Erin11

Thanks for the tip on Camellia Sinensis. And yes, I am the type and definitely plan to check out Marche Jean Talon! Giant Shrimp - thanks for your response as well. Don't worry, I know my limits and will definitely schedule Schwartz's and APdC for different days.

Allow me to piggy-back onto Halloween's request for tips on places that are a good fit for solo travelers. I'm headed to Montreal in a couple weeks (my first time visiting the city) and will be on my own to explore/eat. My flight arrives Wednesday morning and I depart late-afternoon Saturday. I found a great rate at the Chateau Versailles, so that will be my base (planning to use my feet and public transportation to get around the city). The hotel rate includes breakfast, so I'm looking more for dinner recs (assuming lunches will be more snacks to tide me over until dinner). Having read through this thread and the Montreal threads on my "home" board (www.lth.com), I've compiled a list of potential restaurants and am now in the process of narrowing down some options. The places that I've seen consistently recommended include: Au Pied de Cochon, Schwartz's (planning to hit this for lunch after checking into my hotel on Wed), L'Express (saw a couple reviews that claimed it's getting touristy - true?), L'Actuel, P'tit Plateau, Club Chasse et Peche and Au Cinquieme Peche. I guess my main questions are what places absolutely require reservations and what places are most open to walk-ins (I'm open to early-birding a place if it means a better shot at getting a seat)?

Black bean burger w/ cheese (recipe from Cooking Light, very easy to put together) Roasted sweet potato "fries" Sabayon ice cream

Curried red lentil soup (shamelessly "borrowed" from Last Night's Dinner, a blog from which I get lots of inspiration for dinners) Garlic naan (Trader Joe's frozen variety - not bad, but not great)

Chicken pot pie - used up the remainder of the roasted chicken from last week. Delicious and the perfect thing for me as I'm on the tail-end of last week's head cold as well.

Sunday dinner was: Roasted chicken with stuffing (stuffing made with white bread, kale and the usual suspects [onion, celery, sage]) Roasted cauliflower For the chicken, I tried a new (to me) method I saw recently on America's Test Kitchen. The stuffing is placed on aluminum foil in the roasting pan of choice and then the spatchcocked bird is placed over the stuffing. I really liked this method and found it made the post-roasting carving of the chicken much easier. Will definitely continue to use this method in the future. Monday dinner was: Impromptu chicken noodle soup to (hopefully) ward off the cold I seem to have caught.

I'll be traveling to Whidbey Island, WA in April for a half-marathon and was wondering if anyone had any dining recs? I'm staying in Oak Harbor, but will have a rental car. I'll be on the island two days so the recs don't have to focus on carb-loading for my race

I've had good luck following Lydia Bastianich's method. Link

Inspired by recipes from the Leite's Culinaria website: Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder using rub from this recipe served over Warm Apple slaw from this recipe

I agree. I plan my meals for the week prior to my Saturday morning grocery trip. In addition to helping me shop more efficiently, I also have a good take on what leftovers I'll have for lunches and for freezing. Since I cook for one mostly, planning ahead for leftovers allows me to do the cooking I love without wasting extra food as most recipes create 4 or more servings. On that note, I had some shredded cooked chicken in the freezer that I decided to turn into enchiladas. Last night's dinner was: Chicken and black bean enchiladas in tomatillo sauce with a small green salad on the side.

Quick and easy dinner last night: Pan-seared salmon over lentils

Inspired by the latest Food & Wine magazine, I made a version of their recipe for italian sausage with apples: Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage sauteed with sliced granny smith apples Polenta with cheddar cheese I think I would have liked the recipe better with regular Italian sausage made from pork. However, I was lazy this weekend and didn't want to make an extra trip so had to go with what Trader Joe's carried. I like the combination of flavors and it was a super quick dinner to put together on a weeknight.

Romaine salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Risotto (inspired by Last Nights Dinner )

Extremely cold temps here in Chicago called for comfort food: Roasted chicken Garlic mashed potatoes Rapini - first blanched in salted water, then sauteed in olive oil and garlic cjsadler - I second the request for your gnocchi & sauce recipe (or link to published recipe)

Pork Shoulder alla Porchetta (Mario Batalli's recipe) Wild rice blend (Trader Joe's package) Celery Root Remoulade (minus celery root as my produce store did not have it - substituted jicama to add to the apple and fennel called for in the recipe)

Trying to get back on track with my vegetable consumption. Last night was sweet potato gnocchi in a gorgonzola sauce accompanied by a romaine salad with carrots and roasted garlic dressing.

It looks like New Year's Eve dinner will be Beef Wellington. So far, I like this recipe from Gourmet found on Leite's Culinaria. This will be my first attempt at beef wellington - any tips from those who have made it before? I'll probably substitute another pate for the foie gras due to Chicago's ban - I'm not willing to travel outside the city just for one ingredient. So far side dishes are still tbd - my sister in law is requesting I make Paula Deen's shrimp-stuffed twice-baked potatoes again. We had them with our standing rib roast last year and they are the most decadent potatoes I have ever consumed.

For Thanksgiving dessert, I made pumpkin ice cream from the William's Sonoma website. I'm really happy with how creamy this ice cream is. My modification is to add crushed bits of graham cracker crust and caramel to the ice cream before putting it in the freezer.

Thanks for starting this thread - I need ideas for a New Year's Eve meal! As for Thanksgiving, my sister is hosting and asked me to bring an appetizer and a dessert. I'm going with a simple hummus and pita chips/veggies for the appetizer. For dessert I am making pumpkin ice cream with graham cracker crust and caramel mixed in (other family members were assigned pies).

Cider-braised pork shanks (my attempt to recreate a pork osso bucco w/ cider glaze I recently had at a restaurant in Galena, IL) Roasted butternut squash Spaetzle (purchased pre-made at the meat market) Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream

A year or so ago, InStyle magazine (don't laugh) had a recipe for lasagna with broccoli rabe, turkey sausage and pine nuts that was really good. I made it a couple times last fall/winter and really enjoyed it. I couldn't find the recipe on the magazine's website, but a google search turned up a post of the recipe on Chowhound.

I've been thinking of doing homemade vanilla extract as my holiday gift this year. How long does the vanilla/alcohol mixture need to infuse before it's ready to be used in cooking? I'm afraid I may not have enough time to get this going for Xmas gifts.

Chicken tikka masala (from the Cook's Illustrated recipe) Saag paneer

Homemade gnocchi with mushroom cream sauce Westvleteren beer

You answered my next question - I was going to ask how you got the entire crate back to the US. On my trip, I only bought a 6 pack and was able to get it all in my bag. Given how ridiculously cheap it is to purchase in Belgium as opposed to in the US (when you can find it), I'm interested to find a way to get more into the country in one shot. As I mentioned in my last post, I just drank my last bottle from that trip 3 years ago and it tasted great.