Wilfrid

What with my fritto misto and DStone's onion rings, I thought it would be interesting to hear more about batters. For fritto misto I used a fairly light batter- four ounces all-purpose flour, one egg, about a cup and a half of milk (I added a little more as it was too thick at first). Seasoned, of course. I also like to add some chopped herbs, for appearance and flavor - oregano's a favorite. I had a very good beer batter recipe from Gourmet (with a little mustard included), but I am having trouble locating it. Do people use different types of batter to fry different things?

Pret a Manger must have hit him hard.

So, does the two-stage risotto, which most restaurants in New York rely on, qualify as a real risotto or not?

Thanks guys. Must be somewhere you can get blood in New York, right? I might try liquidizing some of the cooked blood with red wine - that might give me the basis of a sauce for poulet au sang at least.

Crispy grilled partridge, grape and champagne sauce. I really liked this, so here's how. Removed backbone from partridge and spatchcocked it (butterflied, if you prefer). Gave it a bath in olive oil with kosher salt and fresh rosemary in a very gentle oven for about forty minutes. Marinated in the fridge overnight. Drained the oil away, re-seasoned the bird, grilled it breast down for about ten minutes, then breast up (with a knob or two of butter for luck). Evenly cooked through with a crispy, golden skin. The sauce was peeled grapes briefly sauteed in butter, a glass of champagne (reduce to half by bubbling), stir in the pan juices from the grilled partridge. Season. Then, very carefully, add the minimal amount of flour to make it just slightly viscous. Bring it to bubbling again so that the flour is cooked, then pour over the bird. Served with simply boiled yellow beans. Cheese plate to follow. I will be doing the same tonight, but hopefully with a wild mushroom sauce.

Specially bred haemophiliac pigs?

Pedantry: I would make that "Americans." I mean, I've got a passport.

Thanks, Bouland, and I agree - it's just that we have been having a bit of trouble getting fresh blood here in New York. Haven't exhausted all the options yet (all the legal ones, I mean ).

I agree people don't seem to like risotto as much as they like pasta, and the example you give illustrates that point. I just didn't the reason for them not liking it was that they couldn't understand when to eat it. I doubt if it's anything to do with marketing too.

Why is there only room for one? Why couldn't people sometimes eat risotto instead of pasta. And heavy? Lasagne and canneloni seem fairly popular. As usual, Steve, I don't disagree so much with your conclusion as find myself bewildered by your reasons. Anyway, my observation has been that risotto is widely available in Italian restaurants in New York and frequently ordered, so what's the issue?

Why isn't the "space" for risotto just lunch or dinner. Most people, horrible though it may be to contemplate, do not eat multi-course meals on a daily basis. The British took to risotto - disgusting and ersatz though the product was - just as something to eat as a meal. Where's the mystery?

Darn, Steve, I misread your post as implying they were in New York. Oh well, another day maybe...

I am reasonably confident of finding my way around French, American, Australian and even Spanish wine lists. I always struggle with my bearings, however, when it comes to Italian lists. I know a Barolo from a Chianti and a Barbaresco from a Dolcetto. But I lose all orientation when it comes to the unclassified Vinos de Tavola. I am sure that a lot of the best drinking is to be found among such wines, and I have had some lucky picks. But I don't know what to do other than pick a price range, point my finger and hope (or rely on the sommelier). Is there any way to find ones way around such wines other than trying to memorize the names? Any other tips for navigating Italian wine lists would be appreciated too.

I thought he might appreciate slightly more focussed questions!

That last bit's interesting, Steve. Are any of those old-style places still around? Kind of mirror image of what you find in southern Germany - a sudden appearance of noodles, olive oil and such like in the cooking.

White wine seems to disagre with me. Oh, I can drink it, but my body somehow doesn't like it. So I usually drink red unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise. For about five years, my daily drinking was burgundies. Recently, I have been going back to the Spanish reds I'm fond of - Abadias from Valladolid, wines from the Ribera del Duero (especially Hacienda Monasterio), good Riojas - and I've also been drinking some ordinary, everyday clarets (Greysac, Moulin du Bourg, Simard). Wish I could figure out Italian wines.

Yes, that opening stew sounded ravishing. A tasty meal altogether.

The UK experience with risotto seems to have been the complete opposite. It was marketed, with some success, back in the 1970s as a home convenience food. Every kitchen had packs of risotto (disgusting I know) stacked up alongside the Lean Cuisines, boil-in-a-bag curries and cans of Homepride gourmet sauces. Real risotto has had, therefore, to shake of a reputation of being somewhat common; on a par with spaghetti bolognaise; rather than "snotty".

Cooked blood. I just bought some. I assume it's pig's blood, as it was cheap, although it later occurred to me it could be that of a duck. It's a sort of jelly-ish cake. I have eaten duck's blood similarly prepared, over noodles, in The Malaysian Restaurant in NY's Chinatown. Anyway, I am wondering if this can be used as an ingredient. What are its properties? Could I liquidize it? Will it become liquid if I melt it gently? I am thinking of Kristian's famous Finnish blood pancakes, an authentic poulet au sang or some kind of civet as dishes I might make. Anyone ever worked with this stuff?

Everyone seems to be finding figs except me. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. (Oh, perhaps they don't sell them in butchers). Last night, fritto misto with a rich demi glace sauce (served on the side so as not to swamp things). The fritters included chunks of salt pork, chicken livers, pig's kidneys, zucchini and yellow beans. The yellow beans worked very well. The other big success was the chicken livers, although they were violent in the hot oil - depsite being dried, then dipped in batter, I think they were leaking cold liquid on contact with the oil, causing minor explosions. I have some moderate burns to my right forearm - par for the course for home deep-frying I would say. Abadia Retuerta's Rivoli, a tempranillo/cabernet (60:40) blend made for young drinking. Followed by Montgomery's cheddar and a Pont L'Eveque-style cheese calling itself Le Pont Couvert. I also spatchcocked a brace of partridge and gave them a bath in warm rosemary oil, preparing to grill them tonight. But my Beloved has just announced her new diet, which for some unfathomable reason excludes game birds. All the more for me, then.

The Dove is a terrifyingly unpleasant gin palace, isn't it, but I am partial to a pint of Fullers. I can order Fullers London Pride and even ESB in the DBA bar on First Avenue, but it comes up cold and fizzy through one of those mean electric pump things. Not the same. I also find New York bars offering Old Speckled Hen as a similar chilled, fizzy lager-substitute. Not a good idea. I am very lucky that I largely stopped drinking bitter several years before quitting the UK. Otherwise I'd miss it terribly.

Suzanne, that may be Jeffrey Weingarten - the piece is included in The Man Who Ate Everything. He didn't argue that it just got better and better as it got more and more done, but he definitely came out in favor of cooking it well beyond rare.

Is that Rothmanns in Midtown Manhattan, or are we talking about somewhere on LI?

We'll never know. But at least I wasn't hallucinating.

I know this was discussed recently, but putting Wagyu and Kobe into the search engine, I'm not finding it.