Carlovski

It has always been my impresssion that an authentic Paella is a dish of the land, not the sea (i.e it is from where they grow rice, not where they fish!). It may contain eel taken from the river, but is not meant to be a seafood dish. My guess is the 'popular' version is due to the fact that Spanish holiday resorts are on the coast, therefore tourists expect seafood, and it is also likely to be cheaper. They also want to eat 'Spanish' food, therefore they get Seafood Paella. I have seen recipes for other 'Arroz' dishes which do contain seafood (Which are a lot closer to a risotto) whether they are more authentic I am not sure. I have had a dish with a lot in common with a paella, but made with small pieces of pasta instead. On saying all this, I am not that much of a stickler for authenticity, I love Paella, and I like mussels and squid in my paella. And you are right, the lemon is essential (in my book anyway - especially when the pan is still hot enough that it sizzles). As for how 'flavouful' it should be, while it probably shouldn't be spicy like a jambalaya, the best versions I have ever had have contained enough saffron to make your lips tingle - probably a bit cost prohibative in most places. Carl

I don't think this is anything new, go down to your local indian restaurant (In the UK anyway) and there is an open kitchen - why don't more restaurants do this? I remember as a lad being taken on a tour round the kitchen, shaping my own naan bread and putting it in the tandoor (Probably a health and safety nightmare now!) and bringing the poppadums out for my mum and dad! That's what I call a personal experience of the kitchen. Admittedly, the main reason for the open kitchens was prejudice against 'foreign' food, and assumptions that if you couldn't see what was going on then the kitchens would be filthy, and all sorts of things would be going into the dishes, but I personally see it as a highlight.

For 'Homestyle' cooking, I think the sauce should be generous in quantity, and have a 'connection' to the dish. This is partially aesthetic and partly practical, a homemade sauce is unlikely to have the intensity of a restaurant sauce, and also it is more likely to have been a consequence of making the dish, rather than a separate endeavour. I quite often do not set out to make a 'Protein, sauce and two vegetables' dinner, but when I do, it is normally follows the pattern I cook some pork steaks/chops (For example). The residue on the pan looks tasty and too good to waste. In goes the vermouth/wine/cider/whatever is too hand. Some herbs, juniper berries, capers or whatever I feel like go in. A knob of butter is usually needed at this point. Now if I stop there, my finished supper will have a fairly concentrated sauce, but it still doesn't feel like the sort of thing to be artfully drizzled , no it gets plopped right over those steaks. If some cream goes in the sauce (Which happens quite a lot) then suddenly there is a lot of very tasty sauce. And I want all of it!. Not the prettiest of suppers any more, but very satisfying with enough crusty bread. For more refined cooking, the degree of saucing becomes more important, not just for how it looks on the plate, but also to preserve the tastes (And textures) of each component of the meal, especially if there is more than one sauce being used. (Interestingly, in indian cooking this mixing of sauces is quite often desired, especially in 'Tiffin' style dishes like bhel puris etc) All this goes out of the window if we are talking casseroles/stews/daubes etc. Then give me a deep bowl, a spoon and plenty of napkins! Carl

Pineapple, sweetcorn, chicken tikka massala.... All on a nice doughy deep pan stuffed crust of course. Oh and some BBQ sauce to dip into. Just thought I'd stir up some trouble!

My parents still live in Radcliffe (That hasn't gone particularly upmarket!) I'll have to pop down into Whitefield next time I'm home, Manchester as a whole seems to be looking up from 5/6 years ago. I live in Hampshire now, so 220k for a three bedroom house seems fairly normal. Yep, I went to Stand College, although my free periods tended to be based in the wheatsheaf or the church (Didn't mind you taking in sandwiches, and Holts' Bitter was about 96p a pint) Unfortunately the best Deli near me now is in Winchester - which is fine, the problem is it is owned by James Martin, and I can't cope with the 'Ready Steady Cook' association!

Hmmm, The Roma Deli in Whitefield - Is that still going? That used to keep me going in my A-Level days (I know the college has been knocked down) with its fantastic sandwiches - The Hot italian sausages being a particular favourite (Although the cheese and the ham were pretty good, as you would expect) You can pop into the Church for a pint of Holts' as well! Sorry, not very helpful on the Pancetta front, just reminiscing!