Tuesday, March 10, 2009 @ 10:01pm
Tom's Current Fav

Eat here now!

Tilikum Place Cafe

407 Cedar St, just off the corner of 5th and Denny. Bah, the chef & owner used to work the line at the Palace Kitchen, and we are diggin' her new joint. Check it out!

www.tilikumplacecafe.com

Saturday, March 7, 2009 @ 4:37pm
March 7th Line Up

We're gearing up for a busy season of on-the-road shows - heading to NY, the Renton Museum & Bascoe Appliance. In between, we'll be breaking for St. Paddy's day at the Palace Ballroom, slinging back beer and hearty fare. We hope to see you there!

This week on the show, we have wine connoisseur Eric LeVine, founder of Cellar Tracker to discuss the virtues of tasting and saving wine. Following, we have food event innovator, Brady Lowe of the forthcoming Pig Fest, Cochon 555. Along for the ride is farmer Arie MacFarlane, creator of the new & needed Endangered Hog Foundation.

In the last hour, join Tom and Thierry for Ask The Chef, an open food forum from our kitchen to yours. As always, we'll have a wine pairing with Michael Teer of Pike and Western Wine Shop and a Recipe of the Week, and What's Your Special? - this week with cupcake maven Jody Hall of Cupcake Royale, with sweet treats for Seattle!

Thursday, March 5, 2009 @ 8:55pm
Favorite Recipe Requests!

March 28th Cooking Class

At BASCO Appliances in Tukwila - a premier NW appliance gallery for builders and designers.

Come on down to BASCO as we cook from the kitchen and give on-air tutorials for our favorite recipes……..and yours. Want to know how to make Tom's famous crab cakes? Let us know. Been craving that luxurious little egg Rovers is known for? Send an email our way! The most requested recipes will be made and taught during this live on-air cooking class. Everyone is welcome, you don't need to sign up!

So, mark your calendars and come on down, where we'll be IN THE KITCHEN with TOM & THIERRY.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 @ 9:17am
Chef Picks

This oyster write up is from Chef Sean Hartley at the Palace Kitchen. To read more about kitchen-happenings, check out our restaurant blog!

Delicious? healthy? local? not bad for the environment?

There must be a catch, yet the Vancouver BC farm raised scallops are all that. I've recently discovered them from Taylor Shellfish, a 100 year old company based in Shelton, Washington, which imports them from our neighbors to the north.

These beauties come in the shell, if you wish, with all the delicious innards intact. I've been serving them sliced raw, simply dressed. They are very fresh, firm, and not at all fishy. That's the beauty of locally farm raised sea foods. The catch doesn't spend days on a boat and then more days in the supply chain. Harvested when needed, they arrive still moving. I can't quite stop picturing their 50 little eyes watching me as I reach for my knife..

Ninety six percent of the world's scallops are dredged from the sea floor, wiping out whatever happens to be nearby. Scallops are farmed in a similar fashion to mussels. Because they filter the local flora and fauna for food, they do not have the problems associated with farmed salmon feed. Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch gives the farmed scallops its best choice rating. Finally, something to savor guilt free!

Saturday, February 28, 2009 @ 11:01am
On this weeks show

We've got a big cooking show lined up for you, after a few weeks on the road!

In the studio today is Chef Chet Garrel of Pike Place Market gem, Matt's in the Market. Chet oversees the open kitchen of this very busy market restaurant, known for it's juicy lamb burger. He's in to discuss why a lamb burger is better than a hamburger and some creative ways to use this leaner meat at home.

Up next is Ming-Hai Train, local nutritionist creator of ZingBars , an all natural healthy snack food. She is in the studio today to convince us how important it is to not skip meals, and to get creative with some healthful food-on-the-go tips. You won't want to miss her insider scoop.

In the last hour, join Tom and Thierry for Ask The Chef, an open food forum from our kitchen to yours. As always, we'll have a wine pairing with Michael Teer of Pike and Western Wine Shop and a Recipe of the Week, and What's Your Special? - this week with Chef Colin Patterson of Sutra Seattle - the new vegetarian hot spot in town.

Till next time..............now get cookin'!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 @ 8:10am
"The Price of Tomatoes"

Here is some noteworthy thoughts from Shelley Lance - Tom's co-author and all around food fantastic lady. Read on.........

This article, by Barry Estabrook, in the March issue of Gourmet is an eye-opener. The subtitle, ” if you have eaten a tomato this winter, it might well have been picked by a person who lives in virtual slavery,” will make you think twice if you’re tempted by those firm and tasteless globes sold in the supermarkets this time of year. Even more horrifying is the thought that this virtual slave is laboring in the United States of America. Ninety percent of the fresh, domestic tomatoes we eat come from South Florida, and the largest community of farmworkers, many of them undocumented aliens, live in Immokalee, which, according to Douglas Molloy, the chief assistant US attorney based in Fort Myers, has become ground zero for modern slavery. In Immokalee, frightened, often undocumented fieldhands from Mexico and South America are grimly exploited by “independent contractors called crew bosses.”

Why do we need so many tasteless winter tomatoes anyway? In addition to what’s sold in our supermarkets, demand comes from, among others: McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, and other national fast food chains who apply great pressure on growers to keep food costs down to the minimum. All of which brings to mind the much-used phrase: the high price of cheap food. I believe we always pay a cost for cheap food, and usually I think of this in terms of health costs and environmental costs, but now I realize there may also be costs to our conscience and our humanity.

