jackal10

Must be Paxton and Whitfield in Jermyn St in London

See above. What you want is Skate with black butter (capers, vinegar)

I've just made some sausages. They are the emulsified type. One is Mortadella style and one a Wurst style kosher salami. One problem I always have is that when cooked the sausages are a little "gritty", The meat seems to be in fine particles, rather than a smooth whole. This is despite grinding for hours (well, 5 mins in a powerful food processer), the paste not getting warm, and feeling smooth when raw. Any suggestions?

what a waste of good foie! Sounds like an exercise in budget control. Chicken liver is NOT chicken pate; the taste spectrum and the texture is quite different. I really can't see caramel going with chopped liver. Usually the foie is used as the fat component to flavour a baked custard The best retains the delicate texture, with a mild, thin caramel shell. Foie Gras creme brulee is now almost a culinary cliche, and is widely served and imitated as it enables the chef to use up and extend scraps of foie. Many recipes on the web, such as http://www.cuisine-french.com/cgi/mdc/l/en...e_gras_ill.html For 2 servings whiz together 100g Foie 2 egg yolks 100g cream Strain, bake, strew with sugar and brown like a normal creme brulee. You can replace as much of the foie with raw chicken liver and butter as your conscience allows. Anyone know its origin?

Its mostly caramel, tars and carbon. They dissolve slowly in boiling water. Soda is better for fats, which it turns to soaps. Some will get adsorbed and discolour the lining. You need to do two things: dissolve the gunk, and bleach the discolouration Boil water in it with some bleach, or even better a peroxide based cleaner (oxyclens; some denture tablets). Dishwasher tabs are also good as they contains pretty fierce cleaners.

ceviche tartare Also tradtional pickled herrings Brandade (e.g toast squares of brandade and tapenade; black and white) Bruschettas Retro prawn cocktail personally I'd go for Brandade with truffle oil, made with home salted fish..

You can always do HFW's good three ways: (neck stuffed, legs confit, breast roast) http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/wine/ma...4/ixedmain.html "The goose is a silly bird; too much for one, and not enough for two" (Samuel Johnson)

Yes, its normal. You can pull them out with pliers. I would seriously consider cooking the stuffing separately out of the goose - may a token amount at the neck end, otherwise its going to get very fatty. You can also take the neck off and stuff it separately.

Janssons Frestele (Janssons Temptation) Eric Jansson was a 19th century Swedish religious reformer famed for his asceticism..until one day... Its basically potato dauphinois with anchovy or herring. No cheese in my version, just milk or cream, but some add cheese. http://www.tine.no/intjarlmain/35535/

It very versatile. You can do anything you'd do with fresh fish. Different flavour and texture, of course. Sound like you are making a version of Jansen's temptation (potato gratin, originally with herring) brandade is remarkable since the fish acts as an emulsifying agent, like egg yolk in mayonnaise, and it will adsorb a similar amount of olive oil You can make the left-overs, if any, into fish cakes

Wash it well, then treat as fresh cod. Ther are several cuisines that feature salt cod: Portugeuse, Southern France, Scandinavia, and West Indian, since it was used as cheap protein to feed the slaves. Make fish cakes or Make brandade http://www.ochef.com/705.htm (traditionally truffled for this time of year) and my favourite - poach, then whizz with olive oil (about 2 cups) like making mayonnaise. Add milk or cream, and optionally potato puree, garlic, truffles/truffel oil. Spread on toast. Make salt cod with ackee (breadfruit) if youa re near a west indian supplier, otherwise use scrambled eggs

Vindaloo is also traditional in the UK..

I did some in my blog http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=939709 1) Brine the side of the salmon (150g salt to 600g water) for half an hour Let it fry overnight in the fridge to form a "pellicule" (skin) For the smoker i used the bread oven, but any enclosed box with enough room would do. I guess a large BBQ kettle would work fine. You need some hardwood sawdust, such as oak or cherry. A local furniture maker often has some. Put a ring of sawdust, maybe 2 inches deep round the inside edge of the kettle. Light one end (blow torch and a piece of bacon fat are traditional, but half a firelighter works. Wait until the sawdust is just smoldering. Put the salmon on a rack well clear of the sawdust, and put the lid on. US a digital thermometer. The temperature should not go above 90F. Come back and check after half an hour and then every 4 hours. About 12 hours for a medium smoke, then let the fish rest for a couple of days in a baggie in the fridge to mellow and let the smoke flavour permeate. Having gone to all that trouble, you will appreciate just how good is the smoked salmon you buy commercially. However you can do bacon with a similar set up, and that is much better than commercial bacon...

