Bux

Robert, how much time did you have in Barcelona? There's just so much to see and check out in terms of food there. To a smaller extent, I think there's much in Madrid that escapes our attention as well, but Barcelona just seems full of places that need to be checked out and as I learn more about the "local" or traditional food and where to get it, the more I think Barcelona is a better place to eat well off the cutting edge, than Paris. It may however be that Barcelona's greatest hold on gastronomy today is in desserts. It appears that while you are kicking your self for missing what you missed, your enthusiasm for returning is based on what you got to see, eat, and do. Am I correct?

It works for me without the last "o." http://oriolbalaguer.com/ I'm still adjusting to web sites that are more about the design of the site than they are about the information on the site.

Tastes of the Pyrenees, Classic and Modern by Marina Chang (Hippocrene Books, February 2003. $24.95 hardcover) is as much a book for reading by those who love food and the lore that accompanies the food of any region, as it is a cookbook. Each recipe is preceeded by text that would stand on it's own. The introduction is followed by some 50 odd pages of text about the region and its wines. The text posted below is from the section Defining the Pyrenees, and is reprinted here with the permission of the author and publisher. Voyages of Discovery and the Modern Era The defeat and expulsion of the Moors from the Peninsula in January 1492 sparked the voyages of discovery to the New World later that year, opening new vistas of cuisine for all of Europe. Columbus had been entreating Ferdinand and Isabella for their patronage for years, and the culmination of the Reconquista allowed the monarchs to refocus their energies on his proposed explorations. Among the new foods that Columbus and other explorers brought to Europe were maize (corn), potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, peanuts, tomatoes, capsicum peppers, chocolate, vanilla, green peppers, and turkeys. Potatoes, a staple of the region today, were originally consumed mostly by animals. They were banned at one time in Burgundy because some thought that potatoes caused leprosy, and were not accepted for human consumption in France until the mid-eighteenth century. Despite the potential availability of so many new food products, most medieval fare tended to consist of the most readily available local foods. In addition, the church calendar determined days of meat eating and fasting (abstaining) from all products of land animals, including eggs and milk. The original stock pot (pot-au-feu) provided an ever-changing broth that was enriched daily by whatever vegetables happened to be in season or the luck of the hunt. In Roussillon such dishes were called ouillade. Even in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Spanish cuisine had little upper class cooking and Catalonian cuisine had apparently declined with the region?s economic and political fortunes. Except for the Spanish court (which ate varied and highly seasoned foods) most everyone was likely to eat a salad and a version of an olla podrida -- a thick meat stew to which was added garbanzos, cabbage, carrots, or squash and cooked in a three-legged earthen pot. Even today a stew of the omnipresent rabbit is a mainstay in rural areas. On Friday, the main course was lentils; on Saturday boiled bones; and on Sunday pigeons. In coastal areas, seafood was abundant, common fare, and salted cod (bacalao) was available far from the coast. Many believe that the arrival of Italian-born Catherine de Medici in France in 1533 was pivotal to the development of France?s culinary arts. De Medici and her cooking staff introduced delicacies previously unknown to the French, as well as strict etiquette policies. French royal cuisine became much more refined in the mid-seventeenth century when it became known as the grande cuisine. Changes included vegetables (green peas, asparagus, carrots, artichokes) becoming food in their own right, the use of flour and butter roux as thickening agents, and the growing importance of soups. Indeed, the earliest collections of French recipes (which reflected the diets of aristocrats and nobles) were essentially devoid of vegetables because physicians believed they had little nutritional value. Nevertheless, vegetables in the south of France, including the Pyrenean region, have always had a more important role than they do in northern regions. These refinements were codified by the chef Pierre Francois de la Varenne in Le Cuisinier François (1651), in which he created sauces that later would become the basis of haute cuisine. During the ensuing century, improvements in cooking spread from the nobility to ordinary people. Cookery books such as La Cuisinière Bourgeoise by Menon (1746) became popular with housewives. The medieval menu consisting of meat and bread survived in many parts of Europe and North America through much of the eighteenth century. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, cooking in France had been elevated into food for philosophy as well as nutrition for the stomach. Frenchmen in their inimitable manner became convinced that in matters of taste, France was superior to all nations and cultures. Truffles became fashionable in France in the nineteenth century, although the hills and forests of the Pyrenees region have provided a wide variety of fungi that the locals have consumed with alacrity since time immemorial?cepes, yellow chanterelles, saffron milk caps, and morels. By the early nineteenth century the French meal had evolved into three courses: appetizers and main dishes; 'afters' or puddings and savories; and pastry. Marie Antoine Carême set the standards for classic French cooking with a five-volume publication, which was later modernized and perfected by Georges Auguste Escoffier. Catalonia experienced a renaissance, and its cuisine benefited from French and Italian merchants and the immigrant restaurateurs who fed them. The first relatively modern cookbook -- the anonymous La Cuynera Catalana -- appeared in Barcelona in 1835. Basic foods throughout Europe slowly improved with the development of scientific agriculture in the eighteenth century. Successive modernization of transportation has enabled cooks in recent times to employ a wider variety of fresh products that are produced far from her or his home. Developments in preservation technologies such as canning and freezing have improved cuisine, as well as the manufacture of stoves that provide even heat.

