Carrot Top

Interesting question. Can one discuss various parts of what a book is purportedly "saying" without having read it? Using a cookbook as an example, is it *fair* to discuss the recipes, to comment on or use one's own background or experience in making those recipes personally *without* having read the specific book? Or is it neccesary to read the book being mentioned before entering into discussion of such. . . This of course can be extended or minimized however one would want. The book speaks about a phenomena. This discussion is not merely about the book but about the phenomena also. Or so I think. If not, then of course much of the discussion here should be knocked right out of the box. Or maybe all of the discussion since the only one that has read the book so far is Mr. Maw. Whew. That *would* make a short thread.

Last time I saw a discussion of this it was focusing on somewhere else - some other country. Rogov was writing of it, and he called the vendors in the market "the most charming liars I've ever had the chance to meet".

Ah, but adorable frauds.

You mean "from out the crik" don't you? What is this "creek" thing?

That's a good gathering of gatherings, Darcie. Are you going to any this year? (It might be an idea to have this discussion on ramps moved to another thread so that others can see this list - Spring is coming SOON! )

The state of West Virginia is famous for ramps and holds an annual festival each spring to celebrate the spring "crop" if you could call it that - spring "gathering" might be a better word?

It seems to me that the greatest challenge you have to face in pulling together this menu, Genny, is to avoid the same chocolate taste running through all the courses. It could work, and be fantastic, if there is a focus put on not only the recipes but the whole - each course showing a differing taste of chocolate. . .chocolate wearing a different dress for each course, if you would. The thought came to me that a tuna carpaccio could work with a chocolate hint of some sort - but I can't "see it" with any of the entrees that have been proposed so far. When are you doing this meal? Does the group tend to work and plan "together" or is it more of a free-form thing where each one does their own thing then carries it to the dinner and it is more of a surprise?

Pear slices as the base for intensely bittersweet chocolate shavings (or alternately made into leaves or something pretty) placed on top of some sort of cheese for an app? Ricotta for the more faint-hearted or some variety of rich blue for the more adventurous? (Need to focus in on the personalities of the specific chocolates and the specific cheeses here to assure a good fit ). Irishgirl, can you describe your method for chocolate demi-glace? It sounds good.

A question: Do you think that it is possible to "sense" the difference between yang and yin foods by the sensory input (i.e. taste ) of the food and the way it makes you feel?

That was an astonishingly wonderful post, Lady T. Hats off and glass raised to you and to all those thoughts! (There is no smilie to exactly represent what I mean, so this: will have to do.)

I can agree with you about tedium. Generally humor will keep me reading much longer than the pompous opinion that goes on for endless paragraphs. And I can agree with you about it seeming ridiculous having to read perspectives of people who are not specifically part of the thing they are talking about. You use "being French" here as an example. More often, to me - as the world of food was my profession, it strikes me the exact same way when people talk about "food" who really, simply eat it. Where DO they get their gall?! It might be the solution to this is to have a quiz at the beginning of each thread about any specific subject. In this one, we could ask exactly how long anyone has spent in France, and it would all be detailed clearly. We might need to vote on whether marriage as exposure was a valid claim to knowing about the culture, though. And the vote on that might take some time to sort out. Yes, indeed. I think we should all pull out our organic market carrots and compare the size and freshness? Or we could all take it all with a grain of psalt. Hand-gathered, of course - to protect the delicate grains.

It's that hint of difference, the expansion of thought that interests me in the idea of talking about both sweet and savory things in the same thread where it can be done. My fear would be that most people think "sweet" when thinking "pastry" so that it might be a misnomer for the thread - someone might miss it? I adore sweet strudels - my two favorites are apple (bien sur, so classic! and never out of place) and a cherry-ricotta strudel - the ricotta flavored with lemon zest , the cherries with a hint of almond extract. Yet wow! Fantastic to hear of SuziSushi's Reuben strudel - how creative! Yum! As much as I adore sweet strudels, the savory ones can really capture my heart. Your spinach and ricotta sounds really great, too. How do you season the spinach? One that I make is a gingered lamb with quinoa, and it is "to die for".

