Dave Hatfield

I'm with you. Not my favourites either. The sticking stuff in seems to be primarily an Anglo-Saxon fetish as you rarely see the French or the Italians or the Spanish do it. There is Gouda with cumin, that's a bit of an exception in the Netherlands's. The fetish seems to have really picked up speed in the British Isles over the past ten years or so. It used to be pretty much only Cotswold & chives, but now there seem to be ten's if not hundred's of variations. Maybe we could start something called 'The Campaign for Real Cheese'; sort of echoing the CAMERA thing for ale a few years back.

Hummmm... - anyone who gives a wishy washy answer to a dinner invitation is crossed off the list; for long time if not forever. If the occasion is less formal (cocktails, brunch, whatever) then Ok a non-definitive answer gets by, but only if it is followed up before the event by a definitive answer. Otherwise off the list as before. We're talking common courtesy here so it shouldn't be difficult. - Lateness. If its to be a meal guests should be able to hit a schedule. (The English 7:30 for 8:00 invitation technique is a big help.) At least to within 15 minutes or so. Nibbles help as does planning a dinner where timing can be adjusted by plus or minus half an hour. If anyone is late enough to cause a problem with the other guests or the meal then we just sit down without them. The offenders don't come late a second time. Either they have a valid excuse and are pardoned or are to embarrassed to repeat their error. Previous posts cover the other issues. - Cleaning up. This is a favourite part of the evening for us as we use it to discuss, dissect, analyse and relive the evening as we clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher, wash the 900 wine glasses that seem to multiply and clear the dining table. We share our favourite parts of the evening & trade information since we're normally at different ends of the table & are circulating around different groups as we do our hosting bit. Then off to bed. The rest of the cleaning gets done the next day. We have a great time and enjoy dinner parties up to about 12 on a regular basis.

Couldn't believe that none of us picked up on this website. Cheddar aging. A live webcam showing a full size cheddar cheese ripening. Amazing. Pretty exciting stuff. Sort of akin to watching grass grow, but with (hopefully) a better taste at the finish.

Where was everybody? Nobody crashed the dinner & there I was expecting a crowd. The cheeses were great. They made a nice combination of flavours. Just enough left of them for my lunch today. For the avocado thing you halve an avocado carefully so it stays intact. Place a good dollop of garlic butter into the cavity where the seed was, then wrap the whole thing in a slice of lightly smoked ham. (use a tooth pick or two to secure the ham. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or so; just until the ham starts to crisp up a bit. Serve (best to let it rest & serve warm or at room temperature. This also makes the timing easy.) over a bed of green leaves. I like to use mache (lamb's lettuce), but rocket or watercress will do as well. Dress this with a light creamy vinaigrette. My preference is one made with white balsamic vinegar. Half an avocado per person is about right as an entrée. A whole one with more salad makes a nice easy lunch. Can't wait to hear about the Italian caper. Ciao!

Time for some pictures. Not my best, but think they'll do. Anyway, we have friends coming to a birthday dinner this evening. Its Tom's 37th. Tom is the son of our very good local friends and is the owner/ chef of a very good hotel restaurant in Scotland. A great chef & should soon get his 1st Michelin star. He's a great guy & I love cooking for him. (tonight's menu is: Avocado with garlic butter wrapped in smoked ham & baked. Served on a bed of salad. Crisp fried sprats over endive with a red aioli. Daube of beef & roe deer served over mashed potatoes with roasted root vegetables. Salad. CHEESE. Lemon brulee with strawberries.) So, I wanted some extra good cheeses. I went to the really specialist shop in Villefranche de Rouergue; this guy is very knowledgeable, has a great selection, all kept perfectly. After a good deal of discussion & sampling. (Rupert, my avatar got samples as well) we decided upon these three. One each of cow, goat & sheep. Look at the neat little labels he filled out for me. As you can see we have: Col Del Fach, a goats cheese from the Ariege. Made near Foix. Tomme like, but far tastier. St Felicien, a cow's milk cheese from the Rhone- Alps. Very high MG at 60%. Goustal, a sheep's milk from the Aveyron. This one is pretty rare and is very local. Really looking forward to eating these.

