Blether

Yes, I wrote that before I'd looked at the problem properly, which I did in relation to vinegar. It's more like the alcohol begins to come off at its boiling point, and continues to boil off until... the BP of water ? Something else ?

Tou might also find some inspiration in the Substituting for alcohol in Cooking thread.

Your request is gapingly open-ended, Howard. In that spirit, though: I think the number of diners is a great opportunity to make a loaf of pate that otherwise a small family can't eat quickly enough - it also lets you take advantage of the oven at home to have a no-onsite-prep starter that nonetheless shows that you've put in some effort. So, pate de foie de porc (pork liver in a pate de campagne kind of mix) made at home and carried in the cooler. Take enough good bread, and some home-made chutney or pickles and that's a splendid starter. Next is a fish gratin. Make up a cheesy bechamel in one pot on the range. Poach your fish fillets (I still want trout from the lake) in a couple of tablespoons of water in a frypan or saute pan with a lid on it. 5 minutes. Pour over the cheese sauce, top with grated cheese and/or breadcrumbs, and brown under the grill. That's the fish course. Next you serve room-temperature or chilled ratatouille - another carry-in in the cooler. Meat course is grilled lamb chops. In the meantime you've stovetop-braised some fennel in brought-in chicken stock. Finish this off with a splash or two of pernod, flame, and serve with the lamb. So far you've only had to juggle three pots on the stovetop. You didn't say how many rings you have, but the bechamel can spend 5 minutes off the flame if you're limited to two. Finally, chocolate mousse in the 1-egg-and-an-ounce-of-chocolate-per-person mould - you make it on site in advance and chill it in the fridge for the few hours needed. You'll need a big bowl, and an electric or a good balloon whisk. Since it's summer, include some peppermint essence when you fold everything together. Hmm. When can I turn up ?

Or trout from the lake.

That's harsh. Pine nuts are about $4,720,000 each now, aren't they ?

You could always give the child kid's food, rather than treating him as a .

No, is the short answer. All are welcome. I can see why you might wonder: that wording is of course aimed at encouraging the Scots (who can be shy when it comes to tartan & bagpipes) and those who have visited, to stir themselves. Stories aren't compulsory, and we don't even mind if you've never been, and make some up anyway. It's a free-seating sit down dinner - a mixing / socialising sort of an evening Formally, the Society's constitution states the Society's aims as: - Promote friendship between Scots and other interested individuals - Promote Scotland and its traditions and culture to interested individuals - Foster Japan- Scottish relations - Support charitable or worthwhile causes as determined by the Committee

Ankimo (monkfish liver); liver of other seafish that got to you very fresh; prawn or lobster tomalley; brown crab meat; soft roes of herring and other fish. Which isn't really the point of the thread. Sorry. Unless you want to scoff, of course Italian (flat-leaf) parsley's in the ballpark for mitsuba, isn't it ?

Hi, Kris. It's hard to tell, because whilst the St Andrew Society holds plenty of events, this is the first Scottish Curry Night. We're watching the bookings every day or two - you're OK for two places at the moment. I think we'll see it fill up at the end of this week, but there are no guarantees other than first-come-first-served. (For others who may be interested, the annual programme includes: - The Japan Highland Games (heavy events, bagpiping, drumming, dancing; soccer & kids' games to participate in, and varied food & drink stalls) - Informal barbecue ceilidhs (bagpiping & taiko drumming, dancing to live accordion / fiddle band), 2 or 3 times in the year - Burns Supper (haggis dinner, or quality dinner with haggis course; Burns speeches & poetry; may or may not include ceilidh dancing) - Christmas Party (family dinner, McSanta) - The St Andrew Cup (golf, multi-cuisine buffet party & all-you-can-drink artisan beer) - The St Andrew Ball (quality dinner, dancing, other musical performances)) Membership is free - anyone can sign up at the Society web site's top page to receive information about what's coming up.

That's always difficult with any dish, isn't it ? From the picture, you're definitely in the ballpark of what's common. The longer answer is, it should be just as thick as you want it, though I'd have said controlling consistency is more about how you manage the heat, and so how much your eggs congeal in the mixing, than about how thick the eggs & cheese (& cream) are before you mix. My feeling is you want as much cheese as makes it taste right to you ! Did you use cream ? From the picture, I'm guessing no, or not much: I'd say that made with cream, it tends to be done so there's a little more sauce than I see there, and it's a bit thicker (cook the cream briefly to thicken - of course I mean after adding it to the pan with the bacon). I do really like the variation with garlic, too.

