David Ross

I second these three options for a tasting menu experience in Las Vegas. However, you should go online and review the menus and pricing. Expect to pay a lot of money at any of the high-end dining rooms in Las Vegas. And also consider that a $195 tasting menu can be supplemented with wines selected for each course, which can add an additional $100 or so to the bottom line. My favorite tasting menu of 2010 was at Sage at Aria Resort in City Center. They do fantastic American style cuisine and they have an incredible cocktail selection-including a number of absinthe drinks. (Well, at least what we call absinthe today). I've gone into restaurants in Las Vegas expecting to order ala carte. I'll ask the server if the Chef will prepare a tasting menu, tell them the number of courses we'd like to try and I've often found the staff to be very accomodating. So--if you fancy a dining room and that doesn't offer a tasting menu online, just call and they most likely will accomodate your request.

I'm not so sure I'd like to see Robuchon and Ducasse in a competition. The idea leaves me with a sense that such an event would somehow end up sending a signal that the winner was "better" and I'm not so sure that would be an accurate assesment of their talent. I've tasted the cuisine of both Ducasse and Robuchon and I find their styles so different that I'm not so sure a competition would prove one is better than the other. Both of course are technical Masters, so it would end up being a matter of style I think. While I have my personal favorite of the two, I'm not sure one is actually better than the other. I have friends who worship Robuchon, others praise Ducasse. I have friends who idolize Guy Savoy, whose Las Vegas restaurant I find to be boring and only average. Then again, some of those same critics think Pierre Gagnaire is a genius savant. I find his cuisine often confusing and muddled. Having said all of that, your idea of a competition between such highly regarded Chefs is certainly intriguing.

Thank you. I'm so glad that the piece has evoked wonderful memories for people. You might want to go this general website "Huckleberry Wild" http://huckleberry.xenite.org/sellers/ for a list of a number of online sources for huckleberry products, all made by vendors from the Pacific Northwest.

Do you ever go foraging for your own, David? My mother and I used to go blueberry picking together in Nova Scotia - she had some fun tales of growing up in Labrador and berry picking amongst the wildlife. One of the best picking grounds in my hometown was recently (to paraphrase our great Northern Songstress Joni Mitchell) paved over and they put up a parking lot (and a shopping centre) on it. I used to go into the forests and up the mountains to pick huckleberries, but since it's quite a chore, I now just buy them at a local Farmer's market or grower's co-op. And--as I've gotten older I don't care as much for the competitive nature of some of the huckleberry pickers. There are small groups who pick morels in the spring, huckleberries in late summer and autumn, then forage chanterelles in the fall. They can be testy if you come upon them so I avoid it, along with hungry bears. Yet I do agree that there is a sense of peace in picking wild berries and sharing the experience in nature.

I've also tasted wild blueberries--from Maine. While I found them more flavorful than cultivated blueberries, for my taste they still don't hold a candle to the taste of huckleberries. Both are quite different in terms of flavor, (and I suppose I am biased for nostalgic reasons), yet I still think the huckleberry packs a flavor punch far more intense than the blueberry.

Good writing. Great improvement since the last time I read one of your articles, which was lots of fun even then. Especially like the above phrase, among all the good ones. Annual treat - one slice of pie. A thing to anticipate oh my! Thank you. While the phrase "delirious joy of the huckleberry feast" was applied to the pleasure of bears eating huckleberries, I must say I get delirious myself when tucking into a slice of huckleberry pie.

In chatting with a well-known New York Restrauteur this morning, (whose family has been in the business for many years), he summed-up the issue of Chefs and front-of-the-house employees banning food photography in restaurants with one, simple, word- "pretentious"

I agree with everything Steven has mentioned. I'll add that there are really only a handful, (less than a handful actually), of oldline Food Journalists left that are under contract reporting for National publications like GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair and the like. If one of those Journalists does a piece on a restaurant, (unannounced at the time of the visit), then it is fairly standard for the publication to contact the restaurant after the fact to send a professional photographer over to take shots of the food if the review is going to be published--done under professional lighting conditions during the day when the restaurant is most likely closed for service. That's the exception of course. While my fine dining experiences are outside of the confines of New York City, I've never encountered a situation where I was either asked in advance or told at the table that photography was banned. However, if I am at a restaurant at the level of say L'Atelier or Guy Savoy, (any high-end room), I will always ask the waiter in advance if they mind if I take shots of the dishes. I think showing some graceful manners up front and asking goes a long way to telling them you are serious and interested in food and likewise, they are impressed and want to share their craft (as it were), with the public. It sets the bar at a higher level than someone just coming in and holding an iPhone over the pasta. I know that some restrateurs and Chefs fear that the wicked world of Facebook and Twitter will wreak havoc upon their reputation--but, if they are putting forth quality food they should welcome the free advertising.

