“Original bismarck (topped with caramel instead of chocolate) infused with Marjoram injected with Shiso & Green Apple custard and a sprinkle of sea salt. Marjoram would give the outer shell a great floral herb note, and the shiso/green apple combination would be a very refreshing summer flavor! The salt would help intensify the sweet tartness of the entire doughnut. A festive play on the caramel covered apple!”

Although, I didn’t get to be a finalist, I got an honorable mention as the “Most gourmet” doughnut idea.  Yay!  It makes me happy to know that I have some creative juices when it comes to creating recipes.  Maybe….just maybe someday I will come out with a cook book.  That idea is WAYYY down the line, but I should try to write some of these down eventually.  Good times and I will continue to enter contests such as these to try to keep the creative juices flowing.  Bon appetit!

Cochon555 was a event held on 5/23 to crown one of ten “Princes of Pork”, held in Seattle at the International convention center at Pier 66.  My wife and I were able to attend as VIPs because of a contest Chef John Sundstrom of Lark held. He asked for a recipe that he could use as inspiration for one of his dishes at this event.  My idea was pineapple pork upside cake layered with smoked pork shoulder and drizzled with harissa sauce.   His interpretation turned into pork shoulder, on a puff pastery, with a pineapple vanilla habanero relish, and a soy ginger sauce.  It was amazing, and there was a buzz going around that it could be THE dish of the evening.  It turns out that Chef Sundstrom did win the “Prince of Pork” crown later that night!  He will be going to Aspen for the Grand Cochon event where he will compete with 9 other chefs from around the county for the “King of Pork” crown.  Good luck John and I can’t wait to dine at Lark in the near future .  Pics and maybe a small video to follow later.

Total time to create the dish ~20 minutes.

Recipe:

1 lb fresh scallops (U-10/12) – I came out with 8 monster scallops

2 Tbsp. Safflower oil or other oil with high smoke point

Dried parsley or chervil

3/4 to 1lb sunchokes

2 Tbsp. butter

2 dollops of creme fraiche

1 Tbsp salt

Finely ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup heavy cream

Always go with fresh scallops when available, but if these were frozen, just thaw overnight, on a covered plate.  Pre-heat a  heavy pan with safflower oil (cast iron or REALLY heavy stainless, NO non-stick please) on the stove top on med-high heat for a few minutes.  When you see wisps of smoke from the pan, you are ready to cook!  After thawed (or already fresh), take the scallops out and quickly rinse them with cold water.  Dry the scallops with paper towels or a tea towel and make sure they are as dry as you can get them!  This will ensure proper browning and deliciousness  (seared not steamed scallops!).  Sprinkle salt over the scallops on both sides.  As soon as the pan is ready lay them in the pan in a clockwise motion with about 1/2 of room between each scallop.  Sizzling will ensue!  After all of the scallops are in the pan (about 1.5-2 minutes), start to turn over the scallops in the same order you put them in.  Another minute in the pan, then start retrieving them in the order you put them in the pan.

Sunchokes aka Jerusalem artichokes, oddly enough are not artichokes at all!  Sunchokes look similar to ginger with a darker brown skin, and an asymmetrical shape.  They are a root vegetables that are similar to a potatos, starchy but with a very pleasing nuttiness that accompanies them.  You would clean and cook these just like a potato.  I prefer the skin on, but if need be, you can peel the skin off.  If you keep the skin on, make sure to clean thoroughly with a brush and cold water.  Get a pot of water boiling big enough for the sunchokes and at least 3 quarts of water.  After the sunchokes are clean, roughly chop  them into 1/2in to 3/4in chunks, you don’t have to be precise here.  Just make sure to cut them into same size pieces, so when they are boiled, they all cook evenly.  After the sunchokes are fork tender, throw them into a blender with the cream, butter, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pulse 5-8 times until you have a chunky soup consistency.  Strain this mixture to get your soup.  You’re then left with your mash!  To plate, put a generous spoonful of the mash in the center, lay 4 scallops on the mash, then ladel the soup over the scallops.  Put a dollop of the creme fraiche and garnish with the parsley or chervil and you are done!  Bon apetit!

Fried Alligator – Think gamey chicken, a bit on the dry side, but not as “chicken-y” as I thought it would be.

Oysters – Rockefeller x 2, Benneville, Kilpatrick was out that day.  First time having oysters done this way, and I was hooked!  We ended up going out and getting 2 dozen Hama Hamas a little later to try this on our own.  Delicious!

Shrimp Etouffe – I had to try either this or their gumbo, I mean come on, this restaurant is supposed to specialize in cajun cooking!  This was one of my favorites because being a Seattleite, we do not get this kind of rich soul food.  There was a distinct seasoning, which I think was File, but I’m not quite sure.

