SobaAddict70

Is there a reason WHY you have to like them? Were you specifically referring to Chinese desserts, or Asian desserts in general? Important because its a wide range we're talking about here. Technically, Russia and Qatar are in "Asia". In point of fact, Chinese desserts range from black sesame balls to sliced oranges to egg custards to red bean soup to the ginger custard that annchang described in another thread to eight treasure rice pudding to steamed tofu with honey... Its not all cloying sweet goo. SA

Interesting that you say that about Lupa. I've always thought of Lupa as the lightweight amongst Batali's restaurants. Haven't been to Esca yet, although I can say with total honesty that the concept there doesn't really grab me. Maybe its because I equate slices of raw fish with pristine sashimi, such that the idea of smearing a light to neutral oil over a piece of perfect fish is alien to me. Anyway, as the saying goes, hope springs eternal. SA PS. Steve, you *MUST* get the panna cotta. Or at least someone in your party has to. (yes, he gussies it up with saffron, pears and cardamom, but even with all those distractions, its nothing short of amazing.)

Its already a given that he'll find something wrong with Babbo. Its not a Michelin experience, but then again the restaurant isn't striving to be one. *shrug* I'm thinking of going again sometime in the next month, so if anyone would like to come along, PM me and I'll set it up. SA

Simple is relative, I suppose. Thanks, Toby and Ed.

*sigh* think of it this way people, repeat after me: I believe I would eat a better meal, if Julia Child cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Jacques Pepin cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Charlie Trotter cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Alice Waters cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Escoffier cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Jean-Paul Palladin cooked for me (if he were still alive, that is). I believe I would eat a better meal, if Gray Kunz cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Tom Colicchio cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Madeline Kamman cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Roger Verge cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Heston Blumenthal cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Anita Lo cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Marcus Samuelsson cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Madhur Jaffrey cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Mario Batali cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Daniel Bouloud cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if JGV cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Alain Ducasse cooked for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if I was Jinmyo's personal dinner guest for the rest of my life (and the next life, and the next, and the next ad infinitum...) I believe I would eat a better meal, if Steve Klc managed to duplicate his wonderful dinner from the dinner thread about 35+ pages back or so, just for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if Suvir Saran pulled out all the stops just for me. I believe I would eat a better meal, if (insert your favorite chef or famous name here) cooked for me. Repeat until your tongue falls off. Drink a warm chamomile tisane and sleep for eight hours. Check the thread tomorrow morning and NOT by hitting the Refresh button every five seconds. SA edit: added Jinmyo to the list of all-stars

Since my own family hails from the province of Fukien (by way of the Philippines), I was wondering if you could please differentiate (sp) the nuances (if any) between Cantonese and Fukienese cuisine. Chinatown used to be the inhabited mostly by Cantonese, but now the threshold of admittance is giving way to increasing numbers of people from Fukien province. I should note that this is not an area of knowledge I am particularly knowledgeable about. Also, do you know of or can you recommend any places with noteworthy Fukien dishes or chefs? Thanks in advance. SA

late night dinner: penne with spicy tomato sauce (EVOO, Pomi chopped tomatoes, anchovy fillet, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, cracked black pepper; cooked the tomatoes down to a jam like consistency); Evian; mango sorbet and watermelon chunks. Snarfed some leftover T-day stuffing. SA

it was a family excursion, so I didn't ask my uncle. I expect that it was at least $100, but less than $150 (even with the beer ordered by my uncle). Note that the house hands out nibbles (probably with a large group, not sure about smaller sized groups), such as pickled vegetables and unsalted peanuts. Scented hot napkins are provided afterwards. Also, jasmine tea was served to our group. Not sure if other groups merit such treatment. I was observing from our table -- there were substantial sized groups of Asians and Americans (Asians, Americans and mixed) throughout our dinner. I couldn't see if people were served differently, although I'm sure it helps if you show interest in the cuisine beyond the usual standards, and also if you speak Cantonese (as was the case with one of my aunts and her husband (they speak Cantonese, but the rest of my family speaks Mandarin and Fukienese)). However, even with those two caveats, I'm sure others might be able to garner a satisfying experience. SA

