Sunday Funday! Red Mill Burgers

If you want just simply the best burger in town there is only one place to go, Red Mill.

I've always heard how great they are and I was pretty sceptical. I have to be in the mood for burgers in general and I would almost always chose a chicken burger over ground beef. But with a Red Mill just down the hill from us now, we tried it out on Sunday and it was A-MAZING! Joshua and I finally had a lazy day at home, doing laundry and watching Family Guy. Neither of us felt like cooking so tkae out it was. It was a real battle to decide which one of us had to leave the house to pick it up. I won this round!

The original Red Mill was located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle and opened in 1937. It closed in 1967. It was known as a diner and ice creamery with table and counter service. The current Red Mills were opened first in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood in 1994 and the second location in the Interbay neighborhood in 1998.

They have a very simple menu, cheap prices, fresh vegetables and good quality meat. Pretty much all you can hope in a burger.

If it has been a while, rediscover this Seattle favorite.

http://www.redmillburgers.com/index.htm

Pike Place Market Fridays! Italian Halibut with Supreme Orzo and Asparagus

Working with a bunch of foodies really paid of this week when we went on a Pike Place Market food tour for our department retreat. We were shown all sorts of secret gems in the market, including the Pure Food Fish Market (the less well known fish mongers) http://www.freshseafood.com/ and Pappardelle’s Pasta Company http://www.pappardellesonline.com/.

This spurred an idea. Pike Place Fridays! Working so close to the market means I can take an afternoon stroll up when it’s not quite so busy and have a poke around. I was able to buy a few key ingredients that you just can’t find anywhere else.

On my trip this week I picked up a pound of fresh Alaskan Halibut fillets for $17.99, a bunch of asparagus for $2.00 and a pound of Supreme Orzo (Red pepper, traditional and porcini mushroom blend).

Again, the best thing about this meal is that the sauce is used in multiple ways. We marinate the fish in it, we baste the asparagus with it and we dip our bread in it.

You will need:
· Grill
· Mesh Grill Pan
· Large Sauté Pot

Ingredients
· 1 pound Halibut Fillet
· 2 garlic cloves, minced
· 2 tbsp lemon juice
· 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
· 1 teaspoon dried basil
· 1 teaspoon dried oregano
· ½ Cup EVOO
· Salt and pepper to tast
· 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
· 1 tomato, diced
· ½ pound orzo
· 1 bunch asparagus

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix garlic, lemon juice, parsley, basil, oregano, EVOO, S&P and red pepper flakes together in a small mixing bowl.
2. Place fish fillet in a large Ziploc bag and pour one third of the mixture over the fish. Set remainder of sauce aside for the time being.
3. Seal the bag of fish and place in the fridge (skin side up) for no more than 20-30 minutes. Marinating halibut for longer can break down the meat making it grimy.
4. Cut ends of asparagus off and soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes or until you ready to pull the fish out of the fridge.
5. When the fish is done marinating and the asparagus is done soaking, turn on the grill to medium high.

*TIP – Make sure to spray grill and mesh grill pan with a nonstick cooking spray like PAM. The fish will stick to the grill and create a big stinky fishy mess!

6. On stove top, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Add orzo and 1 teaspoon of salt. Leave uncovered and boiling for 8-10 minutes.
7. Put the fish in the mesh grill pan, skin side down and cover. Let cook for 15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily and is no longer opaque.
8. Add asparagus to grill after the fish has been cooking for 10 minutes.
9. Baste all sides of the asparagus with the remaining sauce. You won’t need much, maybe a teaspoon for the whole bunch.
10. Let asparagus cook for 5 minutes, rotating on the grill every 2-3 minutes to char it evenly.
11. Remove fish and asparagus from grill.
12. Strain Orzo and stir in 2 tablespoons of EVOO and 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper.
13. Slice bread and serve along with remaining dipping sauce.

Leftovers! Just add bread! Steak Sandwiches and EBC

I think the only person I have ever met who loves leftovers more than I do is Nicole. She will almost always save her food for as long as she possibly can, savoring her meal over and over again. I repurposed the steak from last night and made delicious steak sandwiches. We sliced up the meat, topped it off with the mushroom sauce and served it cold alongside a small green salad with balsamic and EVOO. The only thing missing is a fresh baguette of Columbia bread from the Essential Baking Company.

The Essential Baking Company is primarily a wholesale bakery that began in March of 1994. The Essential Baking Company is Certified Organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture for using certain organic ingredients and a member of Bread Bakers Guild of America. They bake in the middle of the night, seven days a week so that the bread will be as fresh as possible when you buy it later in the day.

