Adam Balic

The Pie (you don't eat the crust so it is like a ragout really) was great, basically balls of hot terrine with a savoury sabayon. The quince was one of the nicest that I have cooked. Much of the Banqueting stuff was a little medieval for modern tastes, but some of the less figurative things were good. The comfits went very well with the Hypocras and we haven't caught the Plague so it seems to have worked.

From a recent dinner party: A 17th century Lumber Pie. It would be more usual for the pie to have a carved pastry lid, but I ran out of time. Details of the ingredients: Meat balls, asparagus, chestnuts, mushrooms and grapes. "Banqueting Stuff". Various preserves, confits, kissing confits, gingerbread fish, mazipan bacon and fish, suckets, bean bread etc. Detail of the goodies and a three year olds hand reaching for a preseved [sweet] potato. Also served, but not shown, buttered veg, rice, orange cream with quinces and ypocras.

I was just thinking the same thing myself. They look an awful lot like kalamansi (or calamansi, if you prefer), the taste of which is a bit of a delicate cross between lime and lemon. If they are, then juicing them is definitely worth the effort. ← Most likely not. Key Limes are Citrus aurantifolia, Calamansi are Citrofortunella microcarpa and Tahitian limes are Citrus latifolia.

Iceberg lettuce has only been in the UK since the 1970's apparently. Also, it has to be sold in plastic. Iceberg in the UK

Elie - use what ever alcohol you wish, but yes, the different flavours will effect the final product (I wouldn't use Pastis like Brandy for instance). If you are unsure of the final flavour profiles use add the alcohol at the end, bit by bit. Cook some of the terrine mixture (fry or poach), to test for the correct amount of seasoning (which you should do anyway). Best of luck. p.s. There is an Australian chef, Greg Malouf, who does some interesting recipes based on middle eastern (especially Lebanese). One of these is a pressed terrine of chicken livers and sumac. Let me know if you are interested in this sort of thing.

One of the things that I noticed on moving to the UK from Australia was that the Iceberg lettuce was more expensive then the round ("butter") lettuce. It is the other way around in Australia.

Another reason why Native oysters (Ostrea edulis[i/]) are not eaten as much in the UK, is that there are far , far fewer of them to eat. The Edinburgh poor ate oysters and drank claret, I have seen many old oyster shells being turned up in road works etc around the town. But, the East coast native populations are now gone (a combination of 19th century over havesting, pollution, introduction of parasites, predators and infections) and the the west coast populations are much reduced. There are a few oyster bars in Edinburgh, some with historical connections, but what you will be eating is almost certainly not native oysters. The Portugese that I have seen grown are in a typical basket arrangement, the Natives I have seen were gathered in secret locations.

Dude - think how much she would love your more if you could make pickled cabbage into a special dish . RE: Species of pickled cabbage. In Australia we get whole pickled heads and sliced stuff. Pickling varied with the ethnic origin of the picklers. In Scotland we get it is jars. Have been meaning to make my own, aan I have actually got the brining crock. But I am saving this effort for a special meal...

Alberto - although I have a few Italian cooking books, the book I use most often is 'The Classic Food of Northern Italy by Anna Del Conte'. It is written for cooks in the UK (I bought it in Australia originally and it was fine to use there as well). I like the balance of information and selected recipes, rather then just being a large collection of recipes. This goes some way to giving you a feel for the type of food you are trying to make.

Alberto - I think that quail would be fine and the confit process would enhance their flavour. I have tried pheasant, wood pigeon and partridge. All are fine (pigeon was tender for a change) and they would be very good as part of a choucroute garni I am thinking. Pickled cabbage shouldn't be a problem in your neck of the woods.

lannie - not miffed at all. If I could edit the original reply, I would change the " " into a " " or a " " or even a " ", depending on how frisky I was feeling. Put it down to pre-morning coffe posting. Hah, you can't fool me, I've seen pictures. I was raised about 4 hours drive inland from Melbourne - mostly incidents involving wildlife in rural areas are not 'accidents' , however, everybody has a story about an aunt etc that has hit a kangaroo/swam of grasshoppers/bullock in their car. One day I might tell mine if you are very lucky.

I saw no mention of cork hats?

Australia is about the same size as the USA or Western Europe, not all of it is a hop with kangaroos. We ate them all.

