Deschutes and Pok Pok in Portland

On Saturday, with an Ikea/H&M/NextAdventure shopping plan in order, my mother, Claire and I headed up to Portland.

It’s always nice to get out of Eugene, even if it’s only for a day, but it’s especially nice to try out some new restaurants.

While my mother picked out a new kitchen at Ikea and after Claire so patiently waited as I did some clothes shopping, we headed to the Deschutes Brewery Pub. It was a wonderful atmosphere, a big open area with a high ceiling and a lot of light. It was busy but it didn’t feel crowded because of how much space they had – just what C and I needed to regroup after shopping.

We got a flight of beers, none of which could be found at the grocery store. This included their hefeweizen, Bayerne bitter, a gluten-free brew, the Angler, Cascade Ale and the Bachelor bitter. I was not a fan of the first and the last, but the rest were quite good, all light beers. Claire and I agreed that none of them popped out at us as being the best, they were all simply good, but not amazing. We then opted for a glass each of another kind – I had the Twilight, a summer classic. And Claire, well, what she had was dark and rich and I don’t remember the name. Oops!

Next up was lunch time. We met up with our mother and headed over to Pok Pok, a great Thai restaurant whose chef, Andy Ricker, was voted best in the Northwest last year. The food was amazing and like nothing I had tried before. For a little appetizer, we shared a charcoal smoked eggplant dish. For my main dish, I ordered Khao Soi, a curry noodle soup with chicken, accompanied with pickled mustard greens, shallots and crispy noodles on top. It wasn’t too spicy and the flavors merged nicely together. Although I must admit, the process of eating it was new to me as well. I managed to use two different spoons, a fork and a knife, all for one soup! (I felt a bit silly, not my finest eating moment!)

It was a great trip but we were all quite satisfied as we headed home – a break fromEugenefor the day, some great purchases and two amazing restaurants!

Grilling for Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day again! Here are some photos from the dinner my sister and I prepared for our lovely mother today!

As the grill was heating up we had some bread (courtesy of Eugene City Bakery) with Dubliner and Brie cheese. The cocktail of the evening made by my mother was a negroni – gin, sweet vermouth, cynar (artichoke liquor) with a orange slice. Delicious!

For dinner we grilled tempeh and chicken, small peppers, sweet onions and zucchini. I marinated the chicken in lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper. And for the vegetables, I did the same, minus the lemon and added some balsamic vinegar instead.

And lastly for dessert we had a strawberry peach pie (more of a cobbler) with vanilla ice cream.

It was a great cooking day! I hope you enjoy the photos!

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Mother’s Day Planning at the Market

Today was a beautiful day in Eugene and with Mother’s day tomorrow, Claire and I are planning to grill (outside!) all sorts of goodness for dinner. This meant a trip down to the Farmer’s market.

We decided having some snacks was important before finding grill fixins. At the Eugene City Bakery booth we got a beautiful loaf of wheat bread and an apple pastry that was divine. (Thanks Megan! Author of an amazing blog!) I also grabbed an orange lemonade and Claire tried a falafel sandwich!

Stomachs happy and thirst quenched, it was on to the vegetables. We already have peppers and are planning chicken and tempeh for our protein. So, we hunted down some onions and zucchini. Ah, I love summer food, I love grill season! Plus, I always forget about all the wonder the market has to offer, I will be down there a lot more as the bounty continues to grow!

We’re now about half way through Mother’s day dinner planning. I still need to find the right fruit for pie and we’re still figuring out cocktail ideas. Thoughts?

Happy day to all the wonderful mother’s out there! Photos to come!

A bright, protein-rich salad

I got some great cooking in this weekend. My friend was hosting a potluck and instead of Friday being a homework-filled day, I made it a cooking-filled day. It was a great way to take a break from the chaos of school.

I made my new go-to dessert, hazelnut macaroons. Yes, I know, I keep making them. So, I promise the next dessert won’t be that! Maybe a pie? Ooh, it’s almost berry season, I can’t wait for crisps and smoothies!

