MobyP

Yes, but did they blow you out of the socks? That is the issue. ← Weeell... I did sense a little levitation, but I admit, I think I kept my footwear.

I guess it's in the air. I just made a ragu using 4 Gloucester Old Spot pig's cheeks and some pancetta. The result was really wonderful, luscious, creamy. I highly recommend it.

The truffles recently at the River cafe were worth the entry fee.

No - we were the first table seated - 6.30. By the time we left - before 9 - it was barely 3/4 full. The service throughout was impeccable. Charming, quiet, helpful when asked, absent when not needed.

Fergus Henderson - Staff meal?

Paula - you'll have choose what potato type you want, and what proportion of butter, but follow this method and you should be okay.

Went here last night - called at the last minute on the off chance of a table, and was accomodated charmingly. All round, a very nice FOH bunch, especilly the (Dutch?) manager/maitre. The food was very up and down, however. To start an amuse of pumpkin soup (oh dear, we're back on the bloody pumpkin amuses until blinkin' February, are we?) with a stunningly clever addition of a layer of vacherin veloute poured on top. Eh eh, I thought, a brilliant way to save a dull convention - until I tasted the thing, and found the gun powder wet, so to speak. The vacherin was too light, and so didn't contribute much in flavour. Still, a modest problem. Next, I ordered the two specials - scallops with mushrooms (chantrelles I think) and white truffles, and the assiette of game. With a 15 pound supplement, the scallop dish had problems in every direction. Three very large scallops (where two would have done), placed on a platform of squished mushrooms. That is, they pan fried a large quantity of good fungi, and then squished them into a mold until they lost any possible shape they might have once held. Onto these, they shaved a poor amount of white truffle, from what appeared to be either miniscule truffles, or truffle scraps. There wasn't a shaving larger than a centimetre. The point is, if they'd taken two of these oversized scallops and cut each of them in two or three slices, then served the mushrooms around the side, it would have been a better dish. It just seemed messy, meagre, and disrespectful of its ingredients. Kate had the 'Papillote of Red Mullet with Creamed Fennel, Green Olives and Red Mullet Brandade.' This was a beautiful presentation. The mullet, deboned and reassembled, wrapped in the grease-proof paper with only the tail fins extruding. A paint brush shmear of green across the plate. On the side, a nice presentation of brandade in a glass with a small spoon. This brandade was full of flavour, delicious, but the main dish was incredibly light in flavour. It tasted of cooked fish, and although it was cooked adequately, it was certainly not the most delicately prepared example I could think of, with not much else going on. For mains, with a £5 supplement, I had the assiette of game. Again, the presentation was lovely. Left to right, a split woodcock head (with a toothpick to get at the brains), a breast resting on pumpkin puree, loin of venison on red cabbage, a lasagne of partridge and cèpes. A game jus. In a separate cup-sized copper pot, ballotine of hare (and quite a baby at that) resting on pomme purée. This was pretty good eating, and I enjoyed the opportunity to dig into some woodcock brains. The venison was quite good - exceptionally tender. They had, however, bolloxed up the partridge and cèpe lasagne. Using a chicken or partridge mousseline to bind the thing together, it had completely siezed up from over cooking, and had the texture of a well done omelet. Kate had the 'Assiette of Lamb with Borlotti Beans, Artichokes and Herb Oil' which she seemed to enjoy (more so after I swiped her sweetbreads). Again it looked like a really accomplished dish - very French Laundry in appearance, for those who have seen the picture in the book - and the lamb was clearly young. At this point neither of us had much room for dessert, so we waved the white flag and asked for the bill. Still, along came a couple of pre-desserts (I can't remember what) and some chocolates, which we ate, anyway. Still, I was surprised when the bill came to find they had charged us for the full three courses each, plus supplements. It might well have been a prix fixe meal, and not a very expensive one at that considering the general standard of cooking. In addition, there were two sets of amuses, and a pre-dessert, and none of that is free. But if they had reduced the bill by even a token amount, they would have done more to ensure our repeat custom. I didn't complain because 45 pounds in the grand scheme of haute cooking is not an ostentatious sum. Still, if the cooking had lived up to its own standard, I would return sooner than I shall.

I regularly buy imported French Ratte potatoes from Borough market which are easily large enough - and fresh enough - to use for purees.

Prague powder? DC cure? Could someone elucidate? I understand they're spice mixes for curing, but are they in some way standardized internationally, or just a brand name?

Might be worth trying. But again, I think it's worth thinking of the robuchon style as another dish altogether. It's almost a garnish, rather than a side dish. Also, you have to use a tamis. A potato ricer will take you half-way, but will still leave you with grain-sized particles of potato. So, if you use Jack's potato technique, it's quite a bit of work to the ffinished dish. The good news is you can do it several hours before, then reheat it with the addition of boiling milk.

Jeff, did you take pictures?

I think that was supposed to be 'the point' of Robuchon's choice - that he chose a potato not used for that purpose before. I've used ratte several times to a very luscious effect, but it definitely changes the nature of the dish. You don't want to be eating half a pound of this stuff, even if you make it perfectly.

