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Somehow due to some bad negotiating on my part we're having a 12-person family thanksgiving at our place this year. I'm feeling a little trepidation and excitement at the same time. This would be my first time preparing this big bird and I'm all excited about brining and stuffing. Not sure where to start but I believe a good food-grade bucket, a whole lotta salt (kosher?) and some brown sugar seems to be the general consensus. Something about covering it in foil too to prevent moisture loss. Time to pop over to the EG cooking thread and see if I can find some tasty ideas Where is everyone BUYING their turkey that's my question.

^ That is awesome. Reservations for breakfast spots are hard to come by. Most popular places make you wait. Nice to be rewarded for good planning sometimes.

Aurora brings back brunch and even adds lunch! http://www.aurorabistro.ca/index.htm I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself --- Eggs Truffled Scrambled eggs with Canadian bacon, thyme and maple syrup on potato hash House made duck bacon with poached eggs, hollandaise, sweet corn relish on potato hash Smoked sablefish and potato hash with poached eggs, hollandaise and tomato preserve Dessert Fresh Little 5 Spice Donuts with warm Maple Syrup

Been there. Done that. Wonderful stuff. Only problem is I always seem to catch the girly crabs and I have to return them to freedom to make more crabs for us to eat Chicken works wonders in traps. So does putrid rotting salmon heads. Stinky seems to be the big attraction for crabs.

One more - Nestor's Market will be opening shortly on Main St. near 28th Ave. ← There's a rumour an IGA is falling into that same corner with Whole Foods and Save-On-Foods. I can't understand why but that's how the rumour mill goes.

Brian, The Weber Q I have (220) has a knack for lighting where the ignition point is and stopping midway through the ring. It seems that the Q likes to have ALL holes free of grime and bbq sauce for it to light cleanly. I quick skewer into each hole to clear any debris seems to solve any and all lighting - or "low to high" as you mentioned - problems I've ever had. P.S. Great course at NWCAV. Useful info on BBQ's and smoking (!!). I really enjoyed the pulled pork and I intend to make the prawn skewers for Sandy for some wow effect.

- Pulled pork (not smoked, but slow cooked) sandwich with some home made slaw - Home made Samosa's (not made by me though) - Humous with a generous sprinkling of "da bomb" hot sauce - we called this one "pain" I intend to add to this a large Squishee mmm. I'm a sucker for iconic cartoons and nostalgia.

Is this the same as "Carlos or Charlie's" in Port Moody? Great food. Service is a tad slow but I love the Enchiladas Verde.

I'm really sorry to hear this! I had actually not known about her failing health so this is really a shock to me. My best wishes to her family and friends.

Is the Chilo's on Victoria Drive still there or did they move to Richards? I have a hankering for some really tasty quesadilla's

Err... 145F yes. So that is a nice medium right? Then why was my loin totally rare inside when the thermo read 145F? I'm thinking it's not a very accurate measurement since I guess it takes a gradient reading (the thermometer is a long pole right? so the reading has to be an average of the entire length of the rod). Next time I might try burying the entire thing inside to see if makes a difference.

Ok no saffron. It was - Ground cloves - Garlic - More paprika than I have ever been comfortable using - Oregano - Cumin - Olive Oil - Salt - Pepper The whole thing mixes into a nice little paste and I slathered it on my pork loins. mmm. My SO came home at this point complaining of being hungry so marination was fast tracked. My BBQ was out of fuel (read above post and needing to buy one of them pony kegs of propane). I seared the pork on my skillet at high and then shoved the whole thing into the oven at about 360C. I tried this new temperature probe and shoved it diagonally into the pork loin. It read 85C. Here's where I was a little confused. The recipe called for a temperature of 145C. I pulled the loin out only after 20 minutes because the temp probe read 145C. No way. It was definitely not done yet. It went back in for another 15 minutes. On the second outing the pork was ready and resting. Served up with a quick salad. I really liked the flavours. The "crusty paste" was oh so good. I just ate a pork sandwich today from the leftovers.

