Ling

Creamy, soft...testes? You are brave, Moosh.

How 'bout I cook that for you and tell you that it's good. Would you eat it?

^ oh geez, your 5 course menu actually made me drool on the keyboard. I wish I were exaggerating, but I really need a Kleenex.

Leek and goat cheese phyllo tart Love this recipe! http://foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails/recipe%5F3593.asp

I love the brownie recipe in the Baking with Julia book. It's the best one I've found so far, and I've seen the recipe online somewhere.... Here it is! http://dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm/fuseac...1136/Recipe.cfm

All this talk of the Kolachy shop reminds me that I've yet to eat there! I think I will make a trip down there for lunch tomorrow. (Must print out a map now... )

I also just use the toothpick and it turns out looking OK. Would love to know a secret to making it look even better, though.

The pie crust recipe I use calls for a tbsp of sugar; I think this helps with the browning. I also add an egg yolk, and save the egg white to brush on the crust to make it shinier. Looking forward to this blog. I love pecan pie and I'm making pecan pie bars this week too! (I like the thicker shortbread crust.)

What - no sugar? ← haha sorry! Where was my mind! Here's the recipe again: 1 cup butter softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 and a 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 tsp vanilla Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla, beat in flour and cornstarch slowly. Into the fridge for an hour or two. Then slice and bake at 350 on a cookie sheet. I just made 2 more pans of shortbread today...so delicious!

Les Amis has pieces of foie gras in their coolers. I think they're just under $20 per slice.

I had a lemon pound cake and shortbread cookies that I made. You know it's the holidays when you're eating dessert for breakfast.

The recipe I use is: 1 cup butter 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp vanilla bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until just slightly golden brown around the edges I find that chilling the dough beforehand helps with the spreading.

Thanks, but I just bought a cheaper version of the Rose bundt from Nordic Ware. (It's not the gray, very heavy aluminun one, it's the red non-stick for $16 at Superstore.) I must say I was very disappointed with the appearance of my lemon pound cake. The cake was nicely and evenly browned, but the rose "petals" ended up looking like uneven lumps (even though the cake released perfectly from the pan). And a brown and lumpy cake just doesn't look too appetizing, if you know what I mean! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...so I just ate a piece of cake. At least that was good. I think I have to wait for the Cathedral pan if I really want it...my bank account has been taking a beating these past few weeks with all my holiday shopping!

I just wanted to add that I've also had phenomenal service at Wabi Sabi, and I think I usually receive great service at Japanese restaurants. I like it when servers are polite and thoughtful, but not obsequious.

I would single out Lumiere as well. I've also had really great service at the Bear Foot Bistro in Whistler--I mentioned to our server how much I liked these buttery tuiles they served with my dessert, and she packed me a stack of them to go.

Ling--check out Thomas's fruit pastilles as well. They're the colour of Christmas ornaments--and exquistely reckless bomblets of flavour. J. ← Are these the fruit jellies? If so, I'm already a huge fan.

I haven't had the Valrhona chocolate cookies yet. Might have to do a side-by-side comparison sometime this week.

Whenever I watch "Ciao America," (probably my favourite FoodTV show, btw) I'm always amazed and a bit envious of all the delicious things Mario gets to taste. In particular, I wanted those incredible, deep-dish pizzas from Chicago. The chef lined a springform pan with a rich, pastry crust and then filled the crust with layers of sausage, peppers, sauce, a ton of cheese, and topped off the whole monstrosity with another circle of pastry. I really wish we had inexpensive, Chicago-style pizzerias in Vancouver--or just inexpensive, really tasty Italian food in general.

blueberry buttermilk pancakes...so delish!

There's also an Energie location at Oakridge mall. I only buy organic when the prices are comparable to the regular produce, which pretty much limits me to Energie. I could never afford brocolli for 5 dollars a pound...but even if I could, I don't think I would be willing to pay that much.

I don't like salt shakers except for the salt I use for baking. My grinders match on my table. *shrug* ← Same here, I know the freshly-ground salt doesn't taste any different, but I think most regular salt shakers are ugly, so I bought a matching set of s&p grinders.

I'm probably going to make a fancy (for me) meal out of things I've never cooked before. I'm thinking foie gras for sure, and maybe something special like buffalo or venison. I love game meat!

not sure I understood your post correctly, is Kin's organic also? If so, I'm not sure why capers is so expensive right now. ← Kin's on Davie has section of their store devoted to organic produce called "Energie" or something close to that.

thanks Mike!

Does anyone shop for cheese at Forster's on 41st? Is it worth a look, or can I find a better selection at Les Amis?