Been drinking Spanish wines in Spain, but the few French wines I've had since we've been back seem undamaged. Maybe it's because they were bought before the war. We're gpoing out to dinner at an American restaurant with a French couple tonight. Maybe I should have called the restaurant to see if they served the French wine. Hate to think our dinner companions won't be able to drink. I suppose I just don't get it. I've eaten in a number of restaurants that claimed they didn't serve crabs.

Recipes from Tastes of the Pyrenees, Classic and Modern by Marina Chang (Hippocrene Books, February 2003. $24.95 hardcover). Thanks to the author and publishers for sharing this with us. Mushrooms with Roquefort and Banyuls (southwest France) This recipe employs Banyuls, a vin doux naturel from the Côte Vermeille, in the portion of Languedoc-Rousillon just north of the Spanish border on the Mediterranean. In making this sweet wine, grape brandy is added to the partly fermented grapes, which increases the alcohol content and stops fermentation to preserve part of the natural fruit sugar. Banyuls is aged in wooden vats, and the final product is a wonderful mélange of roasted nut and subtle fruit flavors such as cherries, figs, blackberries, and peaches. The Grenache and other grapes that comprise Banyuls are grown on lovely steep hills above the rocky bays of blue sea and beaches of this Catalan coast. The Celliers des Templiers in picturesque Banyuls-sur-Mer offers tours that allow visitors to sample many different versions of this distinctive beverage. The nearby fishing village of Collioure is the jewel of the Côte Vermeille, and for centuries has impressed travelers and artists with its simple beauty. This dish features the tasty marriage of the incomparable sweet Banyuls wine and a powerful cheese in a perfect balancing act. Makes 4 servings 4 small, individual-size, round, French bread rolls 2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil) 1 pound mushrooms, coarsely chopped Salt and pepper 1/2 cup sweet Banyuls or port wine 1/3 cup plus 1 heaped tablespoon crumbled Roquefort cheese 3/4 cup cream or half-and-half Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare the individual bread loaves by cutting the top off each roll, creating a 2 to 3-inch hole at the top. Make a bowl by partially hollowing out the center of each roll (excess bread can be saved and dried for bread crumbs). Do not make walls or bottoms of bread bowls too thin or they will melt through when hot filling is added. Place rolls on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, sautéing for several minutes, until well cooked. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste. Stir in Banyuls or port wine. As liquid begins to bubble, add the Roquefort cheese and cream. Reduce heat to bring sauce to a simmer. Continue stirring to help melt all the cheese. Spoon mushrooms and sauce into each roll, dividing evenly. If desired, place bread tops back on each roll and serve. Superb fall or spring dish, alongside game or any roast meat. Toasted walnuts can be added into the mixture or used as a garnish. Magret of Duck with Walnut and Garlic Sauce (Languedoc, southwest France) Southwest France is well known for many food products, ducks and walnuts being two of them. Magret is the breast meat from the large Muscovy or Moulard ducks in the southwest of France that are force-fed for foie gras. The magret is much thicker than the breasts of other ducks and has a nutty, rich taste, similar to a good steak. Magret has long been a delicacy commonly available only in southwest France, the land of foie gras. Happily, it is now served throughout France, and fine dining establishments in the United States. As with a good steak, magret is usually served with a rare center. This walnut and garlic sauce or aillade, a variation on allioli, originates from the Languedoc region. In the language of the Occitan, the culture which gave rise to the region's name, Langue d'Oc, this sauce is called Alhad Tolosenca. In Languedoc, this would be made with the local sweet, extremely flavorful, pink garlic "d'Albi," which is primarily grown in and around Lautrec. The ail rose de Lautrec, which is planted in early winter and harvested in June and July, is the most popular variety. The walnut oil, or huile de noix, adds an exceptionally fine flavor to the sauce. It is pressed in autumn, when the nuts are first spread out to dry on wooden balconies of farm houses and then taken to mills in sacks for crushing by huge millstones. The