lemon curd

So, do you want the bad news or the bad news first? Jeffy Boy and I ventured to Finezze Di Federico on Commercial Drive this morning for breakfast (specifically the peach and ricotta muffin). I'd love to report on our experience, but sadly there is no point as the bakery is closing today (Sunday November 14th). That's the bad news. Now for the other bad news. The bakery is being replaced by a Cobbs Cardboard (maxmillan's term seems so fitting - I can't bear to type the word "bakery" after Cobbs).

pepprye, The bakery's name is Fieldstone's. It's my favourite bakery in the White Rock/South Surrey area (close to home). I also pick up bread from Terra Breads any time we go to Granville Island.

Bella Vista was one of my favourites as a kid - and that was a long time ago (>25years)!! I now live in B.C. and visit Ottawa about once a year. I'll have to pay a visit to Bella Vista next time I'm in town for old times sake.

Like Kayaksoup I read eGullet daily, but my posts are much less frequent... eGullet has: - changed my vacation planning, I often rely on eGullet recommended hotels and restaurants. For example, few weekends ago I went to Seattle and stayed at Hotel Andra (thanks for the recommendation Coop!) - made me realize that there is a large group of people in Vancouver who have the same culinary tendancies/interests and I have never met a single one of them (but that will change in 7 days and counting...) - amazed me in how genuinely helpful people want to be towards others by sharing their knowledge - on so many occasions made me laugh out loud (the best medicine after a long day!).

Richard, Fifi, and Patti: Thanks for your help with my LC problem (I even learned a new word - crazing) - but now I'm . I did read the care instruction when I got my LC and have let it cool before soaking and I don't think I've used anything above medium heat. I'll check into the replacement option and see what happens. Thanks again for your help!!! I do love my LC!

I have the large LC dutch oven and I love it! But I recently noticed that on the inside bottom there is a 'patchwork' of hairline fractures/cracks - it is difficult to describe but is similar to what happens to the glaze on older china. Does anyone have the same problem and if so, do you know what causes it?

bkeith - thanks for the humourous clarification. BTW I checked out your website - absolutely amazing Bcakes!!!

I'm a bit afraid to post anything on this topic as a while ago I mentioned three types of buttercreams - Italian, French and German. In a subsequent posting by someone else I was told there was no such thing.... But... here's what I learned at cooking school. 1. Italian buttercream - basically heating sugar and water mixture to a certain temperature and adding to whipped egg whites (while still whipping). Once cools whip in room temperature butter. 2. French buttercream - same as Italian buttercream except the sugar and water mixture is added to whipped egg yolks. 3. German buttercream (our instructors also called this Mousseline - sp?) - the base was essentially pastry cream to which we added the butter. This type was mainly recommended for choux pastry filling. Perhaps these were terms used by the pastry chefs at Dubrulle ( Vancouver cooking school) and not so common to the industry as a whole????

Thanks Rhea_S for the tip. I'll do that next time! I've taken a few courses from Glenys and have many great recipes from her that are now family favourites. She also did a class for Easter that included a awesome glazed ham.

A few years back a local White Rock newspaper had a turkey brining recipe from Chef Glenys Morgan. It was an apple brine recipe and included apple juice, brown sugar, kosher salt, water, oranges, fresh ginger, whole cloves, bay leaves and crushed garlic. The recipe resulted in a turkey that was amazingly tender and wonderfully flavoured. It has now become a family favourite. The only drawback is that the drippings make a rather different flavoured gravy.

I was watching City Cooks this past Saturday (Sept 18). Simi Sara's guest chef was Rob Feenie, who indicated that he would be participating on the Iron Chef America show with two of his staff. Does anyone have any more details? I was wondering when the actual competition is and who he is planning to take with him. I would assume (hope!) he would take Marnie Coldham. I think it's great to see Canadian chefs on the Iron Chef shows!

1. Earl's late last night after my evening kitchen shift. Not too much is open late in the White Rock/South Surrey area. It did the trick. 2. Dinner last Sunday at Trishna Tandoori Temptations (see Jeffy Boy post). 3. Dinner two Saturdays ago at Cru. Had an awesome meal - it was my first time there. I really (really!) enjoyed the Duck Confit. I had eaten at the Cellar Door Bistro in the OK when Chef Dana Reinhardt worked there and also had an amazing meal. The Cellar Door Bistro isn't quite the same since she left.

