CharityCase

Where to begin: For takeout I would also recommend Greek on Wheels for a good value and good quality greek takeout. For pizza, it depends on what you're looking for. If you like big crust and big cheese then Colonnade or Fida's Pizza are my choices. If you like cheap (and I know someone will curse me for saying this) then I like 1 plus 1 on Bank near lisgar. The rideau location is horrible so DO NOT order from there. If you like thin-crust pizza I would give Calabria a try or possibly pavarazzi's though it's not true thin pizza. There is indeed good pizza but as I said it depends on your tastes a little. Oh, and I would also vouch for ottawafoodies.com as a good complement of local knowledge to the world of knowledge on eGullet.

Hi, I am looking into a new range or cooktop in the foreseeable future and was forwarded the name of a Canadian appliance maker called Heartland. While not cheap I understand the quality is exceptional and on par with larger US and international manufacturers. Do any current owners (or other researchers0 have thoughts on them? I've only taken a look at their website to get a sense and would like to hear from those with more experience with the brand. www.heartlandapp.com

Disclaimer: I've never tried this but if you must... Parboil the two beans seperatly until they are soft enough to eat but still pretty crunchy, almost like the crunch of a carrot and certainly not as soft as a boiled potato. Proceed with the recipe as directed and good luck. Let us know how it turns out. ← That's exactly what I did except I wasn't able to find dried favas. So following this recipe (which is different from the simplified epicurious one but the exact same as that which Mizducky posted upthread) I boiled dried chickpeas for about 20 minutes until they were a bit soft on the outside but still crunchy on the inside. I rinsed and rubbed them to dislodge some of the skins, then dried them with a clean dishtowel. I was working with a fair amount of them so, in stages, I food processed them until they were a rough crumble then proceeded with the rest of the recipe. This technique, born out of desperation, actually worked just fine except the mix was somewhat inconsistent in grain size...some big crunchy chunks..but they were rendered soft by the hot oil. My only change to the recipe above would be to add more spice based on your preferences. Otherwise they turned out really well and though somewhat time consuming I have a batch of the mix in the freezer that I can make again sometime.

URGENT HELP NEEDED! I have a going-away party for friends tonight, falafel is highly sought after so it looks like we're going ahead with it. I'd like to use the RecipeGullet recipe but I don't have time to soak the dried beans. So can they be par boiled? Or am I better off using canned favas and canned chickpeas? Will either work provided the beans are quite dry? Don't shoot me, I see that soaking dried beans is the thing but I'd like to have a go at this in the next best (i.e. from scratch) format even if it means changing this crucial dimension.

Don't know if garlic sauce = tahini sauce world wide, but that's what they call it where I buy my falafel sandwiches. I was back to the store where I bought my falafel ingedients yesterday, the owner is persian I think. He was horrified to learn that I'd added 4 cloves of garlic to my tahini sauce. He felt it didn't need garlic at all. ← They're not synonymous as tahini is thinned sesame paste and the garlic sauce I am familiar with is some sort of crazy congealed glob made with evaporated milk, garlic powder and who knows what else. I am not a fan of it at all though I know plenty who are.

Oh blessed falafel. This subject is near and dear to me. ChefCrash's posted pic is a good point at which to discuss another difference between the lebanese and israeli styles of falafel sandwiches - the pita. I see the dinner plate pita you were eating is much larger than the "sandwich pocket' sizes I have seen in israel. I think the pickled turnip is also a lebanese addition whereas israelis add the tomato and cucumber mix, hummus and tahini as primary ingredients. In unrelated news, you can have an excellent falafel in Paris at L'as du Fallafel (VirtualTourist)

It's still early but so far this is my favorite kitchen reno post. That's mianly because your style is very much like ours....a bit of old and a bit of new where it matters. Where did you come up with the subway tile layout? are the black pieces 1" width as they appear in your drawing? I always imagine a strip of same-size black tile and several strips of white but that may be me thinking of a bathroom in a house I rented.

I picked up the Kuhn Rikon Auto Safety Lid Lifter for $19 CDN at a kitchen store. So far I really like it, there's no mess, no sharp edges and once you've used it on 1 or 2 cans you get the hang of how it works. Pricewise it was comparable to a full metal old-fashioned can opener which is what we'd just chucked out so couldn't see buying yet another one. Here's the opener: http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/tools/to...php3?id=206#buy

I'm now in the market. Any Canadian dealers (online preferably) for the Rosle?

I'd like to see more photos from the competition if time permits Fat Guy. This year's latkes were good but almost too filling. I was full after 3 of them so mayhaps they'd absorbed too much oil in some way.

My best guess, and I hope I'm right, is that in his 3 months he managed to gather enough investors to launch his own restaurant. It probably has little to do with clashes in the kitchen as he was given full reign, I think it's just his time to enter the marketplace and he needed to do some work on finding the startup costs.

Also a happy Cuisinox owner as I don't have the funds for all clad. Great pan purchased at Ma Cuisine in Ottawa (and they can be ordered through CA Paradis as well).

