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Daniel Rogov

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Everything posted by Daniel Rogov

  1. A chocolatier in Israel (Michi, in the village of Kiryat Tivon) fries his basil leaves lightly and then dips them into liquid bitter-sweet chocolate, barely coating them. Magnificent when served together with a basil-flavored sorbet and strong espresso.
  2. No hoaxes here. During the research phase of one of my books, I found it fairly well documented that during the time that George Eliot was working as a housekeeper and somewhere between her 19th and 21st birthdays, she actually did invent this cake, in turn sold the recipe to a local baker who paid her considerable royalties as the cake became quite popular. As I say, documentation is fairly easy to come by. The recipe, alas, seems to be lost to the ages....
  3. Daniel Rogov

    Wine

    If, in my role as restaurant critic, I would give my expense receipts for my meals and they were missing charges for wine and/or other alcoholic beverages, my various editors would probably phone the nearest psychiatric hospital to come to my rescue at once.
  4. One of my own pet peeves is when a recipe is referred to as "Aunt Sally's Cheesecake". Another, very possibly dated by now, was when people would refer to dinner as "din-din". Yaaaaargh.
  5. Abra, Hi..... Your points are well taken but I do tend to feel that the well-written word can be much more descriptive than many photos. As to the "powers" of the professional photographer - I will never forget a shoot many years ago when with my photographer we were trying to photograph a peche melba. The creme chantilly kept falling, the ice cream melted too quickly and the peach, no matter what we did with it, kept sliding to one side. The solution - instead of vanilla ice cream we used margarine. In place of whipped cream we used shaving cream and we managed to find a toothpick to hold that damned peach half in place. The raspberry sauce was real. The shot was gorgeous. About 10 minutes after we had finished one of the waitstaff wandered by, saw all of those abandoned glasses with the peche melbas on the sideboard, took a spoon and of all things, he picked the one that was artificial. My photographer and I stood there agape as he proceeded to eat the whole damned thing. Indeed as you say, the professional photographer can make the most horrendous things look delicious.
  6. And what of the charms of Rue de Buci? T'was good enough for Papa, Alice and even dear old Danton and thus still one of my favorite early morning haunts.
  7. As happens from time to time, I think I am about to step on a few proverbial toes. The original question asked if it is appropriate to photograph one's food in a restaurant in France. I would answer the question with a question: As much as some may see it as appropriate, have you ever seen a French man or woman photographing his/her dishes? And then I would ask another question. With all due respect (which I do have) for those who want souvenirs or want photos for their blogs, do any of those quickly snapped photos stand up positively to those made by professionals were indeed are setting up lights, reflectors, tripods, etc?
  8. At the risk of a bit of self-promotion, you might want to see my listings at http://stratsplace.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=14803
  9. The rule of thumb concerning "bon appetit" in both France and French speaking Switzerland is quite simple - not appropriate during first or intermediate courses except on the part of a waiter but most assuredly in order between diners sharing the table at the onset of the main course of the meal. And then of course there are the six styles in which a man may kiss the hand of a woman, each depending on the level of intimacy they have (or have not) shared. But that calls not for a written description but for a physical demonstration. I will say though that my favorite is the hand kiss a man gives to a woman with whom he desires to have "warmer" relations.
  10. First a question and then an answer: 1. Why in the world would anyone on planet Earth choose to use sodium alginate in cookery? 2. If you do need an accurate scale, stroll to 47th Street in Manhattan and buy one of those scales used to weigh diamonds. Apologies for black humor.....
  11. With apologies for leaving political correctness and politesse behind but facing absolute realities, much of what is written in that article and much of what has been said on this thread (which I have just discovered) is pure and unadulterated nonsense. Every culture, every sub-culture, every ethnic group and every nation has its own set of manners and mannerisms and judigng those because they are "different" than our own is a form of gross chauvinism. With specific regard to the use of "the facilities", no-one will ever look askance on the person (man or woman) who stands up, puts his/her napkin on the seat and simply says "excuse me" as they make their way to the toilet, the telephone or even the cloak-room. With equal regard filling one's own wine glass, regardless of sex or gender, the rule in fine restaurants is generally that you ask the person to your left to do that honor for you and in not-so-fine restaurants to "do it yourself" With regard to French as opposed to American manners the odd thing is that there are not that many differences - at least according to James Beard (American) and Robert Courtine (French). May I respectifully refer to my own little article at http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/good_manners.html Edited to replace the last word - "bullshit" i- n the first sentence to "nonsense". Ah well......
  12. Jon, Hello.... When I use the words seats and couverts, I do use them interchangeably, much as in the French system - the couvert being literally the number of place settings at a table or in a restaurant and that obviously synonymous with the number of chairs. With that logic a restaurant can do an average of 1, 1.5 or 2 couverts per meal depending on the turnover and refilling of each. No change in the number of chairs is necessary.
  13. John, Hi..... Not trying to pick a fight. Honestly! I recall the time that the great Broadbent tasted a Burgundy Pinot Noir in a blind tasting and identified it as a Bordeaux. A young journalist in the group gasped and asked how he could make such an error. Broadbent smiled and said: "Not to worry young man. It does not happen to me very often. Certainly not more than once a day"
  14. Steven, Hi..... According to a report by Union Banque Suisse in 2001, the average number of couverts in European restaurants earning three roses (they ain't stars no matter what one thinks) in Michelin was 56 and the range was from 38-122. From notes I made, more than half of these restaurants required an average of 1.25 couverts at lunch and 1.4 in the evening in order to break even economically. Sorry, I don't have the report on hand any longer and they've never replicated the data since.
  15. Mary, Hi..... Allow me to answer your question with a question: Would you rather have me taste your wines blind, report on the balance, structure, aroma, flavors, length, breadth etc and only then to add a note about the winemaker or to write about the charms of the winemaker and pay only partial attention to the quality of the wine? Aha.....I think I gotcha on this one......
  16. Daniel Rogov

