lronick

Funny you should mention the pineapple dessert. I'm also planning on making that one for my dinner party (on the 24th). Have you made that dish, despite the fact that there's a hair on the plate? I also chose "Rabbit with Fava Beans and Baby Onions" as the main course. Any experience with that? I'm a bit worried that favas won't still be available (in the D.C. area) by the 24th, but the recipe says that asparagus can be substituted.

Here's the step for the mousse: "In a food processor or blender, combine 4 ounces of the shrimp (they're raw and peeled) with the cream and blend until fluffy and mousselike." So , no binder. That's my dilemma. Of course, I could just try this in advance to see if it works, but that would be too easy .

I'm planning a dinner party and want to cook the "Turbans of Shrimp and Pasta" dish from Robuchon's "Simply French". It's basically a savarin mold lined with a spiral of spaghetti and filled with a shrimp mousse into which some whole shrimps are added. The whole thing is steamed, unmolded, and served with a sauce. My question has to do with the mousse ingredients - pureed shrimp into which heavy cream is introduced and blended. That's it! Can any of you food scientists tell me what will make this mousse set up under heat? Most mousses of this type that I've seen include some egg, sometimes just whites, sometimes whole. But just shrimp and cream? How does that work? Do I dare question the great Robuchon/Wells team? BTW - I already received my savarin molds from Bridge in NY. It's going to be a very cool-looking dish.

I knew I was leaving myself open for a potshot when comparing Lampriea to mid-tier places like Etta's, etc. Of course you're right to say it's apples and oranges. I was just trying to say that overall, I felt that I got more VALUE from the mid-tier restaurants than I did at Lampreia. An example of a meal that I felt was well worth the money was a trip to Citronelle in Wash. D.C. the week after I went to Lampreia. The checks were virtually identical, but the value received at Citronelle far exceeded Lampreia. Michel Richard is amazing, and EVERY course was extraordinary. I highly recommend Citronelle to eGulleteers who live or visit DC. IMHO, it's the best restaurant in the city.

My wife and I went to Lampreia during our trip to Seattle last week (August 13). We had a good meal, but not one that justifies the high prices and stellar reputation that it has. Here's a short report. Since our hotel (Inn at El Gaucho) was only a block away from Lampreia, we walked by it many times during the week of our stay and saw almost no traffic. That was a bit cautionary, but I knew Lampreia from its reputation and the comments on this board, so I made reservations on Wednesday for Saturday night. I had no trouble getting a 7PM reservation, but when I called on Saturday afternoon to move the time back to 7:30. they couldn't do it. I guess they do book up on weekends, but when we were there, it sure didn't look like all the tables were occupied. Although the menu didn't list them, they offer 5-course and 8-course tasting menus, vaying in price based on the ingredients the chef decides to use. We had the 5-course menu, and were charged $85 each. The waiter said the 8-course dinner is typically about $115. We had a bottle of Domaine Serene pinot noir from Williamette valley on the waiter's recommendation ($85), which was delicious. Interestingly, he didn't open the bottle until after the first course, which, I assume, he deemed unsuitable for the pinot. He was probably right. Service was good, the waiter was friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. However, the pacing of the dinner was, in my opinion, a tad fast, something that a good waiter should be able to control. The first course arrived within 5 minutes of our ordering. Each course after that was also delivered within 5 minutes of their removing the plates from the previous course. So, we finished the meal pretty quickly. However, the whole meal did take almost 2 hours, mainly because we lingered over dessert and tea. It didn't seem like they needed the table for another reservation, since the place looked maybe 75% full. Portion size was OK for a tasting menu, although a big eater might have left hungry. It was enough for us. The courses went as follows (since there was no printed menu for the tasting menu, the names for the dishes are my own): 1) Dungeness crab roll - a cylinder of crabmeat wrapped in an impossibly thin layer of canteloupe, topped with three impossibly small, perfectly spherical canteloupe balls, served with a jelly made from canteloupe juice and white wine. A very sophisticated dish, well executed. 2) Gazpacho - A small cup of gazpacho poured at tableside over a small ball of fresh mozzarella, a chunk of avocado, and a disk of parmesan cheese. Also a nice dish, but the gazpacho was a bit bland and the dish overall was not particularly flavorful. After all, mozzarella and avocado are not two of the most flavorful ingredients, and didn't realy add much more than texture to the soup. 3) An open raviolo stuffed with ricotta salata and a poached chicken egg yolk. This was probably our favorite dish. It was perfectly seasoned, and the egg yolk was just the right consistency - it ran over everything when you broke the thin cooked covering. I'd like to know how he did that. 4) A simply sauteed veal chop with no sauce, topped with one slice of cooked zucchini and a slice of lemon zest. While the veal was of high quality, this was a very unsophisticated dish. There was no other garnish except for what I mentioned - ONE SLICE of zucchini. The meat needed a sauce, however simple, to enhance its flavor - it was just a nice piece of meat that tasted like, well, meat. There wasn't even an herb flavor like rosemary to make it more interesting. Also interesting was the fact that my wife's chop was literally 1/2 the size of mine. I guess they figured women can't eat as much meat as men. She was fine with that, but the discrepancy was very obvious and unusual. 5) Dessert - a peach "soup" with a dollop of vanilla cream, and a plate of tiny cookies/truffles. It was kind of like a virgin "bellini". The soup was flavorful and refreshing, with a thick consistency, and the cream was a nice addition. It wasn't anything that showed off the skills of a pastry chef, or, for that matter, required a pastry chef to prepare it. IMHO, it also lacked the complexity I would expect from a restaurant of this caliber. The cookies and chocolate truffle were good - each was about the size and shape of a small marble, just enough for one bite. I think there were 2 each of 5 different flavors. Dinner came to about $280 including tax and $2.50 for a cup of tea (shouldn't they throw in the tea with an $85 tasting menu??). With a $50 tip, $330 was a lot of money for 2 people to spend for a meal that really didn't blow us away. We had just as good or better meals for 1/3 the price at Etta's, Flying Fish, and even Belltown Bistro. Sure, not the ambience or the fancy preparations of Lampreia, but good food nonetheless.

