CaliPoutine

I wish I could join one. We dont have them here in SW Ontario( I live in a huge farming community too).

Thank you so much for the blog. It was a very enjoyable read. Happy New Year!!

I believe its only 2 bucks in Cali. Maybe other states too? I know in MI its $3.00. I use it for cooking. I wouldnt know the difference between that and a $10.00 or even $15.00 bottle.

I made a really great Lobster Fra Diavolo sauce. I'll post a pic later.

One of the very first topics I ever started on eG was "how to make an ice cream cake". Its here, along with the picture of the first IC cream I ever made. My neice loved it.

Wow!! ← How did your baking go this year, Randi? And did you end up doing Christmas cakes? ← I did pretty well. I did better last year. I brought in $379.00, I probably spent 50 on ingredients I sold a lot of 12.00 pumpkin roulades. I need to raise my price on those next year, the profit margin wasnt very high. I only sold 1 xmas cake. I bought tons of candied fruit too( It will keep for next year). The recipe I used made 2 and I gave one to my Mother in law. I didnt advertise fudge, but someone asked me if I could make some. I used Chefette's recipe( which I got from Kim Shook's recipe website). It came out really well. It made close to 3lbs and I sold it for 20.00. I used the cheap chocolate I got at Tomric( thanks Kerry). We made tons of Jayme's caramel popcorn for gifts. Next year I'll sell it. Last year I sold a lot more of the buttercrunch that I made w/ Kerry. I have tons of that left this year. Maybe I'll advertise it again for Vday. I'll probably just skip that next year. All in all, I'm pretty happy. I was able to make my cookie doughs early and freeze them. When it came time for ppl to pick up their baking, I baked off the cookies so they'd be fresh.

Using my BBQ as an outdoor fridge/freezer( of course this just pertains to Winter climates). I dont know why I never thought of that.

There is a pretty good sale online at the moment. If you're into Stilton, you can get close to a lb of Neals Yard for 19.99( was 59.99). There are some other good deals too. click

Have you checked the major cities close to you to see if anyone is going out of business? Maybe craigs list or the like?

Frantoia is amazing stuff. Very fruity EVOO from Sicily.

Wow!!

6.99lb Today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

A couple months ago, we sat next to a foreign couple in Grimaldi's. They must have put about 5-6 toppings on their pizza. They couldnt even pick it up, it was so heavy. I wanted to tell them NO, STOP!! When I heard them ordering. The only topping I'll order( if I order a topping) is mushrooms.

Oh goodie, I actually recommended it before Chad did!! I'm happy ( and immature). LOL

Ah, the search for the perfect countertop. Of all the choices in a kitchen renovation, this one has to be the most maddening. If you learn anything, it's that choosing a countertop is all about compromise. This "lab countertop" sounds like the description of most quartz countertops, such as Caesarstone, Zodiac, Cambria, etc. I seriously considered quartz during my recent kitchen renovation. A friend who has them regularly puts her hot pans straight from the oven onto her quartz countertops without any problem. In the end, I decided on concrete, and I LOVE them. They are beautiful and so far have held up well to daily abuse as well as a round of serious holiday cooking, baking, and red wine spills--but I've only had them for a few months now so I can't tell you about long-term issues. The guy who fabricated them made sure I understood that they would eventually develop a patina, much like marble, from exposure to water and acidity. I can see that happening, though it's very slow and subtle, so far barely noticable, and with no effect on performance. Not 100% maintenance free. I wax them monthly (about a half-hour of my time). Ask me again in a year, and I'll tell you what I think, but right now, no regrets. ← Do you have any pics of your kitchen reno?

Did also get him a copy of Chad's book. And not tellin' which knife I selected. I so very, very much appreciate all the info that folks took the time to post here, so don't want anyone to think that their efforts were for naught. ← I think we're all mature enough not to be insulted if you didnt pick the knife we reccomended. I for one would like to know what you selected.

Its cooked. I hope its not freezer burnt.

We took a trip to Nova Scotia in July for a family reunion. We brought back about 1.5lbs of lobster meat. I froze it while we were at the hotel, and its been sitting in my deep freeze ever since. What can I make that will be edible? I was originally thinking of a lobster pot pie, but I dont want anything that heavy. Could I use it for a lighter pasta? A pizza maybe? Lobster is on sale this week for 8.99lb so if I needed more, I could get it.

Any updates on your xmas baking? My cookie doughs are in the fridge and I'm finishing baking off today for fresh trays. All my squares are resting in the outdoor freezer( BBQ grill).

Sometimes, simple is best. Especially where I live. I sold these, each one was wrapped in cellophane and pretty ribbon.

Yep, those are the ones. Excellent. They're on the menu for tonight.

Thanks, that was a great help!!

Any new latkas this year? I'm going to make CI's recipe again tomorrow.

What about concrete? When we were renovating our kitchen last year, I looked at concrete. Its amazing what can be done to it to make it look like anything but concrete. We ultimately decided on granite and we LOVE IT!!

I made a batch with golden syrup ( for the corn syrup) and maple syrup for the molasses. Loved the flavor, but the texture isnt right. I can't describe it, its more sugary on the outside. Its not smooth like the other version. I made a big batch of the original version so I'll just mix the two together.