eG Foodblog: Boris_A - A life in a week, a week in a life

[naguere]

Excellent, excellent. Lovely.

Or for pumpkin l ''respec ' bro'''

[jackal10]

I think you mean filo pastry (like for strudel) rather than puff pastry (like for mille-feuille)

[Boris_A]

I think you mean filo pastry (like for strudel) rather than puff pastry (like for mille-feuille)

Unfortunately, it's not an error.

Filo, of course, would be the real thing

Caught in the act.

[Boris_A]

ImageGullet up again!

My window to the world:

and my window to the village:

In the backgrund, you'll notice that they are remaking the roof of the tower of the church. One can climb up to the tip. That's a lifetime chance. I wasn't up there yet.

It's forbidden. Let's hope there's no poison (cops, I learned). But they wont' chase anybody, the just refuse responsibilty. The ladder is no way closed. Sometimes, the Swiss are quite libertarian.

It's going to be a spectacular view from there all over the lake to the alps. We'll do that together as soon as the weather is really fine, eh?

[tejon]

Beautiful view. I wouldn't be able to resist climbing to the top of the church tower - perhaps just as the sun is setting? Or even better, as the sun comes up.

Another fervent request for Rosti and pictures of same, please.

[Boris_A]

Ok, dinner is ready and the game is starting:

banitsa:

In the backgorund, there's some sliced celery, hazelnut-roasted (poêlé in French) very slowly in EVOO and a reduction of very sour wine. So its' sweet sour just by the sweetness of celery. I'm still not mastering this primitive thing. Results are uneven. And I'll have to try that variant of celery in a tempura. As a starter byte.

We had some chasselas as aperitif and after the salad of some cooked vegetables , we are going to sip a Côtes de Bourg "Roc de Cambes" 1990. This wine is for sure in decline now, but it should hold well against the banitsa and decently accompany the game of the Squadra Azzurra against Bulgaria starting RIGHT NOW.

Forza Italia!

[jhlurie]

Folks,

Because Boris' confirmation as the new blogger was a bit last minute, and because ImageGullet has been down until recently, naturally his start has been a bit slow.

Can we please support him by keeping things relatively food related here--clustered, when possible, around his meals and his talk of whatever in his life surrounds that? Often there's the impression that we're just bidding time between foodblogger posts, but we've also got the rest of eGullet to play on if things get slow here. In fact, if some exciting food issue comes up here, but it's not directly related to the blogger, it's often wise to spin it off to a new thread elsewhere on eGullet--thus contributing to the entire site while keeping this as a nice intact document of Boris' week in food.

Ask questions, push the blogger to explain, lay the base for those other lovely discussions and link to them elsewhere on the site--it's the beauty of these foodblogs that they can serve as such a great platform for all of that. But let's try and keep what goes on here distinct from a lot of what goes on in the Member Bios area.

I'm not scolding or pointing fingers anywhere, it's just that the blogging process itself is already intimidating enough without your focus being spread out. It also, arguably, will make what promises to be a fascinating blog a bit easier to read end-to-end.

If you have questions about any of this, you can PM me, or SobaAddict70, and we'd be happy to chat.

BORIS - A suggestion. If you'd like, you can also utilize the eGullet RecipeGullet to help create an easier reference, going forward, for people to duplicate your recipes. It also does neat stuff like convert units between metric and US units, so that part of your audience can follow along.

EDIT - Ah, Boris, as I typed this you came up with a beautiful entry. Hopefully you had time for dessert too. Do we get to hear about it?

Edited June 22, 2004 by jhlurie (log)

[Toliver]

Boris,

By celery, do you mean what is also called "celery root"? Here is a picture of it: Click

This is what is sold as celery here in the U.S.

[bleudauvergne]

Boris, I'm so sorry Switzerland lost the game. No, really. Really sorry about that.

Your banista and root looks just amazing. Can you tell me what that thing is that the food is resting on? Is that a cook top?

It's going to be a spectacular view from there all over the lake to the alps. We'll do that together as soon as the weather is really fine, eh?

OK! I'm up for an adventure!

Tschuss,

Lucy

[Boris_A]

Boris,

By celery, do you mean what is also called "celery root"?  Here is a picture of it:  Click

This is what is sold as celery here in the U.S.

