FaustianBargain

Hello Chef, my brief answer is French gastronomy. My longer response follows... In defence of my alma mater, I have to say that French gastronomy is the world's ideal. I say this knowing well that it is not a very popular opinion to hold. The past several months have been a time for deep introspection for me and I have reached a conclusion. IMHO, French techniques and methods have been misunderstood and tragically, sometimes by the French themselves. I have no doubt now that they are superior to any other style. The way I see it: The gastronomy of France(note: the cuisine of France existed as long as the land, her people and since the time the first green weed sprouted from her earth) did not develop before the evolution of the French language. The template for French methods and techniques is the same as it was for the French language. Standardisation. Logical progression. I noted that some choose to transalte this as 'rigidity'. Let us not forget that this template can be applied to *any* ingredient from *any* part of the world. How then can it be 'rigid'? Will anyone call programming standards 'rigid'? Are the laws of demand and supply rigid? If you slap someone on the face, they will flinch. Is that a rigid response? How can standards be a bad thing? An Italian queen, Catherine de Medici, revolutionised the French kitchen by introducing her kitchen garden to her new married home. Since then, the French have never stopped welcoming other influences. Couscous is as much a part of French cuisine as duck fat. I am going to make a wild guess here. If you give a resident of the frozen arctic wasteland a block of tamarind, in all likelihood, he wouldnt know what to do with it. The French cook will sniff it, taste it, lick it, probably sing to it and come up with something that is at least a notch above edible. The French codified the method and made it logical. Does it need revision from time to time? Of course! That they are not reluctant to do so has been proved time and again. Nobody can complain that they have been allergic to foreign influences. It is an unfair allegation. French gastronomy is not just ideal, it is a beautiful thing to witness. I see a bit of French technique everywhere. I see it in British cuisine, Japanese cooking and even in the much tsk tsked american fast food cuisine. How can it be? Surely, they too had emerged at the same time or maybe even earlier than French culinary techniques and methods. It seems so not because the French are dominating and they ruthlessly spear the flag of their own culinary culture in every nook and corner of the world. It is recognisable because they did something that nobody else bothered to do. It is all pervading because they have meticulously given a name for every process and established controls for every process. Yes, it seems a bit anal. But an 'ideal' cannot afford to be a free spirit. As an example, consider blanching. If blanching is a process, the in built control of the technique ensures that the end product isnt too mushy or burnt or too crunchy. The French cooking point may not be 'ideal', but if you know the French technique for blanching vegetables, you'll know when to stop cooking if you need your vegetables mushy. Or crunchy. Or perfectly biteable. Of course, if you want to cook your vegetables mushy, the process wont be called 'blanching'. Processes. Process controls. Checks. French gastronomy will never die or cease to be the ideal as long as they are open to embracing other influences. Contrary to popular belief, I think that a French chef is the more likely to be flexible than anyone else. I submit that the flexibility and the logical nature of French gastronomy makes it the ideal gastronomy.

I cannot confirm the source atm, but I recall reading that wild boar hunting was common in some islands of Indonesia. But only for the British ... they had a ball because the meat was forbidden to the citizens themselves because of the religion. So we know that wild boar is native to the region. If something is edible, it will be consumed. One simply cannot let the porcine species run awild. They tend to eat everything. Dont know if they were domesticated at one time..before Islam arrived...

a thought: why not cook your beef? i had always been a vegetarian and i was never comfortable with the idea of eating meat until i actually took a raw slab of red meat and got involved in the process of preparing a meal from raw ingredients. since you are a recovering vegetarian unlike a fresh recruit to meat eating, it ought to be easier for you than it was for me? just my 2c.

edited to add: oops..just noticed that its about 'cutlery' and not just any kitchen apparatus. sorry. my bad. post deleted.

Do I have to ask for the 'Italian truffle guy'? How does one recognise him given that he is mobile? After reading the first post, I keep imagining a scruffy looking guy flashing open his trenchcoat with truffles hanging from the inside lining going..'Psst..want some truffles?'... I'll watch out/ask for him the next time. Thanks.

hmmm...where exactly is this 'Italian guy/stall'?

lace..shmace...It is a load of BS dumped upon the female of the species to endure more pain and suffering over and above the usual quota of bloodletting/ trauma from childbirth. Can someone tell me which bird brained, chromosomally deficient idiot came up with such demands. I have 2...get that..TWO Xs in my dna. I want a shrine. I want offerings. I *expect* to be worshipped. Garter belts!!! sheesh! I am still waiting for some enlightened being to explain to me the merits of shaving my limbs...eight years and still counting, people. I am Indian and we didnt need no stinking lace to breed a billion of us...now that the Afghan women have been liberated, some serious rescue efforts need to directed towards France. I will take care of the Frenchmen. Singlehandedly, of course. It's a dirty job, but *someone* has to do it. No need to thank me. Ladies, you can all work on re-educating the womenfolk. Lalitha.

i read this a couple of times. i am not sure what your point really is...i re-read the links and still didnt get your point. water or oxygen, for that matter, cannot be termed 'addictive'. maybe this DSM-IV entry will help?

how many calories do you think that plate carries...

good grief!! my arteries are clogging just *looking* at that. a picture is worth a thousand words. indeed. now i understand why the FEB is not a home thang. how on earth can someone prepare all this for breakfast. esp with a hangover when it seems to be most favoured?

hello daniel, that was from monty python and the holy grail and moopheus just completed the rest of the dialogue. here it is for a chuckle and a chortle. sorry for not being clear. i wrote a long reply, but decided not to post. interesting thread. thanks.

"Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!"

thanks!...altho' wondering why a 'fry-up' is a particularly appealing cure for a hang over. on another note....was doing some research on that breakfast haggis reference...found a book..actually...make it a booklet..on scottish fish and game recipes. fascinating. oatmeal makes a lot of appearances. especially in fish recipes.

how a nation continued to perpetuate its existence by contributing to the gene pool after consuming a breakfast with fried eggs, fried bacon, blood pudding, smoked kippers(does anyone else remember the smoked kipper episode in fawlty towers?) AND devilled kidneys is beyond me. apparently, its great after a particularly indulgent evening at the bar. this was demonstrated by a very puzzled french chef at school. the full english breakfast, that is.. i mention this to a friend of mine whom i assumed was english(apparently not. "i am SCOTTISH", he objected)...and i found out that there is such a thing as a 'full scottish' which includes haggis. *cough* then i get thumped on the back and he casually mentions..or just a "bowl of porridge with salt". pause. "splash of scotch, optional" what do the english *really* have for breakfast?

ok..here comes something better alcohol AND caffine! As the industry leader, Anheuser-Busch is the first major brewer to infuse beer with caffeine, guarana and ginseng. Well balanced with select hops and aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry, BE will offer a lightly sweet and tart taste - a great mixture of beer and new flavors for adults to enjoy when out with friends at a club or at a bar after work with colleagues. blackberry, raspberry and cherry flavoured beer?? now *that* is truly vile.

its important to infuse the saffron..saffron continues to release aroma and flavour long after the infusion..so longer you allow it to stay in your cooking medium, the stronger it will become with time...so leave them, if you like the look of stringy bits...and its slow releasing flavour which gets stronger with time also re rice..depends on how you cook your rice....when i pressure cook rice, i dont add saffron to the water or the rice...i'd rather cook it over the stove the slow way when i use saffron... for the indian dessert of rice kheer, i cook rice with milk and saffron. you can also infuse it in warm water if you dont want your rice cooked in milk(quite unusual to cook rice in milk..i only do it for desserts)... just remember not to throw it into boiling, hot water..always infuse..you are literally boiling away your precious saffron for no effect..the extreme heat kills the delicate saffron so yes, you can leave saffron threads and its better because of the continous release of aroma and flavour...but dont forget that boiling arrests the release of saffron's goodness...so its usually added right at the end..before you turn off the heat but after the bubbling/boiling period is over.. to sum up, for saffron rice> cook as you will cook rice..pref over the stovetop..add saffron infused water towards the end..try not to bring water/milk to a boil after saffron is added...leave the threads behind if you want a stronger flavour and dont mind the thready look... edited to add: gosh! that was long and i kept repeating myself...sorry about that..tired.

