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michichan

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Favorite foods: ice cream, nuts, chili, soup

What's Your Favorite Topping for Ice Cream?

Streusel. We all know it's the best part of apple crumble

Food for when it's REALLY Cold

Oh you pansy Americans, it's -40 up in Canada and we spent a week as the second coldest city in the world this December (After someplace in Siberia).
That said, bring out the old slow cooker and cook lots of beans. I don't know what it is, but beans are my go to cold comfort food. Lasagna too.

Croissant Recipe

Something' i've tried with varying success: (*Same recipe, different technique to avoid melting the butter)
Roll out the dough as thin as you can, but having it still pliable from the counter
Spread a layer of butter over all the dough
Fold it over itself several times. Quick;y roll out and store in refriedgerator.

What Fall Foods Are You Excited For?

Hauling out my old slow cooker again and coming home to the smell of... anything.

SE College Division...

I like the idea of taking turns, what with our schedules and all.
I'm a third year from University of Alberta, proud of our green and gold teams, and our chicken noodle soup with a layer of oil on top.

Befriending Chefs/Restaurant Staff

You'll never be a friend, so much as that guy who tips well. Don't get any false ideas.

Advice on starting a cooking club?

Don't hold it in your home if you're inviting strangers. Plus you have to worry about your local laws-there may be something about having a certified kitchen

For the laddies- Hottest Food Network Dude?

In a classy sort of way, Geoff Garten is very handsome

Random fruits in one dish?

Blend it up with some yogurt and honey for a smoothie

My own farmer's market booth...

Various gripes on current stands:
Don't have too much variety. My local market has a stand with prepared food from every culture, for every dietary need, and all of it is 'pretty ok'. Figure out what you do best and stick to those.
Sample away! And keep samples at the appropriate temperatures, even if it means handing out single servings yourself from a pot. I recently had an hour old sample of a chicken tortilla that had congealed into a layer of break, and a layer of fat.

Which is more important, great ingredients or great technique?

Ingredients, but that said, the one chef technique that will change all that is patience.

By the bathroom or by the kitchen...

When I was a hostess, I always gave away the best seats first-the booths, the corners, and the round tables. If you're not absolutely certain that you're going to fill the restaurant, then you may not even need to seat anyone by the bathroom.

Cheese in your Eggs Benedict: Yea or Nay!

I may be chased and torched for my opinion, but I think eggs benedict is perfected with a shaving of pecorino.
However, take from that what you will. This is coming from someone whose dad calls it 'eggs bennie'.

University student in need of help - living on my own!

Get a microwave! Even if you are an extreme foodie, you will have leftovers, and you won't want to cook every night.
As for grocery bargains, avoid Sobeys, Overwaitea, and Safeway. Superstore is your best choice, even if it is a bus ride away. Get club packs of chicken thighs, pork shoulders, and other cheap cuts that taste so much better when slow cooked.
Prep prep prep! Don't buy the pre cut carrots, they're so much more than the regular ones, and you can't avoidf the undeniable slimy taste.
Enjoy university!

Chefs & Customers Who Linger After Hours

Yeah, after a 10 hour shift, the last thing anyone wants is a single table to babysit for 15%.

Plane Snacks

Things not to bring:
Allergens: nuts, eggs, shellfish
Stuff that goes bad easily: sushi, eggs (again)
smelly stuff: fish, eggs (Seriously, don't bring em)

What to do with greens!

Mix em in with a quiche
Puree them and add them to a chocolate cake. Seriously.
Share them!

Favorite Ramen Toppings?

@MSG- It's only harmful if you have to watch your sodium levels. The glutamate is water soluble and doesn't pass the blood brain barrier

Trying to use less butter

Evil margarine fan here, and I wanna defend my friend.
Margarine isn't the near-plastic product it's been given a reputation as. It's hydrogenated vegetable oil, which means it's been bombarded with hydrogen ions to turn a bendy chain to a straight chain of hydrocarbons (Organic chem fans will know what I'm talking about).
As for the cancer claim, I find that hard to believe. In your stomach pH of 2, nothing survives. Margarine, not unlike anything else you put in there is gonna be Cleaved, baby.

How Often Do you Indulge?

proscuitto is delish and much thinner (=less). Don't even think about tempeh bacon.

What would you do with really ripe bananas?

Banana cake with chocolate frosting, vanilla custard, and hazelnut brittle-MmmM! Just layer cake, custard, brittle, frosting, cake, frosting, brittle. Mmm!
Or peel, dip in chocolate, and freeze

Needed: a meal that would win a man's heart!

Don't sweat it. I have it on good authority that there are three things men prefer to food; boobs and funny hats. Count again.

What does a young foodie/recent grad need in his kitchen?

Even as a foodie, the kitchen appliance I use most is a microwave. Your friend won't be able to cook every night, and heating up leftovers is way too time consuming and pricey in the oven.

what is the first thing you grab?

Come one, these are nibbles, and if I have a light breakfast and no lunch I'm starved by 4.
I always have some sort of cake or pie around, so a good sized slice of that. Current craving is coconut cream pie, but I won't be choosy.
Then an apple with peanut butter smeared over it. And if I'm still hungry, I'll make up a hot chocolate.

Safe to mix tahini with other foods?

Were you told this by a doctor? I'm pretty skeptical of the whole thing-combination meals are really important, and I can't imagine anyone telling you to avoid that.
As for digestion, sure there are different digestion times for different foods, but also different digestion locations for different foods, and both vary simply with the size of the food as you swallow. And we're built specially for that purpose.

Food that Freaks Me Out!

I've heard the butter versus margarine debate a million times, and I'm not worried about margarine-I've heard from numerous MDs and biochemists that it's perfectly ok (Though do feel free to share your concerns. I'll listen)
But there are things that freak me out. Recently I heard about a brand of genetically modified Monsanto tomatoes that produce their own pesticide. As well, There've been too many horror stories about artificial sweeteners to make me feel at all comfortable.
So what freaks you out? What foods have you heard are dangerous, unhealthy, or downright evil?

Serious Eats - seriouseats.com