Portland Dining Month 2015 Laurelhurst Market

March 13, 2015 by 10 Comments

I covered in a previous post what Portland Dining month / March 2015 is and a few highlights from the amazing list of more than 100 restaurants in the Portland area offering the $29 3 course special. Today, I’m going to share my second Portland Dining Month 2015 meal. My first dinner was at Aviary, which I covered previously.

Laurelhurst Market is located in the Alberta District at 3155 E. Burnside in Southeast Portland and specializes as both a butcher shop and steakhouse-inspired restaurant that highlights meat and celebrates being a carnivore.
Laurelhurst Market in Portland Laurelhurst Market in Portland Laurelhurst Market in Portland Laurelhurst Market in Portland

Now without further ado, my Portland Dining Month 2015 Laurelhurst Market dinner photo recap.
Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 Laurelhurst Market menu and suggested beverages

First course

Roasted cauliflower arancini with radicchio caponata, roasted red pepper aioli and arugula
Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 first course of Roasted cauliflower arancini with radicchio caponata, roasted red pepper aioli and arugula Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 first course of Roasted cauliflower arancini with radicchio caponata, roasted red pepper aioli and arugula

Second course

Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus.

As you would expect me, this dish is oh so tender and hearty and meaty. It’s a pretty representative Laurelhurst meat entree in which despite the addition of a single potato pancake, sides are extra. 

Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 second course of Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 second course of Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus

Third course

Honey panna cotta with candied fennel and fennel seed brittle
Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 third course of Honey panna cotta with candied fennel and fennel seed brittle Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month 2015 third course of Honey panna cotta with candied fennel and fennel seed brittle
This dessert was the only miss for me with the 3 courses, as it was more anise-y then I like. I recommend a dessert beverage to balance it out.

Other

You should not go to Laurelhurst Market without for the love of all, getting the Smoke Signals cocktail. This is a famous cocktail of with Rye Whiskey, Sherry, Pecan, Lemon, and to top it all off, Smoked Ice. The smoky nutty whiskey drink is a must.
The famous Laurelhurst Market cocktail of Smoke Signals with Rye Whiskey, Sherry, Pecan, Lemon, Smoked Ice The famous Laurelhurst Market cocktail of Smoke Signals with Rye Whiskey, Sherry, Pecan, Lemon, Smoked Ice

On the Laurelhurst Market Portland Dining Month menu, there was a suggested Portland Dining Month cocktail of the Salt & Pepper with Gin, Grapefruit, Lime, Peychaud Bitters, Sugar and Salt Rim. It was prettier than I imagined!
Laurelhurst Market suggested Portland Dining Month cocktail of the Salt & Pepper with Gin, Grapefruit, Lime, Peychaud Bitters, Sugar and Salt Rim

Did you know that there is an outdoor patio area right by the bar side of Laurelhurst Market? I didn’t – until I visited on a day where we were enjoying 70 degree weather and so the sunshine and light breeze and a cocktail were perfect. You can even see Kevin Ludwig to the right of the photo as he prepares to concoct the cocktail Pine Tar Incident with Pear Brandy, Genepy, Aperol. Sweet Vermouth
Bar at Laurelhurst Market opens up to a patio area. You can also see Bar Tender Kevin Ludwig to the right Laurelhurst Market specialty cocktail courtesy of Kevin Ludwig of the Pine Tar Incident with Pear Brandy, Genepy, Aperol. Sweet Vermouth Laurelhurst Market specialty cocktail courtesy of Kevin Ludwig of the Pine Tar Incident with Pear Brandy, Genepy, Aperol. Sweet Vermouth Laurelhurst Market specialty cocktail courtesy of Kevin Ludwig of the Pine Tar Incident with Pear Brandy, Genepy, Aperol. Sweet Vermouth

After the strong drink of the Pine Tar Incident, I really needed this additional order of this To Begin item of Little T Breads with Housemade Ricotta & Olive Oil. It is also useful for swabbing up any extra beef jus or aioli from the first two courses.
Laurelhurst Market To Begin item of Little T Breads with Housemade Ricotta & Olive Oil Laurelhurst Market To Begin item of Little T Breads with Housemade Ricotta & Olive Oil

Thanks G for being my date for this dinner.

What about you? What’s on your list from the Portland Dining Month website for the month of March, or where have you already dined and enjoyed?

