ottawa foodies

So it was a great foodie Christmas for me. This year I got an instapen and a new mortar and pestle. (my old had busted a few years ago, and I never got a replacement). I'm loving both and have already put them to use.

So what did everyone else get for Christmas?

Only thing foodie related was a bottle of wormwood cocktail bitters.

Got an aeroccino to go with my nespresso and that's cool, but pictured are my favorite gifts. I guess there IS food value in bourbon, right?

blubarry: That is one respectable batch of boozes!!

Me, I got great presents but the only foodish thing was the slew of Chinese food I just got delivered from Yangtze. Tearing into it now and so far so good! Review to come provided I don't brain damage myself from overstuffing...

Finally made the big time with a Thermapen.

Ken V, you're going to LOVE that Thermapen!!

Blubarry, is that Woodford Reserve the one they keep locked up? I was looking at what might be the same bottle set the new LCBO in Kanata today - but I wanted to hear an opinion before plunking down what they're asking for it.

I love just the "plain" Woodford Reserve....would this really blow my socks off? Smoother? Depth of flavour?

Meh, I finally broke down and bought a thermapen and I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about. It is GINORMOUS!!! Holy crow! It is RIGHT-HANDED - too bad lefties. And it is just awkward to use (may be due to the fact I am not right handed, I dunno). Though just folding it open and closed is clumsy in and of itself. And holding it sideways like that is just awkward.

I continue to use my Cooper as much as my Thermapen.

Is a CDN ProAccurate Folding Thermocouple Thermometer just as good ?

25 % cheaper.

Does it fit a lefty ?

That looks right handed too Captain Caper. And is still expensive for average kitchen use.

As far as the Thermapen goes it does read more quickly, and is more accurate and can also be calibrated at 2 points. So it is a better thermometer than most.

But in general kitchen cooking in 99% of use cases, I can't see the need for either of those features to justify the cost over a $20 cooper stem thermometer from Russell.

I can see the need for the accuracy in home brewing beer applications since when you are mashing a half degree C difference can make a difference in the final product. But I'm not sure what cooking applications require that kind of accuracy. Certainly not anything I ever do.

My household got a smattering of cookbooks this year.
We got the Momofuku cookbook (David Chang and Peter Meehan, natch)
Also:
Vegan Secret Supper - Mérida Anderson and Indian Vegetarian - Mridula Baljekar.

Our food goals for the new year are to perfect ramen and traditional Indian foods. Seems like we're off to a good start!

Got the Global G2 chefs knife to supplement my collection. Pretty nice knife, I must say.

Princess Auto Jerky Cannon!

www.princessauto.com

I've been quite thrilled with the Maldon sea salt I received! It adds the crunch and gentle saltiness of crisp bacon but with a more neutral flavour (of course). It was wonderful on a fried egg and also on the salted caramel latte I had this morning.

Best wishes for 2014 everybody!

Nothing except a Company's Coming mini cookbook (yeesh) in my stocking!

" ... a Company's Coming mini cookbook ..."

Isn't that the equivalent of a lump of coal in a foodie stocking ?

A lovely Staub 6qt (31 cm) oval cocotte. I believe it's marketed as a chicken roaster, so it's got a chicken for a handle instead of the regular knob. I don't know what I'll make in it first! (Hint: probably a roast chicken.)

Haven't cracked the bottle yet Bobby. will update.

Fresh Foodie:

I agree Maldon sea salt is very good!! Many restaurants use it.

I sprinkle it on almost anything I cooked( so I usually cook food with less salt)
It's especially great on steaks. I cooked marinated and seard duck breast with orange sauce and sprinkled maldon sea salt...it was so tasty.

I saw smoked Maldon sea salt at Grace in the kitchen before, so I am thinking about getting one.

I use maldon salt for pastry and baking too.
Picture is orange and rosemary brioche. I sprinkled maldon salt after applying egg wash. I made French toast and ate with lot of maple syrup. I enjoyed nice combination of Sucré Salé.

instapen/instapot/thermapen - ahggg the flu hit me to hard. Thermapen is what i got to start this thread. Zym, why not the $20 one - because they never work when you need them. Love the Thermapen - ok, if it fails I will not love it as much. Pulled out the Candy thermometer while making some special new years Portzelchen (Oli Bolie if you are dutch) - and off coarse it no longer worked. Thermapen to the rescue!

There are some shitty digitals out there for sure, but Cooper and CDN don't seem to be amongst them. I know guys with the $20 CDN ones for 8 and 10 years now and no issues. My Cooper is 6 or 7 years old - no issues. But I've gone through some of the shitty ones - usually the remote probe ones.

I cashed in some Air Miles a while back to get a 2 probe BBQ thermometer from their site. GD thing didn't even read the same temp on both probes and was out by about 5C! So I wrote them about it and they sent me another one - same thing! So I just gave up ...

Aisu Kurimu If you like the Maldon sea salt you will love the smoked one. It is very addictive and worth every penny you will spend on it.

Got two more Wusthof Classic Knives to add to my collection.

6" utility knife and a 4" pairing knife, already have a filet knife and 12" Cooks Knife.

I love Wusthof, an onion falls apart as you walk towards it holding the knife.