southwest region of France is well known for the resulting walnut oil. Makes 4 servings Walnut Garlic Sauce: 2/3 cup walnuts, in small pieces 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1/2 cup walnut oil Magret/Duck Breasts: 4 duck breasts, boned, with skin on Salt and pepper 2 to 3 shallots, finely chopped For Walnut Garlic Sauce: Using a blender or food processor, process walnuts into a purée. Add garlic, salt, and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Continue blending. Add lemon juice and process for 5 to 10 seconds to purée all ingredients together. Begin adding walnut oil in a thin stream. If the food pusher in your processor has a small hole in the middle, feed the oil through it. Make sure the mixture stays thick, and all the oil is incorporated before more is added. To let flavors combine, let the sauce sit for approximately an hour. If you find that your mixture has separated, pour out the excess oil that floats to the top, and save it for another use. The remaining mixture will be the consistency of a thick sour cream. Give it a stir and serve it in dollops with the duck. It will taste just as good. For magret/Duck Breasts: Score the skin with a sharp knife, making cross-hatch marks 1/2 to 1-inch apart, across its surface. Season both sides of each breast with salt and pepper. Indoor Method: In a hot skillet over medium heat, place the breasts skin side down. Cook approximately 8 minutes, or until the skin is browned. The skin will have released more than enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan. Toss in shallots, and turn each piece over. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes more, depending on the desired level of rareness. Transfer to a platter lined with paper towels, to absorb excess fat. Cover with foil to keep warm and allow the meat to rest for 2 minutes. Outdoor Method: If possible build a fire using grape vines. Another type of wood or charcoal fire will also work well. Grill the seasoned duck breasts over the fire, as you would a steak. When cooked to the desired level, scatter chopped shallots in a plate and place meat over them. Cover with foil or another plate. Place in a warm spot near the fire for 10 minutes. After 5 minutes spoon any juices released over the meat and re-cover. Slice duck breasts and serve with walnut garlic sauce. Although true magrets are difficult to come by in the United States, and the price is very dear when they are found, the breast of an easily available Long Island duck serves as a fine substitute. Layered Vegetable Gratin (southwest France) A gratin is any dish topped with a layer of cheese or bread crumbs and baked. This particular dish is based on a vegetable gratin we enjoyed in Roussillon. The layers of cooked vegetables in a loaf pan create an attractive presentation as a side dish or first course. If you are able to cook your vegetables over a wood fire or hot coals, the light smoke will lend an outdoor or Old World quality to the dish. Makes 6 servings 1 egg 1-1/2 cups bread crumbs 1 large or 2 medium eggplants, cut lengthwise in 1/4-inch slices 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 medium to large onions, thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced Salt and pepper 4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped 12 to 16 black brined or oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped 2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, and sliced 3/4 to 1 cup grated sheep cheese, such as Idiazabal or Brebis Preheat oven to 400º F. Beat egg, pour into a wide bowl with 1/4 to 1/2 cup water. Place bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Dip eggplant slices in egg and then in bread crumbs to coat both sides with crumbs. Brush or rub a baking sheet with 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Place eggplant slices on oiled sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, check and turn slices over halfway through. Remove when slices are softened through and crumbs are slightly browned. Reduce heat to 350º F. Over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet. Sauté 2 onions until soft and translucent. Add garlic, and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. With the remaining 1/2 to 1 tablespoon oil, coat the inside of a baking dish. Reserve about 1 to 2 teaspoons oil, and mix in with remaining 1/2 cup bread crumbs. You may not need all the oil. Sauté tomatoes and remaining 1 onion on medium low heat, until onion is wilted and tomatoes are thick and