LindaK

I suppose I should retract my caveat about La Petite Marquise, since their baguette just placed 6th in the GRAND PRIX DE LA BAGUETTE for Paris 2012. The rankings (by name of the boulanger, then boulangerie, if different): 1. Sébastien MAUVIEUX, 159 rue Ordener 75018 2. Raoul MAEDER, 111 bld Haussmann 75008 3 . Alexandre CHAUVIN, boulangerie AUDOU, 10 rue de Chanzy 75011 4. Dominique ANRACT, 110 rue de la Tour 75116 5. Arnaud DELMONTEL, 39 rue des Martyrs 75009 6. Narcisse PASQUIER, David PASQUEREAU, la Petite Marquise, 3 place Victor Hugo 75116 7. Guillaume DELCOURT, 100 rue Boileau 75016 8. Eran MAYER, 100 rue du Théâtre 75015 9. Benjamin TURQUIER, 134 rue de Turenne 75003 10. Ludovic JEANNETTE, les Saveurs de Wagram, 169 avenue de Wagram 75017 Full info (in French): http://www.boulanger...GUETTE 2012.pdf http://www.boulanger...ts_concours.asp

My favorite recipe is from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. It uses creme fraiche (or heavy cream) instead of butter in the filling, And best of all you don't have to pre-cook it. Just pour the mixture into a partially-baked tart shell and bake. Foolproof and absolutely delicious.

Look for Taylor or Ramos Pinto, their less expensive ports can be found for around $20 and they're very good.

Geez, just when I've begun to get over my depression from leaving Paris (a few weeks ago), you ask this question. I don't pretend to have ever done anything like an exhaustive search on this or any previous trip. Basically I sample whatever is nearby wherever I'm staying or wherever I happen to be hanging out and stick with what's best. The best from this last trip were old favorites in a neighborhood where I've stayed a few times: Au Levain du Marais Av Parmentier, 75010 Du Pain et des Idées Rue Yves Toudic, 75010 Another sentimental favorite, I always stop by if I'm in the 'hood. I know it's a chain but I still like it. Boulangerie Kayser Rue Monge, 75005 The best within a short walk from my most recent "home" for my early morning fix. Not in the same league as the others, but if that's where you are, this is where to go: La Petite Marquise Place Victor Hugo, 75016 I can't speak from experience about La Flute Gana, but from the annoying website it looks like they're open Mon-Sat: http://www.gana.fr/

Thanks to Xilimmns and bethesdabakers, I've now got a serious fritter craving. Until then, here's a long overdue update. On a recent trip to Paris, I picked up a cookbook by chef Yves Camdeborde, Simplement Bistrot. Though it’s a well-worn subject, I’m a complete sucker for bistro cookbooks if they contain anything I haven’t seen before. In this case, more than a few things, including some salt cod ideas. This cookbook is notable for the utter simplicity of the recipes, sometimes too much so. The two salt cod recipes I’ve tried thus far are good examples. The soupe de morue, poireaux, and pommes de terre (salt cod, leek, and potato soup) was as basic as one could get—those three ingredients along with some olive oil. No stock, just water. Except for soaking the cod, it comes together in minutes. Next time I’ll cook the leeks a little longer to caramelize them a little, I think the soup would benefit from a bit more complexity. Very satisfying and tasty nonetheless, though maybe not so pretty: Next, a composed salad, salade de morue au comté et radis (salt cod salad with comté cheese and radish). Comté is a firm but smooth mountain cheese, both nutty and fruity. As simple as it sounds, tossed with a strong mustard and sherry vinegar vinaigrette, garnished with fresh chives. Cheese and salt cod, unusual but it worked. I liked this a lot. And this one is pretty:

The mild, nearly snowless winter we had around here has been good for my perennial herbs--chives, thyme, parsley are going crazy. Even the rosemary lived (barely) through the winter, but oddly the tarragon did not, though it lived through some harsh winters before now. I'll plant another. Basil seeds go in once it's really warm. Not yet. As for vegetables, last weekend I finally got around to planting lettuces, chard, and radishes. I threw in some nasturtium seeds too, peach melba, my favorite--pale yellow with a bit of raspberry in the center. Lovely in the garden and tasty in a salad. Since the soil has already warmed up, I'll put in cukes, beans, squash, and even tomatoes in mid-May, earlier than usual--ordinarily Memorial Day is the rule-of-thumb for them this far north. I can't wait!