No, don't think it matters. Both delicious. But nobody would ever confuse the two if they've ever eaten both types, both properly & well prepared.

LindsayAnn - A little background for you. Laguiole is one of a trio of cheeses from the Massif Central in France. The other two are Cantal & Salers. They're all cows milk from cows that graze on the higher mountain slopes. All are from the same bacterium, but each is made from the milk from a different breed of cow. All three have been made in this area since at least Roman times. See if you can get a one year old Laguiole; very nice. The name. by the way comes from the little town famous for making knives. (or maybe they named the town after the cheese? Who knows.) Also, try to find a Salers which is one of my favourites.

For an easy main to go with red wine why not do a slow cooked leg of lamb or a rib of beef. Just slap it into the over about 7 hours before serving. Not tome sensitive. An hour either way won't make a big difference. You could serve either with roast root vegetables, again prepare ahead & about an hour in the oven. Not very fashionable, but good & easy. I'd love to have you menu for my birthday!

Some of us are just lucky. Montsalvy (to get the spelling right) is a cow's milk cheese made by Fromageries Occitanes a cooperative. Its very brie like in texture, but is made in thicker rounds of about 6" in diameter. The taste is mild, again not dissimilar to a brie. I suspect that its a 'modern' cheese made to serve today's market for cheeses that keep well & taste good straight from the fridge.Still, it has a nice mellow flavour. Preferance is another relatively modern cheese invented if memory serves in the Auverne about 50-60 years ago. It comes in a large round about 12" in diameter & 1' thick. It is cow's milk, very creamy with blue pockets throughout. It is one of the nicest very mild blues I know of. Definitely a blue, but very easy on the palate. A great cheese to start somebody who doesn't think that like blue cheese off on. It doesn't seem to be very widely distributed & I can only find it at one Fromagerie. I'd take pictures, but neither of these is very exciting to look at.

Yes, it has been pretty quiet. We're just back from two weeks inCape Town. Wonderful place & great weather. Cheese desert, but great food & wonderful wines. So, needing a hit I went to market yesterday & pigged out. Bought several little cabecous, Laguiole, gaperon, Mont Salvey, Blue de Pays, St Augur and Preferance. I'm happy as a pig in............................................ clover now>

Somewhat touristy, but as romantic as it gets would be Jules Verne for the dinner. Start fairly to catch the sunset. ((you didn't say what time of year?) My last visit the food was still pretty good and it fit within your budget. Would have said "Toit de Passay" but I don't think it exists any more. Maybe a Paris local knows if their location has been taken over by somebody else?? Fond memories as I proposed to my wife there with the Eiffel tower in the back ground some 20 years ago.

Ecole St.Jean in Villefranche de Rouergue does lunch most days & dinner on Fridays. The service is also by trainee wait persons which can get interesting.. Price is about 12 Euros for lunch & 16 Euros for dinner. Quality ranges from superb to awful depending upon how far along in the course the chef(s) are. A different student does each course each day. Fun!

Wow! Terrific. Yes, please open up the editing. Via PM if you don't want to go fully public. I'll see if I can add things like phone numbers & other relevant data. Also, how would I go about extending this to other types of restaurant in Paris or to good restaurants in other parts of France? This looks like a lot of fun.

Don't know about braising radishes, but I sauté them and bake them. Sautéed with spring onions lardons and some thyme they make a nice compliment to pan fried chops of any kind. I bake them in with a seasonal vegetable roast. Shallots, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, carrots, garlic or any other root veg combination. Add herbs de province, S&P and lightly coat in duck fat before roasting in a high oven. Greatly under rated IMHO.

