Boris_A

I put the bottle in my kitchen sink. Then I cut/break the wax around the edge at the top, just like with a tin cap. Finally, I scratch away all rest of the wax on the cork. If needed, I wash the top of the bottle.

When I saw the wine list, I noticed all wines being Burgundies of considerable weight and rather young. I was really astonished why there weren't any (well made) village burgundies of less weight. Even when pairing fish with white Burgundies, I found sometimes the results better with rather light wines.

After accepting screw-tops and silicon corks and knowing "en vrac", I honestly wouldn't mind about to have my daily wine from a bag in a box provided the wine is of satisfying quality. But I must say I've never had good wine from a cubitainer or similar. Vuitton or Hermes would be a turn off for me. I'd prefer a well designed artist "label" if necessary.

I'm also very scepitcal about my proposal. We should not forget that many "originated" products (especially cheese and similar) have their roots in consortial producers. I suspect that's something not very colimating with American economic structures.

Actually, the concept is rather universal and worldwide. For example, quality of produce associated with a certain origin is well known in China or India. Maybe it's not legified everywhere, but I suspect it exists in almost every country/region with a somewhat developed cuisine. If we agree on the need of decommodization and branding to establish a economical base to develop superior products, then I think the question is should be serioulsy considered: can such a concept be adapted to the US as well (as it happened with wine) and how? And if not: what are the alternatives?

I'd like to remember that the most successful brands for high quality, distinctive food and ingredients are identifyers of origin.

To take with me as kind of lunch sandwich: rice balls made from brown rice with a bit mashed umeboshi inside and warpped up in a Nori leaf. Also in sushi "stick" shape. A macrobiotic recipe, as far as I know.

Congrats, Jim I always rated your reviews at 96+ (without a question mark) Regards, Boris

The "No Rinsing" method is not genuine English. A good while ago, the habit was quite widespread here in Switzerland. I had several time a lot of arguing about that, because I couldn't stand the idea eating from a plate with a soap film left. These days, with the "Organic" and "Natural" paradigm, the habit is definitely gone. I think it had to do with after 50ies hygienic fixation.

My recipe was to gently fry a carrot, a bit of celery, a green (spring) onion and a parsley root (everthing finely cut) in a lot of olive oil. I deglaced with a very sour wine and some lemon juice and made a reduction. Add some parsley. I rubbed a fair amount of salt and pepper inside and added the reduced vegetables inside and a bit outside and let it macerate for 1-2 hours. (Preferably, the meat is a room temperature before cooking). After that, I roasted (or braised) for 45 minutes at 180C and gave some upper heat at the end to give colour and a bit crisp. Invite enough people and forget the freezer.

Please tell me that nobody is going to spit those juices.

A 3 ft pike: Well prepared after 45 minutes of braising in the oven: This was the end my friend: The meat was white and very firm, almost like chicken. The bones have been so large that there was no problem. The taste was not unlike a wild salmon. It was a success and it's going to be repeated next easter when pikes of that size are available again.

Anything goes/is haute cuisine in the era of postmodernism. For me: Gruyère Alpège and Chasselas from Saint-Saphorin.

I would use the head anytime, if fresh. Heads are tasty. What are you afraid of? Wrt. clear stock: just clearing it with egg-white should sufficiently do the job.

Jim, as you maybe can imagine I enjoyed reading your enthusiastic Negri "Sassella La Tense" review! If you ever care to visit the region, don't miss the 1 hour plunge from the glaciers (skiing possible until late may) of the Bernina pass road (~7000 ft, one of the most beautyful in the alps) to Tirano in Valtellina (1000 ft) before you start hunting for cheese, salumi and bresaola on local markets and visiting the wine producers around Sondrio. Regards, Boris

And not only useful, but a pleasure to read too. Bravo Jim!

How about an original Budvar from "Ceske Budejovice"? The Czechs know something about beer. They consume more than any other country. BTW, If you ever are in Vienna, visit the Prater and the Schweizerhaus (). It's one of the most popular "beer gardens" in Vienna. They serve draft Budvar.

Actually, I'm born in a family that was running high end fashion shops. In my experience, many Italian middle size town you find smaller shops that deal not with the big brands (Prada, etc), but with individual, yet very elegant "no name" products. They are not necessarily much less expensive, though. So I'd say: Alba, Asti, Cuneo, Alessandria, Aqui Terme and similar towns are pretty good places to shop.

Welcome Bill Sure you know what's hot and what's not. It's a growing community, I think. Those who prefer elegant sports car over shoddy (?) limos, so to say. Dann wünsche ich Dir einen wundervollen Tag, Bill! Best, Boris

In my first attempt, the eggs had been too raw. I was afraid of heating them too much. With the second attempt I had a concistency of soft scrambled eggs. The right amount of coagulating seems to be the trick. The cheese flavour was very explosive and fortyfied by the warm eggs. (There are some truffles aficionados who like it most with scrambled eggs. Seems to work as a flavour amplifier) Next I'm going to try a Gruyère variant. This kind of fondue should made very nice warm starter. When I was a boy, Fondue was always great fun. The one who lost a piece of bread in the cheese pot ("caquelon") had to perform something. Among Swiss adults, the traditional "punishment" for loosing a bread cube is to pay for the next bottle of wine. I like very much the Chinese/Mongolian variant with stock instead of oil. They call it "Shuan Yang Rou" and is very popular in Northern China during winter time.

If you want to leave well-known tourist routes and if you are interested in beautyful landscapes, I'd suggest to drive westwards into the "Langa Astigiana" mountains an to the Bormida valley (about 40-50 miles). It's a very nice landscape with a lot of completely mixed agricultural production (not only wine, but goat cheese, hazelnut, cherry, corn, whatever). 3 years ago, I was in Piedmonte with friends from Washington state, and that was the part they liked most. So did I. Two very good, traditional restaurants for lunch are "Posta da Camulin" in Cossano Belbo or "Madonna di Neive" in Cessole.

A Swiss wine mag for Italian wine established the "Empty Bottle" wine rating. They open a lot of bottles and have the tasting with a meal. Eveyone is allowed to drink as much from every bottle he likes. At the end of the meal, the rating scale is represented by amount (volume) of each wine consumed. It's called the JLF-Test. (German for "the emptier the bottle") Here you find some results. The less height (cm) of the liquid level the better. It's in German, but it's easy to compare the results with your tasting impression.

Congrats to you promotion, Brad. But I'm not astonished. I appreciate your posts, your knowledge and expertise while maintaining always common sense. Best, Boris

How about an extremely simple recipe reported by Brillat-Savarin himself? Must be from the year 1750 or so. Retro-kitsch? I have to admit, I never tried this one. But now, I'll do it this evening. [ed.f.typos]

How about a extremely simple recipe reported by Brillat-Savarin himself? Must be from the year 1750 or so! Retro-kitsch?