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cookiebaker's Profile

Joanne Kates is leaving the Globe!

Good job on the predicition! I'm not surprise, but a bit disappointed G&M went with the tired and true rather than a fresher voice.
Kates and Nuttal-Smith fill a similar function to the same audience.

ISO good food and cooking podcasts

Spilled Milk with Molly Wizenberg aka Orangette and Matthew Amster-Burton is cute

Mike and Tom Eat Snacks, not for everybody, they spin some elaborate tall tales but they take the snack PER (pick a snack, eat a snack and rate a snack) system seriously.

Markham Restaurants?

Spring Villa for dim sum is quite good and classy
http://www.springvilla.ca/
7301 Woodbine Ave.

Jim Chi Kee, it is a hole in the wall but the wonton noodle soup or the fish ball noodle soup are great. The wontons are the biggest I've ever seen and very fresh.
270 West Beaver Creek

If you want to try a bit of this and that, First Markham place has a interesting selection in their food court. There's also many, many food options in the plaza. I like Din Tai Fung Shanghai dim sum and Tracy Dessert for chinese-style puddings.
3255 Hwy 7 East

Have fun!

Lucky Peach magazine

The Cookbook Store has copies, in Toronto.

Celebrity Cookbooks, do you own any?

I wouldn't consider Rachel Ray a celebrity with a cookbook. She is cooking personality first and foremost, not an actor/actress who puts out a cookbook with no chef credentials. I'm talking about Sophia Loren or Gwyneth Paltrow and the like.

I found a tread on this from 2007:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/383869

Celebrity Cookbooks, do you own any?

This article is about why celebrities write cookbooks and why publishers publish them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/denise-vivaldo/celebrity-cookbooks_b_838104.html

It made me wonder: do you own any celebrity cookbooks? Are any of them (surprisingly) good?

I confess, I don't own any and I wouldn't buy one either...but am I being a foodie snob?

2010 closings

El Barrio in Kensignton is closed. The end was nigh when the Spanish tapas restaurant was advertising fish and chips, breafast and hamburgers on hand-markered signs.

The Opener - Food Network Canada - ( possible spoiler)

I haven't been to impressed with it, it's even sadder than Restaurant Makeover. Most of the places don't stand a chance. El Bario in Kensignton that the Opener filmed a episode this summer closed 2 weeks ago. It really wan't very good, don't think Adjey coudl've saved it.

What is the next pedestrian food to go "gourmet"?

There's been a glut of gourmet burger joints in Toronto too. I do hope the trend is peaking.

CSA`s in gta, any help (communityt supported agriculture)

I recommend Kawartha Ecological Growers. They really nice and have some excellent produce.
http://www.kawarthaecologicalgrowers.com/
They are a collective of farmer in the Kawartha Region, but they come down Toronto to set up at farmers markets around the city.

Thoughts on: TV cooking show "sets" and "methods" as well as who "outfits" these TV cooks.

Has anyone else noticed the yellow filters they use on Ten Dollar Dinners? I guess it is to give the set a warm glow, but it really bothers me. Why give everything a unsightly brown tinged?

Niagara Eats

I'm going to visit the Niagara Region in a few weeks. Any one have some new/recent recommendations for places to eat? All price points welcome!

Which cooking show kitchen setup are you most jealous of?

Agree! I love the garden, his sterotypically English gardener, the outdoor brick overn and the different cooking spots he has all over the property. Loverly!

Best pizza in York Region?

I can't find a dedicated thread to this question, but I thought surely there is excellent pizza to be had in Woodbridge/Richmond Hill/ Markham/Thornhill.

Any recs for good thin crust pizza in York Region?

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de leche is a Latin American "milk sauce". It became very popular last year, President Choice makes a dulce de leche product, so it is available at a well-stockk Loblaws.
Any Latin American store in Kensignton carries at least 5 different brands of dulce de leche.
You can also make your own from a boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours...you can find many methods/debates about doing this on the homecooking board.

soft shell crab

Rodney's Oyster House has soft shell crab. I had one for dinner tonight, coated with buttermilk and panko, then deep fried. Delicious!

