As we count down to the holidays and begin thinking about what to serve our families and friends for the special day (whatever you choose to celebrate), we will post some of our favorite recipes of all time for your consideration. Enjoy, and let us know how you like them!

Varietal: Chardonnay (Unoaked) or Syrah

Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer

This easy-to-make appetizer, originally published in “Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining,” is the perfect nosh to keep on hand for holiday drinks and unexpected guests. Also nice is its versatility with wine, since it works with both white (an unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Gris or Blanc, or even bubbly!) or red (Syrah or Merlot).

8 ounces Juniper Grove Fromage Blanc or soft, fresh goat’s-milk cheese (chèvre)

1/2 cup crème fraîche

1/4 cup minced shallots

Juice and freshly grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

12 to 16 slices artisan walnut bread, toasted

1/2 head frisée, torn into bite-sized pieces

1. With a whisk or in a food processor, whip the fromage blanc and crème fraîche with the shallots, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, parsley, and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. To serve, spread the herbed goat cheese on the toasted walnut bread and arrange on a serving plate. Top with frisée leaves.

Recipe reprinted from Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia (Wiley, 2007, $34.95) by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

As we count down to the holidays and begin thinking about what to serve our families and friends for the special day (whatever you choose to celebrate), we will post some of our favorite recipes of all time for your consideration. This light and lovely cake is a welcome alternative to the typical heavy holiday flavors (chocolate, mint, eggnog). 

Citrus Yogurt Cake with Baked D’Anjou Pears and Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Varietal: Gewürztraminer or Riesling

Serves 8

This light, innovative, citrus-flavored cake from “Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining” can be flavored with either orange or lemon zest and is accompanied by cilantro-spiced pears and the marmalade sauce of your choice (Meyer lemon, orange, or grapefruit). It makes a lovely pairing with a medium-bodied, slightly sweet wine such as an aromatic Gewürztraminer or and off-dry Riesling.

Baked D’Anjou Pears

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground coriander

4 ripe, firm D’Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and cut in half

Citrus Yogurt Cake

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for coating the pan

1 1/2 cups plain, whole-milk yogurt (See Cook’s Hint, below) 

4 large eggs

2 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange or lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

Pinch of table salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 to 3/4 cup Meyer lemon, grapefruit, or orange marmalade

Sweetened whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or frozen yogurt, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil first (for easy clean-up) and grease or coat with nonstick cooking spray.

2. To make the Baked D’Anjou Pears, in a small bowl, mix together the sugar and the coriander. Rub the sugar mixture over the pear halves. Arrange the pear halves, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until a small, sharp knife is easily inserted, but the pears are not mushy. Allow the pears to cool completely at room temperature.

3. To make the cake, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Grease well or coat with nonstick spray a 5- by-9-inch loaf pan or an 8- to 10-cup fluted tube or Bundt pan. Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar in the pan and turn to evenly coat the greased surfaces with sugar. Tap out and discard any excess sugar.

4. Add the 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the yogurt, eggs, zest, and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a wire whisk until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to make a smooth batter. Do not overmix. With a rubber spatula, add the oil, stirring in gently and turning the mixing bowl as you add the oil (a technique known as “folding”).

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes if using a loaf pan, or 55 to 65 minutes if using afluted tube or Bundt pan, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Tent the cake with foil after 1 hour, if needed, to prevent over-browning.

6. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Turn out and cool completely, right side up, on the wire rack.

7. When the cake has cooled, cut it into individual slices and place one slice in the center of each small plate. Stir the marmalade well to loosen it or warm at 50 percent power in a microwave oven until softened. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the marmalade over one side of each piece of cake, allowing a bit to overflow onto the plate. Slice each pear in half lengthwise, starting about 1 inch from the top of the pear and cutting into 1/4-inch slices. Keep the top portion intact and spread out each sliced pear half to form a fan shape. Place a fanned pear half on top of the marmalade, propping it up against the cake. If desired, add a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream, or frozen yogurt.

Cook’s Hint: For the best texture in the cake, choose a brand of yogurt that doesn’t contain pectin or gelatin, such as Dannon or Nancy’s.

Recipe reprinted from Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia (Wiley, $34.95) by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

As we count down to the holidays and begin thinking about what to serve our families and friends for the special day (whatever you choose to celebrate), we will post some of our favorite recipes of all time for your consideration.

Beginning today: Chocolate Pot de Crème, which hails from Place Pigalle, one of the Pike Place Market’s most romantic and long-running French restaurants. The recipe was included in the “Pike Place Market Cookbook, Second Edition.”

