Steve Martin

Next day. I got a special offer on fish, so we had it several days running. Hake is a nice flaky fish, a bit like cod, but not as creamy. It is very popular in Spain. Once again seared skin down and served with a robust sauce of vermouth and capers whizzed and reduced. Olive oil beaten in at the end. Small new potatoes were boiled and halved, then roasted on with Spanish baby plum tomatoes.

There isn't much redder than red bell peppers roasted or grilled until the skins blacken and peel off. Sliced with some olive oil to make peperoni. I suppose beets are redder, but they are not usually well received.

I've heard it called manticare. (manty car-ray) Butter and fresh parmesan beaten in and then rested for a few minutes. The Italians will never use parmesan with lobster nor any fish, but I will.

I work offshore for four weeks at a time and am at home for four. When at home, my wife and I are together every minute and I cook twice a day. I could not do it if I was just cooking for myself. The hobby simply wouldn't have developed in this way. At work, I work twelve hour shifts every day and the food is catered. I have no access to a kitchen :-(

I am working in Brazil and we have this delight every Sunday. (just had calf's foot for lunch) As they are as good a butchers as they are cooks, so it resembles nothing so much as the result of a machete fight between a cow and a pig in a tub of black beans. It is a stark contrast to the sublime French cassoulet. I am the only white man on board who eats it, and with little relish. Their tripe or calf's foot and potato stews are much better. They actually eat black beans and rice with every meal, just as my compatriots have fries.

Nice salmon, awbrig. Have you tried it confit yet? Next dinner: Brill is a very large flatfish, not dissimilar to halibut. I most often cook fish skin down in a very hot teflon pan and turn over for a very short time. Shiitake mushrooms do not mix well with other mushrooms and can be quite heavy going if not paired with rice or potato. Here they are in a sauté with red pepper, garlic and coriander, in olive oil. Served with bashed new potatoes and boiled baby carrots.

Saltimbocca of guinea fowl on this page Saltimbocca July 2001. I will make sure the sage doesn't get in the way next time.

Well, photos don't seem to be catching on much and as my website remains widely unobserved, I'll put some here. Daily meals, but two weeks out of date, like a time warp. Mussels and a few clams were opened in wine and parsley and the liquor passed through a muslin and heated with butter and cream. The mussels were allowed to firm up in the fridge for a half hour while baby leeks and garlic were sweated down in butter with white pepper. The mussels and parsley were added and warmed through. Placed in a bowl with lemon and the soup ladled over at the table.

I wouldn't have either. Are you sure you want to go to Bocuse. Here is my short review from my site at www.eurosnaps.com. Paul Bocuse. One of the greatest and most venerated names in the world of gastronomy. He maintains a team of award winning chefs at his three star restaurant at Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, part of Lyon. A safe bet for a memorable birthday lunch, you would think. The premises are a riot of colour and bad taste. The doorman did his job perfectly, although dressed in a uniform more suited to a chimpanzee. The silverware was from a farmhouse and the crockery from a nursery. We had the small menu of soup des moules and fish en croûte. It was perfectly executed and served, but totally lacking in balance and indeed vegetables. Although our first course was a workman's portion of mussel soup, the amuse-bouche was pumpkin soup (it was under seasoned, but was good when salt was added). The main course was loup baked in a good puff pastry. It was expertly filleted and plated at the table. The cavity had been filled with egg and this was served as well. The sauce Choron was slathered over the top and the plate very nearly covered with a massive piece of the pastry. No vegetables featured in what was so far a meal of fish, egg, butter and flour. We made our selection of what looked like good cheese, but then left nearly all of it because it was stone cold. They were keeping it in a fridge, which left it hard and completely lacking in taste and aroma. It was in a condition that I would not have thought possible in France: it is most probably a crime. The waiters were embarrassed and gave us free dessert wine. The pre-dessert was a small, plain crème brûlée. Then the equivalent of a sweet trolley, with very generous servings. I don't recommend the place and Michelin really should be clearing out some of these 3 star hangers on. After this and our lesser disappointment at Georges Blanc, I am now very wary about visiting the long-established names.

I would try feta, if your confit isn't too salty. Taleggio if you are melting it down.

I AM elitist and I'm not too happy about you people considering yourselves as such.

We like tilapia very much. Can be grilled on the bone or filleted and seared, skin on. Some here. My Webpage

A meal for two at Marc Veyrat came to £460 People get very sneery about Lindt chocolate, but I prefer their Excellence range to Valrhona. Especially with the eclats or shards of cocoa in. We have a very nice Maxwell and Kennedy chocolate shop in York, but I can't remember what I pay.

Sorry John, the "us" is the "we" who travel in France. My wife and I We find the curly to have a harsher, harder taste, but it is more suited to searing or deep frying. Thanks for your kind message about my website.