Friday night, met with relatives I hadn't seen in 20+ years (two aunts, an uncle and a cousin of mine). Much catching up to do, so we had an excursion to Chinatown, another destination that I don't go to much in NYC. The 6 of us had dinner at Oriental Garden (located on Elizabeth between Bayard and Pell Streets), and had a grand old time. I recommend another excursion out there, but this time with several e-gulleteers. Groups of 4 or more are highly recommended, due to the profusion of excellent Cantonese seafood dishes on the menu. OG has the typical "choose your fish and eat it" gimmick found at other Cantonese establishments in Chinatown and in Flushing, but here, you wouldn't know it as a gimmick--that's how much its used to great effect. Dishes we had (no meat, btw. we wanted to experience an "all-seafood-all-Cantonese" menu): 1. Platter of shrimp, blanched in boiling water (about 200 in all): EXTREMELY fresh and sweet; they had been alive only a few minutes before. These were served with a dipping sauce of shoyu, scallions, minced hot peppers, sugar, and Chinese rice wine. 2. Steamed oysters, served in their shell, topped with black beans, scallions, and ginger; 3. Steamed grouper, topped with ginger, scallions, mustard greens and choy sum (the mustard greens had been parboiled and blanched, so as to remove any lingering bitterness) (the grouper had been swimming only a few minutes before) (the cheeks and fish head are the best part -- but other ppl may not be as adventurous as I am... ) 4. Fish soup (stock made from the grouper) with tofu, straw mushrooms, mustard greens, and green chives. 5. Dungeness crab, stir-fried with yellow bean paste, ginger, garlic and onions. Some of the crab meat had been removed from the body and stir-fried with the other ingredients, then served in the shell. The claws were served whole (unshelled). Served with hot Chinese mustard. 6. Lobster Cantonese (but with ginger and scallions, not the usual white gunky sauce served at other C. places). When you go to OG, ask that it be served this way -- far superior to other versions of LC you may have had. Served with fish paste. 7. Conch, stir-fried with vegetables, and served atop chow fun noodles. The noodles were sauced in a mixture of seafood stock, crab meat, crab roe, garlic, and yellow chives. 8. Red bean soup. (one of the simplest Chinese desserts, especially when you consider that its made of nothing but red beans, water, rock sugar and ginger) 9. Marshmallows and almond cookies. 10. Fresh fruit. ----------- For parties of 4 people or more, its best to call and make a reservation. OG has a liquor license, also. SA