Chocolate Pot de Crème

Varietal: Dessert Wine (Port)

Serves 6

Pot de crème translates from the French as “pot of cream,” but I simply refer to this intensely chocolate-y dessert as a “pot of pleasure.” Just be sure to choose a bittersweet chocolate you like to eat out of hand, since some bittersweet chocolates can be intensely dark and bitter, and this three-ingredient recipe contains no added sugar. “Chocolate Pot” serves as the perfect foil to a dense, rich Port wine (ruby or tawny—your choice!), such as those made by Hinzerling or Powers in Washington State, or Sineann in Oregon.

1/2 pound good-quality bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 cups whipping cream
6 large egg yolks
Fresh mint leaves, optional

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a stainless-steel or glass bowl placed over a saucepan filled with simmering (not boiling!) water, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to get any water into the chocolate or it could seize (clump and harden) and become unusable. Slowly add 2 cups of the whipping cream, whisking until the chocolate and cream are well mixed, and bring just to a boil, whisking occasionally and being careful not to scorch the cream.

2. Remove the chocolate/cream mixture from the heat. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the yolks until thoroughly combined.

3. Divide the chocolate mixture evenly among six ramekins or custard cups (6-ounce capacity), then refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the chocolate sets and chills. After the chocolate chills completely, cover the ramekins with plastic wrap. The desserts can be refrigerated for up to one week or, alternatively, the ramekins can be well wrapped and frozen, then thawed overnight in the refrigerator before serving. (May be made from one week up to six months ahead.)

4. Just before serving, whip the remaining 1 cup cream until stiff peaks form. Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator, add a dollop of whipped cream to each, and garnish with fresh mint leaves, if desired.

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been reprinting some of our favorite Dishes of the Day from the last year or so while we enjoy some time out of the office.

Here are the Gambas Picantes (Spicy Shrimp) from Seattle’s Tango Restaurant & Lounge. 

We enjoyed our entire recent meal at Tango Restaurant & Lounge, so it’s really unfair to single out one dish as the Dish of the Day.

But the Gambas Picantes (Spicy Shrimp) were truly outstanding. . .my small-plate portion a steal at $7.00.

The Spicy Shrimp actually served as my entrée after our appetizers that included Piquillo Rellenos (albacore tuna-stuffed red–piquillo–peppers). The piquillo peppers are smoked over oak, which imparts a lovely mild flavor.

Sautéed Calamari with fire-roasted tomatoes, poblanos, red peppers, cilantro, and lime juice was super succulent and full of flavor from the variety of peppers.

Instead of salad (gotta get those greens among all this protein!), we opted for a small order of Tango’s toothsome Green Beans & Harissa, pan-roasted  with tomatoes, pinenuts, and harissa, a soulful Moroccan spice mix.

A bottle of Viña Ardanza Reserve Rioja–old stuff from 2001!–was well worth every penny of its $80 price tag. We liked the wine so much, we ordered a case for future drinking pleasure.

Oregon wine pioneer Bill Stoller’s 20-year vision is coming to fruition (so to speak) this fall, as Stoller Family Estate celebrated three big milestones including a new name, expansion of its wine-growing team, and a new state-of-the-art tasting room which opened last month.

The company’s new name reflects the evolution of the vineyard and entire property over the last 20 years, and maturation of the winemaking team over the last decade.

The just-released 2010 Reserve Chardonnay ($28 SRP) is the first wine displaying the new name and labels; 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir will be introduced in fall 2013.

Founder, Bill Stoller, purchased his family’s 373-acre farm in 1993 and has since transformed it into the largest contiguous vineyard in Oregon’s Dundee Hills, with nearly 200 acres under vine.

He comments, “We knew that this project would require a long-term vision, the right people to achieve it, and a lot of patience. From the beginning, I envisioned building a legacy beyond that of our family — a vineyard demonstrating the top quality of wine being made in Oregon and a property preserving the natural beauty of this agricultural land for generations to come.

“Our winemaker, Melissa Burr, who is this year celebrating her tenth vintage, has been instrumental in achieving this vision with our expanding wine-growing team.”

Stoller Family Estate is a source for several prominent Oregon wineries including Adelsheim, Chehalem, and Argyle.

Stoller continues, “Our new tasting room will allow our guests to learn about wine while enjoying expansive views of the vineyard, which is of course the focal point of our work here at Stoller. Those who want the opportunity to visit surrounding wineries, restaurants and other businesses in Yamhill County can stay at one of our three recently renovated guest homes.”

More about Stoller Family Estate’s new tasting room:

The building integrates environmental sustainability with high efficiency design and will harvest at least 100-percent of its energy with a 236-panel solar panel installation. A few notable design features include a green roof, skylights, salvaged timbers, and plans for an electric-vehicle charging station.

