The Regulars: Pasta al Tonno

Some might feel the need to travel to an exotic location, climb to the top of a mountain and find out from the guru who lives there that life is a wheel and what goes around comes around. I learned that lesson growing up by sitting down to dinner.

The mis en place, appealing to my inner OCD self.

Sunday was chipped beef on white bread eaten on TV trays while we watched Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Monday was some form of hamburger, whether patty, meatloaf or cooked with rice and tomatoes and called Spanish. Friday was tuna casserole made with the glue that held so many mothers' culinary universe together, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.

Ready for the pasta.

Around here it's not quite that predictable, but there are dishes that make a regular appearance on our dinner table. So when I'm not feeling particularly creative, like my mother I boil water for pasta and open a can of tuna. But instead of reaching for the Campbell's, I sauté a little garlic, toss in some lemon zest and capers, sprinkle on some parmesan and, like Mom, call it dinner.

Pasta al Tonno
Adapted from "The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces"by Diane Seed

1 lb. dried pasta
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 6-oz. can tuna, drained
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp. small capers
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Zest of 1 lemon
4 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. parmesan cheese

Boil water for pasta. Add salt and pasta and cook till al dente.

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in medium skillet and sauté garlic briefly. Add walnuts, tuna, capers and Worcestershire sauce and sauté till warm. Turn off heat and stir in lemon zest, parsley, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. When pasta is done, drain off water, place in bowl and pour tuna mixture over top. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. of parmesan, reserving remainder to add at the table.

Salem Sojourn

There are those obligatory trips you take. Family takes up most of the category, with weddings, anniversaries and, of course, funerals.

Though not as momentous as those, this trip was back to Salem where Dave had a long work weekend. So I booked a room at the Phoenix Grand Hotel where we'd stayed before, located downtown with decent rates and nice rooms. And since Dave had the car, I thought I'd book a rental for the drive down, but when I found out it would run $160-180 bucks for the hour trip from Portland, I quickly got creative.

Fortunately, since I had my fill of Greyhound in college, a company called HUT Airport Shuttle offers regular service from PDX to Corvallis several times a day, and was only $35 for the trip to Salem. The buses are clean but not huge, with courteous drivers. Perfect!

Plus it got me down there just in time for an early dinner with his co-workers E&M, who met us at a new place not too far from the capitol. Called Word of Mouth Neighborhood Bistro, it's owned by Steve and Becky Mucha, who opened it in mid-December. Everything is made from scratch, and bread is sourced from Cascade Baking Co. (a great place for coffee and pastries downtown, btw) with produce coming from farms in the area as much as possible.

Located in a sweet little bungalow just off busy State Street, it has the bustling charm of a hip mom-and-pop operation, which is exactly what it is. The menu is chock-full of comfort, from burgers (above left) and steaks to ribs and reubens, made just the way you remember them without any fancy frippery to get in the way.

I was on my own the next morning and wandered out in the drizzle for a late breakfast to La Capitale, a newly opened brasserie that had been recommended by Luan and Tim from Foster & Dobbs as a good spot for a bite. Obviously still working on perfecting its French accent, the cappucino was a milky mess, but the Pain Perdue (top photo), brioche French toast with maple syrup and a poached pear compote, needed only a little more soaking in sweet custard to be a version worthy of some Gallic finger-licking.

The drizzly afternoon was made a little sunnier by a trip to The Ram, a hangout for Salem lobbyists and Willamette University students for decades, a tav that makes a decent brew with bar snacks and burgers.

Which left me wondering: With the legislature now going to annual sessions and a beautiful physical setting on the banks of the Willamette, will Salem finally step up and become a desirable destination, as well as a more interesting place for the folks who live there?

Details: Word of Mouth Neighborhood Bistro, 140 17th St. NE, Salem; phone 503-930-4285. Cascade Baking Co., 229 State St., Salem; phone 503-589-0491. La Capitale Brasserie, 508 State St., Salem; phone 503-585-1975. The Ram, 515 12th St., Salem; phone 503-363-1905.

The Dirty Little Secret of Organic Seeds

It was shocking, actually. And the person who said it was in a position to know. It was at the recent Organicology conference, during a panel discussion on managing the threats posed by genetically engineered crops.

“The dirty secret of the organic seed industry is that seeds are getting contaminated (with genetically modified organisms or GMOs) and are getting sold to growers,” said Matthew Dillon, director of advocacy for the Organic Seed Alliance. In other words, farmers and gardeners may be unwittingly buying GMO-tainted seeds when they think they’re buying an organic, and thus non-GMO, product.

