All the colors of the season, perfectly plated for the eating...just what you need during holiday shopping!

If you’re on a Mr. Scrooge budget, but still want a Sugarplum getaway, opt for the food version, rather than the pack-your-bags version and head to Andiamo. Nestled just north of the hustle and bustle of Bellevue Square, Andiamo Ristorante Italiano (938 110th Ave NE, Suite 1) is a little slice of Italy on the Eastside.

While the masses are running to their cars in the rain, you’ll be snuggling up to that beautiful glass of red and nibbling on the tender rings of Calamari Fritti ($9.00) while watching the chefs whip up your Linguine Pescatore ($24.00) in the open concept kitchen. Recommended by the house, the Linguini is dressed with clams, mussels, sea scallops, calamari, shrimp, crab and fish in a light seafood broth (that’s a mouthful – literally).

Although it can get a bit drafty in the front half of Andiamo (and they could probably try a few other solutions on that front), it’s a small price to pay for the creamy delights they push out, dish after dish. The house is usually lightly staffed, and is small enough to lend a homey feel that regulars come to love. The owner is onsite many nights and is delightful to chat up, adding some neighborhood charm to what could otherwise be a generic, run of the mill space.

 Their varied wine list (which they show off on a vintage farm table in the middle of the restaurant) is reason enough to try this place at least once. Even better, all bottles of wine are half price every Tuesday. But it’s the hearty dishes (albeit some are coated in heavy cream and butter) that make you all warm and fuzzy inside. And this time of year, that’s a welcomed feeling! The leader of the pack on that front is, without a doubt, the Cappellini with Shrimp and Crab. This plentiful dish combines, shrimp and fresh Dungeness crab in a light cream sauce, entangled in angel hair pasta and herbs ($22.00).

If you’re just stopping by for a quick bite mid-day, amidst the crazed, last minute holiday shopping, go with the Andiamo Sandwich – spicy coppa, salami, prosciutto and provolone cheese with a garlic aioli sauce ($13.50). It’ll keep you full well into the evening hours and give you that little bit of luxury you need to take the edge off, after hours of pocketbook depletion.

Curry so yummy! Getting what you ask for with this spot on, medium spicy red curry and fried egg noodles.

I’ll tell you what you do: share the highlights of the food first, and then explain what happened and let people draw their own conclusions.

Chantanee Thai in Bellevue (601 108th Ave. N.E., Ste. 100A) has recently become well known for their expansive bar, Naga, tended by Evan Marten. A couple years back, Chantanee moved locations from an older plaza off Main Street into one of the main office buildings in the downtown core of Bellevue. At the old location, there were literally flocks of people crowding up the lobby and lining up outside the door. What was the number one dish everyone raved about and came back for, time and again? The Crispy Garlic Chicken. Unmatched by any other ‘chicken+garlic+basil+deep fryer’ dish anywhere in the greater Seattle area, the piping hot chicken was lightly battered and covered in sticky gobs of fried minced garlic. Now, at the new location, the price of this popular dish may have gone up a tad (if memory serves) but it’s still worth it. The pieces of chicken are a little larger than they used to be, and there are less of them…not necessarily a good thing, but it’s still worth standing in line for.

Chantanee offers up fantastic combos with everything from Red Curry with fried egg noodles (seriously YUM) to Crispy Cashew Chicken with a fabulous sauce. Always served with perfect little compliments of fried crab wontons – rich and fresh with sweet syrup drizzled over the top. Their dinner offerings span a full list of sushi, Thai classics and a complete vegetarian menu as well. If there’s a bad dish to be had, we haven’t seen it yet (although there was a bland broth soup with scallions and winter melon that on the boring side of lame).

Once you go Crispy Garlic Chicken, you never go back. But that doesn't mean quality should override quantity!

All that aside, bad service can make a great meal feel like a cold, sad plate of drive thru leftovers. Here’s what happened:

• Upon arrival as a party of three, we were not greeted by any staff member for over two minutes, even though there was no one waiting to be seated and three staff members made eye contact with us and walked past us
• When we were finally addressed by a curt girl behind the counter (and yes, she had been standing there the entire time we were waiting) she said, “I’ll be with you in a few minutes” and continued counting cash from the register
• She finally sat us, without asking how many people we had by saying “over here” or something like that – it was hard to hear her since she was already walking away from us when she said it
• She left us with the menus, and a busser filled our water glasses
• There were no other full tables in our half of the restaurant that were being served by our waitress
• Five minutes later, the same girl came back and said, “do you know what you want?” We said, “we have a couple of questions first.
• We ordered our dishes, along with one dish to go at the end of meal (we asked for it to not come out till we were ready to leave, so it’d be fresh)
• When our dishes were ready, someone else brought them out and brought us chopsticks and soy sauce. We did see our waitress after that, going back and forth between the front desk and the kitchen but she never came to our table to see how things were, or refill our water, or ask us if we were done
• About 20 minutes later, another different waitress brought us our check, again without asking if we were done. We flagged down a busser to get to-go containers
• After our check had been dropped off, our actual waitress showed up with the to-go order we had put in and dropped it off saying, “thanks, the check’s here when you’re ready.” We said, “thanks, is the check already split up, or -” and before we could complete the sentence, she slapped her hand on the check, pulled it off the table, roller her eyes, turned around and walked away
• She brought back the checks, laid them down and left. She didn’t say anything else
• We signed the checks and left.

That’s how it went down. We were so surprised at the rude, inattentive service that we took to the phones and Twitter. We called that same day and asked when the owner, Julie Chantanee, would be available. We were told the following day from 1:30 to 2:00. We left a message at that point, and called back the next day. We were told she was in a meeting. We left another message with a live person, gave our number, name and reason for calling. We’re still waiting to hear back. From anyone.

On Twitter, we searched and found @Chantanee was indeed active, sharing links and things but not responding to at least one other person who complained about the SAME SERVER BY NAME. We connected with that person; they have still not been contacted. We did get a tweetback from @Chantanee asking what happened, when we reached back to discuss, we were met with dead air.

So you be the judge: if the food is good, would you drive to a new location? Would you put up with raised prices? Would you put up with being ignored? Would you put up with RUDE service for no reason? And would you go back after never being heard, after reaching out every way you know possible?

Ba-cock! This spicy chicken dish with saffron rice and whipped hummus is a home run smothered in heavenly yogurt sauce. Yes please!

Remember how in college you were turned on to something really, really bad for you, like deep-fried Oreos or midnight drunk fries (that’d be fries dipped in a vanilla shake at a drive through after closing time)? You would gorge yourself on this tasty treat until your face started to resemble it, much the same way dogs and their owners do after year ten? And then some other hot new craze (Four Loko anyone?) would come along and replace the old addiction. We should bring that back, and start with garlic. If you’re on board, as you should be, then stop off for a healthy hit at Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue (103 Bellevue Way N.E.).

Not only are you greeted with the powerhouse duo of garlic vinaigrette and hot, luscious pitas, you’ll also go about the rest of your day sharing this delightful meal with everyone you see. How’s that possible? Well, for starters, you’ll begin sweating garlic fumes about six hours later, because every dish worth ordering has garlic in it. Second, you’ll always leave with leftovers that leave a scent trail in their path. Their dinner menu is great, and you should go sometime for dinner (they have another location in Kirkland), but to maximize your lunch money (you still get allowance from your mom, right?) go during midday. Everyone gets a bowl of homemade soup that the chef makes every day from scratch. You can slurp down the mystery contents (seriously, they won’t share recipes, but assure you it’s completely vegetarian) while pondering the menu choices.

You’d be crazy not to get the fried to perfection Zahrah ($7.95) as an appetizer – cauliflower deep-fried, topped with tahini sauce and garnished with green onions, radish, and fresh crushed mint. This dish rides that perfect line between hot and cold (the sauce is just chilled enough against the freshly fried veggie), and if you want to try it without spending all that money, it comes as a part of the very ample Mezza Tray ($15.95). The Middle Eastern Smörgåsbord of appetizers includes the Zahrah alongside Hummus, Baba Kanouj, Labnie, Tabouley, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers. Feel like you need to learn a new language to understand that sentence? Don’t worry, most of those words mean “tasty” or “garlicky.”

Dear Falafel, if you weren't overcooked, I would have accepted your marriage proposal...but now, I'll just have to eat you and pretend it never happened.

If a full plate meal, with hearty portions of rice and meat is more your speed, you’ll be just fine, relax. Try the well seasoned and freshly charbroiled chicken breast tenderloin marinated in garlic, lemon juice, herbs and spices. They call it Shish Tawook ($10.95) and it comes with a buddy – a massive dollop of hummus that you’ll want to stick your face in. For the vegetarians in the room that still want to get full and maybe drift into a garlic breath blackout later, there are two ways to go: Falafel or Fool Moudamas. The Falafel ($10.95), while sometimes overcooked and dry, are usually on point, served deep-fried and served on a bed of lettuce with green onions, radish, cucumbers and tomatoes and topped with tahini sauce. But if you like bread, and you probably do (don’t lie to yourself), then go for the Fool Moudamas ($10.95). The mixture of cooked fava & garbanzo beans tossed in olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, tomatoes and spices is served with hot, crispy deep fried pita.

