Badiane

It's all about tradition at our family thanksgiving. This year my siblings and I are giving thanks for the fact that we still have both our parents, relatively intact and unscathed after a hard year of health issues. We are gathering at Mom and Dad's, and it's been the same dinner for as long as my memory stretches back. We once tried to talk Mom into just doing turkey breast, because it's easier. She's still mad at my BIL over that one, especially after he offered to buy them. Three years and she's still giving him the hairy eyeball. No one holds a grudge like a grandma who thinks her kids are trying to take over her kitchen. It will be, as it always has been, Turkey, herbed bread stuffing, mashed spuds, gravy, fresh cranberry sauce, Jello salad (orange, with carrots and pineapple) squash with butter and brown sugar, corn, peas and carrots, brussel sprouts with cheese sauce and buns. Dessert will be Pumpkin Pie...made by Mom and slightly burned on one side because the oven is hotter at the back and she forgets to rotate - and a pineapple square that I'm pretty sure is just tinned pineapple and whipped cream on a graham wafer crust. Family holidays at Mom and Dad's are not a time to experiment. You want to serve squash soup and pumpkin flan, you better do it in your own home on some other day. Wouldn't have it any other way.

You can buy it where I live...Small Town, British Columbia, but only as part of a 24 pack with diet Orange Crush, diet Cream Soda and some other flavor. I got some at a local restaurant and it was actually pretty good. A bit of aspartame afterkick, but on the whole a very satisfying can of pop when one craves that grape soda but can't have the sugar.

And the last time THAT stopped you was????? Sorry, but dude, you left yourself wide open. How close to White Rock is Richmond? I think there are a couple of Thai places there.

I haven't been to Richmond in at least two years...but I can offer this: Thai Son Restaurant (604) 278-4788 6280 No. 3 Road Richmond, BC V6Y 2B3 Can't vouch for the food, service, decor or cleanliness as I have never set foot in the place. But it's not Thai House and it's not that travesty of a fake thai fast food place that is popping up in malls all over the place. Failing that, I have a few recipes and you could make your own.

I use Droste when I need dutch process cocoa... and I use plain old Fry's when it's just for regular stuff.

I think that would be a great idea...it's been a while since I have done it. I like pears with cardamom, myself. I think with the caramel thing I might be tempted to throw in some scotch, myself But you could put in anything that you think would taste good with the caramel.

I think for me personally, the chocolate/creamcheese/caramel/fleur de sel thing might be a little overwhelming...too many things going on there. Of course I am not near the dessert girl that you are, Ling You'd probably have that for breakfast. How about Butter Poached Pear Napoleons with Caramel and Fleur de Sel? My vision is this....a square of puff pastry on the plate, topped with a schmear of slightly sweetened (perhaps with a bit of caramel sauce) mascarpone. Top that with a sliced quarter of a butter poached pear, another sheet of schmear'd pastry, another quarter of a pear and then a final sheet of puff (no schmear) which has been 'painted' with caramelized sugar and topped with a few bits of fleur de sel. You could set the whole thing on top of a pool of Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce...and sprinkle a bit of the salt around the rim of the plate for good measure. And I have been meaning to ask...have you ever tried the Black Pearl Cake on epicurious? Sesame, Ginger and Wasabi? I saw it and immediately thought of you for some reason edited for spelling

If you are talking about pre-baking and then filling, which I assume you are, you can brush the insides with egg white prior to baking, which forms a seal and should help. Or a bit of melted sugar - on the way to caramel but not colored unless you wanted it to be, of course. I would think that glaze or jam might work for a little while, but they contain moisture as well, so might not hold up as long as you would like.

Sadly I have no room for you to land your aircraft in my back yard...but I'd be delighted to bake a pie and meet you at the airport If you can get Ling and Mooshmouse and anyone else who is interested to divulge thier collective weights for the flight, I will bring pie for all!

It's just up the road from our place...went to high school with John...it's really just okay. I certainly wouldn't fly here for it...in fact, I don't even drive down the road for it. There are just so many better things to eat in Chilliwack. You really thought it was that good? Hmmmm. Of course, you have never been to my place, so I guess maybe since you haven't tried my pie, you would think it was good and can be forgiven.

Forester's perhaps?

I just had a brilliant idea....a riff on pommes dauphine with sweet potatoes instead of regular...mmmmm...deep fried crunchy goodness! You could extrude them from a pastry bag, so they would be tater tot shaped...or make them long like a churro! You could sprinkle them with either chili powder or something like that for a savoury, or do them with cinnamon sugar for a sweet. Must be close to quitting time...starting to obsess about dinner!

