful relationships with the people of this region, gets to bring visitors in to have a glimpse of this simple and proud life.

By the way, for those of you who know Joyce Merkel, we got a picture of her inside the barn next to a cow. She even touched the cow's nose! We were proud of our city girl!! Now we are all relaxing and getting ready for a dinner of the Bistecca ala Fiorentino-- call it a meet and eat! The 4.5 lb steaks are resting near the man-sized fire place where they will be grilled rare and served in slices for each of us to taste. What an amazing experience!

So that is ciao for now... for now we chow.

~MnM

Link: http://www.waterfrontbakery.com

Got pizza? Oh no you don't! Yesterday was far more fabulous than we could have imagined it would be. We spent the morning and early afternoon with Rima and her husband Francesco, and though we had just met them for the first time, it felt like we were visiting old friends. They are the most generous, gracious, wonderful couple and I want to bring them home with me. You may want to get a drink and a snack... this is a long one.

We started out around 9 and walked to a part of town that we had not spent much time in. Boy are we sorry about that! For the first time I have experienced a part of Florence that makes me think I could live here. Though I have enjoyed this city immensely I had yet to see an area that I loved enough to potentially call home. If we ever come back we will stay in the Santa Croce neighborhood or across the Arno. I think it would be much quieter and it would certainly feel more like a home. This apartment is really great and has a fantatically central location for a first time stay. I don't need to be this central again.

So we walked to the St Ambrogio market and my eyes took in a wonderful sight: rows of produce vendors filling their stands with fresh, colorful, amazing looking produce. We were early so we ducked into a bistro and got cappuccinos and little pastries and sat outside watching the activity. It was like a bee hive, buzzing with organized chaos, each vendor hurriedly setting up displays that were worthy of magazine covers. Suddenly Rima was there with us, having picked me out from a photograph that Doumina had sent her by way of introduction. We greeted in Italian and kiss-kissed both cheeks and she sat to join us and introduce herself. She was a little nervous at first: she thinks that she does not speak good English. She told us that her husband was parking the car and that he actually spoke better English.. she just speaks Arabic, Spanish, French and Italian. Oh my... we have all agreed that her English is just fine. Rima is a tour guide by trade and I understand why she wants to improve her English for the purpose of guiding tours through the city, though I think she is probably very good at what she does and I recommend contacting her for tours of Florence when you come here.

We were not there so much for a tour, as for a food class. This was her market where she shops nearly every day. In Italy, on average, at least one person in every household shops each day for their food. Everything is fresh, in season, and local... though here they just call it food. Those monikers mean little in a region that has always lived and eaten this way. Rima led us through the market, list in hand, to each of her favorite vendors. She would call out to them, quickly introducing us and listing out her needs. They would show her what they had and if it met her approval they would efficiently pack it up and hand it to her. If it did not meet her approval, or if they did not have what she needed, they would tell her which vendor they thought she should get it from. She would move on to the next stall and call out again, intermittantly answering my incessant questions and handing us samples of fresh produce we may or may not have seen before. I dogged her like a love-sick puppy asking "coze?" over and again... "Coze?" (coe-zay) "what is this?" for every bit of produce I did not recognize... and there was a lot!

She would explain as best she could when often there was not a direct translation, then perhaps grab a sample, and we would be off to the next beautifully laid out stand. Between transactions she would tell me why she liked this vendor best and what was special about that vendor's wares. She was in her element and it was so much fun to watch her work. We then moved into the warehouse like building that was behind the produce stalls and we walked into my version of heaven. Oh Leslie, you would have LOVED this! The building housed probably 25 or more different little 'stores': butchers, cheese mongers, bread bakers, coffee roasters, a granery, bakeries, deli style cases with prepared items, a little coffee counter, a little lunch counter that used the market ingredients for the menu. Basically it was what Pike's Place Market was before it got so big and so tourist-oriented. This was for the locals and it was the most beautiful site I had yet seen.

Rima began handing out samples of cheese and prosciutto and telling us all about the market. We could not help but walk around in amazement, gazing at the wares. Whole chickens, rabbits, every bit of the cow, pig and even horse meat (sorry, Sharon) which is very old school and still very much eaten around central Italy. Fresh cheese, aged cheese, cheese from cows, buffalo, goats and sheep. Sausages, salumi, cut to order and wrapped in little packages that made it feel like Christmas. I spied the granary and saw that the bulk carnaroli rice was only 2.60€ a kilo!!! I pay something like $7+ a pound! I bought only two kilos (a kilo is 2.2 lbs) since I have to carry it all around but I wanted to take the entire bin home. Carnaroli rice is rice for risotto and I think it is a step up from arborio rice, which is the most common risotto rice around. It is creamier and has a richer flavor and since I make risotto quite a bit I love to use that rice.

