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SushiCat

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  1. Just want to say it is fun to see the insides of people's cold space and pantry cupboards! I've been on a mission to whittle down the freezer, cause ours is pretty small and will tackle the pantry cupboard as well.

    In addition, I'm into this in the following way, yesterday took some of my homemade chutney that I didn't like, and doctored it up with some of my homemade jam I didn't like and a fresh apple plus a few other tidbits and voila, great chutney result.

    I'm going to pull out all the things that are getting old in my pantry and see if we can use at least one per day. Any idea how to make whole millet taste good? I have tons of onions and can make any onion based dish and still have tons!

    Happily we were shopping yesterday (as I hadn't seen this or planned to participate, so we had a delicious breakfast of bacon, fried eggs, toast and my best apricot jam. We will try to have some use up ingredients for dinner.

  2. Parkside, as usual, does it up right.

    I have become one to avoid dine-out but there are days one needs or wants to eat out and when a good restaurant does dine-out right, and reservations are available, one has to jump at the chance.

    Last night I found myself at Parkside with several dining companions. We had a relaxed and wonderful meal with excellent food and service to match. I could go on and on, but the thing to note is that if an event like Dine-Out is to be successful, part of the success is to attract customers who will then want to come back to your establishment. Well, that is how it is for me - I am looking for food that I would not normally cook at home, and when I go out, I want to be made to feel comfortable so that I can enjoy myself.

    Thanks to the team at Parkside who show professionalism in doing it right, and for making another enjoyable evening for me and the clan I had in tow!

    Note to self, put dining dollars towards Parkside!

  3. Ah what an interesting read.

    I'm about to do my stint of cooking for a crowd, I do it once every three years and it is always of a similar vein ... many people, vegans and special diets, hot heat with high humidity (like how do you keep the food-safe?), many children who are picky etc. Everyone is always very appreciative of my home cooked food and goes on and on about how good it is, like they all eat from packages all the time (which I know is not true).

    This year I want to change up lunches and have pre-made sandwiches, as usually we put out every fixin' avail. and let people do their thing. Randi, any idea how long it took to make sandwiches (e.g. minute per concept) and how many sandwiches got eaten along side the salads etc. ? In the past we have used much more deli meat / cheese than I can ever imagine. This makes me guess that people would eat three or four sandwich halves, but maybe if the sandwiches are made it is different.

    Great job you did! Hope you are having fun in the sun!

    S the cat ...

  4. just happened upon this thread ... the Clover makes a damn fine coffee, but yes it is key to have good beans that are well roasted! I think it may be slightly less critical to have well trained staff on this machine, but am not really sure as I haven't worked with one. Here in Vancouver several cafes have Clover's the first (I believe) was the Elysian Room where it is always fun to go in and try some interesting coffee via this brew method. It is a method that truly brings out the flavors within the coffee beans and allows you to taste the difference between coffees. It is a far better approach than then 'tall drip, I'll take the stronger one' that you get at *$.

    To all who are talking about not liking drip coffee, nor do I. The Clover is more like a French press and should really showcase the coffee.

    oh and FYI, each individual coffee shop sets their prices, but we have many options for getting a coffee brewed via Clover for a decent price e.g. not more than $3.00 ... and yes of course if you are trying some high end beans then it could be more. Who cares how much Howard Schultz paid for his coffee in NY, the guys has made the most money out of coffee than anyone else and deserves a lot of credit for today's crew of coffee snobs who are able to indulge in lots of great coffees, albeit not at *$!

  5. Just checking in as I plan my eating for my three days in Montreal - actually four. I haven't been to town for a while, need to hit up Joe Beef (personal reasons) and am staying right downtown with no transport except le Metro. I want good European food and I'm on a budget (budgets are for breaking, right?).

    I've had the pleasure of La Chronique, and would love to go there again but don't think my schedule or budget will allow. Nor will I be affording a meal at Toque.

    So I'm not looking for Asian as I'm based in Vancouver ... but I did notice on Chowhound a lot of people talking about Bankok (sp?) ... is this some special Thai place? Also, what about Au Petit Extra ?

    Also, any recommendations for good lunch spots near Place Bonaventure as I'll be dining and dashing in the middle of the day?

  6. Help, I just made my standard recipe for buttercream and as I added the last bits of butter it separated.  Should I warm it a bit and whisk or use my paddle ?  Other suggestions?

    Clearly I should not have answered the phone!

    ETA: egg white/sugar warmed then whipped, with butter added a bit at a time.

    Finally found a reference on RLB's website. My buttercream was too cold - a little hairdryer heat worked miracles. bliss.

