I had never been to the Corson Building but have been very happy with head chef Matt Dillon’s other enterprises around Seattle (including the newly revamped Sitka and Spruce) so thought it would be an appropriate setting for our third anniversary.  The actual structure and grounds of the building itself cast a spell on me the moment I arrived, and Jonas and I spent an enchanted half hour sipping an aperitif walking the spaces in marvel.  An Italian family is responsible for the building and it shows in the quality construction. It’s worth going to the Corson Building for the ambience alone.  I was able to snap some photos in the kitchen of our upcoming meal, and it was a good thing too, since once we were seated there was very little opportunity for photography. 

Saturday evening meals are done communally at the Corson building, with essentially four tables that each seat eight people. If you are fortunate you will dine with jovial compatriots as passionate about food and wine as yourselves, or maybe not. We got lucky with most of our table mates, the couple across from us regaled us with tales of the inner workings of being defense attorneys- talk about the underbelly of society! 

The other reason I wouldn’t have been able to photograph the food is that the dishes are served family-style for the entire table of eight, and since we were at the foot end of the table, by the time each platter reached me it was no longer in a terribly photogenic state.  I think this is a brilliant way to set up an evening, and I don’t think concessions or adjustments based on dietary preferences are necessary, however the menu should be posted in advance so diners can choose whether to attend that particular dinner.  When my husband called to make the reservation they basically asked if any food would kill him, which it won’t, though the fact that he doesn’t eat seafood or mushrooms limited him to just two courses of the entire meal, which is significant considering what you’re paying.  Again, I don’t think a chef should make apologies for the menu he creates, and diners should be encouraged to step out on a culinary limb and eat outside their comfort zone, just make the menu available in advance. 

This particular evening the menu consisted of smoked trout with pickled vegetables and fiddlehead ferns, brine-cured local lox with crème fraiche, bresaola with raw beets, fennel and dill as well as horseradish and purslane to start.  Next we moved to a delicate halibut bone broth with steamed halibut and mussels from Taylor’s shellfish along with watercress, and lovage.  It was the standout dish of the night.  Next were soft shell crabs served with porcini mushrooms on a walnut sauce, followed by duck eggs with morels from Cle Elum served with leeks and caraway seeds.  We completed the savory dishes with duck from Stokesberry Farm braised in red wine with fennel, green garlic, asparagus, spring onions, and pea shoots accompanied by duck fat fried potatoes with pork belly cured like pancetta but flat, not rolled.  Dessert was an effervescent sorbet made with goat’s milk yogurt finished with strawberries and two types of shortbread cookies.  I greatly appreciate their use of local producers such as Stokesberry Farms and Taylor’s Shellfish.

We went to the Corson Building on the evening of the soft-opening for Sitka and Spruce, the head chef’s other local restaurant, so naturally he was attending to the details of the opening and not at the Corson Building.  I wish he had been with us instead, although I understood the circumstances.  I think perhaps the food suffered a little in his absence as well.  All of the elements were there, but several of the dishes fell flat upon execution. Sometimes too many ingredients marred the natural elegance of the base flavor in the dish, as was the case with the bresaola. Bresaola is my favorite cured cut of meat, made from beef eye of round.  Perhaps my expectations are too high, given that. The bresaola itself was perfectly cured, perfectly sliced and a thing of beauty. Unfortunately too many ingredients masked its flavor, and it wasn’t just me as I asked around the table if folks knew what meat they were eating and most of them thought it was a very mild pork. Had it been allowed to stand with fewer accoutrements it would have shone brighter.  The stronger dishes were the less complicated ones, such as duck braised in wine, and duck eggs with mushrooms.  I was surprised that the delicate halibut in clear broth was so delightful given that it was much more refined in presentation than everything else. In fact it was the only dish that was served individually to each patron. 

A quick note on the wine: the sommelier is a self-proclaimed Francophile, which is a wonderful thing to be most of the time. I love French wines, almost as much as I love Piedmontese wines, so I was mostly happy with his wine pairings.  I wish there were a bona fide red-only wine pairing, as we opted out of the whites, though instead of adding additional reds to our pours, he simply poured us more glasses of the two reds in his original pairing.  In retrospect I probably would have gotten a bottle or two of something I really loved, then maybe had a glass or two of his selections if they intrigued me.  Since the meal lasts from 6:30 until 10ish (which is long by American standards, though short and early by Italian ones) you could easily bring a few bottles and just pay corkage, sampling from his glass pours when they tickle your fancy. 

On the whole it was a Seattle dining experience I would recommend, though next time I go I will make sure Matt Dillon is in the house and I will attempt to learn the basics of the menu of the evening as well.

I set out to make agnolotti stuffed with braised chuck and spinach but the universe conspired against me.  Well, not really, I just got three hours and nine hand-rolled pasta sheets into the dish and decided rather than take the time to carefully form agnolotti I would cheat and no one would be the wiser.  It’s not really cheating if you slow-braise your stuffing, hand cut your pasta and grow your own spinach, too, but I still felt a touch of guilt for not molding my little squares into perfect agnolotti.  You see agnolotti requires some fancy folding, pinching and crimping, but my lovely quadrati (squares) stay together so nicely with just a slathering of egg wash and a few quick cuts in a way I view them as the perfect filled pasta. 

