rich

You're sure that's not Geller's version? ← According to the information page it's a David Garrido recipe, who is the chef at a restaurant named Jeffrey's someplace in Texas.

I decided to try the recipe last evening and it was delicious - the combination of the couscous, oysters and spinach was intriguing. I also poached the quail eggs for Keller's Bacon & Eggs. The recipe says poach for 2-3 minutes. Don't believe it. The eggs will be on the firm side of soft cooked at that point. The real time should be about 45 seconds to 1 minute. And make sure you plunge them into ice water immediately to stop the cooking. Not that the "soft cooked" is bad, but not the same.

I was thinking of making Keller's Oysters and Pearls for a dinner party Saturday, but I didn't have the French Laundry cookbook at my office and I wanted to check out the ingredients for shopping purposes. I "googled" the term hoping it would be somewhere on the web. It wasn't, but I came across another Oysters and Pearls recipe. It's a individual tart with spinach, eggs, cream, whole oysters and finished with Lebanese Couscous (the pearls). This sounds interesting so I'm going to make that instead of Keller's version this week. But don't fret FL fans, I'm still going to make Keller's "Bacon and Eggs." I found the greatest spoons for this "dish." The handle of a soup spoon is turned under so the utensil sits up and is easy to grasp. They make a terrific plate presentation as well.

With the cost of fuel headed to $60, everything will be a lot more expensive this year. Fuel prices eventually effects every industry. Get used to it - it's just the price of creating a war.

"Child-Free" ← genius

Bill, I've been thinking about this soup. I noticed how labor intensive it was for you. From the photos, I see you used a food processor to puree the peas. In hindsight, do you think a powerful blender would have made the "pressing" job a bit easier? I really do want to make that soup, but I don't own a Tamis either and I'm just trying to think about different ways to puree.

Great job Bill. I have some questions. The pea soup looked awesome - how long did it take to schuck the peas? I don't have the book with me in work - did the recipe call for one pound of peas or more? Do you think you had enough to serve six people? The duck breast - how thick was the finished product before cooking? How did you purchase this - was it packaged from D'artangan or another producer? Thank you for sharing - great project. Certainly deserves the Hall of Fame! Rich

Runway 84!

I'm not sure just how to take that? It always bugs me when people act as though a particular chef is not in their very kitchen that anyone should somehow receive a vastly different meal. I think that what people so often fail to realize is that in high end professional kitchens (like Per Se) all of the cooks, their movements, their mise en place, their seasoning, their cooking, their plating are all so highly orchestrated that should one individual not happen to be there it doesn't change the fact. Sure, there is a personality element that a chef can contribute to a service or a menu but to suspect that the food would be held to any lesser standard is absolutely ridiculous. I understand that many people may have the attitude of letting things slide when the boss is away, but most of the people in these types of kitchens all want to be the boss someday so the thought of them operating at a lower standard of quality is highly unlikely. Sure, it is convenient and sometimes fun for us to poke fun at the fact that Thomas Keller, Alain Ducasse, Daniel Bouloud, and the like cannot all be in every one of their restaurant kitchens at the same time and that it may be a reason for a flawed meal. The people who work in these operations are professional through and through and I have the utmost confidence that the actual execution of a restaurant service varies very little from one night to the next, regardless of who is at the helm. I am so tired of the dart throwing at these types of chefs. Get over it already... These guys dont cook your food anyway. ← I was just being funny - didn't you notice the icon at the end? Actually I was praising Jonathan for being at the Children of Bellevue benefit, which in the real world is much more significant then being in the restaurant. I actually try to avoid going to a restaurant when the "boss" is cooking. I think the food comes out better when the "celebrity chef" isn't in the house. Less pressure on the "real" cooks and the boss doesn't get in the way - just ask the crew at Babbo.

Jin, how do you soft cook quail eggs? Is it place in cold water, bring to simmer quickly (covered), remove from heat, let sit 20-30 seconds and drop in ice water? How do you use the crochet hook? Thanks. Rich

RE: Peas Over the years, every food professional I have heard speak about peas indicated the flash frozen variety are superior to the fresh. My experience, albeit somewhat limited in the area, confirms that concept.

So who was in charge of Per Se's kitchen last night? Jonathan was hanging out with me at the Children of Bellevue fundraiser.

I've not seen beet powder either, but maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. What section or type of store would carry that? ← Bill, you can get Beet Powder from several on-line sources, ie Barry Farms, etc. Google will help, many have one- and two-day delivery or you may find one in your area. ← Frozen peas? Commercial beet powder? Bill, ask yourself, WWTD?: What Would Thomas Do? ← Just a quick question about the beet powder and juice. I like your idea about processing the fresh beets and then straining and reducing to a syrup, but then I'm in trouble. I don't and never will own a microwave, so what is an alternative way to dry the residue beet pieces? A 200-degree oven for several hours? And Bill, I forgot to say it before - all the best, I sure your culinary talents will overcome any adversity you may face. Hell, the problems and solutions are half the fun.

I've not seen beet powder either, but maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. What section or type of store would carry that? ← Bill, you can get Beet Powder from several on-line sources, ie Barry Farms, etc. Google will help, many have one- and two-day delivery or you may find one in your area.

