mikeycook

I just made a reservation for 7 for my mother-in-law's birthday at Fleur de Sel. I have never been, although I have heard great things in various posts. Any particular recommendations on what to order, where to sit, etc? How is the tasting menu vs. the a la carte options? Are there other restaurants in the city you would compare it to?

I remember reading a report about ten years ago that this was being done with top-level Bordeaux (Lafite, Mouton, etc.) by the very rich.

How about pancetta as a substitute if you can't find fatback (instead of bacon)? The recipe requires both bacon and rind. I thought the Pancetta would make a good sub for the bacon, correct??? as for the rind, boiled salt pork might do the job. I am also planning on visiting local hispanic butcher shops who might sell pork rind since it is used extensivly to make cracklings (Chicharron). Elie I usually cut the rind off of the salt pork, then blanch it, and it seems to work fine (or I just cut the rind off fatback).

Paula, thanks for the note. I live in NYC and am continually frustrated by the lack of reliable sources of fatback, salted or unsalted (Faicco's is the only place I can be sure of getting it and they are often closed when I get off work.) Pancetta is much more easily obtainable.

I find myself split. On the one hand, I find myself more pessimistic about highly-regarded bottles, because these bottles tend to be compared, in my mind, to the best bottles I have had (for instance, every good Hermitage I drink I can't help but compare to a particular memory of a 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle.) One the other hand, I find that when I discover a new wine, either a new varietal or an existing varietal in a new region, my excitement is greater than it used to be because I can genuinely appreciate this new wine and the wine is a genuine surprise. My recommendation is to constantly try old and new wines from different regions. If you only focus on one type of wine (red Bordeaux, for instance) each bottle can only suffer in comparison to a greater number of previously tasted wines.

How about pancetta as a substitute if you can't find fatback (instead of bacon)?

As an Associate ($125) you get a member's price for one. As a Fellow ($250) you get a member's price for two, plus Previews, which seems to be key in getting into the better events, and access to First Friday luncheons. For another $25, you can get a listing in and copy of a food and beverage professional's directory. There are higher memberships (some of which sound like corporate donations), but these are the ones I considered.

Here is the listing. I was thinking about the Fellow membership of the Food and Beverage Professional one (that is the one we got my M-I-L.)

A few years back, I bought my mother-in-law a membership to the James Beard Foundation and, mainly due to the fact she lives on Long Island, she only went a few times, but had a good time. About a year ago, she discontinued the membership since she didn't go often enough. I have been toying with the idea of getting a membership so my wife and I can go (we live in the village), but have gone back and forth on whether there are enough good events (and enough we could get into) to make it worthwhile. I also thought this might be an opportunity to have meals cooked directly by some top chefs, as opposed to going to their restaurant and having the dishes cooked by the staff. Does anyone have an opinion on whether a membership is worthwhile? What events are best? How easy/difficult is it to get to the better events? Is it a good source for discovering new chefs? How does it compare to going out to a top tier restaurant in NYC?

Thanks for the post!! The previous owner of our house was a landscape architect and there are several other edible items on the property. This is a great source for help me figure out what they are (I, as you probably have gathered, am NOT a landscape architect.)

I know this is an old post, but we just moved into our new home in New York (Putnam County) and there are two Paw Paw trees/plants in the back yard, one of which, after several years, is just starting to show fruit (well, one fruit to be exact.) I had a couple of questions I couldn't find in the existing post and I am hoping someone can help me. 1. What color is the fruit when ripe? (It is currently green. Will it still be green when ripe?) 2. It is definitely not ripe now (still pretty hard.) Any idea when it should be ripe (i.e. what month?) 3. We have 2 Paw Paw plants, although one is not doing nearly as well as the other (kind of sickly looking, actually). The former owner said he was told that you have to have at least 2 Paw Paw trees for them to pollenate. Is that true? Thanks in advance.

I seem to remember a while back, New York magazine did a special on French retro dishes making a comeback and there was a recipe by Terrance Brennan for Roast Duck a l'Orange. The article, as I recall, mentioned letting the duck rest for 1-3 days after an initial boiling to "dry out" and, if memory serves, the crispiness of the skin was one of the benefits. Here is what I could find of the article, but it doesn't give a reason for letting the duck "rest". Does anyone still have the article (Nov. 11, 2002)? Has anyone tried this recipe?

I own the Barrenechea cookbook. I have made several of the recipes and have eaten at Marichu a few times. It is definitely homestyle, comfort food type eating, not the cutting edge stuff, but I like it a lot. Marichu is definitely one of the undiscovered gems in NY.

For tuna, I prefer Tonno in Olive Oil.

We always try to spend some time at the supermarket when in France. We just rented a house for a week near Avignon and went to a supermarket or outdoor market almost every day. We try to make our trips a combination of eating out and cooking in with local ingredients. My favorite of the large supermarket chains has been Intermarche, particularly those with bakeries up front.

Soapbox alert-you have touched on one of my pet peeves! I personally think that mise en place is way over-rated for the typical weekday meal. I understand that it essential to prep before service in a restaurant, but to me, it makes no sense at home unless you are preparing a large and elaborate dinner party. You can get dinner on the table much, much faster if you multi-task and prep as you go. When you stop and think about it, very few things require your complete and undivided attention (the exception being stir-frying, even I do mise en place for that.) I generally like the prep-as-you-go approach, but not always. If I am trying a new technique or a new recipe, I like to be able to pay more attention to the food as it cooks and observe it rather than doing my prep with my back to the stove (I have a small galley-style kitchen.) Also, I generally cook for two and, depending on the dish, wind up chopping 1/2 or 1/4 of an onion, for instance, and have thought at times it would be easier to just chop the whole thing and use it the next night. The times I have done this, I have not been happy with the ingredient the next night and have generally started from scratch anyway.

