mkayahara

Martin, I think crowdsourcing the photos for this collection is a great idea! There are some very accomplished amateur food photographers out there who will be able to make an enormous contribution to this. I'll have to have a look and see if there are any recipes I could do justice to, in terms of both the recipe itself and the photography. Good luck with this!

And it's powdered, Chris? I have a package from a Caribbean grocery labelled gum arabic that's in lumps. It looks like some kind of dried resin. Can I just bash it up?

Yes, that's exactly it. It was the only kind they had at my local Asian grocery store, and I figured it was better than nothing! I'll buy some beni shouga next time I'm in Toronto, when I can go to an actual Japanese grocery.

I'm assuming you didn't use any nitrite in the salt cure? Obviously, the "when in doubt, throw it out" rule applies, but on a whim, I just looked up the temperature for destroying botulinum toxin. The CDC says: So that might be the way to go, if you feel comfortable with it.

Tonight, I made okonomiyaki for the first time. Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this great thread! I made several compromises on the dish, including omitting the nagaimo and using Napa cabbage and bottled tonkatsu sauce, not to mention the wrong kind of pickled ginger. Still, it was delicious, and definitely a dish that would reward exploration with different toppings.

Isn't that what I said?

I suspect that's exactly where the term "unfiltered apple juice" was born. "Cider", all on its own, can mean either a fermented or unfermented product, with the distinction of "hard" or "sweet" sometimes being made. "Sweet cider" is the same thing as "unfiltered apple juice."

But wouldn't that make hot tea, not iced?

Vintages does bring it in every now and then, so just keep an eye out for it. Or get someone to pick up a bottle when they're out of town. It's well worth whatever trouble it takes for you to get it! Though, to be honest, I think most Ontario residents think that maraschino is the juice in the jar of cherries.

Don't get me wrong; Maker's is just fine. But it's a softer-style Bourbon, so it won't really approximate rye, whereas a spicier Bourbon will be a little closer in flavour. I think Knob Creek would probably be fine, too. As for Scotch, I agree with the comment above that Famous Grouse is good for mixing, but if you're looking to accommodate single-malt drinkers, Glenfiddich 12 sounds like a good fit. On the whole, your situation is yet another example why the LCBO should either let people have the bottles they want shipped to a local store, or just allow straight-up mail-order.

Alberta Premium and Alberta Springs are both 100% rye, but the grains in the mash bill have less to do with the differences between Canadian whisky and American straight rye whiskey than the production process. As far as I've found, there's no Canadian whisky that tastes anything like an American rye, regardless of what grains are used. If you want to make cocktails that call for American rye, your best bet is probably to go with a spicier Bourbon (think Bulleit, not Maker's) and leave the Canadian whisky at the liquor store. That said, I do quite like Alberta Springs, as far as Canadian whisky goes. As for Scotch, what are you looking for? Something to sip, or something to mix with? For tequila, your best bet in Ontario is to just go with the El Jimador reposado. I'd forget Cognac entirely: for the price point at the LCBO, you're better off going with the Armagnac de Montal VSOP for your brandy needs.

I can't imagine a little lime zest or lime oil would be a bad addition to the glaze; if you don't want to add all the extra liquid involved in raising the amount of lime juice, lime zest and a little pure citric acid might give you both the flavour and tartness you're looking for.

Have you tried the Glebe Emporium? Also, since you're in Ontario, I should point out that I've had good luck making limoncello with Kittling Ridge's "Prince Igor Extreme" vodka. It's an unfortunate name - aimed at the frat boy set, I assume - but it seems to be the most reasonably priced vodka that's above 40% abv that the LCBO carries (it's 45% abv). For your next batch!

Good to know, brinza. I'd been thinking of doing that one for my party, but with the cost of Calvados (and complete unavailability of applejack), decided against it. Maybe one day, when I'm feeling richer...

Indeed, at one point, I suggested to my partner that we reformulate the centre, but he was resistant to that idea, since he's been eating these chocolates since he was a child, and he was worried they wouldn't "taste right"...

I think peanuts would be the way to go, since they're found in Thai cuisine anyway. You can get commercial Thai-flavoured peanuts that are quite addictive, but I've never tried making them at home. If I did, though, I'm sure I'd try to work fish sauce, lime (either Persian or keffir), galangal and chilies in there somehow...

We had exactly the same problem this year, though we didn't pre-coat the centres, and they were frozen rather than at room temperature. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one! We were also using commercial peanut butter, mixed with ground walnuts, icing sugar and a small amount of butter. I'll be sure to try out some of these suggestions when we do this again next year; despite the leakage, I've really been loving the texture of the tempered chocolate this year.

There are a couple of ideas from Jamie Boudreau here. And another one here.

Shalmanese, is it that you're worried about the starch thickening the creme brulee base? If so, I wonder whether a little extra toasting on the gingerbread would help, since cooked flour has substantially less thickening power than raw. I imagine if the gingerbread is cooked enough, the thickening power of any starch that leaches out should be minimal. But that's just a guess.

Wouldn't that run the risk of melting the bag? I imagine most vacuum sealer bags aren't intended to go up to temperatures high enough to kill botulism spores. What about going the nitrite route?

They did; it's called A Day at elBulli.

That's exactly what I would do.

Thanks to all for the tips. I ended up finding a largish punch bowl at retail, with a stainless steel ladle. I followed Andy's advice about chilling the sugar/tea/lemon juice separately from the spirits, and we ended up going through one and a half batches total. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, so it's definitely something I can see making an annual feature of our party!

I think the Zombie is probably an interesting point of reference as well, what with its vast quantities of 151-proof rum. For that matter, there are lots of other successful Tiki and Tiki-esque drinks that call for high-proof rum.

If the book delivers on its promise, I think $300 sounds fair. Certainly I'll buy one; I'll just wait until the exchange rate is in my favour!