Really Nice!...just what i was looking for...thank you! i am currently recovering from the verbal slap on my face when one of our instructors said that 'he is not paid to do all that' when i asked him to help me with menu for a dinner i am planning....gah..must have been a long day...still, it stung. jackal10: you must have WAYYY too much time on your hands..so..yes please..plan away!

first of all, cooking at home will *always* be cheaper. secondly, the whole point of cooking and eating at home is familial interaction..we are social animals, afterall. i know at least two people who employ the same logic to ordering zone meals that get delivered to your doorstep in nyc. both are single. the female is trying to lose weight and the guy is just too lazy too cook. only slightly more expensive than hiring a part time home chef...but i am willing to bet that both will save money if they cooked at home..altho...if you are going to throw the 'time IS money' line, i'll wont have anything to say..as it becomes an entirely different ball game...ahem...nice analysis..but this duck doesnt even limp, let alone fly...

the recipe is french..its called pommes amandine...basically, you mash potatoes, add one egg yolk, butter and nutmeg+salt+pepper. you coat it first with flour and then dip it into beaten egg mixture and then into almond flakes. deep fry! i know its french..but potatoes and almonds belong in the indian kitchen too..so why not! maybe one can even add an indian twist to it by adding chillies and ginger to the mash...it might be weird..but considering its potatoes, one cannot go wrong..it will probably turn out great in all likelihood...

use sparsely. infuse in milk or water. warm preferably. i never crush saffron...its wonderful to flavour rice...my favourite is sweet saffron-cardamom flavoured, creamy milk..reduced to a thick consistency...with a scattering of crushed pistachios..very rich, but lovely...

lets see....cirrhosis of the liver or life as a caffine junkie. if only my life were littered with such uncomplicated, easy decisions... shaken, not stirred, pulhease.

oh! somebody stop me! Really. Starbucks vs. Its Addicts [...]There's the guy with the cart who sells the little Greek diner cups for 50 cents; the deli with the scalding 75-cent generic joe and the thin paper cup; the convenience store with $1.00 faux gourmet stuff; and Cosi, where a latte costs $3.59. Only after running this gantlet could I enter Starbucks, where a java chip Frappuccino runs $4.75. [...]The Wall Street Journal earlier this year sent samples of coffee from Starbucks, 7-Eleven, and Dunkin' Donuts to Central Analytical Laboratories. The lab reported that a 16-ounce Starbucks house blend coffee contained 223 milligrams of caffeine, compared with 174 and 141 milligrams in comparable amounts of Dunkin' Donuts and 7-Eleven coffee, respectively. According to the Journal, the average Starbucks coffee drink contains 320 milligrams of caffeine. (This chart from the Center for Science in the Public Interest shows different measurement levels, including the scary finding that a 16-ounce Starbucks grande has nearly three times as much caffeine as a No-Doz.) edited ..just because..

Peppertrail: maybe its a convenient/compacted/dried/travel friendly version of thallipu. isnt innovation wonderful?

never heard of it..but translating it, it seems as if its the south indian version of tempering for making vegetable dishes, sambhar etc... i am not surprised that people didnt like the raw version. i am guessing that the spices are ground, made into a paste and dried in the sun...so when added to hot oil, it will..well..temper/flavour the oil.. can you name all of the ingredients, please?

hey derricks, i spoke to a french chef today who said that french foie gras can be anywhere between 500-650gms in weight these days. he also dismissed american foie gras. his manner of dismissal was impressive and amusing at the same time. i am not going to elaborate further on that issue. edited to add: a little net digging reveals> Hudson Valley Foie Gras is a grower of the Moulard Duck from which Foie Gras is produced. The Moulard Duck is a crossbreed between a Moscovy male and a Pekin female. This technique was invented in Israel in the mid 1970's and Izzy Yanay, co-owner of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, was one of the first to utilize this technology in the production of Moulard Foie Gras. As a hybrid it is more resistant to disease than either parent. The young ducklings are fed a normal ration of corn and soy protein. As the ducklings grow they are switched to a feed of 100% pure white corn. The last stage, the force-feeding stage (also known as gavage), differs at Hudson Valley from other methods, and relates to the traditional, 5000 year old method of hand feeding the ducks individually for a period of 4 weeks, instead of French and Canadian methods of only 2 weeks. The resulting Foie gras is bigger, creamier, fattier and firmer. It is the preferred Foie gras for sauté and other high heat preparations. It is also outstanding for terrines and processed products.