chromedome

Being an east-coast navy brat, I just about bust a gut laughing the first time I saw Sea Cadets in Regina. One of my cooking school instructors had spent 30 years in the Forces, including some shipboard time. Whenever they had a draught of newly-minted officers on board for their first cruise, he'd always make sure to do a special breakfast for their first morning at sea...kippers stewed in milk. Apparently there was quite a stampede to the heads!

"Irish Moss" is a seaweed. It's the source of much of the carageenan that goes into chocolate milk, ice cream, and similar items across the continent. In bygone days, it was harvested by individual householders on both sides of the Atlantic and used as a thickener for things like this pudding. Prince Edward Island, in Atlantic Canada, is a major producer; in fact legendary Canadian singer-songwriter "Stompin' Tom" Connors grew up picking the stuff.

Oy, lots of divergent directions and insights going on upthread. Interesting. I have a couple of problems with dining out. Being a good home cook, and a professional cook, does not make *me* unnecessarily finicky...but my wife gets really pissy and says, "You could make this better at home." Another, of course, is that the places where I can afford to eat are not the places where I'd learn some things and be blown away by the food. A tight eating-out budget (and no car) really put a crimp in the enjoyment factor. On the whole, I'm not a subtle-flavours person either. I like bold, vivid flavours, which is why I eat Indian food about 200 times for every bite of sushi. So yeah, that's a clear-cut prejudice. As for fancy-schmancy? Well, I work at a fine-dining restaurant where the chef doesn't believe in dressing things up. She says that honest food stands on its own and doesn't need to be played with, which means that our food is plainer-looking than that of our peers. I guess she's a throwback to the Escoffier-era thinking that the vegetables *are* the garnish. She must be doing something right, she can point to 25 years of steady growth. Of course, Edmonton is rather a conservative place foodwise. I guess the bottom line is to be aware of our predispositions, and to take them into account when eating out. Having said that, there are lots of possible extenuations in the meal that launched this thread. If the food was lacklustre, perhaps the chef was attempting to put the wines front and centre, and planned food accordingly? Certainly a soupy rhubarb crumble could be nothing more than an untimely brain cramp on the part of a commis, as opposed to a problem with the chef's design. Personally if I was out to impress people with my food, I would not have gone with risotto; given that making it in large quantity involves a quality compromise. I've cooked it for large groups before (as recently as last weekend, in fact) but only in circumstances where the cooking of the dish was done in front of the diners as part of an interactive demonstration (I had a cast-iron pan a metre in diameter to work with, made things pretty simple).

Canning dates from the early 19th century. The ill-fated Franklin expedition of the 1840's took large quantities of canned food in their quest for the Northwest Passage. I think Clarence Birdseye was a pivotal figure, in conjunction (of course) with the technology he relied on. While we tend to view frozen foods with a degree of snobbishness, the plain fact is that they're better than canned/dried/salted for most applications, and better than non-frozen product for much of the year. That was a truly revolutionary thing, and one of the most far-reaching developments of the twentieth century. Midwestern sushi lovers, rise and salute your hero! (...and the bloody awful Labrador winters that sparked Birdseye's creative imagination...) Another thing I consider to be pivotal, which began in the 19th century but was brought to a high level in the twentieth, is our understanding of food safety. Previous centuries knew what to do to keep food from spoiling, but didn't understand why some things worked and some things didn't. The century just ended brought us a more-or-less complete understanding of foodborne illness and how to prevent it. That, my friends, is a monumental achievement on par with the eradication of smallpox.

Wow, lots of good options there! I like the ginger/scallions/sesame combination, that's a good'n. Horseradish hasn't been mentioned yet, that's a classic accompaniment. I like a combination of cumin, coriander, lime, cilantro, and hot chilies as well. Or cheat, and use a prepared coriander chutney along with some freshly-toasted cumin. Lots of herbs work well besides the omnipresent dill; I'm partial to tarragon but experiment with what you've got in your garden. Fruit salsas are often used, but for something a little bit different try wrapping your salmon fillet in leathery dried apples and then in parchment. Kind of interesting. Try shredding some beets and cooking them lightly with citrus and cumin, then after a few minutes add the salmon and cover with the beets. Sweat under a lid until barely done (judge by the finger-poke, as the colour will be "unnatural"). I also like salmon with (wait for it) well-cooked sauerkraut. Y'know, cooked long and slow with apples and onions and white wine until it's completely mellow.

