mm84321

Red legged partridge

I've made this once before. I liked it so much, I made it a second time. Poularde (fattened hen) is stuffed with a generous slice of pre-cooked foie gras, then cooked on the bone, sous vide for 1.5 hours at 65ºC. In the bag is beef consommé, truffle juice, a peel of preserved lemon, and a pinch of fleur de sel. The infusion of this flavor into the chicken is truly delicious. The sauce is perhaps one of the best chicken sauces I've tasted. Cook the carcass in beef consommé for an hour and a half, then add to a roux with a little truffle juice and the flesh of a preserved lemon. Cook until syrupy, pass, then add some whipped cream, and finish with foie gras butter (mix equal part cooked and sieved foie gras with softened butter). Turnips are steamed, stuffed with a mixture of chanterelles, swiss chard stems and bacon. Some chanterelles are cooked on the side, á la créme.

Prawn, the food looks great. You have wonderful natural light in your house.

Awesome! I'll be sure to let you know when I'm down there.

That's great. If you ever want to share a rodent, my stove is always here for you.

Your childhood sounds much more enlightening than mine.

I also have changed my view over the past few years in terms of viewing these creatures as a potential food source. Growing up in the USA, anthropomorphic based cartoon media sort of drills it into your head that animals=people, so it was always hard for me to conceptualize the hunting or killing of animals by someone other than the supermarket. Of course, you reach an age of reason and start to see differently, but I think some of my friends turned into vegetarians because of the cartoon aspect of bugs bunny and the like..

I don't have a gun, nor was I raised to hunt for food, so my dexterity in catching a squirrel may not be that of the little boys of years past.

I'm in CT. Seems the season for catching gray squirrels lasts until the 30th of this month, then starts again on the 15th of October. Not sure why. Not sure I am going to try to catch and cook one, but if I do, you will all be the first to know.

Not familiar with the law on catching squirrels. Surprised that there is one. There are so many of those things, I would think catching a few would be somewhat beneficial. I know someone that hunts deers. I'll ask him.

I would not eat suburban squirrels. In the suburbs, everyone sprays insecticides, herbicides ------ dcarch That's true. But what if I caught one in the forests. There is a spot I know of flush with mushrooms and other edible plants this time of year where I see squirrels often. What would be the most effective way of catching one? I am actually considering trying to do this.

Has anyone ever had squirrel? Traditional recipes for Brunswick stew call for it. I would imagine they taste somewhat similar to rabbit. They are quite abundant here in the Northeast.

Rabbit with mustard

I read somewhere (cannot remember where) that the act of refrigerating cooked lobster flesh greatly impacts its taste and overall quality. The same for shrimp, langoustine, and the like. While I have not tested to see for myself, is there perhaps a scientific explanation behind this reasoning? Can lower temperature impact delicate flavor compounds? A few recipes I've looked at instruct you to keep cooked and shelled lobster meat at room temperature until serving, in one case covered in softened butter. I have also seen contrary instructions as to whether the act of washing the flesh of cooked shrimp or lobster has a negative effect to the flesh. Ramsay, in one instance, says it ruins the meat, while Alain Soliveres, of the restaurant Taillevent, instructs washing lobster tails immediately after shelling to rid the excess albumin. Any thoughts?

I don't know that a red wine glaze would be the best compliment to pork tenderloin. Simple roasting juices may work better. Perhaps deglaze your pan with a touch of white wine, which goes better with a lean cut of pork, and then add some stock, chicken or a light veal, and reduce a bit. Your marinade is too confused, in my opinion. I would stick with one herb so as not to abstract the individual characteristics of it. Sage works wonderfully with pork, of course, but is not the best compliment to asparagus and tomatoes, especially this time of year, so that may need to be changed. A simple little salad on the plate would be nice alongside the rich mashed potatoes. Work on creating a balance within the dish itself, and the meal as a whole. I don't think you should try getting too "molecular". Just do what you know how and make it taste as good as you can.

Thanks! Bone marrow cooked with the onion sounds incredibly. Is it raw bone marrow, and out of the bone, or in-the-bone? Raw marrow, out of the bone. I swore to myself I'd never take a picture of an onion again, but this was from last year, so here you go:

mm84321, could you please give some hint on the preparation of that wonderful-looking soup and croutons? Would love to prepare it. Sure. The soup is simply made by coloring sliced onion in a pan without fat, then adding broth (in this case, I used frozen stock from a pot au feu I made last winter!) simmering for an hour with a star anise, then infusing for another hour. The onion is colored in a pan, again, no fat, then seasoned with fleur de sel and pepper and cooked en papillote with a piece of bone marrow until quite tender (325ºF oven for maybe an hour, size of onion depending). The croutons are made by coating cubed comté in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs, then frying at around 340ºF until golden. It's a nice recipe.

Looks delicious, rarerollingobject. Roasted poularde, girolles á la créme, sauce vin jaune. I cook the breasts on the crown, after salting a day in advance (this time 2 days, since I decided to eat fish yesterday), first by browning in olive oil over a relatively high heat, then turning, adding a bit of butter, a crushed clove of garlic and baste. I then remove the chicken to a rack and put it into a 420ºF degree oven for around 12 minutes. During this time, I baste with the cooking butter maybe 3 or 4 times. I let the chicken rest, tail side up, for 45 minutes. At this point, the chicken has fully rested, and the meat is around room temperature. I remove the breasts from the bone. The innermost portion of each breast's tenderloin should be slightly undercooked. I place the breasts, flesh side down, in a pan over medium heat with a little fresh butter and the garlic it cooked with. Baste for 20-30 seconds, and then straight into a 500ºF oven to reheat for 1-2 minutes, depending on the size of the breast. It is this way I have found the most succulent and perfectly tempered chicken breasts.

Onion soup, comté croutons Black bass with lardo, vegetables of the moment, preserved lemon butter

Any cheaper for delivery to the UK? It's closer and we don't need to pay any food taxes for it! I haven't dealt with anyone that distributes in the UK. I can ask come truffle season, though.

Are you in the US? If you are really interested, let me know. I get them through a French dealer at half of the cost you'll spend at any supermarket and double the quality. I don't think I can budget any now - but if your offer still stands at a later time I would definitely appreciate it. Thanks! Well, white won't start until October, and you wont see Perigord until probably late November/early December, weather depending. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you are ever interested. The offer stands for you or anyone else on the board. I'm interested...but...What sort of money are we talking about? Can't really know yet. Last year, the price for black hovered around $790/lb, if I recall correctly. Of course, that price fluctuates on an almost weekly basis, and will spike around the holidays. The best time to buy black truffles are the months of January/February when they are at their peak, in terms of quality, and least expensive.

Are you in the US? If you are really interested, let me know. I get them through a French dealer at half of the cost you'll spend at any supermarket and double the quality. I don't think I can budget any now - but if your offer still stands at a later time I would definitely appreciate it. Thanks! Well, white won't start until October, and you wont see Perigord until probably late November/early December, weather depending. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you are ever interested. The offer stands for you or anyone else on the board.

Passard's ratatouille (again) Salad Cheese Fig tartines

Pigeon, foie gras and cabbage Fregola sarda cooked like a risotto, vegetable brunoise, parmesan

Are you in the US? If you are really interested, let me know. I get them through a French dealer at half of the cost you'll spend at any supermarket and double the quality.