Feast of the Longhouse

My buddy Jeff and I met for coffee Saturday morning at Blend, our new favorite coffee shop. We’d been looking for a new favorite coffee shop for a while. Our old favorite spot moved to a new spot across the street from the old location. The old location was homey and low key, the new location is much larger, glitzier and too noisy for us to hold a conversation. We needed to find a new "Go To" place.

I saw a piece on local TV a few weeks back filmed at Blend showing local baristas in action and getting ready for the National Barista Championships that were held here in Portland. Blend is close to where I work so I decided to give it a try. The folks there seemed genuinely happy to see us and the coffee is very good. So now happily, we’ve got a new favorite coffeeshop – woohoo!

My buddy Jeff is a hunter and fisherman. Actually, he’s a great hunter and fisherman. He’s also a generous hunter and fisherman, which means I get to share in his success and reap the benefits via a share of his harvest and the stories that go with it.

Spring in the Northwest means one thing to a serious fisherman and that’s Spring Chinook. The Spring Chinook is the Cadillac of salmon. The fish are fresh from the ocean and headed upstream. They’re also all fattened up for the trip upstream to spawn and have the richest flesh of all the salmon. This time of year you can just about walk across the Columbia River on the wall to wall fishing boats when the fishing is good.

Jeff has a tradition of sharing his first fish of the season with a privileged few. He calls it "Feast of the Longhouse". The idea being that by sharing the first fish of the year it ensures a good catch for the year. I don’t know the origin of Jeff’s tradition, but I assume it’s got its roots in the First Salmon Feast that is a tradition among the Columbia River Tribes. The reason we’d gotten together for coffee this morning was so he could carry on his Feast of the Longhouse tradition and present me with a piece of the first Salmon of the year. That's Jeff's fishing buddy holding the first fish of the year.

I served up the Salmon with some Spicy Daikon Slaw, Brown Rice Pilaf and a 2005 Sparr Gewurtztraminer

Feast of the Longhouse Spring Chinook Salmon
4 – 6 oz pieces of Fresh Spring Chinook
Old Bay Seasoning
Lemon

Season the fish with the Old Bay Seasoning

Put the fish skin side down in a hot cast iron skillet and sear the bottom for two minutes.

Transfer the skillet to a preheated 350 degree oven for another 10 to 15 minutes until the fish is just barely cooked through.

Serve with lemon wedges

Spicy Daikon Slaw
A pound or so of peeled Daikon Radish – grated with a medium grater
1 Tablespoon Grated Ginger
2 or 3 Tablespoons Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
Sambal Olek or Chili Garlic Paste to taste
½ teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Seeds

I just winged it this and made it to taste, so the amounts are approximate.

Sprinkle the Sesame Seeds on the slaw when you plate the meal.

You're Fired!

I've fired my cats. It was harder on me than it was on them. They not only don't seem to mind, they seem to be totally oblivious to the fact.

Three cats; all useless. These cats owe me dammit! I saved their sorry furry butts from fates unknown! All three are rescues via my vet.

India and Jubilee are sisters, an American Longhair and an American Shorthair respectively. They were a few days old when their mother was run over. The vet's staff bottle fed them and I got them at age 6 weeks. India looked like Don King with hair going in all directions and always meowing about something. Jubilee was smaller and quieter and by all appearances butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

Their lack of proper feline parenting was apparent from the beginning. No fear of dogs. In fact when other dogs come to visit they will often intimidate them by following them around the house and yard. Max, a co-worker's black lab got so frustrated he sat in a corner of the back yard and barked and howled until I rescued him from the annoying pests.


India fancies herself as the mightiest hunter of all time. Her prey consists of leaves and small sticks. Never the shy one, she announces each successful capture with much caterwauling and proudly brings each trophy into the kitchen for me to admire.

Jubilee is an avid snake hunter. In the summer she stakes out the various snake lairs in the yard and when she successfully captures one of the resident garter snakes she brings it into the house and releases it. Catch and release at it's finest.

Gigi or Ginger, she ignores either name, is a Tortoiseshell. She was brought to the vet as a kitten to be euthanized after her back was broken when she got slammed in a door. The vet managed to nurse her back to health and she shows no outward physical signs of the trauma. She is however totally skittish and paranoid and flies through the house at the slightest noise.

Ginger hunts monkeys or to be more specific "the monkey". The monkey is a small stuffed monkey that she adopted at the vets. Her daily task as she sees it, is to seek out the monkey and kick the monkey's butt (I'm pretty sure the monkey likes it). She hurls it around, pounces on it and finally grabs it in her front paws and kicks it ferociously with her rear paws. Mission Accomplished, she then settles in for a bath and a long nap.

I don't ask much from these cats for providing them with food, a clean litter box and the occassional ration of catnip. While hunting leaves, sticks, snakes and monkeys is all well and good and are even admirable talents when done well it's not enough. Really, would it be too much to expect for them to catch a damn mouse?

