Poivrot Farci

There should be a support group for those who earn more than $40,000 but are burdened by an avoidable 5¢ tax that challenges wasteful consumerism in an effort to clean up a waterway in the nation’s capital, maybe giving any government environmental protection initiatives credibility –initiatives that are probably somehow linked to clean water and eventually ingredients/products that make up the fodder of this forum, let alone sound nutrition and fundamentally healthy food. What are the crippling monthly financial impacts on the affluent and stubborn poor (and their partridge families) who detract from 5¢ Pavlovian conditioning and aren’t conscientious or resourceful enough to bring a bag with them on the way to the grocery store and pay nothing at all? Hopefully not more than is grudginly left as a modest tip despite humdrum food & service or drunkenly left at a bar.

Pretty much. The innate unscientific reaction is to clench and find toilet paper before one craps their pants, not afterward. It sucks, but fishermen will find something else to fish/exploit. Coastal and pelagic (Atlantic and elsewhere) fisheries are a frighteningly underfunded, mismanaged and unenforced natural resource. Unless fish will power your car or home there is no real reason for governments like ours to put already scarce money towards regulating ungovernable oceans. They do the opposite by providing subsidies to too many boats that fish in waters of developing countries and have technology to catch a lot more, more easily. NOAA is not permitted to make fishing recommendations to fishermen like Seafood Watch does to consumers. ICCAT is cheekily referred to as Int’l Conspiracy to Catch All Tuna by some conservation scientists. In some cases, total national catches are reported to ICCAT as many as two years after they occurred. FromWWF Susan Lieberman last year:

Budget Sea Bream "Belle Vue". Deboned through the back then stuffed with a forcemeat of shrimp, my lardo, citrus and dried chili. Covered in shingled carrots under aspic made from beef bones. All purchased at a neighborhood Latino grocer for a pittance. Not particularly delicious without mayonnaise, but worth the effort.

Touche as in douche like Sirs George Alexander Touche and Gordon Cosmo Touche of Dorking? Or touché as in the fencing touchdown? Going Out guide does not allow Touché Touchet bakery its accent, but the Metro column uses it for pronunciation purposes. Perhaps they should consider alternate spellings such as kraim broolay. A snowday flavored grievance of willy nilly Francophilic WashPo restrictions will be filed via a registered male person through the gauntlet of slushy roads and riveting, holiday rivaling Stuporbowl paralysis to supreme WashPo editor Marc Broccli, CSLF president Conrad Ouello, ambassador Vimont, and the formidable cultural estates of Mssrs. Queneau, Larousse and Lewis.

Please excuse the gauche philological jumbling. The WashPo’s serif-sheriff style ordinance is not to use accents other than for names, homonym differentiation and window treatment tips, but that doesn’t explain the need (in the food section particularly) to selectively neuter foreign romance words that so heavily make up the backbone of modern western culinary and service culture/terminology/whathaveyou other than to dumb it down for those who type on telephones, burger eating rubes or to save ink. While it is hardly a matter of dining security, such circumscribing may be a sensitive issue for epicureans respectful of authenticity, 200 million Francophones, and those in between who appreciate the traditional craftsmanship of fancy lug work rather than the bland efficiency provided by robotic welds.

The on-line Masa 14 review graces pâté and résumé with its proper accents to distinguish from homonyms, but why are "aioli", "creme brulee" and other borrowed words not deemed worthy of the same grammatical attention?

Snow-Bound Suckling Porchetta "Richelieu", Special Turnip Greens Edition. Inlayed with a forcemeat conceived from turnip greens, then accompanied by their glazed roots, some butter roasted pears with wintry spices and a few red pearl onions here and there. Thank you chlorophyll.

Pfft. Everyone from Philéas Gilbert to Robert Goulet knows that the chaud-froid was conceived at the Château Montmorency in 1759, forty-four years after the portly monarch’s passing. Hell, the Maréchal de Luxembourg named it himself. It is most certainly not attributed to Chaufroix, an entremetteur from Louis XV’s royal kitchen. Reader’s Digest version: Maréchal de Luxe threw a party at his soignée spread. Had to split before dinner to hook-up with the King’s Council. Came back and had cold chicken fricassee & white sauce leftovers. Dug it and asked chef for it again. Chef: refroidi. Maréchal: Meh... chaud-froid. Rumors of a Roman inception are based on an 1885 excavation of Pompeii during which a vase with the inscription calidu-frigidus was unearthed and contained expired meat in jelly.

