sailrox's Profile
Quebec City visit in October
If you're into sushi, Metropolitain/Edy Sushi Bar is wonderful. The last time we were there, they had a tuna sashimi with caramalized brown sugar on the outside- divine. I've considered driving the 6 hours to QC just for that restaurant.
"Don't Open That Bag!!!".....because I'll eat the whole thing.
*shudder* You've got me.
President's Choice Blue Menu makes an awesome box of popsicles- mango, some kind of berry, and an orange flavour. I have no idea what is so great about them, but after about 3 days in the house (if I'm lucky), the box of 12 or 18 is GONE.
Peek Freans' Fruit Creams are similarly devoured, but we have them around less often.
The secret to great homemade paneer?
There's a great Indian restaurant in town that does a magnificent paneer- soft and smooth, almos tlike biting down into a delicious pillow.
I've been trying to recreate this at home, since all of the commercially available paneer I've found has been quite rubbery. I've used the same basic process for each attempt: bring milk to a boil, remove from heat, add lime juice, stir to separate, then strain into a cheesecloth to hang.
None of them have quite worked.
Attempt 1: Used 2% milk. Oy. Didn't even bother keeping that one.
Attempt 2: Used 3.25% milk but didn't let it hang long enough. It made a sort of "cheese sauce" in my curry.
Attempt 3: Used 3.25% milk. It turned out reasonably okay, but had a very grainy quality to it.
What am I doing wrong here? Is it a temperature issue? Do I need to use milk with a higher fat percentage or cream?
What is the secret to great paneer?
RECIPE REDUX: Recipes you've made 3 or more times that you love.
Jamie Oliver's gnochhi with sage, mushrooms, and chili. So good. It's my go-to recipe.
Convenience Products And The Environment-How Ridiculous Can You Get?
Our grocery stores sells oranges. Sliced in quarters. Individually wrapped in plastic. *headdesk*
Pareve icecreams
I've found that silken tofu pureed in my food processor, with added fruit and just enough pareve liquid (soy milk, juice, etc.) and then tossed in the ice cream maker makes a GREAT pareve ice cream.
I did chocolate mint once... added cocoa powder to the mix, some mint extract and chocolate soy milk. Mmmm.
Slow cookers [Moved from Home Cooking]
I initially bought a cheap one (40$) at Costco, then thought better of it, returned it, and got the 65$ one. Haven't regretted it for a second.
The reason? The cheap one only had an on/off switch and a warm function. The second one has a timer. Set it for your desired time, and it switches to warm when it's done. I don't have to worry about rushing home from work so it doesn't burn, I set shorter recipes (say, 3 hour ones) and not worry.
How to handle a reaction to food allergies at a restaurant?
Now that everybody's hopped on the "it's your own fault" bandwagon, I'm curious to get a few responses to this one (which I think the restaurant actually handled rather well).
My SO is deathly allergic to peanuts and pine nuts. He carries an EpiPen, stays away from chocolate desserts and ALWAYS asks the server about ingredients.
he went out to a restaurant in Chicago last summer, went through the whole "Are you sure there's no peanuts? Peanut oil? Peanut butter?" thing. The server was actually quite attentive, recognized he didn't know, went back and asked the chef.
Still wound up in the hospital. The chef had forgotten that he had used peanut butter in the fish dish's glaze.
They called an ambulance, comped his meal (not his companion's though- I think that's fair), called the next day to make sure he was okay and apologize.
My thinking (and SO's) is that bad things like that are going to happen (even with precautions he usually has a hospital scare about once every two years or so) and that all the restaurant can do is try to be as courteous as possible at teh time and not make the same mistake again.
Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations
Don't know what it is but it sounds hilarious!
What is the most unusual, but tasty, sandwich you make or have made?
Toast up some nice rye bread. Smear some avocado on it, add thinly sliced roasted zucchini and eggplant coins. Panfry up a small piece of chicken breast, tossed in cayenne, oregano, and black pepper. When it's done, slice it thinly, and add it on top of your veggies. Top with another slice of toasted rye with avocado.
So... good. And kosher. Pig not a problem!
GF subs for your favourite foods?
I know I can't be the only person who can't eat wheat on this board (celiac or otherwise), so this topic could well get fun!
Have any of you managed to find GOOD gluten-free substitutes for your favourite dishes?
I stumbled on one last night... my favourite recipe had long been Wild Mushroom Gnocchi (with sage and chiles) from Cook with Jamie, but I haven't been able to have it in months.
Turns out you can use pretty much the same recipe but with risotto! So delicious...
Any other lucky finds?
Chowfind! Big Momma's Boy on Parliament
I cannot say enough good things about BMB. We live in Ottawa and make it a point to go there everytime we're in Toronto. It's the first restaurant I've been to where the GF stuff doesn't taste like ass. The eggs benedict is especially awesome. I love that my non-GF fiance can eat there and not be subjected to gross-ness, and so can I!
High-quality nut-free chocolate
Hello all,
Every year, I make a wide assortment of truffles and other chocolate-based candies for the holidays. My partner, however, has never been able to eat any since he's deathly allergic to peanuts.
I've tried making some for him before with President's Choice chocolate chips or Hershey's peanut-free bars instead of higher-quality chocolate, but it's really not as nice. Plus it's way more work for me.
Does anybody know where I can get high-quality but peanut-free chocolate?
I tried Chocoley but they don't ship to Canada, and I tried Vermont Nut-Free but they apparently don't sell either couverture or compound chocolate, just pre-made (not to mention their shipping prices, but I'm not in a position to be that picky at this point)
Has Dear Abby lost her mind?
