Panaderia Canadiense

Mom came up behind me while I was reading this and reminded me that my uncle used to fill our freezer with moose when I was younger. She swears by marinating it in beer (preferably ale), garlic, and onions for a couple of days and then searing and stewing.

This year it's Nanaimo bars in 6-flavour packs, black fruitcakes (they're in huge demand right now!), maple-walnut shortbreads, and butter tarts.

Annabelle - I generally eat freshly-prepared foods (and I'm totally with you on pasta - I work in a bakery and then come home and live in my kitchen. If I made pasta too I'd never see the outside of the kitchen or get much sleep!) And on the no-no list the only things are those that I or my family are actually allergic to. In any other respect, bring on the butter-drenched shellfish - I'm going to die anyhow, so I might as well enjoy myself while I'm here.

Honestly, I eat so little canned food.... I'm with Annabelle, it's not something I worry about.

They're great for soups, and if they're broad enough they make great leaf-rolls (think cabbage or vine leaf type things).

Norm, I'm totally stealing that woven bacon barding for my next meatloaf. Looks delicious!

All those who have chimed in have children and are trying to balance. I'd like to chime in as a single who has chosen not to have children yet precisely because of the schedule imposed on bakers and chefs by their jobs - as the child of another baker and a chef, I know what it's like and I would have liked to have a lot more time with my folks than I ever got. One of the biggest lessons that I learned from my (very loving!) parents was that it's nearly impossible to balance, but that hard work will get you very far in this world. As a result of my choice, I currently have very little home/personal life and almost 100% bakery life.

I celebrated Thanksgiving with the rest of the Canadians back in October, so dinner last night was just simple chicken fingers.

I'd cut the butter in half - 1 stick (1 cup) is an awful lot for that volume of flour and buttermilk.

What variety are they? Where from?

For my 2 cents, an older edition of The Joy of Cooking. It has lots of detractors these days, but the recipes are thoughtfully laid out, well explained, and there are sections covering all of the basic and moderate techniques in the kitchen. http://www.amazon.com/JOY-OF-COOKING-Irma-Rombauer/dp/0026045702

Patric, thanks! I've always wondered what a Silkie looks like plucked. How was the flavour?

I have a tree in my front yard, Judiu! Lemon-dark is on the list of flavours to try, as is coffee and cocoa nib, cashew (did I mention I can get cashew butter?!?), and probably cherry-amaretto. EDIT - and PM me if you want the recipe and method I use for these things. They're dead easy to make and I'd wager you've got most if not all of the ingredients hanging about in the pantry.

Do you have a fondue pot? I'd try just simple reheating of the ganache in that, but if it's very solid you might have to add more cream to it (I wouldn't go butter - that has, in my experience, a tendency to crack the ganache).

Nanaimo bars - playing around with new flavours. Clockwise from top left: Peanut Butter, Mint, Orange, White Chocolate. Mint and Peanut were "classic" flavours in Alberta when I was growing up; the other two are me playing around. The Orange ones are quite frankly fantastic.

I served a lovely Lambrusco Rosso this year (but then again, I had Thanksgiving back in October). Last year was, if I recall correctly, a plum wine of about 10 years age.

Well, there's never any harm in asking - at worst you'll be gently let down, and at best you'll gain a grannie. (I'm in my 30's - I started asking early!)

Annabelle - you can always try adopting one! Many Jewish grannies lament having nobody to share their lore with and will happily let you help out in the kitchen to make sure their traditions and recipes survive, even if it is with a goy… (I neglected to mention Bubbeh Rachel, who taught me everything I know about Kosher cooking; her knishes are legendary.)

