jennahan

Argh!!! I'm supposed to be starting a diet today. Now I'm going to be fixated on these brownies until I have one! Recipie please!

I would really love it if you'd post the recipe. If I can get my paws on some pretty chops I'd definitely be open to trying it. ← Farid did a garlicky and lemony marinade for kebabs and my nephews and nieces ate it up like crazy. It was typical American supermarket lamb. Everyone liked it in my family and they are not normally lamb eaters AT ALL. ← My staple marinade is anchovy, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, evoo, s&p all pounded together in a morter. Usually, I use a joint to roast and make sure that the good bits are shoved in the crevices. I marinate o/n, bring the meat to room temp and sear to brown the outside. I then place the joint in a LOW oven (60-80C) and cook for 5-7 hours. Yum!

I love lamb. I'm bringing up BB to be a lamb lover also (eats way more lamb than beef). I just find it so much more versatile than beef (better at handling strong spices). I don't know if the lamb I get here in the UK is different than the one I got in the States, but I remember not liking lamb so much in the States due to a very strong gamey taste; the lamb here doesn't have the same gameyness (or else I just learned how to cook it better).

Thank you for the amazing photos from all of your dining experiences! I too really enjoy Atelier de JR, and am often surprised that it isn't recommended more on this site. Mayur, I went to Atelier de JR for lunch, and called and booked a table 3 weeks in advance. The receptionist never mentioned a no-reservation policy, and simply took the booking without comment.

OK. Here goes my first post (no pictures as my meager skills would definitely not do what I ate justice)... It's Vacherin Mont d'Or season again! To celebrate, I greedily ate a huge plate of succulent, sweet fresh figs, warmed up just a bit so they would be extra soft, covered in a mountain of runny, warmed Mont d'Or, topped with toasted almond slivers. This was accompainied by a large glass of hearty but fruity Primitivo. I'm going to have the other half for lunch tomorrow as an impromtu fondu: warmed with slivers of garlic and a splash of calvados. I'll use sausage slices, apple, and bread as my dippers. YUM!

I think it is not such a wise idea as miso has a very high sodium content. If you want to feed your kid soy, why not just give him/her pureed edamame?

I am so glad that this thread exits...does much for my self confidence. I occasionally look through the latest contributions to the dinner thread and leave both salivating and deflated about most of my normal at-home dinner attemts. I've never even considered posting what I've cooked because, although it might taste fab, never has the visual appeal that all of those candidates for food-magazine spreads have. Actually, although you all might call your posts "regrettable", most still are quite appealing looking and sounding. I think I need to figure out how to upload pictures to show you what regrettable truly looks like!

I have to agree with many of those who say that one of the problems with vegetarian restaurants is the fact that they try and make carnivorous dishes with meat substitutes. I am an omnivore and enjoy meat dishes, as well as vegetarian dishes. The vegetarian dishes I eat at those which just happen to be vegetarian (many pastas, salads, soups, stews, indian, etc), not are consciously so. They celebrate the wonderful taste and integrity of the vegetable, instead of trying to disguise it as something else. (PS, I agree that tofu is something which is best enjoyed as itself, not disguise as some faux-meat). My son's dinner is vegetarian (just easier to focus lunch as primary meat/fish meal and dinner as primary veggie meal), and thus have found myself in the situation of ending up at a vegan vegetarian restaurant once. This was indeed dire. I'm not saying that the food that a vegan-vegetarian eats is in general disgusting, just that this place was revevolting. I had some kind of brazilian bread which was "cheese" flavoured (tasted like plastic, and had the texture of plastic too), a vegan spinace-tofu "quiche"-uggg, again plastic, but revolting tasting, and one tofu bolognaise which also was surprisingly bland. Why make menu with such fare when they could have things like butternut squash tagine, pasta with smothered onions, pinenuts, and sultanas, or even ratatouille!

This is one place my husband (who is French) and I are absolutely divided about. I really love this place because it was one of the first restaurants I went to in Paris not on a student budget, and it exactly matched my naive, romanticized idea of a Paris bistro (albeit with a much higher pricetag). The one thing that did strike me was the portions were very un-French (i.e., HUGE). I have been here a few times since, and perhaps because it is exactly as I remember it, I am always happy with the experience. I wanted to go here because I had read so many articles in various magazines about it, and also several interviews of people (famous, of course) who listed it as their favorite restaurant in Paris. I guess my pleasure has more to do with nostalgia, and the rememberence of the feeling of being able to afford (just) to go to such a place. My husband really dislikes this place...not hate, but thinks that it is good place that would be great if it was one quarter of the price, and not so, in his view, contrived. It is true that it is always filled with a dispropotionate number of Americans and recognizable faces. I don't know about difficultly of reservations, but usually book through the concierge at our hotel, who seems to be able to get a table easily, even though it is last minute. Is it a place I would recommend, probabaly not. Paris is full of places where the food is better, atmosphere is better at a fraction of the cost.