The disclaimer that should be on the front of menus would include the following notes: Don’t come here within a week of a date, unless your date comes with you…usually that cancels it out right? Also, if you’re not into spicy or zesty, this place is not for you. Even the salad has tangy pickled jicama and sauce on it. Lastly, while on the spendy side, you are guaranteed leftovers for at least one serving, probably two, which keeps this place firmly slotted on our newly resurrected “Post-College food addiction” list.

I’m going with a big fat NO.

But, I do feel guilty, so….I was getting ready for my trip to Greece, and then I was IN Greece, soooo, yeah. Sorry about that, it’s happened more than once, including when I went to Indonesia – but I digress.

To make it up to you, I took tons of pictures of the food in Greece, not all great, but all the food was great, so I’ll share those stories over the weeks to come!

For today though, a Food Frame Friday, here’s what I had for dinner last night. Tots. Who doesn’t love them?  I could have left them in longer, but I cooked them on the same sheet as my fish in a very inventive and efficient way that I think I’ll make a little video about. And I didn’t take pictures of that because I was too hungry.

Uh, the tots are healthy cuz they're sitting next to zuchs?? Yes. I'm going with that.

I know, I know, really crap pic from the cell phone.  At least I took a picture, okay?  Here’s what I did:

• Went to the store, got a movie (that I forgot to watch because I had a Senior moment when I got home and forgot I had rented it from the red box), a bottle of Cab Sauv, 1 zucchini, 1 package of Dover Sole fillets for $3.29, 1 jar of tartar sauce and 1 bag of tots.
• Got home, preheated the oven while I put my jammies and Greek slippers on (pictures to come, tres cute), let the wine breathe.
• Prepped a cookie sheet with tin foil, divided into two sections (video of that next week), brushed with a bit of veg oil so fish didn’t stick.
• laid out the 5 small fillets, dusted with a herb mix for ranch dip (sounds trashy, but easy and good, don’t knock it!)
• Threw tots on other half of sheet. Baked at 425F for 12 minutes.
• Washed and cut zucchini into 1″ thick slices. sautéed in pan with minimal olive oil, salt and pepper, turning once (old trick from my dad). Drained on paper towel.
• Add tartar sauce, ketchup and wine!

It was fabulous, although I was so hungry I wolfed it down (much to my dad’s dismay, I know, but I was really hungry okay!?)

Total time in kitchen: 15 minutes

Total tastiness factor: 10 out of 10, because the fish was healthy and there were tots involved.

***GIVEAWAY NEXT WEEK!!!!!! Come back to find out what for!

I was entering this fun little contest today, for a chance to Host the Ultimate Chef Party with Celebrity chef George Duran and after I didn’t win, they gave me a fun little recipe.  I was actually pretty impressed, because even though I didn’t win, the recipe they gave me (above, for Pizza Pockets) is super easy!

Not only did this remind me that I LOVE pita pockets, it also reminded me of when my mom would make me tuna pockets for lunch (not gross, even though it probably sounds like it).

The ingredients are super easy to pick up, and if you’re a parent with NO time to cook, you can take the above and turn it into your own, fun dinner night!  Just put all the ingredients on the table, add a can of black olives, a can of pineapple, some canned mushrooms, or whatever your family loves on their pizza.

Everyone makes their OWN pizza pocket, so they can have exactly what they want! Plus, you spend more time with your family, less time busting your hump in front of stove, and if you have kids, they will certainly look forward to doing this again – over and OVER for years to come.  When we had “do-it-your-own-self-roll-ups” night at my house as a kid, it was hands down our most favorite meal.

Let me know if you and your family have/had any dish/meal like this. I’d love to build a bigger list!

My Christmas Table Scape

I just put away my Thanksgiving dinnerware and tablescape and dug around for things I could use in my Christmas tablescape.  Here’s a few different angles:

I pulled out all the white and red candles I had and made a montage with various holders and vases

Eight days till Paul gets home.

One person I want to wake up next to.

Six things I have to do before Christmas morning.

1. Wrap presents
2. Hang curtains
3. Re-organize storage
4. Prep home office
5. Make holiday edible treats
6. Finish buying presents (this should be first, but whatever)

Three easy DIY present ideas for hard-to-shop for people.