What can you do to avoid buying tomatoes picked under these dismal conditions? The Gourmet article repeats some of the same good advice we’ve heard before: “buy seasonal, local, and small scale.” Also, check the country of origin when you buy fruits and vegetables. If you must buy out of season tomatoes, then hydroponics, including cluster tomatoes on the vine, are your best bet. (But some green house tomatoes are imported from Mexico— where labor conditions are even more dire than in South Florida, which is truly hard to imagine after you’ve read this article— so, again, check the labels.)

For those who think buying organics is a luxury in this crummy economy, it’s also worth noting that Whole Foods is, so far, the only grocery chain that has signed on to the CIW Campaign for Fair Food (CIW is the Coaltion for Immokalee Workers, which is the only voice for field hands). This means Whole Foods has promised not to deal with growers who tolerate serious abuses.

Kudos to Gourmet for publishing this article, and also check out the very fine Food Politics section of their website.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 @ 11:57am
5 Years!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 @ 9:47am
Love is in the Air

We had such a great time at the 5th Anniversary party at Palace Ballroom. Thank you to all the listeners who made it down to celebrate and all of you who listened in at home. Cheers!

This year, if you've been late making reservations, we are once again hosting Valentines dinner at the Palace Ballroom. Come tuck in, have some nibbles, and dance the night away!

Valentine's Day at the Palace Ballroom
Heart and Soul Party - Saturday, February 14th
7:00 pm - midnight

A sexy, soul food dinner followed by soulful dancing is the perfect way to celebrate love this Valentine's Day! Enjoy a lavish and luscious Southern inspired feast served from 3 stations so you can dine at your own pace, then dance to the smooth grooves of a soul disc jockey.

Heart and Soul Feast includes:
Oysters on the half shell
Low Country pickled shrimp
Sweet potato and Lobster gratin
Fried green tomatoes and lovers' red beet salad
Fried chicken and waffles, "Roscoe style"
Espresso glazed ham, greens, and creamy slow-cooked grits
Bitchin' Pie station overloaded with the pies of your dreams

$100.00 per person includes entire menu, wine, and dancing.
Tax and gratuity included. The inclusive wine service provides 3 beverage tokens that can be used for champagne, red wine or white wine. Reserve wine list and cocktails additional.Seating is at tables of 8 so you have the opportunity to make new friends or meet some new dance partners. To purchase tickets contact Christy @ 206-448-2001 or christinal@ tomdouglas.com

And speaking of love...........
Visit our booth this year at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show where we'll be serving up samples of our special "Rub with Love" products and sharing our favorite recipes for cooking outside in the garden!!! February 18 - 22
For more information go to: www.gardenshow.com

Saturday, January 31, 2009 @ 2:50pm
And The Winner Is..............

On this weeks show, listen in while we announce the FIVE finalists for our FIFTH year wedding anniversary soiree.

Join us on Saturday, February 7th as we broadcast LIVE from the Palace Ballroom in celebration of our FIFTH birthday. Reservations can be made by emailing christinal@tomdouglas.com.

On this weeks show, we have hot-new-chef Brian Cartenuto of Cantinetta in Wallingford. This neighborhood gem has been all the rage, but Brian is taking a break from the kitchen to come in and share some chef secrets - homemade pasta tricks and an easy shortcut for a delicious sauce.

Tarts and Tears are next when Diane La Vonne of Diane's Market Kitchen comes in for an onion tutorial. Think onions are used only to layer a dish? Think again, as Diane shows us how to make this affordable winter-time veggie center stage.

Michael Teer of Pike and Western pairs a delicious wine to this weeks Five Onion Recipe Soup, and we're calling all popcorn lovers for this weeks What's Your Special with KukuRuza Gourmet Popcorn.

Saturday, January 24, 2009 @ 9:48am
In the Kitchen.....

On this weeks, show.........

Listen in for the BEST DISH contest rules, because it's your last week to submit a recipe and join the cook-off! Finalists will be announced on air January 31st and will compete for best dish at the Palace Ballroom 5th Year Anniversary Party on February 7th.

Joining us early on is everyone's favorite home cookbook author, Sheila Lukins. Sheila was a co-author on the everyone-has-it Silver Palate cookbooks and now she's back again with TEN - All Your Favorite Foods and Ten Recipes for Each. Listen in while we talk perfect chops and veggie soup.

Next up are internet mavens, FOODISTA - The Online Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit. Co-founders Barnaby Dorfman and Sheri Wetherell have taken their obsession for food and turned it into a revolutionary website that is a must for food lovers and enthusiasts worldwide.

In the last hour, join Tom and Thierry as they wrap up their four-part series, "Build Your Own Restaurant." Call in and weigh in on what makes a restaurant great.

As always, we'll have a wine pairing with Michael Teer of Pike and Western Wine Shop and a Recipe of the Week, and Ask the Chef in the last hour of the show.

Till next time..............now get cookin'!

Tom Douglas, along with his wife and business partner, Jackie Cross, owns five of Seattle's most exciting restaurants: Dahlia Lounge, Etta's, Palace Kitchen, Lola, and Serious Pie. With almost 30 years in the biz, Tom helped put Seattle on the culinary map by cooking global cuisine with regional and seasonal ingredients.

Thierry Rautureau, The Chef In The Hat!!! is the chef/owner of Rover's Restaurant in Seattle, Washington. Rover's is internationally recognized as one of the premier dining destinations in the Pacific Northwest. For 21 years, Rover's has offered cuisine that Rautureau describes as Northwest Contemporary with a French accent.