carswell

Hi, Paula, It hasn't been available in Quebec for quite a while. When I asked about it a few years ago, both here and in the States, I was told that, like Stimorol gum, it is no longer distributed in North America. A quick Google search appears to confirm that, though it can be purchased in the UK and on the continent. A search on www.wine-searcher.com turns up only Spanish and Mexican retailers, some of whom offer worldwide delivery. Other than that, it looks like you're stuck with what a friend calls importation valise. Chartreuse is good in its own right but it's just not the same, eh?

Bingo. That may explain both the stringiness and the cloudiness. In an endnote to her stovetop recipe, Paula Wolfert says to put the duck (skin side down) and the melted fat in a deep baking dish, put the dish in the oven, turn on the oven to 275ºF (135ºC) and wait until the fat reaches 190ºF (88ºC), which usually takes from 60 to 90 minutes. Then turn the thermostat down to 200ºF (95ºC), adjusting it as necessary to maintain the fat at 190ºF. Overheated fat "boils" the duck instead of "poaching" it. And, although I can't cite the specific temperature and time frame at which it occurs, overheating denatures the fat, changing its appearance and taste and robbing it of some of its healthful qualities. After you've removed the duck, transfer the fat to a deep, heavy pot. Heat the pot over a medium-high flame until it is almost boiling. Adjust the heat to prevent the fat from boiling and reaching the smoking point (if it does, it's ruined). Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface. Continue until the sputtering stops (i.e. all the water has evaporated), 5-10 minutes. When you're ready to transfer the fat to another container, ladle it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any solids. If you proceed thus, you shouldn't need to strain the fat again before reuse. However, I'd suggest freezing any fat you don't plan to use in a few weeks; it'll keep indefinitely in the freezer whereas it sometimes develops mold in the fridge. Several authorities, including PW, recommend freshening the old fat before reuse.

Variations on a theme. Here's standard procedure for moules marinière in our house: Put some minced shallots or onion, a half stalk's worth of minced celery if available, 1 kg scrubbed mussels, 1 cup dry white wine (usually Muscadet or a locally produced seyval but sometimes an inexpensive Alsace riesling or gewurz) and a teaspoon or two of fresh thyme leaves in a pot. Bring to a boil over over high heat. Cover and cook until the shells have opened. Remove from heat and season with freshly ground pepper and a couple of tablespoons of chopped flat-leaf parsley. You can be feasting 20 minutes after you start cooking. Too bad wild mussels have all but disappeared from the market...

Hominy is hulled corn kernels with the germ and bran removed. Often it's treated with lye. White hominy is made from white kernels, yellow hominy from yellow kernels. It's commonly sold dried or in cans. In the US Southwest it's called posole, in Mexico pozole. Grits are coarse ground hominy, corn, barley or buckwheat, usually the first.

The Signature stores have just received a few cases of Joblot's 2002 Givry reds. Joblot is the appellation's top producer: I haven't tasted the 2002s but earlier vintages have been lovely. Although prices are inching upward, you'd still be hard pressed to find better QPR. And 2002 is generally considered a successful year. In other words, these will fly off the shelves. If you're interested, get on the blower now. Givry premier cru 2002, Clos de la Servoisine, Domaine Joblot, $38.50 SAQ code: 10213384 Givry premier cru 2002, Clos du Cellier aux Moines, Domaine Joblot, $38.50 SAQ code: 10213368 Givry premier cru 2002, Clos Grand Marole, Domaine Joblot, $38.50 SAQ code: 10213350 Givry premier cru 2002, Pied de Chaume Domaine Joblot, $33.75 SAQ code: 10213376

Indian corn fritters — what a great idea! Yes, Monica, I'd love the recipe. Thank you for offering. Does it call for besan? Bet you don't serve them like my mom serves hers, drizzled with maple syrup...

As it's unlikely I'll be at that particular eGet-together, Rushina, is there any way to convince you to share your recipe? My mouth is watering at the prospect!

In The Cooking of Southwest France, Paula Wolfert attributes stringiness to rapid heating and suggests placing the meat in the fat as soon as it has liquified. Then slowly heat the fat to 190ºF, a process that should take about an hour. Hold the temperature at 190º for an hour to an hour and a half (duck legs take the full 90 minutes), then allow the meat to cool in the fat. Works beautifully for me. Ms. Wolfert's excellent book is currently out of print but a new edition is slated for release in 2005. Although it's more a flavour issue than a stringiness one, I'm surprised that no one has discussed the species of duck used. One of Quebec's better confit makers, a transplant from southwest France, insists that moulards (aka mulards; they're a muscovy-pekin cross and the most popular species for foie gras production) are best, although muscovies are a workable subsitute. She shuns pekin ducks as inferior for confit. My recent survey of local purveyors tends to support her claim: the best confit legs were moulards; most of the second string were muscovies; none of the pekin legs rated highly. Did you recycle the fat from your first confit attempt? If so, did you skim and strain the fat well? Did you add any new fat? How hot did the fat get?

