Every once in a while I get the opportunity to do my work at a coffee shop, my favorite place to settle in and get some writing done.
My wallet on the table? That is strategically placed. It’s holding the cord into the computer. That one spot seems to be the first thing to fail on laptop computers. Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to MacGuyver a powercord fix on your laptop.
Coffee shops aren’t just for getting work done; they are wonderful places to do some people watching. The diversity on Capitol Hill makes it one of my favorite places for people watching. I just watched two girls who, from such different outward appearances, looked like they might never otherwise interact come together to rescue a baby bird that fell from it’s nest.
And don’t forget the coffee. That’s really why I’m here.
2013 was a rough year – full of health issues, surgeries, and hospital stays, but there was so much more to my year than just health related news.
I was selected as a Voice of the Year by BlogHer for my post, Just Breathe. By the way, my little niece mentioned in the post is thriving now, and just celebrated her first birthday.
My little girl reminded me to dance, and live in the moment, on the anniversary of my cancer diagnosis.
Tom Douglas, the guy who arguably put Seattle’s culinary scene on the map, took his place behind the stove of the demonstration kitchen at Macy’s, and started off by saying: “Today I want to talk to you about effort. If there is one thing I want you to take away today, it’s that it’s worth the effort.”
He was talking about cooking at home for your friends and family. He was talking about sharing not just the family recipes, but the stories that went along with them, such as the way the house smelled when his Grandma came to visit and made her famous schnecken, and the benefits of being the biggest kid in a very large family, when they all reached in to grab their favorite bits of the gooey treat.
“Create memories with your family around food, memories that involve all the senses. Those are what you will remember years from now.”
Tom Douglas
Take 3 recipes, he said, say for instance one pie, one cake, and one cookie recipe, even if you’re afraid of baking – especially if you’re afraid of baking. Make each one three times, following the directions exactly. The trick to baking well is following the directions. By the third try, you will OWN that recipe.
Pick recipes you want to be known for, and be the person who’s known for bringing it. You don’t have to be a great cook, just well practiced at a few recipes. You can grow your repertoire later, just start with three.
Tom prepared three recipes for us: Grilled Cheese with Caramelized Broccoli Rabe and Fontina, Coffee-Bean Turkey with Sweet Onion Gravy, and Pear Tarts with Dreamy Caramel Sauce.
Now, I don’t have room enough to share all three recipes in one post, so I’ve picked one to share today, perhaps more on another day. You’ll just have to come back and visit my blog again some day. Two of the recipes are from Tom’s new cookbook that he is promoting, The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. Of course, the recipe I chose to share has something to do with coffee, Coffee Bean Turkey with Sweet Onion Gravy. This recipe is from the Macy’s Culinary Council Thanksgiving & Holiday Cookbook.
“Seattle is famous for its coffee. And that inspired me to stuff the turkey cavity with whole roasted coffee beans. Turns out they add a nice toasty-smoky aroma that seasons the bird from within. I leave them in even after the turkey’s done. If a few slip out at the table while I’m carving, it’s a good conversation starter.”
1/2 Cup Instant (quick-dissolving) flour such as Wondra
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, mash the 6 tablespoons room-temperature butter until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Using your fingers, and starting from the cavity end of the turkey, separate the skin from the breast meat, being careful not to tear the skin. Gently rub the softened butter evenly over the breast meat, then insert 6 of the sage leaves under the skin, placing 3 leaves on each breast half. Pat the skin back into place, and then brush the whole exterior of the bird with some of the melted butter. Season the turkey all over, including the cavity, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the coffee beans inside the cavity.If the turkey has a metal clamp on its legs, remove it. Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity, if included, and reserve for another use or discard. Remove the cavity fat, then rinse the turkey well and pat dry with paper towels.
To Roast the Turkey
Brush the bottom of a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate the turkey with bacon fat, then make a bed of the onion slices in the center of the pan. Place the turkey, breast side up, on top of the onion.
Place the turkey in the oven and roast for 1 hour. Baste the turkey with some of the melted butter and add the garlic, the remaining 6 sage leaves, and 5 cups of the broth to the pan. Continue to roast the turkey, basting with butter at regular intervals a few more times, for another 1½ to 2 hours. If the turkey is browning too much, tent with aluminum foil. The turkey is done when a thigh joint is pierced and the juices run clear, or when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, away from bone, registers 155° to 165°F.
Remove the turkey form oven, transfer to a platter, and tent with aluminum foil. Let rest for about 20 minutes.
To Make the Gravy:
Before beginning, remove any stray coffee beans that may have escaped from the turkey cavity into the roasting pan. set the roasting pan with the onion slices and juices on the stove top over medium high heat. You may need to straddle the pan over two burners. Using a wooden spoon, stir up any browned bits stuck to the pan bottom and continue stirring for a few minutes. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the onion and juices and stir until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of the broth and any juices that have collected around the turkey on the platter, then simmer gently, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. If the gravy seems too thick, add more broth. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the gravy into a warmed gravy boat and keep warm. Carve the turkey and serve immediately.
TOM’S TIP:
If you are stuffing your turkey, be careful not to over-stuff it. You want plenty of space for hot air to circulate inside the cavity so the meat cooks evenly.
Recipe compliments of Tom Douglas from The Macy’s Culinary Council Thanksgiving & Holiday Cookbook (Book Kitchen, 2011).
Oh, I love me some farmers markets. I love the festival feeling. I love the little individual stalls. I love the flowers. I love the fruits and vegetables. I love the hand made goods. I love being out and about, milling around other people admiring all these things I love.
As it turns out, this week has been designated Farmers Market Week here in the State of Washington. Farms and fresh food are definitely something worth celebrating, if you ask me.
Gem loves the markets as well. She loves the flowers, especially, and all the colors, the crowds, the blueberries, and all the energy.
Today, we went to the farmers market in Renton. This one had a bonus of a kids area, staffed with volunteers, with homemade play-dough and cookie cutters to make ornaments.
Gem was so taken with the dahlias that an elderly woman working in one of the stalls gave her one. Gem was beside herself.
Then she spent the rest of our time at the market looking for the white water-filled buckets that were used the anchor the tents.
Why?
Her flower needed water. So she she made a job for herself of finding all those water buckets, and dipped her flower’s stem in the water of every single one of those buckets at the market.
One of my favorite views of Seattle is from Kerry Park, cut into the side of Queen Anne hill, and adorned with the Changing Form sculpture by Doris Chase.
Doris was good friends with my grandmother, and I got to spend quite a bit of time with her, so I may be a little biased,
But I still think the sculpture is pretty cool,
and the perfect place from which to photograph the ever-evolving city I love,
