jackal10

They are all good. Depends how smoky and peaty you like it - they all have different tastes. If you are a new-comer to scotch I'd start with the Glenlivet, that traditionally is the best of the region.

Hard Sauce 4 oz (125g) unsalted butter, softened 4 oz (125g) caster or light brown sugar Juice of half a lemon 4 tbs rum or brandy Grating of nutmeg Cream or whizz the sugar and the butter, grate in a little nutmeg. Slowly beat in (or add to the whizzer) the liquids. Put in an attractive pot in the fridge. It will keep for several weeks. Traditional with Xmas pud, mince pies, and great on toast.

Cheese is an old english term for a concentrated fruit paste. Less concentrated (but more than jam) is is fruit butter Even more concentrated it becomes fruit leather. Traditionally fruit cheeses were made in plate-like disc, which were then stacked together with sugar and spices for winter storage, and I guess looked rather like an uncut cheese. There are also served like, and with, cheese for example on the cheese board. People cut slices to go on their bread. Membrillo is simply the Spanish for Quince. Dulce de Membrillo means sweets made of quince. Indirectly Marmelade is derived from the same word. Manchego, or any sharp cheese is indeed a match made in heaven for quince paste. Even better is a blue cheese such as aged Stilton. That is stellar.

There is the old story of the tourist who asked for newts in one of the fancier London hotel dining rooms. "I'm sorry Sir", replied the impeccable head waiter "While we try to satisfy our guest's needs, newts are out of season at the moment. I believe it is the breeding season" "What is all this about breeding season?" the tourist spluttered "I wanted a bottle of Newts St George""

I'm stunned by the silence. The unit has been up for 12 hours or so Wot, no questions? No comments on the food porn pix, or the Satanic overtones of Xmas food and customs?

Inserting batons of fat into the meat. Used to help dry meats. You can get special needles like skewers, but with a clamp arrangement at the blunt end to take the strip of fat. You can do it with a thin knife like a boning knife and some care. Helps if the fat is cold. If you use bacon its called "barding".

Pheasant should ideally be hung in the feather for a week or so. This time of year just plain roast is good. Lots of butter, and cover the breast with bacon. 30 mins in a hot oven. Serve with bread sauce, game chips, redcurrant or cranberry, brissel sprouts and a good burgundy

Even if cooked, it will turn into melting deliciousness if you steam it (or even braise) with chinese spices for 4 hours or so...

All will be revealed in the forthcoming egCI potato primer,

I assume you will want to cook in your kitchen, rather than just look at it. If so don't use marble. Marble stains easily (beetroot, tomato, food colour etc) Marble etches (lemon juice, vinegar, pickles..). Leave a half lemon cut side down for an hour and its there for life. Marble scratches. The only thing marble is good for is rolling pastry. Even then the surface gets sort of greasy. For kneading bread end-grain wood is better. I have black granite and I love it. The trick is to get it in 1/2 inch/1cm, roun edge, and support it invisibly with marine ply let into the top of the carcass. Most suppliers try and sell 1 inch material, which gives too heavy an edge There are some very nice white granites: Kashmir white, Panna Fragola, Bethel White. Bethel is the brightest white.

I'm also hold a pyrotechnics (fireworks) license Non Dairy Creamer (NDC) is a standard firework and effects material for those rolling fireballs. Don't try this at home. If fact don't try it unless you hold a full pyrolicense and licensed premises (especially in Oregon, or New York). Take a bucket (old paint can ) and put in a small amount of blackpowder (gunpowder), and a quickmatch fuse with an electric squib in the bottom. Fill can with NDC, the higher the fat content the better. Calf feed works as well, and is cheaper in bulk. Place in position. Stand well back. Ignite squib on cue. Warning: NDC generates a lot of static when poured or handled in bulk. Use full static precautions. Do not put the squib in the bucket, only in the fuse leader outside the bucket, otherwise common mode discharge can ignite it. Professional fireworkers have been badly injured by this, when just moving an incorrectly fused NDC bucket lit it.

You can use humane traps that catch the mouse alive. Peanuts are great bait. A quick Google, or a visit to a hardware store will reveal many. When you catch the mouse be sure to take it at least 3 miles away before release, otherwise it will return before you do. Also make sure you close the car door before releasing it, so it does not jump back in. Of course, it is cruel to take it away from its family and freind and known territory and food supply...

Escoffier

Disclaimer: This is not my native cuisine. My version, originally cooked and inspired by a recipe in from "Chinese Gastronomy" by Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin, ISBN 090690878. An excellent book The essence is the butter like sweet melting pork fat. If you shortcut and omit the salting, the blanching and the long slow steaming you will get lumpy hard fat. 1lb belly pork in one piece, trimmed into a precise square (about 6 inches square) Works with pork hocks as well. 2 Tbs salt Rub with salt and let stand for two hours. Discard the liquid. Wash the meat free of surface salt Bring 5 pints of water to the boil and blanch the meat. Discard the water and repaeat the blanching with a fresh 5 pints of boiling water. 2 Tbs light soy 1 Tbs Mirin or sweet sherry 2 spring onions (scallions) 2 slices ginger 2 Tbs water Put the above in pot with a close fitting lid. Put in the pork, skin side up. Bring to the boil and cook on a very low heat (or even better in a very low oven) for 2 hours. Tradition adds a small piece of straw floor mat (after the legend of the actions of an Immortal in disguise in Soochow), but this is not needed. Don't peek, let it stew in its juices. Discard the ginger and the spring onions. Put the pork skin side down , with the juices, on a soup plate or similar size shallow dish. Steam for 4 hours, until the fat can be cut with a spoon. Invert onto a serving dish (skin side up), and pour the juices around. One of the pinnacles of Chinese gastronomy, and the pure essence of pork. It demonstrates the appreciation of fat in Chinese cuisine. Traditionally served at the end of a meal. "People sigh, shout and groan with happiness when they see this dish" Ken Lo gives a version where he crisps the skin, first frying in oil. There are western restaurant "Tung po" dishes stir fried with peanuts, but they are different.

