DavazNet

For one or for a crowd, lamb is a winter wonder

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:28 GMT

Lamb has always been a favorite of mine. A roasted leg of lamb was my first choice for childhood birthday dinners, and it’s hard to imagine anything that smells better than crispy grilled lamb chops on a bed of rosemary. On a cold winter evening, this recipe from the Cordon Bleu in Paris is just what I want. When you lift the lid on the cooking pot, a cloud of herby, garlicky, lamby steam is released, revealing browned chops on a bed of sliced potatoes. For this recipe you want the larger, flatter blade-cut shoulder chops that take well to braising,…

Pies in all shapes and sizes and tastes to please everyone

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:28 GMT

Try topping with peanuts and chocolate chips People who say they don’t love pie are not to be trusted, says Dani Cone, pie queen and owner of both High 5 Pie and Fuel Coffee in Seattle, in the introduction to “Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory and Adorable Recipes.” I must be very trustworthy then. I love pie. Cone loves her pies, too, making them in all sorts of shapes and flavors. The first chapter covers four crusts: all butter, vegan, gluten-free and graham-cracker crumb. I admire Cone’s honesty about gluten-free pies. Cooking without gluten can mean using ingredients you might not…

Pour a little gourmet on a plain dish

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:15 GMT

I first tasted Ginger Sesame Salad Dressing at The Mustard Seed restaurant in Missoula, Mont. I can’t recall anything else from the menu, and I ate there often, but the salad dressing was memorable. I would go there just to have the salad. I’ve had this recipe for so long, there is no paper trail as to where I found it, but I’m glad I did. This delicious blend of fresh ginger, toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce fancies up almost any salad or vegetable, so you can use it to perk up a plain main dish. The one essential piece…

It’s just about 2012

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:57 GMT

It’s just about 2012. About a year ago I called Brian to see if he wanted to go to lunch. We met at the Metropol Bakery down on Willamette St., had a quick visit and a sandwich. As ever, we made jokes about practically nothing and laughed. We had done that, off-and-on for about 37 years. The next time I talked to him, he was in Seattle, getting ready to photograph Bill Russell for Sports Illustrated, the next morning. It was the third to the last time I talked to him. When I look back at 2011, a lot of not-that-great…

Spread has potential to become tradition

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:00 GMT

"The Vegetarian Epicure" by Anna Thomas was one of the first cookbooks I bought; followed quickly by "The Vegetarian Epicure: Book Two." After I used both with some regularity for a few years, they slipped to an out-of-the-way spot on my cookbook shelf, barely noticed - except for twice a year. Right before Thanksgiving, and near Christmas or New Year's, I search them out for the Liptauer Cheese recipe. Of course, I often forget which book I use, because between the two books, there are three recipes for Liptauer Cheese. The preferred recipe is in the second book, and Thomas calls…

Winter nights call for Reindeer Pie

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:00 GMT

The first time I ate Shepherd's Pie was after a flight that had been delayed by snow. Gathered around the table at our friends' cozy house in the north of England, nothing could have been more perfect for that cold January night. Since then, our version of Shepherd's Pie that we call Reindeer Pie has become a winter staple. The recipe is a take-off on Rudolph Pie found in the book "Feast: Food to Celebrate Life" by Nigella Lawson. Shepherd's Pie is really supposed to be made with lamb and Cottage Pie with beef, but we won't quibble. Reindeer Pie isn't…

Mincemeat without mincing words

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:29 GMT

Mincemeat: The very thought of it is enough to make you shudder. What’s in there? And most importantly, does it really contain meat? The answer to the meat question is: It depends. It used to have meat because it was a good way to use up those leftover meat scraps and bits no one knew what to do with. I asked a group of women about mincemeat. One, originally from Wyoming, said her mother used to make it. When asked about the recipe, she said, “Well, first you have to get some venison.” A recipe that begins with the application for…

Potatoes add a holiday touch to rolls

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:00 GMT

One of the most important Thanksgiving foods at our house is yeast rolls. I go back and forth between plain rolls and rolls that contain mashed potatoes, but I think that potato rolls are my favorite. Make sure to use a floury, not waxy, potato, cooked and mashed well. Lumps aren’t a plus in rolls. Save the potato water: yeast loves it, beginning to feed and multiply happily almost immediately. Mixing and kneading can be done in a heavy-duty stand mixer. Use the paddle to beat the dough until smooth, then switch to the dough hook. Rising time depends on temperature.…

Baby hats, 2003-2011

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:23 GMT

A collection of baby hats and other knitting projects by Kim Davaz over the last few years.