I had a wine-soaked weekend of sexy soirees and tantalizing tastings, so I felt some classic comfort food was in order. My go-to is always hand-cut pasta because the meditative process is so soul-soothing.  I’m experimenting with different ratios of semolina, tipo 00 flour, and eggs/egg yolks in my dough lately.  This time I decided to try 100% tipo 00 (which is basically standard unbleached white flour), forego the semolina, and do whole eggs instead of a mixture of egg and yolk. I added a touch of salt, but held back adding oil, which I sometimes do for viscosity.

It turned out the oil was far from necessary this time- the dough lacked the stiffness semolina adds to it and it was malleable and soft as putty. It was a dream to roll into rectangular sheets, so acquiescent to the rolling pin, and not at all sticky.  I prefer semolina pasta if I’m going to turn it into tagliolini, fettucine or another non-filled noodle, but all-flour dough is a dream if you’re making precision pasta. 

I had a glut of spinach begging to be eaten, so I steamed it up and mixed it along with some duck eggs into braised, minced chuck.  I added a few sprinkles of parmesan and I had the perfect filling.  I retained the stock in which I braised the chuck; that’s what I used to make the sauce that would ultimately coat the quadrati.  Normally I would have braised in a wine/stock combo, but after such a heavy red weekend I was feeling a tad wined-out, so straight stock won in the end. 

I tend to make my pasta dough, let it rest for maybe half an hour while I’m finalizing the filling, then roll it into sheets as needed to stuff and cut.  This way the sheets won’t dry out, though it does go against the rule of finishing like tasks at the same time.  I roll out two rectangular sheets, maybe 3-4” wide by 30” long and dollop filling every few inches down one of the sheets.  Then I wash it with egg everywhere the filling is not. This way the top sheet sticks beautifully and they meld as if into one sheet. I also think the egg wash helps the two sheets to thin out once they grab one another, which makes for better, less chewy pasta. 

Once I drape the top sheet onto the bottom, I squeeze it shut down its entire length.  All that remains is to cut the final pasta forms (in this case quadrati, or squares) and set them to dry on a baking sheet.  Different pasta-makers have different rules on air-drying before the boiling plunge, but I’ve always found 30-45 minutes to be ideal. I like a touch of crispness, but not so dry the pasta cracks and cooks unevenly. 

I add a bit of stock to the pasta water so the meaty flavor soaks through the noodle- a little trick I happened upon accidentally when I had excess stock one day.  While the pasta is boiling I reheat the sauce and whisk in a few tablespoons of butter to emulsify it.  After three or four minutes of boiling I remove the pasta from the water with a slotted spoon, and toss it in the sauce.  The perfect comfort plate consists of three or four of these lovely quadrati drenched in sauce and topped with a generous shaving of parmesan.  After the three hour process of making this pasta any impurities from a weekend spent having a ball virtually vanish and suddenly a bottle of Barolo isn’t sounding like such a bad thing.  It sure complements the lovingly-prepared meal to a tee, but don’t let me be a bad influence, drink what you will.  Mangia!

Ok ok, I know I have a wee obsession with duck eggs.  I am seeking proper care to cure my addiction, but in the meantime I want to share yet another showcase meal featuring the lovely oval gems.  I present to you sous vide duck eggs on a bed of wilted greens flanked by butter egg biscuits and drizzled in Meyer lemon hollandaise.  Sexy factor is high on this one since you’ve got all sorts of beautiful consistencies playing off each other for a smooth mouthful. 

I am slowly but surely becoming more confident in my abilities with emulsion sauces.  Whenever you have a short ingredient list yet something beloved practically the world over, you know proper technique is what elevates the dish to excellence.  It is the same with hollandaise.  Use only the freshest egg yolks (duck in my case), creamiest unsalted butter, and Meyer lemons if you can get them. A Meyer lemon is sweeter and less acidic than a typical lemon.  This plays nicely with the custardy yolk/butter sauce because it adds just a hint of sweetness to take off the eggy edge.  If the hollandaise recipe you like calls for sugar, I would omit or decrease the amount if using Meyer lemons.  Once you have a nice custard-like texture to the egg yolks inside the double boiler, add butter that has been frozen and chopped into ½” cubes, whisking each cube in one at a time.  You can stop adding butter when you have the consistency you like, don’t keep going with the butter or your hollandaise will be runny; especially once you add the lemon juice.  I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but be judicious with the salt.  The sauce will already have a deep, rich flavor, and you don’t want to mask it with excessive salt. 