  7. Help, I just made my standard recipe for buttercream and as I added the last bits of butter it separated. Should I warm it a bit and whisk or use my paddle ? Other suggestions?

    Clearly I should not have answered the phone!

    ETA: egg white/sugar warmed then whipped, with butter added a bit at a time.

  8. What I'd be interested in is Thanksgiving dinner served on the only real Thanksgiving Day: the fourth Thursday in November.  That's right, I said it.  I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with the majority of North Americans and to heck with this October nonsense!  :raz:

    You know it is ok to have two thanksgiving dinners. Actually if my budget allowed, I would go for three this year, taking Chef Fowke up on his offer

  9. Chef Colleen McClean, former Chef de Cuisine at Feenie's.

    Whoops... typo.

    She is a great addition to Rare, we are very pleased to have her onboard.

    Good for Colleen! After going through the ringer with Ken Bogas, Cafe de Paris and I can only imagine at Feenies this looks like a good fit for her.

    After eating at Rare on Saturday night this past weekend, I wanted to check this thread to see what others have been saying ... clearly Ms McClean is a good fit as predicted by eatrustic.

    Our out of town guests had just been to a number of Vancouver spots, also some island eats including Fairburn Farms and spots on Saltspring - this was their end the vacation with a blast meal and it was that for me too - a BLAST! Excellent cooking, clean flavours and totally inventive dishes. Go for the chef's menu! Or try that cumin crusted tuna with the caper raisin sauce or have the duck - they do duck right! An element that really sets them apart are things like a blueberry shooter to cleanse your palate, a pre-dessert that incorporates Swiss Chard, and is delicious, plates that are comprised of all elements of food, e.g. all the food groups on one plate.

    Rare is truly a gem!

    Our thanks to the team for making our evening so memorable !

  10. In the last two weeks I have had more high end dining than one should be allowed ... first Vij's, then Parkside and to top it off an AMAZING meal at Rare on Saturday night.

    We know Vij's doesn't need a plug as they are too busy as it is, but the food there is very very tasty. Guests always want to go there because they have heard of it - nice job Vij on marketing as well as consistent excellent food prep. They also have the wait for the table drinking mapped out pretty well - nice touch with the plates of finger food that roam around every so often. My favourite item from this trip, the tomato chutney, my love of tomatoes only deepens and this condiment is something I can eat up by the spoonful anytime.

    Parkside, not only a winter favourite, but a summer one as well. Where else can you get the most professional service coupled with creative cooking and still feel as comfortable as if you were dining at home! We drank, we ate, we laughed - a special appy was stuffed zucchini flowers with crab and halibut - OH MY! The Cornish hen was a standout on mains for me and as usual pasta courses were to die for, this includes the risotto which I happily had in front of me.

    Rare - what can one say after a meal like the one we had, well only that we should not leave dining are Rare to such rare occasions! I was smart and had the chef's tasting menu, six courses, each one showing off the chef's inventive use of food combinations and skill in creating a taste sensation! My favourites were (in random order)

    Tuna tartare, the duck - we had two duck dishes at the table, one from my tasting menu and one from the main menu. They were both excellent and different. One comes with an almond risotto that had the four of us at the table discussing our own risotto skills and how lacking they are! Each duck had fruit sauce - dang my memory is failing me!

    Polenta and mushroom terrine with chevre butter, each bite a burst of flavour intense with mushrooms, smooth with chevre and the polenta was both totally smooth and allowed individual grains to shine through.

    Tuna crusted with cumin and served this an incredible raisin and caper sauce - how'd they do that?????

    Crab two ways - bisque and cake - sounds so unassuming - tastes so great!

    A fois gras terrine served with a slice of onion crusted french toast and fruit sauce ... sorry this is where the confusion is, was this the cherry sauce or was that with the duck ? ... notes, must take notes next time! Just amazing!

    Ok, so my message is, go to Rare - don't make it a rare occasion, just go check it out!

  11. Thanks! I think I will experiment with the reduced sugar pectins next. So perhaps when I am reading not to reduce sugar they don't mean that anyone will get sick, but that it just might spoil after opening as you describe. That makes sense.

    So when you are making your jam, do you just taste it to make sure the level of sweetness is right? And that is consistant with how sweet it will taste once it's been canned and stored? And do you have any problems getting it to gel, or do you use pectin? Thanks again.

