TorontoJo's Profile
Vita Mix Recipes
If you enjoy pureed soups, nothing does it better than a VitaMix. Start with a good broth (homemade or not), add whatever veggie you're in the mood for. Puree on high until hot, and you have the most wonderfully smooth, flavourful soup.
I usually like to start with a base of roasted or slow sauteed shallots, onions or garlic (or some combination of these), and a roasted veggie (particularly love roasted tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower). Toss those in with a broth of your choice, and you're done. If you like a chunkier soup, hold back a quarter of the veggies, and once your soup is pureed and hot, toss in the remaining veggies and do a few quick pulses to chop them up, but not pulverize them.
And if you don't want to wait for you soup to heat up in the VitaMix itself, it takes less than a minute to get an incredibly smooth texure. You can store the soup, or heat it up on the stove. Sometimes I'll make the puree extra thick by keeping the broth to a minimum, and freeze it in 1 or 2-cup containers. Then when I want soup, I thaw a container, heat it up on the stove and add an equal amount of broth to thin it out to soup consistency. The soup takes up a lot less freezer space that way.
Making instant sorbets is also a favorite thing. Freeze chunks of fruit separately in the freezer, and store them in big freezer bags. Whenever you feel like some sorbet or gelato, toss a bunch of the frozen fruit into the blender, add just a bit of liquid of your choice, and blend away. You'll need to use the tamper to push the frozen fruit into the blades, but shortly you'll have a creamy sorbet or gelato. You do have to be careful and avoid strawberries, as they freeze too hard to make sorbet, unless you let them thaw about half way before blending.
And maybe you don't like smoothies, but it's summer time and VitaMixes are ideal for whipping up boozy frozen drinks. :) I particularly like champagne and watermelon slushies.
Best Recipes you have ever found on Chowhound Home Cooking board
Yes! I think I made that cake a dozen times the first year. It's far less often now, but it's still wonderful every time.
Best Recipes you have ever found on Chowhound Home Cooking board
Ooh, yes, thanks maplesugar and buttertart for pointing out that it wasn't my frosting at all, as I don't want to take credit for it! I merely picked it up from wiser hounds than I and passed it on, because it is THAT good. :)
Though I don't post all that much on Home Cooking, I can't tell you how much I love the HC 'hounds. Nary a kinder and more experienced bunch of talented cooks will you meet anywhere. That board has made me an infinitely better cook.
CHARMY Fish and Chips... located in East York, Toronto
That's the first time I've heard anyone refer to "an authentic 80s look"... :)
"Upscale" Sushi
Sashimi is just the raw fish on its own. Nigiri is little bundles of rice topped with the raw fish (or whatever topping). Maki are the rolls you are probably used to thinking of as "sushi".
There are plenty of vegetarian and cooked maki options, including, but not limited to:
kappa (cucumber)
oshinko (pickled radish)
california roll (cooked crab or crab stick with cucumber and avocado -- feel free to ask for it without the tobiko if you don't like fish roe)
ebi (shrimp)
tempura shrimp (lots of variants of monster rolls with tempura shrimp, so just read the menu)
unagi (cooked, smoked eel)
If you like fresh crab (cooked), "kani" is the nigiri with just rice and crab. But only the best sushi spots actually use real crab for their kani nigiri. It's worth asking.
There are many other maki variants that fit your criteria.
"Upscale" Sushi
Zen is wonderful, but I wouldn't consider it to be upscale or to have modern/contemporary decor.
"Upscale" Sushi
I would try Yuzu downtown. Even though they are known for the freshness of their fish, you will still have a good experience based on the quality of their rice and I would assume their tempura is of better than average quality (though I don't know). Honestly, though, if you're looking more for the decor/atmosphere than the quality, you could always try Ki.
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
It's a bummer you had such a bad experience. I was just there for lunch today and loved my burger, probably even more than my first time as there was a nice crust on it this time. And I find the owners are really nice and care about people's experience.
Not trying to negate your experience at all, it's just so interesting how personal taste is. As I stated above, I really despised my BP burger and won't ever go back for one, despite all the love for it on this board. :)
High end dinner for executives
Colborne Lane has a private room off the kitchen in the basement. Chef's tasting menu only. But I think it's only meant for 6 people.
Shun Reserve Line
These guys ship within Canada:
https://myknifepro.com/default.aspx?PageID=1008&SearchTerm=shun+reserve
Memphis Fire Barbeque Company - Stoneycreek
Some friends and I had dinner at Memphis Fire on the way home from Food Truck Eats at Peller Estates.
The smell of smoke was really, really promising. They were full inside, so we ordered takeout to eat on one of the numerous picnic tables they have outside. Note that you still get full service outside, but everything comes in takeout containers. I assume there is some licensing issue. Regardless, it worked out just fine and it was a beautiful day out.
We ordered coke floats and root beer floats (yay!), then 2 racks of ribs, smoked chicken wings, beef brisket and pulled pork. Sides we tried were: fries, mac and cheese, apple slaw, corn and ham, chopped salad, cole slaw, pit beans.
Definite mixed feelings about the food. The smokiness and the flavour of the sauces were very good. But the consistency of the meat was really inconsistent. The ribs ranged from really dry to juicy (even on the same piece), and the brisket ranged from tender with nice bite to overly mushy. The mac and cheese was really mac in a roux topped with some cheese. Had there been some more cheese in the sauce itself, it would have been much better. The beans were nice, as was the apple slaw. Very good fries.
It seems like there may be some temperature issue with the smoker that is leading to the inconsistency in texture? The ribs seemed like they were smoked too hot. They use hickory, btw.
It's a nice, down home place with a big menu and incredibly friendly service, which was really appreciated by us all. I'm not rushing back to have the BBQ, but there are several other things on the menu that I'd be interested in trying (they have a Chicago Italian beef there -- hmm), and breakfast looks heartstoppingly good.
Bottom line is that it's worth a stop if you're in the area (it's 5 minutes off the QEW at Fifty Road). It's probably better BBQ than anything in Toronto, but the texture issues with the meat threw me off a bit. I did have lovely "smokey hands" for the rest of the day, though. :)
Thai One On, (Avenue Rd north of Wilson) Aw c'mon, I should have known though!
Have you been to Thai Plate on Bathurst? It's my go to in the area. Khao San Road is better by far, but when you're looking for someone that delivers, Thai Plate is my fix.
BC Spotted Prawns - A quick update
Apparently the heads of spotted prawns have an enzyme in them that turns the meat mushy if not removed prior to killing. So buying dead prawns is bad. If you get live prawns, cooking them right away is the way to avoid mushy meat. I was served mushy spotted prawns at Enoteco Sociale and found them to be pretty gross.
Hero Certified Burgers....What the $^%#!!!!!
And you know what? I had read it, but it was so long ago that I didn't recall how truly scathing the reviews were.
Seriously, this was the single worst thing I've tried in YEARS. I cannot fathom how people are eating and enjoying them.
Hero Certified Burgers....What the $^%#!!!!!
Well smack me upside the head for not listening to my inner chowhound. I was running errands and starving and there was a Hero Burgers right next to the Shoppers Drug Mart I was at. I knew it was going to be a not-that-good burger, but I didn't expect it to be a take-a-bite-and-spit-it-out burger. It was revolting. Gray, processed, rubbery protein masquerading as a burger. Why anyone one would eat one of these for free, let alone pay $8 for it, is beyond me. The whole thing went into the trash. I'll take a Wendy's burger over one of these any day.
The pricing at Holy Chuck, Stockyards and Burger's Priest suddenly don't seem that bad.
Suggestions for fantastic, scenic wedding venues outside of Toronto with great food
The other benefit of the Niagara region over Muskoka is the proximity to the Toronto airport. It's only an hour and change to Niagara-on-the-Lake vs. 3 hours+ to Muskoka. And for people with kids, Niagara Falls and all its attractions is only 20 minutes or so from NOTL.
And in general, the food is going to be better and better priced in NOTL because of the proximity of lots of local producers. Not to say there isn't great food up in Muskoka.
Vacation recommendations for Toronto, please
Just to clarify, an izakaya is Japanese, not Korean. And they are yelling in Japanese. :)
But yes, Guu would be lots of fun for a family if they are a bit adventurous and don't mind the wait (go early!).
La Societe review - Lovely upscale French Bistro/Brasserie
La Societe is generally considered to have "meh" food, which probably explains why it wasn't busy on a Saturday night. :)
Origin: restaurant review - Cool vibe, tasty food but schizophrenic menu
The whole concept behind Origin's menu is sampling from all over the world, so it's not schizophrenic, it's deliberate.
Patio Dining
Some of my favourite patios (though they are all quite different):
Sidecar
Caren's Wine Bar
Origin
Boulevard Cafe
Harbord Room
ISO Authentic Italian in Vaughan Area
Another option is Autostrada. I frequent it's sister restaurant at Yonge and Lawrence, Trio, and have always enjoyed my meals.
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
Can't wait to hear about it, especially Stack. I tried a burger there a couple of weeks ago, and it was on a night when they were slammed and the "grill guy" was out sick. The burgers were served as doubles -- two too small patties on a large bready bun. The patties were as dry as hockey pucks. It was shameful and basically inedible. The owner was very gracious and apologetic and paid for the dinner, so I'll give them another chance at some point.
Hawker Bar
Based on the experience of friends whose Malaysian food judgment I trust, I would say don't make the trek, Charles. Stick with Gourmet Garden.
Patisserie Ruelo Revisit - A nice surprise!
They have my favourite macarons in the city.
And for those who can't make it to Richmond Hill, they just had the grand opening of their Yonge and Erskine location.
Gourmet Cupcakes?
WCS vanilla + passion fruit frosting...amazing. They actually have lots of vanilla options: the aforementioned passion fruit, coconut, dulce de leche, vanilla, strawberry, white chocolate... the flavours change every day, but she usually tweets what's available each day so you can plan accordingly.
Bakery that makes authentic petit fours
Patachou is the only one that I'm aware of. Give them a call, as they do sell out.
Burger's Priest vs. Holy Chuck vs. Stockyards
PP, I split that shake 3 ways and still didn't finish my portion. It's rich and delicious, but I could only handle a small amount. :)
Baked chicken in BBQ sauce
I would go with your option 2. Baking them in the sauce will result in a lot of very runny/diluted BBQ sauce and you'll lose the effect of the sauce completely. I'd go with salt and pepper, bake, drain, store, then reheat with sauce -- just like you've described.