Some folks like their wilted greens braised in red wine, perhaps with a touch of caramelized shallot or garlic, but this dish has so many competing flavors I wanted the greens to serve as a backdrop.  I merely steamed them for four minutes and packed them on the plates in heaping mounds.  Use more than you think you’ll need- spinach always wilts to nothing.  The real star in this dish is the sous vide egg.  Jeffrey Steingarten believes the perfect egg is one that has been prepared sous vide, and I hate to belabor the point but I agree with him.  I do mine somewhere between a soft and hard boil at 150° for 45 minutes.  When you crack through the skin and reveal the soft egg it will be all you can do to keep yourself from eating it before it hits the plate.  Resist that urge- egg, spinach and hollandaise are an unreal combination that belong on the dinner plate together. 

I flanked the dish with some fresh biscuits almost as an afterthought, but I ended up glad I did.  I threw an egg into the biscuit dough this time just for fun and wow, does it ever make for fluffy bread.  The baking powder I’ve always used makes for a predictable, acceptable leavening, but the egg addition creates a different animal altogether- like a biscuit soufflé.  This dish in its entirety is knock-your-socks-off delicious- something you should probably only serve for immediate family since you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of dinner guests when you inevitably lick the plate.

When your birthday is three days before Christmas and you grow up in the United States, there is very little you can do to separate the day from the ever-eclipsing holiday mayhem.  There is the inevitable dual gifting you’ve heard about, I’m sure, coupled with an incessant round of holiday parties that tend to fall on your birthday itself, negating any possibility of a romantic birthday dinner sans red and green cheer.  I’ve always been ok with this though, preferring to look at it as merely a challenge to make my party the party of the season- the one people still feel the hungover effects of come Christmas morning.  When I was in my more “free-spirited” phase, the parties would be laced with glow sticks and body paints with all manner of eclectic music punctuating the reverberating cacophony.  The problem with those parties lie in the fact that no one would really remember anything about them either during or afterward, much less the fact that it was my birthday.  Now that I’ve got a burgeoning reputation as a social maven to uphold, a bit more organization and thought goes into planning each fete, and this year was no exception.

I went with a Mad Men theme, if you haven’t seen the show you ought to.  It’s set in the early 1960’s and filled with a cast of advertising execs on Madison Avenue and their wives/mistresses.  I chose the period for the attire and cuisine, thinking it would be easy and fun to transport ourselves into that world. I didn’t bargain on the fact that everyone would really get into the attitude as well, which is what made it a resounding success.  As many of you remember and some of you can imagine, a major focus is on the cocktails- drinking on the job from morning ‘til night is de rigueur a la Mad Men.  I so wanted to find a seven or eight year old to bartend, since kids back then would frequently mix drinks for their parents, but I couldn’t get anyone to volunteer their child, despite the major résumé-building potential!  Instead my dear husband Jonas transformed himself into a downright dandy bartender adopting the persona of a confident boss mixing up a bourbon concoction for a coworker before a “meeting.” 

I wanted my food and drink to match what likely would have been served back in the day so I went the class and sophistication route (ha ha) with homemade cheese balls, bonbons, rumaki, Swedish meatballs, a Roquefort molded salad mousse, deviled duck eggs, and Waldorf salad. 

We served cocktails using drinks from clever product placements from the show, such as Stolichnaya vodka, Tanqueray gin, RC cola and Heineken beer. 

The biggest stretch for me in terms of flexing my culinary chops was wrapping my mind (and my homemade bacon) around rumaki.  Ever had it? It’s a funky little appetizer of mock-Polynesian origin that involves a marinated chicken or duck liver, a touch of water chestnut, and a bacon-wrapped exterior.  When I saw an episode of Mad Men in which the stunning protagonista Betty Draper serves rumaki at a dinner party, I knew I had to add it to the list. 

I used duck livers because I thought they’d be slightly less mushy than those of chicken, but in the end I think either would provide a similar texture.  Next time I think I’d go all out and just use fois gras, dispensing with duck and chicken altogether and upping the ante with some lovingly lavishly prepared goose goodness.  The water chestnuts I used were fresh not canned, and wow does that make a difference!  I will not soon return to canned water chestnuts for anything. They provided a welcome crunch to the otherwise dubiously gooey little package.  I was surprised when I put them out and they disappeared within minutes to the sound of much oohing and aaahing- I even fully disclosed their contents on a written menu for guests information. Guess liver doesn’t have the stigma it did when I was a child any longer- cheers to the resurgence of organ meats- wait, really?

When we have winter parties we cannot utilize our exterior deck spaces as much, so we kept the number to around 45 guests so that it wouldn’t be too crowded, and put the word out that there would be a bouncer policing attire at the door.  Everyone dressed to the nines, and copped sassy attitudes to boot, so it made for some fab photos.

  I made the mistake of picking up several dresses that would have worked stylistically in the weeks before the party, so the only solution for me was multiple outfit changes.  I started in a vintage Lilly Ann cream silk brocade mod little number that I’ve had in my closet for years, with a midriff-tied apron sheathing up my hostess package.  I went to the salon earlier in the day for a beehive straight out of the “Rome” episode- they literally really set me up, as it lasted for days! 