Wow....I feel like the luckiest woman alive...my husband is a saint! I am the chief cook, he is the bottle washer. He shouts from the computer room every 5 minutes or so 'Let me know if you need me to do anything'. And when I am ready for him to 'do something' he comes trotting along....he is an expert at lining baking pans with parchment, cleaning mushrooms, peeling things, taking out the trash and stirring vigorously when I get tired. Basically he is quite happy to do all the crap I hate doing.

Little Farmhouse Country Market, on the Abbotsford end of Yarrow. http://www.littlefarmhousecountrymarket.ca/index.html

My husband is a English confectioner and baker, has made several thousand fruitcakes in his lifetime...he has been leaning over my shoulder having a hairy coniption for the last five minutes until I promised to pass on this... Never, ever ever pour booze over the cake. Soak the fruit in the booze of choice, preferably for a few days. Don't pour the booze over the cake, don't baste it. Just soak the fruit. Why? Because pouring booze on the cake makes it soggy and too hard to stick the marzipan to. It also tastes like raw liquor, and can be harsh and unpleasant. And THAT, he says, is why people don't like fruitcake Me, I chop it in bits, soak it in booze and cover it with pouring custard. Tastes pretty good to me. And Pat W....PM me and remind me for pfefferneuse recipes...I have about 40 of them...tell me what yours was like (big, small, hard, soft) and I will see if I have a match for you.

They will need the Rice and Spam, because they will have no food money after they pay for the Diesel! Holy Cow!

Beautiful, Rachel....really. Crying again. Oh boy, my staff are going to think I've gone over the edge!

My Dad is celebrating his 82nd birthday today. Y'all have made me cry, right here at my desk. I'd tell you about him, but people are beginning to stare. He's a strong man, my Dad...between my sister and I, he's suffered Sweet and Sour Spam, half cooked meatloaf, all manner of food 'made pretty' with food coloring, about a million EZ Bake oven desserts and every single one of my culinary school experiments. After each and every one, he would give a big hug, congratulate us on our efforts and utter his now famous (at our house, anyway) line: "That was interesting, but you don't need to make it again on my account" So tonight, just for you, Dad, it's plain roast chicken, boiled potatoes, gravy, peas and carrots. Just like you like it. And just for you, I will overbeat the cake and hop up and down in front of the oven so it falls in the middle, just like you like it. And I promise, I won't put any blue food coloring in the icing

Fraser Valley Duck and Goose...in Yarrow. http://www.fvdg.com/home.html

Coombs is a funky marketplace with goats on the roof. Sort of a hippie hipster deli, store, eating area etc....you can find some good eats - ice cream, bakery, deli, smoked salmon and groceries, tons of cheap dishes, indian silks, kimonos etc. Well worth a trip with the kiddies. There's lots of shops outside the market with the typical souveniers. Dont' take the kids in the hat store, he's got filthy rude greeting cards on display It's just a bit out of Qualicum...ask anyone, they all know where!

I have 123....including 6 Joy of Cooking and about 25 of the regional ones put out by church ladies and other clubs...I collect both. Newest addition...Mes Confitures, by Christine Ferber. I am a jam making maniac this week!

There are a couple of coffee bar/sandwich places in Qualicum that are good...and there is of course the fabulous grocery store...and I mean that sincerely! I've rarely seen such a good store in such a small town. They have a huge selection of prepared food, and a fantastic deli section, as well as a restaurant area where you can do breakfast, lunch and dinner...chinese food, pizza, great wonton soup, paninni etc...pretty much something for everyone. Even the bakery is good there...and they have a monster selection of pastries. I highly recommend checking it out. It's smack in the centre of town, and you can't miss it. I think it's actually called Qualicum Foods.

The road isn't too bad...we went in March and there was a bit of construction, but it wasn't too bad. It's just really long and windy and up and down. Of course at this time of year there will probably be more logging activity, so that might make a difference. My advice, if you have anyone prone to car sickness, medicate them. And everyone needs to pee before you go It's a long long way to the next potty stop. A long way.

Holy Crap...it wouldn't be a White Night, it would be a black one...you'd be passed out in a sugar coma!!! 2 cups of heavy cream with 1 cup of corn syrup AND a 1/2 cup of sugar??!!! Is she out of her tiny little mind? It would be like drinking pancake syrup. I have GOT to join that website.

Some sources say that as few as 15 kernels can kill a child...a lethal dose for an adult is 200-300 mg of cyanide of the variety found in fruit pits....good news is that roasting neutralizes the poison and makes them safe to eat...or so they say Me, I eat them on occasion...50 would not be a number I would be willing to test out...unless the roasting thing is accurate...but then again, who are 'they' and what do 'they' know that I don't?