risotto.
or make a sauce for roasted duck. use the stock, some fresh herbs, and some sour cherries.

My husband and I see fine dining as entertainment (or a hobby, as someone else called it) much more so than just fuel. Some people buy designer clothes, some buy expensive watches or jewelry, other buy fancy cars. All of these preferences are a financial "waste" to someone else. I see it as just a matter of personal preference in how you choose to spend your disposable income. In terms of it being a moral issue, I do not think it is immoral to spend your disposable income on yourself, rather than to live on the bare minimum and give the rest to charity.

For the most part, we have been very happy with our expensive meals. They truly offered unique food and dishes that would be difficult to make at home or to get else where. For instance, I have eaten at The French Laundry and then I received the cookbook as a gift. One weekend, I cooked out of it with some friends. About 4 of us cooked all day to make one meal. I worked on one dish (deconstructed clam chowder) for several hours. It was all delicious, but not as refined as at the restaurant, and it's not like we can do so very often. we do our research well and we still enjoy the occasional fancy meal. certainly, when we travel, we often make restaurant reservations before the hotel! we have had great meals that were not fine dining also, and I wouldn't want all cheap or all expensive meals. But that is our personal preference.

I once had to travel to Alabama for business every week for more than a year, so I made coconut ie a quest. despite that, one of the best pies ever is from the Dahlia in Seattle. The recipe is at this link: http://www.cakespy.com/blog-old/2008/.... It is kinda a cheater, I think, because he adds white chocolate, but it still has a great, pervasive coconut taste.

I am glad you found some. I was going to suggest a little lemon zest to replace some of the flavor, and maybe a little Mexican oregano. I have a personal vendetta against turmeric, so I would ignore the color or use saffrom. this is certainly not an exact replica of the flavor, but I think a fair substitute.

I hang them on oven handle, which is right there by the stove. and I often put one over my left shoulder, even though I am left handed. and despite these good options, I still find them scattered on various counters at all time.

I think cleaning the ceramic stoves is easier, but it is definitely different. I have not had a problem with marks from my old pans, including cast iron, so maybe just cleaning the bottoms is the way to go. If the pans are heating correctly, I wouldn't replace them. I do have stains on the bottoms of my pans, but the stain doesn't transfer. good luck!

my favorite cutting board is very large, maybe 3 feet wide or more, and wood. I have smaller wood ones for smaller/quicker meals. I also have several plastic ones. I use a plastic one for raw meat. I also use the plastic ones for shorter prep and clean up, since they go into the dishwasher. All of them are 2 sided. I had those thin placemat like ones, and hated them--moved too much. don't know the brands on any of them, but bought the large wood one at either City Kitchens, Sur La Table in the Market, or BB and B.

the prescribed amount of sugar is very important if you are canning the jam. If you are freezing or just storing in the fridge, it is not an issue, albeit it may last a shorter amount of time in the fridge/freezer.

I have Stop and Smell the Rosemary and it's great. If you are looking for a Southern accent, this is a good one.

Staple and Fancy, Corson Building, Spinasse, Altura, Palace Kitchen, Restaurant Zoe (although I have not personally tried new location), Madison Park COnsvervatory. lunch: paseo, Baguette Box. Walrus for drinks and heavy apps.

some salsa perhaps, depending on the filling, or some sort of sauce, but then I love sauce and it's not standard with tamales. refried beans--I prefer pinto. chile relleno, depending on how many tamales per person.

I love enchiladas and make them all the time. I am originally from Texas, so most of mine are Tex-Mex style, but I have made more traditional as well. A few of my favorites:

1. From the Tex-Mex Cookbook by Robb Walsh. He has studied the history and his book is rather brilliant. From this book, I love stacked West Texas enchiiladas, made with a Hatch green chile sauce. I grew up in Houston, where stacked enchiladas are rare and green sauce is more likely tomatillo than green chile, but it's now a favorite. here's my modified recipe.

a. filling: stewed chicken. Cook 3-4 bone in chicken breasts in water to cover. I add carrot, onion, parsley, celery or similar to add flavor. add about 1 tsp ground cumin. Simmer 30 minutes, let cool, and shred the chicken.

b. sauce. I use about a pound of roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped Hatch green chiles, but you could do the same with Anaheims or similar available in your store. You want a good 2 cups of chopped peppers. First, saute 5-6 coarsely chopped tomatillos until very soft, in a little fat. Add onion--Walsh says 2 t, but I often add much more, up to a whole onion, and saute. Add peppers, 4 c. chicken broth, a little cumin and simmer for 10 minutes. It is a bit thin and chunky. Walsh thickens with cornstarch but it actually hasn't worked for me. you could puree, but I just use as is.

