hhlodesign

Thanks guys! Its a damn good sandwich! I should note that the Spanglish DVD has a great little extra with TK showing us how to make the sandwich.

Sorry, I have to chime in here and say that sometimes their soups are really good. They're homemade. Of course, I also have to add that the soup I ordered two days ago -- split pea with tofu -- wasn't that great because the peas weren't cooked all the way. Then when the server asked (and I said) how the soup was, he offered to bring me the other soup -- cream of asparagus with three cheeses. Which was tasty, but some of the asparagus pieces were the part that should have been snapped off and left in the garbage. Totally non-chewable. (I go in there sometimes when I'm downtown on a job and have to find some place to hang out for a few hours with my work.) SusieQ ← Not the best endorsement; as it sounds like you were 0 for 2 on your last trip.

I had some friends over for the US / Ghana World Cup Game. I made Spanglish Sandwiches. Thomas Keller was the food consultant on the film and came up with this sandwich for Adam Sandler to make as midnight snack. Its basically a BLT with melted cheese and a fried, runny egg!

I don't get it. Are Happy Hours not allowed in Vancouver? And I thought I lived in a Puritan Country!

Breakfast: curry beef bun - la patisserie in Richmond - $2 Lunch: 1/2 a roast Duck - Parker Place Meats in Richmond - $12 Dinner: Lamb Popsickles - Vij's - $24 Dessert: Sorbets (Poir William, Salted Caramel, Passion Fruit) - Feenies - $6

The Rachel Ray topic got me thinking: Where would I recommend spending $40 for 1 day of eating in Seattle. My qualifications would be great food (obviously), and Seattle specific experiences and atmosphere. I'll start (I'm guessing at prices): Breakfast: Old fashioned Glazed, Pink Feather Boa, Cup of Coffee - Top Pot Doughnuts - $6 Lunch: Blackened Salmon Sandwich - Market Grill - $9 Dinner: Any two $8 plates - Union Happy Hour - $16 Dessert: Salted Peanut Butter Ice Cream - Veil - $8

and they'd stare right back at you!

Thus spaketh the man who enjoys cream cheese hotdogs. ← Yeah! She should have gone to First Ave. in Belltown!

Who does the scouting for that show?! Beth's is crap also! I don't care how many eggs they use in an omelet. Quantity does not overcome quality! Is she only out after the good places close? I always thought she had the demeaner of a vampire! This brings to mind a big problem about Seattle, no good places to eat after 1:30am.

I haven't seen the episode, but I really hope they didn't show a good looking burger. Dick's is crap! It would have been great to show on national television what Seattlites consider a "great" burger. When I was first taken there, I was horrified! Not to mention the fact that I bit into 2 pieces of bone or cartilage, out of two burgers. That's right; 2 for 2. This place is so ridiculously bad, I have no ideal what people from Seattle see in it. They even rave about the fries. The over-fried soggy mess that they make out of potatoes that Seattlites call "the best fries in Seattle!" Huh?!??! What am I missing?

I'm guessing Ontario has a large Asian population. Any Asian supermarket should carry it.

I think the Korea episode was the only show Ling and I didn't enjoy as much. I felt the show focussed way too much on Nari, and not enough on the food. Ling thought the food experiences on this show seemed more touristy and lacked the depth seen on other episodes.

^ I'm glad to have been a part of your birthday celebration. I can't stress enough how much I love Mistral and so thoroughly enjoy it when others can see what I see in the place. It was a pleasure meeting you and your husband. Next time come back into the kitchen and say hi. From Ling: I'm glad you enjoyed your meal and rediscovered foie gras!

I left the pork in and it came out great! I made sandwiches with Sao Bing (Chinese sesame seed biscuits)

I'm making Red Braised Pork Belly adapted from the recipe on page 385 for the Hell's Kitchen premier tonight. I've braised the pork for 3 hours and just tried a piece. They are perfectly tender and nicely cooked. I've strained the braising liquid and returned the pork back to the liquid for the sauce to reduce. Checking the recipe again. She says to remove the pork from the sauce and reduce the sauce separately, then spoon the sauce over the pork. I'd like to reduce the sauce with the pork in it (I think its gets more flavour into the pork) Is it possible to overcook braised pork belly? What is the advantage to removing the pork and reducing the sauce separately? Any INSTANT help would be appreciated. Thanks, my guests arrive in 45 mins.