aside alert: And the Salzburger Nockerl at Wallse is amazing. Carry on, SA

A note about Filipino meal patterns: To answer Jaymes and SuzanneF a little, foods like pancit and lumpia are considered "party dishes" -- a typical meal pattern at home might look something like this: Breakfast: leftover from the night before or fried rice -- stir-fried with garlic, dried fish, fresh tomatoes, longaniza (Philippine sausage), and/or egg; champorado (chocolate-flavored rice porridge), eggs cooked American style (either scrambled, sunny-side up or soft-boiled) or pan de sal (literally, "salt bread", served as a breakfast roll). Lunch and supper: steamed or boiled rice, accompanied by either fish or meat, with or without vegetables (more likely WITH vegetables, as there is a great emphasis in Filipino food culture on vegetables). I would say, that Filipino cuisine comes close to Indian Vedic vegetarianism, just by the importance of vegetables that the society places in its diet. Dessert is not a part of a usual meal (except during parties). In fact, there is no word in Tagalog for "dessert". The closest to dessert that Filipinos eat are fruits. Sweets are eaten mostly during special occasions. With abundance of Asian markets, exotic ingredients are so much more accessible. If not, substitutions provide a different touch to the original dishes. There is a great diversity of food items that are indigenous to the Philippines. Examples are variety of fruits such as mabolo (velvet apple; a relative of the persimmon), atis (sweetsop or custard apple), santol, caimito, guayabano, and a special variety of mango that ripen to a very delicate sweet taste. There are vegetables that are used in Filipino cookery that I have not seen used anywhere else with great variety, such as sweet potato tops, swamp cabbage (kangkong), malunggay (horseradish tops), bittermelon fruit, bittermelon tops, chayote, banana pith, banana palm hearts, yard long string beans, wing beans, purple yams, banana blossom, squash blossoms, sweet pepper leaves, and taro leaves. Conversely, there are known food items that Filipinos eat in a different manner. Avocado is eaten with milk and sugar not as guacamole. Jicama is peeled and eaten as a cool snack in summer. We peel sugar cane and sip the sweet juice off the sugar cane fibers. Cantaloupe is grated into spaghetti-like strips; sugar, water and juice from the scooped out section is added to the grated cantaloupe to make a cool summer drink. A similar drink is made out of young coconut. There are a few items unique to Philippine cookery such as salted duck eggs, fertilized duck eggs, Nata de Coco (product made from coconut water), and seasonings such as fermented shrimp or fish paste. Use of annatto seeds to give dishes a slightly orange color is a common technique. Only in the Philippines can you find the following ice cream flavors without difficulty: avocado, purple yam, macapuno (coconut variety soft and slightly sticky). SA

well, let's see: Jaymes: I was born in the Mandaluyong section of Manila, and lived mostly in Manila, in my grandmother's house -- especially after my father died. Not too many memories of that time period -- please remember this was over 25 years ago and I was just a little kid. I went back in 1981 for a very brief period (about a month or so), and remember one restaurant we went to, towards the end of our stay. Not many details, except that crabs were on the menu (I remember going through this HUGE mountain of boiled crabs, seasoned with spices and various aromatics, and cleaning my fingers with lemon water in dipping bowls.) glenn: Not very many pinoy restaurants in New York City. In fact, there is a grand total of 1 that I know of, in Manhattan (sad but true) -- Elvie's Turo-Turo, located on First Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets. There's a thread somewhere on the NYC dining board, if you care to go look for it. Elvie's is all right...the kari-kari isn't nearly as "homey" enough, their pork adobo isn't vinegary enough, but their halo-halo is quite divine. Haven't tried their dinuguan or other specialties tho, so several return visits are probably in order. Their chorizo is excellent, if memory serves. There are supposed to be others in Queens, but I haven't been to any...yet. Maybe La Nina or Toby can direct me to some... Kerouac1964: This is not a dish with which I am familiar, although it is a typical Filipino dish that is usually served at parties or special occasions, much like embutido. Here's a link for a typical recipe. Don't cringe at the use of pickle relish and other "non-foodie" ingredients, remember the origin of this dish! We're infamous for using stuff like spam and supermarket frankfurters, or just about anything that's in the fridge...yes, even Tang and Ovaltine, to turn the ordinary into something special. For the record, one of my aunts primarily uses ground chicken, chorizo, hard boiled eggs, ground beef and raisins as the stuffing. Here is a recipe for paksiw na isda (boiled pickled fish and vegetables). Note that pinaksiw and paksiw are interchangeable. 1 1/2 lb. bangus (milkfish) or white fish, dressed 1/2 c. distilled vinegar 1/4 c. water pinch of salt 1/2" piece of ginger, crushed 2 hot banana peppers, seeded and chopped coarsely (Manzana or Peruvian peppers are a good substitute. if possible, try to get a pepper with a "fruity" undertone) 1/2 c. ampalaya (bitter melon) 1/2 c. eggplant, sliced 1. Cut fish into 4 slices. Place fish in a teflon or porcelain coated skillet. Add all other ingredients, except ampalaya and eggplant, cover and bring to a boil. Let simmer about 10 minutes, turning fish once to cook evenly. 2. Transfer to a covered dish and store in the refrigerator. Marinate for 2 days. 3. Reheat over moderate heat just until heated enough before serving. 4. Add ampalaya and eggplant during the last five minutes of cooking. (Sometimes, I parboil the vegetables in advance.) ---------- SA

