Fugu

I am just getting over my aversion towards apples. My first trip anywhere was to Hong Kong when I was 8 years old. My younger brother and I were given $10 US, by our dad, to buy apples below the hotel and, not knowing the conversion rates or how much a kilo amounted to, we spent the whole $10. Guess what, our meals in Hong Kong consisted of those apples. We missed out on the dim sums, duck rice and hainese chicken.

Does Hardees sell hotdogs?

I have "La Dalia" Jose Ma Hernandez,S.L with a DO and "Syren"from Verdu Canto Saffron, Alicante Spain. I just purchased the La Dalia picante but I prefer the Syren brand.

I like beef shanks braised it in dark soya sauce, mirin, star anise, onion, garlic and ginger. Adjust seasonning and sweetness of sauce(more sugar or more mirin) Serve with hofun noodles or steamed rice.

Yes, it's the same as smoked paprika. I use it to make chorizo patties.

Or try using Spanish pimenton in your marinades.

Try making sizzling sisig, a regional Filipino specialty. Great with beer. Lots of sisig recipes online.

Turn the octupus' head inside out to clean and then stuff the tentacles inside the head. Wrap in a muslin and poach in stock until tender. Put a weight on the octopus to compress. Allow to set overnight and slice like a terrine. Serve with favorite vinaigrette. The natural gelatine on the octopus' skin will keep it together. I don't know if it will work with frozen?

I cook basmati rice similar to rice pilaf. Basamati rice is sauteed in ghee and your preferred aromatics. The ghee helps keeps the grains separate. Add your stock or water, use 2:1 ratio of stock or water to rice. Bring it to a boil on the stove, cover and then bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes...

Watch out for Naproxen, Naprosin, Naprosen sodium, they're all contributors to my failed kidney functions. Aleve's key ingredient is Naproxin.

Noticed that some soya sauce labels contain some form of caramelized sugars for colouring. It has been several months since the first posting. Just curious how everyone's aged, finished products compare, in terms of taste and colour, with something like kikkoman's soya sauce. Great thread.

Ive had gout ever since I was 12 years old. It used to be just my toes that got gout. I was on everything from allopurinol, colcicine and indomethacin. As time progressed, the frequency and duration of the attacks increased. The joint areas where I got an attack also changed. Sometimes I got the attacks on my shoulders, elbows, both knees, my hands and fingers. Eventually, I went into surgery to remove a huge uric acid ball that was preventing my hand from openning and restricting its function. With gout attacks that last more than a month, I got cortisone shots right at the joints. Now that my kidneys have failed, from having been over medicated with all the NSAIDs(non steroidal anti inflamatory drugs) on the market, I am now on prednisone. I am only allowed 1 litre of fluid intake per day. Be carefull of those over the counter drugs like advil and aleve. They may offer you some pain relief but your kidneys are at risk.

Pacific NW has plenty of salmonid species, spot prawns and halibut.

Most of these items I mentioned can be found at asian grocery stores. The dried leaf fish and dried baby squid are all sold together in one section. Photos? I tried uploading some photos before and had problems so I never tried again. Edited: to clean up my quoting mess.

For added textured garnish: Fish Bone crackers(smaller fishes), Crispy fried paper thin dried fish(baby sardine leaf?), Crispy fried dried squid(small ones), different shaped fried wonton, small bundles of fried noodles, marsh crabs. Tofu can be cut into shape to be used as a base or garnish for other proteins. Taro chips, lotus chips, vegetable or hebs in tempura(sage leaves are great). For Colour: Fresh bamboo shoots(even the leaves as a serving vessel), red, yellow and green wasabi tobiko, shiso leaf. Brunoise of purple yam and orange yams. You mentioned sweet potato leaves, there are green and purple varieties. Maple leaves are a common garnish for added colour as well. Edited to add: Not all of these items I mentioned are Chinese though but a crossover fusion.

Woody Allen's version of a Japanese secret agent 007. Woody Allen re-edited and rewrote the dialogue, dubbed in English. The theme of the movie revolves around the search for a secret egg salad recipe. Funny film by Woody.