Mid-soiree I changed into a floor-length cascading Kelly green gown and ditched the apron- time to get down to partying post-aperitivo hour.  I found a brand new bullet bra from the 1960’s that was deadstock on ebay, and the green dress was cut exactly so that the conical pointiness of the bra underneath showed through.  I’ve always loved the clothes from the early 60’s, but never understood that pointy bra thing, though it was pretty fun to rock one for the evening. 

 The peanut butter cream cheese bonbons came out about this time- this is one simple recipe I’m simply smitten with, and  I came up with it in a super jiffy too.  I’ll sign off with it if you’re interested- what can be more romantic that bonbons, anyway? There is a bonbon mention in Mad Men when smokin’ head secretary Joan mentions to her beau that she is happy doing some extra work around the office and he tells her instead that she should be at home eating bonbons; oh the days of the early sexual revolution! 

As the night progressed I decided to get back into office mode and do a silk-wool skirt suit, but the evening twist came with wearing it sans camisole, so the bullet bra really peaked through.  The fuchsia skirt suit is by the new and amazing sister design team Rodarte, but cut so period perfect I couldn’t resist. 

 Candy cigarettes were the perfect snack to complement this look, since everyone smokes up a storm in Mad Men, but of course I wasn’t going to go so far as to allow it in the house for the evening.  I found an amazing box of 20 packs of old-school candy cigarettes on ebay, and they worked perfectly to alleviate the need for the real deal, I only wish they would work so well to assuage the needs of the few remaining actual smokers I know. 

There may have been a couple of outfit changes after that, and they may have taken on a bit of a naughty tone, but a lady never discusses these things in public, right? Wasn’t the credo du jour back in the day deny deny deny? Let’s just say the party was such a success some folks spent the night rather than drive home and I don’t think many of us fell into bed until the break of day approached.  Happy bonbon-making, ciao! 

Peanut butter cream cheese bonbons

• 1 7 oz pkg Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ c confectioners’ sugar
• 8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

1.  Whip the cream cheese and peanut butter in bowl of a standing mixer until well-combined.  Add the sugar, and whip until soft peaks form.  Freeze the mixture for 20 minutes.  Using moistened hands, form teaspoon-sized balls from the cream cheese mixture, refreezing as necessary to keep from being to tacky to form.  Freeze the formed balls on a sheetpan for at least a half hour. 
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler.  Slide a handle into each ball using coffee straws or toothpics.  Lifting from the straw, dip each ball into melted chocolate, place on sheetpan lined with wax paper, and once you’ve dipped all the balls, refreeze.  20 minutes prior to serving, remove the bonbons from the freezer.  Set on serving platter and serve cold. 

Dungeness crab cakes on pea sprouts with lemongrass kaffir sake beurre blanc

When daddy’s away, mama will play, you’d better believe it!  Jonas high-tailed it to Japan for work last week and left Bentley and I to our own devices.  The first thing I taught Bentley to do was jump on the bed. Every self-respecting 16 month old should know how to do that, right?  The next order of business on my list of infidelities? Cram in as much slithery slippery savory sexy seafood as possible over the week (and do so while watching all the chick flicks I need to catch up on since the last time he left town).  Jonas isn’t big into our fair friends from the sea with the exception of Ahi tuna, so it’s not easy to get my daily quota. 

edamame starter

In our pre-Bentley life we used to frequent these establishments called restaurants wherein I would eat my fishy fill. Since his arrival, however, I can barely remember what those places look like as the bambino refuses to sit in one for more than 10 minutes, so we’ve temporarily succumbed to a hiatus on dining out.  I realized I was deficient in my fish intake when I went strolling through Uwajimaya grocery store last week and began involuntarily licking the glass between me and the frolicking lobsters in the aquarium.   As other patrons looked on in horror, I came to terms with my obvious withdrawal symptoms and had a closer look around the well-stocked seafood department for something seasonal and fresh.  As luck would have it, a windfall of Dungeness crabbies had just meandered in and plunged themselves into the crab boil. The good fishmongers at Uwajimaya took it upon themselves to de-shell the luscious red-tinged meat, so how could I pass up buying a healthy handful (or three)? 

kaffir lime leaves

I’m on a bit of a kick with mixing Old World A (Europe) with Old World B (Asia) these days.  I think it’s because I’m smack dab in the middle of both of them here in Seattle- it’s kind of where we get our concept of Northwest fusion.  I knew I wanted to throw together some locally-inspired crab cakes with my lumpy loot, complete with local duck eggs and Dungeness from our own high seas.  I also wanted to incorporate elements of my two Old Worlds, however, which is where a souped-up beurre blanc comes in.  Although I’m sure the French will disagree, I feel this rendition of beurre blanc complete with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and a substitution of unfiltered sake for the white wine knocks any staid classic version out of the water.  And it sure dresses a mean crab cake!  The crab cakes themselves were dressed up with a few tablespoons of lemon mint mayonnaise for a subtle citrus note. 

pea sprouts

 Throw in some lime and oil-drenched pea sprouts and sub panko for breadcrumbs et voila- another global masterpiece debuts in the Salty Seattle kitchen. 

persimmon, pear pomegranate salad

 I served this with a persimmon, poached pear and pomegranate salad (because you know alliteration is so important in haute cuisine) and invited some subversive neighbors and friends to get in on the naughty nosh.  We had such a spectacular time, sake bombs notwithstanding, that I just had to make the meal a second time around before Jonas returned- it was that good! 