You guys should try patis, which is the Filipino version of nuoc mam and nam pla. Its both excellent as a salting agent and as a flavoring agent (emphasis on the FERMENTED part). (Nuoc cham is nuoc mam, but with chilies added -- as an aside.) And why stop with liquid sauce? Try bagoong, which is either fermented shrimp paste or fermented anchovy paste (depends on the maker) -- also available in Filipino markets. A little goes a long way. You can jazz up bagoong (although why you would want to is another story), as my grandmother sometimes does, by frying the bagoong in peanut oil until browned (but not burnt), and adding either minced chopped garlic or garlic that's been sauteed until lightly golden. To illustrate how powerful it is, 1/8 t. will flavor an entire bowl of rice. SA

Not tasting enough. (Seriously!) Taste as you go, should be the number one rule. 2. safety/hygiene issues. 3. efficiency issues -- makes cleanup a lot faster if you minimize clutter and cleanup as you go! SA

Suzanne, not sure why its unknown here (for the most part) in America, given the large contingent of Filipino Americans in places like San Francisco and suburban New Jersey. Its probably due to the fact that there isn't a dish, theme or tradition that's easily pigeonholed, that people can easily identify as "Filipino". I mean, yeah, the food is typified by sour and salty flavors, and a heavy hand with garlic, but something like embutido which is your basic meatloaf gussied up with hard-boiled eggs, raisins and carrots is also VERY Filipino. Dinuguan, which is offal (beef hearts, liver, kidney, pig's ears, etc.), pig's blood, vinegar, chilies, garlic and onion is also very Filipino but not one we push towards Westerners, probably because of the main ingredients (the offal and the pig's blood; in fact, cooking makes the pig's blood turn black, so when you see the plate on the table, its this glistening mess of pork, offal and onions stewed in a vinegary black sauce, served over rice -- visually unappealing, but looks can be extremely deceiving since its MUY DELICIOSO). Also, there's pig's feet stewed with soy sauce, onions and chestnuts -- another favorite (the feet and bones lend a gelatinous texture to the finished dish, and it gets better on the second or third day). I'm not sure about the restaurant culture within the Philippines, as my family left the country in the middle 1970s, and I haven't kept up with what's gone on back home. Maybe someone else can contribute and answer your question. SA ---- edit: added detail about dinuguan

A note about belut (just for you, cabrales... ): Belut or balut is boiled embryonated duck egg. Layers of hay are placed on top of a duck egg and warm water is poured over it several times a day. This is repeated for 9 days (for penoy), which results in a tiny embryo, or for 14 days (for balut). At this time, the embryo is almost full duckling, with crunchy feet and feathers when eaten, the egg yolk is reduced and the egg white is hard, and the amniotic sac is filled with fluid. So be careful when opening balut, because you might spill the fluid which is very tasty. (For the record, I've never eaten it, and my relatives dislike it intensely.) Balut is considered as an aphrodisiac or at least, it increases one's stamina for certain rigorous activities (all those nutrients!). Here's a link for a belut producer in California. SA

