FoodMan

I made the soup yesterday as part of my vegetarian dinners project. It is so easy and delicious. Even though I could not tell if leaving the skin on made a difference in taste, it certainly is a welcome shortcut.

When my wife told me a while back that Simposio is closed, I was upset. We loved this place for simple Italian food. ThenI heard it was relocating. Things were looking up. Now we get Mr. Walsh's review and it seems to indeed have gone downhill . I might still take one for the team and give it one more shot. Anyone been recently?

How on earth did I miss this post for this long? Anyways, I am certainly heading to Beaver's soon for some bbq and cocktails. See ya.

That was interesting, leaving the skins on for the cakes. I wonder if it makes a noticeable difference. I'll have to give them a shot soon. I have roasted them before with skins on per one of his recipes and sure enough, the skins turn crispy and chewy and very tasty.

Yes. What is up with that???? That is the first issue I have delivered after picking Bon Appetit via some credit card points (a year for free). When I saw the recipe using a mix, I was a bit miffed! It's the damn cover recipe. Is it too much to ask to use some flour and baking powder? Made me wonder if this is typical of BA or not, since the only magazine I've been reading regularly for the past 5 years is Food and Wine. A couple of articles are pretty good reads though.

Here are a few dinners from the last week or so Steamed Turbot, vanilla bean and lemon zest with a vanilla/lemon cream sauce. Served with green beans. This is a recipe from one of Jamie Oliver's books and the combo was delicious. My wife could not get over the vanilla in there (vanilla = Dessert !!) so she did not like it. I really loved the steamed flavorful fish with the lemon zest and vanilla. Vietnamese Beef, carrot and tomato stew with Jasmin rice Carrot and Cucumber slaw with Turmeric Mushroom Ragout with Bulghur and yogurt sauce Citrus Brined, Roasted Rack of Pork with a little bbq sauce Collard Greens and Potato Stew with Smoked Paprika, Sherry Vinegar and Chili flakes. This sort of Spanish take on collards was a very good one. Definitely one of the better ways I've had them.

Beautiful stuff! How far in advance did you start prepping?

Batard, I posted the list of ingredients and some minor instructions a few posts upthread.

A couple of good Lebanese brands I use are Cortas and Al-Wadi. You should be able to find them at any Middle Eastern grocery store and some gourmet shops.

Those peppers were AMAZING. My first thought as he put them in the baking dish was I MUST MAKE THESE AND SOON. FoodMan, I'd love to have the proportions as well, even though I imagine in a dish like that they're not really critical and can mostly be to taste. TIA ← Sorry, better late than never. Here is the list of ingredients from the "Jamie at Home " book: 2 Red Peppers, halved lengthwise, deseeded and the stem left on 2 Yellow Peppers, halved lengthwise, deseeded and the stem left on Sea Salt and Black Pepper 1 Clove garlic, peeled and sliced finely 24 Cherry Tomatoes, halved 3 Fresh Red Chillies, 2 sliced and one deseeded and finely chopped 2 Tablespoons Capers, soaked and drained Handful black olived, pitted A Bunch Fresh Basil, leaves picked 2 Tablespoons red or white vinegar Extra Virgin Olive oil Optional: 8 Sliced Pancetta or Smoked Bacon 4 Slices Sourdough Bread 4 Balls Mozzarella Cheese, torn in half 2 Handfuls Arugula The peppers are baked at 400F, then filled witht he rest of the stuff. Served on top the bread and with the mozzarella on the side and Arugula on top. Hope this helps. If anyone needs more info, let me know.

What's worse is that within the pictures on the Travel Channel, for this episode, Tony remarks that they serve the bread in bedpans. Either I missed that during the show, or this is information that I didn't need, anyway. Eww. ← Arghhhhhhh!!! Why oh why???

I remember from his not-so-good FTV show Oliver's Twist, he has those countertops built specifically to be used as cutting boards. More space to cut and easy to clean. I am sure he would not be using his marble kitchen counter tops to cut on.

This was one hell of a food filled awsome episode. Thoroughly enjoyable. As for the 'experimental restaurant', is it really confined to that culture? I doubt I'd eat at a place built to evoke a hospital even if Adria is cooking! What a turn off no matter what culture you are from. There is a big line (not even a fine line) between 'experimental' and 'disgustingly morbid' Now, about those corpse eating crabs. THEY looked like good eating

I think I said that in the recipe/class as well, but I cannot get them to brown either. If they do brown, they are overcooked and crispy by then. The key unfortunatly is, I think, much higher heat and flame from the sides, not just the bottom. See in the commercial ovens, the flame goes up the sides and the top of the bread browns fast, not so in the home oven. Now! if there is a way wot have the 'Bake' and 'Broil' turned on at the same time...

