Ling

Last night's dessert(s) were the the best things I'd eaten all week! Dark Chocolate Bavaroise with Raspberry Ganache Swirl Ice Cream and Chocolate Wafers and then a chocolate tasting plate with white chocolate ice-cream, chocolate parfait with sour cherry sauce, and a dark chocolate and banana cake (also some cute mini hazelnut cookies and some truffles rolled in coconut) Today: marinated duck wings from a Chinese bbq shop

I had my usual breakfast, something I eat probably at least 5 times a week....4 soft-scrambled eggs and 2 cups of coffee.

Spaghettti, your stew looks fabulous and the recipe is so easy! I'll have to try it this week. I had a fantastic meal last night, at West restaurant in Vancouver. Terrine of Berkshire Pork, Carrot, Foie Gras, Flat Leaf Parsley, Cauliflower Piccalilli 12 Hour Braised Marinated Veal Breast with Crispy Polenta, Olive, Tomato and Basil Jus Dark Chocolate Bavaroise with Raspberry Ganache Swirl Ice Cream and Chocolate Wafers (And then I ordered a delicious trio of chocolate desserts--white chocolate ice-cream, chocolate parfait with sour cherry sauce, and a banana and dark chocolate cake!)

Some pics of the food (some pics I accidentally uploaded more than once, but I don't think I can delete them, sorry! The picture of the veal and the picture of the squash rissotto amuse bouche was actually from West restaurant...I am making so many mistakes tonight!) http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=mo...album&album=666

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=mo...album&album=667 Here are some of the dishes we had tonight. (There is an extra dessert in there that I ordered after our fabulous dinner that is not included on the DOV menu, but it was fantastic and I highly recommend it. The chocolate parfait with the sour cherry sauce was to die for!) I'll post about West tomorrow...going to bed now.

I saw you there, Mr Gourmet, but we were sitting in a back corner so you probably didn't see us.

Scallion pancakes: Mix together 3 cups of flour and about a cup of hot water. Then add about 1/2 cup of cold water and knead for a few minutes on a floured surface. The dough shouldn't be too sticky--if it is, just add some more flour. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl, and cover it with a damp cloth or damp paper towel for about an hour. Chop 4 or 5 scallions finely. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out one piece as thin as possible, and pour about a tsp of vegetable oil and a few drops of sesame oil onto the dough, spreading it so the dough is well-oiled to the edge. Sprinkle a little more than 1/2 tsp. of salt evenly, then roll up the dough as if you were making a cinnamon bun. Coil up the dough, and then roll it out again as thin as possible. Spread a bit more oil on the dough, and a few more scallions (but no more salt), then roll it up, coil it, and flatten it again so it looks like a pancake. Heat a good amount of oil (about 2 tbsp) on medium-high heat, and then brown the pancake. When it's done on both sides, you can sprinkle a bit more salt on it before serving. Enjoy!

I'm working until late tonight so dinner will be marinated duck wings, purchased from a Chinese bbq place.

What are parathas? They look like the scallion pancakes I made for a midnight snack last night, minus the scallions. I'll post a recipe if anyone's interested!

I like the make chiffon cakes too; they were the first cakes I made out of a Five Roses cookbook when I was 11 or 12. I've never found the need to put parchment on the bottom, and the cakes usually come out cleanly after they've cooled a bit. (I run a knife along the edge of the tube pan and the tube itself.) It's interesting that you noted chiffon cakes are popular in Asia--my (Chinese) parents love chiffon cake, and it's become my default dessert to bring to my bf's big family dinners (he's also Chinese). That's OK by me, since chiffon cakes are so easy to do! I have a chiffon cake craving now--must make one tonight!

So far today, it's the steak and eggs my mom made me for breakfast!

Sorry we missed you! I found the ravioli to be quite tasty, but then again I haven't had too much experience in Italian restaurants so I don't have anything to compare them to. I had a few bites of my bf's quail, and that was a little too salty. I think his bean soup was a little under-salted though; he didn't really enjoy the soup either. And waiterblog, do you think I should email Bis Moreno about a mediocre experience? The food wasn't horrible, it just wasn't great. I guess my biggest complaint is about the poor service.

Let's just say I didn't think the meal was worth 35 dollars, and their regular menu is much pricier. (I took a look at it yesterday and I believe the tasting menus are about 80-120 dollars.)

