eatrustic

Is the Americano being charged as one? .....or is it being charged as the regular coffee you ordered?

Les Amis de Fromage on W. 2 carries some nice French butter(s).

........perhaps when starting a thread about something slightly unfamiliar you could give a brief description for all of us who have no clue as to what it is...but would love to know. Grazie! .

If you're talking about a pro convection oven (vs a home convection) you are also probably making more than one or two trays of cookies (or other sweet items) at a time. In that case you would need a fan (lo setting for me as well) to ensure even baking. At home it wouldn't matter as much because there are usually no more than one or two trays in the oven.

MY blade is good and quite new, the actual pureeing process is not bad. I try to use the minimum amount of liquid called for so as not to degrade the frying process. It's more a question of the shape of the blender bowl. It really is more conducive to quite liquid blends and has lots of curves that tend to glop up with whatever puree I'm making so that getting it all out the bottom (unscrewed of course) and from around the blades is time consuming. I do puree in batches and when I strain, through the standard mesh kitchen strainer, I use my silicone spatula to push the puree through, tapping would never be sufficient. Great suggestions on reusing the puree and pouring the liquid through. So obvious but yet..not!

Head over to the Latin (Mexico) forum for more mole talk. There are a few threads there on some of the different types of Mole.

So, when faced with too many choices I fall back to plan A and I ended up making the Red Mole from Rick's "Authentic Mexican" to great acclaim. The only change was subbing almonds for the peanuts. It had a great balance of the heat with the rich but subtle chocolate, raisin, plantain base. It's interesting watching the flavors evolve over a couple of days as the mole matures. I would definitely make it again but not before trying some of the others. I have to get a new blender for making my chile and seed pastes. I have two, one is a fairly new Kitchen Aid which does a miserable job of fine pureeing and my mainstay a Hamilton Beach bar blender forces me into a Zen state as I fight all the convolutions in the container to remove every last bit of paste. Any suggestions as to best blender for this task? Or are there better ways to remove the paste buildup in both the blender and the strainer (like pouring a bit of liquid in and swirling it around - or through the strainer) Or am I being too meticulous as the recipes build in a certain amount of loss?

I didn't make the point above but G.I., warts and all, is a great market. Although it's showing it's age a bit and one of it's main attractions/downsides is that it's on the island...it still is light years ahead of just about any other market I've seen (Pike Place excepted). Just think of the sad mess that was the Robson St. Galleria. Almost all markets that try to pattern themselves after G.I. end up having to rent space to trinket shops to make ends meet. (There was one in downtown Calgary a few years ago that had the same problem.) Edmonton has a great, year round no nonsense Farmers Market on the South Side which is more like an indoor Trout Lake Market. At least it has year round artisans and small scale producers selling their wares instead of the generic vegetable sellers at G.I. Critical and jaded though we may be G.I. is still a treasure, just a little tarnished. ......And I can sort of understand the regular strollers even if I'm dumb enough to go on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon but what blows my mind is the double wides with oblivious parents ambling along as if they were walking in the park.

The stand outside the Future Shop on W. Broadway (and on Kits Beach last summer) gets my vote for the best "dogs". No fries though.

Kayaksoup: thanks for your perspective. you raise some good points. The idea of being open later is designed for those people who are in transit from work and can only make it after 6:00. The quiet time before six is to be expected as most of the afternoon shoppers who can make it are at home preparing dinner. It would definitely be an experiment as one of the hardest things to do is to change customer flow patterns in an existing business. It would take more than just a change of hours but some new elements in the mix with a lot of advertising to get people to drive in after 6:00. For instance ready to go things like really good spit roasted chickens and..... I haven't been for awhile but there was a place in Lonsdale Quay that cooked your seafood to order. (something like that would attract shoppers in to buy things for dinner as well as their purchases for the rest of the week.) On the other hand it is difficult for small business' to staff appropriately and still maintain a quality of life. It is really tough to find staff as it is without extending the hours. It seems like everywhere you go there are help wanted signs. G.I. has done a good job of bringing in the tourists but unfortunately at the expense of the locals who've jumped to the competition. I'm not quite sure what the bus loads of tourists do for the bottom line as they seem to take lots of pictures but that's about it. I'm just glad I'm within walking distance. Thank goodness Go Fish is outside the market otherwise the lineups would be worse then they already are.

Are you using a sourdough/levain starter or store bought yeast? I believe that Jackal was referring to a sourdough benefitting from an overnight in the fridge. You can refrigerate a yeasted dough like the raisin walnut as well, the walnuts will turn the dough a sort of purple color which translates into an interesting darker crumb when baked. I would not preshape the loaves (in a baking pan) but put the dough- covered- in the fridge after about 30 minutes. It will still rise and it helps to punch it down a couple of times to keep the "strength" of your dough going and not exhaust the yeast. The next morning take the dough out and let it warm up for awhile before shaping and final rise.

The Mole Rojo in Rick Bayless' "One Plate at a Time" is classified as Traditional (in this book he has a Traditional and a Contemporary category). The mole is called: "Mole Rojo Clasico de Guajolote" and it does have chocolate. As to how hot it is, it calls for: 3 oz. of Mulatos - 1 1/2 oz. Anchos - 1 1/2 oz Pasillas in a recipe that makes 7 cups of mole sauce. I don't get the sense that this will be a particularly spicy mole but I bow to those with more experience. I'm still open to other suggestions for the next day or so.

