Shaya

Abra - I just sent you a pm with the details. Hope it works for you!

4. God as a meal I think this must be one of the haunting images from my art history classes...Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son, 1819, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Bravo, Chufi, your gnocchi look beautiful . I'm so happy it worked at last! We have had the same comment about them being too delicate, too airy, too light - which is ironically the ideal quality of the little guys. I think we spent too many years becoming accustomed to those mass produced ones that are much more gummy and dense. Your purchases at the farmer's market look just like ours. My hubbie went this morning and came back with 5 kinds of sausage and 5 kinds of cheese - 4 goudas and one blue.

I love your photos from the Bols museum. I showed my hunny and he was really excited by it, particularly the sniffing and tasting rooms. Watch out, he may show up unannounced on your doorstep one of these days just so he can tour the place! We actually have those juniper berries growing locally. I have a baggie of them in my spice drawer that my boys picked last fall while hiking.

7. Absinthe bottle So many Absinthe drinkers in turn of the century paintings in France...Manet, Degas, Picasso, Toulouse Lautrec... If you're going strictly for the bottle I would have to say The Absinthe Drinker Pablo Picasso 1901

Oh that anniversary dinner looks really great. Good for you for getting past the sweetbread-cooking phobia; you've inspired me to do the same! I can't wait to see some favas for the first time this year. I love them.

Well here are my impressions... Love the photo of the chestnuts, are they actually still in season right now? I can smell those pizzas, they look so good. Ah, cherries, sign of summer for me.

I don't know which I'm more scared of...the raw sweetbreads or the poached ones I love your piles of books in the background Oh and great minds think alike...two nights ago I made a frittata with sauteed onion, endive and bacon! It was a really tasty combination. Get well get well get well get well get well...

FoodMan, that is a very tasty looking pasta. It's also very unsual. I kept thinking about it today. You would need to have a really nice ricotta to use. Interesting what you say about goat's milk not being able to easily curdle. I have been wanting to make your ricotta recipe using goat's milk. It sounds to me like the curdling issue might pose a problem...

What a fabulous dinner, Chufi. The duck confit sounds amazing. I love your photography of the flame hitting the creme brulee. And those drinks, ah, that would be right up my hunny's alley. I have vivid memories of a martini party years ago, and let's just say he and the bottle of Blue Curacao were rarely parted! What else is in these drinks - is there tequila? Have Dennis make you some healing tea and get rid of that cold fast. There is too much fun to be had.

I am trying to find a new organic meat source locally. I bought some ground beef from a local purveyer at the farmer's market and decided the best way to judge the meat would be to make burgers. Of course this gave me an excuse to try my hand at making kaisers... The verdict? Interestingly, they were like no burgers I had ever made before. They were extremely meaty and smooth, and had the texture of chopped up meat rather than ground. And no mystery bits that catch in your teeth. I know I am sold. Organic Beef Burgers with Chipotle Sauce, Bacon, Chedder, Fresh Baked Kaisers and Homemade Pommes Frites

That meal looks great, David. The potatoes, the filet, all of it! Bruce, I would love to try that stew. It sounds really flavorful. Mexican is one cuisine I haven't explored at all. So Rocky...it's the old BBQ sauce from a jar trick... no wonder I didn't know what it was. If you were around last summer you would know I am severely BBQ impaired, through no fault of my own of course; our neighbors have declared it strictly verboten...

Two lovely meals in a row, Moby. Your gnocchi always look so clean. Mine are much more rustic. I daydream about making yours sometimes. Do you use potato in yours, or just flour? And how do you make endive foam? I wouldn't even know where to start to achieve the glory of that component. Do you cook them down, puree, strain, foam up?

Thanks Foodman. I made some kaiser rolls to go with our burgers tonight. The process was not at all difficult. I made the boules, then rolled them out after a little rest and tied double-knots as he shows in the book. They got a great rise on them (about 90 minutes proofing time) before going into the over, and the dough even has that stringy quality that I associate with kaisers. The one disappointment is that they are not shiny. I just reread this thread and noticed that you had this same issue, Foodman. I would say the rolls in the book have some eggwash, wouldn't you? Kaiser Rolls

That looks delicious Andrew. I notice the great color on your artichokes - no hint of black at all. What treatment did they get in the cooking process?