    I have developed general rules of thumb. The only fruit that needs a lot of sugar and pectin is Strawberry, otherwise I have various methods more and less cooking, usually less sugar and sometimes pectin. I taste, but I often taste cold - e.g. test the gelling and let a little bit of my mix cool enough to really taste. Occasionally I made mistakes but usually they are well received! My latest too sweet item is a concoction of peaches and cherries - a little too sweet, but oh so fine! My apricot and plum (both of which I'm known for) are much less sweet, usually made without pectin and yes I taste. They are both much closer to 8:1 (cups of fruit to sugar).

    If I want gelling action without too much cooking time, e.g. a fresh fruit tasting jam, then I do either or both of adding low methoxyl pectin (Pomona's most readily avail) and/or adding some fruit close to the end of cooking. I also sometimes remove the fruit solids after first boil, reduce down all the liquids, and add solids back in before jarring. All this while cooking away ... have fun and feel free to PM me with specifics if needed.

  12. More sugar and more lemon juice to start with, then you can boil less

    Thanks for the reply but the jam is almost inedible it is so sweet. The jam with the citrus had quite a lot of lemon juice in it as well.

    The jam is not preseved by the sugar, but by being sterile from the boiling and bottled hot into in sealed bottles.

    I can't tell you how many times I've read--on university extension sites, in cookbooks and this board--that you shouldn't alter the sugar, since that is part of what preserves the jam and otherwise you might encourage yeast and mold. Do you think that is overkill, then, and sugar IS something I can play with?

    I NEVER use that much sugar, been making jams for something like 18 years, nobody ever gets sick, occasionally a jar spoils rapidly after being opened. I make sure my jars are all sealed via a boiling bath. I usually use between 1/2 cup and 2 cups of sugar per 5 cups of fruit. I don't normally weight this, but this is definately less than 60% sugar. Play to your hearts content.

    If you are not getting jelled consistency, then you might want to play with some pectins.

  13. I'm a jammer from way back, got my start with blackberries, branched to plums and now I do whatever I feel like. Normally I don't use much pectin but do occasionally use a low methoxyl pectin like Pomona's. Yesterday I noticed a Westbrae Naturals product labeled as fruit pectin. i bought it thinking there would be tons of data on how to use it on the web - but alas, the package is devoid of instructions and I can find nothing telling me anything about it. Anyone have any experience? I am hoping to use it for jams that I don't want to cook too long.

  14. BUMP

    Heading to Sonoma area and then to SF for a few days week after next. 

    Is The General's Daughter still the cat's meow?  Where else should we eat, and what is open on Sundays and Mondays in the Sonoma area?

    We are coming from Vancouver, BC so we are spoiled by good eats and great Asian - but that doesn't mean we don't want to have more of that during our trip!  I'll keep this post to Sonoma area but will be reviewing the SF posts and also looks like we will head down to Half Moon Bay for an excursion, so we might need lunch along the road somewhere if anyone has ideas they are much appreciated.

    I was taken to Half Moon Bay for my BDay two weeks ago and you might be better served getting a little cheese snack from The Cheesemaker's Daughter on the Sonoma Square versus stopping on the way. Within HMB, Pasta Moon has stunning pizza (seriously - my BF is still talking about it - house made sausage, speck, forest mushrooms, and fontina fonduta) and I had a Pappardelle with pancetta, mushrooms garlic, tomato cream, parmesan, pine nuts, mascarpone. The other place I would have been happy eating at multiple times is Cafe Gibralter. We ordered more than half-a-dozen appetizers, an entree, and dessert and all were fabulous. It is not on the main square but just outside of town in El Granada. Well worth the trip!

    Yum, Cafe Gibralter looks very interesting! Pizza sounds good at Pasta Moon, we will check out the cheese shop and have at least one meal in Half Moon Bay, thanks Carolyn.

  15. BUMP

    Heading to Sonoma area and then to SF for a few days week after next.

    Is The General's Daughter still the cat's meow? Where else should we eat, and what is open on Sundays and Mondays in the Sonoma area?

    We are coming from Vancouver, BC so we are spoiled by good eats and great Asian - but that doesn't mean we don't want to have more of that during our trip! I'll keep this post to Sonoma area but will be reviewing the SF posts and also looks like we will head down to Half Moon Bay for an excursion, so we might need lunch along the road somewhere if anyone has ideas they are much appreciated.

  16. BUMP

    stopped by at Gastropod to see about all the commotion. The room is very nice and it has a buzz that makes you feel like you are out on the town. We had a very good waitress and she helped make our night fun and memorable, there were a few things she didn't know off the top of her head, but I don't fault her for that, she was pleasant and found out what she needed quickly and without pretention. She was attentive but not cloying and really made us both feel that our happiness came first! Cocktail list, wines and menu are all interesting with enough to chose from even if you are trying to avoid the sous vide (which I was not).

