Ling

the Frog Commissary carrot cake, and leftovers from dinner last night (coconut curry beef brisket)

I think I ate a pound of it last night too. There wasn't quite enough for the cake...I had to scrape it pretty thin. Oops! I didn't cook tonight, but my mom made one of those traditional Chinese birthday dinners for my dad. We had yee mein, free-range chicken (head and feet attached, of course), bbq'ed duck, roast pork, braised shiitake, a variety of vegetables (gai lan being my favourite), soup, mango pudding for my mom and dad, and the last pieces of Frog Commissary carrot cake (this I made yesterday) for the kids (me included). For a birthday dinner in my household, this is considered rather light. My dad is watching his weight....

You will be charged 12 croissants made with that wonderful butter for royalties every time you use my name in the name of gluttony and excess. I'll be at home all day waiting for the courier guy tomorrow.

The steamed pork buns--fat pieces of unctuous, braised pork belly that you fold into your bun, then dip into warm broth.

coconut-curry beef brisket with new potatoes a bowl of cream cheese frosting from the Frog Commissary carrot cake (don't worry, I doubled the recipe so there's enough for the cake too... )

What are the fish cakes like? I don't think I've ordered fish cakes before at a restaurant...I'm just picturing that pureed fish paste stuff that my mom pan fries and then covers in sauce. So...fish cakes and sweet and sour pork. Thanks for the recommendations--I admit I've never veered too much from the Hainan chicken and curried beef brisket.

No, I've never had the butter separate. So glad you enjoy it! (It's also good sandwiched between Digestive biscuits, then covered in melted dark chocolate. Easy 1 minute snack... )

These pictures are very, very old, but I didn't come across them until now. Rhubarb babycakes: http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/str...ff/4157c0ab.jpg The Middle-eastern bagel...the name escapes me now... http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b209/str...ff/5c5281a3.jpg

^Oh man. The beef rolls in the pan-fried pancakes at Vogue are the best that I've found in Richmond. The ones I've had recently at Ba Guo Bu Yi just didn't compare at all (pancake was still doughy-white, not enough beef, virtually no sauce). I don't like getting just lumps of fat in my beef curry, but fat is flavour so a reasonable amount is very tasty! Brisket is a fattier cut of meat...feed me the fat (and gristle...I love gristle.)

Tell me how it turns out! Yes, it's not terribly sweet, but definitely sweet enough for a dessert topping. (I've also done it the "real" way using white sugar and caramelizing it before adding the butter and cream...but it just takes longer to do.)

^ Sure, it's incredibly simple...I just came up with it myself. I guess it's not a true caramel though, since I use brown sugar. I use this topping for my cheesecakes, and it is thick enough that it doesn't drip, and slices as cleanly as the cheesecake base. I just combine a cup of butter (and about a 1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter)and a cup of brown sugar in a saucepan and heat it on medium-high until the sugar dissolves. Then I lower the heat, add 2 cups of whipping cream (it will bubble up) and cook it for about 15 minutes, until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This makes enough sauce for you to pour over an 11" cheesecake, and leaves you with a small bowl of sauce to eat (heh heh heh). Once you chill the topped cheesecake overnight, the cheesecake can sit at room temperature for hours without the sauce dripping. Sometimes I add a few teaspoons of rum extract to the sauce.

Last weekend, we bought 120 Fanny Bays from Lobsterman (split between 4 people) for the appetizer portion of a monstrous BBQ.

^OoOohh...haven't had that in a month or two. I love my rice drowning in the coconut-y sauce. How was the brisket? I like it with a medium amount of fat. The last time I had it, it was quite lean (Richmond location).

I love the room at Wabi Sabi for the same reasons. It can be quite a romantic restaurant--there is enough privacy for each table, and the lighting is dimmed.

I've eaten at 8, but only dessert at Trafalgar's.

passionfruit gelee!

I use about a 1:2 ratio of butter to whipping cream in my caramel sauce, and it's very thick (like a thick caramel topping, rather than a sauce) even at room temperature.

Last night: -30 Fanny Bay oysters -burgers -grilled sausages -shrimp -chips and dip -a few slices of caramel cheesecake -sangria Tonight: -Chinese roast duck with plum sauce (siew ap) and Chinese roast pork (siew yook)

Between 4 people, we shared 120 fresh Fanny Bay oysters. We had about 10 people over, and spent over 10 hours constantly eating. It was quite disgusting We had burgers, chicken burgers, various types of sausages, the caramel cheesecake, an enormous 7-layer dip, shrimp, bbq'ed chicken, and lots of other snacks. My friend ate a huge slice of cheesecake in under 2 minutes, then he had a burger with 3 huge patties in it, and then he had a burger with both a chicken patty and a burger patty. He cleansed his palate in between this gluttony with the snacks and oysters. Amazing.

I've only used my pastry cutter. It's quick and easy, and does the job. Plus, I only have that pastry cutter to wash.

sausages, scrambled eggs, and this Chinese fry bread (yao tiew)

I had a big (even for me) breakfast today: -a dinner-sized plate of potato salad my mom made -2 honey cruellers from Tim Horton's -leftovers from last night's dinner (beef, tomato, egg--Chinese comfort food) -a few chocolate truffles -a bowl of toffee sauce I made (I'm using this to glaze my pecan pie...kind of an experiment. If there's a way to incorporate extra butter, whipping cream, and sugar to a recipe, you know I'll find it. )

My mom eats butter straight from the fridge! She just stands there at the kitchen counter, slicing butter and popping it in her mouth. Her eating habits are sometimes just as nasty as mine....heh heh heh.

Tess: I use dark brown, and make sure the sugar is packed.

2 brownies, honey graham crackers spread with peanut butter and topped with melted dark chocolate (my 1 minute desserty-snack), some leftover sausage that someone didn't eat