OMG a Recipe: Easy-Breezy Summer Daze

You watch those food/lifestyle television shows with the perfect hostess/cook who's throwing a perfectly elegant multi-course summer dinner with all the trimmings...and you just want to fling some of their perfect, sun-ripened tomato gazpacho all over that perfect summer-white maxi dress they're wearing with unnerving ease.  A summer-perfect party sounds like a grand idea until you realize you wind up being stuck in the kitchen, madly prepping dishes so they can be served at just the right time, or you're hovering over a hot grill the whole time, searing perfect grill-marks on an endless parade of meatly delights. Is the truly simple summer dinner party a myth or can this winged-unicorn-wizard truly exist? Wonder no more... behold: the Nearly Cook-Free Easy-Breezy Summer Menu!

Bacon Balsamic Summer Sliders - Photo by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: Thinking Outside the Happy Hour Box

You're familiar with this situation, no doubt, getting together with friends after a particularly rough day of work, wanting to reward yourself with something tasty and a frosty beverage (or several), but being faced with the same list of uninspired places you always wind up at every week. Throw down the gauntlet, have your Network moment and say you're mad-hungry/thirsty and you're not going to take it anymore!! How about being creative with your after work gatherings?

A cute little slider that is delicious and all about the bun, at Pop Kitchen + Bar - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Summer is the perfect time to incorporate events with food and drink. Along with scheduled events all over the city, there's no reason not to wander about and enjoy the fact the sun doesn't set until after nine p.m. for a few precious Pacific Northwest months. I spent an early evening walking around Seattle Center, enjoying the fact that it wasn't pouring rain. The Needle is celebrating its golden anniversary this year and there's some new things like a glass sculpture garden by Chihuly set up around the base of the Needle. The inside food court also underwent a major facelift, with new places like Skillet Street Counter opening up, if you're meandering about and are suddenly struck with a deep desire for bacon jam. Hey, it happens. There's also Experience Music Project and the mini Science Fiction Museum that's also housed within. It's a pop culture extravaganza, and while I didn't feel like wandering through a museum, I was still hungry and glad to see that Pop Kitchen + Bar, located right in EMP, was open with tasty snacks on its menu. It's a full restaurant that serves everything from fresh-baked pastries at 10am, sandwiches for lunch, and a hearty happy hour menu -- you don't need to have visited EMP, they're just housed in the same building. Pop's happy hour runs from 4-7pm. The bar area itself is tiny, maybe ten seats, but they serve HH specials in the dining area as well, which is a nice thing -- so many other restaurants don't do this, which is disappointing when their bar seats maybe five people. Pop loves its hungry after work crowd.

Bar snacks against a backdrop of rock n' roll and aliens from outer space - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Their bar menu items range from $5 - $7, nothing outrageous considering the tourist-heavy area that the Seattle Center is. The hidden find aspect of Pop anything coming from their ovens, whether it's the bread used for their sandwiches, giant cookies or fruit-topped cupcakes. Chef Erin Cameron makes the goods from scratch; I was told she was at Macrina Bakery, which is a pretty nice pedigree, and the proof is on the plate. Sliders are always an easy thing to share with friends, but it's unusual to just focus on enjoying the bread, which I did for at least one of the little guys -- the buns have a lightly sourdough like bite, crisp outer shell, and spongey, tender crumb. I couldn't resist deep fried goodness with their thick-cut house made potato chips, with a Ranch dressing type seasoning and herbed dipping sauce. The killer dish was their fried pickles. I know this is popular in other regions, but you just don't see it everywhere here and more to the point, they're not always done well. It's hard to get the perfect balance of breading and the fry time to ensure that the outer layer is crisp, but the interior retains its briny flavor. I've had burned fried pickles more often than not, but these were crispy bites of heaven. I know it's an unusual place to just drop by -- I don't know a lot of offices close by to where you'd just happen to walk by Pop Kitchen +  Bar, but it's summertime, there are concerts at Key Arena, and there's nothing worse than being stuck with buying a soggy overpriced pretzel at the concession stand and corned with an $8 beer. If you're going to be at the Key, make time to hit Pop Kitchen + Bar during their happy hour before your date with the mosh pit.