Correct.

"Celery root" contains (as most roots) the sugar to develop that natural sweet-sour.

"Celery" is called "bar celery" here and is used mainly for or broth, stock and similar.

Sometimes, I like to sauteée it.

[Boris_A]

Can you tell me what that thing is that the food is resting on?  Is that a cook top?

Lucy. you know your stuff.

Yes, it is a (iron cast) cook top. It was produced in St. Vallier, a bit south of Valence.

I heard that the French call this plaque coup de feu an incontournable

(a thing you can't get around) of their cuisine.

And I'm sure, a "slow cook" like Paula Wolfert would love this thing immensly. Provided she hasn't one already.

[edsel]

Hi Boris,

Congratulations (I think ) on being "tagged". Don't be intimidated by having to follow the prolific Dr. Jones' blog - we're all ready for the calm after the storm....

I would love to hear about where you shop for food. I have this quaint notion that Europeans still buy bread from the village baker, cheese at the local cheese shop, meat from the butcher shop, vegetables from the green-grocer, etc., etc. If you tell us that you do all your shopping at the local super-KMart, I shall be most disillusioned!

It's well after midnight your time, so I imagine you've long since gone to bed. Thank you for "volunteering" to share your culinary life with us!

p.s. - If writing in English becomes too much of a strain, just post pictures of your cook-top. It looks awesome. "Incontournable" indeed!

[Pan]

I'm enjoying this blog very much, Boris. In a typical week, how often do you eat out versus eating in?

[ninadora]

edited because thispost was not food related. this post was related to furniture. i apologize. your food looks delicious boris, i thank you for sharing, may i add that you office has beautiful floors and though i could not get close up, that desk is incredible. I probably should not have added that.

Edited June 23, 2004 by ninadora (log)

[Boris_A]

A remark wrt. recipes and ingredients:

I use recipes as guidelines. I found that depending on certain ingredients which you wont fing in good quality a cumbersone thing.

For instance, I replaced in my recipe for the cheese/egg/puff-pastry banitsa the filo. I find filo in the high end groceries only. But I wanted to have a recipe which allowed for a shopping list to be done nearby. It' works, and it works quite ok. It's not authentic, but carefully adapted.

I can be a strange kind of extravagant on basic things. For instance, I'm buying different broth and chicken stock (cubes and instant, ) wherever I find new ones. I make a lot of comparisons. Most of them are rather bad stuff. But in the end, I found a personal blend which does a nice work for everyday consumption.

I love seafood. Sometimes, I can buy seafood of excellent freshness but that supply is not guaranteed. So i changed almost all my fish consumption on local lake varieties which I can buy from a local fisherman. Of course, you can't compare them with sea fish. But for me, I found it more satisfying to use those local variants, where freshness is out of question.

In that sense, I'm deliberately aiming low and I try to stay in the range of my possibilities.

[Boris_A]

I would love to hear about where you shop for food. I have this quaint notion that Europeans still buy bread from the village baker, cheese at the local cheese shop, meat from the butcher shop, vegetables from the green-grocer, etc., etc.  If you tell us that you do all your shopping at the local super-KMart, I shall be most disillusioned!   

The shopping facilties can be vary hugly from suburb to suburb and from village to village.

The local bakery is still very popular. Most of them are running a small "cafeteria" business sametime. OTOH, you have to realize that about 60% of the croissants sold by local bakeries are in fact produced by a single one producer of pre-fabricated croissants. So the the idea of nice little independent bakeries selling mainly their own stuff can be misleading.

But in all fairness, they do a good job with bread. There is variety, and even wihtin families, some prefer the bread of this one bakery and others of that one. This is always a good sign for individual products and variety therefore.

Many of the butcheries and almost all cheese/milk shop lost tremendously against the chains. Those have succesfully expanded their speciality offerings. OTOH, some of them are cooperating with local shops. You can find the local cheese shop running the cheese corner in the superamarket a little outside of the town.

In general, I suspect a strong correlation between parking-lots and revenue. Most people I know say they would by at local speciality shops. But once they are in a supermarket, it's practical to shop everything there. This schem seems to be universal, I guess.

