David Ross

Steven-superb job! You wrote a humorous piece that created the perfect image in my mind of what dinner at Mr. Richman's house would look like-and taste like, and smell like, and sound like. While I've only met Mr. Richman in passing, (outside the doors of Guy Savoy in Las Vegas), I've always imagined him to be a bit of a curmudgeon in his writing but a quite likeable fellow and gracious host in person. I'm thinking he's the type of guy who would have offered you some type of retro cocktail with Rye whiskey? I wouldn't expect Alan to seek out artisan puff pastry at Whole foods to use as the wrapper for hand-cured sausage cut from heritage breed pigs. No, I would fully expect Richman to do just what you reported he did-purchase Pillsbury dough in a can (found only in your better mass-appeal supermarket deli cases)-to wrap his little hot-doggies. Now I don't know you well Steven, but I suspect that maybe you knew in the back of your mind that in some way your piece would stir the emotions of some eGullet devotees and turn the tables of the story of a pleasant dinner into a discussion as to the merits of the food critic as a chef. While I am tempted to take the bait, I'll hold off for now. A little. "How awful." Some would proclaim that "It's sacrilegious"-a living icon in the world of food journalism who serves "Pigs in a Blanket." For crying out loud people, take a drink of your Gin Gimlet. Let's not be so serious that we feel the need to analyze Alan Richman's lack of training at the Cordon Bleu or his inability to turn out Truffled Chicken Served in a Pigs Bladder. He writes about it. He doesn't cook it. Did Mikhail Baryshnikov have to know how to hand-stitch ballet shoes in order to dance in them? Well Steven I think your story is just great, and delicious, and funny. I'm glad you had a good time and no doubt you'll be back for another fun dinner at Chez Richman, er Home Cook Alan Richman, very soon. Thanks.

Last night was a Buffalo Strip Steak with Bleu Cheese-Potato Gratin and Green Beans. We get a lot of buffalo in our markets in Eastern Washington, usually from ranches not far away in Montana. Buffalo is a bit sweeter than beef with a tiny hint of gaminess. It's really low in fat so we cook it to the rare side of medium-rare. (I must admit that while I like buffalo, I still prefer beef).

C'mon, David Ross, the truth is that your food is wonderful and you are a talented photographer. I know this to be the case, since no matter what "fixing" I do to my pictures, they never look anything like yours! Just gorgeous cake, BTW. You have now inspired me to make yet another dessert . . . . David Ross Cherry Clafouti shall be joined by David Ross Upside Down Cake. (My family wants to know who the heck is David Ross!) ← Thank you for your nice comments. And you remembered the Clafouti! Wonderful. Last night I made ice cream sandwiches-Chocolate Chip Cookies filled with Creamsickle Ice Cream. Sorry, it was late, I had too much wine and taking a photo was the last thing on my mind. I needed a sugar fix. Thanks again for the comments.

Last night I did a British type of theme: Beer Battered Prawns with a salad of Cucumber and Tomato combined with my own Tartar Sauce-which includes mayonnaise, mustard, dill pickle relish and a touch of horseradish. Then a Steak and Kidney Pudding. I used Delia Smith's recipe that is posted on the BBC Food website. I've always loved the Steak and Kidney Pudding served at Elephant and Castle Pubs in the US and Canada, just haven't ever been able to duplicate their recipe. This recipe still isn't as good as the Puddings you get at Elephant and Castle, but it was good. I changed it up by slow cooking the meats and then adding the puff pastry as a garnish. I'm not a big fan of beef kidneys, but the taste was pretty muted due to the slow cooking.

You could easily substitute Orzo for the Rice in Hellzapoppin. In fact, it's a great idea so thanks for suggesting it. I think I'll try it myself!