I know many of us are doing more with less this year, and it reminds me: we can still show just as much – if not more – love for those in our lives by making heartfelt gifts that can truly be appreciated by those we gift them to.  I count myself in that group of folks, and since I’m primarily a cook, I feel it’s only fair to share my skills with those around me!  So, here’s what I do: I pick up a handful of clean, modern bakeware dishes (have you seen them at your local grocery store, like Safeway? for like $4-6 a piece!), then I take a super simple bar cookie recipe and bake it IN the dish.  Wrap that up with some cling wrap, and a nice big bow with a thoughtful card. What do you have? A great, custom, irreplacable gift.  Telling someone you care in a card and making something from scratch for them is basically an iron clad way to get them to cry tears of joy and thanks.

So, here are three easy recipes you can bake into those dishes and giveaway proudly!  If you have questions about the recipes, or how to package, just leave me a comment!

Chocolate Chip, Oats ‘n Caramel Cookie Squares Recipe

 Ingredients
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® Create ‘n Bake® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
1 cup quick-cooking oats
Dash salt, if desired
2/3 cup caramel topping
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 bag (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

Preparation
 1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in oats and salt. Reserve 1/2 cup dough mixture for topping. In ungreased 9-inch square pan, press remaining dough mixture evenly in bottom to form crust.
 2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until dough puffs and appears dry.
 3. In small bowl, mix caramel topping, flour and vanilla until well blended. Sprinkle walnuts and chocolate chips evenly over crust. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture. Crumble reserved 1/2 cup dough mixture over caramel.
 4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars. Cool completely, about 1 hour 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered.
 5. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake crust 12 to 14 minutes. After topping crust, bake 22 to 27 minutes.

Brown Sugar Fudge Recipe

INGREDIENTS
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups chopped walnuts
 

PREPARATION
• Stir together brown sugar, cream and syrup in a 3-quart casserole. Microwave at high for 17 to 19 minutes, stirring well after 7 minutes. To test doneness, a few drops of the mixture will form a soft ball when dropped into a cup of cold water.
• Let stand until lukewarm, then beat with an electric mixer for 10 to 12 minutes, until mixture becomes creamy.
• Add nuts and stir well.
• Pour into a buttered 8-inch square dish. Refrigerate until set.

Pumpkin Spice Bars Recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 box spice cake mix
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 16-oz. can pumpkin
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans

PREPARATION
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 egg, and melted butter; stir until mixture is well blended (mixture will be dry). Press into bottom of a 10-1/2 x 15-1/2 inch jelly roll pan.
• In another bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin, 2 eggs and salt; beat until mixture is smooth. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with pecans.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until filling is set. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Chill. Cut into bars and store in airtight container in refrigerator.

I approached my talented group of friends to volunteer their time, energy and resources to help me produce what I feel is a pretty good “first stab” at how I might approach a cooking show. (this is the first of a handful of still shots I grabbed from the video. Not sure this “Freeze-frame” look on my face is the best, but it is real – and funny).

Mmmm, yam fries! *Don't get me started on yams vs. sweet potatoes. I feel like no one knows the difference!

My overarching plans for where I’d like to go with food are much more far-reaching than a cooking show alone, but of course there’s a huge market there as well.  Whether it’s through the Food Network, my blog, local events and grass-roots efforts (shout out to the Delridge Co-op effort!), or continuing to troubleshoot and teach in my friends and families’ kitchens, I will continue to pursue this love of mine!

Prepping the BEST crispy baked chicken (I swear people think I fried it when they bite in!)

While I continue to plot my multi-media approach to ensuring parents, professionals, students and everyone else has accessible tools to get back in their kitchens and cook to their heart’s delight, please enjoy my video! (I am really bummed there was a time limit, as I had to cut out the part where I make this awesome summer salad. But I’ll highlight that in a future post, so don’t worry, I’ll still share my secret!

So, you’re asking, “Siir’, the video’s great and all, but what does this all mean? Why are you doing this?”  Here’s the breakdown:  the submission window closes Friday morning and the “judges panel” will choose up to 15 finalists who will then be turned back to the public for final voting. From there it’s a basic voting process: the person with the most votes after two weeks wins.

What do they win? A one on one meeting with the Food Network Executives.

The summer salad, which sadly didn't make the video due to time constraints.

For a home cook/ food enthusiast/foodie/former industry work horse like myself, who wants to share their cooking and joy of food with the world, this is a fantastic (once in a lifetime) opportunity.

If I am blessed enough to make it as a finalist, I’ll be sure to scream from the rooftops to let you know! Of course you can’t hear me from up there and you can see my smoke signals from the blogosphere, so I’ll make sure I tell you here as well, so (if you like my video) you can vote for me!

