FrogPrincesse

Sidecars! I love these! I think this was the first cocktail I ever made successfully (I had found the recipe in one of Jamie Oliver's early books, of all places, when I knew absolutely nothing about cocktails). Hopefully it will grow on you. I am thinking a Tantris sidecar is in my near future. A good tip that I found on eGullet was to only rim half of the glass with sugar. That way you can savor your cocktail both with and without sugar.

Kouign Aman, I have not tried that one. Do you know when it takes place?

Everything is looking wonderful on this thread, as usual. Last night's dinner was Halibut Grenobloise based on a classic French recipe; I used the version from Les Halles. The fish is sautéed in butter, then more butter is added once the fish is flipped over. The sauce is primarily butter with capers, lemon juice, parsley, and croutons that were extra tasty as they soak up some of the sauce. This dish still manages to taste relatively light (!). (It must be the acidity from the lemon juice and capers that is tricking my senses). I served the fish on top of yellow wax beans and pencil asparagus from my CSA. Normally this recipe calls for skate wing but it's hard to find, so I used local halibut instead.

I wrote about my favorite farmers’ market in San Diego, the Little Italy Mercato, a few weeks ago on my Foodblog. I also talked about the legendary produce stand at Chino Farm, which may be one of the best in the country. There are a lot of other good farmers’ markets in San Diego that I visit occasionally when I am in the area, so I plan on posting pictures on this thread which, unfortunately, has not been active in a while. It would be great to see pictures of other markets in California as well! I just heard that a new market opened in Pacific Beach on Tuesday afternoons (2 – 6:30 pm), organized by Catt White, who also manages the Mercato. I plan on visiting it soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures from another market that I really like. It’s the Cedros avenue market in Solana beach. It takes place on Sunday afternoons (1 – 5 pm). It’s smaller so shopping is very efficient. The selection is good and there are a few good options for lunch, including crepes and handmade ice cream sandwiches. There are very few non-food oriented vendors. We went there a couple of weeks ago and bought some corn (which was good, but not as good as Chino!), dandelion to use in salads, Rainer cherries, eggs, yellow wax beans, and purple carrots. Corn grown in Oceanside Free range & vegetable fed eggs Green, yellow wax and purple beans Fresh herbs Purple kohlrabi, purple carrots Sunflowers (my bags were getting heavy at that point!) Heirloom tomatoes The lunch area I would love to try the meat as well (I need to remember to bring ice packs next time) Our daughter enjoying a chocolate ice cream sandwich from Peke’s

I love Marco Polo from Mariage Freres, which was my favorite tea house when I lived in Paris, but never had a chance to try it in the "green tea" version, only black. I bet it's wonderful too.

Squash, zucchini, tomatoes - ratatouille is the first thing that comes to mind. Good on its own, and you could make an omelette with the leftovers, or a vegetarian lasagna.

Kate, Amazing food so far! I really like your use of fresh ingredients in your cooking, so this week should be a lot of fun. I am also in awe with all the beautiful seafood. This uni lardo on toast is something I've been dreaming about since I saw Anthony Bourdain having this dish at Marea in No Reservations. Well done! Yes indeed, in an hour or two from now, it'll be breakfast! I cure salmon a lot actually, I've posted this before, but other variations I've tried for the cure flavourings: Chineseish - flavourings of sugar, salt, Sichuan pepper, a little five spice, shaohsing wine, scallions and ginger Vietnameseish - sugar in the form of both sugar and caramel sauce, salt, fish sauce, cassia/cinnamon, star anise, black pepper and chilli. Added a splash of Vietnamese moonshine. Thaiish - palm sugar, salt, lemongrass, galangal, red chilli, tamarind, crushed coriander roots and leaves, and garlic. Didn't use alcohol here and it was fine, slightly different texture. Japaneseish - yuzu koushou, Okinawan black sugar, soy sauce and a mirin/sake combo Frenchish - sugar, fleur de sel, herbes de Provence, lavendar petals, and some Pernod. I used fresh thyme too but it was too overpowering by the end of the cure so would omit that next time. I love cured salmon but have been sticking with a traditional gravlax recipe (juniper berries, coriander, allspice, pepper, lemon zest, salt, sugar, mint, and gin or vodka). Your use of beet looks great, and the other cures that you mentioned are really inspirational. One question - you say that you only cure the fish for one day; is that because you are curing a relatively small piece of fish? My go-to recipe, which is for a whole fillet, calls for a curing period of 4 to 5 days. Well, actually, the two Dudes at Animal in LA already thought of that! Two nights ago I had their seared foie gras, biscuit, and maple sausage gravy, and I can confirm that it's a pretty amazing combination!

I had a wonderful time reading your blog, and laughed out loud a lot. Thanks for sharing your week.

A quick braise with garlic and bay leaves, a la Molly Stevens (from All About Braising). That recipe works well with new potatoes and takes less than 30 minutes.

