[Dinner! 2013 (Part 1)]

You're welcome. It's definitely very good. But I can't stress enough how delightful the pineapple dessert is. Yes, I am an Alain Passard fanboi. Yes, I'm saving money so I can include a visit to L'Arpège next time I'm in Paris. But yes, the dessert is absolutely fantastic. And me, who has some sort of allergy towards pineapples (acidic after-mouthfeel.. if you get what I mean), says that. It's one of the best desserts I've had in a long time, maybe even better than the chocolate/pecan --or walnut, as in my case-- Krantz cake from Jerusalem, which clearly is fantastic. Using game hens is key, imo. :

For the superbowl, to get some sort of American culture feeling (I live in Germany), some fried chicken. Recipe courtesy to LA Times, which I've cooked 2-3 times and has always been perfect: http://www.latimes.c...,0,581831.story .

[An Ideal Negroni]

I used Beefeater (94 proof), Carpano Antica and Campari, at first equal parts. Then I noticed that I preferred a 50% increase of the Carpano Antica (thus 1.5:1:1).

Since I've tried regular Cinzano rosso in it, I realized this vermouth rosso style suits the drink much better, and as a plus it's more gentle to the budget. 1:1:1 with Broker's gin (94 proof) is what my favorite ratio is at the moment.

[Dinner! 2013 (Part 1)]

It's rather simple.

You need:

2 avocados

70g sugar

4 eggs

1 vanilla pod

four pieces of dark bitter chocolate

coarse sea salt

Preheat the oven to 220-250°C. Get a large baking dish, or pan, and fill it with coarse sea salt. Make four molding in the salt by pressing the avocados in it such that four halfs of avocados fit next to each other (it's important to do this before it goes in the oven since the salt begins to get tough and you can't really mold it afterwards). You split two avocados in half, remove the pit, remove the meat without damaging the skin/shell of the avocado (the soufflé gets baked in it) and "strain" it through a tamis in a bowl. Add the seeds of a vanilla pod. Now you either put the mixture in a food processor and pulse it a few times or take a Bamix/ESGE Zauberstab (or equivalent) and mix it a bit to get a fine purée. Start beating the egg whites and slowly add the sugar (I think I'll use a little bit more next time). Once it's stiff, fold some of it into the avocado purée. You won't need all the stiff egg whites, but as you probably know, it's easier to beat four egg whites than two or three. Get the baking dish/pan/whatever out of the oven, put the four avocado shells in their spots, put the avocado mousse in a piping bag (?), then fill each avocado halfway full. Place a piece of chocolate in the center, then cover with more avocado mousse. It goes in the oven for about five minutes. Remove from the oven, dust with icing sugar (a step which I forgot).

You can see the video here, in French: http://www.lepoint.f...1620457_571.php

[Marmalade in cocktails]

A recent recipe by Jeffrey Morgenthaler: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Whiskey-Sour-Marmalade

[Pierre Ferrand's Dry Curacao]

Have you tried a Pegu Club with it?

[Dinner! 2013 (Part 1)]

So far 2013:

From Jerusalem (Ottolenghi/Tamimi)

Spicy carrots

Cauliflower/parsley/celery/hazelnut/pomegranate salad

Red beet, leek

Muhallabieh

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Rabbit braised in port wine/thyme-sauce

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EMP's cauliflower dish

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From Alain Passard's video series at Le Point

Spinach, hazelnuts

Chicory, apple

Chicory, champignons, coriander

Cauliflowerisotto

Pineapple, apple, lime, olive oil/lemon juice/acacia honey-vinaigrette

Avocado soufflé