Ling

You fiend! (I love it.)

Coffee is not a snack! Are you sure you can last from brunch til dinner on a cup of coffee? The continental brunch must be huge...what's included? Is it served everyday or just on Sundays?

I haven't tried either recipe yet, but the Spago proportions look similar to my favourite chiffon cake recipe, which has the same amount of flour (well, 1 3/4 cup, but I'm counting your cocoa and flour together as a dry ingredient), oil and sugar, but 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp water, and 6 eggs (separated). The cake is baked in a tube pan, and I invert it as soon as it comes out of the oven. It is always very moist (as long as you don't overbake it). I would probably go with those proportions if I were fiddling with the Spago recipe...use more eggs, and more water.

I'm sure you can bring them into Canada...people bring boxes of chocolates as gifts across the border all the time. I might order from the NY La Maison and have them shipped to my bf's place in Seattle. Any recommendations on what I should get?

I too have found the Haas to be hit and miss. I put it down to buying them from sen5es (I thinks that's how they spell it) and assumed maybe they weren't as fresh as possible. After tasting the Haas chocolates I got into pate de fruit in a big way, but I find I like them better without the ganache underneath. I really enjoyed the Chocolate Art chocolates, particularly the pyramids with the fruit puree in the tip and a corresponding fruit flavoured buttercream. ← I try to buy them directly from Haas' chocolate factory in North Vancouver so I haven't had a chocolate that wasn't fresh. I also like Chocolate Arts for their flavour combinations...they're good chocolates. My favourite from Chocolate Arts is the Poire Helene. I think Haas edges out Chocolate Arts b/c I find the shells at Haas more delicate. I think the chocolates are more reliable than Haas' cookies or pastries...those are more hit and miss for me.

They are sweeter than Pierre Marcolini. I hesitate to say "Belgian" though because I think most people think of Godiva when Belgian chocolate is mentioned! So I'll just say in between American-style and French-style. (They are not as sweet as Recchiutti.)

That's wonderful that you're healthy and eating well! I love bison. What sort of sauces do you usually like to make when you serve it? Sheesh...you could make millions writing a diet book, you know!

My mom does it the same way. She also uses 100% rice flour! She makes the best daikon cake...I am always disappointed when we order it at dim sum because it is never as good as hers.

Yeah I do remember reading that the batter has to rest to allow the gluten to relax...wouldn't it be better to use cake and pastry flour to make crepes then? Less gluten. Or even cake and pastry flour plus a little bit of cornstarch...that would lower the gluten content even more. (I usually use whatever flour I have on hand, and let the batter relax overnight in the fridge.)

I don't know why chopped up sugar cubes would be better than granulated sugar for this particular recipe...perhaps she wants the sugar to be in small clumps for a certain "sandy" mouthfeel? Whooo..that sounds good! I love meat and raisins or grapes...mmm. I'd love to take a look at this recipe if you have the time to scan it or type it out!

^I love Thomas Haas as well. And his chocolates are relatively inexpensive, since I live in Vancouver.

^I mentioned that in the initial post...that would be kind of messy figuring out tax and tip for a game, don't you think?

^Dammit...this is why I need to move down there.

Hi escry, Yes, I'm familiar with the general rule about the chocolates produced in each country, but in my opinion, PM does not produce the typical Belgian chocolate, but more French-style chocolates. I believe that's also what's written in his pamphlet and it agrees with what I've read online by other tasters. Like I said, I haven't tried LMduC and I think I will go and order a box now! ETA: It costs 48 Euro to ship a box of chocolate to Canada...that's $68 Cdn just for shipping!

I didn't know 900 West had free snacks with drinks...is this on everyday? (This also reminds me how I should've tried to fit in a drink and free steak sandwiches at Morton's.) The duck breast sounds like a steal!

Really? Pierre Marcolini is too sweet? I haven't had La Maison, but judging by the comments here, I would assume that their chocolates are sweeter than PM. I think PM's chocolates are probably some of the least sweet I've had, especially compared to stuff from Christopher Norman, Vosges, Recchiutti, etc.

Pheasant inside a turkey is perhaps do-able, but I don't know about the stuffings a bunch of animals inside a calf before roasting. That might be a little ambitious. Nice job with the Culurgionis di Patate, hathor! I am still thinking about a Sardinian dessert for Friday. So far, I've seen a lot of different fried fritter-type recipes. Could I do a tart or a cake instead...I'm not too comfortable deep-frying at home.

Could you post the list of ingredients for the Spago recipe...then perhaps it would help others see if it looks like it could take more oil? I always invert my chiffon cakes immediately after baking. Here is another recipe you might be interested in trying. filipe's cocoa chiffon cake

I think you're right...I've seen lots of recipes that say the crepe batter should be left to rest overnight. I remember watching a Tyler Florence show where he went to Europe to learn how to make crepes Suzette from a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and the chef also said to let the batter rest overnight.

OK oops, sorry...got a bit mixed up there!

No, you misquoted me. I said the salted caramels are not a serious chocolate. They are a good candy...not something that's good enough to send chills down my spine.

^That sounds great! Where is Porcella located? For all you pork cheek fans out there, the special is on at Salumi this week. (And finally, FINALLY, I'll get to try it for the first time!)

The best pizza I've ever eaten in my life was at Don Giovanni's in Napa, surprisingly...(or perhaps not so surprisingly, as we have pretty crappy pizza up here in Vancouver.) hhlodesign spent a year in Florence and thought our bacon and egg pizza at Don Giovanni's was better than anything he ate in over there. The crust was nicely charred and so crisp, and they have a very light hand with the toppings, so the crust is the main attraction.

So this topic got me thinking...if Rachel Ray were to visit Vancouver with $44 to spend (b/c of the exchange rate), where would she go? (It's just a game...we're not including tax and tip here.) I remember she went to Pacific Culinary and Death by Chocolate on the Vancouver show, but I'm thinking we can come up with some better suggestions. BREAKFAST: twice-baked almond croissant from Sen5es, coffee from The Elysian Room, total = $6 LUNCH: an order of xiao long bao and maybe something fried, or the vegetarian hot and soup soup from Shanghai Wind ~$10 (if Shanghai Wind is swamped, as it often is, then I would get the dan dan noodles and the Taiwanese chicken nuggets at Traditional Taiwanese for about the same price) SNACK: egg tarts, if they're hot out of the oven from Kirin ~$3 DINNER: duck leg confit, warm bacon dressing, frisée salad and organic potatoes at Cru, $15 DESSERT: strawberry tart, maple star anise cream, toasted orange chiffon at West $9.50

The cookies were good...I underbaked them a bit and the insides are so soft and fudgy. I don't often buy white chocolate, but I wanted to make something for my students today, and it gave me the excuse to eat a few too!