Truffle Chex Mix

Every time I open my freezer I get a whiff of the Truffle Salt that I bought a while back. I decided to use it make Truffle Chex Mix for a girls night out I hosted this week. The girls
found it addictive and everyone was asking where I got it.

Truffle Chex Mix

6 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of Truffle Salt
3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
9 cups of Chex Cereal
1 cup of mixed nuts
1 cup of pretzels
1 cup of vegetable chips(I used Terra Exotic Mediterranean chips)

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Melt butter in microwave.
3. Stir seasonings in with butter.
4. Mix all ingredients together.
5. Bake for an hour, mixing every 15 minutes or so.

Comments:
It tasted nice but I felt like there should be more chips. Next time I will add more.
I am refraining from making this for myself because I will probably end up eating it all in one day. That's what guests are for.

Truffle Salt is from La Buona Tavola, 1524 Pike Place. 206-292-5555
Chips are from Whole Foods.

Greek Gods Baklava Ice Cream

For the blogger event we received samples of foods and one of them was the Greek Gods yogurts and ice Cream. I contacted them after I tried their yogurt and fell in love. The plain yogurt has been my favorite for a really long time. I love the creamy almost sour cream like consistency. It tastes great instead of sour cream as a side to my favorite foods. Hubby and I topped our ravioli filled with kabocha squash with the yogurt.
I also received a sample of the Baklava Ice cream. I don't like Baklava because it is way to sweet but this ice cream is a unique mariage of walnuts, honey, cinnamon and almonds. It truly is wonderful! There is so much flavor in it. Every time I need something sweet, I stick my head in the freezer and grab a spoonful.

When Food Obsessed Crazies Get Together- Seattle Food Blogger Dinner

After two weeks of planning the day finally arrived. The Food Blogger Dinner was an extensive menu of foodies all under the roof of Quinn's, the restopub created by the owners of Zoe, Chef Scott Staples and his wife Heather.
Some of the foodies had to cancel because there is a terrible flu going around. All I can say is that the round up was nothing short of the perfect amuse bouche. A combination of blogalicious flavors and lots of amazing bouche action, in other words: excessive foodie chatter.

The Menu:

Italian: Candace Dempsey from Italian woman at the table is proof that food bloggers can be great friends even before they actually meet. We have become close merely by reading each other's blogs and she gave me a beautiful present, a huge amount of Tunisian saffron leaving me feeling like a queen holding a stash of gold. Candace is currently teaching a food writing course online,
a great opportunity to get a bite of her expertise. You can also find her in The Seattle PI, right next to my Frantic Foodie blog.

Vegetables: What would a dinner be without the best choice of seasonal vegetables.
Michael Natkin from Herbivoracious knows how to turn vegetables into a meal with motivating dishes and story-telling pictures.
His glorification of vegetarianism actually motivated me to create my birthday dinner without an ounce of meat.

Cornichon. What would life be without the saltiness of a Cornichon. Ronald Holden of Cornichon needs no introduction.You can find him in Seattlest and in Delicious City as well.
Don't expect Ronald to hold back if he doesn't like your food, pity is not his thing. He speaks out with plenty of sarcasm and manages to write about virtually every food related event around.

SEX: Ha, I got your attention. You can count on Jay Friedman for an original take on sex education comparing women to crock pots(slow cooking) and men to microwave ovens(heat up fast)in the sexual arousement area. You can catch his food writing in Seattlest. Decadent!

Menu:
Now what is a restaurant without a menu. Katrin Rippel specializes in menu translation and other cultural issues associated with food. She has worked as a chef in restaurants and knows the food world from behind the scenes.

The Gastrognome:What would an event be without someone to eat and tell? Naomi Bishop tells is like it is on her blog, Gastrognome where her keen palate shows through. She also works as a Marketing Coordinator at Chow Foods.



Food Writing: Now comes Anne Beckham, writer and editor at Antioch University. She wooed us with her food stories especially the one where she got to travel to Jordan. That is where her friendship with Candace started and I have one word to say. Lucky!

Stick a Fork in it: Rachel Belle is a reporter who also co-hosts Stick a Fork in it, where she reviews food in a unique, comical and interesting way. You can download the shows online. Now you know why it took me so long to post this.

We also had a gift exchange where people got interesting second-hand cookbooks, hand made chocolates by Katrin herself and some other foodie products.