There are myriad reasons that this happens, from the expense that testing adds to a low-margin crop like seeds to the fact that declaring the presence of GMOs in a seed catalog would make some farmers and gardeners refuse to buy it. “GMOs are an ‘excluded method’ in an organic program,” Dillon said, “It could threaten the farmer’s certification to ‘knowingly’ plant seed with GMO presence.”

These same farmers may be selling their crop to companies (like food processors) that test for GMO presence and so their crop will be unmarketable, he added. Plus there’s the fear, as happened with a canola farmer in Canada named Percy Schmeiser, that Monsanto might sue them for illegally planting the company’s patented genetics.

The protection of organic crops also depends on the active participation of conventional growers. “People who grow commodity crops don’t have a lot of time to do management of their crops and they get sloppy,” said Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed. And the large scale of commodity growers swamps the smaller plantings of most organic growers.

The difficulty is multiplied when organic growers depend on insects and pollen in the environment to grow their crops, since insects might have a range of one to three miles and wind-blown pollen can fly from one-and-a-half to six miles. And in a cramped environment like the Willamette Valley, it means that keeping crops free of contamination becomes next to impossible without strict oversight.

The impact of contamination on organic farmers can be devastating, from rejected shipments to a loss of premiums and, worst of all, the erosion of confidence on the part of consumers. The solution, according to Ken Roseboro, editor of the Non-GMO Report, is to establish enforceable standards in the industry based on strict thresholds and verification.

The bottom line? According to Dillon: “Without seed integrity, food integrity is impossible.”

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This post won the Culinate.com editors' award in the "Almost Spring Blogging Contest" as the post of the week! Thanks, guys!

Meatloaf Fit for Company

I know, I know, it sounds like a joke. Meatloaf, at least when we were growing up, was something cheap that would feed a family. My mom, though admittedly she would come home from a full day of work and actually cook, would throw one together with fatty hamburger, ketchup, an egg and some bread crumbs. Then she'd bake it in the oven until it resembled something you might find on the forest floor and wonder what it had been when it was alive.

The meat mix, ready to be loaded with fixin's.

It wasn't until I made one of the recipes in The New Basics Cookbook that I had my meatloaf epiphany. It didn't have to be a flavorless slab that resembled thick cardboard! It could be juicy and rich and delicious, something you actually look forward to having the next day in a sandwich. Like I said, a life-changing realization.

Layered with goodness.

So when my meat-loving friend Kathryn and her equally carnivorous husband were scheduled to come for dinner, it was the perfect excuse to make a meatloaf stuffed with prosciutto and spinach from Mario Batali that I'd seen on my brother's blog. It's definitely a "company" type of meal, though, since the prosciutto and cheese push it beyond our budget for weeknight meals.

Rolled and heading for the oven.

It has inspired some thought on how to make it fit into the Budget Cuts category, but until I work that out this will draw raves from your guests!

Meatloaf Stuffed with Prosciutto and Spinach

From Food and Wine: "This luxurious yet easy take on classic meat loaf gets stuffed with spinach, carrots, prosciutto and cheese. The vegetables can be leftovers, says Batali: 'Just make sure they're cooked long enough to be very soft—if they're al dente, the meatloaf will tear when you slice it and wreck your day.' Mild and tangy caciocavallo cheese, made in Italy from cow's milk, is excellent in the filling, but provolone is a fine substitute."

2 lg. carrots, each cut lengthwise into 6 slices
4 c. spinach (3 oz.), thick stems discarded
2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 lbs. ground pork
2 1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs
2 c. freshly grated pecorino cheese (6 oz.)
6 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
10 thin slices of prosciutto (4 oz.)
10 1/16"-thick slices caciocavallo or provolone cheese
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
4 sprigs of rosemary
2 c. dry red wine
1 1/2 c. water

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the carrots until tender, 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook just until wilted; drain well and add to the carrots.

In a large bowl, combine the beef with the pork, 2 cups of the bread crumbs, the pecorino, eggs, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper; mix well with your hands.