Friday evening while cooking dinner I saw a mouse skitter out from under some shelves across the floor and under the refrigerator. Smooth move and I thought it was pretty brave considering the fact he did it in front of two of the cats. They couldn't be bothered to respond though. Apparently a mouse is under their radar.

I turned off the stove and put things away for later. I headed up to the hardware store and grabbed a six pack of sticky traps for mice. I set three up in the kitchen and three in the basement. First thing Saturday morning I checked the traps and the one in the kitchen by the refrigerator had a mouse in it.

The cats were not impressed. They showed no remorse that I had to catch the mouse myself. I was angry and I told them so. Then I fired them. I told them each individually, explaining that they were not meeting my expectations and that I was going to have to let them go. Good thing I've had management training.

So far the their firing hasn't affected them much. I thought they might decide to seek a home where they would be appreciated for their meager skills, but for the time being they show no signs of going anywhere.

The aborted Friday night dinner was Braised Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Olives. I finally made the recipe on Saturday and it was just OK. It called for fresh lemons and I think it would have been better with preserved lemons. Since I'd bought an abundance of lemons I decided to preserve my own for the next try.

Housemade Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Scrub a half a dozen lemons - I used the common Eureka Lemon, but it's okay to use Meyer Lemons if you've got them.

Cut the tips off of either end

Slice the lemons from one end lengthwise almost to the other. Give it a quarter turn and repeat. You'll want about 3/4 of an inch at the bottom to hold the 4 quarters together.

Use a tablespoon of sea or kosher salt per lemon. Pour it over the open part of the lemon and then stick the lemon in a clean quart canning jar. Repeat, jamming the lemons in to the jar as tightly as you can.

Jam the lemons down everyday. They'll get softer. Rotate the jar and turn it over to keep the salt and juice distributed. At the end of a week cover the lemons with extra juice if needed.

Put them into the fridge for a month and then they'll be ready to use.

You can spice them up if you like. I've seen bay leaves, corriander seed, dried red peppers and cinnamon recommended. It might be fun to try a sprig of rosemary.

I used a bay leaf, a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes and a teaspoon of corriander seed in mine.

One Man's Trash

Clear Creek Distillery, one of the original of micro-distilleries in the United States, is located here in Portland Oregon. Steve McCarthy, the owner, is a genuinely nice guy and a man with vision. Of course it's taken 25 years for most of the world to appreciate his vision of eau de vie and other products made from locally grown fruit.

I first met Steve in about 1990 when I was making wine commercially in a rented garage in Newburg Oregon. Steve was making grappa from muscat and gewurtztraminer pomace left over from local wine production. Those of us that were willing to set aside the pomace from our production would receive a few rationed bottles of grappa from his minuscule annual production.

For those unfamiliar with the production of wine or it's terminology; pomace is what's left after you squeeze all of the juice out of the grapes. Having someone haul it away for me was a bonus. It meant I didn't have to hall it away and dispose of it or worse yet pay someone to haul it away. Getting some grappa or another one of Steve's brandies for my trash was a screaming deal in my book.

Over the years Steve added to his repertoire of eau de vies and brandies. While his pear brandy is a pure expression of the fruit from his family orchard and a wonderful product, it was never my favorite. I tended to like the aged apple brandy or the fragrant grappas made from muscat and gewurtzraminer. Occasionally when I'd stop by the distillery for a bottle I'd get to sample some of the other products he was working on like a peaty whiskey or a green hued eau de vie made from grape brandy and the tips of the new spring growth on Coastal Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii).

The first time I tried the evergreen scented brandy he pulled from a barrel, it was to say the least, off putting. It had an evergreen aroma, but it more closely resembled Pinesol than something I'd want sit and sip. A few years later after much experimentation he finally had a product that he was comfortable releasing for sale. The evergreen scented brandy he finally released had been tempered with a bit of pear brandy and the fruit complimented and rounded out the evergreen aromas. We sampled it and I found intriguing enough to get a bottle to take home.

Later, at home, I opened the bottle and found it to be a bit much by itself and set the bottle aside to contemplate later. Later didn't come for several years. I hadn't thought much about that bottle in a long time; it was out of sight and out of mind.

On Friday, Steve had his second Proof Blog entry published in the NY Times. One of the products he highlighted was the Douglas Fir infused spirit. I thought perhaps it was time to revisit that long forgotten bottle. I went looking for it and finally discovered it in the back of a file cabinet in my basement office.

I pulled the cork and took a sniff - it wasn't as powerful in the nose as I remembered. I don't know if it had mellowed as it sat in the file cabinet or if my tastes had changed. This stuff was really interesting. There were hints of the evergreen and pear and even more. It's herbal complexity reminded me a bit of Absinthe but with a bit of mint and citrus instead of anise.

I had one of those "Ahah" moments and decided to make a Sazerac with Douglas Fir spirit substituted for the Absinthe. The Douglas Fir isn't as potent as Absinthe and it takes a bit more of it to make the cocktail reflect the character of the spirit. Several years after the fact I was finally able to appreciate Steve's vision for this bottle.