Is it just me or is Filipino food not well-known here in the U.S.? Anyway, SuzanneF suggested an intro to some of the dishes I mentioned in my post on the "childhood food memories" thread in the Bio section. This thread is my attempt at a primer of sorts for anyone interested in pinoy cuisine. (And contributions are welcome, of course.) SA --------- Philippine cooking is based on a sophisticated combination of the familiar blended with the exotic. Filipinos lay claim to several heritages, including but not limited to Malay, Chinese and Spanish -- due in part to the main historical influences in the country's history (the Philippines was a Spanish colony from the late 1400s until the Spanish-American War in the late 1890s). Indian, Mexican, Arab and American influences are also present in the cuisine; American contribution to Filipino kitchen particularly became heavy following WW II when surplus canned foods became widely available because of the shortages of fresh produce. The Filipinos embraced these 'new foods' and turned them into dishes that taste nothing like canned food. For example, by sauteing canned corned beef with onions and garlic, they created a dish uniquely their own. The Philippines consists of an archipelago of over seven thousand islands, dominated by two large islands, Luzon (the northern island), and Mindanao (the southern island). Luzon is where Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is located, and is heavily Catholic, and contains proportionally more people of Chinese and/or Spanish ancestry. Mindanao's population base is contains a more heavily Malaysian/indigenous base, and is home to a predominantly Muslim representation. This may have changed in recent years, so if anyone has a more updated view, please feel free to correct me. Filipino cuisine is marked by a heavy reliance on sour (tamarind, palm or rice vinegar, limes, etc.) and salty agents (bagoong, soy sauce, salt, patis, etc.). In fact, several cooking terms illustrate these highlights: sinigang both refers to a soup made with tamarind, seafood, meat and vegetables, and a method of cooking any of these ingredients in a broth composed of water, meat or vegetable stock, and a souring agent such as tamarind or sour fruit juice; pinaksiw refers to a method of cooking fish with vinegar and spices -- sometimes vegetables are added; inasnan is a term used to refer to food preserved with salt or a salting agent, and then prepared via broiling (either meat, fish, or vegetables). One popular dish is salty fish heads, served with a dipping sauce of vinegar, chopped garlic, and soy sauce, and accompanied with steamed rice. I should note that Filipino food is rarely spicy -- although this is a common misconception. Below are some basic dishes which are common enough in the Philippines, although please keep in mind that terms for ingredients and the names of the dishes themselves may change depending on which island you travel to, or which province you're currently in. For example, the vegetable dish known as pakbet is also called pinakbet, but is essentially the same thing. For a recipe for pakbet, click here. Adobo or adobong lechon/adobo or adobong rellenong (pork adobo/chicken adobo) -- this is a stew of chicken or pork, flavored with bay leaves, vinegar, soy sauce, LOTS of garlic, and whole black peppercorns. This is probably the best known Filipino dish and is my candidate for national dish of the Philippines, if there is one. While adobo lechon and adobo rellenong are quite well known, there are other types of adobo out there go well beyond just pork and chicken. There is adobo antigo, which is your basic pork or chicken adobo, except that either white wine or light rum is added to the adobo marinade. Adobong moderno is chicken adobo (usually), which is marinated and then dipped in an egg white and flour mixture, then deep fried. There is even a vegetarian adobong that involves potatoes, and an Indian version of adobo that incorporates coconut milk and chilies (the peppers are optional). Pancit/pancit bihong -- this is an uber-noodle dish that is only limited by the imagination of the cook and whatever is on hand. Pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, shellfish and a variety of vegetables are combined with sauteed noodles and thinly sliced Filipino chorizo. Different types of noodles are often used -- pancit bihon is pancit made with bihon or rice noodles. Pancit canton is pancit with flour noodles, while pancit sotanghon is pancit made with soybean noodles. If you can't get any of the above, you can substitute vermicelli or angel hair pasta, but it won't be the same, at least imo. Rellenong manok -- relevant to the turducken article in last week's NYTimes, this is a whole chicken that's been deboned and stuffed with a mixture of ground chicken, pork, ham, whole sausages and hard-boiled eggs, then sliced and served. Lumpia or lumpiang sariwa/lumpia or lumpiang shanghai -- these are either fresh or fried spring rolls. Fresh spring rolls have wrappers made of cabbage or lettuce leaves and contain a mixture of pork/chicken/shrimp and vegetables. The fried spring rolls have wrappers made of dough, akin to wonton wrappers, and are deep fried to perfection. Dipping sauces range from sweet plum sauce or peanut sauce (for fresh lumpia) to sour, garlicky ones (for lumpia shanghai). Kari-kari -- this is a stew of tripe, oxtails and vegetables which are cooked separately, then combined together and topped with a ground peanut sauce. When made correctly, this can be wonderful. Chunky peanut butter is an acceptable substitute for ground peanuts in the traditional version, but please be sure to use a peanut butter that DOES NOT contain sugar or other preservatives. Halo-halo -- this is a dessert/shake mixture of tropical fruit, flan, jello and other ingredients such as dried corn, which are combined together and mixed with crushed ice. Halo-halo is meant to be eaten with both a spoon and a straw. Leche flan -- milk custard...there are several versions of flan in the Philippines. Three common variations are kalabasa flan (pumpkin flan), mango flan (which incorporates a base of mango puree), and peach flan (peach puree). Leche flan is usually made with both condensed milk and regular milk and as many as 12 (!) egg yolks. Brazos -- custard wrapped in meringue. Note that Filipino desserts tend to be OBSCENELY sweet. I prefer fresh fruit (so my teeth won't kill me). One recipe I'm familiar with for brazos de mercedes (cream-filled log cake) calls for a little over a cup of sugar -- and that's not including the meringue!

