g.johnson

I wouldn't eat bloody chicken because I think the texture would be unpleasant. (And I'm sure I'm as brainwashed as the next man, too.)

Yes. I think it’s probably a combination of several factors. Factory farming of chickens raises the risk of Salmonella infection and industrial processing increases risk of cross-contamination. So chicken is more risky that duck. Furthermore, the FDA and USDA are going to emphasize the risks of chicken because many more people eat chicken than duck. I suspect that the dangers of food poisoning are pretty small, in any case. I’ve certainly eaten undercooked chicken on occasion and I eat runny eggs, home made mayo and medium rare burgers all the time. And I don’t abide by that nonsense of separate cutting boards for different foodstuffs. Yet on the two occasions (ever) that I thought I might have food poisoning, I couldn’t associate it with any of those factors.

I don't know what you mean by 'proto viral strand' but a prion is a protein and chemically distinct from DNA. I beleive it acts by causing deformations in other proteins rather than DNA. You're correct that it's relatively resistant to heat. Where did you hear that it only affected the susceptible? Pedantic scientific bastard.

The USDA say: and I think they’re saying there is a danger. So I suspect that there is only a quantitative difference in the risk. And you're wrong.

I’m not an expert but I believe that most bacterial contaminants – Salmonella, E. Coli, etc. – live in the gut not within tissue. Problems occur when meat comes into contact with shit during processing – and I get the impression that that’s almost inevitable. If the bacteria remain on the surface of the meat there’s no problem since they’ll be killed during processing. As Dstone says, ground meat can be problematic because surface bacteria become embedded in the meat. But this doesn’t explain why chicken should be a particular problem. The only likely explanation I can think of is that bacteria can become lodged fairly deeply in the flesh if the carcass is sufficiently damaged. I’ve heard (from Food TV, I think) that the less industrial processing methods that are used with duck, reduce the possibility of contamination. Giannone confirm this indirectly by saying that their air drying method reduces cross-contamination. Eggs are a different case – they become contaminated when the chicken’s ovaries are contaminated with Salmonella during life. I couldn’t find any information on how this occurs but the ovaries float around in the peritoneum alongside the guts so it’s possible that the bacteria simply migrate across the gut wall. Comments, Balic?

Oh the temptation...

Am I hallucinating or are fewer British restaurants adding a service charge now? A few years ago it was the common practice. (There were endless tedious discussions of whether the service charge should be added before or after VAT.) But the last time we were in Britain, it seemed rare.

I asked an Italian colleague about risotto today. She confirmed the consensus view of short first and long second o, with a little pause after the second syllable. She also spontaneously mentioned Rissoteria as providing an excellent version, not that a native’s opinion is necessarily privileged.

The chance of Tommy being accidentally subtle seems remote.

Good. (Though getting tired in the last season.)

Men Behaving Badly, Absolutely Fabulous, Alan Partridge. OK, you said most, but when UK sitcoms are good they blow away the US competition.

what's "took the pledge?" Climbed on the wagon.

Of course.

This was discussed on the Cooking Myths thread. Russ Parsons had this to say If this is true, then piercing the meat might actually help since the released juices will add to that tasty carcinogenic caramelization. But, to repeat myself, I can’t see it making a big difference.

Yes, but I think it’s rare to see "filet mignon" on a menu. The Gordon Ramsay and Petrus menus, for example, both have “fillet” of beef. I think you’d only see it on the menu in a traditional French restaurant like Le Gavroche where a large part of the menu is in French.

Probably good. My only experience of the old London clubs is the Garrick. My old boss was a member and took us to dinner there a few years ago. A very pleasant experience with surprisingly good food. But the Garrick is full of arty types so is likely to be more interesting than White’s.

Macrosan corrected me on that before. The brits do indeed pronounce the T but they also spell it "fillet". Unless things have changed in the last 15 years, it's rare to see anything described as "filet mignon". And if you went into Steve Hatt and asked for a fillay of sole, someone would bottle you.

However, pronouncing valet without an audible T will get you blackballed from White's.

Bud, to me, never tastes of anything.

I should damn well think not, Sir. Next thing, you'd be waving your arms around and carrying a handbag.

The plain version is Milanese, right? Are risottos (risotti?) in other regions more elaborate? For example, this site states that in Piemonte

At the weekend we had fried zucchini blossoms and I used the simplest batter imaginable. Flour, salt and enough water to make something the consistency of thick cream. Worked a treat.

I guess California has a few advantages... I can buy it at a half a dozen stores near my home. Technical question: Do you know how they stop it clotting?

More amouse bouche.

I on the other hand have a more noble aim.