Ruthcooks got it right spot on. Pasta salads do tend to suck up moisture if done too far ahead of time. Even the seasoning need adjustment after an hour of being refridgerated. And yes, thinning out the dressing helps. My acid preference is lemon and orange juice or just sour oranges. Really good for seafood type garnishes and goes geat with feta cheese. Sweet pickles and some of its juice also adds another layer of flavour and taste. I look to hit every taste in my mouth, even the crunch aspect imporves any pasta salad.

Food trends usually follows the money trail. Macau and las Vegas has tons of money and a lot of good food flows in these places. Places in asia, such as Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and others, offer something different to the adventurous.

There's an Indian restaurant around Dixie and Matheson, just north of Eglington, beside Swiss Chalet and a Vietnamese restaurant. I think the Indian restaurant has a lunch buffet though? I can't say if it is good since I have never eaten there.

"Most diners believe that their sublime sliver of seared foie gras, topped with an ethereal buckwheat blini and a drizzle of piquant huckleberry sauce, was created by a culinary artist of the highest order, a sensitive, highly refined executive chef. The truth is more brutal. More likely, writes Anthony Bourdain in Kitchen Confidential, that elegant three-star concoction is the collaborative effort of a team of "wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths," in all likelihood pierced or tattooed and incapable of uttering a sentence without an expletive or a foreign phrase. Such is the muscular view of the culinary trenches from one who's been groveling in them, with obvious sadomasochistic pleasure, for more than 20 years." -Anthony Bourdain- Kitchen Confidential. I have worked with talented Chefs, not known in the media ofcourse, but talented nonetheless. My experience with them goes from one end of the extreme to another. I've had Chefs who screamed at you, ala Ramsay and there were others that threw stuff at you when they gt frustrated. I would never put up with these people if they were not talented and had nothing to offer me. I am 5'10" tall and I am a bull at 220lbs. and I will trash you.

We put a lot of time and thought into our brunches but this was a long time ago. Whenever it was available, we had a 4ft long banana branch full of hands of bananas brought in for the brunch display. We hung that near the dessert table, by the entrance and it had a great impact. We had centre pieces made with tallow and vegetable carvings and on special occasions like mother's day, we had ice carvings. On the cold stations we had the usual old fashion salads like Russian, Waldorf, German potato salad, Pasta salads, aparagus, herring and beets, an assortment of greens and garnishes. Platters of cold poached salmon, pates, terrines, galantines(all made in house). Sliced fruits on mirrors, cheeses on marble. We had an omelette station, stir fry or pasta station. Carved gravlax and smoked salmon station. Coullibiac, leg of ham wrapped in biscuit, roast prime rib or beef wellingtons. Dessert tables were filled with cakes and pastry that were also made in house. Our hotel kitchen was full of tallented indiviuals, artists! I found it sad that my friend said that none of these things I mentioned are ever put on their brunches anymore. Food and labour cost....Seems like we lost a lot of skilled people, everything is store bought now, from pastries to pates. I did enjoy the brunch in Bangkok, Patumwan Princess. Great brunch layout. I went for the congee station with dried squid and other exotic garnishes. Now I'm hungry!

One of my apprentices, way back 18 years ago, now an exceutive chef, called me and we got to talking about among other things, buffet brunches served at her hotel. Does any of you still serve buffet brunch at your establishment? What is the current trend, if there is such a thing? Are the classical wellingtons and coulibiacs still being served? Any suggestions on how to make an exciting, cost effective buffet brunch that's uptodate with the younger crowd?

Hmmm, thats a pretty rash statement. I think I turn out some damn tasty food on my gas grill. And, I dont have to wait 30 minutes before I can place food on it. I love my gas grill, I'd take it anyday over charcoal. To each her own I guess. ← Worthless? Well, some people just know how to maximize their gas grills. I'm with Cali on the gas grill and I can easily infuse fruit wood smoke if it calls for a long smoking time. Just be creative.

The usual flour, egg wash and then bread crumbs will work just as well as a batter. For home use, canola oil is good enough.

Zampone