Flourless Orange, Almond and Ginger Cake

I'm loving many things about the Portland, Oregon area. Many things! 

One of my favorite new eateries here is the St. Honoré Bakery and Cafe. It's a casual little place with fresh soups, killer vol au vonts, savory caprese sandwiches. And hecka amazing flourless orange and almond cakes! It's one of those places where the food is just as beautiful as it is delicious.

Time for another run!!!

Experiencing the Oregon Truffle Festival!!

Wow folks. What an awesome experience. I just recently found out about the Oregon Truffle Festival (OTF). The yearly festival celebrates the burgeoning local truffle industry.

Had an opportunity to catch up with the event at the OTF marketplace today. My gosh, truffle cheeses, truffle charcuterie, truffle ice cream : ) And some amazing local wines as well! All in all, a very tasty day.

Now it's time to find some yummy truffle recipes. First up? It's truffle fondue!!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!!

I was cooking up some savory omelettes this morning when these beautiful red pepper seeds caught my eye. On this day, (of all days), I am reminded that today is just the start, just the tiniest seed of the new year. I firmly believe you can grow this year into anything you want it to be.

Best of luck and much happiness : )

Alison

Gewürztraminer Baby...

Ooh! A wine grape with an umlaut! 

Found some charming, blushing Gewürztraminer grapes while hiking around the vineyards the other day. Which got me to thinking, does Gewürztraminer pair well with anything besides fish? I've rarely had the wine, as I'm just not too much of a fish/seafood person.

What? It pairs with Asian foods? What? Pairs with a ham and gruyere tart? Whoa nelly. Well, I guess I have a new wine to explore!

Food &Wine has all the deets right here.

Tzatziki on the Beach

Back home now, instilled with a healthy infatuation for the foods we ate in Greece and Turkey.

I'm convinced we ate the best tzatziki on the face of the earth. We found it on the menu in the lovely taverna above Panormous beach on Mykonos. Even the Aldous Snow imitator to our right couldn't detract from the smooth coolness of the dish. It was really something special.

I've been trying to reverse engineer the dish, with some success, but it's not quite perfect yet. Tomorrow I'll try an existing recipe I found from Ina Garten - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/tzatziki-recipe.html

Wish me luck!

The foods of Istanbul

Well, we've been here for maybe 12 hours or so, and we are already just loving the churning excitement of Istanbul!

This is pomegranate and pistachio lokum, found at an incredible shop just down the street. A thing of beauty.

I'll let this picture be worth a thousand words. More soon...

White Asparagus with Saboyan Sauce

Look what I found at the market today... white asparagus! Not something you see every day around here.

Today, I'm preparing this delicacy with an elegant olive oil based Sabayon sauce. Found a great recipe on the Saveur Magazine site.

What a treat!!