Line a work surface with a 15-inch-long sheet of plastic wrap. In a bowl, mix the flour with the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture all over the plastic wrap. Transfer half of the meat loaf mixture to the plastic and press it into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Lay half of the spinach leaves over the meat, leaving a 1-inch border on the short sides. Arrange half of the carrots over the spinach, and top with half the prosciutto and sliced cheese. Starting from the long end of the plastic wrap closest to you, tightly roll up the meat loaf, tucking in the filling and using the plastic wrap to guide you; discard the plastic. Repeat with another 15-inch sheet of plastic and the remaining bread crumbs, meat mixture, spinach, carrots, prosciutto and cheese. Drizzle each meatloaf with 2 tablespoons of oil.

Put the rosemary sprigs in the bottom of a broiler pan and pour in the red wine. Cover with the broiler pan grate. Set the meat loaves about 2 inches apart on the grate. Bake in the center of the oven for 40 minutes. Turn the broiler pan around and pour the water through the grate. Continue baking for about 35 minutes longer, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of each meatloaf registers 155°.

Transfer the meat loaves to a carving board and cover loosely with foil. Discard any cheese from the bottom of the pan and strain the pan juices into a small saucepan. Boil the pan juices over high heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Pour into a serving bowl and season with salt and pepper. Using a serrated knife, slice the meat loaves 1 inch thick and serve, passing the pan juices at the table.

A Short Break from Seriousness

An ode to that beacon of food oddities that carries at least one thing that you're addicted to. (Am I right or am I right?) Thanks, Angie!

Getting Schooled

"Cucurbits were bottle-necked a long time ago."*

- John Navazio, senior plant breeder, Organic Seed Alliance

There were moments during last week's Organicology conference, as when I heard the comment above, that I felt like I was seriously in over my head. And not just because there were seminars titled "Fertilizers and Amendments for Organic Farming: Making Sustainable Choices" and "Sustainable Business Performance Measurement Tools and Reporting."

Fortunately for me, there were other topics available, too, on organic seed production (with seed guy and rabble-rouser Frank Morton, left) and the farmer-chef connection (with the irrepressible A. Boutard).

But it was definitely targeted to those seriously committed to organic and sustainable practices, with the initial keynote from Claire Hope Cummings, author of Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds.

The second was from writer and journalist Paul Roberts (right), whose book The End of Food says that, because living systems can't be industrialized or commodified, our current food system is doomed to fail. And I loved it when he tweaked this very committed crowd when he stated that there has to be room to acknowledge those who may not be completely organic in their practices but are moving away from conventional methods, like the farmer who has reduced his use of pesticides and fertilizers by 70%. You could have heard a pin drop!

The final word was left to Vandana Shiva (top and left), a leader in the struggle for global justice and author of Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace, as she laid out the case against the corporatization and privatization of our genetic heritage as it is expressed through seeds and culture. She believes that the ability of farmers to save their own seed is absolutely necessary for local, sustainable economies to be nurtured. And you should have seen some of the grown men crowding around after her talk and getting their "fan boy" pictures taken with her!

After three days, all I can say is that there are some truly exciting people on both sides of the plow, the pen and the plate, and I hope to be letting you know more about them in the near future. In the meantime, I'll pass on a few of my favorite bits from my notes:

• At breakfast the first day, I knew it was a different sort of gathering when I saw hot maple amaranth and a tofu scramble on the steam table.
• Spinach plants mature and can bolt quickly because of daylight, not heat (though heat can facilitate the process)
• Flowering plants arrived much later than other types (like ferns) but evolved much more quickly because of their ability to produce seeds
• The number of silks on an ear of corn is equal to the number of kernels on that ear, and the silk is the stamen of the plant, (i.e. a hollow tube that carries pollen)
• Seed companies grow little or none of their own seed, though they may do trialing (or testing) of the seeds they sell
• All canola labeled "non-GMO" is contaminated with genetically modified organisms
• According to Ken Roseboro of the Non-GMO Project in Eugene, "92% of soybeans, 73% of corn and 87% of cotton is GMO"
• The key to sustainability is developing relationships. With food, that means seed growers building connections with farmers, who connect with food producers and consumers who then connect to their larger communities and the world.

Too pie-in-the-sky? If you believe these folks, not if we take it one decision at a time, one day at a time.

* "Cucurbitaceae is a plant family commonly known as melons, gourds or cucurbits and includes crops like cucumbers, squashes (including pumpkins), luffas, melons and watermelons. The family is predominantly distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds." - Wikipedia

Scones for Breakfast

I'm as guilty as anyone. Taking things for granted, not realizing how lucky I am to have a roof over my head, terrific friends, good food and drink. Not to mention a wonderful family and the best husband anyone could ask for.

