David Ross

Peter-In my mind, a Bistro is a casual style restaurant that serves fresh, regional dishes keeping French technique at the forefront in terms of preparation. Of course, my definition can be loosely interpreted, as is the term Bistro to describe many restaurants that have Bistro in their name. If you think that a Bistro must follow strict, French tradition, you'd probably never see a Caesar Salad on the menu-it is reportedly an American invention. However, if you walked into a restaurant called a Bistro in the Northwest, you'd probably find a Caesar Salad on the menu-maybe with Alder Smoked Salmon- next to more traditional French Bistro dishes like the Mussels in White Wine that I posted below. And I think that's o.k. Today's restaurant world is so huge it can cater to everyone's tastes-those who will only go to a Bistro that follows only strict French tradition, or a restaurant in Seattle-thousands of miles away from Paris-that is based on the casual French Bistro in terms of technique but uses the great local products of the Northwest. Many of the products we have in the Northwest would be found at Bistro's throughout France-fresh seafood, shellfish, hazelnuts, raspberries-simple seasonal foods freshly prepared. Here are a few more dishes I did this last weekend that I think would fit into what we're discussing. This is a Dungeness Crab Salad that I tossed with just a bit of olive oil, fresh lemon juice and then some chopped chives. The base is a mousse of fresh asparagus. Sorry, it is from Chile-we won't have the famous Walla Walla asparagus up here for another few weeks. It is just asparagus that is steamed, drained, then pureed in a processor with fresh cream, salt, pepper and a bit of fresh thyme. I then made a roasted tomato vinaigrette-but I don't think that was successful-it isn't anywhere near tomato season and they were watery and bland. Maybe next time I'd use canned tomatoes to make the vinaigrette. In any case, this was a delicious starter. A very simple boneless leg of lamb that I spit roasted outside over the old Weber grill using a combination of charcoal and hickory wood. Then just boiled baby Yukon Gold Potatoes and Broccolini tossed in olive oil, butter and garlic. I could stretch this into the Bistro category because I know many Bistro menus have simple grilled meats. I usually make Tarte Tatin with fresh apples in Fall-another classic French Bistro dish-but I also love it made with other fruits-in this case Bartlett Pears. The caramel is to die for. I use my own pastry recipe, more like a pie crust dough than the puff pastry used in most recipes. So maybe I've stretched the French Bistro theme a bit. But I try to stay within the boundaries of French tradition just using ingredients I'm familiar with where I come from. Hope you like the photos.

Hmm. Let me think about about getting something more catchy into the title of the thread to get it going and I'll get some more photos posted this weekend. (Got to get through the dreaded 'day job' this week before I can get back into the kitchen).

Good Luck to you and what a great, great opportunity! I've done shows on PBS, taped, but most of my experience has been on live TV like you'll be doing on Good Morning America-albeit mine has been on a much, much smaller stage-the ABC affiliates in Seattle, Portland and Spokane. I think I've done about 30 live segments. If you get a chance, ask the producers how much time you'll have. I have found that to be a key. I usually have about a 30 second intro, then we break for commercial. Then we come back and I'm with one of the local news anchors in the 'kitchen'-the same setup as you'll have. On my segments we only have 4 minutes. Yikes. I practice what I want to say the day before so that I get in all my key points within the time frame-sort of a dress rehearsal for timing. But don't write a script or talk as if what you are saying is scripted-it will come out unnatural to the audience. Just be yourself-don't worry about being instructive, the audience wants that. They want to relate to you first, then see what you are doing is of interest so they'll go to the Good Morning America website, and your website, to check out your products. You are right, have a display of the finished cookes. People want to visualize what the end product will look like. Keep the set-or your work surface, in the set kitchen, as clean as possible without a lot of clutter. It looks good to you and me, but the camera picks up things as cluttered if there is too much stuff to display. Another hint, I put everything in glass dishes-the eggs, the flour, the sugar, the butter. You'd think it would reflect off the camera, but my producers prefer all little glass dishes of the ingredients so the camera can 'look through' and see the butter. Finally, and sorry for rambling on, constant dialog is really important. Offer tips on the background of the recipe, the ingredients, the preparation, the baking, constant dialog. Engage the anchor in helping and the dialog. Any pauses in conversation on live tv are like a death wish, the viewers have their clickers in hand and will use them after after a few seconds if they get bored with a lack of dialog. You are so fortunate. You've obviously got a great product to offer and you have wowed the producer's to even get a cooking segment on GMA. Good Job and Good Luck.

Thanks for the chart Fat Guy! Ive got it downloaded on my computer. I've been looking for this type of meat chart for a long, long time-photos and a corresponding chart showing what part of the steer the darn thing came from. Infernooo-I'd avoid marinating your flank steak, or any meat, in lime juice, especially if it marinates more than about 30 minutes. Like raw seafood in a dish like ceviche, lime juice is an acid that will actually 'cook' meat or seafood. I've found that if you leave say flank steak in a lime marinade for more than 30 minutes,it will start to turn grey. Then when you slap it on a hot grill, you don't get that nice crusty black/brown char and the insides may be a bit grey, not the nice juicy redness of medium rare that is desired for flank steak. I'd recommend the spice rub, and you can even tenderize the flank steak cut using an old fashioned fork. Just jab the steak a few times with the tines of a fork. Cook it only for about 5-6 minutes per side on a very hot grill or grill pan on top of the stove, and slice across the grain. It is very good with this simple sauce-a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, a buch of fresh cilantro (I think you call it fresh coriander), a tablespoon of white vinegar, salt, pepper, about a 1/2 cup of olive oil. Chuck it all in a blender and puree. It's basically an Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce-ideal for rich grilled meats. Enjoy.