    While we were deciding on various things to order, I noticed the bartender elaborately preparing a drink and then I saw it after it had been poured. This turned out to be the rhubarb cocktail. Had to try that and it was WOW! Muddled rhubarb, basil and some gin, I'm sure there was a bit of simple syrup and on top a shaving of blood orange rind. Excellent mix of flavours, refreshing and not nearly as tart as one might expect. Top marks on this one!

    For starters we had the tuna tartare and the asparagus salad. I think others have mentioned the tuna, it is quite fine, with a thick layer of tuna, somehow crispy panko, and avocado. It is sublime and I know I'm leaving out some key details, but I only had two small bites. I had the aspargus salad which I have to say ranks up there in the top five of all time memorable dishes! If you are an asparagus fan, and/or a fan of perfectly cooked egg yolks, then I urge you to drop by and try this dish! The egg is preparred sous vide, and the yolk is served on top of Parmesan foam, which serves as the 'white'. it is both beautiful and incredibly delicious.

    For main dishes, I had the lamb which is served on Israeli cous cous prepared with mushrooms and chorizo, just enough to bring the flavours together - very balanced. An intense sauce rounds out the plate, it is a smoky roasted pepper sauce - thick, unctuous and great to pull the lamb and cous cous together. Very well done. My dining partner had the venison which was sublime! Venison really is a very good meat for us carnivores, I love it. It had a raspberry 'ketchup', tasted very fresh and raspberry to me, I couldn't discern any other flavours in it, or that it had been cooked. It went perfectly with the venison. Excellent pairing. It came with some type of potato sandwich, pardon me chef for not being able to describe this. It is on the menu that is posted on their website, but no additional data is coming from that tonight. There were several other options that intrigued us, including a 'two types of pork' entree but these two mains sounded best. Both meats appeared to be sous vide. The table closest to us, had one serving of that pork and it did look really good!

    On the wine list, there are several options by the glass, and also two levels of both white and red flights. As a taster of wines, I really do appreciate the flight option, it allows you to have more than one type of wine and not get sloshed, therefore still enjoying the intense flavours of the food. So we ended up with one of each of the flights of red, therefore having six wines on teh table at once! We savoured bits, and ended up with two partial glasses that were much appreciated by the cheese plate eater! I think the concept has gotten them far, the chef clearly has outstanding talent, and I look forward to a continuing evolution by back and front of house as they settle in and bask in the interesting bounty of ingredients as well as the tourist season and all that has to offer. Good luck and glad to have you in the clump of new spots on that block !

    I don't usually rate places this way, but food here is a 5 out of 5! FOH has some foibles, but they are climbing up to about 3.5 out of same 5. Don't pass them up, this is some fine dining!

  17. Ah, another Savary Island Pie Co. lover. I'm with Fud, if it were closer I too would be at leas 20 pounds heavier. You don't talk about their scones, they are the best! I try to make room in the freezer so I can buy a few loaves of bread while over there. I also make excuses of why I need to get to the N. shore in summer ... anyway, I had a long chat with the owner one day about opening new locations. I think she really wanted to but was concerned about quality control. Now they do baking for Whole Foods as well, so they are probably close to capacity.

    I haven't been for a while, but besides the grilled cheese, their chicken pesto sandwiches are divine!

  18. A few weeks ago a colleague came back from Starbucks with an amazing ginger molasses cookie and the cravings started from there. I just made the recipe I found on-line and it is virtually identical to the two posted above.

    Ok we had to eat some warm from the oven, but they didn't stay thick enough AND I added extra flour. Anyone with advice for making these thicker/chewier and a bit more dense. No thwacking took place so that is one option, but rather doubtful of the full effect.

    TIA

  19. I made my best bread EVER today. Not that I've baked that much bread. But this was so good I could not stop eating. After dinner I was still tearing off pieces of bread, and eating them with butter and a bit of fleur de sel and a drizzle of honey. Oh so good!

    Semolina olive oil bread

    gallery_21505_2929_118421.jpg

    I had it with Moroccoan spicy meatballs and eggs

    gallery_21505_2929_69813.jpg

    Klary, you make the most beautiful food! Great looking bread, nice texture. What are you doing to keep your seeds sticking on top? Just curious as I'm having a hard time with that task without egg or milk. Let me know your secret?

    Your salmon braise looked really good, especially the shallots and the potatoes. You make salmon look good to those of us who don't even like it.

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