ottawa foodies

Hello!!

As mentioned in the earlier forum topics, the Foodie Meetup is this Sunday, August 23 at around 4:30, at Pam's rooftop patio.

Fresh Foodie will be sending out a message to those who have expressed interest with the appropriate coordinates (Pam's address, Pam's and my phone numbers).

I'm not going to give a run down of who all is coming, but to say that with children, we're looking at around 50 invited people. But, people will come and go, and some may have forgotten (though, I hope not), so I'm not too concerned about numbers.

Does anyone need a ride??
Pam lives in Centretown, which is fairly busable. But if it's not for you, please send me a direct message.

As for what to bring...

-->Yourself
-->A dish of your choice, with a piece of paper/cardstock that has the ingredients written upon it
--> Bevvies. BYOBevvies but feel free to share as you please
--> Any thing (by which I mean food) that you would like to throw on the grill. I imagine there will be some main dishes that people bring as well, so you're not required to BBQ.
--> Any sort of game or whatnot that you would like to play during the soiree. I plan on bringing a few frisbees and attempting to mercilessly drag people away from the rooftop and to a park for frisbee playing.

Cutlery and the like will be supplied by...
foodntravel - plates
lady who brunches - forks & nametags
tiana - spoons and knives
pasta lover - napkins
pam - salt and pepper

We need people to bring
condiments (someone super thrilled about grilling, preferably)
cups for drinking

Allergies
Currently there are a few vegetarians/vegans and the following allergies (none severe, mind you):
- blue cheese
- melon (my husband is strange, i know)
- seafood

If you have no clue what's going on, check out the following posts:
ottawafoodies.com/forum/2057
ottawafoodies.com/forum/1992

Yep. That should cover it.

I may not be able to make it there before 5:30 or so, because my ultimate team is silly and lost three games in a row, meaning we play the last spot possible for playoffs. I'm a little sad about this. I might just go to the gym instead.

lady who brunches thanks for this - I am getting excited already! (And a huge thank you to Pam for opening her patio to us.)

One question about the bbq though. Since I live in an apartment with no access to a bbq I am quite excited about bringing something to cook on the q. However having no experience at these things I am wondering if someone will be on hand to lend their grilling expertise?

I'm still planning to be there, and will be happy to assist, depending on status of my children (i.e. missing, causing trouble, or happily making conversation).

A further question on the BBQ thread - who is planning to use it? My dish can be made ahead and served cold - or done on the bbq there - just wondering how much demand there will be on the BBQ.

This sounds like fun...hope I can make the "next" one! Summer = cottage = no technology!

LWB sent me a list and I've forwarded Pam's contact info to everyone on that list. If you think you're going to this event but haven't received a message from me, please let me know so I can figure out what's wrong.

Thanks very much to LWB and Pam for setting this up!

I can certainly toss in some various condiments

PastaL> be glad to be off assistance if needed

I have a dish in mind but it will contain fish sauce, seafood allergies beware!
might bring a second dish depending on how busy I am the next 3 days :S....if today was an indicator, I might be found sleeping under a table somewhere after 20 mins or so :C

might bring a second dish depending on how busy I am the next 3 days :S....if today was an indicator, I might be found sleeping under a table somewhere after 20 mins or so :C

I'm with you on that one. No time for ridiculously complicated fudge frosting. Will stick with standard, albeit delicious, buttercream.

lol@ LWB I might bring my palette knife then
personally I love cake with no frosting, just how I roll (lol, literally, right now)

with 73North closed, I'm busier than allgetout and a totally different demographics than I am accustomed to (my inner mantra: I hate tourist....tourists are good...I hate tourist.....tourists are good) :S

I didn't get a message, but I only answered the survey last night... I don't know if LWB got the details of it yet.

niall,
be patient
if you don't get it by sun AM message me and I can forward the info

I could meet up with you Niall and we could go together, I have the directions.