mushy. It should resemble a thick coarse sauce. Set aside. Begin layering ingredients, starting with onions, then add eggplant, olives, tomato-onion mixture, pepper slices, ending with an even layer of cheese. Repeat this process, ending with cheese. Top with oiled bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes, until bread crumbs are browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot or cold. Do not add too much salt to this, as the salt in cheese and olives will infuse into the vegetables. You can also embellish this preparation by sprinkling in bacon, herbs, or anchovies. This is also excellent when eaten cold, the next day. Pine Nut and Almond Cookies (Piñones) (Spain, Navarra) Across Spain, nuts are a popular ingredient in baked goods, a legacy left by the Moors. The richly flavored small white pine nuts used in Pyrenean cooking come from the umbrella pine (Pinus pinea), also called the stone pine. Called piñones in Spain and pignons in France, they are especially common in Catalan cookery. Pine nuts were introduced throughout the Mediterranean from Spain. Humans have cultivated this tree for its protein-rich food for well over 6,000 years, and it is still extensively cultivated throughout the Mediterranean. Ethno-botanists believe that before humans expanded the range of this tree over the last few thousand years, it was confined to the Iberian Peninsula, since this is the only area where pine nuts are found away from ancient trade routes. Pine nuts should be stored in plastic zipper-top bags in freezers. In Catalonia, as in southern Spain, pine nut-covered cookies and cakes are routinely displayed in bakery windows as one of their many holidays approaches. My favorite are the rich pine nut filled and exterior studded cookies from Zucitola Patiserías, a modest bakery on the Paseo Pablo Savaste in Pamplona. In an effort to re-create this Spanish treat, I developed the following recipe. These cookies with nut paste centers are very close to the real thing. To allow most of us to make these cookies without tapping into our life savings, I recommend making these with an almond filling in place of pine nuts. I also found that most of my tasters preferred the almond filling to the richer pine nut filling. However, my husband prefers the pine nut centers. Makes approximately 40 cookies Nut Filling: 1 cup almonds, blanched and lightly toasted or 1 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted 1 to 2 teaspoons flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1 egg, beaten Outer Cookie Dough: 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 to 2 cups raw pine nuts For Nut Paste Filling: Place nuts in a food processor with 1 teaspoon flour (2 teaspoons if using pine nuts) and mix until the consistency of sand. Pine nuts may become the consistency of coarse peanut butter due to high oil content. Place ground nuts in a bowl and mix in sugar and lemon zest. Add egg, a little at a time, blending and kneading it into the paste. If using pine nuts, you may only need to add 1/2 the egg to moisten to a pliable, slightly viscous paste. If the paste is too wet, knead in a little more sugar. Knead paste to an even consistency. For Dough: Combine flour and salt. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. When well mixed, add egg, almond and vanilla extracts, beating until well combined. Gradually mix flour into buttery mixture. When dough is formed, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for 1/2 to 1 hour. For Assembly: Preheat oven to 350º F. Using a teaspoon, spoon out a chunk of dough and quickly roll it into a ball and press to slightly flatten. Spoon a small amount of nut paste into the center of the dough and wrap the sides of the dough around the nut filling to completely envelope it. To reshape any imperfections, quickly roll it into a ball between your palms. Roll top half of cookie in pine nuts, and press them into the dough before placing on cookie sheet. If dough becomes too soft to work with, place in refrigerator for 10 minutes or until it stiffens up again. Bake cookies for 15 minutes. Pine nuts and bottom edges of cookie may turn slightly golden, but cookies should not brown. Remove and let cool. Blanche the almonds by placing them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Their skins will bubble and loosen. Rinse them in cold water and drain. Squirt each almond out of its skin. To toast almonds or pine nuts, place them in a dry pan over medium heat, tossing and stirring the nuts until lightly tanned.