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Green Food for St Patrick’s Day plus Variations on a Reuben

March 12, 2015 by 4 Comments

Looking for some green food that doesn’t involve using food dye to help celebrate St Patrick’s Day? Here’s a round-up from previous posts I’ve done… there is so much green out there naturally, and in many delicious forms. I also have some suggestions for fun ways to use corned beef and/or pastrami besides a reuben sandwich towards the bottom of the post.

Green Food for St Patrick's Day with no need for food dye or food coloring, plus suggestions for fun ways to incprorate corned beef and pastrami

But, first, the green food.

For appetizers, of course you could go with guacamole– I did a face off with 3 different guacamoles, one recipe from Alton Brown, one recipe from Bobby Flay, and one from Rick Bayless

Guacamole from Food Network chefs: The Rick Bayless Recipe- Sundried Tomato Guacamole Guacamole from Food Network chefs: The Bobby Flay Recipe- a spicy guacamole and in the back The Alton Brown Recipe- a tomato guacamole

Or try edamame hummus for an option besides the obvious guacamole!

Edamame Hummus

Last year I went with an Avocado Mac and Cheese from the Melt cookbook

Recipe of Green Mac and Cheese for St Patricks: Avocado Mac and Cheese, using cheddar and many green things like avocado, green jalapeno, lime, green onion, cilantro

But there’s a lot of avocado inspired recipes you could try, as I covered in this Avocado Pesto and more Avocado Awesomeness post that also shows some avocado inspirations from Chef Lisa of Mother’s Bistro

Vegetarian Hummus Avocado Greens Sandwich Buffalo Chicken Salad with Avocado and Microgreens Sandwich California Avocado Commission and the sticker for California Avocados California Avocado Commission and Chef Lisa Schroeder of Mother's Bistro & Bar celebrate June California Avocado Month with Guacamole-filled Cherry Tomatoes Avocado Pesto, vegetarian and easy to make, has a feel sort of like an alfredo or mac and cheese sauce but much healthier!

Another way to get in the green naturally is with broccoli, like this St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli which is an awesome simple casserole that is nostalgically old fashioned. There’s also these homey Spinach and Cheese Pinwheels

 Spinach or Squash Cheese Pinwheels

Or go with Brussels Sprouts, either Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Mashed Brussels Sprouts.

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts Mashed Brussels Sprouts

There’s green in these Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipes.

Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed Cabbage

Green Gazpacho that celebrates the bounty of greens with green pepper, celery, scallions, jalapeno, parsley, cilantro, and chives
The Four Seasons Farm Gardener's Cookbook review Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman gardening farming recipes local produce Green Gazpacho recipe, green pepper, celery, scallions, jalapeno, parsley, cilantro, and chives, spring soup recipe

Asparagus Goldenrod evokes green as well as gold

The Four Seasons Farm Gardener's Cookbook review Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman gardening farming recipes local produce Asparagus Goldenrod recipe

Or combine beer with green but without going to the low of green beer by making Saison Beer Ricotta on Cucumber appetizers

Saison Beer Ricotta on Cucumber

If you’re not in the Northwest and enjoying a 60-70 degree weather like we are, you probably wouldn’t be out on the grill, but here in Portland with our 70 degree March 17 we could do a bbq and throw in Irish Whiskey into our burger as well by making Cheddar Whiskey Burgers that has a combination of beef and pork with a bit of whiskey, and then is stuffed and then topped with a cheddar whiskey sauce. Sorry everywhere else that is cold and has snow.
Recipe for Cheddar Whiskey Burgers

For more authentic food that is Irish inspired, you could enjoy a vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie courtesy of Moosewood

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Ok, this doesn’t qualify for meatless, but I dined out at Kenny and Zuke’s for this this Bagel and Egg and Cheese with Pastrami bagel and this dish of Pastrami Cheese fries and it seemed very celebratory to me. What I love about these ideas is taking corned beef or pastrami and doing more than just a sandwich. Shake it up by putting it into a breakfast sandwich with a bagel or croissant, make reuben dogs or make them mini and adorable slow cooked beef reuben sliders. Chop it up and add it to fries, nachos, make a reuben mac and cheese or any casserole (I like this one with layers), or even into a baked creamy reuben dip! I will be making one of these links this weekend- I haven’t quite decided which one yet. I’ll also be making a colcannon – but instead of making a potato colcannon, I’m doing a cauliflower colcannon. Stay tuned for the outcome on Monday’s post!

