eG Foodblog: *Deborah* - Power, Convection and Lies

[*Deborah*]

Oh, no, thank you Arne! I love a good pork-out! It was so well done! the beautiful pulled pork, the spicy glaze on the roast! all the great sides!

Is it you I can blame for the rain? it appears to be seeping into my dining room ceiling...I might blame the guy who installed the hood fan exhaust instead. We'll see.

I just hope I can avoid a big puddle on my hardwood...I know I owe you a kitchen designer thank-you dinner, I think I'll wait to issue the invite until I'm sure I'll have a room to serve it in

[mizducky]

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All this fantastic food-and-foodie action, and cute kitties too!

Dang, I really need to get back up to Vancouver someday. You guys got it going on!

[Safran]

(...)  Is it you I can blame for the rain? it appears to be seeping into my dining room ceiling...I might blame the guy who installed the hood fan exhaust instead. We'll see.

I just hope I can avoid a big puddle on my hardwood

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Oh, *Deborah* this is NOT good. Good luck getting that looked at before it gets worse. Can someone put a tarp on your roof today??

[*Deborah*]

(...)  Is it you I can blame for the rain? it appears to be seeping into my dining room ceiling...I might blame the guy who installed the hood fan exhaust instead. We'll see.

I just hope I can avoid a big puddle on my hardwood

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Oh, *Deborah* this is NOT good. Good luck getting that looked at before it gets worse. Can someone put a tarp on your roof today??

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Not sure. I guess I'd better call my contractor. It's a flat roof, not peaked, and I think it's probably leaking at the flashing of the hood fan and running along a joist, but I can't be sure. There could be a hole in the membrane. Anyways, impromptu dinner plans have come up, and you'll all get to see what happens with it!

Edited May 22, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[Meez]

Wow, what a great party. I am convinced it's all happening in Vancouver and Seattle.

I was looking at this picture and my 5 year old said, "Whoa, that looks like Darth Vader's helmet."

Take it from me, that is high praise indeed.

[*Deborah*]

Excellent!!

[Karen L]

I'm loving this blog! You have me coming back every evening to read more.

*Deborah*, I look forward to hearing more from you, and showing egullet more of our little corner of the world.

[*Deborah*]

Today featured afternoon Tea at the Fish House in Stanley Park, and a Chinese dinner featuring live spot prawns and Peking Duck!

Pics downloading as I type, more to follow soon

[*Deborah*]

So, late this morning, I was a bit hungry, and remembered that bit of beef tenderloin left over from Saturday night. Mmmm. I toasted up some of Mrs BC's lovely rosemary bread that I'd hung onto, and added butter, a little HP Sauce, and the cold beef:

Delicious!

Then I put the duck fat on to render.

That went quite well, and I have a little jar of duck fat in my fridge! how exciting! I will take a pic for you if you like.

Then I noticed the damp spot on the ceiling.It has grown somewhat although not alrmingly (well, its mere existence is alarming enough, actually). I shall talk to the contractor tomorrow.

Then I went off to tea to celebrate Victoria Day. The Fish House in Stanley Park is the most scenic spot for tea that I've been to in Vancouver, rainy day and all:

We were a bit fewer in numbers than we expected to be, only Zucchini Mama and Mooshmouse and myself:

Here is the menu:

Zuke and I opted for Imperial Oolong to honour Her Imperial Majesty, Queen Victoria; Moosh had the Green Pear which is just lovely stuff.

Tea service:

The sandwiches:

Cucumber, deviled ham, egg salad, and some of the best smoked salmon I've had in a long time.

The Scones:

Organic currant scones, very tasty and the perfect texture, with Devon (Clotted) Cream and preserves.

The Sweets:

Cherry Coffee Cake, (hiding) Lemon Tarts, Brownies, and I forget the other item; it was v good though.

Moosh ordered separately and got some different, also very delicious, sweets:

Here are some more pictures taken from Stanley Park:

View of the North Shore Mountains from near Second Beach (there are sandy beaches as well as rocky bits).

Edited May 23, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[*Deborah*]

So Canucklehead (Lee) PMed me this morning, and said HEY! let's have some live spot prawns for dinner for your blog! do you have time? and I said, well, it will have to be tonight, as I'm pretty booked the rest of the time... and then it worked out OK.