I ended up one lunchtime, dining solo at Feenie's on Broadway. I was hesitant going in, but was made to feel very welcome by my server (and actually the table beside me as well!). I've never dined solo at Cru, but agree with Mooshmouse that you would feel welcomed there as well and the food is excellent.

I just finished making the 'bittersweet decadence cookies'. They were really good and very decadent as indicated by the title. I had the opposite problem of Moopheus. Using the recommended 'slightly rounded tablespoon' scoop of batter for the cookies, I ended up with 46 cookies instead of the recipe amount of 36. I also substituted unblanched almonds for the walnuts/pecans. I'll definitely make these again!

I too am a fan of baked brie in puff pastry especially when it is still warm and goey. My favourite is served with a fresh blueberry sauce with some whole blueberries (I had it in a restaurant once and absolutely loved it). I think the suggestion of serving it with apple is also very appealing. I'll have to try that out soon!

Tasty, I was in the same position as you about three years ago. I quit my professional job after 16 years to pursue my culinary passions and go to cooking school. In my search of trying to decide where to go, I checked out (meaning I visited) VCC, PICA and Dubrulle (the Northwest Culinary Academy did not exist at the time). I ended up going to Dubrulle (I have taken both the four month Culinary program as well as the four month Pastry program, but unlike most students I didn't take them back to back). I didn't go to VCC mainly due to the longer duration (around 8 months) and the fact that it seemed to be more institutional in terms of the curriculum but I was very impressed with the chef instructors that I met. I didn't go to PICA in part due to the fact that they had a longer waiting list (fewer students per session) and they really didn't seem to want me to talk to the students while I was observing - any time I approached them, the chef instructor was immediately by my side. One of the students 'secretly' passed me a piece of paper with her phone number and mouthed "call me". I did speak with her - she didn't seem to have any major concerns with the school, but I didn't have an overall good feeling. I very much enjoyed the two programs that I took at Dubrulle - mainly due to the quality and enthusiasm of the chef instructors. However, there were certainly some students who were not happy. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Dubrulle reputation with the new ownership and programs. For example the four month Dubrulle Culinary Program was revamped into two three month courses (namely the Culinary Arts and Advanced Culinary Arts). Same thing for the Pastry. My suggestion would be to try Dubrulle/AI or the Northwest Culinary Academy. The two chef owners of the Academy were my instructors at Dubrulle and while they have very different teaching approaches, I certainly think they have the passion and capability to turn out extremely good students, and provide a positive and fun learning environment. Unlike most, I've had an easy ride with my transition, but only due to the fact that I have a spouse who can support me (he also greatly benefits from much improved home cuisine!) I also have NEVER regretted my decision and I can proudly say that "I LOVE MY JOB". On another note, I was wondering if anyone has checked out the new restaurant associated with Dubrulle/AI? I have not yet been. I've been to PICA's restaurant twice. My first visit was good enough, however the last time, a hair in my dessert and tin foil in my dinner roll blemished the experience for me. Best of Luck to you Tasty! I hope you'll let us know what you have decided.

A university course that I recently completed included some discussion of egg pasteurization and egg safety. The text was "Understanding Food" by Amy Brown (2nd Edition, 2004). Here's a few excerpts: Egg Pasteurization Egg Safety

I was taught start beating the whites once the water/sugar mixture has started to boil. I use 116 deg C as the final temperature for the water and sugar mixture (about 240 deg F) which is pretty much in line with most of the other comments. A suggestion for helping to pour into the bowl (and some might see this as cheating ), is to pour the hot water/sugar mixture into a HEAT RESISTANT liquid measuring cup (this also has the advantage of stopping the cooking process). You can then hook the lip of the liquid measuring cup on to the top of mixing bowl and slowly pour down the side of the bowl. This will help prevent the sugar/water mixture from hitting the rotating beaters and also makes for easier bowl clean up. I was interested to hear chefpeon's technique. I was only aware of Italian, French (same as Italian but uses egg yolks instead of egg whites), and German buttercream (has a pastry cream base to which butter is added - a bit more chewy and best for things like choux pastry filling). The swiss meringue base sound interesting.

When you are visiting White Rock/South Surrey, I recommend you check out Fieldstone Bakery (Crescent Road & 128th). Their bread used to be available at Capers, but now they only sell from their store. I consider their bread to rival Terra Breads. Fieldstone's is closed Mondays, and on Sunday their hours are something like 10am - 2 pm. Normal bakery hours for the rest of week. We also now have a Cobbs bakery in the neighbourhood. I agree with your cardboard assessment.