Jinmyo

Ortolan and confit.

Ortolan is a big hit with teenage boys. Though confit is a close second.

Um, tommy. Sorry to join in on the circling crew of stone throwers. You can use tahini in a pinch. But I find that the quality is really unpredictable. Basically too, it's like the differences between Chinese and Japanese soy sauces. They're not the same. Though you later recanted on bitterness, that's exactly how rancid tahini tastes. Best to use sesame paste with or without peanut butter. I agree with Toby about the E Fu noodles too. They have enough body to not become gluey with the sauce.

Oh, tommy, they're great. I do use them in some pasta sauces. Also in congees. Of course leek and potato soup. I sometimes blanch sections of leek and then roll scallops or such in them for poaching. The old cliche about needing to clean them well is true. But that's easy.

tommy, do you mean that you've never used leeks in a pasta dish? Or that you've never cooked leeks?

Bux, how relevant is cashew cheese? Or coconut noodles? Or terrines made by long long long cooking of vegetables at 118 degrees F? Not very. These are oddities. El Bulli's cuisine is relevant because it brings about a re-orientation towards the whole activity of tasting and dining. And a profound quail dish is relevant because it brings a new understanding to what one will meet again and again. Perhaps even make on one's own. The same is true of an excellent potato and leek soup, a salad, and on and on. I agree that the philosophy, which is the reason for the food, is not to my taste. It is not so much its rigidity as its aridness and insubtantiality. The complexity of the techniques match the tortured logic of the philosophy. The fact is that the stuff about enzymes is poppycock. And another fact is that cooking creates flavour compounds that simply do not exist before the process of heating. I'm glad that Beachfan, a man of no little gustatory experience and of great fondness for cheeses, enjoyed his experience though.

Interesting. I'm not sure how relevant the cuisine is though given the complexity of technique needed to bring the product to the point of edibility let alone excellence.

I have nothing to add except for my complete agreement with Andy.

Bouland, you have a wonderful web site and on the whole I agree with you. Further, as you do not directly dis my sainted Jacques (most of whose actual dishes I'm not interested in, but whose manner of educating I admire) I raise not my hand in wrath but in a toast. Is there a book on classical technique as such you would recommend?

Foodman, Jacques' sainted hand guides my knife in all things. Yes, there are recipes. This is not to say that Julia's books are not classics. All that Suzanne said of Mastering the Art is true.

I would just add that St. Jacques' two books are now combined into one volume (Complete Techniques) and have hundreds and hundreds of detailed photographs of how to hold this, turn that, cut here and so on.

I sometimes skin and scoop them into bowls, fill with clam broth and a few slivers of scallion and daikon or radish, surround with tomato water with basil. With provolone and mushroom panini (toasted, pressed). Light lunch. I think that they are much less acidic but very flavourful nonetheless.

Perhaps it is not so much a matter of the customer being wrong or right but of the restaurateur treating you as an equal in saying he was disappointed. He had left you in what he thought to be capable hands. You left a tip and some open bottles. But you also called the food terrible and were ready to leave rather than speaking with the manager when you began to sense a problem. Perhaps. I wasn't there.

Hey, the world revolves around tommy.

Besha! Besha! What a great recounting! (Sorry about the experience though.) Welcome to eGullet.

Happens, when and if it does, after a few minutes. Eat the squeamish.

tommy, no. There is a high pitched squeal that comes from air being pressed out through the joints of the shell.

You can call me Ray...

The seasoning would probably include copious amounts of black pepper and dried oregano. ediot: CC, heh. When I submitted, you'd already submat.

Adam, I'd never have a go at you. That's a yuzu. I provided a picture in case anyone was unfamiliar with the fruit. It's like a grapefruit with tones of tangerine or mandarin orange. The juice and zest are both used.

I think that the New Yorker still carries a weight of association that has more gravitas than what it is by itself today. Certainly Ross' classic New Yorker of Parker et al is part of why I read it now. Not to defend Steve, Steve, or Steve either... And not to defend or, heaven forfend, offend Suzanne, Steve 1's assertion that the decline began before he could read was read by me as a reference to this. Or that.

Special K, I read the Atlantic monthly. Harper's too, actually.

With what? Sounds good.

Adam, what do you mean by spice? There's shichimi togarashi: White Sesame Seeds 1 part Black Sesame Seeds 1 part Nori 1 part, shredded Chile Powder 4 parts Poppy Seeds 1 part Sichuan Pepper 1 parts Sea Salt 2 parts Yuzu and such. What are you asking?

Oh, Adam. Thank you for your sacrifice. Now we will all know to never ever do that.