Last month we wrote a post about a new apple variety–the Lady Alice–along with a recipe for Roasted Halibut with Lady Alice Apple Chutney.

Here’s another recipe using the elegant Lady Alice Apple.

Lady Alice Apple Pancakes with Apple Cider Syrup

For the Pancakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ to 1 ¾ cup buttermilk

1 cup grated Lady Alice apple, peeled and cored (1 medium apple)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Apple Cider Syrup:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup apple cider

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup finely chopped Lady Alice apple

In large bowl combine the flour,  sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Mix well; set aside.

In a medium size bowl stir together the buttermilk, grated apple, eggs, and vegetable oil. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir together until well-mixed (1 minute).

On a pre-heated, nonstick, 10-inch skillet or griddle, place about ¼ cup pancake mixture for each pancake.

Heat on the first side until golden brown (2 to 3 minutes). Using a spatula, turn the pancakes over and continue cooking on the second side until cooked through (1 to 2 minutes). Repeat with the remaining batter. Set aside.

Meanwhile in a 2-quart saucepan, place all the Apple Cider Syrup ingredients, except the butter. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil (3 to 4 minutes). Continue cooking until the cider has thickened slightly (6 to 8 minutes).

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted. Serve with the  pancakes.

Fava Bean Dip with Pecorino Romano and Garden Mint

Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc

Makes about 3 cups

This recipe from the Pike Place Market’s venerable Pink Door restaurant is courtesy of owner Jackie Roberts, a.k.a., La Padrona. This spring-time appetizer was inspired by Jackie’s fond memories of her grandfather eating raw fava beans along with a wedge of cheese, a hunk of crusty bread, and a glass of wine. Luckily, in her iteration, the favas are briefly cooked before puréeing with garlic, parsley, and olive oil to form a bright green spread.

4 to 5 pounds fresh fava beans in the shell

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped

3/4 to 1 cup olive oil

3/4 to 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste

Bruschetta (recipe follows)

1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1. To prepare the fava beans, remove the beans from the shells and discard the shells. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and add the beans. Cook 30 to 60 seconds, drain, and rinse in cold water. When the beans are cool enough to handle, slit one side of the husk with the tip of a small, sharp kitchen knife, and pop out the bean inside. Repeat with the remaining beans, which should yield about 4 cups.

2. Place the beans, parsley, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the beans resemble small pebbles. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a thin, slow stream until the fava beans reach a thick consistency, scraping down the sides of bowl once or twice. You may need anywhere from 3/4 to 1 cup of oil.

3. Transfer the bean mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in 3/4 cup of the lemon juice. Add additional lemon juice if necessary to reach a spreadable consistency. Stir in the salt and pepper, taste the purée, and add more salt or pepper if desired.

4. To serve, spread the fava bean purée on the bruschetta. Using a clean, dry vegetable peeler, shave curls of cheese over the brushetta and sprinkle with mint.

Bruschetta

1 loaf crusty country bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, halved

1. Preheat the broiler. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and place 3 to 4 inches from the heat source. Broil 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and rub one side of each bread slice with the halved cloves of garlic, then brush lightly with olive oil.

Cook’s Hint: Although your first instinct might be to use extra virgin olive oil in the fava bean purée, Jackie advises not using it in this particular recipe. It is too pungent and makes the purée bitter instead of buttery smooth. A good second-press olive oil does the job and is less expensive than extra virgin oil.

Looking for something new and healthy to nibble on this time of the year? Then pick up a pound or two of Washington state’s newest apple variety: the Lady Alice.

The Rainier Fruit Co., exclusive agent for this new fruit, sent along a sample box about a week ago, and almost half these beauties have already been consumed by my husband and me.

They’re small and compact–perfect for the lunch box or a child’s afternoon snack.

My tasting notes read: Pleasing firm, dense texture with a snap to the skin. Not overly or cloyingly sweet–just right–with a bit of a tart aftertaste and pleasing acidity (much like a fine aged Riesling). Refreshing and very satisfying!

Rainier Fruit Company claims to be one of the largest growers of fresh apples in the United States. According to a press release, “This year the company is shipping its largest crop yet of the Lady Alice apple, a new apple that is making its way into more stores this year than ever before.”

You’ll find Lady Alice apples at your local QFC and other independent stores in the Seattle area through May, or while supplies last. Or use the Lady Alice Store Locator  to find a store near you.

More about the Lady Alice Apple (from the press release):

The unique Lady Alice variety is like a fine wine–it gets richer with age. The variety is characterized by its pinkish-red stripes over a creamy yellow background and sweet, crisp, dense flesh with a hint of tartness. It is an excellent choice for snacking, baking, and cooking. Unlike many varieties of apples, the Lady Alice is slow to brown when cut, making it perfect for salads and fruit trays. Its heirloom-like flesh helps the apple retain its texture when heated at high temperatures. Its delicious sweet bite offers a hint of tartness that lingers on the palate.

