sandra

Rachel, where is The Manor?

Eating with both utensils in hand is also a South American custom - I was befuddled the first day I went to school in US and had lunch in the cafeteria - what was all this changing over about? And lunch monitors telling me to get my forearms off the table. Just inefficient I say, all that transferring of cutlery - also I have always wondered, what exactly are they doing with their hand on their lap while they are usingthe fork?? and jackal... stainless or silver, bowls of utensils always facing up, the family initials on the silver pieces are engraved on the front of the cutlery, not the back!

AAAhhhhhhh!!! I get it! Funny! Yes, it was funny! But, erm, no, we were not, I was hitting the cold sake in the Bamboo size, the rest of them were on warm... I can tell you it's a myth that drinking from bamboo cuts down on the hangover.....!

Er.....STONE cold soba (oof, sorry) What am I missing here??

Cru was allright, a nice salad of mozzarella and 3 kinds of tomatoes, green, red and yellow, needed more flavour - the gazpacho was good also, the little croutons were still crsipy towards the end... Then I had a roasted tomato and onion tarte tatin with rocket salad, also needed salt but otherwise good, my friends had the salmon over lentils, also good and the risotto with spiced pear and stilton, I didn't try, but he finished it all and liked it - my husband had the chilli squid salad with lime and chilli dressing which he really liked. For desserts, the brownie was delicious as was the Eaton mess and the creme brulee was allright. Very comprehensive wine list and good wines by the glass even... All in all a good meal... the service was a bit slow though Shish next door also looked interesting. It's always fun to visit "that side" of the world - although if it wasn't b/c my friend lives there, we probably would not be discovering these places!

We had friends visiting from NYC who wanted to sprinkle a bit of sightseeing amongst their food... Following is a quick run down of our adventures: Thursday lunch The Golden Hind, my favourite fish & chips in London - crispy batter, not greasy, and a great new addition of feta fritters which is to die for... Thursday dinner One of the Italians off St. Christopher's Square - it was late, and after a few Guinnesses at the O'Connor Don, not much open in the area... luckily I managed to land us in the one with the great gnocchi sorrentina, I'll have to go back and note the name for next time, we always stumble in as if by rote... Friday lunch Bank - has seriously gone downhill in my opinion, the crab lenguini is no longer on the menu and the puttanesca I had was very weak. Friday dinner Ubon - as always, spectacular - the rock shrimp tempura with ponzu sauce is amazing, the miso chips, cold soba, sashimi of tofu and tomato, tempura tuna roll, the black cod...everything, we ordered several appetizers and mains and other tidbits - service, food and ambience, far superior to Nobu in my book... Saturday breakfast Cafe Caldesi, what a surprise, their take of a full english with eggs, pancetta, canellini beans in tomato sauce, sauteed porcinis and sourdough toast Saturday lunch Sofra in Shepherds Market - meze are always a good stanby for a hangover - also on the way to Buckingham Palace... Saturday dinner Locanda Locatelli - outstanding as usual - ordered 3 courses each - warm salad of beans and potato, bresaola, buffalo mozzarelly, one with proscioutto, one with the best tomatoes I have ever had in London, juicy, sweet, perfectly dressed - then tortelli of caramelised onion with red wine sauce, gnocchi with goats cheese and shaved truffle, and two langoustine spaghetti - just right - then I had the filet that came with a small rosti and morels in a reduction, the two men had the sea bass in salt crust with agrodolce sauce, and friend had another pasta, the linguine with chicory - all delicious - plus... desserts, I had a souffle of carnaroli rice, which was like having puffed rice pudding, incredible, sorbets and cheese for the rest of them... Giorgio walked around all evening smiling and exchanging pleasantries (hunk) Only bad taste was left at the very end when the maitre d' came to our table and while pointing at his watch said "well we really need the table now, eh?" well after we had asked for the bill... Sunday lunch Royal China, Baker Street - the usual dim sum extravaganza Sunday dinner On our way to Cru in HOxton in a little while, have never been there, will report if there is anything exciting going on... Monday - gym, gym, gym. gym.......... This is a quick rundown, if anyone wants more details, let me know and I'll be happy to fill in...

You have made me hungry!!! Glad you had such a nice time

I see where you were going with this... and I have to say, it's just for that reason that I am not a big fan of SMA... Funny you should ask where I am from - I just wrote a mini bio lately in the member bios section - I grew up in Mexico City - still go back often and really miss it, but not enough to move back, yet... And to make it food related.... I wish right now I had unos chilaquiles, unos taquitos, unas chalupas, y una jicama! Why oh why can't I get a jicama in London!!??!!

El Pipila, one of my favourite stories from school - And a great statue! But, really? De veras? Unless things have changed in the last week, Mexico City (DF) is the capital, not Guanajuato... When I was little we used to take "foreigners" to see the mummies, used to freak them out! How long have you lived over there? El Pipila edited to state: We love England, going for our citizenship as we speak...

What about Houstons in Riverside Square.. The steaks and burgers are good and although the room is kinda dark, it works with the decor... (I know, I know, it's a mall restaurant....) They have other stuff on the menu, I just haven't tried it... Oh, and I can't remember there being any steps...

Hoagies from Donnelly's Deli in Avalon - they will put anything you want in them, and more! Not right on the boardwalk, but 2 blocks back...still counts I think... As a side note - one time we took our hoagies onto one of those all night bluefish fishing trips - As we found out, most of the boat had been reserved by a group of Mummers from Phila, and they brought on at least a case of beer per person, that we counted.... The boat swayed all night, the Mummers drank and puked over the side of the boat all night - and we sat in a corner shivering and supremely nauseous, the first and only time in our lives... No bluefish were caught by any one on the boat... Oh and the hoagies, they were delicious!!