Jag, that might just be an offer I won't turn down if the weather is similiar to the just past weekend

Jag knows where I live... and I live about three blocks away from Pam. :)

But mostly, it was to see if my dish (actually dessert) suggestion made any foodie sense to LWB. I'm not very experienced in such shared food matters and my cooking ability for groups is highly untrained. (The most I have had to cook for is three... and pretty much all the time it's for one. When I cook.)

Niall I'm sure the dessert you make will be delicious. I also have limited cooking abilities when it comes to preparing a dish for a crowd. My most frequent dinner guest is a neighbour who eats mostly take out or frozen dinners so anything home made tastes great. Which is not very helpful when you want feedback-;) It will be interesting to see what people bring since we have such a wide array of cooking experience. It will be fun though and a good chance to meet everyone.

Oh, dilligent Niall, answering surveys! *looks at survey responses*

*giggles at survey responses*

I think it's a fine idea, but I will message you about one suggestion. Heh heh.

Honestly, there's a huge variance in the amount and type of training we've had as foodies. In fact, I'm sure that there are some of us who have no training as cooks, but lots as eaters.

Don't fret it too much.

Niall, just a quick heads up. In earlier discussions, we talked about making dish that would feed about 4-6 people. If everyone brings a dish that can feed the whole group, then we'll have tons of wasted food. So, really, just think of it of cooking for a group of friends, and not be too worried about anything else.

shall I bring takeaway containers lol?

Thank you Snoopy Loopy. I can dose for that easily. I tried to read the messages but there were a lot of them... :) Last I had seen was "for 10-15".

I hope the weather stays nice for you guys. I will be working at Greekfest, so there was no chance for me to attending. Hopefully there will be one next year and I can meet everyone in person. And hopefully not be a newbie anymore.

Enjoy!

sorry to hear that MonkF
glad not me
but it did make me think: what about a autumnal mixer?
after turkey and candy day and before xmas (as not to conflict with familial goofarb)
just a get2?
opinions?

ah. familial goofarb. indeed.

i think there's merit in talking about this on sunday and posting thoughts afterwards.

Lady Who Brunches - Your last post made me think of something else... Hopefully someone will post a Forum topic with a bit of a recap on how the Summer Meet-up went... it would be interesting to get the "dish" on some of the dishes that are brought, or some of the antics that OF Members got into... LOL I am sure there will stories to tell based on this group.

I am sure I won't be the only one who can't make it who will be thinking of you all on Sunday.
:-)

F&T

Um. I was planning on posting a recipe thread for people to post their recipes of what tehy made. So, yes. Tee hee.

chef Obi said "but it did make me think: what about a autumnal mixer?
after turkey and candy day and before xmas (as not to conflict with familial goofarb)" Which made me think that candy day could be a good excuse to indulge in a little foodie revelry. Now I wonder how hard it would be to find a Swedish Chef costume?

In the meantime I am just picturing us running around Pam's patio addressing each other by our foodie names. It could be like Halloween in August-;)

I bought drinking cups. 51, to be exact. So, we're covered.

What is the back up plan in case it rains? I have never been to Pam's patio but I doubt it is enclosed. The forecast calls for rain all day on Sunday. Is there a rain date? or some sort of back up plan in case it is torrential?

Pam booked the party room as well so we have somewhere to flee in case of rain.

Update : Tomatoes are in, so I won't be able to make it :-(

Too much canning to do this weekend!

Foodie in need of help-

I work every weekend 6-18hrs. I plan to come to the picnic about 6:15pm, a little late, I know, but hoping that some people will still be hanging out.

I have a marinated salad that I will bring, but was wondering if someone could perhaps take it for me so that it is there when the crowd arrives??

I could drop it by somebody's place Saturday night after 6:30 or if all else fails, I could bring it when I come at 6:15, Sunday and risk eating marinated veggies all week.

Without giving hints as to what I'm bringing, does anyone know where in Ottawa I could buy dried sour/tart cherries? I know Bulk Barn and Loblaws have dried regular cherries, but what about sour?