Hmm, I don't think I would take the chance of cooking such high quality pork in a pressure cooker. I can't base my answer on any personal experience of using a pressure cooker on pork belly-but my natural instinct is to tell you not to do it. Especially since you are probably paying a premium for Kurobata pork. I'm just not sure that quick, intense heat, albeit under the steam pressure of the pressure cooker, would give you both moist meat and crispy skin-and that is what I think our common goal is when cooking with pork belly-melting meat with crispy skin. If you are intent on experimenting with pork belly in a pressure cooker, I might suggest using a basic pork belly-much cheaper than the Kurobata and if it doesn't turn out, you haven't ruined your Kurobata pork belly. On the other hand, if you have a pressure cooker recipe you trust, go for it. The pressure cooker will give you quick results, and then you could run the cooked pork belly under the broiler to crisp the skin. Let me know which way you go with the pork belly and maybe post a photo for us of your results.

Russell-another great Las Vegas trip report with photos, thank you! I was at home in snowy Spokane on the Monday that you all went to Savoy for dinner. Trust me, I would have rather been with the group enjoying that fine food and wine rather than struggling through my snow and ice caked street. Great job.

Doc-I am looking forward to your report. I've always enjoyed your restaurant reviews and photos-especially your thoughts on El Bulli. The Spaniards are quietly plying their trade, yet they seem to be on the cutting edge of leading us into a new world of cuisine. Thanks, your writing and photos will be interesting.

Holy BLEEP, David Ross! Those pictures are so beautiful; the perfect lighting, the great clarity of the focus, just WOW! If I may ask, what type of camera do you use? I just received a nice little Samsung 7.2 megapixel for Christmas, and I still haven't really learned it yet. Your colors absolutly glow; the cherries look like Christmas ornaments! ← Thank you so much. The pictures did turn out very good, but the taste of the cake is what was really spectacular. How can you go wrong when you cook any type of fruit in butter and brown sugar, bake it with cake batter and pull it out of the oven, invert it onto a plate, and watch all that caramelized sugar drip down. I use a Canon Powershot for my photos. I'll send you the exact model number and specs later. I do a couple of things to enhance the end photo: -I put the dish on my dining table which is under a strong light from a chandelier. Then I put a white foamcore board behind the plate. This way I get strong light and light that bounces off the white board, which in turn seems to help set off the food. -I take two shots-one of the whole dish and one close-up. For the shot of the whole dish, in this case the whole cake, I usually set my camera onto a mini-tripod to help keep the camera steady. I set my camera to 'manual', turn off the flash, and then set it on the digital setting. For the close-up shot I set my camera to 'digital macro' (really closeup shots), turn off the flash and then set it on AFL (auto focus lock), to keep the camera from shaking in my hands. -FInally, I do a lot of editing on my computer before I post my photos on eGullet. I am currently using WIndows Vista which comes with the latest photo editing from Microsoft. I can control the brightness, contrast, color saturation and cropping of the photo. I tend to darken my photos before I post them on eGullet because I find the raw photos will be too light if I post them without darkening. I figure that part of the story I'm telling is through the photos, so I want them to portray to my fellow eGullet friends that the food is delicious. Thank you again.

My oh my you are all such talented bakers! I usually am in other forums but I really have to commit to coming over here more often. Wonderful. Last night I did my own variation on Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I used mandarin oranges and some candied cherries I had leftover from my holiday baking. I served it with a vanilla and orange swirl ice cream.

Dinner last night was meat loaf, glazed carrots and parsnips and "hellzapoppin" rice casserole: Now what is really great is that I didn't realize the full history behind Hellzapoppin until yesterday. My Mother has made it for years and years based on what we thought was a recipe from a family friend. Well, I couldn't find the original hand-written recipe card, so I thought I might try finding a recipe on the web. It was there! And, being a native Oregonian I was quite pleased when I realized the recipe came from Peg Bracken and her "I hate to cook" cookbook which was published in 1960. Peg Bracken recently died at the age of 89 at her home in Portland, Oregon. Along with James Beard, she is one of Oregon's most beloved cooks and authors. And yes, the Hellzapoppin is still as delicious and appropriate today as it was in 1960.