Breads are baked in European ovens, which have massive stone decks (rather than metal or racks). "Hearth" refers to these hearthstones. Loaves of bread, ready for baking, are placed directly on the stone. Steam injected at critical points during baking combined with the radiant heat from the hearth, give our breads distinctive crispy crusts. The dark, rosy color and rich flavorful crust and crumb are characteristic of the "Maillard reaction," a complex group of processes that, among other things, caramelizes naturally occurring sugars.

They have distributors all over Washington, but my favorite way to shop is at the Essential baking Café in Wallingford.

1604 North 34th StSeattle, WA 98103Phone: 206-545-0444

This fantastic little bakery also serves breakfast and lunch to die for.

Since it was such a simple meal, I decided to treat Joshua with an insane dessert. The sweet sales girl recommended a honey trifle and mango raspberry and white chocolate torte. We weren’t disappointed.

Check out this Seattle staple at: http://www.essentialbaking.com/ (Information on the Essential Baking Company pulled from the web).

Wednesday Romance! Balsamic Sirloin with Mushroom Shallot Reduction

My favorite way to cook a meal is to go to the grocery store and see what meat and vegetables are fresh, in season and on sale! On Wednesday I found top sirloins and shallots on sale and decided to try a reduction for the first time. The best thing about this recipe is the sauce. You use it three ways, marinade, dipping and mushroom sauce.
You will need:
· Grill
· Large Fry Pan
Ingredients
Marinade
· 1 pound lean top sirloin, sliced into four equal pieces
· 1 tablespoon brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon dried thyme
· 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Reduction
· 1 tablespoon brown sugar
· 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
· 1 tablespoon dried thyme
· 2 tablespoons butter
· 1 package button mushrooms, sliced
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 4 large Shallots, peeled and quartered.
Dipping
· 1 teaspoon brown sugar
· 1 teaspoon dried thyme
· 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 loaf fresh French bread
Directions
1. Start with the marinade
2. Mix brown sugar, thyme and balsamic together in a small mixing bowl and pour over steaks in a large Ziploc bag. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. While the steak is marinating, begin peeling and slicing mushrooms and shallots. Quarter the shallots. Slice the mushrooms.
4. Also while steak is marinating you can make the dipping sauce and slice some fresh French bread.
5. Heat grill to medium high, place steaks on grill and cover. Grilling time depends on preference, but five minutes on each side for 1” cuts is usually medium rare.
6. Begin reduction. Heat large fry pan over medium heat.
7. Sautee the shallots in the butter for three to five minutes. Add the mushrooms and brown sugar, stirring for one minute.
8. Add the thyme, salt and pepper and the balsamic vinegar. Allow to boil vigorously for 4 minutes.
9. Pull Steaks from Grill and smother in mushroom sauce.
10. Serve with the vegetable and starch of your choice. I chose mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Lemonaise Ladies Night! Lemonaise baked Chicken with Sesame Steamed Asparagus

My best friends Jayme and Nicole have been talking about living in an adorable apartment in Seattle together for as long as I have known them, which is about ten years. This summer they their wish came true as they found the most adorbale place in the heart of downtown Ballard. None of us had spent much time in Ballard so it has been a blast trying new bars and restaurants and getting Anita's crepes on Sunday mornings at the Ballard Market. They were also gracious enough to host my bridal shower there in June and we got ready there on our wedding day.

Tuesday was our first official "Family Dinner" where all the ladies get together to celebrate whatever happens to be going on in our lives and eat some yummy home cooked food. We had a lot to celebrate this time. It was Heather's birthday, Nicole and Jayme's housewarming, Nicole N's moving and me getting married.

Nicole and Jayme had finished the last touches on their home and it looked beautiful! The living room is decorated in greens and reds and it carries over into the dining room with touches of teal. These two are all about the details and they didn't dissapoint. They had set the table with lovely new linens and the whole house smelled delicious.

For those of you who have not learned about Lemonaise, let me enlighten you.

Lemonaise is a seasoned mayo based sauce that you can use on just about anything. Nicole orginally found this in the marinade aisle at QFC and we have since learned, by much trial and error, that QFC is the only place in Seattle you can find it. Please let us know if you find it else where. It can be used on sandwiches, in tuna or pasta salad, and on fish or chicken in baking.