Kenny and Zuke Deli's delicious pastrami brunch with an Everything Bagel and Egg and Cheese (cheddar) with addition of Pastrami Kenny and Zuke Deli, Delicious pastrami brunch with pastrami cheese fries

Also, I’m heading to Bowery Bagels on Monday because they are celebrating with Corned Beef Bagel Sandwiches, available at their downtown shop the week of March 16th – 21st for $8. These corned beef bagel sandwiches are packed with house-cured corned beef and topped with cabbage slaw and spicy mustard, which you can get on Bowery March bagel special, the Light Caraway Rye Bagel. Get the fingerling potato salad as a side and have the full Irish corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes experience. I’ll update with a photo when I acquire the goodie bagel.

Are you making anything special in celebration of St Patrick’s Day?

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Portland Dining Month 2015 Aviary

March 11, 2015 by 16 Comments

I covered in a previous post what Portland Dining month / March 2015 is and a few highlights from the amazing list of more than 100 restaurants in the Portland area offering the $29 3 course special. Today, I’m going to share my first Portland Dining Month 2015 meal, which was at Aviary. Aviary is located in the Alberta District at 1733 NE Alberta Street and offers eclectic Northwest ingredients combined with Asian flavors fusion food.

This was not my first time at Aviary – but during dinner service (the only meal they serve), the restaurant has really dim romantic lighting which doesn’t do well with my regular camera-phone photos. This time though, I brought my backup camera so was able to absorb a little bit more light through the lens. Although there are no vegetarian options on the Portland Dining menu, the regular Aviary menu has almost half a dozen options to choose from.

You can make reservations online at OpenTable, and this is recommended because I’ve heard of others dropping in and them being full!

Now without further ado, my Portland Dining Month 2015 Aviary menu selections, with my choice being in the bold.

First, the complimentary bread service at Aviary is wonderful as instead of just bread with butter, they offered a bagna cauda (butter, garlic, anchovies) for dipping the bread. Obviously because this has anchovies it’s not vegetarian so if that’s important to you, you’ll have to pass on the dip. One of the two breads on the plate was an olive bread.
complimentary bread service at Aviary is wonderful as instead of just bread with butter, they offered a bagna cauda (butter, garlic, anchovies) for dipping the bread. Obviously because this has anchovies it's not vegetarian so if that's important to you, you'll have to pass on the dip. One of the two breads on the plate was an olive bread.

First course (choose one)

Dungeness crab chawanmushi with bone marrow, sea urchin, Asian pear, snap peas and truffle vinaigrette
-OR-
Warm vegetable salad with romanesco, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, lime-pickle vinaigrette and black garlic
Aviary first course of Dungeness crab chawanmushi with bone marrow, sea urchin, Asian pear, snap peas and truffle vinaigrette for Portland Dining Month 2015 Aviary first course of Dungeness crab chawanmushi with bone marrow, sea urchin, Asian pear, snap peas and truffle vinaigrette for Portland Dining Month 2015
Seriously, this dish alone is worth a visit. I was sitting at the Chef’s Counter facing the open kitchen and man, chef Sarah Pliner was a BOSS whipping these out with somehow being able to pick up bowls of the chawanmushi from the steamy water pan just with tongs, and then flame on with a fiery torch. My favorite course.

Second course (choose one)

Miso braised beef short rib with taro root, yuzukoshō slaw, and shitake mushroom
-OR-
Pan-seared salmon with cauliflower, saffron, green apple, trout roe and American caviar
Aviary first course of Miso braised beef short rib with taro root, yuzukoshō slaw, and shitake mushroom for Portland Dining Month 2015

Third course (choose one)

Brown Butter Cake with whipped ricotta and rhubarb and basil Note this is different than what is listed on the Portland Dining Month website which listed a strudel, but I think the brown butter cake is even better.
-OR-
Chocolate budino with butterscotch ice cream and sour cherry
Aviary third course of Brown Butter Cake with whipped ricotta and rhubarb and basil for Portland Dining Month 2015 Aviary third course of Brown Butter Cake with whipped ricotta and rhubarb and basil for Portland Dining Month 2015