Ok, I'll play... Food culture -- that depends on at what stage of my childhood. Mostly Filipino/Chinese (before 1975), Filipino/Chinese with gradual American influx (1975-early 1980s), full American assimilation (c. 1981 onwards). To illustrate, my mom used to believe the only way to cook a steak was to broil it to nuclear. Now of course, she likes it medium well. (She'll never be able to stomach it medium rare.) I say 1975, because that was the year we came to the U.S. Of course, Ferdinand Marcos would declare martial law in the Philippines a few years later -- so we counted ourselves lucky that we escaped. Meal time -- very important. Although my mom was your typical single-parent mom (my dad died when I was 3), she managed to find the time to cook for the entire week on the weekends. We ate dinner together every single evening. My mom is a great believer in crock pot cookery and one pot meals. However there are some dishes that she won't do these days, probably because they're too time consuming or she's lost the taste for them (i.e., dinuguan, kari-kari). Cooking -- I think Mom is a pretty damn good cook (she doesn't think so). My grandma is an AMAZING cook (her lions head meatballs are my idea of heaven). I don't think Mom really cared too much about ingredients, except those that she was familiar with or was convenient. For example, you really can't make dinuguan without offal and pig's blood, chiles and vinegar. So in that sense, substitutions were out of the picture, because then it wouldn't be authentic. Cooking at home meant a combination of practicality and convenience, but not at the expense of sacrificing authenticity. (I never took part in cooking, btw. The kitchen is my mother's castle. ) Kiddy table -- no. Prayer -- we used to say grace...altho I think we stopped at a certain point. I'm not sure when that was. Wine -- not until I was in my early 20s, in New York City. True to form, I got a headache immediately afterwards. Rotating menu -- never. I think a lot of what we ate and what was in the refrig was dictated by how often we had certain dishes or whatever Mom and I (and later, my step-dad, Michael) felt like having. We alternated between Filipino and Chinese dishes and American staples, especially in later years. Come to think of it, we were more Filipino-centric than Chinese-centric. I can't remember a lot of Chinese food at home, compared to Filipino dishes -- dinuguan, kari-kari, pakbet, pancit, adobo lechon, adobo rellenong, menudo, eggplant omelette, sinigang, chicken with soy sauce and hard-boiled eggs (can't remember the name), and dishes like embutido and fresh lumpia for special occasions; Chinese -- mostly sweet and sour pork (breading with water chestnut powder!), congee, fried rice, that ill-fated dish of chicken feet and Chinese medicinal leaves. American -- pot roast, bone marrow, beef and vegetable soup, spaghetti and meat sauce, roast chicken, turkey every T-day, for example. There was a lot of input from all quarters, so there was never any rotating menu that I can remember. Replicate? -- my home life is *so* 180 degrees from my childhood...I'd say that the only thing in common at present time is that I've inherited my Mom's love of cooking and eating to the extent that I consider it important to my own life and state of well-being. I love to cook, and I love to cook for other people. I'm willing to cook almost anything, but I'd say my base is Italian and "Bistro American", whereas my Mom remains true to her roots. As an example, on T-day this year, we're having turkey, stuffing, and some side dishes. Since relatives will be visiting, I'm sure there will be some dishes from the Philippines as well -- we have a rather large family -- four aunts and four uncles (on Mom's side), for example; most are married and have kids. In a perfect world, I would cook for the people I care about, whenever I could. Oh, and another thing -- my kitchen is MY castle. hehe SA