Suet definately has to hire a better PM team. It's it is fat, connective tissue and a little water flavoured with the essence of beef/lamb. Makes excellent like flaky pasty (in the right hands), not to mention puddings and if we are speaking of breakfasts, try lambs kidneys encased in fat, trimmed to 0.5 cm all about, scored and rubbed with cumin, flour and salt, slow roasted until the fat is gone and the tender kidney is encased in a crispy layer of deliciousness. Eat with decent toasted bread and thank the Lord for you good fortune.

Actually I occassionally have a pickled egg with a pint. The white is a little rubbery, but the yolk is nice and creamy. RE: White pudding. It is ~30-40% fat (it is mostly oatmeal), which is lower then many of the delicious Spanish Chorizo that I have been eating. I wouldn't eat a white pudding every day or even every month, but I think that an occasional one is much better then a steady diet of garbage filled ready-meals or for that matter regular Chicken Tikka type curry.

Scottish white pudding would be pinhead oatmeal, suet, onion, spice, salt. It is actually rather nice, sort of crumbly and nutty. I prefer mine deep fried. Not sure about the pansy Southern types.

Whole Foods (UK) doesn't sell meat products to my knowledge. RE: Kangaroos. Like all issues it isn't black and white. Kangaroos are not farmed, they are 'harvested' by being shot. The species likely to be eaten are the Eastern and Western (less so) Greys. These particular marsupials are perfect for taking advantage of locally abundant resourses, the niche that the occupy is similar to grazing ruminants, so the European introduction of sheep has caused a large increase in the numbers of these specific kangaroos. When there is a lot of food about the females will have a joey on the ground, a younger one in the pouch and another on the way. There populations can very quickly increase and just as quickly crash. This is an issue of management, in terms of slaughter for meat, well if you shoot a female there is a good chance that she has young. Some people would consider this and ethical issue. On the other hand ruminants are very bad for native vegetation. They have not upper front teeth so they tend to rip out the native grasses, roots and all. Kangaroos nip of the grass, leaving it to live another day. Loss of native vegetation = loss of native animals etc. Consumption of kangaroo meat could be seen as a way of managing native grasses etc, but I doubt that kangaroo meat will ever be consumed to the level that this would become practical, so the amount of impact it would make is open to question. On the other hand, I feel that every little bit helps, if not directly, then to make people more aware of the issues associate with what they eat and further more, kangaroo numbers have to be managed for their own benefit, so I come out on the side of encouraging consumption of this meat. It would be better if there was a better system of determining how the animals were harvested etc though.

Yes, unfortunately this can happen. Currently, we boycott the 'Whole-foods' place in the UK as it had a poster claiming that they were responsible for the removal of kangaroo from British supermarkets. Sadly an attempted conversation on the relative merits of the negative animal welfare issues v positive enviromental impact of eating kangaroo failed.

York, Bradenham, Suffolk, Cumberland, Prosciutto di Toscana. Most places with pigs make hams, although not all of these are distiguished by having a specific designation, regional or not.

Used the two different types* of semi-dried Spanish Chorizo for dinner on saturday. Cooked off some onion/garlic in a paella, browned some chicken, added stock (made with chicken bits, pigs trotter, onion, bay leaf, tomato, saffron, paprika, dried orange peel). Simmered chicken, added chorizo, added toasted fideos. Five minutes before serving added clams and salted haddock, peas and preseved peppers. One dark, one light, the former being ~60% fat.

Throw it away? I would have to have bought it first. Actually, you have just remined me of another great breakfast (OK, I have had it twice) item: Herring coated in pinhead oats, fried in bacon fat. Deeee-lish.

The Australian thread covers it well, basically there was a 'Colonial' hang-up about eating them, which resulted in them being classed as not fit for human consumption in several states. This was changed in the late 80's. I think that many Australians would still consider it a bit 'out there' or 'yucky', but this attitude is becoming less common thankfully. Better for the Australian environment if people ate more kangaroo anyway.

Funny I have always thought of it being warm and sunny, relative geography I guess.

Gary is correct. Most brands will do (e.g. PG tips), as long as they are not too posh. I like builders tea, but I have "Barries" from Ireland which makes me a try-hard wanna-be I guess.

That and the lack of a satirical Smilie.