I hear you, I was in no way encouraging disruptive or unsafe behavior. Having had many dinners there with kids, I can vouch for the fact that there's an area of the restaurant that (except during peak times) is away from other diners and out of traffic lanes, so staff routinely seat families with young kids there in case they get a bit restless. Good behavior still required. But no matter if you're going to be at the aquarium, you don't want to schlep yourself to Cambridge for lunch. Chinatown, maybe, it's pretty close. In the immediate area, there are two places I'd recommend. Sel de la Terre is a nice but casual place adjacent to the aquarium on nearby Long Wharf. Some outside seating if the weather is nice. They have a kids menu. Sultan's Kitchen is a 5 minute walk up State Street. An unassuming cafe with excellent Turkish food, lots of vegetarian specialties as well as kabob plates and sandwiches. It's small and does brisk lunch business, so if you want a seat get there early or after the rush. JP Licks is great, but I don't know of one anywhere near the aquarium. The nearest is on lower Newbury Street in Back Bay. I live close to the original JP Licks, which is a lot of fun if you happen to be staying in JP. But it would be a long trip for ice cream otherwise. Have fun.

Ditto the dim sum idea. Any of the restaurants in Chinatown would welcome kids, actually. If you're in Cambridge, a favorite destination for my friends w/ kids is Summer Shack. Traditional New England seafood menu, served family style. The place is huge, so they can usually give you a table with a room for the little one to wander a bit without getting underfoot of the waitstaff. And the enormous lobster tank is a kid magnet. A bit outside the tourist circuit, though, but only a short drive or ride on the T (subway) from Harvard Sq to Alewife.

They're not part of my heritage either. But I have a southern friend who makes wonderful grits, and just this past Saturday served us shrimp sauteed with tasso ham over cheese grits--fantastic. They would be great for breakfast too, I imagine.

Xilimmns, those are lovely. I've never tried to form my fritters into a consistent shape. Especially when using whipped egg whites (as opposed to beating the whole egg), my mixture is very soft and doesn't hold a shape well. Maybe that means I need to increase the potato? Thanks for bumping up the topic, I hope you’ll post more of your salt cod recipes from home. New ideas and inspiration would be welcome. I’ve been sticking with the same lazy recipes the past months—salt cod w/rice and the occasional fritter. I’ve been intending to make the chiles rellenos de bacalao again and use the extra filling for empanadas. So much for good intentions… If Panaderia Canadiense happens to read this, I’m hoping to see the Easter Fanesca you mentioned earlier here. It looks so interesting—and intimidating.

It's very much a comprehensive book on French home cooking. My copy is almost 1,200 pages (small pages, tiny print, few pictures). I use it mostly as a reference but my copy was already well-worn when it was given to me by a French friend, who cooked from it often. Think of Joy of Cooking or Fanny Farmer. Begins with a good glossary of culinary terms and is chock full of techniques that you rarely see elsewhere (how to purge fresh snails for cooking, for example). Also well-labeled illustrations of meat cuts, helpful if you cook from French cookbooks, since meat is cut differently than in the US.

A Passion for Piemonte, by Matt Kramer. Excellent recipes, an excellent read, an excellent primer on the wines of area. I recently picked up two used books because they looked interesting, but I haven't cooked from them yet: Venetian Taste, by Adam Thany, Francisco Antonucci, and Florence Fabricant. As you'd expect, an emphasis on seafood and shellfish. Biba's Taste of Italy: recipes from homes, trattorie, and restaurants of Emila-Romagna, by Biba Caggiano. Emila-Romagna is well represented in most Italian cookbooks, I know. What was appealing about this book was the assortment of ingredients and dishes less frequent found in cookbooks, such as rabbit, polpettone (meatloaf), and underappreciated vegetables such as cabbage.

A quick uodate for you, if you're still collecting ideas: To my short list of South End favorites, you might want to add Coppa on Shawmut Street. Italian, with house made salumi, pastas, etc. I omitted it initially because it's generally impossible to get a table at dinner (though they've begun taking reservations). But the chef, Jamie Bissonnette, was just nominated for a James Beard award (Best Chef, Northeast) so you may think it's worth the effort. Open for lunch and serves a late bar menu too. The sushi restaurant that Patrick recommended above, O Ya, also received a Beard Award nomination. Since emannths is sending you beyond your immediate 'hood for seafood, let me add another recomendation, Neptune Oyster on Salem Street in the North End. 15 minutes from you after a short walk from the Haymarket station on the Green Line. Very small, so there's usually a wait, but worth it. You can walk around the corner for cannolli or gelato afterwards.

RRO has it right, I think. A basque specialty. Search for Kokotxas de bacalao and you'll find many examples. Believe it or not, just yesterday I deleted several photos of them from my phone's camera. There was a great display of bacalao products at the Boston International Seafood Show last week and I took a few photos. But they were lousy shots and I thought, why will I ever need these? Hit the garbage pail icon. Just checked my office computer to see if they'd synced there but no such luck.

