The Portland Pickle

Fellow Kentuckians Lettie Jane Rennekamp and Jarrett Mitchell previewed their art last night in preparation for their joint opening this weekend at Chicago’s Threadless Gallery. Jarrett’s corn mosaics were inspired by a visit to the Corn Palace in South Dakota. He used different colored heirloom corn from Sauvie Island in his three pieces.  Lettie Jane’s dueling cowboys are painted on handmade wooden panels. Loved the colors…and muskrat bones!

Today’s article in the NYT about the Dude’s drink of choice in the movie The Big Lebowski prompts me to share my own cocktail of the moment. The Dude famously slurped white Russians–a dangerous combo of vodka, Kalua and heavy cream or milk. For that recipe and article click here.  The drink we’ve been mixing lately has a more seasonal feel. It was actually inspired by the Bourbon Furnace, a drink on the menu at the Kennedy School Boiler Room bar. After several Furnaces, we devised our recipe from the ingredients listed on the menu. We served the Furnaces at Thanksgiving and, well, to ourselves every evening since.

J says you’re going to need this if you live somewhere cold. Here’s how J makes it, and I’m quoting:

Bourbon Furnace

(Aka the Oregonian Apple Jack Special or The Kentucky Symphony of Deliciousness)

~  8oz Apple Cider
~ 1.5 oz Apple Jack
~ 2 tbs Lemon Juice (little under 1/2 lemon)
~ Pinch of Cinnamon or Cinnamon Stick
~ About 1 T honey

Heat cider in microwave or stove top until almost boiling. Meantime, combine Apple Jack or bourbon, lemon juice, honey and cinnamon in a mug. Top off with hot cider. Stir. Damn!

Authentic and cheap Mexican food at La Carta de Oaxaca restaurant in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Easily some of the best fish tacos that J has ever enjoyed. And he has enjoyed many. The warm and slightly puffy homemade corn tortillas put them over the top.

Even though the line was 20 deep, we would have been willing to wait even longer for these hot little nuggets at Pike Place Market in Seattle this weekend.

English muffin french toast.

Homemade food is nearly always superior than the alternative. But there might be one dish that comes close to an exception: cranberry sauce! Though I do make a tasty cranberry sauce from scratch for Thanksgiving, usually with orange zest, there’s something so perfect about Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce. Maybe it’s the deep red-purple color, the smooth texture or the way it molds itself to the shape of the can.  But I’m not afraid to say that I love the stuff.

When you’re under the weather people want to do things for you. Or maybe you just want them to do things for you. In any case, when I came down with a case of the common cold last week, I took full advantage of JCN’s cooking skills. The dinner we had tonight took him two days to make–mostly because his special sauce is better on day two. How can you have bolognese without homemade bread? This is his crispy + chewy boulle inspired by Mark Bittman’s famous ”no-knead” bread. ((Watch the video))

This has been floating around the web for a little while. I don’t know much about this Nike Air Max other than it was made on commission by Swedish designer Olle Hemmendorff: “In the tradition of material innovation of AM 90, I constructed a running shoe using the most powerful, most durable and most delicious material known to man: hamburger.”  I’m fascinated.

Photo courtesy of the lovely Anna S. and Fred B. of www.fredeeky.typepad.com

Friends from New York recently put me to shame. Five months is too long to live in Portland and never have eaten a legendary Voodoo Doughnut. So when they’re brought to you in a pretty pink box it’s hard to resist. Those of you in the know are familiar with their whimsical and sometimes naughty creations. Some of their best sellers make Dunkin Donuts seem like health food.  The Grape Ape is slathered in vanilla frosting, grape powder and purple sprinkles. Dirt features vanilla glaze and crumbled oreo cookies. And the Dirty Snowball is covered with pink marshmallow, flaked coconut and a surprise filling. I’ll leave it up to you to discover their more erotic flavors. They do weddings, bachelorette parties and sell underwear too.

Pok Pok’s smoking hot papaya salad.

photo credit: Audrey's Kitchen Blog