That's what I was afraid of. That's why I always do my prep as part of the meal prep (don't want to lose freshness if possible). I find prep relaxing, but it does take time and I was looking for some ways to get meals ready faster after work. Maybe I'll just focus on some recipes with less prep.

I make duck confit a lot (mainly in goose fat) and the leftover fat always takes up a ton of room in my refrigerator. I have started to make a practice of putting it in smaller jars and giving it away to friends. The problem with the stuff is it doesn't really get "used", as in absorbed. I have made potatoes a number of times with goose fat and most of the fat is left when you finish (just like Paula Wolfert said it would be.) A separate posting on ways to use extra duck/goose fat would be welcome. To answer the original post, I have used duck fat after a year and it was fine. I think you might be able to periodically reheat and skim the fat to increase its longevity.

I am an avid home cook who has always done my prep each day. However, on days my job is very busy, I find I don't have the energy to cook, particularly if there is a lot of prep work. Assuming I wanted to do mise en place with a number of different ingredients (minced garlic, diced shallots, diced onions, chiffonade of parsley, tomato concasse, etc.) how far in advance can I safely prepare things and store them in my refrigerator (I would like to avoid freezing)? How quickly will it degrade? Are there any ingredients that lend themselves to this approach more than others? What storage is recommended?

That is interesting. I didn't know that. I have only made a few truffles and I tend to buy more straightforward chocolate ones. Is it usually listed as a flavoring or is it just added to truffles and advertised as "chocolate truffles"? Can you recommend some (I live in NYC)?

Riffing on the creme brulee idea, when I was at Azie in San Franciso, we had a trio of creme brulees, one of which was chocolate and cardamom. Cardamom might be a good option.

Are they going to change the name of the complex to just the Time-Warner center?

Check out this thread.

The Q train is the right train, but I couldn't tell you after you get off (although the boardwalk should be relatively easy to find since you will be right on the ocean.) The Q runs along the old N/R line, so you can pick it up in Times Square or Union Square. I believe it starts on 7th Ave near 57th Street.

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Both of my parents were born in Maine and we moved when I was 5 to New Hampshire. Both of my parents were/are healthy eaters (both overweight, as am I), so food was a key component in our lives and the things we did. My parents had a large vegetable garden when I was young and I learned about seasonality. My parents grew peas, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, corn, potatoes, onions, carrots, etc. Being from Maine, seafood was a big part of our lives, particularly lobster, scallops, and Maine crab. My mother's family continued to live along the coast in Maine, so we had regular access to fresh Maine seafood. Was meal time important? Having a meal time was more important than when it actually was. We generally ate not long after my father got home from work in the 6-7pm time frame. That was the only "real meal" in terms of having a set time. Breakfast was right before school (generally cereal) and lunch was at school. Was cooking important? My mother always had a lot of pride in her cooking (rightly so) and since she was a stay-home Mom, pretty much cooked every day, meals as well as sweets (her specialty -- cookies and cakes). In general, my mother preferred to make things from scratch (like cakes), rather than using mixes or premade grocery store items. However, my mother didn't have a bias against restaurants or take-out, so we got that sometimes as well, particularly as we got older. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? No penalties unless you tried eating with them. When I got to be around 12, my parents finally got around to tell me it was bad manners. After about 5-6 years, I got the hang of it. Who cooked in the family? My mother, always. Once in a great while I would cook something, but not often (maybe once per year.) Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? We would eat in restaurants on weekends if we were travelling (sometimes just take out) as well as for special occasions. My parents avoided fancy/expensive places except for a weekend night every couple of months. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? I can only remember this for Thanksgiving, although when we were at my grandmother's a remember it more. It was only due to the number of guests and the limited space in my grandmother's house. The kiddy table was in another room. At our house, we generally had enough table seats for Thanksgiving and when we didn't, we put up a kiddy table at the end of the adult table. When did you get that first sip of wine? Probably around 6-8 years old (can't quite remember, but I think it was Dubonnet -- even though that probably doesn't really count as wine.) My parents didn't have any background for wine, so I didn't really start drinking it until I left home. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Only at my grandmother's or aunt's. My mother's family was Roman Catholic and she married a divorced Episcopalian, which didn't go over well with the church, so religious observance gradually decreased as I got older. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? No hard fast rules. We even ate meat on Friday. There were a number of rotating meals, however, although they didn't show up on a particular day. Some common items were: - American Chop Suey - Meatloaf - Baked Stuffed Sole - Seafood newburg - Barbecued chicken - Fish chowder - Corned Beef and Cabbage How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? I am now the primary cook (my wife cooks occasionally). Our life is generally a mix of home-cooked meals and take-out (we live in NYC and have an excellent selection.) I try to cook things we cannot get via takeout or in restaurants as much as possible and we mix that with takeout and restaurants. My cooking style is primarily a combination of French technique (although my mother's father was french, she rarely cooked classic french) and New England ingredients/dishes. My mother also explored dishes from other countries and I have tried to do the same.