Ann_T

Wow, where to be begin. I would be happy with any one of the meals posted above. Even the Tofu. It does look like chicken. After looking at all the seafood I think I'll have to do something along those lines for dinner. Maybe a Spanish Shrimp Tapa. I had a craving for a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings, including mashed potatoes and sage dressing. For dessert I made White Chocolate Almond Brownies.

Wish I had one of thos Brioche. Lovely. Yesterday I made Shtritzlach or Blueberry Buns, which apparently are unique to the Jewish community in Toronto. The recipe was posted on another Cooking Forum. One of these and a Cappuccino was breakfast this morning.

I agree with Susan, looks like you have it down pat. I'm a little "steaked" out after having it twice this week. But our son was home for the weekend and requested a steak dinner. So what's a mother to do. He also requested parisienne potatoes and zucchini. Except for the potatoes I grilled all the other vegetables to go along with the tenderloin steaks.

Seems complicated. I always thought that the simple explanation was that as the meat roasted and the juices got hot they bubbled to the surface and that the purpose of letting the meat rest was so that the juices had a chance to slowly be absorbed back into the meat. We like our beef on the rare side I always take it out of the oven around 120 so that while it rests the temperature rises to between 125 and 130°F. Ann

Blueberry Scones

Spinach, Dill and Goat cheese Bread Pudding Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Spinach, Dill and Goat cheese Bread Pudding =========================================== 1 to 2 tablespoons butter 2 leeks chopped (White part) 1 garlic clove minced approximately 2 cups, of fresh baby leaf spinach (tightly Packed) 1/4 cup fresh dill chopped 5 slices of bread, buttered, crusts removed and cut into 1 inch cubes. 2 to 3 eggs 1/2 cup cream salt and pepper goat cheese (small pieces) 1/4 parmesan cheese Heat butter and saute leeks, when tender add garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add the spinach and fry until just wilted. Remove from heat. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the leek mixture and add the chopped dill. Add the bread cubes. Mix well and then add the goat cheese and parmesan cheese. Pour into a buttered casserole dish, or 3 or 4 ramekins, sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese and bake in a Bain Marie for approximate 20 minutes or until golden. ( RG1358 )

Spinach, Dill and Goat cheese Bread Pudding Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Spinach, Dill and Goat cheese Bread Pudding =========================================== 1 to 2 tablespoons butter 2 leeks chopped (White part) 1 garlic clove minced approximately 2 cups, of fresh baby leaf spinach (tightly Packed) 1/4 cup fresh dill chopped 5 slices of bread, buttered, crusts removed and cut into 1 inch cubes. 2 to 3 eggs 1/2 cup cream salt and pepper goat cheese (small pieces) 1/4 parmesan cheese Heat butter and saute leeks, when tender add garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add the spinach and fry until just wilted. Remove from heat. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the leek mixture and add the chopped dill. Add the bread cubes. Mix well and then add the goat cheese and parmesan cheese. Pour into a buttered casserole dish, or 3 or 4 ramekins, sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese and bake in a Bain Marie for approximate 20 minutes or until golden. ( RG1358 )

Nan, I loved the Bread Pudding definitely something I will make again. It was one of those dishes that I didn't have a recipe for and just created as I went along. Because of the dill it kind of tasted like Spanikopitia Ann

Moby, everything looks wonderful. The warm lobster with avocado really appeals to me. Grilled a small piece of beef tenderloin and served it with grilled tomatoes, parisienne potatoes and something new I tried a Bread Pudding made with spinach, goat cheese and dill.

Thanks Tupac, I don't do anything special other than to use Russet potatoes and to soak them in cold water for 20 to 40 minutes and then dry them really well. Since there is only two of us I just cut them by hand rather than getting out the mandoline. Oh and I use a cast iron Dutch Oven on top of the stove to fry in. Ann

Percyn, wonderful pictures. Especially love the salmon pinwheels. Alinka, I was craving comfort food tonight too. We had what I always call Diner food. Hot chicken Sandwiches with homemade fries and canned peas. One of my favourite restaurants when I was young always served canned peas with their hot chicken sandwiches so it is a tradition.

