My latest Taste column for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine was published on Sunday, and since then it’s garnered some interesting commentary in the blogosphere thanks to a Facebook tag. Here’s the link to the article, and here are some of the comments with additional serving suggestions:

Nathalie Dupree: I pick my own Meyer lemons every December. I do roast chicken, lemon curd, lemon soufflé pudding, and everything else I can think of. Then I freeze them flat on a tray and move to a plastic bag and use them all year round. (Even I can’t use 30 Meyer lemons.) I do not give them away willingly.

Paula Lambert: I LOVE Meyers lemons! They make everything better!!

Linda Sendowski: Use the lemon zest in everything you bake or even in salad dressing, on grilled meat or chicken. Meyer lemons brighten apple anything or is also great in sweet-and-sour dishes like stuffed cabbage.

Back this summer, I had the pleasure of signing my books, including Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining, at the beguiling Queen Anne Farmers’ Market, an invitation from Queen Anne Bookstore.

Here are some of the creative entries in the fruit-carving contest, from porcupines to turtles to bird cages. Seems like a long time ago, with all the cool fog and drizzle of late.

Back during the holidays, on a Saturday night when the shoppers were out in full force, we made the BIG mistake of not making a dinner reservation. Turned away at several places, we finally took our chances at Il Fornaio’s Risotteria (the smaller downstairs location, not the more formal upstairs–and what we refer to as “baby” Fornaio).

Noticing two seats at the counter overlooking the sous chefs and busy line, we asked if they were available. And, very luckily for us, they were!

Above is the always-dependable Insalata di Spinaci–Fresh organic baby spinach, along with walnuts, mushrooms, applewood-smoked bacon, tomatoes, onions, and aged ricotta, tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.

And here’s the Minestrone Soup that comes from “big” Fornaio that our server was nice enough to go up and fetch for us.

Spaghetti al Frutti di Mare–Long, thin pasta with clams, mussels, scallops, squid, shrimp, tomato, garlic,
chili flakes, marinara, and white wine was my main. While not loaded with seafood, the tomato sauce was rich and satisfying, and I took home half the pasta for the next night’s seafood soup.

Pollo allo Spiedo–rotisserie chicken served with a plume of rosemary–was a large portion and perfectly cooked. Sautéed kale and roasted potatoes were ample sides.

A bottle of Ripasso (sometimes considered a sister wine to Amarone) went down far too easily and soon we found ourselves making our way through the madding crowds and back into the cold wintery night.

Every now and then, I just crave a real, perfectly crafted French omelet. And Cafe Campagne’s Omelet Choisy, a French-style rolled omelet flavored with herbs and filled with escarole and chèvre, always fills the bill. Here it is photographed in all its plumped-with-escarole-and-goat-cheese and studded-with-herb goodness.

It’s normally served with housemade chicken-and-pork sausage and roasted potatoes. But I prefer a simple green salad, dressing on the side myself. Along with a pairing of pink grapefruit juice, Omelet Choisy more than qualifies as my Dish of the Day.

We made our first stop on our holiday road trip to Cannon Beach at the Country Cousin Restaurant and Lounge in Centralia, Washington, which is probably better known for its outlet shopping than its culinary choices.

The place is pleasantly quirky. A crowing rooster sound greets everyone who crosses the threshold, which helps customers get in the mood for a real down-home experience. Two days before Christmas, as travelers were on the way to grandmother’s house, no doubt, the place was packed. So instead of the main dining room, we opted for the bar (entirely non-smoking) which was decorated with dark woods, a gas fireplace, and a plethora of Christmas lights.

I ordered the Soup of the Day–Chicken Tortilla–with a side salad. It was the kind of salad adorned with canned beet strips and Pepperidge Farms Goldfish-cracker “croutons.” And guess what? With a drizzle of honey-mustard dressing, it was pretty tasty, as was the soup, an ample bowl chock full of tortilla strips and cheese.

Spencer ordered a Chili-Cheese Omelet with Onions and whole-wheat toast that would have busted any gut but his (thank heavens he’s a good eater).