He was waiting at my little house when I got back from tea, with provisions!

The prawns, still jumping:

sorry, I wasn't able to capture the jumping, but trust me, they jump!

I opened a bottle of Masi Masianco:

very refreshing

Lee brought some geoduck, too:

Moosh came by as well, and made a marinade for the salmon fillet:

Chili dipping sauce on the left, hoisin on the right:

Pea shoots:

Peking Duck and the salmon, marinating:

You can tell that HKDave wasn't here to slice the smoked tuna

Here are the prawns going into the pot:

And in the pot:

Blanched and seasoned geoduck:

Plated prawns:

And the first course on the table:

Edited because I pushed "add" too soon

Edited May 23, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[peppyre]

Looks gorgeous Deb. Sorry I missed it. As I said the other day, I was expecting my Grandma, who ended up with a dead car and was stuck in Birch Bay.

OH MY GOD....That dinner....there are no words

Edited May 23, 2006 by peppyre (log)

[*Deborah*]

The prawns are just lovely, sweet, and they couldn't be fresher if they tried; they're local. I liked them with Ponzu and the spicy sauce that Lee made the best.

There was more food (somehow, with Gulleters, there's always more food!)

The best char siu I've had in a long time:

The roasted salmon:

The pancakes for the duck:

Roasted pork belly:

Shanghai noodles:

Shredded pork and mushrooms on crispy Chow Mein:

Pea shoots sautéed in sesame oil with garlic:

The second course on the table, Mr Mouse carving the duck:

[*Deborah*]

I can scarcely believe that this dinner was so completely impromptu; Lee and I spoke around noon and figured out what I had in the house and what he's need to bring, and he just appears like Santa Claus with all this wonderful food for us, and prepares most of it, to boot!

Thank you, canucklehead, we're not worthy!

Thanks Mooshmouse! for the kitchen help (you look cute in that apron, baybee ) and for the dessert! I haven't had any of the cassava cake tonight...tomorrow snack I think.

Hey, I forgot to serve the chocolates again!

And now I'm just about off to bed. I'm having a well-deserved Jameson's with water.

See you tomorrow: back to the grind of work, and the cooking extravaganzas (in my kitchen, at least) are over for the blog, though not forever ! I have two more restaurants in line for dinner tomorrow and Wednesday, and lunch planned for tomorrow. We'll meet another eGulleter! or at least see his shop.

OK, Canada, it's back to work tomorrow! short week though.

Good night, Gullet!

Edited May 23, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[Pan]

That dinner looks great! How many people were there? Are there leftovers?

[Mooshmouse]

There were six of us in total: Deborah, canucklehead, the Mouse family and Grandpa Mouse who's visiting us from Victoria. As is usually the case with any meal where canucklehead and I are involved, there were piles of leftovers. Not one iota of room left for dessert courtesy of the Mouse family which was a lemon/almond/fig torte and the second of two cassava cakes that I had baked yesterday. And the beautifully chilled bottle of Sancerre was sitting on the table looking plaintive. I was hoping to crack that open but I was too busy eating!

Db, you forgot to mention the seasoning for the geoduck: hot oil, ponzu sauce, green onions and julienned ginger.

Spot prawns were the obvious standout. Gigantic and beautifully sweet. Junior Mouse was absolutely fascinated with them and was just as interested in examining their physiology as he was in eating them. Char siu was absolutely delicious... brilliantly caramelized. And Green Village was a good choice for the noodle dishes that Mr. Mouse picked up on his way over; the crispy noodle shredded pork chow mein was some of the best I've tasted anywhere.

I remembered to bring home all my condiments, Deb, but I forgot to grab the steamer.

[Ling]

Love the picture of the spot prawns! That's one of my favourite dishes ever. Where did you guys buy the char siew and the Peking duck from?

[mizducky]

That was one fabulous meal. I repeat--you Vancouver eGulleteers have *really* got it going on.

[Safran]

*Deborah*, that improv was too perfect!!! This couldn't have happened if it had been planned to death!!! Wow! You guys are GOOD !!!! Excellent, excellent blog!