I've had a Weber Q for just over a year now and I can't say enough good things. I am starting to see them absolutely everywhere on balconies. What I especially like about this grill is the grilling area! Oh my god. I can fit 20 patties easily on this thing (probably more if I didn't take up a chunk with an iron skillet full of onions. Yet, for such a surprisingly large area for grilling, the Q fits nicely in the back of my car for jaunts to the beach. Taking the Q to work makes work so much nicer. Tell your coworkers you're bringing the 'Q' and have them all bring grill-ables. Set it up outside in the parking lot or a company patio and be the envy of coworkers on other departments (suckers). When I first got mine I immediately modified the "propane" holder so it could take the chubbier propane canisters (which are coincidentally cheaper to buy). I still need to buy a hose kit so I can use one of those cute "pony keg" style propane tanks. Oh Pork Burgers how I love you. Brian you're on the right track. I have some pork loin defrosting right now. I picked up a recipe from a Magazine which involves a clove/saffron paste/rub which I intend to try tonight. I think it was called Pork with Adobo paste but it can't be the same adobo as in chicken adobo as cloves and saffron are not in that recipe. I better re-read the recipe when I get home

Patrice and Dominique of Sugar Art. They are geniuses. http://www.sugarart.ca/ They are located in Steveston.

I discovered today that mint and basil don't play too well together. My mint is aggressively taking over the soil and the poor basil is suffering. Even though the basil is listed as "Queen Basil" the mint is paying absolutely no respect to it at all. Mint is going to have to get put in isolation. On the flip side I've been able to make lots of tasty drinks as of late.

And the Raisin Rye bread! Love that stuff!

Savoury Island is one of my favorite pie places too. I make a pilgrimage out there one a month at least. If a place like Savoury Island were in Vancouver I might be about 20 pounds heavier

Modern Club Okonomyaki is the best! Okonomyaki number 1!

Touche Arne, After all it IS bike to work week . I certainly intend to RIDE to Cambie next time. I just don't want to see businesses suffer when the engineering services could have put one or two more covers over the subway hole to let people walk, bike, get across. I think the big problem is when you are on one side of Cambie and you need to get to the other side and for some reason it's unnecessarily difficult.

Fair enough Arne but the point I was making wasn't supposed to be about poor me but about reality. If you expect customers to drive somewhere, get out, take a cab to get to a restaurant where they normally didn't have to, fewer people are going to go to that restaurant. If they are making such a big public statement on how the government is going to do all it can to keep businesses from hurting during the RAV construction I would rather they spend less on advertising that Cambie is open and more on actually making it more accessible during the construction.

Despite all the advertising that "Cambie is Open" it's pretty hard to convince your friends to spend 30 minutes trying to: A. Find a way to drive across Cambie and Park by the restaurant of choice B. Park on the other side and find a way navigate the gigantic hole to get to the other side. I originally thought it wouldn't be too hard to find my way across Cambie but areas like Oak street were also closed in such a way that it was nearly impossible to get to certain parts of Cambie without driving up to 15 blocks out of the way and then looping back. I know I had an experience with some friends a few weeks back and it was hard to convince them to come back. I'm hoping they build in some more crossing areas to make it easier to access businesses off Cambie.

That is a great garden you are starting! I hate slugs and crows...they eat everything! Can we setup a row of hair dryers to stop the slug advancement.

Those are SO good. But I always get burned by the molten sugary goodness. I never learn.

Those three bullets look so good in the grotto. Beautiful job on the meat! mmm. Anyone know if it's ok to smoke on a townhouse patio? Are we talking a LOT of smoke?

Thanks Arne! The thread is hilarious and making me hungry. First the bullet then I guess a house to go with it. I assume smoking on a townhouse patio would earn the ire of my respective neighbors.