Tailgating, Pacific NW style

Ken, Brian & I went to the Seahawks vs Colts game last weekend. Got ribs and plenty of beer. We found a slightly better parking lot than last year, but the Seahawks parking lots for tailgating leave a lot to be desired (read: it was muddy, empty & not a bathroom in sight). I walked up the street, around the corner, down the other street to the gas station that was suggested by the lot attendent. But as I turn the corner,

Behold -- Uwajimaya... the mecca of asian markets. I know they have one in Beaverton (outside of Portland), but I wasn't aware of the giant store in Seattle too. I had never been to either. I veer away from the gas station and make a bee-line straight into the market. Luckily for Ken, I left my wallet in the car. The place was amazing. Dim sum stations. Chestnuts roasting outside. Huge seafood selections.... with huge live dungeness crab tanks. Oysters. Clams. Even live geoduck. Wow. I went to the bathroom and then return to the car to tell everyone of my amazing find.

Brian has to go to the bathroom too. He leaves and then comes back with a dozen raw pacific oysters, a shucker and a bottle of cocktail sauce. So we sat in the parking lot -- drinking our beers, shucking oysters and eating ribs before we went into the game. It was awesome. I think oysters will become a new tailgating staple for us up here. Yum.

Now if we can just find a good lot in which to tailgate...

New Year's

On the way to Chrismakkuh dinner this weekend, Ken and I were talking about our plans for New Years -- or lack thereof. The past couple of years, we've rung in the New Year on the beach in Mexico with friends. We're not heading down that way this year and were planning to do something in Portland when it struck us that we could head down to San Francisco to see Rachel & Justin & Arthur & Liz & friends.

Hmmm. Less than a week to decide and book it, but we found a good deal on flights and booked it last night! How fun! I've always booked travel so far in advance, that I forget that travel can be spur of the moment and fun. Perfect timing too, as the puppy will surely take over some potential travel weekends, at least in the beginning.

So off we go to San Fran, leaving Friday and getting back on Sunday -- meaning a day to relax at home before having to go back to work. Sadly, Arthur will be in Toronto. But, Rachel & Justin & friends will be there. And it turns out Amy & Tom (who just got engaged last week) will be having a New Year's Eve party.

To keep you warm

A buddy of ours made this for Christmas yesterday and it was totally amazing. Plus, he said it was probably the easiest thing he's ever made.

Hot Buttered Rum
Brian Gaffney

2 cups tightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 pinch of salt
2 quarts (aka 8 cups) water
2 cups Meyers dark rum
Whipped cream
More nutmeg

Add brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg (which I actually forgot when I made it), salt and 2 quarts of hot water to crock pot. Cook on low for 5 hours. Add rum and then serve with whipped cream and nutmeg. Then get drunk and fat.

Tailgating

Ken, Brian and I are going up to Seattle on Saturday for the Seahawks v. Colts game. We've been thinking about what to take for tailgating food. Last year when Lent was in town, we got some awesome pork and beef ribs from Cannon's Rib Express that we just had to reheat when we got up there. They were amazing (warm and cold); we'll definitely be getting some more of them this year. I also made brats with peppers and onions last year... which is great when there are a lot of people, but more hassle when there are only three people.

Which leads me to my question to you all.

What are your favorite tailgating foods?

Can be for a large or small group. For this trip or the next. I'm especially looking for things that would work for this weekend. Remember, it's a three hour drive each way and the game starts at 1 or 2, meaning we leave early (read: Lisa doesn't do well in the morning so it would need to be made the night before). We have a double burner propane stove, one burner of which will be devoted to ribs, so reheating is an option as long as it's not too big or too dependent on reheating.

Photos from Mount Hood

View from Mount Hood


View from atop Mount Hood with Lisa!! You can see Mount Jefferson and the Three Sisters in the far background to the right.


View from atop Mount Hood


Mount Hood from Highway 26 on the way home


Mount Hood from Highway 26 on the way home

Happy Snow

Portland got snow all day yesterday such that everything was covered in white when we went to bed and woke up this morning. Ken's boss cancelled his work. I went in late after lattes with Ken at the local coffee shop. Then he shovelled our walk while I took the bus to work. I love snow.

In related news, we went skiing on Saturday! Our first time in Oregon. We went to Mt. Hood Meadows, courtesy of Kyle and Caroline. They got us a gift certificate there as a wedding present, but since there was no snow last year we were unable to use it beforehand.

It was awesome. A buddy of Ken's from frisbee who knew the mountain joined us and gave us an amazing tour. It was great to ski with someone who could keep up and show us around. Ken snowboarded. I skied in the morning; telemarked in the afternoon. The mountain is awesome. The terrain is reminescent of a mini-Jackson Hole. Great mixture of trees and trails. Amazing slope angle. ....The dream slope angle where you can carve your heart out on each turn. While Dan stayed out through lunch (as he decided to eat his lunch on the lift, aka Mr. Kinnunen style), we went inside and put our feet up, lounged and enjoyed someone bringing us our burger and chili (aka Judy Marriott style).

