FoodMan

This conversation is officially closed to anymore questions. Thanks to all who participated. I would like to thank Chef Pope for taking the time to post detailed and informative replies as well. Elie

My small garden is in it's second year. Last year I got a few tomatoes here and there, some chilies (mainly habanero), and herbs. This year I am happy to say that it is doing much better. I picked those a couple of days ago: The cherry tomatoes are definitly coming back next year, they are doing very good and they taste amazing! My only problem with tomatoes, is that I cannot seem to keep their branches from leaning and/or breaking under the weight and wind. I used some cages thsi year, but I guess they are not good enough. Maybe tougher ones are in order for next season. Elie

Michel- Welcome to the eGullet Society! My first advice is to review this shawarma thread, it might have some helpful hints. Now, in your particular case and from what I could gather from your comments I think that you might be making the Shawarma too lean. You need more fat in there to help keep it juicy. Using beef fillet makes for a VERY lean Shawarma and you should layer some lamb or beef fat in on the skewer and also use a fattier piece of meat. The same goes for the chicken, you said you only put some skins on top, I say layer soem sking in the skewer between the chicken as well. Now, no matter what you do, if you are not slicing the meat for a few hours between "busy" times, it will probably burn or dry out. Did you maybe try turning the heat off and wrapping the meat with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying? I know this sounds a little strange, but it might help if you are not slicing any meat for a couple of hours. About the chicken being too soft. It seems like the chicken it turning mushy. My first guess would be the sauce you are using to marinate. Does it have too much acid (vinegar, lemon juice,...) in it? Try marinating it for a shorter time. Also do not cut the meat too thin, maybe flatten the breasts a little but do not slice them too thin. Hope some of this helps and do let us know of any updates, Elie

Stir fried spicy beef with cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, mushrooms and purple basil (recipe from China Moon book). Served with rice. I am also very proud to say that the tomatoes, pepper, chilies and basil are from my own backyard. The dish sounds like and odd combination for a Chinese stirfry but it was amazing and the flavors work great. The sauce had stock, mushroom soy sauce, Sherry, and balsamic vinegar. Dessert: Homemade poached-then-grilled peach ice cream. Elie

Sorry for the delay but I finally downloaded some of the "Food Shopping" related pictures. Enjoy: Boqueria- We actually bought some dried sausages from this guy and his father. Both very helpful and nice. ...More seafood. Sorry I got carried away but it was amazing. Some stuff I bought at Colmado Quilez- Window Shopping- The best for last. These two are probably my favorites, a shop that only sells "bacalao". It's called if memory serves me right "El Casa De Bacalao", I could not believe my eyes when I saw this amazing shop with it's different piles of different varieties of salt fish! The owner is very proud of his products and was more than happy to let us look around and take a couple of pictures. He also made it clear that he cannot sell us any of this stuff for our trip back because he does not vaccum pack his precious fish and it will not make it to the US. So all we have left are these pictures:

The difference is that a ratafia is fortified with a spirit, in our case Texas vodka. ← Also, and correct me if I am wrong, but a Ratafia is allowed to infuse and mellow for a few weeks. A Sangria is more or less a cocktail made with red wine and fruit and allowed to sit for a few hours. right? Elie

Chicken and smoked sausage gumbo, thick, dark and amazing. Dessert: Homemade Olive oil gelato on top of Italian Almond cake.

LMS, that looks pretty darn cool. Very nice work! Elie

First, thank you for taking the time to join us for this chat. Monica, I am always fascinated by the variety of ingredients and cooking techniques you demonstrate at T'afia, anywhere from Mediteranean to French and Asian. So, if you can sum up the food you serve at T'afia how would you describe it? And along those lines, is there any ingredient or technique that you do not like working with or prefer not to? Elie

Yes, the remark about "a Web site for the culinary challenged " is pretty stupid and narrow-minded. We have more culinary knowledge than Bruni (oops, Bruno ) can ever come close to acquiring...and we are better writers. I also ask, WTF is a foodista? Why is he writing for the Sun? Elie

