DianaB

Years ago we were permitted a kitchen visit at the 'Indian' restaurant we frequented regularly (as I recall the family were from Pakistan but in England most restaurants of this style are labelled 'Indian'. The tandoor was a huge device, tiled on the outside and with a stainless bin lid as a cover. The naan breads were pulled into a tear shape and slapped onto the inner wall of the tandoor. 30 seconds later they were pulled off fully cooked with some char both sides. The top was brushed lightly with ghee and that was it, ready for service. More recently most supermarkets here sell products which are bread based and labelled naan. While fully cooked I recall advice to warm before service. I've tried one or two, in particular during three months we were without a kitchen a couple of years ago. Taste and texture in no way similar to a restaurant naan. When I started reading this thread I thought perhaps it would be possible to make naan using the Ferrari G3 pizza cooker we recently bought. I realise this is not a professional device but it is infinitely better than any other way I've tried to cook a decent pizza in our domestic kitchen. The stone preheats in around 10 minutes, 450 Celsius, and a pizza will then cook in around 5 or 6 minutes. A naan would be quicker as there is less mass to heat. On the UK Amazon these ovens are priced at around £96.00. I looked at the US Amazon and was amazed to see the same machine at $660. Either a mistake or it would be worth ordering through the UK and paying the postage. As regards the recipe I would go with Madhur Jaffrey, if you google her name and naan recipe there are any number of sites that reproduce her method. While we no longer live close to the restaurant that gave us a kitchen tour we do have a great local place. I would be happy to ask advice about their naan recipe, I think they know us well enough to understand that we don't intend to set up in competition! I realise this is an old thread, perhaps you have perfected a recipe and cooking technique that works for you? Good luck! Diana

My passion for French cooking followed a series broadcast here in England in the 1980s. Albert and Michel Roux, brothers from France, were well established through their restaurants Le Gavroche and The Waterside Inn when their TV series was shown, linked to a book 'At Home With the Roux Brothers' which can be found still for little money on Amazon. The series has never been released on DVD (as far as I know) but it is now available on YouTube, albeit that each episode is divided into two or three segments. It is possible to play the series from start to finish if you know how to drive the YouTube app, I managed this by accident once, unfortunately I have yet to work out how to do it by choice. The segments are well labelled though so it isn't difficult to navigate through. If the link doesn't work a search 'Roux brothers BBC' should get you the list. Grantmk999 is the pseudo of the person who has uploaded the videos. The series goes through the basics of French cuisine topic by topic. I learnt so much from these programmes when they were first broadcast, knowledge that has been of huge value throughout my cooking life. Perhaps the recipes are no longer fashionable but the techniques are extremely useful, you might find the programmes a good supplement to Julia and Jacques. Albert's son, also called Michel, is very much a media figure in the UK now. I'm sure he is a great chef but I don't think any of his programmes have been as thorough, or as useful, as those of his father and uncle made so long ago. The brothers published a second book, Roux Brothers on Patisserie, which can also be had on Amazon and which is worth having just for the lemon tart recipe.... ETA I had no idea the link would give a video in the middle of my post. Hope I haven't broken any rules with this post! I will remove the link if anyone tells me it shouldn't be here.

Makro/Metro stock both egg whites and egg yolks. I was surprised to find both at a local Asda recently, must be a result of all the televised baking programmes...

Hi Rotuts, I'll certainly take some pictures when I'm in France next week. By trading estate I mean an area on the edge of town where usually there is a supermarket plus other retail outlets of the 'shed' variety. Perhaps a garden centre, Toys R Us type shop, furnishings, do it yourself supplies. Nearly always chains or franchises. Maybe a Macdonalds and the like. These new style butchers seem to be independents but I'll attempt to find out more next week. In England, and I think in Europe generally, all animals for food must be slaughtered at a registered abattoir. No matter the welfare arrangements on the farm the last hours of the animal's life will comprise transport to the abattoir.

