Didi Dishi

Sauces is one of my favorite cookbooks, and I think is right along the lines of what you're looking for. The book is fantastic for techniques and it gives you the base of knowledge required make smart improvisations. It's also a cookbook that I sat down and read cover to cover. I don't have any experience with Cooking, but I have a couple other Peterson books and he's probably my favorite cookbook author, so I don't think you can go wrong!

thanks sam. I'll be sure to post about the dinner! I'm not a big note taker, so my detail might be lacking.

Gotcha! I think we'll head that way. I've been to a couple places in the SF area and in France where the a la carte dishes were superior--Michael Mina stands out as one (on the night I went). It definitely sounds like tasting is the way to go. Can't wait!

You're in for a treat. Definitely the tasting is the way to go. And if it's your first visit, I'd recommend the grand tasting. Give Chef Kinch the best chance to blow you away. ← Thanks Tupac-- Sounds like the way to go--we're really looking forward to it!

You know, it's telling that you would even have to ask that question. ← Telling of what, precisely?

We're headed to Manresa tonight--is the tasting menu the way to go? Has anyone tried a la carte there?

I get around the burning issue by starting my roux in an enameled cast iron pot on the stove, and transferring it to a low oven until it's as dark as I want it. I stir it every 5-10 minutes or so. It makes it a lot more difficult to burn the roux. I think I first saw it on Good Eats. Thanks Alton!

I seek it out whenever I can--venison, wild boar, pheasant, quail, grouse, etc. It's even better when allowed to hang (rot) for a bit. I order squab whenever I see it, but I wish more high-end restaurants would expand their game offering.

Use kosher salt. A heck of a lot cheaper and it won't make a difference for the salt baked recipe you're doing.

One of the best compromise techniques I've seen from a number of sources (James Peterson, Paula Wolfert, Paul Bertolli, and no doubt others I'm forgetting) involves reducing the stock a ladle full at a time. If you are planning on reducing 3 cups of stock to 1/2 a cup, you begin with one cup in a pan, and reduce until you have a glaze on the pan. Before this glaze burns, moisten with another cup, and repeat the process. Moisten with yet another 1/2 cup, and reduce to a glaze again. Finally, finish with your final 1/2 cup. This final half cup will retain the more volatile flavor components, yet you have the concentration (and caramelization) of the previous reductions.

I've only spent a few days in Rome, but I thought Trastevere was the most charming neighborhood I visited. While it was certainly on the tourist map, I felt I was getting much more of a true slice of Roman life than elsewhere in the city. I also had one of the best slices of pizza in my life at a little pizzerria there! All that said, I think it's hard to go wrong in choosing a neighborhood in Rome.

I'm sure you'll get a lot of responses for traditional gourmet food markets, but you should definitely check out Polarica USA. It's a wholesale meat/game/mushroom/berry provider that normally caters to restaurants. Consumers are welcome there as well. The place isn't geared towards merchandizing, so you won't find row upon row of gleaming display cases with squab, partridge, chanterelles, etc. It's literally just a short counter at the front of a warehouse in an industrial neighborhood. What you will find, though, is an incredibly selection of game at extraordinary prices. I bought Grade A Sonoma Foie Gras for $35/pound. Duck and Goose fat are a great deal relative to what you would pay at D'Artagnan or retailers around here. I highly recommend it. Just realize it isn't set up to provide an elegant shopping experience. Check out their website--they post their product list online. http://www.polaricausa.com

I believe fra mani recently lost their head of production. This might have something to do with it. Or, given that it is an artisanal product, there's bound to be variation. I have to say that I've been extremely happy with everything I've had there, including the recent Berkeley event.

It really is a matter of trial and error. For me, the one constant is the weight I use on top of the fish. I have a brick and a large Nambe vase (totalling about 16 pounds), which I always use to press the fish while it cures. But beyond that, everything changes, pretty much every time out. I normally start with a fileted, 4-5 pound side of wild king salmon. When I do, I usually quadruple the cure recipe in the book (plus my own personal seasoning tweaks) and follow the instructions. However, I have learned, via my various attempts, that a 4-5 pound piece of fish needs to cure longer than the time given in the recipe in the book. I finally determined that amount of time to be somewhere between 60 and 72 hours, depending on the weight of the fish. When I cured a smaller piece of fish and did not make any adjustments, I ended up with some tasty but very salty and hard fish jerky. And even in this well-tested configuration, the thin parts of the finished fish are definitely saltier than the thick areas but they are totally delicious and soft. I'm sorry but I've never measured the thickness. I'm guessing that it's about 2" at its thickest point but that's just a guess. I think that the instructions in the book are just about right when they call for a 1.5-pound piece of fish and a 36-hour cure. If that's what you attempted and you were unhappy with the results, you may want to try adjusting the size of the fish, the amount of weight on the fish or the cure time. But I don't think there's any set formula for how exactly to adjust. You just have to do it a few times to get a feel for it. The more repetitions you get under your belt, the better you'll be able to adjust. And be sure to take good notes, too. After just a few attempts you'll have enough experience to adjust properly. Of course, it's a lot like bread-baking and you'll still be noticing some new qualities in your finished product even after dozens of trials. But there probably won't be huge variations in your results, either. I've probably made about 20 batches of cold-smoked salmon, through a variety of assorted conditions, and the results are fairly predictable now. There's always a curveball in there somewhere, but before too long you'll be able to anticipate it and handle it with ease. Just keep curing . . . =R= ← Thanks Ronnie! I guess it is just a matter of experience--the good news is the second try was much better than the first, and I'm going to try the third round soon.

I could use a little help with salmon curing. So far I've tried twice--the first was the fennel cured salmon recipe, and for the second, I followed the smoked salmon recipe (curing only). Both times I found the spicing way too aggressive, but that's a matter of taste and easily addresseable. The larger problem for me was around the cure itself. I followed the directions exactly, and after 48 hours in the fennel cure, my salmon had almost turned into jerky--it was hard, dry, and almost candy-like in its sweetness. I had to throw it out. The second time I cut down the cure to about 30 hours. This time I had nice cured flesh on the inside but a hard dried out layer (not a pellicle; it was completely dry) on the outside. After cutting off the dried out layer, the salmon was good, if a little salty and overspiced. My question is around curing times and thickness of the filets you are all using. How thick is the salmon you cure, and how long are you leaving it in the salt/brine? Has anyone had the same experience that I have? Can you offer any advice? Thanks so much, and I can't wait until I can pick up my own 'curing chamber' and start some work on the meat side!!