Hmm...I think the proper English name for it is 'Vertical Grill' or maybe 'Vertical Rotisserie Grill'. Usually in Lebanon, since it is used exclusively fro Shawarma, we just call it 'Shawarma Grill' .

I can't think why that would not work. It will make sure no water at all leaks into the meat.

Hope you are not all tired of simple Satay pictures, but this stuff is just awsome. So awesome that I had to convince myself that it's ok to eat some more around midnight...cold...dipped in some peanut sauce. I made both beef and chicken satays with peanut dipping sauce and the sweet soy and lime sauce. I also made the lemon grass scented coconut rice. What a great way to cook rice. Certainly will be making this again. Last but not least is the sauteed bok choy with chilies and garlic.

My DVR says that tonight's episode is Number 56 and was originally dated 11/07/07, which is totally incorrect, because Singapore is a new episode. So be forewarned and manually set your DVR's to record the premiere episode of the new season tonight! ← Thanks!

That's really lame. yeah, I know, they own it and it's their rights, blah, blah, blah, but . . . just a shady move on their part. They'd still have him if they hadn't chased him off or wanted him hosting people's backyard barbecues. Then again, on the plus side, hopefully I'll get to read Tony's thoughts on this pretty soon once he gets wind of it . . . ← ....and here are his complete thoughts and then some

cherry tomatoes chilies olives capers herbs olive oil I think I have the recipe in one of his cookbooks. I'll look it up when I get home

Can't say I agree about this...in fact, I find that the dried stuff seems more likely to "add" a not-so-pleasant flavor, whereas the fresh version seems more likely to get down with the ginger for some rhizome synergy action...does your fresh turmeric smell good after you've peeled it? And...it also sounds like your rendang might've needed some more time on the heat....mine was yellow for hours, until it turned brown. ← Very true. Fresh turmeric is one of those flavors that you will miss it if you do not use it. A while back, before I could find the rhizome, I made my Thai curries without it and subbed the dried stuff. They were always missing something, and earthy background flavor that I was used too when I eat Thai curries in restaurants. Sure enough, even the smell of the pastes were more 'correct' when I started using fresh turmeric. As for the Beef Rendang recipe, I had no problem with it either. Use Fresh Chuck or lightly trimmed brisket.

I've owned the companion book (from Amazon UK) for quiet some time and been enjoying it very much. SO, I am very glad to FN actually picked this show up. Saw last nights 'preview' episode after the Iron Chef battle and it is certainly a promising new show. Looking forward to more of it.

The Figgy Piggy is delicious. You'll be impressed. ← Did you ever approach a recipe with some trepidation? Harbor doubts about the blend of ingredients and/or the cooking method? Dive in and make the dish only to have it come out exceeding your wildest expectations -- to the point you could hug the chef who came up with the recipe after tasting the first bite? Well, that’s what happened to me when I made Michel Richard’s “Figgy Piggy.” When I read that one takes a pork tenderloin, browns it on all sides, slathers it with honey and cinnamon, rolls it up in plastic wrap, marinates it overnight, then poaches it for an hour, and then browns it again, I was already eyeing the leftover pizza as our backup for dinner last night. But as soon as I took the first bite and the pork practically melted on my tongue, all thoughts of day-old pizza were banished from my mind. The cinnamon/honey coating not only lent beautiful color and caramelized nicely with the last sear, it lent a luscious compliment to the port wine sauce. I may never cook pork tenderloin in any other way from this point forward. Chef Richard, you are a genius! ← Thanks for the update Sadie. I was looking at Figgy Piggy (I do like saying that) last night and thinking about making it. Now, I really, really should. Also as common Lemon Chicken is, I am tempted to try his mehtod of making this dish. I am preserving some lemons tonight, so this will have to wait a month or so.

That looks so damn good Chris. I made my 2007 Cassoulet a few weeks ago following again Wolfert's recipe from the SWF cookbook. I simply see no reason to mess with that recipe. I love her step of pureeing the fat with garlic and liquid like you picture above. I do make half a recipe though in my Chinese sandpot and give us at least two meals. A full recipe is way too much for us.

The spuddies are great. They do take some time to make, but they are the best tater tots I've ever had.