Wolfert

I couldn't agree with you more. I think I have all the books you listed plus quite a few more. They all present more or less the same recipes. Only the Halici book presents a few new ones and is worth tracking down . There are hundreds of regional cookbooks being published in Turkey. They include recipes never published in English. I've tried to help some of the writers get published in the States, but no one wants to think outside of the box and take a chance. This isn't just the fault of American and British publishers, a lot of Turks are all bound up in their own "palace" history with tunnel vision based on their 500 year empire. So you end up with yet another collection similar to ones already published. There is so much more. I just published a story in the July issue of Food and Wine about a very interesting chef based in Istanbul and his view of Anatolian cooking. He focuses on regional dishes from all over Turkey, and he sees the contribution of Iran, the Balkans, the Caucausus and beyond in the country as well. As far as he is concerned it is all Turkish! Chef Musa is fascinated by the diversity of the cuisines of the Anatolian people which includes Kurds, Greek, Jewish, Armenian, Iraqi, and Arab. His recipes are really wonderful.

Thanks, Fifi. Actually, this is no free lunch. It isn't easy to find muscovy or mulard ducks nor is it that easy to find cepes in mid june, thus my hysterical call for help. Actually, after reading all your postings I think you would like this book. It has been put out of print by my publishers, but it is still available here and there. You'll probably find it at the library or via bookfinders.com or half.com.

[quote=. I want to try Chicken stuffed with Almond Paste, but my fiance doesn't like marzipan. Paula, if you are reading this, how sweet is this recipe and does it taste like marzipan? He does like almonds. quote =================================== It is sweet dish, but it isn't as strong as marizpan. I suggest you try the fish stuffed with prunes first which is a winner then if he likes that one then slowly ease into the fish with almonds. I want to say thanks to all for being so enthusiastic about the recipes in my latest book. Since you all seem to enjoy testing recipes, please let me know if you'd like to test some for the upcoming revision of my "The Cooking of Southwest France." This book, which came out in 1981, won lots of awards, and most everyone loved the recipes, but (a Big BUT) it was written before moulard ducks, fresh foie gras, fresh porcini, pancetta and too lean pork were readily available. I usually test my recipes three times, but this time I could use some help as the manuscript is due in late September. So here's my proposal: if you're interested in participating, I promise that your name will appear in the acknolwledgemnts in a paragraph devoted to the egulleteer commando group, and that I will send you a signed copy of the new edition of the book expressing my gratitude for your help. If you are interested, please contact me by PM and I'll send you a short list of recipes to choose from. After you test the recipe, I'll need your honest opinion and any suggestions. I can't promise that I'll go along with your ideas, but will appreciate them and consider them. Thanks for your interest! Paula

By any chance was the green called snan? In Morocco, we used to gather glassul, a type of glasswort, on the rocks along the atlantic. I think it was called snan in the middle east.

In Turkey and the middle east you find pickles made from certain thymes and oreganos. See page 147 in my eastern mediterranean cookbook for a recipe using the oregano pickle (imported by Baroodi, and available at kalustyans) in a salad with fresh tomatoes and onions. Actually, it isn't organo at all, it is thymba spicata, a pungent assertive herb that is often confused with herbs in the same thyme, oregano, marjoram, savory family. You can grow your own thymba spicata by purchasing plants from well sweep herb farm in new jersey.

I personally think you have to use bee's wax if you are using copper or silicon to get a crusty exterior. I have tried baking the canneles in the nordic ware when I first started on my search but I baked t hem at 400 or 425 (I can't remember). Amazingly , I got a really nice black crust without the beeswax, but the shape wasn't traditional so I moved on to copper molds. BTW:You can find bee's wax at farmer's markets wherever honey is sold.

To get the creamy interior you simply need to mix the butter with the cake flour rather than with the milk. The canneles in Bordeaux are blacker than the ones you made in the nordicware. I would bake them at a higher temperature so you can get that caramelized black crust which is traditional. Note the photo to the left.

