FoodMan

According to Clifford Wright, it is an Arab thing via Sicily! Now I am not sure how it got up there though and took hold.

Not at all. With the butter, bacon fat, and sausage drippings it was barely a vinaigrette! More like a bit of acid to cut the richness. I can't imagine anything more purely Italian than homemade Bresaolo. Much more impressive than using the 'real' imported product. When do I need to get my order for guanciale in??? Nice looking soup as well. ← As soon as I get my hands on some fresh pork jowles

moderator note: Since Laidback Manor is now open for business, this thread will be locked to all future posts. Please discuss the restaurant and any meals you had there in this new thread.

Ok everyone, we all followed closely chef Rucker's opening of Laidback Manor! Now it is open! Please post your dining experiences on this thread. For a look at what the menu looks like and other info about Laidback Manor, visit : www.laidbackmanor.net.

These look perfect Adam! How are you going to reheat them?

Steven, that is true. I hope I can give Tamaris a try next time I am there. My point was that fine dining is there and can be found, but for the region to be a culinary superpower is just too unrealistic. Tel Aviv should be able to support a few fine dining establishments, but again that is not my point. I was just saying why Daniel's comments make a lot of sense to me. I wonder how successful Tamaris is? just thinking out loud....

Michelle- I do not think Daniel is implying that anyone who seeks a Michelin dining experience is shallow! Why would you say that? Is there anything wrong with flying halfway across the world for a meal? His post was very informative and makes a lot of sense. I can say the same thing about restaurants in Beirut. These countries are just not “built” the same way as other European or American ones. People simply do not go out to eat as much as New Yorkers or Houstonians do in the US. Add to that the economic and population factor and Daniel makes a lot of sense. Now, all this of course does not mean that Israel does not have a lot of excellent dining choices but that is not the point

Sure, more about it in this thread, more specifically here is my latest post My first attempt at this, in my "wonderful" Houston weather ended up moldy and in the trash. So this one was a vast improvement.

Marc- I made the Garbure recently, see here for more details. I did leave the leeks simply sliced in half and my thought was they will more or less "melt down" after the long simmering. I was correct, the size of the leeks in the final dish was not a problem at all, and the flavor was awsome. Please report back what you think of it.

yesterday I put together a quick impromptu Lombardy dinner as well. - My home cured Bresaola on top of crusty bread with parmesan shavings, oilve oil and lemon juice - Zuppa Pavese, pan fried bread topped with a raw egg, lots of parmesan and hot veal broth is poured on top. The end result is so good and so much larder than the sum of the parts. Before pouring in the stock, trust me, there is an egg under that cheese All ready to eat!

You folks (especially Ron with these awsome pics) are an inspiration to all of us. I cannot believe I have not tried to make the bacon yet! In the meantime I am happy to announce that my second batch of Bresaola came out much better than the first one (which ended up in the trash due to mold). this one was hung in the fridge to dry for 2.5 weeks and lost a little under %30 of its weight. Since this is Houston, and unless I get me a curing chamber, the fridge has to be the way to go. I did rub it with a little olive oil to prevent excessive drying on the outside and I think it helped a lot. Here is what I had for dinner a few days ago Thinly sliced with celery greens, romain, olive oil, shaved parmesan, capers and some lemon juice. The meat is very tasty with a good beefy flavor and herbs, but a little on the sweet side. Is there any harm cutting back or even eliminating the sugar?

