Panaderia Canadiense

Sweet jeebus, that's a cholesterol sandwich right there. I had a hot cross bun for brekkie over here....

I've been asked to create a white chocolate wedding cake for a friend, whose wedding is in September (the 22nd, to be precise). All well and good, but I haven't got a go-to recipe for such a creature, and I tend to avoid white chocolate (I find myself thinking it's unnatural, like zombies....) I have access to white chocolate couberture made from Arriba cacao beans, and it's all cocoa butter with no vegetable additions (so, as far as white chocolate goes, it's good stuff). Does anybody out there have a really stupendous recipe they'd be willing to share? Or tips on how to incorporate melted white chocolate into a cake batter? Thanks in advance....

OK, I think I grasp that what you're looking for is a poured-batter griddlecake - my misunderstanding! This is my go-to; provided that you use fine-ground cornmeal, there's no gritty texture to be had. I often add dry herbs to them when making the savoury variation (oregano, basil, sage). .75 C fine-ground cornmeal (white or yellow, your choice) 1.5 C thin sour yogurt (or cut .75 C thick yogurt with .75 C milk) a pinch of salt (to taste; one figures this out as one goes along) 1 C flour (I use .5 white and .5 quinua) .5 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 2 eggs 4 tbsp oil -- 1. Soak the cornmeal in the yogurt for at least 30 minutes. 2. Beat in the eggs (whole) and oil 3. Sift in the flour and soda and beat until just combined. 4. Drop by tablespoons full onto a hot griddle; turn when the bubbles on top cease to fill in. These can be made sweet by the use of vanilla yogurt in place of sour, and the addition of 5 tbsp of panela or raw sugar to the cornmeal at the soaking stage. Edited to fix leavening proportions.

In that case you'll have to soak them for quite a bit more time to elimiate the gritty texture....

I've always, even when I lived in Canada, called these things Arepas - in my family, Flapjacks are whole-wheat pancakes the size of the griddle, and Johnnycakes are made of corn but they're baked in molds, so they're actually little loaves (I have recipes for these as well if you're interested.) As far as I'm concerned, Arepas are eat 'em whenever you've got a craving food, so they're what's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; they're always savoury. In terms of your first go, how long did you let your cornmeal soften, and do you know if it was a precooked variety? Non-precooked cornmeal, no matter what the grind, is always going to have that slightly gritty feel unless you're soaking it overnight. Precooked meals, on the other hand, rehydrate fairly quickly. You're in NYC, which means you've got a wide range of Latin groceries available to you: look for yellow or white cormeal labeled as "masarepa" and you'll be just fine. 1 C Masarepa 1 C Warm milk (or water; milk is better) 1 Tsp Butter pinch of salt 1 Egg About 1/4 lb queso fresco, ricotta, or drained cottage cheese, crumbled. * optional * some finely chopped green onions. -- 1. Put the masarepa in a bowl, and slowly, stirring often, add the warm milk. Once it's completely blended, add the butter and salt. Knead until you've got a soft dough. You can't overwork the masa, so don't worry about that. 2. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes (this softens the cornmeal and makes for a better adhesion of the dough; I sometimes leave it as long as 30 minutes.) 3. Add the egg and cheese and knead until well combined. The dough should be soft, but stiff enough to form into shapes. 4. Arepas can be stuffed; traditional fillings include soft cheese (like mozza), chunks of chorizo, ground spiced pork, and flakes of chicken. However, if you're just here for simplicity's sake, they can also be fried without filling them and topped later. In Ecuador, most Arepas are about the size of your palm, and about 1/2 inch thick. Cook these on a lightly oiled griddle of some sort (very traditionally, a hot unglazed clay tablet). You can also fry them in shallow oil until the masa crisps up and turns an appealing golden colour.

But, but... Some of us violate that rule every single morning..... I am afraid you have been eating breakfauxt . Fair enough, but breakfast the way you eat it would be the end of me, quite literally.

David, this is where the ceviche techniques are going to come into play. I'd do a lime and hot pepper 24-36 hour cure on them, then smoke over something quite strong, hickory maybe, for another 5-6 hours. Scallops done this way are amazing all on their lonesomes, or pan-seared to heat 'em up, with butter sauteed asparagus....