I have found that when I saute a large amount of leafy greens, there are basically five ways to get them down to manageable size so they'll fit into my skillet: (1) hand-chop them, then let them sit awhile in a ceramic colander to wilt; (2) parboil them, drain, squeeze and saute; (3) wilt them by the handful with just the water clinging to their leaves then squeeze them dry and saute ; (4) steam them, drain, squeeze and saute; (5) put them in a ceramic colander, sprinkle with salt, toss, then leave them for an hour while they express their surface moisture. Rinse off the salt and squeeze dry before sauteeing. All of the methods will reduce leafy greens to about one quarter their bulk. My favorite method is the last, a method I learned in the eastern mediterranean. It is particularly good when preparing greens for pies. In all cases the greens keep their color, flavor and nutrients.

I admire Wolfert, but I'm always a little suspicious, on general principle, of cautions against bacteria. I mean, why "today"?

This is probably a silly question but here goes anyway... How does one get from "3 3-inch marrow bones" to "seasoned marrow cubes"? Thanks!

I don't know why a mold formed on your duck hams. If it is any solace, bayonne hams are dred in caves and they form molds on the surface. The mold is cut away before being sold.

Lacking a mountain air environment, I suggest that city dwellers hang their wrapped duck breasts about 3 feet in front of a fan or air conditioner in such a way that the breasts don't touch each other and swing free.

Tiny pouches of brioche stuffed with bits of bone marrrow, grated horseradish and snipped chives and baked until golden brown and puffed -----a wonderful accompaniment to a pot au feu or to serve with drinks. Makes 15 3/4 pound brioche doubh 3 3-inch marrow bones 1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish salt and pepper egg glaze for the brioche Divide doubh into 15 equal pieces, each the size of a walnut. Pat into 1 1/2 inch rounds. Curve each into a small cup and drop in a seasoned marrow cube.Close up, let rise for 30 minutes, glaze and bake in a 375 oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve hot. from Pleasures of Cooking Vol 11 No 4, 1979 Brioche and its many uses by Paula Wolfert

When you let scallops rest after sauteeing (and in this case I let them rest in a slow oven on a rack) they turn out fabulously succulent. You just don't get this incredible texture with the ordinary quick searing method.

I think brie in brioche is an old recipe. There is a variation in southwest france called Le Gatis which combine Cantal and Roquefort cheeses.

slow cooking at a low temperature does take longer to execute, but the results are exceptional. At 250 or 275, the scallops are more or less "on hold" as they slowly finish cooking. BTW, I was referring to really large diver or day boat scallops and a total of 2 minutes wouldn't be enough to cook them through.

I'm wondering if you are using defrosted scallops. For large sea scallops, this is the way I would do it:wash and dry the scallops; remove the tough muscle; and keep chilled. About twenty minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. About ten minutes before serving, set a large skillet over medium high heat and when hot, add enough oil to coat the bottom and heat. Season the scallops and brown, about l minute to a side. Be sure to leave room between the scallops to avoid steaming them. Set on a cake rack in a shallow pan, arrange the scallops about 1/2 inch apart and finish their cooking in the oven. Meanwhile, throw out the oil and finish making a pan sauce with the brown scrapings.

Try searing large sea scallops in a hot skillet then transferring them to a cake rack set over a pan to finish cooking in a slow oven. You can make a sauce with the pan scrapings.

ii HAVE NEVER STORED MARZIPAN OR ALMOND PASTE THAT LONG, BUT i WOULD THINK YOU COULD SPIKE UP THE FLAVOR WITH A FEW DROPS OF BITTER ALMOND.

Chef, Mary Dumont, at Sonoma Saveurs, told me the newspaper reports are not quite reporting the whole story: seems the state of Califoernia will spend 5 years finding some other "humane way" to fatten the livers of ducks while the raising and sale of foie gras continues. Hurrah for freedom of choice. "

ıf ıt smells great ı doubt there are any buggıes ın your jar of preserved lemons. By the way, preserved lemons are used uncooked ın salads, tto. Just be sure to wash off all the salty brıne and remove the pulp. You can use the pulp for marınatıng ıf you wısh.

you wash the lemons twıce fırst tıme ıs before you brıne them to soften the skın and remove any anımal peeö etc as lısted above. you must wash off the salty brıne before usıng or you wıll alter the recıpe.