We are pleased to have Chef Monica Pope, from T'afia restaurant in Houston, as our guest for the week of June 13th through the 17th. The chat officially starts on June 13th, but you can go ahead and start posting your questions for Chef Pope on this thread today Monica Pope is chef and owner of T'afia restaurant in Midtown Houston. In addition to cooking at T’afia, Monica hosts the weekly midtown farmer’s market in the restaurant and its parking lot every Saturday. Bio Monica began her career at the age of 18 for prestigious Cafe Annie in Houston. She later left Houston for Europe where she spent the next three years working in restaurants in Greece and London. In 1990, she earned her Chef's title from Prue Leith's School of Food & Wine. She returned to the United States, working first in several innovative San Francisco restaurants (Bix, Edie) then coming back to Houston to work in Marion Tindall's Bistro Cuisine and Tony Vallone's La Griglia. In 1992, Monica opened The Quilted Toque where she fully demonstrated the infusion of international foods. In 1994 she moved to open Boulevard Bistrot. In 1996, Monica was named one of Food & Wine Magazine's Top 10 Best New Chefs. After 10 years at her Museum District restaurant Boulevard Bistrot, Monica's lease was about to expire; she took this opportunity to start over from scratch--to break out of the bistro box and create a new concept in an up-and-coming part of Houston, South Midtown. Inspired by the location--an industrial red-brick building on 10,000 square feet of land--she has again envisioned and made real a restaurant with simple, good food using as many local and regional ingredients as possible. Called the "Alice Waters of the Third Coast", Monica is a leader in the garden-to-table movement among American chefs and is an original charter member of Chefs Collaborative 2000, an organization of over 1000 chefs across the country whose work addresses the concerns and philosophy of clean food sources, seasonal food preparation and healthy food choices. She is a champion of sustainability in local agriculture, product purchasing and restaurant recycling of glass, plastic, aluminum and steel as well as kitchen waste through composting. Monica is one of the founders of the Midtown Farmers Market – a weekly market that brings the community together on the cornerstone of food with offerings from local farmers, craftspeople, and chefs making artisanal, handcrafted breads, chocolates, pastries and prepared foods. Honors, Features and Reviews Pope's new restaurant is flat-out brilliant, a review by Robb Walsh, Houston Press, March 11, 2004 Well worth the journey, a review by Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle Top 40 Best New American Restaurants, Travel & Leisure Magazine , December 2004 Best New Restaurant, Best Of Houston 2004, The Houston Press, Sept 2004 Right on the Market, Monica Pope gives Midtown some European flair, By Brian McManus, Houston Press, June 17, 2004 Bye-Bye, Bistrot?, By Marin Gustin, Houston Press March 06, 2003 Top 10 Best New Chefs in the United States, Chef Monica Pope, Food & Wine Magazine, 1996 More on Monica Pope in the eG Forums Mid Town Farmers Market Tour T'afia Restaurant Thread. Mid Town Farmer’s Market Thread. Monica Pope recipes in RecipeGullet Organic Herb Salad Fennel and Chestnut Soup with Apple Cider and Fennel Pollen

Unfortunatly, I've never tried good shanklish in the US. Click here to see a previous post about it though. For the record, I have not attempted to make it again, yet. Elie

I think I would feel odd and perhaps guilty if we moved to the kitchen table. We've dined as a group of six, four and this time as a table of five. Each time we've sat at the same table. As we were escorted from the terrace to our table, Mrs. B noted that it was the same table at which we've sat twice before. Luis Garcia said they knew where we've sat and what we've eaten. I don't know if there are bad tables at elBulli, but this one is a wonderful table in it's own alcove surrounded by windows behind and over the banquette on three sides of the table. ← See, the little things. I mean in the end does it really matter if they know exactly where you sat or exactly what you’ve eaten. Not really. But, just the fact that they do makes you feel like you really are somewhere special. I would also agree with Bux, a meal at elBulli is in a league of it’s own, but not the best meal I’ve ever had, but that is definitely not the point. It is delicious, memorable, different, exciting and we would both love to go back sometime. It’s funny that you mention that previous meals were more seafood intensive. Both my wife and I noted that our meal was very strong on things from the sea. She actually got a slightly different menu, since she does not like (she would say “hates”, but I am still hoping she’ll come around) olives. The olive dishes were switched for other things including an “oyster and pearl” dish. In the end, most meat dishes were seafood (oysters, mussles, langoustines, mackerel,…) and I would’ve loved to try a game or meat dish. Maybe next time. I sure did notice the kitchen table when looking through the glass window and touring the kitchen. It was empty but I assumed this one is reserved for the special chef’s guests. Had I know I certainly would have asked if it is available. Pedro- Yes the “teppanitro” it was, it actually had that name engraved on it. The name eluded me when writing my comments (I was thinking “nitroyaki”, but I knew that sounded wrong ). Hope to hear your comments soon. Elie