Well, Muscat is a vinifera grape, the only one used as both a wine grape and a table grape, I believe. But Crimson Seedless appears to be a labrusca (i.e. native American) table grape, so I guess that answers my question.

Hottish, say 425-450ºF. Most recipes call for cooking them on the stovetop, however, since you want to remove them from the heat as soon as all the shells have opened, and that's hard to check in the oven. A side isn't really necessary or desirable, since you're going to be busy fishing the mussels out of their shells, a somewhat messy, two-handed operation. That said, many Belgians would serve french fries with garlic mayo for dipping the fries in. Also, you'll want to have plenty of bread around to sop up the juices at the bottom of the bowl. A salad, either before or after, is nice.

I thought about suggesting that and other leaf ideas, like wrapping fish before grilling or steaming. But I didn't know whether wild North American grape leaves would work. The grape leaves I buy in jars are from vinifera vines. Do non-vinifera leaves taste the same or as good? Or do they have, say, that dreadful foxiness found in wines made from North American grapes (Norton/Cynthiana excepted)?

Have you tried Masako (5050 Côte-des-Neiges between Boucherie Atlantique and Duc de Lorraine, 514 735-8118)? I bought a sushi platter from them last summer, just after they opened, and wasn't impressed. Partly in response to Nick Robinson's review on www.montrealfood.com, I decided to drop by the other evening at a quarter to nine. They were already in the process of closing for the evening, which is why I ended up at Atami. Didn't get sick from Atami's food, just found it blah, and the rice was too sweet, much as it was the previous time I ate there, four or five years ago. They were doing a land-office business, though; at 9:30, the place was packed. I've had sushi from the take-out place on CDN just north of Queen Mary (next to the entrance to Phos) a grand total of once. Mediocre enough to dissaude me so far from trying them again. That's the problem with sushi. It's so expensive that you're really reluctant to give disappointers a second chance. One place on my to-do list is Matsuba (1771 Grenet in St-Laurent, 514 748-7667). A Chowhound reports that some of the staff from the late, lamented Tokiwa have resurfaced there and that the food is first rate. Tried to call in a pick-up order at a quarter to nine last Saturday and they weren't even answering their phone... edit: fixed broken link

Don't have any ideas for the fruit, but strip the thick woody stems of their leaves and leave them to dry. In a barbecue they burn fast, hot and clean and impart a fine smoky savour to grilled foods, especially duck breasts.

Thanks for the informative answers, all. We're heading into corn season, so I'll have to try some of your ideas. Speaking of which, what do you mean by grated corn? Kernels removed whole from the cob? Or am I supposed to grab my grater and treat the ear like a piece of cheese? And, gingerly, I'm with you. The new super-sweet hybrids are for the birds. Luckily, not all of our local growers have forsaken the old varieties. -carswell, who's been putting some wine and beer pairings to the test. Report to follow, soon I hope.

Wondered about that. Haven't found any reference to it in the non-Solomon Indian cookbooks I've since perused either, so you may be right. Point taken, though It could be argued that such are the exact opposite of a typo. It's the unmentioned fifth seed. Panch phoron means five seeds, doesn't it? Or am I clueless as far as that goes, too?

A Marcella Hazan idea: peel and quarter the bulb; boil in salted water until tender; purée in a food processor with a tablespoon or so of black olive paste and a few tablespoons of olive oil. It's a great side for fish. eGulleter identifiler suggests flavouring the purée with a bit of walnut oil. I can see how that'd work. Am surprised that no one's mentioned celeriac mashed potatoes: cook your spuds and celery root together and mash as per usual. If you feel like it, try using some of the cooking liquid and olive oil to thin the purée. Pat Wells' new cookbook (The Provence Cookbook) has an intriguing recipe for white beans cooked with lemon grass and seasoned before serving with a small amount of celeriac purée. PM me if you'd like the details.

