paul o' vendange

Chris - sounds great. What is evoo and sriracha?

Recently joined the website after lurking for awhile. Really enjoy artisanal sakes. Question to the community: what is your favorite sake, and why? Also, any thoughts on food pairing? To get started: Otokoyama. Wonderful, not complex, light fruit and clean expression of the mountain water and fresh koji-taste.

Hi Xanthippe - paul o's great! The wines are Richard Boyer wines. Here's one link: http://www.californiawineriesmall.com/cgi-...wines.com/boyer I love the French Laundry book; Thomas Keller's attention to the intrinsic value of food, brought to its pinnacle through technique and thought, is really grabbing me...I appreciate his lack of "bells and whistles," just the simple expression of intense, concentrated flavor and texture; simple, yet exceedingly "finished." It's what I hope to bring to the table eventually. We shall see. Very excited that I will be attending the French Culinary Institute in March of next year. I first picked up Chef Pepin's La Technique some 30 years ago, when I was a young lad (12-13, something like that), and, similarly, worked through it then... and will be meeting "the man," as well as another long-followed-from-afar Chef, Andre Soltner. I haven't had Rick's wine (as opposed to Jekel) for some time...it was his pinot we had at a family gathering a few years back, absolutely wonderful. Hope you enjoy, if you get it! By the way, funny you should mention corn pudding...my wife and I were at a farmer's market today (Evanston, Illinois - we hail from Chicago), and head a really nice breakfast of eggs sardou - eggs atop artichokes with hollandaise (again, not exactly "FCI's Salute to Healthy Cooking"), both atop corn bread croutons - man, good! Where did you/your mom's corn pudding hail from?

Xanthippe, bagged on the game-hen with morels; instead I made a paste of tarragon, shallots, white wine, and some really wonderful french whole grain (Vilux, George Giliot) mustard; stuffed under the skin, and balance as a crust, roasted whole. Excellent, livened up the bird quite a bit. I'm with you, too, though - I think morels on Wheaties would work just fine. Today, making duck breast roulade with the morels and creamed corn (again, a' la Chef Keller), and finishing off the legs as confit (salted last night). Thanks very much for the kind words re: Jekel. I am quite proud of my cousin (Rick Boyer, the winemaker). He also has a small vineyard nearby, making very-small release vintages under his own label. Bon appetit!

I am working through the French Laundry book; last night made the pan-roasted squab with oven dried figs and red chard; as I didn't have any foie gras, made a base of baked polenta, sauced with squab sauce. The figs, sauce and chard were incredible. The squab, maybe a touch overdone (small squabs, and as he points out in the book, a tough bird to get right, it would seem - a little more red in the center would have suited me more, went from 0-60 very quickly), had a very slight bitter tinge at the finish, although my wife thought they were perfect. With a Givry 2000. Excellent, although these days it's tough to pull me from Gigondas. Love the ripe, forward fruit and the Rhone spice. Tonight, either going to do: roast pork loin stuffed with walnuts, chevre, and herbs de provence, with balsamic-apple glaze, and braised fennel with pancetta; or game hen with morels (have both on hand; not a fan of game hen, a marketing game to me, but helluva lot cheaper than guinea or other "game" bird). Will be drinking Jekel rieslings (late harvest after with some really ripe French cheese - perigord goat cheese, picandine crottin du Perigord) (and sorry, shameless plug - my cousin is Jekel's winemaker; really enjoy his wine).

Mediterranean sea bass (Loup de Mer), as simple as possible. Little olive oil, I do like sel gris, fresh cracked pepper. Don't like to mess with it too much. I use a basket.

Can second the flaming Grand Marnier. When I was 12, making a "Grand Dinner" for my extended family, concluded with Crepes Suzette. Didn't know not to heat the butter/orange sauce up to super-heated, then toss the grand marnier in the chafing dish, allow to come to boil (almost instantaneously), then set a match and WHOOF - off goes my eyebrows, a good part of my front-locks...kept my cool, though - dripping flames across the floor as I carried the chafing dish away from the crowd, trying to pretend all part of the show... More recently, several years back, made a demi-glace, my partner (my wife) and I doing biweekly prix-fixe dinners and sharing the kitchen with another outfit - we had a "bankruptcy dinner" to do, a noted Chicago Corp. going under, wanted to do so in good style by ordering a "Surf and Turf" at $70 (including two plates of Striped Bass with Red Pepper Coulis and Filet with Sauce Financiere), not labeling the cooled demiglace - which had been on shelf 2 of the walk in, now on shelf 3, sharing the shelf with the similar-looking balsamic vinaigrette - and we made a very gelatinous/savory set of salads before catching it and correcting...appreciated the fine art of labelling ever since...

Lamb loin chops with Rosemary Oil, Rosemary Sauce Robert, julienned deep-fried sweet-potatoes; Previously, Horseradish-crusted salmon with cabernet black pepper sauce.