^ looks good! The red snapper was supposed to be for dinner, but I forgot that I had reservations for dinner that evening. Today I ate breakfast at my parent's house and my mom made me steak and eggs!

Wow, I'm really looking forward to the Egullet dinner at West. I had decided on the pork terrine and the veal earlier, so I'm happy to know that they both come recommended!

spinach and ricotta ravioli, with a tomato and porcini sauce

Just got back from my DOV at Bis Moreno--we had reservations at 7pm and got home before 8:30pm. This is what I chose: house-made spinach and tomato ravioli with porcini and tomato sauce pork cheeks with candied root vegetables gingerbread with roast apples, chantilly cream This is what my bf had: cannelli bean soup with scrampi crostini roast quail with parmasan rissotto gingerbread with roast apples, chantilly cream We both had the Quail's Gate 2002 Riesling and the Township 7 Merlot (suggested wine pairings for the appetizers and mains.) The best dish of the evening was definitely the ravioli, and the quail and rissotto was also quite good. Although the pork cheeks were tender, they weren't very flavourful. I was quite disappointed by the gingerbread--it was quite dry, and rather bland. (In other words, it's got nothing on Neil's gingerbread pudding!) It would have been much better if they upped the spices in the recipe, and perhaps the butter too, imo. The roast apple puree didn't do much for the dish, as it was more of a garnish on the plate. What really soured my evening was the service--my glass was dirty, and no one asked us if we wanted any more wine until we were almost finished with our main course. It was kind of disheartening when the table next to us seemed to get much better service--the server talked to them about the wine, showed them the bottle, refilled their bread without their asking, etc.--basically all the things that makes for a good experience. I felt that our dinner was hurried, because our plates were whisked away the moment we were done, and our next course set before us. The server did not ask us how we found our food, etc. I didn't order coffee after dessert because by that point, we both wanted to get out of there. Anyway, enough complaining. I didn't think Bis Moreno was a very good value, and I most likely won't be dining there again.

I remember another thing I really like--there's a bbq place in my town that smothers their fries with PULLED PORK and sauce. Now that's tasty!

I ate at Gotham's perhaps 2 years ago, and the meal was indeed over $200 for the two of us. I didn't enjoy the meat very much--it was overcooked. I liked the onion rings and the chocolate bourbon cake, though...but overall, a pretty disappointing experience.

I had a rather strange breakfast today, since I was out of both eggs AND bread! I baked 2 fillets of red snapper and topped them with diced roma tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice. And I also had 2 cups of chai with sugar and cream (no milk at home either!) Must go grocery shopping now....there's nothing more depressing than a poorly-stocked fridge.

I asked my bf to cook dinner for me last night, since I wasn't going to be home until 8:30pm. He baked two 10 oz. fillets of salmon for us, topped with some lemon zest and salt and pepper. It wasn't too bad, but there were no vegetables and no starch. Just a naked piece of salmon on my plate.

-Church's chicken it's always juicy, and the coating is nice and crispy! -fries from KFC, or even better--their poutine! -onion rings from A&W (because they're breaded, not battered) -sourcream donut holes from Tim Horton's, the honey cruellers, their cheese croissants, and biscuits with tons of butter -the McChicken -warm cinnamon buns from Cinnazeo (sp?) with extra cream cheese icing, of course! I also really enjoy junky, sugar-laden Chinese food once in a while--like the red, syrupy sweet and sour pork! And here's something kind of weird--I like to eat sour cream straight out of the plastic tub. It's like extra creamy yogurt. I finished one of those 500mL tubs this week, in fact.

I like the suggestion of making Moderne one of our last stops, too. That's really too bad about Harlow's. Not too keen on trying their burgers now.

Yesterday: definitely the potato wedges I roasted until nicely browned, covered in schmaltz Today: a generous wedge of Colston Basset stilton

A couple of years back, the archaeologists at the University of Pennsylvania Museum reconstructed a dinner held by a Lydian king (billed as "King Midas' Feast" or something of the sort). ← Yes, I'm pretty sure this is what was broadcasted on FoodTV Canada--it was the reconstruction of "King Midas' Feast", not King Salomon). It was really interesting, although I couldn't get over how they used manure to fuel the fire (for roasting the goat). I would be interested in watching "What would Jesus eat?"--is it coming to FoodTV Canada?