I didn't get a chance to read this thread the last few days so I got caught up today. The food here is inspirational. Love all the wonderful pictures. Alinka, One of my favourite meals is a chicken pot pie and your chicken pie looks wonderful. I could almost taste it. Susan I love rosemary and lamb so I'm defintely going to try the rosemary skewers next time. And Chufi, the sweet corn and basil risotto also sounds wonderful and I like what you did with the leftovers. I tried a new recipe last night. Shrimp stuffed with Crab with a Cucumber, tomato and mint relish. It was very good but not something I would make again. I have other Crab stuffed shrimp recipes that I like better. Although I will make the cucumber tomato relish again and serve it with grilled chicken souvlaki. This picture isn't great but it was my first attempt using a new camera. Might take me a while to figure it out.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Go Fish is defintely the best Halibut and Chips we have had in Vancouver. We finally made it there today. It seems every time we think of having H&C it is either a Monday or a Tuesday and they are closed. We actually stopped by twice recently when we were at the market and both times there was a long line and we aren't much for lineups. Took a chance today and phoned ahead to see if they take telephone orders and thankfully they do. Ordered two orders both with double Halibut. Our timing was perfect. We were there within 15 minutes and they were just making up our plates when we arrived. The servings are very generous. Perfect, light batter that doesn't interfer with the wonderful flavour of the halibut. I even liked their coleslaw, something I usually skip and their tartar sauce, although not something I want on fish makes a wonderful chip dip. So again thank you for all your recommendations and especially for pointing us in the direction of Go Fish. Ann

My idea of breakfast is more like Lings. Something sweet. But my husband loves a big breakfast. Unfortunately he can't have as many eggs as he would like too. Thankfully he doesn't mind scrambled eggs made with just egg whites. Actually I do cheat a little bit and make them with four egg whites and about a teaspoon of yolk. I had homemade salsa and some of the pinto beans leftover from the dinner I made the other night so I made him a Tex Mex breakfast. Instead of toast he had some warm corn tortillas.

Thanks for the nice comments. Lee, the steak rests on a corn tortilla but what you are seeing on top is melted Manchego cheese. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I know when my husband is still talking about last nights dinner in the morning then it was especially good. Ann

Arne, the Duck Confit at Oyama is excellent. Everything in last nights dinner was from the Granville Market except for the tenderloin which was from Windsor Meats. We had Filete Al Chipotle. The recipe was out of The Taste of Mexico Cookbook by Patrician Quintanta. I bought most of the ingredients at South China Seas Trading Company including the corn tortillas and the Manchego Cheese was from Dussa's Cheese. Bought the pinto beans at The Grainry and the tomatoes and onions for the salsa from Sunlight Farms. One stop shopping.

Dinner tonight was Mexican. I made Filete al Chipotle out of The Taste of Mexico (Patrica Quintana). Cooked up a pot of Pinto beans and made a fresh salsa to serve with the steaks.

Last night I made a Cassoulet for dinner and tonight was Greek. Greek Ribs and Greek Vegetables.

Meatloaf Magnolia <img src="http://thibeault.smugmug.com/photos/16763321-M-1.jpg"> This is my version of a meatloaf that I had in Magnolia's Restaurant in Charleston, SC. When we got home from vacation I set out to duplicate it because it was the first meatloaf I found that I actually liked. It was different because Magnolia's grilled the slices before serving and it didn't contain ketchup or tomato sauce like so many meatloaf recipes do. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Meat Loaf Magnolia ================== 1 1/2 pounds ground veal or mixture of beef and veal 1 small onion finely chopped 1 to 2 cloves of garlic 2 slices Italian/French Bread soaked in milk 2 eggs 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 1 tablespoons of dried herbs, (sage and Thyme, a small amount of rosemary olive oil Sauce Green peppercorns mushroons 1 to 2 cups chicken broth . Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Do not brown garlic Soak bread in milk In a large bowl add meat, dijon mustard, chopped parsley, herbs, onions and garlic and mix with hands. Squeeze bread to break up and add milk and bread to mixture. Add eggs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Saute a small piece to check for seasoning. Adjust to taste. Shape meatloaf into a rectangle about 8 X 4 x 3 inches high and place in a small roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then add a small amount of broth to the pan to prevent the bottom from becoming to brown. Bake another 30 minutes and baste with the pan juices. Add more broth if necessary. Cook another 10 minutes or until the meatloaf is nicely browned. Let cool and wrap in foil and refrigerate. Reserve pan juices. Make a sauce by adding some green peppercorns and sauted mushrooms to the pan juices. Heat grill Slice meatloaf into 1/2 inch thick slices and grill on both sides until nicely marked and hot. Serve with mashed potatoes Keywords: Main Dish, Beef ( RG1342 )