    Cru Beujolais

    I'm all for Jim's suggestions. I would, however, suggest that with a bit of dilegence one can also find some finr cru Beaujolais wines from Georges Duboeuf.
  17. John, Hi..... What we are talking about in the kinship between Pinot Noir and Shiraz/Syrah is about the same as talking about the gene pool between newborn children and their great-great -great grandparents. In short, a good deal of genetic development has occurred along the way. I would agree that at times one might confuse this varietal for the other. Much as one might confuse Merlot, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. On the other hand, I would say that the person who confuses Pinot Noir and Syrah, the grapes raised in similar terroirs and in the same vintage year is either palate (or brain) dead or is reflecting the wine-making process far more than the differences/similarities between the grapes.
  18. Indeed being ostentatious about tasting wines is boorish. That does not mean that we should give it up on the tasting process but that we should do it as we dab at our lips with a napkin - by being genteel. As to he/she who gargles in a restaurant - only in the privacy of the mens' or ladies' room. On which I cannot resist a
  19. the index Click On Me ← Looking at that graph one sees with the exception of a one month hiccup (I cannot think of a better word), prices have been rising rather steadily and even dramatically. Perhaps I'm missing something here????
  20. It is important to remember that the RMS Titanic was a British ship and that despite their attempt to give much of their voyage a French touch, it was Ango-Francais that appeared on their menus. At the time of the ship's commissioning one of the more popular "French" dishes in England was potatoes that had been first boiled and then tossed in a sauce of concentrated beef sauce. The product "Bovril" was then quite a la mode in the UK and a bit of research shows that the larders of the good ship Titanic were well stocked with these commercially prepared cubes.
  21. Consider the possibility of buying as many Europeans still do. In order to do that you will have to develop the knowledge that shopping, especially for small amounts of food on a daily or bi-daily basis can be a most pleasurable activity. First of all, seek out those shops that carry the very best of the products you want to eat. At the butcher's for example, don't hesitate to buy two lamb chops; at a cheese shop don't be the least bit embarrassed to order two slices of this and a small wedge of that; at the greengrocers purchase just those fruits and vegetables you want with that day's meals; at a baker's shop, buy just the amount of bread you want or need for the next twenty-four hours; and at the chocolate shop, just a few chocolate truffles or pralines as you like. First of all, that will give you the pleasure of buying precisely what you want and at the quality level you demand; second, it will give you a pleasurable time every day with various shopkeepers; and third of all it will avoid the sin of leftovers that go bad. As to the time involved - shouldn't be a problem. Pleasure always takes a certain amount of time.
  22. May I ask where we see the prices of fine wines falling? Most assuredly not in the wines of California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Piedmont. Thus....where?
  23. To some extent we are referring here to nouveau journalism (the new journalism), a style in which the writer becomes as much if not more the focus of the writing than the subject under examination and, in some cases where rudeness, vulgarity and pomposity are the accepted norm. Indeed, not a style that finds pleasure in the eyes of all but certainly today a legitimate form of expression. The acceptance over the last decade or so in America of such a style demonstrates its popularity among some. It does not, however, indicate that other journalistic forms are dead, dying or even the least bit ill. In either style it does in the end come down to the talents of the writer.
  24. Daniel Rogov

    wedding gift wine

    Jill, Hi.... It goes without saying that everybody will build a different list, but following is my own: For fun and sophisticated drinking throughout the year - 1 bottle each of the following Beaujolais Cru wines by Georges Duboeuf: Fleurie, Quatre Vents; Morgon, Flower Label; Pouilly Fuisse, Flower Label; Regnie, Flower Label; and Brouilly, Flower Label. For the special wine for a first anniversary- Chateau Leoville Poyferre,St.-Julien, Bordeaux, 2003 Should meet your budget and a lovely set of gifts.
  25. Sounds like great fun. The chili competition par excellence though has got to be the annual one at Terralingua, Texas - fantastic chili, unbelievable amount of tequila and beer consumed and for those who like such things, even a wet t-shirt contest. The only chili competition I know of that draws food writers from Europe, the Middle-East and even Japan and China - indeed a four day "blast"
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