Imagine a large high-ceilinged kitchen on an old country estate, in Germany or perhaps Austria. Someplace like that. An enormous table sits as an island in the center of the room, but flanked by no chairs. The kitchen is warm - there are people in the room doing various tasks yet the table dominates the scene. Here, is where the strudel is made. (If you listen carefully, you might even hear the cook practicing her yodelling for the upcoming County Fair ) Huge sheets of dough are stretched to an infinitesimal thinness to provide a cozy wrap for good things to eat. Flour flies through the air as the dough is petted and patted, teased into transparency. What will fill it? Apples, maybe. Cabbage? Cheese. . .cherries? .................................................... It's more likely that today we will pull out a package of filo dough from the freezer to make our own strudels, or blend a batch of cream cheese pastry for yet the "other strudel". What sorts of strudels do you make? Do you make both sweet and savory strudels? Which one is your all-time favorite? Studel is definitely worth a yodel or two, don't you think?

Probably the recipe did not include chocolate. I've never seen one with it in it, though it seems that somewhere one might exist. . ."just because" . But you never know. You just never know in Scotland. And that's all I'll say.

Probably a recipe printed and used "today" would not. . .but the overlaps between some Arabic foods, some Mexican foods, and some Medieval foods are many. I generally write my own recipes, Pille. This one, I can taste in my mind and it tastes good. I'd probably use turkey, though, thinking a bit more about it. And brandy, good brandy in the sauce, burned off.

A good entree might be something like a bisteeya (spelling? that looks slightly wierd ) a chicken pie in flaky pastry - the chicken bound with a Medieval- ish sort of sauce, dense with undertones of tomato, cinnamon, chocolate, raisins, almond and onion. I realize that I've just stolen and mixed from three different cultures, but you get the idea, I hope.

I am glad you remain Genny because I've been wondering if you'd turned into that sporty cat on your avatar. Which would be nice too, but different. Are you serving chocolate drinks? Alcoholic chocolate drinks? Oooh. I would.

Who would have known that mentioning the Table of Your Dreams would open the gateways to your souls in such an endearing and startling manner?! And what beautiful tables they all are, too. Glorious dream tables. More, please. Confess your desires. It is good for whatever ails you. Plus it is highly entertaining.

Many do. English escapes this gender curse or pleasure (however one wants to look at it). Our eggplants are just eggplants. But in any language, it is a pleasure to read Adria on food and to consider the ways in which he shapes it.

I agree that litchees are one of the most spectacular fruits in the world but nevertheless there something about them, a bit of an underlayer almost of taste - that has hints of astringency and maybe even leaning towards a tannic sense. This slight undertone reminds me somewhat (on a much reduced level) of not-quite-ripe persimmon. (No, I've never consumed massive amounts. Thank goodness for both me and everyone else. ) I wonder if persimmon is also highly yang. Michael - I loved this post. But it *is* rather extrodinarily yang-ish, don't you think?

Today I bought the table of my grown-up dreams. A table to dine upon that is perfect, perfect, perfect! For me. Once before I thought I'd found the dining table of my dreams. It was many years ago - the table was glass and steel. It was elegant, big, rectangular. I did not ever "feel" for that table. There have been some other dining room tables bought over the years, because of moving here or there, but today I took the plunge and spent twice as much as I intended to on this table, because it seems to make me sigh with pleasure and contentment in even sitting at it without any food on it. Imagine, what food could do on a table like this. It is round, big and round. A round table makes me feel balanced and equitable. It is cherry wood, nice, rich, but not too dark - just sort of glowing with an internal warmth. A central base supports the table but it is not clunky or heavy-looking but merely architectural in a way. No legs to stumble onto. The chairs are made of the same wood - a simple uncluttered design, and, and they have arms to lie one's own arms upon while lingering at this beauteous table and they are cushioned, too - with soft subtly elegant fabric. I believe I have found the table of my grown-up dreams, and can not wait! to serve a meal upon it. What does the dining table of your own dreams look like? Do you have it, or have you seen it, or is it waiting somewhere in your imagination but not yet found?

Here is one that is corporate rather than municipal: Legal Sea Foods Fish Sculpture

Has anyone said butter?

I keep on trying to write something in response to all these wonderful entrees but every time I try, the words get sort of jumbled up. I guess the only thing that would be safe to say is that Mayhaw Man's submission looked exactly like a lizard-fish I caught one night fishing in the Florida Keys. No siree. You would not want to eat that thing, even if it was made into an etouffee. But I could live happily gazing upon that Oldenburg apple!

Thank you, Hiroyuki. What beautifully balanced dishes!