TarteTatin

How about working in a small gourmet corner food shop? Or a cheese shop?

"I would say a visit to Bocuse is worth it for historical reasons only, and only if you have deep pockets. All four of us were very disappointed with our meal there, both in terms of food and service. If you're looking for food with a light touch, this is not the place!" We agree with Simon S. Had an extremely dissapointing meal there a few years ago. Not worth the money at all. The food wasn't great or inspired, plus we felt like we were eating inside of a pink birthday cake.

I always see the word "Entrecote" on menus. I think it's fatty and thin...not really sure...thought it was the same as a Hangar steak.

Oh, have to say we'll probably stop at Secrets in Ocean City, Maryland on the way to Chincoteague. What a fun place! Anyone been there recently?

Okay, we haven't been to Chincoteague since Easter two years ago. Used to go all the time on the off season. We'll be there Easter weekend again. Have a kitchen and will be cooking a few meals, but want that local fresh seafood. Is AJ's still the best place to go?

This morning I had the opportunity to be at the Terminal at 8:30 a.m. Had breakfast at the Down Home Diner, at the counter. (The Dutch eating place isn't open on Tuesdays) It was nice and quiet, I don't like it when its too busy at the Down Home. The service gets slow and sometimes there's attitude. But this morning was good. I had Corn Hoe Cakes. They were like Pancakes, made with corn, I believe, and lots of whole kernels of corn. It came with maple turkey sausage links. I put butter and syrup on, and it was good! Nothing was open at 9:00 for me to take my lunch to work. I did buy some okay looking leeks at Iovine, 2 lbs for $1.00, mushrooms, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, are all $1.00. It seems they're packing things up that way. The bartlett pears looked good... Got a couple of Delmonico's at Och's for a special dinner...other than that, the Terminal was really quiet.

What are the Golden Coins?

I assume the chicken and sausage gumbo is lamb, chicken or beef sausage!

Phrederic- I don't remember what we had at L'enoteca, but we simply didn't find it very creative. The center Antipasti was basic, good, but nothing really inspiring. I think I had sardines, and then pasta, or something....no real bold flavors... And, it was a bit overpriced for what it was... Now that I think about it, it wasn't January, but rather a different trip last November. And it was our last meal after a week or so of eating out. So, on the restaurant's side, maybe we were overindulged? Could be...

So I just finished reading this 16 page thread. Wow. Does anyone have any new and exciting recipes for this Passover? We are hosting our very first Seder, as many of the previous writers did on this thread. Hubby is a great cook, and we're used to having dinner parties. We're a "mixed" couple (I'm Jewish, he's a Wasp), and we're inviting three other "mixed" families over. So we're not really worried about keeping it Kosher. I really don't like brisket, cause we had it so often. Liked the Braised short ribs someone mentioned...also liked the salmon quenelles...what else new and different? Maybe something with eggplant? I had this walnut spread from an Armenian place that was to die for. Maybe that's a good app... Hubby will make his wonderful flourless chocolate cake recipe from Georges Perrier here in Philly. And, his great meringues.

We really didn't like Enoteca on Rue St. Paul, when we went in January. It was okay, not great. Other friends thought it was the best Italian meal in Paris. I'd say it is mid range as far as price, however... How about Chez Janou near Bastille?

I have a place NOT to go on a food vacation! Madeira. Lovely place, 72degrees year round. Great fun visiting the Madeira houses and the little island of Porto Santo. Great Fado music... It's between the Canary Islands and the Azores, 400 miles off the coast of North west Africa. But, the food! Ugh. Espada fish. It looks like an eel. Very ugly. You can get grilled espada fish. Espada fish on a stick. Grilled Espada fish on a stick. Did I mention you can get Espada fish? Oh, and then there's overcooked, well done meat on a stick, sometimes overcooked chicken on a stick. We finally found a place for salads one day!

Friends went to Felicia's for Valentine's Day and said it was just awful. I didn't ask them to elaborate, however...