It was about as big as your fist and in the neighborhood of $1,600, so you can imagine how many shavings, (and supplemental charges), they get out of one truffle. The Chef did a tasting menu that was primarily composed of dishes with white truffles. I didn't get a lot of quality photos as the lighting wasn't conducive to the level of photo I prefer to share, yet here are a few photos I did take, (along with my menu notes)- Once you are seated, the waitstaff bring a stunning dish of parmesan as you are looking over the menu. It’s simply parmesano-reggiano, shredded and fried until it melts, then formed into “petals.” The “petals” are married to create a “parmesan flower”-crispy, salty and tangy. Lobster Carpaccio, White Truffle and Micro-Greens- The Lobster was dressed with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. While my friends felt the truffles over-powered the lobster, I disagreed. The truffles gave a heady scent and salty taste that accented the sweet flavor of the lobster meat. Chef Pelligrini is a master with game birds, treating them with the delicate respect they deserve in order to present meat that is tender and juicy. For the next course, he served a semi-boneless quail that was roasted then glazed with a Riesling sauce and presented on a sautéed parsnip cake—and shavings of white truffles. The next course was relieved of the shower of white truffles, yet it did not suffer--tiny nuggets of abalone served with a pink peppercorn cream sauce. Chef sources these “baby” abalone from Australia. We agreed that the pink peppercorn cream sauce was too peppery and rich for the sweetness of the abalone—a hint of lemon and olive oil would have been the only partner necessary. Ravioli of slow-cooked pork and escargot with a pumpkin-butter sauce. Your inclination is to turn away from such an unlikely pairing--pork and snails, yet the meat of the pig was meltingly tender and salty and offset by just a hint of the sea provided by the snails. Roast Bison Strip Loin with Glazed Onion and a Red Wine Sauce, Risotto with White Truffles- Dessert Sampler with Six Gelato, (without white truffles but many glasses of Grappa)- The Gelato flavors included Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Pistachio, Mango and Lemon. While other Italian restaurants along the Strip often garnish more press due to the trendy nature of Vegas, (Rao’s and any Batali outpost among them), the quality and consistency of the Valentino kitchen and the gracious service of the staff should merit a visit next time you are in town.

Well, I've been fortunate to have cooked on live television many, many times. I suppose I'm a traditionalist and as such, I always felt my main goal was to teach and inform home cooks about an ingredient or a dish. Having said that, I would never intentionally set out to make concessions due to the constraints of television if I knew what I was saying wasn't true to a recipe. In other words, I would script and then practice each dish a number of times, taking hours of prep for a cooking segment that typically lasted 3 minutes. Knowing the constraints of telelvision, mainly time, we would only do what we could to accurately depict the main points of a dish. What we couldn't clearly portray during the segment we would explain. And of course, today we have the advantage of directing viewers to the recipe online, (not something Julia Child had at her disposal in the 1960's). Our goal was always to get our viewers excited about an ingredient, (often made or sourced locally), that would encourage them to try the dish at home and we did it without running water, an oven, a refrigerator on the set and an adequate cooktop. To wit: -All cooks should be concerned about accurate measurements, especially when it comes to crafting pastry and desserts. -Use glass bowls and white plates that are actually over-sized so that the viewer can clearly see what ingredients are called for and what the final dish should look like. We always used glass bowls to display ingredients as they come through the camera lens more clearly. We even used a glass dish for a small pinch of nutmeg. Final plating was always done on a large, plain, white plate. -If we didn't have time to properly whip egg whites prior to folding them into a batter, we wouldn't do it. We would have the egg whites whipped ahead of time and explain that it was critical to the recipe to "fold" in the egg whites. The quips we tell our viewers have to be accurate. I agree that often talented Chefs go on TV to hawk a book or other media endeavor and forget that they also have an obligation to the viewers. Cutting corners for the sake of the constraints presented by television is a poor excuse. On the other hand, one can work within the confines of television to still present an accurate portrayal of cooking.

