CheGuevara

by far the single most valued cookbook on my shelves. i've practically tought myself with it. (la technique to be precise) -che edit: any and all bougialli books

a very inspiring white rice with butter, parmesan and a little soy - good baby food. -che

the above with home made ricotta ravioli... -che

...especially the sides - but if it tasted good, undercooked dough never hurt anyone -che

just read a review of anthony's in olive, written by the chef at bray. he raves about the food, and is quite confident he can make it in leeds. -che

i religously read restaurant magazine - just received latest copy today. observer food monthly is generally very good. -che

this is a US published book, yet it still deserves mention in this UK thread, if for no other reason than popularising it on this side of the atlantic. jacque pepin's "la technice" and "la methode" - now bundled into one book "complete techniques" is a lifetime cookery course. -che

origami, is it my eyesight, or is the dough undercooked in the boeuf encroute? keep posting...all very interesting. we should have a "egullet cooking course reviews"! -che

don't be misled! the food is fantastic at gorodon's. two hunks of cheese, some semi crisp baguette, and off you go. -che

that is exactly what sprung to my mind - especially given the st.john's egullet pig roast feast organised by simon about a year ago now...unfortuantely i was not there so cannot comment. moby is right, for large parties i would stick to tapas style food to share, and large "home style" dishes to be carved/spooned up and shared. -che

great winter sauce is salsiccia e funghi. my brother's ex-girfriend's mother, from ravenna made this and it was as "emiglia-romagna" as you can get. onions, sausage, porcini - in lots of olive oil and butter. finish with cream. (make sure you cook the sauce with the cream for a minimum 10-15 min...it needs to incorporate all the falvor. only for the commited, tortellinin in brodo...one of the icons of italian cuisine, exemplifying the creativity and adherence to simplicity. everything about it has a purpose, from the broth to the extra dough in the tortellini pinch... - her grandmother hand-made about 1,000 tortellini for chirstmas lunch! -che

marlyn, "sobre gustos no hay nada escrito" litterally means "there's nothing written on tastes". i agree judging even exchangig opinions is what we're here to do, i incorrectly referred to your tastes as opinions. hence the above quote. we are venturing, as you point out in this last post, into semantics. my initial disagreement with your "gastro and pub don't sit well together" comment comes from the perceptions of what we have of each of those words - gastro and pub. gastro to me means an interest in good food, or just good food, which in turn has little to do with ingredients or setting and more to do with passion, quality, tradition. it does not mean a ramseyesque establishment. for this reason i think gastro and pub fit in perfectly - becuase a pub, which need not be smelly and filled with grime, provide that homely feel, filled with tradition which invite rather than repel customers. -che

i'm glad you enjoyed my poem... as to the quality and adventurousness of UK taste buds - you can't use London as a metric for the entire country. this polarisation between rural and urban taste buds is much more prevalent in highly cosmopolitan cities like london and new york, who themselves never had a tradition of culinary excellence all their own. -che

a bit late - but to add comfort to your decision - brick lane can only be enjoyed in those states of alcohol induced starvation. one place is worst that the next. the bagels are crap as well...but better than anywhere elsein london. -che

i couldn't agree with you more - especially on St.Johns B+W - it is perfectly well conceived. nowhere in London, same goes for NY, have i ever seen such consistent and across the board high-quality raw materials. value for money it is the best i've had in london....here's a little something i wrote upon returning from lunch there over a year ago...i was a bit drunk at the time. -che Leche separada, en bocaditos de tostada harina Pepinos fugaces y dulces como el placer Un tinto impecable, manteca sin sal Fuimos transportados en jalea de ruibarbo English translation: Clotted milk, in small bites of toasted flour Fleeting pickles, sweet like pleasure An impeccable red, salt less butter We were transported in a rhubarb jelly

absolutely! i would not venture down the road of judging opinions, as we say in argentina: "sobre gustos no hay nada escrito" - come to think of it there is plenty on the subject...anyways, back on topic. to me gastro and pub are a perfect combination. an eating establishment fulfills us with all its elements, but we do go there to eat - and some of us to drink first. thus the food is of primary importance, but the whole, the careful balance of it all, that is how repeat customers are created. there is no fixed recipe for that balance; but i can say that good food, made with quality ingredients, in an clean place, with an environment whihc leaves you in a good mood has all it needs to succeed. be it the cafe with plastic chairs in sao paulo, or taillevent in paris. because the gastropub can combine the perfect setting for great food. it is a genuine and picturesque place, which oozes tradition. eating well is all about education, and it begins at home. it then moves into the everyday restaurant, the local. those are the foundations which then create 3 starred restaurants; a culture with gastronomic traditions, the know-how. it is that clever combination which works so well for the gastropub, it is the beginning of a cultural - gastonomic - revolution for the UK. -che edit - btw, welcome

you may not agree with my opinion, however you should not be judgemental, and further dramatise your point by relating the nature of the picture - what seems to be a poor woman - to my beliefs and character. i do agree people are entitled to their privacy - however it is somwhat a grey area, when you are not infringing on them, merely watching from a distance. voyeurism, or stalking for that matter, fall into this category yet the end is different, far les morally justifiable. -che