I don't know if it's just a sign that corporations haven't taken over or if it represents a deep seated connection between the people and food, but I've had decent luck at highway service areas in Spain.

You don't know the Internet, but I have also found the information you've posted to be invaluable. Thanks.

Bless this forum. I was prepared to learn I was a cheap bastard. Unfortunately, I take so few cabs that I'm not going to save much money on my next trip. Off topic, I suppose, but I found taxis very inexpensive in Spain.

I recommend the Grigson book for those too. Any butcher who makes and sells his own sausages should be able to part with small quantities of casings. I would expect him to expect you to buy your meat there as well.

It seems like ancient history, but when we used to use flour to make the sauce, we cooked the flour in a bit of the fat, and along with the shallots, making a roux before deglazing the pan. That's French roux, not a Cajun roux. I seem to recall they're quite a bit different in style and use.

For the most part, "gravy" is not a word heard in this house, so I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing or not. As I look back at our copy of the original Julia Child books, what strikes me are the annotations. Flour in sauces had been halved and halved again over the years and there's rarely any four, or roux in any of our sauces -- especially pan deglazings. Just a personal choice over the years. Fat in the pan after sauteeing or roasting is poured off, unless we're sauteeing some shallots or onions and we usually are -- then just enough fat is left to do that. With pork, we'd use a white or brown chicken stock rather than beef. The fact is that we usually have a reduced pork stock in the freezer because we like to poach pork tenderloins and eat them sliced cold in salads or sandwiches, but we're more likely to have some reduced chicken stock or even the deglazing from a recent roasted chicken in the refrigerator rather than the freezer. Water will work in a pinch, white wine is better if it's not allowed to overcome the flavor of the meat. Madeira is wonderful with pork, but it should be used even more sparingly than white wine in my opinion

That has to be the understatement of the year, but then I consider that I've had chocolate cheesecake and that blue cheese is great with a sweet wine, I've had curry, albeit used as a very mild flavor ingredient, with coconut in a chocolate dessert, and so I'll reserve judgement on the anchovy.

Jane Grigson's Charcuterie for the recipes. I generally prefer to "chop" the meat in a food processor than to grind it, but I use the Kichenaid attachment with the horn to stuff the casings without putting the disc in place. There used to be some casing wholesalers around Canal Street on the far west side. Renwick Street or something like that. My last batch came from a restaurant supply meat wholesaler courtesy of the restaurant connection. A hank can last a long time. Maybe a lifetime if you don't make sausages too often. They do last nearly that long when packed in salt however.

There is an eGullet contingent that prefers to think "the Times" refers to a London based journal, but we'd all be speaking English if they had any influence over here. By the way, you should do a search on "bouillabaisse." It's been the subject of serious discussion here on eGullet and you'll find strong opinions and perhaps some fairly recent recommendations as well as perhaps caveats.

I've read a couple of complaints, here on eGullet I believe, that Marty tends to segregate American or at least English speaking diners. I shall have to try when I can get the company of our very charming American friend who, while American, is a French literature scholar with an apartment in the neighborhood. That may be my best shot. I don't have much to say about Choucroute, but a Flo group brasserie is fine for oysters and andouillette and often for the architecture or decor.

I've at least heard Lespinasse's name mentioned in the same breath as that of Daniel and Jean Geroges. When was the last time Lutece was mentioned that way?

Clearly you want to pop over to the town of that name and visit the Phiippe Stark designed factory and showroom just outside of town. Although ths showroom in town is nice as well, it doesn't offer the look at the manufacturing process and may not have the same range of sales on seconds. There's even a good local restaurant with rooms for the night off the road that goes past the factory. Actually there are many producers of Laguiole products, but I am very highly partial to Forge de Laguiole. There's a web page on their site with addresses of retail shops in Paris and Toulouse, but if you click a link for the "700 retailers in 42 ountries in table cutlery, gift department, wine, design, fishing and outdoor stores," you'll get a form to fill out asking where you live and in which the knives/implements you are interested. Pay my carfare and I'll pick up anything you want. Hey, I didn't ask for you to pay my room and board which could easily run more than the transporation, especially if I was drinking on someone else's dime.

I await your next installment. Having just returned from Andalucia, I can attest to the fact that there is palatable life in a region without multistarred restaurants and memorable gastronomic treats in unstarred places. Our forays into Galicia and western Andalucia whet my curiosity for that land just beyond. Perhaps in a coming trip that curiosity will be satisfied. In the meantime, reports such as yours provide a little viacarious pleasure and sharpen my appetite for what I can almost taste. I'm curious as to what sort of desparation led you to a Chinese restaurant in Sintra. There's a part of me that would love to explore the Chinese restaurants of Europe. That part is supressed by memories of disappointing meals in them. My guess is that sizzling prawns are probably a wise choice from either a Chinese or Portuguese kitchen in Portugal if one is not far from the sea.