In France the difference in price between supermarket meat and a similar cut from a butcher is huge. I lived there for 7 years up to 2007 and it was very seldom that I had sufficient funds to buy meat from a butcher. In fact I ate very little meat because the stuff I could afford in the supermarket was generally poor. As I was living alone I would sometimes go to the traiteur and buy paupiettes or boundins or other stuff with some meat content and beautifully made, it was cheaper than buying ingredients to make these things myself. Sadly when the Traiteur attempted to sell his business to retire there were no takers. It was a great place, there were always queues outside the shop. The place is now a chain clothes shop and the town is the worse for it. Only one Traiteur remains in the centre, there were 4 a decade ago. The town also managed to support 5 independent butchers despite their prices. I recall going into one with my neighbour who was better placed financially than I. She bought a rôti de bœuf which would have fed 5 or 6 people. It cost around 50€. It has to be said that any roasting joint in France will be beautifully prepared (whether from supermarket or independent), there will be no work for the cook save to manage cooking heat and time. I've never seen such well prepared meat on sale in England. For around the 50€ that my neighbour spent on that one joint in France we bought a range of stuff from our local butcher here in North Yorkshire last Saturday. We got 2 generous rib eye steaks, rack of lamb (trimmed while we waited) and 1.5kg good stewing steak. Butchers here display a board indicating the farm the animals came from and their tag numbers. While I no longer live in France I visit often and I've noticed a new trend in meat supply. Rather than the small town centre butcher shops there is a move towards taking a large unit on a trading estate where there is perhaps already a supermarket. I'm not sure how these places fit in respect quality and price. The supermarkets can't be too happy. I'm going over at the end of the week and I intend to have a look at one such place that now shares a car park with the second supermarket to a smallish town. Back in England both supermarkets and independents tend to trade on the fact that their meat is British. We get some Irish beef in supermarkets from time to time and New Zealand lamb when our own is out of season. The only time I recall reference to Argentinian beef was during the BSE crisis. There was still a butcher in our village in those days, he said that he had bought some Argentinian beef and he found it excellent. He didn't offer it for sale because he thought it was a bit too adventurous for his customers!

Hi Lia, When making lemon tart I bake the pastry case blind, lined with parchment filled with baking beans to keep the bottom flat. five minutes before the end of the baking blind time i remove the case from the oven, lift out the parchment and beans and then brush the inside with beaten egg yolk. The pastry case then goes back into the oven for the final five minutes. I've never had a problem with cracks to the finished tart so perhaps the egg yolk works as Keith suggested in respect of the butter, sealing the pastry to prevent it absorbing the lemon cream. The recipe I use, including this method for the pastry, comes from Michel and Albert Roux's Patisserie book. Everything I've attempted from that book has worked, it is still available through Amazon. Hope that helps, Diana

Ceramic knives in my experience are far more robust than you might imagine! I've dropped mine on numerous occasions without causing damage. Mine are washed in a washing up machine and they live in my utensil drawer with all manner of stuff sharing the space. Certainly they are great for trimming meat, not for cutting through bone but yes for sinews etc. you are not restricted to veg! I accept that I'm useless at sharpening steel blades. I've spent a small fortune in the past on high end steel knives but since discovering ceramics I keep just two steels, a boning knife and an old carbon steel bread knife given to me years ago. I stand by my earlier suggestion, buy a small cheap ceramic and see what you think! I'm pretty sure Amazon offers all prices these days. Good luck!

For a couple of years I've used a small burner attached to a small gas bottle (propane I think) to cook steak at high temp outdoors as we don't have a ventilator in the kitchen. As an aside when we had the kitchen remade a couple of years ago I was advised that if we wanted ventilation we would need to buy a system designed for professionals to have any chance of success, in England it seems domestic ventilators are a waste of time. The gas bottle rig ( around 20€ for the cast burner unit, plus cost of gas) was bought in France after seeing numerous similar set ups working well. Having read this I'm tempted now to get a single induction unit. I use cast iron cookware which I understand is ok for induction. Does anyone have any views on whether induction will give better results than gas? Eg, heat quicker, more evenly? Any advice would be welcome. Diana

Like Lisa I use ceramic knives exclusively and have done for around 5 years. They are not as fragile as you might think. I bought one for a friend who has 35 years experience of running his own restaurant and he agrees that while he has no problem keeping his steel knives sharp, the ceramic is a great convenience. I understand some chefs don't like them because they consider them too light but for enthusiastic home use they are wonderful. The prices have dropped significantly in recent years, why not try a small general purpose knife, to be has in Europe for around 5 €, to see if they suit you. Drops don't mean smashed knives, the only damage I caused was when I stuck the end into an avocado stone to remove it forgetting that my knife was ceramic! My fault entirely. Good luck if you decide to give these knives a go! Diana

If anyone feels nostalgic for difficult to find sweets/chocolate with a British origin, try http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/faq.php They will deliver world wide. Having said that, brands that I thought were British seem to be available in far more varieties in the States. For us Marathon,now renamed Snickers, has never had almonds, we just get peanuts. Kit Kat is largely just milk 'chocolate' in either four wafers or one larger bar. Occasionally there are orange flavoured variations. Twix is just Twix, 2 bars in one pack but no variations. The Quarter Pound Of site does offer a good range of stuff long gone from high street sellers. Diana

If anyone feels nostalgic for difficult to find sweets/chocolate with a British origin, try http://www.aquarterof.co.uk/faq.php They will deliver world wide. Having said that, brands that I thought were British seem to be available in far more varieties in the States. For us Marathon,now renamed Snickers, has never had almonds, we just get peanuts. Kit Kat is largely just milk 'chocolate' in either four wafers or one larger bar. Occasionally there are orange flavoured variations. Twix is just Twix, 2 bars in one pack but no variations. The Quarter Pound Of site does offer a good range of stuff long gone from high street sellers. Diana

Might the Ikea device be an ici bucket combined with tray for olives etc? Thanks for mentioning the Rosle pizza cutter, andiesenji. My husband has been after the perfect, for him, pizza wheel for years. So far he is delighted with this. The packaging warns against machine washing but the thing comes apart easily and on the basis that it would get little use if hand washing was required it has been subjected to the washing up machine several times with no damage to date. I've got beyond counting the money I've spent on other pizza cutters. I ordered this through Amazon Market Place where unfortunately the packing/postage charge was high. I'm hoping however that this sees an end to the saga and some new gadget will become the focus of my searches! Thanks again for listing the cutter! Diana

Having more or less lived on yoghurt during a past illness I became somewhat obsessed by the subject. I'm in Europe, time largely divided between France and England but brands you have mentioned in this thread are either European or available to us here. My absolute favourite yoghurts are Langly Farm, fruit flavours or plain unsweetened. The packaging isn't exciting but if you have the chance to try the raspberry, black cherry or lemon I'm sure you won't be disappointed. The plain is great to cook with or as a base for a marinade. Next come the Activia range, manufactured I think by Danone (originally a glass jar manufacturer, they introduced yoghurt to sell their filled jars) this range can be found easily but the flavours vary from place to place. I could (have) live on their muesli yoghurt, available in every French supermarket for very little money but only from a French supermarket installed in London for the UK. It would be interesting to know if this flavour is available in the US. At the other end of the scale, a couple of years ago Danone introduced 'drinking' yoghurt in 1 litre cartons. Nice enough but so thick that much of the product sticks to the walls of the container. The only way to avoid a lot of waste is to cut open the container and scrape the yoghurt out, not always practical. Maybe I'm missing something, any hints welcome!

I second Janeer's comment. I follow your posts on this thread with amazement and respect. Bon chance!

Hi Enrique, Glad you are enjoying your Kenwood. I'd be lost without mine. Unfortunately I can't help wit the attachments you list, save that a friend reports that the pasta maker works well. I use the machine a couple of times a week to make bread, that requires only the dough hook which used to be part of the standard kit when you bought a Kenwood but I think now, at least in the UK, you have to buy it separately. I also use the liquidiser for soups and to make mayonnaise. The mincer is also used, with sausage stuffing addition, for various types of sausage. The potato scraper is great, despite the noise. I'd be interested to know how you get on with the juicer if you buy that. Sorry I can't help with your queries. Diana

I've always salted, believing this prevented any cracked eggs from leaking too much. No doubt this is wrong, just the way I've always done it! I understood that older eggs were the easiest to peel when hard boiled, I seem to remember reading this years ago in a book on eggs by Albert Roux.

Here goes for a second attempt at a reply. Number 1, via my iPad, seems to have disappeared as if by magic... My apologies if I have misunderstood something and you end up with two very similar entries. It seems that perhaps Le Creuset has adapted its finishes in the 27 or so years since our collection began with our own wedding presents. Certainly my skillet has a cast iron interior, it rusts from time to time but this is easily put right with cleaning and refinishing with light oil. One of the many positive features about all Le Creuset cookware is the lifetime guarantee they give. I've checked and this still applies to all cast iron and toughened non-stick. We have only once called on a Le Creuset guarantee. We were given a Le Creuset 'fait-tout' as a wedding present. This comprised a medium sized saucepan base with a lid that when inverted became a small omelette pan or skillet. Both parts of our model had a non-stick interior. In time (after some 5 years) the non-stick around the rim of the saucepan, where the inverted frying pan would rest, became damaged. As this was a gift we had no receipt and no idea where the product has been purchased, the box was long gone. We took it to our nearest supplier, a smallish department store in a rural market town. Staff at the shop accepted the pan, advising that it would be sent to Le Creuset for a decision at their cost. After a week or so we received a telephone call telling us that we could collect our pan. At the store we were presented with a brand new version of the 'fait-tout' (I think that sadly this model is discontinued as i couldn't find one anywhere on the Le Creuset website this morning). The inside of the saucepan was now enamelled while the omelette pan interior was still non-stick. No doubt Le Creuset had changed the design due to numerous people experiencing the same problem we had. This second version of our wedding present is going strong, without any damage, to this day. It is so useful when cooking for two that it gets used almost every day. The Le Creuset website states that the cooking pots and pans are fine for ceramic hobs, vitroceramic glass and induction. There is still a lifetime guarantee on cast iron, enamelling and non-stick surfacing. I've used my Le Creuset pots and pans more or less exclusively since we were married 27 years ago and the incident with the lining of the 'fait-tout' is the only damage I have incurred during that time. In general I wash them by hand just because our dishwasher is small but once is a while I've put them through the machine to give them a thorough clean. We use only liquid detergent in the dishwasher on the advice of the Wedgewood china people who recommend that as causing less damage to bone china and porcelain than powders. As I lived in France for a few years I also discovered cheaper, often unbranded, forms of cast iron cookware. Some of the supermarkets sell these by weight and as a result I managed to accrue a good selection of different sized gratin dishes. The most useful of these unbranded pieces is similar to this by Le Creuset: http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/cast-iron-shallow-casseroles.aspx Except that ours has a glass lid and it cost only 20 euros! It is marketed under the name Paul Bocuse. I'm not sure how well Paul Bocuse is known in the USA, He is one of the best French chefs currently working and his books provide recipes for simple, unpretentious, traditional French style cooking. I bought his latest book when I was in France last month, I see that Amazon are selling a version of the same in English from October: Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Bocuse-Complete-Recipes/dp/208020095X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346152256&sr=1-1&keywords=paul+bocuse Your question has made me reflect on the wedding gifts we received that were associated with food and cooking, identifying which have stayed the course and which are long since disappeared. Certainly I use the Le Creuset pots every day. The stick blender that we were given remained in its box for some years before I started to use if for making soups, although it isn't the original I still have a stick blender which gets regular use. We were given good quality and expensive knives and in fact we have spent a small fortune on knives and knife sharpening devices during our marriage. As I noted before the need for a sharp knife has recently been met by our discovery of ceramic blades; now that these are available in a range of sizes and at modest prices. We keep a very old carbon steel knife that is easily sharpened as the only addition, together with poultry shears. We seem to have disposed of any number of specialist devices for cutting various fruits and vegetables into certain shapes. A mandoline and a peeler suffice, both can be found with ceramic blades now. Another recent buy, I think as a result of a recommendation somewhere on this Forum, is a digital probe thermometer. I can now prepare roast joints or meat that will be exactly as I want them thanks to knowledge of the internal temperature of the meat. The first I bought was the cheapest possible and this worked well until a week or so ago. I've now bought a slightly more expensive version which again has a 'lifetime' guarantee - as does everything sold by this company. They do sell to customers outside the UK. http://www.lakeland.co.uk/12333/Digital-Thermometer I hope that you are enjoying your research as to what your kitchen and cooking styles demand of your funds. It can be as rewarding as shopping if you are able to create an informed list, knowing that your purchases are being made with purpose. Thanks for sharing the development of your list! Diana

Le Creuset does a cast iron skillet enamelled on the outside only. I've had mine for around 25 years and it's still going strong. That said you can get much cheaper versions with no enamel at all. The thing I wanted to suggest, probably sacrilege here, but never mind... Ceramic knives have become indispensable for us in recent years. The price has dropped considerably since they were introduced and you will never need to spend time sharpening again if these suit you. I buy them from a chef supplier in England, I was advised some chefs don't like them because they are much lighter than a steel knife of equivalent size. Others swear by them. Amazon has a selection of kyocera ceramic knives, you can also find much cheaper makes that are just as good. Happy shopping! Diana

