battleofthebulge

Err .. hmmmm Rules appear to be: - don't bother anywhere posh cos there are too many staff - do bother if it's somewhere run by an egulleter - or if you want a piss up at some time in the near future if the place in question is a pub. I think I'll carry on as before and not worry too much. Thanks all! Sarah

Enoteca Turi is wonderful (IMHO). Food is excellent and the wine list sans pareil, or whatever the equivalent would be in Italian. Also check out Putney Station, opposite East Putney tube. It's the newest member of the Brinkley restaurant chain. Food is simple but good (e.g. pizza, chicken caesar, lamb burger) but the main draw as with all the Brinkley's is the wine list at near retail prices. Guy Saget Pouilly Fume at £13, Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir £25. http://www.brinkleys.com/winelist.asp?ReturnURL=putney.htm Sarah

Ah here we go: Domaine de Courcel, Village: Pommard: Owner Gilles de Courcel requires strictly limited yields from old vines in outstanding Premier Cru vineyards as the bedrock for the talented work of his quietly intense yet affable winemaker, Yves Confuron. 1999 Pommard "Croix Noires," 1er Cru (firm raspberry fruit; very aromatic with firm, fine tannins); 1999 Pommard, Grand-Clos-des-Epenots, 1er Cru (deep ruby color; spicy blackberry fruit; mouthfilling, elegant flavors; fine tannins); 1999 Pommard, Rugiens, 1er Cru (concentrated dark color and intense, smoky aromas of ripe black fruit and coffee; smooth, voluptuous texture with very fine tannins and deep, concentrated fruit). from http://www.post-gazette.com/food/20010823bev0823fnp8.asp cheers Sarah

'99 was a good year for red, very high volume but also quality for Pinot. Just depends if your particular Pommard suffered at all from dilution. The 2000 Croix Noires is supposed to be good; can't find any tasting notes for the 99 though. I doubt it will be bad value at that price. and THANKS! for the tip-off on the BBR offer Sarah

Is this a US only group? Or can anyone join in. In which case, do we organise virtual tastings?? Or do we set up, say, a London chapter? Where do you envisage the reviews being published - just on eGullet to begin with, then finding 'pro' media? Sorry for all the questions I think it's a great idea to make women more confident and break down barriers. A lot of the tastings I go to here are for stuffed shirts and a 30 something woman who dares to ask questions is sniffed at. Cheers! Sarah

Where's ryo?

Well I couldn't resist the 60% off Bourdain's Les Halles cookbook on Amazon. In the intro he goes on (and on ..) about finding good suppliers of food. Even goes so far as to suggest that you ask your favourite restaurateurs where they get their supplies, and that you 'send drinks back to the kitchen' to curry favour. Does anyone do this here in the UK? Should I try it when especially pleased with a dish, or would the chef be bemused at a glass of Pinot Grigio suddenly appearing at her elbow? Sarah

Satsuma. Udon noodles. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and their white wine's not bad, either.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! hope she was impressed .... Sarah

Completely agree that Borough is becoming untenably expensive and unspeakably clogged with Fulham mummies and their strollers - blaaa. (Apologies to any Fulham mummies reading this post, nothing personal.) The good news though is that Borough-type products are becoming more widely available. No need to pay Neal's Yard mark-ups on Yarg when you can get it in Sainsburys. Waitrose have an excellent selection of mushrooms. I get ham from the Spanish supermarket on Portobello Rd. I also strongly recommend Rippon Cheeses on Upper Tachbrook Street, 2 mins from Victoria. Just takes more time and effort to hunt things down PS that steak looks GOOOD! Sarah

Really interesting question - thanks! Here are a few random thoughts Having just returned from Italy, where amongst other things we had a '95 Brunello di Montalcino for 26 euro and a '90 Summus for 50 euro ($200 / bottle at auction), I agree that Italian wine *in Italy* is very good and usually very good value. However, back in the UK, I normally now buy from Puglia and Sicily, because DOCG wines, once exported, are too expensive compared to the quality. I think some of your native varieties and techniques have translated well into the New World. The American vineyard Bonny Doon does an excellent Malvasia. Australia's Primo Estate has a fantastic Amarone, only they aren't now allowed call it Amarone, so it's called Moda instead. In terms of comparing an Italian Pinot Noir to (for example) a New Zealand Pinot Noir, I think the best winemakers take the grape and make it create the best wine possible on that terroir. PN in particular is a very fragile grape and often difficult to grow successfully. I would choose a New Zealand Pinot over an Italian one, but that's because the Italian wines usually imported into the UK are quite limited. I wouldn't advise that Italy follows the example of Beaujolais. The wine has a TERRIBLE reputation, because Beaujolais Nouveau now means weak, acidic wine shipped too quickly and without any kind of care for quality. There are good Beaujolais, but you have to work hard to find them! I'm not a great fan of Pinotage. The grape was made by crossing Pinot Noir and Cinsault (called Hermitage in SA) - I think Nero d'Avola is more interesting! Perhaps Primitivo? Even that's spicier and warmer, in my opinion. Finally, some recommendations for Shiraz: Australia: Tim Adams, Chapel Hill, d'Arenberg. Henshcke(very expensive!) South Africa: Allesverloren, Graham Beck, Rust en Vrede, Boekenhoustskloof Happy drinking! Sarah

