VIA: bmann's Flickr

I'm posting images of sausage counters the world over each weeknight (and occasionally weekend) witching hour (until I run out), so please use the comments section to post links to your Flickr or personal site faves, and perhaps you'll see 'em posted here late some evening.

Previously -- Midnight Sausage: Napa, CA

Here's a recall two-fer.

Canadian officials have issued recalls on both sesame crackers and dip that were sold in Canada. The crackers were sold under various names, including Craquelins dores, Raw Golden Chips; Carque Pot, Raw Gourmet Chips, Dulse Vita, Sea Magic and Les Biscrus des Gamins, Raw Cookies (to be honest, I have no idea how many brands that is since I'm not familiar with any of the names). The crackers may contain salmonella.

Also recalled is Olivier Parmesan and Asiago Dip (the dip was also recalled in the U.S.). The company and health officials fear botulism.

"Oh my god! They want how much for that piece of chocolate?!?!"

I'm not sure how many of us have actually stood indignantly in a grocery store aisle screaming the above statement since a Hershey bar is usually under a dollar, but if you have, you might be justified.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the US Justice Department is looking into possible price fixing in the chocolate industry. The Justice Department's anti-trust division has contacted Mars (makers of M&Ms and, duh, Mars Bars), Nestle, and Cadbury. Representatives from both Mars and Nestle said they will cooperate with the investigation, though a Cadbury spokeswoman had no comment.

Damn! And I love those Cadbury Creme Eggs at Easter, too!

We told you recently (last week, maybe two weeks ago, all of these food recalls are becoming a blur) about a big beef recall in Canada involving Rancher's Beef. Now it looks like the beef was more widely distributed than earlier thought.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says that consumers should look out for several more Rancher's Beef products. It is suspected that the beef contains E. coli. The link above has a list of the products and the stores the beef was delivered. Here's our original notice on the beef recall.

People who attended the annual Brantville Picnic in New Brunswick might want to read this.

Several people who attended the community picnic have become sick, with upset stomachs, nausea, and vomiting. But another thing that is worrying officials is that some of the possibly contaminated food wasn't eaten at the event, it was packaged so people who attended the picnic and people who didn't attend the picnic could take it home with them and eat it later. So you might have some of the food at home right now and not know it (though I would hope you would have eaten it by now since the event was last weekend).

Obviously, if you have any of that food you should get rid of it immediately. Full details here.

Sortilège Maple Syrup and Whiskey Liqueur is 30% abv. / 60 proof and is made in Montreal, Canada from Canadian whiskey and maple syrup. The color is that of a very light maple syrup.

The aroma is a light but sharp whiskey, with overtones of maple, some dried fruit and spice cake notes, and very light hints of vanilla. It's a unusual aroma that isn't as much maple as I would have thought. As I warmed it up the dried fruit notes opened up and masked all the other scents, which was an improvement since I didn't really care for the aroma that much at first.

The taste is very light and medium sweet with a light, but syrupy body. There isn't much going on with the flavor. It has hints of whiskey under the very mild maple flavor. In the background there is some of that dried fruit and spice cake that I noticed in the aroma. This is a nice, mild liqueur that is different from most, but it doesn't wow me. It's nice to have when you want something different but I wouldn't have it on a regular basis. I would like it a lot more if it just had more of the whiskey and maple action going on.

Some genius has figured out that, like peanut butter and jelly and chocolate cake and milk, nothing goes together better than pizza and porn movies.

There's a new business in Winnipeg that not only delivers pizza, but they also deliver adult films! (And yes, let's all make as many jokes about "toppings" as we right now). You have to be of legal age, of course, and show an ID at the door. The movies are underneath the pizza in the box. But as Paul at archiseek.com points out, how secret can this be if the pizzas are delivered in cars that have giant neon signs that have a blonde on them and the word porn?

[via Boing Boing]

It's always a struggle for me at breakfast/brunch time. Do I go savory and get an omelet made with farm fresh eggs and stuffed with garden vegetables? Or do I go sweet and basically eat something akin to a dessert in the morning like fluffy pancakes (I mean the word "cake" is in the name) dripping with golden syrup? If I were faced with the image of a chocolate waffle from Daddy O's in Toronto, artfully topped with red ripe strawberries, made up with gorgeous puffs of whipped cream, and dripping with chocolate sauce, and served on a contrasting blue plate, it would be no contest.

After watching an episode of Chef at Home, I've been experimenting with chef Michael Smith's recipe for salmon and potato cakes. The Food Network Canada website has his recipe here, but it looks like they've jumbled a few of the steps around or perhaps left a step out. Step two reads, "Meanwhile heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and when it's hot, add oil." Step three: "Using a potato masher, mash them together." Obviously something is amiss. At any rate, if you have salmon leftovers (not to be confused with these guys), this is a good way to use them up. Let's assume we're starting from scratch, however. Smith suggests pan-frying a salmon fillet, which I did the first time I made this recipe. The second time, I broiled it, which I think is more convenient and I didn't notice too much of a difference in the taste of the final product. So, either pan-fry or broil a skinless 1 pound salmon fillet until it's just cooked through and flakes easily. When I broiled the salmon, this took between 15 and 20 minutes.

