…but what about American women that spend the better part of a day in European-style bistros? My friend took me out for lunch today as thanks for filling in for him at work while he is on sabbatical in India next month. I can’t wait until I get my sabbatical and people have to cover for me (4 more years)! We went to Le Pichet, a little French restaurant near the market, and, since it was probably the last nice day in Seattle for a long time, we took the opportunity to sit outside. We split a bowl of spiced almonds and a small baguette with butter. I had the arugula and green bean salad with nicoise olives and baked toast with goat cheese and sliced tomatoes. It was lovely. Please don’t hate me but I tried a pea-sized portion of my friend’s foie gras just to see what all the fuss is about. I’m sure the real foodies out there are shocked that I’ve never actually tried foie gras. It tasted just as I expected…like fatty meat or meaty fat. Not worth it in my opinion but, as a non meat-eater, my opinion probably doesn’t count for much. I’m just glad I didn’t love it. I’ll break my no meat rule occasionally for a slice of bacon but I think I would have a major moral dilemma on my hands if I started craving foie gras. We finished lunch by splitting a walnut tart with warm cream and dried cherries that were soaked in some kind of delicious booze.

Tonight, Robert and I branched out of our normal routine and tried a newish restaurant in the neighborhood called Dinette. It specializes in toast! It was very romantic inside with dim lighting and yellowed walls and perfectly unmatched dinnerware. The menu is European, mainly French and Italian, and is divided into toast, snacks, bowls (usually handmade pasta or gnocchi) and plates (an ever-changing menu of entrees.) We split a carafe of the house red wine and started off with the gorgonzola dulce toast: thickly-sliced toast which was grilled and smothered with gorgonzola spread, balsamic syrup and walnuts. It was an unexpectedly large serving and easily could have been an entree. I didn’t think we would be able to finish it, especially for two people that don’t eat a lot of dairy, but we did. We then split the butter lettuce salad which was topped with crispy-fried serrano ham (again, breaking the no meat rule! This is terrible.) The ham tasted like the little crispy bits around the outside of a fried egg. For our entree, we split the chanterelle risotto, which was fantastic! I could never make risotto this good. It was perfectly al dente. It was so rich, I swear it must have had meat in it but, I double-checked the chalkboard, and it didn’t mention anything. I love that the waitress made no fuss over the fact that we wanted to split one dinner; she just gave us a each a spoon and put the bowl in the middle of table for us to share. Very casual. As we were sitting there finishing our delectable risotto and drinking the last of our wine, George Jones started playing gently over the speakers. I could have been sitting in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Europe or drunkenly closing out the bar in Montana. Either way, it was perfect!

Tonight, to add something special to my Indian vegetable curry, I made my own paneer. Paneer is an Indian cheese and it is actually extremely simple to make. You just bring whole milk to a boil, add acid to separate the whey from the curds, and then drain through a cloth and press the cheese into shape (wrapped in cloth, using weights.) It has a very mild flavor and a texture similar to firm tofu. For curries, it is best to press the paneer well so that it will be firm enough to hold up to cooking. But, you can also skip the step of pressing and instead use the soft curds in a salad, perhaps with tomatoes and cucumber and a dusting of cumin. It takes a quart of milk to get a very small disk of cheese. For each quart, I use 1.5 tablespoons of white wine vinegar as the acid. I have also read that people use rice wine vinegar, lemon juice or even soured yogurt. Paneer is a nice change of pace from the usual proteins such as tofu, shrimp, etc. Plus, it feels really cool to make your own cheese!

Since today is winesday, I chose a gewurztraminer to go with my Indian dinner. Gewurztraminers are usually recommended for serving with Indian or Asian dishes because they have a spicy, floral quality that matches well with curries and other spicy dishes. The wine merchant at Pike & Western recommended a German gewurztraminer to me, Pfeffingen 2004 Spatlese. He told me that, even though it is a Spatlese which is late harvest and usually means sweet, this was one of the less sweet gewurztraminers out there and that it had enough acidity to match well with food. I’m not so sure. It was still a little too sweet for my tastes but I did like the strong floral aroma and spicy flavor. Next time, I will try one of our Washington gewurztraminers to see how they compare.