Sonofagun, you're right. Guess I should occasionally shut up long enough to let my brain catch up, eh? Never even thought to check out their website. It's a pretty good story, all in all. Oh, and Kristin, they have a whole bunch of recipes here. I will concede that, while I love the Brunswick sardines, the Millionaire brand mentioned upthread has a finer flavour and is better in many applications.

Growing up in Atlantic Canada, Brunswick sardines are a part of daily life. I rarely buy them now unless the wife is away for a day or two, 'cause she doesn't like the smell of them, but I still get a craving now and again. I haven't had the ones in soybean oil as far as I can recall, but if you find the soy oil too heavy a rinse with a lighter oil ought to clean them up nicely. I like to open them up and "broil" them in my toaster oven, then have them on toast or crostini with a nice spicy spread; remoulade, rouille, a really garlic-y aioli, that sort of thing. In Halifax I had them once with a garlic-heavy Lebanese tahini sauce, which was marvellous (admittedly, at a beery 2AM, subtlety takes a back seat). Sour pickles, sliced thinly or chopped, go well with sardines; so would capers. I've also marinated them in a little bit of mixed citrus zest, sesame oil, ginger, and scallions (ate them with a crusty loaf, used the bread to mop up the marinade. Yum, but with the same "been-drinkin'" caveat.).

Footwear is an ongoing PITA for me. Currently I'm wearing a pair of plain ol' steel-toed work shoes from the hardware store, stuffed with the biggest/fattest set of insoles I can find. These have steel toes (which I'm very attached to) and "non-skid" soles (meh). My problem is that I have *NO* arch whatsoever on my wide, flat, foot; therefore anything with an arch support (ie every clog I've ever seen) is cripplingly painful. Also most shoes are too narrow, which doesn't help. I've never been keen on the feel of clogs on my feet (aside from the arch support issue) and the few times that I've worn a borrowed pair for 5-10 minutes I've generally managed to throw a shoe in mid-step at least once or twice, which is not something I'd care for during service. So, If I had a clog wish list, it would consist of "A clog with no arch supports, very wide across the ball of the foot, with steel toes, lots of cushioning, and a bit of leather across the back to keep them on my clumsy-ass feet while I'm moving." Anyone got any suggestions? I have a pair of Wolverines for my off-work hours which I'm ambivalent about. They have some sort of shock-redistribution thing going on in the soles, which is supposed to reduce the impact on your foot and legs, but I find it just makes my feet hurt in different places. Overall a decent shoe, but yay! for fat cushiony insoles.

Wouldn't it be too cool if they had a little tribute to the late H S Thompson at the track? Maybe fly Steadman over from England for the occasion, reproduce the Scanlan's cover from way back when in about a Colonel Sanders-sized format? Not that it'll happen... (PS, Zilla, it's never officially spring in Canada until after Victoria Day, third weekend in May. Except in the Vancouver area, anyway.)

Unibroue Fin du Monde. And an Alexander Keith's IPA, as a nod towards home.

Try paper towel over the frame, plastic wrap over the paper towel (and around and underneath, so it'll hold). Don't know if that'll keep it from forming a skin, but it should solve the condensation issue.

The London Style Porter mentioned by Mallet in his post is an unsung gem of Canadian brewing, taking home a silver medal from the 2002 World Beer Championships (beaten, IIRC, only by archetypal porter Old Growler). Highly recommended, if any of you are planning to visit Halifax...

