Jinmyo

Hi, "tutti-frutti".

I think Marks and Sparks sells a mushroom and liver pie in their St. Michael's frozen section.

You know, Adam, I'd just love to agree with you about pieness but something inside just won't let me. You see, I have difficulty considering anything not fully encased in pastry a pie. First of all, obviously only savoury pies are really pies. Something with just a lid of pastry is not a pie, it's a cheat, a scam, a swindle. What I am looking for in a pie is the contrast of textures: the crisp flakiness of the outer shell, the richness of the pastry, the softness of the inside where it meets the sauces. Look, if it doesn't have that, I just can't agree that it's a pie. I know what that something inside is, now. It's my inner Plotnicki. (apologies to Steve P )

jaybee, you certainly know what you like.

Yes. And bratwurst can do with a flavour infusion. Generally, hot dogs are edible right from the package as are (ugh) bologna and (yea) mortadella. Boiling (or simmering) first seems unnecessay. (Sounds like something those d@mn Frenchies would do to make a Plotnicki dog.) But perhaps there's something about the texture going on here. jaybee boils 'em "until the skin is tight" and then crisps them in a pan. Do you do this with all hot dogs or is it related to a particular brand? edit full disclosure: removed inadvertant cutting and pasting of directions for cold fusion and poaching and just why the universe is beige instead of green (or taupe)

So I made hot dogs for myself and a friend for lunch. I caramelized a Spanish onion as big as my head on low heat for a few hours. Removed a bit after twenty minutes to add back in at the end for textural variation. Heavy twists of black pepper, no salt. Scooped a few sections of baguette. Spread with Dijon. Turned up the heat on the skillet, added the huge all beef hot dogs. Added the softened onion slices. Waited until nice blistered and blackened bits appeared on the hot dogs. Tossed them around until nicely so. Stuffed the bageutte sections with onion and then the hot dogs. About 2/3rds of the way through eating, I realized one could pull the hollowed baguette crust around the hot dog snuggly and press the overlap to make it not only delicious but tidy. Which is always nice.

Just for the halibut: not pink I hope.

I find in the frozen section of the supermarkets in Ottawa: beef Wellington, Yorkshire puddings, salmon Wellington, and chicken Wellington. Plus chicken and beef pies, steak and kidney pies, Mowbray pies, tortierre. Quiche of endless variety. Salmon pastries, shrimp pastries. So... They weren't really there?

Thanks as always, Ruby and Bux.

I am curious about the spelling of "bistrot" in the title of this thread, which I cannot remember encountering before.

But you haven't, tommy. Awwwwww...

I think baseball is cricket without sweaters or wickets or tongue sandwiches but with jerseys and bases and hot dogs.

In a review of Empire (found here: clickety), cabrales was served seven-spiced salmon wrapped in betel leaves. I asked if the betel, although cooked, stained the mouth to which she replied it had not and asked about betel. I said: "But I think there are two kinds of betel plants, very similiar. One is chewed as a stimulant, often with the nut. The other is used to wrap spiced ground meats. I remember it also as staining but I could be wrong." As part of a further exchange I said: "Betel leaves are common in Southeast Asian cuisines, including Vietnamese. I don't think they are used as much in Indian cooking, though chewing betel is." But I don't really know. Any information would be of interest.

Albacore him up right soon.

The skill of a sturgeon there, jhlurie.

Lest there be a very profound misunderstanding, can I just say that I agree with every word I have just quoted from Steven Shaw (with only the reservation that there may be a few specific culinary things the British do better than French). Wifrid, I think that everyone agrees about this.

This has all been much more fun even than the "Craft is Dull" thread in the NY board. On Saturday, I think it was, I had to get away from the computer and stumble about chortling and choking.

Sorry, Adam. I never actually ate there. But I did have a conversation with someone I remember as the owner. Or at least the front guy. Some d@mn bloody Aussie. No kangaroo meat but I think a burger was named something like "cheeseburgeroo". Lots of "g'day mate"-ery. Moose. Have you ever had it? The darkest, gamiest stuff I've encountered.

There actually used to be an Australian restaurant here in Ottawa. Must have been six years ago or more. Certainly not an establishment for fine dining. Meat pies on the menu, of course. Fish and chips. Burgers and fries. Some lamb dishes. The building that they (and several other restaurants) were in was sold out from underneath them and they shut down, as far as I know.

The March 2002 SAVEUR has an article on Yonah Schimmel Knishery. And a recipe based on "interviews" with the staff.

Well, about 20 years ago, I knew a Tamil Sufi named Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. He was tiny, very old, had a bald head, a white beard, and very much reminded me of a spider monkey. He was a great cook and taught me biryani, pakoras, that kind of thing. Most of the curries I do now are more Southeast Asian, with a great deal of fresh herbs, fish sauce, and so on than anything that could really be considered Indian.

If you've ever had roasted prime rib, "pink as the dawn", you've had British food. If you've ever ordered it in a restaurant, they serve British food. If you've ever had a roast leg of lamb, you've had...

No, but I'm originally English. I've lived around Europe and Nigeria because my father was in the diplomatic service, the U.S., and now Canada. The cod cheek and tongue version comes from Newfoundland. All of the other versions also had lentils and parsley. I always remember kedgeree as pretty common in England. We'd often have it as breakfast.

Well put, Simon. The kedgeree that I make also contains red lentils and copious amounts of parsley. And I've had it with cod cheek and tongue rather than haddock.

Yogurt in the soup sounds nice. The one I know used tamarind along with tomatoes and onion.