elBulli dinner menu: Margaritas 2005 Olivas Sfericas Marshmallow de Parmigiano Oreo de Oliva Negra con Crema Agria Palomita de Queso Arlette Iberico Piel de lenguado planchada al ajo y perejil Caramelo de aciete de calabaza Ninfa de algodon Salicornia en tempura Ravioli de mantequilla Passion por le aceituna Pan de queso Tierra 2005 Mejillones de roca con “gargillou” de algas Macaroni gigante con yema de huevo Albondigas de habitas con jugo y flor de haba Verdures a la oriental con leche fermentada Esparragos blancos al aciete de oliva Ventresca de caballa en aciete Cigala con quinoa Sesos de cordero con erizo y algas Sopa de hierbas y especias con tofu thai Liquid de melocoton Migas heladas con polvo helado Morphings… This was our first time at elBulli, or any 3 Michelin start restaurant for that matter. It truly was a wonderful experience and a little overwhelming. I needed some time before writing anything up about it. We started our evening with cava and first few courses on one of the terrace tables, a few minutes after sitting down we were moved to a table with a much better view of the calm bay because it is our anniversary dinner and it is our first time at elBulli, nice touch. The whole evening continued like that, the servers conducted their business flawlessly. They were friendly, talkative, professional and seemed to have fun at what they do. I really loved the whole feel of the place, very comfortable, kind of cozy, modest and definitely not stuffy or luxurious. The meal was certainly like nothing I’ve experienced before, I am really not going to go into details of every dish for two reasons. First, it’s been done already several times, second, I know I will not remember the details of every item. What I will do is comment on a few of them. Let me start by the one negative to get it out of the way, the one dish that I really do not care to ever eat again. That is the “Salicornia en tempura”, Salicornia for those who have no idea what it is (like I was until a few weeks ago) is a type of sea weed. It sort of looks like small thin asparagus spears. The Salicornia is coated with a thin tempura crust, sprinkled with saffron and is served with a small dish of oyster juice meant as a dipping sauce. Each bite tasted like a spoonful of salty seawater flavored with saffron. Ok, enough with the negative, on to the good stuff which almost everything else was, but these are the ones that really stood out (I hope I got the courses names matched with the correct description, please correct me if I am wrong): -Olivas Sfericas: Wonderful little olive shaped spheres made from –what else- olives. They are served in a jar of olive oil and as soon as you bite the “olive” it pops releasing the olive flavor. -Marshmallow de Parmigiano: Parmeggiano marshmallows, what more can I say. They taste exactly like they sound and are excellent, we were sure glad that we got more than two each -Oreo de Oliva Negra con Crema Agria: Looks like an Oreo cookie made with black olives with a filling of thick crème fraiche. - Caramelo de aciete de calabaza: These were served at the end of the first courses on the terrace. A caramel candy bulb filled with pumpkin oil, it was both surprising and delicious. - Ninfa de algodon: Cotton candy wrapped around a filling of Thai flavors (cucumbers, cilantro,…). The flavors in this one were perfectly matched. I was worried the cotton candy might have been too sweet, but it was not. - Albondigas de habitas con jugo y flor de haba: Bean “meatballs”, with fava bean flowers and juice. I am not sure why I loved this dish so much, maybe because I used to eat a ton of fava as a kid in Lebanon. It looked beautiful and exotic, yet tasted like the essence of fava beans. - Esparragos blancos al aciete de oliva: We both agreed that this dish was unforgettable, perfectly done. Tender white asparagus spears and “ravioli” shaped like a large pill filled with excellent olive oil. This is one of the best dishes of the evening. - Sesos de cordero con erizo y algas: Another childhood delicacy that I do not eat much, well never actually in the US, is lamb brain. The Maitre d’ kindly explained before we begin our dinner that we have lamb brain on the menu, and inquired if we care to switch it for anything else. We both decided to keep it. The lamb brain was excellent with a soft silky texture, served with sea urchin roe and lamb brain “sauce”. My wife had never had this before but wanted to give it a try, unfortunately the texture/taste was not something she enjoyed, so I happily finished her dish as well. -We also enjoyed a very good Spanish Mackerel dish, but for the life of me I cannot tell which one it was (the “Ventresca de caballa en aciete” maybe). One of the memorable “morphings” was a Guanbana (soursop) frozen cream with caviar. The waiter actually prepares this tableside. He pipes some of the cream on to a metal box that has been filled with liquid Nitrogen. The box has “smoke” coming out of it and is very, very cold. The waiter says he is now “grilling” the cream on both sides. Then he puts the bite size grill-frozen cream on a spoon, tops it with some coffee caviar and serves it. The flavors/temperature of this last bite awakens any tired taste buds at the end of a five hour meal (BTW, I already have plans of imitating this one using homemade Guanabana ice cream and coffee-infused tiny tapioca pearls ) Looking back I actually wish I had taken pictures of the dishes. At the time I just wanted to enjoy the meal, but some pictures would have been a very nice souvenir until we can hopefully go back again in a few years. We did take some outside of the restaurant including this one of the kitchen.