Thank you very much. Go over to the baking forum and scroll through the subjects to Artisan Bread in Five minutes with Zoe Francis. It's right up there this evening. There is lots of info about the method, the book about the method, and links to the recipe. I rarely get pizza into the perfect round, but that is what gives an artisan pizza its character, odd edges, bubbles in the dough, cheese melting over the edge. I think that odd shape I ended up with added to the taste of the pizza, at least I hope it did.

I thought that was what the RecipeGullet was for! The past couple of days have been really lucky in that I've stumbled across ingredients here in Brum that have i've never seen available before. Yesterday was Sea Urchin at the wholesale market (see the breakfast thread) and this morning it was Woodcock from the farmers market. Brilliant! Roasted Woodcock, with a Beetroot salad, Roasted Pink Fir Apple Potato and a 'Pate' of it's innards (Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's good idea this one): The taste of woodcock is fantastically delicately gamey. It was roasted with the innards still in the bird. Whilst the bird was resting, the still bloody innards were spooned into a small pan to cook through with some butter and a splash of marsala to make the pate - the end product was wonderfully rich and went very well with the sweet beets. I really hope they are available again next time the farmers market is in town! ← Looks delicious. Tell me more about the "Roasted Pink Fir Apple Potato." Sounds interesting.

Pizza last night with Kalamata olives, prosciutto, mozzarella, diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and then fresh basil after the pizza came out of the oven. For the dough I used the artisan bread in five minutes recipe off another thread in the baking forum. This is a good recipe for pizza dough-doesn't get soggy and puffs up nicely.

Ann looks delicious. Do you use a certain type of sausage and olive? Is there a sauce or just olive oil? I'm really dying to try your recipe. Thanks.

Actually, you can always find a skin-on pork shoulder at Walmart. But if you can't find the skin-on pork shoulder you can substitute with a fresh ham, which is just a fresh leg of pork. Both will work well in the recipe which calls for a slow braise.

Last night, actually the process started Friday, I served a Cuban Roast Pork based on a recipe in the latest issue of Saveur. You start by marinating a pork shoulder the day before in orange juice, lime juice, cumin seed, black pepper, oregano, garlic and olive oil. The recipe calls for braising the pork for about 4 hours. I changed things up a bit. I put the pork over a bed of pickled red onions that I had made last week. Then the pork, then the braising liquid, into a heavy, covered pot and into a 300 oven for 8 hours. I then roasted it uncovered in a 400 oven for 45 minutes. I served the pork sliced over some steamed rice that was flavored with green onions, peas and a bit of saffron, the reduced pork braising liquid and some corn bread that had cheddar cheese, green onion and fresh jalapeno added. The pork turned out really good, almost as good as the pork belly I make. Very juicy and the sauce was a mix of sweet and sour. The pickled red onions just melted into the sauce and I think that added a lot of flavor.