Heston Blumenthal uses a huge pressure brat pan which he uses for stocks. He also has a neat trick for clarification which apparently extracts all the particles, while leaving much more flavour than the usual raft method. He freezes the stock into cubes, and then lets them melt through a coffee filter. Apparently the results are a much fuller tasting clarification.

Saltpetre etc in London?

I didn't realise how far removed a real Jus was from a stock reduction until I started experimenting with the Ducasse method from his encyclopedia (watch out for the numerous translation errors). A little background reading, and I discovered that his method really comes from his time with Chapel, who much preferred the real roasting flavours to come through rather than the mouth-chapping stickyness of a reduced bone stock. Although, the Ducasse method often produces a slight variation on the traditional jus - a 'jus perlé' - which I find delicious. There's a picture of it here (which for some reason I had trouble importing into this thread). The addition of butter gives it that streaky effect, and adds a wonderful full flavour - in contrast to the 'monté a buerre' effect of creating an emulsion at the end by adding cold butter, this jus remains split. I think these types of sauces bring a huge intensity and complexity of flavour without the over-stickyness of glace reductions, or the obscuring alcohol notes. Indeed, Keller's instructions for 'Quick Sauces' seem too close to be a coincidence, with the exception of the butter, and also seem influenced by the three months he spent at Chapel. I really like Keller's three part veal stock - as a method - but I missed the roasting flavours, so I added those back in. Not too much, just a little; and I use less tomato paste as a result. The shorter cooking times at lower temperatures give a nice light flavour - if lower yield. But then the second cooking of the bones adds a great body. [incidentally, if you overcook the veal stock (and I've run mine to three days, just to see what would happen), you do get those calcium bone flavours leaching into the liquid, which is not good.] I add a second batch of veg to the second veal stock, rather than re-using the first. I wanted to avoid the addition of too many vegetable particles from overcooking. Anyway, when reduced together, it makes a great glace which has a pretty neutral, round flavour, but acts as a tremendous magnifying glass for any other flavours that I want to add to a sauce. In terms of flavour and usefulness, it's half way between a 'blonde' and a 'brun.' I think it - the Jus-ness - comes down to when and how you add the roasting notes. Many methods have you roast the bones in the oven before the stock process. 2 star Michelin chef David Everitt-Matthias (Le Champignon Sauvage) has sauces of the most astonishing colours and clarity. He browns all of his bones on the flat top - where he can control the process - and then runs the stock at a vast rolling boil until reduced, with the minimum of skimming. But he adds NO veg, preferring just the meat flavours. No one who sees how he does it can believe his sauces are so clear. I hope you take pictures of your experiments... Edit to add: I forgot to say that I've started doing something slightly new. I now cook the chx stock for about an hour, and the veal for about 3-4 hours - before I put the veg in. I find that after about 1.5 to 2 hours, the fragrance given off by the veg starts to fade, so I don't like to cook them too much more than that. Also, it allows me time to really skim away the impurities before the adddition of vegetables.

From the website: A singular typo?

Culinista, may I ask, do you know this from taste, or specific information?

Daniel - did you cool it in the fridge before you fried it? Once out of the original braise, you have to rewrap it tightly in order for it to keep its shape (it loses mass in the braise), and then place it in the fridge overnight or so. Then when cold, slice - and it should give you clean rounds. This makes it easy to prep it in advance. Next time (if there is a next time) get your butcher to take the head apart for you. It makes life easier.

Black truffles should be peaking.

I hope he doesn't try to come back in at the top. Far better to copy Sanderens. Not trying for stars, just having fun sort-of-thing.

Sure. I can think of two options. You can use either (or, of course, neither), or blend them as you like to find something in the middle. If you have a tin of foie gras in the cupboard, or have it in your budget to buy a little, it makes for a wonderful addition to a bouillon. A few, small, delicate ravioli of foie. Even 100g of foie terrine (from a market) should do if you only want to make one or two per serving. Then make small, round ravioli - not much bigger than a quarter. Put a nub of foie in each. A little seasoning. If you can add a sliver of preserved black winter truffle, all the better (though no loss if you can't). Or (literally) a drop of truffle oil in each ravioli. Alternatively, take the chicken and pancetta recipe (second one down), omitting the cheese. Make small tortellini or ravioli. It's a great way to use up thigh meat. Although I would say you should puree the filling really fine, and add a couple of tablespoons of cream. If you have a tamis, run the puree through it to make a more refined dish. Or, if you want to extend things, join the two recipes together. At the last minute, stir some small cubes of foie into the chicken stuffing before making the ravioli. Bon chance!

Lucy - you're such a great, natural cook, that it's a real pleasure to follow your adventures. How goes the bresse chicken quest?

They're trying to attract a higher class of customer, Jon.

Don't know who this fella is, but the article can be found here. For some reason, on my browser, the first paragraph is covered over by an add.

With certain hydrocolloids - gelling agents - you can affect the melting and resetting temperatures by the amount of salt added. This is certainly true of gellan. I don't know about agar.