Overall, we had an awesome day. A little over an hour to get home, but then we were in our house... having a drink and thinking about our amazing day.

Holiday Eats

Need to find something that you can make for a holiday party or potluck? Something that you can make ahead... tastes better with time... and doesn't need to be reheated? Try this:

GOAT CHEESE AND ONION TARTS
(via epicurious). (Note from Lisa: Don't be put off by this recipe being long -- it's super easy but just very detailed since they explain how to make and roll the dough, something many of you already know how to do. The filling (which is only 4-5 ingredients -- can all be beaten together in about two minutes!). The longest steps are carmelizing the onions which can be done while waiting for the dough to chill in the fridge. I read in the reviews that this dish also freezes and reheats well.)
To make these tarts, two 13 1/2 x 4 x 1-inch tart pans with removable rims are ideal; however, you could also use one 11 x 1-inch round tart pan with a removable rim.

For pastry dough
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
3 onions (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
pie weights or raw rice for weighting shells

Filling
3 onions, thinly sliced

10 ounces soft mild goat cheese (about 1 heaping cup), softened (Note from Lisa: I didn't have any on-hand so I used 8 oz cream cheese instead which worked fine)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sour cream
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Making the dough:
Cut butter into bits and in a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together with flour and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and toss with a fork or pulse until incorporated. Add enough remaining ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork or pulsing to incorporate, to form a dough. On a work surface smear dough with heel of hand in 3 or 4 forward motions to make dough easier to work with. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a rectangle, about 6 by 3 inches. Chill rectangles, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.

Carmelizing the Onions
Thinly slice onions and in a large skillet cook with salt to taste in oil, covered, over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, or until softened. Cook onions, uncovered, stirring, until golden brown and any liquid in skillet is evaporated. (Note from Lisa: carmelizing them really makes the difference -- they turn very sweet and flavorful. You can bring out their flavor even more by adding a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar at the end)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Rolling out the Dough
On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 dough rectangle into a 16 x 6-inch rectangle and fit it into a 13 1/2 x 4 x 1-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Roll a rolling pin over pastry to trim it flush with top of rim and prick bottom of shell in several places with a fork. Make 1 more tart shell in another tart pan in same manner.

Line shells with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shells in middle of oven 10 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights or rice and bake shells until pale golden, about 5 minutes more.

Assembling the Tarts
While shells are baking, whisk together goat cheese, butter, and sour cream until smooth and whisk in eggs until combined well. Season custard with salt and pepper.

Spread onions evenly in shells and pour custard over onions. Sprinkle thyme over custard and bake tarts in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Cool tarts in pans on racks (filling will deflate). Tarts may be made 2 days ahead, cooled completely in pans, and chilled, covered, in pans. Reheat tarts in pans, uncovered, in a 350°F. oven about 15 minutes to crisp crusts. Remove rims from pans.

Cut tarts crosswise into 3/4-inch-wide slices to make about 32 hors d'oeuvres and, if desired, halve slices crosswise to make about 64 hors d'oeuvres. Serve tarts warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 32 large or 64 small hors d'oeuvres.

Gourmet
September 1997

The reviews of this dish are all positive. Plus 100% of people that reviewed this dish said they'd make them again. I made it for my office potluck tonight. Made a small taster and tried it yesterday -- yum. this dish could be used for a brunch or a cocktail party.

Kaboom

I have a knot on the back of my head that is four fingers wide and takes the length of my fingers to cup it.

The culprit?

Me opening the refrigerator door with just enough force to dislodge a bottle of wine from the wine rack... thereby knocking me square in the back of the head as I was leaning down to get a drink from the fridge. A bit of disorientation, but I went through a mental checklist to make sure things were okay. Once I realized I was fine but just had a big lump, out came the waterworks. I put some ice in a bag and put it to the back of my head, holding it there with my scarf.

Since Ken's out of town and I didn't want to be found dead on the floor if it turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought, I sat with my ice for hours watching TV, making sure things were fine (they were). I also wrote a note in the kitchen noting that I got hit in the head with a wine bottle at 8:15. Ridiculous, but it would irritate me to no end if something happened and they couldn't figure out what.

So my giant lump is sore today and I had to sleep with my head between the pillows last night. Unrelated stomach ache all day and now I am exhausted. Can't wait to take a nap.

Update (12/16): I've had a headache ever day this week since.