It's not exactly beans but, having eaten a helluva lot of duck confit in my life, especially in the last six months, warm lentil salad gets my vote as the ideal leguminous accompaniment. What's more, no soaking is required. Here's the procedure (quoted from the above-linked thread):

Unlike some, I don't find the SAQ overpriced compared with wine stores in the States. Sure, you can sometimes find bargains in the biggest US cities and many US stores offer 10-15% case discounts (though the SAQ often has 10%-off sales and sometimes, during the holdays, offers discounts of up to 25%). And, yep, there's no SAQ equivalent of Two Buck Chuck. But when it comes to mid-price wines and higher, the SAQ is frequently the same or cheaper than many US retailers (ditto the LCBO, which regularly makes the point in its Vintages and Classics catalogues). A couple of years ago in Raleigh, I bought a 1999 Cristoffel kabinett for C$28; I just picked up a bottle of the 2002 at the SAQ for C$24.55. The last meal I had at Jongleux Café, about two weeks before it closed, was watered with a bottle of 1997 Chave Hermitage that cost less than the going *retail* price in the States. The one consistent exception is US wines, which are almost always more expensive here than there (2001 Ridge Geyserville: C$51 at the SAQ, US$29.99/C$40 at Astor Place in NYC). One thing to bear in mind when comparing prices, though, is that the SAQ's prices include all sales taxes (15.1%) whereas the US prices often don't: the SAQ's pre-tax price on that Geyserville is around C$44.35.

The LCBO's August release alone includes: - Chardonnay 2002, Marlborough, Wither Hills, $27.95 - Chardonnay Unoaked 2003, Marlborough, Kim Crawford, $19.95 - Sauvignon Blanc 2003, Marlborough, Framingham, $19.95 - Sauvignon Blanc 2003, Nelson, Seifried Estate, $18.95 - Sauvignon Blanc 2003, Marlborough, Kim Crawford, $19.95 - Merlot 2002, Bullrush Vineyard, Hawkes Bay, Matua Valley, $29.95 - Pinot Noir 2002, Marlborough, Framingham, $28.95 The June releases featured four NZ wines, including the 2003 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, which sold out in a flash despite the $30+ sticker. The thing with recherché wines at the LCBO is that they sell fast, so you have to grab them when they show up. Ontario has offered a few Austrian wines in recent months but, as here in Quebec, nearly all of it's low-end stuff from "industrial" producers. We seldom see any reds and miss out on nearly all the top producers (Nigl, for a glaring example). Private imports aren't a solution for mere mortals, as you're forced to buy the wine in case lots. And the two to four bottles I bring back from the States each year don't begin to fill the gap. Once again, the little guy is screwed. I don't see why it has to be this way.

Another one bites the dust. It's beginning to feel like the sushi boom has peaked. Hope the silver lining is that the Yakata team will focus more attention on the CDN store. After a strong start, the quality there has slid — to the point, in fact, that I'd begun to wonder whether I'd continue ordering from it. A thoroughly disappointing meal at Atami last week had me reassessing that position but, really, CDN is seeming more and more like a sushi wasteland these days.

Thanks, wattacetti. This is similar to the technique suggested by Ms. Tillie. As I mentioned to her, I'd be afraid of ending up with a patty filled with molten foie gras, but maybe that's the point (if we can have molten chocolate cake, why not molten beefcake, eh?). Will have to give it a shot sometime. Fortunately, a few places are selling foie by the scallop these days, so it won't be necessary to buy a whole liver to make a burger or two. I know my e-friend was planning to sear the scallops and offer them as a garnish along with or instead of cheese, but I haven't heard how it turned out.

Thanks for the heads-up. Will have to buy Gourmet for once. I've long been a vocal Riedel skeptic, including here on eGullet: However, the number of people whose palates I admire who swear by Riedels sometimes makes me doubt my conclusions. It'll be good to have some source material to cite.

I'd worry about the foie dissolving, especially since many people would refuse a rare burger, even if the meat were hand-chopped at the last minute, out of personal preference if not fear of salmonella. I think I'd go with searing the foie patties on the grill or stovetop and then placing them on top of the beef patties like cheese. The red onion confit and balsamic-spiked ketchup are great ideas; I'll credit you in my reply to my friend.

Thanks but I'm afraid Ginor's burger is a conceit; the "buns" are poached white peach halves, the "ketchup" is raspberry sauce, the "mustard" is Sauternes syrup. Here's the recipe (scroll to the end of the article). Boulud's famous burger with foie gras, short ribs and truffles is closer to what my friend has in mind but too high falutin. That's where APDC comes in. Picard's foie gras fantasies (e.g. foie gras poutine, foie gras maki, foie gras lobster roll) usually stay close to their roots, and I bet it's that way with his foie gras burger, too.

An e-friend who is planning to to make foie gras hamburgers this weekend has asked for tips. I can provide some about grilling foie gras but not about building a burger with it. My friend's thinking arugula and red onion as a garnish; she may also include a beef patty. I've never tried Martin Picard's foie gras burger at Au Pied de Cochon and wonder what he does. Anybody know?