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Rodney's Oyster House
469 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V1K4, CA

New Sushi Restaurant on Harbord?

Akai Sushi, I had lunch there last week. The food was far superior to the sushi on Bloor street. I had the chirashi, the fish was sliced correcly, served at a decent tempture (lots of places the fish is very cold) and great quality. A little more expensive than the places on Bloor, but worth it. I rather spend my money on decent sushi less often than eat bad maki that's mostly rice.
Very cute spot, I will recommened it.

Best and Worst Cooking Shows

I been really enjoying "Chuck's Day Off" from Montreal. Great vibe and great music too.
Jamie Olivier, the one at his farmhouse is beautiful to look at. Also Laura Calder is cute and funny while make nice looking food.
One's I don't like: Big Daddy's House and 5 ingredients thingy production qualities are bad. The sets are poorly lit and the demostrations are way too messy for tv.

iso: dulce de leche coconut cookies recipe

I'm looking for a recipe for dulce de leche coconut cookies. My ideal is the one made at Wanda Pie in the Sky in Toronto. It is a sweet and very chewy drop cookie, NOTa sandwich cookie. Anyone have the recipe?

Thank you!

Coca

I was there last Friday. The team from Globe bistro have taken over Coca and have already redone the menu. They plan to close the place for renovation in Janurary, in the meantime they wanted to be open for the December rush.
The food was really good: the moorish lamb stew, fritos, cod croquettes, and shrimp with chorizos were standouts.
I'm thinking closer to $35 per person. I went with people with good appetites, so may not be the best judge.

Wanda's Belgian Waffles - Toronto

Too bad about Goed Eten. The waffles were delicious there. But I do look forward to them finding a better location, a place were people can relax with some waffles and a cup of coffee.

Fresh Pomegranate seeds

I agree, pomergrante seeds are very nice on a salad. The Mediterranean salad with prosciutto and pomergrante from the Nov 2008 Bon Appetit is very good.

Rome & Venice: fennel pollen

I'll be in Italy at the end of May. Where I could buy fennel pollen in either Venice or Rome?

Ace Bakery sold for presumable millions (Toronto/GTA)

Only time will tell what happens to the quality of Ace's product.
I dont' know the availbility of Ace bread outside the GTA. But here is EVERYWHERE in Toronto. Sad it to hear it was sold to a US firm, but interesting it wasn't sold to some big food conglomerate.

Daniel Boulud coming to Vancouver, BC

From what I've read Feenie is pretty cool about Daniel Boulud taking over the space. Feenie says it's pretty impresive if it takes a big name like Daniel Boudlud to step into the spot he vacated.

Where can I find Cheese Popcorn?

Sorry man, but there is nothing compared to Garrett's in Toronto. Garrett's set the bar quite high. Now, I want some of that cheese and caramel corn

Swatow and the Bright Pearl- what's all the fuss about?

I'm one of the big Swatow fans. It is great for simple congee, noodles and rice dishes. Compared to other places in the Spadina/Dundas area it is the best for simple fast Chinese food. Greasy, but not too greasy. Now, compared to Markham/Richmond Hill chinese food to would run in the middle of the pack.

Wanted: A Cookbook To Curl Up With [Moved from Home Cooking board]

I also really enjoyed this book. She has a lot of great ideas for parties for all occasions. Plus she is funny, funny, funny. All the things you can do with pantyhose, who knew?

Mimi, where are you?

There was an article in Now a couple of weeks ago about Mimi's closing. Yes, she's retiring. Her health has been declining steady the last couple of years so she decided to pack it up. She will be missed.

Anyone been to Burrito Boyz?

I had the halibut burrito a couple of week ago, it was still delicious. And the guac isn't an extra charge anymore. It is by far the best burrito place in the downtown core. Bar Burrito and the dozen other other places that have popped up around town don't come even close to Burritos Boyz quality.