San Juan Island Washington - Spring Specials

Join us April 9, 2010 for a multicourse wine dinner sampling Small

Vineyards Wines from Spain and Portugal

Hand Harvested, Family Owned and Sustainably Produced

5 wines paired with 6 savory dishes

Coho Restaraunt

6 p.m.

$45/per person for dinner + $25 for wines

Reservations are recommended as seating is limited

For more information 360.378.6330

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

San Juan Island Hotels - Spring Specials

Join Coho Restaurant April 9, 2009 at 6 p.m. for a dinner featuring

Small Vineyards Wines from Spain and Portugal

Sustainably Farmed - Hand Harvested and Family-Owned Producers

6 Tapas Style Courses Paired with Wines

$45/per person

$25 for wine pairing

Reservations are recommended. Call 360.378.6330 for more details.

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

San Juan Island Bed & Breakfast; San Juan Island Lodging, Friday Harbor

Green Cardamom and Cranberry Sorbet

(perfect for an palate cleanser between courses or as a savory dessert)

1 1/2 lbs. fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and any stems removed
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Triple Sec

1 tsp. green cardamom ground with mortal and pestle

1. Make a simple syrup by adding the sugar, water and cardamom and bringing to a boil. When the sugar has dissolved, add the cranberries and orange juice.
2. Continue to boil until the cranberries burst, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Let the mixture cool. Puree in a food processor or blender and strain.

4. Stir in the lemon juice and liqueur.
5. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let completely cool.
6. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

San Juan Island WA Weddings at the Tucker House

We found these pictures of a bride and groom cake from a wedding that we catered this summer at Lakedale Resort. It was one of those hot summer days and the cakes had lots of whipped cream so in order to keep them from melting we kept them in the refrigerator until the last possible moment before bringing them out to the guests. Unfortunately, these shots are from the fridge....The groom's cake was an old fashioned white cake with berries and whipped cream between the layers. The bride's cake was a moist chocolate cake with chocolate ganache between the layers and a rich chocolate buttercream frosting. The blue cascading fresh flowers and white sweetheart roses were a fabulous contrast to the chocolate frosting. With a bit of imagination you can envision what these cakes looked like.:)!

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

Washington Recipes - Tucker House

Tucker House Inn, a Best Place to Kiss, was featured in the Best Places to Kiss Cookbook just released. The Tucker House's Broiled Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with Italian sausage are included on page 33. The Harrison House was also featured with its Molten Chocolate Cake with cherry sauce on page 112. We feature this yummy chocolate cake at Coho Restaurant for special dinners.

Thanksgiving on San Juan Island

Locals and visitors alike celebrated Thanksgiving on San Juan Island. Some shared a community dinner at the Grange, others joined friends and familes at their homes, while others prepared a traditional dinner in their suites at the Harrison House and Tucker House. Some chose not to do either but share our first Thanksgiving Dinner at Coho Restaurant. Paul Stevens our chef served up quite a menu. The pork belly with cranberry relish and the corn fritters were both popular appetizers. Everyone loved the yam soup. It was so beautiful drizzled with a balsamic reduction and sprinkled candied pecans. We served an orange ginger sorbet to cleanse the palate before turkey, stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes. For dessert, we offered a choice of three homemade desserts - chocolate burbon pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake or cinnamon ice cream with soft chewy ginger snaps. Everyone walked away satiated. Several of our guests took their desserts to go and I am sure enjoyed them on Friday....maybe even as early as breakfast!

Vinny and Amar joined us for dinner and Amar has a photo essay of dinner on her facebook site. You can check it out at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43364&l=29804&id=814919105

Fall is in the Air in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

We have been enjoying beautiful fall weather. There is a crisp breeze in the air. The sky has been beautiful at night. Many days, we wake up to a blanket of fog that burns off by late morning.

