Smithy

My copy is here! It's here! It's hereit'shereit'shere! and with a lovely inscription (thank you, Rob) that makes the wait worthwhile. I already have it festooned with markers for recipes I want to try out. I'd already been messing with mesquite and the book has enticing recipes for using it, but now I have Pork Belly Poppers, Papas Rellenos, Rolled Roasted Roots, Curried Kumquat Chutney (which looks like a great Christmas gift) and numerous desserts marked. The instructions for bonbons (Lemon Poppy Seed, Cassis Poppy Seed) look clear and non-intimidating. In a few weeks I expect to be in a position to try the Crawfish Samosas and Curry Rice Balls using local ingredients. This book is even more beautiful in print than in the electronic copies I'd seen. Well done, Rob.

What a fine tag line that would make!

Ah, no wonder rotuts was confused about the salt thing. Thanks for setting me straight about that being a different book, blue_dolphin. Y'all are making an excellent case for why I should get this (Kindle version) book!

I already have a surfeit of new, basically unexplored cookbooks thanks to you enablers who routinely point out Kindle bargains. Had no intention of looking into this book, but I confess that I'm weakening. The cheese ball looks wonderfully enticing to me (even as I wonder to whom I'd feed it) and the advocacy for acid, as well as the testament to her writing, makes me think I may need to look into this book. I may be able to get past the ultra-specificity for things like sourced sea salt. Maybe our library has it.

This may well explain why I was so surprised, given some of my experiences. Thank you for this additional insight.

I don't know whether wild-caught catfish can be purchased; I haven't paid attention since I had no intention of buying it, so I'm not sure of the sources. The big grocery stores state their fish sources, and the little backwoods shops in Florida seem to carry stuff they, their families or contractors caught wild. (There's nothing like opening a freezer and being greeted by an alligator head that takes up an entire shelf.) I'll pay more attention to catfish this year. If I find it, I'll ask here how to cook it!

So, if I were to find a fishmonger that sells catfish, what should I ask for? Small filets? What about wild-caught vs, farmed? If you give me enough guidance I'll give it a whirl during our winter travels.

@Shelby, I've never been impressed with catfish when I've eaten it at restaurants; it's always just tasted muddy, as I'd expect a bottom-feeder to taste. Your photos make me wish I could it try it your way, fresh out of the stream. I might like it after all.

This sounds to me like a major selling point. I like my smooth-top electric stove well enough, given the cost of plumbing our kitchen for propane, but keeping it clean is a pain. What about power requirements for an induction stove vs. regular electric stove? Is there a significant difference?

Over in the topic How I Became a Professional Cook in France, I asked Chris Ward about teaching his students the economic realities of the food world. This part of his response brought me up short: This is a new concept to me. It makes sense, in a way; I know that when I travel, ready availability of food (either in the hotel or very close by) is a factor. Many eG members over the years have noted that hotel restaurants aren't likely to be as good as stand-alone restaurants. However, the idea that the restaurant is a necessary element for a successful hotel, but not likely to be a money-maker, is a surprise. How universal is this idea?

So catching the golden ring isn't just a pilot fantasy, but applies in the food world as well. That sounds like an interesting exercise you do. Probably, given the nature of students, some of them will value the lesson later and realize what you were trying to say. This is a new concept to me: Do you think that's peculiar to France, or to most developed countries? I think I'll start a topic in the broader forums to ask. Edit: and so I have. *click*

Thanks very much for sharing this with us; I've enjoyed an in-depth view of a world foreign to me in more ways than one. When you teach your classes on restaurant management, and talk to your students about the restaurant world, how honest are you about the challenges of making a living at it? Do you share the pitfalls and challenges with the starry-eyed would-be chefs, or decide simply to let them follow their dreams and find out for themselves?

That sounds like a fun night out, and makes me long for the days when I visited big cities more regularly than I do now. Now, I try to expand my home repertoire with concoctions I read about and wonder why I hadn't thought of it myself. With that in mind, please tell more about these dishes: Texture, doneness, and so on...how were the cabbage and walnuts used with the pork? Was the mustard a coating on the rack, or a dipping sauce? How big were the chunks of sunchoke and shrooms? Was the chicken jus the "jelly" that set them into the pate? Did you detect any other seasonings?

"wiffit"?

I wouldn't claim that Duluth, Minnesota is "hitting the big time", but I was pleased to see an article about Rob's book in yesterday's paper: Acclaimed foraging chef Rob Conneley releases cookbook. (The original was from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and our paper picked it up.) It's a nice little writeup, with a picture of that gorgeous cover.

Yes, it's been lovely - as always. I liked the cocktail name 'Voyageur' - very appropriate for your location - but it made me think of 'Bon Voyage'. Is there such a drink? If not, you should invent it for these occasions.

When I have a cocktail atop a glass of wine I usually spill both. *Ba-dah BUMP* Thank you sooo much for the shrimp secret! It sounds wonderful, and simple, and I will be trying it soon.

Please describe how that shrimp was roasted. I've never thought of roasting shrimp, but that looks well worth trying.

I expect you did. How nice to see that Nassima got a come-uppance! Do you know if it reflected in her grade?

It might indeed! Thanks.

My sister-in-law has a Costco membership, and when we visit I've enjoyed their rotisserie chicken as well as their crab-stuffed salmon. Now THERE'S something I would buy regularly if we had a Costco nearby. Better still, eventually I'd like to learn to duplicate it.

Yessss...so do I....right after I purchase that book....

Hanky Panky! What a great name for a cocktail! Now all you need is for Kerry to be drinking a Hokey Pokey.

I'm trying to visualize this. You mean the box got dropped into the foie gras? Buried in it? How was it done, and how was it discovered? Nothing I can add here, except to say about this attitude, "right on!" I think that, all too often, people reach a certain point and figure "Hey, I'm the best, baby!" and become insufferable. I'm curious about retention of the material you folks learned in school. On this last day you say the class needed little guidance to cook the dishes described. Would you say that the specifics of recipes (ingredients, proportions) would be well retained from this course, due to repetition and study, or that it would be more the techniques (knifework, searing, etc) that would stick around? Does it depend on the individual? As a home cook I find that once I learn a particular technique I can apply it and make a favorite dish more or less repeatably, but if it's something I don't do often I need to refer to a recipe for guidance. I'd guess a professional cook doesn't need that. Does the transition happen during the course of the school year for most people?

Shelby, I was sure I would never like mint sauce, based on that nasty green mint jelly I'd always been served with lamb in restaurants and dining halls. I'm not sure what got me to try making my own. It may have been included with some lamb recipe I was determined to follow to the letter. It was a revelation. I don't remember sugar and vinegar in mine; no doubt there's more than one version, but this too sounds good. I too can recomment peas with mint sauce.