Hello Sunshine!
After a busy winter and spring we are happy to welcome some summer sunshine and have lots of exciting projects and trips on the horizon. Here is a little of what we have been up to since our last newsletter.
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Tasty Travels
Since my trip back from Ukraine, I had about a week to relax at home before heading out again. This time my travels lead me to Ocean Shores, Washington to host the 6th Annual Razor Clam Festival! Ocean Shores is a small beach town on the coast of Washington; about a 3-hour drive away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle. Every year they celebrate this illustrious clam with a fun and tasty festival, from Blood Mary and beer booths, to arts and crafts, and of course a clam chowder cook-off. My team and I judged both the amateur and professional chowder cook-offs and seriously tasted over 45 chowders to choose the grand prize winners. Needless to say we were stuffed to the gills with chowder by the end of the day!
Heather, Erwin and I tasting the first group of chowders!
Then it was off to California’s Napa Valley with teammates Heather and new sous-chef Jason for the Flavor Summit! Held at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, this industry-only event brings in the top leaders in the culinary world to discuss and taste their way through flavor-related topics. The campus is amazing and the seminars were enlightening! I attended with my client Paramount Citrus. We participated in the lunch, cooking up a Sweet Orange, Fennel and Arugula Salad with Citrus Grilled Shrimp and my Market Fresh Lime Agua Fresca with Berries (see below for the recipe). For the ending reception we crafted Liquid Kitchen Ultimate G & T’s (Gin and Tonics), topped with a Cucumber Lime Foam and a grating of lime zest.
Squeezing out some Paramount Limes for my Ultimate G & T!
Then it was off to Los Angeles again. This time for business meetings mixed in with some fun. While in LA, we checked out concepts and visited restaurants, including Bottega Louie where I was drooling over their amazing pastries and cupcakes. Check out the Macaron Tree below! The weekend was full of glitterati sightings at the SLS hotel in Beverly Hills where party goers for JJ McKay’s (Seattle party host extraordinaire) party were staying. JJ’s parties always bring in the who’s who of crowds and lead to the best networking ever. Guests flew in from all over the US, including partiers from Miami and NY to Dallas, San Francisco and Seattle.
Bottega Louie’s Macaron Tree!
The always faboo JJ McKay, myself, and producer Joe Gressis from Secret Handshake
Next stops: I’m off to Vancouver, British Columbia this week for work with the Fairmont Hotels and then New Orleans, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. Stay tuned for more tasty travel round up’s on my blog.
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Serious Sippin’ with the Liquid Kitchen
Filming for the 3rd Season of Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen™ just wrapped up with Small Screen Network. We filmed 18 episodes in two days! Vitamix was our main sponsor this season and so expect lots of amazing, blended summer drink episodes, like my Liquid Indulgence (vanilla ice cream, espresso and salted caramel incorporated together and topped with a float of mezcal!) and a Blended Peach Whisky Sour! A Seattle LUPEC member was the top bidder to be a guest on Liquid Kitchen at a recent breast cancer fundraising event. So in honor of the ladies who love to imbibe I created the Green Goddess for an episode – Green Chartreuse, egg whites, fresh pineapple, silver rum, a touch of lemon and Bitter Truth Celery Bitters – yum! Stay tuned for these new episodes to be posted soon!
Special Guest and LUPEC Seattle member Lynn Becker and I shaking up a Green Goddess Cocktail!
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Tasty & Libatious Reads – and Cooking up a New Cookbook
If you follow me on Twitter, then you may have caught wind that I just finished the recipes and am now shooting the photography for my 10th cookbook… all on deviled eggs! Stay updated with Twitter on my book’s progress as I tweet more behind the scenes of our photo shoots.
The new Food & Wine Cocktails 2012 book is out! This year I share my creative versions of the ever classic French 75. This cocktail book covers an extensive array of classic cocktails with featured mixologists’ personal variations. How about a Salted Maple (a Pisco Sour variation) or a Lord Bullingdon’s Revenge (a Sazerac spin)? There are also non-alcoholic options too! Make sure you get your copy today!
If you’re a frequent flyer, check out this special promo from Amazon.com. Free Wi-Fi access to Amazon.com on most Delta flights. Click here for more info. Faboo!
And don’t forget to check out Sip Northwest magazine for all you Pacific Northwest imbibers, including bars to sip, recipes to make, and new spirits to taste. Here’s a sneak peak on one of my articles. You can also pick up a complimentary copy at my Dish D’Lish cafés at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
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New Restaurant Fave!
New restaurants are popping up everywhere, but one of my new faves is Chef Greg Atknison’s Restaurant Marché located on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Greg is one of my all-time favorite chefs and I am so happy for him and his wife Betsy. The restaurant and menu totally embodies Greg’s signature style and flair. I enjoyed my recent birthday dinner there with the hubby and friends and was swooning by the time I left from total culinary bliss. If you have a trip planned to the Pacific Northwest or are a local be sure to make reservations and check it out. It’s a quick ferry ride across the Puget Sound and is close to the ferry terminal. Marché is open for lunch and dinner on Tuesdays – Saturdays. The menu changes with the seasons, featuring northwest cuisine and island goods (think amazing wild greens, crisp oysters, smooth-as-silk-chicken liver pate you want to rub on yourself!). Take a peek at this season’s menu items.
Bainbridge Island’s newest hot spot!
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Where to Catch Kathy Next:
Tales of the Cocktail – July 25-29, 2012 – New Orleans, Louisiana
The Flavor Experience – August 6-8, 2012 – Newport Beach, California
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Cook Up Some Fun with Paramount Citrus!
Market Fresh Lime Agua Fresca
Makes 1 drink
1 1/2 oz fresh-squeezed Paramount Citrus lime juice
2 oz Zesty Lime Syrup (recipe follows)
3 oz chilled soda water
1 oz Market Fruit Berry Topping (recipe follows)
Garnish: long fresh lime zest twist or lime wedge
Fill a large tall glass with ice. Add the citrus juices and the Zesty Lime Syrup. Add soda water and stir. Top with Market Fruit Topping. Garnish with lime zest.
Zesty Lime Syrup
Makes 2 1/4 cups
3 Tbsp finely minced lime zest (with no white pith)
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Combine the zest, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a quick boil over high heat. Boil for 1 minute then remove from heat and let cool. Store refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
Market-Fruit Berry Topping
Makes 2 1/4 cups
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup small diced strawberries
1/4 cup raspberry puree
Mix ingredients together. Store refrigerated.
Recipe by Kathy Casey Liquid KitchenTM
I hope you enjoyed my quick recap of what’s been going on lately. Make sure you join me on the weekends at Dishing with Kathy Casey on KOMO News Radio and check my corresponding blog with all the corresponding recipes and tips. –Kathy
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Follow on Twitter @KathyCaseyChef. Blogging: Dishing with Kathy Casey. Like on Facebook: Sips & Apps and Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen. Watch: www.LiquidKitchen.tv.
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