Made some baguette last night. I left the pate fermentee in the fridge for 2 days. It developed a great flavor and a wonderful crust. My husband asked if it was sourdough - a great result for such little effort. My only complaint is I could detect my "envelope" folds on the interior. Anyone know how I can avoid that next time? Slashes Baguette Crumb

Last night's dinner was comfort food. Started with creamy asparagus soup made with white asparagus. Butterflied Roast Chicken with Veggies Homemade Baguette

My little guy turned 4 the other day. We've had a number of meals to celebrate. Last weekend we had friends over with their kids, and my older guy made a saffron risotto with peas (topped with wild mushrooms for the grownups) accompanied by farmer's market sausages. Our friend took care of dessert...she made macaroons. Another birthday dinner with my inlaws - the birthday boy determined the menu: Belgian Waffles - I added farmer's market sausages and home fries so it would feel a little less like dessert Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce This weekend we had a party with all his friends. I made creamy mac and cheese, had cheese and crackers and veggies, and my favorite patissier (they are from France) made this Grand Duc cake. I am not one for the ever-popular (around here anyway) supermarket slab sponge covered in blue and green gel dyes (these can't be good for any kid, can they?) but I still want some whimsical aspect in the birthday cakes. This pastry chef does a fabulous job of adding just the right touch. Super Hero - Grand Duc

Chufi what a treat it is to see you here! I love the feeling you evoke with your photographs - you give such a strong feeling of the European atmosphere of your city. The canal photo is beautiful and I just love seeing the roses in the background of your rhubarb. You also know how to make a sandwich look so tempting; I think it's the hearty bread that looks so good to me. Your little market asparagus stand makes our white asparagus look like woody twigs. Just the pinkish color on them makes me envious. Will you be receiving a delivery from your friend this week? What do you like to do with them? Last night I made a creamy asparagus soup for our appetizer. It calls for making a stock first, using the woody ends and some aromatics (butter, leeks, thyme, parsley, celery...) then cooking the stalks with some more butter, leeks, celery and potatoes, then adding the stock for cooking liquid. Then I puree it; it yields a very flavorful and sweet soup, and the kids seem to eat it happily; I can certainly say asparagus soup would NOT have been on my list of foods to eat when I was their age! Here's a toast to you and new adventures.

Great meal, Kevin. That chili bucatini was one of my favorite drool pastas from your 2005 thread. Thanks for reminding me of it. What are the long skinny bits that are in with those beautiful mushrooms?

That dinner looks great, Seagal. Rocky, the glaze on your BBQ pork looks incredible - what's in it? Purplewiz, your Carne Adovada looks wonderful. New Mexican cuisine is very unfamiliar to me. Are there any flavorings other than chilies and garlic? Octaveman, I artichokes. I once had a huge one like that on the Champs Elysees in Paris when I was a teenager. I've never forgotten it. Mind if I ask you how much that one set you back?

Persian chelo kabob.

Chufi that meal looks fantastic.

Thanks, FoodMan. The scrippelle are made using a batter of one egg per person, flour and water. A little research has taught me that they are also known as scrippelle ’mbuse (which means soaked - which might explain Hathor's question above). From what I gather they are really crespelle which, when rolled with cheese and served with broth take on the regional name of scrippelle. That said, I have made Batali's so-called crespelle many times, and they use a small number of eggs, milk and flour. Perhaps the use of milk is his more elevated improvisation of a poor-man's dish?

My kids are 6 and newly-minted-4. My oldest has been eating raw fish (maki, nigiri, sashimi) regularly since he was 4. My youngest started with uni at a very young age (maybe 18 months) and about six months ago he started to be tempted to eat tuna nigiri and the odd salmon or tuna roll. His standby is still vegatarian, though. I must admit that I was a very careful mother when they were very little, following all the rules regarding peanuts, strawberries, honey, ... but I've been more or less following their lead when it comes to sushi. I imagined that somewhere in Japan there had to be other small kids eating raw sushi. I must admit I am somewhat relieved to see the age-3 limit for raw fish.