Back home now. And thinking about the bottom line of our Cape Town trip. First, would we go back? Yes! In fact we may go for a longer visit next winter (European winter that is) Its hard to beat the weather, the scenery & countryside and the cost of things. Random thoughts: - The wines are really something special. We had Chardonnays that were equal to any I've tasted anywhere, but at low cost prices. We had Bordeaux style blends that would knock your socks off. And we had a Pinotage from Morkel that was amazingly good at any price let alone $10 a bottle. Ordinary good everyday wines could be had for less than $5. I'm told that there are 6,000 registered winemaker & over 14,000 registered labels in SA, I believe it & would love to explore more. - The restaurants were good. We only hit one I'd call exceptional, but I suspect there are great places to be found. We were staying out in Somerset West which is a suburb; I suspect that if we'd spent more time in the city we'd have found more culinary excellence. Still we never had a bad meal or even close to one, the service was universally good & the prices were low low low. Like most places it takes a while to get to know your way around. Next trip! - Next time I'll cook more. We were so much in vacation mode that I didn't try to cook a serious meal. Yet, walking around the markets it was easy to see that very high quality ingredients were in abundance. It would not have been difficult to buy whatever I needed. It was notable that ingredients, herbs & spices for a pretty wide range of cuisines were stocked. The disappointment was cheese. There seemed to be lots of it, but nowhere near the range I'd expect in the UK or the states let alone in France. - We found the people of all colours to be friendly and very nice to us. We never felt threatened at any time and that includes going to an outdoor market mainly patronised by non-whites. (got some real bargains there!) The statistics say that the crime rate is high & I'm sure it is. The locals are all very security minded I assume with good reason, we just never saw that side of things. All in all a great place to visit. Foodie heaven? I think it could be given a bit more time to explore and pick up local knowledge. Our advice? GO, what a way to avoid cold Northern winters.

Once again Michelin provides some interesting information. Here is a link to an nice article on the most popular food blogs in France. A very quick ramble through them suggests that there's some very good stuff to be found.

Just returned from the Saturday Market and I stopped to ask my favorite artisan farmer/butcher for his Saucisse de Toulouse recipe. His home grown pork, salt & pepper. Nothing else. Although he did admit that 'authentic' Saucisse de Toulouse includes white wine. Next I stopped at the village mart with a very good butcher in the back. He gave me his own recipe and I offer it to you with his regards. 1 whole ham, skinned and boned 1 shoulder, skinned and boned (The right amount of fat comes with the pig! no need to add more) grind with a #10 (holes the size of your index finger) salt- 16 gr per kilo pepper- 3 grams per kilo One liter of cold water to facilitate mixing the salt and pepper with the meat. Mix and stuff in natural casings. That's it. And is exactly how most people in this area of SW France (Near Agen) make their fresh sausages. Now...dried sausages, saucisses secs or saucissons are another story. Or thread! I'll post this on my blog, too. www.katehill.blogspot.com ← Kate - Thanks for the research. Your guys agree with what we did on my pig adventure. Although we kept the hams to cure and used the whole shoulder roast to make a copa we didn't add fat & used the natural fat in the meat. We used the same recipe for both fresh sausage & dried sausage. Saucisson, copa & choritzo were a different ball game as you point out.

If he's limited in time which is likely since this is a business trip I suggest he try the main Galleries Layfette. The food halls there have pretty much anything you would want. Maybe not always the best or best price, but tretty efficient. Cans of confit are a good thing.

