CaliPoutine

Not sure if anyone has seen the Feb 2005 issue of sunset magazine( american magazine). They have an entire article on Richmond's chinese food scene. Their top choices are Bamboo Grove Fisherman's terrace seafood rest. Garden City Hot pot Hoi Tong Chinese seafood Jade Seafood. Kirin Mckim wonton mein saga Oriental Delight Shanghai river restaurant Sun Sui Wah Seafood Zen Fine chinese cuisine

about a month ago a friend( i met her on egullet) and I, did a mass cooking session for freezing. We made 9 things. This is what we made. Chicken w/sherry vinegar sauce( a new way to cook) potato cod cakes( cooking light) green chili chicken( cooking light) turkey taco filling( everyday food) chicken tettrazini(cooking light) spinach stuffed shells( cooking light) pork tenderloin over cheese grits( cooking light) turkey meatballs and sauce( everyday food) seafood curry( how to be a domestic goddess) We cooked from 10:30am until 5pm with a half hour lunch break. We each had a large casserole and or ziplock bag of food with more than 4 servings each. It cost around 8 bucks per meal. Totally worth it. I havent eaten the potato cod cakes yet, friend has and said we should have pan sauteed them after defrosting. She said they were a bit soggy. Everything else was great though.

There isn't any kind of organized going out to eat on Saturday - lunch will be whatever people want to grab at the Farmer's Market. There will be a dinner outing on Friday. I'd like to take people to Ann Arbor's hidden treasure and my favorite "restaurant," Jefferson Market. But it's very small, and if we end up with more than 10 or 12 people, that won't work. People I know of attending Friday: Tammy (& maybe Eric and Liam) Alex CaliPoutine and Robin Jean Blanchard and husband (maybe, depending on travel time from Chicago) Devilkitty Am I missing anyone? Looks like we've still got room for a few more (and we can just go somewhere else if we get a lot more). I had suggested 7 pm in an earlier post, and that timing would work best for me in terms of allowing Eric and Liam to come with and Liam to still get into bed at a reasonable time. Since Eric will be stuck baby watching most of the day on Saturday, I'd like to make sure he gets to participate in some of the fun! ← Hi, I just found out from Robin that she has to work on Friday. So, I dont think we can make it in time for dinner. However, the friends(a couple) we;re staying with in Chelsea would like to join us on Saturday for dinner. Is that ok?

That was the point -- it was their personalities. One was self-absorbed and cruel, and one was loving and compassionate. Woman A was such a convicted, righteous vegan that she ate fried alligator. Woman B wanted to make gumbo for the family, but respected the fact that she was in a vegan household and instead tried her best and made gumbo d'herbes, which the family wasn't shy in telling her they didn't like it. -------- Edited to fix the quote links. ← That vegan woman isnt cruel if you compare her to the hetero black woman who switched places with the white lesbian. Now that was a cruel, cruel woman.

Ok, I consider myself an advanced home cook/baker. However, I havent made much bread in my life. I checked out the BBA from the library and this was my start. Multigrain loaf. What did I do wrong? It had this weird hole on top and I poked it and it crumbled. Did I not need it enough after the first rise? edit to say: the crumb is really light and the bread is very tasty even though its not a really pretty loaf, it still tastes good.

Id like it if the offer is still open. I find I buy buttermilk for one recipe and never use the rest.

I wonder if its too late for me to start your "daily speak about food in Japanese" lesson. LOL

Great! So CaliPoutine - you don't need to worry about a non-chocolate dessert. In terms of courses, I can organize something meat-y, but since I'll be busy with hosting duties, I'll need a good team of sous chefs. Any volunteers? ← Im curious, are we set on doing fish and a meat option? I ask because while Robin and I eat fish, we dont eat red meat. I'm availble to help with any additional courses. Robin said she'd help too, but she'll need a bit more direction. LOL.

I opened a can of Splendido plum tomatoes, and found that they are actually not bad, the difference with SM is fairly negligible! They are slightly sweet, and you won't find that in a domestic product unless they add sugar. But it begs the question: Why pay $3. and up for San Marzano? Especially with our own local fresh crop now coming on the market. ← I tried both the DOP SM and the Spendido, the other day and while I liked the SM's better, as they were a bit brighter and sweeter, it isn't worth the extra $3 a can. Of course you're right, why even bother with cans right now with the summer approaching. ← I made some penne ala vodka the other night. I used 2 cans of splendido for the sauce. It was good, but I could definatly tell the difference between DOP. I did see the DOP's at st. lawrence market, but I couldnt justify spending 3.75 a can.

