FoodMan

If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you add to the recipe? I would not mind giving it a try this week. Sunday dinner: -Tomato and green leaf salad, with evoo, red wine vinegar, S&P, and sprinkled with sumac. -Gnocchi (sp?) Alla Romana (from Mario's first book). It was my first time ever having those delicious and rich creations. I normally make the more common potato gnocchi, but these are a different thing all together. Made with Semolina, milk, egg yolks and Parmeggiano then baked in the oven they were sublime. -Chicken Cacciatora Alla Barese. Also adapted from the same Batali book, except the recipe is for Rabbit and I used a whole cut up chicken instead. Browned then braised chicken pieces with tomato sauce, white wine, OJ, plenty of mushrooms and onions, rosemary and orange zest. It was perfect with the soft gnocchi. FM

Tony- Any reports yet????? How did everything go?? FM

They are normally very good at stuff like that at Whole Foods. Once when they were out of their 365 Vanilla Ice Cream and could not find any in the back, they happily offered any other ice cream I like free of charge. Another time, when I complained that Vanilla beans were much cheaper at the same store in my last visit a week earlier, they gave it to me for that old price. I want buttermilk pan fried chicken for dinner too. Great job Holly. FM

Do u mean brand name??? I would go for the Lebanese ones (but then I am biased ). The one I use is "CORTAS" brand and you should be able to find it at any Middle Eastern grocery store. I can look up who the US distributer for this brand is on the bottle when I get home and let u know if you want. Glad I could help. FM

Hell NO!!!! Rose water is VERY fragrant, if not used judiciously it will overpower anything. Throw away the clear liquid that you have now, go to a middle-eastern or indian store and buy a bottle. It smells fantastic and lasts a while. The one u have is either a very poor imitation or is very old. FM

As I said there is no substitute for nice ripe figs, but if you must then substitute some semi-soft fruit like ripe Apricots or ripe Peaches for the figs. Blister them in the oven like the recipe says and serve warm or at room temp, you should have a nice tasty dessert. Let us know how it turns out. hope this helps FM

I have no idea what that recipe is. Can u elaborate on what the recipe asks for??? If I had to replace figs with a different fruit then I would probably just make another recipe. but please do tell us what the recipe entails. FM

Has any anyone discussed that "Roker on the Road" show???? Why on earth would they make ANOTHER "Best Of"/"$40 a day"/"Food Finds"/"Follow that food" kind of show. I do like Roker but the show format and content is just repetitive..... And yes the new Flay show is quiet good and his food looks excellent (even CWS likes it ), although we caught a glimpse of the old Flay personna with his "Who's your Daddy??" comment in the firemen episode . FM

I'm glad you liked this fantastic cake, and it is very easy and tasty. I would defenitly try the pistachio ice cream next (Claudia Roden has a recipe in her Middle Eastern cookbook). I am sort of kind of not in favor of using pistachios with meat (I had pistachio coated softc shell crabs once and will never do it again), probably because I was raised eating them with all kinds of sweet middle eastern pastries (baklavas, maamool, sweet pies with rosewater syrup, ice cream,...) but never in a savory dish. Keep us posted FM

???? looking forward for this "Cook's Tour". FM

This sounds amazing Mathew. Is there any way we can get a recipe of sorts???? I would love to try it at home sometime. FM

Crispy Fried Green Tomatoes Serves 2 as Sideor 4 as Appetizer. Best crispy, crunchy fried green tomatoes 2 Medium Green tomatoes 1 c Flour 2 Large eggs 2 T Milk 1 tsp Red Tabasco sauce (or more if you like) 1-1/2 c Finely crumbled crackers (I use a mixture of Ritz and Saltine) Oil for frying salt, pepper, cayenne ( to taste) Mustard/Caper sauce 2 T Mayonaise 2 T Yellow mustard 2 tsp Green Tabasco sauce 2 T Red wine Vinegar 1 Garlic clove finely minced 1 T Coarsly chopped capers 1 T Finely chopped parsley Slice the tomatoes into thick rounds (about 1/4 inch). Pat dry with a paper towel. Put the flour in one plate. In a seperate bowl whisk the eggs with the milk and red Tabasco sauce until light and fluffy. Spread the crumbled crackers in a third plate.* Dredge each tomato slice in the flour, shake off excess, then dip in egg mixture, shake off excess, then coat with the crackers. Heat about 1/4 of an inch of oil in a pan and fry the tomatoes on both sides until golden brown and crispy. Move them to a rack and season them with the salt, pepper and Cayenne. Serve still hot with the Mustard/Caper sauce and extra Tabasco. To make the Mustard/Caper sauce: Just mix all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Be carefull with the salt as the capers are pretty salty and usually no more salt is needed. Always taste first!! *to crumble the crackers I put them in a ziploc bag and crush them with my hands. I think it gives a better texture than pulsing them in the food processor, which is always an option. Keywords: Appetizer, Side, Vegetarian, Easy, Vegetables ( RG554 )

