tan319

Monsieur Robert, still waiting for the details of that dinner at Espai Sucre Is the memory so bad that you don't want to relive it? Ahhh, not trying to bug you, just very curious to read the story. At your convienence, kind sir... (and please excuse any misspellings!)

Thanks, Bondgirl! Are you or did you go to any other dinners for Adria? I believe Douglas Rodriguez was going to be one of the chefs at another one, I guess there were a couple of other dinners going on while Adria was in town.

This is true, I just like to combine my visits back with business if possible. I was last there last year for around 2 and 1/2 months. In fact, missed the chocolate show.

Looking forward to your report. Wish I still lived in NYC sometimes...

Did anyone attend??? would love to hear about it. Talk to me !!!

again...... I think V-NZ cut and ran...

I had forgotten about A.M.'s books. Well, a lot of those books like his are (to me) meant to inspire people, use for research,etc. People like Claudia Fleming, for instance, have cited A.M.'s 'new classic desserts' as an inspiration. I suppose it's all a bit 'different strokes for...' RLB's books have always crossed my eyes and never really spoke to me. I think the recipes for most of those items would turn out better then you think.

7 months and counting..... That would be a shame, D. Jemal Edwards is a cool guy. And most importantly, there are wayyyyy too many places struggling/closing across the country. Taking an already odds against anything panning out formula and making it nearly insurmountable. I hope it all works out for them.

Comfortme. Was that book of restaurant dessert's the Richard Leach book? It is over the top but at the same time you could pick out a few components for the main feature and have yourself a nice dessert.

Thanks,chefette. I'm thinking of trying it for a molten center of a cake. I do like infusing white chocolate for ice cream or mousses with spices and other things. Thanks again.

McDuff: You have my sympathy but... If the quanities are too little to deal with, why not double up and make some for a friend, etc.?

I saw this documentary. It's very watchable. very good.

MAN!!! That thing is the shit! Yeah, its pretty cool. I wonder what a real pastry chef could do with one. I wonder if you could do Pain Perdu with it? I have to admit, I'm curious about the bread pudding thing too...

Thanks very much. I'll have to try this.

MAN!!! That thing is the shit!

I'm looking for one Most appreciated if you can help. Thanks!

I'm sorry to ask this,but... I'm a little out of the loop. What is a toaster bag?

I love that gorgeous Bras book too! I'll get that at some point. I guess knowing I can go to my local Barnes and Noble to look at it has kept me from getting it. And I know what you mean about pictures too. I'm quite surprised I ended up with the notebook, knowing it had no pictures, only drawings. Years ago, when Michel Richard's cookbook came out, I passed on it because there were next to no pictures. At this point, I'm looking for ideas and inspiration, and the Bras book is tweaking that a bit. There is a lot of mise for a lot of his stuff!

I think most cookbooks assume a basic knowledge of the subject, for better or worse. So I don't know if we can blame the author if a recipe for a tempered chocolate dish or candy goe's bad. I think we've seen posts or threads here a plenty from people who we assume are at least mid level pro's who are having problems with tempering or even baking (me, for instance) I have gotten to the point where I only want to buy really good books (ie. expensive) I've cooked a fair amount of stuff from Oriol Balaguers book ( A Spanish book, btw), basic recipes and others and can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with how well the recipes were tested. Never had a bummer yet. Richard Leach's book, 'Sweet Seasons' also seems well tested. I just got Michel Bras dessert 'Notebook' but haven't made anything from it yet. It has volume and weighed measures, which bodes well. I always read thru a book at least twice and the recipes which intrigue me I'll probably look at 4 or 5 times before I go for it. Chefette, I think most of these criteria could only be filled to these expectations by someone who had the training and or was taught by someone. I'm not sure the average home cook who has an interest but doesn't alway cook is going to cook to those specs! There's my 2 cents for the moment

To tanabutler and mags, I saw the post about Batalis sauce and didn't have the energy at that moment to post about it, as I was still trying to come to terms with my daily bouts of not being a "noble" person, as Mags pointed out to me. If Batalis sauce is inedible, and I for one can't see why he would bottle a sauce anyways, as his recipe for his own "mother" tomato sauce is so easy and good, he's a sellout too! I just didn't care as much about the Batali thing, he doesn't really do it for me ( I feel that he has legions of fans on this board anyways). I was looking thru an old Food Arts mag today at work and saw Bayless endorsing a brand of Muscovy duck in it, as well as other chefs endorsing products. So Bayless isn't new to this. And , have to address this. I doubt Al Roker was obese because he likes to look at, talk about, and eat food. He had a condition that dieting couldn't help and got a gastric bypass. About the only person I know of who had that kind of weight problem who has dieted down to a decent weight is Drew Nieporent, God bless him. Has Roker espoused a lifestyle that's at odds with what he does? What product is he endorsing? Just curious. And tana, you have probably put the best points forward consistently thru this whole thing.

This restaurant sounds soooooo good!!! Have you worked in the kitchen there, ie., pastry? Anarchy sounds incredible. I've seen the 'perfume' desserts, indeed, the recipes for them, on Apicius.com http://www.apicius.es/index.html recipes here. http://www.apicius.es/recetas/miracle/index.html http://www.apicius.es/recetas/eternity/index.html http://www.apicius.es/recetas/lancome/index.html Cool stuff. The savoury sounds outstanding as well! Thanks again.

Dude, they do the brain eating, not the other way around. And I hope you can believe me when I tell you that there is definitely a strong tradition among ferrets of eating rabbit brains!

slkinsey, all this talk of brains is making me nervous when I see that little animal (ferret?) at the bottom of your posts!!! PROTECT THAT ANIMAL AT ALL COSTS!!! Just trying to inject some humour in this often stormy thread

Adam, I don't think there is an obsessive need to point out tradition in Adria's cooking, even though his cuisine is certainly informed / influenced by the country he is from. Indeed, most of the Spanish cookbooks I read (more pastry then savory) all have a take on, say, 'meil a mato', the honey and mato cheese dish that just about all the pastry chefs have deconstructed and reconstructed countless times. Ferrans cuisine is informed the same way to a degree. Re: the brains discussion. Just about everyplace in Europe likes to eat brains of some sort in a dish and I'm willing to bet that in a place like El Bulli, which is on the record, more or less as not making a profit, the use of rabbit brains is not only a logical progression from calve's brains, etc., but a smart move food cost wise. Re: Originality. I'd say that the dish has some originality to it. Maybe they were enrobed in a thin sheet of caramel? Also, I suppose this has already been addressed in some way but being famous, notorious, a buzzword on the lips of every culinarian for your cuisine never promised a great experience taste wise for ANYONE! To the contrary, I think Adria is pushing the envelope for people to experience and you're welcome to hop on for the ride, bumps and all.