Dole has issued a recall on cartons of cantaloupes in the Eastern US and Quebec, Canada, after discovering the fruit tested positive for salmonella. Approximately 6000 cartons of the Costa Rican-grown fruit were distributed to wholesalers between the dates of February 5th though 8th, though no reports of illness have yet come in.

Though I don't know how this will help those that bought individual cantaloupes, the cartons they were packaged in were dark brown with red lettering and have a 13-digit number on them with the tenth digit of 2. If you think you may have purchased some, you can contact the store where you got them, or Dole directly at 1-800-232-8888.

Though a salmonella infection can be fatal, the most common symptoms are diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.

This week, a new edition of the Canada Food Guide was released by the Health Canada. The small booklet has been produced since 1940, with new editions being released every few years. The last one was in 1992. The Food Guide gives recommendations on portion sizes and the average daily amount of physical activity a person should get. It is one of the most requested publications of the Canadian government, second only to income tax forms.

This year's edition includes, for the first time, a warning that advises people to limit their intake of "foods and beverages high in calories, fat, sugar or salt," as well as recommendations to increase vegetable consumption and to consider taking nutritional supplements. In fact, vegetables have replaced grains as the largest component of the food "rainbow." Some former critics are pleased with the change, but many are still very skeptical about the value of the guide. Critics say that it isn't doing enough and that, as one of the most referenced food and health resources in the country, it should include more detail on calories, whole grains and on ways to make good food choices.

Just a few weeks ago I wrote about Ice Wine, nicknamed Canada's Liquid Gold, that luscious and intense dessert wine produced from grapes that freeze on their vines. It was much to my horror to hear that it is possible that there will be no Ice Wine from Canada this year!

Canada produces some of the best Ice Wines in the world. Normally the grapes are harvested during a freeze some time between mid-November and the end of December. Due to the mild winter this year. as of early January there have been no freezes cold enough for harvesting in any of the vineyards in Canada or neighboring US this winter. I was amazed to hear this because of all the news about blizzards and avalanches in Colorado, but then I thought about my local NY City weather where we are having the warmest winter, with no snow fall, since the late 1800's. Call it global warming, long term weather cycles, what you will, but No Ice Wine?

With the exception of a few bad storms, this has been a fairly mild winter for most of the US and Canada. The warmer temperatures mean fewer snow days, lighter jackets and an early start to maple syrup season.

The season typically begins in early spring when it is still below freezing at night but slightly warmer (40F or higher) during the day. The reason for the time frame is that the sap levels are at the peak at that point in the year and the daytime temperatures allow it to flow more freely from the tapped trees. Mild winters produce the same effects, although the sugars in the sap are not as intensely concentrated as they will be later in the year. One of the primary reasons that a farmer might begin to harvest sap early, relying on a processes to concentrate the sugars in the sap, is to stay in business, although some traditionalists will turn up their noses at the practice.

'Some people say it isn't natural to make a hole in a tree during the winter, but it is also unnatural to tap trees during the spring,' said one Canadian farmer, noting that only a small portion of the sap is taken and that the trees heal rather quickly and that "only producers who've never tried making syrup in winter would criticize the practice."

The only cartoon-themed restaurants that I've eaten at have been at theme parks and the only memorable one was Marvel Mania at Universal Studios, Hollywood. It has since closed down (probably because the food wasn't that great), but it was kind of entertaining to have Spidey hanging out at the dinner table. Perhaps drawing inspiration from that one selling point - that it is fun to sit with the characters - from such themed restaurants, a new cartoon-themed restaurant has opened up in Toronto that takes the theme further.

iMaid Cafe is a cosplay restaurant, which basically means that all the staff members are dressed in costumes and play a certain role. In this particular case, that role is of a maid from Japanese anime cartoons. "I call them maids not waitresses," said 24-year old Aaron Wang, the owner of the restaurant who is originally from Beijing. "They smile a lot and they are cute. I want somebody cute like the characters from cartoons -- big eyes, long hair and young."

Feedback from customers over the past few weeks has been nothing but positive, as both men and women come to enjoy the costumes and the atmosphere.

I am always looking for alternative sweeteners to my standby, pure cane sugar. I really love the taste of maple syrup and jumped up and down in my chair when I just heard about Equinox Organic Maple Flakes with a teaspoon having half the calories of a teaspoon of sugar. Made in Quebec, Canada; Equinox Organic Maple Flakes are 100% pure, kosher, organic maple syrup that has been freeze dried at an extremely low temperature and made into small flakes. It dissolves fast, is sweet, and adds that great maple flavor as well. Suggestions for use are on pancakes, waffles, French toast; as well as in coffee, tea or hot chocolate. anywhere you would use sugar you can use maple flakes. Also they are great to use in a maple glaze for salmon or chicken, or you could just sprinkle them on top of fish and poultry, along with some other spices, and broil, for a quick and easy maple coated dish.

Equinox Maple Flakes come in regular maple and cranberry maple flavors in 4 oz. containers, and they also have an attractive Maple Flake Mill, pre-filled with 2.5 oz. of flakes so you can grind the flakes into a fine powder in the kitchen or at the table. So if you feel like a little luxury and a boost of maple taste try these maple flakes.They sound good to me. They are just launching in the United States and are available at Food Emporium in New York. As I find out any more info I will update this post.