nightscotsman

Count me in as a Boca Burger fan. All the other packaged varieties are too soft and squishy to comfortably eat on a bun, and they often have strong "this is made from dried and processed veggies and not an animal product" flavors. With Boca I can almost make myself forget it's not a real burger. Almost. However, if it doesn't have to look or tast like ground beef I would go with a grilled portabella mushroom, maybe with some pesto and tomatoes.

Strawberry shortcake with lots of real whipped cream, fresh biscuits and local, perfectly ripe, just-picked berries (preferably from Oregon). When I was growing up my Mom would serve this for dinner (all we could eat) once a year when my brother and I would help her pick strawberries for making jam. By the way, I read somewhere that the largest percentage of the Oregon strawberry crop goes to a single company - Hagen Daas.

Ezo moving! Noooooooooooo! I live and work a few blocks from Broadway and Ezo is one of the few reliable, inexpensive places for lunch. Their cold ramen bowl was perfect on hot summer days. Speaking of Broadway, does anybody actually like the Deluxe since they changed owners and remodeled? I find their burgers practically inedible now.

I was a very picky eater as a child, so I think my Mom didn't even try to get me to eat some foods - such as brussel sprouts. I had them for the first time in my early 20's at a nice restaurant and loved them! I suppose it helped they were fresh and sauteed in plenty of butter Artichokes and avocados were a couple more that I wouldn't eat, but I think are great now. Actually there were a lot of things I didn't even know existed at a young age that I love now - fois gras, caviar, chutney, pesto, sushi, duck, venison, calimari, and a whole range of spices and herbs. We were a very basic, non-adventurous, meat-and-potatoes family. Is that child abuse?

Haven't had the Woodchuck ciders - not sure they are available in the Seattle - but I do really like the apple and pear ciders from Spire made here in the Northwest. Good, true fruit flavor, not too sweet or dry. Years ago they also made delicious, natural cherry and peach ciders. I wish they would bring them back. Many other ciders I've tried sort of taste like fruity beer .

In the winter I really like Benedictine, Tuaca or Drambuie. Makes you feel all warm and cozy In the summer straight liquers are a bit heavy and sweet, so I choose a fruity one like Framboise or Casis and mix with champagne. I find most liqueurs a bit much by themselves, but many are essential in cocktails: Marachino (wonderful and clear, not red syrupy), Cointreau and Chartreuse to name a few.

My favorite way to drink Chartreuse is in a cocktail called a Champs Elysees: 1-1/2 oz cognac 1/4 oz green Chartreuse (yellow Chartreuse exists as well, but it's sweeter) 1 oz lemon juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters combine all ingredients and shake with cracked ice. strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist. This is from the excellent book "Cocktail: the Drinks Bible for the 21st Century" by Paul Harrington and Laura Moorhead.

OK, that's it! ::pries open wallet with crowbar:: "Au Coeur Des Saveurs" on order as of now. ::leaning on mailbox, tapping foot::

Steve - I wish I could look up the cannele recipe in Pierre Herme's book. I don't own it yet, but I would love to - along with "Patisserie of Perre Herme" and "Au Coeur des Saveurs" by Frederic Bau. All very expensive so I have to save up my shekels. I completely agree that recipes by weight are far easier to deal with. All of the others I found on the web were in grams and liters, but I still had the same problems. For my next test batch (while I'm waiting to get my hands on Nancy's or Pierre's books) I was going to try baking at 425 for 15 minutes to set the structure and then lower the temperature to cook through and brown. By the way, is there anyplace you recommend to buy professional pastry books? Amazon lists most of them, but with shipping times of 6-8 weeks, and JB Prince doesn't carry "Secrets Gourmands" (is that the same as "Larousse des Desserts" or is one in French only?). Why we're (sort of) on the subject, what are your favorite pastry books? Or should we start a new thread for that subject ? Thanks!

Ahh, Nancy Silverton. I've been meaning to get that book. Thanks for the tip I bought the molds in Paris. They were hard to find even there - most shops carried the silicone elastomolds, but I wanted the old fashioned copper. Here are some on-line sources for the copper molds: http://www.meilleurduchef.com/cgi/mdc/l/en...cuivre1_55.html http://www.clicshop.com/magasin/samvals/c1...p9597015.2.html

I first learned of canneles from a recipe in Gale Gand's book "Just a Bite". I tried baking some in muffin pans and they tasted wonderful, but were not pretty. Later I had the real thing in Paris patiseries and fell in love with them - enough to make the investment in special copper molds to bake them properly. My problem is no matter what I try they still come out ugly and misshapen. If I fill the molds 3/4 full they rise too much and then shrink off the bottom of the mold so they don't brown all over. If I fill them less they don't rise enough and come out short and squat. I've tried several other recipes I've found on the web with slightly different ingredient ratios and baking tempurature, but without success. Has anybody else made these and can help me out with some tips? Here is the basic recipe I'm using: 3-1/4 C milk 4 Tbs butter melted 3 eggs 2 Tbs rum 2 C sugar 1-1/2 C flour 1 tsp vanilla Mix everything together and refrigerate, covered overnight. Butter molds generously and fill 3/4 full. Bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 1 hour untill dark brown. I've also tried baking at 350 and 375 as well as starting at 400 for first 20 minutes and then reducing to 350 till done. I realize this is a very odd looking recipe, but they are really good and quite addictive. Any tips would be greatly appreciated - thanks!