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I baked and food processed a 'Cheese Pumpkin', The puree is a little bit thicker than apple sauce. Should i let it sit in a chinois over a bowl to dry out, or should i proceed as is? Should i modify the recipe if i do? I was planning on using this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-pie-recipe/index.html Thanks, Brendan

Take a look at Harbortouch. http://www.harbortouch.com/about-harbortouch/overview/ . I was forced into trying it at the restaurant I was managing by owners who didnt want to shell out for micros. I actually ended up really liking it. Most of my servers who were all used to Micros said it was the easiest POS to learn. You have to use them for credit card processing (the rates are pretty competitive) but they provide the equipment at much cheaper rates than other POS companies. There is also free 24 hour support where they can 'screen connect' to remote access the terminals and help troubleshoot problems.

Joe Beef was the other option that looked good to me while i was scouring over yelp ads.

Oops: Title should be "Need a Montreal restaurant recommendation for a bachelor party" We will be 10 people, Au pied du cochon could did not have any of their large tables available that night. :-( Any suggestions? Brendan

My father is a chef and his ability to put 10-14 piping hot dishes on the table all at the exact same moment for thanksgiving dinner will never cease to amaze me. Everything prepped, parboiled, laid in baking dishes; into the oven the moment the turkey (generally twice the size we would ever need to feed everyone) came out. As soon as they were in all four burners came on and the sautee items were next. All in 3 minutes everything came out, into serving dishes and onto the table. Turkey, yams, mashed, brussel sprouts, squash, cranberry sauce, gravy, parsnips, turnips, carrots, creamed pearl onions, stuffing, and I think I am missing a few. Maybe one day I'll be able to cook like that! As for things I'll only do once, homemade croissants...I refuse to make puff pastry again.

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess whenever I cook grains or rice I've used the absorbtion method carefully measuring water and rice amounts. I've never just cooked rice in a big pot of water and drained off the excess at the end.

If I'm going to cook say brown rice and Quinoa for a cold grain salad, do I still have to cook them like rice? Can I just cook them in a big pot of boiling water till tender and then drain?

this reminded me of the new KFC sandwich being launched today. http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/04/first-bite-kfcs-double-down-sandwich.html

I hope that was a joke but if not, why not just recommend them a good napa cab? Who are you to decide whether they can or cannot have a cab with with their salmon and artichoke? They are the ones paying for the meal not you. I used to work in a wine store on a busy main street, people of all backgrounds in and out all day. There would be tastings all day, usually a white and a red. One guy i worked with just didn't know how to deal with customers who were just wandering in for a sip of free wine. All he wanted to do was go into great length about who, what, where of every wine and he could be quite rude when people were not interested. I would just watch and think 'well, we wont see them again.' We're in the service industry our only obligation is to show people a wonderful time...not to force ideas on people who may not be interested. If you meant that jokingly i apologize but i run into so many people with that attitude in the restaurant business, drives me nuts. On another note, my dad (a chef) once slaved away all day making the perfect sauce for his rack of lamb. Coming off a few weeks of 13+ hour days in the middle of the busy season for us, he was not in the mood to be tried. In the middle of service a waiter comes back and says that his customer would like a side of mint jelly with his rack of lamb. Not willing to have his sauce bested by a bottle of mint jelly he sends the waiter back out to politely decline the request. Waiter returns. The patron is demanding mint jelly. 15 dupes hanging in his face, and things going on all burners, he storms out from behind the line and into the dining room. Marches up to the table, looks the man square in the eyes and says "you're not getting any f**king mint jelly!" And marches back to the kitchen. I imagine the man was in shock. While I don't condone this behavior I can help but laugh every time I think of it. Brendan

Thanks for the great info everyone. I picked up the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook from the library i think ill try a few recipes from there first. Im excited to go back, i think i have a decent idea of where to start. I will update with pics after my first shopping trip.

thanks Erin that is a good list to get started with. I was worried that 'Asian' was too broad a term. I think the market is predominately Chinese but there was definitely other cuisines represented. Im going to head down again this week so maybe i can grab a few photos when i go next time. I like that idea Chris, have any good sources for beginner friendly chinese recipes, or even just some names and ill google recipes? Its a long trek for weekly proteins, but i might get a few things from the butcher and freeze them. I am also going to try some of the fish selections for sure. I dont have a ton of space but enough that i could stash some pantry items. If i had the right pantry items i could cook chinese a few times a week.