[Smithy]

Gorgeous, all of it: drop-dead gorgeous and luscious-looking. But here's the stunner for me:

...dessert courtesy of the Mouse family which was a lemon/almond/fig torte and the second of two cassava cakes that I had baked yesterday. 

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Moosh, I don't want to hijack *Deborah*'s thread, but would you please tell more about that torte? I've never thought of combining lemon, almond and fig. Now I'm obsessing over it, and I'm pining to try making it.

[Abra]

That's a really cute spot prawn picture - they look really punk, all spiked out. What a feast that was - hard to imagine it being impromptu!

[Megan Blocker]

Wow! My friend Miles and I sometimes make dinner together...you put us to shame. Amazing meal, guys.

[*Deborah*]

That dinner looks great! How many people were there? Are there leftovers?

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There were five grownups (Moosh and Mr Mouse and Sr Mouse, who is in town visiting; canucklehead, and myself) and one Jr Mouse (who is going to be five in a few months). It was pretty great, and wow, am I glad I had left myself a night for decompression or a peanut butter sandwich for dinner, rather than programming every single minute!

***

I'm having my coffee now. The damp spot on the dining room ceiling is still there, but not appreciably bigger than it was when I went to bed last night.

Today I will be driving my car to work as I have to take my poor verklemmt computer in to the shop, I can't stand it any more! sorry, Enzo, I'll ride tomorrow!

[*Deborah*]

Love the picture of the spot prawns! That's one of my favourite dishes ever. Where did you guys buy the char siew and the Peking duck from?

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Lee got the meats in Richmond somewhere, I think, I'm sure he'll tell us. Aren't the prawns gorgeous? I'm also v glad that I picked up some new serving pieces last week, I think we used every dish I own yesterday!

[*Deborah*]

That's a really cute spot prawn picture - they look really punk, all spiked out.  What a feast that was - hard to imagine it being impromptu!

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A lot of it was prepared food (the duck, the roast pork dishes, the noodles), so much of the prep was driving around to the purveyors, prepping the sauces, marinade for the salmon, vegetable prep, steaming the pancakes...not to minimize that effort, at all, but canucklehead and Moosh apparently had a vision, and were cell phoning back and forth half day, getting things organized. All I had to provide was the site, the tools, a few bits of food, a bottle of white and half a bottle of red! I got a good deal, I'd say.

[canucklehead]

Love the picture of the spot prawns! That's one of my favourite dishes ever. Where did you guys buy the char siew and the Peking duck from?

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Lee got the meats in Richmond somewhere, I think, I'm sure he'll tell us. Aren't the prawns gorgeous? I'm also v glad that I picked up some new serving pieces last week, I think we used every dish I own yesterday!

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The meats were all purchased at HK BBQ Master - under the Superstore on No.3 Road - based upon recomemdations from Ling and a number of other eGulleteers. You guys were right - probably the best Chinese BBQ around right now. People were waiting in line for the meats. Everything kept very well too - except of the roast belly which was insanely delicous when first chopped but did not hold as well.

The pancakes were really hard to find - but again on No.3 Road in the same mall as Hon's (right across actually) - there is a King Dim Sum that sells frozen stuff to take home. The pancakes came for $9 for 50 and once defrosted - steamed up quickly and beautifully. They said that they sell mostly to restaurants and the pancakes were of excellent quality.

Finally the prawns were also purchased in Richmond - on Westminster at Sun Tong (accross from the Richmond Public Market) - they were $9.99 a pound which were more expensive then $8.40 at other places. But they were all very lively, a good size, and excellent quality. I got about 2 pounds which were a generous quantity for starter. I love it when it is BC Spot Prawn season - they are so much sweeter and flavorful then farmed prawns.

The meal last night reminded me of the Sunday dinners that most Chinese families in Vancouver throw together. Some fresh seafood, something from the BBQ shop, and some good veggies. The only difference with Deborah's meal was I was able to locate some good Peking Duck pancakes and we bought some noodles instead of making our own starch. Thanks Deborah - for providing the venue!

Edited May 23, 2006 by canucklehead (log)