Sound maudlin? An eye-rollingly yawnable moment? Well, my friend, let me give you a little slap-upside-the-head reality check. After a great dinner with friends J&K last night and way too much good food (look for a post in the near future on the meatloaf we had) and wine, I woke up this morning to coffee made and Dave doing the dishes. Then he started making breakfast featuring his better-than-anything currant scones and cheese omelets.

Are you jealous? And do I feel lucky? Yes I do!

Dave's Currant Scones
Adapted from "Biscuits and Scones" by Elizabeth Alston

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
8 Tbsp. frozen butter or margarine, cut up
Yolk of 1 lg. egg
3/4 c. milk (or buttermilk or plain yogurt)
1/2 c. currants
White of 1 lg. egg
Additional sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and sugar into bowl of food processor and pulse once or twice to mix. Add butter pieces and pulse until mixture looks like cornmeal.

Add egg yolk to milk in a measuring cup and whisk with fork to blend. With processor running, pour in milk egg mixture until combined. Dough will be wet and sticky. Turn out onto floured board and sprinkle on currants. Give 10 to 12 kneads until currants are distributed evenly. Divide dough in half and press into 6" circle about 1/2 " thick. Cut in sixths and arrange on cookie sheet. Repeat with second half of dough. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 18 to 22 minutes until golden. Cool on wire rack.

The Dishes: Let's Make a Deal and a Classic Returns?

Genoa, the progenitor of Portland's rise to hotness as a food mecca, has been sold after much rending of robes and gnashing of teeth over its closing a few months ago. The new owners are beginning the process of engaging in a discussion with the community, as they say, "in an effort to re-open the restaurant in a meaningful and sustainable way."

If you'd like me to pass on your thoughts on the subject, simply click on the comments link below.

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What do clarklewis, Bluehour, 23Hoyt, and Saucebox have in common?

Yes, they're three of Portland's best restaurants, with tabs for dinner that can run well over $100 for two. But now they're also offering three courses for $25, a sure sign that there's been a cooling (if not an outright freeze) in restaurant spending.

And now Castagna is jumping into the fray with a series of Thursday Night Flights featuring "an exploration of three wines from small wine producers in lesser known wine regions around the world." Each wine will be paired with a specific dish, and will also be available a la carte. The four-course dinner runs $30 with the wine pairings an additional $15 for three three-oz. pours. The schedule looks like this:

• Mar. 19: Austria. Bouillon with nettle dumplings; chanterelle and mâche salad; rouladen with rotkraut and spaetzle; linzertorte
• Mar. 26: Trentino. Minestre d’orzo (barley-salsify soup); house-cured speck with mâche; grilled lamb and lamb sausage with buckwheat polenta; fritelle di mele (apple fritters with vanilla ice cream)
• April 2: Alto Adige. Potato Leek soup with schuttelbrot; smoked trout with mâche salad; peppered pork loin with braised cabbage; pistachio semi-freddo

Details: Thursday Night Flights at Castagna. 4 courses, $30; wine pairings add $15. 1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Phone 503-231-7373.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

It must be what winning the lottery feels like. Or finding a hundred-dollar bill laying on the sidewalk. So when a small amount of unexpected cash fell into my lap recently, I decided to treat myself to what, to me, is a luxury.

Mango lassi sprinkled with ground cardamom.

No, not a spa day or a shopping trip at Nordstrom. I'd been pining to take a cooking class, and I knew that Sasha Kaplan of And She Cooks had invited her friend Sophie Rahman to teach a two-part class on Indian cooking. It's a cuisine I'd dabbled in but didn't know well, and its complexity and richness had always been a draw, so I signed up.

Sophie Rahman, instructor extraordinaire.

I arrived on Sasha's doorstep in the Hollywood district and was ushered into her kitchen, where Sophie was busy toasting pappadums in the broiler. I was handed a mango lassi sprinkled with fresh-ground garam masala as the evening's other students trickled in, then we gathered around the table as she took us on a tour of the regions and spices of India and its neighbor, Pakistan.

Spices for garam masala ready to grind.

From there it was on to the hands-on portion of the evening where we watched and helped to measure, toast and stir the spices that would be going into the meal of lentils with spinach and ginger and a classic aromatic yellow rice. Sophie bustled around the kitchen, offering a technique tip here, a hand with stirring there. As we sat around the table together with the food we'd made, she added stories from her childhood and more insight into the dishes we'd prepared.

The aromatic basmati rice, ready to cook.

