Carolyn Tillie

I sauteed my morels with leeks, quickly pan sauteed asparagus in a separate skillet, and put it all atop angelhair pasta with a very rich cream sauce.

I peruse lots of chat sites, finding them more timely and immediate than books or magazines. Wine Spectator Robin Garr's Wine Lover's Discussion Group VinoCellar West Coast Wine Net Mark Squires chat list on eRobert Parker.com And, not a chat group, but a site I write for: Gang of Pour Also, wine blogs are growing in popularity (soon to rival food blogs???), and the easiest way to track them is through: Wine Blog Watch

Very curious why they picked and listed the blogs they did. What was the criteria for those choices?

There's a great sign above the Trefethen winery here in the Napa Valley; "Clearly, Miles never tasted a Napa Valley Merlot!"

What elements are not desirable????

I prefer them at room temperature.

eGullet needs to start a "Best of" quotes thread. I would like to nominate this as the first in a series of simply utterly brilliant statements. Bravo!

BTW, here is an added trick. As SOON as your terrine comes out of the oven, weight it down until cool. If you've got air or settling during cooking, it will compact your terrine down perfectly. In the beginning of my terrine-making, I forgot this step and had several literally fall apart in a mid-section where there was layering. Trust me.

I used to buy them from Albert Uster Imports. Their website is not nearly as good as their catalogue.

Wow. Great review, Sam. I'm still blown away by the amount on the cheque... And that Cod Fritter -- would it have faired better with with, oh, let's say.... Truffle Honey????? <grin> Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

Up high in kitchen? Bad.... Heat rises (especially in a kitchen). Like ReallyNice! said, lower, cooler, on their sides. Closets are a good place - because the temperatures don't fluctuate as much in a dark closet. Even in regular rooms, temperatures fluctuate just with the daily light coming into them. Until you get into the idea of buying a fridge, the bottom of a closet should be sufficient.

Lucy, that is stunning... and I am so proud that YOU have cornichons. Okay, I've been sick with the flu for a week or so and am finally feeling better. However, lying on my couch, watching movies, and sipping tea, I have been reading my much-beloved terrine book and am hoping to feel better enough this weekend to make one myself. Hoping to post pictures within a week or so!

Think a cross between Hungarian and German; Roast meats and potatoes, red cabbage, oxtail soup, stuffed cabbage, bread dumplings. Carbs... lots and lots of carbs.... And amazing apple streudel for dessert.

Yes, that actually is part of the problem. The yolks would almost certainly be thrown away. Are you talking about powdered egg whites? Swirled chocolate & white sounds amazing. I think you just planned out my Sunday for me. Pat w. ← No, not powdered at all -- a carton of whites that have to be measured (usually by weight) instead of counting the number of eggs opened. Read about it here!

Very interesting question... Antique pewter has lead in it -- and I've been trying to figure out the date when that was changed. Modern pewter is lead-free and is really 95% tin with copper and antimony for strength. So I'd like to doubt that your flask is real pewter in which case you could get lead poisoning, however your Scotch may not taste very good and have a "tinny" metallic taste to it. If you think your flask is in any way "antique," then throw away the contents and don't risk your health on it.

A couple of things... Funny that the dark condiment was onion confit. I thought it was Moutarde Violet, my favorite spread on country pate! Regarding the vegetable terrine, Lucy, I have made them with and without gelatine. Granted the ones with gelatine seem to hold better for slicing, but if I'm in a rush and its just for Shawn and I, then I might forego gelatin (which I usually make with some form of vegetable juice; carrot, tomato, bell pepper, etc.) Foodman, your pate looks great, but where are your cornichons!?!?!? <grin>

Scratch is infinitely better but if you are worried about having leftover egg yolks, take a look at your local grocer -- they now sell egg whites all by their lonesome! Way easier and much easier to justify. BTW, I'm a tremendous Angel Food Cake fan, often making them with a swirled chocolate and white batter...

Well, if you want to get serious, you could go to Book Finder.com which has several copies of this book we all suggest:

Funny -- actually, I've got the friends willing to help, but could never get a Boar's head here in California!!!

I don't think so -- I just believe the French perfected the art...

Whenever I get venison or an excess of duck, it when I make my terrines. The biggest struggle I end up with the fact that since I generally under salt my cooking, my terrines end up being a bit bland. It is surprising how some ground up meat which is sauteed and tasted, can taste more flavorful because it is warm. The real trick is patience -- cook up a bit of your terrine and let it COMPLETELY cool to see if it is seasoned well enough. I can't tell you how often I've ended sprinkling fleur del sel over slices of a finished terrine just to give it enough 'umph.

Aw, Lucy..... You're killing me!!!! Making a brioche- or dough-encased terrine is the one thing I've never done. I'm not much of a bread maker and always resigned myself to caul-surrounded terrines. We had a lovely foie gras-based restaurant (you might have read about it...) that closed recently. They did a smallish version that I adored but don't have a clue where in California to buy any like the kind you've pictured.

Adam, those are absolutely stunning! I've been a maniacal terrine maker for years but never got around to making any fish ones. Back when I worked in a bookstore, I acquired the book Pâtés & Terrines by Friedrich W. Ehlert, Edouard Lonque, et al... I bought it new at $25 and am shocked to see it used for $75! I guess it is as precious a book as I take it for - amazingly erudite and well-researched with stunning photographs. It is true eye-candy and one of my favorite books to just languish through with a cup of tea. It covers forcemeats, pâtés and terrines, aspic jellies and sauces, galantines, and non-traditional versions including bouchees, vol-au-vents, porozhki, kulebyaka, and English pies. Adam, the one you might appreciate that I've always wanted to try is a complicated recipe of a stuffed boar's head where, basically, the head of a boar is shaved, stitched up, and most of the internal bone structure removed. The snout is stuffed with a forcemeat of boar, the entire head is covered with a dark brown chaudfroid or brown aspic, and the snout itself is sliced. Now I'm inspired to make something this weekend!

Cesar may not be a destination restaurant, but I think it's better than you give it credit for. I've been to Bocadillos twice and ZuZu once (compared to four or five times at Cesar), and would not call either far better based on those visits. I think they're all similar in quality. Cesar is also very reasonably priced, and has a wonderful wine list with low markups. Manresa is certainly much better, but it's in a different class altogether, and obviously qualifies as a destination. That being said I have not tried Manresa's tapas menu, though it would be hard to imagine it being anything other than top notch. ← I'm there with Malik -- I've probably eaten at Cesar as many times as I've eaten at Zuzus (about a dozen times each) and both have their ups and downs. On the upside, Cesar immediately provides complimentary olives which have to be paid for at Zuzu. I've also been completely charmed by Cesar's bartenders and think their list is more comprehensive (Banyuls by the glass!) and extensive, exhibited by a packed Friday night when a bartender went out of his way to produce a custom sherry flight that was completely off-menu. Zuzu's vegetable dishes are uncomparable and paella is lovely. On the downside, Zuzu's Flat Iron steak has never been anything but chewy and tough. Cesar's desserts (I think) out-shine Zuzu's as well.

If you are a newbie to FatBurger, the *trick* is to order "Fat on the char" -- it will then be put over the fire for cooking instead of on the flat (grease-inducing) flat cook area. Also highly recommend the onions rings.... <grin>