Liza

"Mutton - aged, so you don't have to".

What a grand first post! I was taken with Dimple, too, and will add that for my wheat-intolerant companion, they were most accomodating.

Now that South Dakota has a working winery, apparently there are vineyards in all fifty states.

Ramps. Too short a season, too much bear piss, but worth it.

That was it! He said he sometimes made if for certain guests to enjoy Alsation food, though I don't remember the eggs. Must find out if there's a corresponding web site with recipes... AHA. It's Tarte Flambee: A rich Alsatian dish of puff pastry, with bacon and onion.

Hey Soba, On Julia Child's Cooking with Master Chefs last night, Andre Soltner made a little tartlet (forget the Alsatian name) with a mixture of cottage cheese & creme fraiche. Basically, a round of puff pastry, docked, topped with the cheese, then topped with barely sauteed bacon and onions. Finished in the oven. Looked delish. Chef said in Alsace they would use farmer's cheese, but here in the US, the cottage cheese was a fine substitute.

Thanks for the report! I'm still curious about the asparagus home fries - were they like potato home fries with asparagus, or something radically different?

Merci. And thanks, of course of course!

Edited. Realized I was wrong, per usual.

Sandy, Who's the author?

I enjoyed James Villas' "Villas at Table" but up there with Liebling? Hmm. I'd put put Calvin Trillin in that group.

Re: Food Finds et al - no one pays to be featured.

Glenn, it's Pakistani Tea House on Church at Reade. Exteme Ditto on the panini's at Ino, btw.

Jess, As long as there's no cream or cheese in the soup, you should be fine freezing it. I keep extra ice cube trays for freezing liquids. Once frozen, pop the cubes into a good plastic bag and you can defrost more easily.

Razor clams are tricky, and visually a bit... off-putting. I got fresh ones from Alex our fish guy and zoiks, I was pretty much...off-put...by seeing how active they were. Might not work in Demarest (and I say that with love, as I'm from Tenafly).

You could make a pesto from combining some of your favorites. I know there's a Jerry Traunfeld ("The Herbfarm Cookbook") recipe for a green gazpacho. Perhaps a Google search will find out if it's ever been posted. Lemme hunt round... EDIT: found his roasted parsnips with thyme recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=104126 Here's a link to a chat with Jerry Traunfeld, discussing fresh herbs: http://table.mpr.org/souptonuts/kitchen_herbs.html

I'll add that the cod dish was most impressive for the texture of the cod. It's very easy to overcook cod, and very difficult to achieve the incredibly moist, dense flesh they did. Lamb's quarters it was, and the green froth was pea. As Michael and Dan are frequent shoppers at Union Square Greenmarket, I'd guess that both these items - at least - were local. Dan and Michael came to our table after and couldn't have been kinder, or generous with their time.

Ted usually checks in there later in the season, as you recall, Paul. The Blews had a corn maze two years ago, I think - I'll try to find out if it's happening again.

The issue at a farmer's market is that the produce and products should be grown or made on the farm. That is the rule at all the NY farmer's markets, but not apparently the case in NJ. You should care because if a farmer is selling something that has not been grown on his/her farm, you have no idea where the produce is from. It very likely came through Hunt's Point. Another reason to care, is that corruption of the market can be a cause for the ending of the market. It obviously varies on a state by state basis.

Wondering if anyone can compare them with the fresh chickens sold at the Union Square farmer's market on Saturdays by the Meisserich family?

Lizziee, I checked all sorts of references last night, hoping to find a recipe for you. The closest I came was Michel Roux's sea urchin SAUCE, which didn't seem thin-able into making a soup. Nothing in Nobu, Le Bernardin, Art C's, Culinaria France, etc.

Roasted chicken, with a messy puree of foie gras, pancetta, garlic, and fresh herbs stuffed under the skin. In the cavity, lemon and rosemary. Blasted at 550 for one hour and ten minutes. With roasted potatoes positively oozing foie gras drippings, and Lebanese cous cous. Jinmyo - the purple turnips - were they local?

Lizziee, I'll bet between the two of us, we can find a lot of recipes in Art Culinaire. I know they did a feature on sea urchin - I recall a sea urchin flan in particular. Plus, yes, Rocco's sublime Taylor Bay scallops with uni in tomato water. . .

Basildog, you don't by chance deliver to NYC? When you visit, as I'm thinking of starting a bake sale to sponser your trip, you'll please allow me to introduce you to a few of our local fishermen, yes?

We've done it: the Jeremiah Tower's poached chicken, that is. Puree some pancetta and cremini mushrooms. Stuff the lot under the skin of a chicken. Fill the cavity with lemon and rosemary. Wrap the chicken in cheesecloth and poach in a pot of water with carrots, celery, bouquet garni, onions and whatever you think of or have on hand, in our case, a little ginger and lemongrass. Tonight, a new chicken is poaching in that, plus a little lovage. To be served with couscous.