I've been blue since Wendy's quit Japan at the end of last year. Best of the mega-burger-chains by far. nd I always found their patties great - much better than McD's. They taste of beef rather than beef fat. And while we're on the McD subject, I cannot abide their so-called fries. Yuch !!! To the pint that even if I'm quite hungry, I'll bin them before I eat them. Even Wendy's chilli is pretty good, for a fast-food product, I think. In summary, you guys are lucky still to have it.

Hi, Helen. All welcome ! (In fact I think if we banned women it'd be a wash-out). The nearest station is Nijuubashimae; but "ten minutes' walk from Yurakucho" probably places it more effectively for most readers. Scottish guitarist... folk music, dear. Like . You'll like this. Give him a wee minute to warm up... give him at least till he starts the song proper.ETA: food content - you have to watch all the way to the end.

Why not defrost 'em and use 'em in salad - it could be a spoil-yourself mussels-tossed-in-dressing deal, or as a highlight in a mixed salad. They're cooked, why do more ? Is it summer where you are ?

Cream sauce based on prawns, and white-wine-based sauce with clams or mixed seafood are both good. You could also do shrimp pasta this way.

Oh yes, and as an experiment last week I bought fresh pork belly instead of bacon. Half of it, I cut into pancetta-style batons (1/4" x 1/4" by the depth of the belly), salted (about 4-4.5g per lb ?), turned a few times in its plastic bag and left overnight in the fridge (and I've been taking from it day by day since). Result - I'm as happy with it in pasta as with store-bought pancetta, and happier than store-bought pancetta in terms of price and convenience. It's good.

North Italian white sauce, aka some butter, then some parm, then a bit more butter, then parm, and repeat once more. Delicious. Carbonara - the full deal with pancetta, garlic, eggs, cream - or like my mum used to make it, no cream or garlic, just eggs and bacon, seasoned. Then she got on a kick of adding vinegar which granulated the egg as well as adding a tang. Strange, the things people will do. Al tocco d'arrosto (excuse my non-existent Italian - 'with a touch of the roast') - tossed with the remaining gravy and scraps of meat from a roast, that you've warmed quickly in a wide pan you can toss the pasta in (and adjusted the liquid). I read Marcella's recipe when I first bought my Marcella book quite a few years back, and actually tried it for the first time this year - recommended, and you only need to remember the idea, hardly a recipe (I broke up the last of the veggies too - I used a pot-roast). Add some chopped-up greens to your peperoncino. In the end, pasta's just a carbohydrate like bread or potatoes - you can dress it up any number of ways, particularly if you get away from the idea that only an Italian could possibly know how to figure out an accompaniment for starch.

Microwave-reheated rice from yesterday, and ditto yesterday's off-the-cuff fish curry. Cheap & cheerful Thai Jasmine Rice, and the curry built like this: Leftover fish meat from a gently foil-baked Yellowtail (Inada / Wakashi). After eating it hot the first time, I took the remaining meat off and made a concentrated stock from the carcass. Foil-baking Yellowtail yields a tremendous seafood aspic, and plenty of it, and I saved that, too. (The editors apologise for the literary merit of the following two paragraphs). After eating more of the fish cold with mayo, I used the last in the curry. I had enough for 3, or a scant four portions. So, 4 or 5 of the last of 2008's chilli crop (yes, they do need using up !) - chillis begin to lose heat after 6 months in the freezer, hence the qty. These I chopped, and fried briefly, seeds and all. Added crushed garlic, fried. Added whole coriander seeds (unorthodox, but I couldn't be fagged grinding them); whole brown mustard seeds; whole cumin seeds. Fried briefly. Added chopped onion, fried just to soften for a few minutes. Added ground cumin and some of Pat-Chapman's-recipe Aromatic Salt (a blend of salt and ground spices that keeps forever), stirred. Added a block of the onion confit I have in the freezer (qv), stirred briefly, added a can of coconut milk and the juice of half a lemon. Stirred and brought to a simmer. Tasted. Realised I'd forgotten how salty Aromatic Salt is (and misunderestimated the chillis !). Washed, chopped and added two spuds and a carrot. Added all the fish jelly and the fish stock. Broke the cooked fish meat up a little by hand, picked out the last bones; simmered the curry for 12-15 minutes to cook the veggies, added the meat and warmed through - 3 or 4 minutes. Result - really, really good eating. The sweet-sour balance is good and the level stimulating; the salt good; the chilli heat forceful but mellow. Most notably there's a depth of fresh seafood flavour that you just don't stumble over when you're out and about. And this morning, these two reheated like this are easier, and leave less clean-up than a traditional cooked breakfast. The coriander works nicely like this - every so often you chew one of the seeds and get a burst of that orangey, perfumed coriander flavour, just like when you've used whole cardamoms. But the coriander is soft enough that it's no trouble to your teeth, and you don't have to spit out the husk like you do with cardamom. Washed down with O-i o-cha from Ito-en, a commercial brand that's 100% Japanese tea leaf, but I like because it has an almost genmai-cha richness to it; and a handful of tomatoes off the vine outside the window, which is thriving on its mulching of skin & hair, courtesy of the vacuum-cleaner dust bag (I figure the tomato plant is the firewall in the cannibalism cycle here, but if I come down with mad fruit disease, be kind, won't you ?)

