Profile

Chocolatesa

A fellow foodie with roots in Swedish and French Canadian cooking. I love to cook and try new unusual foods, either of my own creation or of other cultures. I'm intolerant to spicy food.

  • Location: Montreal, Canada
  • Favorite foods: Bacon, cheese, poutine, noodles and cheese, bbq, ethnic food, too many to name honestly! Would I be a foodie otherwise? :P
  • Last bite on earth: Noodles and cheese

Will We Drink Soda Differently in 2013?

Or for those who are so inclined, you can easily make your own soda machine http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2012-06/how-make-your-own-home-carbonation-system

The Food Lab: The Science of No-Knead Dough

I think you should change the link to the "skillet-broiler method" at the end to the "baking steel method" :)

The Food Lab: How to Cook a Perfect Prime Rib

Does this method apply to dry-aged beef too?

Mangalorean Beef and Bacon Gravy

It says "add the marinated beef and cook" but there's no previous step for marinating the beef... Which spices do you marinate it in? For how long?

The Food Lab: How To Make The Ultimate Turducken

Awesome! I'm SO making this for Christmas :D Thank you!

Frozen Pig ears. Sheesh, chum or food?

I second the Cantonese preparation. If you have any Asian markets nearby you might be able to find a spice mix to make "red-raised" meat, I think that's what they use. I've bought ears made that way already prepared on display beside the cash register at Asian markets and I loved them. The other ways of preparing them sound really good too!

A Sandwich a Day: Smoked Meat at Schwartz's Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen

Another Montrealer here, I guess I missed this post when it came out... I've never been to Schwartz's but have always meant to go. I have been to Smoke Meat Pete's countless times though and I agree that it's awesome, but not having been to any other place can't say if it's better or worse.

Slurped: Of Rice Cakes, and Comfort Lost and Found

This article reminded me of the one time I ever ate rice cakes, at a tiny Asian place hidden at the deserted back corner of a gigantic food court. I looked at the menu and picked the first thing that I had never seen before. There was plenty of wok hai and delicious brown sauce, juicy shrimp and crunchy bean sprouts. It was awesome. Thank you for reminding me of this, I have to go back there!

Chichi's Chinese: Drunken Chicken

Lolll @ meridiansour "shot it?" YES!!!! I totally would! That's a great idea :P I've done that with chicken pan drippings before :D

This sounds like a great recipe! I'm making it tonight for dinner :)

Chain Reaction: Dic Ann's, Home of Montreal's Favorite Super-Thin Burgers

I've had one of their burgers at the St-Jacques location and I liked it a lot :) I'm craving one now!

The Nasty Bits: Stir-Fried Tripe with Chili Bean Paste

This looks so good, I'll have to try it!

AHT Giveaway: Omnomnomnivore T-Shirt from Threadless

I have one named after me! The Sarahsaurus!

Ultra Crispy Burgers

I made these tonight with only chuck (it was fattiest and cheapest) and it was AWESOME! Thank you :)

Montreal: Ground-to-Order Burgers at La Flammée

Awesome, more Montreal content! This is great, thank you :)

The Food Lab: How To Make Vegan Mayonnaise

I tried making this with the soy lecithin granules but it didn't thicken at all... am I doing something wrong?

The Vegan Experience, a Retrospective: All 28 of Kenji's Vegan Recipes

I tried making the tofu-based mayo and the eggplant mayo, adding soy lecithin granules as instructed but they didn't thicken. Am I doing something wrong?

Vegan: Fried Eggplant Sandwich with Eggplant Mayo

I tried making the eggplant and the tofu-based mayo, adding about 1/4 tsp of soy lecithin granules to the base before adding the oil and blending, but neither of them got as thick as real mayo, they stayed quite liquid. Is it possible for lecithin to expire? Am I not using it right? Please let me know :)

The flavor of both is absolutely delicious btw, it's just the texture that's missing. Thank you for these great recipes!

The Food Lab, Ramen Edition: How to Make Chashu Pork Belly

I want to make this so badly RIGHT NOW. But it'll have to wait...adding to my list...

Dude you should do half-hitches when you tie the string like Jacques Pepin does, it's way faster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAekQ5fzfGM

I love your articles! You're awesome!

10 of the Funniest, Strangest, Grossest Ramens

This article is so cool! I love instant ramen too, but have never seen any of these brands, as I tend to stick to the same 2-3 well-known grocery store brands like Mr. Noodles that I grew up with. I wanna start trying all sorts of different kinds now!