So, onto the most beautiful cookbook in the world: Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi. It is a newer vegetarian book with the most magnificent food photos I have seen in a while. Plus it’s organized by the main vegetable or grain, not by the course. I picked the quinoa, avocado and fava bean salad. I replaced the fava with edamame. Also, I wasn’t able to find the purple basil leaves so I just left them out, although I think they will use them next time. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly, a rarity for me.

My thoughts on the salad: It needs more lemon than called for, the creamy flavors of the avocado and beans really need some punch to them. Also, letting fava beans and the quinoa dry completely is important, I think the quinoa would have absorbed more the flavor if I had let it sit longer but my impatience overcame me.

Lastly, this salad introduced me to radishes! I had never had one before. I liked them, a mix between a carrot and jicama, a bit bland, but still added a great crunch to the salad!

Comfort food galore

As the sun broke through the clouds this morning, my father’s grill, lonesome after a long winter, was on my mind. Given my recent vow, my hands were tingling to chop, stir and cook! Throughout the day, I was picturing lemon chicken and coconut soaked kale on the grill, opening a beer and playing fetch with the dog while I waited, maybe I would put on a sundress…

Oh right, it’s spring in Oregon.

The weather turned bleak and the rain returned. My dinner plans headed back inside, away from the grill and patio. With the same ingredients in mind, however, I cooked up lime kale chips (I’ve linked these before) and parmesan chicken for dinner – some of my favorite food on a bulstery night.

The chicken is a recipe my mother uses often – nothing too fancy: mustard, panko (instead of the English muffin crumbs), parmesan, the other usual suspects, and delicious. The sharpness of the mustard balances nicely with the mellow parmesan.

The kale chips, also a common dish at the family table, were put together with the help of my father, he’s a quick learner. Rubbed in olive oil and sprinkled with thai ginger salt, they headed to the over. They had to be cooked in two rounds since the oven was full. The first tray was good, but didn’t have enough flavor. The second, I left in too long and although I added more zest, chili and salt, they were a bit too crispy. Finding the perfection between undercooked and roasted is hard with kale chips and I would say that a little undercooked is the best bet.

After dinner, craving something a little sweet, I made some quick hazelnut macaroons. They rounded off quite a satisfying day of cooking!

Easter brunch (and a vow)

I keep swearing I will write more but it just doesn’t happen. Having not written in awhile, I’m regretting not sharing not only my cooking adventures but my wonderful trip toAshland to visit my oldest sister, where we ate at some wonderful restaurants – Standing Stone, The Black Sheep, Thai Pepper.

Now I’m onto my final term as an undergrad and with a food writing class on my schedule and a continuing love of hosting lavish dinners for friends, I vow to update my blog much more often.

What better a day to start writing again then that of Easter Sunday!

We aren’t church going folks but our faith in the Easter Bunny and quality egg dishes has carried my family through many extravagant Easters. This year was one to top the charts.

I was the simpleton chef of this gathering. My role: Set the table and make a fruit salad.

I don’t like complicated fruit salads with too many fruits or browning bananas. And for god’s sake, why do people continue to put grapes in salads? It doesn’t work.

So with just three types of fruit, I took to the cutting board. The oranges were first, which my mother soaked in triple sec and sugar while the others were cut. Then in went strawberries and a pineapple. It was a citrus delight.

The real wonder came from my mother and a good family friend. Both of them are always inspiration. My mother made a mushroom frittata and a hazelnut chocolate tort. Our family friend brought asparagus with raspberry vinaigrette, and hot-cross buns, while her daughter added a delicious spicy potato gratin to the table.

Add freshly squeezed blood orange juice to our champagne and it was absolute perfection.

Here’s a taste…

 

So as I finish my last sips of champagne and prepare for the week ahead of me, I promise to eat more, bake more, review more and blog it all!

777 just in time for St. Patrick’s Day

Dinner out with my father took us to Laughing Planet tonight – delicious as always! But, to add to my already existent love for them was their lucky deal!

It has been around for a couple of weeks but I hadn’t been in awhile, and I believe it only through March so I was happy to get at it! To me, it is a great deal to compare to many of the burger and brew offers around town – it fills me up, it’s not nearly as expensive, plus it’s way better for you than a greasy burger!