Caramelized paiteña onions (they're sweet and red-skinned) with good, bitter marmalade on a toasted bagel. Sooo yummmm.

But, but... Some of us violate that rule every single morning.....

LOL, deensie, my Mom looked over my shoulder and said something to the effect of "OMG, that cookie is covered in ants! What gives?" I snorted OJ all over the keyboard....

Yup, unhulled sesame is black. I used it on the breaded chocolate bar a couple pages back.

Candied mandarin supremes. And I'm not sure if they're available in NorAm, but down here I can buy chocolate rice crisp cereal. If you made that into rice crisp squares using chocolate marshmallow (yes, we have that too), then dipped them in dark, that would be just about heaven.

Personally, I think you'll be fine so long as you don't exceed one month of fridge life for those pickles. But here's a question for you - did you poke any holes in your okra before putting it in the brine? The floating problem comes from air trapped in the veggie - so if you poke them a couple of times with a knife or sharp fork, you should be able to get them to sink.... Incidentally, canning pickles is probably the easiest possible place to start, since (so long as you don't start with garlic or onions) it's nearly foolproof, and the hot-canning process actually does a lot by way of preventing toxins from ever starting.

OMG, must have fishy cat, ooops, and Ola Liola fridge decal magnets. Gnnnnn.... Andie, you're totally evil, you know that? I'm totally going to my local printery to have something similar made up so that shipping doesn't kill me.....

Thank you nikki. It was so delicious that I was sad I only had enough blossom to make that much - I could easily have cooked up the other half-pound of mangrove shrimp and just kept eating.... Would you like the recipe? ETA - also, Mmmm, I'm positively puce with envy over your morels and truffles.... The season down here is so breif as to be nonexistant.

Agree with the chilling, and I'll add that the very fine definition in the colours comes from using very well-chilled dough when you twist them up - that way you get adhesion without mixing the colours too much. Although I do like yours better - there's something sort of unreal about the well-defined ones....

I actually agree with this, oddly enough. Then again, I build/am building/have built my knife collection one blade at a time as I come across knives that I like or need. I'm also a major proponent of 45 cent throwaway paring knives....

I'm strictly a hand-washer; a tub of Lava or Axxion (diswashing creme soap) lasts me about 2 months (so, let's say 120 loads give or take, since I generally do dishes twice a day) and costs $1.25. That leaves me with a CPL of about $0.0104. I'm happy with that.

I wouldn't do that here. There's too much free-floating volcanic ash in the air - the doors are a necessary evil to keep it off of the stuff in the cupboards and hence off of the food, and I'm not crazy about washing and drying stuff that should already be clean before I use it. I swept my floor yesterday and picked up about 1/4" of black grit that wasn't immediately visible. Yay, volcano.

Curried banana blossom with mangrove shrimp; turmeric quinua/rice mix with mishrooms on the side.

I see what you're saying, but I can't make mac and cheese without using Velveeta. It makes it SO creamy and good. And, I do love some Cheez Whiz on a philly steak sandwich..... I'm from Kansas. Don't mock me. No worries - I'm showing my bias as well. I think I was probably 5 or 6 years old before I realized that all cheese wasn't white - I recall balking at a grilled cheese sandwich at a friend's house because "cheese isn't orange! Are you sure that's safe to eat?" Besides which, I don't have to understand it - other people clearly like Cheez Whiz and Velveeta, but that doesn't mean I have to.....

Cheez Whiz and Velveeta are another pair of things that people buy and I don't understand. Especially when there's real cheese available.

I know, I know - and I've actually grown to like the glass, because it means I don't have to remember what's where. Besides which, with the way my business has picked up this year, I haven't had a spare weekend in several months (not complaining!) However, my auntie, who is a world-reknowned stained glass artist, is coming down in October. I think I'll talk to her about helping me design some panels for both that aparador and the one the dishes are in - that would be both a fun family project and a good solution.

It's sold here, too (at 3,000 meters above sea level) and I can only assume it's been adjusted for the altitude, although the same exact brand is also sold at sea level.

I was unable to find one without the glass doors - I'd have preferred a true hutch with solid wooden doors like the ones on the bottom half, but it was not to be. I'm adapting to 'em, and really, my guests know that I'm a working baker and forgive the visual clutter in there.