We are moving into the Holiday Season; we made it through Halloween and now the race to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone will be busy with holiday plans. It can sometimes be a bit crazy and stressful, hopefully everyone can take a step back and enjoy and remember what the season is all about.
Some of us enjoyed the Halloween visitors we had, it was fun to see the costumes and how much fun the kids were having.
Cultural outing
Six of us went on an outing yesterday. We went to Seattle Asian Art Museum to see the exhibition which compared Japanese and French Art. If one likes Japanese wood block prints and the famous Toulouse Lautrec posters, you will enjoy a visit to the museum. After our museum visit, we went to Monsoon to have a wonderful lunch. It was a great day. We must thank Carole for putting the museum event together and Cheri for the great lunch suggestion and both for driving. I hope we can do this again.
Book club is scheduled to be at Andi’s home on Nov. 13th We 
will be discussing The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony. I enjoyed the book; I hope everyone else does too. Let Andi know if you plan to join the group. Because of Dec. always being so busy we always skip Dec., and the next meeting will be on Jan. 8th. We don’t have a book or venue at this point, we will make that decision next week.
Traveling neighbors
Our traveling neighbors are Matthew and Shirleen Becker, they are doing a driving trip down to northern California to visit friends hope they had a good time and safe drive.
Luis and CJ are back in town from Madrid, so glad they will be here for the holidays.
Bev was in Tuscon area for a month to enjoy the desert and family.
Recipe du Jour
Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Figs
Serves 4
Ingredients
Olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into medallions. Pound until about ½ inch,
1-pint fresh figs, trimmed and halved
1 cup white wine
- Place a large cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Coat bottom of pan with about 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Season pork medallions with salt and pepper. Sear both sides until well browned, about 3 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches about 140F. Remove to a platter and cover loosely with foil.
- Add figs to pan with a pinch of salt and pepper and additional oil if needed cook for 3 minutes. Add wine cook until sauce is a bit thickened, Add pork back to skillet and coat with sauce.
Recipe from Central Market
Restaurant Review
Off Main
previously Hamburger Harry’s
610 5th Ave S. suite 1
Edmonds
Closed Mon-Tue
Wed-Sun 4:00 PM 10:00 PM
Sunday 4:00 PM-9:00 PM
We went with a friend; we were seated in the bar then moved to a table when it became available. Service was so-so, it took forever for Jerry to get his martini, food was good, but we still think the burgers at Blackbird are better. Blackbird fries are better–Off Main were pale and limp. We would probably give it another try, maybe in the summer when you can sit outside because of the noise level.
Le Coin
4201 Fremont Ave N.
Seattle
206-708-7207
Hours
Sat. & Sunday
9:00 2:00
4:00-9:00
Monday-Friday
4:00-10:00 PM
A bit further afield is a small restaurant named Le Coin; we went there for our anniversary.
The food was great, the service excellent. The noise level was fine for the two of us but would have been a problem if you were with a group.
Parking can be challenging.
Tips Du Jour
These tips come in handy for holiday cooking and baking.
Testing for doneness
When boiling potatoes for salads when you want nicely shaped pieces Use a bamboo skewer instead of a knife or fork to test the potatoes. This way the potatoes are less likely to fall apart, and you get a better feel for their doneness.
Chocolate Spirals
For beautiful chocolate curls, scrape the edge of mile chocolate cand bar with a vegetable peeler. Great tip for holiday baking.
Chopping chocolate
Cutting chocolate into chunks can be a hassle, a food processor is often too much for a small job. Use a serrated knife, – The teeth grab the chocolate without scattering it all over the cutting board. The job is easily and quickly accomplished with less mess. I often go one step further and put the cutting board in a rimmed cookie sheet, another way of keeping the chocolate from scattering.
A little Liqueur
For special baking when one wants flavored liqueur and you don’t want to buy a large bottle, often a recipe only needs a tablespoon or two. Buy the small bottles, like the ones you get on an airplane, you can find them in most any pharmacy.
Up Coming Event
It is almost time for our annual Christmas Extravaganza.
Sign up sheets are available on the windows of the 3rd floor meeting room and the window of the Book Nook. Please sign up noting what you plan to bring, we certainly don’t want duplicates and how many are in your party.
Don’t forget to move your clocks this evening.
Have a great Thanksgiving
Enjoy