CanadianBakin'

I finally tried the Whimsical Bakehouse Golden Butter Cake and it's definitely going to be my go to yellow cake. I'm so thrilled to finally find one that I'm happy with. CI is good too but I really like WB best.

I'd much rather cook fresh but I have some major health issues right now and a new baby due next week so I'm trying a frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrot mix. I can't seem to figure out a way to cook them without them coming out a bit rubbery. Does anyone know how to cook them? I've tried steaming them in a bit of water in a covered saucepan and microwaving. I've considered roasting but haven't tried that yet and I have an veggie steamer in the back of the cupboard I would consider trying if you think that would be any better than just steaming in a saucepan. Any ideas or does everyone always use fresh.

Great job! I think it would have been fun to be a tester as well. I don't think anyone will mind waiting a week for the next challenge.

Sticky Toffee Pudding which is actually cake and doesn't need refrigeration. Served with homemade caramel sauce which can also handle time outside of the fridge. And balanced out with either whipped cream or icecream. It's best with the caramel sauce warmed up so it melts the icecream a bit.

I can't find a picture but a simple presentation that I have done is as follows. I cut the cake into squares, piped mousse over (buttercream would work too) and topped with another square. Then I poured a chocolate glaze over top to cover the surface and drip down the sides but still show the layers. Garnished with larger chocolate curls and dusted with icing sugar. The icing sugar that hit the glaze absorbed in but what stayed on the chocolate curls really showed them off well. It was plated on a swirl of the chocolate glaze. Very simple but looked good.

I'm not a professional by any means just an avid home baker but I do dessert only catering on the side. I hadn't really thought of it like that but it is. So yes, there is a market. I don't do wedding or birthday cakes as I'm not really keen on the fussy decorating and I don't think my wrists could handle it for long. I have done a few cakes for bridal showers but they are very simple, each piece topped with a rosette of buttercream and either candied violets or rose petals. So, who are my customers... - Schools that do evening performances and require plated desserts. - Ladies Teas for church groups, usually a variety of petit fours or miniatures, whatever you'd like to call them. - Evening fundraising events that need to look classy for a reasonable price. Dessert, even a nice one, is still more economical than providing dinner. - Brides who want cupcakes rather than a fancy cake. - I have provided desserts for events that have the savoury side provided by another caterer. I'm guessing that many caterers are more focused on the savoury side and the dessert side might not get as much attention. - Higher end coffee shops although for me this also included quick breads like scones and muffins so not strictly desserts. - Another thing I have done is packages of cookies that businesses have delivered to their clients at Christmas. Again, not typical "dessert" but if they give you some freedom you can be quite creative and have some fun with it. That's all I can think of at the moment but it may give you some ideas. Oh, and in regards to price, my husband has always told me to charge as much as I think I need to regardless of the customer or event. If they don't like the price they can always say no, but if I'm not making enough to make it worthwhile then what's the point unless I'm specifically deciding to do an event for cost as my own donation. My point is not to shy away from customers that you think may want something cheap. You might be mistaken.

I know cinnamon marshmallows are good in hot chocolate, I imagine speculaas ones might be as well. I was also thinking of macarons, PH-style. Since they are made with lots of ground almonds the spices might be nice in them.

Not being in the best of health at the moment I haven't been out much aside from soup at Tim Horton's with one of my daughters. However, we had the pleasure of kind of eating out while at home. Chef Metcalf was very generous and made my family a bunch of freezer meals to use when I'm especially tired. We've only tried the Pesto Chicken so far but it was excellent! I was suprised at how tender a chicken breast could be that has been thawed and reheated in the microwave. Her meals all came in single serve portions which makes them very versatile. An excellent option for busy people who like to eat well. Her website is Travelling Gourmet.

I haven't tried it yet but I bet the sheets they sell in the produce section for making caramel apples would work. Unless of course you want to try your hand at making it.

This is a variation of Banana Cream Pie called Banoffee Pie but it is AMAZING!!!! And it doesn't take long to make once you've got the sweetened condensed milk turned into toffee. BTW, it says to boil your cans for 5 hours but 3 is plenty. As it states at the bottom of the recipe you have to make sure the cans are covered in water the whole time. I usually have the pot mostly covered with a lid to help keep the water level up to avoid an accident.

re: cinnamon marshmallows... I just wanted to add that some brands of cinnamon are grainier than others so I always put it through a tea sieve before adding it to the marshmallows. I'm not usually a big fan of cinnamon and chocolate but they are amazing melting in a mug of hot chocolate.