For a more elegant rehearsal, you can always go to the "Burning Pear" in town center or Perry's Steakhouse. How do you feel about Indian food? Madras Pavilion has nice dining rooms and good food. I am sure I am missing some other local joints but right now Carraba's or Cafe Adobe on H-6 and also come to mind. I will post other's if I can think of any. And congrats and best wishes for both of you. Elie

Great work Janet. The article made me chuckle quiet a few times, mainly because I could see myself doing the same stuff and obsessing about the same details. My approach to cookbooks has definitly changed over the past few years. At first I used to follow recipes religiously (If a recipe calls for marjoram, I would go to three stores in search of marjoram or else I just would not make it). Not so much anymore, I feel free to edit where I think it is necessary. However, I do enjoy following recipes up to a point, mainly to get new ideas and to get familiar with a cuisine that I am not yet comfortable with (most recently Thai). Of course when attempting pastry or bread recipes, then I keep edits to a bare minimium or non at all if possible. So, does cooking from a recipe necessarily mean following one to the last minute detail? I don't think so. If I see a recipe for a poached salmon that I have never done before in a Jamie Oliver book, then I cook it with some alterations, it still is a recipe I got from a book. Isn't it? Oh well, maybe that's how I justify my coobook buying habit . Elie

On June 13th we are having an eG Spotlight Chat with Chef Monica Pope in the Texas forum, click here for the calendar entry. So, in early April Linda LaRose (Fifi) and I visited the Midtown Farmers Market for a tour. For those of you not familiar with the market, it happens every Saturday at T'afia, Chef Pope's restaurant. In Houston, we have had no true farmers markets for a long time. A few years ago small farmers markets made a re-appearance, including the Onion Creek one --- also with the support of Chef Pope. Onion Creek suffered from a few problems with the city officials who refused to allow the vendors to sell any fresh eggs, poultry or prepared foods. However, the market survived and a little over a year ago, Chef Pope opened T'afia and started another Saturday farmers market in its parking lot and dining room (the restaurant is open for dinner only). We got there pretty early, armed with a good camera, and had a hearty breakfast at The Breakfast Klub (sausage gravy with biscuits, green eggs and ham) next door. Since it was only April, there were fewer vendors than you would find in the summer months. We also talked with Andrea Lazar, T'afia's manager. I asked if they are still having any problems with the city officials. She said that has been taken care of thanks to our new mayor who is very supportive. She also said that we should see many more vendors in future months. As you can see the restaurant's parking lot is the home for vendors, typically of veggies, fruits, poultry and some crafts. Very few prepared foods are in this area, in observance of city health laws. The following is a selection of the vegetables available that day. My favorites are those colorful cauliflowers. Sure they more or less taste the same, but they look so darn cool. Unfortunately, the tomatoes were all gone by the time we finished breakfast (8:30 AM or so), so no pictures of those. A year ago, buying fresh free range eggs and chickens was pretty much impossible or at least very very "tricky" at a farmers market in Houston. Now, at least two vendors had eggs and at least one had freshly killed free range chickens. The dining room of T'afia hosts vendors selling prepared foods and baked goods. Several breakfast items are also sold there like mini quiches and breakfast biscuits. Here is a display of Kraftsmen Breads. More Kraftsmen Breads Chocolate from the Brown Bag, my favorite is one made with Jack Daniels and fleur De Sel. The best part is they always have samples. Plum Sauces, spreads and dips. "Plum" is Chef Monica Pope's catering brand. I ended up leaving the market that day with some fresh eggs of mulitple colors, one of which was off-green , a free-range organic chicken and different lettuces for a salad. If you have never tasted a real free-range chicken before, pick one up at the Midtown Farmers Market, roast it and serve with a nice green salad and some Dijon mustard. I promise, it does not "taste like chicken".

