magnolia

Yes, that was me! Have just been nibbling on that fantastic mostarda di albicocca and cheese you introduced us to !! More later...

For the record, the name of the restaurant I recommended - above - is L'entredgeu -I reversed some of the letters. It's closed Sunday & Monday. Addres: 83, rue Laugier, 17th - phone: 01 40 54 97 24. A bit out of the way but bijou and good, cheap eats.

Thanks ! Rain or shine, it will be fun. And fattening.

Fascinating indeed as others have pointed out -- but very bad news for those of us who have been relying on this as a justification for massive consumption of red wine.

Maybe no consolation, but my favourite pan in the world is an "ambidextrous" milk pan (a pouring lip on both sides). It's a 2.5 litre "milk/sauce" pan according to the website, though mine looks taller and deeper than the one in the photo. Anyway it is large enough to make soup or polenta for two; boil water for pasta for one; make a load of sauce, etc. It is sturdy, heats evenly, and best of all, it's lined with some kind of magical non-stick, scratch-resistant material such that anything you make in it - sugar syrup, polenta - anything sticky-goopy-or-hard-to-clean - will dry to a "skin" and *peel right off* when dry. All you have to do is give it a quick wipe with soapy water and it's ready to go again. I bought it at some kind of trade show at Olympia about four years ago, and I remember thinking 'wow, that's expensive' (though I don't remember the cost, it's now £61) and the guy said 'lifetime guarantee, money back if you don't love it' and I do. http://www.runcookware.co.uk/

Only in Paris could you go for a chic meal with a "blonde" dog Did they give her a doggie biscuit en gelée? Wish I were there now...alas...I now have a craving for hot chocolate, which I will have to make myself. It's neither ethereal nor light but it is good, from Cacao Sampaka, and I guess that's something ! Does Delicabar replace an existing restaurant, or is it brand new? Last time I was at Bon Marché, I ate just upstairs from the food hall, in a sort of dark, café-like atmosphere but not nearly as appetising as you describe...

Will be in Florence this weekend, Friday morning through Monday evening - anyone want to go for a gelato, PM me.

In fact, diet has everything to do with it. The paradox is that *despite* a diet that seems high in fat, people in Mediterranean countries (not just France, but also Italy, Spain, etc.) have lower mortality (and morbidity I guess) rates than people with the same general demographic 'first world behavioural' profile in other countries, like the US. Regular (daily) consumption of moderate quantities of alcohol - of which wine is treated as food, and thus part of the diet - is commonly accepted as a major explanation for this paradox. What researchers are now investigating is what it is about wine that 'overrides' the potential downsides of this diet. In fact the Med diet itself isn't as high in 'bad' fat, and certainly has far less refined sugar than the diet the non-Med first world countries. People in Med countries also tend to eat less (though this is changing). To be honest, I haven't looked into whether the morb/mort rates in France etc. are artificial because heart disease isn't diagnosed as the primary cause of death - it's an interesting variable. People in Med countries supposedly also have lower rates of lung cancer (and they smoke) and other cancers. Are these under-reported as well?

In France, difficult to place the "U", inasmuch as until fairly recently an alcoholic was officially defined as someone who averaged more than three litres of wine a day. I guess in France they'd use a "J"

Bear in mind that La Regalade is only open during the week. Go late and eat with the Parisians. In the 17th, for something with gentle prices, I really liked L'Entregdeu and want to return - I believe it has been discussed before on this board. Chef is ex-Chez Michel (10th, just near Gare du Nord, a great place to go as your first meal off the train) At L'Entregdeu, check out the kitchen, it must be the world's smallest for a restaurant of this calibre and will forever stop you from ever whingeing about the limitations of your home kitchen. Also the market in the 17th (Avenue Niel) is my favourite but you might be working.

You have probably discovered that unless you have a subscription, the Times of London only lets you search for a week's worth of articles. If it's the Times coverage from 1991, specifically, that you're after - and nobody you know has a password (though I also doubt their online archives go that far back but I could be wrong of course) you might try going directly to their customer service department, I'm sure they have paper archives too - or to INSERM (I think this is Institut National de Santé et Recherche Médicale) www.inserm.fr which is where Serge Renaud did his research. As others have noted, though, Renaud's research has been oft-cited and thinking on this subject has indeed moved on - right now the main 'ingredients' thought to be beneficial in wine (and other alcohol) are anti-oxidants, and logically, the main benefits (both preventative and curative) are to the vascular "tree" - cardio and cerebral - such that alcohol seems to alleviate the effects of oxidation in the arteries leading to the brain and heart, for example, which leads to heart disease and arteriosclerosis (stroke, dementia). Also some evidence that alcohol reduces age-onset macular degeneration. A lot - though not all - of this research comesfrom the the Framingham study. FYI - Of course we're talking moderate consumption here, though - the studies illustrate alcohol's effects on a "U" curve - e.g. that people who drank either nothing at all or way too much suffer ill effects, and people at the nadir of the "U" - moderate consumers - had the most benefit. In fact the French paradox itself was noted well over a hundred years ago, and alcohol's potential health benefits have considered for thousands of years.

Oh, my - that has my four of my favourite words in the English language - "macaroni cheese smoked haddock" never mind truffle. I would never have thought of putting them together...and am not a fan of cheese & fish together but this sounds too good to resist. Even at 9h45 in the morning. By the way, Andy, I didn't know you were married to AA Gill. That explains a lot...

