Marlene

I'm just going to say that out of all the fried chicken I've done, Keller's is not my favourite. Having said that, if you are set on doing it and need to invest in equipment, I'd vote for the dutch oven. I have both a deep fryer and a dutch oven pot. For breaded things, I go for the dutch oven pot. IF you use a deep fryer, remember not to sit the chicken in the basket, because it will stick. The basket needs to be in the lowered position and then put the chicken in, free floating. You can use the basket to take the chicken out when it's done. And the Dutch oven is so much more versatile for braising etc.

I've been using one of these for a couple of years and I love it.

Sour cream for me, applesauce for the husband

I happened to be at WS today. I bought a few different good vinegars - red wine, white wine, sherry, champagne. A couple of great potato scrubbers, etc. I do like their selection of vinegars. So if that is something you're looking for, you could use your certificate for that.

I gave my husband one of these and he loves it. Several of our friends saw it and immediately went out and bought one for their spouses as well. Not sure that WS sells it though.

I have a couple of zyliss spinners that I quite like.

I think there is no greater memory to give a child than to do something like this with him! Bravo.

One of my contractor's up North makes his own maple syrup and has brought me a couple of jars of it. Wonderful stuff. He is concerned that the amount they will get this year will be down because of the realtively light winter and early warm weather here.

Ahem. Now that my son can drive himself to music lessons, this lady could lunch with you now and then! Those chairs don't really look all that comfortable do they? But the food looks really good!

everywhere else in the world but Canada. I think everyone here calls it Shepherd's pie regardless. Anyway, I made cottage pie last night so it was on my mind.

Tacos Cottage/Shepherd's pie (not mexican, but really good!)

Always in soups, and tomato sauces, but I've been known to put a small rind in baked beans while they are baking.

We had dinner last night at Delmonico's, and while the steak was as outstanding as ever, there were several "misses" throughout the evening. The garlic parmesan soup with herbed brioche croutons I ordered, arrived sans crouton's and parmesan. We had a bottle of Amarone, and three times they had to give us new wine glasses as the glasses were covered in lint. The wine was not decanted, and the server poured the last of the bottle into our glasses, which contained a fair amount of sediment, rendering the last glass mostly undrinkable. Service was extremely rushed, and we kept having to "slow the pace down". We were still in and out in just over an hour at that. Parmesan truffle chips remain one of my favourite things there, and the bone in strip steak was particularly flavourful. We are off to Okada tonight.

That looks great, but how did you manage the slashing and using the form?

So, you use the egg roll wrappers uncooked, or do you cook them first? I have to admit that I've never made lasagna, so my questions may seem naive. Is cooking and draining the pasta hard to time, or is there some other issue with it? It seems to me that of all the steps in making lasagna, the pasta would be the easiest. Am I missing something? I've only done it once, and I used them uncooked. Otherwise I buy fresh pasta sheets, which I do not boil first. I made my own pasta once for lasagna and decided it wasn't worth the effort. The taste of the pasta gets lost with the sauce and cheese, so I just buy it now. But then, I don't really like making pasta anyway.

I'll go you one better than the no boil noodles. Something I picked up from Kim Shook, and it works a dream. Try using egg roll wrappers instead of noodles. Seriously.

I usually pipe them with a star tip.

My son, who is off to college in the fall, recently picked up a Cookbook called Starting Out, The Essential Guide to Cooking on Your Own. It has sections on buying tools and appliances for your kitchen, stocking the pantry, how to read labels, how to buy produce, applying heat etc. It's got a section on making stocks as well. (Ok, it also has a section on how to do your laundry, and presumably your friend already knows that) The book uses real fresh ingredients and the recipes vary. There are breakfasts, lunches, dinners, stews etc in it. it gives tips on what to do with leftovers and variations on the basic recipe. It's a very well written and humourous book, and while it may seem to be geared to a college student, I don't think it is. I think anyone just starting to cook from this would enjoy it and learn from it.

You can't keep me away from Delmonico's when I go, and I do a mean roast and steak myself. I'd go for the parmesan potato chips alone. I'm picking Bouchon for brunch because I think there are better dinner options out there.

Almost. Brioche and challah dough certainly.Sandwich dough, yes. Cibatta dough, not really, it's much too wet. Technically you could with baguette dough or sourdough bread as well, but they will be more along the lines of crusty rolls, not soft dinner rolls. Shaping for rolls? most rolls are 2 - 3 ounces in dough weight. Take a chunk of dough, and roll it on the counter under the palm of your hand, with your fingers cupped. Don't be afraid to exert pressure. The dough should spring up into a tight ball in your hand and be smooth. Rolls are usually baked at around 400, brushed with some sort of egg wash and take anywhere from 12-18 minutes.

Kerry is indeed a font of great ideas. Andie and Anna N also. So, where in Ontario can you buy a Foodsaver unit, please. I bought both of mine at Costco. YOu can also order them online from Costco and don't need to be a member to do so. Bed Bath and Beyond also carries them and you can order them online.

The chocolate chip cookies are outstanding!

I did the pave potatoes on the weekend, and I can't say they rocked my world. The outer crispy parts were great, but the rest of the potato lacked flavour. Terrific presentation though. We're discussing that possibly infusing the cream with the garlic and thyme would help and perhaps sprinkling some picked thyme on a few of the layers. It just needs something.

You can, just be sure to cool the melted butter. Hot butter tends to kill off yeast.

I went to college in Peterpatch. Even in Costco stores as close to each other as the Mississauga and Burlington stores, you'll find that what you can get at one, you can't get at the other.