forever_young_ca

A large tart or individual tartes using Pierre Herme's lemon custard. This stuff is addictive and sets up beautifully. I put a thin layer of whipped cream on top. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

I can't answer this as I have never had any left over to freeze! I would urge you to use fresh fruit if available. Strawberries are still available where I live, and I think it makes the ice cream very fresh tasting. Let me know how you like it.

I made this ice cream - fresh strawberry - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105139 this weekend This is one of the best basic recipes I have ever used for IC. I started using it a couple of summers ago after Mayhaw Man (I think) did his blog and raved about this ice cream. It is very creamy without being eggy. I made it all the night before, let the strawberry custard sit in the fridge to get really cold, and churned in the icecream maker while we were cleaning up after the main course. Took about 20 minutes. Servied with decedent chocolate brownies I am going to start experimenting with substituting other fresh fruits for the strawberries - raspberries, blackberries, etc. Highly recommended.

Congratulations on the new house. This is an exciting time for you and your husband I am sure. I am with the others that find bar stools uncomfortable. They are fine for a snack or a short meal. However, if this table is for leisurely sitting or longish meals invest in some proper chairs. As someone who loves to cook and entertain and also suffers from a bad back I can attest to how important comfortable seating is if you want to sit for any length of time. Also, if this is a kitchen table, make sure it is able to withstand the rough and tumble of every day living. I am with Fat Guy - look for an old farm house type of table. These tables are wonderful to work with because of their size, - great for buffets, great to work on and pile platters of finished food on, and have a very comfortable ambience about them inviting good consersation around the dinner table. They fit very well into a kitchen setting generally. Also their aged patina is such that extra nicks and scratches add to the character of the table. A new table that you have spent alot of money on will not have the same usability as you will be concerned about getting scratches in it. Just my 2 cents. Have fun with your new plans.

I have been asked by friends in England to give suggestions for three top restaurant dinners for friends of theirs who will be in Vancouver for three days on their way to an Alaskan cruise. These people are very well traveled and food saavy. I don't think the price of the meal is a consideration. What they want is world class food and wine. The first two restauarants that come to mind are obviously West and Lumiere I was also thinking of C if the weather is nice and they can get a seat ouside. The view is wonderful. I have not eaten at Chambar - would it make the list? Also I have recently enjoyed a wonderful meal at Cioppiono in Yaletown. I don't know if it would be "world class", but it was darn fine! Any other suggestions?

"Slaps hand on forhead - duh" I never thought about snipping after they have risen. Of couse! Thanks, can hardly wait to try again!

Thanks for all the kind words. With regards to the epis - I read the tutorial on the King Aurthur website, but obviously did something wrong. Will try all of WhiteTruffleGirl's suggestions for next time. I do like the shapes and they were fun to make. I also think that perhaps I didn't make my cuts close together enough, so when they rose they were too "fat". I should have taken a picture before they rose - if memory serves me right they were about the size I wanted as the end product. When you cut yours Seth, how far apart were the "snips"?

Looking forward to the blog. May I ask you where you live?

I made the mixed starter bread from BWJ this weekend. Even though it was done over two days, the actual time involved in the process was fairly minimal. It is a good bread to do if you are going to be hanging around the house. Here are some picures. This one of the completed baguettes. The acutal shaping was fairly easy to do. The instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Overall I was very pleased with my first effort. I don't know what caused the bump at one end, but assume that it was due to my not getting the dough quite even along the length of the roll. Here is a picture of the structure of the bread. I had a mixture of size of holes. Not perfect, but for my first effort at this type of bread I was happy. Practice makes perfect I am telling myself Regardless of the hole structure the taste of the bread was out of this world. So different from the stuff that they try to pass off as bread in the grocery store! Here is a picture of the epi's that I tried to form. I wasn't going to post this image, as they did not turn out. However, in the interest of full disclosure here goes....They were easy to cut and form, but I cut them too far apart so they ended up too "fat". Maybe my other problem is I didn't separate them enough. Any ideas how I could improve this? Oh well, they will taste great regardless. Tonight's dinner is Salade Niscoise to go with the bread, and cheese to follow. Yum! Comments from experienced bread bakers would be appreciated. I would love to learn how I can improve.

Thanks Dorie.........It ended up sitting for 6 hours, not 4 (we went out for the evening and came back later than expected), so I hope all is well tomorrow.

Spurred on by others - I decided that this weekend I would make mixed starter bread from BWJ. Everything has gone along perfectly up until now. I have just mixed the second stage starter and am letting it rise for 4 hours, prior to the 8 hour chill in the fridge. My question is - Before I put it in the fridge do I deflate the dough, or do I leave it in the bowl fully risen? An answer within the next four hours would be fabulous.