Although Lemonaise comes in lots of flavors, including a light version, our favorite for baked Chicken is the Garlic Herb.

Lemonaise Baked Chicken

You will need:

• Aluminum Foil



• Large Glass Baking Dish

Ingredients

• 1 Pound boneless skinless chicken breasts



• 1 bushel of celery, diced into 1" pieces



• 1 small bag of baby carrots, if these are large, cut in halfs width ways



• 1 small yellow or white onion, cut into 1" pieces



• 5-6 large baby red potatoes, cut into 1" cubes



• 1/2 jar Garlic Herb Lemonaise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Place all cut up vegetables in a large mixing bowl and slowly stir in Lemonaise until each piece is completely covered.

3. Place chicken breasts in baking dish and baste each piece with sauce, usually about a teaspoon per piece.

4. Pour vegetables into baking dish with chicken and move them to the edges of the pan so that as much of the chicken as possible is exposed.

5. Cover dish with aluminum foil, poke a few holes in the top for ventialtion and bake for one hour.

6. Remove and uncover. Let stand for 5-10 minutes for sauce to thicken. Serve with Sesame Asparagus.

Sesame Asparagus

Coming Soon

Welcome Home! Grilled Chimichurri Chicken

Joshua and I had just finished moving in the last of our furniture and moving out of our beloved Cameo Apartment. It was very bitter sweet. We were so excited to be in our new home, but I shed a few tears as we said goodbye to our Wallingford home. It had been my first place out of college, the place we would share with Jackie (AKA Mosby), the place we had fallen in love, and countless other memories. I would miss Eggs Bennie at Varsity Inn after our nights out in Fremont, walking down to Gasworks Park for an impromtue picnic, being neighbors with Katy, the fourth of July fireworks from our deck, etc., etc., etc.

But as the week began in our new home, I wanted to celebrate my with my new husband. It was Monday and we hadn't managed a trip to the grocery store yet, so I wanted something fast and easy, but supremely delicious. Joshua's older sister Jessica and her husband Steve had shared a recipe they picked up while visiting some friends in Florida. This was the perfect meal for a late August evening and we even ate out on the patio to soak up the last days of summer.

Chimirchurri originated from Argentina and Uruguay, is a popular sauce used with grilled meat in many Latin American countries. It is told that the unusual name comes from 'Jimmy McCurry', an Irishman who is said to have first prepared the sauce. He was marching with the troops of General Jasson Ospina in the 19th century, sympathetic to the cause of Argentine independence. The sauce was popular and the recipe was passed on. However, 'Jimmy McCurry' was difficult for the native people to say. Some sources claim Jimmy's sauce's name was corrupted to 'chimichurri', while others say it was changed in his honor (Wikipedia).

This sauce is so delicious and can be used on just about anything. I first tried it on skirt steak, but have also heard of it used on burgers, french fries, shrimp kabobs and so on. For our first meal, I chose chicken with rice and red bell peppers.

You will need the following things:

• Food Processor


• Grill


• Rice Cooker


• Basting brush

Ingredients for Chimichurri Sauce

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, buds plucked from stems
6 cloves garlic
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 lemon wedges (juice of)
1 tablespoon diced red onion
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Other Ingredients

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced 1” thick
1 cup uncooked white rice

Directions

1. In a food processor, combine the parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper.
2. Process until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
3. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and pour the olive oil over the mixture.
4. Let stand for at least 20 minutes to extract flavors into the oil.

*TIP – making the sauce the night before can make for a quick meal when you get home from work. The sauce will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container.

5. Separate the sauce into 3 even portions. One will be used for marinating, one for grilling and the other for table service.
6. Place chicken breasts in a large Ziploc plastic bag, poor one third of the sauce in with the chicken. Put the chicken in the refrigerator and let sit for 20-30 minutes.
7. Slice red, orange or yellow bell pepper into quarters (one pepper per person).
8. Begin to cook rice in rice cooker.
9. Preheat grill to medium high.
10. Cook chicken breasts on grill and cover for ten minutes on each side or until the meat is white all the way through. Continue basting the meat every 5 minutes throughout the grilling process.
11. Add pepper slices to the grill during the last 6 minutes of cooking the chicken. Baste both sides of the pepper with the grilling sauce and flip after 3 minutes on each side.
12. Remove meat and vegetables. Serve with white rice and a small dish of the chimichurri sauce.

*NOTE – Bad Breath Alert! This sauce may be one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had. Having said that, with the amount of garlic we used I do not recommend this dish for a romantic evening at home.