My first two visits under Kunz were as a guest of a complete unknown. I was even more unknown. No one at the table was known at our first visits and not only was the food excellent, but I recall finding little fault with the service. As I recall, there was one waiter who had an annoying habit of reaching across the table. Never saw him again, but I was not a regular and don't know how long he lasted. My third visit was with someone who had recently met Kunz professionally and we had one of the best meals ever. We didn't order and splendid food just arrived at our table. Most interesting to me was that the spicing was much tamer than when we ordered from the menu. Early on under Delouvrier, we experienced miserable uncoordinated and condescending service in spite of being known to staff that I wondered if the restaurant was having labor problems again. Food was generally good, although not always what we ordered. My suspicion, espressed elsewhere, is that the closing has as much to do with room vacancies at the hotel than it does directly with the restaurant, but there's no denying these are not the best of times for haute cuisine.

Felice, thanks for the inside straight talk on this. It's interesting for travelers to understand how things work in other countries, although I wonder if most Americans know how things work at home. Minimum wage laws vary across the U.S. In many, if not most and maybe all, localities, the employer is allowed to estimate tips and include them as part of the minimum wage. Thus many waiters here have a guaranteed salary of a couple of dollars an hour and tips bring it up to the minimum wage. Of course waiters in four star (NY Times stars, not Michelin) restaurants in New York, where tabs run high and the standard tip is approaching 20%, earn a nice living, although one should also understand that dinner takes a long time and that tip is split between many more servers than would be on the floor in a diner. France also has a greater social benefits program for workers (health care, retirement, and paid vacations -- usually paid vacations of a month or longer if I'm not mistaken). It is therefore dificult to compare salaries directly. Something I find interesting, and appreciate to a great extent, is that the price listed on the menu includes service and tax. When the bill arrives at the table, there is a note at the bottom how much goes towards taxes and how much towards service. Without checking my bills, I believe that is given in both percentages and amounts. I've always wondered where the service percentage comes from and if it actually represents how much of the restaurant's gross goes toward salaries and in turn, if it should affect my tip. I rarely take into account whether the charge says 12% or 15%. Should I, and if so, that would mean I would have to compare these charges when selecting a place within my budget. I'm glad to see a waiter compare the service charge with that part of your purchase price that goes to pay a store clerk's salary. In neither place can you separate this from other fixed overhead. Same is true for hotels. You can't ask for a discount because you didn't like the service, although a justified complaint about anything in a restaurant or hotel may be rewarded the next time you patronize the place. In Cuenca, Spain, last month, we awoke to find no hot water in the Parador. I would not have paid twenty percent of the room charge for a hotel room that had no hot water, but there was no compensation for my discomfort. I suppose I would have been allowed a late check out if I was willing to give up my morning while the problem was fixed. I got no sympathy from a friend to whom I complained either. He just told me of the 30 minutes he spent in the street in the middle of the night in Boston becasue the fire alarm went off in his hotel.

There are some mini food processors that might work, but I've never been able to make a paste of dry ingredients in a blender. Come to think of it, the mini food processor will probably just give you a finer, more even grind of the dry stuff. Blenders need enough liquid so the result will flow, if only under pressure.

Moments ago, I posted about my father's tipping practices in the France board. There were restaurants I would not go back to lest they remember us. He was a generous man, who always had a handout for every wino with a hand out, but his idea of a proper tip just fell behind the times and he was also a man who couldn't take advice, or anything that resembled help, from his offspring. I could not risk leaving an extra tip. If he ever noticed it, it would have killed him.