I did that once, soon after I started dating my now-fiance. He told me they weren't microwavable, but I honestly couldn't believe that anybody had dishes they couldn't microwave (we'r enot that type of family, I guess). Maybe I figured he just hadn't tried hard enough?
Let's just say the gold flake or whatever it was that looked like gold flake started sparking and light started shooting out from the microwave. We unplugged the microwave and ran before it exploded.
Clearly, he loves me anyways. And I bought microwave-safe dishes.
Nut-Free Pesto
My SO is deathly allergic to peanuts and pinenuts, so pesto's usually out.
I usually go the way that [cheap] restaurants go: I replace the pine nuts with Parmesan.
Making Ice Cream with new Cuisinart. I SUCK :( HELP PLZ!
Can I hijack this post for a second? I'm also having Cuisinart ice cream maker problems and it seems a shame to start up ANOTHER thread for it...
I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker, but not the bowl-freezing kind, the compressor kind (you know, the crazy-loud one) I cannot, I absolutely cannot make dairy-based ice cream. For some reason, tofu works fine. Whenever I try to make dairy-based ice cream, the maker seems to kick out halfway through. I've determined that this is because stuff sinks to the bottom (the fats, I'm guessing, not flavouring- I don't add chunky/heavy stuff until later), freezes, and then pushes the paddle up until it disconnects the arm. A heavy book on top helps sometimes, but not always.
My other issue is with freezing the ice cream. That never seems to work. I can chill it in the freezer for a few minutes afterwards, but any longer than that and it freezes hard as a rock. if I try leave it out for a few minutes to soften, the texture gets all weird (this has been the case for both dairy and non-dairy based ice creams)
Attitudes toward restricted diets - your experiences?
My SO is also allergic to nuts. My favourite comment in a store occurred last week:
"Has your salt water toffee come into any contact with nuts?"
"Nope, none at all. No nuts. Just peanut butter"
Or two weeks ago, when SO nearly died after eating some fish at a restaurant in Chicago. The chef assured him over and over again that there was no nuts, no nut oils, no nothing (even assured him there was no sesame, even though that's okay in SO's case) but forgot he had "added a little bit of peanut butter to the glaze".
I still can't post a reply
The reply button just never loads. This happened a few months ago and was quietly fixed, but it's back with a vengeance!
Pleasantly surprised at Prime
SO and I went last week for my birthday. I had briefly considered cancelling the reservation based on all the awful reviews of their service, but we were pleasantly surprised!
Service: A- A+. The server was friendly, joked around easily, knew when to butt out, went out of his way for my birthday, etc. Spectacular, actually.
Atmosphere: B. Incredibly loud, but that calmed down as the night went on. I got the impression that that might well be an NYC thing, not a specifically Prime thing.
Appetizers: B- B+. The Southern chicken app that my SO ordered was great, but for 25 bucks, I want more sashimi in my sashimi salad. Tasted good though.
Main course: A. Solid steak dinner. Prices are astronomical, but we expected that. Split a steak and enjoyed very yummy mashed potatoes (esp. enjoyed the creaminess considering there's no cream) and artichokes (my first time eating them and WOW they were good)
Dessert: A. I ordered the cheesecake, and was completely floored when I remembered it had to be pareve.
Overall: A.
Your most embarrassing chowhound moment?
Actually, it's a moment I haven't had yet but I'm about to.
We've been having trouble with our homemade ice cream. Turns out great initially, but once frozen, is hard as a rock. Inedible. We've tried leaving it out on the counter to thaw, but it takes about 4 hours to get to a "scoopable" softness, and doesn't have the right texture anymore.
I've been wanting to ask for help on these boards, but the only subject lines I can think of involve some variation of "How to freeze ice cream". *headdesk*
I can't reply either!
...and I'm using Internet Explorer. Didn't work on my Mac either though (using Camino)
I'd reply to the post below, but you know...
What is your deal breaker?
Deep frying or long lists of ingredients. Or anything too finicky: if I have to turn the oven to 375 for 3 mintues, then shut it off for 1.5 minutes, turn it to 450 for 10, etc. it ain't gonna happen.
Weekly menus
"I do not really like leftovers, unless they are somehow transformed into another dish"
Me too! No matter how hard I try to like them...
Weekly menus
Honestly, I usually decide the day of (I'm the primary cook) The choice depends on what shift I'm working, what we got in our CSA box that week, and how we're feeling that day (it's quite common for one of us to not be that hungry, and the other will just have toast or an egg and cheese sandwich that night)
The only time we REALLY plan is when we have a "project" in mind- a meal that requires both of us and/or some special ingredients and a lot of time, like say, sushi.
I don't think this kind of last minute planning would really work if a) it was more than just the two of us or b) we didn't have the CSA box every week.
Cross-border grocery shopping picks... (moved from Ontario board)
Kosher meat and 409 cleaner. What a combo!
Foodie tour of Vancouver Island?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! SO's conference on the Mainland (our excuse for going out there) is the 6th to 8th... I think my heart's breaking a little bit now.
Thanks for the other recs though :)
Foodie tour of Vancouver Island?
SO and I are taking a trip to Vancouver Island in early to mid June and really have NO idea where to go, what to do, or, most importantly, where to eat!
We're both completely open to suggestions. In Victoria, out anywhere on the island (we have a week and a half and haven't decided yet on north or south). We're also not terribly picky- we just want it to taste really, really good.
Help a food junkie out?
Most disgusting taste (of normal foodstuffs)
Me too! I can't stand the taste of water.
Or blood sausage. Or hard-boiled eggs. Or cottage cheese.