i did some research on "private labels" in response to the corn falkes addicts - here are some bits of information i thought many on this thread would find interesting. if you read about the food retailing industry and its trends, private label is not only ominous but seems to be the way forward; furthermore, it is quite evident that the manufacturers behind private-labels and branded products are the same for all practical purposes. (just go to www.plma.com who hold a yearly trade show, where over 2,500 food manufacturers attend.) the big business of private label competes dirctly with that of national brands. a new battle of brands has emerged, national vs. reatiler. while we might have emotional alliances or palatable preferences over private labels (most notably in a select few categories - where few dominatnt brands dominate; colas, cereals, chocolate bars), we cannot make blanket statements that branded products are better. comments made above are the result of effective marketing in selling us an package of product attributes - just like tesco's finest "private-label" pork does. (did thanks to duncan) we come full circle on this, with moby's original question: why have supermarkets enterd into private labeling? research states two primary reasons; 1. increased margins from private label goods, 2. increased customer loyalty to the reatiler. and hence back to traditional economics - where cost/benefit analysis takes precedence; shelf space is a limited commodity, and it pays to fill it with higher profit generating products, thus we see more private-label in favour of known brands. -che AC Nielsen report - 2003] Private label in Europe is enormous, with 46% share in the U.K. alone. On average 45% of products sold in Europe are sold via private label, this compares with 25% in the USA. From the Private Label Manufacturer's Association: Volume share remained above the 40% mark in The United Kingdom. Share increases were recorded in 12 of the 20 departments tracked, with the biggest growth in paper products, spirits and liqueurs, and pet food and care. Private label’s volume share now exceeds 60% in the meat, fish and poultry, delicatessen, dairy, fruit and vegetables, and bakery departments. From Euromonitor: Private labels can also make supply chain changes which some branded manufacturers would find difficult to emulate. Co-op announced recently that all of its private label chocolate would be sourced fairtrade. Meanwhile Nestlé in the face of rising advertising costs over the last 10 years relies on low prices for its key ingredients to keep its prices low. If Nestlé tried to position Kit Kat as a fair trade product it would run a significant risk in alienating its consumers and running up significant costs in its supply chain. From Canadian Report on UK food reatilers from November 2000: Private-label Products as a Percentage of Total In-store Products (1997) Retailer % of Private-Label Products Sainsbury 50.4% Waitrose 47.0% Tesco 45.9% ASDA 46.0% Safeway 40.5% Kwik Save / Somerfield 37.4% The United Kingdom has the largest sales of private-label foods in the European Union. Food products account for 55% of total private-label sales. Specifically on WHO produces most of the private-label goods: Domestic producers currently dominate the production of private-label products. Large manufacturers, such as Northern Foods, Hillsdown Holdings and Bookers, have been joined in producing private-label products by niche manufacturers (i.e. Noon Products producing Indian foods) as well as traditional brand manufacturers (i.e. Heinz (BTW, a report in the US shows that Heinz produces 80% of private-label ketchups sold in supermarkets), Weetabix, McVities and Ryvita). Since cost was originally the overriding factor in the development of private-label foods, U.K. retailers chose domestic manufacturers to produce their private-label foods. However, the growth in demand for high-quality and value-added private-label foods will provide increased opportunities for foreign producers to enter the market. The leading food manufacturers in the United Kingdom are Associated British Foods, Tate & Lyle, Hillsdown Holdings, Unigate, Northern Foods and Tomkins. In the past year, there have been quite a few mergers and acquisitions of manufacturing companies reshaping this sector. Many are looking to increase their penetration of European markets.

esperanza, as a second opinion, i agree 100% with toliver's comments...i actually spent some time beforehand figuring out how you could draw attention to the interior, and the cropping helped a great deal. the frank answer is the frame cost you the picture, as you floating comment alludes to. i for one like the contents of the picture, plastic chairs included, but you need to do something more untraditional if you can't zoom in - or as toliver said, if you want to retain the frame, as it adds another level to the picture. this feeling of peeking into the room, the windowed view, is much more attractive that a traditional shot. as i'm writing i though of this.... had this been a widnow, with a frame at the bottom - it would have all come together for me. damn builders! with respect to picture taking - i'm all for freedom of vision, so long as you're not noticed. if someone is aware you're taking picture, then yes, i ask. many photographers/artists have done great work by taking "hidden" pictures. the name escapes me now, but one had hidden cameras while in the NY subway. -che

