Blether

I've felt this slight tingling, but I find ".. left with a minuscule amount..." a strange way to put it. There can be some level of toxin even in the flesh, enough to cause this - but it's not like it's intentionally 'left' there by the chef. I think it just depends on the fish. The liver (and ovaries, says Wiki) contain the most poison and removing them is the key to safe eating.

Additional CLUE for #128: the car in question is a grey 1968 Mercury Monterey for which "twenty-eight hundred" was paid ← The Getaway?? as it can't be Knight Rider.... Ali McGraw hits another car with it at the drive-in?? ← Oof ! I feel like the fisherman whose bait was stolen, but *yes*, it's the 1972 version of The Getaway, the film that brought McQueen and McGraw together. Another car ? Yes, or two... "Shit !" // "She made us... Punch it, baby" As a kid I loved this one for the scene where (the Steve McQueen character) Doc finds the cops right on their tail and stops them chasing them by holding up a gun store for a large pump-action shotgun, then holding up the cops and destroying their car with it, blast by groundshaking blast - and for having Steve McQueen in it in the first place, of course. Good work, Insomniac !

Additional CLUE for #128: the car in question is a grey 1968 Mercury Monterey for which "twenty-eight hundred" was paid

Salt only - find yourself a good explanation of (Japanese) shioyaki. This involves salting 30 minutes in advance, then a rinse and dry before broiling. Here I just salt liberally and adjust the timing to the thickness of the fish: some methods specify a quantity of salt. My favourite pieces of white fish (locally), sea bream, I simply salt, dredge in lightly-peppered flour and fry in olive oil. Nothing else needed. Or in the Indian vein, try marinading in a paste of ginger, garlic, salt, vinegar, chilli, coriander, cumin, and oil and/or yoghurt: tandoori fish. It's quite delicious.

That's the spirit. Beatrice Dalle as Betty

The linguine looks most attractive. It's the first time for me, too, seeing bacon in a piece like that. It looks great, though - properly dried.

What's that, Fever On Arrival ?

Yes, it is "Trente-sept deux le matin" ('Thirty-two point seven in the morning'), released also under the English title "Betty Blue". Congratulations Insomniac and Waterdogs ! We see Zorg as a handyman at the beginning of the movie ('the forecast was for storms') - hidden away he has the manuscript to his work of fiction, Hitler's Diaries, which Betty discovers and endeavours to have published in the face of a barrage of rejection. Zorg's friend Eddy gives the couple a job in his pizza parlour, Pizza Stromboli. In front of house, a couple are being difficult and the chef's response is his 'repel cuisine'. The customers love it: "How's your pizza ?" - "Hot !" - "it's you that's hot !" Yes, Betty ends up forking the woman. The script (of the subtitles !) can be seen here. Given that one crux of the plot is Betty losing her unborn baby, 37.2 being body temperature makes sense. Was there that much sex & nudity ? I dunno if it's more than a dark triangle or two different to, say, Body Heat, but it's been a while and yes, memories vary. The film received both a BAFTA and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986, as well as winning a César Award for Best Poster. Insomniac, you are in the frame for (You name the food, I'll name the movie) YNTFINTM's Best Poster of 2007. We'll keep you, uh... posted. Edit: to note that a morning temperature of 37.2 also seems to be the watershed for diagnosing "fever of unknown origin".

(Sorry, Nicola, and... ) Weak ? Oooooo, Waterdogs. I'll accept either the French (which I prefer, I mean from an artistic merit viewpoint) or the English title.

*sigh!* The Dirty Dozen? I ain't tryin' another 'til I get this one... without cheating. ← Sorry, man - no. Not The Dirty Dozen. [Officious looking sign] "Thank-you for not cheating"

Hi Majra, it's great to see you all here. - I can't think what you mean. You're supposed to say 'kawaii !!!' when you see things like that Those udon were a brave choice for someone for whom soup is out of the question (Edit: to say I've now read the posts in the 'First night in Tokyo' thread. Sorry not to have picked up on it, but yes, as Kris described 'no soup' will largely keep you away from noodles in Japan). Thank-you so much for letting us share your experiences. As Torakris said, let's hope the weather holds up for you this afternoon.

I can taste those shrimp just looking at them. Great picture ! Bruce: likewise your meal. Gorgeous.

Hence Fresser's 'pudding skin', I think.

Oops ! Sorry

Caroled, are you and Toliver still toying with each other over that one ? --- Poor ol' #66. Another CLUE - hitler's diaries

This one cost me about ten bucks - the legs extend to a yard or more, and it's by no means the most compact of those available: I'm so happy (read: incredulous) that not only are the chives but yes, the tarragon too, already sprouting this year. I was worried I'd lost the latter): (The little birds are great fans of young herbs, too: also of earth baths).

Kim, that does look good. The chives (right?) make it for me. As for blurry, did you buy a little tripod ? (I have one but didn't use it - once again my excuse is laziness, but I can throw in disorganisation in this case, too). GTO: the speed didn't seem to matter much from the inside.

Oh, I dunno. Claudia Schiffer, Helena Christensen and me was pretty good fun.

I'm afraid I can't blame the Germans, Ludja - though pouring from a bottle emblazoned with the word 'Hock' and using pork & cabbage, I did feel kind of mitteleuropean, I have to admit. The basic technique I filched from my mother (no German there):　the major ingredients are poor man's opportunism and the wine is no-stock-in-the-cupboard lazy man's expediency. At the same time, I'm interested to know more about German food and with the level of my knowledge everything I read will add to it, so thanks for the link. I'll go and have a look now. Edit: PS 'Hungary' ?

Amen to that. And here am i giving you the tablet second-degree and you're in the UK. Sorry. I once got a puncture arriving in Horncastle on my motorbike at the end of a business day: the locals were so helpful it made it a pleasant experience. Token food reference: Subway sandwiches for dinner last night.

As a cheesehead (!) I'm always making gratin in the winter: salmon and broccoli is a combination I like for it, and of course the key is using good cheese. I grew up with cheddar and a nice sharp, strong cheddar works for me. Sometimes I cut it / make it up with some parmiggiano - but of course local rules apply. I'd love to use gruyere if I didn't have to take up a life of crime to afford it. You know the drill - make a bechamel; add grated cheese, *then* season; fix up in a dish with (raw) salmon fillets and (pre-steamed from frozen) broccoli, and bung in a fairly hot oven till it looks done. Mmm, gratin

You're very kind, GTO. It probably looks like fudge mostly because I've added an extra layer of duffery by cooking it so long Thanks for the link - that looks like luscious pasta, and they've staged their photos beautifully. Hopefully they'll sort out some of the glitches with the links within the site ('long pasta' sent me to their jars of creams).

... and here's one of 'em. Goodfellas. "... real thin with a razor blade so that it melted in the oil" (in the sauce / in the pan?) - Ray Liotta's voice-over New clue: (ordered from the driver's seat. '//' indicates change of speaker): Two hamburgers, a milkshake and two coffees // What kind of milkshake? // Chocolate // How about some fries? // Why not?

I'm going to take a stab at this. I haven't seen it in a while so I could be way off... Goodfellas ? ← Sorry, JohnnyD, not Goodfellas (though Goodfellas does have one or two good clues that could lead to it, itself).