Marlene

Harbour Sixty is indeed an awesome steakhouse, although I still thin Barberian's is the best in the city.

I'll be doing this tonight as I have three beautiful rib eyes to cook, it's pouring rain here and I can't get to my BBQ anyway as my deck is all torn up at the moment. Question then: The butter method will be tried. Is the cast iron frying pan the best pan to do this in? and then would I just stick the cast iron pan in the oven?

All of mine are the Kaiser La Forme pans. I have round ones, square ones and mini round ones. Andie is correct, they aren't completely leakproof, but they do work pretty well.

Last night's dinner was kind of an experiment. I did a spiral ham (won't do that again!), and for the first time in my life, I stir fried something! My husband is the stir fryer in our family . The Sesame Garlic Asparagus turned out really really well. The reason I won't do a spiral cut ham again is because it's already sliced, and that leaves it open to drying out inside while it's baking. I actually usually prefer a bone in ham, but they are always so big for just the three of us. Here's a couple of pictures. And no, I didn't make the cake

Tonight we had baked ham, yukon gold whipped potatoes and an asparagus stir fry that was to die for. Pics tomorrow.

I like Toliver's suggestion as well. I usually bake my ribs in a covered roaster 4+ hours at 250 or so, spritzing occassionally as necessary. For the last hour, take the lid off, and spritz a little more frequently, then put on the grill and baste away with your sauce.

I think I'll let Klc write the course instead . Seriously, he is correct. My notes are guidelines and what generally work for me. I had never used convection before so I also had to experiment with times and temps a bit. And I do bake my creme brulees in convection without the water bath as Steve suggests.

Is this a very recent price? During the height of the US beef ban in Canada, Canadian beef prices were sky high? If the US beef ban is over(as I've been told), then I'm guessing, the Canadian Prime beef at Brunos would be much lower now, than 4-5 months ago for example. BTW, did you notice much difference in taste of steaks at Ruth's Chris Toronto, when they were serving Canada Prime beef, instead of US Prime beef(during the US beef ban)? -Steve ← Actually, I was just about to revise that. I just got home from Bruno's where Canadian prime was selling for $34.99 per lb. Thre is a difference between the two in that Canadian prime seems to be richer or more buttery than US prime.

I knew the article was coming out this month, but I haven't seen it yet! I don't see any reason why this can't be an annual event if there is enough interest! It certainly was fun the last time around

I'm pretty sure we've had a previous thread on this somewhere, but I'm a lousy searcher so: I've learned so much here, it's hard to know where to begin. I discovered onion confit, and learned about knives I discovered using better chocolate produced better results I learned what not to do in the kitchen in order to avoid stupid mistakes I found Tonkasu and changed the way I make pork forever. I learned about air vents, how to boil an egg, mother's milk, and tarts through the magic words of Dave the Cook, Fat Guy, MaggietheCat and mamster. In some cases, I learned more than I needed to know. I learned that cooking for a virtual community during a blog made all of you part of my family. I know now that I will never be alone in my cooking quests, and that I can ask any question without being laughed at and get thoughtful, explicit replies. I cherish the relationships I have formed here, from Altanta, to Chicago, to New York, all the way to Japan. I learned so much here, that it continues to be my pleasure to serve the community I now call family. How could I not?

I'm gonna write a course on convection cooking Convection Roasted Prime Rib. Convection baking and roasting two different things. When roasting, you're looking to get that nice crust on the outside,while keeping things juicy inside. With Baking, you're looking for lighter, "fluffier" results mostly. Some things don't translate well for convection use, for example, I would not convection bake my butter tart squares, but for roasting, cookies, and most cakes and even broiling it can't be beat. The roast above was convection roasted at 300 degrees at 18 minutes per pound. When roasting with convection, you can usually drop your oven temp by 25 degrees, for example, I used to roast at 325, hence the 25 degree drop. You drop the temperature because the cooking time for a roast is longer than the baking time for cookies. When baking with convection, you don't really need to drop the temperature, because the cookies or cakes aren't in the oven long enough to make the drop effecient. The beauty of baking cookies by convection for example is you can put 3 or 4 sheets of cookies in at one time, and they all get done at the same time, the same way, whereas, with regular I found that any more than two sheets at a time, just wouldn't bake all the sheets at the same time because the air isn't circulating. Custards can be baked by convection if you are going to do them low and slow. Like at 200 degrees for an hour. Otherwise, just use normal bake. I'm not familiar with the GE Monogram, but my ovens allow you to select Convection Roast, Convection Bake, or Convection broil. If you select "bake", the convection does not come on. Does that help at all? Oh one more thing. Don't ever use tin foil in your oven when using convection. The results aren't pretty

I would never get a non-convection oven again, and I don't believe you need to rewire for one either, at least we didn't. Even though I don't use the convection all the time, I roast with it and bake with it often enough, and the results are so superior to non convection roasting and baking that I would always choose convection given a choice. My ovens give you the choice of convection or non convection cooking so it's easy to switch back and forth.

It's hard to believe that the Christmas season is almost upon us once again. I have started my shooping and next week all the lights and decorations come out and start to go up. It takes me about two weeks to decorate the house, so I have to start early. This year I'll be doing a ton of baking for gifts, mostly because I'll have enough time this year. And I'll be ordering my Prime Rib from the butcher soon. Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year. Hmmm, I never did make that Yule Log last year. I think I need to go buy an early present for myself. A jellyroll pan. ......but then I'm a sucker for presents.

both my ovens are wall ovens, so I can't speak to the cooktop componet, but as far as ovens go, mine are both KA, electric, with convection or regular and they are both outstanding. I've used an oven thermometer several times to check whether the temp is bang on and I've never been disappointed.

Canadian Prime at Brunos is $27.00 a pound. I haven't seen any USDA Prime there for a while though

So here is what I'm thinking: Cold Asiago, Proscuitto Cheese Twists mini corn bread muffins with jalepeno chicken salad Lobster salad in Phyllo cup Hot Beef Roulade - either teriyake or cracked black pepper Smoked Mozzarella & chicken puff pastry purses ( I know I have an extra one, but I couldn't give any of these up! For the main Hot Buffet: Basmati rice with Onion green bean Almondine one beef dish: Prime Rib Tournedos Stephanie I am really torn between these two. I've served Prime Rib the last two years and it's always been a hit, but I thought I might do something a bit different this year. one Pasta dish: Tortellini Alfredo two Salads Mandarin Almond greens Broccoli with a sesame ginger dressing Pick two Desserts Crepes Cheese tray There will be a choice of crepes :Jubilee, Suzette, or Chocolate

I'm having a Frosted Flakes cereal bar. And coffee. Does that count as breakfast?

how do you make your egg salad now? that might help us get thinking of the right things to add to it

A displaced Candian? Is your catering business in Minneapolis? You have a few of them right, but not all of them by any stretch. Although you'd be bang on for most of the people in this crowd. I just can't be that completely staid however.

Move to progressively smaller pots? I think I need to put more pots on my christmas list!

Or you can be like me and buy it at William Sonoma. Seriously, now that I've mastered confit, stocks and demi glace are next on my list of things to master this winter. We're expecting a lot of snow up here this year. I'll have time.

Squares are also seen in Canada, at least here in Oakville. Especially on our party size pizzas.

Don't forget, a lot of my guests will be unadventerous, so from that standpoint you did very well. If I was entertaining only my clients the selections would be a lot different. I'll keep my choices to myself until a few more people weigh in here.

Ok, here we go. Let's plan my party menu. This party is one of two major parties we through every year. One at this time of year and one in the late spring/early summer. I will send out 75 invitations, but they are couple based, so assume 150 people. Of those, probably 76 - 80 people will attend in total. However, the invitations must be sent in order to be politically correct and not insult the wrong people . These invitations are formally written out in elegant script. We will have a bartender, an on-site chef and two or three servers depending on our final numbers. The caterers will supply all the glasses, plates, utensils etc and many decorations to complement my house which will already be fully decorated for Christmas. I have two ovens for the chef to work with and a 6 burner cooktop. The party will begin at 7:00 with cocktails and Hors D'oeuvres, with the full buffet menu to follow around 8:30 or 9:00. With the following options, keep in mind that the majority of those in attendance will be accountants who are not noted for their adventursome eating. My clients on the other hand, are funky and willing to try most anything. Of my guests, I have one who is allergic to peanuts, but not deathly so, and a few Jewish people, none of whom keep kosher, but don't eat pork. I have no vegetarians at the moment that I know of. For the Hors D'oeuvres, I need to select three or 4 of the following. These will be passed around by the waitstaff. pick 2 hot, 2 cold Cold Asiago, Proscuitto Cheese Twists Roasted Pepper with Basil Aioli Crostini mini corn bread muffins with jalepeno chicken salad Salmon, Scallop and cucumber Ceviche Brochette Trio of Pita Crisps wiht roasted pepper humus Lobster salad in Phyllo cup Hot Spring rolls mini baked potatoes with proscuitto, scallion and parmesan Beef Roulade - either teriyake or cracked black pepper Candied Almond & Brie tartlettes bacon wrapped oyster with roasted garlic aioli Smoked Mozzarella & chicken puff pastry purses For the main Hot Buffet: pick two vegetables from the following: Basmati rice with Onion green bean Almondine Lyonnaise Potatoes Rice Pilaf Whipped Sweet Potatoes Glazed carrots with honey Pick one beef dish: beef stroganoff Prime Rib Tournedos Stephanie Beef Thai Noodles Pick one Pasta dish: Manicotti Tortellini Alfredo Penne with Hot Italian Sausage and peppers Pick two Salads Mandarin Almond greens Broccoli with a sesame ginger dressing Tomato Provalone Spicy Ginger with cashews Marinated Antipasto Tabbouleh Pick two Desserts Crepes Chocolate Fondue Strudel Bars and Squares Cheese tray Fruit tray. I have a general idea of what I think I'm going to order, but I'm curious to see how many of you think the same way I do, given the information above.

I only got to eat out twice while I was there. The rest of the time it was boring conference food. I already posted about the New Yorker. In fact, I tried to talk my group into going to the Metropolitan on Wed night, but since only one of them could even be remotely considered a "foodie", it was not selling well. Instead we ended up in the wine bar at Baci, where we still had a great meal. I had a carpaccio starter, and a veal parmesan. The carppaccio was above average, but not stellar, but the veal was pretty much awesome. A round of cappucinos and several bottles of wine, we were pretty happy. I'll be back in SLC probably in about 6 months as I'm giving a course there, so when I get there, I'll definately come down and visit you