theSeattleCook is and has always been a foundation for what we want to offer the world.
Since you last heard from us we launched the Mark Ashley Company
And we are excited to announce our latest venture www.BungalowArizona.com
Thank you for visiting the Seattle Cook. We hope to be back to blogging (cooking soon 😉
Saturday Dec 1, 2018 @ 12:15pm PST we made our move – Shake Shack South Lake Union…no line. We picked up…
ShackBurger – Good
Classic Hot dog – One step down from a Costco hot dog – but still great
Crinkle cut fries – Good
Vanilla milkshake – Great
An hour or so later…
We decided to try Great State Burger as a comparison and ordered…
Single (Classic Cheeseburger) – Great
Crinkle cut fries – Great
Vanilla milkshake – Average
Soda (with small ice) – Bonus
Now final judgement…
Depending on your style of burger, you might draw a different conclusion – but for us – Great State has the better burger and fries. Shake Shack crushes on the Vanilla shake and hot dog.
Overall I would not wait in line for Shake Shack (except maybe at an airport). And sometimes the wait time for the actual food at Great State takes a little longer…but at least you are not in the rain.
During weekdays after the 5am workout we sit down for what basically is a simple breakfast. 3 out of the 5 days will eat eggs and toast, avocado or tomatoes. 2 of the 5 days we will eat pancakes (my personal favorite).
The prep for breakfast is seriously under 10 minutes. Basically drop the eggs in water and yell at Alexa (SET TIMER FOR 10 Minutes)…the eggs are perfect every time. She enjoys her’s with hot sauce 😉
We started posting our breakfasts to Mark Ashley Life (Instagram).
Enjoy!
Initial First Sip impression…
Smell – Dusty (both of us agree)
Taste – Lite tartness w/ slight fruit (Ash) / Lite tart fruit w/ Hawaiian punch sweet (Mark)
2nd Sip…
On the nose – Less dusty, more complex with notes of floral possibly rose pedals.
Swallows easy, still tartness, more full after taste.
3rd Taste…
Lite in color via the pour (Mark)
Smooth Pinot Noir taste (Ash)
Taste reminds me of Big League Chew bubble gum (Mark)
-Slight disagreement between tastings about rules-
4th Taste…
Ash frozen on tasting notes.
Tasting is falling apart…not even 1/3 through the bottle.
Still nothing…awkward silence…2 minutes…
Ash says smiling, “this is a very boring tasting.”
Clicking noise with mouth from Ash…Jack left the room.
It is now 4:56pm PST.
Free pouring. Switching…from Rooster pouring device to frog…hope this lifts the mood of the room…
I am silently enjoying my wine 😉
Ash eats bread after a tasting…says… “this is the shittiest wine tasting…we are wasting the Sunday. There are tanins I think.”
Pours got bigger x2.
Smell of the wine is amazing. Taste is what I think I love about Sonoma Pinots’.
Ash wants to take intermission to call her clients.
She is calling.
(Background music is Fine Young Cannibals – You Drive Me Crazy).
She decided not to call clients. Making meow noises at Jack. She is concerned about Jack’s health. “Do I drive you crazy,” she asks…
I don’t respond.
We both down our pours.
Pouring 3x bigger.
She is reading the label…”Did you know they only made 16 barrels and it says Members Only.”
(Thug Passion by 2Pac comes on)
She’s singing…I poured her a big glass.
I am loving the taste of the wine.
She thinks there is a hint of soap. She looks over the table at what I am typing.
We cheers…drink the pour.
We both eat a piece of bread from Dahlia bakery (Ficelle Baguette).
She is snapping fingers and dancing in the shoulders (2Pac).
Turn the volume up on 2Pac.
She thinks the wine is very good when you are eating along side of it versus purely drinking the wine.
Ash decides not to go to spin class (FlyWheel).
We are bottom 1/4 of bottle.
(Eyes by Peter Bjorn is now playing)
We are talking about getting the Anderson Vineyard by Pangloss Pinot Noir.
We both agree time flies.
I dare her to take the whole pour…she says she can squirrel pound it…she decides to slowly taste…saying I am pouring myself less…she slams her wine…ahhhhh smiling.
Gets up snapping fingers…
(Bad Kids by Black Lips playing)
She wants to make a children’s book….suggests we should do it together.
I silently agree. And am getting hungry.
5:13pm PST
The last pour is in our glasses.
I think this is a fantastic introduction to Sonoma Pinot Noir. She looks over the laptop and agrees with that sentence. Adds…she loves Chardonnay too – especially from Carneros.
Jacks walks back into the room. She picks him up. She is kissing him…I love you Jack she repeats.
(All Night Long by Fancy – playing)
Ash saying …”I love this song…” playing which is now (Velvet Underground – I’ll be your mirror)
She gets up and is feeding Jack.
Jack seems happy.
She also likes the next song …(Tide is high by Blondie).
As we finish the last pour…she says we should invite someone to join. She really likes the wine, reminds her of Sonoma “we have 10 more bottles…heheh.”
A lite Pinot that goes great while eating something (we both agree).
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Tagged: couples who drink wine, not robert parker, not wine spectator, pinot noir, pinot noir review, robert parker, seattle win, seattle wine blog, seattle wine blogger, seattle wine review, sonoma, sonoma pinot noir, sonoma wine, the seattle cook, the seattle cookbook, washington wine blogger, wine, wine blog, wine blogger, wine enthusiast, wine review, Wine Reviews, wine spectator, wine tasting, wine tasting review, wines
With the upcoming launch of http://www.MarkAshleyLife.com “Cooking” will be more prevalent.
Stay tuned!
-MM
P.S. I like maple syrup!
In the first few episodes Ashur takes listeners through his first book Lobster and Tuna Tales.
Now that we are heading into the holidays, our palates naturally shift to red wine, darker beers and darker liquors. So here is a perfect way to warm up the season!
When we were kids, I remember my Nana shipping homemade almond, coffee & apricot liqueurs up from California in all different types of bottles. She was known for gifting these liqueurs to family and friends all year round.
When we visit in 2014, I had a couple nips of her “secret sauce” and when I got home from our visit, found the exact Donvier Cordially Yours Cordial Maker on eBay. It has been sitting in box until this past weekend!
There are a bunch of ways to make cordial or liqueurs, but if you are so lucky to have landed your hands on a Donvier Cordially Yours Cordial Maker, here is one of the classic recipes for a coffee liquor.
What you need:
1 3/4 cups water
3 Tbsp instant coffee granules or powder
1 1/2 cups sugar (1 cup should suffice)
1 half vanilla bean, split (and if you don’t have a vanilla bean 2 tspn vanilla extract)
2 1/4 cups run (light is what the original recipe called for but I used spiced)
In a sauce pan, boil water. Remove from heat and add coffee and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and pour mixture into the inner pot of the cordial maker. Add the vanilla and rum. Stir to mix and set the timer for 8 hours.
After the 8 hours, remove and store in airtight bottles. This batch will produce approximately 1 quart of liqueur.
Make a couple batches, store in cute antique bottles and gift’em – the perfect surprise stocking stuffer!
-Ash :0)
Dan (my bro-in-law) has been requesting Tortilla Soup so this was a perfect opportunity to have him over for dinner.
What you need:
In a large stock pot, heat olive oil on medium high heat and then add the garlic and shallot. Cook a few minutes, until translucent, then add the chicken broth and tomatoes – stir and heat until simmering. I didn’t use ALL 64 oz – you can use your judgement.
Then add your chicken, beans, 1/2 jalapeño, pepper to taste and turn to low heat. I actually had just over a cup of cooked brown rice from lunch, so I added that too.
Meanwhile, brush with canola oil and salt both sides of your tortillas- put them on a baking sheet. Pop them in the oven on broil until brown and crispy on both sides, flipping occasionally. When brown (or borderline burnt), remove from heat and thinly slice.
Prep your toppings – bell pepper, lime, sour cream, cilantro, salsa/pico and green onion, while adding about a handful of cilantro to your soup. Taste test your soup to make sure the flavors are right and serve!
High five!
the Seattle Cook 