Ann_T

Vengroff, I wish I had seen your pictorial before I got started yesterday.. I made a sourdough biga last night and used it to make Ciabatta today.

lucylou Your steakhouse meal looks delicious, from start to finish. Wendy Thanks for linking to the recipe. Looks sooo good. Marlene I would love a bowl of your French Onion Soup. The broth looks so dark and rich. I'm another fan of Bruce. I put a request in at the library today for the Into the Vietnamese Kitchen cookbook. Moe wanted Chicken Souvlaki again. Along with rice and salad we also had Greek Roasted potatoes and a tzatziki sauce. Today was a baking day. Four Sourdough Ciabatta and three loaves of sourdough French.

Wow, I'm drooling over my keyboard looking at all the wonderful dinners. Sazji I keep coming back to look at your gorgeous bean dish. I love Greek food and my husband loves beans. I will definitely be making this. jmolinari ooh perfectly cooked lamb. Klary Thyme and Lemon Meatballs. Yum! I'm imagining them served with mashed potatoes. I roasted a pre-salted turkey breast for dinner last night and served it with traditional sides. Stuffing was cooked like a German bread dumpling using a loaf of fresh baked French bread.

Oh Shaya, I love your ravioli. How cute to make heart shapes for Valentines. Dinner last night was pan fried scallops with a lemon Beurre Blanc sauce. We had Chicken Fried rice and a Beef Chow mein using beef tenderloin tonight for dinner.

Lonnie, Eric from The Real Canadian Bacon Company called me back and confirmed that their product is true Peameal Bacon, not the smoked Canadian Back Bacon. Badiane, My understanding is that it was originally rolled in peameal, but cornmeal seems to be what is now used. It actually doesn't contribute much to the flavour. Ann

Lonnie, Peameal Bacon is the same cut of Pork ( Pork Loin) that Canadian Back Bacon is made from. But where Canadian Back Bacon is smoked like a ham, Peameal Bacon is just brined. I have no idea why it is rolled in cornmeal but I grew up eating peameal bacon and it has always been coated in cornmeal. Maybe you have to have been raised with it to love it, I don't know. All I know is it is my favourite and I feel deprived when I live somewhere that doesn't have it. If you ever get a chance to go to the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto you can get the best peameal bacon on a bun from a couple of different vendors. When I lived in the Toronto area, we went to the market early every Saturday morning and almost always had Peameal bacon on a bun. Canadian Back Bacon is fairly common in the US. But the only place I've ever found Peameal Bacon in the US was actually 28 years ago when we lived in Grand Rapids. After whining to a butcher, he actually found a supplier and started to sell it. Not sure if he continued to carry it after we moved or not. There is a company in Troy Michigan that apparently sells Canadian Bacon, but I can't tell from the pictures on their site whether this is really Peameal Bacon or just Back bacon that is rolled in cornmeal. I put a call into the company, but the person I spoke to didn't seem to know the answer. Someone is suppose to call me back. The Real Canadian Bacon Company Ann

Megan, I just got caught up. I'm so glad I didn't miss your blog. I'm enjoying it all, especially your dinner with Daniel. Ann

Thanks Bruce. Syrah, thankfully it is only for 10 seconds. LOL! My favourite Cowichan Valley Butcher started making and selling Peameal Bacon. I was so excited to find a supplier. Up till now I have had to depend on a friend from Toronto bringing me Peameal bacon when she comes out to visit. It is common in Ontario, but not out here on the west coast. I fried some up this morning and Moe and I shared a toasted peameal bacon and tomato sandwich for breakfast.

Marlene Your Prime Ribs are always perfectly cooked. Wendy Thanks to you I have a craving for Fried Chicken. That looks delicious. I baked sourdough bread yesterday (no commercial yeast). Started the dough on Sunday evening with a biga and baked it yesterday. Used a small piece to make Moe a little pizza for lunch. Dinner was a bastardized version of a Cassoulet.

I like my toast well toasted and topped with thin sliced tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Kim I didn't know about your surgery. I'm glad you are able to get back into the kitchen. Domestic Goddess Beautiful big roast of beef. If you have any leftovers they would make for a nice hot roast beef sandwich smothered in gravy. I grilled a nice 1 1/2 pound rib eye steak last night and we shared it with mashed potatoes, mushrooms and spinach.