Okay...looking to pick some brains again. At my work I've got something on the order of eight cases of bananas that need to be used up. We already make three different kinds of banana muffins, each of which requires a full 16L bucket of mashed banana, and I have a fourth coming into the lineup. We make banana bread daily, I've put bananas into my bread-pudding-of-the-week, I'll be making banana cream pies in two different sizes tomorrow, and...I'm still looking for ideas. I found the thread Patrick S started a few months ago, and there may be some things there that I can use, but I wanted to throw the question out to see what new ideas people have tripped across. My limitations? Can't do anything frozen, or plated. Refrigerated is okay, I have a refrigerated showcase (would need to be packaged into clamshell containers). Limited time/space/manpower, like everybody else in this business. I'm thinking about a "tarte tatin" variation for tomorrow, and perhaps a truffle-centred banana cupcake (I have some leftover ganache centres to use up). Anyone? Anyone? Class? ...........Bueller?

Actual recipe I was given for "Creme Anglaise"...50% vanilla yogurt. 50% sour cream. Sugar to taste. Kid you not.

IIRC, Adria put the laboratory's price tag at about 300,000 Euros per annum. I'd hate to try tweaking my food cost to accomodate that, pretty much anywhere in Canada. Realistically, like any avant-garde, this one will fade. Adria and a couple of the others are stone geniuses, wild men who will take us into places we'd never dreamed of before. Most of what they've done will be forgotten almost immediately, because that's the way of the creative world (the shortest line between two points runs from Avant-Garde to Old Guard). The remaining...what, two percent?...of what the MG crew come up with will continue to inform and inspire us for a generation. As in any field, most other practitioners of the style will not have the chops, the creativity, to make a lasting impact on the culinary world. Think fast, how many cubist painters can you name after Picasso, Braque, and Miro? There were thousands, and a few of them did interesting things, but none measured up those three.

A couple of years ago when I lived in Halifax, the NSLC picked up a huge quantity of Spanish wines and used them as monthly specials (I think maybe the Spanish Trade Commission cut them a deal, or something...). There was always a decent (if not always inspiring) bottle available for $9.95 CDN, which is pretty damn rare. Last week I picked up a bottle of the Marques de Murrieta Ygay Reserva 1997, an orphan found buried in a back corner of our sister wine store. Haven't cracked it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm told that, unless it's corked, I'm in for some happy taste buds.

The missus and I had some rare time out together yesterday afternoon, so while we were rambling through the Old Strathcona neighbourhood we stopped into a pseudo-Irish pub for some wetting of the collective whistle. I had a Guinness (what else?), about the only thing I wanted at that point in the day; then I finished my wife's Keith's (a popular IPA from Nova Scotia). Several hours later, around the neighbours' backyard fire, I enjoyed a Unibroue "Terrible;" a BIG bad-ass abbey-style brew weighing in at a whopping 10.5% alcohol, but with flavour and complexity enough to make it fly. Like many of Unibroue's beers there is bottle fermentation going on, so be careful when you open the champagne-style cork! They anticipate up to eight years' successful bottle aging with this product, if anyone has the patience to cellar 'em... Unibroue is my favourite readily-available Canadian brewery.

I've had trouble putting across savoury bread puddings at my shop. Fortunately, the conventional ones are selling briskly. My ham and cheese croissants are popular, but unfortunately my night bakers can't seem to get the knack of handling them, and they're always underproofed/overproofed underbaked/overbaked. I'll probably end up dropping them, because so many end up unsaleable. It's always interesting for me to see what the hot items are in someone else's store. I liked the look of those raspberry shortbread bars (finally got to see the mag today). Might give them a spin...

That's what I love about this place. Wanna know what Jose's thinking? Jose tells you. Wanna know what Bourdain's up to? Tony tells you. Problems with Bill Yosses' white chocolate molten cake? Yosses shows up and tells you how he does it. <sigh> Just a little slice of foodie heaven...

One more for me. I went back to the clearance outlet and got a copy of Apicius, the Vehling translation. Hope the sale is still on when next payday rolls around....