I know there are sour cherries at the Landsdowne Farmer's Market. I expect that there will also be sour cherries in the Byward Market as well as the Parkdale Market.

Food Film Director: as it happens, I have been looking for the exact same thing... so I'll change my approach. :) But nothing in the Byward Market sells sour cherries, or in fact cherries of any kind.

I was about to go check the Landsdowne market tomorrow morning... You take the cherries, I'll try for something else.

You can buy dried sour cherries at the mid-east food center on Belfast near St-laurent. I bought them by accident a couple weeks ago and thought they were sweetened. :)

i'm tentative depending on business.

on the topic on sour cherries there are wonderful italian wild cherries called amarena cherries imported from italy and can be found @ nicastro's or la bottega, comes preserved in a ceramic jar. highly regarded by chefs. such a refined and sophisticated taste that it can inspire you to come up with ideas to use them in dishes, sauces and cocktails. you may be convinced to never eat maraschinos again.

Hi all! I've been entertaining a guest from across the pond for the past week, so have been largely unable to check email, sites etc. But! I wanted to provide some answers to some random questions that've been answered:

- yes my oven is available for anyone who needs it
- yes my microwave will also be available!
- yes there is a bar fridge in the party room! we can also store stuff in my fridge.

I'll be in Montreal until tomorrow morning. If anyone needs to reach me I'm checking email at pamlet at gmail dot com, or my cell phone number was sent out to the probable attendees.

Looking forward to seeing everyone! Hope the weather changes!

How and when are we getting the address again?

It looks as though I am going to be stuck at work longer than expected- well after 6pm so I probably won't make the picnic today.

Hope everyone has fun and I look forward to meeting people hopefully in the near future!

Hi Poutine, I sent you the instructions from Mark. Click on "my profile" and under the conversations you'll see one from me, (and probably one from FF) with the info. I'll check back later to see if you got it.

Thank you :-) I just saw your msg. See you there!

okay folks
got my list and checked it twice

food, I'm bringing:

sam tom (Thai green papaya salad) with crab and dried shrimp
chimaican jerk chicken
a funky pork dish

condiments:
catsup
dijon (recently used but still safe, lol)
st Lucia on my mind hot sauce (also opened but no my cuppa)
and some of my "shut down London" hot sauce
BBQ sauce
limes, just cuz

anything else? you'll need to buzz me 613.321.1238 as I am installing windows 7 while prepping so might not be online again til tomorrow

c y'all lataz

Ok, since obi started it here's my list:
1. Schantzenfeld Farmer sausage from Winkler Manitoba
2. Home made HOT Russian mustard (cleans out the sinuses)
3. Buns - finished baking 30 minutes ago.
4. My wife is baking a cherry platz - still on the go.

see you there.

Hi all. I had a medical procedure done to my hip two weeks ago and I have some good days and some bad. Today is a bad. So, unfortunately I won't be able to join you today. Sorry for the last minute regrets. Have a great time and take pictures. Can't wait to hear all about the event. Mmmmj

heheh. I cannot wait.

But I have to be honest. I'm a bit ashamed of my dish that I'm bringing. Apparently 28 degrees and no A/C is no way to make buttercream frosting. Oh well. It will taste delightful.

See y'all soon!

BrunchLady, you could go to a mall, and frost it there? ;-)

I'm taking a chance, and doing the final prep work at Pam's (and will blame her oven if it doesn't turn out ;-) ). I'm bringing a rack of Ontario lamb, with dijon/graham crust, and a bottle of Luigi Righetti Amarone, not sure which vintage till I dust it off from my basement.

I'm starting to feel a little intimidated, with my two rhubarb pies... maybe I can bring my lamp sausages for the BBQ...

Though so far no sign of Jagash and I didn't get an official invite message with the address. But maybe I can figure out which corner it is, and look fornlorn around there, and try to spy people with big bags looking like food. :)

Niall just PM'd you with the details.

