It's a Small World, After All

Here's the storyline:

Storyline 1:

Because of getting snowed in during the Winter of '06, I got a job at Canlis Restaurant.

Because Canlis encourages growth, I thought of starting a business.

Because of my cheeky/failed attempt at said adventure, The Non-Scotsman decided to start one instead.

Storyline 2:

Because my Canlis employer studied at Cornell, he met Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park.

Because I worked at Canlis, my sister sang at their birthday party, where she met her now-boyfriend, Will Guidara.

Because Will (and the EMP chef) wrote a cookbook, a celebratory dinner was hosted at Canlis Restaurant.

Because the dinner was hosted, The Non-Scotsman made this film:

A Perfect, Bitter Stocking Stuffer

This year, I am all about the small things. (Think: "stocking stuffers" of life). They might not be the biggest packages under the tree, but they often bring the most pungent joy. And these little, beautiful, things happen all over Seattle.

Watching my nephews open their gifts early in Issaquah.

A great phone conversation with a new friend in Belltown.

Scoring 250 points in skeeball at King's Hardware in Ballard.

A cup of peppermint tea in this nook at Roy Street Coffee & Tea on Capitol Hill

An impromptu Christmas kiss with my husband at Canlis,

(Canlis, 2010 - photo compliments Christopher Keuhl)

The sweet success of victory after a 3 day battle with port-braised short ribs

And watching the Packers lose yesterday with an avid Packer fan!

However, if I could name my most favorite REAL stocking stuffer of 2010, it might be these:

Scrappy's Bitters:

While strolling 12th Avenue on a rainy night on my (Capitol) Hill a few weeks ago I stumbled across these incredible bitters at the 12th & Olive Wine Co. It was about 9:00 at night, and I have to imagine the owner was avoiding going home or something, because he spent a good half hour deconstructing (ie: tearing apart like a wild coyote!) Woodinville wineries and then showing off these bitters.

It didn't take much convincing to fall in love with a line of hand-crafted organic bitters with flavors like celery, orange, lavender, chocolate and cardamom. What a beautiful addition to anything, be it beverage or food. I'd take a stocking full of Scrappy's any day!

Bread & Bubbly Supper Club : Part I

It was high time someone started a supper club. I thought it might as well be me.

I've been dreaming for a while now of getting groups together over fabulous food with the intention of learning something new and meeting someone new - someone you're probably going to like.

This is more than a group who eats together; the purpose is to learn something fresh. Each party will have a special expert in a field who will teach for a few minutes on their expertise. It could be chef talking about food, but it might be a psychologist telling us how our brains work, or an astronaut talking about constellations, or a card shark showing us some tricks. We might have brunch on a dock, or caramels in an open field at midnight. I'm open - but each one must include new faces and new ideas.

I gathered 3 women who are known for their class, taste, and ability to have a good time, and we started meeting for coffee at Le Pichet to discuss the details. This is what happened:

Bread & Bubbly Supper Club #1. We figured bread and champagne go with everything, so perhaps we should find some to make our "house favorites." The "Bread" essentially is us, the constant hostesses, and the "Bubbly" is the revolving personalities and teachers that will grace our guest lists. The sparkle, the fizz!

We desperately needed a logo, so inspired by these fabulous beverage labels:

The Non-Scotsman helped me create this:

We printed this on invitations, on the door, and onto labels to put on our chosen champagne bottle. Each of us invited 4 guests who we thought would find this kind of night interesting; people who love food and wine and opinions about it. It's fun to get like-minded souls together knowing they'll immediately love each other. And it worked!

Le Panier agreed to not only send Laura, their gracious manager, to speak to us about bread, but sent about 70 loaves of the most crusty, warm French breads we'd ever seen! Campagna, Baguettes, Brioche galore! By the end of the night she'd convinced her husband that he was missing the time of his life and he left his own gathering at his local pub and joined the gaiety.

The light poured in the condo windows that overlooked the Sound, brilliant as 27 guests gathered to eat, drink bottles of champagne (and other sparkling wines not from that region), and consume loaves of bread. Ryan Anthony, a wine genius from Canlis, selected an assortment of sparkers for us to try and we merrily tasted our way through them for hours.

We never could agree on much - the Brioche tied with the Campagne. Three champagnes pretty much tied, although I'm sure someone voted twice.

You know you've had a good night, and a lot of bread, when each guest is leaving with loaves under each arm and fresh Le Panier cookies stuffed in their pockets.

Spring has Bloomed

I walked out of my condo, turned the corner on Denny Avenue, and what did I see?

(Baby Blossoms, source unknown)

I’m nearly giddy; my very first sign of spring around the corner! I immediately scavenged a handful for my enjoyment.

The condo The Non-Scotsman purchased as our love nest (literally, the size of a large Bald Eagle’s nest) rests on a blossom street of dreams, if you will. Rows of them lined up, ready to be the first to bloom over the I-5 rush of gray and dirt below. They ignore the evidence that they are in a concrete walkway and blossom as if rooted in a temple lawn in Japan:

(compliments, Getty Images)

or perhaps Ronda, Spain, where I spotted these on my most recent trip:

(Taken during a scenic-stop in Ronda, Spain, 2007)

Two trees on my street always win. They must find the perfect midday sun, because every year they bloom 2 weeks or so ahead of the rest. Valiant trailblazers, and I have named them Lewis & Clark. I adore them because they give me time to prepare myself for the glory to come, when the rest of the hill bursts into splendid fireworks of pink.

The Northwest is known for our cherries, so we have fabulous places to see the trees close to home. Tamara Wilson of Wilson Public Relations represents Northwest Cherries, and I worked on an event a few years ago with her where she invited guests to a Cherry Luncheon at Canlis by sending boxes of the blooms as invitations. Stunning and memorable.

A few of my favorite sightings within the city limits are:

1.Volunteer Park, Capitol Hill

2. The Arboretum, Madison Valley

3. This perfect little turn in the path on the far North side of Green Lake (near the tennis courts)

(Valiant beauties survive a bit of snow. Source unknown)

Spring has officially sprung.

Bread Bread Bread

Today a dear angel asked me the question, “what is your favorite kind of bread?”

I could have hugged her; I can’t think of a more cheery thing to think about than warm, freshly-baked artisan bread. My mind started reeling with thoughts of flour and butter...

It seems every country has a bread they're famous for, and in Seattle was can enjoy these delights in the comfort of our own backyard. My favorite Seattle bread moments include:

1. Italian Panetonne at DeLaurenti's,

2. Israeli Challah at Three Girls' Bakery in Pike Place Market,

3. Blackburn Wheat from Macrina Bakery on Queen Anne

4. Rosemary rolls, handmade by Andrew at Canlis

5. Rustic baguette with fresh butter and French Onion Soup at Le Panier

For something fresh and innovative, check out the Ecuadorian yuca breads soon to be brought to Orange County by my dear friend, Stephanie Cedeno.