Cour de Suisse

I am shameless in this regard - I have gladly paid eight dollars for organic bison sausages (four of them). At two dollars apiece, I guess in retrospect I thought it was pricey, although they were devoid of nitrates of any kind, and produced by a real farmer within 100 miles of my location! Those two mitigating factors made all the difference. Further, they were flavored with whiskey and extremely lean - I cooked them on a contact grill and no fat came out, yet they were not dry, and quite delicious. In my estimation, the details, if they are noteworthy, make the difference. I will pay pretty much any price for really good quality. I do engage in this activity at small producers or specialty markets where high quality and small quantity are the watchwords, however. Safeway and Sobeys are fine, but do not rate for fine ingredients, at least with me...

A question, Maggie - as this is the first time I've ever tried writing a limerick. (And am loving it - I find myself chuckling over stupid rhyme schemes as I drive along in the car, and people look in the windows at me and break into grins themselves to see the obviously crazy yet happy woman. . . ): A limerick is indeed to be written in a strict format in iambic pentameter in just the configuration provided above. The challenge is in fitting the subject matter to the format... The "scan and rhyme scheme" above has a certain number of syllables in each line. Is this supposed to be a set number or is it flexible? Also is a Legal Limerick (ha!) supposed to be only one verse? Please forgive the stupid questions. I will try to ask more intelligent questions at some other time. ←

I don't believe i ever saw this configuration, but your post reminded me of a 'unique' little device that i was forced to inherit from my mother when i went away to college. The name escapes me, and i actually still have it, and it is locked away in a time capsule box in my attic even now. It is a nefarious looking little press that you were supposed to place 'sandwiches' in, and then lock down the clasp on the handle. One was encouraged to be creative with the fillings, and as the sandwich toasted within, it morphed into a little triangular shaped turnover. Quite effective, with the result being that if you used cheese, the filling was rendered akin to molten lava with a tempurature hotter than the Sun. Fourth and even fifth degree burns could be obtained from this little torture device, and one's chin was the usual location. Come to think of it, i may drag it out and explore some new combinations using high-brow ingredients...

Hi Marya, I have recently found out that Ullmann publishers of Germany now has the rights to former Konemann titles, and is marketing the Culinaria series again. I have also heard that Culinaria India, and Britannia & Eire were produced but never released, as by that time Konemann was in trouble. This means that these titles should be released within the next year or two. I do have European Specialties, and have seen the others you mention. Kevin

I have been collecting as many of these valuable and seemingly rare tomes as I can get my hands on for a few years now. I know that the German publisher Konemann Verlagsgesellschaft, founded in 1993, had monumental distribution issues and filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2001, according to a 2003 article in Publisher's Weekly. The author, Karen Holt, states that publishing house Tandem Verlag "will acquire numerous rights and all the bankrupt publisher's remaining stock, which will be sold at regular retail prices." This is great news for lovers of super high-quality 'cookbooks'. I use the quotes because these are much more than mere cookbooks, although they do contain a plethora of recipes and procedures. These excellent volumes are really comprehensive cultural and ethnic studies. Outstanding production values coupled with exhaustive research into regional folklore concerning all styles of food preparation and wines and spirits, make these books invaluable for the food connoisseur (or book connoisseur for that matter). They are gorgeous. Seek them out wherever possible at all costs, for you will not be dissapointed. Titles published to date, as far as I can determine, are as follows: The United States: A Culinary Discovery, France, Spain, Italy, The Carribean: A Culinary Discovery, Hungary, Southeast Asian Specialties, Greece, Germany, and most recently (at least in English), Russia. I am waiting breathlessly for India and Britain and Eire, supposedly in the works. Anyone possessing further information regarding any other available volumes in this series in English, please post! Cheers, Kevin

MMMMMMMMMMMM.........Padma.

go away.

This is a particularly European way to conduct the slicing of a loaf, other than simply tearing it. Holding the bread and slicing by cutting towards oneself so that guests may see the simplicity of the excercise, is, besides practical, symbolic of hospitality and the act of offering.