Taste of Tacoma 2016

June 24-26, 2016

Ah, yes... it's food festival season again. One of my favorite times of year! This summer in particular promises to be filled with many of these gatherings, both large and small. Kicking off the festivities is the Taste of Tacoma, held in Point Defiance Park. For one reason or another we hadn't gone in several years, but the stars seemed to align today and we made the pilgrimage to the local food mecca. Being a Friday with somewhat cool weather, the crowds were light and there were virtually no lines. 

The best piece of advice I can give you for going here on ANY day is to use the shuttle service from Tacoma Community College on S. 19th and Mildred. There is almost no parking near the venue, and the shuttles leave every few minutes. We didn't have to wait at all on the trips either way. It's about a 15 minute ride each way, but it saves you all the time, gas, and frustration of trying to find parking anywhere even near the park... and it's free!!

The first food stall you're likely to hit is New Orleans Cookery. All of the smells coming out of there were enticing, but I had to go with my Taste of Tacoma favorite... Alligator on a Stick. Even at $10.00 a pop, it definitely did not disappoint! I've had alligator in my travels to South Carolina and Georgia, and this was right up there with them. 

From there, we just wandered from stall to stall, stopping at whatever sounded good.

Oh yes we did... with only a little regret... maybe.

After all that, we needed a bit of a break, so we wandered down to the Bowl Stage to listen to a U2 cover band called U253. Our area code is 253. See what they did there? Just to the side of the stage is a strategically placed beer garden, serving... could it be?... somewhat reasonably priced beers! We each had a Goose IPA by Goose Island Brewing Co. while watching the band.

After that, we decided it was time to head home, but one more thing caught our attention on the way out...

Who can resist freshly-dipped chocolate covered strawberries... ON A STICK?? We couldn't.

So, if you're wandering around Tacoma this weekend with nothing better to do, head on down to The Point and get some interesting food in your face.

For more information, visit the event website-

TASTE OF TACOMA

Duck... duck... DUCK EGGS!!

My love affair with duck eggs started five years ago with this little number, served at Marrow Kitchen + Bar, here in Tacoma, WA -

It was a fat-basted vision of loveliness, topping a cake of unctuous shredded oxtail in demi glace. 

My heart had found true love.

In the years since my first encounter, I have had duck eggs in restaurants whenever they were available. I didn't really have access to them on a regular basis, so I never tried doing them at home... until recently.  

A woman who lives near my husband's work has been duck-sitting (apparently that's a thing), and the ducks have been a-laying. When he told her I have a minor obsession them, she brought in a couple for him to bring home.

Then she brought a few more...

I have been having more fun than anyone should be allowed, coming up with ways to showcase these delicious gifts.

Fat-basted in butter and bacon drippings, served over pancetta, mushroom, and pea risotto, with a raspberry and gorgonzola spring mix salad

Perfectly poached with hollandaise over steak hash, with peas and carrots

Ramen with poached duck eggs, bbq pork, and vegetables, with gyoza and ponzu dipping sauce

Grilled hamburger with fried duck egg.

If you're into the phenomenal sensation of breaking open a perfectly runny yolk, forget the chicken eggs and go duck hunting... duck egg hunting, that is. You'll wonder why you never tried them before.

The gracious ladies, without whom none of this would be possible...

Homemade Gorgonzola Salad Dressing

Have you ever made a salad dressing that was so good, it makes you look forward to the salad even more than whatever main dish you're serving?

Have you ever made a salad dressing from scratch? You really should.

I love blue cheese dressing, but for some reason I always end up buying the bottled stuff. NEVER AGAIN!! I swear this is the best blue cheese dressing I have ever tasted. I'm not ashamed to admit I licked the whisk clean. And the spatula. And as much of the bowl as I could get to. It's that good.

You can, of course, use any blue cheese you prefer. I just happened to have Gorgonzola on hand.

1/2 C mayo

1/4 C sour cream

2 T milk

1 T white vinegar

1/2 t sugar

1/2 t kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper to taste

few good dashes Worcestershire sauce

1 clove minced garlic

1/3 C crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Whisk together all ingredients (except cheese) until smooth. Stir in cheese. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour before dressing salad.

New Grill - Nexgrill Evolution Infrared Plus

Brian and I have been talking about getting a new grill for several months now. Even though our BHG grill is only two years old, the burner brackets have already completely rusted out and the diffusion plates are about to disintegrate. It is borderline dangerous to use, which really annoys me considering how much we paid for it. Rather than throw good money after bad by replacing the ruined parts, we decided to buy a completely new grill. After talking to friends who had also bought new grills recently, we decided on the Nexgrill Evolution Infrared Plus. It's a multi-configuration 5 burner (plus one on the side) model that I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with.

I had already invited some family and friends for dinner over the weekend, and in a fortunate turn of events, the new grill arrived just in time. I was more than happy to take it for a test drive!

Who wants to use the oven when we can use the grill! Cheese and artichoke stuffed mushrooms, anyone?

Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ sauce is DA BOMB, by the way!

Everything was DEEEEEEELICIOUS, of course!