farther east

i am far from being tired of "turkish food", but a little variety is always pleasant. and when this variety takes the form of uighur manti and noodles, tant mieux. the restaurant we went to was located pretty close to sülemaniye camii, in the courtyard of a mosque. apparently there is a cultural institution dedicated to preserving uighur culture, a mission which i am now fully behind. the old man in the kitchen basically told us what we were getting, so we just sat in the courtyard (we were the only ones there) and waited for the magic to happen.

this really adorable, shy kid with glasses waited on us. first we each had a plate of what seemed like udon noodles, with veggies and meat. pretty tasty. then came the dumplings......i loooove dumplings. the only thing better than delciious things are delicious things wrapped in more carbs. these dumplings had some kind of meat in it, i was too blissed out.

after waddling around eminönu, looking at mosques, the caffeine craving hit hard. we stopped at a place off istiqlal, known for its thick coffee. i mean, look at the sludge in that cup. i drank it, and was a better person for it.

turkey! meat!

im in turkey for the first time, and as such, am taking note of all my food experiences. first of all, awesome yoghurt and yoghurty drinks. ive been going to a pastane for breakfast and eating bread with tomatoe and cheese, and drinking either turkish or nescafe. sometimes you just gotta get on the nescafe train.

went to a near restaurant for dinner, and had adana kebab. it was awesome. it was basically a meat stick with interesting spices and flavors, red onions on the side, roasted veggies, parsley, and kind of a rice or bulgur pilaf. next time, i promise to take some pictures!

Dairy, Oddfellows

i used to drink a lot of milk, but not so much anymore. however, the goat milk in my fridge was intriguing to me, so i decided to try it. definately more into that than the cow milk. its got a little sour taste, but creamier. the label claims its easier to digest. hopefully this proves to be the case. 

i went to oddfellows cafe the other day, to grab a pre-show drink and bite to eat. i ordered their aviation cocktail (named after aviation gin). it was a strange gray color, and i found the taste somewhat non-descript=(. my food was better, thankfully. i had pork with sautteed mushrooms. Definately the filling and flavorful dish i needed before a show, and the mushrooms were of an interesting variety. 

new restaraunt outing!

in my quest to visit every french restaurant in seattle ever, i decided to hit up place pigalle in the pike place market. i took my man there for his birthday, and though it was a little spendy, i thought it was totally worth it.
its a cute little place, with a great view of the water. i started off with a cocktail, and an appetizer of warm bitter greens, all of which was satisfactory. the main course, however, was really what made the meal. i had soy glazed duck, which came with fingerling potatoes. every bite was sheer joy. i enjoyed a delicious glass of syrah as i inhaled my duck.
for dessert, we shared a creme brulee, and the server brought us complimentary liqeur. yum!

steak!

mentioning julia child might bring to mind complicated recipes with long lists of ingredients, but she has some simpler recipes which are also delicious. 

I sauteed a pound of steak in olive oil and butter on the stove, and then placed in the oven to cook more (it was really thick). after draining meat fat from the pan, i added more butter (!) and a large shallot that i had minced. once the shallot was nice and transclusent, i added 1/2 cup of the red i was drinking (which happened to be a tasty malbec) and simmered that shit down. off heat, i stirred in another dollop butter and chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. I drizzled that on my steak and roasted veggies, drank more malbec, and felt pretty good about life. 

thanks julia!

back to cafe presse

i love those chill sunday evenings at restaurants....anyways, my habeeb and i split a chicken liver appetizer, which we spread on baguette with cherry compote and mustard. 

i ordered a salad with pear, endive(?), blue cheese, and......beets (my winter favorite)! it was pretty refreshing, and tasty. among the many beet salads i've had this winter, pretty far up there. 

we shared a piche of les hexagonales touraine, which was all right, but not the best thing ever. 

i've been eating a lot of exciting stuff lately....

a friend and i cooked goulash from my william sonoma soup book, it was pretty awesome. i only put 2 potatoes in, as the recipe suggested, but i probably could have used more....i am anxious to try this recipe with tomatoe paste, and noodles. 

i also enjoyed some homemade fries and an exceptionally tasty cote du rhone with this meal.