Juice

I am pregnant and my only real craving is fruit and fruit juice, so my oh so crafty and uber canning goddess sister was thoughtful enough to send me some canned fruit juice - ginger lime-aide, pomegranate lemonade and grapefruit. The are delicious and totally hit the spot!

Crisp Roasted Potatoes

My friend Amy passed along this Cook Illustrated recipe with raves from her mother-in-law. Amy was out of town and we invited Amy's husband over for dinner and I thought it was a great opportunity to check it out.

They were good...I think I still prefer Greg's lighter oven fries recipe, but these are a delicious and easy alternative.

Crisp Roasted Potatoes

Serves 4 to 6. Published November 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.
The steps of parcooking the potatoes before roasting and tossing the potatoes with salt and oil until they are coated with starch are the keys to developing a crisp exterior and creamy interior. The potatoes should be just undercooked when they are removed from the boiling water.

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes , rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Table salt
5 tablespoons olive oil
Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt in Dutch oven; add cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat and gently simmer until exteriors of potatoes have softened but centers offer resistance when pierced with paring knife, about 5 minutes. Drain potatoes well and transfer to large bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt; using rubber spatula, toss to combine. Drizzle with another 2 tablespoons oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt; continue to toss until exteriors of potato slices are coated with starchy paste, 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Working quickly, remove baking sheet from oven and drizzle remaining tablespoon oil over surface. Carefully transfer potatoes to baking sheet and spread into even layer (skin-side up if end piece). Bake until bottoms of potatoes are golden brown and crisp, 15 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheet after 10 minutes.

3. Remove baking sheet from oven and, using metal spatula and tongs, loosen potatoes from pan, carefully flipping each slice. Continue to roast until second side is golden and crisp, 10 to 20 minutes longer, rotating pan as needed to ensure potatoes brown evenly. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Lemon Pine Nut Torta

My fiend Jinny and her husband Rob have great pallets and impeccable taste. Jinny served this lemon pine nut torta at one of their great dinner parties many years ago and it's become a personal favorite. It's not very sweet, which I think is sophisticated but may not be for everyone. I also like the twist of pine nuts in a dessert which you don't see too often.

It is super easy and I don't bother with the poached fruit in the recipe. I am not a huge fan of cooked fruit and the torta is delicious all on it's own.

Beef Barley Soup

Growing up at least once a week I had lunch at the Nordstorm Cafe with my Grandma. While we usually had their signature clam chowder, every fall beef barley soup would pop up on the menu. So when the Count mentioned beef barely soup sounded good to him a few weeks ago, it was a great opportunity for some nostalgic comfort food moment.

I used this recipe out off of Epicurious and I was really happy with it. I am not a huge fan of mushrooms but left them in for this recipe and was glad a did as they added a lot of depth and flavor complexity.

Add a piece of crusty bread and this soup will warm you up on even the coldest and rainiest day!

Carmel Apples

We decided to take advantage of apple season (how good are those honeycrips ?!?) with caramel apple dip. Nothing fancy, just followed the recipe on the back of the Kraft caramel bag - actually we didn't have the half and half it called for so used skim milk with about a tablespoon of butter. Turned out great!

Spring Hill

Spring Hill, West Seattle

Background - I've been hearing good things about Spring Hill since we returned to Seattle nearly a year ago. I also saw a write up in Bon Appetit a few months back as well. With some gentle persuasion, I talked my book group into checking it out.

Atmosphere - Minimalist without being cold. Nice light and wood accents help keep it warm.

Food - They feature elegant, northwest style food which they source locally as much as possible. It was solid but was really too fussy for my taste. We ordered a bunch of things to share including the grilled flat bread with various spreads, duck egg yolk raviolo, and bread and butter (which was worth the slightly annoying $3 charge) The girls seemed to really like it, so maybe I was just in a funny mood.

Drink - The have a nice wine list that primarily features Oregon and Washington selections.

Service - Terrible. Having never waited tables I know I often take for granted what hard work it is. But when you get the type of waiter that we did that night, it really reminds you just what an art and science waiting is. Our waiter was friendly enough but just missed the mark in so many ways - I won't bore you with the details. The saving grace was at the end of the night we were all presented a very nice cookbook of a bunch of Seattle restaurants as part of a promotion.

Verdict - I am glad I checked it out but not a spot I plan on going to again any time soon.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Every year as the leaves turn and the air gets cooler, I look forward to butternut squash ravioli. I've been making this Bon Appetit version, Ravioli with Herbed Walnut Sauce, for nearly a decade and it is delicious.

This dish can be made start to finish in less than 30 minutes and is great for easy entertaining. I buy premade ravioli (yes, you can make your own but it's a lot of work and probably best reserved for special occasions) at Pasta and Co. but you can find them just about any where.

Don't cut back on the butter or substitute with olive oil or chicken stock - I've tried to make this dish healthier and it really makes it from a hit to a miss. Just save this dish for a day you've been out raking leaves, on a hike or when you are feeling particularly trim!