Restaurat Tipping (Concierge) Tips Several things remain uncovered in those threads and I fear I may be behind the times. My father was a generous man who always gave money to street beggers, but as he got older, his tips for services rendered fell victim to his age, retirement and a loss of connection to what was considered the standard. It's good to have these things discussed from time to time to keep abreast. For purposes of tipping, I assume parity for the euro and the dollar. Here's what I've tipped. The porter: about a buck a bag. We travel with small suitcases and I generally don't count shopping bags while the computer and camera bag together might count as one bag, although I like to carry the computer. The housekeeper: about two bucks a day in moderate to better hotels. Years ago when I graduated from youth hostels, someone told me a dollar a day. That was a long time ago. When staying for a period of time at one hotel (when we leave a big city, we usually drive around and stay only a day or two at most places while we're touring) I leave the tip on a daily basis. I usually leave in on a piece of notepaper on which I've written "merci." I resent the idea that the housekeeper would take any loose change lying around, but my guess is that the note is superfluous. Taxis: I've been told that 10% is generous in Paris. I tip 10% rounded up and sometimes a bit more rounding up if the ride is particularly pleasant. I note that there are always airport and baggage charges I may not understand and try not to assume the cabbie has already built in his tip when he announces a price in excess of the meter. I always get a smile and hearty thanks which unnerves me. I'm a New Yorker and gracious cabbies always unnerve me. I'm not surprised you find conflicting advice. I've heard everything from nothing should be left in a restaurant because service is included, up to 15% or more. In Spain I've been even more unsure about tipping and finally cornered two people who live in Madrid while there last month. I was told 5% by one and 10% by the other.

Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, I believe, and from the Rhone. Generally, but not necessarily better than the ones from further south between Montpellier and Spain. There's a Muscat de Mirval Domaine de la Capelle that can be very nice. Mirval is a small town just north of Frontignan. Both are on the Mediterranean coast. Frontignan is a town well known for production of sweet muscat wine, but much of it is rather cheap and sold in screw cap bottles. The French like to drink it as an aperitif. Saint-Jean-de-Minervois and Rivesaltes, are muscat appellations further south and there's Lunel by Montpellier. Although the better ones, are perectly good and far more affordable than Sauternes, I don't think any of them have the balance of a good Sauternes. The Muscats are all what are known as "vin doux naturel" in France. That's some sort of marketing speak for fortified wine as they are, as far as I know, all fortified to stop the fermentation to keep them sweet. None of this is meant as a put down. I'm a fan of these wines and drink them often for their value. I've also had good Muscats (Moscatel) from Spain, most notably Casta Diva Cosecha Miel from Alicante province and from Ochoa, Chivite, Camilo Castilla (Goya/Montecristo) in Navarra. More interesting, and priced that way, are the sweet wines from the Loire -- Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux, Quarts-du-Chaume, etc. They, like Sauternes and unlike Muscats, are botrytised. This is not to say that a good Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is not a find way to end a dinner. They were a godsend to discover when I couldn't afford my favorite Barsac. Jason notes Saussignac. I've also had good values from Monbazillac. They are neighboring wines of the Bergerac area.

2nd installment of our trip report The next day, Victor took us to a typcial tasca -- Asturianos, a restaurante, bar y vinoteca, on calle Vallehermoso (phone 91 533 59 47) -- for a lunch of tapas, or as I understand the terms, courses of shared plates referred to as "raciones." Neighborhood bars such as this, may be a dying breed as social life and customs change, but we seemed to notice that Spaniards still seem to meet friends for drinks and tapas. Here a young chef is introducing new dishes while keeping the traditional favorites whose removal from the menu would probably drive his father's local clientele away. With an eye on seeing that we got a taste of both the old and new, Victor ordered for us and we had a meal that was memorable. Carpaccio of monk fish with sea urchin, Italian! olive oil and Malden salt. This dish approached the brineyness of good raw oysters. During a trip to Galicia, we were told Asturias was the one area in Spain where sea urchin was eaten and prized. Salad of mache, anchovies, and fresh crumbly Asturian cheese dressed with olive oil at the table. The anchovies were large, succulent and lightly brined. An unusual (for us) dish of tiny rabbit chops -- chuletas -- with cepes, walnuts and pine nuts in garlicky cream sauce. Cocido Asturiano, a broth with greens, large white beans, chorizo, morcilla, jamon, and tocino ?- cooking fat. followed for contrast by Fabada, large white beans with meat and sausages in a thick sauce without green vegetables. Flan de queso as mentioned above for dessert. Asturianos, had a most unenticing store front with a small bar room of some character inside. We were led down a narrow corridor stacked with boxes and bottles to a hastily added on dining room which was small, but which greatly increased the number of patrons who could be served. It's not that I'd give it stars, but we had a gastronomic experience well worth seeking. I suspect Victor stacked the deck and those dishes will be hard to match at any tasca chosen at random. --------------------------------------- mas luego (La Broche for dinner that night.)