I think this would work. The cream is quite stiff so it cuts beautifully in a tart form. It should be stiff enough for a lemon square. I have never frozen the lemon cream, but looking at the ingredients I don't see why it wouldn't work. Try it!

I made PH's lemon cream this weekend. It tastes like a bit of ambrosia to me! All other lemon cream receipes will be put on the back shelf and this one will be a standby. Very creamy, rich and tart all at the same time! I had no problem getting the mixture to 180 degrees. I don't own a double boiler, so rigged up a system with a smallish stainless steel saucepan inside a larger one. The small top pan did not touch the boiling water. What did surprise me though, was how quickly it cooled to 140 degrees - the temp at which you add the butter. I made a tart with some of it and spread freshly whipped cream over the top (just to add a few more calories ). I ate some straight out of the bowl as I could not seem to stop myself, and mixed the last bit with fresh BC strawberries in a ramekin and the leftover whipped cream on top of that. Fabulous!!!!!!!!

It is very easy to can tuna at home. Living on the westcoast of Canada I have bought fresh tuna (and salmon) off the boat and canned my own. Simply pack the fish in the jar, add salt and seal with a pressure canner for the prescribed time and at the correct pressure. The result is amazing. The fish cooks in its own juice and has nothing added to it. I must caution anyone trying this to make sure that it is done in a pressure canner for the correct amount of time. Underprocessed canned fish can be deadly. In my experierience in France eating dozens of SN's over the years they have always featured canned tuna, not fresh. Fresh is a recent North American touch. If you are buying canned tuna make sure you get a good quality packed in oil. Do not buy the insipid packed in water kind. - it does not have any flavour.

Looking forward to this. I lived in Edmonton for 16 years- 1974 - 1990 - so it will be interesting to see how things have changed! Thanks for doing this.

I don't know if Naramata is in your geographical region or not. However on the May long weekend we spent a few days staying and eating at the Naramata Inn. The dining room serves a wonderful 6 course tasting menu. Great ambience too!

I also tried the chocolate sparklers. I loved the flavour, but had a great deal of difficulty keeping them in a log shape - they were very crumbly. I refrigerated them overnight, and when I sliced them then crumbled very easily - not nice a even like Patrick's. I was concerned about overmixing as per the instructions, so perhaps I did not mix enough? Will make them again if I can figure out what I did wrong, as I liked the flavours.

How stable is the foam - is it a "do it ahead" or last minute item?

I have several pieces and love them all. It does not have to be overpriced if you wait for sales. I bought many of my pieces on Ebay at a deep discount.

I must confess ignorance on this topic. I didn't know that people actually BOUGHT rhubarb. I have always had my own prolific plant in the back garden or friends who were more than ready to give the excess away for free from their plants. Having just finished eating my second rhubarb pie of the season I must say it is a wonderful treat! There is nothing like spring rhubarb when it is at its peak of sweetness.

Absolutely beautiful Varmit. I am sure you will have many happy family memories made in this new room Questions: 1) How did you manage to join the marble slab to the granite so there is no seam for debris to collect - did you just use the grout form the granite against the marble? 2) I remember early in the thread when you were making your choice of contractor - you chose the young, hungry contractor vs the more experienced busier one. Was this untilmately a good choice and have you been happy with this decision? 3) I know the specs are somewhere upthread, but are both your ovens 36" wide? They look gorgeous! GE Monogram convection or what make? Thanks for your time.

Mathew - a quick question please - I too have been trying to make a very thin ravioli. How did you manage to cook the pasta so that it didn't fall apart while being so thin?

The kitchen looks wonderful - an unbelievable transformation. You must be thrilled A question regarding the granite tiles. I would love to replace my outdated arborite but have decided the house does not warrent the expense of granite. since we may move in a couple of years. Can I ask you the price of the grantite tiles? I am assuming that they are considerably cheaper than slab grantie and something I could do as a DIY project (I have done lots of tiling). Thanks

I have a fish hater in the family. Absolutely no fish need apply - with one exception. The fish hater has now declared that she loves halibut and that it does not have a "fishy" taste or smell. I don't know where you live, but on the West Coast it is now halibut season. There is nothing like fresh halibut - frozen need not apply. I would suggest that you try halibut if you can get it fresh. There is simply nothing like it for delicacy and wonderful flavour.

Thanks Paula for the info and the kind words. I know you have a very busy schedule and I appreciate the time you take to answer questions. Next time I will reduce the sauce more and make Moroccon bread to accompany. - I happen to love couscous so much it is hard for me not to make it I don't think I would bother trying to brown the skin. I would be afraid that I would dry out the exposed flesh of the chicken that is not covered with skin. Also, I don't think that this is a dish that crispy skin "goes" with. Today's task is to replenish my stock of preserved lemons. The jar is getting dangerously close to empty!