Seattle Met has a great list of places to eat out on Thanksgiving. From $10 at Linda's (TV Dinner... no kidding, yuk) to $225 at the Herbfarm and of course plenty in between.

Part 1: http://www.seattlemet.com/blogs/nosh-pit/thanksgiving-dinner-seattle-restaurants-part-1-november-2011

Part 2: http://www.seattlemet.com/blogs/nosh-pit/thanksgiving-dinner-part-ii-november-2011/

Maynard's is a British candy company that licenses in some of the Commonwealth countries. It isn't made or imported in the US to any large degree. It's sometimes available in British (or Canadian) specialty stores. Also, Smarties in Canada/UK are something entirely different (like M&Ms...sorta) than what Smarties are in the US (little fruit-flavored tablets).

There are stores out there that deal in British food - things like Golden Sauce, Cross & Blackwell condiments, HP Sauce, etc. You can order online:

http://www.britishfoodshop.com/maynards-candy.asp.

But you were looking for some place locally. You can try The British Pantry in Redmond:

http://www.thebritishpantryltd.com/#!the-place

Also, here's a cool Maynards TV spot from a couple of years ago that a friend of mine worked on in Toronto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QEXbOejCRk

There are a few things that came straight to mind:

1. Tutta Bella on Westlake and Denny. This is one of their nicer locations: great city views, cool space and yummy eats. Lots of veggie options.

2. Cafe Lago in Montlake off of 24th. Great pasta, nice atmosphere.

3. Coastal Kitchen on 15th on the hill is always a nice family night out.

I am thinking that your internal flora may be messed up with whatever antibiotics may have been used before or after surgery to reduce possibility of infection. Try repopulating your gut with some good probiotics, Greek yogurt, acidophilus milk or more concentrated powder or capsule form Lactobacillus active cultures. With the powder form take a small amount in your mouth and swish it around with some liquid so that you spread it all the way down your esophagus to your stomach. I have done this when I have had oral sensitivity and canker sores, etc. and felt it helped. Get the right flora re-established and those compounds that are sticking around may be taken care of naturally.

You might want to hit the fiber also, oatmeal, etc. to give you some bulk to keep things moving and provide some matter to carry things through your GI system.

We loooove Gary West Meats - it's a Christmas favorite at my house. The BEST beef jerky, and buffalo and elk jerky if that's your thing. From Jacksonville, Oregon. www.garywest.com.

AHH! The frozen king crab you buy at the market IS COOKED.

I worked for a seafood processing/packaging plant in AK for three years, and a good portion of our business was mail order king crab. It was absolutely, always, 100% cooked as soon as it came off the boats. The "story" about crab becoming poisonous once it dies (if not cooked) is absolutely true.

When we shipped ours it was cooked immediately, flash frozen, and shipped overnight with gel ice packs. Dry ice should work fine too as long as you really protect the crab from direct contact.

The best way to warm it back up once frozen is to allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight, then quickly steam it in a large pot, just until warm. Or just eat it cold.

Fun story about dead crab- we once had a fisherman offload an entire boat of dead king crab on a Friday afternoon. The plant manager let it sit over the weekend and by Monday morning the smell coming out of the building was so pungent we were all sick trying to work in the front office. I had to get rid of all of the clothes I wore that first week. Mmm. One crab had died and poisoned the entire load. Nasty and awful.

While not in Seattle proper, The Herb Farm in Woodinville is a pretty amazing experience. $200 for 9 courses over 4-5 hours, with several glasses of wine, too.

Tilth is fabulous.

Metropolitan Grill. Honestly, I just love this old school fancy steak house.

It's just a light color play that occurs in deli meat, especially beef. Depending on the beef & the type of light, can be a rainbow of colors but often it has a green tinge which leads many to think the meat is spoiled. Spoilage would likely have an off odor, feel slimy or sticky.

It's normal.

It's at the Greenwood Market so I guess Town and Country markets carry it. Includes Greenwood Market, Central Market, Ballard Market et al. Tried it last night. S'ok. Not a big fan of malt balls and there are lot of them.

The "Man" is open! Dixies BBQ, 11522 Northup Way in Bellevue is open Tue thru Sat 11-4:30.
Enjoy!

Everything! We've thrown all manner of goodness into our smoker. It's worth experimenting even if you think a particular food item might not work. Here's a not-at-all comprehensive list of Things To Smoke:

1)Scallops. Really, seafood in general (shrimp turn out quite well, too), but scallops in a smoker filled with hickory chips are about as amazing as it gets. For seafood, if you are going to brine first, don't let it sit too long or use too much salt. A little goes a long way with shellfish.

2)Marshmallows. Our smoker is not especially hot (~150 degrees), so smoking marshmallows for smoked s'mores worked quite well. Placed on a skewer, they get somewhat droopy, but that crackly cooked marshmallow skin forms and droooool.

