CHEZ CHLOE

Eating by candle light... alone?

Once again driving home I thought about what's for dinner. Pour Chloe gets so tired of hearing about what I want to eat, cook or try. This conversation was with me, myself and I.
I stopped at the farmer's market this morning and picked up some green onions, small, tender green beans, a blushed head of bibb lettuce, rose finn potatoes, shitake mushrooms and blueberries. This is when the conversation actually began and continued through the day when I had a moment to myself. After work, I picked up a couple of bone in pork ribs, garlic sourdough bread and a jar of oysters. In the car I was thinking about the plums on the property finally ripening and how easy galettes really are to make.

I walked in the door thinking about the order of my evening meal. As I was starved I thought I better start with a very small bowl of potato chips. Here's where it went from there......

Cooking Solo- Grilled steak sandwich

Hey it's Tuesday et je suis toute seule. Except for my photographer who dropped in.
Steak sandwich with balsamic peppercorn glaze and garlic mayo .

Rhubarb anyone? Scones & Crepes

Just a quickie on how lovely rhubarb can be. I find it's feast or famine for me with this fruit, much as it is with
summer squash. I've had far more than I can handle in past years but now seem to have none. I did find a survivor in my orchard that I transplanted and hope to bring back to production with a little TLC.
Here's what I did with it..... rhubarb ginger scones and crepes......

Cooking solo- Salmon dinner

Seared Salmon with cider bbq glaze, aspargus and shitakes, cucumbers....

Eating by yourself is a task in it self at times. Unless it's chewing while you work, clean, read or space out with some anonymous item being transferred orally from mouth to hand. Cooking for yourself is the hurdle to jump. I definitely have to be in the mood. Friday nights I'm often found deciding on real ice cream or something with a little less fat for dinner- like Stoneyfield's lowfat frozen yogurt, Dulce de Leche. This is often followed by pop corn with butter and maybe a little flax oil cut in to make me feel healthy- and a little nutritional yeast. But yesterday morning before leaving the house for the day, I pulled from the freezer a filet of wild salmon. Two days ago, I had company and grilled chicken in a cider bbq marinade, grilled asparagus and threw together strawberry rhubarb crisps . Having company now and then can be helpful in cooking for yourself as entertaining often yields leftovers and provides a good base from which to start. Driving home from work I decided to cook as it's only Tuesday and two nights of ice cream and popcorn is a bit much (for me). Here's what I did in about 20 minutes.....and I'm worth it! Oh how cliché......

And lest we forget my guest....

Happy Birthday Kathleen

The class this week was given to Kathleen as a birthday present from her husband. Kathleen brought her sister-in-law, Diane to partake in the celebration. Kathleen is an avid cook which brought on a little pressure to impart some new information and advice. We packed in a LOT! We forwent our sit down meal at the end in exchange for more time at the stove.
This day we managed to prepare: Buttermilk scones with candied ginger. A rosemary lemon fougasse. Bourride with monkfish*. Cherry balsamic glazed pork tenderloin. And we revisited the fresh ginger chocolate torte.
*One note before going ahead - Here's a link to Seafood Watch. Monkfish is on the avoid list and therefore I rarely eat it despite liking it.
I've posted the Scones, Fougasse and Bourride recipes.....

DVSAS annual dinner - Italiano

A fundraiser dinner for the DVSAS (Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services) purchased by Odie and Trina. As magical a place as the San Juan Islands can be we still have a need for DVSAS and we are greatful to have their services.

Last year Springtime in Paris at Chez Chloe. One year fast forward. Fête Italiano chez moi. We once again shared a memorable evening with Odie, Trina and 10 friends. This year we dined in Olga with the impeccable service of Jen, Loren and Anita and me barking in the kitchen. And we were treated with a few trumpet tunes from Willie Thomas (my dad) The menu came from two of the River Cafe books I have listed in favorites- (Blue one and Green).....

First spring cooking class

I've had the opportunity to teach two classes in my home this month. The first being with a lovely group of women who originally wanted to lunch at Chez Chloe. I ran into Lise outside the cafe and after confessing it was just too much stress, tried to compensate with a lunch and demo Chez moi. It was a morning and afternoon of laughter, stories, good food and a little education to boot. The kind of day for which one feels guilt because it's so much fun in the middle of the week. It was mostly a demonstration with some interactive work and a lovely sit down lunch at the end.
We kept to traditional recipes and to my delight brought Lise into the "I think I like escargot circle". We followed the Escargot Bourgogne with French Onion Soup and a light salad picked from the early greens in my greenhouse. We finished with a fresh ginger and chocolate torte recipe from the River Cafe Book Green.
Here's recipes for the above mentioned........

Chez Chloe Cafe says au revoir mais á bientôt.

Thanks again to all who consumed and enjoyed our short stay in Eastsound Square. It was a very meaningful year but just not quite the right time to expand and explore.
I'm looking forward to spending more time in the store and giving cooking classes. Oh and maybe a little more time for me and my own kitchen. And how about this blog!
Please come by the store and say hello.
Thank you!
Wendy

Hello from NYC

No, we haven't moved to NYC. And no Chez Chloé NYC isn't opening anytime soon...I'm here for the retail adventures of Chez Chloé- the New York International Gift Fair. I've been to shows in Paris that were exceptional but I'm excited about this one because it's new to me and it will be easier working with companies already represented in the US. Look for new merchandise in the store this spring!
Rolling in this afternoon with a sunny welcome, I headed to my hotel in the Chelsea district. I felt a bit estranged at first as it's quite a transition from Orcas Island to NYC. But after a brisk walk downtown the feeling was replaced with acceptance and inspiration. I may feel a little overwhelmed after 6 days but the purchase of my new red boots on winter clearance from Shooz, on 7th Ave will help me glide through the week on happy feet! I've only been to NYC a handful of times but I always enjoy the Village with it's quiet neighborhoods and small shops and cafes. I'm sure there are other great areas too but this part always attracts me. (I'm probably not the only one). Tonight I enjoyed eating (comfortably alone I might add) at Tartine at 153 W. 11th......

Happy New Year and Thanks

I just wanted to give a Big Thank You to all our staff at Chez Chloé and our customers from 2007. It was a great year. We served about 10,000 meals from our cafe! The retail store continues to be a pleasure and a lot of fun and we've enjoyed seeing repeated visits from locals and island visitors.
We're looking forward to a great 2008!