Extras

Since I was passing on the salad, I thought I might need a little bit more vegetable. And it’s March = St Patrick’s is this month. So I rationalized the Aviary cocktail of the Canicule with Bombay Sapphire East Gin, Ransom Dry Vermouth, Sauvignon Blanc, Pineapple Shrub, Cilantro, and Jalapeno. Because it’s green. It’s not a spicy drink, despite the presence of jalapeno somewhere – it was much more on the cilantro side. If you like cilantro, this is the drink for you. I didn’t know it at the time I ordered it, but this was the cocktail highlighted by Portland Monthly in their Best Bars 2014 article and most recently in their list of The 10 Most Interesting Cocktails in PDX Right Now in their March 2015 issue!
Aviary cocktail of the Canicule with Bombay Sapphire East Gin, Ransom Dry Vermouth, Sauvignon Blanc, Pineapple Shrub, Cilantro, Jalapeno

Also you must order this Crispy Pig Ear with coconut rice, chinese sausage, and avocado. I was dining alone because veggie F is not too keen on the idea of pig ear (and I knew dining alone pretty much guaranteed a seat at the Chef’s Counter – I and several other ladies dining alone or in twos chatted a bit). So ordering this, I knew this meant I would have leftovers, because the 3 courses are already more than enough for dinner.  But I’ve taken back this dish more than once and I love having it as a leftover the next day, even though the crispyness of the dish of will be gone (I nibble on as much of the crispyness as possible at the restaurant). I always get this dish,  it is one of the Aviary signature dishes and I urge you to get it too.
Aviary dish of Crispy Pig Ear with coconut rice, chinese sausage, avocado

Aviary on Urbanspoon

Next on my Portland Dining Month list is Laurelhurst Market, which I’ll share on Friday!

Where have you dined or are planning to dine this month for Portland Dining Month? 

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Northern Chinese lunch at Beijing Noodle No 9, Caesars Las Vegas

March 10, 2015 by 7 Comments

Once in a while I just get a craving, and on Sunday I didn’t want to deal with brunch madness – I wanted dim sum. Specifically some of the hand pulled noodles that I had seen walking around the previous day at Caesar’s Palace. So it came to be I went for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Beijing Noodle No. 9.

I was pleased that there was no wait at all when I arrived. The entrance of Beijing Noodle No. 9 includes a little hallway full of tanks of goldfish. Don’t worry, those goldfish are all for show, not for eating.  The entrance also has a small bar area where you can watch the hand pulled noodles being made and pulled.

Time for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. The entrance includes a little hallway full of tanks of goldfish (they are all for show, not for eating!) Time for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. The entrance includes a little hallway full of tanks of goldfish (they are all for show, not for eating!) Time for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. The entrance includes a small bar where you can watch the hand pulled noodles being made and pulled Time for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. The entrance includes a little hallway full of tanks of goldfish (they are all for show, not for eating!)

There’s just something so baller walking down that corridor of goldfish, where you then enter into the main area of the restaurant. The interior here is all white flowery swirls like you are on the inside of a white paper cut art piece and in a fish bowl yourself at the same time.
Time for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. The inside is full of these white flowery swirls essentially from floor to ceiling like the cellophone wrap of a bouquet was all around me Time for some Northern Chinese on Sunday lunch at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. The inside is full of these white flowery swirls essentially from floor to ceiling like the cellophone wrap of a bouquet was all around me

I started off with a cocktail because I’m in Vegas and after the bloody marys at Todd English PUB the day before I needed a break from my standard breakfast/brunch drink. So I went with the Shanghai Wave cocktail, which was probably one of the best things I had here at this restaurant.
Shanghai Wave cocktail at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9.

The first thing to come out was the Sichuan Dan Dan Mein with Spring Noodle. Every time I got a little bit of the meat I got a little pop of flavor, but there wasn’t a lot of that meat go go around. All the ground meat is right there in the picture on tip- the rest was just noodles plopped in the bowl.

I still believe the noodles were freshly made that day  given the man in the window at the entrance pulling noodles.

But these noodles were too soft and overcooked. Maybe I should have sat in front of the noodle man.
Sichuan Dan Dan Mein with Spring Noodle, at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9 Sichuan Dan Dan Mein with Spring Noodle, at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9 Sichuan Dan Dan Mein with Spring Noodle, at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9

The Shanghai soup dumplings were adequate, but not outstanding. If you don’t know, the way to eat these is with your chopstick to hold it gently and rock it back and forth until it comes off the steamed paper/bamboo so that you don’t break the soup out of those dumplings until they are in your mouth.

I suppose the version I got here really do taste like something you might get in the streets from a vendor… but not the vendor that has a line of people backed up for their dumplings. The dumplings needed more seasoning inside, in my opinion – it shouldn’t need sauce.
Shanghai Soup Dumplings at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. Shanghai Soup Dumplings at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9. Shanghai Soup Dumplings at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9.