I'm in Las Vegas for a week of dining. Last night we had dinner at Valentino in the Venetian. Chef Luciano Pellegrini indulged my request to create some dishes using the season's white truffles from Alba. Chef Pellegrini said that the Alba truffles are at the height of their flavor right now. He's been getting 1 or 2 truffles in each week and expects to have them available into the first week of December. We also had the opportunity to have a conversation with Piero Selvaggio, (owner of Valentino restaurant group), who happened to be in town this week. As many of you know, Mr. Selvaggio has been responsible for bringing true, regional Italian cuisine to America for over 30 years. Now imagine having this beauty shaved over Lobster Carpaccio, Glazed Quail on a Parsnip Cake, Ravioli of Pork and Escargot and Loin of Bison with Risotto-

Well, I guess I'm going to support both the Pilgrims and the British this Thanksgiving. (A sort of oxymoron when you think about it). A pumpkin mousse pie slathered in whipped cream and then my delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding served with pumpkin ice cream.

You may want to look at Burgers' Smokehouse online. They offer "city" style hams for those who want a traditional style ham and their "attic" aged country ham is for the adventurous, traditional Southern ham purists. I've had the country ham and it's delicious, but I doubt my family would welcome this salty beast at the Holiday table.

Tonight, a delicious and tender veal loin that I ordered from D'artagnan. I wrapped the loin in bacon, then seared it to crisp the bacon and then roasted in a 375 oven for 18 minutes to a temperature of 127. I was skeptical of the temperature, thinking the veal would be way too rare, but I took a cue from a recipe from Nancy Oakes of Boulevard restaurant in San Francisco and it paid off. The veal was incredibly tender and juicy, the bacon crisp and salty. I served the veal on a bed of garlic spinach and a red wine sauce, (also based on a recipe from the Boulevard Cookbook by Nancy Oakes). The main accompaniment was a chanterelle risotto using mushrooms picked from the forests not far from my home. (The chanterelle season in the Northwest has been very good this year). I added a mix of fresh marjoram, lemon thyme and parsley to the risotto. I must admit, one of the best dishes of the year. Enjoy.

Is there a market in the UK that is akin to Whole Foods in the US?

The weekend duck and potato theme continued tonight with Slow-Roasted Duck with Creamy Mustard Cabbage and Roasted Potatoes. I've been doing roast duck this way for years and it always turns out fantastic-tender, juicy meat with crisp skin. I brined the duck for about 8 hours in a simple mixture of water, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns and chopped onions. Pricked the breast to help render the fat and into a 275 oven for 3 1/2 hours. During the last 1 1/2 hours of roasting I added some peeled and quartered Russet potatoes to the roasting pan. Turn up the heat to 375 for 1/2 hour and then to broil for 6 minutes to crisp the skin. During the roasting I baste the duck and potatoes with the rendered duck fat. I also add about 3/4 cup water to the roasting pan so that the duck fat doesn't burn during roasting. The cabbage is very easy. Start with frying some chopped, smoked bacon until crisp, then add in a small diced onion. Add shredded cabbage, (tonight I used Savoy cabbage), and saute in the bacon fat until wilted. Add a couple of tablespoons of capers and some celery seed. Add cream or sour cream to make a thick sauce and a couple of big spoons of Dijon mustard. Season with black pepper.

I'm not exactly sure how long Aunt Bertie aged her fruitcakes, but based on my memories and what I remember her saying was that the "young" fruitcakes were at least two years old and the "aged" cakes were over five years.

Last night, my first batch of Duck Confit this Fall, served with "Pommes de Terre Macaire" and a watercress salad-

Erin, I can assure you that your delicious breakfast journey, (while fast and furious), is far more interesting than my own bland morning snack. Thank you for a fascinating glimpse into the pace of life in Suzhou.