Soon we were out the other door and on the other side of the market square where the vendors were hocking household and wardrobe items: the produce market became a flea market and you could get anything that you could need here! I saw an old woman walking around in her high heels and cashmere coat, clutching a giant loaf of crusty bread, eating bits of it as she walked and shopped. It was a great picture but alas, Mark was no where around me with the camera, having found his own photo-worthy subjects elsewhere.

We all climbed into Francesco's vehicle... a volkswagon that we had never seen before. Sort of like a mini van, it seated 7, but it looked more like an SUV. It is one of the larger cars we have seen here and they told us that since they have 3 kids who all have friends they must have a larger car. Ah yes. They took us to their apartment by way of a wine shop like nothing we had ever seen before. I want this wine shop in my neighborhood! Francesco explained that traditionally wine would be purchased at the farm directly from the producer. As the city has grown, and time has become more precious, fewer people are able to get out the farms on a regular basis. This type of store was created about 10-15 years ago in order to make the connection between consumer and farmer a little easier. The shop buys bulk wine from the farmer and then sells it to the residents of the city for very little markup. While there were of course bottles of wine for sale, the best deals were BYOB. One fellow brought in 10 of his own bottles while we were there picking up some prosecco for the afternoon. The wine seller would fill his bottles with red table wine for less than 3€ per bottle! The prices were very low, even for the really good stuff. How interesting that for us at home going directly to the vineyard is often more expensive than buying wine in a shop or grocery store. That has never made sense to me and now I see that I am not the only one.

We made our way to Rima and Francesco's apartment on the Oltrarno- the other side of the Arno river. We slipped through the narrow door and up the steep concrete stairs to the top floor. We spilled into their sun-lit apartment and quickly took over their efficient kitchen. Rima gave us a shy smile and said to come with her into the next room. She quietly shushed us and said that the babies were sleeping and pointed to the lumps under the bed covers. She slowly lifted the top blanket and grinned as she showed us 5 puffy rounds of pizza dough that she was keeping warm in the bed, so they could rise and do their yeasty good thing. She had used 5 kilos of flour to make dough for the day's pizza lesson. Mark took some pictures as we giggled at her creative proofing 'oven'.

They seated us around the marble-topped kitchen table/work island and began organizing ingredients for the cooking lesson. Francesco poured prosecco and Rima proceeded to show us how to make pizza dough. Water, fresh yeast, a little sugar, flour and salt were all she used to make her masterpiece dough. She blended it by hand and worked it, adding a little more flour, a little more water, and on until it felt just right to her. She handed out balls of dough so that we could feel what she was feeling and know what to wait for. "Feel your ear lobe and that is what a good dough will feel like", she told us. Soft and yieldy, yet firm and workable.. we understood when we felt our ear lobes and felt the dough.

Putting that aside she went to go get one of the doughs that had already proofed and was ready to go. Francesco was quietly in the background as he busied himself with prep work, slicing cheese and rinsing vegetables, handing Rima things she would as for as she needed them. She tore off a chunk of dough and began working it, eventually rolling it out into a very thin round. She drizzled some lovely green olive oil into the bottom of the big pan and expertly smeared it around with her fingers. She flopped the dough into the pan and began telling us how important the ingredients are. She had tomatoes from a jar that were ONLY crushed tomatoes. Nothing else was added other than organic tomatoes. She blended them up until they were smooth with a stick blender, and spooned some onto the dough. She baked that until it was done enough for her and topped it with some slices of fresh "fior di latte", or cow's milk mozzarella. A couple of sprigs of basil and back into the oven for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese. The Margherita pizza is generally my favorite and that disc of cracker-thin crust did not disappoint me. IT WAS SO GOOD! We mmm'd and ah'd as we chewed and tasted and experienced Rima's magical touch.

Rima was on a roll now and rolling out pizzas faster than we could believe. My favorite was what she dubbed 'the carpaccio': a disc of dough baked until done, then topped with a load of fresh arugula, thinly shaved parmesan, and thin thin prosciutto, with a couple of bright red cherry tomatoes cut in half, and a drizzle of that fabulous olive oil. There were at least 12 pizzas in all, probably more, some with zucchini flowers, sweet bell peppers, sausage, smoked mozzarella, buffalo mozz, gorgonzola, salumi, eggplant, little onions, fresh herbs, and on and on. Mark's favorite was potato and rosemary pizza, topped with a little olive oil and salt. He thought that would be a good breakfast pizza. The last two pizzas were sweet! Rima laid out these special little grapes that are in season here right now, all over the bottom dough. She sprinkled sugar over and topped with another dough. She layered on a bunch more of the grapes, sprinkled with sugar, and doused the whole thing in red wine. It turned into a syrup as it baked and it was fabulous. Francesco had his own pizza to make, topping the dough with paper thin slices of orange (peel and all), then sprinkling brown sugar on top. I think that is all there was to it and it was so full of flavor.

