jackal10

I thought the bran particles puncture the gas cells, which is why wholemeal never rises as much as white breads

There is Ch. Ormes de Pez (Grand Bourgeois) and there is Ch. De Pez (Bourggeois Superior), both St Estephe. La Croix may be a second wine from one of these. 1961 was a wonderful year. 1962 wasn't quite as good, but still excellent. If the level of the wine is the bottle is still high, as you say, it should drink well, if fading a little. Comparable wines are on offer for around $50, for example via the wine-searcher site.

I do a hot oyster souffle in the halfshell, on a bed of rocksalt, that I like as a starter, but I really prefer for myself to start with half a dozen freshly opened, au natur

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Curry Sauce I second Worcester Sauce, or just salt and freshly ground black pepper. Melted cheese, or cheese whizz if you must. Butter is good. Fritesauce reminds me of Sauce Tartar or even Salad Cream

Lets see.. 1 fl oz pour is 28ml say 25 to the bottle of Yquem, or $700. According to Wine-Searcher 97 Yquem is about $120/bottle. That's a pretty good margin, even allowing for the argon! No wastage, either...

Three shellfish courses, following each other?

Lots of ways you can glue it together: Proteins: Soy, egg white/albumen, caesin (milk/whey powder); gelatine; agar. High MP Fats: Cheese, lard, beeswax For example mix your nuts seeds etc with egg white, form unto bars and dry in a low oven

Alas, now that Elsenham have taken over the product is in plastic jars, rather than the original opal glass. However festive versions pack these into ceramic, with various pretty designs, or all blck with gold lettering. Its a salty anchovy paste. Spread thin on thin hot buttered toast. I need some now...

Great to see you here! You are doing a real service for the food industry, and the world. Any chance of a companion volume with illustrative recipies in it? Alas, the UK edition is not due for another few weeks, so I don't know if this is already answered in your book... With the current trend to long time low temperature cooking of meats, I wonder if you could point me to any references to work on time/temperature profile needed to ensure sterility. I've seen mention of work at the University of freading, but I can't find the source, that says things like 12 minutes at 60C, but 45 minutes at 58C. I'd like an authoratative source that I can show the food police, who would otherwise insist on restaurants and institutions serving overcooked beef. Jack

I paraphrase Escoffier's method for bisque, thickened with rice. For me the flavouring with burnt brandy is essential. Cut into small dice 1 oz carrot, 1 oz onion, 2 parley stalks. Brown in butter in a saucepan. Add "a fragment" of bay and thyme. Thrwo in 2lbs of raw prawn in their shells (and heads), toss untill they get a good red colour. Sprinkle with 2 Tbs of brandy and flame (essential), add a glass of white wine, season with a large pinch of salt and pepper and set to reduce. Moisten with 1/4 pt white stock (chicken stock) and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Shell some of the prawn and set aside for garnish. Add 3 oz of rice cooked in 1 1/2 pts of white stock (with the stock). Whizz with a stick blender (Escoffier pounds in a mortar), but we have technology, then sieve twice though a course sieve and then twice through a fine sieve. Butter the surface to stop a skin forming if you hold at this point. Dilute to desired consistency, and finish with 2 1/2oz butter and 3 tablespoons fo heavy cream, and a little cayenne Garnish with the reseved prawns.

Is it the cake with the gunman inside? You need to check the dimenions of the gunman (or girl)...

It would be pretty stodgy without the whipped cream, the meringue or the crisp biscuit on the side...the chestnut puree is just the flavouring and filler for the rest

I'm no rabbi, but you are entering a minefield. Get help from someone who has done it before...they will be delighted you asked, or get it catered. For the orthodox ANY food or drink MUST have a hechsher kosher stamp on the packaging. Even then some will accept some stamps and not others. Even then some will insist on anything the food touches (serving dishes, saucepans, cutlery, plates etc) also being kosher (such as new paper plates with the hechsehr label). You can't use your own pretty china or glass, since it might once have contained non-kosher food. Still then meat and milk must not be served within the same meal (or for some within 8 hours)...some will not accept anything even heated in a non-kosher kitchen.

I think this is a version of Mount Blanc aux Marrons, which is a delicious chestnut/cream desert. Daniel Rogov's recipe Some pipe the chestnut puree onto a meringue base, before topping with whipped cream to simulate the snowy peak. The easy way is to use tinned chestnut puree, , which can be bought for about the same price as raw chestnuts. In the local supermarket raw chestnuts are £3/kilo (about $2/lb), while Merchant Gourmet brand tinned Chestnut Puree is £3.41/kilo (say an extra 40c/lb) I'm very happy to pay 40c to avoid the peeling!

Arrgh! This is not English mincemeat. British mincemeat is stored uncooked, and only cooked in the final pie or tart. The high levels of sugar and alcohol preserve it. Here is a picture of my English Mincemeat from last year. I give the illustrated recipe, as well as that of Christmas Pudding and other good things in my egCI "Autumn and Festive Preserves" unit. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30785. About now would be a good time to make them, and traditionally they should be made by “Stir-up Sunday”, the last Sunday before Advent, which is around the middle to end of November, so that they have time to mature before Christmas day. It is called “Stir-up Sunday” because the Collect begins “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”, reminding the faithful that it is time to make puddings

We have the Great Custard War. We agree it should be Birds. I think it should be thin, a pouring sauce. Jill insists it should be thick enough to stand up, and preferably eaten like blancmange, especially cold next day with jam.

The Widow would seem symbolically suitable...

Two plates upside down with a drop of cooking oil between them.

I did not make it, but ate it. Does this go in a different thread? College Informal Guest Night (Informal means that spouses or regular partners can be brought as guests) Lobster Liguine with Parmesan Shavings Sweet Red pepper and Vine Tomato Soup with Organo and Basil Leaf Roast Partridge with Chestnuts Polenta Baby Courgettes Char grilled Aubergine Rich Rum and Chocolate LAyer Cake Italian Nougat Semi-Freddo Coffeee and Petit Four Italian Cheeses Fruit Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie 2002 Val do Cornia Rosso Montepeloso 1997 Ch. Coutet 1988 Ch. Cissac 1993 Amorone 1993

Blowtorch

Parkin is a sort dark sticky gingerbread, made with oatmeal and black molasses (treacle) Henrietta Green gives a recipe on her Foodlover's Britain site: Parkin recipe Dorothy Hartley says it can also be served hot, covered in apple sauce as a pudding

"Please to remember the 5th of November Gunpowder Treason and Plot" Now Haloween is past inthe UK we have Guy Fawkes on Nov 5th, with fireworks and bonfires. What are your food traditions? For organised displays, then bad hot dogs from street vendors at large municipal dsiplays, although the local one that I'm helping out at has hog roast, hot doughnuts and roast chestnuts. For smaller and village displays the hot dogs (or bacon butties) will be grilled by the local Boy Scouts or in aid of some other good cause At home, then hot soup (Tomato), Pigs in Blankets, Yorkshire Parkin are the order of the day. Potatoes baked in the bonfire are the best... Mulled Wine for the adults, fizzy pop for the kids.. Marshmallows and Chili for those with US connections, but that is now becoming increasingly politically incorrect over here.

Interesting. The mincemeat recipe looks very much like a traditional Xmas mincemeat, except without the sugar, and with pork instead of beef. I wonder if that is beacuse that was all that was locally available? Mincemeat recipies with fruit and meat in turn can be traced back to medieval times. It was usually used as a pie or tart filling or to stuff apples. I wonder if there is the equivalent. The cake recipe may in turn relate to European puddings with meat or mincemeat, such as Xmas pudding,or the Scottish Black Bun. Is there the porky equivalent of other sorts of suet puddings? Roly Poly, Spotted Dick, Ssssex Pond, etc?

Ahh...toast and drippping, with lots of salt... (wipes tear from eye)

I bought some from the Poilane shop. I can't remember how much they were, but I don't remember them as exceptionally expensive