Ling

Well, it wasn't my recipe that I posted. As I said, it was from my friend's gf's dad. I didn't even try it as the proportions looked off, but thought I'd post it to see if other bakers felt the same way. Here's another recipe for sou pei that I found online.

1.5 cups of AP flour, sifted with the following dry ingredients: 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cloves 1/8 tsp black pepper 1 tbsp cocoa 1/2 tsp. baking soda Cream 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp butter with 1 cup of sugar, and add 2 eggs, mixing well after each one. Alternate dry ingredients into butter with 1/2 cup buttermilk. Line loaf pan with parchment and oil sides, place in preheated 350 degree oven for approx. 55 minutes. The caramel was just sugar, brandy, butter, salt and a bit of cream.

Yes, it's brandy caramel. Michelle: The flavour and texture was nice. The crumb was even (i.e. no holes or anything) and moist. The loaf baked up with a perfect little dome (no cracks), so I was quite pleased!

I looked at all the recipes in this thread and kind of came up with an amalgamation of all the components I liked from each recipe to come up with this:

Taking inspiration from the Spice cake thread, I wrote my own recipe today. It turned out quite well--baked in a loaf pan with a slight, perfect domed appearance and no cracks. It had an even, moist crumb. spice cake with brandy caramel sauce

When I know that Henry grabs tacos there occasionally, as he lives right across the street. He thinks they're pretty decent, and it seems to do good business. But still looking for more reviews before I commit myself to that 2 dollar taco.

Excellent write-up so far! Look forward to reading the rest. ETA: I'm glad you got to try Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. I wanted to go there for a midnight snack after a day of eating (that included Providence's tasting menu) but Henry was too full....

I can usually take or leave a burger, but I do love Henry's mini spicy lamb burgers. He uses garlic salt, onion powder, cumin, curry, chili garlic sauce, pepper, sriracha and cayenne and doesn't overmix so the meat becomes tough or dry. The patties are formed nice and thick, and grilled until they're still pink in the middle. Then he tops them with bacon, mayo, avocado, grilled onions, aged cheddar (put on the patty while it's cooking), grainy mustard, lettuce, and tomato (or tomato confit--I don't like commercial ketchup, and have yet to make my own.) I'm a huge fan of artisinal breads, but I do think the best burgers are put on squishy soft rolls so the focus is on the meat. And because this burger is spicy, Henry uses these mini King's Hawaiian sweet rolls and the slight sweetness is a perfect counterpoint to the heat.

There's a taco truck on Western and Bell, in the parking lot. Has anyone been there? How is it?

I have a busy month ahead, but we'll do at least one multi-course meal.

Do you have a favourite yellow cake recipe? There's a thread in the Pastry forum where some people have submitted their favourites, and I haven't gotten through testing all of them. Yours looks very good!

For many people, the Thai food (and presumably, other ethnic foods) you see on EG is made with ingredients that are commonly available in the area they live in. This is an international food board--not everyone grew up eating roast chicken and mashed potatoes, or spaghetti bolognese. I doubt any of the food we cooked during our blog was out of the norm, or "fringe" cuisine, except for the stuff we did during the Iron Chef competition, when originality was up for marks. Still, I'm sure you've seen far stranger things on the TV series than the stuff we came up with that night. Like Daniel pointed out, we did our grocery shopping at the local markets, and nothing we bought was outrageously expensive or extravagant, so I fail to see how we got singled out.

Perhaps they were romano beans? I had some of these fresh from a farm, with homemade walnut mayonnaise and crunchy sea salt awhile ago and they were just spectacular. Thanks for another great description of what sounds to be a delicious meal!

The stuff you can get in Asia is much more potent than the stuff I get in Vancouver/Seattle. I'm guessing what I've eaten in Vancouver/Seattle is what you've had--a very mild fermentation, and not that stinky at all. I have also been disappointed by what I get over here--it's like fried tofu with a faint odour. They add something extra to the stinky tofu in Asia to make it extra stinky, from what I hear.

green plum and peach tart It looks OK in the picture, but it ended up being crushed on the way to my friend's BBQ. ETA: I had a frozen creamy strawberry bar today too. It's from a Korean brand. It was pretty good.

Sounds like a great trip! So glad you enjoyed Chez Panisse and Tartine! Manresa is high on my list, as was Lucques...but now I'm not so sure since you thought the service/ambience was a bit lacking. What did I tell ya about Sweet Lady Jane... I warned you!

Chipwiches ... the ice cream, when it softens, gets kind of spongy ::shudder:: My husband likes the BadaBing Cherry variety. Ling, they are also rolled in little mini-chocolate chips. I've made my own version of these for the family and they don't like them as much as the Chipwiches. I give, and I give .... ← Ahh...so they are a mass produced frozen ice-cream treat that we don't get up here. We have something like a Chipwich, made with Chips Ahoy cookies. I would be happy to have your version...(your family is so ungrateful!!) Your almond cake and banana dessert looks good!

Hmm...another treat I can't find up here in Vancouver! I think the black and whites are similar in appeal as the Red Velvet cake, which I thought was just good at first, but really grew on me the more I ate it. Now I love Red Velvet. I guess I have to start making black and whites as well.

What sort of chocolate (or chocolates) do they use?

What a sweet story. What is a chipwich? At first, I thought it was a chain/fast-food restaurant but now I'm guessing it's a chip sandwich?

I didn't read your description until later, and really thought the peach skins were bacon, a la Daniel and his bacon desserts. But the cake itself looks really pretty!

BAD! VERY BAD!! Biggest mistake was using the truffled pecorino and the soy milk....ugh!!! You should have used the pecorino on pasta and used the fontina in your cornbread!

Your menu looks great, Catriona. I guess one of the big perks of a small wedding is that you can afford to feed all your guests foie gras and sauternes!

OK it's not near where you're staying, but you MUST go to Porcella and check out their charcuterie. We visited them during our blog and the stuff was just f-in' fantastic! (There's pics in our blog if you want to take a look.)

It was quickly devoured on the drive back to Vancouver. Very tasty. Definitely the best pastry I've had from Macrina.