At last! Found a really good place where we had luch today. The name is: Restaurant Joubert, 3 High Street, Hermanus. and it was very nice indeed. The main dining area is simply, but tastefully done. The tables are well spaced and it just looks a good place to eat. We received a warm welcome & were promptly seated despite having no reservations. We choose sit on the outdoor terrace as the day was warm. The sight of various herbs growing around the terrace was encouraging. The menu was encouraging as well. I decided to have the ostrich carpaccio as a starter. Turned out to be a good choice; the ostrich was very lighly smoked, flavourful and tender. It came with a small mixed salad with fresh herbs and a light vinegarette. The dish worked; it looked good & tasted good. Linda had a Tunesian mutton stew for her main. Really really good. The taste of mutton came through well and was nicely balanced by the herb mixture. Delicious; every bit got mopped up. I had a Vension pie. This was a mixture of eland & pork with a spice blend & served with rice & homemade chutney. In consistency the pie was like pulled pork, tender & tastyand was served between puff pastry slices. With this came a selection of the accompanyments. Fresh grated coconut, finely chopped vegatables and a very spicy sauce I couldn't identify. All good & all complemented the 'pie'. This is exactly the type of restaurant we were hoping to find, good, innovative and definitely different than we'd find elsewhere. Chef Joubert has a great touch. Wine was a glass of a merlot. Cab blend from nearby. Good, not terrific. As I type this I am sipping a serious wine called "the Work of Time" from the Springfield Estate in the Robertson AOC (well, I don't think they call them AOC's here, but its the equivilent). This is a 2002 and it is seriously good. 42% merlot, 31% cab sav & 27% cab franc. Native yeasts, 5 weeks on the skins followed by 18 months in the barrel followed by a further 18 months in the bottle. (I love it when they give all this information on the label. Even I can sound like I know what I'm talking about!) The result is NOT a Brodeaux knock off as one might guess given the grapes & the method. The proportions are different for one thing. What the result is; is a wonderful wine that can hold its own against the best Europe & the New World can offer. If it weren't for weight allowances I'd stock up on this.

Thanks. All the Toulouse type of sausage we made had no booze at all. The Julia salt seems about right, but the stuff we made was very lean. It was made with no added fats. In fact most of what we buy locally is so lean that I add a bit of duck fat to the pan to help the browning process.

Thanks for the info. We'll br trying some of the better city restaurants & expect better results. I choose the Pinotage specificly because it is a local grape which is finally getting some serious attention. Again, we'll see.

getting a bit disappointed with the restaurants. Today we had lunch at what was proported to be the best restaurant in Francheshoek (dicey spelling); a place called the French Connection. Five star chef & all that. It wasn'r bad, but it wasn't even as good as a couple of the others that I've mentioned. Thought I was onto a good thing with a starter of Smoked Trout Rillet, but it was disappointing. Lots of it, but it needed a bit of citrus & to be honest wasn't as good as what I make myself. I broke down & had a T-bone steak whick was Ok. Linda had the fish of the day which was also OK. Both dishes came with rosti potatoes which were awful. We're going to try downtown Cape Town & also some Indian which is reputed to be good. So far the verdict is that you can eat well, but not with much innovation or imagination from the chefs. No flair. Can't beat the prices though.

Dave, does the Toulouse sausage in your area contain coriander seeds and juniper berries? ← Not all of it for sure. Most of the varieties are pretty simple in their seasoning as far as my taste buds can tell. I'm not home now so can't check in my cook books, but as I recall there was a simple recipe in Julia's original "Mastering the Art...." . Think it was part of her cassoulete recipe. I made those a couple of times & they tasted pretty much like what I buy from the local butchers. When we get home I'll ask a couple of local butchers what they put into their sausage. If I'm lucky they'll tell me.

I don't have that recipe, but honestly, the cassoulet I made, while maybe not authentic, was heaven on a plate and really not at all difficult. So if anyone is intimidated by cassoulet, I think what I made is a reasonable facsimile and very delicious. ← Agree with jeniac42. Not difficult, just lots of simple steps. In all due modesty you might like to try my recipe in Recipe Gullet Or for a fully illustrated version go to my blog below. Take you time & do it in stages.

Wow! Paula's recipe looks terrific, but is a lot more sophistocated than I see around our way. When I did my great pig adventure a couple of weeks ago we made about 50 kg of sausage. The Toulouse type had salt, pepper, coriander seeds, juniper berries & a bit of bay. Some of it we kept fresh (or froze) & the rest is still drying. Needs to dry for 2-3 weeks I'm told by the experts.