I live in Canada and have a sister-in-law in New York. I was thinking of sending her a food gift basket and wondered if anyone had sites to recommend that they've had experience with. So far I've looked at igourmet.com and deananddeluca.com. Both have nice gift baskets but I have no idea if they have good products. Any experience with these sites or others to recommend?

It looks and sounds great! I'd be thrilled to be served your dessert. Great job!!

OK, so basically I've got a big pot I could boil jars in for canning (minus the pressure) and that's it. Sounds like I better just toss it. As John mentioned, if I didn't miss for that long it's not a huge loss. And it was a hand-me-down in the first place. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. ← What are you doing out of bed....... ?? Get back in bed and grow that baby in your belly !!!!! What are you doing thinking about turkey. The only turkey you will be getting is the stuff the nurses bring you after you have your healthy baby !! ( and that ain't turkey........) Let me know where you are and I might bring you a turkey sandwich !! white bread, cranberry sauce, white meat and an extra sprinkling of salt.....yum ← ...what are you doing in the General Food Topics Forum??? I'll be back in bed by Monday. This week was my "good week" in the chemo cycle. Don't you worry, I'm growing this baby well. He's about 3 lbs right now and I've got a month to go. I won't be cooking the Christmas meal, my mother-in-law has that under control and unfortunately it won't be turkey. But I LOVE turkey and your turkey sandwich sounds awesome!! If you happen to be around the maternity ward at RCH on Dec 29th or 30th the nurses will probably be letting me eat by then .

OK, so basically I've got a big pot I could boil jars in for canning (minus the pressure) and that's it. Sounds like I better just toss it. As John mentioned, if I didn't miss for that long it's not a huge loss. And it was a hand-me-down in the first place. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

I made the mousse for the Concorde last night and while it tastes good it looked a bit funny, almost curdled. Is this normal? I was wondering if it happened because maybe my eggs were a bit too cold. I used it anyways (to fill a cake) but wondered how it is supposed to look.

Boring but always popular with the spinach dip crowd, are layered dips. Like a Mexican 7-layer dip or a shrimp dip. I'm sure there's lots of recipes online or if you need a tried and true I can PM you.

Thanks for checking that out for me! I don't get out to Langley too often right now but I'll keep the name in my purse so I've got it handy next time we're there. We really don't have any great bakeries in Mission or Abbotsford so I'll have to stock up when I go there.

Would it still be safe to use as a soup pot even if I don't use it as a pressure cooker?

This is really embarrassing. A couple Christmases ago I brined the turkey in my pressure cooker (I think it's aluminum or some other potable metal) as it was the only thing big enough to accomplish the task. In the rush of serving etc. in my small kitchen, someone put the not-cleaned pot outside our side door which almost never gets used. And you guessed it, it was completely forgotten until a couple months later. A bit of a suprise to find. Anyways, I tried cleaning it but the bottom appears to have been "eaten" into and I'm not sure if it's safe to use again. Is there anyway I can clean it to be assured that it's ok to use or do I have to throw it out? I've had it sitting in a cupboard since then not sure what to do but it recently occured to me that someone here might know. Any ideas?

Thanks for the instructions. Although I love experimenting, due to a lack of energy I think I'll go with the commercial caramels this year. Sounds delish!! We did check out Well Seasoned a couple months ago and really liked their shop. I picked up some food grade lavendar and some smoked paprika, both of which I haven't seen in Mission. It's good to know there's somewhere closer than Vancouver for unique food items. I'm not familiar with the bakery. If you happen to think of the name, please let me know.

Tina... I get them at Save-On! The ones I get are Snyder's of Hanover brand. They are with the chips and usually at the back of the topmost shelf in the most inconvenient spot ever. They have the giant rods, which is what I prefer as I dip them first in homemade caramel and then in chocolate and then in chopped nuts. They also have something called Dipping Sticks, which are smaller but made for dipping. I have only seen those once tho. They also have the ones that look like a grid, which are a great base for a chocolate bar style thing I do with by first dipping in caramel, then rolling in nuts, then topping with a slab of marshmallow, then dipping in chocolate. If you ever go across the line to Lynden, the Safeway there is an excellent source of these types of things. A veritable treasure trove of snack food and the most amazing frozen food section ever! ← Thanks Badiane!! And best of all, I'll only have to drive 5 minutes to get them instead of having to head into Vancouver. Your pretzel ideas sound great. How thick is your caramel? Is it very thick sauce or firmer?

Holy smokes!!!! How many people were contributing?

I just wanted to mention that I noticed today our local library has Dorie's book on order. So for those of you waiting to take it out, check your local library to get it on reserve.

Does anyone know where to get those long, thick pretzel sticks that could be dipped in chocolate? I thought it might be a fun, easy project for my daughters.