Carlovski

This must be an American thing. I still can't see the appeal. Maybe it's time for a culinary experiment a la Steingarten. Can anyone supply me with a couple of decent recipes?

Personally I'd rather still be able to have my hot and numbing chicken than a glass of orange juice. Sod the canker, drop the ban.

Raw Celery - Not really a big fan of braised either, but ok finely chopped as part of a mirepoix. Cucumber - Hate it Hate it Hate it. Some people can't understand my hatred, and say it doesn't taste of anything. I can detect a single slice from across the room. Most pickles. Onions, shallots fine. Cornichons, chilli peppers, great. But Red cabbage, Beetroot, Picallilli - Ugh. And with my Lancashire heritage, that is probably quite strange.

I've only ever had lamb versions of it (Interestingly, in Greece, there always seems to be lamb on the menu, but you never see one in a field. Lots of goats though) There always seems to be a lot of confusion over the definitive version of the dish - I prefer it made with potatoes, although I may be in a minority, most recipes I have seen in the higher class of cookery books don't include them. I also prefer it made with a touch more oregano, cumin and cinnamon than is the norm. It can be incredibly rich though, and it never seems the same unless it is oozing oil, and served just luke warm.

I think we need to make the distinction between a good restaurant having a bad night, a particular dish (Or dishes) being badly prepared, poor service etc, and a bad restaurant. If you feel you haven't received the sort of meal or service you would expect, then you should complain. Nowhere can get it right 100% of the time (Although at high end places that have been running for a while, they should be getting pretty close). If they refuse to acknowledge your complaint, then feel free to tell everyone who will listen how bad a place it is (You can tell a lot of people if you write for a national newspaper). If you get a genuine apology (And something knocked of the bill!), I would hope that a responsible reviewer would try and reserve judgement for a second visit, or at least mention the apology in the review. I know it could be a potential minefield - I can imagine the headline 'Top restaurant critic complains, gets free meal and then gives me terrible review' but I think we should give restaurants every chance. Two strikes and I think you probably deserve a bad review though. One other thing though, the wording of that review implied some of the food was actively nasty, not just badly prepared, or not to the reviewers taste, but offensive and inedible. I think that that would be very unlikely, unless there had been a complete cockup in the kitchen.

I must admit my ignorance and say I have never tried any of the spanish blues. I might go on a cheese hunt at lunchtime, but I don't remember ever seeing them anywhere local. Anyone know where I can get them in the UK? (And the fourme au sauternes)

I've had a pineapple juce craving before. My normal cravings are for something slaty, and usually spicy as well. Especially if I am not feeling well (Either drink induced or genuine). Recently I just had to have salt and pepper fried squid and prawns. Nothing else would satisfy my salt craving.

I too am a fan of shropshire blue, tends to be a safer bet then stilton too, far too many bad 'industrial' ones around, dry, too salty etc. I love the soft blues too, Roquefort, Gorgonzola especially. I don't like the generic 'Danish Blue' on offer in supermarkets though. Other notable ones I can recommend are Dorset Blue Vinny and Cashel Blue (Irish).

A cut of pork, with layering like pork belly - but perfectly even layers of fat and lean, but in a big piece, with a more carving friendly bone structure (And no - rolled joints don't count!) And the lambipede - cross between a lamb and a millipede, so everyone has about 50 shank sized little legs.

Pig

There was a great bit in a Rick Stein TV program where he is thinly slicing Garlic on A mandoline, while saying how good they are if you are careful, then a sudden exclamation. Cut to next seen, he is slicing with a knife, big blue plaster on his finger, and Mandoline is in the bin.

I know this isn't really a problem with 'Real' indian cooking, more anglo-indian bastardisations, but Fruit, where it shouldn't be is a big no no. (For those not in the know, Indian food in Britain used to equate to a bowl of stew, with half a teaspoon of 5 year old curry powder, sultanas and apricots, served topped with dessicated coconut and sliced bananas on the side)

This is all very strange to me. Restaurants can obviously get them, judging by reviews of Grand Sichuan (Which I HAVE to go to, if I ever make the trip over the pond). US Food laws just seem, well odd. It's so easy to get them in the UK - my local town centre (I.e not a huge out of town) supermarket stocks them. The last batch I bought was from a local market stall, a huge box for £1.00. They were ok, but weren't very potent. Hence a slight error in judgement last weekend with my freshly opened Bart's spices jar. Completely numbed the tip of my tongue. Did very strange things to the taste of my wine!

One more point - Be good if people can say where they got it from (If applicable/they can remember - I know many people here keep a bit more of an extensive cellar than me!) and a rough cost - help give people drinking ideas. We may even be able to collate a 'What to get from xxxxx' guide at some point.

