FoodMan

Thanks for all the suggestions, it makes sense I guess. I never had this problem with the Concorde, probably becuase I assembled it and served it soon after. I think freezing (with no "barrier" to protect the disks) is not a good idea for mousse/meringue/dacquoise cakes. Buttercream on the other handles freezing much better with a dacquoise.

Here is a pan de campagne loaf I made this weekend. I made one big loaf with the whole recipe.

I made the Criollo a few days ago. Made the coconut dacquois layers and the little extra batter made awsome cookies. I did need to bake the layers about 15 extra minutes than the recipe states though. The next day I made the mousse, pretty damn good mousse too. I loved the taste of lemon zest and ginger in it. So, since I was planning on serving the cake a couple of days later, I made the filling and assembled it and froze it like the recipe suggests. The night before the day of service, I placed the cake ring and all in the fridge to defrost. However, once ready to serve it the problems started. The layers were way too soft and had lost pretty mush all their crunch! It was a pain to remove in one piece from the ring and looked like a defalted souffle . Looked too bad to post any pictures of it. The taste was still pretty good but all the texture was lost, it was sort of like a chocolate mousse pudding with a mild coconut flavor. I am not sure where I went wrong, should I have made the layers thicker maybe? Or I'm guessing this one should be consumed the day it is made. On another note, I really think a third disk of the cocnut dacquoise will be a very good addition, rather than just two. Ling- That looks awsome! very good work.

Wow! Great discussion everyone. IMO, the copying restaurant itself should care. Whether there is a law against it or not, a chef who simply copies a unique dish created by another, with no credit is wrong. No one might be able to sue him for doing it, but he (or she) must know that it is wrong. Sizzleteeth- Cantu or Achatz using what they learned from Adria to create their own unique dishes is very different than copying an Adria dish verbatim to the last garnish.

Ah Rottolo! I've been wanting to try one of these for a loong time and never did. I had no idea they are common in Friuli. Maybe I'll finally give one a shot, maybe a half-rottolo . Kevin, what kind of texture did the Squid Steak have? If it is squid...it's one big cephalopod.

I have seen them before and like you I have no idea where they come from! Next time I will ask the fish guy.

I have lunch here regularly, and my favorite as well is the Steak Hoagie. The chilli and the Burgers are quiet good as well. Michael (owner) is a great guy and is very helpful. Now we are on a first name basis and he calls me when he has some interesting stuff. Like Hanger steak which , Jason, he does have once in a while. Last time I was there he wanted me to buy some of the $30/lb Kobe ribeye which he just started carrying and said he is amazed how well they are selling! I had a tighter budget than that though, but I am planning on giving it a try sometime.

Kevin- Very good looking meal, but I am trying to figure out what's what in that picture! Is it an extra large squid that is opened flat or smaller ones next to each other? I still have to contribute to this region, my damn work is taking more time than it should . Hopefully this weekend I will. I am thinking some of those pumpkin noodles (forgot the name) from Roden's book and maybe a pork stew with cabbage from Batali...we'll see.

yes, it is the one labled for bread machines or RapidRise. IF you really cannot find it then just proof the yeast is a little amount of warm water.

Abra, these breads look sinfully good! For a better distribution I would definitly knead it for a couple of minutes by hand towards the end.

Pan de Campagne (sp?) is one of my favorites. Others include the Pane Pugliese and the now very famous (in this thread) Potato Rosemary bread. Just to name a few.

Yes, I agree, the layers took more than the specified time. Actually about 15 minutes more in my oven when I made my dacquoise a few months ago. The same is true this week, when I baked coconut dacquoise for a "certain cake" from the book. Pictures of "this certain cake" and notes will follow once I actually serve it and taste it, I don't want to ruin the surprise . John, the assembled dacquoise freezes and thaws wonderfully. I also love it most when refrigerated for a good 48 hours or so.

Michelle- Thanks for sharing, the little kibbeh "marbles" look perfect. I am glad you enjoyed the cilantro, it really takes on a different flavor once cooked. Does the recip work exactly as written? Any changes you had to make? Joiei- I've never cooked it with Beluga lentils, my guess is that they should work.

I see, it's just that a Chef like Bouley surely has much more resources at his disposal than your average ambitious young cook who probably cannot afford to hire a "food scientist" (is that like Harold McGee ?) to do a hazard analysis. It all sounds way too extreme for a non-issue.

Just curious, why is that?

Except when you're talking about things like botulism. Just because a food preparation method is trendy doesn't mean it's exempt from public health concerns. Robyn ← No it should not be exempt, but treating it in the manner that they have is simply rediculous. It' not like Botulism has become an epidemic and needs to be controlled, there is not even a single documented case apparently linked to sous vide. So their response is beyond extreme and reeks of nothing but ignorance.

So, even though the inspectors still demand that Sorry, but that smacks of bullcrap! Just sounds like the FDA went "Oh boy....sous vide...oh boy...what do we do about that....oh yeah! ban it all and we'll sort it out later" I personally agree with Barber's statement

Sure, please do along with your comments on how you liked it.

Very interesting. So are there two versions of the dish? The turnover one and the casserole one? Is one more traditional in certain regions than the other maybe?

Google returned this when I searched for Sou-Berag. Is that what it looked like? Some sort of Lasagna type dish? Personally I've never heard of it.

When I asked my butcher for pork bellies, he asked me if I want the ribs on. I've never taken the bellies that way because I'm not sure they'd be easy to cure in a 2-gallon ziploc baggie (while still attached to the belly). As far as I can foresee, that would be the only problem as it pertains to the method laid out in the book. Elie, that pancetta looks great. Did you follow the recipe in the book exactly? =R= ← Yeap, I followed the recipe exactly and am very happy with the result. I did find it tricky to remove the skin though. Currently I am awaiting my butcher to give me a call to come pick up some fresh prok bellies, planning to make more pancetta and a good batch of smoked bacon.

oh really nothing major...olives, pickled anything, capers, spicy food (Indian or Thai for example), oily fishy fish, not too crazy about sushi. So if Sunday dinner at Lucques has a putnesca and a chicken stew with olives, then another place might be better . Thanks for all the suggestions, Grace and Providence sound excellent as well.

Hadn't thought about brunch! Dim Sum sounds excellent assuming we have Sunday to ourselves. What would be a good place to got to for Dim Sum, preferably close to Burbank? We actually arrive in LAX, the tickets to fly into Burbank were way more expensive. Susan Goin's place (how on earth do u pronounce lucques?) seems to be the favorite right now. We are a little worried about the no choice Sunday Supper though. How far in advance does she post ther menu? Does it get booked real fast? Like I said we love good food and are open to almost anything, but my wife has a few things that she will not eat or does not enjoy eating.

We will be in Burbank for a wedding in a few weeks. The wedding is on Saturday and we will be flying back on Monday, so it leaves us Sunday for LA. That weekend also coincides with my B-day, so we want to enjoy a nice dinner that Sunday. We care more about the food than the "hip scene" although both would be cool. Currently and going by this thread the 2 main ones that caught my attention are: 1- Joe's 2- lucques Any other spots I shoudl consider for a nice Sunday dinner? No Tex-MEx or Mexican please, I get a lot of that good stuff here. Also no Sushi (my wife doesn't care for it) or Asian in general (I eat this on a regualr basis here as well).

yeap and before you can say Adas Seriously, cilantro is one of the basic flavors in this soup. Use half the amount and cook it all with the garlic instead of keeping some raw. If you really cannot stand cilantro, then by all means, try it without it and let us know how it turned out. That is why we have discussion forums, to discuss. Maybe someone can try Nicolai's pureed version also and see how it compares?