The recipe below would be perfect for this time of year since it uses first-of-the-season halibut paired with Lady Alice Apple Chutney. Seasonal eating at its finest!

Roasted Halibut with Apple Chutney

1 tablespoon butter

2 Lady Alice apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1/4 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 jalapeno chili, minced

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 (6-ounce) Alaskan halibut fillets, about 1 inch thick

4 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the apples. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until the apples begin to soften.

Add the orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt, ground coriander and ground cloves. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, sitting occasionally, until the apples are tender and juice is thick, about 10 minutes.

Add the mango and cook about 5 minutes or until the mango softens. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the halibut in a lightly greased baking dish. Drizzle each piece with olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook 18 to 20 minutes or until halibut is cooked in the center. Serve with the chutney.

Cook’s Hint: Large pieces of halibut will require additional cooking time.

Photo by Braiden Rex-Johnson

Any friend of Graham Kerr’s, author of numerous cookbooks and his latest work, “Growing at the Speed of Life: A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden” (not to mention the former Galloping Gourmet) is a friend of mine.

So when Los Angeles-based chef Nathan Lyon reached out to me upon Graham’s recommendation, I knew I was in for something great!

“Great Food Starts Fresh,” is Nathan’s beautifully written and produced book detailing the best ways to use fresh produce–everything we all so happily snap up at our local farmers’ markets, through our Community Supported Agriculture subscriptions, or even at our local health-food and grocery stores.

I loved the lengthy section toward the front of this 344-page tome on How to Choose and Store Seasonal Produce, everything from Apples to Winter Squash. Sections on Kitchen Tools and Kitchen Staples will also come in handy as you embrace cooking with the seasons.

I was drawn to many of Nathan’s recipes, including Pan-Roasted Halibut with Salsa Verde and Asparagus (perfect for this time of year with the fresh halibut season just starting), Crostini alla Puttanesca (with a spicy sauce you can use on grilled bread or pasta), Shrimp with Cheddar Grits and Chorizo (‘nuf said!), and Sweet Potato Waffles with Honey Butter.

But the chef’s recipe for Raw Kale Salad with Feta, Pine Nuts, and Cranberries really caught my eye as something simultaneously super-healthy while still a bit indulgent thanks to the addition of all these nutrition-packed goodies: pine nuts, toasted walnuts, toasted almonds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), dried cranberries, fresh orange segments, and crumbled feta cheese.

You can purchase Nathan’s book on his website for $35, a “great” (food) investment in healthful eating with the seasons.

Raw Kale Salad with Feta, Pine Nuts, and Cranberries

 Yield: 4 servings

 For the Salad:

1 bunch curly kale

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ cup toasted walnuts, chopped roughly

¼ cup toasted almonds, chopped roughly

¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

½ cup dried cranberries, preferably unsweetened

3 large oranges

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Vinaigrette:

1 medium shallot, peeled and diced finely (3 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from the oranges)

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Strip the tender leaves from the tough stems of the kale; discard the stems. Rinse and dry the leaves, then roll them up and slice into thin strips. You should have approximately 5 packed cups of kale ribbons.

2. Cut the peel and pith off the oranges, then segment them by cutting between the dividers. Discard any seeds, but reserve the juice for the vinaigrette.

3. In a medium container with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinaigrette ingredients, close the lid tightly, and shake well to combine. Or, whisk to combine the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

4. Add the kale, nuts, seeds, cranberries, orange segments, and crumbled feta to a large serving bowl. Drizzle half the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more vinaigrette if needed.

5. Wonder aloud why you didn’t make this salad sooner, then serve.

Cook’s Hint: Other optional ingredients that go wonderfully in kale salads are sunflower seeds, diced avocado, and diced apples.

Once a month I write a book review of a favorite cookbook, wine, or cocktail book that posts on Amazon.com’s Al Dente blog.

These are books I really like to read and cook from, with doable recipes and (often) great wine- and beverage-pairing suggestions. In other words, I really recommend these tomes!

Just in case you’re still in need of practical and useful gift ideas for family and friends, here’s a listing of those dozen books (and accompanying recipes and reviews) that made the cut in 2012.

AND you can purchase the books directly from Amazon by following the links.

Talk about easy gift-giving!

Candle 79 Cookbook

Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz

Kitchen Simple

Food Lover’s Guide to Seattle

Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It

Super Natural Every Day

100 Perfect Pairings

Grilled Cheese, Please!

Fried Chicken & Champagne

Gifts Cooks Love: Recipes for Giving

Double Take: One Fabulous Recipe, Two Finished Dishes

While we’re taking a little break, this is a reprint of one of our favorite blog posts from prior years of Northwest Notes. Enjoy!