We are preparing for Thanksgiving and a weekend full of guests. We are dusting off our favorite fall cookie recipes and savory breakfast entrees. Coho Restaurant is planning a traditional holiday inspired Thanksgiving Dinner including Roasted Pork Belly with Potato Pancake & Cranberry Marmalade or Corn Fritters with Wilted Mizuna & Maple Syrup for a starter. Our soup will be a Roasted Yam Soup with Candied Pecans served with a Mixed Green Salad Tossed in an Apple Cider Vinaigrette Topped with Quail Croft Goat Cheese. For dinner, we will offer a choice of Smoked Turkey Breast for those who like white meat or a Turkey Leg Confit for dark meat fans. There will also be a fish option of Pan Fried Ling Cod. Each dish will be served with Oyster-Apple Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Sage Gravy and Seasonal Vegetables. For dessert, we will offer a choice of Pumpkin Cheese Cake, Chocolate-Bourbon Pie or Cinnamon Ice Cream with House made Ginger Snaps.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

Friday Harbor Food, Fun & Friends

As the winter season is approaching there is still plenty to do on the island and the Tucker House is still bustling with guests! Weather has been good, a little rain here and there but still pretty warm and inviting during the day, perfect time to go out for a fall walk and see some of the changing trees or cuddle up in front of a fire at the inn and watch a good movie while eating popcorn. Warm up in the chill of the night with your private hot tub, or read a good book down by the harbor while the sun is shining. Check out the Farmer's Market still going on Saturdays now at the high school come and support our local farmers! Theatre productions and events still happening come and see for yourself! The winter season is a perfect time for those who are watching budgets during these wallet constricting times. Many restaurants are participating in the Savor the San Juans and have plenty of 3 courses for $30 specials throughout October. Our restaurant, Coho, will be supporting these hard times throughout the winter season continuing the 3 courses for $30 special so families and couples can continue to go out and enjoy a nice meal without the worry of prices. We are also having specials for the holidays with four course meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas for only $45 a person. With Salad, Appetizer, Choice of Entree, and Choice of dessert from a special holiday inspired menu. For the new year we are also be featuring a Champagne tasting dinner! Log on to the coho website - cohorestaurant.com for updates and subscribe to the mailing list to receive the menus for these holiday events!

As a new person to the island (3 months now) I was amazed to see Halloween out here, streets were safely blocked off for the young ones to go trick-or-treating seeing soem very original costumes as well including a deviled egg (devil horns and a white t-shirt with a yellow circle painted on). The children also had a parade with lots of cotumes and pumpkins, the restaurants all doing Savor the San Juans and pumpkin pie being a special along with toasted pumpkin seeds and everyone dressed up at their jobs was quite entertaining!

Friday Harbor is still the place to be - Food, Friends, and Fun!

Coho Restaurant Wine Dinner, Friday Harbor, Washington

Our first wine dinner at Coho Restaurant was last night with Mt. Baker Vineyards. Winemaker and owner Randy Finney took time away from this very busy season of crushing grapes to spend the evening with us. It was a fabulous evening of great stories, food, wine, and company. The menu prepared by Coho's Chef Paul Stevens was truely inspired. The presentations were as beautiful as they were tasty. Next time, we are going to remember to bring our camera so we can share the artistic creations as they are presented to our guests. Here is what our guests enjoyed:

Amuse Bouche
Watermelon and Homemade Mozzarella Salad on a Coriander Cracker
Sparkling Wine Cocktail

Appetizer
Braised Smoked Duck on a Schezwan Pancake with a Pomegranate and Hibiscus Flower Essence
2006 Barrel Select Roussanne

Soup
Pumpkin Bisque with Caramelized Onions and Toasted Pepitas
2006 Reserve Viognier

Salad
Greens from the Islands with Almonds and a Toasted Triple Brie Crudité
2007 Marsanne

Intermezzo
Peach Sorbet

Fish
Halibut with a Puttanesca on a Bed of Roasted Polenta
2005 Malbec

Meat
Herb Encrusted French Cut Lamb Chops with Bread Pudding drizzled with a Blackberry Veal Glace
2003 Syrah

Sweet
Walnut Cake with Caramelized Apples & Crumbled Stilton
2004 Late Harvest Viognier

Coho's October Specials

We are putting together a marvelous menu offering in October as part of the Savor the San Juan Islands festival. We will be offering 3 for $30 menus - that is an appetizer, entree and dessert for just $30. The entree choices include homemade spinach fettuccine with meat balls and our homemade marinara, chicken cordon bleu stuffed with black forest ham, Gruyere cheese and a sage butter sauce, and as a vegetarian option - roasted acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, currents, and pepitas. Our dessert choices include creme brulee, pot au creme for our serious chocolate lovers, and a fruit crisp of the day served warm with vanilla ice cream.