Dungeness Crab Cakes with Lemongrass Kaffir Sake Beurre Blanc

Serves 4

For the crab cakes:

• 1 pound fresh Dungeness crab meat
• ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 5 tbsp lemon mint mayonnaise (recipe to follow)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 duck eggs lightly beaten

Mix all ingredients together and form into eight round patties.  In a large skillet, fry 2-3 minutes per side over medium heat. 

lemon mint mayonnaise

For the lemon mint mayonnaise:

• 1 duck egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• ½ c packed mint leaves
• 2 tbsb lemon juice
• Pinch dry mustard
• Black pepper
• ¾ c canola oil

 Mix all ingredients except oil in food processor for 30 seconds.  Add oil to desired consistency through tube in steady stream over the course of one minute.  Do not over mix.  Mayonnaise should keep in refrigerator up to three days. 

For the lemongrass sake kaffir beurre blanc:

• 1 small shallot chopped coarsely
• ½ stalk lemongrass cut into ½” rounds
• ½ tsp peppercorns whole
• 2 bay leaves ripped in a few places to impart flavor
• 6 kaffir lime leaves ripped in a few places to impart flavor
• ¾ c sake
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 stick butter chopped into ¼” cubes 

Reduce all ingredients except cream and butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat to half of original volume. Add the cream and continue to reduce again by half.  Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean saucepan and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Rewarm before drizzling over crab cakes.  

For assembly:

•  Crab cakes
• 2 c pea sprouts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Quality finishing salt to taste
• Lime or lemon juice to taste
• Beurre blanc 

Toss the pea sprouts with the oil, lemon and salt.  Layer each plate with pea sprouts, two crab cakes, and beurre blanc.

It’s truffle season again, my darlings; get out your sniffers and let’s get down and get woodsy with it.  I have heard tell that this season isn’t considered a vintage year in the grand scheme of things, but my craving is so strong once I go an entire year without a whiff that I’m willing to do just about anything for a fine white truffle from Alba.  I asked my friend Shane who works at DeLaurenti to keep his ear to the ground about impending truffle arrival and he gave me the heads’ up a few days ago that now is the time.  I headed down to pick up the fine specimen he hand-selected for me, and we did a mini photo shoot with Rachel, the Pike Place Market pig before I collected my prize and hunted for the rest of the ingredients of the feast. 

On the menu: tagliolini al toma e tartufo bianco, which is noodles in a sauce of the Piedmontese cheese Toma topped with shavings of truffle.  For the antipasto I knew I wanted to do something with duck egg since I’ve been really into them lately.  Even though it’s considered more of a first course, I decided that serving a single raviolo with a duck egg yolk inside would actually be kind of an antipasto due to its singular nature as opposed to a plate of pasta.  I foraged through the market for the ingredients for the feast and got sidetracked by a gleaming pork belly calling to me from the butcher’s glass case.  That’s a tale for another time, but suffice it to say that I’m now curing said belly to turn into either pancetta or bacon; I haven’t decided which makes more sense for my next foray into charcuterie. 

I had really wanted to do a sauce of Castelmagno cheese instead of Toma, although both are proprio Piemontese.  When we lived in Torino we became very fond of Castelmagno in sauces and Toma sliced and served on a platter of antipasto misto.   The fact remains that both are excellent melting cheeses if you buy the Toma young, and though Toma has a milder flavor, that might be a good thing so as not to overwhelm the delicate truffle flavor.  Plus, DeLaurenti did not have Castelmagno, which very much surprised me, so that made the choice glaringly obvious. 

I schlepped the long haul back to my car with all my market goodies and went home to start the feast.  I made pasta dough the size of a boulder because I knew I’d need it both for the tagliolini and the raviolo sheets.  I made more still because I had worked myself up about making the duck egg yolk raviolos so much that I was worried I’d need tons of overage in case of the odd screw up.  It turned out to be a good thing because there were, in fact, several screw ups, each one peppered with its own choice selection of words not appropriate to publish in this PG-rated diatribe.  I seem to have quite the potty mouth in the kitchen which I am going to have to watch out for since Bentley is nearing his mid first year and I think language acquisition is largely based on parental influence.  For now though I don’t worry too much, in fact a few good F*#$’s and Sh@*’s impart a nice infusion of passion into the food.  Food always tastes better if it’s made with passion, even if the passion is of the flummoxed and swearing varietal. 