3)Brisket. Homemade pastrami and/or corned beef takes patience, but it's so worth it. Well, not if you dislike meat, but otherwise, here's how you do it: get a brisket, trim off most of the fat (separating the point from the flat if your brisket comes with both parts), place into brining bag with water, sea salt, molasses and pickling salt, and let the brisket hang out in your fridge for at least a week. After much waiting, dump the entire contents of the brining bag into a stewpot and boil for about 30 minutes. Remove brisket from pot and let it sit for about an hour, during which time you preheat your smoker. Rub the brisket down with pepper/spices/extra seasoning of choice. Place brisket in the smoker, and smoke for two rounds of about 45 minutes to an hour each. And you're finished. Cut that awesome up and throw it on a Reuben. Oh, and use your boiled leavings as a stock. We make ours into curries.

4)Salmon. Smoked salmon is a classic, and there's a reason for that. It's amazing. Apple or hickory chips with this one.

5)Cheese. Again, a lower temp smoker can do this even though the cheese gets melty. If your smoker has a cold smoke option, that would be ideal for cheese.

To answer your chip question, chips are sold many places. If you want finer chip shavings, go to Ace and Big 5. If you want big chip chunks, Home Depot or Lowe's. I prefer hickory for most things and apple chips for chicken thighs. I haven't tried cherry yet, but that's coming. Mesquite is strong and the flavor is very distinct, so I'd save that for chicken breasts, etc. Alder, as far as I can tell, tastes like nothing, though your experience may differ. After some initial alder-only smoking, I've only used alder to stretch my other chip supplies.

I also recommend trolling the interwebs for brine recipes. Brines are myriad, so find an ingredient combo and soaking time that works for you and your smoking foods of choice.

Dehydrate. They shrink nicely and are nearly weightless. I dump dried chantrelles in my quiches and they rehydrate nicely as they bake. No extra fuss!

Also, JEALOUS.

I did a cleanse a while back from The Herbalist and loved it SO much. I've been wanting to do another but keep putting it off. I did a pretty in-depth write up of my experience on my blog (http://www.areyoumyghost.com/2010/04/week-long-cleanse-breakdown.html)

I am a HUGE fan of Braised Meats...supper east to feed a large group, economical and gets better with time so you can make ahead and just re-heat the day of! Think Short Ribs, Lamb Shanks, Goulash (That is also fun to say!)

If not an entree style dish, I like things like Braised Fennel Gratin....any gratin dish for that matter is a hit! Again, make ahead and re-heat for the event.

I hate loosing my summer fruits but Bacon Bruleed Brussel Sprouts will make you the hit of ANY party! Garnish with Pomegranate seeds for a nice tart burst and beautiful contrast. 

Caramelization should be the theme of ALL foods for the fall. It adds layers of flavors to otherwise mundane veggies. Especially true for all root vegetables!

Panzanella's are also a nice fall salad option for a twist on the standard green...oh so many variations on this idea. Really, just have fun and taste as you go!

You can create a similar Blended Mocha Drink. Put 4-6oz of milk in a blender. Dissolve chocolate sauce or coca powder in espresso. (Some cafes use blended drink powder, vanilla powder or vanilla syrup too) Add ice and blend.

Not an exact replica but you could experiment with it to suit your taste. Maybe add some cinnamon or cayenne, or other milks(soy, almond, or eggnog)? If you are willing to spend some money try adding different syrups too. People often request it with caramel or peppermint.

Morphey's Cakes
110 Denny Way, Seattle, WA 98109
206-283-8557

I used to work near this place and once a month got a cake for office birthdays. Every cake was delicious. Highly recommended.

http://www.morfeyscake.com/home.html

I agree with Laura Annapurna is great. According to my google search it is also the cheapest during lunch. The next contender is very closer however and appears to be cheaper during dinner. However, The Everest Kitchen is in Shoreline so I'm not even sure it counts. On the bright side Annapurna has a printable coupon on the website, good until the end of October.

I made this last week and it was awesome. I skipped the chili-sage butter because it was late and I was tired, but I imagine that it would be good. I served it with some cheesy polenta (using this recipe) and I tossed some bacon in because bacon is f'ing delicious. Also, I used cremini and shitake mushrooms instead of boring white button mushrooms. Yum. You can use about twice as much chard as the recipe calls for, because it cooks down and wilts more than kale does. 

Note: the eggs take a while to set, so I toss in a tablespoon or two of water and slap a lid on the pan to create some steam to help them cook more quickly. 

I just purchased a lodge cast iron pizza pan. It does the same job as a pizza stone, but cleaning it is easier, it's less likely to crack, and it's more versatile. You can use the thing as a griddle on top of the stove. It was about $30 from Amazon.

I bet Rain Shadow would order some Cornish game hens or smallish fryers for you if you asked them.

Report it to your regional health authority.

The ideal course of action when you get food poisoning is to go to a doctor, who can identify the pathogen, and maybe confirm it as a food poisoning case, and report it.

Realistically, for a mild case you probably won't go to the doctor (and it sounds like you're over your symptoms anyway.)The next best thing is to report it yourself. I believe these would be the people to contact. This page has instructions on it - like they say, it's important that you give them as many exact details as you can. It can be hard to track down the culprit with foodborne illnesses, and the details will help them.

I understand not wanting to rat out an eating establishment that you like, but this is a safety issue. Look at it this way: there are probably other people whose immune systems aren't as strong as yours, and there's a chance that someone could get seriously ill or die from the same thing you got.

