Chef John Howie, Seastar Restaurant, John Howie Steak, Sport Restaurant and Bar
Salmon Carpaccio
Suggested Wine Pairing: L’Ecole No. 41 2008 Semillon-Columbia Valley & 2007 Syrah-Columbia Valley

Chef Shannon Galusha, Bastille
Marinated Octopus with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon (others enjoyed with Chorizo Vinaigrette)
*This was my favorite dish, I had two helpings!  Attractive in an artistic way, the octopus was large enough to be a tiny offensive - as in do I want to close my eyes or am I brave enough to take a big bite - I chose the latter and found it deliciously flavorful and perfectly chewy.  A tad bit salty, and I mean that in the best way.
Suggested Wine Pairing: Skylite Cellars 2008 Sierra (73% Pinot Gris & 27% Sauvignon Blanc)

Chef Jason Stratton, Spinasse
Zucchini in Capione with Fennel and Apricot
Suggested Wine Pairing: 2009 Carderetta SBS 79% Sauvignon Blanc, 21% Semillon

Middle photo Lemon Basil.

Having been on an uneventful, but loooooong flight I was very happy to get into my room at the Hotel Monaco. Once in, bags down, I found my aquatic buddy for the weekend Albert. He seems a lovely little goldfish, full of energy and with none of the pretentiousness of one of those James Bond-like aquariums I read about last week in the Times.

The first day of the  International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) was in “culinary high gear’ featuring the likes of Dianne Jacob and Kristine Kidd leading the informative workshop “The Art of Recipe Writing and Kathleen Flinn orchestrating the learning and hilarious seminar “Writing With All Five Senses.”

Every manner of recording device emerged from bags and pocketbooks onto the rows of tables lined up close together in a room of the Theo Chocolate factory.  IPADS, IPhones (from what I could observe these were used primarily for Twittering, something I learned today some food bloggers are “aggressive” about), Blackberrys (presumably also for Twittering), laptops, digital cameras, applicable cables, and on occasion (such as with myself) a notebook and pen for taking copious notes.

As a young blogger (less than 18 months) I continue to find I have a lot to learn about how to improve Delicious Musings. My voice, style, how I utilize links, and overall experience one has reading this blog.  I will be incorporating some of the practical advice I learned today in posts featuring recipes (look for more cultural or historical information in the headnotes and nutritional data when appropriate) and to dig deeper into the experience of a dish utilizing more verbs to describe its smell, texture, and sound.

One day I would like to roadtrip to and throughout the Northwest by back road and highway.  It is the best way to see the country, conversing with oddball strangers (because those are the most memorable), having deep conversations with my traveling partner(s), eating good and really bad food, and checking out for a few weeks.

Photo by Grant Harder.

Without further ado, to the topic of this post. I consider myself a researcher and seeing as how I will be touring Theo Chocolate in Seattle took it upon myself to sample some of their chocolate in advance. I mean we would not want me showing up without being knowledgeable about the product right!? We are talking about chocolate!   Taking these chocolate things seriously as I do I recruited a taste tester in my friend Eli, a proud new papa who not that long ago established a fermentation center in Portland. We sat down in the Ferm (what we locals call the fermentation center) at a table made from leftover wood. Eli supplied apple juice from freshly picked apples, some of which will go into making apple cider (to be sold at the Ferm).  There were large glass jugs of it in the fridge. I took a photo, but it did not do the sight justice. That apple juice might be just about the best apple juice I’ve ever had. Not normally a big apple juice person, it really has to be fresh for me to like it. This was delicious.

Eli pronounced both the 74% Organic Dark Chocolate and 70 % Dark Chocolate tasty. My preference is for the former with its “big” chocolate flavor. I look forward to sampling the Orange, Mint, and Spicy Chile in Seattle. Expect a full chocolate report in a few days.

“Time of Arrival” by Silas Finch, photographs provided by Corduroy.

Photo by Anna Markek.

If you like what you see there, you might also enjoy Groove Is In The Art, his other album cover gallery featuring colorfully illustrated jackets with psychedelic graphics.

A few of my favorites: