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Jamie Oliver has just opened his second "authentic italian" in Bath. We went last night and had a mixed experience which we will put down to teething problems during the first week. We are going to give it another go, but it needs to get a lot better even at this price point. Hopefully it does because it has the makings of a cheap place for some simple food. Generro (Jamie's mentor) was superviseing but the kitchen stumbled a few times. First a very heavily salted truffle pasta with a watery sauce, second a burnt bitter sausage swimming in polenta, and finally a carpaccio of beef made with Bresola rather than raw beef (are the punters scared of raw meat?) We had soldered on with the pasta rather than send it back, but the sausage did go back, and the manager said the carpaccio title was misleading (although he seemed to think carpaccio means "sliced thinly"). We did let the staff know about the problems and they seemed OK about the complaints. The sausage was replaced without to much fuss - although they did start to tell me it was simply what chargrilled was like. They promised to check the pasta cooking water, so it will be interesting to see if it improves, although I think there was poor cooking as well as the sauce was so thin. The one thing we will avoid is the wine. We tried four, the cheapest and most expensive) and all were dire. Not much fun to drink and a banging headache (reminiscent of student excess) the next day. One comment: the Oxford branch opened to universal approval from all the usual critics. Is the Bath branch less good, or is there something wrong with their critical skills? Anyone else tried the Bath, or the Oxford branch? (Kingston opens next then Brighton).

We eat jambalaya alot. It and fried rice are our favorite clean out the fridge usage. So, I had a thought one night about that. And it works great. Make jambalaya like fried rice. No worries about rice texture or the thick and thin of the "sauce." I make the tomato base with the usual spices and ingredients and browned sausage and chicken. I cook rice ahead of time so it has a chance to cool. Then, at dinner time, I stir fry the trinity, add the rice and then the sauce and shrimp like it was a stir fry. It comes out great.

I need dark soy for a cocktail meatball recipe. The dark soy truly makes a difference in the end product. Living in Sussex county there is a dirth of aisian food pantrys. Shoprite, Weis, A&P and Pathmark all carried the product until maybe a year ago. Whats the deal?

Of late one of my favorite sandwich fixin's is Hellman's Mayonnaise mixed with an Indian Pickle. I'm speaking of the Indian condiment, usually lime or mango pickle. You know, the stuff that smells like Kiwi Shoe Polish, you either love it or hate it. It's always too chunky to spread on a sandwich so I often take a jar and puree it a bit for convenience. Mixed with the Hellman's it has quickly become a favorite on sandwiches made with turkey, chicken, pheasant, any kind of white meat and sometimes even leftover hanger steak. Anyone care to offer up their favorite "bastard condiment"?

I had a meltdown and bought a bunch of seville oranges, but I haven't got time to spend hours cutting the rind for making maramalade. Would it be possible to boil the whole oranges as one would for marmalade, and the just use the liquid, boiled with pips and sugar to make a clear orange jelly? Thanks

So, I've been making quick-pickled red onions for immediate use, sliced into strips and marinated in a vinegar brine just until they change color. Can I keep these for longer than a couple of days? Is there another, similar red onion pickle recipe that lasts a little longer? It'd be nice to have a jar of crunchy, tart, pungent onions to put on sandwiches or what-have-you.

In my city's Chinatown, a couple of restaurants serve what they call BBC. It's broad beans (or soy beans), bean curd and pickles/chutney. It's quite salty but is delicious! I think it's vegetarian and has no meat. Is anyone familiar with how to prepare this dish or its history? It's one of my favourites!

Any feedback on these two? B&N has Eof out of print but avialable in paperback at Amazon. Really wanted Essentials but haven't heard anyting about Cooking. Feedbac appreciated. ~Maria

I really want to do this since I had it at a restaurant a long time ago, but I've never pickled...well...anything before. Anyone have a guess at how its done?

I have a 17 ounce bottle which is at least a couple of years old which I've never opened. Is it still good?

Everyone knows Ive been trying to find a source of UNSWEETENED Konnyaku Jelly Powder. I THINK I have FINALLY found it. I will update as soon as I get the shipment. YAY, for Lowcarbers, who wanna make yummy desserts carb and calorie free!

Has anybody ever heard of Taiwanese Soy Sauce, a.k.a. "Soy Cream" or "Bottom of the Barrel Oil" - essentially, Chinese equivalent of Balsamic? If so - who makes it? How much does it cost? How do you spell it in Cantonese? Is it available in US or Europe?