The French agree with you, John. Everywhere we have stayed in France, we have found general grocers and supermarkets stock no fresh herbs except "English" parsley. We manage to find other herbs growing 'wild' and in the markets, but never "French" parsley. I can only assume the French grow their own, but they definitely like the curly stuff. As for us, we prefer the flat for its taste.

I think Veyrat serves oxalis des bois (wood sorrel). My review is still on Andy's site. UK Gourmet

I'm in Rome right now and Heinz Beck is as good as ever. There was even a pasta course :-) Nobody has mentioned, nor dared mention, that Italy is a matriarchal society and the cooking is essentially women's cooking. Lack of progress is therefore assured.

The plating and tableware is an essential part of the hobby for me. I cook every day, often twice, and every meal is the full monty. The silverware is used every day with tablecloth and cloth napkins. Most of my tableware can be seen on my website. My Webpage You will see some snazzy modern Viners cutlery there as well as the silver. It is mostly Villeroy & Boch, with some Denby. Glasses by V&B and Riedel. I like plenty of light while dining so the candle stays in the bedroom. We don't own a dishwasher because, in my experience, they ruin good china and glass and do not clean to my satisfaction. No TV during meals, but always music. Wouldn't it be nice if restaurant style tableware was easy to buy retail. Why is the workable area of a domestic dinner plate so miniscule? I suppose as long as people are eating off paper, things are unlikely to improve.

They are great value. I have a large frying pan from a catering supplier. They call them black iron, though they are carbon steel and go black with use. The instructions say not to use too much heat, but I thought I knew better and heated it wok style. It now looks like I have been beating someone over the head with it. So I would say cast iron for the really hot work or maybe keep beating it flat. PS. Could "French" be the world's most overused adjective.

Gavin. I haven't written a review on Mickey Brass yet. I was going to send another one to Andy, but I have lost motivation. What is it for really? Certainly my last review on these boards was ignored save for one man with local knowledge. I like to help people, but just a summary can do that. It is nice to entertain, but I'm not sure I do that :-) Our meal with Santi really did hit some heights. The overall experience was extremely pleasant, but also, some particular dishes had real impact. I could write a rave review of Franck Putelat, in Carcassonne, perhaps; to get me in the mood. Cheers.

We have just returned from the Loire. I can heartily recommend Domaine des Hauts de Loire, but definitely not the Grand Hotel du Lion d'Or. The food was uninteresting and the service poor. They keep all their wines (both white and red) at fridge temperature. We had a red Cotes du Rhone with a dew on the bottle. The sommelier was apologising as he poured it and suggested we wait a while for it to warm up. I doubt it would ever have recovered and I am amazed that Michelin has let this pass. Our desserts sat on a side table for over ten minutes before the melted remains were set in front of us. I sent the whole issue back and it was left to the poor cowed sommelier to apologise again and arrange replacements. At the DHL, I was able to tell the waiter that the lamb course was considerably better than that at Michel Bras. He hurried off to tell the chef :-) I am finding it difficult to write any restaurant reviews after Bra. Who can believe such a certified genius could produce a meal so lacking. As for the Loire, we found very little attention paid to texture and presentation throughout. The Lion was particularly guilty of this and is one of our most depressing disappointments. We also found the countryside to be flat, boring farmland and homogenous forestry, with nothing to gladden the eye but the chateaux. We were also cursed with 'British' weather, but I am sure you will have better luck. PS. The French chefs have certainly 'discovered' asian spices and are using them in every course. Quite well, actually, and once the novelty wears off, it will lend an extra dimension to the flagging French cuisine.

We went to the Taberna del Alabardero three times. It had a Michelin star that we thought well deserved. It has recently lost the star, which comes as a surprise to us. We would like to go back someday. Egana Oriza has also just lost its star, but we did not think our meal there deserved one. We kept going back for the tapas at Casa Robles (there are two branches), especially for the bull's tail.

Sauce Vierge is basically olive oil mixed with lemon juice, tomato concasse and some fresh herb, often basil. It is a light, versatile sauce. Try warming olive oil with cracked coriander seeds. Then, off the heat, add lemon juice, tomato concasse and fresh basil. Salt to taste and garlic is always an option.

Marlin just seared on a teflon pan. Careful! It's a very easy fish to dry out. New potatoes bashed with some spinach, rocket and olive oil. Spring onions pan fried A variation on sauce vierge - pink peppercorns poached in olive oil. Then, off the heat, tomato concasse, chives and lime juice stirred in. Plenty of sea salt throughout.

CathyL: The science suggests that there should be a marked amplification of flavours when the glutamates in the parmesan are combined with seafood. I most often serve prawns with a citrus flavour, of one sort or another. I do like them with soy or 'fish sauce', and parmesan should work for the same reason that they do. However, as I say, I'm not so sure.