End of the World Last Supper

If we are embracing the Mayan Calendar, then tomorrow is the #EndoftheWorld as we know it! 
What would your last supper be?

I would have to have my last Nova Lox on a bagel made by Andrew Meltzer. No other bagel has come close to his in my mind.  There should also be some caviar on this bagel just because there are no limits today.  And when we say a Shmear, lay it on thick today please, I'm not worried about my waistline tomorrow!

Now that breakfast course is over I'm having cracked Crab, Dungeness of course, with a perfect avocado sliced in a fan and drizzled with a toasted cumin lime vinaigrette & fresh mint.

I am a Sushi whore and would eat it 6 days a week if the budget allowed!
Uni & Unagi MUST be part of this meal.
And since the world is ending anyway, I would have Hamachi Collar, despite how unsustainable it is.
While I'm eating out of the sea, I'll take some cold smoked black cod riellette with capers, preserved lemon and tarragon on crispy rye toast.

No life would have been worth living without a plate of duck, let's have it 3 ways since it's the last night on earth:
crispy duck confit, thigh for me please, some smoked cured duck breast with a grilled peach and let's have some seared liver & onions with Marsala on that plate too, cause everything is better in 3's!

Let's not stop at duck liver, this is the last meal we will be eating after all!
Foie gras & slow roasted muscat grapes with a glass of sauterne would put a smile on my soul for sure!

Roasted poached pears, Almond frangipagne with a bourbon spiked Caramel sauce and a great PX sherry or aged rum would finish me of and send me into the nether world with a smile on my face!

But wait, there is more... a cheese course of all cheese courses to end this last meal on earth....stinky, ripe glorious cheeses of all kinds with fresh figs and dried cherry mostarda and hazelnut loaf to carry it all into my bursting belly

Most important message here; make the most of TODAY, and everyday for that matter....you never know when it will be your last!
And let' the petty stuff slide right off ya, life is WAY too short to let it contaminate joy!

Favorite Holiday Cookies

CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES

Yield 6 dozen 1” cookies

¼ #         Butter

1#           Chocolate (use a good quality block bitter of semisweet)

1 cup      Sugar

4 ea        Eggs

2tsp        Vanilla Extract

3 cups    All Purpose Flour (use 2 ½ cups for a flat spreading cookie)

½ tsp      Salt

1 tsp       Baking Powder

Procedure:

Melt butter and chocolate together and let cool
Mix eggs and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy, add extract and incorporate.
Add chocolate mixture to sugar and egg mixture and mix well
Mix flour with baking powder, salt and if you are adding flavors like cayenne or espresso powder, mix into flour first
Now mix flour into the chocolate egg mixture and chill for an hour to set batter.

With a small cookie scooper scoop dough into balls and roll well in powder sugar. Be sure they are well coated with powder sugar!
Bake on parchment for 5 minutes at 350 degrees
Let stand a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack. 

Flavor combinations:

 Replace vanilla with Orange Extract and add cinnamon to the powder sugar

Replace vanilla with Almond Extract and add cardamom to the powder sugar

Add Cayenne to the base and cinnamon in the powder sugar to make a Mole cookie

Mint Extract for a cool, rich and refreshing variation

Espresso powder in the base for a mocha variation

Any flavor you like with chocolate will work well here, let your creative juices flow!

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Crave Food: Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cake for the October dessert table

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2012/10/local-360-chef-robin-leventhal-has-a-sweet-tooth-in-autumn.php

Pumpkin Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Crust:
1½ cups hazelnuts
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. sugar
Toast hazelnuts in oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cool slightly and rub off skins. Pulse nuts in food processor until coarse. Or, take cooked crisp crust or granola, pulse it in a food mill to crumb texture
Add sugar and process until nuts are finely chopped, but not greasy.
Combine with butter and pat into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool before filling.

Filling: (Do a half batch for tarts.)
1 lb. cream cheese, room temp
1 lb. goat cheese, room temp
6 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups sugar
½ cup molasses
1 Tbsp corn starch
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp nutmeg
Pinch of Salt

Stir together sugar, cornstarch, and spices
Beat cheeses until smooth. Gradually add sugar mixture, scraping down sides of bowl.
Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well.
Beat in pumpkin just until blended. Pour into crust lined pan.
Place a pan of water in bottom of oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack. Cover the pan and rack with a large bowl or pot, so that the cake cools slowly.
Cool completely then chill before serving.

**A nice trick is to reserve some of the cheese mixture before you have added the pumpkin, and create a marbleized pattern on top of tart before baking.

Fall Cooking Series at PCC

Check out this page to read about and sign up for my Fall Cooking Series, starting in October!

Thanks to Paula Thomas for this image taken in my Ceramic/Cooking class at Pottery Northwest: Flavor, Form & Function; The Art of Food Presentation

Harvest Dinner at Milbrandt Winery

Saturday, October 6th in Prosser, Washington at the Milbrandt Winery.

More info here.

 Menu as Follows 

(subject to change with availability of ingredients)

Parsnip and Pear bisque, Crispy Shallots,  Arugula Emulsion
Traditions Riesling

Socca Crepe, Shaved Apple Herb Salad, Fennel Pollen Yogurt
The Estates Ancient Lakes Riesling

Heirloom Tomato Panzanella, Melon, Purple Shiso, Feta, Saba

The Estates Evergreen Chardonnay

Chili and Cumin rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Green Chili Bread Pudding

Grilled Nectarines

Sarsaparilla Gastrique
Sentinel

Pistachio Financiers, Grilled Figs, Mascarpone Cardamom Anglaise
The Estates Ice Riesling & Vineyard Series Mosaic

Love to play with your hands?

Consider taking my Ceramic/Cooking class that will explore Flavor Form & Function: The Art of Food Presentation Wednesdays from 6-9 pm beginning October 3 to December 5th

Mole Demo at the Northwest Chocolate Fest

Saturday September 22nd at 1pm I will be doing a Mole Demo at the Northwest Chocolate Fest www.nwchocolate.com