helenas

We made it to Indigo Moon last saturday. Since the reservation was for 8:30, it was a bit hectic in the waiting area, which is almost non-existent. The menu was exactly like posted on their web site, plus couple of specials. My daughter had great mussels for appetizer, i, as usual, made a wrong choice and had a crab cake, which was tasteless. Not that i was not warned about it. The cake was mentioned in the Artful Diner review. But mushroom soup was excellent, as well as main course, both mine and my daughter's. I had a special - roasted halibut with beans ( didn't like beans, but it's OK; i'm not a bean person). Anastasia had filet mignon with mashed potato and camambert. Bottom line, we enjoyed our meal a lot, but since the selection is not that big, we'll probably wait until they change menu to come back.

Mark, How is your list doing? Just to let you know, i stole it from you. We went to Indigo Moon last Saturday, and we're going to Il Cortile this weekend. What about Bella Luna, though? I couldn't find any reference on the web.

Rachel, As usual, we ended up in beloved Freehold, my husband being stuck at work for the whole weekend, and the next one, and the next one...

i thing it's just a reprint of the following: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-2002021121,00.html

Any sites for fans of Ming's cookware? Got to have this mexican eatherware he uses. I even sent email to foodtv.com asking them about those vessels, but as you might expect, no answer. They look like cazuelas, but have cute handles, and Ming has them in every size imaginable...

i usually use rosemary, and winesap apples when in season. My recent favorite recipe is Lady's Apple Cake from Patricia Wells' Paris cookbook, and it's pretty similar to apple cake from "French Farmers Cooking" by Loomis. Actually, the first time i found this recipe here: http://www.divinacucina.com/code/torta.html (Edited by helena sarin at 12:56 pm on Jan. 23, 2002)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2002Jan22.html

this is atip from epicurious site: I'>http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e02_sec.../r/867.html I tried it once, but the brandy i used didn't want to flame at all.I guess something to do with the spirit evaporated from brandy during the storage ( i used some bottle of brandy that i had for a while)

We're going to Indigo Moon next saturday to celebrate my husband's birthday. What are your favorites on their menu?

dont' want to be a boring adult; thus the whole message is cleanly wiped up by the Bounty paper towel (Edited by helena sarin at 12:10 pm on Jan. 19, 2002)

This Saturday we're going to WineLibrary to restock our celler. Could you recommend me some nice places to dine in vicinity? Something informal and not very expensive. Thanks, helena

tommy or anyone else, have you taken any of the tastings offered by the WineAvenger? The next round of tastings starts pretty soon, on Jan 18 with "white wines" As i consider myself a red wine drinker, he guarantees a conversion.

Andy, your mistake here. At least, i know one very positive review (foreword) he wrote, and it was for my favorite dessert book "Just Desserts" by Ramsay. And he uses there such words as sensitivity, delicacy and gentleness... you can find the foreword here http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec....8008613 ( i think only one paragraph is missing) (Edited by helena sarin at 12:48 pm on Jan. 6, 2002)

Alex and Helena are happy to join. I'm sending email. Happy New Year!

Impulsively i bought d'artagnan's pheasant today. As i had no idea what should be done with it, i turned first to cookbooks, and then to internet. The recipe in "Joy of cooking", where a bird is braised with gin and juniper berries sounds good. And also the one from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/db/4/G/g...sant_2859.shtml which has walnuts to the liking of A Balic (see other game thread). Patiently waiting for your ideas and suggestions...

what about some pork au gratin?

on the other hand: "...Better Psychological Functioning and Higher Social Status May Largely Explain the Apparent Health Benefits of Wine..." '>http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v161n1...oi00676.html

He has a demonstration, 1/7/2002 at Short Hills: '>http://www.kingscookingstudio.com/guest.a....ss=0

on half.com you can find it for ฟ only.

i followed Tommy's recommendation on willie gluckstern's book "the wine avenger". The book is exactly like Tommy described it, with emphasis on food friendly wines. Gluckstern sounds convincing, so bye-bye zins and shirazes, i'm switching to pinos and rieslings... Thanks god, i never liked chardonnay, otherwise i'd feel embarassed right now

Steve, Do you mean "La Cocina de Santi Santamaria"? Do you know if it's translated to French or English? If not, it looks like i need to learn Spanish. So many important books are availably only in Spanish.

'>http://www.winespectator.com/Wine....html

When a while ago i attempted to bake them, i was surprised on how easily it can be done. And they came out so delicious. The only problem i had, that they became soggy after a short while, which discouraged me from trying them again. Are there some rules to deal with this kind of pastry?

Artichokes? Although i don't know to what category they belong: deceptively easy or the other way around? Honestly, i never tried to prepare them from scratch. Although i like them very much, i always use olive oil marinated ones, sold in Wegmans Mediterranean deli section. Surprisingly enough, they turn pretty tasty both in gratins and braised chicken.

'>http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/12/kummerfood.htm (Edited by helena sarin at 10:37 pm on Dec. 5, 2001)