Nathan, what a stunning dinner! Pork braised in milk is a favorite of mine but I never tried to use nuts for the sauce. It sure sounds great. And those agnoloti's look like a meal on their own. Great work. My farewell meal to Piedmont was not as elaborate as I had planned due to unforseen circumstances (my son got the flue). What I did make was wonderful though and very satisfying: - Grissini, made with a mixture of whole wheat and wite flour using a sourdough starter. I seasoned them with salt and 11 secret herbs and spices . Just kidding, three herbs and one spice. We just munched on those dipped in olive oil while the beef was cooking. Very addictive with a glass of wine. - Stracotto al Barolo, of course I used a Cabernet that I like and not Barolo. For the meat I used chuck, the only beef I use for braising no matter what the recipe asks for. I followed Marcella Hazan's recipe for this one. I could not resist at the end but do a very un-Italian thing, I strained the sauce and enriched it with butter . Don't know, it just seemed like the right thing, or maybe it's a habit that is hard to break. In any case it was lovely, beefy and satisfying. - Roden mentions in her book that pureed potatoes are a common side with this dish, so I made mashed potatoes with parmesan, milk, butter and parsley. Hope this satisfies a Piedmontese. My plate, the first one. I was planning on serving an Onion Sformato with mushroom broth for an antipasto with the breadsticks, as well as som e kind of dessert, probably another zabaglione. Oh well. See you in Lombardy.

Oh, I like this idea (ie I might steal it soon) For chestnut sformati, I would think somrthing sweet/sour and fragrant might work. Maybe a few drops of balsamico in the rice and some crumbled ricotta and fennel fronds. I can only imagine how a chestnut sformati woould taste so I could be totally off the mark.

Exactly! They see Emeril on TV making something that looks good from scratch, but they just do not want to invest the time, or put in any effort into a meal that their family or friends will enjoy. Instead they turn into a semi-homemade "recipe" and wonder why their "food" tastes and looks like canned food . Your comments about cooking for your family at home with what I can only imagine is a full schedule makes me respect you even more. My favorite times of the week are the evenings with my wife and 2.5 year old son and Sunday mornings when I cook breakfast for them. I make it a point that though he is barely potty trained he HAS to at least try a couple of bites of whatever we are having. I have been so surprised so many times at the things he enjoys, most recently a pan fried trout that he actually wanted to buy at the store and a hearty bowl of garbure with lots of cabbage and duck confit! Thanks for sharing with us.

I just wrote out longhand (well, on the computer, but you get my drift) the Gascony daube recipe for my MIL who enjoyed the dish at Christmas, and in writing that up with my revisions and notes, I realized I was doing a few things for her that Paula did not do for me: listing equipment and material needed (the parchment paper for the braise, e.g.); estimating hourly and daily commitments; explaining certain steps in far greater detail; spending a lot of time discussing possible and impossible substitutions. This observation is not meant to be critical. Rather, it supports Elie's point that this book is not a starter book on continental cuisine. Huzzah, I say: I value this book for precisely what it is. I will say that I thought that the review was a bit too glibly clever for its own good, as did Lucy. And if I can get cassoulet down to seven hours, I'll be thrilled! ← Chris, that is why I am a little confused. I thought the review made it clear that the book while excellent isn't for the casual cook. Perhaps that is the conclusion Elie was referring to. The conclusion that I am referring to was the one referencing Paula using eGullet as a testing ground. It isn't clear to me which conclusion Elie is referring to, which is why I am seeking clarification. I am probably just dense. ← I was certainly not refering to the eGullet as testing ground conclusion but rather what Chris mentioned and more specifically her very last sentence in the article: Basically you need to love cooking and the whole process, from sourcing to carefully reading the instructions to eating to get the full benefit of Paula's work. In the end it is "worth it".

Though probelmatic, I am glad her review reached the conclusion it did. I do agree that Paula's books in general are NOT for the uninitiated, like the subtitle for the "Slow Mediterannean Kitchen" reads they are for the "Passionate Cook". The recipes - most of them- are precise and very detailed and if not read carefully the end result might not be pleasant like Ms. Scattergood found out for herself. I have nothing to add in the defense of my testing beyond what Swisskaese said. We are serious about this and the notes I took on each recipe was a page long. Most of the problems Scattergood found were probably due to "user error". Maybe I can stop by sometime and show her how to make these awsome Bras Onions:

Sara- I, like many other serious food lovers, feel a little annoyed to put it mildly every time a TV cook uses the words “when your guests see this dish they will think you labored in the kitchen all day!” for a plate that took 20 minutes to put together. Why is this so important? Are we really cooking at home for the sole goal to “wow” our guests? To me home cooking is about cooking for the ones you care about, it might take days to prepare a perfect meal or 30 minutes for a proper perfect pasta dish. One is not superior to the other, just different. It just seems to me that when you cook at home you should love what you are doing and not treat it as a chore that needs to be done as fast as possible. Sorry for the rant but how has home cooking evolved since the days when you started cooking? Do you think it has moved to the better or worse? What is paramount to you when you cook at home? Now, honestly do we really need shows like “Semi Home Made”? Is it teaching home cooks anything useful?

Awsome! My homemade Bresaola (round 2, since the first one did not exactly work out) should be ready for consumption within a week or so. It will make a great antipasto.

Azerus, this looks like a top notch meal. I love your antipasto platter and the soup especially. Tongue is excellent, just think of it as the big muscle that it is, nothing more. If more people would try it I am sure they will love it. So, "the powers that be" (aka Kevin and Hathor) , what are we doing next?

As always, it is important to remember that terms differ widely from one region to another in the same country, let alone across continents. So what Clifford said is very educational and spans many regions and I have no doubt is accurate, but my definition for Baqli only applies to "my neck of the woods" and that is Northern Lebanon, specifically Akkar area. Over there Baqli = Purslane.

Hello Sara- Thanks for joining us in this discussion! Your comments above are certainly new to me. Would you elaborate a little bit about your role? Can you describe a day of work for you at Gourmet?

Little Ms Foodie, your dishes look spectacular. This weekend we ate Garbure. Now, do not confuse this with “this weekend we cooked Garbure”, because I followed Paula’s advise and made the Garbure more than five days before! I cooked it last Sunday and we enjoyed it of Friday and Saturday with fresh homemade country bread and lots of French Burgundy. It does not look like much but it is truly fantastic, especially in this semi-cold weather that we got this weekend. It has lots of deep flavors and smooth textures and when heated up more than once develops almost a porridgy texture that is very satisfying. Next time around I want to add an extra confit of duck leg since the recipe only uses two.

As promised, here is the hazelnut cake with the Zabaglione added on top along with chocolate shavings. The Zabaglione was made following Marcella Hazan's recipe and was so thick and good, that I felt bad not having made more. I bet it would make great chilled dessert.

I finally got to work with natural casings and made the “Hunter Sausage” (Jagerwurst, is it? ). Even though they are less convenient that the collagen ones, natural casings are amazing. They are so thin and so strong and make perfect links with no problem. I truly am a convert and will use them regularly. The recipe itself was very good and tasty with a great texture. It would work as a cold sliced sausage or as an ingredient in other dishes. I did reduce the amount of nutmeg by about half and am glad I did. I could still taste it but it was not assertive. The next time around I might add more of the other two major spices, coriander and mustard seed. Especially the coriander, it gave it a wonderful aroma and an exotic taste that worked very good with the smokiness. Here are the smoked links. I do have a nice grill/smoker with a fierchamber and a smoking/griling chamber, but I have no way to hang the sausages. So, I had to lay them on the grates and flip them halfway through. Worked out fine as u can see. Here is a the cut sausage. Even with the overexposure to the flash, you can see the nice texture.

I like that idea as well. We can keep the thread titles cosistent and only change the name of the region, maybe add it to the subtitle. We can contact one of the Italy moderators and they can change this (Piedmont) for us. I am all for democracy and all, but I do not like the idea of voting and tallying votes. Creates more work for whoever is doing it and frankly, very few of us "know" what they want. I am still of the opinion that Kevin and Hathor (since it was their idea...sort of... to start this series) should just decide on what regions we are doing every quarter. I really am fine with any way you want to do it though.