Havng just bought some at the local farm shop I am reminded of two seasonal treats. Both taste sweeter, nuttier and more intense than the normal kind: Brussel Sprouts on the stem "Dirty" celery. Fen-grown celery still with the mud attached.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=466554 Strip the skin but not the fat from the cooked ham, if the ham has any. Score the fat into rectangles Rub with demerara sugar or paint with honey (easier to do this before you put in the cloves) Stick with cloves, either in the centre of each diamond on on the intersections Put in a baking tray. Pour cider or apple juice over Bake in a hot oven for half an hour, basting every 10 minutes

The skin is formed from the Alginate, which is polymerised by the Calcium ions in the dissolved calcium chloride. Drops of the solution containing the alginate are dropped into a bath of the chloride. A skin is formed where they meet. The thickness of the skin depends on the time in contact with the chloride, since diffusion of the calcium ions through the polymerised alginate is quite slow.

Call it off. You can't agree on what to eat at the wedding, what hope is there for family peace. Alternatively get married with just a couple of witnesses, and have dancing in the evening.

I wonder about the loudness (or the quiet) American. I think this is symptomatic of a much deeper cultural divide. Let me be politically incorrect, to make a point. The US is, in principle but not in practice, an egalitarian society with all equal. Thus status is given by the amount of money one controls, and many society values are driven by the scramble for money. Indeed, the lack of a comprehensive state aid scheme means amassing money is the very stuff of survival. Hence there is a great emphasis on selling and surface values, rather than, for example, deep quality or ancient tradition. European values are quite different. Despite the French Revolution's cry of "Fraternité, Egalité, Liberté ", its an old society and societal values and status are not primarily money related. The state social support structure is more developed, and acquiring money is not so necessary for survival. Salesmanship is not valued; self-promotion is seen as rude, and indicative of a lack of intrinsic self worth. Europeans don't need to shout; they know they are superior. . Hence (except in tourist places) the waiter will not explain the dishes unless asked; it should just taste amazing. To do so would be insulting and assume you do not have the comprehension to know what you are eating.

Think of it as a rose, or a very light beaujolais, or a light zin... Good lunch wine, or to go with chicken...

thersh alwaysh shrcambled eggsh...

We've seen Rocket Science before. None the worse for that http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=53127 The pre-arugula, post arugula, and post modern (mache?) periods extend to all areas of dining: Pre-Arugula Starter: Prawn Cockail Main: Steak, well done Desert: Black Forest Gateau Wine: Blue Nun Post Arugula: Starter: Whitebait or Gravlax Main: Steak, rare Desert: Chocolate Mousse or Death by chocolate Wine: Oaky Rioja Post Modern: Starter: Vegetable terrine with two coloured sauces, feathered Main: Steak, slow cooked but pink, Vegatables as seperate courses Desert: Chocolate sampler or choclate creme brulee Wine: Obscure Chilean

All the Starbucks I've tried is weak as gnats' pee

Here is my attempt at a Biffin. I cooked the apple at 90C for about 12 hours. The result was indeed rich, creamy and delicious, tasting a little of cinnamon and cloves, slightly sharp. Unique. Curious, since the same apple makes an indifferent apple puree. I think the cooking process is as much by dehydration as by cooking in the conventional sense. I'm, sure, as Nathan has shown that you could do the same process with different apples to good effect. I suspect the Norfolk Beefing apple was used as it has a particularly thick skin, so would stand the perils of being transported in its cooked state to the London markets. It made me think that part drying, although a common technique is somewhat under-rated in the new gastronomy. The process both concentrates and changes the flavour, just as mi-cuit prunes taste different to plums, and mi-cuit or sun-dried tomatoes taste different to fresh. I wonder if this could not be used more. We habitually concentrate stocks to meat glace, and occasionally serve jerky. A few chefs use fruits or sauces dried to a powder, but not half-dried. How about semi-dried fruit syrups, or tomato concasse? Maybe there are grounds for experiment here.

I have some roast pork shoulder leff over from last night. What should I make with it? Char sui Bao? Stir fried/ double/triple cooked pork? Sweet and sour? Rillettes? Pork stew (with or without beans) Curry What else? Suggestions (and your favourites) please!

There are the old rules of acceptable conversation. The following subjects are banned at table: Politics Religion Sexual proclivities and relationships of anyone present The food being served