There's a great south-of-France tart called "Tourte de Blettes" made with green chard, but any chard will do. It's made with a sweet pate brise (sweetened with brown sugar) and can contain other ingredients like raisins, pine nuts, onion, etc. Here's a link to a recipe that's pretty authentic http://www.provencebeyond.com/food/tourtedeblett.html. It specifies sugar in the dough, but I suggest using brown sugar or 1/2 regular and 1/2 brown.

Summer is approaching. Thoughts wander to ocean breezes and beach traffic. I just rented a house in Corolla, NC (~10 miles north of Duck) for a week in June/July. What are some Gullet-worthy places to eat in the general area? Blue Point Grill is the only recommendation I've received so far. They have a 30-days-in-advance reservation policy, so I haven't been able to lock in a table there yet. Any opinions on that place? Where else should we try?

I once asked a Post ex-editor friend of mine why the Post's Sunday magazine section was so pathetic when compared to the NY Times'. He made the astute observation that the NY area newspaper readership is divided into readers of the Times (affluent, literate, sophisticated) and readers of the NY Post/Daily News (blue-collar, lower middle-class) readers. That fact allows the Times to focus its editorial content on topics of interest and value to its readers. It also allows them to sell advertising space to upscale advertisers, yielding more revenue. Compare this to the Post's broad spectrum of readers, who come from every socio-economic stratum. I assume this editorial philosophy carries over to the food section as well. While I'm not a regular reader of the Times food section, I have noticed that they usually avoid the "get dinner on the table in 10 minutes for less than $10" topics. The Post, by necessity, must try to be "all things to all people" (ignoring the Wash. Times for now). With that in mind, the Post does a pretty good job.

Beware of Mamma Lucia's in Falls Grove - it's been consistently busy since it opened a month or so ago. I'd call ahead to see if there's a long wait. Of course, there's always take-out...

For those who say that Rockville is "Pizza Hell" - try Mamma Lucia. Their NY style pizza is very authentic - thin crust, nice toppings. The rest of the food is better than average red-sauce Italian at mostly reasonable prices. The original Mamma's is in Federal Plaza off the Pike (in the back near CompUSA). Their mini-empire has expanded to Olney, Bethesda (Elm St., next to Cafe Deluxe), and Gaithersburg (the new Falls Grove shopping center across from Shady Grove Adventist Hospital). Here's a link to a short review: http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/Profil...mammalucia.html.

I agree that time is the determining factor. The press is quick, easy, and efficient, but, most serious cooks frown on their use, I guess for the "oil release" issue. However, until we all get as efficient as Jacques Pepin in mincing garlic (whack! with the side of the knife, machine-gun fast knife-rocking over the crushed carcass, and a few swift side-swipes with the side of the blade to crush again and voila!), the press will probably never die.

Watched by sister-in-law measure "2 ounces of shredded cheese" using a measuring cup... She never learned the difference between weight and volume...

Brussels sprouts are great in combination with celeriac (celery root). Peel and dice (1/4" to 1/2") the celeriac, and blanch in salted water (make sure it's salty enough - should taste as salty as the ocean) until almost done, shock in ice water. Remove any dried/loose leaves from the sprouts, and score the "root" end with an "X" using a paring knife. Cook the whole brussels sprouts in salted water (see salting comment above) until almost done, shock in ice water. When ready to serve, sautee the celeriac and sprouts together in butter (or bacon fat, or duck fat, etc.) until lightly browned and tender. Correct seasoning and serve.