sadistick

Jason - Regarding tacos al pastor, theres this place in Kensington Market in dt Toronto that does amazing tacos al pastor, heavily seasoned pork fried with some pinapple topped with red onions and cilantro, lime and hot sauce to taste....sooooo good! Very authentic, as the owners/staff/cooks are all mexican, and some of the sweetest people ever.

Everything looks really great folks... Gotta get motivated and post some dinner picks that have seemed to bottleneck

I dont know about savory dishes, but you could make a chocolate risotto for dessert

Phili...everything looks great... More cities should hold egullet dinners! The real question is, what did you guys drink with all this great food

Buy in bulk...order off the net if you have to, and juice them then freeze in ice cube trays... Unknown to many, citrus juices hold up really well when frozen.

Well, tuna does not really suffer, so I would not worry about that...and its not an endangered species...however, if you are adament about no tuna, why not tofu? It can absorb taste and colours via marinades quite well, and is very healthy to boot.

Hehe...Thanks Interesting and rewarding, for sure.

Just did a bit of research on the subject...and contrary to what was stated in the NY Times article, there is some cause for concern, regardless of a flame being present or not... http://meatprocess.com/news/ng.asp?id=5863...&c=%23emailcode Thats just one article, there are quite a few more if you do some in depth searches.

Ok, I still would be cautious and find other sources of information to confirm this, just to be on the safe side...but thats just me.

I do enjoy smoked meats, but I sometimes wonder...how healthy, or rather in this case, unhealthy is it to consume products that have been in an enclosure, thick with smoke, surrounded by all those carcenogens, for such a period of time.... Hmm....

Daniel those ravioli look and sound great...too bad its so difficult to get crayfish up here in Toronto.

Typically a good rule of thumb, if your temerature is going to approach medium or higher (on the stove) do not use olive oil... I like to finish dishes with evoo, use it in salads, in pasta sauces where temps wont get high - and cook at higher temps with either grape seed oil, peanut, or veg.

Interesting you mention this, as last night I was watching 'David Rocco' on food network (one of the few shows I enjoy anymore from this station) and they were visiting a natural hot springs, and he was cooking on volcanic mud...just using the tent tin foil method, he made a porcini dish and a clam dish...pretty cool actually.

Update time. Things are going well business wise, we had a good holiday season, which really depleted any stock we had made up till that point, so its back to the kitchen for us! We are gaining more exposure through some cafe's (Tutto Pronto, Zoe's, Urban Fare) as well as through some catering companies as well. Private sales are still moving, word of mouth being the best form of advertisement for us. On the product front, I have been working on a new form for our tarts, being the individual portion sizes, as many potential clients have asked for this, I felt it time to investigate this path, and have been pleasantly surprised. Taking a 1 3/8" round aluminum cup, I have been working on ways to bake (and freeze) the swiss chocolate fudge tart, sans crust. We made a few various test batches, and I must tell you, my initial worries of it being too dry, have been put to rest. I guess because the mass is a bit higher than the tarts, it is even MORE moist and rich than even the tarts are, as amazing as that is. The only question I would pose to you folks is, if you were a client, be it private or commercial, and you ordered individual sized portions for your cafe, or catering company...would you prefer they came with the aluminum cup (This may have to be the case, as it may freeze better, and stay longer due to less exposed surface area) or would you want it sans cup, ready to be defrosted? They all come frozen, which is the real key, and big selling feature...having a product that has the Just Baked quality, but with the convenience of storing them for 8+ months in your freezer... So thats one thing I have to figure out, whether to remove them from cups and sell like that, or keep them in. My other new thing I am working on, is actually just putting in the raw mix into these cups, and freezing as is...allowing clients to purchase them, and store in their freezer, then just toss in the oven to get a truely Just Baked dessert...I think that may come in to play more so down the line once our products are available to the masses via storefront purchase, as cafe's and catering companies would not be interested in this approach...restaurants with no pastry chef, may however be. Anyways...thats about it for now, I am sure I may have missed some things, so updates to follow...Would love to hear from you guys what you think, ideas...anything... Cheers, -Justin

You could always throw away the donut idea and bring some delicious tarts

I like making a simple salad with these lil buggers...cut in half, half some cherry tomatoes, toss with sea salt, pepper, good balsamic, and evoo - at the end tear up some basil...very simple, the cheese should absorb the balsamic...great stuff, even better the next day.

Endy, I think you answered your own question right here...Timmy's of course

2 new wines that came out today, supposed to be quite good, grabbed a bunch of each. '03 Kilkanoon Cab '04 Marquis Phil Shiraz Anyone else?

