Ruth

I used to buy California bay (laurel) leaves both fresh and dried and have grown to love them. They have so much more flavor than the Turkish leaves. Now they seem to have disappeared from the markets. Does anyone know where they can be found, either in NYC or by mail order?

I ditto that. I have never been quite sure how the Korean red pepper flakes are processed (anyone know? I'm curious) but I use them all the time. They have a better flavor than the supermarket jarred flakes which have often lost most of their zip.

I think the texture of a vegetable is an integral part of its flavor and I find mushy vegetables - especially asparagus - distasteful. The canned piquillo peppers I have bought here in New York have also been far too soft for my taste. Let me add that I love Spanish food and have spent a few weeks in different parts of Spain for three out of the last four years to be able to try new restaurants and sample more great wines. Like the French the Spaniards do tend to cook even their fresh vegetables rather more than I would like but I have noticed a trend to crisper vegetables in some of the newer restaurants. Of course this is all a question of personal taste but I would certainly never condemn a preparation I have never tried.

I have not cooked a bird whole in years. Just cut it in quarters (breasts separated, legs with thighs attached), brine for an hour or so and then dry very well preferably uncovered in the fridge. I preheat the oven to 550°, start the searing on the stove top, skin side down and transfer to the floor of the oven. I turn when the skin is brown and crisp and cook the breasts for just a few minutes on the other side to about 140°. I continue cooking the dark meat while the breasts are resting. This method works like a charm.

I know that the Spanish love canned vegetables (especially canned white asparagus which I could never eat). I have never knowingly tried the Lodosa piquillos and shall look for them. However, whenever I think of using a canned vegetable because the fresh version is unavailable, I remember Susanna Foo's advice to use fresh artichoke hearts, which have a flavor and texture similar to bamboo shoots, in place of canned bamboo shoots.

The canned and bottled piquillos are fairly easy to find in specialty food stores, but frankly I don't think they are worth buying. A canned vegetable is stll a canned vegetable You will still be better off roasting some fresh bell peppers - they are at their best now in early September.

Cascade has come out with a product called "Plastic Booster". If your cutting boards are small enough to fit in your dishwasher just put some in the second cup (as per instructions). The stuff isn't cheap but even old plastic boards and containers emerge virtually stain free. For the larger boards squeeze some over the stained areas, scrub it in and leave for a while before rinsing. If you are in the market for a new board look for "Tuff". These boards are made of a type of non - porous synthetic rubber (also plastic I suppose). They are beige in color and do not stain. I have a large one that I keep permanently on the counter as it is pretty heavy. I've had it for about four years and the only signs of use are a couple of shallow cuts from a cleaver. These can be sanded off if I get too many of them.These boards are available in all the restaurant supply stores in the Bowery in New York and, I presume, similar places elsewhere.

Required reading: Judy Rogers' "Zuni Café Cookbook", p.p. 35-38 - 'The practice of salting early". I wish I could quote it here but that would be an infringement of copyright. It is the best new cook book in years. I use her brining cure for magret which can often be tough but emerges tender and flavorful after Judy's cure. Today I have just pre-salted a couple of rib veal chops after reading her theory that although salt initially brings out the juices from a piece of meat these juices will then be reabsorbed to flavor and tenderize the meat.

Sorry guys. I just love durian and so does my husband. It is perhaps an acquired taste although i acquired it after the first bite. Took my husband a little longer. He watched me eat a whole fruit in Bangkok and refused to try it. Then we saw them here in Chinatown he decided to try and we were both hooked. I have never been able to think what to do with it other than eat it after dinner but the foie gras idea is fascinating. Do you eat it with the cold terrine or as an accompaniment to sautéed foie gras? I just have to try it.

That "other grocery" is the Udom Thai Grocery at 31A Bayard. Not only is it cheaper but the owner speaks good English and is very knowledgeable. I believe he is actually Indonesian. The store has a lot of Indonesian and Malay ingredients as well as Thai. To the best of my knowledge Kalustyan, which is a wonderful resource, does not carry fresh kaffir lime leaves and since they freeze so well I see little reason to buy the dried version.

He may not have been to El Bulli but Tim's article reveals and expresses an understanding of Adria's food that many critics appear to miss. I particularly liked his comparison with California cuisine (flavor as opposed to ingredients). I did eat there, three years ago and Adria told me he was rarely using foams any more but concentrating on temperature and textural contrasts. Now he appears to be aiming at more concentrated flavors by dehydration. I enjoyed the article very much. It was carefully worded and written with a sense of humor. It hit the nail on the head

A number of our great chefs have good business heads and know how to run a restaurant or even several. Rocco, unfortunately, is not one of them. Now he has made a fool of himself and it will be a long time, if ever, before he retrieves his old reputation as one of the most innovative and talented chefs in the country.