I second Moby's comment, you must be confident in your stomach of iron. When I started reading about your adventures in seafood, I thought 'Uh oh, this is not going to end well. In fact it's probably going to end in a hospital. Perhaps I should stop reading now...'

nutmeg black pepper garlic olive oil dried pasta onion confit coffee UHT milk

Oh well, ¿Qué sé yo? Anne Willan calls is Basque Rabbit with Chocolate and Tomatoes in "Cooking with Wine". Wherever it's from, it sounds delicious and doesn't look too difficult. However...here's the caveat. I'm not a huge rabbit fan, so I'm making it with pork loin. I have 1 kg of pork loin to substitute for the rabbit, which is obviously far different in format from rabbit cut into pieces; with this in mind, a) how do I make sure not to dry it out while I'm browning it- as it will need a lot more time to brown than the rabbit pieces would; and b) how much longer do I need to slow-cook this solid piece it in the oven, to make sure it's cooked through (don't want to serve something that's raw on the inside!) but not dried out... Any/all suggestions would be most welcome!

OK, here 'tis - I am not sure what the rules are on copyrighted recipes so I've abridged / changed the wording herewith but Bux let me know if I'm violating something and/or need to change anything further. I can't remember the exact title of the book this is from (I copied the article) but will add it tomorrow... Estofat de Conill (Basque Rabbit with Tomato & Chocolate) Serves 4 3 tbsps flour salt & pepper 1 2 lb (1 kg) rabbit cut in pieces 2 tbsps vegetable oil 2 sliced onions 1 tbsp paprika tiny pinch of cayenne 3 chopped garlic cloves 2 cups (500 ml) robust red wine 2 cups (500 ml) veal or chicken stock, plus extra if needed 2 lbs (1kg) peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes 1/2 oz (15g) chopped unsweetened chocolate 13 bay leaves 1 stick of cinnamon Heat oven to 350F/175C. Put flour, salt & pepper in a plastic bag, add the rabbit pieces and toss to coat thoroughly. Heat the oil in a shallow pan. Shake off the rabbit pieces and brown them on all sides -7-10 minutes. When browned, remve rabbit; addd onions & brown them - 7-10 minutes. Lower the heat; stir in paprika and cayenne, and cook gently, stirring, until fragrant - 1-2 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 more minute. Pour in red wine and simmer for about 2 minutes; add stock, tomatoes, chocolate, bay leaves & cinnamon, and bring to a boil. Put rabbit pieces back in, push them down until they are immersed in the sauce. Cover the pan; return to a boil and transfer to the oven. Bake, stirring occasionally until the rabbit is very tender when pierced with a two pronged fork - 45minutes to an hour. Remove the rabbit and boil the sauce on top of the stove to reduce it until it is dark and rich - about 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves & cinnamon stick, taste and djust seasoning. The rabbit can be refrigerated up to three days or frozen for several weeks. -------------------- So...I was thinking of making this with pork loin as I don't like rabbit; I can't decide whether to cut it up, leave it whole, bone in, bone out, open to suggestions.

I've got a Basque recipe for rabbit stewed in chocolate and tomatoes which I can post tomorrow, in fact I'm about to try it Friday- though I'm not a fan of rabbit, which I will be replacing with pork loin (either on or off the bone, I haven't yet decided). And I've recently seen lamb and venison recipes with chocolate (and coffee), I'll check where these hail from.

Angela Hartnett (chef at Menu) just mentioned tonka beans on Women's Hour (she seems to be a regular these days) and described them as a cross between coffee beans and cocoa beans, though I understand they are used as a vanilla substitute. Expect to see these on a lot of menus, they're bound to be the Next Big Thing.

This might be Au Pied de Cochon on rue Coquillière, near Les Halles.

One of the 'Os a moelles' was open on Sunday last time I went but that was over a year ago, so you should check. I suspect it's La Cave that's open. Very informal, share-a-table and choose your wine from the front of the shop, very meat oriented place. La Cave de L'Os à Moëlle - 181 rue de Lourmel 15ieme 01.45.57.28.28 L'Os à Moëlle 3 rue Vasco-de-Gama 15ieme 01.45.57.27.27 Also I thought Ma Bourgogne, which is on the Place de Vosges right near where you're staying was going to be touristy beyond belief. But French friends insisted and we went, and it was very good. Homey food, good value, nice service. Not sure what its closing times but I suspect because it's in a very popular area, it may be open. 19 place des Vosges, 4ieme 01 42 78 44

Freckles, I'm afraid I let you down - I had my folder out and kept forgetting to bring it to work (where I had my computer last week) And forgot again today. I'll post anyway when I remember to bring it ! Where did you end up going?

Thanks so much for all of this, it's really helpful.

I also applaud the slow food movement but reading their literature, I am somewhat concerned about their quasi-political tendencies - sometimes I think of them as the "right wing of food". What macro-effect do you think movements like this have on the ability of modern chefs/home cooks/food "producers" to be creative, innovative, etc.? (There I go, asking a political question about food, when that's exactly what I expessed concern about...)

I'm writing about Austrian wine, and would love to hear about UK or US restaurants, specialist importers, etc. as well as any personal experiences/thoughts. And no, the word is *not* missing an 'al' - I really do mean that little country in Europe )

I can confirm that while we considered it, green salad was just about the only thing on the menu that we did NOT order.