CathyL

Patience! Patience!

I'll follow Liza anywhere, especially if cheese is served.

I have pictures to prove it. Not to mention a fridge full of American goat cheese. You also ran out to buy corn chips, flew up and down the stairs to get the door, and sliced salamis. Many thanks, Liza. Suvir was definitely there too, with a dazzling array of vanilla ice creams. Thanks to everyone for an entertaining and enlightening evening. Cabrales took some superb photos of the food, which I'll post soon. The apple tasting included Granny Smith, Northern Spy, Stayman Winesap and Macoun. I wish I could comment on their qualities, but I lost track of them after they were sliced. I appreciate all the help with setup and cleanup. The house looked quite habitable this morning. And since Roy's toys survived the event, he'll probably forgive me for breaking into his Maui Wowie stash [kettle-cooked thick-cut potato chips, for the uninitiated].

It's the official eGullet vertical tasting event, and YOU ARE THERE... This message coming to you live from the event itself! Toby's amazing tarte tatins (several varieties of pear and apple) were just sliced and served, to great acclaim. Sandra Levine: from the sublime to ridiculous -- we tasted eight Dijon mustards (Amora, Grey Pupon, Maille regular, Maille extra hot, Delouis Fils, Temeraire, Bornier, and Martial Picat). Amora, the cheapest one, came out well; regular Maille was also favored highly. The very hot version of Maille was not particularly appealing. The Temoraire (sic) was also not bad. Cabrales brought several purveyor's coffee macarons, as well as several flavors from Payard. Alan Levine observed: "The Fauchon was the best; both a strong coffee flavor and a strong almond taste. The second best was Wegman's, with a very strong coffee (espresso-like) taste. Payard was lowest rated -- poor consistency; lack of substantial feel in the mouth; almost mushy. Alan sampled not only a horizontal of the Payard/Wegman/Fauchon, but a five-piece-plus vertical of the Payard. The only flavor from Payard that Alan appreciated was the raspberry." Others noted that the Wegmans' macarons were more "American" in character with bolder, more "in your face" flavoring. Toby: The greens were wonderful, and provided a good balance to the other components of the tasting spread. Stefany's Italian jarred tunas in olive oil were excellent. One was bonito. The four versions (Arroyabe Bonito, Vantia Solid, L'Isola D'oRro, La Giara) were generally fairly good. They were superior to US-widely-available canned stuff. Stefany -- Wilfrid's Scottish (Isle of Mull) cheddar was quite developed in taste. It was almost depleted by the end of the evening. Wilfrid also brought several other cheddars: Montgomery (English), Keen's (English), and Vermont (USA). Cabrales -- The greens Shermar brought were wonderful -- collard, mustard, dandelion and kale were prepared in the same manner (loosely Mediterranean, with garlic and EVOO), thereby facilitating comparison. The greens were cooked just right, enabling the flavors to be distinguished. Furthermore, Shermar brought cut-up (salad type cuts) versions of the same greens (washed) for comparison between the raw and cooked states of the greens. Finally, Shermar brought whole "leaves" of the greens to permit their appearance to be broadly discerned. The smoked fish platter from CathyL was promising-looking, and tasted good. The sable was moist, and glistening. It was interesting that bluefish had been included, and the smoked salmon was a difficult-to-sample variety (Maine, per CathyL). Collective observations -- Each person was, unfortunately, not necessarily the recipient of each of the four tarte tatins. Since it was the end of a very filling meal, and the individual tatin portions were large, it was too bad that a horizontal was achieved by few of us. Toby included 2 pear tarts, along with an apple version and a quince variety. One of the pear tarts had a fairly nice crust, with nice moisture left in the pears. Also, this dessert had a nicely controlled sweetness level. The vanilla ice creams that were presented were numerous. However, few members completed a horizontal of the ice cream. CathyL provided sliced apples for dicing into a nice caramel sauce as well as another caramel sauce that was as nutty and rich as the filling of a pecan pie. jordyn brought a number of blue cheeses: Cayuga Blue (goat cheese from New York); Bleu d'Auvergne (cow cheese from France); Kokorangi (cow's cheese from New Zealand); Ewe's Blue (sheep cheese from New York); and Cabrales (all three types of milk from Spain). It was interesting that goat's and cow's milk blues did not necessarily taste dramatically different. It was also interesting that the ham sampling did not yield large differences, except for the Smithfield offering. The Smithfield was sliced thinner than the other versions, but it was much saltier than the other ones. It looked, and tasted, more like a proscuitto than the other offerings. Nina brought several types of salamis. The consensus was that the Paprika salami from the Hungarian 80th and 2nd was the best, although Nina preferred the longer, skinny, and drier Hungarian sausage. Nina's beau brought some very nice silver disposable plates that supported the food nicely, both visually and physically. Mark Stevens brought a variety of salsas, the details of which will be posted later. One of the salsas was intensely hot, and left several of us sweating and hoping that the heat would dissapate sooner than it seemed to be willing to. The rest were surprisingly tame. Alan Levine again: "The hot sauce was too hot, and wiped out everything except for the heat. Other than that, my favorite was the mango." Cabrales preferred the green salsas with the exception of the special stupid XX hot salsa. Several members also had the opportunity to sample one of Suvir's tomato chutney recipes, as prepared by CathyL. This was met with wide acclaim. [More information to be submitted, perhaps in this post, or perhaps by others.]

