forever_young_ca

February 19, 2004

Cioppino in Yaletown and O'Doul's on Robson both have private rooms off the main dining room. They are both dining rooms that are lined with wine cabinets (locked) :shock: I don't know how many you are wanting to dine with, but both provide lovely atmospheres for a private dinner.

January 28, 2004

but we may want them to be a bit higher.

I think you also have to consider the height of the users of the upper cabinets. If you are tall you can get away with making them higher than normal. However, if anyone in the household is on the short side getting stuff from the upper cabinets is difficult if they are placed too high.

I know this from much experience!

January 27, 2004

Does enameled cast iron go in the dishwasher?

I would add my voice to Le Crueset. I have it and love it. Mine always goes in the dishwasher because I am too lazy to do it by hand :biggrin: Mine is enameled all the way around, including the bottom.

January 23, 2004

But if your pots and pans look like THIS, then you HAVE to have doors.”

Agreed - that is what mine look like as well. I would highly recomend pull out drawers rather than the conventional shelves - it saves your back, crawling around on your hands and knees and generally much annoyance and swearing... :smile:

January 20, 2004

This is looking vvvvvvvvvvery good. I just looked back at the original plan - what an improvement. I can see why you couldn't take it anymore. :biggrin:

Good luck on the remainder of the planning/work.

January 19, 2004

I had given to me as a gift and rarely use it. I love working/chopping with my knives and find them more efficient. Mine is about the size shown in the picture and I find does not have enough blade area to efficiently chop a mess of herbs.

I have seen the two gals from the River Cafe in London using one on their TV cooking show and they use it with great efficiency and speed. However, theirs is massive. I think the blade size may be important if you are doing large quantities.

Or maybe it is just me and it is a case of practice makes perfect. :shock:

January 19, 2004

Somewhere upthread, Varmint said that there was a breaker box in that wall, and it's load-bearing, as well.

Oops, must have missed that. I am enjoying this thread - it lets me live vicariously as I would love to redo my kitchen! :smile:

January 19, 2004

Oops, just realized you probably want/need that wall to put upper cabinets on.

The amount of counter space in wonderful indeed. In my experience, you can never have too much counter space! It always gets used for large events :biggrin:

January 19, 2004

Is there any way the wall can come down in between the peninsula DW and the L shape counter to open up that space?

January 19, 2004

Tell me please about your built in griddle.

I don't have a GE monogram, but my JennAir has a Teflon griddle. I think I make the best pancakes ever on it - buttermilk, b.powder, b.soda, etc. The Teflon gives a beautiful golden finish that is not greasy and the pancakes turn out extremely light and airy.

January 17, 2004

Wading in with my 2 cents for what it is worth. Not ever having seen your kitchen except through the photos, this comment may not be worth 2 cents but here it is - I agree with Boris - taking out that wall would give you a better counter top flow. If taking down the wall is possible, do you then need the jutted out peninsula, or does it become a cumbersome thing to have to walk around to get to the sink/clean up area? Just a thought.........

January 17, 2004

Spurred on by this thread and by Chad's knife sharpening tutorial I have ordered my very own knife sharpening system - the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204.

It arrived yesterday and all my knives in the house are now sharper than when they came from the factory! At last count I even had all 10 fingers left :biggrin:

I love sharp knives, but have always relied on a professional to sharpen them (we are blessed with a local knife maker who knows how to do it properly). I am proud to say that mine are now just as good. I got the system at New Graham Knives - their price was great and their service was wonderful.

A big thank you to Chad for all his info on his tutorial. The Spyderco is great for me to use as a first time effort - easy to learn and easy to set up.

Tommorow I will move on to sharpening scissors, vegetable peelers, and anything else I can find in the house. No one better get in my way, I am now a sharpening maniac :laugh:

January 16, 2004

January 14, 2004

I am addicted to Golden Olive Eleni, an organic EVOO from Greece. I buy it locally in Vancouver, but it is available I think on this web site http://www.basiloliveoil.com.

It is not my "cooking" olive oil, but used for salads, drizzling, etc.

In 2002 it won the silver medal at the LA County Fair and in 2003 the Gold Medal. I don't know if this is a big deal fair or not, but the EVOO is wonderful. I think I read a few months ago that West is using it as well now.

January 12, 2004

I made the Prosciuotto and Goat Cheese Strata from Dec 2003 Bon Appetit for Boxing Morning breakfast. It was delicious and got rave reviews. The recipe can be found here http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?...akfast&x=14&y=5

Although it may contain "exotic" ingredients for your crowd, it comes out of the oven looking and smelling fantastic. Once they try it, they will be hooked. It tastes like a sophisticated bacon/egg/bread pudding.

I think I made it the same as the recipe, except I did not add any extra salt as there is alot of salt in the ingredients.

January 10, 2004

I love the good grips - I think it is called the "Y" peeler.

January 9, 2004

Can I live with a non-self cleaning oven? I don't think so

I think you would regret not having a self cleaning oven - unless you LOVE cleaning :wacko: I wouldn't even consider it an option.

December 27, 2003

Grandma McCracken's Carrot Pudding

Betts - I just thought that I would let you know that I made Carrot Pudding for Christmas dessert. I actually found my mother's old receipe, which was remarkably like yours (mine originated on the Canadian prairies). It brought back wonderful memories of childhood Christmas's for my mother, myself and my husband.

Thank you for reviving this receipe. :smile:

December 24, 2003

If there is nothing else on the table, I would come just for the bread and the cheese :biggrin:

Great blog, keep up the good work and the pictures - I love them as it brings life to the words.

Merry Christmas to all

December 18, 2003

I never mind sharing a recipe - even if it one that I have "created" I will give out the approximate instructions, with the caveat that is is approximate.

The way I see it is it is a compliment to get asked for a recipe. Yes, it is true that many times people never make the dish - so what. I do love it when people enjoy good food (especially mine :biggrin: ). I think that if I can pass on a wonderful recipe to others that will bring joy in their life at a later date when they make it for their family or friends, then that is a good thing.

To me one of the positive things about cooking and eating is sharing with others. :smile:

December 17, 2003

Thanks so much Betts, I really appreciate this receipe. :smile:

December 17, 2003

Carrot Pudding - a steamed carrot/ potato/ raisin and spice dish served with rum sauce.

Does this have to be made weeks ahead? If it does not, would you please post the recipe. This is the Christmas dessert that we always had as children. I am making Christmas dinner for my 83 year old mother this year and would love to surprise her with this dessert.

December 16, 2003

For what it's worth, I HATE cream of wheat, but love grits....

Thanks for the explanation on grits. I hated c-of-w as a child, but love it as an adult, so I am sure that I would love the real thing. :smile:

I will keep an eye out in a Vancouver specialty store and see if I can buy some.

December 15, 2003

I am glad that this topic has surfaced, as it is something I have wondered about.

As a Canadian, we do not eat grits. However, I have wondered - are they similar to "Cream of Wheat" cereal in taste, texture. Please do not laugh or throw stones, this is an honest, if ignorant, question. . :blush:

December 14, 2003

Here is my mother-in-law's recipe for crisp and super easy roll out cookies. A nice tip...using powdered sugar instead of flour to roll them out in... better flavor.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (don’t substitute) at room temp.
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Colored sugars for the top

Thanks for this recipe. I made it today. As I was craving lemon, I substituted for the milk, the juice and finely chopped peel (mircroplaned) of one lemon. I cut them out as angels and stars and sprinkled with coloured sugar. A great Christmas cookie! :smile:

There are actually a few left to feed to next weeks company :blush:

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