Last night i had an interesting experience...i shopped at my first real asian market. This was no joke. My only other interaction with an asian market had been at a slightly dingy market with a limited selection of asian produce. Even before entering i knew this was going to be special. Outside durian fruits and Pommelo were stacked high. Inside there was a case of beautiful roast duck next to a steamer full of Bao of all types. Huge and brightly lit aisles of fresh produce. Jack fruits, chinese broccoli, bitter asian melon, tubs of fresh seaweed. An amazing fish monger with rows of whole gleaming fish. Shark, grouper, snapper, skate, head on prawns. Below the iced counter top there were six or eight tanks of live fish and in buckets in front of the tanks were eels, turtle, frogs and blue crab. Seemingly endless choices of soy, ramen, condiments and rice. Then came the fear that in this great market with endless possibilities I had absolutely no idea what to get. It wasn't a planned trip and i didnt have as long as i would have liked to look around but i still felt guilty that i only left with a handful of snacks and items i had wanted to try. Given that this is a decent trek from home, how should i approach this next time? Im an asian food newbie when it comes to cooking but with a resource like that not too far away i would love to do some more asian cooking at home. I would like to stock up on some pantry staples but with so many choices i unsure of what to get and what was better quality. I think next time i want to go with 1-3 recipes to shop for, then on top of that a list of pantry ingredients to stock up on. Help me come up with a plan! thanks Brendan

Here are a few interesting sites ive found in my search if it helps anyone else, but they do not reference Fall 09 releases explicitly. http://theolivepress.adconn.com/ http://www.davero.com/ thanks B

Der Raum has to be one of the coolest looking bars ive seen. i would be terrified, however, of working underneath hundreds of spirit bottles hanging on bungee chords!

sounds and looks interesting. anyone have a recipe or a 'how to'? http://www.theage.com.au/news/epicure/blin...l?page=fullpage EDIT: rofl... i need to stop posting so late at night. I swear i looked all over the place for a recipe to no avail. then i googled just to get an image or reference for this thread and failed to notice that RIGHT THERE in the random link i had found was the recipe i had searched so long and hard for....yikes... anyway has anyone made one of these? Brendan

what are your favorite cocktails for the winter months? what interesting things have you seen bars doing on their winter cocktail lists?

I enjoy Toby Maloney's youtube videos, as a bartender i think theres alot to be learned from them. Anyone else have any good clips of what you would consider stylish or graceful bartending? Not flair though..i would consider that different than what im talking about.

i think a little practice with water is whats called for :-)

In the video dale degroff looks like he actually splashes some of this flaming mixture on his hands and just shrugs it off. Has anyone tried this? Does the liquid not get as hot as it looks? I think id freak out if it splashed on me. Any tips when making this drink?

Made pizza tonight...basically followed FatGuy's thread HERE. It came out awesome, everyone loved it. Sauteed spinach, caramelized onions, sweet sausage, mushrooms, fontina, mozzarella, and plum tomatoes.

Daniel, thank you very much. exactly the type of info i was looking for. Brendan

Looking over my notes from a tasting i realized i need to work out a better shorthand system for taking notes. Who wants to share their system? I would love to see what a page of Daniel's notes look like, its always interesting to see how someone with so much experience approaches their craft. thanks Brendan

Corpse Reviver #2 Always comes out well for me with equal parts... 1oz Gin 1oz Lillet Blonde 1oz Cointreau 1oz Lemon Juice (I usually go just a touch less on the lemon...but close enough to equal parts) I love this drink...one of my favorites.

http://www.twohandswines.com/podcasts/podc...?mmID=3&smID=10 just been listening to and enjoying the podcasts from Two Hands. Thought I would share the link and see if anyone else has some good links to winery podcasts or just interesting winery sites...

saw this on tastespotting the other day...looks yummy. I would probably just start with your favorite frozen veggie burger and build it into this delicious creation... http://culinarynerd.blogspot.com/2008/06/p...p-district.html Yum Yum