c. assemble. enchiladas always use corn tortillas (if you use flour tortillas, they are burritos in Texas, where burritos are not the Cali-style huge out of hand bombs). I don't have fresh ones near me. I always soften in oil. Heat 1/4 inch oil in small pan so tortilla sizzles immediately when you dip in an edge. Add tortilla and fry 15-20 seconds per side (I fry less for rolled enchiladas, more for stacked to get a little stiffness). The amount of oil in a serving of 3 enchiladas is not a big deal to me. You could also steam them with the Bayless method--wrap a dozen in a kitchen towel, steam in a steamer for one minute then turn off heat and let sit for 15 minutes. softens well with no tearing or cracking from a dry tortilla. then, in a dish or on a cookie sheet: spread a little sauce to avoid sticking. one tortilla, cover with shredded chicken, ladle on sauce, then top with shredded monterey jack. second tortilla, chicken, sauce, cheese. third tortilla, just sauce and cheese. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until slightly brown and bubbly. great with refried beans. and I love sour cream on the side.

2. cheese enchiladas from Homesick Texan. The traditional dish, to me, has a chili Tex-Mex gravy and cheddar on the inside. I made her recipe pretty closely and I thought the sauce was not quite right--a little to fresh and gourmet, maybe. I am going to try again with more beef, less pasilla, and maybe use some regular chilli powder. cheddar filling with minced fresh onion, more cheese and onion on top.

3. Mole from Bayless' My Mexican Kitchen book. I think his recipe for traditional dark mole (he suggest serving with turkey) is divine. I make rolled enchiladas with a stewed chicken filling. I sometime will make them veg, or a combo, with browned, thin sliced onion, sauteed mushroom, and maybe squash, summer or winter. I usually add garlic, some ground cumin, and some chile, fresh jalapeno or roasted poblano or hatch, and cilantro. I don't usually dip my fried tortillas in the sauce, but sometimes I do. and a couple T filling to each softened tortilla, roll, and place in 9 x/ 13 pan coated at the bottom with some sauce. It should hold 12 enchiladas in a line, and a few more sideways along the side. After rolling all enchiladas, cover thoroughly with sauce, then top with shredded cheese. I use lots, Texas style, 2 cups or more of Jack or pepper jack. Bake at 427 for 20-30 minutes. freezes well, I usually freeze before baking and make sure all the tortilla is well covered with sauce. you need extra sauce to avoid dryness if freezing.

I personally don't care of enchiladas with a tomato sauce, but it's fairly common--called a ranchero sauce. for me, it's just personal preference.

Green chile chowder. You can use several hatch green chiles, or fresh poblano or anaheim, roasted and peeled. Saute a chopped onion until translucent but not brown. Add 2-4 garlic, minced, and cook until fragrant. Add 2 lb russets, peeled and cut into small cubes. Add chicken or other broth to cover, around a quart, and 1/2 tsp cumin, plus salt. simmer for 20 minutes or until potato is tender. also add your roasted peppers, roasted, peeled, and chopped fine. I like to add a minced fresh jalapeno just after the garlic, as well. Once potato is tender, remove 1-2 cups and puree the rest. return the chunky part. Add about 1.5 cups of dairy--I use a mix of whole milk and half and half. Or more to desired consistency. heat for several minutes. squeeze in some lime and correct seasonings. serve with shredded cheddar and cilantro.

Seeing the locks and the fish ladder can take an hour. but then I love just watching the boats for a while. And you need daylight.

Neither Tilth nor Corson is at all out of the way. nothing you have suggested is more than 5 miles from the W. Of your Friday dinner possibilities, I would pick Corson, Tilth, Sitka in that order. I woul add Staple & Fancy and probably put it second. I didn't love my Book Bindery meal, and Canlis is very white tablecloth and formal. both Corson and Staple & Fancy have chef's menus that I really enjoy with interesting food and variety. Tilth I have eaten at several times and I like what they do with food and the atmosphere. Sitka and Spruce I like less at the new location, but it's still fun. small plates so lots of variety.

for after dinner drinks, you could walk to a bunch of different places from Sitka, but the rest you might as well drive to your hotel. I like the lobby bar for post work drinks, but have not been at night. Spur I always want to try the food, which makes post meal drinks tricky!

Sat. both good choices for drinks.

I use a cast iron pan. it is flat and works well on my glass stove.

Is this different from the Capital Grille chain, owned by Olive Garden?