A question regarding the bottling for the finished Vin, does it matter if the bottles are regular glass bottles or does it have to be some type of dark glass bottle (like a wine bottle)? I wouldn't think it matters, but thought to ask to be sure. Elie

Again, thanks for all recommendations on this thread. They were very helpful in pointing us to good food. For Pintxos we stopped by Taktika Berri our first night in Barcelona and had the pleasure of meeting Bux who had a few drinks with us and shared some tapas. We got there early and sat at the bar and magaed to score the hot pintxos as they come out. The food was escellent esopecially the Boqurones (sp?), bacalao, and morcilla. I definitly ate more than I should and had a few cavas. Another Barcelona recommendation is Cincsentits. We had a fine meal there. It's kind of funny though that the main thing that sticks with me is the wonderful amuse/shot composed of several layers including maple syrup and salt. I would love to be able to make something like it at home, it was excellent. The other top notch dish was a generous appetizer of foi gras, leeks and puff pastry. Elie

Disclaimer: I have not read all six pages of this thread and I apologize if my thoughts are a re-hash of previous posts... I've seen three episodes, including last night's terrine one, total of this show and I am a little dissapointed by the fact that we get to see almost no cooking. All the screen time goes to commentaries by the three judges and some of the cooks. We get probably five minutes of in-the-kitchen time then another four of critique and 86. Probably an extra thirty minutes (making the show a total of 60 minutes) would help tremendously. Elie

With Paris one of the most pet-laden cities I've ever seen in my life, I would say this is inexact. The French love their animals like anyone else and more than some. In normal situations, butchery stock is not disrespected. In all rural life, all over the world, if you want meat, you have to kill animals. That's all. This has nothing to do with the affection they may feel for them, individually or collectively, though nobody kills pets for food, of course. I shoud add that the attitude of French cuisine implies some mysterious respect to the animal (or plant! plants are murdered too) that was sacrified for the purpose. Indeed this is at the root of great cuisine, wherever from, and I believe the French and Italians have inherited a very ancient tradition. I once did hear a gastronome say that bad cooking meant total disrespect for the lives that had to be suppressed. I like that idea a lot. ← Maybe inexact, but it has an element of truth. I was raised in Lebanon and Africa and visited a few countries in Europe including France and Spain recently. It is true that everyone loves their "pets", but other than dogs and cats (mostly) everything else is regarded as "food". No one gives names to their rabbits, ducks and chickens, they are food. In the US rabbits = bugs bunny and they are "cute", so can we just eat the chicken or vegetables please ! This reminds me of a very funny account in J. Pepin's "The Apprentice", when Jacque and his brother stop at a place selling live ducks in upstate NY I believe. As soon as the brother grabs the first duck (they paid for two live ducks) he twists the neck and throws it in the trunk. The lady who sold the birds to them basically goes berserk and kicks them out shouting and screaming. I guess the duck was supposed to be Donald.... Elie

hmm...I wonder if Mount Lassen people will throw in a few leaves in the package. Won't hurt to ask I guess. Elie

Barcelona was a blast! I will post a few shopping related pictures soon enough. I just wanted to thank all of you for great tips. One of the places I visited was Formatgeria La Seu, and chatted with the very friendly Scottish lady who owns it. It's is really amazing how much she cares about her cheese. I bought some Manchego and she announced emphatically that there is no way she will vacuum pack cheese. She then quized me how long the flight would be, then after some consideration she said "Ok, it will be ok, you can take some back home" . Honestly she spent about 5 minutes carefully wrapping the cheese and even gave me an extra change (piece of wax paper) to change the wrapping if it got too sweaty. Since I bought some olive oil from her as well, she made sure that my wife did not put both products in the same bag . We chatted about her website, and the map she had on it since it clearly guided me top the store. She said the site is horribly outdated and the e-mail is wrong in addition to other info. On a sadder note, she said the store closed for a while because she had to tend to her ill mom who passed away eventually. If you are in the Gothic quartyer anytime soon, do stop by the store and get some much loved cheese. Elie

Great! I am eagerly awaiting a recipe (hopefully soon, pretty please). Currently, this is my recipe of choice. I am not sure why, maybe because of the nice picture and the intro . Elie

Just recieved an e-mail from Mount Lassen, for those interested here is a link to order the green walnuts before the 20th of June. I will probably make both Nocino (Artusi recipe maybe?) Vin De Noix (still not decided which recipe to use) and maybe pickled walnuts. Elie