Bright bites and don't forget the fried pickles - Photos by Wasabi Prime

When it comes to mixing business with pleasure, I can't think of a better event than Foodportunity. Keren Brown organizes these great mixers at Tom Douglas's Palace Ballroom a couple of times a year -- now in Portland, too -- where restaurants offer sample bites, there are often guest speakers, and it's just a good opportunity to meet new people or put a face to a Twitter name. It's primarily food/wine bloggers, but the event attracts so many people from different industries and it's open to everyone, so don't feel like you need a blog to go. I've gone to about three of these now, the last one in June being the third, and I can honestly say most, if not all of the different bloggers, writers, photographers, chefs and anyone I've been lucky to make a connection with on the food/wine scene, has been through Foodportunity. Chances are, you've probably Tweeted or become Facebook friends through a lot of the people prior to the event, and ignoring Mom's advice to never talk to strangers, the virtual connection becomes very real and wonderful as a result of these mixers.

It's OK to have dessert first at Foodportunity - Photos by Wasabi Prime

 Oh yes, and did I mention there's food?? For the price of an affordable meal (tickets are $25 when you buy them in advance, $35 at the door), you will sample savory and sweet bites from as many as over twenty different restaurants and bakeries in the area. It becomes your new list of must-go places, with samples to try so you're inspired to go to these restaurants. I keep telling friends they should buy tickets when the next Foodportunity is announced -- it's probably the most fun food party you can go. I tend to by myself, there's enough familiar faces to where it feels like a food high school reunion, but I encourage anyone to track down the next Foodportunity, grab a couple of friends, and buy tickets with the plan of eating very, very well for the night.

Savory bites of heaven on a platter - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Some of the restaurants in attendance at the last Foodportunity included Lark, RN74, Dinette, McCracken and Tough, Palisade, Tulalip Bay, Copperleaf and Ray's Boathouse. Plus bakeries like Trophy Cupcakes, Wheatless in Seattle and sweets from Chocolopolis. I loved being introduced to Tabby Cat Pickling Co. and meeting their cool owners and the notion of a pickled beet brine martini. It's better than professional networking events because it's not sales-y or full of douchey "that guy" personalities. People are sincere at this event. Most of the people there have day jobs that aren't in the food industry, so you're getting a crowd of people who truly love to be there, and the energy reflects that. Even if this isn't a weekly thing to hit when you're done with work, do a little planning and skip the tired sports bar hangout with your pals and suggest Foodportunity instead. Your tastebuds will thank you for it.

Salmon sous vide and grilled toasts with a summer salad? This puts your happy hour to shame - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I had the opportunity to attend two of the Iron Vintner Challenge rounds this summer, which was redonkulous-fun. And yes, that's a real word. Put on by The Willows Lodge out in Woodinville -- The Wood-Hood as my goofy friends and I often call it -- it's like Iron Chef, but with winemakers cooking up secret ingredients in a set period of time. If you're going to be having wine and food after work, may as well make it dinner and a show, especially if you live out in that area, as I do. Three years and running, Iron Vintner Challenge is a popular event that sells out fast, so get your ticket buying skills ready for next year. The IVC winner of 2012 has been crowned -- Morgan Lee of Covington Cellars won, if you didn't already hear. I wasn't able to make it to the final winemaker dinner, but just seeing the preliminary rounds is fun enough, plus it's for charity, so not only is it a good cause, you can tell the government it owes you for drinking wine. I was able to capture many frantic photos of the bracket round when Morgan Lee of Covington went up against Ross Andrew Winery for an epic crab battle. In between all that, I managed to have some tasty wine and tasty bites from  Chef Bobby Moore's menu, which even when there's not a mad cooking battle going on, the Fireside Cellar at Willows is one of my favorite after work hangouts.



Food, wine, celebrities - just another day in the Wood-Hood - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Yes, you may indeed get a rare glimpse of celebrity! Actress Josie Bissett was there to cheer on the winemakers and was kind enough to pose for a photo with Chef Moore. This is why famous people are famous -- they are uncommonly good looking, no? And when you have a professional looking camera, you feel a little less weird about taking people's photos since it's large enough to hide behind. But of course, the real star is the food, which was expertly prepared and a panel of judges had the tough task of picking a winner among dishes that ranged from giant crab ravioli to a crab salad in cucumber rolls. It's not a typical way to spend an evening after work, but if you get together with friends to watch a game, there's no reason not to shout and holler it up at a wine event, especially when rabble-rousing is encouraged.

Crabby crustaceans, to those about to be eaten, we salute you - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I hope this post has inspired you to think outside of the typical happy hour box, seeking out new places and things to do, as you raise your glass to the workday coming to a merciful end. Trek onward, Happy Hour Explorers, and discover new paths the celebrate the fact you're not sitting in a cubicle anymore!

