William & Jo – A Wedding Story

Instead of the normal rants, recipes and reviews that usually appear here, I’ve decided to write about a wedding Beth and I attended this past Thursday. William and Jo are 2 friends of ours that live out here in Seattle. William I’ve known for over 15 years now. We just met Jo a couple of years ago. William is originally from back east, Ohio to be specific. Jo is also from back east, England to be specific. They met online, discussing poems and writing in general. Makes sense to me that too people so good at crafting words into art would be destined to meet this way. Well, long story short, they got legally married last year, and then went about setting up this more formal wedding to allow for friends and relatives to share. After months and months of working at the location, flowers, dresses ( Jo’s, not Williams), food, vows, you name it, the big day finally arrived. Truth be told, I think they were more relieved to be over the planning, than excited for the actual wedding. So with that bit of back story, on with the wedding.

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Alaskan Cod/Halibut on Pineapple Planks

We love fish, but after a while it all starts to taste the same. Smoked, grilled, grilled on cedar planks, steamed, it all gets boring after a while. Sure, you can make heavy sauces and such but that’s just masking the fish. I wanted something new that would allow me to have a new taste, but still know I was enjoying a good piece of fish. So last night I tried steaming some cod on pineapple, and the results were quite tasty. This is really drop dead simple to make. Give it a try, I really think you’ll like this one.

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La Conner WA – Day Trip

After our wonderful day in the mountains on Saturday, a trip to the coast was in order for Sunday so we decided to head up to La Conner. Sitting on the Swinomish channel, across from the Swinomish Reservation, La Conner is a typical coastal town, full of tourist type shops, antique stores and restaurants. During the summer months it can be hard to find a place to park in town, so go early. If you want to go during the Tulip Festival in the spring, my best advice is to book a room at one of the little inns in La Conner at least a year in advance. I’m not kidding. During the festival, this little town can quadruple the number of people it normally handles. Little tidbit of history on the town; When it was first settled in the 1860’s it’s name was Swinomish. A couple of years after settlement, a Mr Conner bought the trading post (and thus the town) and changed the name of the town to La Conner. Ah, Mr Conner must have been of French descent you say. Non! Turns out Mr Conners’ wife’s name was Louisa Ann Conner. Yup, he named it after her, and the La is just her initials. Feel informed and excited now, don’t you?

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Leavenworth WA – Day trip

This past Saturday Beth and I headed up into the mountains for a day trip to Leavenworth. Leavenworth is like a lot of small mountain towns. Formed when the railroad came through, Leavenworth was a happening town in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Then around the 30’s or 40’s, things changed. The railroad changed direction, and the main source of income, the sawmill, shut down. The town was hanging on by the proverbial thread when, in the early 60’s, community leaders decided the only thing that would help was tourism dollars. The town sits in an area that is very reminiscent of Bavaria, so they remade the town into a little bit of Alpine goodness, and the rest as they say is history.

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Chicken Paprikash

Chicken Paprikash has a lot of different variations, usually dependent upon the area. It can range from a creamy brown sauce to a deep red. Some variations don’t even have noodles or haluskis. Just a reminder for folks, we called our dumplings “Haluski”. I know there are dishes out there called Haluski, but what can I say. To my family Haluskis are those dumpling like bits that are almost like very large spatzel. Okay? Feel free to send letters telling me how silly I am. When it comes right down to it, there are only 2 common ingredients that exist in all variations. Chicken and paprika. So with that little intro, I give you the Gregor family version that I grew up with.

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Cornish Game Hens

Today’s recipe is a simple one. Cornish game hens. Lovely little birds that kids just love. When my boys were little they would ask for the “personal sized chickens” they loved so much. This recipe is a direct rip off of drunken chicken by the way, just a slightly different preparation. Do it this way and the birds will come out crispy brown while the meat stays moist and tasty. Enough talk, let’s get going.

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Bourbon Basics

I thought it might be fun to take a break from the recipes and reviews and just dig a little deeper into that uniquely American adult beverage, bourbon. We’ll go back in history a bit, figure out just what makes a bourbon, “Bourbon” and maybe even go over a couple of way to enjoy it. So sit back, pour a couple of fingers in a glass and enjoy the ride.

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“Rue-Not” Reuben

This is an offbeat take on the classic Rueben sandwich. It’s vegetarian and healthy, but don’t let that stop you. Those paying attention will see some similarities with an earlier sandwich. I keep telling you, experiment!

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Cold Tomato and Basil Soup

I really hesitate to call this soup a gazpacho. It has no bread in it and it has sour cream, much like a vichyssoise. So, I’ll just stick with cold soup, and let you all debate the name.

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Ribs and Collard Greens

Okay, now that I’ve reviewed one of the local BBQ places, it’s my turn for BBQ and Greens. I’m a just little hesitant to share this to be honest. Every time we’d have a cook out, everyone asked for the secret to my ribs. But I figure at this point, what the hell. To be honest. it’s really nothing more than technique, no secret recipes or anything. I do have a killer rub for ribs, but for this discussion, I’ll stick with store bought. Come on, I need to have some secrets. 🙂

Okay, this is all done at least the day before you are going to make the ribs. Got that? The day before. Not 8 hours, not 2 hours. You need at least 24 hours of prep time. First order of business is get to know your ribs. In the land of the mighty hog, there are 3 types of ribs, baby backs, which are from the loin area, close to the spine(Not from little tiny cute pigs people, baby refers to size here), and St Louis and spare ribs which are around the side and close to the belly. For BBQ, baby backs seem to be the hands on favorite, but it’s still a matter of personal preference. Once last thing to know about pork meat in general. Continue reading

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