So sorry I am missing this meet up. Just got out of hospital yesterday and cant get arround for a while. Will live vacariously through you all and your comments. Enjoy yourselves.!!!

late and very regretful regrets from me as well (this weekend was tentative from the go and the convergence of time-line gods did not cooperate).

Hope everyone enjoyed ... the weather was fantastic (sniff).

Sniff. I had fun making relish and my first ever batch of tortilla chips, though!

oh sweet merciful and loving gods but was there ever so much GOOD FOOD.

Photos were taken by others.

I am full. Overfull. (And tipsy. That vodka punch packs a, well...) And so very happy right now. It's not often I get three foodgasms in an evening...

My favourite moment of the night: pej daddy showing chef Obi his fantastic BBQ sauce made with Italian cherries and mesquite and so many other things; Obi takes a taste, goes "this is pretty good..." and keeps working his mouth in concentration... blinks twice.. and goes in a completely different tone: "...this is _pretty_ good..." with what seemed a degree of magnitude higher in appreciation from the first. :)

(Second favourite moment: Obi, pej and everyone else liking my pies. squeeee!)

The major downside was there was so much incredibly good food and so little capacity for consuming it. We needed all of you regretful folks to just show up and eat food. I was rolling away afterwards, stuffed to the gills and all I did was eat about one item from each plate. We had come to the conclusion that it was not a potluck. This was a veritable 20 course meal.

I was happy to bring home-baked crackers and brie. One of the only dishes which I had to regretfully not finish was the astounding looking passionfruit? salad made by Chef Obi which unfortunately had two kinds of cilantro which tastes like soap to my defective tongue. Even the dishes I could not finish were astoundingly good, just not to my system unfortunately.

It was a pleasure to meet all of the foodies and have some fun conversations. The food was astoundingly tasty and the drinks provided a pleasant buzz. Lichee punch is astounding.

I won't eat for another week, but it was certainly worth it.

Thanks very much to Lady Who Brunches for organizing and to Pam for hosting this fine event. I think I speak for everyone who attended when I say it was great to cement existing friendships and forge new ones. The food was fantastic indeed and the weather couldn't have been better.

I'm now on a bus home after sitting at Kent and Sparks for an hour listening to Pete carry on, after Pam kicked us all out because she was tired. ;-)

Big thanks to everyone who made this excellent sunday evening possible, especially Pam and Brunchlady. Thanks as well to Chef Obi and his most wonderful vodak! Surprised you made it home so quickly FF ;-) Will try to limit my carrying on from now on...( I blame it on Chef Obi...)

sounds like it was a blast. i'll have to make it out next time with a big bowl of popcorn.

pics? food porn?

Monty, no pics from me but I did see some cameras in action...

Pete, once the effects of your vodak (sic) have worn off you can tell me if you think the guy who asked us for food money would have cared to know that the corn muffins were made with Fireweed honey, lovingly transported by my parents from a quaint Vancouver Island apiary (Babe's).

The juxtaposition of our little foodie potluck and a (presumably) homeless man begging for food is a good reminder to be thankful for all we have.

(And no, I'm not intoxicated. I blame any strangeness in the tone of my writing on my iPhone.)

Dang, I never got to taste those corn muffins, or take one for the road... or thank FF for the site which made LWB and Pam able to offer this 25-course meal.

So, belated thanks no-longer-in-person! :)

And yea, food porn photos are definitely coming.

Yum. That was good.

I came home and proceeded to make my husband very jealous of not attending. At least, until I mentioned the escargot pizza. Then he just cringed.

But, yes, thank you one and all for attending. As Fresh Foodie said, it was a good way to forge new friendships and cement old ones. Except for Momomoto who was stuck at home, feeling sick-like. For him, I have no sympathy (sorry).

I took lots of food porn, and will post via a flick link (because there are *that* many photos) in the next week or so.

I also propose that was do this again in November of so. Towards the holidays. But someone will have to have a biggish house/apartment.