UnRecipe: Cocktail Party Quickies

Are you sick of holiday foods/tips/tricks/ideas yet? Despite the post-holiday time, they're still getting listed on cooking/lifestyle magazines and websites, begging for you to use them and throw a cocktail/post-new years/football party of some sort every weekend. So why not -- let's make you insane with a few more ideas?! How about some bite-sized party foods that take on an Asian theme? Like you've never heard that one before, I'm sure. But hey, they're tasty and fully road-tested, as these are snapshots from an ad hoc cocktail party I threw one weekend during the busy holiday season.

No-bake eggrolls and BBQ pork bites - cocktail hour at Wasabi's Place - Photo by Wasabi Prime

"Cocktail party? Ooh, fancy-schmancy, Wasabi!" It wasn't really all that fancy. Or schmancy, for that matter. It was a Saturday night and we had some friends over who hadn't already left for holiday visits or weren't off at an office holiday party. I had it in my head to do some Asian-themed snacks, due in part to some appetizers and other tasty eats I'd had recently that were combining cuisines. I'd had some Asian-style "tacos" at Korean restaurant Oma Bap and a Philly Cheesesteak made into an eggroll at Sullivan's. I know the mixing and matching isn't anything new, but it's all done out of the same desire to get away from the same-old pigs in a blanket appetizers that become so boring at parties. Chips and salsa just doesn't cut it anymore, not that it ever did, and for informal gatherings where people are just sitting around and snacking, you don't want a fussy giant cut of meat sitting out like a centerpiece and you don't want something as meager as a bowl of popcorn. Hearty bites with a mix of flavor and textures, and meaty enough to soak up the booze, because you know the cocktails, wine and beer are flowing heartily!

Restaurant inspirations and at-home creations - Photos by Wasabi Prime

If I'm throwing together something last-minute, I'll try to do two or three different things. One item will be a little more time intensive, but the rest are more quick to prepare and will likely rely on some pre-made shortcuts. I had a couple of large pork chops which I thinly sliced and marinated in a mix of soy sauce, kochujang (Korean spicy red bean paste), sugar and vinegar, then cooked. I layered the meat with kimchi between little buns to make pork kimchi sliders. It's a good, hearty appetizer that easily eats like a meal after one or two. I bought a package of pre-cooked Chinese style BBQ pork, which is pretty easily found at most grocery stores these days. I sliced it thin and placed the pieces on sesame crackers layered with alfalfa sprouts tossed lightly with sesame oil. Kind of like the typical meat/crackers appetizer, but a little more interesting and just as quick to throw together. These are also things that can sit on a platter and be eaten at room temperature, which is another thing about making appetizers. You hate to make something that needs to stay hot or runs the risk of spoiling if it sits out for too long.

A festive night of hearty snacks and treats - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The more time-consuming appetizer I made was a no-bake eggroll. I love the crisp of a fried eggroll but hate frying. There's no way around it, the house just smells oily and like a giant French Fry afterwards, so unless you can fry outside, it's just not worth doing. I had done some experimenting with baked chimichangas before using phyllo dough, and thought it would work just as well with eggroll-style filling. I had a bunch of zucchini and some carrots, so I ran them through the food processor's shredder. I cooked everything down, mixing it with some soy sauce, ginger, some sugar and more of the Korean bean paste. I took defrosted phyllo dough, brushing it with canola oil and layering it two sheets' thick, then cutting that into smaller squares, about the size of eggroll wrappers you would buy at the store. The vegetable filling was added and the dough was wrapped the way you would make an eggroll. Instead of dropping the rolls into oil, they were laid out on a sheet of parchment paper -- don't forget that step; oiled aluminum foil won't cut it, it'll still stick like crazy -- and the rolls were baked in the oven. It's good to lightly brush each one with some oil, just to get an even browning around it. There's no way of making this process go quickly, you have to roll each one, so in this case, I wouldn't call this a quickie cocktail snack, but one worth doing if you crave eggrolls but not the frying oil. You could fill them with anything you like, little bites of leftovers, and just wrap them in the cut down phyllo sheets.

Sweet chocolate and peppermint finish - Photo by Wasabi Prime

We had everything all set, down to the dessert, but funny enough, the dessert never got served. Everyone was full and guests brought some sweets of their own, so these peppermint ice cream and chocolate cookie sandwiches never came out. They were a mix of homemade and shortcut -- the peppermint ice cream was something I made, but the cookies were store-bought. I will say that bought cookies are good for ice cream sandwiches because of their uniform shape. For an easy dessert, ice cream sandwiches are perfect, since you can use different ice cream flavors or cookies, make a variety of options and they're pre-portioned out, based on the size of the cookie. I like smaller cookies, as it lets you feel a little less guilty about having more than one. As long as you don't forget to bring them out at the end of the night, they're a great sweet finish to a night of tasty snacks!