You really have tons of choices within steps of where you'll be hanging your coat. Caesar's and the adjoining Forum Shops have plenty of great restaurant choices. To the South and just across the street are the great restaurants of Bellagio and to the East and up the street a bit to the North of course are The Venetian, Treasure Island, The Mirage and Wynn. But rather than make a broad swath across a big distance of the strip, and since you only have three nights, I'd stick close to your digs at Caesar's and here are some good choices that shouldn't disappoint: At Caesar's: Guy Savoy, Formal French Cuisine and Service, expect to pay about $275 per person for the tasting menu, wines would be extra. A memorable experience well worth the high price. Bradley Ogden, American Cuisine based on farm fresh products with a California influence. More reasonable in price than Savoy, about $150 per person for three courses and wines. I would avoid Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. I think there is more allure to the celebrity moniker rather than a focus on outstanding food. Payard Patisserie and Bistro just opened, French Bistro and Pastries, but it is really still too early to tell if it has settled in. RJ Wong will be eating there in a couple of days and report back to us. If you don't mind trying a new outpost of a New York restaurant, give this one a shot. The Forum Shops at Caesar's: BOA Steakhouse in the Forum Shops is a short walk out of the Caesar's casino. Good seafood and steak. Next door, and owned by the same corporation, is the Sushi Roku. As the name implies, fresh sushi if that is your thing. Spago-the dining room, at the Forum Shops. Don't settle for the cafe that is out front and where you dine amongst the hordes of shoppers walking by, get a reservation in the dining room. While it may be a celebrity chef restaurant, aka Wolfgang Puck, don't think it is another chef is missing type of restaurant. The food is American with Puck's usual Italian and European influences, maybe a bit of Asian cuisine thrown in, but all good. I always have found the service to be very good. Some favorites: Blueberry Mojito Cocktail, Cauliflower Soup with Foie Gras, any roasted bird or the fresh seafoods. If you do want to take a quick cab ride to another hotel, here are three of my favorites that are close: Valentino at The Venetian, Classic Italian. While Mario Batali's B & B is getting the press lately at the Venetian, Valentino is a better choice for Italian. Bypass the cafe and bar out front and eat in the formal dining room. I will never forget my last pasta dish at Valentino-braised beef stuffed ravioli with a garlic cream sauce that sounds simple but was anything but simple. Delicious. Wing Lei at The Wynn, Classic Chinese but using fresh, seasonal American products. Call ahead and ask if they can prepare a special tasting menu for you. It's about $150 per person. The ala carte menu is extensive and the Peking Duck tasting menu interesting, but to challenge the chef and the staff, and to get a really good taste of what they can do, ask if they can prepare a tasting menu. They obliged me when I made that request in May and the dinner was fabulous. Alex at The Wynn, American Cuisine with French Accents. The dining room is grand, (Savoy is somewhat staid), the service relaxed yet gracious, the food is incredible. The tasting menu with wines is the best way to sample Alex Stratta's cuisine and runs about $250 per person with wines. At a private lunch in May, my favorite dishes were the vegetable crudites with a black truffle dipping sauce and the roasted quail stuffed with foie gras. Really wonderful presentations on the plate. Let us know how your trip goes and please add photos if you can. Enjoy.

I have been caught-another Bugle addict! And to further my embarassment, I buy my Bugles at the haven of retro snack foods-WalMart. Yes, it is true. I absolutely love Bugles but rarely eat them, usually only once a year, a tradition started by my Aunt Bertie many, many years ago. Aunt Bertie would always give us a goodie bag for our journey from Idaho back to our home in Oregon each Summer. We always had a bag of Bugles in the goodie bag. So now when I take a driving trip in the Summer I always place a bag of Bugles on the front passenger seat to snack on during the drive. I usually make it to around 730am before I start digging in. Delicious those little Bugles.

I must have gotten a bad batch or something. After I opened the container and it looked like weak soup, I tasted it and it in fact tasted like weak beef bouillion, not at all like duck and veal demi-glace. Anyway, lesson learned and next time I plan on making cassoulet, I'll probably do it from scratch.

I ordered the D'Artagnan Cassoulet Kit online last week. I should have made my own recipe using ingredients I bought separately. I would only give it a 'B' grade. The meats were fine: Duck Confit, Garlic Sausage, Duck and Armagnac Sausage and Ventriche (Cured Pork Belly). My problem was with the Duck and Veal Demi-Glace that came with the kit. It was the consistency of weak black tea. I contacted D'Artagnan and told them that I thought something was wrong with the demi-glace. They weren't overly supportive in their response but rather defensive that their demi-glace wasn't a 'paste.' I never suggested it was a paste, but that I was concerned the demi-glace wasn't as thick as it probably should be. They didn't offer to replace it but only to refund my money on that part of the kit, which I accepted. In the end, I ended up using beef stock as a substitute because I didn't want to venture out in our bad weather to buy some veal demi-glace at the store. Sadly, I think the lack of flavor that would have come from true duck and veal demi-glace watered down my finished cassoulet. Does anyone have another source for a Cassoulet 'Kit'? Thanks.