I just got some at St. Lawrence market in Toronto. They were 35CAD a lb. So expensive, so good.

The magazine is cook's country. really down home type recipes.

I was scheduled for lap-band surgery at the end of May. A few months prior to that, I joined a mailing list and the majority of people on the list had the surgery at the center where I was scheduled. I read such horror stories. Women having food stuck and a phenomenon known as PB's( productive burps). The more I read, the more scared I became. I also learned that so many foods they could eat before were off limits. Bread and any carbonated beverage. . I changed my mind a month before the surgery and Im so glad. In a post to the list I said I was a "foodie" and I was worried about not being able to eat certain things. I dont think anyone really understood what I was trying to say. Anyway, Im glad I didnt do it. I think exercise and potion control are the ways to go for me.

A couple months ago, I met Tammy and helped her shop and cook for her common meal. I brought along jars of home canned Ontario peaches and made a peach/rasberry crips for the common meal dessert. The kitchen is large and well equipped. It was nice to have so much room to work in.

Maybe cause they were a little smaller than usual

I've had good luck with the foccacia recipe in baking with julia. I think the key to a good foccacia is an overnight rest in the fridge. The one mentioned upthread by torakris has an overnight rest. I read that same recipe in an older issue of fine cooking magazine.

What he said. I don't expect we'll have any shortage of food. The reason I mentioned fish up above is because the market we'll be visiting has an excellent fishmonger. But they also have an excellent meat market. Embrace the power of "and." What we have so far: Hors D'ouevres - CaliPoutine (fig and goat cheese crostini) Salad - Torakris Soup - Devilkitty Pasta or dessert - CaliPoutine Flesh or Fish - Devilkitty, if we don't get enough other volunteers (or maybe even if we do) Any other volunteers? We can have more than one of each kind of course, of course. ← I'll gladly make dessert. I have a suggestion and Id like some feedback. I've wanted to make Ina Garten's( barefoot contessa's) outrageous brownies for quite awhile. The recipe makes a lot of brownies. We could eat these with some zing's gelato on top. I know some people( egad's) cant eat/dont like chocolate. I can make an alternate fruit dessert too.

Id like to be in charge of a course!~ I'd be open to either dessert, a salad course or a pasta. Whatever you prefer. I'm also bringing the fig jam I made. We can serve that on crostini with some local goat cheese.

panini is my first choice. Grilling inside if you live in a cold climate? If you really dont want it, you could probably sell it on ebay.

Did you get the skinny grill with it?

I know they say you're not supposed to wash rasberries and mushrooms, but I always do. I just spin the berries in my oxo salad spinner( with berry bowl). If they dont look perfect, who cares. I feel that they are at least a bit cleaner.

Can you post any pics of your cakes? Same question to McDuff?

No matter how good or bad the food is at a restaurant, charging 18$ for a bottle of water that costs at most about 2 bucks retail is absolute highway robbery. Ok, call me anal, but I just called the restaurant and asked how much a large bottle of san pellegrino was. The person who answered the phone said it was 8.95 a bottle. Still ridiculous!! Edit to add more info

Ok, here it is. Its not that pretty( I skipped the dachsund transfer) but it tasted good. My niece said it was better than her dairy queen cake the previous day. I baked a 2 layer cake. I split that layer and put chocolate syrup on top, then I put it at the bottom of a spring form pan. I layered softened vanilla, then crushed double chocolate oreo's, more ice cream, the cake top, syrup and frosting. Back in the freezer for a day. Thanks for all your help.

I got this same deal, minus the 25$ coupon and it came from Amazon. The other vendors didnt have the extra skinny grill. Im sure you could cancel it, just email amazon and ask them. If that fails, ask them to give you the additional 25$ off for the promotion.

The fish company in Key Largo is wonderful too. We ate there after a long day spent at Pennekamp( snorkeling). Good fresh fish( the sides are something to be desired though)