Thanks Pam for hosting and LWB for organizing. I had a lot of fun and it was nice to finally meet you all in person. Not to mention, that was the most killer potluck I've ever been to. Food was spot on. If I had to review it, I would say awesome :) Here's hoping to another one!

If I had to review it, I would say awesome

And I'm glad I don't have to review it, because I can't remember every single dish.

Also, snoopy loopy your kid is adorable. He's going to be such a heartbreaker.

Yes I'll chime in too and say thanks to Pam and LWB for hosting organizing. It was a really fun evening. And thanks to all of you who participated, the food was great! I was just waiting for someone to offer a wafer thin mint ... burb!

What a great evening! It was a pleasure meeting everyone, can't wait for the next feast. I would love to have everyone's recipes. Should we post them on this thread?

I think the Feast Recipes should be its own thread. Easiest to concentrate on the food that way. :)

I agree with you. Good idea. Also, for our next get together I was thinking of a tapas/hors d'oeuvres and wine/beer "tasting". Just a thought...

pam, lwb, thanks for hosting. look forward to future foodies potlux.

i could host but i am all the way in stonebridge (between barrhaven and manotick) which could be too out of the way for most people...

Yes, thanks again Pam and LWB. I regret not having room for any of the desserts but there was just too much food! My daughter tried ALL the desserts and the plum tart was the favorite for her. It was nice to meet everyone.

Definitely a big thanks to Pam who opened her patio to us and lady who brunches who somehow managed to pull this off while planning her wedding - you are truly a woman of superpowers!

Also a huge thank you to chef obi who was kind enough to grill my steak to perfection. Much appreciated.

A few dishes that stood out were the jerk chicken and papaya salad, the pork tenderloin and the ribs. Pej Daddy I really do think you should consider setting up a stall on Sparks during ribfest next year - you will knock 'em dead in no time at all!

Unfortunately for me I missed the lamb and the escargot pizza since I was clearly spending too much time talking and not enough time eating. And note to self: make room for dessert next time.

Thanks again to all those who showed up. It has definitely been my most memorable meal of 2009.

Oh, I wish I were there!!! I would like to join next time for sure.
Okonomiyaki or Takoyaki, Chirashi sushi, Temaki sushi, I will think I about what I will cook:)

Niall, You got three foodgasms!! Lucky you!!
I have never heard of this word "foodgasms," but I can guess what that suppose to mean...write it down in my english study book.
I am so envy you, you got multiple in one dinner !!! lol.

I am a little... unique (read: weird) in that respect. The other foodies present seemed a little taken aback, but I swear, after the first one, it's so easy to get more as the taste buds are getting more and more supersensitive to the good food quality over and over and...

...yeah. Food porn isn't just visual with me. :)

And the term was applied to me by friends to best describe my reactions, usually to good chocolate. It seemed so apt that I took it up. :)

Mmm, I had okonomiyaki at the Japanese party at the Science Fiction World Convention in Montreal earlier this month. Excellent, excellent stuff. One guy kept cooking them in a corner of the suite to feed the partygoers going through.

Mousseline: OH! That plum tart!! Ohh.... yes.

Niall What may seem odd to some seems like a man who just really enjoys his food. After all some people use the same techniques to enjoy wine or beer-;) BTW let us know how you make out with the saké glasses...

I'll post a review:

Terrible service. Had to get, no BRING my own food and share with a number of strangers. Servers were seemingly invisible. Had to leave without paying - couldn't flag down the bill for the life of me!

Seriously though, what an amazing event! I am still thinking about that escargot pizza, and yes Niall, your plum tarts!! Oh man, and Pej's ribs...and I heard quite a lot about Pete's lamb, but didn't get any :(...and FF's muffins...ah. Okay. So pretty much everything was totally amazing.

I think I'll be full for a week. At least!