More about Stoller Family Estate:

Stoller Family Estate is one of Oregon’s most highly regarded vineyards and wineries. Pioneering Oregonian and Founder, Bill Stoller, purchased his family’s second-generation farm in 1993 with the vision of cultivating an enduring legacy for the land and Oregon wine industry. Over the last 20 years, he has patiently transformed the 373-acre property into the largest contiguous vineyard in the Dundee Hills and a sought after source of fruit for premier producers. Longtime Winemaker, Melissa Burr, works in concert with Vineyard Manager, Robert Schultz, to oversee the site’s continued refinement and steward Stoller’s legacy of growing exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Stoller Family Estate features North America’s first LEED® Gold certified winery, three guest homes and a new state-of-the-art tasting room with panoramic vineyard views.

I just found out about a food and wine guide that will be useful to anyone contemplating a trip around the Pacific Northwest, or even just for vicarious “travel” for armchair travelers.

The Northwest Food and Wine Guide features page after page of restaurant descriptions and menus for Portland, Seattle, Vancouver (British Columbia), and northern California.

Following the restaurant descriptors comes touring information for wineries, distilleries, and breweries in the same areas.

I loved “leafing” through the magazine’s pretty pages while viewing them on my new computer’s crisp and vibrant retina display.

The magazine’s editors are based in Portland, so the magazine skews heavily toward that town. I’m sure as they sign up more advertisers, and people find out about the Guide, that Seattle, Vancouver, and Northwest wine regions will get more play in the merry mix.

It’s time to buy your tickets for Elliott’s Oyster New Year, which will be held on Saturday, November 4.

VIP Champagne Reception ticket holders  can enjoy passed appetizers and champagne beginning at 4 p.m., followed by the main event at 5 p.m. ($125 per person plus tax).

General admission tickets (from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.) cost $95 per person plus tax.

During this exciting annual event, guests can choose among:

• 30+ varieties of local oysters

• Oysters shucked to order along our 90-foot oyster bar

• Fresh seafood buffet

• Over 40 wineries

• Local microbrews

• Live music

• The famous Oyster Luge

• Shucking demonstration and contest

• People’s Choice “Most Beautiful Oyster” contest

In keeping with Elliott’s eco-friendly practices, the restaurant reuses or recycle everything possible from the event, and composts all shells and food waste in partnership with Cedar Grove.

All proceeds from the Oyster New Year Bash will benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. Since 1997 this non-profit organization has been dedicated to restoring the Sound’s water quality and native marine species and their habitats.

Elliott’s is Seafood WATCH®-compliant and actively participates in the Puget Sound Restoration Fund’s Henderson Inlet Project , The Humane Society, and Wild Salmon Supporters.

The “Fresh Faces of the Future” tasting menu kicked off at the Space Needle’s Sky City restaurant on October 1, and boy, was it delicious!

Fresh Faces partners professional chef  instructors and students from Seattle’s most esteemed culinary programs with SkyCity Executive Chef Jeff Maxfield. Each group prepares one original dish to contribute to the five-course tasting menu.

It was fun to see long-time Seattle culinary authorities including Linda Pal Chauncey, associate dean of Seattle Culinary Academy (SCA) at Seattle Central Community College, and Will McNamara during the evening. I first met chef McNamara years ago when he was working at Place Pigalle in the Pike Place Market. More recently, he served as exec chef at the Washington Athletic Club, and is now sharing his wisdom with students at South Seattle Community College (SSCC).

The other schools represented on the menu are Seattle Le Cordon Bleu and FareStart.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the month-long tasting menu ($62 per person) will benefit each participating school’s scholarship fund.

Views from Sky City were gorgeous, especially since we arrived at 6:45 p.m., right around sunset.

The Fresh Faces menu was colorful and inviting. . .

As was our first course of Potato “Pinxtos” (Saffron Scallops, Coriander Lox, and Fennel Mojama) created by SCA student Claire Elise Mitchell. The dish was adapted from an award-winning tapa Claire created using Northwest seafood and produce as inspiration.

Next up? Roasted Wild Mushroom Salad, an intriguing juxtaposition of duck rillettes and a dinosaur kale salad rife with chanterelle mushrooms. Douglas-fir gel balls added an interesting textural touch. This dish was created by Varin Keokitvon from FareStart.

Chef McNamara offered up the evening’s third course, and perhaps my favorite: Dry-Rubbed Seared Scallops, spicy good with Moroccan-style garbanzo beans, grilled peppers, spinach, and Charmoula dressing. Chef McNamara feels that, within the next 50 years, the African continent will become a major player on the world stage. His dish was an ode to flavors from those countries.

