Thanksgiving Bootcamp

As most people know, I'm quite smitten with all things Tom Douglas. Each of his restaurants are carefully considered and the head chef spot on. They really are Seattle institutions in and of themselves. 

So it's no surprise that when his cooking class, Hot Stove Society, opened up this summer, I made sure to get B and I signed up for a lesson. For his belated birthday, B and I took the Thanksgiving Bootcamp class last week with mouth-watering results. The biggest takeaways from the class was the timeline- when you should start preparing dishes for Thanksgiving, what can stay in the refrigerator, etc. - and of course, seeing how a professional chef made the turkey.

We watched and took notes on two different techniques for making a perfect Thanksgiving bird: Option 1: The "Bone & Roll". Option 2: The Butterfly. As the main dish slowly roasted in the oven, the class was divided up into teams to make classic side dishes and appetizers. 

My team made a crab dip and hand made potato chips. De-lish! 

Even though we were in charge of making one specific dish, we were able to float around (drinking the complementary beer, wine, coffee, or tea) to the other stations to see what they were making. Chef Bridget, our instructor, was very hands on and explained a lot of interesting techniques.

 

When lunch was served, there was a huge buffet of options to go with our turkey: the crab dip on russet potato chips, cranberry chutney with dried apricots and currants, green beans with lemon and parsley, green beans with toasted almonds and shallots, brown butter kale, and red bliss mashed potatoes. 

Between the recipes, the drinks, the cooking and the amazing lessons learned from Chef Bridget, it was such a fun way to spend the afternoon. And now we're way more prepared for Thanksgiving than we ever were! xx

Autumn at Cannon Beach

With summer being officially over and the cold weather creeping steadily back into the Pacific Northwest, it felt like it was time for a little getaway. Looking forward to a weekend of relaxing along the salty beaches of the Oregon Coast, I packed Louis the II and zipped down Interstate 101.

We arrived just in time for last call at the hardware-store-and-restaurant (appropriately named Hardware) then dumped our stuff off at the house. I pulled on my rain boots and we headed straight for the beach. There was a super low tide that evening, and we spent the night scavenging the sand for razor clams.

In the morning, we walked from the North Beach to our favorite coffee spot, the Sleeping Monk. Then it was off to Nehalem Bay to an afternoon of crabbing. Followed, of course, by a spectacularly delicious seafood dinner. 

Cannon Beach is my favorite during the fall. With all the tourists gone and only the locals to rub elbows with, there's hardly any competition to get your hands on some seriously good seafood.

xx

New York Fashion Week

It's that time of year again: the fashion world is in a frenzy to see the latest and greatest for Spring/Summer by designers hailing from all corners of the world.

I was lucky enough to go back to New York for Fashion Week on business and it was another incredible adventure. Having learned what to expect from my last NYFW experience, I was prepared for another week of midnight Seamless dinners, 14 hour work days and pretending to be unphased by celebrities backstage.

One great part of Fashion Week is that it's always during the first week of September which means there's a nice 3-day holiday before the madness beings. My Labor Day weekend was spent playing tourist which was the perfect way to kick off the trip.

Top of the Rock

Backstage at Nicole Miller

3rd row at Nicole Miller

Nails for Tadashi Shoji

The Brooklyn Bridge

Ground Zero

It was another hot and humid September in the Big Apple. And the Lincoln Center Tents were as busy and fabulous as ever. By the time I was back in the Pacific Northwest, I was exhausted but absolutely smitten.  Until next time, Manhattan! 

xx