Had we wanted yak, we could have had it in many iterations, from burgers to hamburger steaks to a patty melt.

Our server, Mona, was the type of motherly, middle-aged woman who calls everybody “honey.” The Country Cousin certainly primed our palates for many more culinary adventures during our trip through Washington and along the Oregon Coast.

Coffee-Toffee Choco-Cinnamon Bars

Varietal: Tawny Port

These easy-to-make bar cookies are rife with chocolate, coffee, cinnamon and vanilla, the same Essential Cane sugars you’ll sprinkle over the top for added flavor and crunch.

Makes 20 bars

1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup double-strength hot coffee or regular-strength espresso (See Cook’s Hint, below)

1 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Vanilla Glaze (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons each Essential Cane Dark Cocoa, Espresso, Vanilla Bean and Cinnamon Flavored Cane Sugars, or to taste

Vanilla Glaze

1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

3 tablespoons whole milk or half-and-half

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly grease a 9- by 13-inch baking pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon, whip the butter and brown sugar until well blended, then add the egg and coffee and stir until completely incorporated.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

4. Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake until the bars rise and turn golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Place the baking pan over a wire rack and allow the bars to cool completely.

5. To make the glaze, in a small mixing bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, butter, milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour the icing over the cooled bars and sprinkle evenly with the sugars. Allow the icing to set, then cut into squares.

Cook’s Hint: Use hot, freshly brewed coffee or espresso, or rewarm leftover coffee or espresso in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Copyright 2009 by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

If you are planning a trip to New York City this month, don’t miss a visit to the venerable James Beard House on January 20 for the Northwestern Seafood Extravaganza presented by our friend Ethan Stowell, chef/owner/founder of Anchovies & Olives, How to Cook a Wolf, Tavolàta, and Union.

From the first days of Union, we predicted Ethan’s meteoric rise. Here’s a link to a television interview I did for Seattle PBS station KCTS’s “About the Money” that discusses Ethan’s rise in the Seattle restaurant scene. Congratulations, Ethan!

Tickets for JBF Members are $125; General Public $165.

Happy to report that Julie Andrés, chef/owner, and Julia Bandy, sommelier, are doing a wonderful job at La Medusa in Seattle’s booming Columbia City neighborhood. Julie A.’s menu offers heartfelt and delectable seasonal food; Julia B.’s wine list is well thought out and reasonably priced.

Earlier this fall, we enjoyed an appetizer of Grilled Sardines (big ones!) perfectly cooked and seasoned with nothing more than chopped garlic, good sea salt, lemon juice, and fresh parsley. They paired perfectly with Julia B.’s suggested wine: a bottle of 2005 Chiarandà Chardonnay from Sicily.

Here is the dynamic duo doing its dance on the plate. Which more than qualifies La Medusa’s Grilled Sardines as our Dish of the Day.

Purple Café and Wine Bar, with locations in downtown Seattle (my stomping ground), Kirkland, and Woodinville, does a great job with its cheese plate. I order several cheeses with all the accouterments and a flight of wine and am good to go.

Here’s the gorgeous platter which I enjoyed with the Local White Flight: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris. What a way to “fly!”

The platter includes Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese (the cheese with the thin line of ash in the middle); a blue cheese from Cashel Cheese, a farmstead cheese maker in Ireland; Mimolette, the hard, dark-orange cheese with the grainy brown rind that looks like a cantaloupe at first glance; and Tronchon, a semi-soft cheese that’s mild and pleasing. Mixed olives, Marcona almonds, quince paste, and apples, plus heavy iron baskets full of crispy crackers, rounded out our cheese-y happy hour.

During the holidays, our thoughts often turn to the dear departed. On our recent trip to the Olympic Peninsula, I was phondly reminded of a member of our phamily, Phish, who passed to the great beyond earlier this year.

Here’s a little lookalike from Fins (or should I say, Phins?) Coastal Cuisine, a lovely waterfront restaurant in Port Townsend. If we hadn’t watched Phish’s tiny coffin float into Shilshole Bay, we would have sworn our Phish-y phriend had been reincarnated.