Escargot – My wife had to have these delicious little morsels, as it is always ordered if we see it on the menu.  Great flavor, not too much butter, as some restaurants have them swimming in it.  The escargot flavor was still very present.  Bravo!

Shrimp and Grits – SPICY!  The grits were the best we have ever had in a restaurant bar none.  Creamy, a little bite, and very well seasoned.  The shrimp were grilled quite well, no rubber here!

Fried Oysters – Yummmm. Fried anything is good, but the cornmeal breading was perfect on the oysters.  Not to much, very gritty texture, and melt in your mouth oysters on the inside.

Louisiana Abita Amber – Not my favorite by far, but wanted to try a little of the regional beer with dinner.  Won’t go for it again, just not my cup of tea.  I prefer much hoppier beers, with more flavor.

Mystery mocktail – Fruity drinks are what my wife likes, and she asked the bartender to make something especially for her, and it turned out delicious.  Cheers!

Pear Hazelnut Frangipane tart – Usually I don’t order desert at restaurants, but I have a soft spot for anything hazelnut.  I took the plunge and will order this every time I go there.  The hazelnut flavor abounds and plays very well with the perfectly cooked pear.

Banana’s Foster – Now we didn’t get to see the flambé action for this dish, but it was extremely deliciousness nonetheless.  We will get this every time we visit as well.  It was our first experience with this dessert, and I can’t complain at all!  The sauce had a strong rum flavor which paired nicely with the creamy vanilla ice cream.

Overall I would have to say that this was by far the best happy hour menu I’ve tried so far.  The quality of the food is above average, the service was great, and best of all most of the items we ordered were only $5.  Everything is made in house and from scratch, but the prices would lead you to believe otherwise.  I can’t wait to go back and order another horde of dishes.

Anchovies and Olives
Bastille
Blueacre (maybe – same owner as Steelhead Diner NEW restaurant)
BOKA
Brasa
CANLIS
CRUSH
How to Cook a Wolf
Lark
Mistral Kitchen
Poppy
Quinn’s
Restaurant Zoe
Serafina
Six Seven
Spring Hill
Spur
Steelhead Diner
The Georgian
Tilth
Trellis
Urbane

Restaurants in bold are those which are higher up on my list than non-bold restaurants.  The list of participants is very large, and I am happy to see Seattle restaurants giving diners a glimpse at what they offer for a fraction of the price of dining at their establishments during non-promotional times. Bon apetit everyone!

To my surprise, the server decided to d eliver one order of the special grind sliders and nothing else.  What seemed even more odd, was that the sliders arrived at our table in RECORD time i.e. less than 2 minutes after we ordered.  Both sets of the crispy truffles showed up a few minutes later, and then the final set of sliders.  The sliders were mediocre at best.  The buns were VERY dry, the flavor fell flat, and there were no onions on the first set of sliders.  As with most fried things, the crispy “truffles” did not disappoint.  They turned out better than expected, but this was after the sliders set the bar a bit low.  Golden brown and crispy on the outside, well seasoned potato innards, and the sauce was rich and flavorful.  Will I have a hankering for Sazerac again? Probably not.

During our snacking at Sazerac, Jon had mentioned $5 pizzas at Via Tribunali.  Although, I do not usually go out for pizza, due to underwhelming results at chain restaurants, Jon’s suggestion seemed more than appropriate as I felt the need to end the night on better fare than Sazerac had to offer.  On to Via Tribunali!

After a brisk 10 minute walk, we arrived, sat down and ordered promptly, as their happy hour was only 10 minutes from being over.  At Via Tribunali, the waitress acknowledged us as we walked in, and no waiting was necessary!  We decided on the walk that we would go with the salame pizza for $5 (menu).  A few minutes later, the pizza arrived.  The crust was perfect!  Charred very nicely, slightly crispy, and just enough chewiness in the center.   The bits of salami were not too spicy, and there was just enough to cover the pizza (unfortunately, no picture).  At $5 for a 10″ pie, I can say with certainty that I will be going back here, hopefully often.

Yes, these do taste as good as they look!  Although this was our second go at it, the first batch the yeast was not so active, I am very happy with how they turned out!   Two of the 12 disappeared no more than 5 minutes after this picture was taken, and the rest will disappear by the weekend most likely.

A bit more about myself:  I am an ethnic hodgepodge of Japanese, Caucasian, and a dash of Cherokee Indian. 25 years of age, married to my beautiful wife Katie, and looking forward to our first child, Dante Amadeus.

Those scallops at the top of the screen were cooked by yours truly.  Sale @ central market near my house was too good to pass up ($9.99/lb for U-10 Scallops!)  Seared in a cast iron skillet, with safflower oil, on top of sunchoke mash and sunchoke soup.  Recipe to follow soon.