jayhay

I'm using up about 6 lbs of short ribs from my freezer & planning to serve them to guests tomorrow night. That is, if I can ever get them to tenderize! I started yesterday, braised them for about 2 hours at 250F, cooled & defatted. Today they've been in the oven for a further 2 hours at 300-325F & are still tough as nails. Will they ever soften, or should I plan a different entree?

Guess where the recepetion is. ← St George's? Now you know why we residents ask for suggestions out of this neighbourhood...we have nothing I would recommend.

I've noticed that STONG'S on Dunbar Street has a large selection of hot sauces. They're above the frozen meat case at the back of the store.

You definitely convinced me to put Pear Tree on my list Mooshmouse. Beautiful photos!

Thanks Mooshmouse. As usual, beautifully done!

Been missing your reviews lately Mooshmouse...can we expect one this time?

I haven't yet finalized our Easter dinner....but one thing is a given & it's TURKEY! Ham is okay at other times, but not on any of the "official" holidays. The tomato dish sounds lovely, just not certain we have canned tomato wedges available here. Should I substitute regular canned tomatoes, or use fresh?

I like the idea of a "Food on a Stick" party, just need some hints on serving. Would the skewered items usually just be laid on a platter, or inserted into melons, cabbages, etc. ? Anyone have unusual ideas or photos?

Thanks for the support Marlene ! I'm sure there's a lot of information here on cooking a bone-in rib roast on a gas BBQ. jsolomon, do you have a particular thread you can point me to, just in case the firehall has an objection to me using their oven? Gifted Gourmet, I put cayenne pepper as well as extra salt on some of the nuts & they're great.

Thank you Gifted Gourmet, I made your recipe this afternoon. Not sure if the nuts turned out the way they were supposed to though, seeing as how we had firemen trooping through the house at the same time. I had the peanuts on top of the stove simmering away & the oven heating for the final baking, when I noticed a fire in the oven out of the corner of my eye. Seems the element was in a meltdown. After turning off the oven, I called the fire dept to ask what I should do to put out the fire...baking soda? salt? or what? Nothing would do but them coming to check it out, axe in hand & lights blinking. Needless to say the peanuts on top of the stove didn't get the attention they needed, so turned out a little dark. Finished them off in my trusty Cuisinart toaster/convection oven, added coarse salt after the final baking, & they were delicious! Now, just have to figure out how I'm going to cook that 4-rib beef roast I've got thawing for 10 dinner guests this weekend.

"Beer Nuts" seem to be hard to find, especially in my area. I usually go searching for them when we venture across the border, & even then I often don't see them. I'm making up a birthday gift basket for a beer drinker, & would love to find a recipe that comes close to the original. I see beer nut recipes on the web, & wonder if anyone has tried one they could recommend.

Thanks Irishgirl, that's what I was thinking...too bad.

I have Feenie's book, & have been wondering if I could freeze his Veggie Burgers. We don't have too many meatless meals ouselves, but it would be great to have them on hand for our twigs & berries crowd. Any thoughts?

I made the Fresh Ginger Muffins this afternoon, & they're wonderful! I used 2% yogurt in place of the buttermilk, otherwise I followed the recipe as given. I was lazy, & didn't want to dirty the food processor just to chop the ginger, so I chopped it very finely by hand. By doing that, I found that the 2 ounces called for in the recipe actually measured more like 1/3- 1/2 cup, rather than the 1/4 cup as mentioned. Just the right amount of ginger as far as we were concerned!

