Dear Friends,

The last week of June found me on whirlwind book tour in Vancouver, Canada, Seattle and Portland - all great food cities. I think they thought I was a celebrity! Here's a clip from my appearance on AM Northwest and some fun photos from my trip.

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Many thanks to my wonderful book tour hosts: Elliott Bay Book Co., the Pantry at Delancey and the Book Larder in Seattle; Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks and CinCin in Vancouver; Powell's Books and New Seasons Market in Portland. If you're ever in the northwest, be sure to look them up! (Other culinary discoveries are listed below.)

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I'm very happy to be home, and I am in a BBQ mood. I even made BBQ popcorn last night. Summertime just makes me want to cook and eat everything outdoors, even breakfast (and popcorn).

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My love of BBQ actually started with my dad's ribs cooked in our fireplace over charcoal during the long Minnesota winters. When we opened Mustards Grill twenty-nine years ago, I insisted it have a wood oven and grill. It just makes the food taste so much better. This month we're featuring salted, smoked and cured dishes for the Mustards Pour-off Pair-Off.

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The menu at Brassica is evolving based on customer feedback. We've gone back to our roots a bit, changed the second part of the name to Wine Bar & Wood Grill, and added more wood-grilled dishes - including two new burgers. The CP Classic features one of my secret sauces. The Drunken Bleu features an addicting topping Darren created with caramelized onion, porcini mushrooms, Marsala, brandy, red wine (hence "drunken"), and gorgonzola. Don't worry; you can still drive after eating one. There are many other great additions like our popular Crab Louie, amazing cocktails by the pitcher, and live music on the patio every Thursday evening. It's a pretty cool vibe. Come check it out.

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At Cindy's Backstreet, Michael and I are bringing the garden to July's Supper Club with summer dishes from my new cookbook. Think juicy ripe tomatoes, eggplant, squash... July is also "hot dog month" at Cindy's, so all you corndog fans get in here!

 
Happy summer to you all. I hope to see you soon.