Quinn's was the perfect choice for the dinner. The place had a positive vibe, a kind of bistro meets chic lacking the pretentiousness sometimes found at places with great food. I ordered the 8.oz snake river farms wagyu beef burger with cheddar, bacon and fries. I ordered this after reading on food forums that this is a a generous pick. I was ridiculously hungry. It sure was. The burger was tender and the bun! Oh my, the bun! It was kind of sweet, a combination between a brioche and a doughnut. There were lots of fries. One fellow foodie remarked that all he could see were fries from across the table. That's because I devoured the hamburger, buddy.
My hubby ordered the cheese plate, the rabbit pate and the pear salad, endive, frise, green beans and stilton. Everything tasted marvelous. I am already planning my next visit. I am curious to see the Quinnesque take on a Sloppy Joe(Yes, Ronald) and fish and chips.
The prices were quite reasonable which you can see on the menu.

The next blogger event will be in a few weeks so if you want to be invited, this is the time to send me an email. I got so many emails from people the night of the event which was too late. Kerenlovestocook@gmail.com

For another take on the dinner Herbivoracious.

Quinn's
1001 East Pike Street
206 325 7711

Pimp My Bubby!

When I was growing up I was the only Jewish girl without a bubby. We called my grandma Safta, which is a word in Hebrew. Bubby is the word in yiddish for Grandmother. I felt so deprived to not have a bubby.
I was very excited to find that someone is offering his bubby to others.
How sweet of him! Check out the bubby and her recipe for potato latkes, a potato patty eaten on Hannukah.
You don't need a bubby to make these. You can have a nana, grand-maman or whatever else. All Grandma's are the cutest.
What do you call yours?

How I Ate The Voodoo Doll

Warning: Some of the descriptions might be too graphic for some.

How to Eat a Voodoo Doll

1. Drive to Portland.
2. Tell the GPS where to go.
3. Listen to it say "You have arrived at your destination".
4. Run into Voodoo Doughnuts
5. Ask for the voodoo doughnut.
6. Run to the car and shove the pretzel into your mouth.
7. Savor the saltiness.
8. Bite the doll's head off.
9. Savor the doughy texture.
10. Keep biting until you get to the bloody insides(cherry filling)
11. Leave the legs for your significant other(that's all my husband got).
12. Done!

Notes from the eater: If you are not into voodoo then you can get the Nyquil Glazed and Pepto-bismo doughnut. Right now it is not available. I wonder why.
You can try the lemony one, the dirt one( raised doughnut covered with vanilla glaze and Oreo cookies) or the Grape Ape(raised doughnut with vanilla frosting and grape powder). There are also some others that are too dirty to mention. If this is too graphic for you, get a vegan one. They have lots of those.


Voodoo Doughnut
22 Sw. Third Avenue
503-241 4704

A Baby is Born- How to Cook a Wolf

Put your resto-radar on because there is a new restaurant in town.
How To Cook A Wolf or Wolf is the new addition to the trendy Queen Anne Neighbourhood. Chef Ethan Stowell and business partner, Patric Gabre-Kidan have opened this new place with room for a little more than twenty guests and a bar with room for ten.
Chef Ethan Stowell is father of both Union and Tavolata so you can kind of get an idea of the feel of the place.
There are over a dozen small plates that are between $5 and $15.
Grilled Venison with Controne Bean and Shallot Salad, Ahi Tuna
Crudo with Chilies and Lime, Prosciutto di Parma, Hard Cooked Eggs with
Anchovy Mayonnaise, Panini with Mortadella, Provolone, and Watercress
Salad, and Grilled Branzino with Broccoli, Garlic, and Chilies.
House made pasta ranges in price from $12 to $14.
Spaghetti with Garlic, Chilies, and Shaved Tuna Loin, Pappardelle with
Rabbit Bolognese, and Farroto with Lamb Shank, Celery Root, and
Braising Jus.
Location: 2208 Queen Anne Avenue North (at
Boston Street) atop Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill.
Hours: Dinner from 5pm to 12am Thursday –Monday
It is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information,
call (206) 838-8090 or visit www.howtocookawolf.com (coming soon).
Wolf does not take reservations.
I can't wait to check it out. Will you beat me to it?

Brush Up on Your Food Writing Skills

Do you want to learn how to write about food? Do you want to start your own food blog? Check out this online food writing class offered by award-winning travel and food writer Candace Dempsey.