Sooo many things you can do (I do this often for one, nuked in the microwave). How about putting a knob of butter, calvados soakred raisins, brown sugar, a touch of gound cinnamon and gound allspice in the center, baking, and pouring heavy cream on top upon serving (warm, of course). I never thought of cereal, but a knob of butter, granola, and spices baked in the center would probably turn out like a bastardized crumble. With ice cream or cream. Hmmm, idea.

Funky food? Funky decor? Funky crowd? I had to make a similar decision last year, and chose L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon despite some reservations based on mixed reviews. One sits counter style in a heavily Oriental inspired atmosphere. Food is very good, and, depite what many say, I thought that the service was quite nice. Funky food-yes. Funky decor-well, somewhat. Funky crowd-no. Despite what many report, you can call ahead and make a reservation.

No, you got to marry someone from Lyon In case that wasn't clear, I never wrote that the plateau de fromages had disappeared. Only that it was not so common as it used to be. ← I didn't know this. My husband's family, although not from a big cheese making region, still serve a cheese plate for lunch and dinner every day...however, they also are guilty of a higher butter percentage in their diet and fewer lightly cooked veg (they are from Brittany, for heaven's sake!). When and why did this trend start? It is coincident with the decrease in time spent per meal? If the cheese plate is dissapearing, is the notion of having multiple courses regularly also going to be a thing of the past?

I had it here in London. It wasn't anything like the boudin noir that I had to date in France. I initially thought that I was tasting a well done chorizo. The sausage was spicier than boudin noir, and has the texture of pan fried chorizo. I am going to be in NYC for 3 weeks, and wanted to surprise my husband and brother, both who love spicy sausages and one loves boudin noir (my French husband).

I tasted morcilla today for the first time (pan fried) and loved it. Boy was I surprised when I found out what it was, as I have always found boudin noir to be pretty gross. I'd love to buy some while I'm in NYC to cook for my parents, but haven't a clue where to buy some. Does anyone know a place to get my hands on some really good morcilla?

I adore cheese...in fact, half of my dinners consist of a cheese plate, a glass of wine, some chutney, and bread. Here are some of my favorites (I've added some "withs" as I think they enhance the flavour of the cheeses): Blues: Stilton (Colston Bassett) with red onion jam, Gorgonzola Dolce with figs and honey, Cashel Blue (fairly mild and with a tang of sweetness, so I have this one just with some fruit) Hard: Linconshire Poacher (a flavour which is a marriage of gruyere and cheddar), Comte (actually, this cheese is better to cook with than eat) Rinded: Vacherin Mont d'Or (warmed in the oven and eaten fondu style with apples, potatoes and kielbassa sausage!), Wigmore (a british sheeps milk cheese which is runny even in the fridge) Peculiar: Stinking Bishop (smells like the sneaker of someone with athlete's foot, tastes georgeous) Goat: Purple Haze (a California aged goat...I like this even better than it's Loire Valley counterparts!) Fresh: Mozzarella di Buffala di Campagna (with basil, salt, olive oil, San Marzano tomatoes of course)

Had a wonderful lunch at the Galvin yesterday. Unfortunately two mums and two babied dropped out of our party after a rambunctious trip to the zoo, so our party was a more reasonable two mums and two babies. Although they didn't have high chairs (apparently it had been a miscommunication between myself and the person taking the reservation), they were extremely accommodating in terms of finding a place to put two suv-like prams and two mums. They are working on getting high chairs. They also stated that babies were welcome there, and that they were a child-friendly place. Luckily the two babies had gobbled something to eat during the walk to the restaurant and were worn out from the zoo, thus slept quietly for the entire meal in their respective pushchairs. The decor of the place is very clean and elegant. Lots of dark wood, brown leather banquettes, crisp white tablecloths, and lots of black and white photographs. The kitchen is semi visible though windows. The back part of the restaurant is a bit dark (no windows), but still pleasant. The service was extremely accommodating, but perhaps that was because the room wasn't very busy. One of the Galvins (I'm not certain which one) came over to say hello and see how we were enjoing our meal. The prix-fixe menu consisted of: Starter: Feuillete of poached egg or Jerusalem artichoke soup, hazelnut brioche Main: Roast seabream sauce mariniere or Grilled Calves liver, broad beans & thyme Pudding: Pink grapefruit granite or fromage My friend and I ordered ALC, and we had the Lasagne of Dorset crab, veloute of girolles and Salad of Roquefort, pear & walnut to start. We then had fillet of sea bass, shellfish Provencale and Frilled Cod, parsely and coco beans as mains and Rice pudding, roast figs & Banyuls for pudding. We shared a bottle of puilly fume and 2 glasses of the very nice house champagne. The total bill came in just under 100 pounds (not cheap, but not bad for London). The Dorset crab lasagne was georgeous. I won't say more because Faye describes it perfectly in her review. The Fillet of sea bass was seared beautifully, and went quite nicely with the mussels in a tomato sauce. The cod was also excellent, on a bed of pureed parsley with coco beans. My friend thoroughly enjoyed the rice pudding (I didn't taste it as I cannot get my head around sweet milky rice after growing up in an Oriental household). My only complaint about the cheese plate (nice selection of 6 different cheeses and not your usual bland selection served too cold) was that I had specifically asked if I would be able to select the cheeses, to which they agreed, only to serve me a readily selected plate. I hope this place does really well...it certainly deserves to. Edited for spelling