It’s official – fall has arrived in Seattle. The other day, I actually had to wear a coat! It was one of those days where my hair goes from straight to curly during the walk to work. I also spent my first full day of work since last winter wrapped up in my designated work blanket (My employer handed these out for Christmas one year because it gets so cold in the office. Mine is starting to lose it, though. This year, I think I need to replace it with a slanket!) I’m really looking forward to fall, though. This weekend, I’m celebrating by pulling all of my sweaters out of the depths of my closet for a good cleaning. I’m kind of excited because I think there may be some in there that I forgot I even knit last year. It’s like going shopping in your own closet. I also made a delicious pumpkin bread this morning using a recipe that I found on epicurious which was rated a whopping 628 times! I love reading the user reviews on epicurious before I cook something. They are often very helpful and can sometimes be downright entertaining, especially when people get into arguments with each other. I always giggle when I see reviews that go something like this: “I loved this recipe! I added more red bell pepper, reduced the chili sauce by half and used olive oil instead of butter. Oh, and I used shrimp instead of chicken. I will definitely make this again!” Are you really reviewing the recipe at that point or just letting everyone know what a wonderful and experimental chef you think you are? That said, I did make about 13 alterations to the pumpkin bread recipe. Other fall traditions that I will be partaking in this weekend include mentally calculating the odds that it will snow in Seattle this winter (and not just a light dusting that melts in an hour – I want disruptive snow!) and helping Robert with his green chili stew on Sunday (we got a new batch of green chilis that are supposed to be extra hot this time. Yikes!)

My new mission is to learn more about wine. Nothing too obsessive; just enough to know about the basic different types of wine, which countries/regions produce the best wines and what I, myself, enjoy most. I recently read Andrea Immer’s “Great Wine Made Simple,” which I recommend, and now am reading “Windows on the World Complete Wine Course” by Kevin Zraly. Instead of wine comparison tastings, which can be heavy on the wallet, I have decided to incorporate wine education into my regular life (since I already drink wine regularly, this shouldn’t be too hard.) Each Wednesday, I will choose a new wine and plan a meal entirely around it. In addition to education, this will make planning meals more fun too! So, today marks my first ever “winesday” (that name is really cheesy, I know.)

Tonight’s wine of choice was Trimbach 2003 Alsatian Riesling. My meal to match was Riesling-Poached Trout with Thyme, Buttered Baby Potatoes and a Watercress, Endive and Apple Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette. First, the wine. I haven’t had too many rieslings in my lifetime so I was excited to try something different. All I know about them is that they are the lightest bodied of the whites and can sometimes be sweet (particularly Germain rieslings.) Alsatian rieslings are usually dry. This one was delicious: clean, crisp, and light! They say lemon, mineral and grapefruit (even cabbage) among other things online. As for the meal, it was OK. It matched well with the wine I guess but I usually find French food to be pretty boring and this was no exception. Thankfully the hatchet job I did on the trout didn’t ruin the meal. I should have just had the fish monger fillet it for me but, I was thinking that maybe one day I would like to learn how to fish and, if I did go fishing and actually caught one, I would have to learn how to do this myself. At least you couldn’t tell once it was cooked and covered in sauteed leeks. Also of note: for the salad dressing, I used the apple cider vinegar recommended by Cooks Illustrated magazine, Spectrum Naturals Organic Unfiltered. I actually sipped a little vinegar straight from the bottle and it was good. So much better than Heinz.

Overall, I would say the wine was far better than the meal but I’m going to stick with Winesdays for a while and hopefully will be able to produce a spectacular wine-meal combo. Do you have a favorite food and wine pairing that you would recommend?

It was my friend’s birthday today so we went for an extended lunch at Cafe Bengodi, a cute little Italian restaurant in Pioneer Square. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside (it’s so nice when you actually get to sit outside in Seattle!) We started off with the Caprese Salad which I liked even though I don’t normally like tomatoes. Maybe I’m finally growing up. We also had garlic bread which was really good. The thick, crusty bread was smothered with roasted garlic, parmesan cheese and parsley. For my lunch, I ordered the Pasta Vongole (clams) which was great. The clams were tiny and delectable and the pasta was bathed in a garlicky butter sauce. I know that I will stink of garlic during our hike tomorrow which I’m not looking forward to. It was worth it though. We ended the meal with tiramisu which was good and boozy.

This evening, Robert and I had to get gas so, since we were already in the car, we decided to drive somewhere for dinner. Shocking, I know, we actually went somewhere not within walking distance! We headed down to Malay Satay Hut in the international district, about a mile or so away from our apartment. We always hear great things about the place but never seem to make it there. It’s in a cramped little strip mall but is actually very clean and airy inside. The menu is quite lengthy, featuring helpful photos for many of the dishes. We started with the Roti Canai, which had been recommended in a couple of reviews online. It consists of homemade roti bread that has been lightly fried and it is served with a thick, hearty potato curry for dipping. For our main course, we had the Jumbo Prawns in Chili Sauce. They really were jumbo, too. Huge. The prawns were halved and served in the shell which presented some challenges for those of us that are less than skilled with chopsticks. The sauce was good but a bit on the sweet side for me. We also shared an order of Kang Kung Bechalan which is swamp spinach stir-fried with shrimp paste. It was nice and flavorful without being overpowering. I found a couple of cardamom pods in mine which was unexpected but certainly reflects the Indian influence in Malaysian cuisine. It was a good dinner and it was fun to try some completely new dishes. I really want to go back with a bigger group of people so that we can try more items. Robert and I just have to remember that, even though it is outside our bubble, it does exist and is good and therefore, we should go back. Next time we go, I swear I am going to try the avocado shake!