Last month, while dining at Canaletto, the complimentary, family-style Italian restaurant on Holland America Line’s M.S. Veendam, I ordered a lovely Limoncello Creme dessert.

Big surprise was a shot of the luscious lemon-y liqueur on top of the tart, tempting pudding.

This would be an easy, and elegant, way to bump up any pudding-based dessert, especially an English Trifle. Imagine the possibilities of Limoncello-soaked sponge cake layered with summer stone fruits (juicy peaches, apricots, or cherries) or berries (straw or blue) or winter citrus (oranges or satsumas) plus slightly sweetened whipped heavy cream!

Our friends at the Rogue Creamery in southern Oregon have done it again!

The Gourmet Retailer magazine announced that, “At the 27th Annual American Cheese Society (ACS) Judging and Competition in Montreal, Rogue Creamery’s Rogue River Blue was crowned Best in Show, beating out 1675 other entries. The ACS is the largest cheese competition in North America and often is referred to as the ‘Academy Awards of Cheese.'”

The Rogue Creamery and its luscious recipe for Broccoli and Oregonzola Soup is featured in Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining.

Heartiest congratulations to owners David Gremmels and Cary Bryant for keeping up their impressive winning streak!

This is the second time in three years that Rogue Creamery and its signature blue cheese, Rogue River Blue, have won this prestigious award. The creamery is owned by Cary Bryant and David Gremmels and located in Central Point, Oregon.

“We are honored by this recognition of Rogue River Blue, an American blue that represents the flavors of our region,” says Co–owner and Cheesemaker Bryant. “We enter the ACS Competition and Judging annually for the score sheets. Both technical and aesthetic cheese judges from around the world participate in this competition and provide invaluable feedback on the cheeses they score. The Best of Show for us not only celebrates Rogue River Blue as the finest cheese in North America, but it showcases our teams’ dedication to quality from the dairy, to the make room, aging caves and packaging.”

Co-owner and Cheesemaker Gremmels adds, “It takes a lot of hard work, planning and passion to make Rogue River the most distinctive blue cheese in the world. The recognition from ACS affirms this effort put forth to achieve the distinguishing flavor character, texture and quality inherent in a raw milk cheese.”

Rogue River Blue is handmade using autumnal equinox milk from Brown Swiss and Holstein cows’ milk, certified sustainable by Food Alliance. The cows graze in 1,650-foot elevation pastures along the Rogue River and in 5,000-foot elevation pastures along the Klamath River, where they eat a variety of grasses, wild herbs, and wild flowers supplemented with grass hay, alfalfa and grain grown on the ranch. The 5-pound (2.2-kg) wheels are made by hand and aged in specially constructed caves. The cheese ripens from naturally occurring molds found in the Rogue River Valley and, therefore, reflects a deep connection to the land. After maturation, the cheese is wrapped in Syrah grape leaves from Carpenter Hill Vineyard, which have been macerated in Clear Creek Pear Brandy and tied to the wheel with raffia. The cheese is released annually starting in September.

Rogue River Blue was honored as World’s Best Blue at the 16th World Cheese Awards in London, beating out entries from all over the world. That was the first time that an American blue cheese has won the title. The creamery also made history in 2007 by becoming the first American exporter of raw milk cheese to the European Union; its cheese is carried in Whole Foods Market, Neal’s Yard Dairy, London and Fromagerie Laurent Dubois, Paris.

Rogue Creamery was founded in 1928. The Vella family from Sonoma, Calif., acquired it from a co-op in Southern Oregon in 1935. In the 1950s, it began making some of the country’s best blue cheese. In 2002, Ig Vella selected Cary Bryant and David Gremmels as the new owners, and it now produces a variety of award-winning cheeses. It offer the only vertically integrated third-party certified sustainable cheese in the U.S. Its local dairy, Rogue View, and creamery, Rogue Creamery, both are certified sustainable by Food Alliance and Steritech, and certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

Source: Rogue Creamery

The Pink Door has created an authentic Italian dessert in honor of the bounty of the season, as well as the recent National-Can It-Forward Day at Pike Place Market.

Ball Canning Company’s Canning Across America event showcased some of Seattle’s favorite chefs demonstrating  popular summer canning recipes, including a mixed-berry jam, dill pickles, canned tomatoes, and more with viewers asking questions and sharing tips via live streaming video. An excerpt can be viewed here:  http://bit.ly/mRl3YT

The Pink  Door’s pastry chef (and Pike Place Market native) Kelsey Angell created a delicious Mixed Berry Crostata, inspired by freshly canned mixed berry jam, prepared by local canning expert and gluten-free baker Jeanne Sauvage.

