Views from a Latah Kitchen Table

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Dinner for a Friend


We started with a cheese tray and Hot and Spicy Pecans. I used ancho chili powder to give the nuts a smoky taste.
Next up, a chickpea and tomato salad. One of my co-workers brought in some fresh tomatoes from her garden.

Chickpea and tomato salad

1 15-oz cans garbanzo beans,drained
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
Chopped parsley

Dressing

1/3 C. extra-virgin olive oil
3 T. balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

For our main course I did a shrimp pasta with garlic breadcrumbs. I liked the breadcrumbs. I think the dish needed something to spice it up a bit. Perhaps some fresh lemon thyme? Or maybe the chili flakes I forgot!

Pasta with Shrimp and Garlic Breadcrumbs

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from French bread
8 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1 lb shrimp, peeled
½ C parsley chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon crushed chili flakes (I forgot to add these)
8 oz. Pasta
¼ cup pasta cooking water, reserved

Directions:

In a large pot, cook pasta in salted water. Drain the pasta and reserve 1/4cup of the cooking water for the final dish.
In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter in a large non stick skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and half the minced garlic. Saute until the crumbs are golden and crisp - 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil and butter in the same skillet over medium high heat and add the shrimp and the rest of the garlic. Saute until the shrimp are opaque in the middle (3-4 minutes).
Stir in half the parsley, all the lemon zest and juice and chili pepper seeds. Toss and add the cooked pasta and cooking water and half the breadcrumb mix.
Mix well

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The Elk


Last night my daughter and I had dinner at the Elk. We sat out on the patio, it was a little to warm but I feel like we won’t be eating outside that much longer, so why not make the most of it.
I had the Pork Tacos and Marjie had the Sante Fe Chicken, both items from the old menu.
I always enjoy the tacos and the Chicken sandwich was good too.
We ordered the Jumbo Ravioli to go for my son who was under the weather from the Tool concert at the Gorge the night before.
The service was good except it took about 25 minutes for the Ravioli to arrive.
Sometimes the service is up and down at the Elk, but I like the atmosphere and I think that appeals to a wide variety of folks.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

My Favorite Pizza


My favorite place for pizza has to be Bennidito’s. It’s even better when you can score a table outside and enjoy the summer weather.

Last night my friends and I started with the addictive Beer Buddies, then we did a large pie, half Original Pesto and half Florentine. It was very tasty.

They serve wine in addition to some fine tap beers.

What a great way to spend a balmy Tuesday evening!
If you visit their web site ,they have some coupons you can print off.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Hawaiian Flowers

My co-worker received these beautiful flowers today. Aren’t they just gorgeous! Birds of Paradise and Ginger.
They were ordered from Hawaiian Tropical Flowers .
Next time I need flowers or if someone wants to send me flowers, this is the place!

Monday, August 14, 2006

Stir-Fry

I was on vacation all last week. I spent some time around the house, at the lake and with the kids. I did not spend much time on the computer.

Last night we fixed a simple stir-fry using a stir-fry vegetable mix I picked up at The Liberty Lake Farmers Market on Saturday.

I picked up some beef to add to the vegetables and went with a Garlic Sauce from The Best Light Recipe.

Garlic Sauce

½ C. chicken broth
¼ Sake
3 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. soy sauce
2 t. cornstarch
3 t. hot chili oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t. red pepper flakes.

First I sautéed the beef in some peanut oil, removed the beef, then added a bit more oil, then the vegetables along with some garlic and grated ginger until the vegetables were crisp- tender. Next I added the Garlic Sauce with the beef and simmered it all together for about 2-3 min.

I served it over brown rice.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

David's Pizza


Yesterday afternoon we were visiting family up in the Gonzaga area. Afternoon turned into evening and we were getting hungry. We decided to try David’s Pizza. I usually eat at Bennidito's because it’s closer to my home and I really like it. I think David’s and Bennidito’s were once somehow related.
I am not a big beer drinker, I like it, but I usually prefer wine. I was looking forward to The Greek pizza and a glass of red wine.
I went up to the counter to order our drinks while we looked over the menu. Guess what, no wine, only beer. What’s up with that!!! I was shocked. Why wouldn’t a pizza joint serve wine? Isn’t it called a beer and wine license? Maybe collage kids just drink beer, but what about alumni and adults?

We decided on ½ Greek and ½ Da Vinci. So we drank our beer while we waited for our pizza to arrive. It arrived tasty and hot with paper plates to eat on. I don’t care for paper plates especially the cheap white thin ones we were given.
I think I will stick closer to home at Bennidito's.