Question: We just got back from visiting Seattle. While we were there, we tried a Blackberry cobbler from Chinook's Restaurant that was out of this world.
The restaurant is at the Fishermen's Terminal in Seattle. Is there any way that you can get the recipe? -- Jill Tucker, Salt Lake City, UtahAnswer: "The worst day of fishing is still better than the best day at the office," is the saying around Fishermen's Terminal, where more than 700 commercial fishing vessels, ranging from 30-300 feet, find moorage. The Washington fishing fleet catches a large percentage of the edible fish harvested by American fishermen, and for more than a century fishermen have been bringing in their boats and selling their fish at the West Coast's premier commercial fishing home port.
The hustle and bustle at the Terminal, where crusty seamen unload crab pots, scrub decks and mend lines, is actually "working tourism" that allows an out-of-town visitor to glimpse wharf life. Indoor opportunities for shopping the Terminal include the seafood market, gift shop and nautical supply store. A focal point of interest is the Seattle Fishermen's Memorial, which commemorates local fishermen lost at sea.
Each spring, the community gathers at the Memorial for the Blessing of the Fleet, a ceremonious sendoff for fishermen and women heading to sea.
Chinook's at Salmon Bay, an unpretentious, high-energy restaurant overlooking the wharf and fishing fleet in Fishermen's Terminal, is noted for serving the area's freshest catch of seafood -- fish are long-line caught rather than net caught -- and yummy desserts. The signature Blackberry Cobbler is a feast of handpicked, dime-size wild Cascade and Olympic mountain blackberries that are picked in early summer and frozen for year-around enjoyment. If wild blackberries are unavailable in your area, substitute a mix of fresh seasonal berries.
BLACKBERRY COBBLER
Blackberry filling:
6 cups fresh blackberries, or a mix of seasonal berries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons flour
Cobbler topping:
1 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/2 cup cream
Berry filling: place berries in a 2-quart ovenproof dish. Mix sugar and flour together and sprinkle sugar and flour mixture over berries. Gently stir to coat berries with sugar mixture.
Cobbler topping: combine flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir to blend.
With fingers, rub the butter pieces into the flour mixture until mixture has the consistency of cornmeal. Pour cream into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle flour mixture over cream and stir with a fork until all of the flour is mixed with the cream and forms a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead several times before rolling dough out to form a 9-inch circle. Place dough on top of blackberries, brush with cream and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.
Bake in preheated 400-degree oven 20-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Yields 10-12 servings.
Diane Howard is a columnist for Hunt House Syndicate. America a la Carte welcomes recipe requests. Send the complete address of the restaurant along with your name, address, and phone number to: America a la Carte, P.O. Box 5994, Austin, Texas 78763-5994, fax 512-453-2145 or email amercarte@aol.com