Here in Canada the lineup is a little bit different, of course, and since I can't be bothered to get cable I've only watched it while staying with the in-laws. Of the shows I've watched... Rachel Ray...the food wasn't that interesting, but I'd watch her all day with the sound off. Sara's Secrets...the reverse. Her food seems to have something goin' on, but the woman puts me to sleep. Bobby Flay...like oven cleaner, he irritates on contact. Severe case of ego pollution. Molto Mario...a huge favourite. Excellent balance of information and entertainment, excellent food, lots of knowledge, a smattering of humour. (No wonder they've dropped him, adds the bald guy's cynical side...) Tony Bourdain...loved the couple episodes of Cook's Tour that I caught, as well as the book. That gawky Lou-Reed-meets-Judge-Reinhold charm...who can resist? Bob Blumer...okay, the guy's not a cook. He just putzes around and does silly stuff. But you know what? I enjoy watching him. Maybe I have a previously-underrated sense of whimsy, but the goofy things he turns out are fun to look at and I bet they taste okay. Cook Like a Chef...Canada only. Various reasonably high-profile Canadian chefs prepare things they like, in a monstrous studio kitchen. Most of them are impaired in their camera-friendliness, droning inanities as the camera zooms in on their hands, *but*...these are serious pros making decent food, and I watched it every chance I got. Christine Cushing...is in front of the camera 'cause of her cheekbones, not because she was knocking Toronto's culinary world on its ear. Having said that, her show is fairly watchable and the food is frequently interesting. Michael Smith (Chef at Large)...one big ol' goofball (6'7" or so), but pretty serious about food and a very giving individual with his time. His show was hit or miss, but frequently fascinating (I loved the episode where he visited the Famous People Players, a troupe of mentally-challenged puppeteers who now cook at their own dinner theatre). Emeril...shut the f*k up and cook, already. I understand and appreciate the influence he's had, I just wish the show had more substance. And lose the audience of barking seals, applauding madly when he dribbles EVOO on a plate. Alton Brown...rather silly at times, but he puts food science across to Joe Schmoe and I don't think anyone else could do what he does. I enjoyed every episode I ever watched, though I sometimes hated myself for it. Anna Olsen...again, Canada only (I think). She's not super-smooth on camera, but not clumsy either...a working pastry chef, she'll show two or three related dessert items on every show. Best part: at the end of each episode she takes a simple item from the beginning of the show and morphs it into a nicely showy plated dessert. I liked watching her. Her show, I mean. Iron Chef...mixed feelings about this one. Loved watching the chefs lose their minds under the pressure, detested the goofy narration. And the judges...who picks the judges? A businessman, a starlet, and somebody's mother-in-law...what's up with that? (I refer to the original IC, of course, haven't seen the American version)

Score! My local mall has a book liquidation outlet; I never let a payday go by without adding something to my library. Today they had an additional 50% off everything in the store...<ominous music> I contemplated several large-format books, originally $80 CDN/their retail $40 CDN/now $20 CDN; but decided not (I'd just spent $20 unplanned on a Henkel boning knife for my son). In the paperbacks, though, I spotted Claudia Roden's A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Gitlitz & Davidson's A Drizzle of Honey, Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History; all of which I grabbed (only one copy of each on the shelves). These, plus a Kipling bio I'd had my eye on, cost me the grand sum of $20 CDN and change. All brand new. <insert "happy dance" here> Definitely a good day, and hey! I have a "comp" to a single malt Scotch tasting yet tonight, complete with pipers (balm to the soul of a homesick Nova Scotian). Yup, definitely a good day.

Hmmm. I'm in Edmonton, too. About a week now, maybe two, since the last of the snow melted away from the shady parts of my garden. What I've got for seasonal is the first 1/2 cm or so of some crocuses, and some patented Super Early Dandelion . Might just pick those dandelions, though, at that...

Congratulations on your new hire, Mel! Hopefully you can get your own work week back down under 100 hours now...I feel like hell because mine got up to 70 or so, this week (so happy they didn't need me at my other job this weekend...). Onwards and upwards! I may have light at the end of my tunnel, too...interviewed a young'n from the baking program at the local (highly regarded) trade school, has both formal training and field experience. Keen to work graveyard, since he's something of an introvert. Just need to decide what to do about my current graveyard baker.

If the repairman hasn't already been, Bill, pop your microwave's hood and check the fuse. More often than not, that's all it is...$2 or less at your local Radio Shack, and you're good to go.