I recently lost my last pair of grandparents (Grampa Mac in February and Gramma Ruth in March - they loved each other so much that she wasn't more than 2 weeks behind him), so like Shelby this thread is making me tear up a little... On my father's side, I had extremely Scottish grandparents. From my Gran Kat (after whom I am named), who would only let her granddaughters in the kitchen while she was cooking (lucky me - I was the only one she had!) I have Scones, Oatcakes, Honey Cakes, Black Fruitcakes, and my favourite method for macaroni and cheese casserole. Although I paid very close attention I will never be able to roast meats the way she did: she was an absolute master and even 20 years on I'm still trying to get my lamb to turn out the way hers did. Gran was kind of heck on veggies, though - she put everything except perhaps neeps a mashie - through the blander, because apparently it wasn't veg until it was an unidentifiable greenish moosh. I used to have bets with my (all male) cousins at holiday dinners about what that green goop was when it started - brussel sprouts? broccoli? beans? and since they never caught on that I was allowed in the kitchen, I always won the best prizes out of the Christmas crackers my uncle made. I also have, when I want to use it, Gran's broad Glaswegian accent. From Gramp Rollie, I have a taste for finer Scotches and the conviction that a shot a day will keep the doctor away (it does, and it did for him - he was well on into his 80s when he passed, and peacefully). I've also got his methods for yeasted cakes, which was about the only thing he was permitted to do in the kitchen besides heavy lifting. On my mother's side, I had third-generation Scottish grandparents. From Gramma Ruth (after whom I am thankfully not named), I have recipes for waffles, pancakes, and all manner of quick breads. Gramma Ruth was not a salt chef at all, and I remember in particular spam fritters that even the dog wouldn't eat. Grampa Mac was the better cook. From my great aunts and Gramma's cookbooks from her own mother and grandmother, I have everything I ever needed to know about yeast breads. The honey whole wheat loaves that I bake are from my recently departed Great Aunt Rosalind, Ruth's sister. From my Grampa Mac, who apparently started feeding me butter tarts before I had teeth to chew the raisins, I have a raging sweet tooth, the conviction that even stale bread is edible if I have a full bowl of maple syrup to dip it into. I have and frequently exercise his recipes for butter tarts (what else!?!), taffy, fudge, caramels, and other assorted sweets. I also have the tried and true methods for grilling elk, moose, and bear, and my favourite methods for cast-iron cooking. Grampa also gave me a spirit of adventurousness in the kitchen - he'd often open up the icebox and pull out random stuff and then we'd have a day of turning it into dinner. He taught me that anything is possible as long as you have salt, pepper, and parsley in the pantry. From all four of these, I got the Calvinist work ethic. In the kitchen, it means I'm stubbornly hardworking past the point of most folks' endurance because I'd prefer to fall into bed honestly exhausted than simply tired from a day's work. On my stepdad's side, I had a Polish Gypsy oma, who was his great-aunt. From Oma Salome, I learned about pickling, preserves, black breads, overnight breads, and that no breakfast is complete without kielbasa (something I now sorely miss in Ecuador). She also taught me that kohlrabi is best raw with a little dish of salt, and that if you can find sweet red onions, they're just as good for eating out of hand as apples are. I'm convinced that Oma Salome only passed away because the doctors told her she had to stop doing this. EDIT - And because my family's definition of "family" has always been very broad, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Grandma Wendy in Northern Alberta, who adopted me into her northern Cree band and taught me that bannock is best when fried in about 2 feet of pig drippings, and that wild strawberries or blueberries are always, always worth the effort, before booting me out of the kitchen to go play with the boys; here in Ecuador Grandma Fidelina, who has taught me so much about Ecuadorian cooking and customs and who still smacks my hand with a wooden spoon if I reach for the quimbolitos before they're fully cooked; Grandma Dorila, who taught me that anything I catch in the river can handily be cooked in heliconia leaves as long as I can find garlic or garlic vines; and Grandma Blanca, who showed me that fresh-milled corn is so much better, even if my arms feel like they're going to fall off when it comes time to make the humitas.

Judiu, we recently had a cook-off that dealt with exactly that!

you have dull long-tined forks?

That's how it works in my conventional gas oven…. No reason to think it wouldn't also work in the BV the same way.

Brief pre-note: you can do all of what I'm about to suggest in the Breville. If you're trying to eliminate wateriness, the nuker is not the way to go. However, in even a small oven you can reduce wateriness by just stabbing the squash halves/quarters all over with a long-tined fork. This allows moisture to evaporate out of the squash more quickly and gets you a nice, firm flesh without too much mushiness. This method might work in the microwave as well, but I've always preferred to long-cook squashes because it contributes to better flavour. 1) Butter with brown sugar and star anise, especially with Acorn squashes. Maple syrup and cinnamon, with Hubbards and Butternuts. I also really like stuffing gold squashes with minced up meats and cheese, and curried fillings work well too. 2) See above. The microwave might make the process faster, but texturally it's not your friend.

I've had good luck just taking the immersion blender to it.

For daily use I buy Familia Sancela small and normal napkins, which are similar in consistency to the Viva napkins you mention but are more durable, softer, and more absorbent. They double as tissues. For the finely set table, I have linens. The secret to getting grease out of 'em is gran's lye soap.