greenwich st

Fifi, I enjoyed reading about your approach -- I loved the flavor of the porcini ribs but it all did seem a bit too much to deal with on a regular basis. Tonight I did the Butter-Glazed Radishes. I've been reading about radishes as a good low-carb vegetable and since I'm doing a (very casual) reduced carb thing, I thought I would try it, even though cooked radishes sounded odd to me. A very simple recipe and it was actually quite good and pretty -- the red and white of the radishes meld into this very appealing pink glaze. The radishes have a very sweet, homey, earthy taste that tastes a bit (according to my five-year-old) like broccoli. She's right, actually -- too bad she wouldn't eat them.

I remember lots of these -- such a fun thread -- Great Shanghai, Harbin Inn (food pretty bad at both of these, I realize in retrospect) Lenge (Renge?) which was definitely there in '76 when I used to eat there, La Caridad same vintage at least, glam Ruskay's, The Green Tree, Tip Top Inn where I had a hideous Thanksgiving meal w/ my mom sometime in the early eighties I think, and the Symposium, where I sampled Greek food for the first time as a 9 or 10-year old in '68 or '69. Also, the Abbey Pub was there at least as far back as the sixties, because we lived right across the street (in the building next door to the immortal Stanley's Cafeteria, which exploded in a gas leak in l971.) And the Olympia Diner! The ur-Diner! Unforgetable.

That roasted egg recipe sounds very intriguing! In Brooklyn there is a Sicilian restaurant called Ferdinando's that makes a snack called panelle which is a kind of chick pea fritter served in a sandwich. The Tuscan chick pea soup reminds me of a homey chick pea and pasta soup from an old book called Italian Family Cooking by Edward Giobbi. 1 1/2 cups dried chick peas soaked overnight or 1 20 oz can 3 strips bacon 1 large chopped onion 2 cloves garlic 1 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes fresh or canned 1/2 tablespoon dried sweet basil 4 cups water 1 bay leaf 1 cup diced carrot s & p 1 cup small pasta Parmesan Wilt onion in rendered bacon. Add remaining ingredients except pasta and cheese and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add pasta and simmer till al dente. Remove garlic cloves. Serve hot with grated parmesan.

I just bought a new crepe pan because, after not making them for years, I got inspired by Richard Olney's recipe for saffron crepes -- basically regular non-sugared crepes with a little saffron added -- buttered, folded, and gratineed with "stiff" cream or bechamel and grated parmesan for 10 minutes in a 500 degree oven. I'll report back soon.

Bleu, let me repeat what others have been saying -- your cooking looks unbelievably seductive and the photos are ravishing! I particularly enjoyed the "long" post as my husband is French and I too experienced the kind of "attentionee" food deprivation you describe in otherwise affectionate company when I used to live in Paris. I have recently lost 14 lbs over 7 months of somewhat casual reduced carb eating, which doesn't sound like much, but it's the first time I've ever lost weight and I'm about 2/3 of the way to my goal. One element of my new eating plan which I believe has been very effective has been drinking copious amounts of green tea, which is supposed to lower and stablize blood sugar, whereas coffee elevates it. Your diet seems very effective, as well as pleasurable, and I'm not sure whether Montignac excludes all caffeine or just coffee, but there has been a lot of publicity in the diet world lately about green tea, and you might want to consider it as a coffee substitute if it is allowed.

Cupcake. My husband (French) called our newborn "Crevette" and I still call her shrimpy sometimes.

No! Great idea -- now how do I do that?

I make it with sour cherries from my garden -- the only thing I've figured out do with them, since I don't make preserves -- and I like the results better than with sweet ones. I use a sugared "appareil" to compensate, but maybe I'll try Paula's sugaring method next time.

I just did the braised endive recipe -- I've made it in other, more elaborate ways (with bacon, breadcrumbs, cheese, bechamel) but this was definitely the best ever -- the broth, proscuitto, cream combo is elegant and voluptuous -- and very easy to throw together. My FIL was visiting from Paris and his wife is a great cook and he seemed impressed! I found it needed a bit less oven time than she suggests, but oven temp seemed perfect.

My absolute favorite is Simple French Food by Richard Olney. When I lived in Paris about twenty years ago I used to cook from it all the time, and recently I began using it heavily again. The recipes aren't always "simple" -- he's fairly uncompromising, and I tend to skip the dishes that require larding and such -- but I just really like his taste in food and his writing style is beautiful.

Fifi, where did you get your Bamix, and which model? I see one available for $99.00 on Amazon with no photo or description, and then another, the Gastro 200 for $189.00 or something like that. The Gastro is longer, which I don't need, but I don't want to get the cheaper one if it's too wimpy. I have a Cuisinart now, and I hate it -- no power.

I just made the tuna pot roast with tomato, capers and basil. The sauce was good (though a bit scanty, I felt) and I really like the anchovy/garlic/basil paste idea -- next time I'd make even more than she suggests because it flavors the meaty tuna really well, but I have messed up the cooking time somehow because the tuna came out really dry. Which is a bummer because a) it costs a fortune and b) dry tuna is basically inedible. First of all, it didn't form a nice crust when I sauteed it, which I did over high-ish heat probably did for too long, about 3 - 4 minutes each side to try to get that browning thing happening instead of the 2 minutes she recommends. Then, I braised it, basting at a faint simmer for the time she gave -- 20 minutes or so, but I think it would have been done in more like ten. I think it might be worth trying again, but this time I'd respect the 2 minutes searing time and be really vigilant about checking for doneness well before the recommended time.

Ugh, I hate that place! Horrible cupcakes and the service is about the snottiest I've ever encountered! I live a few blocks away, and it really bugs me to see the lines wrapping around the block every evening. (Cupcake cafe does make better c.c.'s, served with a lot less attitude, and their birthday cake-decorating is divine!)

I made the red wine/porcini ribs a few days ago. I've never made short ribs before, so I can't compare this one to other recipes but I will say that it was a hit at our table. The sauce had a lot of complexity, and the house smelled incredible. It was easy to get right, though a pretty time-consuming project, and I wouldn't do it often (but I didn't find using the parchement annoying. Not sure how important it was to the final result though.) I also tried the broccoli rabe with arugula, which was probably the best version I've tried, although I can't say the addition of the arugula was that noticeable for me -- it wasn''t particularly peppery after cooking and sort of blended in with the overriding bitter-broccoli and garlic flavors.

Lucky you -- I love the Canal and I beleive, these days, it's very "branche". I've never shopped in the 10th, but one aspect of French marketing I adored when I lived there was shopping for poultry. There's something pretty sexy about choosing a bird by foot-color -- -- and then they have guinea-hen, my favorite, as well as several varieties of duck, etc. everywhere. Not sure if anyone mentioned the Bon Marche food market in the 7th -- not your beat this time, but very good for gifting. Also -- and I know this sounds kind of sick, because France is a place you definitely want to buy fresh vegetables -- I'm pretty fascinated by the Picard frozen food stores. The prepared food is much better than what you get here but not worth bothering with, but what's impressive is all the cooking-convenience food: amazing choice of prepped vegetables, herbs, stocks and prepared pastries. I wish they'd bring it over here.

I wouldn't say that the quality of Mary's is all that incredible but they make a flavor I was dangerously addicted to all last summer: chocolate halvah. Really evil stuff!

We've used ikea in two kitchens -- we had the contractor put them together, but they are easy if you are handy, generally. Ordering can be a bit annoying -- they're often out of stuff -- but if you're patient, it's fine. We love our cabinets and the many available accessories. Our first set has lasted six 1/2 years so far with no problem, warping, etc. despite enduring leaks, building shifts, and a fair amount of banging. We weren't thrilled with the available door choices for our renovations so in the first case we had custom doors fabricated and in the second we chose ikea doors in a style we liked and had them painted white. The second choice was best -- their doors are much better quality than the ones we had made. Of course, you can order non-ikea handles to customize. Mainly for resale considerations, we spend lots of money on stainless appliances, but the cabinets look just as high-end to my eyes, and what a bargain!

I am about to replace my CA workbowl for the third time -- it's quite annoying and I'm wondering if people have found that KA's or possibly Robot Coupe's workbowls are more durable. For the past year the damn machine has occupied valuable counter space while we grate and slice by hand. Maybe our problem is that grating and slicing hard vegetables and cheeses will take its toll on any plastic workbowl and we need to just do it by hand?

We do the tuna thing too -- tomato, garlic, tuna, capers, parsley, butter to finish. It's also good with anchovy and olive.

I've eaten at La Fontaine de Mars a couple of times w/ inlaws -- it's one of their favorites and sort of obligatory -- but we found it sort of blah, especially compared to L'Ami Jean, which is nearby, and which pretty much knocked our socks off -- not the decor or service, which are better at La Fontaine but foodwise.

Agreed, free-range is better, both for the bird and for us...now which brand? Eberly? Murray's?

Veal scallopini marsala!

I have been making the Diabolo chocolate cake (really a nearly-flourless chocolate-almond torte) from Simca's Cuisine for the last 23 years and I almost always get asked for the recipe. I make it with Lindt Excellence, reduce the sugar and flour a bit and increase the almonds. I am the world's slowest cook and it only takes me about 30 minutes to prepare. It's pretty great with Vanilla ice cream.

I just read somewhere that those Pomi packs are superior to canned tomatoes -- I haven't been able to find them yet but does anyone agree? I've been using Muir Glen -- I will certainly try to find all these new varieties, thanks for this thread!