Ling

Mmm Cluizel ganache! Bailey cheesecake! No one wanted to eat my galette. (I think my family is more health-conscious than I am.) I could have easily fed you, Shaya and Pontormo! So I finished my 8" galette by myself with some vanilla ice-cream and then I had some coffee ice-cream.

^You're welcome. I like the Frog Commissary cake too, but I like the version I made (pictured above) even better. It's kind of a combination between the FC cake and the UCLA recipe (they are pretty similar anyway.) I forget exactly what I did as I was just winging it, but one of the major changes was using 1 cup of butter (UCLA recipe) and 1/4 cup of oil (= 1 1/4 cups of fat, like the FC recipe.) Anyway, I posted that pic because my FC cake looks just like that too...those cakes weren't levelled, btw.

So much anger and passion in your words....!! ~Ling (still hasn't eaten at Dick's)

Did you bake them in three 8 inch pans? I don't recall baking my cakes for that long (70 minutes)...more like 45-55 minutes for that size since each cake is so much thinner than a bundt cake. I've never had this cake sink on me...they always bake up quite level (i.e. I frequently don't need to level them at all). Also, the top is never crunchy on my cake. I don't follow the recipe for the FC frosting. I always use 2:1 cream cheese to butter, with a squeeze of orange juice and very little icing sugar.

That's too bad! Tongue and carnitas are my favourite...when will you have carnitas on the menu?

Been eating out a lot lately and didn't do much cooking this week...just wanted to chime in on the praise, especially for the cannoli, the gelato, the pasta encrusted in pastry (starch and starch, what could be better), and Kevin's birthday meal for his wife (how sweet!)

Today I made a white nectarine and plum galette. I had a slice just now with vanilla ice-cream.

On Saturday night, eight of us had a Tasting menu at West. I can't seem to upload the pictures on Image Gullet, so here's a link to the Flickr set. Most of the photos are washed out because I had to enhance them in Photoshop...we had a late dinner and the pictures got really dark as the restaurant dimmed. The food was beautiful...the pictures don't do it justice.West dinner Menu: chilled Nova Scotia lobster tian with smoked salmon caviar and tomato gazpacho Louis Jadot "Rose de Marsannay" 05 weathervane scallop ceviche, mango and mint Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 05 goat cheese and artichoke ravioli with cherry tomatoes and basil Cedar Creek Chardonnay "Estate Select" 04 soy and sake marinaded sablefish, manila clam, braised daikon and sesame, lime and thai basil broth Yalumba Y Series Viognier 05 maple smoked bacon wrapped veal loin and crispy sweetbreads, chantrelee vinaigreet and sweet garlic puree Alejandro Fernandez "Condodo de Haza" 03 cinnamon port braised blueberries, peach brie mille-feuille and buttermilk ice Clos des Verdots Cotes du Bergerac "Cuvee Bacchus" 01 My favourite dish of the night was the lobster tian and gazpacho. The gazpacho was unlike any I've ever had--so bright and sweet and tasting of pure summer. A revelation, especially with the wine. (I really enjoyed the wine pairings that night. Only one red was featured, but everything matched beautifully with the food.) Another standout was the sablefish. It was cooked to a perfect doneness with each bite separating into lush, ivory petals. A joy to eat. The dessert was likewise amazing--it was as salty (from the brie) as it was sweet, and I liked how it was different from the usual cheese course with accompanying fruit. The blueberries still popped in the mouth with freshness, which was a nice surprise. The only thing I didn't care too much for was the veal loin, but loin has never been my favourite cut of meat. I found the loin a little tough and dry. It was, however, my bf's favourite course of the evening. The service throughout the evening was attentive and friendly, as it always is. *** My two previous restaurant meals were both on Thursday. We hit up Veil for cocktails and snacks--a goat cheese salad, and an incredible braised tongue dish that Shannon was doing as a request from Ichiro...we were lucky to snag a plate too. We then hit another party, and were a bit hungry around 10pm so we went to the late night Happy Hour at Union. We had tiny, fried (whole) Japanese river crabs that crunched with a bit of bitterness from the innards (I loved that) and honshimiji mushrooms, and grilled branzino with cauliflower and olives. Happy Hour dishes are only $8US...incredible deal!

^In Seattle, Chef Shannon Galusha from Veil also has a lobster mac and cheese dish. He used to work at The French Laundry.