We bring from France to the States: --Tins of Puget olive oil, sometimes two tins per trip. It's the best. --Chocolate bars. For gifts from Monoprix - OR-- Pruneaux/Armagnac dark chocolate --Herb de Provence from Monoprix. --Bouquet Garni, for my stock, from the Monoprix. --Aioli and Rouille jars. --Moutarde-regular, Cassis, the green one...(tarragon?) --French mayo (which has mustard in it) --Lavender soaps and grapeseed oil soaps from the marche --Almond bisquits; used to be from Hediard, now I find cheaper ones --Noisettes- we don't get hazelnuts salted like that here. Delicious. --Truffle oil --Eau de vie, Pastis, Calvados, Armagnac, Marc de Bourgogne or wherever, Fine... A ton more. Can't remember it all. As far as bringing to our friends in France from the States: --Dried Cranberries and Blueberries --For some reason-Macademia Nuts from Hawaii, which one friend says she can't get --California Zinfandel, usually Gundlach-Bundschu --Hot Dogs and Potato Rolls from the Amish in Reading Terminal-we bring ice packs for one friend

Okay. I'm 46. Went to college in St. Louis. Haven't been back there in 25 years. Memories... An ice cream place that was sort of in a fancy restaurant in a house, where they did tableside desserts... An Indian restaurant near the Botanical Gardens? I was a Hostess at Boomer's in Laclede's Landing near the Arch, when there was a Salad bar there and Steely Dan type music. I was also a Hostess somewhere else around the corner, can't remember the name. A coffee shop/folk music venue in Webster Groves. A boat with melodrama and food, similar to something we had in Denver.

Here's the third recommendation for Les Florets above Gigondas. Great, and a beautiful view to boot. If that's not open, next to the co-op that Busboy mentions in Gigondas, is another good, basic restaurant. I had a truffle omelet there to die for. A veritable ton of truffles, delicious! Beaumes de Venise and Chateau neuf are great places for tasting wine...Orange has a few okay restaurants. Going further south, we found a few places in Avignon and Isle Sur la Sorgue...Lots of other places in the hilltop villages east of Avignon.

Hi, this is from the other half of Tarte Tatin, above. We share the same name on egullet. Probably should have different ones. Anyway, just my two cents. He sounds so strict and serious and the recipe almost sounds like he has cooked for a living. Just to let you know, he hasn't. He's an at home, happy, amateur; for relaxation cook. I'm lucky! He reads cookbooks for relaxation, from cover to cover, and it goes into his memory. He hardly consults them at all after reading it thru one time, like a novel. P.S. Yes, we have incredible food almost every night of the week; he cooks so well, not just baking...

"The first one I ever had was at a lunch truck outside the gate at Electric Boat in Groton, CT. It had cheese and tarter sauce on it and had been wrapped up hours before, yet, it had enough merit to it to lay the groundwork for more research." Oh, my God! I grew up in New London, Ct., Dad worked at EB in Groton. This is many, many years ago. Probably about 35 years ago! I remember eating at a bar across from Electric Boat's gates....it was one "chicken" lobster for $7.99, and two for $8.99. I was about 10 and Dad said I could order two lobsters if I ate them both. Well, even at that age, I knew how to pick a lobster and didn't leave a bit! What memories! I don't think it was lobster rolls, but it was whole lobsters and fresh fried clams to boot! Family moved to Denver right after that, lived around the country, now in Philly. We have good lobster rolls at Philadelphia Fish and Co., but its not the same as my Connecticut memories!

Shaya - just posted a link to the recipe we use but in case you miss it in the original post here it is again http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=83675 Have fun with the lemons!