We will also be offering 3 wine makers dinners - 7 courses for $100 - October 3 Viognier to Viognier, October 11 Flights of Red and October 17th From Madelaine to Mona. Oct 3rd will feature the wines from Mt. Baker Vineyards, October 11th from 4 small boutique producers who make voluptuous, chewy, and jammy red wines, and the 17th with feature our local wine producer - San Juan Vineyards and our private label Mona Vino.

Our new fall menu has 3 dinner entrees to choose from for $20! The entree includes our amuse bouche (our treat from the chef), homemade bread and butter, and our parting chocolate truffles.

Looking forward to having you join us throughout the month for what we hope will be wonderful evenings of food, fun, and friends!

Coho Experience + Inn Apples

Hi everyone its Shaylynn (that's me with Anna Maria at a recent Chamber meeting). I recently had the opportunity to go to the Coho restaurant and get the full experience, I sat down and was looking over my menu while nice warm bread and butter was put on the table and my drink order was taken. A few minutes later I had a small plate brought to me with a little tasting which we call "Amuse" it was a crustini with a little chicken on top, really delicious. I got to try the black cod over soba noodles the cod was like butter and melted in my mouth immediately. It is definetly a must try. I also got to try the beef tenderloin which was cooked to my liking and served with vegetables and fingerling potatoes which I must say was absolutely delightful. I got to enjoy after my meal a nice cup of chamomile tea and a chocolate torte! I barely had room for the dense rich chocolately dessert but I managed a few bites and took the rest home with me (wrapped into a swan). All in all it was a lovely evening. On another note about the inn our apple trees are ripening and I got to pick some apples with a special basket device (which was a lot of fun) and I get to make some filling for apple pies and cakes, so you must join us soon and try some of our delectable breakfast desserts!

Coho Restaurant Opens in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

Coho Restaurant opened this week in downtown Friday Harbor. The kitchen team was busy making fresh sauces, rolling out homemade pasta, kneading bread, and creating desserts for the restaurant's first patrons. It was opening night! We all felt the same trepidations as an actor before the curtain rises. Each of us had butterflies and the adrenalin was soaring. We dimmed the lights, lit the candles, started the music, and waited for our first guests. All the months of planning and preparation were behind us. The ballet began to unfold. We greeted guests and relaxed into our roles. The first dish emerged from the kitchen. It was an amuse-bouche - a tiny bite-sized morsel that means "mouth amuser". It is our way of thanking our guests for dining with us. We wanted it to stimulate the taste buds while perusing the menu. The amuse was presented on a small square plate nested on a second diagonal square plate - a bed of wilted leaks, a floret of marscapone cheese, and some fresh herbs were the perfect resting place for a hazelnut encrusted twice baked goat cheese souffle. There were a few drops of chili oil for a splash of color. We all took a moment to enjoy the beauty of the kitchen's first creation. Then more guests arrived and the energy in the restaurant and the pace in the kitchen began to speed up. There were a few hot moments when we all missed a step or two. We gracefully fell back into our choreographed roles without our patron's knowledge. The local ingredients took on the starring roles - simple greens, freshly shucked oysters, local tenderloin - simply prepared and beautifully presented. Coho is open Friday -Sunday (April, 18-20) and Wednesday - Sunday the week of the 23rd.

Coho Restaurant - Friday Harbor's Hottest New Restaurant

A million and one last minute details, or so it seems, are underway for Coho Restaurant's open April 11th, 2008. It has been quite a week. Murphy struck a few times on April 1st - a bad April Fool's job for sure....plumbing problems - ovens dying....We perservered and kept on saying the show will go on.