I agree that you need more aromatics and then need good cooking technique. I would first saute shallot (1/3 c or so), diced small, then add 2 T ea minced garlic and ginger. stir a couple minutes add coconut cream--thick part from top of unshaken can of coconut. Add curry paste and spices (I would definitely omit turmeric. I personally don't think it adds much, plus to me it is more Indian than Thai. Cook slowly for at least 10 minutes. add lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves, minced, if you can get them, rest of coconut can, meat. cook slowly. I would use boneless strips of meat. Add fish sauce lime, and sugar (brown but white is just fine). 2 T-1T to start. no soy. correct seasoning. add cilantro.

I think it's a good book to have because it gives lots of ideas with common ingredients. easy to mix up your every day dish with some other flavors. I admit I have used the appetizers and small bits sections the most. Inspiration and then some recipes I follow, some I tweak. the index is great, plus sorted by region, etc. you can also see how similarly made dishes from across the world are.

there's always the stovetop method. add a little oil to a large heavy pot on med. high. (oil from 0 to 2T). Add 3 corn kernels and cover. When all three pop, add the rest of the popcorn. for just one person, 1/4 cup is a good starting amount, 1/3 cup is luxe. Cover. shake pan regularly. once kernels start popping, alternate shaking with putting lid a tiny bit askew to allow steam to escape, but not exploding popcorn. when popping slows to 2 seconds between pops, remove from heat. there will still be a few more pops. pour into bowl and season! I like the control of the stove top method much more than the microwave.

Pho Cyclo in the Wells Fargo building is also now advertising box lunches. I have had all the standard sandwich lunches over the years, and prefer Gretchen's to Ingallinas. just thinking about them fills me with boredom, though. but they are just fine for a working lunch.

Crow, or go up the Hill to Betty, its sister restaurant. I really love Betty as a neighborhood place with good cocktails and "standards" with a twist. It's not the most innovative, but it doesn't try to be. I particularly like to sit at the food bar. Also on the top of QA is Mezcaleria, sister to Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard. Both are good variants on real Mex. I second How to Cook a Wolf. On lower QA, Tup Tim Thai is great, if low atmosphere.

I like Pike and Western in the Market and McCarthy and Schiering. I would say Syrah for your red, but it's a pretty low price point for Washington. You may want to try Chateau St. Michelle. It's a much larger winery than some, but it is typically good and will have more price point vairety. Columbia Crest is also consistently decent. If you want to do a mixed case and splurge on a few bottles, look at K winery. I usually love the K Syrah (but then I go for bad puns). There is a magazine called Northwest Palate that you should check out--lots of tasting notes.

If you come from an area with no Asian or have hesitation about it, or a nice atmosphere is important, then Wild Ginger works. Otherwise, there are better. As to Flying Fish, it was cutting edge about 10 years ago and its menu has not changed. so depending on where you are coming from, it's either great or something you have seen before. that said, it's well done with a bit of Asian fusion.

rub the tenderloin with a dry barbecue rub with chipotle powder added, or mix rub with minced chile en adobo. Grill or roast the tenderloin. Meanwhile, cook sweet potato until done, then mash and mix with some of the rub and chipotle. Make quesadillas with pork in bits and some mashed sweet potato, top with jack cheese or your preference. sprinkle with cilantro and minced green onion. Pan sear over medium in a bit of vegetable oil until brown, heated through, and cheese melted. Serve with sour cream mixed with a homemade or prepared green salsa.

I know this is late, but no Rover's love?

rice in general has some sort of bacteria that releases a toxin. when you reheat the rice, you can kill the bacteria, but not the toxin. I may not be explaining it right, but the short answer is that rice is fairly dangerous and is usually the cause of getting sick from a buffet or something. I don't know if the seasoning for sushi rice makes a difference, but my thought is that vinegar might help but sugar may hurt. Anyway, I would definitely keep cooked rice in the refrigerator. or even freeze it.

drumsticks--the cones with a chocolate coating, ice cream, and chocolate cover with peanuts. yum.

The recipe I follow, from Cracking the Coconut, suggests adding grapes, kumquats and tangerine in the summer, and root vegetable in the winter. I can totally see how avocado would fit in. I usually make mine with beef and sweet potato, year around. This recipe with lemongrass and other flavors, is not at all "Indian" in flavor to me, by the way. To me, the flavors are uniquely Thai. But I don't eat so much Southern India curries, where they would use coconut milk, so I am definitely only speaking to my more narrow experience with mostly Northern India food.

Cauliflower soup with truffle oil. Cauliflower puree with fresh cheese from Patricia Wells.

I have had it for weeks and months and never had it go bad if stored in the refrigerator. it is obvious by smell if it goes rancid, so I have no problem using past any suggested use by date.