Thanks everyone for coming - it was so cool to meet you all :) Sorry I was a bit flighty, wandering around picking up plates and such. Next time someone else can host ;-)

Pam, they weren't my plum tarts... I can only dream of having that much culinary talent. Or.. experience. (Come on, post the recipe already, whoever made them... :))

EDIT: I just finally tasted my pies. The rhubarb-only definitely needs some tweaking to my tastebuds, but is quite fine. (I suspect I need to use a honey that's not as strongly flavoured.) The rhubarb-pineapple, however.. WOW. I'm really happy how it came out! I guess I have nothing to feel bad about. :)

okay, so that was gr8!
you peeps were all fun
pam> service? lol might have been better if we employed the kids lol ;)
how's the stinky cheese by the way
FF> it was awesome meeting you and you answering why you started this forum
muffins were good and quick reminder re: email notification as to thread activity
LWB> TY for organizing this
mousseline> it was lovely to to get know you and your 14 opps 15 y o
PastaL> no thanks required
Sour> loved the mustard, and the breads were good
Niall> awesome rhubarb-pineapple pie, this coming from a notsofan of rhubarb
Pete> how could you possibly blame anything on vodka? it is truly a gift of the gods
Jargash> sorry bout the cilantro
Pej> cherry sauce was good
Poutine> just as I imagined you and I hope I scared your lil one away from the culinary field...in the case, when she is 18/19 and still considering it, let me know then I will aid her in survival

there were many others I met and for the life of me cannot remember your names or
moniker but glad we did

Sorry sorry sorry Niall! I meant rhubarb. I was even thinking of the rhubarb pineapple when I typed it! The plum tart was good too though. Sorry I mixed them up!

Plum tart was Supertaster.

I have half a cake left over. Seriously. The lesson of this should be: Leave room for dessert! (Or, if you want leftovers from your potluck, make dessert!)

Pam> I think your ADHD is acting up
thankz again for the patio
LWB> some of us just aren't dessert fans..yes! the infamy!

oh ya the mapodoufu was very nice
thanks snoopy

Thanks Obi :) I know you probably didn't detect any hint of heat, but I was told from the powers that be, that since there would probably be some left overs that I'd better make it to her liking... Once again... your Shut down London sauce was killer... I'll have to snag some off of you at some point!

Photos are uploaded, although I was not discriminating about which ones and editing mechanisms. So I apologize (when I have more time I shall):

www.flickr.com

There are about 25 there from the meetup. And then y'all can see the rest of my summer as well :)

Your camera was a little drunk I think... ;-)

Wow- thanks for the pics! The expression on the baby's face probably captures how everybody felt after eating all of that food.

The food looks awesome. I'm really sorry I couldn't swing it with work. Hopefully another meet up will happen sooner than later.

Your camera was a little drunk I think... ;-)

you should see the one I have of you, which I was kind enough not to post!!

You need a comment with each photo so we know who it is!

True enough. I uploaded these whilst getting ready for work. Tonight, I'll make a point of adding tags, titles and sets where appropriate.

LWB - Nice set of pics... I am drooling. Agree with Zym labels would be useful... especially on the foodie goods (would be nice to know who brought what... ie LWB's Cake with Buttercream Frosting).

I think the same discretion used on OF should be adhered to on your flickr for those photos. (i.e. if people don't use their real names... etc etc) Or people who don't use their photo for their icon, might not want it associated on the flickr.

Pete, I agree completely, though I think that with the exception of one or two individuals, the ones I've posted, all use their photos as avatars. I'll entitled them as their username and the ones who don't use their photos as avatars, I'll just title "Another Fine Foodie" or something...

My thanks and appreciation goes out to the organizers and all the cooks. I thoroughly enjoyed everything I tried, and I know I missed some things because I was talking too much...which I think is a good sign for a party!

Tracinho, it was a great pleasure meeting you and your lovely wife. Now, can you post your recipes pleeeeeeeeeeze :-) The onion/anchovie tart was amazing!

Thanks poutine, will do!

Thanks Tracinho! I will certainly make it this weekend among with the other recipes from OF. Don't want to be a pain, but what about the recipe for your other dish :-)

But of course! hahaha

*BURP*
:s

I clearly missed something awesome.