this comment is valid outside the confines of the UK, since it has its roots in a capitalist system which finds its growth in what we today bundle in the broad genre of “globalisation”. the primary issues discussed in this thread revert to a science, sociology – rightly so not anthropology – as it is here that we find the reflection of our collective decisions, where the unavoidable drawbacks and benefits of our chosen paths are displayed. in anthropology we can find a reason, or hope to, explaining our decisions as a species. the supermarket is a result of our change in lifestyle; the emigration of rural life towards an urban environment, that which has been ingrained in us will take us to the unreachable grail. the poor quality of its products is due to a lack of education, since the capitalist economic system – which assumes rational beings operating in a free market by the laws of supply and demand – ultimately answers to its consumers. business exerts an inordinate amount of influence in such a system, a paradox considering they place their pockets ahead of the common good. someone asked what motivated decisions in the generic brands market – the answer is a cost benefit analysis, as is the case in 99% of business decisions. the engine of capitalism is "cost/benefit" – many here are in the restaurant business, if you pay attention, will see this being played out in every decision. if we continue the generic goods discussion, there has been a confusion between value-added products marketed by big brands and staples or commodities. the supermarket move into generics is logical, why should the consumer pay more for a product of the same quality – so where is the difference? in the marketing expense incurred to sell you an image of quality, or even a lifestyle. why does kellog’s tell us “we don’t make corn flakes for anyone else”? because they have invested millions in developing their brand, and such an investment needs protection. a kellog’s corn flake is no better than a generic one, whose grain is likely to come from the same mill. negligent treatment of farmers by supermarkets, or anyone with sufficient bargaing power, is despicable, nevertheless comes as a direct result of our economic system. the perseverance of these practices is a result of our consumer preferences and tastes, or lack thereof. just take a glance at your neighbour in the aisle, preferably a mother shopping with her three adolescents, and examine her shopping cart. a sociological eye will tell us that we have benefited from futuristic innovation at the expense of our roots, our grounding in this earth, which we have yet to learn to live without. it is not only the UK that suffers from it, and it not exclusive to gastronomy; look at our pop charts, the literature that sells, the poetry that doesn’t, hollywood ready-made meal equivalent movies. this is endemic to our society. that hidden pearl in our profit driven system is the consumer, it holds the only winning hand in a game that’s not much fun to play. and that gives me hope. my moniker aside, i'm not a social activist, and have worked at the symbolic epitomy of a capitalist system, but i've also come to understand some of the things we've left behind in search of human advancement. the origins of man, like any other living creature, by instict incessantluy seeks security, reproduction and food - they are the three inalienable neccessities of a living organism. how does one explain food, beign so critical to our survival, has degenerated so much, that you find people asking for peaches in the winter? -che edit - i can't type

i can throw in my two cents towards granite - by far the best imho. especially if you plan to grind with gusto. -che

jackal - i don't want to detract form the tart, but that frying pan is fantastic - how many years does it have? and the wooden table as well. moby - thanks for the heads up on gareth...tarka did you find your camera lead??? -che

after two nights of leftover chicken i had just about enough - so with some inspiration i endulged in culinary meditation: crafting dough. this was the result much enjoyed with a great malbec from back home. -che

In NJ we used to call these things Panzarottis or Nicarottis... They were small, hand-held personal Calzone like dealios... It MIGHT have been a very local thing, I dunno... They were the best! THE BEST! Lil' Banya ref... Coming way late to this thread... Panzarottis are a specifically NJ thing, as far as I know. Or at least calling them that. I saw the local news here in Philadelphia do a special report on them once--I guess it was a slow news day. In scenic lower Bucks County, PA (specifically Levittown and Fairless Hills) we used to call these Ginocottis, because there was a place over by Pennsbury High School called Gino's that made them. But these weren't little handheld things. They were the size of one of those burger-and-fry baskets--which is what they came in. A big ol' puffed fried thing the size of a small football, with a puddle of searing melted cheese and sauce and whatnot inside. You'd break off pieces of the dough and use them to scoop the filling out. Damn they were good. this might need to be removed from this thread, although i will add a deep-fried item to compensate "panzerotti" are definitely not a new jersey thing. they come straight from italy - from the north, and yes they resemble a calzone. yeasty dough is used, which puffs up when fried, very similar to a doughnut but denser. the traditional filling is tomato sauce and cheese. when good they are out of this world. in argentina we eat these quite often as appetizers: 2 eggs should be sufficient get some chard - cook - pat/squeeze dry and mince - not too thin make dough with flour, water or milk, grated cheese, salt and pepper, egg yolks mix in beaten egg whites (until it begins to hold) fold minced chard using spoon, fry portions in hot oil -che

phaelon, the second picture benefits from the contrast adjustments you made as you can see form the definition of the ice cream cup - i quite prefer that to the original. the composition however does not work for me. i've taken the liberty of cropping the image primarily to demonstrate to what degree you can change a picture, and how that impacts the entire work. the frame you chose is one of the most critical elements of a picture, where you can give focus, call on the viewer's imagination to fill the gaps and ensure every pixel fulfils a purpose. the cropping in this picture is relatively commerical, however i think it illustrates my comments far better any words i could use. here is a second version, again for illustrative purposes - in case you wanted the color of the cup. you'll see in your original picture you have too much space which detracts from what you want to communicate. if for example, more of the metal chair were in your original frame, there i could see using that in the final picture; in this case that doesn't work since you clearly framed three objects on the table. hope any or all of this helps. -che