Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

My friend L and I decided to go to lunch to catch up. We had just planned to go local to one of the places on the east side when she came out of the blue and asked if I would be willing to go to Bainbridge Island. Sure I thought, I had never been. She said that she had seen a show on the Food Network and they highlighted a cafe on the island…I saw that show too. So off we went in search of Cafe Nola. We were smart and made reservations since we figured it might be busier than usual since being featured on the almighty Food Network. Except oops…we missed our ferry. Luckily, they were nice and just pushed back our reservations and we caught the next ferry. It was a bit farther than the Food Network would let on but not too far(we walked it). It was quite busy when we got there with a 45 minute wait for those without reservations…we of course, got right in. I was torn on what to have. I had looked at their on-line menu before I came and couldn’t decide then either. L had what they featured on the show, caramel pecan french toast made with challah bread and served with fruit and bacon.

 

I seriously considered it, but for the sake of the blog I chose something different, the fresh dungenuss crab melt. I was a little nervous to order it, so many times when you order something with crab, they skimp on the crab. Not the case here. As you can see from the photo there is plenty of crab tucked under that cheese.

It has simple flavors of just the focaccia bread, crab and cheese…each one standing out on it’s own. I will definitely be going back and bringing the hubby along this time, as I know he will love the crab melt. This next time I think I will try the Smoked Duck and Brie sandwich. We had a great day…up until the tearing my ligament part that is :). I know my hubby loved sitting in the Urgent Care lobby for over 2 hours.

I need to put something up. This will be a very quick write up of my lovely Thanksgiving at the Herb Farm restaurant. Unfortunately, ever since 1:30pm on Friday afternoon(it’s late Sunday night now) I have had a debilitating migraine headache and have pretty much been not functioning. I’m hoping that tomorrow when I go to the doctor that I will get better. For now all I can say is that once again I enjoyed my dining experience at the Herb Farm. The food is always humbling and a constant reminder that I’m really not that gifted/creative with food(though I could easily make all three of the desserts we had). I do have some photos(all flash…sorry).

Course #1:

Harvest from the Edge of the Sea
Cauliflower and Fenugreek Soup with Sliver Sea Scallop(second photo) my favorite of the three
Kushi Oyster with Sorrel Sauce(first photo)
Paddlefish Caviar on Sea Urchin Flan
1998 Argyle Brut From Magnum

Course #2

Slow Roasted Black Cod
With Carrot-Lemon Thyme Broth
And Three Colors of Beets-both my hubby and I absolutely LOVED this!
2002 Zefina Serience White Rhone

Course #3

Bay-Scented Chestnut Soup-the soup was spectacular
With Salad of Celery, Celery Root, Chesnut and Pear
2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Riesling

Course # 4

I only got pictures of them preparing the dish. I somehow forgot to take a photo…a little too much wine I think

Lavender & Juniper-Rubbed Venison Loin
With Parsnip Puree, Quince, and Huckleberry Sauce
2001 Soter Vineyards Brut Rose

 

Course# 5

I took pictures but all three were very blurry.

American Bronze Heritage Turkey
Poached Breast on Bolete Bread Pudding
Confit of Leg on Mashed Delicata Squash with Shallots- my favorite of the three and I don’t like dark meat…but it was so flavorful
Crepinette on Cabbage- this was a turkey sausage that was very moist
2001 McCrea Cellars Grenache

After our turkey we went and walked off a little of our meal and went to feed the “recyclers” of the Herb Farm. We hadn’t seen the pigs for a year and they have gotten quite BIG….they were just babies last year.

 

Course #6- also another set of blurry photos.

Estrella Red Darla Cheese- named after the actual cow it comes from….very pungent
With Spice Bread

Course #7

Cranberry-Orange Thyme Sorbet
With Persimmon

Course # 8

Trio of Harvest Desserts
Pumpkin Souffle with Spiced Custard Sauce-I really wished it had more pumpkin flavor
Butterscotch Creme Brulee-my favorite
Blackberry & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich

 Course #9

A Selection of Small Treats
Cinnamon-Salted Shortbread
Lavender White Chocolate Truffle
Jasmine Dark Chocolate Truffle
Orange Caradamom Caramels-could have been my favorite of the whole night….I LOVE caramel
Raspberry Gel
Vintage 1912 Barreito Bual Madeira

 If I feel better I will come back and write more. I can’t suggest this restaurant enough. It is in my top 5 of all time.

