Adam Balic

How cute, I am Gervaise Markham's "The English Housewife" which is fine by me as he makes some damn fine pies.

Chappie - Elie has given an excellent description of making Baba Ghanouj. But, to clear up a few points from my post. Basically you put the whole eggplant directly onto the gas ring and turn it until is is completely charred. The ourside with be crisp and black. This is the skin and it wipes off easily. The flesh underneath is magically unburnt. So no scooping. The same thing can be done for tomatoes and peppers, un-suprisingly they are all closely related. As for Elephant garlic Allium ampeloprasum. It belongs to the same species as leeks and a whole bunch of other allium (it's not a "garlic" or a "shallot"), but belongs to a different grouping (Elephant garlic= Allium ampeloprasum. Ampeloprasum group, Leeks=Allium ampeloprasum. Porrum group). Its proberly to0 mild for this type of thing as mentioned, but it is very nice pickled.

Normandy style fish stews. Saute some shallots and mushrooms, add fish, add stock and cider. Cook fish add extra seafood as required. Take out seafood, reduce liquid, add creme fraiche, test for seasoning. Add back seafood.

I think that this is very difficult and I have actually changed my mind about JO in the last year or so. There reason for this was best stated by Carlovski: So I have tried to seperate the man for what the man has achieved. Unfortunately, as the face of Sainsburys he has undermined some of his own good work. You speak of eating microwave meals, which is a good point, but remember (if you are in the UK) last Christmas period the Adverts for a Sainsburys/Jamie Christmas dinner, where the meal he had cooked went pear shaped, but he was rescued from the drama by the Sainsburys Fairy who magicked up all sorts of ready-meal microwave or just pop in the oven treats. Considering that the Christmas meal is one of the few meals that UK familys are likely to make some effort towards and eat at a table together, I think that the message of 'it's OK not to make and effort, it's just food' sent out by Jamie is quite poor and somewhat in contradiction to his serious food persona. I agree with Moby that the first two books are quite good and they made a very positive impact, but I shall reserve judgement on JO for a few more years yet.

Not sure what roast means exactly, so forgive me it this is repetitive. What I have seen done is the eggplants are charred whole on an open flame (is this what you mean by roast?), not sliced etc. Then it is rested and the char wiped off, not washed. Then it is squeezed etc. The rest is pretty much as you describe. I have found that the brand of Tahini makes a difference, some just are not that good.

In my experience the flavour similarity to chocolate pudding was about the same relationship that the taste of carob has to chocolate (not that it taste of carob either). But the texture is quite remarkable. mangosteens are wonderful and thankfully quite easy to get in Edinburgh. Excellent, excellent pics BTW.

I second that thanks franci. I once staying in a Burgundian farm house for two week, during which I collected a large bucket of Apple/Roman snails. Unfortunately, I didn't realise they had to be purged etc, so in they were set free (very slowly) in the end.

I don't have any problem with sake and sushi (it isn't that far a flavour profile then fino sherry for instance), but I have great trouble getting a good sake, whereas La Gitana Manzanilla can be picked up for £5 a bottle without any problems.

Primowino - you can point out to my wife the time of the post. Well before work or gym. Damn these stalkers .

Do the USA morels come up in the spring or autumn? The type that we get in southern Australia comes up in the spring (like the common european species) and is found associated with certain trees in hard to find locations - so this talk of railway cuttings and lawns awash with morels has me staggered. This summer has been incredibly wet in Scotland, the stores started selling chanterelle about a month ago, hopefully this means it will be a good mushroom year.

I have considered that Fino sherry was a good match for sushi, but the combination of off-dry riesling and sushi sounds very interesting. Next time I shall compare the two, thank you for the suggestion.

Adam, that is one! I had my father looking at it. It is the "garden" snail that I would find in the courtyard. There is another snail similar, much smaller, that you would find in June or July on the dried herbs in the fields (in puglia everything dries up in the summer...): cuzzedde. Then, the lumache con la panna, helix aperta, closed up, because hybernated, that would come out with the rain, at this point you can find preatty big ones. For the recipes, another time, going to union square market. ciao Ah, now that was a good guess! I have eaten thee in Spain (in a rice dish, very good). They are a major pest in the USA (especially California) and Australia. They aestivate, rather then hibernate (that is they go torpid in the Summer), and you see then clustered all over the tops of thistles, road signs, anything upright really.

On occasion even the supermarkets in Scotland have sold Dragonfruit. Bland, tastes like a vaguely sweet turnip. What type of tamarind is that, the sweet or the sour variety? Excellent pictures BTW.

Franci - Is this the snail? snail click

I imagine that they will react in the following way "Butter?! Artusi? Oh, yes he is from Emilia Romagna isn't he?" Then some snickering and the "Grasso" being mentioned a few times. Possibly some comments of the relative merits of Tuscan v Others football teams.