Puttin' on the Schlitz

Pictures from Brian's holiday formal

Pupdate

Coming Soon

from the Oregonian today -- Living Section E1; 12/9/05

A pizza in S.E. action
Ken Forkish has been so successful with Monday night pizza at his Artisan bakery in Northwest Portland that he just signed a lease for Ken's Artisan Pizza, opening next summer on Southeast 28th at Pine.

Hooray! I've heard their pizza is fantastic (read more about it via ExtraMSG here) or see it for yourself. Happiness that it will be coming right around the corner from our house. Yum.

Scare yourself

for the holidays by seeing how much of your personal info is online. Although not all the information is right, this search engine has an uncomfortable amount of information.

Good Luck Caroline!

Another friend of ours is defending her dissertation tomorrow. Then it's off to a postdoc in Hawaii. Hmmmm....Tucson. Hawaii. Tucson. Hawaii. It's really pretty similar right? Alas, the Tucson exodus continues.

Hello family and friends!

The day is almost arrived! My 22 years of schooling have finally
paid off and they're letting me become a PhD! I thought I would send
out my announcement to make it official. I will let you know later
how the presentation went!

Lots of love to everyone, Caroline

>>DISSERTATION DEFENSE
>>
>>Caroline Wilson
>>Program in Neuroscience Graduate Student
>>
>>"Just say NO: An examination of the function of Nitric oxide in
>>Manduca sexta olfaction"
>>
>>Thursday, December 15, 2005
>>12:00 pm, Gould-Simpson 601

Corn Pudding Heaven

This is amazing. Sara's aunt makes it for Thanksgiving. The best potluck dish ever. From the Yachats women's cookbook.

Corn Casserole

1 (15 ¼ ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 ¾ ounce) can creamed-style corn
1 (8 ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
½ cup (1stick) butter, melted
1 to ½ cups shredded cheese (cheddar)



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Parent Visit #1

My folks left this morning after a 4 day visit to the Rose City. It was their first time here. A great visit -- my favorite visit of theirs. Totally relaxing and fun. Felt like a switch came this visit -- no longer am I the perennial student. This time I'm settled. With everything. We have a life of our own here and got to share it with them. I got to entertain and cook for them, rather than them taking care of me. A great switch. Although I would have to fight my mom to the dirty dishes. She also cleaned our stove. Mopped our floor. Meanwhile Dad fixed things throughout the house -- including our broken pocket door and the heating element in my espresso machine. I think our house is in better shape now than when they arrived.

As for activities while they were here, we took them to Portland City Grill for lunch the first day. PCG is up on the 30th floor of Big Pink and has a great view of the city. I expected the view to be great but the food to suck -- we got the reverse -- great food (I had a club sandwich -- turkey, ham, cheese, avocado, apple bacon, etc. etc on toast; $8.95) while the rainy day obscured the great view. Thursday was a Portland city tour. Friday we visited with my dad's cousin in the morning & then went to the Holiday Ale Festival in the afternoon. Saturday we went wine tasting about 30 min south of Portland. Went to Rex Hill, Penner-Ash & Aramenta. All very different. Very fun. Wine Down on 28th for dinner -- we had a great meal there with a very personal staff. Steccato Gelato for dessert. Sunday was a lazy day. Ken made Norwegian pancakes and then we ran some errands around town and picked up groceries for dinner that night -- we were having Stan & Louisa over (my dad's cousin). I took them to the airport this morning.

A short visit, but a great time had by all. I'm excited that they'll be coming back in May. They'll be driving cross country next time and will have a little more time to play. That also means that they'll get to see the puppy while he's still a puppy.

Parent Visit #2 (aka Ken's parents) will be coming out in a month for their first visit to Portland. We're excited to see them and also for the little buddle of slobbering joy that they'll be bringing with them.

Hotel Roko Guestbook

(bold denotes visitors staying the night)

Dave Lent (11/04)
Rob Church (11/04)
Sara Burke (12/05)
Rob & Jana Church (12/05)
Drew Mhyre (4-5/2005)
Rachel Kinnunen (5/2005)
Taryn Jackson & Paul Etter (6/2005)
Dave Lent (6-7/2005)
Paul Etter (7/2005)
Drew Mhyre (7/2005)
Mike Mizell (8/2005)
Chuck Hoeffer & Dana Leventhal (9/2005)
Paul Etter (10/2005)
Andy & Judy Marriott (12/2005)
Brian Gaffney (12/2005)
Ann & Randy McCall (1/2006)
Taryn Jackson & Paul Etter (1/2006)
Brian Gaffney, Erik Soreng, Adam Galvan, Taryn Jackson & Paul Etter (St Patty's 2006)
Drew Mhyre & Jen Wacker (3/2006)
Brian Gaffney (4/2006)
Karl Newell (4/2006)
Rachel Kinnunen & Justin Crable (4/2006)
Taryn Jackson & Paul Etter (4/2006)
Brian Gaffney (4/2006)
Forgot to update throughout this time
Brian Hawkins and Marsha Penner (4/2007)
Sara Burke and Drew Maurer (4/2007)
Andy, Judy and Andrew Marriott (6/2007)
Chuck Hoeffer and Dana Leventhal (7/2007)
Amy and Tom Parke (7/2007)
Brian Hawkins and Marsha Penner (8/2007)
Sara Burke and Drew Maurer (8/2007)
Zaneta (8/2007)
Heather Millikin (8/2007)
Sandra and Dan (8/2007)
Amy and Tom Parke (7/2007)