I’ve been eager to try shoving a duck egg yolk into a raviolo for quite some time, so I undertook that challenge first.  I made a firm paste of Crema di Stracchino (in keeping with the Piedmont theme, but you could use ricotta if you so desired) and Parmigiano Reggiano.  I cut my rolled out pasta sheets with a cookie cutter and dolloped some paste in the middle, upon which I carefully balanced an egg yolk.  I carefully placed another round sheet over the top and sealed the deal with lots of egg white wash, some tricky finger crimping, and a final stamp with a slightly smaller cookie cutter.  They stayed together beautifully with the exception of one casualty in the beginning that I sacrificed to discover the best process.  I learned from the chef at Spring Hill restaurant in Seattle that it is important to make the raviolos and let them air dry a bit so that they attain a perfect al dente when cooked, so I gave my babies some rack time and moved on to the next project. 

I carefully sheeted, rolled and hand-cut the tagliolini for the pasta dish and about mid-way through decided a glass of wine was in order.  Hmmm, what to have when preparing a Piedmontese feast? I probably should have started with a young Barbera or Dolcetto since it was not yet the 5 o’clock witching hour, but instead I went straight to the top and opened a bottle of Barolo.  It needed to breathe, right?  Yeah, Linda, keep telling yourself that!  I prepared the cheese, measured out the cream and set up my mise en place for the primi piatti all under the tender influence of gentle sips of a big Barolo.  I also roasted hazelnuts and put together a hazelnut chocolate dessert, again in keeping with the Piedmontese theme of the evening. 

When the guests finally arrived I laid out some bresaola for them to nosh on and we all took turns imbibing the lovely aroma of the truffle.  I made quick work of boiling up the raviolos though we had to go through one or two before we got our cooking time down pat.  I wanted the yolk a bit runny but not so much that it was still entirely raw.  I served it in a buerre noisette and of course shaved tartufo bianco- over the top- deeeelish!

Our Italian dinner guests had brought two very nice bottles to accompany the meal, a Barolo and a Barbaresco.  Since the Barolo I had opened earlier miraculously disappeared rather quickly, we opened both of them to accompany dinner.  I whipped up the sauce last minute- I like to do this with a cheese sauce since they really only take a few minutes to come together and if you let them sit for too long they separate.  We tossed in the tagliolini, shaved on some truffle and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the evening.  I have to agree that the truffles this season aren’t quite as strong as they have been in years past, but the price is also considerably lower and they do satisfy a truffle craving in a pinch.  I will leave you with a few shots from the truffle festivals in Piedmont that we used to frequent when we live there.  Following that is the recipe for the tagliolini which would make a great weeknight meal without the shaved truffle on top.  I did not include the recipe for the raviolo since I didn’t measure quantities this first time making it, but look for it in a post soon as I intend to make it again and refine it further. 

 Tagliolini al Toma e Tartufo Bianco

Serves 4-6

Tagliolini

• 12 oz semolina flour
• 10 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ c water
• All purpose flour as needed

1. Place the semolina flour in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook.  Add the egg yolks, oil, and salt and begin to knead on medium low speed, scraping down the bowl with a spatula.  As the dough starts to come together, add the water and increase the speed to medium.  At this point your dough will start to form a mass, and you can add all-purpose flour until you reach the desired consistency of pliable dough that is not overly-sticky to the touch.
2. Remove dough from mixer and make into 3 balls.  Flour a large work surface and begin rolling out one of the balls into an oval shape.  Roll the dough to as thin as you can possibly get it, and repeat with remaining balls.
3. Carefully hang each sheet of dough over on object such as the back of a chair and cover with tea towels that have been ever-so-slightly misted with water.  Let dough rest for ½ hour.
4. Bring the sheets back to the floured surface and roll out the dough one final time, using as much strength as possible to get the dough truly flat.  Next, generously flour a sheet of pasta and roll it up so it forms a short tube, not the long way so that the tube is long- this way you will have long strands of pasta.
5. Using a chef’s knife on a cutting board, cut the tubes into individual pasta strands as small as you can make them. Once you have cut one of the tubes into their strands, use your fingers and unroll the strands so that they do not stick together creating kinks in your pasta.  Place the strands in a bowl, repeat with remaining two tubes, and cover bowl with a moist tea towel if you are not planning to cook right away.
6. To cook, add a tbsp of olive oil and a tbsp of salt to a large stockpot of water. Bring to boil, add pasta, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until noodles are al dente. 

Toma Sauce

• 1.5 c heavy cream
• 6 oz cubed Toma cheese (not too aged or it will not melt properly)
• ½ cup butter cut into 8 pieces
• 2 egg yolks (I use duck eggs)
• Parmigiano Reggiano for garnish
• White truffle shavings
• Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Bring the heavy cream just to boiling point on a low simmer.  Add the Toma a few pieces at a time, stirring to incorporate and melt it into the cream.
2.  Once all the cheese has been added and the sauce is relatively smooth, add the butter one piece at a time. 
3. When the butter is fully incorporated, whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl.  Temper the eggs by adding a few tablespoons of the Toma sauce to them and whisking thoroughly.  Remove sauce from heat, add tempered egg yolks, stir thoroughly and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed. 
4. Toss the noodles with the sauce and plate individual portions.  Add truffle shavings and parmigiano to each serving and serve immediately. 