Dave is putting the finishing touches on the wine list as I type. We are proud of our first wine list and look forward to growing it as new releases become available. It was quite an education and act of will power to cull and hone the list from the thousands of wines available to a manageable restaurant list. We believe the list reflects the diversity of tastes and winemakers and will be a great complement to the menu. We just got word that salmon will be available for our open so our signature Whole Seed Encrusted Salmon with mirin sauce can be featured for our opening night. We have been speaking with our farming partners this afternoon and the last bite of winter has delayed the harvest of some vegetables. Nevertheless, there will be sorrel, pea tendrils, and some brocoli for open. We are all brimming with excitement, anticipation, and fear and looking forward to sharing the fruits of our labor with our guests and the San Juan Island community this coming Friday.

Lodging San Juan Island - Thanksgiving

Well, we had a houseful of guests who stayed at the Harrison House and Tucker House and celebrated Thanksgiving on San Juan Island. Some where here to visit family who live on the Island, others started new holiday traditions, and yet others came for a change from the ordinary. We infused a bit of holiday tradition into breakfast. Dessert on Thanksgiving morning was pumpkin pannacotta and the cookie fairy delivered pumpkin nut cookies that afternoon. You can find the recipes in La Cucina Anna Maria: Good Life Recipes from San Juan Island. The weather was absolutely spectacular and many of our guests worked off their breakfast and thanksgiving dinner by enjoying long hikes along the beaches and parks.

Lodging on Friday Harbor - Thanksgiving on the Islands

Many of our guests are choosing to spend the holidays on the Islands. Several restaurants including Steps Wine Bar & Cafe and Friday Harbor House will be serving Thanksgiving dinner. Some of our guests are going to prepare their own dinner in their suites and cottages. There is plenty to do on the Island - hiking, biking, kayaking, and whale watching - weather permitting. We had three guests take a bike ride this morning! If the weather is showering us with Northwest Sunshine, there are plenty of indoor options. Griffith Bay Books and Serendipity Used Books are the best places in town to find that perfect book. Then you can come back to the Inn and curl up in front of your fireplace. You might consider sipping a cup of lavender tea with some short bread at Pelindaba Downtown and for your evening entertainment- Stage Left is presenting Doubt, a mystery at the Roche Harbor Pavilion through December 1st.

From our snail mail box

Dear Anna Maria & David,

Your hospitality was the best. The raspberry torte - oh my gosh- it was so delicious, my mouth waters every time I think or talk about it. Raspberries are my favorite so you couldn't have given me a nicer treat.

Last evening, I tried your stuffed peppers on page 97. Also a keeper! I've searched for years for the best pepper recipe and now have found it.

My retirement trip to the Canadian Rockies and San Juan Island was a most memorable adventure. I know I will return one day to enjoy more of the sights and friendship.

Fondly,

Gay S., California

Birthday Celebration at the Tucker House

Kirsten and 25 of her close friends toasted her 60th birthday last weekend at the Tucker House. They had a harvest meal prepared by the staff that featured Roasted Chicken from Synergy Farms - San Juan Island, King Salmon from the Columbia River, homemade manicotti, brocollini from Thousand Flower Farm on Waldron, roasted fingerling potatoes from Nootka Rose Farm - Waldron Island, and local greens from Synergy Farms. Her friends brought hear a traditional Norwegian Cake that we topped with Lopez Island Raspberry Ice Cream.

Fair Week 2007 - August 15-18

Tonight is the last day of the San Juan County Fair. It is always a grand week with music, food, and friendly competition. The Inn took two blue ribbons for its Carrot Cake and Flourless Chocolate Torte. Both recipes can be found in La Cucina Anna Maria: Good Life Recipes from San Juan Island. The 4-H kids do an amazing job and we so enjoy visiting with their live stock and watching them compete in the equestrian events. Tonight is the big steak dinner featuring Misty Isle Beef. It is always a bitter sweet time....we have to wait another year for the fair! It will give us plenty of time to test new recipes for next year's entries.