Thanks Mick. Actually, I think our tastes are very similar. I own very few "great chefs" cookbooks, though I can see how my first post might have read otherwise. I'll look for Editions Sud Ouest; I own a couple from Editions Ouest-France, with La Cuisine du Bord de Mer a particular favorite--good, simple recipes, gorgeous photography. As for bread, I bake bread infrequently, but I'd be interested in any beginner level book you might suggest. Patrick, the children's book sounds charming. I can't use it but I'm glad you mentioned it, I'm sure it will resonate with other members. As for the "Silver Spoon" equivalent, are you thinking of La Cuisine de Madame Saint-Ange? It's a very comprehensive book of home French home cooking. It was recently published in English, but I have an old copy that was given to me years ago. It's a great primary resource. La Librairie Gourmande is definitely a destination and I always walk out with something interesting, though the selection can be somewhat overwhelming. As for E. Dehillerin, it is one of my favorite places ever, it's all too easy to go a little crazy and buy too much. thanks for the ideas.

Does anyone have recommendations for French cookbooks that aren’t otherwise available in English translation? I’ll be in Paris soon and would like to add to my small collection of cookbooks en français. There’s some buzz about the forthcoming release of Les recettes du Frenchie at home by chef Greg Marchand of the Paris restaurant Frenchie. Otherwise, I’m not au courant with what might be worth buying. Merci!

Great start, Rick. Your kitchen is beautiful. And as always, I'm envious of folks who can start gardening this early in the year. Looking forward to learning more about Dallas, too.

Justin, I have zero experience making sausages, so can't answer your question as to whether you can sub duck fat for pork fat, in what proportion, etc. But I can tell you that some duck fat in sausages can be spectacular. A local place that I love, Capone Foods in Somerville, MA makes a Chicken and Pancetta Sausage with duck fat that is fantastic. The distinctive flavor and richness of duck fat really transforms the chicken meat. The pancetta provides both flavor and some pork fat. Really, really good.

Your hotel is surrounded by dozens of restaurants, most of them catering to conventioneers and business folks staying in all the hotels. But Boston’s a relatively small, compact city, so if you have a little time, don’t feel too bound by your immediate Back Bay location. Patrick’s recommendations are good. Here are a few places a short distance from your hotel, if that’s where you need to stay. Nothing fancy, but you’re more likely to see the locals: Parrish Café, Boylston Street. Creative sandwiches, good for lunch. Inexpensive. CODA, Columbus Avenue. Simple but good American cuisine, reasonably priced. Anchovies, Columbus Avenue. Old-school Italian-American. Open until late. Inexpensive. L’Espalier, Boylston Street. Understated French. Okay, this one is fancy but the Monday night 4 course menu with wine @ $65 is a very good deal. http://www.lespalier.com/events/index.shtml A 10 minute walk down Dartmouth Street will put you in the heart of the South End neighborhood. Lots of good dining choices here. My favorites, again, nothing fancy, but if you want neighborhood places: Franklin Café, Shawmut Avenue. Bar/restaurant, American cuisine. Open late. Orinoco, Shawmut Avenue. Casual Latin, Good for lunch or dinner. B&G Oyster and The Butcher Shop, both on Tremont Street. Popular, casual places, both launched by local chef Barbara Lynch. Lots of high-end choices here too, including very expensive sushi at Oishii on Washington Street.

Thanks for starting this topic. I'm a big fan of her other cookbooks too, as well as her web site Viet World Kitchen, but wasn't sure that I wanted to plunge into tofu. This is very tempting!

I'm really curious as to whether there's a similar derivative product added to other ground meats, or why it's just a beef thing.

IndyRob, thanks for providing the logical counter argument to our immediate, negative reaction to this subject. I think a lot of us (me included) don't know much about commercial meat processing. I'm easy to spook, I'll admit. This does sound like just another means of "maximizing" a product. Still. I'm looking forward to that meat grinder attachment!

Hmm, I've heard of "beef tea" before and assumed it was a boullion or broth of some sort--as opposed to an additive. "Slime" certainly sounds like something different.

I'm feeling really ignorant. How long has this stuff been added to ground beef? Is it only beef? My local market does brisk business in ground chicken, turkey, pork, and lamb. IndyRob, you are probably right. So much processing in our food, what's the difference here? Nonetheless, though I don't use ground meat often, my next kitchen purchase is a grinder attachment to my KA.

I don't like Olive Garden, but I like the unnecessary mockery of an 85 yr old woman and cartoonish characterizations of the Heartland even less.