4 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)

1/2 cup whipping cream
6 tablespoons (3/4 cup) butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped
1 bag of mini-marshmellows

Preheat oven to 350°F or wrap in foil and roast on medium-high using an outdoor grill (I prefer this method).  Roast until an inserted knife goes in smoothly.  1 1/2 hours in the oven, 30 minutes on the grill.   Scoop flesh into large bowl; discard half of skins.  Chop remaining skins roughly. Mash hot potatoes and chopped skins until coarse puree forms.

Heat cream and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Gradually stir hot cream mixture into hot potatoes until desired consistency is reached. Stir in syrup, bourbon, walnuts and all spices. Season with salt and pepper.

DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm in oven.  Top with marshmellows and place under the broiler to toast marshmellows.

1 medium green apple, cored and diced into 1-inch cubes
1 medium red apple, cored and diced into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons cubed
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 (6-ounce) bag dried cranberries
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage, meat removed from casing
8 ounce jar steamed whole chestnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 pound day old cornbread or bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup canned chicken stock
1 cup freshly grated ParmesanPreheat oven to 400 degrees F.In a medium saute pan add the apples, onion, 1 tablespoon oil and butter cook over a medium low heat for 10 minutes to soften. Add the wine, cranberries, and salt and pepper, simmer for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow the mixture to cool.

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and turkey sausage meat and break up with a wooden spoon and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl toss together the fruit and onion mixture, the sausage, the chestnuts, the cornbread and red pepper flakes. Combine all the ingredients.

Add the chicken stock, and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Gently place into an 8 1/2 by 8 1/2- inch glass Pyrex baking dish and top with the remaining Parmesan. Dot with butter. Place in middle rack and bake until top is golden brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

SO my promise to work less and write more hasn’t been held.  BUT, yesterday I did have a great foodie experience that has compelled me to ignore work for a few minutes.

My office is located downtown, very close to the Alexis Hotel which houses a great little spot called Library Bistro.  I have always heard people rave about this place for breakfast and lunch.  Frankly. I never had an interest in going because I felt it sounded dark and dusty with dorky poets sitting around pondering their next rhyming lines intended to hurt someone who has wronged them.

I know—I hate libraries.  Point made.

The good news is, I was wrong.  While the atmosphere at Library Bistro represents a library with a few books strung here and there, the food and service were great.

Apparently Gourmet magazine awarded the Bleu Cheese Steak salad the best salad in Seattle award!  The waiter offered this little tidbit up when I I asked about the salad.  So, naturally,  I had to try it.  Especially after he poured that one on me.

I have to say I was not that impressed.  The salad was great, don’t get me wrong.  But best salad in Seattle?  I think not.  I feel like anytime a waiter gushes about a dish, it never turns out to be a masterpiece.  I should learn.

Regardless, the meal was great and I had a fantastic lunch.  This will definitely be on my list of lunch spots.

1 pound penne pasta
2 tbsp cup chili pepper infused olive oil, plus 2 more tablespoons
3-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes (plus more to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/3 cup
4 Japanese eggplants, ends trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise, then cut into squares
1 pound swordfish steaks, skin removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp herbes de provence
1/3 cup white wine
2 cups halved teardrop or cherry tomatoes (red, yellow or a blend)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, place a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic, red chili flakes, and 1/4 cup parsley. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside. Season the swordfish cubes with herbs, salt and pepper.

Using the same pan, over medium-high heat, add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil and cook the swordfish until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, cooked pasta, the remaining 1/3 cup parsley and stir. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Four weeks ago, almost to the day, I started a GREAT, new job.

About a year and a half ago I left Seattle’s most creative advertising agency, WONGDOODY, a place I often called home.  I went to go work in PR, which did not prove to bear professional fruit for me.  While I can respect PR for the dedication it takes to sell a product or service to the press, I do not want to be the one doing the selling.

Advertising, on the other hand, is a different story.  This is where my heart is and where I belong…professionally of course.  When speaking of personal fun, obviously, it’s in the kitchen.  Covered in flour and drunk on a good sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.  Cloudy Bay preferably…

My life has been absolute chaos since my start.  I am now finally settling back into life with job…all the while, maintaining my family of high maintenance husband and 2 pups!

Slowly, I will be getting back into my groove though and providing my readers with fun stories and recipes!

I HAVE to share a quote from Gourmet though from one of my favorite pieces of white trash messiness, Dolly Parton.  This snippet comes from her interview regarding her new cookbook.  The fact that she, among many other has beens as of late, has a cookbook is pure comedy to me.  But I digress.

Enjoy!

Do you sing while you cook?

I sing all of the time.  I probably can’t take five steps without some sort of tune floating through my head.  When I was a kid, I used to sing all of the time.  I still do, but now they have a big plate of dumplings beside them!

In case you have been living under a rock and have missed Amy Sedaris on just about every talk show and appearing in every national publication from here to kingdom come, she has come out with a new book called I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. Her latest insertion into the land of comic relief comes in the form of her outlook on how to entertain. Better yet, how to completely mortify and harass your guests. It’s brilliant!

I Like You is not so much about the cooking aspect of a party and more simply uses the stories and experiences we all know and love the Sedaris family for. This in ways that demonstrate how everyone else can create their own dysfunction, in their very own home. And even without parental supervision!