Pseudotsugarac

2 oz Rye
2 barspoons of Douglas Fir Spirit
1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or 1 sugar cube
2 generous dashes of Peychaud Bitters.

Stir all of the ingredients together in a Boston Shaker without the ice. When the agave is dissolved in the rest of the ingredients add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass.

I didn't garnish this with the lemon twist called for in a traditional Sazerac. The Douglas Fir Spirit has a slight citrus quality. I suppose I should have gone out in the yard and picked a sprig off the fir tree for a garnish.

Life is just a Bowl of Cherries

In hindsight I probably should have called this Blog "House of Rye" or the "Manhattan Project" because I drink much more rye than bourbon these days and most of that rye is consumed in the form of Manhattans.

One of my earlier posts, Garnish with a Cherry, dealt with recipes for Manhattans. Since a Manhattan consists of only four ingredients, whiskey, vermouth, bitters and a cherry or two, it shouldn't be that hard to reach nirvana.

Whiskey in the form of Rye is my preferred poison in a Manhattan. Some folks use Bourbon in a Manhattan, but I find they make the cocktail too sweet. I most often choose Wild Turkey 101. It has a nice spicy rye bite and the high proof gives it some kick. It's a bargain to boot at $22 for a 750ml bottle. I usually have a few other bottles of Rye in the house as well. Currently I've got Jim Beam, Rittenhouse, Russell's Reserve and the ubiquitous WT 101 ryes on hand. There are other high end ryes out there that I cast a covetous eye on when I hit the local liquor shop, but basically I'm a cheap bastard and unwilling to pay price they command. With liquor as with many other things in life, a doubling of price doesn't extend in to a doubling of enjoyment or quality. That being said I'd gladly accept a gift or donation of a bottle of Black Maple Hill for the purposes of research.

Sweet Vermouth is the second component in a Manhattan. There are a couple of vermouths that are widely available in Oregon; Noily Prat and Martini & Rossi. Of the two I prefer Martini and Rossi. It's a bit fruitier and complex in my opinion and better compliments the rye. For folks with a fatter purse there are some additional choices to consider including Carpano Antica, Punt e Mas or the domestically produced Vya.

The third ingredient in a Manhattan is bitters. A couple of dashes of bitters changes the whole complexion of cocktail. For years the only bitter's choices available were Angostura and Peychaud. Angostura are the bitters of choice for an everyday Manhattan. Angostura now has an orange bitter available too and it make an interesting variation with it's strong orange aromas. Bitter's: both homemade and commercial are becoming much more widely available and are worth of posts of there own.

Last and certainly not least is the cherry. Many people are put off by dayglo maraschino cherries. One can hardly blame them. The maraschino on the grocery store shelf is a shadow of the original liquor soaked wild maraska cherries that were the original Maraschino Cherry. Maraschino. Luxardo, an Italian Liquor producer makes a high quality candied cherry that is pretty good, but it wasn't what I was looking for in the ultimate cherry for a Manhattan. While it's much better than the dayglo variety, it didn't quite cut it.

What's a guy to do? Life wasn't a bowl of cherries. I needed the perfect cherry to reach my Manhattan Nirvana.

Time to search the internet, because you can find anything on the internet can't you? Most of the recipes I found called for putting cherries in a jar, adding sugar and covering them with brandy. This produces brandied cherries; tasty, but not a Maraschino Cherry. After searching further and not finding anything that really looked like it would make me happy, I decided it was time to experiment.

Call it beginner's luck, karma, kismet or whatever, the first batch of cherries I made were spectacular. Now known by the few who have had the privilege of tasting them as "The Chcrries". The Cherries were everything I wanted. They are tasty, not too sweet, have complex flavors. They are the treat at the bottom of the glass. Indulge, use two! A half gallon of them, I'm rich! Those things will last me a year for sure. Share the wealth and give a few away, because there's a half gallon of them, I'll never run out.

Okay, I ran out. What's a guy to do? I thought why not try infusing some frozen or canned cherries. So I got a pound of frozen cherries at Trader Joe's and made the following recipe.

Housemade Maraschino Cherries - Using Frozen Cherries

The advantage of this recipe is that it can be made year round. The frozen cherries seem to absorb the alcohol and sugar much more quickly than the fresh cherries and the process only takes a week.

• 1lb of Frozen Sweet Cherries
• 2/3 C evaporated cane sugar
• 1/2 C Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1/2 C Clear Creek Kirschwasser

1. Put the cherries in an empty one quart canning jar with all of the rest of the ingredients.
2. Give the jar an occasional gentle shake.
3. When the sugar is dissolved put the cherries in the refrigerator and let them age a week before using.

This makes just under a quart of damn good cherries, not "The Cherries", but damn good. These are not inexpensive to make, but they'll last a long time, not as long as you think, but a long time.

A special shout out to Cat for kicking me in the ass and getting me to write a post.

Thanks Cat!