I'm a novice to chocolate (always loved it, but didn't know much beyond the commercially available ones in the US), but I have discovered the most amazing chocolatier here in London. The name of the shop is L'Artisan du Chocolat, and they make some of the most unusual chocolates. They make chocolates in the French style (small, principally dark and intensely flavoured) and really push the boundaries in terms of flavorings. I tried a tobacco flavored chocolate which, though not being a smoker, actually found quite pleasant. They do a leather flavored one which wasn't available (I hear it is also surprisingly pleasant). Other flavours include licorice, banana and thyme, lapsong soochong ( ), ginger, jasmine (one of the most intensely flavored jasmine chocolates I've ever had). Heston Blumenthal has worked with them in terms of brainstorming flavours (tobacco and leather were his idea) and they are currently working with Monmouth Coffee to come up with a pure, rich, coffee flavoured chocolate. Good news for those in the states...they do mail order now!

Booked a table for Wednesday lunch. I was surprised they didn't drop the phone when I requested a table for 8: 4 adults and 4 babies. They actually said that they would have enough highchairs. In case anybody does not like children (and I can only vouch for 2 being used to lunches and being well behaved), I'd avoid Wednesday at noon. If anyone has already booked, my apologies in advance.

I second Echire as THE butter for bread. Comes in unsalted or demi-sel. For just spreading butter on bread, I go for the demi-sel. For a tartine with jam, unsalted. Second would be proper Devon clotted cream butter. My in laws from Brittany loved it (couldn't actually believe the Brits could make great butter!).

1. Fig and gorgonzola sandwich: toast a slice of sourdough bread lightly. Add 1/2 figs which have been quartered. Put under broiler until the figs are just soft. Add a slice of gorgonzola and replace under broiler until cheese is bubbly. 2. Fig "brulee": Half the figs and place cut side up in a baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and honey. Put in hot oven (180C) 15-20 minutes until soft (but not mushy). Add warmed custard to dish. Sprinkle with demerera sugar and place under broiler or blowtorch until a crust forms. 3. Fig and prosciutto pizza (check out the Figs cookbook) 4. Stuffed figs (from Mario Batali's first cookbook)

Thanks for all the help so far. Apicio said that I should be able to spread the dulce de lece straight from the jar, but the one I purchased from my grocery store here in london is quite thick, so I think I'll nuke it for a couple of second just to melt it. I'm going to try the epicurious chocolate cake recipe. I'm going to pass on the ganache, because I think I recall my friend saying that the cake was encased in chocolate, not frosted. To all those who tasted this cake, is the dulce de lece both in the middle and top?

Has anyone been here recently? I'm thinking about booking it for my birthday lunch, and wanted to know if the excellent standards have been maintained.

A friend of mine told me about a cake she had at an Argentinian friends house that I must make (i'm seriously obsessing about it!) Her description is of a moist chocolate cake with a caramel middle layer (i'm thinking it must be dulce de lece) encased in a smooth covering of thin dark chocolate (I think that it is just melted chocolate spread smoothly and allowed to harden. I'm not much of a baker, so recipie ideas would be much welcomed. For example, how would one make a dulce de lece soft enough to frost a cake with? What is the best way to do the chocolate frosting? And does anyone have a surefire moist chocolate cake recipie? Thanks!

I think that poor marketing/distribution is part of the problem. I think another really big problem for Italian wines (which I personally love) is that so many of them are strataspherically priced and therefore intimidate the novice, casual drinker, and even intermediate drinker. I think that the price, coupled with unfamiliarity are enough to prevent many people from taking the plunge into really discoving the breadth and depth of wines from Italy. I'd love to buy a reasonable priced Barolo or Barbaresco, but have had a difficult time finding anything less than 40-50 pounds a bottle. To pay that amount for the unknown is a bit intimidating. Sicilian wines seem to be much more available, and so far I've loved what I've tasted. On the plus side, they are reasonably priced, and thus I'm not afraid of just throwing in a bottle of something into my trolly just to try.

I like to suff mine with duxelles. I've tried cheese, but it never gets hot enough in the center of my burgers to melt. I've heard that Daniel Bouley stuffs his burgers with fois gras. Hmm, might have to try that some time!