How can you not fall in love with a young Catherine Deneuve singing while baking a "cake d'amour"? This is from Peau d'Ane, a musical by the French director Jacques Demy (score by Michel Legrand), who directed Deneuve in several other movies early in her career. In the story, she is forced to escape from her father, the King (played by Jean Marais), who wants to marry her after the Queen dies. She uses a donkey skin as a disguise. In this scene, she bakes a cake intended to cure a Prince who has fallen ill. She can be seen both as the Princess and as Donkey Skin during the song. Notice how she places her ring in the cake... It's all going to end with a beautiful wedding of course! The movie has a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor, so it's more interesting than a typical fairy tale. I am convinced that this scene must have contributed to my love of baking since a young age! (And no, she does not weigh her ingredients, and all of her measurements are very approximative - a hand of this, a drop of that, etc)

Ok, I hate to add to the confusion, and also it’s going to start sounding like a classic Columbo line, but here we go… My husband, the business traveler and amateur photographer, who still does not have an eG membership, tells me that RHR (Ramsay Hospital Road) has the reputation for being the most “gastronomic” of them all, and is priced accordingly. He has eaten there and enjoyed the experience. Frankly, the most disappointing thing about it was the bill at the end. Considering the difference in price, he didn’t find it to be THAT much better than what he typically gets at Claridge’s, where he has eaten on multiple occasions. He also loved Maze but hasn’t been back since the chef left so can’t speak for it now. In any case, it was a less classic experience than Claridge’s. If he had to pick just one Ramsay restaurant to go back to, Claridge's would be the recommended option if price is any consideration (and it's also easier to get a reservation). Petrus was very nice, as well, but also fussier than Clarridge’s – and more expensive.

Excellent! (the book, not the shipping fees...) Just ordered a copy as well.

My husband, the photographer for my Foodblog the other week, travels to Charleston occasionally for business and just came back from there last week. He ate at FIG and McCrady’s, and highly recommends both. He says that FIG is more casual, while McCrady’s is more gastronomic and formal. Both make good use of local ingredients to elevate classic dishes. At FIG, the John’s Island tomato tartine and the corn chowder were outstanding, as was the locally caught triggerfish. The pork trotters were also excellent, if you’re a bit adventurous. At McCrady’s, the stone crab and uni (urchin) was his favorite dish, along with the Berkawattabaw pork. Both restaurants have first rate cocktail menus. FIG even has a dedicated Manhattan menu, with a choose-your-own list of bourbon, bitters, and vermouth! Otherwise, he tells me that the best cocktails in town can be found at The Gin Joint, which is also on East Bay, just down the road from McCrady’s. They pride themselves on their authentic vintage Prohibition-era cocktails, and they make their own syrups, bitters, and tonics, while also carrying an impressive selection of hard-to-find spirits. As you may know, one of the secrets to a good cocktail is good ice, and they hand carve their own cubes. They even have a machine which melts a block of ice into a giant sphere for the perfect Old Fashioned. They serve great small plates for a good snack, too. He also likes Husk, which apparently belongs to the same owner as McCrady’s, but is more on the casual side. For an authentic and casual Charleston seafood experience, he says that you must go to The Wreck in Mount Pleasant. It’s overlooking a beautiful old fishing port and you’ll think you’re lost trying to find it (behind a residential neighborhood and a boat storage facility). But the food couldn’t be any fresher and it’s got all the ambiance you’ll ever want – but bring bug spray! The Stone crab claws are his favorites there. He apparently has a lot of fun on his “business trips”. On another note, I am trying to convince him to open an eGullet account so he can report his experiences directly, but it looks like I still have to work on him.

So, so true! Jerry- I am enjoying your blog tremendously. I love your exuberant style and endless enthusiasm. And your writing is just great. Thanks for sharing your week with us, I can't wait to read what's next!

Alex, Have you made the Nutella ice cream from Chocolate & Zucchini before? I tried it a couple of years ago and had disastrous results - a very dense mass that never really froze (no wonder - it's almost 1/2 Nutella by weight!), like a solid version of Nutella. As for the taste, it was so rich that nobody cared for it. Definitely not recommended. On the other hand, my experience so far with all of David Lebovitz's ice cream recipes has been fantastic!

WOW. Shelby, the roe in your prawn dish looks absolutely unbelievable!! I bet it must have tasted wonderful.

Grilled peaches with homemade vanilla ice cream, that's what I would do!

Typically, I like a classic Negroni with Junipero gin, Dolin rouge and Campari, one dash each of Regan's and Angostura orange bitters. It's a good drink if you are feeling lazy since it can be built in the glass and uses a foolproof 1:1:1 ratio. Also my husband abhors Campari, so it's the first bottle that I grab when he is away on a business trip (well, that one and the Cynar)!

Honkman, I read about them as well, but unfortunately they don't have a stand at the markets that I frequent. I wonder if anyone had a chance to try their products? I did not find much information about them online other than the article that you linked in your post.

Just a quick note that Knight Salumi unfortunately closed their business earlier this year. It's too bad as we really enjoyed the sausage sandwiches at farmers market in Little Italy, and their dry salumi. I am hoping that we can find another good source for local sausages.

For the Gimlet, I like the recipe from Joy of Mixology. 2 1/2 gin, 3/4 Rose, lime wedge garnish

In addition to the above, here are some other options: Gimlet is an obvious choice with the Rose lime cordial Vesper Martini with the Lillet Tom Collins and John Collins, which are great and refreshing summer drinks Margarita with the Grand Marnier Bennett cocktail (gin, lime, simple, Angostura) Whiskey old-fashioned Whiskey sour

I did not feel like doing any grocery shopping last night, so I looked for something to make with what I already had at home - potatoes and black kale from my CSA, and a couple of frozen fish filets. I looked up these ingredients in Eat Your Books (which is a lot of fun; it's like recipe roulette and you never know what you are going to get!), and I ended up making a fish pie adapted from a Jamie Oliver's recipe. My husband cringed at the idea of a casserole-type dish, but it proved tasty and comforting. The cheese sauce was made with carrots, onions, heavy cream, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, and parsley. It's not super photogenic but here it is.

Kerry, Sorry to hear that you had a rough day at work. These carnitas look amazing! Were they fairly easy to make?

I am interested in what others have to say as well. I own a Global pairing knife and had limited success with sharpening on the EdgePro so far. My experience is that the steel is harder to sharpen compared to my others knives (Forschner and Messermeister chef knives), but that might be my technique.