Peanut Butter Caramel

Peanut Butter Caramel

A couple of weeks ago, in the post titled, Oh You Great Big Beautiful Blondie, I included a recipe for Caramel Blondies with a Peanut Butter Caramel Blondie variation. The post shows a layer of Blondie batter with dollops of Peanut Butter Caramel over the top and a second layer of batter being spread over the caramel. The lead photo also features the Peanut Butter Caramel Blondie variation. »

Strawberry Basil Sour Cream Gelato

Strawberry Basil Sour Cream Gelato

Portland, Oregon is gelato country. Not ice cream country—jeh-lah-toh country. No matter which direction I set out on my walk each day from Northwest PDX, I pass at least one gelato shop along the way. The challenge is to walk by without stopping in... »

Heavenly Chocolate Beet Tea Loaf

Heavenly Chocolate Beet Tea Loaf

Bless your heart if you are actually reading this post rather than running for cover to another food blog. Yes, I know this combination sounds a tad bit unusual, but I assure you it is Pure Genius. Lest you think I’m being immodest... »

Oh You Great Big Beautiful Blondie

Oh You Great Big Beautiful Blondie

If you are not yet familiar with that chewy, caramel goodness of a bar cookie known as a Blondie, you are in for a WOW taste experience. I can’t imagine how you missed it, however, considering it’s preeminence on the web. To see what... »

Spicy Penne & Chicken Salad with Chipotle Lime Dressing

Spicy Penne & Chicken Salad with Chipotle Lime Dressing

THE BIG DAY--July 4th—is almost here, and I’m scurrying to post this wonderful and oh so easy salad so that you will have time to add it to your picnic spread or buffet table. It’s different enough from traditional Old-Fashioned Creamy Macaroni Salad that... »

Old-Fashioned Creamy Macaroni Salad

Old-Fashioned Creamy Macaroni Salad

America has been having a love affair with pasta salad since at least 1920, when early recipes began appearing in American cookbooks. At first, the salads were mainly side dishes in diners and delis, but eventually they achieved much higher status to become rock... »

Summertime Beef & Brew Grilled Burgers

Summertime Beef & Brew Grilled Burgers

Is there anything better in the glorious summertime than a big, juicy burger, straight off the grill, tucked into a soft, toasted bun, topped with all the fixings? Maybe with a cold, dark beer alongside? Not in my book. But too often these days,... »

Peanut Butter & Garam Masala Cupcakes with Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Frosting, Peanut Praline & Caramelized Banana

Peanut Butter & Garam Masala Cupcakes with Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Frosting, Peanut Praline & Caramelized Banana

I know it’s officially summertime in the Northwest, even though the weather has been cold, wet, and generally grey all month. Strawberries are ripe in the fields, but they look forlorn, and I am strangely uninterested. It’s COLD, and there is this growing emotional need... »

Toasted Hazelnut & Browned Butter Friands

Toasted Hazelnut & Browned Butter Friands

I first tasted the classic version of these small almond cakes many moons ago at Le Panier Very French Bakery in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. I liked them so much that I would make the trek to the market (about a 30-mile drive from... »

Breast of Chicken with Goat Cheese, Basil & Mint

Breast of Chicken with Goat Cheese, Basil & Mint

It’s picnic season once again—hallelujah!--and I’m perusing my culinary files for dishes that lend themselves to packing into a cooler and heading to the beach or mountains. This is one of those dishes. I also love having it on hand in the frig for... »

Egg Salad Sandwich Perfecta Mundo

Egg Salad Sandwich Perfecta Mundo

An egg salad sandwich is an egg salad sandwich is an egg salad sandwich, ad infinitum, right? I don't think so. An egg salad sandwich is one of life’s most fundamentally satisfying taste experiences and even when done carelessly, it often satisfies nonetheless. But... »

Heavenly Parmesan Sour Cream Pound Cake

Heavenly Parmesan Sour Cream Pound Cake

A few weeks ago, I posted a story on Metrovino’s Parmesan Pound Cake (Portland, Oregon), which I hope you had a chance to read. It’s all about my adventures with this extraordinary cake (the creation of Metrovino Executive Chef Gregory Denton and Chef de... »

Rhubarb, Tangelo & Cardamom Marmellata

Rhubarb, Tangelo & Cardamom Marmellata

If you head to Cantinetta soon, while Northwest field-grown rhubarb season is still in full swing, you may be lucky enough to score the Rhubarb Zeppole with Orange Rhubarb Marmaletta. One word of advice here: DO NOT offer to share this dessert with your... »

Eat. Seattle. Mistral Kitchen.

Eat. Seattle. Mistral Kitchen.

You are looking at perhaps the most delectable pork belly in the world. No, the universe. According to one of the amiable chefs behind the kitchen bar from which MauiJim and I were watching the action, it was cooked sous-vide at 145 degrees--for TWO... »

Metrovino’s Parmesan Pound Cake

Metrovino’s Parmesan Pound Cake

Nearly a year ago, at the newly opened Metrovino restaurant in Portland, Oregon’s Pearl district, I spied a dessert on the menu that sounded so implausible that I was honestly expecting NOT to like it. I mean seriously, parmesan cheese in a pound cake?... »

Fresh Strawberry-Tomato Dessert Sauce

Fresh Strawberry-Tomato Dessert Sauce

The idea of pairing strawberries with tomatoes originally came to me while perusing one of my favorite culinary sites, FoodPairing, which features dozens of potentially harmonious and sometimes very odd sounding ingredient pairings. (Another great site for this type of exploration is Khymos. Or... »

Roasted Garlic & Sunchoke Soup with Rosemary Hazelnut Pesto & Goat Cheese Crèma

Roasted Garlic & Sunchoke Soup with Rosemary Hazelnut Pesto & Goat Cheese Crèma

The freshly dug sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes) look so tender and crisp in Northwest farmers markets right now, I couldn’t resist buying several pounds last week–even though I wasn’t sure what I would do with them. My cookbook, Pacific Northwest Palate, Four Seasons... »

The Wonderful World of Fresh Pesto

The Wonderful World of Fresh Pesto

Is there anything in the world of food more appealing than a gloriously fresh pesto, with its vivid green color and bright, bold flavor? I can’t think of anything more wonderful in early spring than this sometimes chunky, sometimes smooth sauce with its heady... »

Spaetzle, Wild Mushrooms & Broccoli Rabb with Thai Yellow Curry Sauce

Spaetzle, Wild Mushrooms & Broccoli Rabb with Thai Yellow Curry Sauce

I’m intrigued and inspired by the creative ways in which Pacific Rim and Northwest chefs are incorporating spaetzle into their dishes these days. This Old World noodle-dumpling is suddenly being elevated to lofty heights, for the following compelling reasons: • It’s much easier to... »

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