Ring in the New Year at one of our delicious restaurant clients and start 2012 off in a sublimely delicious fashion.

Spinasse and Artusi

This year is bound to be extra festive with New Year’s Eve falling on a Saturday! On Capitol Hill, both Spinasse and Artusi are offering special menus and wine flights to bid adieu to 2011 in delicious style.

Artusi

Spinasse is offering two delicious five-course menus from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., with optional wine flights. The 2011 menu is filled with classic guest favorites, and the 2012 menu looks to the future, featuring innovative dishes for a brand new year. $75 per person plus tax and gratuity with optional wine pairings at $35 and $50. Click for a reservation or call (206) 251-7673.

For a spirited evening join the team at Artusi from 5 p.m. to midnight for cocktails, a special three-course tasting menu, plus dessert, offered in addition to the regular menu, along with a flight of bubbles that will pair perfectly with the tasting menu but can also be enjoyed separately. $40 per person plus tax and gratuity, with optional sparkling wine flight for $30. No reservations, seating is first come, first serve.

Cafe Juanita

Cafe Juanita

Usher in 2012 at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, where Chef Holly Smith is crafting a 7-course tasting menu alongside two exquisitely chosen wine pairings created by Sommelier Dawn Smith.

Dawn was recently named a finalist for Sunset magazine’s Western Wine Awards and boasts over 13 years of experience, including professional chef training and multiple Sommelier certifications. Her brilliant sense of food and wine pairing and extensive knowledge of wine serves to enhance the already stellar menu at this award-winning restaurant. Reservations are available until 10 p.m. Click for reservations or call 425-823-1505.

RN74

RN74

A favorite Seattle destination for wine lovers, RN74 is offering an early and late seating, with two menus certain to delight all the senses. The early seating features four courses, plus a supplemental cheese course, with such festive temptations as a Hamachi Crudo, studded with bright Cara Cara oranges, hearts of palm and Castelvetrano olives,  Ginger Glazed Black Cod with Matsutake dashi and a Grilled New York Strip Loin paired with a spinach soubric, black trumpet mushrooms and sauce Perigourdine.

The late seating also starts with the Hamachi Crudo, but adds Seared Nantucket Bay Scallops with parsnip puree and black winter truffles to the menu before the Black Cod and ending with the Grilled New York Strip Loin, this time with a sauce Bordelaise. End the meal (and the year) on a sweet note with a Chocolate Mille-Feuille, chestnut cremeux and Bourbon ice cream.

Reserve online or call 206-456-7474.

In their most recent issue, 425 magazine takes readers into the kitchen of Cafe Juanita’s Holly Smith and provides the recipe for a cheesy and delicious Baked Eggs with Burrata and Prosciuttto di Parma (don’t worry, we’re hooking you up with the recipe, too, see below).

And as promised:

Baked Eggs with Burrata and Prosciuttto di Parma

4 Oven-Safe Porcelain Dishes or Ramekins (oval or round, no more than 4 inches in diameter and 2 ½ inches deep)

4 Tbs. Butter

4 Slices of thinly cut Prosciutto di Parma

4 Organic Eggs

1 Container Burrata (Can be purchased at grocery stores like Whole Foods, Central Market, but can also substitute good quality cream cheese)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Butter ramekins all over
• Lay 1 thin slice of prosciutto in the bottom of each ramekin (can fall over sides of ramekin)
• Crack 2 local, organic eggs on top of prosciutto in each ramekin
• For each ramekin, take 2 tbs. of Burrata (or cream cheese) and dot on either side of yolks
• Season generously with kosher salt (pepper optional-  *Oliver does not like black pepper)
• Bake in 400 degree oven to desired doneness or until white is just set (approx. 7-12 minutes) Check at 7 minutes.
• Let rest 1-2 minutes before serving
• Serve with spoon and fork and grilled bread.

ENJOY!!

The people have spoken and Zagat has listened!

Zagat, the world’s first and most respected restaurant rating service based on user-generated reviews, has released its 2012 America’s Top Restaurants Survey, which covers 1,578 of the nation’s top restaurants across 45 major markets, including Seattle.

“The new guide incorporates the votes of over 156,000 food lovers who dined out an estimated 25 million times in the past year, i.e., 3.1 times per week,” says the press release, and Cafe Juanita tops the list in the Seattle area!

Congrats to chef/owner Holly Smith for her continued commitment to an exemplary customer experience and culinary and oenophilic  excellence!

Dawn Smith, Wine Director and General Manager at Cafe Juanita, has been named a finalist for Sunset magazine’s 2011 Western Wine Awards!

The winner will be announced at the Western Wine Awards Dinner and Gala during Sunset Savor the Central Coast on Friday, September 30th, 2011 at Pismo Beach Pier in California.

With over 13 years of experience, including professional chef training and multiple Sommelier certifications, Dawn was named “Sommelier of the Year” by Seattle magazine in 2009 and was voted “Best Sommelier” in the magazine’s 2008 Reader’s Choice Awards.

Dawn brings her passion and commitment to excellence to enhance the much-lauded menu at Kirkland’s Cafe Juanita, completing a strong female team in the kitchen that includes Chef/owner Holly Smith and Chef de Cuisine Lauren Thompson. Dawn’s exquisite sense of food and wine pairing and extensive knowledge of wine serves to enhance the already stellar menu at this award-winning restaurant.