Regarding the beet juice/powder ingredients - isn't it the same to use purchased beet powder and make juice from some of it and use the rest as just powder?

I have a Jaques Pepin recipe for his Codfish Brandade and he suggests serving it with soft-cooked eggs, peeled and sliced in half. Steven (FG) wrote in his egg "blog" how difficult it is to peel a soft-cooked egg. He mentioned watching a professional kitchen staff member who was successful one of four times. After doing research, I know the perfect way to soft cook an egg (older, bring water to quick boil covered, remove from heat let sit 1-3 minutes and plunge into cold water), but peeling was not mentioned anywhere. Has anyone had success in this area? Does the same hard-cooked method work, ie. cracking after removing from hot water and peeling under running water? Thanks for your help.

I enjoy all the "little dishes," but please, let's not ever, ever say they're free. Everything is built into the cost of the food and drink. These items don't appear on the bill individually, but they're factored into the cost of the "unfree" items.

Sounds very interesting Liz. How to you prepare the carrots - peel, slice etc.?

Just a few questions - Based on several of the latest reviews, is Per Se losing its luster after a year in business? Has Keller spread himself too thin? Is it possible he can't get away with what some other chefs with multiple establishments do, because he's too much of a perfectionist? And therefore must be present to have his food come off to the level he wishes. Or, are we all becoming a bit jaded with the high prices charged by some of these top tier restaurants? Certainly food for thought.

Are there any restaurants that anyone once considered over rated, but now think they live up to their reputation?

Here's a question. There is a very famous restaurant that very cleary states on the check and menu that a 12 percent service charge will be added to your bill in lieu of the waitperson's salary. What to do here? Do you add 20 percent on top of the 12 percent or do you add 10 percent, bringing the total tip to 20+ percent?

Based on the title of this thread, what are your thoughts about lousy people who are good tippers?

I think you just did.

Simple - no cooking, but very tasty and light. Irish Jig Dessert Serves 6 Ingredients: 2 tablespoons whiskey 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup coconut macaroons Crush the macaroons and set aside. Be sure the whipping cream is thoroughly chilled, as well as the bowl and beater attachments. Mix all ingredients except the macaroons. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in 3/4 cup crushed macaroons. Spoon into 6-8 dessert glasses. Sprinkle with additional macaroons. Serve immediately. Sometimes I add a little creme de menthe to give it a light green color.

It still depends on common perception. There are several parts to this question: 1. Has the quality of the steak at Peter Luger substantially declined? 2. If yes, is the common perception of the Peter Luger that the steak there is just as good as it was in the 70s? If no, then it is not over rated on this basis. If yes, then we are one step closer to over rated. I doubt this figures particularly highly, because very few people are in a position to make that comparison and few are making it. 3. Does Peter Luger serve, on average, the best steaks by far? 4. If no, is the common perception that they do? If yes, then we're closer to over rated. 5. Here is the tough part: you have to ask yourself whether it's just you. If it's just you, then you can really only say that it's over rated for you. At some point, though, if person after person and trusted critic after trusted critic says that it's still head and shoulders above the rest. . . then you have to start maybe accepting that you're just getting a different read on the place and chalk it up to personal preference. Well, that depends. It depends on whether Landmarc would keep its reputation with the general public (or whatever group you're looking at) were the prices to go up by roughly double. My strong suspicion is that it wouldn't. The only way Landmarc could be over rated according to your hypothetical is if a substantial portion of its reputation concerns low prices, and if it kept the reputation for low prices despite a substantial increase. It would be over rated with respect to the prices in that case. If, on the other hand, the reputation of Landmarc as a restaurant with a particularly felicitous pricing structure were to change with their increased prices but the reputation of the food served there remained the same, it's hard to see how this would constitute "over rated." By the very nature of the word "over rated," the only way something can be over rated is if it is rated higher than it deserves. For something to be over rated in the general sense means that it has to have a rating of X among a certain population (the general public, eGullet members, food critics, whatever) when it actually deserves a rating of X-y. ← It seems the discussion is becoming based on the definition of the term "over-rated." Since it's the beginning of baseball season, please indulge me and allow the use of a baseball analogy. It works here because, I think everyone is aware (even non-sports fans) of the two things in baseball today: high salaries and steroids. First salaries - If a team signs a player for $1 million a year because of his potential and that player never achieves said potential, then he was over-rated by the team. However, the team also signs another player for $300,000 and his numbers turn out to be the same as the $1 million player and the club is very happy with their decision. This is comparable to the cost/value factor of a restaurant. Steroids - An individual player averages 50 home runs a year and threatens to break all types of home run records and becomes rated as the best in the game. Then it's found out this was accomplished while using steroids. But league officials, some die-hard fans and fellow players say steroids had nothing to do with his past performance and say he is still the best. But other fans and writers say he is/was over-rated and now performs with the top tier but not above it. Granted this is an extreme example, but it can compare to a restaurant that was once considered the best, but for whatever factor has now slipped into being part of the top-tier, yet is still considered the best by many. These are different examples of the way people can perceive someone/thing as over-rated. I believe both are valid. And I'm sure there are others.