Since March 2004 I have been honored to belong to a group called Les Dames d’Escoffier International, an invitational organization of women leaders in food, beverage, and hospitality whose mission is education, advocacy, and philanthropy. Over the past 10 years, our Seattle chapter has disbursed more than $240,000 for educational programs, community projects, and culinary scholarships for women in Washington state. 

Every year we host a fund-raising benefit. Kathy Casey Food Studios has been chosen as the site for this year’s event, which will be held on Thursday, October 16, at 6 p.m. It will celebrate the Seattle debut of the brand-new, Dames-branded cookbook entitled, Cooking with Les Dames d’Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink (Sasquatch Books, September 2008).

The fundraiser will be a walk-around reception featuring dishes created by the Seattle Dames whose recipes were chosen for inclusion in the new cookbook. Seattle Dames with recipes in the comprehensive new book, edited by Seattle Dame Marcella Rosene with Pat Mozersky, include Fran Bigelow (Fran’s Original Cheesecake), Braiden Rex-Johnson (Salmon Fillets Baked in Grape-Leaf Wraps), Gina Batali (Batali Family Stuffed Artichokes), and Lisa Dupar (Walnut Fennel Tarts). The book also includes recipes, beverage-pairing tips, and kitchen wisdom from leading Dames and culinary authorities from around the United States and Canada, including Lidia Bastianich, Nathalie Dupree, and Gale Gand. 

Attendance is limited for this exclusive gathering, and tickets cost $110 per person, which includes one copy of the cookbook. Additional copies of Cooking with Les Dames d’Escoffier will be available for sale that evening, with fifty percent of the proceeds going towards the Seattle Dames fundraising efforts. 

I encourage you to purchase a ticket, or tickets, as they are sure to go fast!

One of our favorite restaurants in Seattle, Marjorie, will offer its last two dinners at 5:30 and 8:00 on Saturday, September 6. Donna Moodie, our friend and owner of the restaurant, has been forced out of her beautiful space (former Café Septième and Lush Life) by cancellation of her lease, and is in search of a new venue. She will most likely relocate on Capitol Hill. 

Here’s the lovely Market Select Fish I enjoyed just a couple of weeks before the scheduled closing–Albacore Tuna with Soba Noodles, Snap Peas, and Avocado Cream. Spencer devoured his Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chop with Bacon Corn Cake (yum!), Braised Chard, and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. 

A bottle of Dobbes Estate 2006 Assemblage Pinot Noir paired well with both our selections. 

Fare thee well, Donna, and hope to see you back in business soon! 

We were honored to be included among the guests to celebrate icon Grill’s 10th anniversary along with founding chef Nick Musser, local media, family, friends, and present and past crew members. The appetizer spread included some of Chef Nick’s all-time best bites, including mini crabcakes, meatballs with Northwest cherry sauce, and spicy barbecued shrimp.

A marzipan birthday cake and a stack of chocolate cupcakes brought the celebration to an appropriately festive, and sweet ending. The consummate host, Chef Nick sent his guests home with a package of Barilla pasta and his recipe for the Ultimate Mac & Cheese. 

icon Grill is known for its pretty pink interior, afloat in lacy glass art and tchtchkes, as well as the witty sayings on its ever-changing marquee. Most popular posting occurred after the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO) summit.

“Thanks, WTO. It’s been a riot.” appeared in newspapers as far away as Pakistan. 

In late July, I was honored to be invited to attend the second annual Riesling Rendezvous conference at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington. It was truly a life-changing experience as 200 producers, media members, and distributors gathered at the venerable chateau, spending two-and-one-half days tasting through hundreds of Rieslings from Germany, Austria, Australia, Michigan, the Finger Lakes, and even Tasmania!

Twice a day we did comparative tastings of up to 30 Riesling samples at a time, and I’m happy to say that Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia definitely held their own. Perhaps I’m prejudiced, but our wines offered a fruity freshness and refreshing vitality missing in some of the petrol-heavy, knifely acidic, Old World wines.

I’m scheduled to write an article on my experiences for Pacific Northwest, The Seattle Times Sunday magazine, in 2009, so please stay tuned. 

My September 21 article for Pacific Northwest, The Seattle Times Sunday magazine, is tentatively titled, “The Cider House Rules,” and it features an interview with Drew Zimmerman, co-owner of Red Barn Cider in the Skagit Valley.

A few weeks after the interview, ably assisted by beer experts Charles and Rose Ann Finkel (owners of The Pike Brewing Company) and by my hubby Spencer Johnson, we gathered 31 Northwest ciders (and one hailing from England) and held an informal cider taste-off. 

Here we are in the heat of the challenge, swirling, sniffing, and dissecting the ciders that came from as far north as Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and as far south as Salem, Oregon. 

You may think I write about Steelhead Diner, in the Pike Place Market, too much. But Spencer and just enjoy eating there so much. Here’s the glorious multi-hued Caviar Pie, which is a bargain at just $14.95 a slice. It easily feeds four small appetites or two big appetites (such as ours).

Over a bottle of gracefully aging Giuseppe 2001 Amarone, we enjoyed the Pink Door’s Clams and Mussels appetizer. While I always love plump, Northwest-grown, Mediterranean mussels for their earthy flavor and tender flesh, I often find Manila clams to be overcooked, tough, and practically flavorless, more like boiled rubber bands than sublime shellfish. 

Not so at Pink Door, where exec chef Steve Szrinski, formerly head chef at Flying Fish, shows his prowess with seafood by making his tomato-sauced clams alternately juicy, sweet, and lush. 

Outstanding as well was the Whole Fish of the Day–Branzino with Pesto Sauce and Big Italian Beans the evening we were there–and the Northwest Fish of the Day–a gorgeous slab o’ seared swordfish with a rainbow ragu of seasonal veggies and a spicy red-pepper sauce.

Our favorite summertime dessert at the Pink Door, Lavender Panna Cotta, came with three sauces. I loved the Hibiscus (tangy-sweet), while Spencer preferred the deeply textured chocolate. The third offering was strawberry.

Lately, I’ve been testing a new salmon recipe that I think (and hope) will be part of a new Pike Place Market-themed cookbook that will be published in the next couple of years. Here’s a photo of Recipe Test #2 for Balsamic-Minted Salmon with Walnuts, a hearty-healthy, Mediterranean-leaning riff that works best on a thinner fillet of salmon such as sockeye, coho, or keta (chum), rather than my usual favorite, king or Chinook.

Lamb Chops with English Peas and Fava Beans, paired with a bottle of the difficult-to-find Merry Edwards Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Valley, captured our hearts at The Oystercatcher in Coupeville, Washington, during a recent weekend getaway to Whidbey Island.