Tap House Grill

This establishment serves 160 different draught (draft) beers. Also, they have homemade root beer. The following are before and after photos of my third dinner in Seattle. The conference has started so I haven't been able to enjoy the city as much. Also, the rain has arrived and won't leave until after I go back home. I originally booked with LaQuinta for my personal vacation, then was moved to the Renaissance Hotel (imagine I'm pronouncing that like a pompous British woman - make sure to excessively roll the R) for the work-related part of the stay. I am back at LaQuinta now by request as they are smaller, quainter, and more generous (for half the price!!!). Luxury is overrated ;)

Mickey Schmickey's

Last night I had dinner at one of my favorite seafood chains - Mickey Schmickey's (otherwise known as McCormick and Schmick's). I had fresh-made pappardelle with lobster, tomato, and spinach sauce. The waitress convinced me to try their key lime pie. To retain some of my manliness I had a root beer to drink with it all.

Napolitan Pizza from 'Tutta Bella' Restaurant - Seattle

Breakfast in Seattle

I've been told Seattle is serious about its coffee and I think it's becoming obvious. Much like Boston, Seattle has a coffee shop on nearly every corner and it's most likely not Starbucks, Caribou, or Dunkin' Donuts. The temperature reaches the upper 50s to lower 60s during the day. The air smells really fresh and there is actually a landscape to this city. In the background you see mountains and the city itself is full of steep uphills and downhills. Mamma mia, here is another city that I'm falling in love with.

Smoked Salmon Risotto

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil
• 2 scallions (sliced along the length of the stems)
• 12-14 oz Arborio Rice
• 32 oz  of stock (chicken, fish, or vegetable stock work) Note: The amount of stock is approximated. See why in the instructions below.

• 8 oz smoked salmon
• ½ pint of heavy cream
• Italian parsley (chopped very fine)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Equipment:

1 small sauce pan

1 deep skillet

Procedure:

In a small sauce pan sauté the smoked salmon in two tablespoons of olive oil for a minute at medium-high heat. Add the heavy cream, mix slowly until the cream almost reaches boiling point. Turn heat to low and continue stirring, making sure the cream doesn’t stick to the surface of the pan and burn. After 5 minutes turn off the heat and cover the pan. Put aside.

Heat a deep skillet at medium-high heat; add enough olive oil to cover the bottom surface. Throw in the sliced scallions. Let them sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the Arborio rice. Mix so that the rice gets thoroughly coated with the olive oil and scallion mixture. Lower heat to medium-low and let the rice cook for a minute, making sure to turn it every 15 seconds so as to not let it burn. This is where I would add some salt and pepper, so that they cook into the rice. Add enough stock so the rice is barely submerged. Make sure you don’t have any rice outside of the stock (it won’t get cooked!). Let the stock reduce. Mix the rice around, and add another helping of stock. Again, just barely submerging the rice. Repeat until the rice is “al dente” or “chewy but not crunchy.” Even though I bought a 32 oz container of stock, I only used about ~28 oz of it. This is where the “approximation” comes in.

Once the rice is done, turn heat to low. Pour the salmon and cream mixture into the skillet, and mix thoroughly into the rice. The entire concoction should be of a creamy consistency. If it is at all liquid, let it cook on low heat, mixing it every minute or so, until it gets to a creamy consistency. If you didn’t add the salt and pepper earlier, you can do it now, or let your guests add to their own tastes.

Serve and garnish with finely chopped Italian Parsley. Enjoy!

Note 1: The easiest stock to use is the one already made that you can buy in the grocery store. I would suggest, if you really want to go out of your way, to make fish stock from scratch by boiling the skin and the bones of salmon in water. Make sure you remove all the solid pieces from the stock before using it, though!

Note 2: I’ve seen this dish also include a little bit of tomato paste. If you would like to try it, take a spoonful of tomato paste and add it at the same time you add the dry rice. Mix it well and it will venture alongside the rice until the end.