“Crostata is a typical Italian dessert made with jam. The ‘pasta frolla’ or pie dough is spread with the jam and topped with a lattice crust. We are modifying it by adding Northwest blackberries, blueberries, and currants on top of the jam. So the final masterpiece is half Italian Crostata and half a traditional American Pie–just like me!” explains Jackie Roberts, founder of The Pink Door.

You can try your hand with the recipe below (courtesy of The Pink Door), or enjoy it at venerable Pike Place Market restaurant for $8.00.

Mixed Berry Crostata

One 9-inch Tart pan with a removable bottom

Pasta Frolla:

3 Cups All-Purpose flour, Unbleached

1 cup Super fine Sugar (Bakers sugar)

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

1 Lemon, zest and chop or use a micro-plane

1/2 pound unsalted butter, diced

2 egg yolks

1 egg, whole

Filling:

1 Jar Ball Canning Company Mixed berry Jam

2 baskets mixed berries, such as…currants, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries

Mix dry ingredients, cut in the butter until walnut pieces size.

Add the eggs, and mix just until incorporated.

Divide 2/3rds and 1/3rd . Form into a round flat disc shape between two pieces of wax paper or plastic. Let rest for 1 hour.

Roll each circle, The larger goes into the tart shell, the smaller gets cut into strips to form lattice over the top of the berries.

Fill the unbaked shell w/ 1 jar of mixed berry jam and cover w/ berries mixture.

Lattice over top. Brush w/ egg wash. Sprinkle w/ turbanato sugar.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbly.

Let rest to room temp. serve!

A couple of weeks ago, over Mother’s Day weekend, with 400 e-mails staring me in the face, I told Spencer I needed to get away, even if just for one single Saturday night.

Unsure of where to go, we settled upon Semiahmoo Resort, on the north edge of Washington State. It’s so close to the Canadian border you can see White Rock, British Columbia, across Semiahmoo Bay.

Since it was a few weeks before Memorial Day, when the resort’s “high” season begins, it was easy to secure a reasonable overnight room rate complete with dining voucher, part of a bed-and-dining package.

The fine-dining restaurant, Stars, wasn’t yet open, so we ate lunch in Packers Lounge and Oyster Bar and dinner at Pierside Restaurant. Funny thing was, both places featured the same menu–simple items such as fish-and-chips, salads, and grilled fish and meats–and that was just fine.

For once, I wouldn’t have to think about everything sip and sup I put into my mouth!

Here are the lovely Flame-Grilled Oysters that I spotted while we had a pre-dinner drink in the bar, then later ordered in the dining room as my starter course.

Perfectly broiled so the oysters were still tender and moist, but the garlic butter and Parmesan cheese topping was hot and bubbly, these beauties were eclipsed only by the view of Semiahmoo Bay outside.

Grilled Oysters à la Semiahmoo before. . .

Grilled Oysters à la Semiahmoo adieu!

We were very remiss on making a visit to our buddy David LeClaire’s wonderful new Wine World warehouse, a whopping 23,000-square-feet of everything wine and wine-related that opened last December after a whirlwind six weeks of renovation and remodeling.

Wine World boasts 500 Washington labels alone!

Not to mention Oregon wines. . .

Even Idaho!

Of course, foreign wines are widely available. . .

As is a whole section of Sustainable/Earth Friendly vino.

The massive space is centered by two spacious tasting bars with plenty of room to spread out, sip, and savor during one of the DAILY wine tastings!

There’s a big specialty-food section with cheeses, crackers, chocolates. charcuterie. . .

Such as these beauties.

There’s plenty of cold bubbly and white wine. . .

And microbrews from local favorites such as our good buddies Rose Ann and Charles Finkel of  The Pike Brewing Co.

There are wine-lovers’ gifts galore. . .

Including the latest and greatest books. . .

And magazines including Wine Press Northwest, where I’ve been a columnist the past 11 years (!). J

You can build your own basket. . .

Choose wines that have received ratings of 90 points or higher from leading publications, yet still cost less than $20!

Towards the back of the shop, along long the rear wall, you’ll find Wine World’s Staff Picks. . .

And a lovely seating area with recipe from the Celebrated Chefs Cookbook conveniently paired with reasonably priced wines.

Recipes are ready for the taking!

Two gorgeous event spaces have views of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier, and Interstate 5, which David told me looks like a sea of lights come nightfall.

A serving bar and changing artwork displays make for a sophisticated and welcoming place for a glass of wine or three!

Special events and classes are offered frequently. . .

Heck, even the ladies’ restroom is pretty!

Wine World’s Explorers Club offers great discounts and Explorers-Club-member-only events. And there are always Hot Buys just waiting to be snapped up. And most recent news on Wine World’s blog.

So don’t wait another minute. . .Wine World is like nirvana for oenophiles serious and casual.

Bravo, David and team!