I bought a KA processor earlier this year and really love it. It makes quick work of rough chopping and grating, and I've used it for everything from nut crusts for fish to salsas and uncooked pasta sauces with great success. Incidentally by keeping it out on the counter I think I use it considerably more than if it were tucked away on a cabinet. My only minor compalint is that water and liquids tend to get trapped in the clear plastic handle. I usually throw all the parts in the dishwasher and have noticed soap still there after the dry cyucle. Just a small design flaw on an otherwise exceptional tool.

That's expensive for Dim Sum and those dishes are quite standard. Are you sure it's worthwhile? Beijing Tianrun was markedly better than other places...food quality was a touch higher and service was fast and friendly. like most joints you need to get a seat in the "arena" in order to get things while they're still hot.

Unfortuantly, I am still one of those reactionaires who think that "Delicious Tofu" sounds like an oxymoron. I need to give it a second try... ← My method may not be authentic to what you're describing about Asian restaurants but I've had good success marinating the tofu overnight in a 50/50 soy sauce/Bragg's seasoning mix, patting dry and tossing with brewer's yeast flakes. You can use any kind of oil that suits you but peanut is deliciously unhealthy! The crunch is superior to cornstarch and doesn't involve egg wash for those ovo-lacto folks. Freezing the block of tofu and then thawing before use will change the texture a bit too.

Hi, I've bought a bag of Miso and will open it tonight....how do I store the remainder?

Great Wall was good, better than most and a more relaxing environment than the feedmill that is Yangxe. I passed the Beijing Tianrun restaurant you mentioned and I'll give it a try and report back.

You had me at hello but you lost me at "ploufe" It sounds lovely but I think it would be lost on this crowd, I don't have a vacuum sealer and more importantly the patience that such a delicate art would require. I think I'm voting in favour of nut/cheese/fruit combinations as has been suggested here using a blue or gorgonzola, walnut or pinenut and pear or apple. I also have some fig preserve not unlike ChefJohnny's suggestion that wuold pair well. The tuna tartare is a great idea but as I have limited financial means can't see doing it for 60 people cost-effectively. Now would it be enough to pulse the ingredients in a food processor quickly or better to layer them individually?

Same here. Don't like the taste of Starbuck's but also can't justify going to an independent with crappy coffee and poor service. In cases like that I'll just drink it at home If my office is in the centre and there are three blocks on all sides (a 3 x 3 block in other words) there are 4 starbucks on each corner of the square, plus two additional starbucks ( one in my building and the adjacent buidling). There are 8 independent coffee shops in the same 3 x 3 square, however 50% of them have changed ownership in the last two years. The other 50% though are still going strong and part of their success is due to the morning coffee/bagel crowd, having limited smoking areas and outside patios, and very reasonable prices that depend on quantity to turn a profit. Interesting that Starbucks is credited with upping our taste for high-quality java, and now some folks think they've done sucha piss-poor job with standard brewed non-specialty coffee that people are seeking out the indies for that stuff. We have a chain of fair trade coffeeshops here that is doing a good business, and that I think more recently is starting to do business for reasons beyond the ethical consumer. The store environment is favourable, the brewed coffee is good and cheap, and the sandwiches and baked goods are mostly made in-house (that which is not i.e. croissants and scones is brought in from an artisan baker).

Ok I often think the endive doesn't get enough respect so I am in search of an interesting appetizer to make for a party that uses it. The crowd of about 50-60 are diverse and many won't shy away from something bold...I was thinking of maybe a tuna tartare served atop but maybe you could suggest something interesting?

I don't have it around right now but grew up with it. What I liked about it was that unlike the real thing (and scary as this is) you could dose your pasta at the table and mix it all around (my parents put the blank pasta in the bowl and ladled on sauce) and it wouldn't melt into clumps. It always seems more resilient than the real thing and sometimes that's good I guess.

Wouldn't you know I read this thread in its entirety two weeks ago, and then warped my Mr.Dudley on the stovetop yesterday. There's a Unicorn Magnum on its way and I'll report back once I've had a chance to use it.

I think I've had just about all the Yangtze I can handle, Jadeland was an absolute bust and the place upstairs across from Yangtze is great. But where in this town is the best menu-ordering dim sum j oint? Is it in Vietnam/Chinatown or elsewhere? I could really use some help on this one.

I find home deep-frying to be tough going and one of those things I file under "cheaper and better when eaten out". However you certainly deserve points for perseverance Marlene! While your deep fryer maintains a constant temperature nicely you ought to try doing this the old fashion way - in a big pot or kettle of oil with a good thermometer in place. A hot pot of oil with no element would prevent the problem of things sticking even if it meant keeping a close eye on the heat source and not overloading the oil and lowering the oil temp too much. Another good trick for home use is to cut your fillets a bit smaller, maybe just in half or hey re-live your childhood and cut them into fish stick size!. They'll cook quickly and won't sink to the bottom.

Sounds like something you could do with ham, whereby you smoke it for a few hours, slice it into ham steaks and grill it either naked (to give it that fried bolgna taste) or doused with some mustard beforehand.