ludja

I love fresh tarragon (or thyme) in chicken salad. I'd usually add some chopped green onion and celery and usually mayonnaise. Sometimes, walnuts. I like the idea above for fresh peas. I definatelly favor the savory over the sweet in this situation. I never heard of "chinese chicken salad" until I came out West but I like that too. Sesame oil, ginger, etc makes a completely different but great chicken salad.

Anna K recently posted a neat thread about a recent promotion/celebration for EU Day instigated by the reigning Austrian EU presidency-- "Sweet Europe" which features a representative cake or pastry from each EU country. Here's the link to the thread which also has a cool poster with all the cakes on it: click

Despite having yet still only heard a few radio interviews with him and not yet having read the book, I agree with you on his potential large and beneficial impact through his books, other writings and presentations. (He is also a prof in the UC Berkeley Dept of Journalism so he is also busily filling minds each semester. ) I think part of what is so appealing, and I think, ultimately powerful about his information, style and approach though, is that his discussion transcends some traditional "sides" associated with this and related issues. The content and commentary he provides is intelligent, balanced and just makes sense. What I mean to say, is that sometimes the "sides" include a lot of other issues where some people could be lost. That is not to say that the side issues are not valid or important in the various cases, but I think he has found a good way to really pinpoint some of the key issues associated with the politics/health/economics/environmental issues surrounding food and to keep that somewhat separate from some other political issues or agendas. While there is a place and a right for all sorts of people working towards change in this area to operate in their own way and according to their own conscience, I think the clarity and balance he brings to the discussion can only help the overall situation. As a scientist, my perception is that he also appears to be quite adept and knowledgeable speaking about scientific issues and in translating them in an accessible and what seems to be an accurate way to the public. This quality is very rare in much reporting of scientifically-related issues to the general public. Here is another good article/interview on his new book which was published in a Berkeley publication: click Thank you for also pointing out Nabhan's book, azurite. It sounds like a complementary read.

Interesting to see the Great Britain spin on this. Our middle class family without British roots in New England (1960's-now) usually calls the nighttime meal around 6:00 "supper" in the sense that it was a more simple meal than a potential "dinner". (no appetizers, or mulitple courses, rather meat with a few side dishes or even a one pot meal like a stew.) Our big meal on Sunday after church in the afternoon is definately "Sunday dinner". If someone was being invited over, it would be for a "dinner" usually, not just a "supper". Suzanne Goin, author of "Sunday Supper at Lucques" and chef of the same restaurant in LA, also seems to use it in a way which means more casual, and less "posh". The suppers on Sunday nights at her restaurant are a simpler prix fixe menu with most of the course selection made by the restaurant. The other context I can think of for "supper", in the US anyway, is kind of an old-fashioned one that I associate with a a fancy late night dinner in a big city. For example, "We had a late night supper of champagne and oysters after the gallery opening."

Congrats on wonderful dinner; I'm glad they enjoyed it. One of my fondest memories is of my sister and I cooking a few dinners for my grandparents from Austria when they visited the US. Food in Austria is/was always cooked by her and over here it was usually my Mom or Aunt cooking for them. It was very nice to "give back" in this way which wasn't easy to do on a regular basis with all of us spread out geographically. The food differences aren't as great, but we also had fun in coming up with a menu that would be special and different but not *too* different for them. How did the stuffed eggs go over?

I don't have a rec for dinner in the area--but on a related topic, does anyone have any comment on the Jimtown Store that is near Healdsburg in Alexander Valley? I just looked at their cookbook recently and was quite impressed. Their main focus besides selling various food items seems to be lunch in their cafe and take out picnic lunches but I'm not sure if they serve dinner as well. In any case, it could be a great place to pick up a lunch for a picnic at one of the wineries you visit. I can't believe I haven't checked this place out all the times I've been up in the area. It just wasn't on my radar screen. edited to add: Here is a link to their website: Jimtown Store and Cefe What wineries are you thinking of hitting, s9498?

Spaetzle can be authentically or traditionally served either way, that is, either straight from boiling, maybe only dressed with a little butter or else baked or sauteed a bit in butter to achieve some light browning. Plain, buttered spaetzle are also good alongside dishes that have some sauce or gravy.

