The Hungry Panda Guide to Santa Fe

The Hungry Panda & Co. recently spent a lovely long weekend re-discovering Santa Fe after a family trip to the artistic enclave over 15 years ago. The trip was planned around The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, which is a fantastic venue that brings handicraft artisans from all over the globe to sell their wares and meet their customers every summer in Santa Fe. There are over 120 artisans from 45 countries, which makes it an incredible opportunity for cultural and artistic exchange. It also provides the artisans with a source of income that makes the continued existence of folk art techniques sustainable in the modern world. Check out their website to find out about attending the festival in 2011!

Of course, all that art makes a panda hungry. New Mexican fare, being both unique and delicious, did not disappoint. We re-visited the famous Cafe Pasqual's in downtown Santa Fe that focuses on local and organic ingredients to create fresh versions of New Mexican favorites. I had the green chile cheeseburger (I just couldn't get enough of those sweet green chiles the whole time I was there) while other members of the panda posse had enchiladas, chiles rellenos, and tamales. We visited the Pasqual's gallery upstairs from the restaurant and had the pleasure of meeting the founder and chef Katherine Kagel (you can check out her writing here if you're interested). The gallery sells beautiful clay cooking pots made by a local artists that Ms. Kagel recommended highly.

I had wisely purchase Jane and Michael Stern's Road Food Guide for my Kindle and had brought it with me to Santa Fe, which led to one thwarted attempt to find an espresso milkshake at the Model Pharmacy in Albequerque but also led to a hearty encounter with breakfast burritos at Tia Sophia's in downtown Santa Fe. We slid into the booth at Tia Sophia's at 11 am, which is when breakfast was technically over but what I like to think of as sweet talk but might have been plain old pitiful begging convinced our waitress to serve us the last breakfast burritos of the morning. The hearty burritos consist of potatoes, cheese, and your choice of breakfast meat (I recommend the sausage although the waitress endorsed the bacon), which is smothered in your choice of red or green chile sauce or "Christmas" (aka both red and green - seen to the right).

The farmer's market in Santa Fe is also a great place to stroll around. The produce is beautiful plus there are a number of local artisans selling beeswax candles, dried sage sticks, and bath products made from local herbs. You can pick up a pastry and a coffee from one of the stands at the market or head over to the nearby Sage Bakehouse. Sage gets my vote for best baked goods in town plus they make strong black iced coffee, which is key in a hot, sunny climate. Sage distributes its fresh bread to restaurants and stores not only in Santa Fe but all over the region.


To the right are the savory and sweet pineapple pork tacos from Coyote Cafe's rooftop cantina. The rooftop offers a menu of delicious cocktails (I recommend the agave margarita), great food, and a great view of the downtown. Overall, Santa Fe is a great vacation destination. There tons of great galleries, design stores, as well as great hiking in the Sangre de Cristos mountains. If you're also a yogini, I highly recommend the Anusara studio Spandarama. For more info on what to see and do in Santa Fe, I suggest checking out Design*Sponge's great guide to Santa Fe.

Portland Bound

Despite living in Seattle for almost two years, the Hungry Panda has never made it Portland. Portland is notorious as a mecca for foodies of all stripes but especially for lovers of street food like myself because of its prolific food cart scene. I promise full coverage of my culinary exploits upon return. It so happens that I picked up a quart of raspberries at the UDistrict Farmer's Market last weekend and decided to use a recipe from Corey Schreiber and Julie Richardson's fabulous Rustic Fruit Desserts cookbook. Julie Richardson is the owner of the bakery Baker & Spice in Portland, which I'll have a chance to visit this weekend. In honor of that happy coincidence I'm posing the recipe below.

Raspberry Fool

Serves 8

1 dry quart (approx. 4 cups) raspberries
1/2 c + 3 T sugar
Pinch of sea salt
1 T vanilla extract
1 T orange extract
1 c cold mascarpone
2 c cold heavy cream
1/2 t ground cinnamon

1. Mix 3 1/2 c of the raspberries, 1/2 c sugar, the salt, and extracts together in a bowl and use a pastry blender or fork to mash the berries. Let sit for 20 minutes to draw out some of the juices.
Note: the original recipe calls for 1/4 c raspberry or orange liquer in place of the extracts but I didn't have those on hand and my recipe was quite tasty. It also calls for a straining of the berries through a sieve to discard seeds but I skipped that as I found it unnecessary.