How wise you are, Mr Gordon, how wise indeed I think my list at the moment is Splendido, Perigee, George and The Vineyard. We're also going to visit friends in Tiny - methinks the dining options may be more limited there, so we'll just bring booze. Best Sarah

Preferably both, whatever is most likely to impress a very fussy step-mother ← Well,....fussy:knowledgeable or fussy:persnickety ← Both? Sorry us Brits don't really make the 'knowledgeable' distinction so much. Any ideas for a knowledgeable persnickety step-mother?? Thanks!

OK, it didn't take 30 mins to cook- it took 90 mins and I had to add some more coconut milk. But mmmmmm was VERY good! Very filling. I served it with pistachio kulfi icecream (bought not made!) for the non-vegans. The cardamom goes really well with the coconut milk and I think if I'd added nuts (almonds?) as suggested, that would have been even better. Thanks again everyone. Happy cooking and sharing Sarah

Thanks so much Jayne, but the meal's tonight (which is now, UK time). So, I've just placed in a medium / low oven a large bowl with arborio rice, coconut milk (enough to cover and then some), a cinnamon stick, some cardamom cloves and about a cup of unrefined sugar (avoids the bones issue ..). I reckon it'll take about 30 mins to cook, so in 15 I'll add some lemon zest. It should sit whilst we're eating the mushrooms. Then sprinkle on some cinnamon to serve. Gotta dash - everyone will be arriving in a minute, so must check the Pinot Grigio is cold! Book for the evening: 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian' Thanks to everybody for a really interesting thread. Brilliant! Sarah

ooops sorry you already had that

Looks like a producer from France will be at the Fine Food Fair in London, beginning of September so they may be selling it there. Takes pride of place on their home page: http://www.orchedeus.com/aboutus.html

Maybe egulleteers should get together and produce a foodie programme? Over half an hour, could have different sections like: - restaurant news; who's where, what's in the pipeline - key restaurant review (not just London!) - food news; review of suppliers e.g organic meats, seafood - wine - ingredient of the week; interesting ideas for e.g. chicory! hmmmm now, who can we approach with the idea? And, who would we get to present it? (We don't have a TV so have no idea who the latest "personalities" are.) Sarah

Wow that sounds great!! How much milk to rice, do you know? Same as if I was making it with dairy? Hmmm ... yes with nuts and maybe some cardamom. I always use organic sugar so the bone stuff (eeuuu) shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again everyone I'll let you know how it turns out. (And for those who say I shouldn't bother catering .. well, I kind of agree, and it's going to be a real downer on book club meals if she carries on. Maybe we'll make her bring her own lentils whilst we're tucking into paella!) Sarah

Ah ha! Yes digestives are good, or ginger biscuits work well as a spicy contrast. This recipe is also a good excuse to buy some coffee liquer

Errrr ... what are graham crackers?

Well, you might not want to know this, but wine and beer are often 'fined'. Not all the yeast gets converted into booze, and the wine/beer can be cloudy. To make the wine nice and clear, a powder (called isinglass) made from fish swim bladders is added to the liquid. No, I swear I'm not making this up! The yeast then sticks to the ex-bladders and can be filtered out more easily. So in theory all the isinglass gets taken out, but it's still not considered suitable for veggies. http://www.vinceremos.co.uk/veg_vegan.htm I just thought (prompted by the idea of wine) of maybe doing pears poached in red wine: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/3162 Sarah

hmmm .. margarine! now that's something I haven't bought in years!! I initially did think of baklava - good suggestion. I think she might eat honey. She's not totally strict, like she drinks non-veggie wine Thanks a lot! Sarah

Wow that has lots of recipes but most of them seem to have vegan-specific ingredients like vegan choc-chip cookies! And vegan sugar?! I think I'll have to search around my supermarket's 'free from' aisle and see if I can find some substitutes. Thanks very much for the link. Sarah