Beebs

The Onion Confit is fantastic, and thanks to that, I'm completely addicted to the stuff. Anyways, I make it on a regular basis in a slow cooker, and yeah, it takes a loooong time for it to get just right, usually 12 hrs minimum in my slow cooker. My problem in the beginning was a lot of liquid coming from the onions, so I saute them on the stove now to get as much liquid out as possible. Set it on high for a couple hours, then down to low for a bunch of hours. Back on high near then end, and I crack the lid open to evaporate some more. I also cheat with brown sugar, dash of soy, and a little balsamic....

If it's only a little bit of grease or fat, I wipe with a paper towel and toss it in the bin. If it's a lot, I cool it in the freezer or fridge, then put it in one of those small plastic baggies that you get vegetables in and have absolutely no other use for (double bag it if there's a lot), then toss it in the bin. If it's oil, depending on how much I'm disposing, it either goes into a plastic baggy or a plastic container/can after it's cooled.

I will probably have to relinquish my eGullet membership for admitting this, but... I love Dairy Queen's ice cream cake with the chocolate cookie crumble thing! I know, I know - it's totally ghetto crap that is pumped full of non-dairy garbage, but it's just soooo good! To my credit I haven't had a piece in years, but I love how the DQ cake is so birthday-partyish. I am now going to stand in a corner and hang my head in shame....

I have an egg white question: I've got 13 egg whites to use up. I've tossed them all in a ziploc baggy in the freezer. How long are they good for? And do frozen whites significantly affect how meringues turn out? Also, I'm thinking of baking an angel food cake with some of the whites. Can I use a bundt pan, or do I need to buy an angel food cake pan? Thanks!

Update - I've just bought a gigantic 945ml bottle of Real Lemon at London Drugs. Have yet to see them at the supermarkets though....

You've got more worse ones?!? Don't keep us in suspense - tell us more!!

Spiced chai always puts me in a festive mood (although it's tasty any time!). Lots of different ways to make it, everyone has a particular way of doing it. For me, I mostly go by taste. No specific recipe, but to make one mug (16 oz or so): -In a small saucepan, throw in either a teabag of strong black tea, or a couple teaspoons of loose. If I have it on hand, I prefer a looseleaf, malty Assam tea. -Add enough hot boiling water to make up approx a third to a half of your mug. -Toss in a couple cinnamon sticks, a couple whole cloves, a tsp or 2 of crushed cardamon pods. Steep everything for a few minutes. -Top up with whole milk and bring to a low simmer for another 5-10 mins, or until it's spicy enough for you. -Strain out spices and tealeaves. Add sugar or honey to taste. -For the holidays, I'll use a little eggnog or brandy/rum/booze of choice. Yum!

Here's another vote for cupcakes. My neighbourhood coffee shop has this cupcake they call the Happy Cupcake. It's a chocolate cupcake with white icing, Smarties, and rainbow sprinkles. I'm sure it'll taste just as delicious with M&M's!

Ask for extra chilli sauce/paste on the side, then you can spice it up as hot as you want.

That is so neat! And you can even eat it! Hmmm....I'm thinking broccoli topiaries might make pretty cool centerpieces too....

The carpaccio sounds intriguing! Do you use any dressing with it? How do you make your bacalao? I found an Emeril recipe on the Food Network website that sounds like the one I'm looking for and BonVivant mentioned (bacalhau a Gomes de Sa). I'm going to try that as soon as I get my hands on some salt cod!

*Bump!* I've never used salt cod/bacalhau before, and I'm hoping to get some pointers from the eGullet folks. What I'm looking for is a recipe for this particular Portuguese bacalhau dish consisting of bacalhau, sliced potatoes, sliced onions, and sliced hard boiled eggs all layered in a casserole and I think it was baked. I don't recall the name of the dish (just that it was so delicious!), but I'd love a good recipe and give it a go. Any suggestions? I can get access to salt cod from Italian and Greek grocery stores here. Is there any significant difference between the Italian/Greek stuff from Portuguese salt cod? Anything else I should know about preparing salt cod? Thanks!

It's been awhile, but I've popped corn in a wok with great success.

La Buca - Had the family style meal yesterday. The six of us had caprese salad, prosciutto slices with pickled veg, puttanesca pasta, green pea agnolotti with shortrib sauce, spinach & mixed mushroom risotto with truffle oil (my favourite), battered & deep-fried white fish (don't remember what kind of fish), albacore tuna, grilled bison, side veggies, tiramisu, cinnamon sugar doughnuts, plus a bottle of prosecco and another of red wine. It was so good, one of the best meals I've had in a long time. A Vietnamese restaurant on Fraser and 49th-ish that I don't remember the name of - Went for a quick dinner of pho and springrolls. Breka Bakery & Cafe - Excellent coffee and these tasty little pastries called Kuffles, which are like rugelach filled with ground nuts and spices.

I saw your post just as I'd taken a sip of coffee, and nearly sprayed it all over my monitor.

Yum! That sounds lovely, annecros! I have no idea if we've got Underwood Deviled Ham here in Vancouver, but I'll hunt for it. It sounds perfect for lunches.

Canned tuna is cool, Deviled Ham is the bomb. Spam just adds a bit of variety to the mix. Nothing wrong with donating to third world countries - I encourage it. ← What's the difference between Spam and deviled ham? I've never had deviled ham, and the last time I ate spam was...20 yrs ago??? And is lunch meat just a Spam knock-off?

What does chicken sashimi taste like? Is it just like how you'd expect raw chicken to taste?

Oh good, I'm glad someone brought this up! I've been dying to make apple butter but just haven't had time or found a good recipe. I'd like to make a slow-cooker version, so I can infuse my home with the lovely spicy-apple fragrance at the same time. Does it matter what kind of apples I use? I Googled "apple butter recipes" and found that some call for apple juice and others don't - does it make a difference? I'm thinking apple butter with bourbon might be good - anyone tried it?

I've had chicken wings that were deboned and stuffed with a sticky rice mixture, then deepfried. I've also had a version of the Japanese chicken karaage which were deboned and stuffed with a meat (pork, I think?) mixture.

I saw some at the IGA, but they've only got the little ones in the lemon-shaped bottle. And the prices were jacked up to $1.99 (up from $1.15 or whatever it used to be). No large bottles in sight. Plenty of lime juice concentrate, though....

Frozen tofu is fantastic! It's great with soups and we use it for hot pot. As kids, we liked how it resembled sponges - "Look I'm eating a sponge!"

Oooh that is perfect for Halloween! Yum, maggot balls instead of popcorn balls! How did you get them like that? Deep fry?

Last night's dessert - a s'more with peanut butter and mini marshmallows broiled in the toaster oven.

-If you have access to really good tap water, use that instead of bottled water. There's more oxygen in tap water. -Use good-quality tealeaves. -For some teas, I find it's helpful to rinse the leaves. -Use a tea timer (or similar).