The second class was focused on the history of Indian cooking and was more technique-oriented, with a discussion various spice combinations and how to sweat the onions properly so they would not only sweeten but thicken the main dish of Badaami Murgh, chicken smothered in aromatic herbs and almonds.

The Baadami Murgh (too bad you can't smell it!).

We also stir-fried a cauliflower dish called Gobhi Kari, which used fresh kari leaves and small split gram beans as well as scallions for flavor and color. Also shared were local sources where we could find the various ingredients along with a little bag of packaged spices to take home to try with probably the most valuable takeaway of all, the recipes for the spice mixes and dishes we'd prepared.

So adding it up, with two classes, two dinners and many good recipes, even though it felt like an indulgence in the beginning, this was going to pay off big-time for making some impressive dinners in the future. And I hear that there might be a class on samosas coming up soon. Hmmmm...

Details: And She Cooks Cooking Classes with Sasha Kaplan. E-mail or phone 503-288-8196 for information or to inquire about upcoming classes.

The Markets Are Coming! The Markets Are Coming!

I first noticed it in Oregon City. Then it hit Lake Oswego and, toward the end of the season, Hillsdale. I even wrote about it in one of my Market Watch columns in FoodDay:

"As a dog owner, I would never take my dogs to a farmers' market. The crowds would freak them out and I'd spend all my time pulling one out from under a vendor's table while the other lunged at the largest dog he saw. Yet some people still insist on taking their Maximus or Little Foo to the market, creating a tangled mess of leashes and missing the bared teeth signaling that there's about to be a bloodbath in the middle of the aisle."

And now it looks like the effort to get owners to leave their dogs at home, or at least in the car, has hit Portland's biggest market. From a press release:

"Portland Farmers Market will no longer permit shoppers to bring their dogs or other pets to its Saturday and Wednesday markets in the South Park Blocks, due to repeated concerns of market vendors and shoppers."

Look for the market at PSU to open on March 21st, with the Wednesday market in the Park Blocks starting up on April 29. The Eastbank market follows on its heels with an opening on May 7 with the Ecotrust market bringing some much-needed freshness to the Pearl on June 4.

As noted in an earlier post, the King Market, designed to serve inner North and Northeast Portland, will have its debut on May 3 and will be hopping every Sunday through September 27. So dust off your market basket and break the bad news to Spot. Or just give him a biscuit and tell him to stay.

If It's Good Enough for the Roman Legions...

I've posted about the grain known as farro before, but in a recent e-mail Jim Dixon of RealGoodFood reminded me how much I like this wheat, once a staple of the Roman Legions.

My basic approach to picking products to sell is whether it’s something I want to eat a lot of. So I’ve added farro to the inventory list. Also known as emmer, a type of wheat, farro (Triticum dicoccon) is an ancient grain from the Fertile Crescent. Once common across the Near East (the Egyptions made both beer and bread from it), it’s now mostly grown only in the mountain region of Tuscany known as the Garfagnana. But Bluebird Grain Farms in Winthrop, Washington, grows certified organic farro, and that’s where I’m getting it. I’ll be selling pints and half pints for $5 and $3 (a pint of farro weighs just under a pound).

Farro cooks up a little like wheat berries (it is, after all, a form of wheat). I get the best results soaking the berries overnight, then cooking in plenty of water for about 40 minutes. Once cooked, farro combines nicely with vegetables in composed salads, gives soups some substantial heft or tastes great with a little olive oil and salt. In places like Lucca, farro and beans frequently end up together, often with sausage.

Farro e Fagiole Con Salsicce

Soak a cup or more of farro in plenty of water overnight. Drain and simmer in 2 quarts of salted water for about 40 minutes or until tender.

Combine a cup or more of borlotti beans (aka cranberry, preferably from Ayers Creek Farm, but pintos will do in a pinch) with 3-4 cups of water, a good pinch of salt (at least a teaspoon), and a healthy glug of olive oil in a ceramic bean pot (or any ovenproof vessel, although some Italians think that beans cooked in metal pots “aren’t worth eating”). Cook in a 200° oven for a couple of hours, maybe longer, until they’re done (depends on how old the beans are...if you start to smell them, check the water and add enough to keep them barely covered).

Chop a medium onion and a couple of garlic cloves, then cook in olive oil until translucent (don’t let the garlic get brown). Add a 14 oz can of pureed or ground tomatoes, or about half of a small can of tomato paste and a cup or so of water. Add the cooked beans and farro. Serve with sausages.