That was the thing about spending time with Rima and Francesco. Every thing they did was simple and straight forward, and the ingredients were pure and beautiful, so the results were phenomenally good. They also made little dough balls that they stuffed with gorgonzola and drizzled with olive oil, then baked until the cheese was all melty inside. Each new wave of food to taste (and believe me, by the end we were taking the tiniest tastes!) she would say "now this one will be good", as if the last were not! And with every new bite we would mmmmmoan with happiness, then beg her to stop. Oh but she had to go 'off the program' as Francesco said, quickly whipping up a tempura batter of her own making, stuffing zucchini flowers with some cheese, dipping them in the batter and frying them on the stove top. HOLY mother of all good food, those were amazing. Delicate, light, savory and crunchy with a light flavor of zucchini and just a small bit of cheese for creaminess. BASTA! We had had enough!

Rima made us a little coffee and we all stood up just to see if we could. Francesco was so gracious, he got on the internet and helped us find out what train we could take the next day to go to Cortona. They explained to us how to get the tickets, the best place to do that, the best way to get from Siena to Florence at the end of the trip was a bus and they explained how to do that, too. They filled our stomachs then filled our heads with information that we needed, too! Plus Francesco had gone off while we were at the market and found us a new fuse for the power converter for my computer. Alas, the converter blew the new one, too, and I am still without my computer. Luckily they have this one at the apartment to use.

Francesco drove us back to St Croce and we said our farewells and thank yous, though there were not enough words to express how grateful we were to them. It was a perfect day and an experience that very few others get to have, and as you can see we loved every second of their company. Grazie Mille Francesco e Rima! Te amo!!

Ok, we were stuffed. 4 hours of eating pizza will do that to you. That is not all we did yesterday, St Croce and the Duomo were involved, but I must go get into the shower so we can make our train. More later.. here is a teaser: I spent about 40 minutes with Michelangelo's Pieta, and yes Doumina, I cried blissful tears, being so grateful for the whole day.

Love to you all! Ciao for now!

M

OK I found a bit more time to finish... don't worry it won't take long, we did not really eat again the rest of the day. St Croce is my favorite church in Florence, although I have not seen them all. I don't really know why I love it most, perhaps it is that Galileo and Michelangelo's tombs are both there. Maybe it is the leather working monks who have stolen my heart... and the art that fills the cathedral. This space feels more sacred to me than some of the others and I am sad that I did not get to go into Santo Spirito this time, but I am very glad I returned to St Croce. We headed back towards the Duomo with only one pit stop: Vestri Chocolate Shop. The BEST gelato we have had. Made on the premises and held in metal containers, it is smooth and flavorful and sensational. I had the smallest cup (about 2 ounces) of dark chocolate with chili peppers. Dad had peach, Mark had a strange kind that was vanilla with sort of carmelly crunchies in it. Mom got some beautiful hand made chocolates for later. Earl Grey tea, Grand Marnier, and a salted ganache. We had them later and they were smooth, high quality chocolates... little squares of pure flavor.

When we got to the duomo I left them to explore and went into the Museo del Opera del Duomo... I had not seen Michelangelo's Pieta before and I had to. Plus the real East Doors of the Campenile are in there, among some of the finest statuary in Tuscany. I glimpsed the Pieta as I climbed the stairs and it took my breath away. As I approached and circled it I literally could not catch my breath. It is so beautiful, unfinished as it is. He was 84 when he started this piece and his masterful hand is more experienced than ever. Nicodemus' face is Michelangelo's self portrait as he encompasses the Marys and Jesus in his arms. Mary's unfinished face appears to have her eyes closed, and it looks like she is kissing the head of her dead son. Mary M is slightly apart, while helping to carry the weight of his body, she is respectful of his mother's need to hold him. She looks lovingly on with sadness. I stayed for about 10 minutes, went through the rest of the small museum except for the final display, then went back to spend more time gazing upon this work. I owe thanks again to Helen Bedtelyen for opening up this art loving heart of mine. I fought back the tears as I adored this hunk of marble.

I got to see some of the East Door panels, though many were gone, on loan to the Accedemia for awhile. Mom was in the piazza when I exited and she told me that Mark and dad had decided to climb to the top of the dome... 463 steps to the top! Mom and I were smarter, we drank wine at a sidewalk cafe.

And that was pretty much it for the day. Hours of laundry in the little tiny washer and dryer that took forever to work because we don't know how to do it. A little sleep and off we go to the stazione de treno!

Arrivaderci!