FaustianBargain

we always run to the girl who is stashing a tube of toothpaste...it works, apparently...

oh yum...i was actually wondering if dates can be used as stuffing for meat?....like we stuff prunes for pork?..maybe even stuffed dates as stuffing!

I came across an apicius recipe for stuffed dates...blanch almonds..pit the dates and stuff the almonds into the dates...honey, rosewater and saffron boiled together and the dates are left soaking in the syrup...after 24 hours, remove the dates from the syrup..sprinkle sugar over the dates...they keep for a while.. romans...sua cuique voluptas what else can be done with dates?

We dont wash chicken during prep..however, we do singe it with a blowtorch and then give it a rub down with papertowel....more than once, some of us have been penalised for not giving the dead bird the blowtorch treatment..even though we were going to discard the skin anyways..e.g for supremes/farces etc...while roasting the whole bird, not dipping the feet in hot boiling water and rubbing the skin off can also be reason for penalty..

thanks for the recipe link, GG...i couldnt understand, for the love of squid, why someone would want to use bitter coffee as a marinade... on another note...what would be the Ph of decaff? (isnt decaf coffee = culinary oxymoron?)

Lamb can be marinaded with black coffee. True? Doesnt a marinade have to be acidic in nature? Any recipes out there?

Brandy?

Monica, do have any problems with the 'stickiness' of the okra burning the pan before the veggie itself is cooked? blah.. i am not even sure if i am phrasing my query right...

plain.

i think christian fasting always had economic rationalisation...maybe even dietary sensibility after a season of excess...e.g. lent...i remember a case study about the economic impact the decree of the pope having on the supply/demand/price of fish... I am speaking to my Rembetika guide pal as i am typing this and he says 'its called tessarakosti or sarakosti...those 40 days, fish is ok..but meat is not..seafood is ok..clams, calamari..even octopus' (this is where I express a 'huh' moment')fasting on calamari...and quoting him again(btw..i didnt mention the above article).....'and the monk baptised the meat 'fish' and everyone was happy'...... i am sure every religion/culture incorporates economic guidelines re food...kosher laws, halal laws, hindu aversion to meat..(hinduism..i have explored this a bit to justify first my inherited vegetarianism and later my leap to the other side... buddhism, i just dont get)...its a form of regulation, as it were...if the govt told you to watch what you eat, you'll ask'em to shove it where it belongs..on the other hand..eternal damnation..a reserved seat in heaven..moral superiority..etc..we are all still human, you know...

Oh... Pan, Mr.Creosote... Mr.Creosote, Pan...

ok. i tried ice cream last night 'in the dark'....tastes just the same to me...probably because I knew what was in the tub(green and black's orange chocolate ice cream)...anyone want to try a mystery meal blindfolded and report the results?

ahh..carmina burana...i'd imagine the church in germany would have been a tad diff tho'...as a collector of various classical and modern versions of carmina burana(including techno, i shit you not)...i have always been fascinated about the kind of 'defrocked monks' who'd have come up with such beautiful lyrics...turns out that they were rebels against the church..ex-monks...who thrived on drink and sex...and 'courtly' love...as the medevial folks would like to call it...they became outlaws..on the run from the church..the lyrics were the naughty monks' but the orchestration of what we now know as carmina burana is entirely carl orff's...when i first heard frankie goes to hollywood's relax...i couldnt help but think of veni, veni, veneas... ...a modern version... with the same romantic notions...in concept atleast... as far as i know...is greece's own popular street singing called Rembetika..(the wiki entry for this is pathetic..google should give you something better)...i was quite puzzled by the translations of some of the greek lyrics at first, to be honest...its grating..alien...and utterly incomprehensible...i just couldnt understand the appeal...but you got to listen to it with a greek rembetika fan(mine is an old fart from the golden age...), preferably inebrieated, speak about it in dreamy tones...its almost as if you are transported to a different world...where pain..lust...and the everyday chore of breathing, eating and sleeping...listen to it with someone who can translate it for you...

speaking of nuns...yesterday we did a recipe called Pets de Nonne and unless I was dozing off after an eight-hour day, it apparently means...and I kid you not... 'Nun's Farts'...can anyone confirm this?

I love this guy's open letter to foodtv rant ...he has something to say...maybe all the phraseology is coming from the foodtv folks themselves...obviously, they have figured out how to captivate the audience..

ahh..red currant..just read recently about 'cumberland sauce' that works well as accompaniment with almost all wild game dishes...it has a base of red currant jelly..usually goes with lemon and orange zest...and port...variations may occur but the red currant is the constant..it is named after the duke of cumberland..apparently, he was rather fond of game...nothing to add..just trivia that i am bursting to share..

oh...this I HAD to google.. came up with this from here I love that photo of the restaurant interior... http://www.unsicht-bar.de/ http://www.conti-bistro.de/ Yep, this is a restaurant with no light. And I really do mean No Light. No soft lamps, no candles, not even luminous watch dials (you have to take your watch off!). Not a single photon. Dark as the center of a black hole. Incredible, but true. So if you are (a) afraid of the dark or (b) claustrophobic or © extremely clumsy or (d) like to touch other people uninvited, then you should not visit this restaurant, especially if you fall into the last category. I mean it. The last thing anyone wants is a quiet evening to be spoiled by groping.(Comment: I am sure they are not speaking for *everyone* All of the staff at this restaurant are either visually handicapped or completely blind. They not only serve the meals but also act as guides to the stumbling diners. Once they have shepherded the clientele through a "light lock" to their table the complete loss of vision results in the heightening of the other four senses. Your taste buds work overtime to recognise flavors and even simple, everyday foods like potatoes or plain yogurt become interesting. No-one is expected to get up or move around in the dark once they are seated at the table. But there are lights in the restrooms. The restaurant is called Conti Bistro

mmmmmmmmmmmonks Friar Tuck: This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption. Let us give praise to our maker and glory to his bounty by learning about... BEER. - Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves What fun did the nuns have anyways? This beats anything a grumbling wife can dish out everyday. I am craving mutton gruel with garlic and onions now. Friar's tucker A 13th century Cluniac friar's possible daily intake based on Ms Patrick's studies: 11am-1pm Three eggs, boiled or fried in lard. Vegetable porridge with beans, leeks, carrots and other produce of monastery garden. Pork chops, bacon, and mutton. Capon, duck and goose with oranges. Half pound of bread, to use as sop. Peaches, strawberries and bilberries with egg flan. Four pints of small (watery) beer. 4-6pm Mutton gruel with garlic and onions. Posset of egg, milk and figs. Venison with rowanberries, figs, sloes, hazelnuts and apple. Stewed eels, herring, pike, dolphin, lamphreys, salmon, cod and trout. Half pound of bread as sop, sometimes soaked in dripping or lard. Syllabubs of fruit. Four pints of ale. Flagon of sack or other French, Spanish or Portuguese wine.

Indeed....

what a movie...also, michael nyman's score for the movie is stunningly beautiful

Thank you, Stigand...i had something like that in mind.. on another note...couldnt help wondering that there are way too many mediocre restaurants around and very few 'interesting' ones...is this a good thing?

i know that restaurants can be 'french' or 'british' or 'italian'...or it can be 'casual'..'formal'...etc...some places have themes..live entertainment..throw in a gala dinner in the midst of a gallery viewing and it becomes an event..a wedding banquent is also an event...where you combine an event and the dining experience.. i was thinking the other day that people dont come to restaurants to simply eat..if all they wanted was good food, they'd wake up Mama or hire a chef...the 'experience' of eating seems to be the key to enjoyment...the ritual of eating outside that includes the waiting..the progression of various courses..etc is all part of a performance..the reservation..the waiting..being led to their seats..the wine..the serving...its all ritualised...eating out has become a performance...with both the customer as well as the restauranter participating...i dont think concept based restaurants(as least how i was thinking it) can be much different from theme based restaurants....theme based restaurants can still subject you to the stiffness of cramming your ass into a chair... concept based dining is different from a theme based dining experience in that it involves the participation of both parties..it has to be more than motifs or art on the wall or costumed serving staff...the entertainer and the entertained play on the field...i can imagine something like an alice in wonderland party.....or a fake street laid out with street food from some exotic corner of the world..instead of a boring buffet...playfulness and suspense probably does a lot more to the appetite and experience of eating than ambiance...an earlier thread made me think about how childhood eating experiences always having an impact on our food choices..in that its our first exposure to a particular food..the setting in which we are introduced to the food..as adults we are introduced to many many different tastes, textures etc..but some become dear to us and others, we detest..why?...the setting probably matters a lot..you dont put someone under stress/pressure and yell the culinary equivalent of 'boo'...predictability dulls the eating experience too, i think...i think its a complete myth that the customer is always king..sometimes the customer likes to be led...likes to be told what he is going to have and be left to the mercy of the chef's whim of the day...there can be nothing more satisfying than eating with good company and conversation...i'd imagine that cuisine would have never evolved if it werent for its usefulness in strengthening social interaction...a communal table with complete strangers sharing a large table..eating the same table and choices...that would be a concept, yea?...i know it sounds fluffy as its not completely clear for me either...but does it make a little sense at least?

and where does one find a concept based restaurant in London...

"...and how would you like your eggs, ma'm?" "fertilized, please..."

You are a professional...burns means that you are either not paying attention or that you are sloppy...having said that, it cant be avoided in the kitchen...been there, done that...got the Mark...if it will make you feel better, you can call it a 'badge of honour'...