C_Ruark

Mixed grill of lamb chops and shrimp.. ahem Prawns ( PCL) with a mango-asian chilli salsa and a BIG can of Foster's. Works for me Mate, ~ C

Toliver, Thanks for the book title. It's on my shopping list. Thanks! ~ C

Just saw the news. Congrats Chris ~ C

Drive to Rockville. No, seriously. ← JPW, I found out rather quickly that you're right! Thnx, C

Funny you should ask. From today's paper: Auction Story The auction is also going to be webcast. You can bid from your desk or easy chair in DC. Auction Site I have no prediction for the next step in Nat Comisar's career. A former managing partner of the Maisonette, Michael E. Comisar, is the general manager of a local private business club, the Metropolitan Club. ← Michael, Many, many thanks for the links and information. Chris

Does anyone know the details of the Maisonette's property auction. Is it public? If so, I am going to send my mother to attend (I live in DC; she loved the place). Mr. Comisar has always been generous to us when we dine. I hope he has another opportunity to serve food to the Cincy community. Though the move to Kenwood to an outsider seems like it would have been a strange one anyway. Thanks! Chris

Hi All, Any thoughts on the food scene in Gaithersburg? My company has decided to move my team there full time starting Mon and I haven't had a chance to explore the neighborhood - though I did hit a fairly decent seafood resto (name slipped from memory) when I got the office tour. I was going to start a new thread to ask the question, but since Rockville's a stone's throw away I thought I'd just append my query here. Thanks! Chris

Hey John, thanks for giving the link. NIce job with the play by play and man does that look good!!!! I'll have a go with scallops, I think. Regards from DC, Chris

Hi Bill, What a cool idea for a food article, can't wait to read your copy. Turkey-day in my family has passed a crossroads. We've experienced a "changing of the guard" in the kitchen, where my brother and I have taken over the cooking duties from Gramma and Mom. And with that change, new foods are brought to the table. Gramma has, as I am sure many can relate, a Julia Child-like mythos. I learned all of the fundamentals of good cookery and achieving excellence as her side-kick ever since I could see over the counter (standing on a stool <grin>). I shadowed her for, geez, nearly two decades and thought she taught me everything! Alas not. Like Alton Brown and his grandmother demonstrated on a Good Eats episode covering biscuits; Gramma has that special zing that makes any dish in her repertoire automatically taste so much better than anything I could do (and I went to culinary school!!!! <grin>). Two years ago, armed with Gramma's oversight and all the know-how we gained over years of being on her line, my brother and I attempted to duplicate her traditional menu: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet-potato cassarole (with marshmellows and walnuts), home-grown green beans, and her awesome homemade cranberry jelly terrine, even her champion peach and apple crisps. The results, while "good", just didn't have Gramma's magic. Sort of a downer really. Everyone ate well, but the dinner table didn't have the usual banter. After cleaning up, Gramma congratulated us on the enjoyable meal, but noticed that we were both a bit dejected. Upon hearing us confess that we felt as if we didn't deliver the goods on the family's most important meal of the year, she smiled and made us repeat the age-old mantra she's always drilled into us ; "Go with what you know". So we switched things up, and set out to create a new brand of magic. Here's the menu from last year: Appetizers - Parisien French Onion soup; Chardonnay-based stock. - Pickle tray; consists of a variety of pickled melons, cucumbers, and squash. - Cucumber sandwiches Entrees - Roasted turkey (with savory butter underneath the skin) and sage/raisin sourdough stuffing. - Jerk ham roast; my brother's creation is awesome. Sides - Sweet-potato and cheddar gratin. - Smashed potatoes with dijon mustard and thyme. - Bread basket; a mix of my brother's specialties. - Wild mushroom and pea casserole. - Green beans almondine. Desserts - Munich apple-struedel - Pecan-pie - Mango-apple tarte with clotted-cream; I adapted a mango chutney for this one. - Traditional bread-pudding. For my family, this is quite a departure from "the usual". Turkey-day has gone global. The results? Fantastic!!! After years of trying, I actually turned Gramma onto baked onions... and my niece, the most finicky eater I know, eats well. This year, we're going with a mediterranean roasted turkey recipe (it's got lemon, mint, sage and onion) and introducing some of the spins on potato and vegetable dishes I've developed over the last year. All in all, Gramma is right, when you go with what you know, all things turn out well. - C

Good advice by all so far!!! Anybody in the DC area know where I can finda S. American spice store who stocks the aji chiles? I am over in Herndon, but don't mind making a trip inside the beltway to do some shopping. I've been playing around with different ways to plate the dish and came up with another research question: Any thoughts on the shape of the fish cut I should use? I've seen minces, dices, and "short julienne/batonettes". What works? What definitely doesn't work? - C

A firm fish like cod or snapper also works beautifully in ceviche. Since I live on the westcoast, I like to use wild salmon in combination with scallops. For this duo, I marinate in a combination of lime and orange juices for a bit of sweetness and finely chopped white onion. The avacado is added right before serving along with some chopped tomato, cilantro, serrano chilies and a drizzle of EVOO. Once the ceviche is "cooked" you drain off the lime/orange juice. I marinate the fish about 4 hours. You can check before hand. Just break a piece of fish open and look at the how far the marinade has penetrated the meat. 1. I would suggest that you have a reputable source for seafood. 2. Don't use farmed salmon. Please. 3. Removing the bones from the fish is always a courteous thing to do. That's my recipe in a nutshell. You might want to serve yours in a coconut shell. ← Good advice Shelora. Thnx!!! CR

A recent trip to Cafe Atlantico here in DC reminded me of the simple goodness of a well executed ceviche plate. Taking a bit of inspiration from Chef Andres' "Atun en Ceviche al Coco con Aguacate" - Tuna and Coconut Ceviche with Avocado - I am going to play with a bit of market-fresh fish and some limes this week... so I am looking for a bit of mentoring. What fish should I experiment with? I admit it, I play it safe with seafood. Most of the nigiri and sashimi I eat comes in the form of tuna, salmon, and scallops. Having said that... I keep an open mind. Marinade a long while or not?... I like lime's flavor a lot, but I'm concerned with over-marinading and being left with too much lime flavor. Any related advice to add? Aside from the usual sanitation issues, are there other concerns to watch out for? Thanks everyone, Chris

One of my compatriots revisited the Pizza recipe last week, and just sent me a photo, so here's what our 1570 Pizza looks like (bottom right) The lidded pie is a Tarte of Flessche, with pork, chicken, currants, etc. ← Eden, As always, I am salivating. That tart looks awesome! What's on a 1570's pizza btw? Chris

I agree on the notion that Michael should ultimately get the restaurant. The details on who pays for what are beyond my concern. If comes down to someone on GR's or Fox's side tell Michael "We're not fronting you all of the startup money, but we will make sure you do get your place launched", I think that's still acceptable. Even ultimately earning CdeC at oneof the Rst's Gordon Ramsay would be a satisfying prize. All the split pea soup I ever ate at home was vegetarian. Follow the recipe on the package of Manechewitz Split Peas. I do prefer matzo balls in real chicken soup, but I have seen them in vegetarian versions, even once in a butternut sqash puree soup. ← I'll head over to my grocer's Kosher section and see if I can find the split-peas. Matzah in squash soup? Interesting. I've got left-overs of each. Will try that one out. Thanks, Rachel! - C

Daniel, I'm always on the prowl for new pizza versions - the Tandoori pizzas that made their way around the UK in the 90's were brilliant. Can you post a general recipe/method for assembly (perhaps just an image)? Does the tchina + hummus replace tomato sauce? C

Following the Andrew tangent briefly... Looked over his menu as well and LMAO (Tuna Tartare on Ruffled Potato Chips ) especially when I saw... I need to digress....Vegetarians please don't torch me over what I am about to write. Yes, I'm a proud card-carrying member of the People Eating Tasty Animals association, but I genuinely respect your eating habits. My cycling team recently dined at a local vegen restaurant where I had a big plate of General Tso's tofu... never once did I think about the dish not having any chicken in it. GOOD EATS!!! ... ... I cannot fathom "no-meat" Matzah Ball and Split Pea soups!!! Laurel didn't go anywhere without Hardy. Can't have a Hall without an Oats. There's no Starsky without a Hutch. Matzah + Chicken; Split-peas + Hamhocks! Back to talking Hell's Kitchen: Spin-aside, Michael definitely had the skills to win... glad to see my pilot-episode pick made it through. CSR PS - Non-meat eaters, if you've got alternative matzah ball and split-pea soup recipes, send them my way. I'll demo 'em with an open mind.

Daniel, I downloaded your document. Many thanks for giving us access to wonderful resource... I'm going to work with several recipes at dinner this week. I especially like this one from Chaim Cohen. I happened upon the above-quoted recipe and noticed a confusing portion of the method which I highlighted in bold. Can you please explain what is to happen with the burghul and tomato sauce? Many thanks, Chris

Daniel, Thanks for posting the hyperlink, I'll definitely enjoy having a closer look/listen... briefly scanning through your own lecture as I write. Fascinating. To continue this discussion on Mediterranean cuisine: How would you evaluate the lineage of "modern" (post-1948) Israeli cuisine? Is it more than "fusion cuisine"? Do any foods qualify, to use a term from your lecture, as "national cuisine"? If this is discussed in-depth in any of the lectures, please feel free to indicate as such...no need to worry if certain lectures are in Hebrew... (pardon any bad transliterations; no Hebrew fonts loaded) Ani meh-veen EE-vreet. Thanks! Chris

Guys, Torch me directly all you want. It is certainly warranted in this case. I contacted Mr. Rogov directly to apologize and convey that the recipe copy I had posted was his - although at my time of posting I did not know it. I had requested from the recipe from a family member who's maintained a handwritten version of the recipe for some time. I expressed an interest to pass it on and recieved the posted recipe in an e-mail. The recipe did not include a citation. Therefore I thought I had a wholely new work. I've cross-checked and Mr. Rogov is most certainly the originating source. Give him credit where it's due. Apologies to all, it is very difficult to cross-check recipes in the family cookbook. - CSR

Ok, so it's not the "clarify" in the butter/ghee sense, or the "cut with glycerin" method. Cool. No extra effort needed with pure honey. Since I buy honey "straight off the farm" direct from a producer then, as long as none of the comb is present I should be good to go. Can you measure the reduction stages using the ball method like simple syrup? Or is there an alternative? C

I think that would be fun. We could take turns picking a recipe of the month for people to play with? ← Well I guess pick a period then or make a list of potential dishes. I am happy to do anything from Medieval to Victorian. Another idea would be to pick a dish that has some type of continous history through these periods. Blancmange is an idea, as are various pies. ← Eden, Great Idea... let's try it out and see what happens. Do we need to set guidelines? I think simply including a photo and the complete recipe should work. I cribbed the gingerbread recipe you wrote of upthread. Can you explain the "clarrified honey" bit? I would think this means 'honey with all the scum removed'; wondering if the market bought "pure honey" will suffice. (Adam your recipe mentions the same ingredient, your thoughts?) Adam, By all means... cook and give us more samples to look at. I'm guessing you should do something pre-Victorian. Everyone else, Thanks for reading this thread and contributing. Chris

NICE FIND!

Subway's Jared would be pi...ahem... jealous . Jason, Just out of curiosity/astonishment... how much meat is that? Chris

Umm... doing that already . Just kidding. I was just made aware that we should use RecipeGullet to store this information when possible. Eden, thanks for that tidbit of insight. Again, my novice understanding of culinary history just got a bit more informed. I appreciate that. Agree with you as well, Adam's lemon tart is an eye-pleaser. Saw that one on his "High-Risk Cooking" thread. Very Nice. I've got a few friends who would enjoy this dessert. I don't have a "gameplan" of sorts for what to do with contributions, but I do have an idea. When the right recipe comes along, I'll take it into my test kitchen and produce an essay and post it here or in another more appropriate thread. I hope that others might consider doing the same. Just an idea. Chris

Hi Mike, Appreciate the references you've passed, I'll have a look... at first glance, I see some reading material. Thanks! I hope this thread isn't too whimsical/redundant, but one of the things I've noticed about googling recipes is often I don't seem to get results which include measures. And Larousse has a great deal of biographical information about the past masters but very few recipes. My latest example of coming up short: Taillevent... it may be a function of how his recipes were recorded, but very rarely do I see measures and methods that have any sort of definition. Those that I do see are often recipes from Restaurant Taillevent/Paris (and Tokyo). I thought that perhaps I could use this thread as a "wikipedia" of sorts to collect actual recipes. Many thanks for your help, Chris