Hurrah, I am a genius , although it looked pretty obvious as a similar thing happened in France. Alberto I must thank you as when I have mentioned this putative origin to my Tuscan friends they become very thin lipped in denial. But now I can say "This is a wonderful version of the English Beef steak" with the full backing of Artusi.

"Steak Florentine style" is translation of "Bistecca alla Fiorentina". What defines Bistecca alla Fiorentina is all the things that people have said. "Bistecca" looks suspiciously un-Italian in root. I haven't seen any evidence of this, but it is fun to speculate that "Bistecca" is derived from the English "Beef steak" and the dish was created under the influence of the English in Florence. Does anybody have a copy of Artusi handy? So "Steak Florentine style" could be an English translation of an Italian word for an originally English Steak. What fun.

I think only a foreign will think so...this would never cross the mind of an Italian. Maybe it's just considered home food or cibo da trattoria and once in a while, like in the last decade, with the rediscovery of “cucina povera”, some fancy restaurant would put on their menu. In my area, we don't buy snails in the stores...rather go and look for them ourself, or someone would sell them in front of they home door, or someone would sell on the side of the state streets (as for mushrooms, wild asparagus, etc.) Franci I am most definately a straniero, no offence was intended. What part of Italy are you in? For all their mushroom gathering, shooting of game and collecting of wild greens I haven't heard any of my Italian friends (in Chianti) collecting snails, so this is very interesting, What type of snails are they?

I have a few copies of the Italian Snail farmers gazette, but actually I have never seen snails on a menu in Italy come to think of it. Curious, as I have certainly eaten sea snails in Italy. Too identifiable with the French maybe?

Could you expand on what you mean? I'm not sure if this is 1) A specific cut in the (US?), 2) Bistecca alla Fiorentina or 3) with spinach. I assume no.2. The way I have seen it done is either on an outdoor grill over a charcol fire or indoors in a special steak holding thing, infront of a open fire. Based with olive oil, sprinkled with a bit of salt and that is pretty much it. It is basically a big fuck off T-bone*, several a couple of inches thich and over a kilo in weight. The impotant bit is that it must be very tender steak. You don't want no two inch thick tough steak. They have special cows for this in Tuscany, can you get special cow?

Because the good son gets shafted and this conflicts with the Cain v Abel story (n.b. I was proberly only 5-6 at the time, so my theological theory wasn't that developed).

Actually, that is an over-simplification. Yes, there are rubbish versions of Sparkling reds, but that is also true of all wine styles. Generic Californian Merlot anybody? Sparkling reds in Australia seem to go through definate peaks and troughs, the latter generally being caused by an over supply of really nasty wine turns people away. But this doesn't mean that they are all bad wines (does the mid-90's glut of bad chardonnay mean that all chardonnay is terrible for instance). By and large though, sparkling reds seem to be favoured by wine makers and in some cases they can be terribly serious wines. My preference is for dry styles. This often means 'old fashioned', but there are a few newer producers out their. The better types also age very well. In Australia (or Melbourne at least) it is still possible to buy 20 year old versions retail. Seppelt Show reserve sparkling shiraz (formally Burgundy) is the bench mark wine. On of the best wine with food matches I have had was a Christmas dinner the Turkey being matched with a 20 year old Seppelt Show reserve sparkling shiraz and compared to a 16 year old Bertani Amarone. The Amarone was good, but the sparkling shiraz was better, very complex a few bubbles for interest, one of those wines were you could simply smell and sip a single glass all day for pleasure. As I said there are definate high and lows in this style of wine, I prefer older and dry wines, so I would suggest the Seppelt Show Reserve, Rockford Sparkling Shiraz, Balnave Sparkling Cab. blend and the Joseph Sparkling Red. The former two can definately be aged for at least 20 years. For a simpler wine, I would try the Seppelt Sparkling Shiraz. I find the Vixen a little sweet for my tastes, but one wine I would avoid is the Banrock Station Sparkling red as it hurts my teeth.

It's from Judges and is basically bad PR for the Philistines. My grandmother would read me all these biblical stories, this bit with Sampson and the honey and The Prodigal Son bit both stuck in my memory because the former is yucky and the latter didn't make any sense. I doubt that Sampson was an actual individual, but from the text (English version) it seems that he only took the honey, not the lions meat. Which lets face it would be revolting.

Dead lion. "Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion. So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle. You owe me thirty sheets and thirty changes of garment. More appropriate on a jar of honey, but it is a great classic tin design.

Pectin is found throughout the fruit. There are many varieties of crab apples, some are just pretty, but many have an excellent flavour, so don't just think of them as a pectin source.