Adam Balic

Are you absolutely sure that you are Italian?

Yeh, the Naples pizza is most likely just a local adaption of the Spanish Coca.

No I am completely out of my depth on this one, I simply don't have a wide enough perspective on the topic or any knowledge of fine dining. From this narrow perspective I find it interesting that a lot of them more creative food that I see discussed here and else where in the food media, resembles some aspects of Roman/Medieval/Renaissance high end food. Whether this is coincidence or reflects some underlying similarity in philosophy I can't say. "Apple Caviar" would sit very comfortably within a Roman meal of other such 'fake foods' (there is most likely a better word then "fake", can't think of it this early in the morning). From the class point of view "Apple Caviar" is interesting as it has rapidly become clichéd, a sure sign of its downward mobility. In six months time will there be an elite diner who would enjoy eating it? This isn't new, any brief observation of dining habits in the last 1000 years shows the same trend again and again. In modern Italy it is fun to observe the number of Renaissance high end food items that have ended up as feast/festival foods of the people, for instance. *How long before the use of commercial enzymes, gels, chemicals becomes so widespread (even I have bought alginate for God's sake), that the next 'big thing' will be a more towards more 'pure' ingredients, a bit like happened during the early "nouvelle cuisine" movement. Or will there be another direction? But, if this pattern is true, then the majority of elite diners are also part of the process, so one wonders if there has ever truely been an diner with individual palate or intellect? Not that this really matters I guess. * Not a negative comment on the use of these items at all. I think that it is very interesting how the best chefs have used these items to introduce a new type of purity into their cooking.

Interesting product, but it would produce the wrong type of curds for what I have in mind. But, if you got hold of both forms of the gelling agent then it sounds like you could apply it in some pretty cool ways.

Excellent, Yorkshire curd tart here we come.

Well the whole world has not made cassis pearls yet. I like the way that they rise and fall in the sparkling wine etc. Also I have this idea of combinging custard, cream and fruit jelly pearls, serving it on a spoon and calling it a "Triffle"... But actually I would like to experiment with a few different coagulants for producing curds (moo-juice and soy). To date I have been using epson salts (Magnesium Sulfate), but would like to use different salts to get flavour and textures correct. edit: What is MSK?

Food grade calcium chloride?

The peasant eats Bony fish with relish The rich man Is shown Whole great fish Which metamorphose In the kitchen to Filet de Soles à la dieppoise? Very interesting. I think that there are (or have been) other issues other then ease/comfort of eating, but it is a very good point. Do you think that this has any influence on some of the emerging styles of cooking were food is pesented in figurative manner, rather then producing food 'which tastes of itself'?

this is a very interesting point regarding the origins of baby type food i think this also stems from a particular type of luxury concept where the act of work or acts of work are banished from the table small portions, easy to digest flavors, over service all have indicated great luxury and excess i dont think we should confuse luxury and profundity, nor should we disregard the history of gastronomy. it is essential to our understanding ← I wonder if this means that the English previously had superior teeth in comparison to the French, given their historical preference for large cuts of beef, rather then sauced bits? Potentially the lack of a fork in the pre-modern era contributed to the choice of food texture as well.

Three more books: "Recipes from Corsica" by Rolli Lucarotti. Looks excellent, both varied and interesting. "The Book of Latin American Cooking" by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz "Indian Home Cooking" by Suvir Saran (where have I heard that name?) and Stephanie Lyness. Will look at the last two over the next few days.

Unfortunately, I have had several experiences like this based on a List review. Then I realised that the most critical and negative review in it was along the lines of "Had some yummy food and they gave us a free glass of wine", so I really can't complain too much.

Useful as the List is, it is hardly the most critical paper. I have yet to see a bad review yet and some of places in it should be razed and salted.

Not a coctail person, but speaking a fair amount of Italian I'm guessing it was "capriciosa"? ← Almost certainly, now that I think about it. Tah.

