Ling

Yes, that's right--it's at The Creamery. I discovered the butter at a lunch spot on Orcas Island. It really is great butter!

Hi Bryan, I noticed in your blog that you seem to like baked goodies. If so, check out Café Besalu. I think their pastries are the best in town. For eggs, I like the Sea Breeze Farm duck eggs available at the Ballard farmer's market and the U-District farmer's market.

^First I deboned four ducks, and took the skin off to render for the fat. I also rendered about 1.5 lbs. of pig fat back to add to the rendered duck fat, as I wouldn't have had enough to cover the entire mass of legs and wings. The confit was done loosely following Paula Wolfert's directions in The Cooking of Southwest France. It was aged for a week. The duck carcasses were frozen until the day I was ready to make the gravy. I browned the bones and made stock with your usual vegetables and herbs (bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, carrots, onions, celery). It simmered for about 5 hours. The stock was then strained and reduced. I peeled and diced parsnips, carrots, and onions and browned them in the oven with duck fat and seasonings. Then I plucked the duck confit meat off the bones, diced it, and added it to the roasted root vegetables, along with peas, corn, browned bacon, and herbs/spices. In another pan, I made a roux, then added the reduced duck stock and sherry. The gravy was then added to the meat and vegetables, and then I corrected the seasoning. (I also added a bit of leftover veal demi that I used for the veal gastrique on the foie gras custard.) The pastry was made with 25% Cremerie Classique butter, and 75% leaf lard following usual pie crust proportions (with the added bit of lift from a pinch of baking powder.) Before serving, heat the duck confit filling, then fill the ramekins and top with a rolled out piece of pastry brushed with heavy cream. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven (or until the pastry is crisp). Sorry, no real recipe available since I didn't use one. ETA: Just remembered I also used some celery seed, ground fennel, and red pepper flakes in the filling.

Our first write-up! I had such a great time cooking last night, and we're glad everyone else seemed to have a blast at the communal table as well. Personally, I feel the same way about the foie gras custard. I think it's delicious, but I like foie gras torchon the best! However, the custard was hugely popular with diners (and I think the veal/sherry gastrique on top really added another dimension!) The best thing about cooking for these dinners is leftovers. Foie gras custard and bacon-wrapped bacon for breakfast, followed by cream puffs, Valrhona/Scharffen Berger/Michel Cluizel chocolate sauce and fresh mint ice-cream is a nice way to start the day!

I don't know if it's comparable to what you get in France, but Porcella has saussison sec and I like it a lot.

I enjoy the Chuao region a lot too. Did you have a chance to try the Pralus bars yet? I've only had the Madagascar bar so far and it's not doing much for me. The red fruit flavors are a bit more muted than in other Madagascar bars I've had in the past, and I taste quite a bit of chicory or coffee...

I finished over a pound of burrata with this 18 year old balsamic last week. Damn that was tasty! The vinegar was equally good on grilled ciabatta brushed with good olive oil. Basically, I would keep it simple so you really appreciate the vinegar.

Interesting! I remember trying to convince my childhood friends that the purple-coloured Smarties tasted very different from the others, (with the other colours still tasting different, but not as much so.) My friends were convinced I was crazy and kept trying to "test" me by feeding me Smarties blindfolded, but I could always pick out the purple ones. It made for a good game at recess...

Madgascar and Venezuela for me! I just bought the sample pack from Pralus yesterday, but I haven't tasted it yet. I also got a full-size bar of the Madgascar because I assumed that would be my favorite.

You can get it in Canada, unless they changed the law recently.

Love the konnyaku jelly idea...I used to love those. Are those still allowed in Canada?

Awesome idea...but I don't know if 14 other diners would go for that

^Yeah, the idea started with alcohol...we are going to name this our "Prohibition Dinner"

I'm with you Abra. Supertaster who loves coffee, brussel sprouts, spinach, grapefruit etc. ← same here

Those are just starting ideas--we don't necessarily have to use trans fats. Actually this idea of a 'banned foods' night came about when we were both tanked, so the trans fats addition to the list could have been a product of the cocktails... To be clear, we're also looking for ideas for foods that are banned in other countries (and legal in the US/Canada), or foods that were banned for a time in the past, but are now legal (like the spinach Pontormo suggested.) Great suggestions so far, thanks!

^ Yes, I always remind Henry of this difference between us.

No, but we'll try it someday. kiliki: Maybe it was just the house pancake we got yesterday, but though it was marginally better than the green onion pancake, it was still pretty bad! I wouldn't compare it to Rocking Wok's thousand layer, but then again, it has been months since I've been back there. Has anyone been to Facing East?

Nah, we're not going to shill or advertise. I am already getting complaints that our dinners sell out too quickly.

Growing up in Richmond, I guess I am a little leery of what Seattle has to offer in terms of Chinese food. Went with a group (8 people total) to 7 Stars Peppers today after reading many good things about it online. We got the Szechuan crab, the spicy chicken pieces (breaded) with chillis, fried eggplant, green onion pancakes, potstickers, house special pancake, hand-shaved dan dan noodles, pea vines, a special of the day (chicken with taro), the Szechuan "bacon" stir-fried with scallions, and the scallops with garlic sauce. I honestly thought one dish was passable (pea vines), and everything else was downright bad or below average. The noodles were totally over-cooked. All the sauces were much too sweet. Green onion pancakes were not flaky or pan-fried, but deep-fried. Everyone else seemed to think the food was pretty good, so maybe it's just me, but I just can't see myself craving this stuff. There has only been one item served in a Seattle Chinese restaurant that I've eaten and actually enjoyed, and that's the thousand layer pancake at Rocking Wok. Chiang's Gourmet also has decent stir-fried hand-shaven noodles that are good in a pinch, but they also use way too much sugar in their stir-fried dishes (like the "fish fragrant pork sliver" dish, which is normally one of my absolute favourite Shanghainese dishes.)

We had the pleasure of getting the Bite Club experience when we were in NY in mid-December. Lots of fun. They're both very talented in the kitchen, and their passion comes through in the food. I think it's pretty rare that you'll meet two young people with no formal training doing such ambitious and creative food.

Indeed it was! I was completely blown away. For me, having the Ocumare for the first time was right up there with my first Valrhona experience, and my first Amedei. I do like Amano much more than Michel Cluizel. (I believe I've tried their entire line.)

Are you saying you ate all the caviar in one bite the other time you had the soup...?! No wonder you thought it was overpowering!

Yeah!!!! ETA: Oops that was me (Henry). Someone keeps logging in from my computer

I haven't been posting as much on EG lately, so I seem to have missed this thread! I did get to try the Madagascar bar and the Ocumare bar from Amano recently, and I can't say enough good things about it. It really is the best chocolate I've come across in the past year or so, and I eat quite a bit of chocolate. The Madagascar bar is quite fruity and acidic, so if you like Valrhona Manjari, you'll most likely enjoy this one too. I love the Ocumare bar...I've been trying to ration it so I can enjoy a tiny bit everyday, but I ran out today and I have to order more.

Thanks...I've been a bit busy with work.