Posts Tagged ‘doughnut’
Tom Douglas Cookbook Social at Palace Ballroom – Downtown, Seattle
Posted on: Friday 02 December 2011
- In: Learning
- 2 Comments
I attended the annual Tom Douglas Cookbook Social held at the Palace Ballroom yesterday.
Christmas carols were playing and it was a convivial atmosphere. A food lover’s mistletoe, cookbooks tied with ribbon bows dangled from the ceiling.
Authors were dispersed around the room, their stalls laden with cookbooks and samples.
Cute CakeSpy illustrations greeted patrons. Love hearts and unicorns!
Jessie Oleson was as sweet as her treats! Her book is titled CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life. On a bejewelled three tiered cake stand were rainbow cookies and cupcakes baked in ice cream cones.
Whimsically decorated cupcakes baked in ice cream cones.
CakeSpy designed greeting cards.
Next was Amy Pennington, ‘go go green gardener’, and author of Apartment Gardening and Urban Pantry.
Kibbeh, a Middle Eastern meatball of bulgur and minced meat, was a nutty appetiser.
Opposite Amy was Tom Douglas, author of Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen, Tom’s Big Dinners and I Love Crab Cakes.
Scallop sized and golden, the Etta’s crab cake was a delectable morsel.
Tom was carving roast chickens rubbed with Chinese 12 Spice Rub.
The pieces of chicken were tender and juicy with a crisp skin.
Further along was Ethan Stowell, author of New Italian Kitchen.
A simmering pot of Mediterranean mussel soup with chickpea, fennel and lemon was spooned into little cups. It was a soothing combination of ingredients, perfect for a cold day.
At the back of Palace Ballroom was Cast Iron Skillet Big Flavours by Sharon Kramis and Julie Kramis Hearne.
Served in cupcake liners, the Dungeness crab and roasted poblano hushpuppies were cooked in an æbleskiver (Danish pancakes) maker.
Adjacent was Dining in Seattle cookbooks. The original volume was first published in 1977 and Past and Present is a compilation of recipes and menus celebrating Seattle restaurants then and now.
On the left of Dining in Seattle was Greg Atkinson, author of At the Kitchen Table.
Greg had trays of Yuletide cookies of faux-reos (fake Oreos), lime and pecan snowballs, turbinado sugar leaves, cocoa nib chocolate truffles and almond macaroons.
I zigzagged to Kurt Timmermeister, author of Growing a Farmer and owner of Kurtwood Farms.
Kurt was cutting wedges of Dinah’s Cheese, a creamy Camembert style cheese with a complex flavour profile.
A tower of glazed, frosted, dusted and sprinkled doughnuts was at the Top Pot table.
Becky Selengut, author of Good Fish, had a creative display with a fishing rod and tinned fish boxes on the hook.
I munched on dad’s sardines, gin drunk currants and caramelised onions on a cracker while calculating my guess for the number of Goldfish Crackers in the jar.
I was curious about the striped and cubed jellies. They were from The Seasonal Cocktail Companion by Maggie Savarino.
The Kit Kat shaped jelly shot was cherry daisy and the cube was Earl Grey infused gin. The wobbly orange square was an intense burst of bergamot.
A stack of books and an ice bucket of sparkling mineral water were manned by Brad Thomas Parsons, author of Bitters.
He brought six home made bottles of bitters for tasting. A splash of sparkling mineral water and a couple of drops of bitters was a refreshing beverage.
And finally, Lisa Dupar had a lovely arrangement for Fried Chicken and Champagne.
The mini sausage corn dogs reminded me of the Easter Show in Sydney. Crumbly and meaty, the corn dog dipped in mustard sauce was scrumptious party food.
I was delighted to spot the ginger molasses sandwich cookies. The spiced sugary discs were the essence of the festive season.
The Palace Ballroom buzzed with energy and we were all there to support our local cookbook authors!
- In: Eating | Food truck | Seattle | USA | Washington
- 1 Comment
Today is National Donut Day! Krispy Kreme had an ingenious marketing strategy when it opened its first store outside of the United States. They deliberately chose a location in the outer suburbs of Sydney with a 24 hour drive-through and it quickly became a popular destination for teens and families alike. Despite the hour-long queues, customers were buying their doughnuts by the dozens. There are Krispy Kreme stores inside and outside Sydney airport and a Krispy Kreme box was a must-have carry-on luggage when travelling interstate.
To celebrate National Donut Day, I strolled down to the corner of 2nd and Pike for mini doughnuts at Street Donuts. This dessert food truck is in the same parking lot as the Pig. I love the design of Street Donuts – it has a monochromatic scheme, the logo is an urban silhouette of a man on a skateboard walking a leashed cat, and the counter is at the back making it easily accessible and height appropriate.
It’s a one man operation and who I assume is the owner is friendly and helpful. There are laminated cards on the counter listing the toppings available (Nerds!) and recommended combinations. You can have up to two toppings with your half dozen or dozen mini doughnuts. After much pondering, I ordered the half dozen with coconut and vanilla pudding.
I tend to count my food, especially when a menu specifies a number and today I got a bonus number seven! The mini doughnuts are served in a cute paper bowl stamped with the Street Donuts logo. I should have asked the guy if he’s the inspiration for the logo.
The mini doughnuts were dusted with coconut sugar and drizzled with vanilla pudding. Warm and fluffy, the bite size fried dough disappeared quickly as I indulged in some people watching in Victor Steinbrueck Park. Pike Place Market was teeming with tourists and buskers on this perfect summer day – the mountains were visible, there were bare legs in the sunshine, and Seattleites were eating lunch outside.
Unlike Mr S, I love custard and the vanilla pudding is sticky sweet and reminds me of condensed milk. There is a hint of coconut flavour from the sugar but I would have been just as happy with vanilla pudding only.
Here’s the blurb from the National Donut Day website.
National Donut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Donut Day event created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honour the women who served donuts to soldiers during World War One. The holiday celebrates the doughnut (aka ‘donut’) – an edible, torus-shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened and is mmm, mmm, yummy.
