Objective Foodie

Wow well done! It looks perfect

Our humble Kimcheese: a raw kimchi and a farmhouse aged cheddar melted into a sourdough. We don't actually know who made this sandwich first, nevertheless it's a very comforting combination. A great surprise - pairs very well with Madeira!

We made duck with a bigarade sauce a while ago but ours was a bit lighter in colour. The Seville variety is quite bitter and it's usually used in marmalades. I think you should try the Navel variety which is the most popular in any supermarket. Alternatively, blood oranges should be a good option too.

As promised here are the results. 150g buns covered with the same pâte sablée as Modernist Bread's version and candied kumquat slices. We preferred this dough much better. It's lighter, intensely perfumed and very delicate. Served in a Sicilian style as brioche e granita for breakfast with hazelnut ice cream. Very indulgent.

Risotto allo zafferano (saffron risotto) with roasted bone marrow. We followed a recipe from Carlo Cracco in Milan. A comforting winter meal.

It was delicious! We will be making more this weekend in smaller individual portions (we would love to have some of your friend's magical genes @heidih, these things are calorie bombs 😂). The Modernist Bread's recipe we used was a bit more bread-like and dense than the texture we are used to in Europe. This time we will be trying a recipe from one of our favourite Basque chefs, Martín Berasategui. We report back with photos!

It's fascinating to see how food and culture travel and adapt in different countries. Thanks for sharing that post @heidih ! I didn't know that there was a cinnamon and sugar variation and had never heard of cream cheese being used as a filling! In Europe King's cakes' main flavour is orange blossom and/or candied fruit (similar to panettoni). Citrus fruits are in season in January and they are used in many traditional Christmas dishes. We did not take a photo of a slice unfortunately! However, we enjoyed it so much that will be making a smaller bun with the same brioche-like dough following a recipe from the famous Basque chef Martín Berasategui this weekend. We will certainly post a picture!

Hehe! Both! If one gets the baby/figurine, he/she becomes (figuratively) king/queen. But if you get the bean you must pay for next year's Roscón.

For today's festival of Epiphany in Spain and the South of France, it is very common to eat Roscón de Reyes (King's bread). They are not easy to find in the UK, so we made it ourselves following a recipe from Modernist Bread (which is available for free online). There are many different styles of Roscón. This time we decided to fill it with chestnut based cream since it pairs very well with orange blossom.

We just had a very Spanish aperitif. Gambas al ajillo (shrimp, quickly sautéed in olive oil infused with garlic and chilli) with a scrumptious and surprisingly not that well known rosé from Catalonia. The aromas are predominately strawberries, raspberries and dried flowers. A beautiful pairing for seafood.

During the past year, our coffee consumption at home has increased substantially. We have tried beans from different roasteries from the UK and Europe, but we are constantly in the search of new ones. The speciality coffee market has been rapidly increasing in past years and it is becoming easier to find high quality beans. The best roasteries we have tried so far: UK based: Round Hill Roastery, Square Mile, Monmouth, Pharmacie, New Ground, Workshop, James Gourmet, Ozone. Europe based: The Barn (Germany), Gardelli (Italy), Hard Beans (Poland), Calendar (Ireland), Roasted Brown (Ireland), Right Side (Spain), Coffee Collective (Denmark). Have you had any exciting coffee beans lately? Do you have any other recommendations?

@Paul Bacino, your dish got us drooling. It looks and sounds incredible. @scamhi, such a great pairing. Heitz Cellar also makes one of the best Zinfandels in CA in our opinion (alongside Once & Future and Turley Cellars). We just had a delicious roasted turbot (a Basque recipe) with Roussanne from Savoie. We infused the olive oil with orange and lemon zest to baste the fish while roasting.

Thank you for the warm welcome @TdeV and @kayb !

We just had some delicious Pinot Noir from Grivot (2014). It's only a Bourgogne appellation, but it delivers a good deal of complexity. It feels more like a Vosne-Romanée (village level). What have you been having during this holidays? We opened a couple of grower Champagnes with low dosage. We are starting to grow more and more fond of them.

Hello dear eGullet fellows and happy New Year! We are excited to join you and participate in gastronomic discussions with you! We are food and wine enthusiasts in the UK with experience in the hospitality industry and the Oxford University Blind Tasting Society. We are bloggers on objectivefoodie.com documenting great food, great wine, great restaurants. Always seeking recipes that maximise flavour and looks with minimum effort at home. Our approach to writing is more systematic than usual. We break down recipes, tasting menus and dishes into its basic components to understand why they work or not. The recipes we develop combine inspiration from different sources and insight from food science to elevate them to their best form in a home cooking set-up. Conchiglioni ripieni allo zabaione di formaggio Pear tart When drinking wine we follow a similar philosophy. We analyse each by its aromas in the nose, flavour in the palate and structure. Terroir, winemaking and viticulture can be better understood by employing a more systematic methodology. Bordeaux and Chateaubriand Oysters three ways (raw, grilled and with Cava foam and pineapple) and a grower Champagne See you around in the sub-forums!