Jinmyo

Duck breast is pretty hard to foul up except by overcooking. Don't forget to save the rendered fat.

Rich, might the peas have been too old?

Gordon, right. I remember this now. Thanks.

tommy is the in-law of the brother of the drummer for the ads for the cough syrup that the guy married to what's her name takes. So when he said that to them there it was about that. Jumping to conclusions usually concludes in, you know, jumping. Anywho.

Sorry, Nick. Which country? Sandra, even so. It's split pea soup. In England there's the mushy pea thing. I've done mushy peas wrapped around ham, cooked in cheesecloth, then cooked as croquettes with a mint sauce. But one could still do so many other things.

not with this fucking lot i don't. only with friends. ... Tommy, I've got a pretty good idea of the only beat you know. It's nothing I'm into so just keep it amongst your friends. Too much, perhaps.

Sandra, I sincerely hope not. The smell.

What I do, once or twice a year when I make this: Rinse the split peas about 5 times. Saute mire poix (with garlic), deglaze with white wine, add chicken stock, add split peas. In a seperate pot simmer ham hocks. Pull hocks, let cool, strain and skim stck, put in freezer. Skin and pull hocks. Chop. Add ham stock. Puree pea soup. Strain. Add ham. Serve with crostini and frisee salad with lardons and a few other things.

Rochelle, do you think that the instructors' interest might wane as a class matures?

mao, good post and good point. I would never drink sake from a bottle that was not just opened. Even at a sake bar, either order what is probably flowing or what no one ever orders.

Gah. Suzanne? Tinned yellow split pea soup? The smell on opening the tin. Of course, Habitant in Canada is probably as ubiqitous as Campbell's tinned beef soup (with its horrid body odour smell) in the U.S. and so my shock night be culture-based.

Of course not, which is why I was defending the original question's status as a rhetorical one! That was just a rhetorical question, 201 dear. Suzanne, I think so.

They do have an online menu. http://sakagura.com/ Many thanks, Khao! (though it still doesn't answer the rhetorical question... ) Are rhetorical questions meant to be answered?

Suzanne, good idea. I really like the sound of this place.

Gordon, have you posted on any of those meals?

We have a pedagogical method of having someone prepare gohan, miso shiru, and takemono once a week for several years (about ten). It takes that long to begin to understand the nuances. Jaymes, I think we would agree that full advantage of LG, or I'm sure Joy of Cooking, can only come about over many years. One of the worst things that can happen in regards to any text is to believe that you can turn to it to learn what to do. That you can always turn to that canonical text and don't have to face the actuality of the activity. Beginning texts that are not challenging can become canonical references that limit. Can. Not "must", of course. In regards to Joy, again I've found it as impermeable and puzzling as a Sears catalogue. Frocks and frys, dresses and desserts that mean nothing to me. So I am not convinced that any of my expressions of revulsion at Joy of Cooking are anything more than my own personal visceral horror at what appears to be bland, "house-wifey" executions. Jim, yes. Roast those chickens. 201? /me psst: "St. Jacques saves."

Larousse Gastronomic and Escoffier for my encyclopedias. I think that Joy of Cooking as a standard reference (for some even an icon) is an American thing and naturally does not have a similiar place for the rest of us. I've lived in the U.S. and much of what people there find natural, obvious, standard, or at least trusted and trustworthy still passes me by. But then I find steak and kidney pie, smoked eel, unagi donburi, and suppli strike me as pretty standard fare so it's probably just me.

Yukon gold roasties (duck fat, butter) with fresh mayonaisse. Spinach sauteed in butter with just-cracked walnuts and dried red chile. Thick grilled pork chops with a chipotle paste. Tuiles topped with warm chevre with crushed toasted fennel seeds and snipped chives. Wild mushroom consomme with strands of enoki mushrooms atop.

stellabella, yes it is. With chicken stock and much garlic.

Thank you. Obviously the early seating is not the thing to do. Good information to have.

I think this is true. Culinarily relevant or not, pasta does play a great role in Italian cuisines. And Batali's cuisine, while certainly not restricted to pasta, cannot really be what it is without out. Mmm. Pasta.

Soba, long julliene slices. You're welcome. Mmmm, sardines. Kikujiro, so sorry.

A very interesting report, marcus. Thank you.

Damian, the uva dish sounded absolutely delicious as you first described it. Yet there was already a tinge of doom to the yolky image I was savouring. Good story-telling.

Soba, Oh, I don't know. About a tablespoon. Just rice in a white bowl on a square white plate with sheets of toasted nori next to it on the plate.