This will be a delicious journey this week. I'm already curious about the slaw and the snapper. Looking forward to it.

According to the bio posted on GQ here, Mr. Rapoport does have a background in food writing--"Prior to joining GQ, Rapoport edited the restaurant section at Time Out New York for three years and worked as an editor and writer for the James Beard Foundation's publications office." I'm willing to give him a chance to see if he will bring some new, refreshing ideas and "style" to Bon Appetit. I'm still a loyal subscriber and it fits within part of my interests in food and cooking. I would agree with you though on your preference for Saveur. It's my "top" choice in food magazines.

What, specifically, do you find the aging adds to the cake? Doesn't it just make it taste like booze? Or do you find other flavours develop? A co-worker noted that the season's first dried persimmons are out now, so I'm going to pick up a pack to go into my cake this year. I age my fruitcakes for a couple of reasons. I do think the brandy "soak" over the course of a year or more does bring out more of the flavors of the fruits in the cake while giving it a deeper texture. I've tasted "fresh" fruitcakes and they just don't have the full flavors of the aged cakes. The second reason is purely sentimental. I learned about aging fruitcakes from my Great Aunt Bertie Pink. A teetotaler, (at least publicly), Aunt Bertie only visited the liquor store once a year and that was to purchase the booze for her fruitcake. She'd make her cakes, wrap them in cheesecloth and then douse them with brandy and put them up in the root cellar to age. That memory is imprinted in my mind so I've carried on the tradition. (And I've come close, but have never been able to put forth a dark fruitcake as delicious as Bertie's).

I use a fruitcake recipe adapted from a recipe used by the baker's of the Great Northern Railroad and served onboard their passenger trains. The most famous Great Northern train was the "Empire Builder," which still runs from Seattle-Chicago today--albeit in Amtrak colors and without any fruitcake on the Holiday menu. I cut the ingredients by half from the original recipe, eliminate the vanilla and the port wine. The original recipe calls for all granulated sugar but I use equal parts of granulated and brown sugar. Once the fruitcake is baked, I wrap it in cheesecloth and then slug some brandy on top. The cheesecake acts like a sort of wet sponge, cloaking the cake in booze while it sits covered in a dark corner of the pantry. Please note that the fruitcake I make this year won't be ready to eat until 2011 at the earliest. I have a fruitcake stewing in brandy right now that is 3 years old. 1 pound raisins 1 pound currants 1 pound mixed glazed fruits 1 pound glazed whole cherries 1 pound candied pineapple 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups butter 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. mace 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cardamom 12 eggs 1 tbsp. lemon extract 1 tbsp. vanilla extract (I cut this out) 1 tbsp. sherry or port (I cut this out) 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 cup pecan halves 1/2 cup whole almonds, blanched Mix raisins, currants, mixed fruits, cherries and pineapple the day before cooking and keep in a cool placed to blend flavors. (I add about 1/2 cup brandy and let the fruits macerate overnight). Grease two 9 1/2 by 5 1/4 inch bread pans; line bottoms and sides with strips of heavy brown paper, grease paper. (This was an old-fashioned technique in the days prior to non-stick baking pans and cooking spray. I use a non-stick pan). Lightly cream sugar, butter and salt. Add spices. Slowly stir in eggs gradually to blend; add extracts and wine. (I cut out the wine because I prefer the cake with just the flavor of brandy). Then add flour, mixing lightly. Add fruits and nuts; combine well. Pour into prepared pans, filling them 3/4 full. Bake at 300° approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Cool thoroughly; remove from pans. Makes about 5 pounds. NOTE: Since oven temperatures vary, watch closely -- do not overbake.

A number of media outlets are reporting that Adam Rapoport, (currently the style editor at GQ), will be introduced as the new Editor-in-Chief at Bon Appetit. It will be interesting to see how the content of the magazine will change under Mr. Rapoport's guidance.

Our meal at the Las Vegas restaurant was really exceptional. I am not well-versed in either Thai cuisine or Riesling, so I wasn't sure what to expect prior to our dinner. I knew that Lotus of Siam had garnered a lot of recognition and my friends in Las Vegas raved about the place. The dishes were spicy and flavorful and perfectly paired to the Reislings that we tasted.