Years ago, I was familiar with a baker in Zurich city. He had 3 parking possibilties (lots) in front of his shop. Once he lost one for three months due to road repair work. He suffered a loss of 30%, he told me.

Our personal habits are about 60% speciality/farmermarket, 40% supermarket. We are mostly interested in quality and buy wherever we find a superior offering. We are constantly reflecting and discussing what we are buying, even if it is everday stuff.

I don't care much about price. I simply buy somewhat less, if it's more expensive.

For instance, If I watch shopping baskets (what else do you do waiting at the cashier) I regularly see people buying huge amounts of price reduced emmental. It0s not bad, but for 20% more money you get far superior quality. I'd cut back anytime on quantity and go for the better one.

[Boris_A]

In a typical week, how often do you eat out versus eating in?

Right now, I'd say we are out once a week. There had been times when the ratio was 3:4. It was a habit then, and we visited a lot of different restaurants. For no specific reason, we once gradually lost interest and spent much more time at home. This could revert anytime.

Eating at home can be most simple of course. We love soups. Together with some veggies and a piece of good cheese and a bottle of wine, we don't miss anything.

I remember of Epicur (our ancient grandfather in matters of pleasure) once saying that he was in paradise with a piece of goat cheese and some particular wine. We should all stay Epicurian, I think.

[bleudauvergne]

Dear Boris, it's such a lovely blog so far.

I notice that you mention the local cheeses often, i.e. cooked mountain cheeses, emmenthal, gruyere. I would love to learn more about your local cheeses. I usually have cantal, gruyere, compte, and a variety of tommes available from vendors who come down from the mountains on weekends at the market, and aside from the distinct differences in taste of the winter/summer varieties of beaufort and the likes, I don't really know how to judge a good mountain cheese.

How do you go about choosing? Are there two or three cheeses that you automatically buy if you see them, because you know they're good? Do you sometimes have the chance to taste the cheeses before you buy them?

[Boris_A]

I would love to learn more about your local cheeses.  I usually have cantal, gruyere, compte, and a variety of tommes available from vendors who come down from the mountains on weekends at the market, and aside from the distinct differences in taste of the winter/summer varieties of beaufort and the likes, I don't really know how to judge a good mountain cheese.

How do you go about choosing?  Are there two or three cheeses that you automatically buy if you see them, because you know they're good?  Do you sometimes have the chance to taste the cheeses before you buy them?

Let's start with the most famous: Emmenthal. Its' produced all over in Sitzerland, not only in the Emmenthal itself. (That's one of the reason why there's no AOC).

I prefer it in the very ripe state, when it develops a distinct nutty taste. Usually, you'll find then some sweated juice (salty warter drops) in the holes and some cristals (which are NOT salt, but coagulated aminos. You can taste those tiny, salt-grain like pieces, and they are not salty at all).

The most popular is Gruyère, where I already explained the different qualities.

Next is Appenzeller, which is made by constantly rubbing in of a spicey, semi liquid paste during maturing time. That's why Appenzeller has a such distinct taste and can be a malodoruos guest in your fridge.

Finally (among the popular ones) is Sbrinz. His exact origin is unknown. Its's called sometimes "Spallen-cheese" (from Italian "spallo" = shoulder), because when transported centuries ago from it's origin northern Switzerland (around Lucerne, maybe) to Italy, they had to take it on shoulders, because parts of the "road" over the passes didn't allow for horses or mulis.

It's said to be the ancestor of Parmigiano. Because of terrible marketing and disrespectful quality controls (sold sometimes much too young, like rubber), it is terribly out of favor today and lost much business to Parmigiano.

But if one can find decent quality (let's google for "Swiss Cheese Award" later today), it's a unique, alomost creamy hard cheese for grating. It's an excellent aperitif cheese when served "plained" (?) (sliced in ultrathin slices and rolled).

Uhohuhoh, got to run, so wait for an update and a part II, ok?

[Boris_A]

Swiss Cheese part II

The next two are the famous Vacherin Mont d'Or (and his French counterpart) and Vacherin Fribourgeois, which is completely different despite the similar name. The Fribourgeois makes an excellent fondue cheese when used equal part with Gruyère: the fondue Moitié-Moitié (half and half). My preferred fondue variant.