Find Jim most Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 at Activspace, 833 SE Main on the corner of SE 9th and Main on the ground floor. Currently he's also having what he's calling a "Mr-President-have-pity-on-the-working-man sale" with major markdowns on many of his imported olive oils.

Livin' in the Blurbs: Talk, Movies and Eating in the Kitchen

Author Woody Tasch is at the forefront of efforts to move away from the old models of industrial finance and industrial agriculture and reflect the new economic, social and environmental realities of the 21st century. In his book "Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered," he articulates a new vision of capital markets grounded in restoration rather than consumption, and preservation rather than extraction — a new era of fiduciary responsibility that meets the demands of our times and the possibilities of our future. Find out more at his free lecture this month!

Details: Woody Tasch on "Slow Money." Mar. 16, 7 pm; free with RSVP. Ecotrust’s Natural Capital Center, 721 NW 9th Ave. 503-227-6225.

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See a movie for free and indulge in some of the city's best pastries, not to mention a plethora of exotic libations? It's all happening on Monday nights at Pix Patisserie on North Williams Ave., and the schedule looks like a fun one:

• Mar. 9: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), directed by Steve Barron
• Mar. 16: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), directed by Michael Pressman
• Mar. 23: Bladerunner (1982), directed by Ridley Scott
• Mar. 30: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), directed by Tim Burton

Details: Free Monday Movies at Pix Patisserie, 3901 N Williams Ave. Phone 503-282-6539.

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If you like to be close to the action, then Lincoln Restaurant's new series of dinners has your name written all over it. Seated on stools around the large butcher block table in their commercial kitchen, it's dinner next to the stove (literally). Wine and a full bar are available, too, and it should make for some memorable dining!

• Mar. 5: Arugula with blood oranges, pear, almonds and citrus vinaigrette; Pork shoulder with soft polenta and roasted onions; Chocolate slumpcake with nibs and crème fraiche; $25
• Mar. 6: Roasted beets with fromage blanc and salsa verde; Bourride of clams, mussels, true cod, potatoes and fennel; Chocolate espresso cake with maldon salt and crème fraiche; $30
• Mar. 7: Fried fennel with lemon aioi; Puree of cauliflower soup with porcini charlotte; Braised flank steak with olives, red onion and potato gratin; Almond cake with poached pears; $30
• Mar. 8: Chicken curry with chickpeas and garam masala; Green cabbage with mustard seeds and ginger; Apple and carrot raita; Basmati rice; Naan; Vanilla ice cream with butterscotch; $25

Details: Dinner in the Kitchen at Lincoln Restaurant. 7 pm; reservations only. 3808 N Williams Ave., No. 127. 503-232-4675.

The Perfect Couple

Some pairings are meant to be. And I'm not talking about Brangelina or Bennifer or whatever poor devil might be Madonna's catch of the day.

I'm talking about the cuisine of India and beer, a pair that was meant to make beautiful music together, or at least some downright memorable meals. Most people automatically think of India Pale Ale when the subject comes up—the British did ship highly hopped IPAs to their colony because the strong ale could withstand the five-month journey—but this complex cuisine deserves better than tastebud-dulling hops or too-pallid lagers.

So when David Anderson, chef at Vindalho in Portland, and Beer NW magazine publisher Megan Flynn put their heads together to come up with a three-course dinner featuring Vindalho's spice route cuisine and (mostly) Northwest craft beers, they looked way outside the box in their quest to find innovative matches.

My brother and I walked in with the other guests to find champagne flutes filled with a light and delightfully bubbly libation, a Krait Prestige Champagne Lager, that accompanied Mr. Anderson's spicy samosas (above left), along with tender and juicy lamb meatballs and his justly famous masala chicken wings. (Read my brother's review of the evening here.) Though it was almost impossible, I tried my hardest not to chow down on too many of these lovelies since I knew there were three courses yet to come.


And come they did, with an appetizer of black pepper and curry leaf prawns paired with Laughing Buddha Mango-weizen (above) the light and slightly sweet-tasting beer accentuating the richness of the crustaceans. It was followed by the oh-my-god richness of the dish I can't seem to not order, the pork Vindalho accompanied by saffron pullao and crispy shoestring potatoes (top photo). It was backed up by the smokiness of Southern Oregon Brewing's porter, a match made in heaven if ever there was one.


