Jinmyo

Could I get more info on this procedure? Are you actually melting, I would assume, several pounds of butter and simmering the lobster in that? I'm sure it tastes good, but the idea of removing the meat from the butter saturated shell sounds dangerous to me. Rachel, based on Keller, what I do is: The lobster is boiled in court boullion first until the flesh just begins to set. Then the meat is carefully removed from claws and tail. I return the shells and odd bits back to the pot along with some herbs. The meat is then gently poached in clarified butter. I serve it with some of the butter with fresh herbs and a bit of lemon and retain the rest of the now delicious lobster-flavoured butter for other uses. Such as drizzled on a fresh baguette.

No apples for me so no problem with the mustard. Happy pret.

That's just it, Adam. Your pease with gammon hock sounded wonderful to me. Simple, interesting textures, intense flavours. Wilfrid, pork in all of its infinite manifestations is unparalleled in its power to bless the broken and lift up the weary. Why not make a sandwich yourself? What would you have with it?

I use lime juice and zest in salads, tsukemono, curries, chili, and salsas.

Wilfrid, I honestly can't remember if the pease was with boiled bacon or boiled beef or boiled whatever. In fact, I don't know if I knew what the Boiled Thing was even then. My mother was Welsh/Italian so didn't cook traditional English fare. Pease was boarding school stuff. Like tapioca.

Leslie, I confess I haven't purchased your book yet though I'm interested in it. And so I haven't had much to ask you about. But I have enjoyed your responses and would like to thank you for your time spent doing this Q&A. I hope that as a regular member of eGullet you continue to post prolifically.

I've had pease porridge (which is just mushy mushy peas with butter for those playing at home). But not with gammon hock, actually. Very similiar to standard potage habitant (Franco-Canadien pea soup) but thick, and finishing the hock in the oven is a nice touch. I like the savoy cabbage but I'm not sure if I'd go with caraway seeds.

Uh. Yeah. That's what I meant. Like that.

Adam, that sounds quite nice. Does it have a name?

When I first saw photographs of Mario I thought he was a bufoon. The orange clogs, the ponytail, the shorts. Just a few minutes of watching the Molto show didn't change that opinion but immediately added a deep measure of respect that has steadily grown to about his height and weight. I Mario.

cabrales, your report sounds as if you are in love with Blue Hill.

Wilfrid, born in the UK but fled to Canada as an infant. Went back for boarding school, early 60s. Plenty of horrid food as a kid, but Dad was in the diplomatic service and the armed forces and not sitting round in front of the telly.

Wilfrid, I must admit that I occasionally have mashers with liver sausages and Dijon as an hommage. Usually with some charcroute.

I've just gotten it this morning.

And mushy peas. Which are: mushy peas.

I think they do say if they are. My Nicastro's don't. My Orgoglio do.

Freeze them until you are called upon to prepare your World Famous, Prize Winning Chili. I regularly freeze reconstituted or cooked beans and they're none the worse for it.

CathyL, yes that's basically it for making gomasio. When the fragrance sharpens and you hear a few seeds pop, take the skillet from the heat and pour into a large suribachi. Give them a few grinds to get the sesame oil going before starting to add the salt. (You can toast the salt too but tyere's not much point.) I use a ratio of about 6 parts sesame seeds to 1 or less of salt. You can use black sesame seeds also but grind them well or else they just look like mouse droppings and even then...

No, I've pretty average sized old lady hands. My accomplice purchases them from a specific shop, again I think in Kunming in mainland China. She hasn't seen them elsewhere. At least not of this size. She mails about ten pounds in seperate parcels and carries back two in case they get stopped at customs for some reason. Truly amazing in texture and flavour. They take hours to reconstitute but the resulting soaking liquor just needs seasoning and ginger to be a quite delicious broth. I've changed my mind about the duck breasts in the freezer. I've checked the strip loins I'm aging and they should be perfect. I'll grill the strip loins black and blue, slice the huagu into thick strips and grill with a bit of chile oil. Slice up the steak and intersperse with slices of huagu on rice with kimchee and gomasio. Perhaps make a huagu broth with ginger, lemongrass, baby spinach and silken tofu. Make a quick tsukemono of shaved cucumber and green daikon with slivered scallions. Perhaps some gyoza stuffed with chopped up odd bits from the huagu with shallots and a shoyu-wasabi dipping sauce. We'll see but that's what occurs to me now.

For tinned San Marzanos I use Orgoglio. For general tinned romas I use Nicastro's. Nicastro's is an Italian deli here in Ottawa that's been around since the 1960s and imports their own tomatoes, EVOO, and espresso, mainly from around Naples I think. Very good general quality stuff and quite inexpensive. They make dynamite liver sausages also.

I use the guts and skins to drip through cheesecloth to make tomato water. Since I usually have the guts from 20-40 tomatoes, it's worthwhile. I'll throw in a few chopped up "whole" ones too.

Adam, huagu is I suppose a kind of shitake or as the Chinese would have it, "black mushroom". Crackled in white on the brown or grey surface, about as big as my hand, some just from wrist to first knuckle. These are dried, brought by an accomplice from Kunming, I believe.

CathyL, always welcome. And to disregard entirely as mad ravings as well. Adam, you reminded me of some duck breasts in the freezer. Tomorrow with slices of huagu (flower mushroom) I think. Thanks as always.

cabrales, might I suggest the mythical ortolan might well be at its best wreathed in legend rather than burning your tongue, it's bones jabbing your gums? I know of this "taking in". cabrales means the total experience of taste, texture, fragrance, colours.

CathyL, one last thing: Always hand grind with a surabachi or at least a mortar and pestle. I make about 6-8 cups of gomasio at a time, every few weeks, and keep it refrigerated until the new batch.