Favorite things of 2013

We thought it would be fun to take a look back over the year through the eyes of our industry partners and see what made 2013 a stand-out year for them.

Ponti Seafood Grill (Chef Alvin Binuya)

Our absolute highlight of the year was a group outing for staff and family members to Sherman Creek Farm on Vashon Island. Owned by friends of mine, Jim and Karie Sherman, they raise French Alpine dairy goats. The day involved a picnic, feeding and milking the goats, and truly outstanding cheese. They are currently working toward obtaining their certification and proper permitting so they can sell their fantastic chevre. I want to be first in line when they go into full production! They offer group tours and we would highly recommend those. Click here to see more pictures.

Fireside Restaurant at the Resort at Port Ludlow (Chef Dan Ratigan)

Our partnership with local farms, artisans and fisheries. Farm Package: overnight guests are provided an empty basket and vouchers/directions to local farms. They return with filled baskets and my team prepares a meal from those items. From a child who ate broccoli for the first time to a couple starting their married life with this activity, these stories are special. Farm Dinners: farmers come to the Inn and join guests for a meal prepared with ingredients from their farm. The finale was at Finnriver Farm. Our team prepared an eight course meal using only the brick oven on site. As the sun set over the Chimacum Valley and stories surfaced about farm life, it was a memorable evening.

Chinook Wines (Kay Simon and Clay Mackey)

This past year, we fell in love with Anacortes - our friends from Adrift Restaurant, Nicole & Nora, visited us here at the winery and we enjoyed a delicious meal at their restaurant during the Anacortes Spring Wine Festival in April. They presented a special menu to accompany our wines. Also in Anacortes, we always enjoy the view from the dining room at Anthony's restaurant on the waterfront. Doug Charles, of Compass Wines, has been a Chinook supporter from the early years and we always enjoy visiting the shop and meeting their customers.

Kaspars Special Events & Catering (Kaspar and Nancy Donier)

It was such an amazing year for mushrooms in the Northwest and we found lots of creative ways to use them. One of our favorites was at a company picnic we catered with an Alice in Wonderland theme for…what else but a Mushroom Station! The Curried Lentil and Northwest Mushroom Flatbread was the favorite "Eat Me" item of the day.

Esquin Wine & Spirits (Chuck LeFevre)

At the Celebrity Waiters Auction in May, a friend who owns Barons Wine bought a week for 6 to 8 people at a private villa in Bali. It was 7,000 square feet on the ocean with a staff of 7. He asked if we wanted to go and, of course, after a couple Bloody Marys and some fabulous Barons Wine, I said absolutely yes. We went on the trip at the end of October. It took over 20 hours of flight time to get there, but what a memorable trip. We climbed several hundred steps to a holy Hindu temple, sat on an elephant's knee and held an Orangutan. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip. (Chuck second from right.)

Bellevue Brewing Company (John Robertson)

 We brewed a Fresh Hop Ale this year that we were very excited about. We drove to Yakima and picked up some Centennial Hops grown by Van Horn Farms via Hop Union. We used the hops to brew our special beer just three hours after picking them up. The hops impart a floral aroma and also subtle tropical fruit notes in the ale, which is still available in our taproom through the end of December or until our supply lasts.

LloydMartin (Chef Sam Crannell)

The true highlight of our year at LloydMartin has been working with Jeff Rogers at Aspen Hollow Sheep Station. His lamb has been about as local as it gets and according to our guests, one of the tastiest they have ever had. My wife, Chef Dan and I took some time out of our crazy week to visit the lambs to really see how they were living. It is a blessing to know people like Jeff are still farming with the same passion I have for cooking.

Renwood Winery (Joe Shebl)

48 hours: not the movie! 2013 was a year of exciting and life altering changes. I started as winemaker at Renwood on July 8^th and was excited as ever to be back, again. The next day, my wife and I had a son! Talk about piling it on. I was (and still am) on Cloud 9…my head spinning with all the great fortune I experienced in those 48 hours. As the buzz of all this excitement settled, it was time to get down to business because harvest was only seven weeks away. As I'm writing this, I can hardly wait to see what 2014 has in store.

Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar (John Howie, Erik Liedholm)

John: deviled eggs always remind me of my childhood and our family Christmas; my mom always made great deviled eggs! Ours are updated with truffled ahi tartare and bring back warm memories. Erik: my pairing philosophy is solely based on matching the size and weight of the wine with the richness and intensity of the food. The magic of Champagne is the bubbles; they act like a chameleon and change the texture and mouth-feel of food, making it work with nearly every edible there is. Its high level of acidity cuts though richness and gives life to even the most delicate of food preparations. Hence, the choice of pairing Champagne with our deviled eggs relies on its acidity to balance the richness of the eggs and its bubbles play off the eggs' unusual texture.

Hightower Cellars (Tim and Kelly Hightower)

Judging by the number of times we did it this summer may be our favorite thing: drinking a chilled bottle of Murray Rosé, sitting in the sun enjoining the view over Red Mountain from the patio of our winery. We have enjoyed Rosé for years, and last year we tried our hand at making our own; Murray Rosé - which is a Rosé made from Syrah grapes. We love its crisp acidity and full body any time of year -all times of the year. Rosé is like Champagne - it goes with everything at any time. The picture shows our Rosé with saffron in it that we used in our paella for a wine club party this past April. Yummy!

Shanik (Meeru Dhalwala)

The organic greens of Washington were my highlight of 2013. Before opening Shanik, I met Jason Salvo of Local Roots Farm. When his first delivery of greens arrived, my kitchen staff--many of whom arrived recently from villages in India--beamed, saying "this is just like home." Along with many other dishes, we mix Jason's greens into our saag-paneer. "Saag" means spinach mixed with other (mostly) bitter greens. Paneer is an Indian cheese. Slow cooked for hours, greens are blended with corn flour and a sauté of onion, garlic, ginger, etc. An excellent saag has various layers of bitterness from the greens that complement the smoothness of the spinach and sauté. Shanik's saag-paneer deserves a prize from the President of India, not for the recipe but for the combination of Jason's greens and the Indian hands that respect them for their magic.

Argento Winery (Silvia Corti)

One of my favorite things this year was an outdoor party I had with a few close friends. Like most Argentineans, I prefer to start with appetizers while we mingle. On this night, I served a lovely picada, bites of cheeses and meats, and homemade empanadas with Pinot Grigio. The evening's highlight was the music. Much of it was tango-inspired and several guests started dancing. We listened to a creative fusion of Tango and Electronica including two of my favorite bands, The Gotan Project and Bajofondo. As a winemaker, I'm always looking for different creative outlets, and this is perfect! As the hours passed, conversations continued, the perfectly grilled steak with Chimichurri sauce paired with Malbec was savored, and I was thinking 'could life get any better?'

Ray's Boathouse (Chef Wayne Johnson)

Our favorite accomplishment this year was opening the newly-remodeled Ray's. There was plenty of excitement around setting a culinary dream to sail, but we had to figure out the details. The cuisine part was easy: we're Ray's, so it's seafood, no brainer. Next we decided what would stay from previous menus. For over 40 years, the sablefish in sake kasu has been a guest favorite, so that was a keeper. We came up with a layout, how the menu would flow, chose food items, added descriptions and pricing: light fare, fresh starts, Pacific NW seafood, and chef specialties. It was a pleasure creating a menu to serve a wide variety of customers and hope they/you will get as much pleasure from the menu as we got from creating it. Come visit the new Ray's!

December 2013