Before I received this book from one of my closest friends, Kara, also a huge fan of the Sedaris family, I thought I Like You was a cookbook, chock full of white trash recipes that would take me back to my roots and have me mixing up batches of candy cigarettes, green bean casseroles, and reindeer shaped jell-O molds.

I have always been a huge fan of the Sedaris family. Not only can I relate to many of their insane moments growing up in a household of dysfunction but I also find them both to be incredibly talented comedians. They embrace their dysfunction and use it to make them rich richer. What’s not good about that?

The Sedaris’ could, like so many others, write about how dysfunction has ruined their lives. But why not show the world how to embrace what your parents did to screw you up and force you to start owning the rest? Maybe that is the subliminal message by the Sedaris family?

God, am I smart or what!

Seriously though, snatch this book up. It’s a great talking piece for your next dinner party.

Oh how dumb can one overexposed, tv-dinner chef be?

Apparently, pretty damn dumb.

At a recent dinner (it is unclear if this was pre RR show premiere or post.  Every account has reported something different) Rachael Ray was biting all hands that feed her in a drunken rant bashing Oprah, and a few others known to be her best allies in the entertainment biz.  Yum-O Rachael!

Compliments of our favorite Queen of Media, here is a taste of the sweet nothings she whispered at dinner:

- “[Brad Pitt is a] pussy boy.”

- “[Angelina Jolie] is a skanky, backdoor cunt.”
and then called Brad Pitt a “pussy boy.” But her harshest comments were reserved for Angelina Jolie, calling her “a skanky, backdoor c**t.”

- “[Oprah Winfrey] obviously has problems being black.

GASP!

This trashy moment accident came, quite obviously, before RR became aware of the words papparazi, gossip columists, and something called ‘spite’ in entertainment.  Hopefully by now she’s learned her lesson.  Or maybe it’s best that she doesn’t so her 15 minutes become shorter and shorter with every drunken slur.

Hateful, I know but she drives me more nuts everyday.

It’s rare to find a restaurant that has migrated from location to location and survived the Seattle foodie scene. Since there isn’t a said restaurant row or area here in Seattle moving a restaurant could either make or break your success.

Seattle is such a neighborhoody town that even if your restaurant exists in an upscale locale your chance of survival all depends upon your ability to sustain.

Boat Street Café is the perfect example of this. After moving from the University District to a temporary location in Eastlake, then finally ending up north of Belltown and just south of lower Queen Anne (my neighborhood to-be) BSC has improved its reputation with every move.

The menu offers an interesting palate, especially for the food scene here in Seattle. They classify themselves as Southern French (whatever that means) and their décor appeals to couples in need of an intimate French bistro straight from the Burgundy wine road.

We dined with a large and lively group, something I would change on my next visit. The ambience created by BSC is simple, French and best enjoyed with a small group or on a romantic occasion.

I thought the fare was good, though not great.

The cheese plate was perfectly selected and the salads were fresh. Try the assortment of pickled vegetables. It’s pretty damn good.

Among us we tried spare ribs, crab cakes, chicken roti, and pork chops. The waitress was really hot on the crab cakes. I thought they were least inspiring as did the others who ordered them. The ribs were scrumptious and the pork chops were incredibly tender and juicy, oozing with flavor.

Try the peppermint cheesecake and lemon tart. They’re divine and a perfect end to a fun night.

Although I was not blown away by my experience at Boat Street, I am eager to go back and compare my experience on date night. I just wasn’t sold and I really wanted to be. Given another chance, I think this place might earn a little more credibility with me. Especially giving it the intimacy it derserves.

2 lbs beefsteak tomatoes, top portions removed
1 cup stale bread, roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped roughly
1 medium sized cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
¼ cup sherry wine vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
1 tbsp herbes de provence
Juice of one lemon
1 cup of water
1 habanero, seeded and minced

sea salt
fresh ground pepper
good quality truffle oil for drizzling

Serves 8-10

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly so that the liquids mesh together.

Working in batches pulse ingredients creating a semi chunky consistency. Add the processed gazpacho to a large bowl and refrigerate at least two hours to let the flavors blend fully.

Stir well and serve chilled or at room temperature. Garnish with chopped chives, salt, pepper, and lightly drizzle truffle oil across the top of each serving.

2 skinless chicken breasts, removing any excess fat with a paring knife

for the marinade:
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 tsp Sriracha sauce
3-4 grinds fresh black pepper and sea salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

for the dressing:
3-4 tbsp good quality spicy mustard, I prefer Maille
1-2 tbsp champagne vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 grinds fresh black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp herbes de provence

for the salad:
1 bag mixed greens lettuce
1 carrot, use a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons
¼ red onion, sliced thin
1 vine tomato, cut into eighths
half green pepper, sliced
half cucumber, peeled, sliced, and quartered
½ Anjou pear, sliced thin
1 tbsp bleu cheese crumbles, split among the tops of each salad

Serves 2

Preheat the grill to high.

In a Ziploc bag or shallow bowl whisk the marinade, toss in with the chicken, and set aside, sealed for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken once or twice while it sits.

Whisk together all of the ingredients to make the salad dressing and let it sit until you are ready to toss the salad with it, prior to adding the chicken.

Add the chicken to the heated grill and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°. About 5-7 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting in order to allow the juices to redistribute.. Then slice the chicken and set aside.

Combine all ingredients for the salad into a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Split the salad between two salad bowls and top with the sliced chicken. Layer slices of pear, top with bleu cheese crumbles, and serve.