Ling

Birthday Dinner #1 at Nu Cocktails at Nu...graciously offered by Edwin: Cockspur Barbados Amber rum, crabapple reduction, crushed allspice, cinnamon, fresh lemon and lime Then I moved onto the Joie Gewurtz/Muscat and then the Blue Mountain Gamay. (I forgot to take pictures of the fried oysters...sorry. The alcohol might have had something to do with that.) Liquid cheese-filled crackers and bacon: Roast marrow with apple and mint salad: Duck confit with foie gras pull-apart: Crispy braised pork belly, pears, walnuts, cider vinegar Dungeness crab gratin (another very nice surprise from Edwin) Lamb collar, radishes, mint Ended dinner with complimentary lemon tarts and chocolate mousse with glasses of port Unfortunately, I ate my dessert before I remembered to take a picture! I remember the lemon curd to be a nice, lighter way to end a meal.

Considered this, too, when thinking about a kaffir lime, coconut, pineapple trio. But I wondered if it wouldn't prevent the cream from setting. ← Yes, I was also worried that the acidity wouldn't work...hmmm, maybe a plain vanilla creme brulee topped with chunks of grilled pineapple?

I had Thanksgiving dinner last night. I love pouring ladles of turkey gravy all over the Chinese sticky rice. All that turkey, plus almost a whole bottle of Rosemont Chardonnay to myself--I was so out of it, I couldn't even follow the Adam Sandler movie I watched at my friend's house afterwards.

Yeah, sweet corn is a good idea for the 3rd brulee. And you can serve the dessert with a churro!

I'm afraid I'm pretty boring and pedestrian when it comes to creme brulee flavours. I generally prefer plain ol' vanilla to anything. I don't like the herb-infused creme brulees either, like basil, rosemary, etc. Here are some ideas, but I admit they're not very creative: -amaretto, Grand Marnier, dark rum -caramelized banana, dark chocolate, dark rum -toasted coconut, macadamia (would this be good? maybe the bits of nuts would ruin the creamy mouthfeel?), pineapple -ginger, cardamom, cinnamon -pear, vanilla with a reduced port sauce, blue cheese

^OMG. I love you.

That looks incredible! I've never made Dutch Babies before. I will do this recipe this week!

Yesterday: -3 brownies (at home) -bite of a creme fraiche cheesecake with walnut crust (at restaurant) -chocolate cake with ganache center (at a restaurant) -lotus seed mooncake with 2 yolks (I ate half of a big one...quite filling haha) -the last of my jar of Nutella

Korean-style ribs...oh damn, my mom is such a good cook. I can't stop eating.

Are you our resident brown-noser?

^Thanks for the tip on the Michel Cluizel chocolates. I've been looking for them for awhile in Vancouver. I saw them in Seattle, but the mark-up was kind of high.

^Awesome. That's what I've been saying, but I'm always so unsure of myself.

Those are the nicest pictures yet!

^Is this the $450 Valentine's Day program?

^ Where is that quote from?

I agree. I am not aware, aside from doing it yourself - even then I am not sure if you can, where you can get half a Dungeness crab (which was pretty big if you ask me) and a good 12 or so ounce steak for the price I paid last week at Neil’s place. What a deal for this west coast surf and turf! Is this going to be a staple on the menu? Being from T.O. the Dungeness crab pushes $10-12 bucks a pound on sale so it was a nice treat. We should not be so hard on Ling, I would have gone to Morton's and paid full price in the event that someone really, really wanted to go - which would have been the only time - so the note about the coupon was of assistance. I wonder if I can use it in T.O. Ling, please send a copy to me and I shall try. ← That's OK, no one's being hard on me. The only thing I really enjoy at Morton's is the ribeye (which is not included in the deal, of course). The sides and desserts are all OK, but not things that are hard to do in the home kitchen. The jumbo prawn cocktails is nice, but kind of expensive at over $20 for 4 prawns. When I dine out, I only want to order items that are: a) too much work to do for 2 people b) too difficult for me to cook at home c) of excellent quality, and only sold to restaurants (like certain grades of steak) The coupon states that the offer is only good at the Vancouver location.

I slathered my brownie with a mountain of Nutella yesterday. Mmm...mountain of Nutella....

Ok one more: rillettes

^Ok good. I still pronounce it (hesitantly) "zhwa" but if I hear the sommelier repeat back to me something to the effect of: "I love wines from Joie (joi)," then I revert to saying "joi" for the rest of the evening. I need to work on my self-confidence.

^You write beautifully, Rachel. How poetic. Today: date square from UBC, and a sizable wedge of lotus seed mooncake (2 yolks)

Is "Joie" pronounced "joi" or "zhwa" (with 2 dots on the a, but I don't know how to type that in)? The first time I ordered this wine back in March, I think I assumed that it was pronounced the French way, but since then, I've heard sommeliers pronounce it "joi" (joy) so now I'm confused. Help?

Yeah, what is it about frozen treats that make them so good? I love the extra chewiness of frozen brownies. Many of my breakfasts, lunches and dinners also qualify as "desserts", but the best dessert I ate today was a frozen brownie slathered with like 3 tbsp. of Nutella. Mmmm...my mouth was so happy.

It's not traditional, but I do my rugelach with chopped walnuts, bittersweet chocolate, and roll them in cinnamon sugar.

Paul B: Do you really taste a difference in the brined turkey? I used Alice Water's brining recipe (well, the Chez Panisse recipe) a few years ago, and I couldn't tell the difference. My family couldn't either.

Yup my mom does that. I make the artichoke/sausage/sourdough bread stuffing, well dressing, in the big Pyrex. She has the turkey stuffed with sticky rice and lap yook, chinese sausage, cilantro, shittake, those little dried shrimp, etc., and she also does another batch to keep warm in the rice cooker, b/c there's never enough in the turkey.