The smoking setup worked great. Alton Brown says to use a a electric heating element with a stack of wood chips on a pie plate on top of it. This did not get the "oven" hot enough. I shoud mention that this was the 3rd time we tried this. The last time, we tried to seal the two pots together. So much pressure built up inside, that the top pot shot off the bottom pot about two feet. Only to drop down exactly on the rim as before. Scared the crap out of us! This time we used charcoal, with wood chips on a punctured pie plate on top of that. I should clarify that I was just an observer. My friend Dion did all the heavy lifting (literally ). I honestly do not remember what the final temp was. We used a Costco jug of BBQ sauce because we couldn't be bothered to make our own We also used a Tom Douglas Pork Rub on the butt prior to smoking. I like your idea of sauce on the side. Next time.

I like to skim the fat off the top of the braising liquid as its braising and post braise. I also like to strain the liquid post braise, skim as much fat off as I can, then reduce the liquid to the best sauce in the world!

Inside the Gardena Marukai Pacific Square Shopping Center. It's not very easy to find, but well worth it. We had baked goods from Sweet Lady Jane, and Boule that same day. The Beard Papa cream puffs were the best by far!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day in Seattle. Perfect for a Pork Butt Smoke Fest. My friend Dion hit the roofdeck early and put to use a recently aired episode of Good Eats were Mr. Brown talks about how to make your own ceramic smoker out of two terra cotta pots. Note the two thermometers. One for the internal temperature of the Pork, one for the temp of the "smoker" Dion sat by the smoker all day, tending to the coals to keep the tempereature at 220. Here it is after 7 hours of smoking. Then we pulled it apart. Tossed it with some BBQ sauce, and ate it with some slaw I made. on a sandwich with freshly baked potato rolls. We finished with some Top Pot Donuts, refered to by Jan and Michael Stern as the "Best Donuts in the Country"

I had a slightly better impression than Ling. I thought the meal was above average, but not extraordinary. I found one flavor combination to be particularly interesting. The oyster course which paired barely poached oyster with celery sorbet, chorizo consume, and paprika oil. I loved this dish! Although I felt that the oyster did not do much for me. It was the celery sorbet, paprika, and chorizo flavor which came from a clear broth which made the dish so interesting. Unfortunately, this course was served without spoons. So I naturally assumed the chef wanted the consume to be a light sauce and not mask the subtle flavour of the oyster. I asked after the course was cleared and found out that the missing spoon was a mistake. I should have asked sooner. I found the course explanations to be very bothersome. I (and Ling) enjoy knowing what we are eating and some idea of the preparations. At a place like Providence, I'd expect better than the plate hitting the table with a quick statement like, "shrimp and fennel." The main server was very good about letting us know about each course. Unfortunatley, he was only there to explain 3 out of the 9 courses. The expos who dropped the other courses were not very interested in informing us about what we were eating. The table next to us was somewhat loud, but I'm not sure what the restaurant could have done about that. The service from the upper levels of the staff was very professional. I just wish they trained the expos about the courses we were receiving.

Recently, I had a meal in a traditional Japanese izakaya restaurant. The yakisoba came with portabello mushrooms in it. I'm fairly certain that Japanese don't really use portabello mushrooms in their cuisine. This says to me one of two things; they either don't know or don't care about the regional cuisines they are trying to produce. Other examples I've come across are beef dishes in Indian restaurants and cheese on Italian seafood dishes. Now, I'm known to put foie gras and duck into my potstickers every now and then, but I'm not running a Chinese restaurant. Any other interesting examples? Does this bug anyone else as much as it bugs me?

I have a friend who is not going to use his entire allotment from Sea Smoke this year. I was wondering if I should buy some. He says these are very hard to get and worth much more than these prices. Does anyone know if these are any good? Southing Pinot Noir @ $49 each Ten Pinot Noir @ $69 each Thanks.

Hey - rockdoggydog, Malarkey and I were at Union last night. We could have shared a cocktail! We stopped in for drinks in the bar after dinner at Veil so we were probably there after you'd left. ← Funny how our paths crossed. We were a table of 6 in the middle of the space, with the owner of Veil as a matter of fact. BTW, I love the round tables at Union. So rarely seen in non-Chinese places. Great for conversation for 6 people. We were there from 8 to 11. Next time we'll have to coordinate.

Went the to the Umi Sake House pre-Opening event last night. I like what they've done with the place. Lots of bamboo and wood. Two huge skylights in the middle of the space now shine over a garden. Providing the illusion of an exterior garden in the middle of the vast space. USH is in the old location of Bada Lounge and Chef Wang. They were just serving a selection of sake and beer last night. I had a dry junmai-shu, don't remeber the maker. They have over 30 different Sakes on the sample menu I received. The chef is Billy Beach of Rain and Wasabi Bistro. I didn't try any food as I was off to dinner at Union right after (Great meal BTW!) They were serving a selection of rolls and hot apps. Everyone seemed to really be enjoying themselves. They open to the public tonight. I'll try the food soon before the club kids take over the space.

I'm a fan of the Bounty Hunter