As for calling the restaurant, that's up to your discretion. On the plus side:

Best case: they're responsible types who will be grateful that you called and double-check everything to see if they can find a problem. Plus, they'll probably give you free stuff.

Medium case: they're ingratiating types who will give you free stuff to shut you up.

Worst case: they're assholes who will deny it and tell you to go away, in which case, you'll know not to go there again.

Then again, if you call the health department and the restaurant,there's a chance that they'll remember you as the person who reported them, whereas if you only call the health department, you'll remain anonymous. Something to think about. At any rate, if you do call, make sure you're talking to a manager. Also, calling during non-busy hours usually gets a better response.

Meat & poultry labeling terminology is regulated by FSIS. Because mechanically separated meat & poultry changes the product, it has it's own "standard of identity" which must be used on the label. A "standard of identity" is established for all meat products and must be on the labels. Mechanically separated meat is paste-like, therefore having its own identity.

Artusi, the bar that is part of Spinasse on Capitol Hill has a pretty great selection of Grappa and food.

If you can wait, talk to your local homebrewing shop and they'll connect you up with a local farm. They grind/press the apples, pre-sell you a certain number of gallons, then call you when the tanker truck is ready to deliver.

Before that, I'd suggest before wasting a batch on the "real thing", buy 5 gallons of dirt cheap apple juice from Costco and a ($15!) 50lb bag of dextrose from Cash & Carry, then have a ball.

I like burrito bar for get togethers. If people want veggies/fish/meat it's easy to have all 3 options, its great for food allgeries for the same reason, alot can be prepared ahead of time, or pot-lucked so you don't have a ton of too many cooks in the kitchen and if you have a small kitchen it's not a nightmare. Have bowls of salsa(s) cilantro, fresh tomatoes, rice, beans, grilled veggies, grilled fish, whatever meats and some tortillas and you have an easy meal that people can have exactly what they want. It's also pretty cheap if you have to do alot of people and your guests can bring some of the items. This was the go-to meal when I was in grad school because it was cheap and everyones wacky preferences could get covered. Throw in some jicama salad or other interesting textures for a side or just a bag of chips. If you do beans from scratch you can do Em a day ahead so there's less in the kitchen and it's super cheap. Have some different degrees of spicy so the squeamish and the insane are satisfied. Plus there are usually leftovers. Also works good for brunch if you do some eggs and potatoes

Firstly, I'm going to try to convince you to stick with the cast iron. Properly seasoned and maintained, cast iron is the greatest "non-stick" pan material.

You didn't say what's going wrong in your cleaning cycle, but I hope you're not using soap on it. Never, ever use soap on cast iron. As soon as your food comes out, and with the pan still hot, put a little hot water in the bottom. That will help release the food. It should be easy to then wipe it out with a sponge (I keep a sponge just for that purpose), then give it a quick re-heat and a wipe with a high-heat oil such as avocado. That's it.

As for commercial "non-stick" pans, stay away from anything with a coating... that stuff is proven to be cancer-causing. I mean, just look at it... would you want to lick that? Ick.

Better to use a simple, high-quality stainless steel frying pan. That's as close to non-stick as you're going to get if you don't want to use the cast iron. Experiment with temperature and oil in the pan until you get the desired result with your eggs.

Ask the folks downtown at City Kitchens for a recommendation; their big annual sale goes through September 30. Another great option is Seattle Premium Outlets up in Tulalip; I got a couple of great S/S pans from Calphalon and Le Crueset for dirt cheap.

Good luck. 

I have bought Bob's Red Mill blue corn meal from PCC locally; a great producer and a great source. Win-Win. Your corn bread will be DELISH !!

There are many options but I think The Hideout is a pretty unusual place. Very intimate and with plenty of artwork to keep you interested. Not sure if I'd describe it as romantic but it has potential in that direction.

http://www.hideoutseattle.com/

Almost all the farmers at farmers markets can supply you with boxes of seconds; just ask. Sometimes they'll have a stash the same day, or can take your request for the following week.
And for supplies, I suggest McLendon's Hardware stores. There are a handful of them, but none in Seattle proper.
Pickling is a great way to get into savory canning without having to switch to pressure canning techniques, although maybe you're already comfortable with that since you're doing tomatoes. Duris Cucumber Farm in Puyallup is an amazing source for spices and ingredients; there are so many variations on cucumber pickles. Pickled onions are nice as a flavoring ingredient in salads and sandwiches; Mexican pickled carrots are delicious, too. Fruit mustards (mostardas) are great, particularly as a side to meat dishes. Onion jam is another good one; caramelized onions are good under pretty much any circumstances. Apple butter and apple sauce are just around the corner, local cranberries show up in October, and then you can make some quince paste (membrillo) in November. Hello, cheese plates!
With sauerkraut, you're getting into a whole different world of food preservation, at least if you want to do traditional lactobacillus kraut. A fair amount can go wrong here; make sure to do plenty of hard core science/food safety research about Ph before digging in.

The Wild Rose.

*ducks a hail of tomatoes*
*has a nice salad*