To expand on Dan's excellent answer, this means you can translate and scale recipes So if you use his first example, and start with 1Kg of flour you would use 680g water, 5g of yeast and 20g of salt., for a total dough weight of 1.705kg 680g of water is 680cl. In imperial for 2lbs of flour, then use 2*16*68/100 = 1lb 5 3/4 oz water, 0.16 oz yeast and 0.64 oz salt To convert to volume you need to use conversion tables for the density of flour etc It gets more interesting the other way round. If you want to make, say, 6x840g dough weight baguettes, or just over 5kg dough weight, then you need 3Kg of flour, 2.04Kg of water, 60g salt and 1.5g yeast If you decide to make a starter with the yeast, 1Kg of flour and 750g of water, then you need to subtract these from the main dough, so the main dough is now the 1.75g starter, 2Kg flour, and 1.254 Kg water.

Links between the Middle East and Africa go back to biblical times (and probably before): think of King Solomon's Mines. There is a fascinating book by Tudor Parfitt: "Journey to the Vanished City: The Search for the Lost Tribe of Israel " that traces the origin of the Lemba tribe in southen Africa, builders of the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe to a Jewish origin, a hypothesis subsequently confirmed by DNA testing.

Goose has surprisingly little meat on it, but a lot of glorious fat. Two greedy people can easily eat a goose, but you could stretch it to 4 plus kids with sausages, stuffings etc

Alan writes further: Just this afternoon I was finally able to connect with my good friend Richard Simpson to ask further about the starter that he made for me. First of all he was so pleased to hear that a product from his vineyard - other than fine Zinfandel grapes - has pleased so many - bakers rather than vintners. He wanted me to assure you that the grape mash was naturally fermented - no yeast added. He simply picked some of his crop, mashed the grapes, placed them in a container covered with cheese cloth, and hung the container in the vineyard and let Mother Nature work her magic. After two days the fermentation had begun. We figured that the starter was created over ten years ago. I recall that it was purple in color and emitted a rich grape flavor. After being used many times, the dough lost its purple hue, but I still contend it has retained a faint grape flavor. (Probably just my imagination!) The name of his ranch is the Simpson Ranch, located in the small community of Meadow Vista, in Nevada County in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The ranch has been in existence for well over a hundred years in his family's name. Richard developed his small vineyard many years ago. Its crop was highly sought after by local vintners. I and many of his friends, about twenty of us looked forward each year to picking the grapes, always a grand occasion with great food and ample good wine. Great pits were dug for cooking the great slabs of meat that were wrapped in various herbal leaves from the ranch, then buried in the coals and allowed to bake slowly, while we labored in the vineyard. Richard and his wife Roxanne are superb cooks. Sadly, the vineyard is no longer in production.

We are just finishing an eGCI unit on Spuds, with over 120 recipes and variations. Scheduled sometime in November. I'm finding it particularly tough to do as I am trying to follow and Atkins diet, and so can't eat any.. Latkes? Rosti? Colcanon? Bubble and Squeak? Duchesse? Pommes de Terre a la Roxelane (potato souffle in a baked potato shell)

I'll be happy to report. Anyone want to join me for dinner?

Let me be the first to congratulate you on a great course! I will add some of those dishes to my repertoire...

I can now reveal that the original source of the starter that I distributed was collected by Alan Sims, in a Californian vineyard. Alan is the former librarian (now retired) of Sutter's Fort. He writes: "I was delighted to hear that our California starter has risen to such heights world wide! May I request that you include the name of my good friend Richard Simpson, owner of the Zinfandel grape vineyard?.... As a frequent visitor to his family's ranch for many years, I enjoyed his mother's wonderful sourdough pancakes, biscuits, and cakes. She baked daily on her wood stove. The only other heat source in the old ranch house was the fireplace. Many a cold morning we huddled around her stove! When I see Richard I will tell him about his now famous starter." Thanks Alan and Richard! The starter has given pleasure (and good bread) to many!

I'd add quite a lot of sugar (say 8oz) to the vinegar. Don't pack the jars too tightly to allow the vinegar to penetrate Brine (1 lb salt to 1 gallon water) or even better dry salt for 24 hours. Wash very well and drain. Pack loosely into jars, and pour over the cold sweet spiced vinegar. You can also make mixed pickles (cauliflowers, small onions, small cucumbers, french beans, all cut into bite-size pieces Which reminds me about sweet piccalilli, or mustard pickles, Replace the vinegar with a sauce of 1/2 oz turmeric 1/2 oz dry Mustard powder 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 1/2 oz flour or cornflour 6-9 oz sugar, depending how sweet you like it chillis optional. Personally I omit them 3 pts vinegar. Mix cold and bring to the boil. Add the brined, washed, drained, chopped vegetables and boil for 3 minutes. The veg should still be crisp, but not hard. Bottle and seal.

Many thanks for the replies. What a wonderful resource is eGullet! Yes. I am staying at the Bercy Sofitel. According to the blurb it is " 7 minutes from Place de la Madeleine by the Meteor (automatic subway). " That means a trip to Fauchon may be required as well...

Wash, trim and par-cook the beans (boil for 3 minutes, then put into cold water) . Follow the pickled cucumber recipe. Process for 10 minutes.