 

I’m currently battling a minor fascination with all things duck.  I can trace it back to its origin- the amazing duck egg raviolo I was served at top Seattle restaurant Spring Hill.  Since then I’ve cured duck breast into prosciutto, used duck eggs yolks in pasta dough (amazingly elastic!), poached the eggs to perfection, and even fried an egg up on my slab of pink Himalayan salt.  When I was a child of five, my father got the idea in his head that he wanted to dapple in farming and ranching, so he uprooted our bi-racial family from a happy if crowded existence in southern California and transplanted us to a freshly purchased homestead with acreage in BFE Idaho.  The folks in the small town didn’t quite know what to make of a middle-aged white guy with his dark-skinned bride (my mother), her two black teenagers (my half-siblings) and a four-year-old towhead who thought she was a boy and ran around naked all the time (me).  Consequently, our family was largely left to devise our own elaborate entertainment.  Since my brother and sister were busy fighting with each other and trying to master the art of break-dancing in the pasture, I made friends with the dogs and ducks. 

To my mind, the ducks had spunk the chickens couldn’t even dream of, and one in particular really ruled the roost.  That duck had herding tendencies that put the whole gaggle of animals in a dither whenever she came around.  The two dogs were so afraid of her they would run the other way every time she waddled toward their comfortable lounging pads perched on the porch.  She somehow always used to get in a few nips to their hindquarters before they could extricate themselves from her menacing beak.  It’s quite a sight watching a full-grown black lab cower in fear of a mama duck, of course eventually the dogs had their day of vindication and I had the misfortune to witness my first and only head-lopping, but that’s a sad tale for another time. 

That duck had her favorites around the farm though there were only two of us, me and the adorably dopey young calf I had christened “Slobber.”  Slobber, Ducky and I were three peas in a pod for a few months one summer; unfortunately I was the only one who saw September that year.  Eventually my father grew tired of the rural lifestyle and moved us to a slightly larger suburban city (still in Idaho) and I grew tired of eating things like cows and ducks since I had counted them amongst my dearest friends during quite a difficult time.  My period of vegetarianism ensued, and lasted almost 20 years.  Now that I’ve been eating meat again for nearly a decade, I still wholly appreciate where it comes from and take care to revere what I prepare.  I think my current duck fascination takes me back to simpler times, and oddly, the art of eating brings me closer to those treasured souls from my past. 

These deviled duck eggs were born from my desire to use the eggs in an innovative way, and also to compose multiple facets of the dish from the same ingredient and still have it taste different yet complementary, hence the duck egg mayonnaise.  The mayonnaise by itself is divine- worth making for sandwiches, dips, and anything that would really showcase its rich flavor.  It’s so easy to do, and there is no contest in the taste comparison with store-bought mayo.  Duck eggs have a rich fullness that even farm fresh chicken eggs can’t match, and mayonnaise and deviled eggs are perfect vehicles to demonstrate that flavor fact.  If you’re making these for a party, make extra- somehow two entire trays disappeared in 10 minutes and I still haven’t gotten the revelers to fess up who could possibly have eaten that many! 

Deviled Duck Eggs

Makes 12 halves

• 6 duck eggs
• ½ tsp dry mustard
• 4 tbsp homemade duck egg mayonnaise (recipe follows)
• 1 ½ tsp cider vinegar
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika for garnish

1.  Place duck eggs in saucepan and fill with water 1” above eggs.  Bring to boil, allow to boil two minutes, cover, remove heat and let stand for 10 minutes.  Remove lid and cool in ice-water for 5 minutes.  Peel and halve eggs, taking care not to rip them.  Place yolks in a small bowl and whites on a serving platter.
2. Mash up egg yolks until no lumps remain. Add remaining ingredients except for paprika and mix with a rubber spatula until smooth.  Spoon into a quart-sized plastic bag, cut the tip of the corner off and pipe into egg whites.  Garnish with paprika and serve soon.  If you want to make ahead, do everything except piping the yolk mixture, refrigerate, and pipe when ready to serve. 

Duck Egg Mayonnaise

• 1 duck egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1 scant tbsb lemon juice
• Pinch dry mustard
• Black pepper
• 1-1 ¼ c canola oil

1.  Mix all ingredients except oil in food processor for 30 seconds.  Add oil to desired consistency through tube in steady stream over the course of one minute.  Do not over mix.  Mayonnaise should keep in refrigerator up to three days. 

Buonissimo! Finger-licking buonissimo is what you’ll be raving into next Tuesday if you step out on a limb and venture to make this crowd-pleasing pasta.  Just don’t tell your squeamish friends it’s made with duck eggs until after the first bite.  As is often the case with my culinary endeavors, I headed down to Pike Place Market to get some inspiration for what would be seasonally-appropriate to make for a fun dinner for five yesterday.   It could not be a better time of year to be at the market- every fruit stall is simply bursting over with bounty and the crisp autumn colors have us here at the Salty Seattle household all in a swoon.