Finally, the marekt is on the move (after years of stagnation due to guaranteed prices) and there are a lot of small, rural producers developing new products and trying to establish a renommée with oustanding quality. Most of them sell locally, but some aquired regional brand status. This is a highly interesting developement offering nice surprises. Most of them are little, artinasal factories cooperating with severtal small milk producers and can protect their investments in quality and branding with an AOC-status. Some of them are really successful.

Some of this development is reflected here: Swiss Cheese Awards

I'm watching out in speciality-shops, supermarkets and farmer markets all the time for such produces. Of course they offer a tasting sample, but I prefer to buy a small amount (say 3 oz) to taste it at home with a piece of bread and the possibility to compare.

Sbrinz and Gruyère are the only standard buys.

[Boris_A]

that desk is incredible.  I probably should not have added that.

After 100 lines of food writing and as long as nobody watching closely here, let's grasp some internet bandwidth:

Its a semi-industrial Danish design from the 50s designed by Nanna Ditzel. No longer in production. It's one of the most elegant desks we've ever seen. It's of excellent quality and was not more expensive than a contemporary renowned design. The "organic functionalism" of the mid-century Danish is hot, hot, hot (at least for us). And dont' forget "Smorrebrod", the Danish national dish. (Now food relation is established )

[Boris_A]

P.S. whose Chasselas did you get?  I love this wine but it is almost impossible to get stateside.

I promised to get back when this link: Arte-Vitis is working again. If you click on one of the text lines, on the next page you find the names of the 12 producers (column on the left). Maybe you just email one of them and ask if they export to the US. "Cave Cidis" (an ex-cooperative) could be a candidate because of it's size.

And oh, the "Roc de Cambes" 1990 was a surprise. After two bottles of somewhat tired and over-the-top bottles from the same case, this one had healthy colour, a great plummy nose and was still succulent with round merlot-fading-away-fruit, not much acidity and completely melted tannins. Could have been a crowd-pleaser, but fortunately the only crowd was Beatrix and me.

Edited June 23, 2004 by Boris_A (log)

[bleudauvergne]

After 100 lines of food writing...

Boris has got me in the mood to go to the flea market this weekend -

So I can taste the sausages they sell in the second outside asile from the warehouse near the bar.

[hathor]

Can you tell me what that thing is that the food is resting on?  Is that a cook top?

Lucy. you know your stuff.

Yes, it is a (iron cast) cook top. It was produced in St. Vallier, a bit south of Valence.

I heard that the French call this plaque coup de feu an incontournable

(a thing you can't get around) of their cuisine.

And I'm sure, a "slow cook" like Paula Wolfert would love this thing immensly. Provided she hasn't one already.

Good morning..or thereabouts! Would you mind explaining a bit more about your beautiful 'cook top'. Its like copper in the photo, but you say its cast iron. What is the heat source? What do you use it for? Thanks!

[Boris_A]

just post pictures of your cook-top. It looks awesome. "Incontournable" indeed!

Here's a better image of such a thing:

Basically, it imitates a wood burner cook top as they have been in use from 1800-1950. Here, under the the rings, there's a gas burner, avoiding ash and smoke in the kitchen. After some minutes, the whole dark rectangle becomes warm. Pretty hot over the rings, much less at the left edge. So you regulate heat by just shifting your pans. It's an incredible device for low temp, slow cooking. I think partially this kind of cuisine was invented when such cook tops got available.

It's an insane piece of a stove, an we bought it out of different reasons than usability. Most of the time, we use the two open burnes at the right, one convection oven and if needed one aditional large static oven.

When cooking large style with more dishes (somtimes just a lot of different vegetables, mushrooms, small pieces of different meat etc.), the whole cook top is in use with a lot of pans.

Last year, we had for 4 days a small open air restaurant in front of our home (village festivities), and we cranked out about 100-120 dishes every evening.

BTW, when I was searching for useful stove-top copper cookware (almost a must here), I found slkinseys great culinary-institute course. And after reading Chad's knife course, I was convinced having made an outstanding find with eGullet. So everything started here for us in front of this stove.