I've lost count of the number of second hand Kenwoods that I've bought for friends over the years, largely machines made in the 60s or 70s. Here in England these machines were often bought as wedding presents and then stored away. Years later they turn up for sale and you can pick up a little used machine for around £25 - £50 often with numerous attachments. I use my Kenwood just about every day. It was a wedding present given to my parents some 50 years ago and much used by my mother before I inherited it. I make all of my bread with this machine. It manages all types of dough, brioche included. While the bowl is a good size it will manage small quantities as well as larger projects. Some attachments have been more useful than others. No doubt it depends what you want to make. I've used the mincer to make sausages, the liquidiser to make soups and mayonnaise. The potato scraping bowl was great as well, so good I lent it out and it's failed to return! I accept that the Kitchen Aid machines look more attractive but where I've lived I've never come across bargain second hand machines of that make. Kenwoods seem to be available in abundance, in good condition and at bargain prices. Diana

To answer Mjx I agree with others posted here, in England, or at least the bits I'm familiar with, there is generally no option to take excess food home at the end of a meal. I hadn't even considered such a request until a few years ago. One of my students had spent a year living and working in Chicago after graduating. On her return we invited her to eat out with us and we ended up at a local 'gastro-pub' where portion size was generous. Jackie enjoyed her meal but couldn't finish and so, for the first time, we were introduced to the idea of asking for a container for the remainder. Staff were only too happy to oblige, packing the uneaten remnants into small plastic boxes that I guess they must have had to hand for kitchen storage. The boxes were good quality and we offered to return them but we were told there was no need. I think the staff were flattered that someone liked the food enough to want to take it home and we got excellent service for enlivening the evening. We were quite lively as I recall... Since that time we have regularly taken food home from our local Indian restaurant, they provide a take out menu so have containers to hand, also we eat there often so we are known to the staff. I'll ask for take home bags in one or two more traditional restaurants where I'm known but I doubt I'd have the courage to ask on a first time visit to a place. These small differences in culture between countries, or even regions of one country, make the world more interesting I think.

For those interested in learning more about foie gras production in order to inform opinion the following link is to an academic paper published in 2004 when the Council of Europe was reviewing the industry. http://www.lefoiegras.fr/content/download/173/1441/file/doc_inra.pdf The focus here is on industrial production rather than the small artisanal units like I visited. While the paper focuses on French production, the vast majority of foie gras originating there, it is written in English.

Thanks so much azlee, I shall get practising! I have a list of small things I'd like to achieve just for pleasure and this is one. Another is uncorking champagne with a sword which was popular in the 19th century I understand.... Thanks again for the links Diana

I understand the technique (with oranges rather than candy bars) is used in Spain, tried to find video on YouTube but no success.

A simple question but I would much appreciate any advice: Some years ago I shared a table at a conference dinner where we were offered fresh fruit at the end. A woman sitting opposite proceeded to peel and eat a large orange with knife and fork. It was most impressive, no fuss or mess and I would love to be able to do this. Is anyone familiar with the technique and able to advise? Your help would be very welcome. Diana

I've been reading this thread with interest, having lived and worked for some years in France where foie gras is a central part of the end of year feasting (Sometimes Christmas, at others New Year) when it is found in many variants in every epicerie or supermarket. I came back to England in 2007 and in the same year a council local to where I now live considered banning foie gras from sale in shops and restaurants. As I recall the debate was much the same as you are now engaged in. There was also mention of a more ethical production method, I thought in England but the only reference I could find today concerns a Spanish Producer. Here is a link http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6301715.stm As to the traditional method, some years ago I was invited to a farm in Perigord where I watched the geese jostling for their turn for feeding. In isolation the equipment looks horrific but this was a working farm not a tourist attraction and the geese were absolutely free to roam around. Of course I have no idea if the Producer is typical, much of the commercial foie gras on sale in France is duck rather than goose and I'm aware that ducks are often raised in far from ideal intensive units for meat, let alone foie gras. It seems to me that there is no right or wrong that can be broadly applied on this topic, rather it is for each of us to make a personal decision. History indicates that prohibitions are less than effective, criminalising some and causing parallel markets where there can be no controls in respect of welfare issues. In order that we can each make an informed decision it would perhaps be good to have more objective information available, narrowing the gap between food production and consumption which seems ever more vast as many rely increasingly on processed 'ready to eat' nutrition - perhaps this doesn't apply to readers of these forums but it certainly seems to be increasingly the case for many.