barry hails caesar.

what makes a good caesar: the brand of vodka? the tomato to clam juice ratio? the garnish used? i don’t know – you tell me! – but i can tell you who makes a good caesar: the haven social club. i discovered haven on a blustery winter day this past february. at the time i was screaming for socialism, cbc, and more speak n spell while listening to the dulcet tunes of taking medication. (side note: music does not need more cowbell, it needs more speak n spell, dammit!) what better drink to enjoy the night with than a caesar? only this was the best caesar i ever had. it was garnished with a pickled asparagus, and other than a smooth, savory taste, i can’t tell you much more about what made it so great. i highly recommend that you all take your medication at haven and try one for yourself.

one of many caesar recipes:

6 oz. mott's clamato juice

1½ oz. vodka

2 dashes tabasco sauce

2 dashes worcestershire sauce

celery salt

freshly ground pepper

lime/lemon wedge

1 crisp celery stalk

1. rim highball glass first with the lemon slice and then the celery salt.

2. fill this glass with ice.

3. add vodka and juice to ice, and season with pepper, worcestershire sauce, and tabasco.

4. stir, and then garnish with a celery stick.

barry finally posted pink slip pics.

say that three times fast. click here to view the post with pictures.

barry's ethiopian haiku.

ahoihoi readers. i just checked my facebook fanpage, and realized that i don't know everyone on the list. this is a first! thirty-five and counting...

ethnic finger food:
lentils, spinach, doro tibs.

langano skies rocks!

injera rolled tight.
the wait for fresh food is long;
start off with a snack.

spicy and mild fare,
vegetarian and meat.
watch out for berber!

barry reads the headlines.

geez, you guys are demanding – actually expecting me to write and all. okay, here’s a quick trip through some local (and personal) headlines of stuff around e-town.

to market, to market…

YAY! the weather’s grand and i’m feeling peckish. what’s a person to do? why, visit one of edmonton’s fantabulous farmer’s markets of course! as of may long, the downtown market on 104 street is now open, and selling everything from edible flowers to delicious lemon tarts. wander about, sample the local food scene (literally – almost everyone has food samples), and pick up some lunch.

http://www.albertamarkets.com/

speaking of markets…

a friend and i trekked out to callingwood in west edmonton to discover the wonders of the happy camel. homemade pita, hummus, and tabbouleh are just a few of their delights. try their creamed roasted vegetables spread on multigrain pita, or maybe some of their yogurt dip on one of their loaded flatbreads. the happy camel has been at the old strathcona markets for awhile now, but this is their first year at the downtown market. if you discover you love them more than life can bear, make sure you visit them at their store on the west-end – there you receive a card and stamps for every visit over $10. collect 10 stamps to receive a free medium hummus and 4 large pitas.

http://www.happycamel.ca/

things i found at the supermarket…

recently i decided to try cooking with lemongrass for the first time. i tend to get nervous about cooking with new ingredients that seem difficult to use (i have yet to try cooking with phyllo), but have decided that this is the year for trial-and-error. i didn’t even know what it looked like, but with some friendly help at the 51 avenue superstore, found it amongst the potatoes and onions. i stripped off the outer leaves, and started hacking it to pieces, then blended it with garlic, fish sauce, and rice vinegar to marinate pork pieces for a vermicelli bowl. no clue if i stripped off too much or not enough of the outer leaves, but the nice thing about this was how cheap the lemongrass was, so i didn’t feel too bad about wasting too much of it.

fish sauce…
i bought fish sauce for the first time to make the above recipe. golden boy fish sauce to be exact. yeah…has anyone out there purchased this brand before? if you have, you know exactly where i’m going with this – how the hell do you open it?! sure you take off the outer layer of plastic first. and sure you flip open the yellow cap, but then what?! how do you crack the 3 solid plastic, concentric circles?? i tried prying them off with a knife, i tried pushing them in, i even begun sawing away at the top ring, but stopped after i realized i would get fish sauce everywhere (i don’t do anchovies very well). the solution came from my brother-in-law: take a corkscrew to make a hole in the top. brilliant in its simplicity, effective in its result – i now pass along this wisdom to you, my fellow foodies. no longer shall we be denied the fish sauce.