Sky City’s chef, Jeff Maxfield, served up the evening’s main course–Hay-Roasted Carlton Farms Pork. Because I don’t eat pork, he was nice enough to substitute my favorite protein, wild Alaskan salmon.

The kingly fish danced atop the plate along with black garlic, beet spaetzle cake, creamed collard greens, and huckleberry jam. Chef Jeff describes hay roasting as an old European technique in which meat is roasted in freshly harvested hay; his spaetzle cake was a modern twist on a classic dumpling; and other parts of the dish inspired by home-style canning recipes passed down through the generations.

Richard Carpenter and Brian Figler of Le Cordon Bleu gifted us with an exceptional seasonal dessert. Jones Orchard Apple Financier was accompanied by artistic squiggles of Whidbey Island Port syrup and dressed with cardamom crème Chantilly. Ooh-la-la!

We chose to drink one of Sky City’s featured Winery of the Month wines, a crisp, well-balanced  Woodinville Wine Cellars 2011 Sauvignon Blanc that partnered perfectly with each and every course. Had we wanted red, the menu also included Woodinville Wine Cellars 2009 Little Bear Creek Red Blend.

A Corks and Canvas class held this summer on the patio at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood

With September comes the start of school for children, but what about classes for adults?

If the thought of trying your hand at something new inspires you this fall, consider attending a Corks and Canvas event, which combines a lesson in painting with Washington wine tasting!

Corks and Canvas Events, a local company that combines wine tasting with painting, was co-founded by Washington wine enthusiasts Lisa Cryder and Stefanie Hare.

In a local winery or hotel and nonjudgmental atmosphere, you spend the evening sipping Washington wine and painting a beautiful acrylic masterpiece.

Cost: Corks and Canvas events cost $45 per person, which includes art instruction, supplies, and the first glass of wine for inspiration. Everyone goes home with their very own masterpiece.

When: Check out the Corks and Canvas calendar page for specific dates and times.

An actual Corks and Canvas painting done by Spencer Johnson

Monthly Event Locations:

Apex at Alder Ridge Tasting Room, Woodinville, WA

J. Bookwalter Tasting Studio, Woodinville, WA

Matthews Estate Winery, Woodinville, WA

VoVina Wine and Vodka Tasting Martini Bar, Kirkland, WA

Urban Enoteca, Seattle, WA

Pan Pacific Hotel Lobby Bar, Seattle, WA

Vino at the Landing, Renton WA

Wine Styles, Bothell, WA

Sooke Harbour House

Our friends Sinclair and Frederique Philip, co-owners of Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island, have been raking in an impressive number of awards lately. And as always, they are very well deserved.

Sinclair and Frederique Philip

According to a press release, “This year Travel and Leisure Magazine Readers’ Poll has dedicated a category exclusively to Canadian properties for their World’s Best Awards. In the last decade Sooke Harbour House has been rated close to the top several times in this poll for continental North America.

“Today, Travel and Leisure has recognized Sooke Harbour House as Canada’s #2 best resort for 2012, and on its list as one of the World’s Best Hotels and Resorts. This recognition comes with a ‘budget’ annotation signifying that the resort offers rooms under $250. Vancouver Island was selected as their best island travel destination.”

In a previous edition, Travel and Leisure Magazine described the 28-room Sooke Harbour House as a “charming clapboard inn overlooking a dramatic Pacific beach and the Olympic Mountains, 45 minutes from Victoria.” The cutting edge, as stated in the T+L 500, is the “inventive Pacific Northwest cuisine that has made this a legendary food and wine destination.” Two of the highlights mentioned were “bald eagle-spotting on the nearby protected Whiffen Spit” and the “Blue Heron Room, for its large balcony and panoramic ocean views.”

You may remember that I profiled Sinclair and Frederique in “Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia,” and included their recipe for Coriander-Crusted Albacore Tuna with Spicy Buckwheat Noodle Salad in the book.

Sooke Harbour House also took home two awards at Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine. The Best Showcase of Island Wines award recognizes the wine list that best showcases the wines of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. It has a diversity of producers, styles, and price points – and innovative pairing with the restaurant’s menu.

Sooke also won for Best Overall Wine Program thanks to its wine list, which “offers a fabulous selection of quality producers that complements the menu in price, size, and style. The wine program is innovative and promotes wine knowledge and appreciation through by-the-glass offerings, seasonal features, and special tastings and events.”

Congratulations to the Philips on all these coveted awards.

Isn’t it time we all planned a trip to our neighbor to the north (British Columbia and Vancouver Island) and, specifically, Sooke Harbour House?