Jeremiah Tower has a wonderful recipe for a passion fruit crème brulée in his latest book. It was published in the New York Times in April, if I remember correctly. I made it for a dinner party and it was a resounding success. I think his recipe could be adapted for any fruit. You will be able to find it if you search the New York Times archives.

Tried them once - I think it was in Singapore. They stayed in my system for about three days. Never again!

To make your own lard use fatback. Many Italian style pork stores including Faicco's in New York (Greenwich Village and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn - there may be others) make their own excellent lard and I always have a tub on hand in my freezer. I believe that animal fats are less noxious than butter. I love potatoes and mushrooms cooked in duck fat and as we love duck I always have duck fat in my freezer too. Lard does not have very much flavor of its own but the texture of short pastry made with lard is exquisite. In the days when I made a lot of pastry I generally used half lard and half butter - two thirds lard for the meat pies I would pack for my kids for their lunches.

Summer truffles may be cheaper than winter truffles but are still expensive and, in my experience, not worth the money. I definitely agree that a good truffle oil -albeit partially or wholly with synthetic truffle flavor - will be more perfumed than 90% of the summer truffles.

I too love your books and "The Making of a Chef" sent me back to my stock pot after a brief but unhappy flirtation with store bought stocks and demi-glaces. I have been battling with my burners ever since, resorting to crazy contraptions to keep the pot high enough above the heat source so as not to go above 180°. I never thought of using the oven but once you said it it seemed so obvious. Your books are truly inspirational and I find myself reading them over and over and making notes every time. Thank you

Restaurant week can be a mixed blessing. Some restaurants go out of their way to develop a menu that is representative of the chef's food. I shall never forget when the program first started in New York and Gray Kunz was hardly known. Lespinasse participated in the program and I had my best restaurant lunch ever. It sent me running back to the restaurant despite its generally high prices. However, on several occasions when I decided to try restaurants that were new to me during restaurant week their offerings were so banal that I never returned. Small servings do not bother me. Nor do I expect foie gras and truffles for $30.00 but I do expect to get a meal that is representative of the chef's style. One would think that that would be the interest of the restaurants too but it does not always seem to be the case.

Definitely the grill but, above all, keep them very rare.

I shall be reading through the whole course as I make a huge batch of demiglace, enough to fill a freezer shelf, every three months or so. Recently I have been wondering whether the difference in flavor between a traditional demiglace and one made from duck and chicken is great enough to require having both on hand. Another point concerns how much meat, as opposed to mere bones, one should use. I have started using a lot of meat in my stocks, generally using a whole veal breast in addition to the bones for my veal stock. This sounds extravagant but I think the complexity and richness of the final product make it worth while. Finally, how much should we strain? I know that classically a stock had to be strained to the clarity of a consommé and obviously one has to strain. But don't you feel that flavor is lost every time one strains? I no longer strain through a cheese cloth. Does this make me a sinner? All that said I know I am going to enjoy these courses.

I am surprised no-one has mentioned Ken Hom, a prolific cook book author. One of his best is "Fragrant Harbor Taste" featuring the modern Hong Kong dishes. As in French cuisine, some Chinese dishes are codified and few cook book authors deviate from tradition, but, in the majority of cases, every chef has his own distinctive style and when I am looking for a recipe I generally check through half a dozen or so and choose the one that suits my mood of the moment and the ingredients in my refrigerator.

Yes you are using the correct rice. It is a long time since I made wine rice but I always used to cover it (not tightly) and leave it in a dark, fairly warm place for two or three days. After that cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator. As long as the rice is covered with the liquid you can keep it indefinitely. I have friends who just eat the left over rice as a dessert! I know of nothing else you can do with it. Wine rice is available now at the Chinese supermarkets and I find little difference between what I buy at the Hong Kong Supermarket and the wine rice I used to make for myself. I hope that this has been of some help

My husband and I will be there this evening. Look forward to meeting you all

It is so rarely that the Gourmet critic really criticizes a restaurant that I thought this a pretty scathing review. I was skeptical about WD50 but enjoyed my dinner there a couple of weeks ago. There were four of us and we took several dishes and shared them all. I have to admit that we did not order any of the dishes that the Gourmet reviewer did not like. This was pure serendipity as the review came out a few days later. Still it does seem he was unnecessarily hard on them. Does anyone know anything about this reviewer?

What an insult to the profession! I am merely a hobbyist - cook and restaurant-goer. I have tremendous respect for our fine chefs and restaurateurs. Rocco is a nice kid and and an excellent and very creative chef. This show is demeaning not only to him but to everyone in the profession at all levels. Last night I turned the TV off after fifteen minutes. As far as the restaurant itself is concerned, do we really need yet another spaghetti and meatball joint? I had never watched "reality" TV before. If this show is typical the phrase is an oxymoron.