Plantes Vertes

Just out of interest blue_dolphin, does your rocket/arugula always look like that? It's quite different from what I normally see in this country (yours is much larger, broader and paler). I wonder what types they are. Also, what does tarantella mean here?

Further to what djyee100 has pointed out, in the UK it is also common to see a message at the bottom of the menu and/or bill to the effect that 100% of tips go to the staff. This could encourage more generous tipping. Printing suggested amounts also sounds wise if you receive a lot of foreign guests, as this would indicate local norms. It's only through discussions like this on eG that I've learnt about the American tipping system; certainly many foreigners simply don't realise that the waiting staff depend on large tips. If visiting I would participate in this practice, but through gritted teeth.

Panna cotta for the powder. You can use the undried leaves to wrap things like baked fish and baked fruit, or use them boiled like grape leaves for dolma. It's also possible to make a hot drink by boiling the leaves if you particularly seek the health benefits.

It's a good idea to dry the fish as well as possible before frying, too, as the water from the fish will cool down the oil and reduce the crisping of the skin, which is what allows the fish to release from the pan.

You can also hoover it in extremis.

You can do two things: 1) score round the inner bottle-top with a knife, then score over the top of the cap and (carefully) bash the wax against a hard surface or with a blunt object until it falls off in bits. Rinse the top before opening the bottle so you don't end up with bits of wax in the drink; 2) use hot water, a hair dryer or a coffee machine steam jet to soften the wax and prise it off. I know how to access most booze in most circumstances

I just eat the lemon, skin and all. Then I neck the rest of the bottle and punch through a wall. Or, I cut a 1/4 lemon to squeeze and store the rest in the fridge. It depends on my mood

Business Meal Fatigue Syndrome. An awful affliction.

I don't know about Chinese dining etiquette; would your hosts be offended if you ate only a small amount? Do you actually gain a lot of weight on these trips?

I notice that the MC forums have been merged into those here - does that mean the MC authors are reading? Will they have some way of finding out that an amendment to the recipe instructions would be useful?

Traitor.

Kim, for fondant leeks I would use butter to saute very slowly, then add creme fraiche, lemon juice and perhaps Dijon mustard.

In this case odour has told me what I need to know

Specifically in relation to pastry, it seems that French terminology is quite figurative (bichon, religieuse, éclair, jésuite, palmier, financier, puits d'amour, mendiant...). Maybe one reason why French names are not translated directly is that names involving imagery are less popular in the English pastry lexicon.

Do you feel that the words in the example are French. And, if so, why do you think they are used? Yes. Because the French invented and named the respective dishes (in the same way, I call tajine or ceviche by those words), with the exception of beignets, which is a French word but not I think a French dish. In that case I think the word is used partly because French terminology has a special value in the description of cooking in English, and partly because the word doughnut automatically means sweet doughnuts, while some restaurants apply beignets to savoury items. Do you use the same terminology when talking to your friends or family? Yes, with the exception of beignets, where I would say doughnuts for sweet or probably fritters for savoury, and tarte, where I would say tart. Do you understand the above-mentioned words? Yes. Etymology, French language and cuisine are all particular interests so I enjoy thinking through the imagery and ideas behind this sort of specialist cooking term. Do you sometimes use French words on purpose? and, of course, if so: why? I often use the ones mentioned, except beignets and tarte, because they have been adopted into standard English and because there is no generally accepted English equivalent. I would not use a French word instead of an existing English one when speaking English, for example saying le fromage instead of cheese, because this seems pretentious to me.

Perhaps this is an example of reverse snobbery? English speakers might feel bashful about using French words for something as mundane as bread, while fancy French pastry items like croissants would be considered worthy of their own recherche vocabulary.

The TripAdvisor site for my home town has given a kebab van the same score as Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, which has two Michelin stars. Online reviews emerge from a self-selecting demographic that disproportionately consists of young educated people such as those in the university city where I come from. Therefore TripAdvisor reports for such cities will be stupidly skewed in favour of the places where those people like to eat. Like kebab vans.

Status. English and I suppose other languages absorb the lexicon of a certain field from the language of the country that is perceived to have special status in that field at a particular time. In the case of French that applies to cuisine especially; also to dance. In plastic arts or music it would tend to be Italian. To elaborate on what Leslie has said, there is also some correlation between invaders' languages and high-status domains. For example contrast germanic (Old English) terms with their Latinate (French) equivalents as they are represented in modern English: pig/swine (Old English pigge/swin) vs pork (French le porc) cow (Old English cu) vs beef (French le boeuf) sheep (Old English sceap) vs mutton (French le mouton) The lowly husbandry terms come from the conquered language while the more elevated culinary terms come from the invading language because in general terms the native people would occupy menial positions like farming and the invading French nobles would spend their time on fine dining . You could say the same thing about food (Old English foda) vs dining/dinner (French le diner); the more prosaic general term belongs to the conquered language while the one more associated with leisure and enjoyable domestic ritual is from the dominant French. I don't think that French lexicon necessarily persists or is adopted more in patisserie than in other areas of cooking, but patisserie has been a French specialty for at least several centuries; many of its techniques originated in France and so were named first in French and that is the name generally used. The reverse could be said of IT for example, where French has absorbed a lot of English words because the Americans produce a large number of IT innovations.

Maybe it would be simpler just to tell us what you didn't eat Thanks for your posts Basquecook. Fascinating.

Really? I hate that.

Over here 'vegetable oil' is rapeseed oil I believe. That's what I use apart from olive oil.

The poster is called Raj Patel. I'm just guessing, but I think he might already be quite familiar with Indian food.

Radishes: Red radish would be fine as a substitute; black radish is tougher/woodier and has a bitter, peppery flavour that for me is quite similar. Red would be better than white (daikon) as white is milder.

Maillard reaction happens from 284-329F and caramelisation from 230-356F; of course bearing in mind what Paul has said about the pan temperature dropping when you put the food in you have to get the pan hotter to start with to compensate. Off the top of my head and perhaps counterintuitively I think it makes sense to cook delicate foods like tuna at at a very high heat, because that way you can achieve caramelisation on the surface in a few minutes, without overcooking the flesh inside. If you lower the temperature you have to leave the food in the pan longer to get the browning. EDIT: to write right

Our neighbour when I was a child would clean the kitchen in her underwear to save her clothes, chain-smoking all the while.