Autumn quartet

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:01 GMT

This quartet of pies features fall produce: apples, cranberries, pears and nuts. As for the Chocolate Coconut Pie, neither chocolate or coconut are particularly fall ingredients, but they are, after all, chocolate and coconut. It is always the right time of the year for chocolate and coconut. Topping sweets with salt is still in fashion, probably because it tastes so good. Adding a top dusting of coarse salt to the following version of the ever-popular pecan pie adds a bit of balance to the tooth-achingly sweet filling. A mixture of nuts adds flavor and texture to the Karo syrup recipe (I…

This squash presents a challenge

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:00 GMT

Making a meal shouldn’t be dangerous. I’ve never been tempted by those Japanese puffer fish that kill someone every so often, or even by pain-inducing incendiary chilies. I have, however, fallen for sweet meat squash. Sweet meat squash is very pretty — a flattened round of pale, silvery blue-green, sometimes with light brown speckles. It’s an excellent squash for eating with its dense, deep, orange-yellow sweet flesh. And the numerous plump seeds are just great for roasting and snacking. Let’s go back to the dense flesh. We’re talking very dense. In fact, the sweet meat is so hard that it is…

Apple appeal

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00 GMT

One of the best parts of fall is the arrival of apple season; time to drive to a local farm to pick your own or head for your favorite farmers’ market, where often you can find less common varieties. In our family, it’s the smell of cooking apples and cinnamon that signals that fall is here. My mom called it stewed apples, and it’s just apples and cinnamon and maybe a big dollop of honey — cooked in the big pot she gave me — until the house fills with the fragrance that is, to me, the essence of fall. When…

John would have been 71 today

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:06 GMT

John Lennon in a 2010 Beatlemania Museum display in Hamburg, Germany.

Make your own version of Chile Verde

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:37 GMT

One of my sisters who lived in New Mexico and Colorado gave me a recipe for Chile Verde that I have made for years. It has evolved, as recipes do, and no disrespect is meant to anyone from New Mexico or Colorado if it seems to have strayed from what you were expecting. As with most regional recipes I’ve come across, almost everyone makes their own version, all insisting it’s the true recipe. I like to keep an appreciative, open mind, because good cooking is good cooking and authenticity is in the eye (or taste buds) of the beholder. Chile Verde…

Visit from Afghanistan

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 07:58 GMT

The family had a special day in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, when son, brother, husband and father Lt. Col. Neil Reilly came home on leave from Afghanistan. Neil is the squadron commander of TF Palehorse/7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry. His two days of travel from Kandahar ended when he arrived at Lincoln Financial Field during the second half of the Temple-Penn State football game.

Signals from the sidelines

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 05:59 GMT

Temple University quarterback Connor Reilly on the sidelines during the Temple-Penn State game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011. Penn State won, 14-10.

Yes, I’m a Steve Jobs and Apple fanboy

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:44 GMT

Back in the day of cheap plane tickets and MacWorld Expos in San Francisco I regularly went down from Eugene for the keynote day. I could fly out around 6:30 a.m. and get back to town around 11 p.m. On this particular trip Steve Jobs revealed details of the MacOSX Aqua interface and announced that Apple was dropping the “interim” label from his iCEO title. He was happy about it and I made this snapshot. It’s a “looking back” moment in light of his announcement this week that he’s stepping down as CEO of the most valuable public company in the…

A break after a spin in the Coast Range

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:51 GMT

The Wheelworks Vesparados had intended to summit Marys Peak in the Coast Range today, but the road was closed. Plan “B” was a stop at The Woodsman in Philomath.

Dad turns 81

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 05:27 GMT

Col. Carl G. Davaz, USA retired, turned 81-years-old today in Bellevue, Wash.

Make Pavlova, and taste buds will dance

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:36 GMT

Pavlova is an impressive dessert to make that's so easy, a 10-year-old could make it alone. To be precise, two 10-year-olds could make it by themselves, which they did. Invented in either Australia or New Zealand (depending on whom you ask) to honor the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the Pavlova was usually topped with tropical passion fruit. That fruit isn't as available here, so use your favorite seasonal fruit. Frozen fruit works, too, as do pomegranate seeds, caramelized bananas or chocolate sauce. The middle layer is usually whipped cream, but feel free to play around here. I like a mixture…