Needing a mini vacation our choice as usual, was Vancouver Island...to eat! The only problem is, I forgot to write down what we ate, so from memory..... First stop was the town of Cedar, near Nanaimo. Lunch was at the cozy CROW & GATE PUB, where we had pints of Fat Cat Ale, along with the very best (pan- fried) oysters we've ever had! So sweet! On to Victoria..... Dinner that night was CAFE BRIO. We started with a romaine salad, then I had grilled sablefish with baby beets & garlic mashed potatoes, while my husband had a fillet of beef with merlot sauce, frizzled (deep-fried) onions, & pureed celery root. Glasses of white wine for me, red for him...good, but don't remember the names. Day two, out for a drive...lunch was at THE LOGHOUSE PUB in Langford. Along with pints of Keith's, we shared a Halibut Burger & fries, saving our appetites for dinner at PAPRIKA that night. Sitting in the "Wine Room", I started with a salad of roasted baby beets, fennel, orange, & gorgonzola. My husband's appetizer was the house-made sausages served with pickles & mustard. Mains were... cassoulet for me, & grilled sablefish for him. Delicious! We had a bottle of Louis Latour Pinot Noir , suggested by our excellent waiter. Dessert was lemon crunch ice cream..again house-made, & perfect after a rich meal. MO:LE for lunch. Very small & very busy place, even on a weekday....ended up almost sitting on top of another couple. We each had egg dishes from their all day breakfast menu, & thought our choices were just okay. Coffee & the following refills were barely warm... but our server was efficient & friendly. Stopped in at CHOUX CHOUX deli while out for a walk that afternoon. Gazed at the delicious looking cheeses & cold cuts, but only bought some beer mustard & smoked paprika to take home. Dinner that night was the beautiful ROSEMEADE, at the former OLDE ENGLAND INN. We've stayed & eaten there in the "olden days", & couldn't believe how they've fixed the old girl up! Our meal started with a tiny complimentary amuse buche of smoked venison served over potato salad. My appetizer was a crab cake, with creme fresh & sauteed spinach , served over a poached egg. Sounds odd, but was so good! My main was herb braised lamb cheeks with parsnips three ways.. deep fried, grilled, pureed. The flavour of the lamb was good, but I found the cheeks to have gelatinous sections that put me off. (Reminded me of the cod's tongues we had in Newfoundland in that regard.) My husband had grilled Alaskan scallops served over pureed celeriac, & he loved them. The restaurant manager Mark came out to discuss wine with us, & he turned out to be the waiter we had last year at PAPRIKA. (ROSEMEADE made him an offer he couldn't refuse.) He steared us to a bottle of Cowichan Valley BC wine...Glenterra Pinot Noir 2004. He came over to talk to us several times during the evening, & ended up giving us a complimentary dessert trio. It consisted of a chocolate truffle mousse, green tea creme brulle, & custard with citrus raspberry sauce. Lovely room...lovely food!

Thank you Zuke, it was lovely being a part of your family the last few days. Merry Christmas!

I think you & Jamie are in a competition.... Nice looking perogies...

Thank you Zuke, I'm really enjoying your blog, & your little one is adorable! Can you say what it is you do in the theatrical (I'm assuming here) world?

Just beautiful Jamie! Do your friends hesitate to invite you for dinner for fear you'll have your food critic's hat on? I know I'd feel somewhat intimidated by your presence....

My mother always stored her shortbreads in an earthenware crock for at least a week before she planned to serve them. We thought it improved the flavour & they became more tender, just assumed everyone did it that way. I think these chocolate shortbread cookies might be better baked & served fresh, so I'll freeze the dough & bake as needed.

Thanks for your reply Eileen. I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear... Actually, I was wondering if I should bake the cookies & then store them in an airtight container , so they "ripen"...for a few days. OR... Should I freeze the unbaked dough, & bake as needed.

Thinking of Hostess Gifts..... I've just made the dough for chocolate shortbread using a recipe from CAPRIAL'S CAFE cookbook, & it tastes wonderful. Very intense flavour....( I used Dutch process cocoa , although it didn't specify it.) My question is: seeing as how I would like to give these cookies as gifts, should I bake, & let them "ripen" the way I do with Scotch shortbread, or freeze the dough, & bake as needed?

Loving your blog Jamie, your sense of humour is wonderful. Hope you were able to take a few shots outside today ... the mountains were beautiful!

I was at a birthday party recently & the cake was delicious. I knew it was a bought cake, but was very surprised when I found out it came from Save-On, of all places. I believe it was called a Tuxedo Cake, & consisted of two thin yellow cake layers, chocolate mousse, a chocolate cake layer, whipped cream & chocolate curls. We think there may have been some caramel in there too. Doesn't compare to some of the bakery cakes referred to here, but made with "real" ingredients, as opposed to many other supermarkets cakes. Edited to change the name of the store..thanks to sanrencho

I've been reading reviews, & everyone seems to love couscous except my family. What's wrong? Tonight I made a Mario Batali recipe for *Chicken Thighs with Saffron Green Olives & Mint* http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/24/133947.shtml & served it along with his *Tomato Couscous with PineNuts & Figs*, http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/24/133984.shtml The chicken was good, but the couscous went into the garbage, because it had a stale taste. I've bought couscous (in boxes as well as plastic bags), from stores with a "cooking/gourmet" clientele, so it should be fresh, but it always has that same stale taste. Is it just us, or is it the product?