Saturday: Roasted tomato tart (from F&W June issue). tomatoes roasted in garlic, EVOO, thyme, sage, S&P. then peeled and baked in a tart shell with creme fresh and Gruyere cheese. What a great combination. Served it with a nice green salad. Sunday: for father's day I had my in-laws over: -Lebanese inspired cheese pies. little half moon shaped pies stuffed with a mixture of swiss, muenster and farmer's cheese along with sauteed sweet onions, cayenne and pomegranate molasses. -Grilled butterflied cornish game hens. marinated in lime zest, lemon zest, lemon juice , garlic n cumin and olive oil. -grilled mushroom, vidalia and potato salad in a vinegary mustard dressing and lots of parsley. -Dessert: Mocha layered marsala Semifreddo. A very delicated marsala Semifreddo made of three layers, plain, with chocolate shavings , and espresso flavored. Monday: the best leftovers ever and I found two nice green tomatoes in my fridge that I had bought a few days ago and sort of forgot about them. So "Fried green Tomatoes" with caper mustard sauce became a scrumtious appetizer. The tomatoes were sliced about 1/4 inch thick, seasoned, coated in flour, dipped in egg wash and then in a mixture of 1/2 ritz and 1/2 saltine crackers. then fried until nice and brown. fried tomatoes recipe Dessert: baked plantain with white cheese and guava paste (a traditional Colombian dessert from my wife's repertoire) FM edited to fix img and add recipe link

Compound butter with sage stuffings with sage toss some when deglazing pan juices for a roast And the aformentioned sage under the skin of chicken is great FM

OK here is the recipe for the Pistachio-Cardamom cake: 3/4 cup shelled natural pistachios (4 oz) 1 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons ground cardamom 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup whole milk (2% works well too) 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 by 6 pan, then line bottom with wax paper. Butter/flour routine. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground, I've also bought ground pistachios and it's worked well too. Add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt and pulse once or twice to mix. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time (beating after each addition). Then add the milk and vanilla, mix well, then add the flour and beat till combined. Spread the atter evenly in cake pan and bake in middle of oven til the tester comes out clean, should take about 20 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for roughly 10 minutes and flip it out onto a platter. Glaze it if you wish. It doesn't need much, just enough for a beautiful sheen. It's excellent warm (if you can't wait) but it's delicious at room temperature. FM

Monica- We discussed a Pistachio-cardamom cake in egullet before and I know there is a recipe somewhere. It was excellent. I also like them in rice pilafs with some saffron and dried fruits. FM

Pistachio-Cardamom cake 3/4 c shelled unsalted pistachios (4 oz) 1 c all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 c whole milk 1/4 tsp vanilla extract 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 1 c sugar 3 large eggs Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9 by 6 pan, then line bottom with wax paper. In a food processor chop the pistachios until finely ground. Add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt to the pistachios and pulse once or twice to mix. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time (beating after each addition). Then add the milk and vanilla extract, mix well. Add the flour/nut mixture and beat till combined. Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan and bake in middle of oven till a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, should take about 30 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for roughly 10 minutes and flip it out onto a platter. It's excellent warm with some ice cream or at room temperature. Keywords: Dessert, Cake ( RG553 )

last nights dinner was very simple and quick. From Pepin's "the Apprentice" book I made "eggs Jeannette". These are basically deviled eggs that are browned in a skillet after being stuffed and then drizzled with a dressing made from some leftover egg stuffing, dijon mustard, evoo, s&p. I also made a fresh tomato salad. Sliced the tomatoes into rounds, spread them on a plate and sprikled with fresh basil, garlic, s&p, and evoo. FM