Great looking dinners everyone... Mifi great lookin tuna dish, was there any lime involved? BRM, glad you liked Splendido, one of my fav's. Lamb dish looks great.

Anything particular that you would recommend? Where on Eg?

Hi Folks, Following up a thread I have in the cooking forums, I come to you all now seeking advice for wine pairings for the courses for our new years dinner. Here is the dinner thus far - I have a few ideas for wines, please add suggestions! Tomato Water w/caramalized corn/onion 'fritter' -Was thinking maybe a Prosecco? Tuna Sashimi 2 ways Mushroom Ravioli with sage butter sauce -Pinot - I have a '92 Joseph Phelps "Mistral" - Not sure how that is drinking ATM. Scallops on a double smoked bacon plate w/balsamic reduction drizzled Orange/Grapefruit/Rum sorbet Artichoke Risotto (not sure if we will actually have this course...this one is still up in the air) Steak 2 ways - Pan seared and BBQ'd with a Barolo reduction sauce and roasted beets. - Either a nice Cab or maybe a Barolo? Bok Choy (I like using this as a palate cleanser, as well, a good way to get some veg in) Cheeses - Brie, Unpasturized Goat, Petite Basque Dessert - WIll have 2-3 options, warm lindt choc for sure though. I appreciate all help in this matter!

Tammy, I will be the first to admit that out of all that goes in to creating a great meal, plating is my weakest area of 'expertise' so I will not attempt to give any advice as I do not wish to mislead you As well, I have come up with the second 'draft' for my menu...I will have to post this in the wine forum as well, as I do require suggestions for pairings with each course... Here is where I am at this far... Tomato Water w/caramalized corn/onion 'fritter' Tuna Sashimi 2 ways Mushroom Ravioli with sage butter sauce Scallops on a double smoked bacon plate w/balsamic reduction drizzled Orange/Grapefruit/Rum sorbet Artichoke Risotto (not sure if we will actually have this course...this one is still up in the air) Steak 2 ways - Pan seared and BBQ'd with a Barolo reduction sauce and roasted beets. Bok Choy (I like using this as a palate cleanser, as well, a good way to get some veg in) Cheeses - Brie, Unpasturized Goat, Petite Basque Dessert - WIll have 2-3 options, warm lindt choc for sure though. edit 482 views and only 11 replies??? Come on now, I thought there would be a wealth of responses from this group of people!

Gordon - Interesting...maybe I will try both methods...we'll see... Tammy - Sounds like a good dinner...only problem is my GF is allergic to shell fish, otherwise (and I still may even still) I would get a few types of shellfish for the menu, like scallops, possibly prawns. Do you debone the quail? What type of cheeses? Regarding your dinner guest, and the appreciation for beets...why not some oven roasted beet segments with garlic and thyme and a hint of rosemary, served on top of some crunchy grilled bread...you could also puree and make a paste, put in squid? Jim, that sounds really good too...wish my GF could eat lobster! argH! More menu tweaking to come. Have a safe holidays/new years.

Shal - Aiming to start at around 8ish...should give us enough time, I think. Regarding your comments - As far as tomato's go, I freeze the tomatos from our garden whole, then use them in the winter etc for various applications...works great. I agree, the menu does seem a bit heavy...maybe remove the duck...add something in its place...I will probably have some type of veg along with the steak...as well, a sorbet will be added in there somewhere or another... What else would you suggest? Tracey - That sounds nice, do you have any issues with burning the honey at such a high heat?

Thinking of doing a multi course tasting menu again this year...aiming for 8-10 courses. Would be interesting to hear if anyone else was planning an elaborate meal for new years eve... Now to more significant matters...Thought this could be a good thread to start planning my dinner in, as well, giving others the opportunity to post their meals, in infancy. Heres what I have so far... Bisque - Be it garden tomatoes with some fried double smoked ham on top or corn, we'll see... Gravlax or vodka smoked salmon, served with a dill/caper/sweet mustard sauce...everyone loved it last year and requested it again. Tuna - Either sashimi or very fast sear...lookin for ideas for a sauce/pairing that would work well...have a few in mind so far. Pasta - White truffle butter sauce - wine? or Pasta - Beet ravioli with butter sage sauce. Steak - seared in pan...I was thinking a typical red wine pan sauce...ideas? Duck - Port/Red wine/sage sauce Cheese - some unpasturized goats, morbier, petit basque. Dessert - Molten Lindt chocolate cake Cheers.