I grew up with noodles and cheese, a packet of Mr. Noodles cooked according to instructions, served with the broth, and then a lot of grated cheddar stirred in. So good! I started adding freshly ground white pepper as well. I can't wait to check out your blog!

The Food Lab: How to Make Tonkotsu Ramen Broth at Home

This is awesome :D I've made tonkotsu ramen once before following the No Recipes recipe, and I made the mistake of trying to do it all in one day. It turned out well but I got discouraged after that attempt because of all the work, but reading this makes me wanna make it again! And keep ready-made ingredients in the fridge for future use :P

The Food Lab: Deep-Fried, Sous-Vide, 36-Hour, All-Belly Porchetta (Or, The Most Freaking Delicious Thing To Ever Come Out Of My Kitchen)

"Nearly impossible to replicate"? Challenge accepted.

The Food Lab: Deep-Fried, Sous-Vide, 36-Hour, All-Belly Porchetta (Or, The Most Freaking Delicious Thing To Ever Come Out Of My Kitchen)

Things like this are the reason I go on here.

ROFL! @ Stratusgd's comment. Me too! Kenji you have a way with words...

I'm going to make this one day soon, I already have your turkey-stuffed-turkey planned for NYE, and my mom won't let me touch her freezer-to-oven Christmas butterball (I didn't know such...things... existed), but luckily I'm Orthodox and get to celebrate TWO Christmases! Lol :P I'll just have to get someone to drive me & my cooler to my parents place and then help me stay up all night watching the temperature on it. My sister's crazy enough, she can help me :)

THANK YOU!

Chocolate Made of Coffee: KA-POW! by Sahagún Chocolates

Wow, that is awesome :P I'll ask a friend who owns a chocolate shop if she can order some in bulk to sell so I can save on the shipping :)

Poll: BBQ Sauce on Pizza, Way or No Way?

I've only ever had frozen pizza with BBQ sauce and didn't like it, so I'll suspend judgement till I've had it in the BBQ capital of the world :D

Poll: BBQ Sauce on Pizza, Way or No Way?

I've only ever had frozen pizza with BBQ sauce and didn't like it, so I'll suspend judgement till I've had it in the BBQ capital of the world :D

The Food Lab's Complete Guide To Pan-Seared Steaks

Summers are made for the grill, but what's a steak lover to do when the weather's too cold and wet to light the suckers up? Just cook them indoors. Indeed, pan-seared steaks have several distinct advantages over grilled steaks—enough that there are times when given the two choices, I'll choose pan-seared just for the sake of it. While grilling will get you a rapid-fire crust on your steak with all those delightfully crisp, on-the-verge-of-burnt bits and a good smoky flavor, I find that the even golden brown crust you can develop in a hot cast-iron pan really accentuates the flavor of the beef itself, letting it shine. On top of that, pan-searing affords you the opportunity to add your own flavorings in the form of aromatics. Pan-seared steaks come out about 4 percent moister to boot.

Here's the best way to do it.

More

Chichi's Chinese: Cabbage Salad

I caught the raw cabbage bug late in life. Which is to say, for most of my life, I thought of it in coleslaw form—and not the good kind either, but wilting cabbage smothered in white sauce that was too sweet and tasted sort of like mayonnaise gone bad. So it did not occur to me until recently that raw cabbage could actually be quite good. Sweet and a little crunchy, it can be dressed in all kinds of ways. More

Bacon Jam

This complex mixture of sweet candied smoky–salty bacon—with earthy undertones from a hit of coffee, and pockets of heat—is great on burgers, pizza, biscuits, and more. More

Grilling: Italian Party Panini

Impressive in size, scope, and taste, this overstuffed Italian party panini was seriously one of the greatest things to come off my grill recently. Layers of mortadella, Genoa salami, provolone, and hot capicola are topped with marinated veggies, pepperoncinis, roasted red peppers, and lettuce, then put over a medium-low fire and topped with bricks to compress it down into a warm panini. (Right?!?) More

Vegan Mayonnaise

Note: For best results, use a hand blender along with the jar it came with. For a more stable mayonnaise, add a pinch of soy lecithin (available in health and nutrition stores) along with the tofu.... More

Oyakodon

This isn't the most traditional recipe for oyakodon in that I just can't resist slightly caramelizing the onions. I also use leftover chicken, the small scraggly bits of dark meat pulled off a chicken carcass are my favorites. Upgrade the water to homemade dashi or chicken stock if you're feeling fancy, but I proudly endorse powdered kombu dashi. More