Hi all. One of my favorite cuisines is dishes that you would find in a French Bistro. It's a natural match for the great ingredients we have in the Pacific Northwest-seafood, wine and hazelnuts to name a few. Here are some recent dishes I did in a French Bistro theme: Crispy Frogs Legs with a Parsley-Cilantro Sauce Moules Marniere-Mussels in White Wine-Saffron Broth

Sorry all, it took me a while, ok a week, to figure out how to post this photo for you. Hey, I cook, I'm not great with computers. This is an example of the type of of dishes we do up here in the Northwest. What you see is a filet of fresh Alaskan Halibut. I sear it in an old cast iron skillet on one side, then turn it over and put it in a hot oven for about 8 minutes. It's simply seasoned with Paul Prudhomme's "Seafood Magic." In fact, I use his seasoning blends for just about everything. I served it on a bed of clam chowder-with a few twists. I added fresh extra small oysters and crawfish tails to the chowder. I'm not great with exquisitely prepared classic French sauces, so I cheat a bit and do a lot of soups as sauces. I couldn't get the appetizer photo to load properly-but it was "Gougeres"-which are French puff pastry puffs with cheese in the batter. A great snack with wine before dinner. It's the same dough you use for eclairs and profiteroles. I saved half the dough for the Gougeres and the other half for cream puffs. Didn't get a photo of the cream puffs. Instead of filling them with sweetened whipped cream I filled them with softened vanilla ice cream ala Thomas Keller of Bouchon and the French Laundry. I had some chocolate ganache in the freezer, so I heated that up for the chocolate sauce. A nice French Bistro menu.

Sorry, but I need some help with instructions on how to post a great photo of a halibut dish I did. Although I know food and cooking, be patient with me, I'm a rookie with computers and pasting in photos. Can someone give me some "pasting in a food photo into a reply for computer dummies" info for me?

I've been using the copper Turkish coffee mill for about 7 years now and it works great. You can control the texture of the grind, from fine to coarse. The copper and the shape of the mill looks kind of funky on the counter, but it's also a conversation piece. I think I bought it at Sur La Table in Seattle for about $20. I'm sure they are readily available at online kitchen stores.

Katie is in fact right-you should contact Management. I'll correct my last response that said not to contact Management. If it is a small family owned joint, let the Manager know before you leave. You can hope they'll take your constructive criticism to heart. If it is a chain or owned by a larger corporation, I have found taking time to write a letter detailing your poor service experience helps. I've written letters in the tone of not asking for compensation or the ubiquitous coupon for a free dinner but in the spirit of bringing a lapse in customer service to their attention in the hope that they will correct whatever the problem is.

You absolutely did the right thing to walk out. In fact, I would have left after the first 30 minute delay. And in all due respect to those who recommended you might have spoken to the Manager, I disagree. If the place doesn't have their act together-whether it be lack of kitchen help, disorganization, lack of waitstaff, poor hiring, poor training, whatever-a complaint after the fact to the Manager won't help. The Manager who allows that delay to happen in the first place is part of the problem. Never go back, tell your family, friends and business associates. Word of mouth can be the greatest recommendation or the ultimate critique in this case. Maybe then restaurants with this lack of customer service will get the message!

My favorite is Maker's Mark. It almost has a sweet taste to it. It is very silky. I found some of the other Kentucky small batch bourbons have a pretty harsh taste. I think it comes from the charred barrels they age it in. Booker's is another good Kentucky bourbon to try. I drink Maker's Mark three ways-straight over ice, with ginger ale, or in a traditional old-fashioned cocktail.

It may be too late in the winter season, but for an entree, I would go over to Tom Douglas's "Dahlia Lounge" for the duck confit with pappardelle pasta and wild mushrooms. Tom puts out some wonderful hearty meat dishes during the winter at both the "Dahlia Lounge" and his "Palace Kitchen."

The Dungeness Crab bisque is great on its own as a soup or used as a sauce, like I did for Salmon. I am also using it as a pasta sauce. Just toss it with hot pasta like a linguine or spaghetti. The Dungeness crab has lots of sweet meat and is pretty big. It is very easy to crack and pick out the meat. There is lots of meat in the body of the crab. It costs about $3.99 per pound here in the Northwest for a fresh crab that is sold steamed and in the shell. But if you buy it already shelled and picked over, it is about $20 per pound and you get a little 8oz. plastic tub of crab.

Babette's Feast to be sure, especially when they suck the heads of the poor little quail! Don't forget, on this day of the Academy Awards, that food was an integral part of one of Oscar's top pictures-The Godfather, Part One. Clemenza showing Mikey how to make spaghetti sauce, Clemenza carrying the cannoli out of the car, Veal chops in the restaurant, The Godfather stuffing his cheeks with tomatoes, many more memorable scenes of food, some followed by violence.

Wonderful idea-I am constantly searching for ideas from other cooks and I really enjoy hearing about how many great cooks out there are creating great dinners. Friday night-Roast King Salmon on Dungeness Crab Bisque. I topped the Salmon with a simple diced Cucumber Salad with dill. I'm from the Northwest and Salmon and Dungeness Crab are two of our top ingredients. Rich but delicious. I had a Sauvignon Blanc with it, but would have preferred a bolder wine like a Chardonnay. I'll take photos next time.