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I'm starting grad school on Thursday, work full time and am married to a Catholic, 500 miles from my family.

We have a challah in the freezer, but I wouldn't be shocked if we end up eating it with delivered rotisserie chicken from Swiss Chalet. :D

We are going to a burger place tonight with friends, the Yellow Griffin. It's pick your patty (beef, turkey, veggie, pork, lamb, chicken breast, salmon hunk) and then pick your topping combination and side. I had a vegan lunch (some of the best food on campus, the once-a-week student-cooked vegan thing) so I will probably go for a meatwad.

Nearest Timmie's is probably the one on the corner of Bloor and Bedford, a tiny bit west of the hotel.

Ugh. Saigon PALACE. I'm tired.

@lexophile - we did the opposite, got the garde manger reservation but it was too late for PDC. Next time! Plus, just looking at the PDC menu made me feel like it was 15 degrees hotter than it actually was, with all that foie and such. We'll go back to Montreal when it is cooler...not hard to do, heh.

@bareneed - go for it! wheeee! i could go into more detail if you like, and tell you about the rest of the menu, i can probably remember a bunch more.

@hungrychristel the gravy was thinner, and probably made with seafood stock. i don't like regular poutine because normal gravy grosses me out on fries, but i really enjoyed this. big (and small, to be integrated) chunks of lobster, real curds.

Another vote for Nigella.

I never bother with the custard when I make ice cream at home - you just have to make sure not to let it thaw and then refreeze - eat it all at once with your family/friends :)

2 cups cream, 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup sugar (superfine granulated is nice for this purpose)
then add your flavouring - whatever you want. if I were making a chocolate base, which I usually don't do, I would just go ahead and melt a couple of ounces of chocolate, let it cool, and then blend it into the base with a stick blender. You can always add more if you taste the mix and it doesn't seem chocolatey enough.

But then I'm an improviser for everything but baked goods. :)

There's Dynasty near Bloor and Bay, and Pearl at the Harbourfront Centre. Both are a little more expensive than Rol San/Bright Pearl; the settings are nicer, and the food less greasy. Pearl has carts, Dynasty is order from the menu.

At Dynasty I recommend the Bok Choy in Supreme Broth (lots of garlic cloves, mmm) and the Pan Fried Rice Crepe in Spicy Sauce, or something along that line, so so good. At Pearl it is a more standard selection but everything is very well prepared. I think both are dim sum for lunch only.

Have tried venison, wild boar, goat (not game, but less commonly eaten meat in North America), buffalo, quail, ostrich...can't think of what else. Liked them all. I would try almost any animal as long as it was either raised for meat or properly hunted...but I do have a double standard for dogs, having grown up living with one. I know it is hypocritical; I'm OK with that.

Can't think of an all-time favourite but my current beloved is from a Serbian grill place run by a butcher-shop owner - veal/pork burger on a lepinya (flat, crispy-edged bun) with lots of veggies and their house sauce which is mainly roasted peppers, onions and feta. Nom.

I haven't joined a CSA yet, though we have talked about it. I just wanted to say how jealous I am of joyyy, since living in Ontario there is no possibility of my finding nopales in some future box (nor grapefruit but that's OK with me). Lucky!!! :D

OK, my potluck picnic (mentioned in the "Are All Parties Potlucks Now" thread) was yesterday. We had a great time, I think everyone had enough to eat, etc. I had not asked anyone to bring anything specific, just to bring something to share.

Only I think three people actually made something to bring. Fruit salad, spicy cream cheese wrap spirals, and guacamole, all of which were delicious. Some of the purchased items were clearly planned - one person brought bread, old cheddar and grapes, for example. Others simply picked up something that would be easy to eat outside - chips, whole fruit, pastries, drinks.

My husband and I had picked up some sandwich makings, salsa, spinach dip, chips, and I made a chocolate wacky cake, which is vegan, since we have some vegan friends and one who is allergic to dairy (truly allergic as opposed to our lactose intolerant friend who can usually tolerate a cake made with a little dairy). I had made an effort not to have total control over the food but I didn't want anyone to be hungry either.

Not judging anything here (except the deliciousness of the things people made! yum), just saying that everyone is different, has a different idea of what is delicious or what is picnic food, has a different budget, has a different thing they are craving that day. Everything was at least partially eaten (we could not have finished everything!). I don't think anyone felt excluded or like they put in too much work compared to anyone else.

As long as everyone had fun and no one left hungry, I'm pleased.