NYE.

Now that's messed up, in a delicious way.

Anyways, it's New Years Eve, and I am working until 10 or so, then hitting the mean streets to go to a masquerade ball. I made my own mask, and it's the first and last time I will ever buy glitter pens and stick on gems to "bedazzle" anything. But I am looking forward to going to a proper party- it's been a few years since I have done something of serious note. My goal: not to be as hung over as last year. Probability in achieving goal: high, since I don't think the bourbon market recovered it's production still...

The last week has been pretty relaxing, spending time with family and friends, celebrating and whatnot. Happy New Year to you all!

Morgue: Legacy

Well it has happened.

My great friends in NZ, Morgan and Cal have had their child. Willamina is here!

A few weeks ago, before the end of the long-running game I had been a part of with the NZ guys, I spoke to Morgue in a down moment via skype. He spoke of becoming a father, and having his world turned upside down. I used the word "awesome" to describe the situation, and meant it's dual meanings, which he pointed out was the most apt term for this momentous event....

Little did he know, at the time I was capturing the images of a man about to lose my perception of freedom. Or my perception of what "enough sleep" really means. Or quiet, or.....

Morgue when I crack a joke:

Morgue when he realizes that the joke is ON HIM!

(I also saw Tron:Legacy today and liked it for the "awesome" visuals, but it was too long for what it was, and it could've been so much darker, but it was made by the mouse, and this pales in comparison to the importance of the rest of this post, but wanted to let you know.)

Bits.

It's been busy. Busy for the December cooking man life. Although, I shouldn't complain- not as intense as it's been in the past. Maybe I am becoming better? Maybe business is down? Maybe a better team? A bit of them all?

Well, it's almost over. Good. I really am not a fan of the holidays, because of this negative association. You have fun, I work more. (And then there's the whole don't care much about the birthday party....).

New Years Day I am considering throwing a party that has perhaps a relation to festivus: you express your regrets of the last year, and then say how you've learned from the mistakes and how you're moving forward through the help of a support group/8-step program. There will be grog involved...

Looking forward to next weekend's supper out at Vashon Island. That will be covered for sure. I am beginning to think of this blog as a "major events only" place now. I am considering if I have as much love for this Alligator Love thing as I have in the past....something I am mulling over for the rest of the year. And on that bombshell, have a great day!

Food.

2 odd local food notes:

1st, Rizzo's French dip has closed apparently, when the owners skipped town. Their ad is not fake. But it should be:

And then second, the BBC reports the story of the Washington Tater Man....

From The Rolo-Dex.

Best recipe ever.

Next time you throw a party for your friendly friends....

Turkey Time, Expounded.

Oh Thanksgiving, how I love ye.

I went down to Olympia, not in the dart, due to the ice still covering my street (it rained last night, so it's gone now) and my dad already had the turkey going. Hanging out with family, drinking whiskey (Basil-Hayden) and cider (Rockridge Orchards), playing games, and relaxation.

Dinner was up at 3pm, with the full array of traditional items, with gravy I was especially proud of, since it was made at work with much craft-skill and love. Chicken demi-glace, simmered with 4 carcasses of roasted chickens, some shiitake mushrooms and bay leaves for a background accent, and time. Then I turned that into a velouté and pored it over the roasted chicken thigh meat I had reserved on the side....that's how you do it....

And as a side talking point, mostly for the cooking types: I have been morally wrestling with the idea that a meat stock should just be a reduction of that animal's essence. Why add mirepoix, and other traditional ingredients? Should you add some? I added shiitakes because they would help with the umami....what about that? Do I need to roast all my bones or can I blanch it? I am getting into moral questions concerning the basis of traditional western cookery.....I love this about food: there are many ways to get to the end, and you find the way that works best (not necessarily for you, because that's called a shortcut) and makes you content.

New.

I drew some alligator pictures a while back, with the intention of using them here. I wanted to do something, but I got burned out- I am not used to staring at a computer for this long straight! So, this is temporary.....

RoundUp, The Freezing.

It has snowed. Snow. Real powder. It's cold out, under freezing, windy, serious. Winter. At the beginning of this month we hit 76°F. WTF.

Anyways, I made Sauerbraten recently, taking pictures to explain to y'all how it's done. I was incomplete, but I will explain:

1. Sear your well seasoned brisket (but you should decide to make this a couple days before, so it can marinate....)

2. Brown your carrots and onions in the same pan you did the meat in, turned down a little.

3. Bring some beef stock up to a boil, on the side. Bubbly!

4. Drink some "glacier fresh" beer.

5. Open 4 Copa di Vino (my friend Meg works for them- I got 4 cases!) and deglaze your pan.

6. Add some bay, coriander, thyme, caraway seed, black pepper and garlic.

This is where I stopped taking pics. Put this veg mix from above into a braising vessel with the seared meat, and the boiling stock. Cover well, and cook in a 325° F oven for 4 hours. Pull the meat out, and take the rest of the liquid and thicken it with gingersnap cookies. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Then, eat with a warm potato/kraut/sour cream and some kohlrabi, sunchoke and mizuna salad. Enjoy more glacier fresh beer....

And now for snowy pictures....

The Dart sucks in snow, fyi....no traction....

Still some fall colors.

Dart Vs. Me.

I am off today, with a bento lunch planned, as well as a cooking assignment for myself. I have yet to determine what that will mean, but I am doing something of note today. I will attempt to remind myself to document for various purposes, including learning on your part (perhaps....).

I recently wrestled with a moral dilemma: To Dart or Not To Dart.

I have my old car, and it needed a lot of work (nearly 1 grand) for stuff. That's how out of neglect it was. After so much time driving my brother's more modern car, with all its safety and comforts, I had once again thought about a new vehicle for myself. But a 2nd car? I can NOT sell the Dart (there would be an uproar- and there's a 45th birthday party for you to attend next summer!) And so how much do I pay for a new car? I have a car paid for outright? But the new one will be less of a hassle! But my current car literally starts up every time, no questions asked, so is a thousand a year worth it? "Of course" was the final verdict- it is. I would pay that much for another car anyways.....but then I left with this: The Dart is really a greater Seattle car. I don't much like driving it to Olympia even....so I back at the start....

(And then there's this: Not bragging, but I do have enough/make enough to make this a moot point if I wanted, but it's being saved for the restaurant you will get to eat at one day. I save lots for that....enough where these things are choices....)

Wild Vs. Wild.

Just woke up and am listening to the Avett Brothers while I have my coffee drank.

Was jolted into boyhood by this though: a bison being chased by a grizzly.

Pretty cool,eh? Now back to coffee and morning time.

Hallo-win.

Well now. We're in November already. Really? If I am to experience winter, I would be ok if it consisted of our weather today. It was tortuous knowing it was almost 70 degrees out, fully sunny, and there I was making meatballs and potato cakes and hot sauce and plum-upside down cake. Ok, it could've been far worse....

Halloween (the party night of Saturday) was mucho fun. Went to a house party, with warm gravy in a clearance-quality gravy boat, and danced up a storm. Note to all: gravy-boat-and-whiskey-drank-holding-while-dancing is really, REALLY hard. There's no flow, no balance. So I put the gravy down, drank my scotch and water up, and then got down (but not next to the gravy).

Sunday was actually Halloween, and the quality of that evening is truly debatable, but I will say this: my body turns wine into headaches. And a makeshift costume is not a costume. You just look like an idiot....

I have already proclaimed my costume next year. I do this many years (see Macho Man for a decade) and (so far) they never come to pass. But! I promise, PROMISE next year's getup will be epic, and I will pull no punches for it. I will not say what it is, but for the last Halloween of my 20's, I will go big....

Gravy.

I went down to Portland this weekend- my weekend, which was a day longer than usual- with Aki, his girlfriend Vanessa, and his brother Masato. It was a nice little getaway.

Highlights/Recap: Porchetta sandwich from People's Pig food cart- pickled romanesco?!? More please. I will also be copying this item on my next menu as closely as possible.

Dinner with Trever and Nicole at a cool Italian bar. Monday lunch with Meghan at ClarkLewis, and then cocktails at the Ace Hotel and the Benson Hotel. I like hotel bars. They usually have quality drinks and are full of people who are like me- nowhere else to go....

I also obtained the 2nd to last piece of my Halloween Costume. I am going to be a gravy robber.

It's rather esoteric:

FMA.

I have completed a month-plus plan of pulling off this farmers market event. It had the rather long-winded official title of, "Farmers Market Alliance-UDistrict Chamber of Commerce Fall Market Harvest Celebration." It is an unwieldy acronym.....

Anyways, I woke up stressing out yesterday, for no real apparent reason. After being at work for 30 minutes and taking account of what was what, I realized I could enjoy myself and cook some excellent stuff. There were a couple minor details I wasn't happy with, but at the end of the day, everything I could do/did do made people happy. I was grateful for the farmers that donated produce, and love that community. Here's the menu of what I did, but since you didn't eat it, you lose.

Boom.

I cannot wait.

And the Dart usage is extra appreciated.

Catch-Up.

Just enjoying a day off, during which we're getting these lovely Indian Summer days. I have no idea why they're called that. But I drank coffee and read outside earlier, and though I wore a jacket, it was only because of the light breeze.

I have cleaned up my room, which was a big event. I still hadn't put away my camping thing from last week. A tent spread out to air, the various contents/accouterments of camping I own (including 2 sleeping bags, and 3 tents) really takes up a lot of room unpacked. It takes up almost all of the small closet I have in my room, and it's stacked up, and packed away in 2 backpacks for order. It's crazy. But it's been put away, and the room dusted for probably only the 4th time I've lived here. It's not grungy ever, because it's so dark in here....

I am plotting next week's "farmers market alliance/U-District chamber of commerce fall harvest celebration." I have lots of fine things on order, and I will let you know more about this in the near future. Now I have to go back to enjoying Wilco's double album "Being There."

Le Beach.

The ocean was great.

It rained only a bit, in the morning. It was empty, devoid of campers. The night was full of stars, and constellations I have no idea of. We cooked over the fire, pondered, and drank smooth whiskey, a requisite part of a fine camping experience.

Brought back 2 albacore tunas, weighing around 11 pounds apiece, of which I have only eaten raw (classic Japanese sashimi with fresh shiso, cabbage, perfect rice and miso as one meal, and a Spanish approach to the belly: sliced thin, with green olives/pimientos, oregano, and fine, grassy olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and fresh lemon. Both are pretty good....) and have to preserve the remainder.

Tonight is a stay-at-home night; big living overshadows daily necessities, which become dire, such as laundry or cleaning ones room....

Oct.

I have ended up at the other side of the day that was circled in my calendar as "the day when everyone wants something, be called, or I have an appointment." I was not looking forward to the day, especially when I somehow double booked two big things concurrently. But, alas, I have made it happen, and have survived.

The really big thing is my brother has gotten a new job, and has returned from Alaska to the outskirts of Washington, the fabled Tri-Cities. (Not as fabled as Olympia and its two hanger-ons...) He woke up in Fairbanks to 5° F and headed over to the eastside of the state, where he said it'd be 85° F. Drastic.

But, more personally affecting: my new menu. It was a firm departure from Summer's Freewheeling Produce Array (the name of my gypsy folk/sky/Euro-dance band) to the full harvest time. Tomatoes are winding down (no! I hadn't eaten enough!) Fishes too. I am turning to pumpkins and braised dishes. Peppers are utilized a lot. Corn, I recognize now, should have seen some sort of play. Kimchee has been made from cabbage, and I should make a sauerkraut batch. But that's next week, if I am lucky. Loads of other things to take care of!

But here it is; October in all its glories:

Saturday, Sounders match (will they make the playoffs?!?!) and the farmers market. Sunday was going to be camping up in the mountains (which I haven't really done this year) but now looks to be out at the ocean with Aki (which also hasn't happened this year...)

Should be good.

10.5.

I love that all I am doing this week is linking to pointless endeavors captured on the internets. (See Ichiro's Milestone).

And now this guy, who likes making pancakes waaaaay too much.

In my life? Work is insane this week for some reason; working long days, and the good news is my sciatica hurts after 10.5 hours as opposed to 5.5 hours, so treatment is working right?

Oktoberfest/karaoke tonight!

Immigants.

And you'd think this was posted in the Onion, but no, off the wire.

*.

The one good thing about this season of Mariner's baseball?

Ichiro of course. (Unless you count last offseason, when our pitching rotation looked incredible, but you know how that turned out*)

*unless you live in NZ, then of course you don't most likely. Long story short: we made an audacious trade for a former Cy Young Winner**, then our batting was (some would say) predictably miserable, and the pitching didn't matter.

**Also for Kiwis: The award for the best pitcher in baseball, named after the guy who has not only the most career wins, but also the most career losses in baseball history***

*** yes, baseball is weird, but not as weird as cricket****

****like having to introduce a rule because a player replaces himself with a cardboard cutout.