The ultimate test! (trying your own cooking, that is...)

In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you think, I welcome all feedback, after all, cooking for others, especially on TV and video is all about how well my work serves others!  Let me know how I can be better for you all!

Now, I know I said in the title that I’ve got what you need. Do not mistake this to mean that I have all the answers, because I don’t….but I know some one who does! Can you guess?  That’s right, the number one site I stalk: www.BHG.com!

Today I opened my Gmail account only to find a perfectly crafted email from BHG (Better Homes and Gardens) that had two really interesting links I had to share:

1. 26 One-Dish Chicken Dinners
2. 34 Dinners in under 20 minutes each

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! Fo reals, you guys.

Here’s one thing to remember as you look those over: You don’t have to follow directions! This isn’t elementary school.  If you see something you kind of like, but don’t like an ingredient or don’t want to bother with a recipe, then just go home, look at what you’ve got in the fridge and pantry that are sort of similar and if you like those flavors, then trust your instinct!

Here’s two that I think are perfect for this time of year without any fuss:

Chunky Bean and Chicken Chili

and

Turkey Steaks with Spinach, Pears and Blue Cheese

I had purchased a pack of quail eggs a while back and wanted to do something simple and fun with them, so I decided to go with the old standby that always puts a smile on my face: breakfast sammich.

You can see (from my spazzy cell phone camera picture above) I started with a ripe roma tommy, some sharp cheddar and the quail eggs in all their speckled glory.

I toasted the english muffin in the pan and that’s why you see all that black nasty stuff in my pan. When they were toasted I put them on a plate, added the cheese (so it could start melting) and slapped the roma slices on top.

Then, as the above picture shows, I cooked my Barbie sized eggs, next time I’ll have to turn the heat down even further, because even though I left them all in tact, the yolks ended up completely cooked!

Then I added the eggs and put a little avocado on top.  Finish with salt, pepper and a little basil! MWUAH! De-lish!

I still have 6 quail eggs left…..any suggestions?

Who doesn’t love a good artichoke? If you’ve never tried one, then read the tips below to buying and cooking a great one, then go to the store immediately, buy one (or four and invite your friends over, after all, it’s FRIDAY PEOPLE!) and enjoy them tonight.

Last night we had dinner with our dear friend, Mike, who is a fascinating guy from Montreal.  He’s Itialian by heritage, but speaks a ton of languages having grown up in French-speaking Montreal, and having friends from every walk of life.

Over dinner he said, “remember last time we had dinner and you cooked artichokes?  I’ve been craving them, I’m going to have them tomorrow night.”  So I shared with him some simple tips that will create a fool proof result:

Buying:

• You want a tightly packed leaf choke (see above).  If the leaves are loose and open, they’re likely to be tough, mealy, and icky!
• The rounder the better.

Cooking:

• The best and healthiest way to cook them is by steaming them. 
• Get a huge pot and steamer basket (if you don’t have a steamer basket, don’t worry, you can use a trivet or cooling rack, or even in a pinch take a couple coffee mugs and place them open end up in the bottom.  This will prevent the chokes from sitting on the bottom of the pot in water).
• Put about an inch to an inch and a half of water in the bottom of the pot.
• Cut the stems to about an inch long.
• Put the artichokes “face down” so the leaves point down into the pot, this way when they steam and relax, any debris comes out, and it cooks faster.
• Put the heat on 8-9 (basically high), put the lid on and set your timer for about 15-20 minutes.
• When the timer goes off, you’ll want to check your water leve, make sure you always have water in there!
• You want to cook them for a total of about 40-45 minutes.
• You know it’s done by inserting a steak or paring knife into the bottom most leaf, and if it goes through a few leaf layers, you’re good to go.

Eating:

• Serve each choke in it’s own bowl, and get a big bowl for the center of the table for “used” leaves.
• As a tasty condiment, you can melt some butter, or (cringe, I seriously still do this) use straight up MAYO. WHAT?!?!?!?! I know, I know, it’s SO BAD! (then why does it taste so good????)
• You can also strain a little non fat plain yogurt and stir in some roasted garlic, or just garlic powder and salt.
• Any way you enjoy them, make sure to eat all the leaves down till you see the “Hair” (after the leaves with purple tips).
• Use a spoon to scrape the hair out, and what you’re left with is the heart:

(curtosey of http://timeinthekitchen.com/2008/12/king-crab-stuffed-artichoke-leaves/)

Dip that mother in some MORE melted butter or dare I say it, MAYO, and die of happiness.

So, what time should I come over?