It turns out the best thing I ate was this dish of Lamb Pancakes that had moist flavorful lamb inside and a crisped up skin on the outside pancake. I was warned that they make this fresh so it might take 20 minutes until the dish came, but I thought it was worth the wait. The flavors here were what I was expecting, given my previous visits to Beijing before.
Shanghai Soup Dumplings at Caesar's Palace at Beijing Noodle No. 9.

With other restaurants of the calibur of Rao’s and Guy Savoy and Nobu and Bobby Flay’s Nobu Grill, it’s a shame that this restaurant is so average. Clearly, I should have gone to Chinatown (just a mile away from the strip), and followed the advice of blogger friend Meagan that she shared in her own Las Vegas guide

I don’t usually write this kind of review as I like to give the benefit of the doubt with another try, but in a tourist city and directly on the Las Vegas Strip like Beijing Noodle No 9 is, you don’t want to waste your limited vacation time and dollars so I wanted to still share my single experience anyway. Caesars actually has numerous good foodie options… This is just not one of them given that the signature Noodle dish was overcooked on a not very busy seating and the toppings so stingy on top. Maybe I’m extra picky because I have spent time in Beijing before (I lived there for almost 2 months in college). I really wanted to reward keeping up the history and artisan skills of pulled noodles too 🙁

I do admit this is the cleanest Chinese restaurant I have EVER been in.

Beijing Noodle No. 9 on Urbanspoon

My Guide to the Free and the Food on the Las Vegas Strip

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Cauliflower Alfredo with Spinach

March 9, 2015 by 8 Comments

I grew up eating a lot of Asian food, and I think it must not have been until late middle school or possibly even early high school that I first had Fettuccine Alfredo. My love for that creamy sauce on pasta lasted only until college, when I realized how many calories that Alfredo sauce actually contained.

Fortunately, I can still indulge in a pasta alfredo once in a while, but instead of the traditional alfredo sauce with cream and stick of butter and Parmesan, I would recommend this lightened up version of Cauliflower Alfredo with Spinach. I use spinach because I generally tend to have it in my kitchen, but you could use other greens or vegetables as well to further fill up the pasta dish. This dish serves 4 people as a side dish.
Cauliflower Alfredo with Spinach Cauliflower Alfredo with Spinach

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups small cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup 2 percent low-fat milk
  • 1 tablespoon of minced onion
  • 8 ounces of pasta (I like using ones I can spoon, like this bow tie, so I can eat the whole thing with a spoon instead of slurping sauce on my face)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (plus another 1 tablespoon if you want to saute/wilt your spinach before adding it to pasta, optional)
  • 1 cup (3 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Couple handfuls of vegetables of your choice, such as two or three handfuls of spinach.
  • Salt to taste
  • Ground pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring cauliflower florets, milk and minced onion to a simmer in large saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and let the cauliflower soften, which might take 15 – 20 minutes depending on the size of your florets.
  2. When the cauliflower milk mixture is soft enough that your wooden spoon can mush it, transfer contents of the pan to food processor. Let it cool for a bit before you blend it into a sauce.
  3. Meanwhile, while your cauliflower milk mixture is cooling before you process it, cook your pasta in a pot until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta water to help marry it with the cauliflower sauce later. Toss the pasta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
  4. I wilted the spinach slightly over heat with a little olive oil in that large saucepan I had just used for the cauliflower. But you can also toss it in raw as the hot pasta and sauce will also wilt it if your timing is right. You’ll just have to stir a lot depending on how generous your handfuls are until they get smaller.
  5. Now to your pan, add the pasta,the cauliflower puree, the 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and nutmeg. Toss until the sauce coats pasta, adding reserved pasta water per your taste if mixture is clumpy and you want it to be smoother. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Serve your dish sprinkled with a little extra Parmesan and bit of pepper if you’d like. For a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper.
Cauliflower Alfredo with Spinach

I made it vegetarian, although I would understand if you might want to throw in a little protein via some chicken, or turkey, or maybe even some cut up sausage. If you miss a little of the fat of the alfredo, do a combination where instead of all 2% milk (I personally found skim or 1% too thin for me) you can make part of that cup a more full milk, Cream. And/or you could also consider at the end when mixing the sauce with the pasta adding some drizzle of Greek yogurt!

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