I am no stranger to the Purple Cafe and Wine bar, I can recite to you most of the menu…and it’s a big menu. However, we always go to the one in Kirkland and Woodenville. So when one opened up in Seattle I thought nothing of it, until I saw they had a tasting menu. I am such a sucker for tasting menus….I love to get to sample lots of different types of food. So I had to go and check it out. Luckily my Newleywed Girlie Group that I hang out with had organized a get together there. It was my first venture out since being sick so unfortunately I did not get to have any wine, since wine and codeine don’t mix well. But if you go to Purple you must have the wine, I especailly love their wine flights where they offer 4 samplings of wine…that all in all only equal about 1 1/2 glasses of wine. It is a great way to discover new wines though. Since no wine, I had to solely concentrate on food. I could have ordered almost everything on that menu but I had to realize that though small, at some point I would get full. I started with 3 items and worked my way up from there. I started with an Artichoke Parmesan spread that me and my friend A decided to split. I was happily surprised that it had way more artichoke flavor than cheese, it had a great, fresh taste…I wont share it next time:)

One of my absolute favorites was the Stuffed Dates, Blue Cheese, Coppa, Pine Nuts(pictured above). The sweetness of the date with the tang of the blue cheese was really nice and I was crying for a glass of wine at this point but no

I tried all three of the open faced grilled cheeses, I am a sucker for grilled cheese. The Mahon and Quince grilled cheese was my favorite but really all three were wonderful. My friend A really loved the Drunken Goat and Olive Fig Tapanade Grilled Cheese and we both enjoyed the Cambert and Apple Butter Grilled Cheese(pictured above).

Along with the wine flights, Purple also offers cheese flights. My friend B ordered  the If Willy Wonka had a Cheese Factory cheese flight and A and I got to sample since her eyes were bigger than her tummy. The flight comes with Balarina-goats whole milk-Netherlands( a gouda with a good punch…my favorite), Saint Paulin-cows milk-France(which I would love them to make a grilled cheese with), Asiago Pressato-cows milk-Italy(the only one I didn’t get to sample) and Drunken Goat-goats milk-Spain(which came on my grilled cheese with the olive fig tapanade).

Receiving the most mixed reviews of the night was this Dungeness Crab, Green Apple, Piquillo Pepper. It seemed to be either loved or hated and not much in between. I only had a bite and I would say that it wasn’t bad but did nothing for me and when I go back I would not order it. We also had a wonderful soup, Kabocha Squash and Caramelized Pear Soup. I loved it but A thought it to be a tad too sweet and she was happy it was only shot glass size.

Last of course was dessert. I ordered the Key Lime Meringue Tarts(above). I could have eaten about 20 of these babies. Ideally, I really should have ordered more but since I had no wine in me I was quite aware of what a pig I was making of myself and decided to pass. I did however break down and ordered the Brown Butter Cake with Quince and Red Wine Compote(below) which I also enjoyed and would order again.

One last note about our Purple experience, our waiter. He was fantastic and for the life of me I can not remember his name. He was friendly, funny and did a great job of keeping 9 ladies happy, which is hard for a guy to do So if you are in the downtown area and in the mood for some wine and good noshing then head on over to Purple for a wonderful dining experience.

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar

1225 4th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101
206-829-2280
F 206-829-2295

So another year has come and passed and I am once again 29 years old(for the 5th time). And once again I made my husband trek to the Melting Pot for my anual birthday dinner there. When I was younger we lived across a family where the dad was somewhat of a gourmet cook(couldn’t bake to save his life but he could cook). One night we were all invited over for dinner. He served fondue. It was my first experience with fondue and I was instantly enamoured with it and have been ever since. Luckily the beloved 70’s trend has found it’s way back and I just hope that it stays around this time.
Traditional Swiss Fondue

California Salad…though I’m not sure what is so Californian about it???

Surf and Turf…lobster, filet minon and portabello mushrooms

Milk Chocolate Fondue with Bailey’s Irish Cream