Olympia - It's the good life... and a lot more.

(posted by Jules)

I spent the last week in Washington, my home state, and had the most amazing time. My husband, my son Ollie and I went up there for many reasons: the wedding reception my sister and her new husband organized for our family, my sister’s "Map of Lost Memories" book reading at her literary alma mater -- Seattle's Elliot Bay Book Co. -- and a reading and Q&A for Kim at my friends’ photography studio, The Steam Plant, in Olympia during the city's big Art Walk. As well, we haven’t had a holiday since our trip to London last Christmas, so it was time to take a few days off work and relax.

We arrived at Sea-Tac on Thursday afternoon and headed down to Olympia to stay with our close friends, Cortney and Philip, and their youngest son Emmett.  

          Fall colors speed by                        Uh oh, our navigator fell asleep

They have a charming house right off downtown with a beautiful little garden and chickens freely roaming the yard with Ruby, the dog and their two cats, George and Koz (literally the fattest black cat in town). Ollie was in heaven. 

 

Pearl, Gertie, Rosie, Honey & Ginger
(not exactly sure which one isn't in the picture)

We spent our first full day there wandering the town and going to the Farmer’s Market. I love Olympia. I had a great conversation with a woman at the Blue Heron Bakery stall in the market about how wonderful it is that the food trend these days is organic, farm to table, local, fresh, etc. but how funny it is since that is the way everyone in Olympia has always shopped and eaten. I can attest to that truth since I spent some time living here right after college in the early '90s. 

As a matter of fact, I would stop at Blue Heron Bakery on Mud Bay Road on my way into town to visit Cortney and Philip in their first charming house by downtown that sadly was (and still is) painted a bright yellow and red, a la McDonald's. I would pick up whole wheat berry-filled croissants, and Cortney would provide coffee from the local roaster, Batdorf and Bronsons, for our many yard sales or just days spent hanging out and cooking and playing with Cortney and Philip’s firstborn, Austin. He was only a toddler back then, and this visit he wasn’t home because he has graduated from college and was off on a ski weekend with his friends. My how that makes a girl feel old!

Ollie enjoying his gluten free ginger cookie from Blue Heron Bakery.  His choice, however,
no matter how many times I told him, I think he still thought it was a giant chocolate cookie.

On Friday night Kim’s first event of the week was at Cortney’s photography studio, The Steam Plant, in downtown Olympia.  It is an amazing old brick building with beautiful light and so much character. 

 

Ollie driving the vintage car before the space was set up for Kim's reading

  

Cortney went all out, bringing in a local food truck, AllFed Up. Their “fromage a trois” sandwich (named by my clever brother-in-law Jim) was to die for. Philip picked up a keg from the local brewer, Fish Tale, and proceeds from the beer garden went to a local art outreach program, POSCCA. There was also a local musician, Terry Holder, playing throughout the night.  

Kim’s reading was excellent and Cortney did a fun and interesting Q&A, ending with her asking the 10 questions James Lipton always asks on Inside the Actors Studio.  My favorite response was to "What profession, other than your own would you like to attempt?"  "CIA agent" she replied.  She was devastated when she found out you have to be under 35 years old to apply.  Guess that option is out.  Orca books, a great local independent bookstore, kindly supplied the books and overall it was a smashing success!

Next stop Seattle ... However, I know we will be back to Oly soon since my husband fell in love with this quirky, organic-oriented, farm-to-table, local-business-supporting town! 

Son of a Gun

(posted by Jules)

So I love food and I love eating out. Unfortunately my British husband is more of a “food is fuel” type of man. He would happily eat a batch of what he calls his "10 Day Curry" ... for literally 10 days in a row. In desperation to save my gastronomical senses, I enlisted the girlfriends who appreciate food as much as I do to hit the city’s best restaurants.

It wasn't too hard to convince my sister Kim and my friend Jenny once I told them the basic outline of a monthly splurge on amazing food and amazing wines at fabulous eateries. We haven’t come up with an official name yet for our unofficial dining out club, but on our first, and slightly booze-soaked, venture we tossed around “Marmalade and Moonshine,” which I love but don’t really think it has anything to do with our club. “Circle of Trust,” only because we used the meal as a bit of a therapy session. And “Twirly Birds Special,” a play on the fact that we will probably always end up dining around 6:30 pm since it is right after I get off work and we should be able to get a table, even at the most popular places since no one in LA dines that early. We thought "Early Birds Special" made us sound old, hence the “twirly.” Anyway, it is obviously a work in progress, but regardless, our first meal was a smashing success.