The fois gras stuffed prunes are delicious. The soaked prunes would probably work well in a version of Prune Cream Tart I've made from "The French Farmhouse Cookbook" by Susan Loomis. Puree the ~ 1/2 of the drained prunes adding ~ 4 Tbs liquid to make a thick puree. The liquid could be a combination of water and the armagnac. Lightly sweeten with sugar to taste. Spread the filling into a pre-baked sablee tart shell and drizzle a spiral or other pattern of creme fraiche over the tart. It is simple but very good. (The original recipe uses prunes plumped in warm water and then pureed w/some rum or brandy.) Loomis also has a great appetizer in the same book--prunes stuffed with a good blue cheese and then warmed in an oven until the cheese just melts. These are served as hors d'oeuvres with chopped parsley on top. The slight sweetness of the prunes goes very well with the blue cheese. Maybe there is some type of salad or other prep that could incorporate both the soaked prunes and blue cheese. A puree could also be used in crepe fillings' similar to a plum Powidl spread used in Austro-Hungarian Palatschinken (crepes). A very interesting Austrian dessert is to make deep fried fritters of prunes stuffed with an almond. The warm fritters are then covered with chocolate shavings and served. (They're called "Schlosserbuam" or "Locksmith's Apprentices".) These might work well with the Armagnac prunes if they are well drained and dried a bit before dipping in the egg white-based fritter dough. For savory applications I would consider incorporating it into a dish with pork. Maybe cut up and added to a gravy for a pork roast. Or else pureed and added to some sort of stuffing for a pork loin. Gerald Hirogoyen, a great San Francisco Basque/French/California chef has a great signature dish with a type of pork confit. It is served with an apple-onion marmalade to which some sliced prunes have been added. (saute some apples and prunes in butter, add caramelized onion marmalade and finish with chicken or veal stock).

Taylor's has some nice shakes with different fruit flavors. I've enjoyed the green tea shake that they offer as a special sometimes at the Ferry Bldg. location. I think I had a blackberry shake up at the St. Helena restaurant.

Interesting thread; thank you all for the lovely and informative posts. Lamb Abbey Orchards, you mentioned a Welsh Perry Pear which sounds like it might come from Great Britain. Do you know much about pear varietals still being grown there or other places in Europe like France, Germany, Switzerland or Austria? Do they also have a smaller variety of pears available nowadays or has a greater diversity been maintained? (I guess I should read the pear book you mentioned...)

Here's a link to a thread on the rhubarb brown butter almond cake recently prepared for the President of China during his visit to Seattle: click

"Best food ever eaten" sounds good. I'll look for Millenium. ← Just curious, slo_ted, because my experience there was a little different. Was it the best food ever eaten or the best vegan food ever eaten? Also, how recently were you there? We ate there quite a long time ago (7 or 8 years) and so I have no idea of the current chef and status, but while we thought the food was interesting it didn't quite hit the mark. None of us were vegans, but our group was definately open-minded and enjoyed vegetarian meals, etc. My recollection from that time is that some of the dishes, while certainly ambitious and creative, were overly fussy and tended to rely on some of the same ingredients and textures. Our consensus was that the food was interesting and pretty good, appeared to be prepared with care, but in the end it just didn't taste very delicious. I don't know if they have a menu online but it may be also worth checking that out. We ate there about a year or so after they opened so it may also be the case that their style has evolved and deepened. edited to add: I found a link to their web page and they do have some sample menus on-line: click (It's been a long time but the menu does look a bit different than I remembered...)

This sounds good; the recipe looks similar to one I have from Michel Richard that I have not yet tried. His recipe has a little more lemon juice, but the proportions of dairy and sugar are very similar. Along the lines of cream cheese ice cream, I've made ricotta ice cream and mascarpone ice cream and really enjoyed both. The first I served with slices of blood orange and some Italian cornmeal cookies. The mascarpone ice cream was from The French Laundary Cookbook and the garnish was a "spring salad" with Strawberries, Oranges, Candied Rhubarb and Fennel. This was very good; I second ComeUndone's suggestion of a fruit compote of some sort. Some other spring fruit ideas: rhubarb or pineapple.