This is a new topic I am expecting to grow. In the spirit of the what we had for dinner thread, I would like people to post what they had to drink. Not expecting copious wine tasting notes - if you had something REALLY special, then it deserves it's own topic! What I think would be good is recommendations for something a bit different or good everyday weekday drinking. I'd like to keep it region specific (This stemmed from a discussion about having a UK region wine board), be great if we had a whole host of topics for different countries, so each one is of a readable length, and those interested stand a reasonable chance of obtaining the wine. I'd like to kick things off, but unfortunately all I had last night was an 'Emergency nip to the petrol station' bottle of Arniston Bay Shiraz/something blend. It was err, palatable Actually that could be a thread on it's own - Best wines from dodgy off licenses!

From what I have read, this should be the traditional progression in a sichuan meal, seems slightly backwards to my logic, you would think that having the spiciest, strongest dishes first would overpower the more delicate ones. But who am I to argue with centuries of culinary history?

I think there has been an increase in the availibility of good produce, but I think even more important is that the customers are becoming more discerning, more people are happy to pay a bit more for good meat, and they don't expect it to be burnt to a crisp in the traditional English style. And also, Pork shouldn't be a dry meat, it takes a bit of care to cook well, Beef is easy in comparison as for prime cuts you keep it moist by keeping it rare. With pork you need to choose a piece with enough fat to keep it moist, and cook it at the right temperature, for the right amount of time.

I wouldn't agree that it isn't a part of modern discussion - witness the huge range of people who suffer (Or think they suffer more likely) from food intolerances. I'm not talking about genuine allergies, but the sort of thing where people say certain food gives them wind, or makes them sluggish (You know, when people eat twice the amount of calories they need having a huge pie, and do no exercise, so of course when they get fat and feel bloated it is 'Gluten intolerance')

I'll never make a Thai Beef salad for a lady friend without taste testing the chiles first. You know how every so often you get a few that seem ten times hotter than normal? Also never try and impress with your 'professional' style chopping technique using a friends badly shaped and blunt knives. Not unless you don't like having tips on your fingers

I've heard of Waggle Dance, but the one I know is brewed by Young's. Quick bit of internet research has revealed that Vaux brewery is no more The recipe for waggle dance was then taken on by Youngs. It's a shame, Vaux brewery was an interesting, old fashioned town centre brewery (They still delivered by Dray Horse to the local pubs). I had no idea - I haven't been in the north east for a few years now.

kpurvis, I believe you're referring to SOAR: The Searchable Online Archive of Recipes which has been renamed to RecipeSource! at www.recipesource.com (as ludja posted above) Yes, SOAR, that was it. Thanks. I'm glad to know it's still around. Yep, one of the first great sources for non IT related stuff on the web (Along with IMDB). I love the extraterrestrial and Weird section! I'd second the BBC food section, good thing is, do a search on an ingredient of recipe name, and you tend to get a decent cross section of authenticity and complexity, from a reader submitted home cooked convenience version, to something done by a dodgy TV chef, to the odd high end version. The Sainsbury's website can be ok, particularly if you know you are going to be popping in anyway (They quite often specify their own stock - obviously, or do things by their pack sizes). And failing that, of course, Google (How long until keyboards come with a 'Google' button do we think?)

Ale Mary, Brilliant! There used to be a fearsomely strong brew called Uncle Igor's Famous Falling Down Water (It was more the strength of a fortified wine). A particular favourite is the delighfully named Waggle Dance (After the dance Bees make- it's a honey beer) brewed by Vaux brewery in Sunderland.

I usuually get 1L tins of the unfiltered Arbequina (Probably spelt that wrong!) oil produced by Belazu look here - it does well enough for me, decent enough to use for most purposes, and affordable enough (And I like the tin!). I tend to use groundnut for most frying purposes. On saying that, I am a bit of a sucker for picking up interesting looking bottles in any Deli I walk into.

They have a limit on how many they will sell you, but it doesn't seem to be enforced very well. The Porter House makes some very fine beers that are often overlooked by travelers who comment, " It's right over by St James Gate. They make beer there too, why do we want micro beer when we can have a Guinness?". There is another one in London, just off Covent Garden. Not sure how it compares to the Dublin original, but not a bad place for a pint. Impressive selection of bottled beers (They have glass cases all around of obscure ones people have brought in, they have a 'if we haven't already got it - get a free drink' policy). I tried the An Brainblasta. Definitely not a 'session' drink!

The steaks at my local butcher are pretty good, no special claims made, but always freshly cut (So can get them of a decent thickness - difficult at a supermarket), always tasty, and tender enough so I don't really need a steak knife. I should really ask him about the aging and provenance, but first time I got some, he was really busy, and they wre good, so I haven't been too bothered since. The steaks I see at my local farmers market (Winchester - supposed to be biggest and most popular in the country) never look too appealing to me, always look bloody and fairly poorly butchered.