Adam Balic

When we are talking about 'tuna salad' are we talking about 'high quality tuna, packed in olive oil and in large flakes in the salad' or 'vague tuna flavoured mush with mayonaise'?

I can see that a sweet cured pickle may not be that nice, but a nice cornichon goes very well with tuna.

Yes, "Amperol" is a typo. The drink was quite good, but a little sweet for me. One think I have noticed about bitters in Italy is that you get a great big glass of the stuff, not just a little twee thimbleful. I had a Montenegro two weeks ago that must have been about 60 mls in total volume. Cynar is the work of the devil, although it does have the interesting property of sweetening any food you happen to be nibbling on.

In Liguria this year, the older-Italian men were drinking a mixture of Campari, Amperol and prosecco (forget the name, something to do with Italian for "Light"). Seemed like a strange choice, but better then Cynar at least.

I would guess that the Bulgarians have been making Feta for about the same amount of time as the Greeks. By definition, nothing is 'authentic'. The Greeks may have a better product in most cases then the Bulgarians and they may want to seperate there product from association with mass produced commerical feta of Denmark, but at the end of the day they are just protecting a commerical interest and have no real right to insist that the Bulgarians change there cheese name. If the Greeks were to use there clout to shut down production of an equally valid, if inferior, product then it really just bully tactics.

The Greeks may make the best Feta type cheese, but I'm not sure it entitles them to the name. Some Feta type cheese is obviously produced in countries that have never had a history of producing it (Denmark for instance), but this is not always the case. Feta is a old type of cheese, made in a number of places historically, so other countries apart from Greece have a historic claim on it. 'Kalamata' is another tricky one, as it is both the name of a regional type and the variety of the olive.

Depending on what you are cooking you may or may not want the blood to clot. The clotting factors can be removed by beating the blood with a whisk or a wooden spoon if you have the arm stamina. You can also add vinegar, wine or lemon juice, but this will alter the taste. Another trick is to put the fresh blood into a bottle with some raw rice and shake the bottle for 15 minutes.

"Sweet Melinda's" has wonderful food and is situated next to the best fishmonger in Edinburgh, so their fish dishes are rather good. "Kalpna" for Veg. Indian "Namaste" for another interesting Indian selection (meat this time). "Nargile" in the New Town for some of the most interesting food I have had in the UK. It is Turkish, but not as we know it Jim. The Mezze selection is particularly recommeded. "Le Petite Foile" in the New Town again for cheap, honest family run French Bistro type food. "Petit Paris" for slightly more expensive, but still cheapish French Bistro fare of a high standard. A "Toastie" (toasted sandwiches of high quality) from the "Bow Bar" in Bow Street, plus a whisky and a half of real ale. Deep fried haggis pudding from a fish and chip place. Avoid "The Tower" at all costs.

Like many people it seems, we spend a great deal of time and effort on the food choice, but didn't eat much ourselves. I think I had a piece of sushi and a middle-eastern meat thing on a stick. I did have a piece of the wedding cake which was a ten kilo Panpepato, which my Sister-in-law brought back to Australia from Siena. We spend 18 months collecting wine for the night, the catering staff commented that they had never seen wedding guests drink so much wine, about a bottle and a half of wine each, plus beer and cocktails. At six in the morning I let the dogs out to chase out the last wedding guest.

Is it true that the bottles were stored up-right, covered with mould, the corks been replaced after a number of years?

How do you get 6 puttonyos then? No base wine, only botrytised grapes? I had a 1972 5 puttonyos Royal Tokaji several years ago. Lovely wine.

Mmmmm Stornaway black pudding.

I would estimate that my terracotta version is 2-3 times as big. Big enough for two whole chickens. Maybe, it is because Le Creuset is French - made for pousin!

Saturday: Simple Romantic Dinner for two. Sauted Lemon sole with shrimp butter, harissa flavoured cous cous and a green salad with crouton. Slight problem with meal. While toasting bread for crouton noticed a disgusting smell of charred meat and burn hair. Checked my self for burns, no burns. Noticed smoke pouring from toaster, very strange as toaster was only just turned on. Looked in toaster. Removed toast. Noticed one very charred and smoking mouse. I tell wife. Wife enters loungeroom, clutching bottle of wine. Indicates her desire through locked door that I deal with mouse/toaster issue. Quotes some sub-clause in the marriage vows. I remove mouse from toaster using tongs. OK, on closer examination I have removed its legs. Tender BBQ mouse apparently. After several attempts I remove all the mouse bits. Consider throwing 1) the toaster out; 2) Up. Toaster is an expensive wedding present and I can't afford to throw out expensive wedding gifts. Tell my self that Carbs=Death and as I shall not be eating toast again for quite some time if we keep this toaster, it will be good for my health. Turn toaster up to eleven and toast all the nasty mousiness out of toaster. Inform wife, who after promises of G&T, opens door and questions time of dinner. I inform her that dinner is 'off' as the chef is feeling un-well. Revised Simple Romantic Dinner for Two: Quarter of a bottle of Grappa for myself, half a bottle of Rose d'Anjou and some nuts from my wife. I hate mice I hate toast I hate toasted mice most of all.

Made Venison larp stuff from a loas recipe. Pretty good. Meat roasted rare, then thinly sliced. Will try it with raw venison next time.

Horrible, trendy, and thoroughly indigestible; not fit for human consumption. Is samphire the same as the Italian vegetable 'agretti' a.k.a. 'barba di San Giuseppe'? Yes, but 'agretti' tends to be cultivated varieties of the species and Samphire is collected wild. I think that it is good when steamed and covered in melted butter, but a bother to eat. I guess it serves the purpose of giving people the impression of 'wild' food.

If Pimm's no 1 cup was the mixer for gin, what were the other ( up to No 7 I believe ) mixers for? S They are not mixeers for, but based on the following: Pimms No. 1 = Gin base Pimms No. 2 = Scotch Pimms No. 3 =brandy Pimms No. 4 = rum Pimms No. 5 = rye Pimms No. 6 = vodka Only No. 1 and 6 are now in production and No. 6 is made in tiny amounts. No.2-6 were all post WWII.

Thank you for the terrific advice! Giuliochef - I love batti-batti, a very similar shovel-nosed lobster is common in Australia, where they are know as 'Moreton Bay Bugs' and 'Balmain Bugs'. The local supermarket in Edinburgh now sells trofie!

Pimms and London Dry Gin.

OK I got 100%, but most of the questions were not about food.

Decent Haggis. Oat cakes. Abroath Smokies. Smoked Haddies. All the fantastic seafood exported to France and Spain. Raspberries.

Well, at the very least it is a 'Authentic Westernized' version of a tagine. I think that it should work fine, my only quibble is that it is rather small. You wouldn't be able to do many lamb shanks for instance.

Steve - I checked the Le Creuset Tagine on the week-end - no hole.

Side I think.