By now our heads were swimming from flavor overload, but our intrepid hosts weren't done with us by a long shot. Before we could protest that we really needed to be going, they slipped onto the table a miniature plate of orange-spiced chocolate mousse with a crisp coconut tuile that looked to my addled senses like a scorpion about to sting. Fresh glasses were filled with Cuvée du Jongleur from Cascade Brewing, a Belgian-style brew that has more similarity to wine than what is normally thought of as craft beer here in the NW. Fine, slightly sour and with notes of citrus peel and wood, it was the perfect accompaniment to the dessert and probably my favorite pairing of the evening.

Megan dropped by as we were sliding under the table to let us know that the magazine will be hosting more of these dinners in the future, so stay tuned. If they're anything like the evening of deliciousness this one was, even you non-beer drinkers out there may find yourselves converted to the malty side of the street.

Coffee Break

Part of being a freelancer is having little meeting spots around the city in case you need to chat with an editor or rendezvous with someone about a story you're working on. Especially since, if you're like me, your house is either not conveniently located or looks like it's occupied by squatters or feral animals, not exactly the most professional of images.

Caffe Umbria...so Euro!

Which is why a place like Caffe Umbria is so nice. Located in the Pearl just off Burnside, its clean lines and civilized atmo are perfect for taking care of business, and you'd be hard-pressed to find better coffee anyplace in town.

A flatbread sandwich, big enough to share (or not).

You might remember Torrefazione Italia, the molto Italiano espresso bars around town that were bought up and summarily closed down by Starbucks a few years ago. It was owned by the Bizzari family, and they're responsible for Caffe Umbria's similar vibe. Perfect cappucinos, tasty flatbread sandwiches as well as salads and pastries are the order of the day, so whether you're schmoozing or just need to take a break, it's a great spot to put on your list.

Details: Caffe Umbria, 303 NW 12th Ave. Phone 503-241-5300.

Budget Cuts: A Roast Less Traveled

Ruts, like the ones that gradually wear into the roadways from thousands of vehicles, are so easy to get into and so hard to get out of.

Making meals, if you have to do it on a daily basis, can be like that, too. Paging through my cookbooks or going online seems like too much of a hassle when it's so easy to pull out a standby, the good old go-to recipes I can practically make in my sleep.

I'd hauled a pork shoulder out of the freezer to thaw when the subject of dinner came up in a chat with my neighbor. The subject of our conversations is often food and, as a fabulous cook and teacher at the local culinary school, she suggested roasting it with a rub. Now, to me, pork shoulder is perfect for braising, especially with the spices of Mexico.

The shoulder, happily marinating away.

But a rub...that intrigued me. I had some dried ancho chiles in the pantry along with some cocoa nibs, so I decided to go for a variation on the Pollo Asado con Chipotle from my article on Por Que No taqueria.

A couple of hours of marinating, turning it once or twice to make sure it was absorbing all of that chile goodness, a little time in the oven and we had a main course that would go with any number of sides from saffron rice to braised greens. Plus the leftovers made some amazing sandwiches and would have been great chopped and refried for pork tacos.

And it showed me once again that those side trips off the main highway are so worth taking!

Chile-marinated Pork Shoulder

3-4 lb. pork shoulder
4 dried ancho chiles
1 dried hot red chile or chipotle chile
1 Tbsp. cocoa nibs (optional)
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. vegetable oil

Place pork shoulder in a heavy-duty self-sealing plastic bag or large mixing bowl. Place chiles and cocoa nibs in the blender until they are coarsely ground. Add garlic, salt and vegetable oil and blend till it becomes a thick slurry. Pour over meat and massage in bag or turn in bowl until it is well coated. Marinate 2 hours or up to overnight in the refrigerator. Remove meat from marinade and cook over indirect heat on a charcoal grill or in a roasting pan in a 350° oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 130° on an instant-read thermometer. Place on carving board, cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Look for other recipes in the Budget Cuts series: Stuffed Pork Leg Roast with Kale and Pine Nuts;  Grilled London Broil; Pork Tagine with Pistachios, Almonds, Pine Nuts and Golden Raisins and Pork Leg Roast with Prosciutto and Lemon Stuffing with Roasted Vegetables.

Gracie's Graces

It used to be a room that reminded me of Bette Davis in her later years. Caked-on makeup that couldn't cover up the wrinkles, a smear of too-red lipstick, some crumbling at the edges that was only magnified by the brightness of the lighting. Now it's more like Ellen Barkin, sexy in middle age, all low lighting and diaphanous curtains, elegant but comfortable to be around.