A Mexican place in my neighborhood makes its own chips - nice and corny, not too much salt. I'll pick some up, if you like. Maybe I'll also slice up a jicama for those of us watching (or trying to rediscover) our waistlines.

[chips] [Alan]

Not too late. Glad you can make it! Are you bringing something to dip in the salsas?

Wilfrid's so dreamy.

I rather like the blue cheese idea.

Sorry to hear that Sandra - we'll miss him. Not to mention his potato chips.

I accept chocolate, in a pinch. Col., excellent point about the size of the cut. Heat transfer happens by inches, not by pounds.

Once the surface of the meat hits about 140 degrees it won't absorb much smoke. At that point the center temp is a lot lower - how much depends on the type, shape and size of what you're smoking. To maximize smoke flavor, start cooking at a low temperature and run up to your target cooking temp gradually. And chill the meat before it goes on the fire. If you want to be really obsessive , let a big hunk o' meat (e.g., pork butt, brisket) come to room temp and then park it in the freezer for an hour or so: the colder surface/warmer center means more smoke, less risk of drying out the exterior before the interior is done. Click here for an entertaining discussion on the science of barbeque.

Suzanne, thank you for a wonderful report. Many of the dishes you described so beautifully are new since my last visit. I'm glad the lobster is still there - is that not one of the most outrageously delicious lobster preparations ever? Who knew tapioca could be so sexy? I've been a little disappointed in the desserts since Eric Hubert left, but figured Johnny just needed a little time to find his groove on the wild West Side. I'm happy to hear he has. I still don't get the marshmallows, though.

Well, yes. And why mess with a bittersweet chocolate mousse?

Let's regroup. Here's Stefany's list, updated - 1.stefanyb- Polish hams, baguettes 2.Sandra Levine- Dijon Mustards 3. Alan Levine - potato chips 4.Nina W.- Salamis 5.Nina's Beau- paper goods 6.Cabrales- Macarons 7.Soba- Olives, other special goodies 8. Double 0 - chocolates 9.Wilfrid- Cheddars 10.CathyL- apples, smoked fish 11.Helena Sarin- Macarons 12.ahr- Peanut butters 13.Liza- smoked fish 14.Toby- Tarte tatins 15.Jordyn- 16.Shermar- greens 17.Shermar's Beau- 18. Suvir - Should we make any changes - e.g., another type of cheese?

Then you probably wouldn't enjoy the desserts at rm (*** review from Mr. Asimov in today's NY Times). The pastry chef likes pairing cheese with sweets: jelly doughnut with tomme, bittersweet chocolate mousse with goat cheese, walnut torte with St.-Nectaire... Clunk.

Thanks for the buildup, D the C. Your share of the latest sacrifice is in the mail. Yes, bgood, a very low grill-level temperature (under 150 degrees, say) can impart smoke flavor without cooking the meat. Chilling the steak thoroughly before smoking will help. A friend of mine quasi-freezes his steaks first.

Pears with Spanish blues. Figs with Maytag blue (or gorgonzola or Cabrales or or), or fresh goat cheese. Strawberries or peaches with St. Andre (or another triple creme). Granny Smiths with youngish Parmesan. I also like feta with watermelon. And tomato chutney with goat cheese (especially on toasted pita, for breakfast).

We decided everyone would bring whatever they feel like drinking. So yes on the hip flask, unless you like grappa or 10 yr. old Laphroiag.

That would be appreciated. In addition to bringing all this wonderful stuff, I'll have my handy cutting board and wannabe chef's knife. (Ever since a horrible experience with a friend's set of kitchen knives which were NOT ergonomically aligned properly, I've insisted on bringing my own knives to other ppl's kitchens, no offense CathyL.) SA No problem, SA...knives are very personal. But what's wrong with my cutting boards? Let me know what time you plan to show up. And Shermar, if Soba would like your help feel free to arrive early, beau in tow, as well.

Well, it was. But I had to go back & look. 5 PM.

Wilfrid's so dreamy. Zabar's also sells one of the few decent sour Jewish ryes available in Manhattan.

what are you saying tommy? are you implying I will not be allowed? Tommy is being inscrutable. Suvir, you are most welcome, especially if you come bearing curry-scented desserts.

Mix, celeriac is also lovely roasted. So are Jerusalem artichokes, but they turn mushy if overcooked so they need to be watched.

I notice that smoked fish, one of the basic food groups, isn't represented. I'll bring smoked salmon, and time permitting I'll hot-smoke some too. So no brownies, but yes apples. We're also light on bread and/or crackers for all the cheeses...