Yeah, So I’ve been doing stuff. I’m SOOOO busy these days I can’t even ramble away in my blog.
But some highlights… Seder at 3202 was magnificent this year, with a whopping 25 people in attendance. I made a Sephardic-ish brisket rubbed with ras el hanout and cooked with lots of onions, apricots and pomegranate molasses.
I taught my third series of classes with Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline, called Eating Right. This was the first class where most participants were Spanish speakers. I learned more than I taught, honestly. Soy Cocinera… I think?
The night before, I had a great dinner with the ladies from FoodBuzz, who were in town to meet all the buzzing bloggers here in Seattle.
I made a hundred lil’ flower cookies for Girl Power Hour’s Sustainable Chic party, made entirely from organic and/or local ingredients. Delicious!
Personal Chef Katie Peterson and I directed the kitchen at this year’s Eat Local Now! event and helped feed over 300 people. Besides the dishwasher running out of soap and key equipment going plotz, things went pretty well.
I got to meet The Splendid Table’s Lynn Rosetto Kasper over oysters and white wine. We talked dirty.
I don’t know how we got on the subject, honestly..
I spent a couple of evenings working as a cater-water and bartender at Fare Start, and I’ve decided that FOH (front of house) service is WAY harder than BOH. Like, you can’t swear or help yourself to the customer’s food and soda or pour red wine in a white wine glass or sit down in a chair or anything. I haven’t heard from them lately.
I ate at Union Grille, which is a spectacular, old-school steak house with servers who are literally deployed at tables and who serve and pour and clear and wait in a way that would make the Swiss transit system seem leisurely. I met other wonderful food bloggers like Traca over at Seattle Tall Poppy, Jessie from Cakespy, and ballerina-cum-foodie Karrie Brunson from AnticiPlate. The meal was presided over by large oil paintings of famous dead Seattleites. Most exciting of all was the image of Bruce Lee, in a natty sixties-era suit and skinny tie. Unfortunately, I mistook him for former Gov. Gary Locke, who is not dead, or wearing a natty suit, either.
We went to the great Keta cook-off at Fishermen’s Terminal, where my buds at the Wild Salmon Seafood Market donated fish, cooked like mad and chatted up the press.
I visited Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautereau on their radio show, In the Kitchen with Tom and Thierry, and lived to tell the tale. We talked about omelets and personal chef services. We drank wine on the air.
Um, Chris was smart enough to finally bring a dang camera to a catering event, and we have solid evidence that the cat was most likely the culprit in the mysterious shrimp disappearance. If there was a disappearance… we don’t know. But we suspect there might have been.
Last night we had lamb shank and stuffed eggplant from Georgia’s Greek Restaurant, watched some amazing belly dancing and listened to some music.
Today we set a record at the Austin Cantina’s Gospel Brunch. From the way it felt, I think we served a million bisquillion. That about right, Jefe?
And now? Now I will take a little nap. I will get up in time for the wedding, I swear.
3 comments on “Well, Hi There!”
you go girl!
Hi Lisa, I just received a gift of some Ras el hanout from a friend who brought it back from Morocco and I’d love to make your brisket with onions, apricots and pomegranate molasses. Would you be willing to share the recipe?
Thanks!
Kat
Hi Kat! I don’t have a full recipe but I can tell you how I made it… The brisket was trimmed and rubbed on both sides with salt, pepper and plenty of ground ras el hanout. I let it sit with the seasonings for a bit, you can do it overnight for max flavor. Then I seared it on both sides in a Dutch oven, removed the meat, added a bit of oil and sauteed a diced onion in the pan. It was deglazed with a quart of chicken stock and a cup of pomegranate molasses followed… throw in a handful of chopped apricots, return the meat to the Dutch oven, taste your broth for seasonings (you might want to add some black pepper/salt magic). Then cover and let it cook in a 300 F. oven until fork tender, about 3 hours. You can remove the meat later and strain the sauce and/or defat it, then thicken the broth with a half cup’s worth of potato starch or corn starch slurry and then serve the sauce over the brisket.
Whew!