Man, David Ross, your food looks stunning, as usual. I don't like herring in cream but your photo makes me want some. And yes to the pickled red onions. If you don't have any in the fridge, even a 30 minute soak in rice vinegar makes a big difference in taste, texture and appearance. ← Thank you. I was trying to create a Scandanavian theme menu and I thought this salad would fit within that theme. I couldn't find my Rick Bayless recipe for the pickled onions, so I made one up using apple cider vinegar, water, sugar and mixed pickling spices. I cheated and put in a few drops of red food coloring to bring out the pink hue of the onions.

Thank you! I cooked the lamb rack and butterflied leg of lamb the same way-seared for about 4 minutes per side in a cast iron skillet, then into a 450 oven. I roast the meat in the oven for about 5 minutes per side. I don't use a meat thermometer to check the meat temperature. I use the finger poke method and when I feel the meat is medium rare when I poke it, I take it out. (The meat gives just a bit when I poke it but it is not soft). I only let it rest for about 5 minutes before carving. This is the same method I use for steaks. I'd say for a full rack of lamb the total cooking time between searing and roasting is 18-20 minutes.

I agree with everyone who has mentioned that context is so important when compiling a list of your top restaurant meals of 2007. I only listed Guy Savoy, Las Vegas since it was far superior to any of the many restaurants I visited in 2007. However, context played an important role in naming just Guy Savoy. Just the mere fact that I was at a private dinner at Savoy celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of the restaurant vaulted it to the top of my list. And of course with Chef Savoy in the kitchens the food was superb. So for a total restaurant experience in 2007, no other place I visited would be able to come close to duplicating all the elements that came into play that one night at Savoy. We are all studied critics and reviewing restaurants is such a vast subject I feel like we almost need to break down our lists further into categories like type of cuisine and price range. And this is where context comes into play. The context of a meal at Guy Savoy is going to be different than the context of a meal at a local Chinese restaurant. That doesn't mean the roast duck I had at The Hong Kong Cafe in Spokane wasn't as good as the dinner at Savoy, just a different context. The Hong Kong Cafe is a Mom and Pop restaurant run out of a former Dairy Queen. You wouldn't imagine authentic Szechuan cuisine coming out of a fast food kitchen-but the roast duck is delicious-with a deeply lacquered, crispy skin and juicy-fatty meat. They were surprised when I walked in and I ordered off the menu of specialties rather than the daily 'combinations' posted over the order counter. They took great care to chop the duck and wrap it for me to take home. I think they were pleased to serve someone who ordered something more than egg drop soup. So in 'context' that was probably the top roast duck I had in 2007. Mind you, I ate more than a few roast ducks in 2007, but that was the best. The little cafe in Spokane run out of a former burger joint. The Hong Kong Cafe couldn't match what Savoy offered, but in the context of Chinese roast duck, they were number one.

Last night was a salad of Herring in Sour Cream, Butter Lettuce and Pickled Red Onion. I try to always keep a batch of pickled red onions in the fridge. Very easy to make and they retain this beautiful pink color. Just about any recipe you pull off the web works fine: Then the entree was Roast Leg of Lamb with Spicy Dark Beer Sauce and Roasted Carrot and Parsnip. I make this sauce a lot in the winter and the recipe is from the Alaskan Brewing Company. It starts with their Smoked Porter which they only offer in December. This time I used Guinness, and then reduced it with soy sauce, honey, molasses, and many different spices: mustard seed, cumin seed, caraway seed, fennel seed, mixed pickling spices, cinnamon stick and lots of nutmeg. Yes it's a lot of ingredients but you are left with this thick, spicy syrup that is very fragrant: