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Marlene

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Posts posted by Marlene

    Breville "smart oven"

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Another quirk I discovered today is that it assumes you will not be cooking anything for more than 2 hours - reasonable except when you love slow braises! It is a safety feature but a damned nuisance for us slow cooking fans.

    Yes that's a bit of a drawback.

    Slowwwwwwwwwww Roast Beef

    in Cooking

    Posted

    How big is your roast? When I do this, I roast at 200 convection. I do not sear it first. An 8-9 lb roast should take about 4.5 hours. Smaller roast, say 5 lbs, should take a little over 3 and a half. But do use a meat thermometer and roast to temp. I take mine out when the thermometer hits 135 (for rare) and let it sit for 25 minutes or so while I do the yorkies.

    The Professional Chef: The App

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    I didn't say it wasn't worth it, (in fact, I bought it) and I do know something about what goes into an electronic version, but I was still surprised at the price. The article does say it is the most expensive app in the store. I used to lug my hard copy to the cottage with me, and now I won't have to!

    Dining in Las Vegas: Part 2

    in Southwest & Western States: Dining

    Posted

    Just keep in mind that those of you coming for NYE and even NYW in Las Vegas are going to see the city at it's most frantic week of the year.

    Lines for all the buffets, lines to get a cab (remember, beyond all logic, it's illegal to hail a cab in Las Vegas. One must use the taxi stand at resorts, or have one dispatched to you), Red Rock will be crawling with visitors. I'd start reserving tables now for the better restaurants.

    All the whales are in town -- and the casino workers are all doing everything possible to make the whales happy.

    yeah it will be insane. We've got our restaurants booked through the 31st and then we'll see about the Monday Tuesday. It will be a lot quieter on those two days. They do shut down the strip to cars on NYE, but i can't remember what time and I believe the hotels lock their doors at 11:30 and don't open them again until 12:30 so if you want to be in your hotel, make sure you do so before 11:30. I'd forgotten about the law regarding hailing cabs.

    As often as we've been to Vegas, we've never done NYE so it should be interesting. I'm thinking champagne in our room at midnight watching the fireworks is going to work well for me. :cool:

    Dining in Las Vegas: Part 2

    in Southwest & Western States: Dining

    Posted

    In terms of the Venetian, you cannot go wrong with Delmonicos for a nice dinner for two. Bouchon is there as well, I think. Wynn Las Vegas has the best buffet in town. I don't think I can help with the rest of it.

    We are just in the middle of planning our restaurants for Vegas, when we'll be there for 6 days over New Year's Eve.

    Using Your Self-Cleaning Oven

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I have a Viking dual fuel here and before that I had a dacor range and wall oven. At the cottage I have a double oven kitchenaid range. I use the self clean feature on each of them, on a regular basis. It can get smokey depending on how much gunk is in the oven itself, but I turn on the overhead fan and open a window. Never had a problem with any of them.

    Breville "smart oven"

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Because I'm almost always cooking for just myself, this has been a great purchase. I think I've only turned my big oven on once since I got the Breville, which means the kitchen is cooler, the oven heats up faster, and (I imagine) I'm saving electricity.

    I've been using mine a lot since we moved. It functions very well as a second oven for hors d'oeuvres, and other things. I love how that a quarter sheet pan fits in it too.

    I have been following this discussion with interest. I currently have the Cuisinart Brick Oven and I can get 1/4 sheet pans in it too. When it finally bites the dust, I will be looking at the Breville as a replacement. Being able to use 1/4 sheet pans has now become something I am not prepared to sacrifice!

    You will love it. I am the same way now about being able to use 1/4 sheet pans. I have the brick oven at the cottage and yes it does too. I do like the Breville much better though

    Breville "smart oven"

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    Because I'm almost always cooking for just myself, this has been a great purchase. I think I've only turned my big oven on once since I got the Breville, which means the kitchen is cooler, the oven heats up faster, and (I imagine) I'm saving electricity.

    I've been using mine a lot since we moved. It functions very well as a second oven for hors d'oeuvres, and other things. I love how that a quarter sheet pan fits in it too.

    The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 1)

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    .....

    Lunch was not one of our triumphs - but for our fans we decided we couldn't do Vietnamese yet again. I've already forgotten the name of the place - perhaps Anna will chime in on that one. It was Columbian.

    .....

    Kerry and I agreed that we would not attempt to review the restaurants where we lunch but this time I have to say that this was the worst meal and the worst dining experience so far. The name of the place I swore I would never forget but the mind is a funny thing and it's already been obliterated from my gray matter. Any flavour that any of the meats might have started out with was cooked out of existence - perhaps a few days ago! Ah well - we laughed anyway. If you want to try new places you had better be prepared to occasionally leave very hungry.

    Edited to fix formatting and to add: We dined alone! And it was the lunch hour!

    How I miss you guys and the ability to lunch with you. Lunch might have been a bust, but you scored a pressure cooker. Something I'm still scared of! Let me know how you make out with it~

    You Call This Service?

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted

    I noticed the downward trend in service in Toronto before I left, even at places we frequented often. However, I would like to say, we've experienced the exact opposite in Calgary. Every restaurant we've been to so far, the service has been outstanding. Friendly, knowledgable, efficient, yet not over the top. It may be that it is part of what we have experienced in terms of Calgary being one of the friendliest cities we've ever been too, or it may be that in most cases, when we've spoken to wait staff, we're getting an overwhelming chorus of how management involves the whole team in the process of putting together the menus, discussing service etc. I don't know. But I do know that so far in Calgary, service has exceeded my expectations, even when the food has not.

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