2. Place a medium-sized mixing bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then put the mascarpone, cream, cinnamon, and 3 T sugar in the bowl and mix on low speed until soft peaks form.

3. Fold in the raspberry mixture just until combined. Don't worry about incorporating completely - streaks of cream are just fine. Distribute the fool between individual serving cups for presentation and chill for 30 minutes or more. Garnish with remaining raspberries when serving. Note: the fool is best the day it is made but will keep for an additional day.

Spicy and Meaty: Korean in Seattle

One of my favorite weekend activities is karaoke and the best thing to eat before karaoke is either Chinse hot pot or Korean barbecue. My karaoke joint of choice in Seattle is in the Shoreline/Lynnwood area (it's called Xanadu in case anyone is interested) and what better place than Lynnwood to find some good Korean food. My two favorite places are Kaya and Old Village. Kaya is a recent addition to Seattle restaurant scene having just opened up last year. Both Kaya and Old Village have at-table grills that are great to sit around with a big group of friends. You'll want to go with a group of friends between 4-10 in size since each order of barbecue is pretty large and can be pricey for a smaller group of people. The barbecue orders come with a plethora of small dishes called banchan in Korean. Although Kaya and Old Village are similar in many ways, the decor and the banchan are both better at Kaya in my opinion. You can also add dishes like cold spicy noodles (bibim nengmyun) or seafood pancake (jeon) to round out the festival of meat that is the focus of the meal. My favorite type of meat is the marinated beef short ribs (galbi, which are pictured above on the grill) but you can also get other cuts of beef and pork. We even ordered a good spicy octopus stew at Old Village (pictured below). The meats come with a selection of dipping sauces that usually include sesame oil with salt, a sweet spicy sauce chili sauce (similar to sriracha), soy sauce, and a fermented bean paste dip (the bean paste is my personal favorite). Both restaurants have a selection of Korean beers (very light and complimentary to the heavy meat) and Korean rice liquor (soju) if you're looking for a wilder night out. I've only been to Kaya and Old Village for dinner, but I've heard that Kaya's lunch is also good and that the bibimbap is ridiculously large (one order is enough for two people). My only piece of advice other than that you should plan on eating Korean food more often is that if you go to Kaya on the weekend, you may want to call ahead to make a reservation since it's a pretty popular place.

Special thanks to my Korean classmates for finding these great restaurants and sharing their tips with the Hungry Panda!!

A Touch of Paris in Seattle

Let's face it. We all wish we had a little more French glamour in our lives. From across the pond, it seems that those lucky Frenchies have everything: chic wardrobes, delicate flaky pastries, highbrow cinema, and a certain je ne sais quoi that we wish we could get our hands on. Even if we can't have it all, we can at least eat some great French food here in Seattle. You can find lovely crusty French baguettes at Tall Grass Bakery and delightful macarons at Honore Artisan Bakery. There are also wonderful croissants and danishes at Cafe Besalu in Ballard as well as Bakery Nouveau in West Seattle.

One of the things I think people love about eating in France is not just sophisticated haute cuisine but the more casual dining experience in French bistros and cafes. The best places to find that kind of experience in Seattle are Cafe Presse in Capitol Hill, Le Pichet in Belltown, and Bastille in Ballard. Cafe Presse is the most casual of the three restaurants. I like Cafe Presse for brunch or lunch when I get a tasty croque madame to fill you for the rest of the afternoon. Le Pichet is a wonderful dinner spot near Pike's Place Market. It's intimate, always busy but somehow still seems laid back, and has a great traditional French menu. I love the pate albigeois (country style pork pate with honey and walnuts) to start with. The last time I visited, I had the poisson a la piperade, which was OK but frankly I thought was a tiny bit bland. I've heard the roast chicken is fantastic but haven't had a chance to order it yet (you must allow an hour for its preparation). Bastille is a relatively new restaurant in the heart of Ballard. It's beautifully decorated to look just like what a fabulous French bistro looks like in your dreams of early 20th century Paris with the addition of a cool open fireplace at a round table you can share with friends (the bar is pictured at right). I found the brunch menu somewhat underwhelming in terms of creativity but the dinner menu is quite nice. I was feeling indulgent that evening so I had a nice glass of red wine and the steak frites au poivre and really nothing can be wrong about that.

If you're looking for some easy French recipes and great beach read, check out Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard. It has some wonderful recipes to keep and use and it's a fun story about an American woman adjusting to life in France.

Lentils au Vin Blanc
Serves 6

2 T EVOO
1 carrot, roughly chopped
4-5 small shallots or 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 1/2 c dried Puy lentils
6 c chicken broth
One 16 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 c dry white wine
A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream or creme fraiche to garnish

1. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and carrots and saute for 5-10 minutes until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the lentils and stir to coat with oil. Add the broth, tomatoes, wine, parsley, bay leaf, and a good grinding of pepper. Leave to simmer over a low heat with the cover ajar until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 1 hour.
3. Serve in shallow bowls with a dollop of creme fraiche. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice if you like.

Back in Business!

One of the delights of life is eating with friends; second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.

-from Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

May was a great month for eating but a bad month for writing anything non-academic. On the upside, I have a ton of restaurants, recipes, and anecdotes to share with you this month starting now. In my opinion, summer is the glory season for eating. Picnics, barbecues, cafes with sidewalk seating, veggies fresh from the garden, and crowded, happy farmer's markets. To take advantage of the summer bounty, check out the July issues of Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Savuer, O Magazine, and Martha Stewart Living. O Magazine actually has a wonderful series of articles on food and cooking. There's an interview with a vegan chef, a hilarious first-person article on anxiety eating, the enivronmental politics of seafood, a modern day hunger-gatherer, and the manifesta of a devoted omnivore. Martha Stewart Living has some of the most gorgeously decorated Fourth of July fruit pies on its cover and a great spread about David Mas Masumoto, a peach farmer and the author of Wisdom of the Last Farmer. His tasty looking and extremely easy recipe for Peach Gazpacho is reproduced below.

Peach Gazpacho
Serves 4-6

1/2-3/4 c water
6 ripe peaches (approx. 2.5 lbs)
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 T champagne vinegar (or more to taste)
2 T EVOO
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Garnish with finely chopped red bell pepper and avocado

1. Pulse 1/2 c water, the peaches, cucumber, garlic, vinegar, oil, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper in a food processor until coarsely pureed. Thin with more water if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Season with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir in herbs. Garnish, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and serve.

Exciting News of the Week: Din Tai Fung will be opening a restaurant in Bellevue this fall. The only other Din Tai Fung location in the U.S. is in L.A. I've the L.A. location isn't nearly as good as the locations in Asia but here's hoping that the Seattle location proves that wrong.

Pasta Primavera

The weeknight kitchen deserves a recipe that's relatively easy, tasty, and chock full of whatever veggies are in season. Personally I adore asparagus. I've been waiting for it to come in season for a while now and am extra happy to finally be cooking with it. So when the May issue of Bon Appetit landed in my mailbox and an asparagus-filled pasta dish was on the cover, I knew I had to try it. The Bon Appetit recipe calls for pancetta but in the spirit of being a little more healthy, I eliminated that from my recipe. For a special occasion, I'm sure the pancetta is delicious but it's also unnecessary. The dish is perfectly tasty without it. I liked this recipe so much I made it twice this week. Enjoy.

Fettucine with Peas and Asparagus
from Bon Appetit Magazine May 2010

12 oz. fettucine
1 1/4 lb. asparagus cut on diagonal into 1 in. pieces
2 cups fresh green peas blanched 1 min in boiling water or frozen peas (do not thaw)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts separated from dark green parts
2 garlic cloves, pressed or smushed
1/2 c finely grated Parmesan plus additional for serving
1/3 c heavy whipping cream
3 T olive oil
3 T lemon juice
1 T grated lemon peel
1/4 c thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Cook pasta in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/4 cc pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat a bit of olive oil in a saute pan on medium-high head. Add the asparagus when the oil is warm and cook for 3 min. Then add the garlic, green onions, and peas. Saute until the vegetables are just tender, about 2-3 more minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Add veggies, 1/4 c pasta water, the dark green parts of the onions, Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon peel, and basil to the pasta. Toss, adding more pasta water if needed.
4. Season with salt and black pepper. Plate and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Enjoy.

What Does a Panda Eat on Her Birthday?

Why cake of course. Two of them. Cake number one was store bought. I happened to be in a Baskin Robbins a couple of months ago and spotted in the ice cream cakes in the freezer. I remembered from when I was little how much I loved the tiny "turtle" (caramel, fudge, and praline) ice cream cakes that were shaped to look like clowns complete with a sugar cone serving as the clown's hat. Every once in a while, my health-conscious mom would buy me one and oh I have never forgotten. This time I skipped the mini clown-shaped version and when straight for the big kahuna (and by that I mean a regular sized ice cream cake in a shape that will not freak people out). While my lovely boyfriend acquired the ice cream cake, I decided that we might be short of cake and thus I needed to bake another. Truly the reason is that, as you can see from the lack of recent posts, my free time has been in short supply and thus I haven't baked anything in a while. Thankfully it hasn't all been work - I had a fun food-filled visit from my sister (shall I call her The Red Panda?) and a report on our activities is forthcoming. So with a little extra free time this past Friday, I slipped on my apron and went to work. I had a hard time deciding between a gooey looking mint chocolate cake and the double chocolate orange passion but orange chocolate won out because I had an orange in my fridge. This cake actually turned out a bit dry for me but it may be because I left it in the oven too long. You may want to check your cake at 13 min and again at 15 min. However, the icing with the orange extract was divine. The cake probably would have looked even prettier with the chocolate-dipped orange slices that are recommended for decoration but I was distracted and dipped the slices in unsweetened instead of bittersweet chocolate, making them utterly inedible. All in all, still a success. Melissa's book really does have great cake-making tips and I can feel my technique improving as I try my hand at more fancy cakes.

Double Chocolate Orange Passion Cake
from All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray

For the Cake:
2 large eggs
2 1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
2 c cake flour
2 c sugar
1/2 c Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 t vanilla extract
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

For the frosting:
6 T unsalted butter at room temperature
1 16 oz. box confectioners' sugar
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
1/4 t salt
1/4 t orange extract

For the decoration:
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
Some orange or clementine slice

1. Center an oven rack and preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare two 8 or 9 in. round cake pans with parchment paper and butter.
2. Put the eggs, still in their shells, in a bowl filled with hot tap water.
3. Bring 2 cups of water to boil on stove.
4. In the mean time, use a microwave-safe bowl to melt the unsweetened chocolate in the microwave.
5. In a mixing bow, dry whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then, while beating continuously, add the milk, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest one at a time. Stop beating, scrape down sides of bowl, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
6. In a heat-proof measuring cup, measure your orange juice and add enough of the boiling water to make 1 cup of liquid. Add the melted chocolate and stir together. Add this mixture to the batter. Stir the batter with wooden spoon till just blended.
7. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake 15-20 minutes until the cake layers test done.
8. Cool the cake layers in the pans for 5 minutes and then unmold onto a cake rack and cool to room temperature.
9. Now begin the frosting. Cream the butter in the mixer on medium speed, gradually adding half of the confectioners' sugar. Add the cream, the rest of the confectioners' sugar, the salt, and the orange extract.
Note: if you want to make the cake triple chocolate (making the frosting chocolate too), you can add a step here where you melt 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate in the microwave and then incorporate it into the frosting.
10. Construct the cake, frosting in the usual manner (crown first, then the sides).
11. To decorate, melt 2 oz bittersweet chocolate in the microwave and then dip the orange slices into the chocolate. Set aside on wax paper to let cool.
12. Last, arrange the chocolate orange slices on top of the cake. Enjoy.