That day they had Sweetwaters and Kumamotos from Hog Island, Effingham Inlet from British Columbia, St. Simon from New Brunswick, and Island Creek from Massachusetts. I had had the sweetwaters and Kumamotos on Saturday at the market so wanting to stay on the west coast (when in Rome...) I went with the Effinghams. They as the others were delicious. I like mine best with a squeeze of lemon. ← Thank you---Effinghams were the ones I was thinking of; absolutely delicious. They have a nice mignonette there, but my preferred garnish is also lemon--just a a drop or two.

i was in there just for drinks on friday night and the bathroom was totally littered with trash. very unappealing. ← Yuk.... Maybe this is silly to ask still--but was the food and drink good? I remember great selections of wine.

Great photos; I want some oysters now! The space is small but nice. Weather permitting it is also pleasant to sit outside with the sights and sounds of the bay at hand. Terrific Acme bread and sweet butter are great accompaniements as well. I've had a nice chowder there as well. Do you remember what oysters they were serving that day? Besides their local Tomales Bay oysters, I think I've had some other wonderful west coast oysters there from British Colombia.

Has anyone been to Pesce lately and have comments? I had some very nice meals there but it has been a while. (The restaurant theme is Venetian cicchetti or "small plates" and there is a heavy emphasis on seafood.)

Good ideas. We have an 8:30 reservation at Chez Panisse so swinging by Cesar is easy. We are also staying at The Hotel Vitale across from the ferry building so we'll check out Boulette's. Maybe even have breakfast there or just load up on room snacks. Thanks for the leads... Shaun ← Sounds like a great line up to me; it includes some of my favorite restaurants. You may well enjoy Slanted Door and the space in the Ferry Building has a great view, but personally I would go to Hog Island Oyster if you enjoy fresh briny bivalves. The wine shop in the Ferry Building often has an interesting selection of wines by the glass; I always drop by to see what they're pouring and usually try something. There are many great drink options as Cesar; a great suggestion by mixmaster b. If you want something lighter before dinner, consider their champagne or non-alcoholic bubbly drink spiked with Austrian Elderberryflower syrup. It is very delicious. I wouldn't pass up dim sum at Yank Sing, but if I had wheels and the ability to get there early in your situation, I would go to Koi Palace. This last comment is not to influence your new schedule which looks great--but I've been to Zuni many times in the last three years and still always have a wonderful experience. Look forward to hearing of your impressions, especially for Coi. There hasn't been much comment yet on the restaurant on eGullet. Have a great time.

Nice write-up, Noodlebot. Thanks for sharing. The pimento-type spread may have been a Liptauer Cheese which is a very common appetizer/snack in Austria and Hungary. The base is usually a fresh soft cheese or maybe a mild goat cheese and it is generously flavored with paprika. Other add ins may vary, but one of my favorite recipes also includes minced anchovies and capers, mustard, grated onion and minced fresh chives, butter, and crushed caraway seeds. It is also very good with rye bread and is nice to have alongside either beer or wine. The huckleberries sound like a great addition to the traditional Salzburger Nockerl.

Leidse kaas (cheese from Leiden) is another name for cumin cheese. They come in different ages, from very young and buttery to old, salty and crumbly. Then there's a cheese made in Friesland, nagelkaas, which is studded with either cloves, or cloves and cumin. ← Thanks for the information. It is interesting that in the US the cheese is often (always?) spelled "Leyden". From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leiden

Is Leyden with cumin the primary cumin cheese in the Netherlands or are there other types as well? (I may have asked you this before somewhere but I can't remember...) I enjoyed Leyden cheese for a long time. Awhile back, it actually was an introduction for me of sorts to the really wonderful taste of citrusy whole cumin seeds in a form different from it's powdered generic taste in American taco seasoning packets. I love your simple idea of swirling ginger in syrup and rhubarb compote into vanilla ice cream. It sounds and looks delcious. Good luck with your cooking and cleaning prep for tomorrow!