The St Andrew Society of Yokohama and Tokyo is holding a Scottish Curry Night on September 9th. Details & Booking There is a full Indian dinner menu (details behind the link above) and there will be Famous Grouse whisky & mixers on the tables, and Walkers shortbread for after the meal. Saitama-resident, Scottish folk musician Billy Ross will perform live after the meal, and he'll be taking requests from anyone who fancies a little karaoke... This isn't a gourmet event, but it does centre around eating & drinking, is good value and promises to be good fun. Members, non-members and yay, even non-residents are welcome: I at least will be there. Please join us - anonymously of course if you prefer, or if you'd like to say hi, please PM me beforehand. There are 70 places, demand should be strong, and it's first-come-first-served. ETA: The St Andrew Society is a volunteer-run NPO whose surpluses are passed to (other) charities HOST'S NOTE: This is an member-organized event, not an official eGullet Society event. Please see here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums.

Great post, Maureen. - funny, I'd have thought there'd be as much value in balancing sweet, rich onion/parm with sharp tomatoes, and sharp pecorino with sweet.

The salmon scotch quail eggs look phenomenal. Chicken version on the 'to cook' list for me, with minced wild oily fish of some sort. Thanks for posting

Cook it down further and base a sweet-and-sour on it.

You're right, of course, nickrey. Elsewhere I once used the phrase "don't make strict adherence to measurements a hill for your risotto to die on". The key to judging the amount of liquid is in tasting frequently enough, past a certain point, and adding liquid in small enough doses that you can stop when the rice grains are just right, without having too loose a dish. In my neck of the woods, imported Italian Arborio rice comes at a ridiculous price, but the plentiful local rice is short-grained, starchy, and of good quality. I've made good risottos with both Akitakomachi and Koshihikari varieties - probably Japan's most well-known varieties, nothing exceptional. One here, for example. I'm sorry, but not having made risotto with anything else, I can't provide a cook's comparison. I have eaten enough good Italian-restaurant risotto to say that the local rices worked well. I believe that the amount of water rice will absorb will vary not only between varieties, but between harvests and locales (Thank me for not saying 'terroirs'). I'll concur on Gnocchi, too - excellent made at home, excellent in restaurants that make them well, but something to beware of in less-fastidious incarnations.

Hi, Kim. Very exotic ! It sounds sweet. Did you have it hot or cold ? Today, cold, I'd be tempted !

Down, Pam. Down !

Hi, Joe. I don't hang out at Costco much - largely because the package sizes don't work for me, and I have better-quality-and-lower-price outlets for fresh meat, fish & veg that are more convenient. I wasn't aware of the vacuum-packed option. Years ago I did some work at an American-run place here (in Japan) that had high-end dining as well as cafes and bars. Their standard bacon was as I described - pre-cooked and frozen laid out in single rashers, to be revived / finished for 1 - 2 mins under a broiler. I think the food service argument is that in the mixture of restaurant costs, you lose more money having customers occupying a seat for 5 - 10 mins while you cook bacon from scratch, than you do paying a supplier to pre-prep it.