Brad S

I love Lotte, One of the most versitale fish because of it's texture and ability to stand up to many ingredients. Be sure you or your fishmonger clean the fillet well,if the liiver is still attached, roast it with your fillet,it is a delicacy.also be sure you have the blood line removed that runs the lenght of your fillet. Monkfish seems to love the flavors of the mediterranean, I like to blossom a bit of saffron if some evoo and cool then squeeze some fresh lemon juice,the saffron oil golden marjoram and S&P over the fillets.let sit in the fridge for a couple hours then wrap the fillets with pancetta and roast at 400 degree's until the pancetta is crisp. I serve this over a room temputure salad of canniloni beans,roma tomatoes,shaved fennel and roast garlic cloves dressed with a light black olive vinagrette and chive oil. If you have time to make a mediterranean fish broth (like boulibasse) go for it..tremendous flavor and a little roulli and crostini served in a large soup terrine :)

Give your non beer drinking guest iced ginger ale with a squeeze of lemon and a slash of bitters. Or..Better yet, challenge them with a wonderful top fermented-bottle condintioned belguin ale..show them the wild yeast setiment on the bottom of the bottle,tell them how this type of ale can mature for a few years like a fine wine. Kind of show off let them know you put extra thought into making them happy. If that doesn't work,Well..just shoot them

JSD, That sounds great!!! I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends and family. BTW..what's your beverage of choice with the shrimp?

Hi JSD, Cooking shrimp with their shells on always imparts more flavor. So if you and your guests don't mind peeling them as you eat them,leave them on. Lime is great with cilantro in a marinade with some minced shallot and evoo,S&P. Maybe use some pinapple,poblonos and red onions on the skewers and then boil and strain your marinade to pour over the kebobs. If you have what you need for a tandoori style that's always yummy served with some basmati with pistachios and golden rasins and mint. A grilled bronzed shrimp with jasmine rice is great also..kind of a vietnamese flavor with hot chilies,garlic,shallots,cilantro nuoc mam and scallions as your flavors Teriyaki grilled shrimp with a soba noodle salad with crunchy ingredients like jicama,scallions,bean sprouts,water chesnuts. I dress the soba noodles with a little japenese glazing sauce rice vinegar,sesame oil,canola oil,crushed garlic a little hoisin and thai chili sauce. I don'y know what you have around the house,but use your imagination and be creative. A Note: if you plain to use any pineapple juice in your marinades be careful not to use to much and for to long as it will break down the protiens and make your shrimp mealy (same for chicken)

Hi Roberto, can you be a little more specific on what your looking for? The history of Egyptian food and culture very old and complex.

makers Mark and a few cubes Brings back some fond memories (I think)Bourbon/Molassas duck breast,Vanilla smashed sweet potatoes with simple orange segments,pecan buttered green beans and a chilled glass of Mr Makers

Survir, What a wonderful menu!!! I have a question for you (or any others) What type of beverages would you serve with a meal like you posted? Is madhuparka something you would serve? Is it appropriate to serve wines with a meal like this (with there flavor profile taken into account of course) Thank you for any insight

Hi Hopleaf... You have a good foundation to start with. A couple more that I feel are indispensible are A culinary history (English edition by Albert sonnenfield,Edited by jean-Louis Flandrin and massimo Montanau) The oxford Companion to food The cambrigde companion to food Food in History by Tannahill

I haven't been yet Auroro,but I plan to visit it next time i'm out west Here's their web page if you haven't seen it http://www.copia.org/pages/home.asp Enjoy

Dear Auroro, Thank you very much for detailing your work for us.

Here's a couple nice recipe's for curing duck breast I hope you enjoy them cc http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums/showthr...&highlight=duck http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums/showthr...ht=duck+recipes

I love the wines of Ribera, These are a couple of my favorites that can be found in better stores Bodegas alejandro fernandez (pesquera de duero) Bodegas ismael arroyo (sotillo de la ribera) Bodegas y vinedos vega sicilla (my favorite) (valbueno de duero) Hacienda monasterio (pesquera de duero) The wines from Cigales,Vega sicilia, Pesquera and Pingus are all great bets for quility wines. sometimes the Tempranillo grape is known as Tinta del pais, tinto fino,Cenibel and Ull de liebre

FG, I agree with you that there is a lot of wasted time in the acidemic world. If one's search in life is to study the French fry within a Freudian theroy, so be it. For me, the study of ancient Mediterranean cuisine,Asian,American and all other European countries has really given me a plethora of imformation to chew on. Cato, Apicius, Athenaues, Pliny,Hippocrates amoung others should be taught.

I agree with R.S...these universities surely have detailed sylibisis (sp)on these issues, I believe archaeological evidence is very useful and persuasive. Example: the study of bones found at various european sites has already demostrated that beef was the primary meat consumed throughout the middle ages, thus refuting conventional wisdom about the "family pig" thanks to traces of carving, flesh stripping and combustion, we can also desribe how animals were prepared from the slaughter house to the kitchen. in addition, the pots,pans and other implements that turn up in the course of excavation offer evidence of preparation and cooking techniques. Systematic comparison of archaeological findings with estate inventories and iconographic images in one of the most promising avenues for the study of medieval cookery

Fat guy, I'm not so interested in the culinary liniage of the fava bean. I am however very interested in reading and studying about food history,much of what I read has anthropology as a way to support findings. I believe documented history regarding to any framework should be substanciated as much as possible with scientific proof. There is a difference in my mind between "culinary anthropology" and "culinary Mythology" although I enjoy both. It's like comparing Cathrine De Medici with Apicius don't you think?

Fat guy, Can you expand upon that? What are your doubts about this disipline? Are you saying there now place for this type of study? Thanks for your clarification

I have emailed your query to her Artusi, She will be at Colombia University,I will be attending her lectures,so when I find out more detials I will pass them along.

http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums/showthr...ht=anthropology I have a friend whom lives in Greece who may be able to shed some light on this topic for you. She will soon be teaching at one of the states premier universities in Culinary antropology and ancient gastronomy. I will forward this question to her if it's ok. In the mean time I offer a link that may help

Yes, John Ash was whom I was refering to at Fetzer. To bad about Montalena, what a beautiful Vineyard. Tell me a little bit about what it's all about to do PR for the Restaurant/Hospitality industry. What are Chefs and Owners missing in regards to self promotion? (I know off topic) Thanks CC

Chef jeanty was formally of Chandons high end restaurant, he went back to his roots with Bistro jeanty..very comfortable and unpretentiuos restaurant, I remember his oxtail terrine beirg excellent. When in St Helena (beringers home) check out Terra (I know i'll spell his name wrong) Hiroshima shon? and his American wife have been doing elegant east meets west for a dozen years in this small place off of highway 29. Lunch at Greystone (wine spectator restaurant) should be good,Todd humphries was there chef last time I dined there (2000) and has opened his own place..I think it's called something like the Martini bar..he was sous chef at Lespanisse with gray Kunz and later took over lark creek from Bradly ogdon before getting the CIA gig. I took a class from him at the former Christian Brothers (cia greystone) and love his style. Jochiam Splichial (sorry about my spelling)has a nice place in I think oakville or St Helena..had a great warm goat cheese and baby beet salad with micros and a kenwood Sauvignon Blanc. Off the Silverado Trail we had Champange (ok, sparkling wine) Auberge de Solia.No meal..but beautiful view over looking the valley.If you can..call Ch Montelana..pack a picnic lunch and see if you can eat in there Gazebo..very romantic and fantastic views...head up north to Fetzer Vineyards to check out there gardens..outstanding and "what's his name?" prepares wonderful food. I'll try to remember some more places we went to aftr I check my notes have fun CC

This is a dinner I catered for 12 people in 1990.The gentleman whom had the party hade one of the best private cellers I'd had ever seen. I was blessed to have a taste of each of these wines. Oysters Beluga Gravlox 1982 Besserat de bellefon brut 1979 Louis Roederer Crystal 1961 Gosset brut Intergral 1975 Bollinger (RD) 1973 Dom 1975 Crystal Medallions of salmon with a blood orange and saffron buerre blanc and chiffinade of basil 1984 Mount Edan Chard 1983 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet 1979 Bonneeau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne Magret of duck with green peppercorn,pineapple and pinot noir reduction with crispy celery root garnish 1976 Domaine de la Romane conti Romane St. Vivant 1949 Comte Georges de Voque Musigny 1972 DRC Romane Conti 1959 Pierre Pennelle Chambertine Grilled loin of lamb rolled in pistachios,mint,chives and garlic, served with puy lentil and exploritor pancakes, essence of cabernet and rosemary 1959 Ch Palmer 1961 Ch Pontet-Canet 1947 Ch Cheval blanc Mixed greens with roquefort cheese and black walnuts evoo and 12 year old balsamic 1955 Ch Lafite Rothschild 1970 BV, George de Latour Assortment of fruit and cheeses including stilton 1967 Ch d'Yquem 1935 Grahams VP 1955 Fonseca VP Anise and honey ice cream with carmilized pears and caramel sauce J&F Martel Extra Just the over whelming oppurtunity to taste all these wines in one evening marks it as my favorite "wine time"

For the langust I would drink a light white like a one year old muscadet,Iv'e served this with lobster preparations and it works abmirably with the dish. This wine is dry and a little tart,which would cut through the dish somewhat like lemon would,but has enough fruit to stand up to the richer elements of your dish. I hope this is ok to do, I copy and paste a thread i did on another site that may help with some basic understanding of pairings http://www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums....id=5772

I love rapini with evoo, slivered garlic,red pepper flakes and white beans on brushetta.

Soba, Did you know that bagna coada (sp) is done to celebrate Italys nuvello wines in November? it coincides with the release of the new olive oils and is enjoyed with the wines. I have made this many times and because of it's purity of outstanding ingredients it is amazing. cardoons and chocks are bountiful that time of year and are two of the main veggies used. When you dip your veggies in the infused oil, you hold them over a piece of rustic italian bread to catch any of the oil that drips off the veggies, a bit of artichoke, a hunk of bread and a sip of nuvella Life is good

My wife likes good old fashioned out of the can, she buy's the little 4oz ones and keeps them in the fridge also... jinmyo..your tuna recipe sounds great,I make a tuna salad that first I paint the steak with some tahini and coat it with white and black sesame seeds,S&P and mint,char it rare, slice it on a thin bias and place it on large lavash spread with hummis and baba gounush,shaved cucumber and fennel and roll it in the lavash. it really light and tasty.