You would think that a restaurant of that level would have a better web site. If I did not already know the place this site would detract from any desire to visit. I hate to think of what the last site looked like. The website was pretty good, informative and not bad looking. I do not think it reflects bad at all at chef Tritter, and that picture in the kitchen shows his finger on his face really and not "in his nose" !!! That being said I think one of the best restaurant websites is the one for Daniel Bouloud. on another note, what the heck are you people still doing using "Netsacpe" anyways???? FM

Glad to hear this about Alton, hopefully I will get to meet him sometime, since I missed him last time he was in town. Mario does rock. Yes Bourdain called him "lightning in a bottle" as well as "magnificent bastard" !!!! FM

Mathew, thnaks again for this great session, I have two questions really 1- Where you ever good friends with any of the chefs, specifically Mario or Alton?? Or was it mainly business? If you were, do u still keep in touch with them?? 2- How is Alton Brown in real life?? Is his show a true reflection of his personality; one of the best shows on FTV by the way; you know meticulous, precise, analytical,...kinda nerdy ? FM

It IS about more than food, but not by MUCH Is it really that hard to make your own burger patties. I mean stocks, sauces, and such do take time but making a burger should take no time at all. I see no reason to buy something like that, but again this is just me. FM

Very fun article Monica, I think canned tomatoes rule. I pretty much use them exclusivly for all tomato sauces since supermarket "fresh" stuff tastes like nothing. As for the minced garlic and ginger...well that's a NO NO . They are cheap and easy to prepare at home from fresh. Another thing I buy is the frozen seafood, mainly shellfish (shrimp, crab). Unless I am driving by the gulf and there is some known fresh seafood shops then I know the fresh stuff is fresh. As for other kinds of seafood, I almost always prefer fresh but frozen stuff is still ok especially the firm fleshed fish. I do make my own yogurt pretty much all the time. I do make ghee, but I do not think I use it nearly as much of it as you do so I can manage making it once a month or so. Frozen veggies, I always have a stock of frozen stir fry veggies, peas and carrots, and ripple cut carrots . Let's see what else....No kraft mac and cheese stuff , no campbells soup, I do buy broths and stocks as well as making my own, I do have ground spices which I try buying form good sources, and I am with CWS on the thyme thing. However, come next month my first baby should be born. So ask me again in a few years and I might give a you a different answer. Another thing, yes it does matter if the guests can tell the difference or not, for me at least. And I usually would tell them..."hey I did not get a chance to do this or that so I had to buy it", just because I feel sort of guilty even though they might have no clue. As long as I know it it will keep on bugging me. But on the other hand if someone complains I can always blame the store bought yogurt for the failed Korma FM

Saturday: -Beer Braised brats, then grilled and served in buns with homemade roasted tomato/onion ketchup. -Grilled butterflied chicken al Mattone (sp??) . Marinated chicken in garlic, evoo, and lemon juice. right before grilling I inserted basil leaves and thinly sliced lemons under the skin. Grilled over charcoal weighed down with a brick. -Potato and mushroom salad. potatoes were boiled, the mushrooms grilled along with sweet onions. All tossed in a tangy mustard vinaigrette. -Watermelons for dessert. Sunday: -Rolled pork loin with plum sauce. thinly sliced pork, pounded and rolled around a filling of homemade plum sauce (plums, ginger, anise, cloves, sugar). Steamed and served with scallions, cilantro and white rice. -Dessert: Homemade apple pie with Vanilla Ice cream. The Pork loin: FM

As it stands today FN has pretty much no competition, no other 24hr cable network that airs food related programming all the time. As a result FN keeps pumping those crappy lame-brained shows at prime time such as Date Plate and Food Fight to name but two. In addition shows like Molto Mario are showing once a week at a time of day when almost everyone is working. This goes to show us how skewed FN's perspective is when it comes to good programming. I guess what I'm trying to say is, do you think we will have any network that can compete with FN anytime soon?? What does it take to start such a network (other than $$$$$)?? Maybe then they will either change their ways (FN) or we will have a new more foodie-oriented, programming-smart network. Thank you so much for your time and effort to answer our many questions, E. "FM" Nassar