Which is why a good pie is hard to find. I know many of us recognize this, yet it must be said: It's amazing how many appallingly bad pies there are out there, and how difficult it is to find a really good pie outside of baking one. I've yet to find an acceptable pie in 16 years of living in this area of Connecticut. The dissappointment has come from every quarter, including bakeries and expensive, high-end places like Hay Day (now Balduccis). Same thing goes for cakes. It's difficult to find a really good cake at a bakery, store, restaurant, or deli, even at places that are supposedly cake specialists. ← I never buy whole pies but will occasionally order a slice if the place looks very promising. I've found consistently excellent pies at Harry's Roadhouse in Santa Fe and good (for commerical) pie slices at Duarte's in Pescardero (south of SF). A nice thing about baking pies is that once you have mastered the technique for make a good crust it is easy to make a very good pie yourself. I don't use canned or frozen fillings so the fillings come out good as well. (I'm not saying a good pie can't be made with canned or frozen fillings; I just haven't experimented with them as I usually feel inspired to make a pie when I see some great seaonal fruit. Else I'll make a nut, lemon, custard or buttermilk pie.) In comparison, baking a new cake is always a slight adventure although if you have experience with baking that particular class of cakes and frosting/filling one is usually met with at least some measure of success. I am always torn between repeating my favorite tried and true cake recipes and wanting to try new ones. A good cake recipe is something to be treasured as is finding a place that serves good cake. I don't mean to offend any of our wonderful professional bakers, but I agree with your assessment of cakes at most 'regular' commerical bakeries, stores, restaurants, etc. I think they are often constrained by the price of ingredients, the need to prolong shelf life and the average tastes of target consumers. There are certainly wonderful cakes and tortes availabe at some great shops that I could not easily make at home in terms of the techniques involved or the look of the final product. At least to date, I bake less pastries at home and so, most often turn to professionals for these instead of cakes.

Don't discount the southcoast of Brittany. Pont Aven is a beautiful little town that Gaugin spent much time in. If you stay a bit to the west you will also have access to the beatiful coastline of western Brittany. You can eat some of the best oysters in France there, the country and oceanside is beautiful and we ate very well. Quimper and Mont St Michel are both nice excursions. We did eat at several special places but I'm not sure I could dig up the names at this time. There are tourist guest farmhouses in France--I think they're called something like "Gites de France". We visited one that our friend's family owned and it seems like it can be quite a nice arrangement. Since they are each so individual, it would likely be a good idea to investigate a particular option. Others may have more information on their overall level of quality, etc.

Except for maybe the deep dish pizza, Ritz Crackers and vinegar, I'd make you lovely varieties of cakes out of any of those ingredients. Each single ingredient could provide a delcious array of different cake styles. I do cherish savory and sweet tarts, although I wouldn't call them pies for this discussion. (a favorite subject of an old thread, I know.)

I bake and like both pies and cakes, and as I think we agree on, we are comparing good cakes and good pies, but if I had to pick one.... it would definately be CAKE.. I like Varmint's comment about following fruit and other produce through the seasons with pie, but the variety of cake styles is so much greater and can also utilize all the bounty of the seasons. I love homey unfrosted cakes like lemon, ginger, apple, plum, almond, poppyseed or walnut. Poundcakes, angelfood, upside down cakes, fruitcakes... I love grand, over the top American and Southern layer cakes like caramel, pecan, coconut, orange and cheesecake. As people on the board probably already have a hint of, I love extravagant but less sweet Austrian/Hungarian tortes--Dobos, Punsch, Strawberry Cream, Chocolate-Hazelnut, Chestnut, Poppyseed, Malakoff Cream, Nut Meringues, etc., etc. And then there's French Gateaux including chocolate and mousse cakes, Spanish Almond and Citrus Cakes, Italian Ricotta, Hazelnut and Almond Cakes, English Fruitcakes. Cakes to suit all moods and tastes and times of day. They can be eaten with coffee, tea, dessert wines, milk. They can be served with custard or fruit sauces, whipped cream or ice cream. There is a whole world of cakes you cake-naysayers are missing. A good pie is a very, very nice thing, but cakes can range from humble to divine. This may not be what you’re thinking of, but it was my sig line for awhile (I don't think it covers all occasions, but I liked the ring of it): Cakes are fancy-ass, honey. Pie is home." -- Idella Johnson, Veteran Pie Baker, as quoted in Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax (I would categorize baklava as a pastry.) and…if I was going to trash talk the pie lovers… I’d say, “Cakes rule, now shut your pie-hole!”