Pam R

Nick, how often do you go out for a meal vs. cooking at home? With all of the beautiful produce, seafood and meat available to you, I imagine it's no hardship to cook -- but I also imagine (and vaguely remember from a visit) that there are lots of restaurants to choose from. Not talking about the places one would go to for a multi-course meal, but the small neighborhood spots. Do you have any favourites?

Whipping the egg whites! That makes a lot of sense. Shelby, please report on the results!

I was wondering if you could dehydrate the raw egg white. Put a little dish in the dehydrator? Would it work? Any food safety concerns?

Dinner last night: carrots, onion and celery in the bottom of a roasting pan, enough water to come up 1/2"- 3/4". I used a turkey crown (double breast, on the bone, skin on). Seasoned and placed on top of the vegetables. Cover the whole thing with a lid or aluminium foil and roast/steam at 400F until it reaches 165F or so. (There'll be some carry over cooking as it rests.) No crisp skin, but the breast stays moist.

What a great week! Thanks to you (and your husband) for sharing so much with us this week. I hope you get to put your feet up and relax tonight!

You might want to try it with ground beef as well. Le Marais has it on their 'menu'. I've never tried it, but I've heard that it's amazing.

OK, here are the last two images. Let's see if they help:

Never mind juice. That was the best chuck roast I've ever cooked. Used 2 large onions and left the lid slightly ajar when it was in the oven (at 325 for about 3, 3 1/2 hours). There was liquid in the pot when I pulled the roast out. I planned on pureeing the onions then reducing it a bit, but after it was pureed it was the perfect consistency and tasted great. Roast was tender too.

No, not them. Let's see if this helps:

This is what I had in mind. This was my concern. I think you're right. Unfortunately it's for dinner tonight and I don't have that kind of time, but I'm going to try it with the next roast. That's what I'm doing. Though I wanted to try the dry method, timing didn't allow. I did what I'll occasionally do with brisket and slowly browned a couple of large onions, added some brown sugar, garlic cloves, tomato paste, red wine and a little chicken stock (no beef stock on hand). Basically it's on a bed of well flavored onions with a little liquid. It's in the oven now and smells great. But I'm noting all of the ideas being posted. I keep kosher which really limits the beef cuts I can use, so the more options the better.

I have a 2 kg boneless, netted chuck roast in the fridge waiting to be cooked tomorrow. Normally I'd braise it but I'm wondering if that's the only way to go. Can it be roasted without all the liquid? I don't want to grind it, cube it or cut it into steaks. I'm also not smoking or grilling (it's too cold outside!). Have any good recipes? Though I'm looking for something other than a braise this time, if you have a good braising recipe let's see that too -- there are more chuck roasts in the freezer.

We're still days away from the next eG Foodblog (and there's still lots of time left in Shelby's), but here's your first clue for the next one:

Or, see what kind of vacuum sealer the butcher has. If he has a good one and is willing, lancastermike might be able to bring in some seasoning to throw in the bag before it's cryovac'ed. I have a chamber VS and can do a large turkey in it.

I've heard that it's all in the practice. Like, make a pie a week for 30 years, and you eventually get good at it. I guess I should get started! Or try adding a little more ice water. I agree. And I think it's good for those of us (like me) who buy our meat in shrink-wrap to see the process.

Wow. Can you tell us a little bit about where you shop for food items that you don't grow or hunt? Are you close to stores or is it a big deal to go in to shop?

Next eG Foodblog starts tomorrow, so here's one last clue:

I'm not sure if this will help you guess or not . . but here's another photo from our next blogger.

Chris will be winding down tomorrow, then we'll take a day off and on the second day of the new year we'll get to see who lives here: Any guesses?

If I didn't know better, I'd say the house was built for you, to your specifications. Does your wife share your food and drink interests? No fighting over who got the shelves?

Chinese. I slept in and I'm about to start on the sesame sauce for the Chinese hot pot tonight. Tradition. This is a-whole-lotta work. Do you cook/host every Christmas or are you ever a guest? Maybe a better question: Do you ever want to be a guest or would you rather be in charge every year?

I love seeing American grocery stores. Thanks. With all this planning, prepping and shopping for Christmas - what's up for dinner tonight?

Would a potato ricer work? Seems like it might . .

Where is the 'here' that you're coming from? I don't buy shellfish and never look for it -- but if you're coming from a place where you can buy it fresh, you may want to do that. Gimli Fish Market is on Pembina HWY - you can try phoning them before you leave to see what will be available (204-477-6831). They also have a store on Dufferin, which is just down the street from Mariner Neptune (204-589-5341). They're both in the north end and may be out of your way. Fresh basil - Sobey's usually has good-size bags available. Fresh mozzarella - Piazza de Nardi - on Taylor Ave. It's not far from the Gimli Fish Market on Pembina. eta: There's a Sobeys down the street from Piazza so you should be able to get most of what you need in the same area.

The weight of 1 cup of flour may vary for a couple of reasons. Different brands might have different particle sizes. The thing I always understood is that the weight depends on the humidity levels - in a place with higher humidity the flour weighs more because it absorbs and holds more moisture. Anybody know if this is true or false? I used his recipe for years. Now I never measure but always add a glug of honey to the dough.

I don't think it's a strawberry infusion, but I'm sure Chris will let us know exactly what it is when he starts in a couple of days.