Meatloaf Magnolia <img src="http://thibeault.smugmug.com/photos/16763321-M-1.jpg"> This is my version of a meatloaf that I had in Magnolia's Restaurant in Charleston, SC. When we got home from vacation I set out to duplicate it because it was the first meatloaf I found that I actually liked. It was different because Magnolia's grilled the slices before serving and it didn't contain ketchup or tomato sauce like so many meatloaf recipes do. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Meat Loaf Magnolia ================== 1 1/2 pounds ground veal or mixture of beef and veal 1 small onion finely chopped 1 to 2 cloves of garlic 2 slices Italian/French Bread soaked in milk 2 eggs 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 1 tablespoons of dried herbs, (sage and Thyme, a small amount of rosemary olive oil Sauce Green peppercorns mushroons 1 to 2 cups chicken broth . Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Do not brown garlic Soak bread in milk In a large bowl add meat, dijon mustard, chopped parsley, herbs, onions and garlic and mix with hands. Squeeze bread to break up and add milk and bread to mixture. Add eggs. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Saute a small piece to check for seasoning. Adjust to taste. Shape meatloaf into a rectangle about 8 X 4 x 3 inches high and place in a small roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes and then add a small amount of broth to the pan to prevent the bottom from becoming to brown. Bake another 30 minutes and baste with the pan juices. Add more broth if necessary. Cook another 10 minutes or until the meatloaf is nicely browned. Let cool and wrap in foil and refrigerate. Reserve pan juices. Make a sauce by adding some green peppercorns and sauted mushrooms to the pan juices. Heat grill Slice meatloaf into 1/2 inch thick slices and grill on both sides until nicely marked and hot. Serve with mashed potatoes Keywords: Main Dish, Beef ( RG1342 )

I picked up Toulouse Sausage and Duck Confit yesterday at Oyama and Lamb at Tenderlands and made Cassoulet. Not exactly summer food but was a big hit with my husband. He had leftovers for breakfast this morning.

Susan, lovely looking salsas. So colourful. Grub, your demiglace chipotle peppercorn-sauce for your tenderloin sounds interesting. I love peppercorn sauces. I made a salad on the recommendation of a friend. It was quite good but next time I would use more tender, less bitter greens than the Frisee. I think I would try baby spinach next time. I also made one of Rob Feenies recipes - Mediterranean Chicken With Roasted Red Peppers, Capers And Black Olives. I made a few changes and next time I will also leave out the tarragon which we both thought over powered the sauce.

First, let me say thank you to everyone that has offered up some suggestions for me to try. Also, I can tell from a couple of the responses that my post didn’t come across quite the way I intended. For that I am sorry. I didn’t start this thread with the idea of starting a Vancouver Vs Toronto war. I love Vancouver and I love living here. But that doesn’t mean that Toronto isn’t a wonderful city as well. And since I have lived in both places and have eaten halibut fish and chips in both places I think that I can judge Apples and Apples. Toronto is loaded with Fish and Chip shoppes. Some good and some not so good. Some really really bad. The Penrose is in my opinion the best of the best. I’m sure that Jamie is right. Everyone has their own preference when it comes to the batter. And I think the same can be said for the French fries as well. We like a light style batter, although not as light as tempura. And the batter should be golden and crisp but not hard. I hate when it is crisp on the outside but doughy underneath. And the flavour of the batter is important but it shouldn’t compete with the halibut. And I know from talking to a few places out here including the place we like in Mill Bay, that during the off season they also use frozen halibut. So it isn’t so much that one is better than the other, it is just that I am still looking for something I haven’t found yet. But now I have a few new places to try. So there is still hope. Go Fish and Uncle Herbies are at the top of the list. So thank you all again. Ann

Thanks for all the suggestions. We have tried Kings Fare, Pajos in Steveston, two places on Granville Island, the one in the market and Tonys, Pickwicks, The Fish Cafe on 41st and another one out in Steveston, can't remember the name and a few others. So far we haven't found one that makes us want to go back. Although some of these places aren't bad, they just haven't met the "standard". We haven't tried the Cockney King, the Fish Net or Go Fish. But I have added them to my list and will try them soon. I looked up Go Fish with the intentions of going there today but they aren't open until Wednesday. So we ended up at Kaplans for Pastrami and Smoked meat sandwiches instead. Thanks again. Ann

I'm relatively new to Egullet and this is my first post to this forum. I have been reading the Vancouver threads for some time and would like to thank you all. Thanks to you we have been able to satisfy our craving for decent Montreal Smoked Meat and Pastrami. After eating at Kaplans 6 or 7 years ago we would never have gone back if I hadn't read the reviews here. Been back a number of times since. Had a wonderful breakfast last Saturday at Sebs and found some great places to shop like Cioffis on Hastings, and Winsor Meats. Now I'm looking forward to trying a hamburger at the Moderne Burger. So now I am hoping you can help us again by recommending your favourite Halibut Fish and Chip restaurant. We have been looking for the best place to have Halibut fish and chips in the Vancouver area. We have tried a number of places but so far haven't found anywhere that meets the standards set by the Penrose Fish and Chip restaurant in Toronto. They have been in the business over 50 years. We recently moved back to Vancouver from Nanaimo. The Mill Bay fish and chips (in Mill Bay) was the only place that came close. We use to drive there at least once every two or three weeks to satisfy our craving. Unfortunately it just isn't quite as easy now to get to Mill Bay when the craving hits. TIA Ann