Appropriate, if you think about it, since the hotel that shares its location is all about old movies. Gracie's in the Hotel deLuxe, formerly the dowager that was the Mallory Hotel and its dining room, had a coming-out party for its new head chef, Mark Hosack, to meet the local food media.

The new menu was solid and surprisingly upscale, obviously influenced by its membership in the Heathman group of hotels and their tony dining establishments. I knew I was in for a treat when the first thing offered was a choice between a flute of Violet Champagne with a housemade maraschino cherry or a glowing Ginger Drop (left, above) in a sugared martini glass, a skewered slice of candied ginger leaning against the rim.

Like the Oscars, everyone was on their best behavior for the show and the food looked and, for the most part, tasted maaaahvelous. It was all free, too, though menus with prices were provided, each section somewhat preciously titled as though it was part of a movie. The soups and salads, or "Introductions," were in the $5 to $9 range, with the not-so-small plates ("Center Stage") slightly more at $9 to $10. The big guns were "Featured Attractions" and ranged from $13 to $22 per.

My favorites, aside from that killer Ginger Drop, were the first two courses, starting with a light and refreshing take on the Caesar with whole spears of romaine to pick up with your fingers or, much less fun, cut up with knife and fork (sigh); gorgonzola cheesecake (to die for!) served with a whole head of roasted garlic and a balsamic reduction (photo, top); and a roasted beet salad topped with lightly dressed arugula and half a poached pear and a sprinkling of candied walnuts and goat cheese (right, above).

The entrées were well-executed and nicely plated but didn't quite have the charming flavors to earn an Oscar. My osso buco (left), which should have been succulent and on the verge of falling apart, was a bit dry and didn't have the expected beefy punch. A tablemate's gorgonzola ravioli with roasted butternut squash and hazelnuts was surprisingly blah-tasting and the pasta was a little thick and chewy.

The desserts, however, brought everything back into focus, starting with a deep-fried bread pudding and simple caramel sauce that had everyone licking their fingers and thinking it should be on the breakfast menu (which it is). The plate of assorted cheeses was fun, though it could have had more interesting choices, and the little platter of mini desserts (right), with baklava, chocolate mousse on a chocolate "plate," and a teeny shoe-fly pie, was a close runner-up for the statuette.

All in all, I'd give this particular place two thumbs up, though not waaaaaaay up, for its art direction and production values, though it would help if the characters and the plot were a little more developed.

The Driftwood Room's Ginger Drop

I raved to Michael Robertson, maestro of the cocktail shaker at the venerable Driftwood Room in the Hotel deLuxe, about this drink and begged him to let me share it with GSNW readers. He was kind enough to agree, and not only wrote it down himself but told me where to get the special ingredients. Thanks, Mike!

1 1/4 oz. good vodka [Mr. Robertson's emphasis - KAB]
3/4 oz. Domaine de Canton*
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. lavender simple syrup**
2 dashes rhubarb bitters***
Candied ginger, sliced 1/8" thick and skewered

Fill cocktail shaker half full with ice, add all ingredients and shake. Serve up in a martini glass with a sugared rim. Add skewered ginger.

* Domaine de Canton ginger liqueuer available at Uptown Liquor Store.
** To make lavender simple syrup, heat 1 c. sugar in 1 c. water in small saucepan till sugar dissolves and stir in 1 Tbsp. lavender flowers. Allow to cool and strain out lavender. Refrigerate.
*** Rhubarb bitters available at Uptown Liquor Store.

Details: Gracie's at the Hotel deLuxe, 729 SW 15th Ave. Phone 503-222-2171.

Walking His Talk

Bryan Steeman had his St.-Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus moment in a little taco joint in Mexico. It was full of life, a gathering place for the community and a vortex for good vibes. And he knew right then that he'd come back to Portland and recreate that same vibe here, with a green and socially conscious edge. Are we lucky or what?

You can read my article about him in today's Oregonian in an article titled "Tale of a Tacqueria."

What? No Bubbles?

These are three of the winning entries in this year's Champagne Chair Contest sponsored by Design Within Reach. From the press release: "Entrants were asked to create an original miniature chair design using only the foil, label, cage and cork from no more than two Champagne bottles" and were judged on "craftsmanship, creativity, character and innovative use of materials." See all 50 of the winners at the upcoming show and start planning your masterpiece for next year!

Details: The Champagne Chair Tour. Mar. 3, 4-7 pm. Design Within Reach Tigard Studio, 7475 SW Bridgeport Rd., Tigard. 503-684-2048.