Thanks for all the feedback and links! The Bayless recipe I was working from comes from "Authentic Mexican". As I compare it to the "One Plate at a Time" recipe I see that he has adapted a few versions for his "Authentic" Rojo. I liked the addition of plantain and a roasted tomato along with the raisins and tomatillos but otherwise they are pretty similar. Both have chocolate. Shelora: Oh yes I will be a renderin' and as the dinner is for Saturday I had planned to make the Mole this Thursday. I have already made two of the other dishes and frozen them so that my fridge doesn't explode. The Tinga and the Pozole seem to actually improve this way. Do any of the Vancouverites know if we can get Mulato Chiles here or is there another name for it? I've been to the usual places but no luck, otherwise I'll sub Anchos. Esperanza: I would love to see your Mole Dolce recipe.

I've been asked to cater a small dinner for 12 and the menu is up to me with the exception of the plat de resistance (sorry I can't come up with the Spanish term!). He wants Mole ("the one with chocolate"). As the other diners have probably not had mole before I hesitate to make one of Zarela's Mole Negros. Especially since this will be a tasting menu consisting of : *Tacquitos of Tinga Poblano *Pozole (a hybrid of Rojo and Verde) *Grilled Prawns with a Roasted Tomatillo Serrano Salsa ....and finally the Red Mole with Chicken. I like the description that Bayless gives indicating that it would appeal to those not "weaned in Puebla". Has anyone tried this recipe? I've cooked many classic Mexican dishes but don't quite have the feel for Mole culture. Is it an authentic Mole?

Here's a few more "below the radar but still cruisin'" places that have been around longer than most of us have lived here and who, for no obvious reason, defy the Vancouver odds. : Topanga- on 4th, the much maligned Naam and The Kingshead on Yew.

Interestingly I just tried Henessey XO last night for the first time as well. I've had a bottle that I received as a gift a couple of years ago and being more of an Armagnac drinker I had let it work it's way to the back of the liquor cabinet waiting, I suppose, for one of those special occasions. I poured myself a snifter and was also very pleasantly surprised by the depth and richness. Is this not due, as with bourbon, to the char in the barrels? And is it indicative of most good cognacs? Or is it a little over the top, albeit very pleasant?

Well.... as I'm doing some baking this weekend with hazelnuts I just had to try the blanch method(s). So for the fun of it I did a controlled experiment. Plain roasting, blanching for 15 seconds in boiling water and the same except with baking soda. I used (and here is the problem) Golden Boy Hazelnuts (Costco) from Oregon. I blanched 1/2 cup of the hazels in 4 cups of boiling water and 2 teaspoons of baking soda for 15 seconds (10 didn't seem long enough). I did the same in plain boiling water and after draining roasted them for about 9 min. at 350F. My control group of plain roasted was in for the same time. After removing them I placed them in small stainless bowls and covered with a tea towel for about 5 minutes. After which I rubbed them in the tea towel to remove the skins. The result: almost no difference! I had no better than 50% of the skins come off. The hazelnuts blanched in the soda water had noticeably blackened skin but the nut itself was no darker. The taste of all three was fine, what you would expect for roasted hazelnuts, but the blanched were softer than the plain roasted. They may crisp up once they have rested for awhile. So I guess it's up to someone to continue the experiment using non Oregon hazelnuts to see if there is any difference. As I said towards the beginning of this thread I'll just grind them up skins and all as the flavor will work fine with chocolate.

A fire that broke out at the back of a second hand bookstore forced the closure of Moderne burger and Dan Sushi with what is reported as minor damage. Here's hoping they are both up and running soon. Lumiere which is on the same block was not affected,

I agree with HKDave. PHAT's smoked meat is very good but I'd have to do a same day comparison with Kaplans new downtown spot. There's something about the rye bread that doesn't quite compare to what you get back East. Schwartz's is still unique and the best IMHO. I'd love to take that spiffy little La Marzocca espresso machine home though. It seems that all the new (serious) places are dropping the big bucks for them.

I notice a difference between using Filberts (same family?) and actual hazelnuts which are smaller and bit rounder than the Filberts. Sometimes that's all that's available and the filberts don't seem to want to peel as well. Also, less fresh ones won't peel very well in addition to not tasting very good. Unless there is an esthetic consideration I go ahead after doing my best and use them with whatever skin is on. Any slight bitterness is usually not noticeable with all the sugar and/or chocolate.

Get them while you can as the season is just about over, and they really are fabulous for lemon tarts or Meyer Lemon marmalade.

No Kaplan's doesn't give the Monteal experience but they sure try to cover the bases from Smoked meat to Pastrami to Corned Beef. Theoretically all flown in from their respective places of origin (N.Y., Chicago etc.) For someone who was brought up in Montreal this is almost heretical to say but the hot smoked meat (on) bagel at Siegels beats all the other smoked meat on rye that I've had here in Vancouver.

The owner of Kaplan's Deli is Marshall Cramer and yes he is from New York. He's a rag trade guy who loved great deli and bought the old Kaplan's a few years ago. http://www.kaplansstardeli.com/about.html

Flavor difference? I think not. Perhaps if you were making a straight (no starter) dough with too much yeast then ....maybe. ..but I defy anyone to tell the difference between two loaves made with (yeasted) starters, bigas, etc. using appropriately small quantities of yeast.

Fresh yeast is more convenient to use for bakers who need it on a daily basis, but for home use you will find no difference when using either traditional or instant dry as a substitute.