The cookbook I most often pick off the shelf is Robert Freson's "The Taste of France". It is the sort of book would like to make, I just never get sick of the photography and reading it. Other great books are "A Mediterranean Feast" by Clifford Wright, Paula Woffert's "The Cooking of South-Western France", Anne Willan's "French Regional Cooking", Anything by Elisabeth Laurd, David Thompson's "Thai Food", Anna Del Conte's "The Classic Food of Northern Italy", Robert May's "The Accomplish't Cook", Allen Davidson's "Mediterranean Seafood", Phia Sing's "Traditional Recipes of Loas", Jane Grigson, Elisabeth David, Colman Andrew's. And lots more. Anything that will paint an image of the food and were it comes from.

Smithy. Put the oven to the hottest setting and just plonk the fruit in for ten minutes or so. This gives you enough time to make a Zabaione, which is perfect with this dessert. It also works well with other fruit, expecially peaches and the like. Originally a Jamie Oliver recipe I think.

So my last pots of the blog. Dinner at a friends home. I am very lucky to have generous and good cooks as mates, as you can see. Nibbles Which is:grilled endive with a sherry vinegar reduction, Beaufort cheese, Moroccan olives and buttery Parma ham. Mains were slow braised Moroccan lamb shanks with barley coucous. And seafood "Orzarella" The clams and prawns were fantastic Dessert was an always excellent summer pudding. In case people are concerned about scale, the berries on top are not black currrents, they are larger species known as a WORCESTERBERRY (Ribes divaricatum)

Thank you for the very kind comments, but as the man said "What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." Soon time for another blog. I am off to the house of my friend Bill, for dinner and booze. Hopefully there will be time to post his no doubt excellent meal.

As they say in Scotland, "You've had a bad day, I've had a hell of a day". Fortunately I have a solution. Strawberries, sugar, mint, rum, blender. I would like to call this a strawberry caprioska, but suspect that this is incorrect (cocktail people, any clues?). Due to family connections I get to go to Florence a few times a year. One little know great thing about Florence was a bar on the banks of the Arno called "Lido". It looked like a private club, but was open to the public. Bascially, you sat in the shade of some trees, drank cheap cocktails and were fed for free. It was great (apart from the stinky 20 something Bohemian types that plagued the place) and this is were I had this cocktail first. Sadly Lido is closed now.

Well today for Brekky I nabbed half a pecan and maple syrup danish from plate that appeared in the office. Lunch is tofu with pickled sichuan veg and this excellent chili seaweed. This is from another "Chinese" grocer. This shop is quite small but they do have a lot of good range of Japanese and Korean goods. They also make their own kimchi and this seaweed. I would eat kimchi every lunch, but my fellow office workers complain about the foreign stink. If there is one thing that I have learnt from the move to Edinburgh it is that the food that is obviously visable, at restaurants or in guides, really only scratches the surface of what is really availble.

This is taken from the bridge near "The Scotsman" hotel (so near Princess St).

Yes they are utter rubbish. But unfortunately one of the few varieties I can get during the week. For this reason I rarely eat strawberries raw. These are not even from a supermarket and grown in Scotland, yet still bloody el santa. Still it is amazing how a bit of sugar and vanilla can act as a flavour enhancer for dull fruit.

Actually, these are a really rubbish variety called "El Santa". But roastig with vanilla sugar makles them taste OK.

And dessert.

For goodness' sake. I am not sure whether to exclaim, "Only in Scotland!" (due to the fact that I imagine it filled with grouse and salmon and the fellows in various sorts of caps stalking about that catch these things) or "Only in the World of Adam Balic!" Stag tongues. Well. It is good that I know someone that knows stags and their hunters, for now I can ask, what do they taste like? I do like a bit of tongue myself but have only had them from American beef and lambs. (Yes, it is difficult to write this without bursting out laughing. . .) Stags tongue. . .how is it? Seriously. ← They taste of the moors of Skye, heather, peat, gorse and mist (Actually, they are like mild beef tongue).