Bruce You always have the most interesting fillings for your omelettes. Delicious and colourful. Percy And your scrambled eggs are always so perfectly cooked. Foodman OOOH those look so good. I love fresh warm donuts. I took a couple of my chocolate croissants out of the freezer and left them to rise overnight. I had one warm out of the even with a cappuccino.

I made Yeast raised donuts using the recipe in the King Arthur Flour cookbook. When I made them again Christmas morning I made half glazed and half sugar dipped.. Ann

Wow!!! That is one beautiful sourdough loaf. I love the darker crust. It is going to taste amazing. Ann

After looking at all the beautiful marshmallows, I need to make them again soon. I made them for the first time last August. Some I dusted in cocoa and I also used some of the marshmallow sandwiched with maple cream fudge.

Wow, looks absolutely delicious, the color is great. Do you have a recipe for these? My husbands fav food is lamb and he is greek... ← Laurel, I don't really follow a recipe. I do the same thing using Lamb Shoulder and lamb shanks. Just brown the meat, and then season with lots of garlic, lemon zest, oregano, olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon, salt and pepper and a little chicken broth. Cover and cook in the oven at about 350 to 375°F until the meat is almost tender and add some potatoes and continue cooking until the potatoes are done. I usually squeeze a little more lemon over it before serving. Thanks Klary. Ann

I'm trying to get caught up on all the wonderful meals. I would be happy with everything pictured. Marlene I love how generous you were with the peppercorns. Perfectly cooked too. I love steak au Povire. Bruce Everything you cook makes my mouth water. Lucylou I love soups and your tortellini soup looks rich and delicious. And Judith Your quail and white beans looks so good. Nishla I'm adding your Mapo Tofu to the short list of recipes that I want to try soon. Thanks to Hzrt8w's Chinese Pictorials, I've been getting interested in making a few Chinese dishes. Here are a few of the dinners we have had in the last week: Chicken Souvlaki Chicken Chow Mein Osso Bucco Baby Goat Shanks Greek Style And last night we had orecchiette with Italian Sausage in a tomato basil sauce. Ann

Shaya I wouldn't say that Croissants are difficult, just time consuming. It is just a yeast dough, but the process of turning and rolling is a two day affair. I use Julia Child's recipe out of her Baking with Julia Cook book. Ann

Vengroff, I hate to admit it but I really don't know what the hydration is on any of the breads that I make. I never measurer the water. I will though when I bake this week. Your ciabatta looks wonderful. Abra OOOH that looks so good. I love the shape and all the cheese. I have that cookbook so I'll look up the recipe. Made croissant dough yesterday. Rolled out the dough this morning and used most of it to make Pain au Chocolate with an ounce of chocolate in each one. Had enough dough leftover to make 4 Croissants. Baked two chocolate and the four croissants and I froze 16 Pain au Chocolates unbaked. Rising: Just out of the oven Lunch

I posted my recipe for scones on Recipe Gullet Recipe gullet. Ann

Vengroff, what a beautiful loaf. I have so many bread books, I hate to buy another one, but I just might have too look for that one. I baked two different batches of sourdough bread yesterday. Morning's bread was made from a sourdough biga I started on Sunday night. Made the dough on Monday and refrigerated it overnight for a long cool rise. I filled two of the loaves with roasted garlic and cheddar and one with roasted garlic and kalamata olives. I mixed up another biga yesterday morning and made bread with it later in the day and baked two more regular sourdough loaves.

Oh what a little sweetheart. And she can bake too. That's a loaf to be proud of. Sararwelch Lovely looking focaccia. I used some of my sourdough starter in Bagels today. Ann

I tend to shop on a daily basis. Sometimes I have an idea of what I want to make and just need to pick up the main ingredients and sometimes I wait until I get to the butcher to see what looks good or appeals. I've always planned meals this way. Years ago when I worked downtown Toronto, on my way home from work, I would get off the subway at different stops along Yonge Street and pick up the makings for dinner at different butchers and fruit and vegetable markets. Ann

Dinner was grilled rack of lamb with Parisienne potatoes, zucchini and golden turnips.

Thanks Rachel. Wow! Not only is that beautiful but it sounds delicious too. I love your plates. It has been years since we ate at Splendido's. Ann