 Jenny started with the Buggy Whip Punch and I went with a Moscow Mule

I picked the first restaurant and so we went to Son of a Gun on Third Street in Los Angeles.  I have been wanting to go there for awhile and was not disappointed. The place is small and welcoming. The staff was incredibly friendly, especially our waitress who offered great suggestions, let us try out wines to see if we liked them, and didn’t rush us off, even as the restaurant started to fill up. And how was the food? Divine. It is a fairly small menu of small plates with a variety of culinary origins.

We started off with the Smoked Mahi Fish Dip with Celery, Radish and Crackers. It was amazing, especially since smoked fish rillettes and dips are my favorite right now.

Smoked Mahi

After that, the plates just kept rolling out: Gem Lettuce with Pickled Beets, Creme Fraiche & Bread Crumbs (the crunch of the tiny breadcrumbs made the dish); Dungeness Crab with Daikon, Melon & Yuzu.

Dungeness Crab

Blackened Rock Fish with Tomatillo Salsa and Crema:

Blackened Rock Fish

Fried Chicken sandwich with Spicy B&B Pickle Slaw & Rooster Aioli (the chicken was so tender and the sandwich was so tall, we almost didn't know how to eat it); Uni with Burrata, Button Mushrooms & Yuzu. Yes - I tried Uni which I now know is sea urchin. It was interesting, especially with the Burrata since it has the same texture. Not sure if I will have it again, but I am glad I tried it once and the flavors were very good.

Normally I am not a dessert orderer, but since these nights are going to be about trying something new and fully experiencing the menu, we figured that we would have to indulge in dessert. Especially since they had something on the menu called an Italian Hamburger, which is a scoop of hazelnut ice cream covered in caramel on a sweet brioche with a dusting of Maldon sea salt and powdered sugar.  

Italian Hamburger

Needless to say, we practically licked the plate clean. (and I am sure this dish would have even lured my husband out of the house).

It was a fantastic night, the start of many wonderful meals. Thanks to my dining companions for helping me indulge in my foodie side.

Plum and Mascarpone Pie

(posted by Jules)

I have been craving pie and recently I cut out a beautiful looking plum pie recipe from Bon Appetit. When my sister and I were growing up, one of our favorite fruits was plums, and since they are in season right now, plum pie seemed like the perfect Sunday afternoon activity.

Full disclosure: I didn’t make my crust. Have I made crusts before? Yes. Did I want to make a crust when it was 95 degrees out and I only had time to make the entire pie during my son's nap?  No. So I used store bought. However, my goal this fall now that I have conquered canning (or at least figured out the basics) is to perfect the crust. Another Fay family talent that I will not let pass me by.

Sugar Plum Fairies

I followed the directions exactly, which I don’t always tend to do, and I would suggest cutting back on the sugar. It made the plums very sweet, and I think the best part of a plum is the tartness. It would have been nice to have that come through a bit more. The mascarpone & crème fraîche filling was excellent, and I plan on using that as a base for many other fruit pies!

Ready to roast

Satisfied customer

PLUM & MASCARPONE PIE
Recipe from Bon Appetit, August 2012

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 pie crust, homemade or store-bought 
• 4-5 pounds firm ripe plums (20–25 plums), halved, pitted (with skin)
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (I used 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract)
• 8 ounces mascarpone
• 1/3 cup crème fraîche
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Whipped cream

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
A 9" pie dish

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line pie dish with crust; crimp edges. Fully bake pie crust according to recipe or box instructions.

Place plums in a large bowl; add 1 1/2 cups sugar and lemon juice. Scrape in seeds from half of vanilla bean; toss to coat. Divide plum mixture between two 13x9x2" glass baking dishes, arranging plums cut side down and overlapping slightly. Roast until juices are bubbling and slightly thickened and plums are tender but not falling apart, 40–60 minutes (cooking time will depend on ripeness of plums). Let cool slightly.

Using a slotted spatula, transfer plums to a rimmed baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill. Pour juices in baking dishes into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened and reduced to a scant 1/2 cup, 4–5 minutes; set glaze aside.

Combine remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar, mascarpone, crème fraîche, and honey in a medium bowl. Scrape in seeds from remaining half vanilla bean. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until mixture holds firm peaks (do not overbeat or mascarpone may curdle). DO AHEAD: Plums, glaze, and mascarpone cream can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.

Spread mascarpone cream evenly over bottom of crust. Arrange some chilled plum halves tightly (but not overlapping) in a single layer over mascarpone mixture. Starting at edges of pie crust, arrange remaining plum halves on top of base layer, overlapping tightly and forming a spiral to cover. Pie should dome slightly in the center.

Using a pastry brush, spread some of glaze over plums (if glaze has firmed up, gently reheat, adding 1 Tbsp. water and whisking to blend).

Cut pie into slices. Top with whipped cream and drizzle with more plum syrup.