another first attempt…

for mother’s day part of my gift was to prepare a homemade brunch for my parents. eggs benedict came to mind, but since both of my parents are diabetic, i needed to create a low-fat, low-sugar and low-sodium substitution for hollandaise sauce. i came up with: 1 tbsp. butter, 2 tbsp. lemon, 1 tbsp grainy mustard and fresh dill, heated until the butter had melted. it looked great, and tasted just okay, but there has to be something out there that’s better. if anyone has a recipe for a low-fat hollandaise, send it my way – it will definitely come in handy in the future.

hello, hello!

finally, i’d like to say “hello” to don at the river cree casino. don, as introduced to you in a february blog, is the sous chef at the kitchen buffet restaurant at the casino, and works his creativity for the seafood buffet there. i went back for some snow crab legs, mussels and shrimp on friday and had a quick chat with him, and he apparently reads this blog (woo-hoo! i’m up to 30 readers now!). so hello to you don – thanks for the deliciousness.

barry has a couple of quickies for you.

quickie #1: a couple of weeks ago i found out that pharos pizza and spaghetti house did not close in january as i reported in december '08, but was granted an extension and will now be open until late june. SO if you didn't go already to reintroduce yourself to their popeye pizza and greek salad, don't wait til june GO NOW!

8708 109 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T6G 1E9‎
(780) 433-5205‎

quickie #2: bananas at no frills in vegreville were .36/pound on monday. i think superstore on 51 avenue has bananas for.76/pound. you do the math.

barry's back with the pink slip.

yes, i know. many of you have already given me plenty of grief for going m.i.a., but wasn't the wait and anticipation worth it to find out the winning recipe of the pink slip?!

well, okay, maybe not.

i have a confession to make. i didn't actually test the recipes i came up with until after the voting was done, so when i had a wee shindig to sample the three pink slip recipes, it was the first time anybody had tried them, including me. so really, it's not my fault that pink slip recipe #2 won...even though it turned out to be the most disgusting thing i or anyone else in the room had ever consumed.

my bad.

BUT even though #2 tasted like fizzy cinnamon cough syrup, the other two recipes were a big hit. recipe #1 was particularly popular, which surprised me because campari usually means a bitter death. i suggest changing that recipe slightly and add just under a part of campari and instead add an extra splash of pineapple juice - it tastes great, and has the bitterness of grapefruit juice.

here are a few comments from my pink slip party guests. i offered them the option of anonymity, hence the online names.

superman liked #3 because he said so. SNAP!

latinlover felt #3 made him feel fantastic.

me! thought #3 was the best combination with a light, fruity taste. very refreshing. the shade of pink with the red cherry at the bottom was also lovely. p.s.- three rules.

carolina. liked the cherry of #3, but didn't like #2 because she hates cinnamon.

stone fox's first pick was #3 as it was the best of the bunch.

everyone else in the group picked #1:

evilbreakfest liked the orange chair, that orange chair rocks, why aren't there more orane chairs?*
*i should point out that when my friends wrote their comments they had just had a number of very strong drinks.

em eye picked #1 because the other two SUCKED! just kidding (not really). #1 is fresh, different and doesn't have a disgusting cinnamon after taste. yikes, i need tums after #2!

(illegible scribbles) wrote "hey! i ordered a cheeseburger what the f*ck? $5000!!?!*
*again, alcohol.

sea of ash thought #1 was sexy! it definitely is a breakfast drink and you can never start drinking this [stuff] too early with economic crisis.

mrs. roper: pink slip #1: bitter, tart, delicious.

the tastemaker: it's like a breakfast you can drink. it's a marker of refined, sophisticated palates. i feel sorry for people who chose #2 because they will never experience true tasty delight.

tasterator: vegetables and sugar turned into a palate cleansing drink - what more could a robustly, athletic, pro-active and vital young man want? pink slip #1 is beyond my taste expectations.

so that's it folks. #1 was the clear favourite. my vote is to think of names for recipes #1 & 3 and get them on the market. write in with your name suggestions, and we'll get those posted!