I saw a few commercials for this show, it finally looks like a really, really promising one. I'm not sure if this is a draw from BBC or if it's Foodnetwork produced, but it looks like Jamie Oliver pulls from his own garden at home and cooks seasonally and simply-- something that's been missing on foodtv for forever, a real cook cooking what looks to be quality food. I for one am at least excited at the fact that it's someone who has a real sense of food coming back to cook instead of wasting time watching home cooks, this may be more directed towards those who have more experience in the kitchen. Plus watching the commercial, you see the produce pulled directly from the ground... maybe a food geek sort of thing. Anyway, the premiere is January 12th

Over in the Pennsylvania board, I report on a discovery I made at DiBruno's in the Italian Market today: Jamón Iberico is now available in Philadelphia. I'm assuming that this means that you can now find it in a handful of other U.S. cities. I had understood that Federal rules prohibited its import. What has changed, pray tell? At the price being charged for it, it's going to be the rare treat indeed.

Popped into DiBruno's in the Italian Market this afternoon for some window shopping, and in the midst of the cheese grazing and search for the name of that Spanish cheese I served on Christmas Eve, I saw something that looked like a slab of bacon with a sign on top of it: "Jamon Iberico "Finally available in the USA!" After describing how it's made and where it comes from, the sign concluded: "One taste and you'll understand and agree that it's worth "$99.99 a pound" Did DiBruno's have to smuggle this ham into the United States? Is it that difficult to produce? Made in extremely small quantities from a hard-to-raise breed of pig? Where's Ferran Adria when I need him? And would anyone be interested in going into a syndicate to buy a pound?

Host’s Note I decided to split this off from the Regalade topic because it seemed to stand by itself as a topic for discussion. John Well, I do think that La Régalade is still by far one of the hottest bistrots in Paris. Mostly, I think it remains the model for "bistronomiques", and that few offer that food quality at that price, actually applying grands restaurants techniques and care at a great price. I was so excited to discover that good truffles have finally appeared this year, and not looking forward to the 230 eur of the feuilleté belle humeur or the 350 of the Rostang menu. La Régalade sounded like the way to satisfy my longing without having to reinforce my stake in organised crime. Anyway, some pictures and more specific comments here.

Hi, I was reading Amy's (smallword) blog and I noticed she uses butter and soy sauce as a flavoring in broiled seafood dishes. Is this a common technique in Japan? Amy used it when making scallops. What else could I use this on? I'm really intrigue since so me they seem like two seperate worlds coming together. Most asian cuisines I know of do not use dairy so I wondered if this was something new. Thanks

I admit that I have a fear of botulism, since I grew up canning things at home. I'm always cautious and would rather toss something than take any chances. But how do I know what's good when I buy it? I ordered some Lebanese green pickled olives online, and when I opened them they were really fizzy. I thought it was from being shaken, but after 20 minutes they are still fizzing. Is this normal? If I opened home-canned peaches and they were doing that I'd throw them away. But I've never had this sort of olive and am not sure what they are supposed to do. If anyone knows, please help. I took a very small bite after smelling them, and I still can't tell for sure.

I know you do not need to refrigerate the full bone but I have a quarter pound of slices and it feels weird to leave it out. Is it ok to keep it in the fridge? Thanks.

Hi everyone, First off, I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong board....I didn't know where to put it, and since the gala occurs in NYC, I figured that was my best bet. I've always been really curious about going to the James Beard Awards Gala, simply because the menu of offered dishes always look quite incredible. However, as I've never been, I have no idea if its actually worth the hefty price tag (even as a student the price is still $200!). Is the food nearly as good as it would be in the actual restaurants, or is it dumbed down/simplified so that it can be mass produced and served to 1000s of people without getting cold? If anyone has been to the banquet in the past, I would greatly appreciate his/her input. Many thanks! My best, Charlie

Does anyone know where I can buy jellyfish to cook with at home? Somewhere in Chinatown, I assume, but I haven't come across it yet.

I've been wondering this for awhile. When I visit pretty much any barbecue joint here in Kansas City I always receive a small pile of pickles with my meal. Does anyone know the origin or the reason for this practice? I always eat them, but they never cease to puzzle me.

Picked some up this past weekend - it's steeply priced, though - $90/lb for machine sliced and $99 by hand. But it is totally amazing...

Stuffed with Walnuts, garlic and Pomegranates. 18 small 2"-3" Eggplants 1 1/2 C diced Walnuts 1 C tart Pomegranates 1 small Jalapeño finely diced 2 clove Garlic finely diced salt* olive oil After peeling the green tops off the Eggplants, they were blanched in simmering water for 10 minutes until tender, and placed in an ice bath to cool. Slits were made and salt was applied to the inside of all eggplant. The eggplants were placed in a strainer and pressed with a heavy weight for a few hours to dry them. Mixed the nuts, garlic, Jalapenos, pomegranates and 1 tsp* salt. Placed about 1 T of the mixture in each eggplant. Placed the eggplants in jars cut side up, and filled with olive oil to cover. * We could not get a definitive answer on the amount of salt to use in the filling and did it to taste. We'll find out in 2 weeks and report back.

So I just picked up about 7-8 pounds of grapes at the local farm and I want to make some jelly as gifts for everyone at Christmas. Does anyone have any interesting recipes? Thanks, Marc