Here's my Tart au citron recipe which I've adapted from Cuisine At Home 2002 A couple of things. I’ve altered their recipe for a couple of reasons: to give a finer crumb to the crust, to time save on the straining and to make it my own. Obviously, you’ll change it as well to suit your own style. A couple of things you need to do this: Pastry blender - unless you opt for making your pastry in a food processor - not the best way to go, in my opinion. Food wrap - for chilling the pastry Good rolling pin. Tart pan with a removable bottom. Parchment paper cut to match the bottom of the tart pan. Pie weights - for baking the pastry shell blind Microplane grater - the flat one. Heavy bottomed, non reactive sauce pan - for the filling - stainless steel or enameled castiron - very important, because if you use aluminium or cast iron the filling will discolor. There are a couple of different ways you could go with the crust. I like Pate brisee and not American pie crust - I don't like the taste of shortening. You could always go with a hazelnut flour or almond crust as well though why gild the lily? This is very tart and if you get fresh lemons from a lemon tree in your garden better than the store bought ones coated with food grade paraffin. Rich shortcrust pastry or Patê brisée 250 g flour - sieved 4 tablespoons sugar Pinch salt 125g cold unsalted butter cubed 1 large beaten egg 2-3 tablespoons ice cold water. Blend the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Add the cubed butter and using the pastry cutter blend until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Still using the pastry cutter, blend in the beaten egg. When the egg is mixed in, add enough cold water so that the pastry comes together in a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in food wrap and put the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour. While the dough is chilling butter the bottom and sides of the tart pan and put it into the freezer. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the lower third. Do not neglect to chill the dough, otherwise it will be difficult to handle and will shrink. Take the bottom of the buttered tart pan, flour it and then roll out your dough to the thickness you want on top of it. This will make it easier to handle and even though it seems counterintuitive, it works. Lift the rolled out pastry and tart pan bottom and place in the tart ring. Press the edges into the sides of the ring. Use the rolling pin to roll across the top of the tart ring and trim the pastry. Take a fork and pierce the bottom of the pastry with it. Place the circle of parchment paper over the raw pastry and then put the pie weights on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, take out the parchment paper and the pie weights. Reduce the oven temp to 325 degrees. While the tart shell is baking, make the lemon filling, though it is a good idea to do some of these steps while the pastry is chilling. Lemon filling Ingredients 3 whole eggs 3 egg yolks (save the whites to make meringues - which are very easy - recipe at the end) 1 cup sugar 3/4 cups lemon juice 3 tablespoons lemon zest - This is where the Microplane comes into play because if you use if for the zest you don’t have to strain the lemon mixture to achieve TOTAL SMOOTHNESS. Pinch salt 6 tablespoons unsalted butter - cubed, room tempurature. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, salt, lemon juice and lemon zest together in the large non-reactive sauce pan. Add the butter and cook over medium-low heat, stirring CONSTANTLY. Cook until the filling thickens slightly, but is still pourable. Pour into the pre baked crust and bake in the 325 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. The tart can be frozen, defrosted and served at room tempurature. I’ve served this with at rhubarb compote, fresh made meringues, chocolate, whatever. It’s all good, but on it’s own is just fine. Meringues - The basic recipe I’ve followed both the recipes in Joy of Cooking (1975 edition) and Larousse Gastronomique, but I’ve found a combination of the two gives the best result. Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees Fah. Use egg whites that are room tempurature and are fairly fresh. Grind the sugar in a coffe grinder so it’s superfine (DO NOT USE CONFECTIONERS SUGAR! It has cornstarch in it.) You need a volume of sugar to almost equal the volume of egg whites. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are at least doubled in volume and are ‘stiff peak’. Some people add cream of tartar, but unless it’s very humid, it’s not really necessary. Gradually add the sugar, making sure the egg whites don’t collapse. You can add flavouring if you wish. I occasionally use a lavender syrup or vanilla. Load a pastry bag with a star tip with the beaten egg whites. Pipe small roses/rosettes/etc. onto parchment paper or a Silpat lining a cookie sheet. Bake for 2 or 3 hours until the meringues are dry. They will last for several weeks in a cookie tin.

It really makes me very upset when people use their cell phone while driving one handed and eating at the same time as putting make up on. Seriously, this puts me, a safe bicyclist in the city, in an extremely dangerous position. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I keep both hands on the handlebars and don't eat anything while "driving" to work. I have to keep my eyes and ears open for all of you who aren't aware and might hit me. As far as food goes, it just keeps in with my concept of "slow food" as opposed to just stuffing my face while engaging in another activity. (I take the same point of view with another activity which shall remain nameless!)

I agree with Busboy. Make a Tarte au Citron (lemon tart). The best thing about organic lemons, is there is no wax on them (hopefully). You'll be able to use the lemon zest without fear for the lemon tart. Hubby makes a great one, from scratch. We have our friend in Santa Rosa UPS us lemons from her backyard, all the way to Philly for these great tarts! (Yes, expensive but worth it) Let us know if you want his recipe. He makes the crust from scratch too. Sometimes regular, sometimes from almonds... Here's the link to the recipe just posted in the pastry forum - http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=83675

My favorite soups lately are at Pagoda in Old City. They have huge take out containers for about $6 of: Roasted Duck Noodle Soup Triple Dumpling (yam noodle, shrimp dumpling, chicken dumpling) Soup Hot and Sour Soup (with taste) Shrimp Dumpling Noodle Soup and lots more. They are huge meals, and tasty. Where else have you had really good soups?

If you are in Old City, Pagoda is great. For $6, you can get the duck noodle soup. It's a huge amount of soup, with lots of big pieces of duck meat, fresh made noodles and soup! A meal in itself. The other soups, are great too. I think I'll start a new topic now, on soups in Philly!

I betcha he'll go to Spain or Asia. He knows too much for France.