Mac and cheese isn't something I order very often, because I prefer to make my own with sharper cheeses and with some blue cheese. I clicked on the link Memo provided, and I can say The Kingfish is hugely popular, and the food is supposed to be excellent. Long waits, though. The mac and cheese at Marjorie (also in Seattle) is also pretty good. It's very creamy and the flavour is pretty mild (if you like that.) I've only had the mac and cheese at Cru once, but it wasn't for me. The short rib it comes with is pretty tasty, though.

gfron, you're too kind. I actually have a crappy 2.0 megapixel camera (it doesn't even have the macro function!) but I spend about 30 seconds Photoshopping some of the pictures I take to make them look a bit clearer and brighter. HQ...that's absolutely beautiful! Renee...it's a mousse cake. He also does a matcha tiramisu that's quite good, but I think the mango gelee cake is my favourite thing so far.

^ It was a pretty luxurious way to start the day! We also had more Raniers and then went to Zoka for coffee and Scrabble. He just taught me how to play (with strategies) and we both had mid 300 point games.

Thanks for this beautiful blog, Ann. I especially love the gorgeous shot of the blueberry pie.

^I've always used three 8 inch pans for that cake. I've actually never baked it in a bundt pan because I don't like the way that looks either.

^No, I said in the post above that the pastries are from Hiroyuki--a bakery in Seattle. (Thanks for the compliment though. ) There's a passionfruit gelee recipe in this forum that's part of the Exotic Orange cake. I'm sure it's easy to find if you want to make that!

That's so beautiful, HQ! Yesterday, we had cherry sorbet with apricot coulis at West as a pre-dessert, and the dessert was cinnamon and port poached blueberries with peach and brie mille feuille, and buttermilk ice-cream. I also had had a delicious red currant cake with Sicilian marzipan from fellow EGer, Abra! Today...pastries from Hiroyuki in Seattle. My bf bought these for my parents but they shared some with me. Both desserts were incredible! a beautiful eclair filled with local berries, whipped cream, and pastry cream mango gelee cake

The chocolate soiree was an incredible evening! I will never forget it! But an underground dinner is different...either guest chefs, or one chef cooking all the time, and the dinners are paid for by suggested "donations" since they can't legally charge money.

Here's Henry's first baking project. We made the lemon sabayon tart with a pine nut crust from The French Laundry cookbook for a dinner party last night. It was absolutely delicious, although we didn't quite follow the baking directions. We also increased the lemon juice by a tablespoon or two, and decreased the sugar by the same amount.

Thanks! Henry made me breakfast today. We had more than one scallop each, but he liked the look of one scallop on the plate. He sauteed the peaches in butter, seared the giant scallops in butter, and topped them with truffle salt and truffle oil. They were delicious!

Of course he's reading...he's always reading over my shoulder. Thanks for the tip about the beach chair cannoli tubes! All the food looks great...we didn't have time to do the cannoli this week, but I'll do them at home sometime in the next week.

Does anyone have any more info about the underground dining scene in Vancouver? Feel free to PM me if you want. Back on topic, I've been to a Gypsy dinner and the food was hit-or-miss. I've heard the same from many people who have attended Gypsy dinners in the past. Not only that, the dinners cost the same (or a bit more) than what one would expect to spend at any fine-dining restaurant in Seattle (usually $90US before wine). To get on the list of "invited diners", you generally must submit an essay so the organizers can weed out anyone they think doesn't really know much about good food. Gypsy isn't the only underground dining you can find in Seattle, but it is the best known. I heard there are at least four other real underground dining experiences going on in this city, and many more scattered all over the country. ETA: By "this city", I meant Seattle, not Vancouver. Sorry about that.

Yup, quoting myself. Just in case anyone else might be on the lookout for this butter, I found it today at Pike Place in the little market behind Frank's Produce that sells eggs. And the best part is the butter is only $4.10US a pound--a lot cheaper than the Vermont Butter & Cheese stuff we've been buying. There's a sticker on the Cremerie Classique package that says it won 1st place in a taste test in San Fran too.

Le Panier baguette, Cremerie Classique butter (I've been looking for this butter for months! ), truffle salt, "Oh My God" peach (local), Ranier cherries

Would it be more moisture-proof if you brushed the bottom crust with beaten egg white and bake it partially before adding the cheesecake batter? (ETA: I remember making phyllo crusts for goat cheese and leek tarts, and I imagine the filling is similar in terms of moisture to the cheesecake batter, but I've never had a soggy bottom crust.) An alternative to the graham crust could be the standard shortbread-like crust. I like to add toasted, ground nuts to my cheesecake crusts sometimes as well.

I've had mountain potato dishes at Ajisai and Octopus Garden, if you have a craving.