 It was one of those days where just about everything I saw wanted to come home with me, from unnecessary gadgetry like a melon-balling set at Kitchen Basics to the absolutely gorgeous duck eggs from the Pike Place Market Creamery.  By the end of my unhinged spree, I wondered what on earth I would sort out for dinner from my unlikely mélange- definitely an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of a journey. 

Since it was really a beautiful day, we decided to walk a few blocks down First Ave to the new coffee shop/wine bar at the base of the Four Seasons called Fonte.  Coffee-shopping used to work out really well for Jonas and I in Torino, as he always feels like a midday espresso and I always feel like a midday prosecco.  It’s a little harder in coffee-addled Seattle to find a decent glass of bubbly alongside a pull of Lavazza, but we’ve sussed out a few outposts.  I figured I should order rosé instead of my usual prosecco since it really is the final days of summertime and I had better take advantage.  Plus, rosé always does a great job of clearing my head, which is what I needed in order to bring cohesion to all my purchases and somehow turn them into dinner. 

Just as I was attempting to construct a soufflé of figs, pistachios and asparagus in my mind, (that way the duck eggs could be put to good use since they’re extra stiff when beaten) I had an epiphany- THAT SOUNDS DISGUSTING!! Thank goodness too, because I don’t think I’d be writing this entry if I had concocted something as atrocious as that.  No, better to separate the ingredients into the families they belong with, which translates to figs and pistachios getting shelved for another day soon, and asparagus and duck eggs forming the basis for a pasta- totally do-able. 

I used my newfound clarity to head back to DeLaurenti at the market for some pancetta, the only ingredient missing from the crazy carbonara I anticipated constructing.  Try as I might, I (wisely , methinks) really could not justify throwing lamb shoulder chops into carbonara, so I whipped up a dried-plum rosemary rub for the chops while I ruminated on the best way to pull the pasta together.  I had brought home some lovely double cream from the Creamery and really wanted to use it, but a true carbonara should really get it’s saucy appeal from the eggs and cheese, and in the end I didn’t feel like cheating with the cream, because I would have had to come up with another name for the dish- basically a glorified duck-egg alfredo.  Since I had a triumvirate of vegetables- corn, asparagus and small carrots- I needed to come up with a system of adding them to the mix without one become more done than the other.  This is why it’s important to separate the vegetables into the categories suggested by the recipe when you’re adding them.  I suppose I’ll wrap up my tale of market carbonara madness and leave you to enjoy the final result.  Please leave a comment if you have any questions or problems with sourcing and I’ll attempt to steer you in the right direction. 

Carbonara di Uova di Anatra con Verdure

Serves 4-6

Note: For a fairly comprehensive list of great creameries across the country who likely carry duck eggs check this out.  In Seattle the go-to source for duck eggs is the Pike Place Market Creamery- by far the best in town, with great service and an amazingly esoteric selection.  If you cannot find duck eggs, substitute regular eggs, or get a little crazy and try quail eggs- but use 10 for every 3 duck eggs called for. 

• 3 ears sweet corn de-cobbed
• 1 bunch baby carrots, peeled
• 1 bunch asparagus tough ends removed, chopped into 1” pieces, tips kept separate
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 lb pancetta chopped fine (to make pancetta easier to chop, freeze for 10 min)
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1.1 lb pappardelle rigate pasta (I use Rustichella d’ Abruzzo)
• 2 oz grated parmigiano reggiano
• 1 oz grated asiago
• 3 garlic cloves peeled and chopped fine
• 3 duck eggs

1.  Heat oven to 200°.  Warm a large serving bowl in oven so when you assemble the pasta elements in the bowl, they heat through.
2.  Fill a large stockpot with a strainer insert with enough water to come up 3” above bottom of strainer.  Boil over high heat.  Add baby carrots, cook for one minute.  Add asparagus pieces (not tips), cook for one minute.  Add asparagus tips and corn, cook for one additional minute.  Remove vegetables from stockpot by pulling out strainer insert, but leave vegetable water in stockpot to boil pasta (this imparts a nice flavor on your noodles).  Run cold water over vegetables to stop cooking. 
3. Heat olive oil in 12” sauté pan.  Add chopped pancetta and fry until crisp- about 3 minutes.  Add wine and simmer until slightly reduced, about 6 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, return stockpot with vegetable water to boil.  Add noodles and cook until al dente.
5. Combine cheeses, garlic and duck eggs in medium bowl with a fork. 
6. Place vegetables in pancetta and wine sauté pan and stir to combine and heat- about 1 minute.
7. Remove serving bowl from oven and add cooked pasta.  Pour pancetta-vegetable mixture over it, as well as egg mixture.  Stir to cook and combine fully.  Serve immediately.