Lately I have been using goose fat instead - it works quite well for most dishes, unless you want vegetarian, but then you would not be using lard anyway... I also interchange tho, between lard and oil, depending on how light/heavy I want any specific dish - but for real flavour, you can't beat it... caroline, seems like we have gone backwards, I left Mexico and am now in London Where do you live?

Also from Cucina Fresca: Minestra al Limone - Lemon Soup with Zucchini and Orzo Cream of avocado with crabmeat Cold borscht

Instead of haricots verts you could use very fine green beans, and for the fava beans, there are jars of brined beans, usually sold in upmarket grocery stores that would probably work just as well, if not, maybe tinned, if they are a good brand will work - For starters you could also marinate some button mushrooms to go with the olives... or some small onions marinated in balsamic? Sometimes I put little cubes of feta cheese in with olives for snacking... Nice menu...

Quelque Chose Piquante - Acadian Meat and Fish Recipes, by Mercedes Vidrine, Baton Rouge, La. Innocent enough title, the cover is bright hot pink with electric blue letters and design and inside we have recipes such as: Armadillo Sauce Piquante Squirrel Sauce Piquante Braised Bear Steak and something called "Stuffed Ponce" - it requires 1 small hog ponce to be cleaned well - note: Mrs Seale uses pliars (sic) to remove inner film - Any clues??

Louisa, Sounds like you had almost the same ingredients as me for the cuisine final! I rolled my lamb with the breadcrumbs and herbs inside - and thankfully it was also the desired shade of pink! Congrats on a job well done and on graduating! I'll catch up soon...

Last night: Chicken, shredded and blended with mole White rice and black beans Tortillas Cilantro and lime Orange slices

manchego & quince paste cheese & chocolate pasta & tomatoes fruits & chile prosciutto & figs rice & beans (any colour) chicken soup & parmesan

Kill them with a skewer - push it in between the eyes and all the way thorugh the head - Some people like to cool them in the fridge beforehand, supposedly makes them groggy, I think it just makes them cold!

I just posted this bit regarding Mexican cookbooks available in English as part of an answer on another thread... Here are some books I find are very good at representing Mexican food: Mexico The Beautiful - Susanna Palazuelos - apart from good recs it also has some pretty photos Rosa Mexicano - Josefina Howard, Lila Lomeli - from the owner of the NY restaurant, which, if you have not been to, you MUST go.... Although I do like Zarela's recipes, I think her NY restuarant is not too hot... Seasons of my Heart - Susanna Trilling, from the cooking school in Oaxaca A Cook's Tour of Mexico, Authentic Recipes from the Country's Best Open-Air Markets, City Fondas, and Home Kitchens - Nancy Zaslavsky, I haven't seen this, but my uncle recommends it. It is always good if the author is presenting existing recipes rather than researched and reworked recipes. Any book by Zarela Martinez Some of them have already been mentioned, but bear repeating - Buen Provecho!

Yes, thank you for the translation, pingarina, I am Mexican and Spanish is my first language... I was simply pointing out that such a thing as "sour" pomegranate is not something you easily find - I was only pointing out that sometimes such a simple thing as a sangrita can become such an issue with certain food resercahers/writers that it becomes an ordeal for the general cook to follow - same can be said for tacos or chilaquiles.... I once saw a recipe for tacos that was 2 pages long (I will not now say where I saw it, in case I upset anyone) That's a bitt OTT, no?

You can also toss them with evoo, parsley, lemon juice and really good tuna - season and serve as a salad...

See, here is a perfect example of my peeves with the Kennedy/Bayless types - sour pomegranate juice?!?!?! What's up with that? You think that a Mexican that lives in the middle of th country actually has access to this kind of stuff?? Overblown, overworked recipes... Here are my two recs: Sangrita Gudalajara: 1 cup orange juice 3 tablespoons lime juice 4 teaspoons grenadine salt and pepper hot sauce to taste shake and serve in shot glasses Sangrita de Tomate 4 small tomatoes. peeled and seeded 1/2 cup orange juice 3 tablesppons chopped onions 1 chile serrano 1 tab lime juice 2 tea sugar salt and white pepper combine in blender and serve in shot glasses The difference between the two is regional... Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again, anywhere in mexico the recipe is going to vary wildly from town to town, even from house to house, there is no definitive sangrita - all I can say is anyone who tells you to go find obscure ingredients os probably trying too hard... My favourite is one recipe in a Bayless book that called for 10, 5-inch tortillas...HA! Like the lady that makes them down the road is really going to be measuring each one to see if it conforms to the specified 5 inches.... Salud!

Puerto Banus is touristy, every weekend a new set of yachts arrives... In Puerto Banus there is a great restaurant called Azul Marino, right on the harbour, very fresh fish and spanish specials - we stayed for a week and ate there almost every night, we did not find it too expensive... The chiringuitos at the beach are great for sardines on skewers roasting on an open fire and all types of seafood and smaller dishes - very informal, read, sit in your bathing suit... One lunch we ate in Nerja, at a "parador", beautiful location, on a cliff top, fabulous view of the ocean - DO NOT GO THERE - I got the most wicked case of food poisoning imaginable from a seafood stew, and I have a stomach of steel....needless to say, I don't remember the name of it. Buen Provecho!

Did you not mention in another string you are from Manchester?? You have a lovely Selfridges at the Trafford Center with a great food Hall....