you forgot College Inn, which if I have used on occasion in the past, although not in recent memory. SA

hey you know, if you don't like uni, it's ok. it just means there's more for us who do like it. for the record, I'm an uni addict. in a perfect world, it'd be nothing but uni, CR salmon, live scallops, and o-toro. oh well...heheh SA

Penne with spicy tomato sauce -- Pomi crushed tomatoes, clove of garlic, EVOO, chopped onion, red pepper flakes. Fried bread crumbs on top. Evian. Pineapple chunks. SA

Dinner tonight at g. and yvonne johnson's place, along with Toby, myself, Sandra Levine and her Beloved, and Wilfrid and his Beloved. g. johnson was le chef de cuisine, Sandra provided dessert. Wines (in no particular order): 2000 Daylight Chamber "Trumps" (65% Grenache, 35% Shiraz) 2000 Montagny Premier Cru-Les Gouresses 1996 Il Pareto Tenuta Di Nozzole 1997 Amarone Della Valpolicella Sparkling water (ESPECIALLY for me.) (I did try a little of the Trumps and a bit of the Amarone. In any event, enough to fill two thimbles, in case any are curious.) Sauteed scallops accompanied by a sweet pepper and red onion salad [citrus and herb viniagrette] (unsure as to the composition of the viniagrette, others may care to comment); Wild mushroom lasagna, with frisee. (wild mushrooms, garlic, shallots, LOTS of butter; homemade pasta) (again, unsure of the components of the viniagrette which dressed the frisee, so g. or yvonne might comment); Duck confit, mashed potatoes, sauteed haricot verts; Cheese course: Caerphilly, St. Felician, L'ami du Chamberlin [table water crackers, raisin and nut bread]. Some of us partook of a little cabrales (although IMO, the cabrales was [understatement alert] *a little* past its prime...) Dessert: caramelized orange tart (pate brisee with an almond cream filling, topped with caramelized orange slices), rustic apple tart -- both served with vanilla ice cream and regular cream; Coffee, tea, brandy. Applause to g. and yvonne johnson for an excellent, excellent dinner and Sandra for an amazing pair of desserts, especially the apple gateau. Not to mention that the quality of the dinner was only exceeded by the company. SA

Of course... but I hate cleaning up afterwards. thank god for dishwashers. SA

tonight (Thursday): Braised pumpkin with coconut milk (pumpkin, sweet potatoes and Chinese black mushrooms, braised in coconut milk and spices, and finished with chopped roasted peanuts); Sauteed spinach with yellow bean sauce (spinach, garlic, scallions, and a sauce composed of yellow bean paste, spices, peanuts, coconut milk and lemongrass); Stir-fried rice (leftover rice from takeout, minced garlic, Chinese sausage, five-spice powder, mushroom soy, minced scallions, minced ginger, beaten egg yolk). Evian. Fresh fruit. SA

Unfortunately I had to work.... And I'm still at work, as I post this (its 12:25 am). But I'm heading home in a few minutes. The ironic thing is that Diwan is 5 blocks from the office and I couldn't, even though I tried mightily, COULDN'T get away for even a few minutes. Joy... Carry on, SA