Saturday morning always feels so great. You have the whole weekend ahead of you, Monday seems so far away. But we all know 6pm Sunday afternoon comes REAL fast. But this is why we all must let Saturday morning soak in! This is usually best achieved with liquid, the alcoholic version. And yes I do proudly wear the title of Lush!

Saturday morning the boy and I headed over to a new restaurant that was recommended to us for brunch. Cafe Parco is a lovely Italian inspired cafe. There were only a couple of other people in the restaurant so we were seated next to the open window overlooking the park across the street.

If you are going out to breakfast booze should almost always be involved.

There were many scrambles and frittatas. There was a sweet and savory section which had savory style French toasts. For example this was the dish that was recommended.

Panino Croccanti

Two pieces of French Toast

Layered with rosemary ham and black truffle Sottocenere

and topped with a soft egg.

This sounded great to me, but since it was recommended by my boyfriend’s co-worker, he was planning on ordering it. I pondered over the Pork Belly, but then decided that I would opt for the Sweet shrimp and avocado scramble with potatoes. At the last minute my boyfriend changed his mind and ordered the Banana Bacon Waffles. If he would have ordered the original dish we went there for, I might be more enthusiastic about this restaurant, but since we didn’t I’m not sure this review represents the best dishes this kitchen has to offer.   



The dishes came out very quickly and my dish was exactly how I would have expected it. The shrimp were a little over cooked, but the flavor was good and put avocado on anything and I will eat it.

The Banana Bacon Waffle was really good, sweet and savory with a light and crunchy waffle. Over all, great service, average food, a little pricey, charming atmosphere and hey there’s booze!



I’m sure we will venture back to Café Parco and we will have to try the recommended dish!!
All in all great start to the weekend, but Sunday afternoon came to quickly again!

http://cafeparco.com/main.php

Father's Day Weekend!!!!

Went back home to Bellingham to see the fam! And Dad!

As soon as my father picked me up from the train station we drove straight to Taylor Shellfish Farm!!!

 http://www.taylorshellfishfarms.com/

Oysters, mussels and clams!!! We took them home to cook up a fabulous PNW dinner!!

On the Menu:

Signature Drink: Moscow Mules!!!!!!

Oysters on the half shell with a rice wine and fish sauce mignonette .

Caprese Salad.

Mussels and clams in a fennel sherry broth with grilled bread.

BBQ Oysters.

Yeah...Happy Fathers day!!

The Moscow Mules were my lovely little sister’s idea. She had just recently had them on a trip to California and thought they were so refreshing. A perfect signature cocktail (plus they are Oprah's favorite).

Moscow Mules:

Ginger Beer

Lime Juice

Vodka

Ice

Mix a shot (or 2) of vodka with about a cup of ginger beer ( this is non-alcoholic like ginger ale but less sweet) and a squeeze about a half of lime or more to taste. Pour over ice and garnish with lime and a neon straw :)

After we made our cocktails, sipped while we chopped and prepped all of our ingredients, nibbled on some cheese and shared a few stories it was time for the main event!

This dish is one of our all-time favorite dishes, and it is so easy! This would be perfect for a large dinner party, all you need to do is prep everything before your guests arrive and just before it is time to eat, put it all in the pot and turn on the heat!

Clams and Mussels steamed in Sherry with Fennel seed

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 pounds fresh mussels

2 pounds fresh clams

1 cup of dry sherry

1 cup of claim juice

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Toast fennel seeds in a hot dry skillet until browned and smoking. Remove from heat. Then dump all of the rest of the ingredients in, cover and cook on high heat until the clams and mussels open. If a clam or mussel doesn’t open discard. Serve with grilled bread that has been rubbed with fresh garlic to sop up all of that amazing broth and a chilled glass of white wine!

Perfect!

Cheers to a great Daddio!

     

So I was having one of "those days" at work today and I took a trip to the market during lunch. I had to pick up some lunch meat for the house. I arrived to a lovely specialty foods store at one end of the market. Delaurenti and wound my way through the shelves of gourmet products from around the world that you will never find at your grocery store. I love looking at food stuffs that I have never seen before. If I had a higher income right now I would have probably bought almost every item in the store, then tried every single one when I got home. But alas, I went to the counter and ordered only the two items that were requested from David; Roasted Ham and Spicy Sopressata. While standing in front of the crazy selections of all kinds of cured meats....

http://www.delaurenti.com

 I read over all of the titles, then I saw it. Jamon Iberico. If you are not familiar with this cured meat Simon Majumdar a food writer describes this as one of the greatest foods on earth;

 "Jamon iberico de bellota is prized for its unique taste, created in part by the aroma of sweet acorns that the pigs feed on ("bellota" means "acorn"). Iberico pigs must graze under Encina oak trees, because their acorns give the pigs’ fat a rich, creamy texture that melts in your mouth. The salt curing of the meat and the three years of aging that follows makes for a taste that lingers like a fine wine."

Read more: http://www.askmen.com/fine_living/wine_dine_archive_300/346_jamon-iberico-5-things-you-didnt-know.html#ixzz1xcYIrmV9

I have drooled watching Anthony Bourdain eating this beautiful paper thin meat on the Food Network, but never thought I could be eating it in Seattle. I thought this was a buy-the-plane-ticket-just-to-see kinda of a food. But there it was. Then I looked at the price, $79.99 a pound...

Well that explains the way people rave about it. So I decided to buy 4 slices. I mean they slice it so thin, how much can it cost? about $6.50 is the answer. Pretty steep for 4 slices of paper thin jamon. But, hopefully it will be worth it.

I left the market, but not before being tempted by the huge case of cheese!

After work I treated myself for getting through the tough day at work with four lovely slices of Jamon Iberico and Prosecco!

Perfect!

I also bought a bottle of wine for tonight. We have been trying to watch this movie forever and both have been too tired by the end of the day, so I thought it would give us both some incentive to stay awake.

                                                              Happy Wednesday!

Living in Seattle there are so many local fresh ingredients available and so many passionate chefs that know how to use them. If I had the funds I would go to a new restaurant every night, but I don’t and I do also like to cook. In this blog I will be sharing tested recipes, sharing my experiences in different restaurants, and any other culinary experience I fall upon. In the style of MFK Fisher who not only inspired the title of this blog but also my passion for writing about a meal or a recipe with detail and elegance.


        “Like most humans, I am hungry...our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it...” -MFK Fisher The Gastronomical Me