Roko Sports: Real & Fantasy

Softball:

Rogue Nation Softball Schedule A men's double-header league in which Ken plays. (Spring 2006)
Co-Ed Sunday Softball Schedule Ken and Lisa are both playing. (Spring 2006)

Dodgeball:

Portland Co-ed Adult Dodgeball
Ken & Lisa are both playing. Our team is called the Dodgy Slappers!! (Thursdays in Spring 2006)

Ultimate Frisbee:

Portland Ultimate Frisbee
For those not familiar with Ultimate Frisbee, check this or this out. Not playing on a league right now.

Fantasy Football:

Football: Decorating Panties (Fall 2005)

Fantasy Baseball:

Ken and I both have fantasy teams in a league with some folks from our softball team. However, only one of us is actually checking our teams. I'll let you guess who. I did hear that autodraft picked me six pitchers or so. Can you guess yet?

Things still on our List to Try

Local Bars & Restaurants on our List to Try

Fife,
Clarklewis,
Ripe Family Supper,
Tabla,
Fold Creperie,
Lovely Hula Hands,
Pal's Shanty (Razor Clams; 47th & Sandy)
Chabba Thai (57th & Sandy)
Zell's (breakfast)
Gramma Lucy's (breakfast),
Catalina's (mexican),
Yokos on 35th and SE Gladstone (sushi)

Markets to Check out:

An Dong (asian, 5441 SE Powell),
Phu Hoa (asian, 3811 SE Belmont),
Gartner's Meats,
Nicky USA Meats,
Uwajimaya

Places we love around Town

Restaurants & Eateries

Saburo (sushi)
Taqueria Nueve (great fish tacos; real margaritas)
Il Piatto (Italian, esp the gorgonzola gnocchi w/ carmelized red onions, yum)
Voodoo Doughnut
Criollo Bakery -- Everything. Especially their croissants and cheesecake brownies. Goodness, they're amazing.
Park Kitchen (The Chef's tasting was fabulous. We went for Ken's bday),
Pix Patisserie (great chocolates & fun dessert bar after hours; we like to bike there for dessert)
Papa Haydn - love their dark chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons
Apizza Scholls (great thin crust pizza)
Gabriel's Bakery - amazing jalapeno-cheese bagels. Now available at Fred Meyer. Also, the best marionberry muffins I've ever had. Available at Saturday Market or Farmer's Market
Good Taste (chinese food)
Crema - spanish lattes, dark chocolate espresso bread, eclairs, etc.

Drinks:

Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Rogue - beloved, beloved, Rogue. I'll have your mole beer anytime
Vault (Martini bar; great happy hour)

Markets:

Portland Farmer's Market,
Eastbank Farmer's Market
City Market (seafood market)

Things to do:

Laurelhurst Theater (Brew & view... eat pizza, drink beer, watch a movie)
Sauvie Island (Great berry picking in the summer)
Local Brewpubs: Rogue, Bridgeport, Lucky Labrador, Widmer, Portland Brewing Company (MacTarnahans)

Past Recipes from the Blog

Wondering where that recipe we posted about a while ago went? Search no further. I'll try to link them from here from now on. You'll be able to get to this page via the side toolbar.



Appetizers:

Goat Cheese & Onion Tart (12/05)
Prosciutto-wrapped Mozzarella Skewers (5/06)
Polenta Cakes with Smoked Salmon (5/06)

Main Dishes:

Chicken & Dumplings (in italics at bottom; 1/05)
Meatballs from Heaven (11/05)

Side Dishes:

Corn Pudding Heaven (12/05)

Rice for Sushi Rolls (via Kyle in comments section) (5/06)

Desserts:

Making Chocolates (07/05)
Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies (3/05)
Lemon Pudding Cakes (5/06)

Drinks:

Hot Buttered Rum (12/05)
Making Ginger Juice, Moscow Mules, Ginger Ale, etc. (7/05)

December Birthdays

December Birthdays - Monty Avenenti (12/19), Kristen Nelson (12/21)

December Weddings & Anniversaries - None that we know of