mise en place

I've heard that prices for copper cookware are significantly lower in France than in the US. I will be in Nice for 10 days and would like to buy a few pieces. Does anyone know of a good shop?

The technique I use for duck breasts (magrets) is to score the skin in a fine crosshatch pattern making sure not to cut through to the meat. Season the breast with some salt. Put the breast in a cold pan skin side down and set it on a low-medium flame. It will start sizzling quite soon and immediately start to render the fat. After about 8 minutes from the time it starts to sizzle you should have a brown and crispy skin. Make sure you cook it long enough to get the skin good and crispy. Turn the heat up to high-medium and flip the breast. Cook for about 2 minutes and finish in the oven to the doneness you prefer. Remove to a plate, cover and let rest while you work on the pan sauce.

The way I learned it is: Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Tomato, Hollandaise, and Mayonnaise since it is the basis of other cold sauces: Mousquetaire, Remoulade, Tartare, Russe, Verte.

Ever since I can remember I have never been able to eat sweet potatoes or yams. I tried them numerous times cooked every way imaginable and all with the same result--gagging and stifling the reflex to expel them from my stomach. Up until about a few months ago I hadn't had any for several years, having given up trying to like them. But they were on the table at a dinner party and the hostess was raving about them. So, not wanting to offend her, I tried them. To my great surprise they were delicious. I even had another helping and they were just as good. It seems that tastes can change--even into middle age.

"post-modern," "existential," "deconstructs,"... you forgot "impacted" and "logo-centric." I've never dined at El Bulli, but I trust Adria's food is better than the writing about his food.

In The Atlantic Corby Kummer has a nice article on corn-fed vs. grass fed as well as some links to a couple of places for buying grass-fed beef. Atlantic Online

Interesting. I wonder what happened to mine? I've cooked fish in everything else--even straight aluminum--and never had this happen.

I used one of these to saute a piece of fish. I won't make that mistake again. It turned the fish a dull shade of gray that was, to put it mildly, very unappetizing. That said, they are great for omelets and crepes, when properly seasoned, and other saute work. Because they are relatively light, they don't hold the heat, so they are only good over a constant flame. And, as someone else pointed out, they don't stay flat for long, so they dont work well on a flat cooking surface.

I've just finished reading Dining at the Pavillon by Joseph Wechsberg. A very enjoyable read about the heyday of what was, to many, the greatest French restaurant outside of France. Anyway, here is the recipe given for Striped Bass Pavillon: Place a nine-pound striped bass in a pan with one pound of sliced mushrooms, one cup of sliced shallots, one bottle of dry white wine, half a pound of butter; salt, pepper and thyme. Cook in the oven for forty-five minutes at 345 F. Remove the fish from the pan, reduce the liquid to one third of the original volume, blend in cream sauce and cook for fifteen minutes. Add three fresh, stewed tomatoes and one pound of sliced mushrooms, simmer for ten more minutes, add two soup spoons of butter and six egg yolks, mix well and pour sauce over the fish. Place under the broiler until golden brown.

I think American style is, if not wierd, quite inelegant, what with swapping the knife and fork back and forth between hands. Afterall, the fork is on the left. Even worse is holding the fork like a baseball bat with the tines pointing down while cutting. I've adopted a semi-European version of holding utensils. I hold the fork in my right and the knife in my left.

I had some leftover poached chicken breasts, and seeing as it was quite warm today, I decided to do a salad. I did a kind of Cobb salad with a mustard and balsamic vinaigrette. Instead of the usual ingredients, I used cucumbers, red onions, strawberries, chicken, pear with blue cheese on top, apple, blueberries and some croutons. Quite tasty and not as heavy as a normal Cobb salad.

Let us know what the job is like. I've always wondered how the kitchens in these type of operations work--Chili's, Appleby's, etc.

I've cleaned the burrs twice. Once after about 4 months of steady use, and they were quite clean when I opened them up. They didn't really need a cleaning. I waited another 6 months, and they were still looking quite good. Not dirty enough to keeps beans from sticking. The setting doesn't seem to matter. I can grind for drip at 4 and they still stick. Oh well. Some day I'm going to get a Mazzer. Actually, if I can sell the Silvia and Rocky I should about have enough for a Mazzer.

The comparison is not fair. But the ease and quality of espresso produced with the Isomac is much better. Of course, the Isomac is about twice the price--and worth it in my book. Beans that are excessively oily do indeed stick in the hopper. I usually roast my own beans in a Hearthware. I've been roasting Malabar Gold just to the point where it gets shiny as per the good Dr. John's directions. It still sticks in the hopper even when nearly full. This morning I was grinding some decaf for my wife I bought at a local shop that roasts on-site. This is a light roast made for a drip coffee-maker. It stuck twice.

Having had a Rocky grinder for about 2 years now, I would not give it a whole-hearted recommendation. First, the dosing mechanism is noisy and drives my wife nuts. The clackety-clack can be heard all over the house. Second, the base is too small and does not extend past the chute. Consdquently, you will always have coffee grounds on the counter. Third, the beans are constantly sticking in the hopper, which requires that the machine be given a hard shake to free them up and proceed with grinding. Given the weight of this thing, this is quite a nuisance. I'm seriously considering a Mazzer and selling the Rocky. As for espresso machines, I've still got a Sylvia that I haven't got around to selling. It is in very good shape. I replaced it with an Isomac Millenium. The Isomac is much more consistent and has loads of steaming capability. It has a heat exchanger, so you can pull shots and steam simultaneously. I'll be keeping this machine for a long time.