A friend aboard a NOAA research ship in the Gulf of Alaska inversely experienced a boozy reaction after 3 weeks of diving in an Alvin submersible to depths of 5000 or so meters to study corals and such. The 3-man crew secretly toasted the eve of their last dive with contraband liquor and the friend got starched after 2 swigs. He awoke to a crapulous odyssey the likes of which even Jules Verne could never have fathomed. Feigning observation he tried to sleep away the malaise against a porthole until realizing the sub was at a lifeless stage of the descent. Extra-strength Ethiopian coffee was no relief as it was an instantaneous laxative 30 minutes into the 3 hour tour during which restroom accommodations within the VW bug sized vessel were a Snapple bottle and/or ziplock plastic bag. A squirming telephone Q&A with elementary school students topside was curt and aggravating. The torturous clenching and headache dissipated upon the sight of bone corals growing on underwater slopes rather than flat bottom which was an exciting discovery for bone regeneration studies or something. “Peter 5K” had acquired an appropriate suffix and the dinner conversation distinction of having been hung-over deeper than most.

No one. I donated this week's meager drinking allowance to Unicef so that some less fortunate hemispheric neighborhood kids might have access to potable water.

The poorest of the poor often have a formidable collection of bags and given the premium, necessity and resourcefulness will ensure that the disenfranchised will be more aware of such a potentially debilitating commodity than those who don't give it a second thought.

Julbord. - Swedish Christmas table. Glögg - Blackout juice Tre sorters sill - Three kinds of pickled herring Matjes sill - Brined herring Rökt lax - Smoked salmon Sill salad - Herring salad Grav lax - Cured salmon Jansons frestelse - Janson’s temptation Prins korv - Prince sausage Julskinka - Christmas ham Köttbullar - Swedish meatballs Rödkål - Red cabbage Rödbetor - Pickled beets Gurksallad - Cumucber salad Lingon - Lingonberries Ris a là Malta - Rice porridge Små kakor - Small cookies Linie akvavit, chilling. Herring and salmon varieties. Christmas picnic ham in Swedish aspic and 24% ättiksprit pickled cauliflower. Assorted sweets.

You don’t want a dainty pederast’s grinder with a doll house handle. Consider the stark, unadorned function of a stone grain mill workhorse. The manageable home kitchen version (as opposed to the 1000kg standard for milling rice flour) doesn’t work so well on black peppercorns, cinnamon, allspice or star anise but will pulverize any other common spice into workable, uniform dust.

Old World France meets New World America. Preamble of my Mt. Pleasant dry cured sausage, turkey pâté en croûte with currants, a friend’s blood pudding and some Nîmes style brandade. Pickled purple cauliflower accoutrement and mulled cider adulterated with a trickle of George Dickel whisky to warsh it all down, then a bit more for social lubricant. *Consommé du Barry. Turkey consommé from turkey parts from the neighborhood Latino grocer, with a few cauliflower-mornay agnolotti swimming around and florets of different cauliflower varieties clearly visible at the bottom. *Scalloped potatoes sandwiching a middle layer of caramelized onions and anchovies. *My rye bread, as a stuffing with pomegranate seeds, celery root, celery stalks and their leaves. *Pear roasted heritage turkey breast. Roasted on the bone on a bed of pear scraps with shingled Bosc pear slices under the skin, basted with pear juices. Turkey leg ballotines, in their reduced braising juices with some dried cranberries (rather than raisins), mushrooms and a couple sliced gizzards here and there. "Pan Coudoun". Little breads, stuffed with a wedge of cooked quince. Cheese, clockwise from center: Livarot, France; Nettle Meadow Kunik, NY; Gorwydd Caerphilly, Wales; Twig Farm Square Cheese, VT; Tarantaise, VT; Mondegueiro, Portugal; Rogue River Blue, OR. Apple tart with a nappage of my quince jelly with murmurs of rosemary and cinnamon. Banda Aceh coffee. Slight case of PTD (post-turkey depression) after having gestated the menu and formulations for the better part of 3 weeks. No glass breakage, pretty girls and early morning grazing on tryptophan & cheese scraps with fingers by the twilight of the frigidaire brings savory solace, albeit cold and perishable.

Trine has the goods on upper tier dining up there. verygoodfood.dk TyvenKokkenHansKoneOgHendesElsker became Nouveau and has since closed, as has Geranium due to fewer dispensable currencies in an already expensive region, though the quality and momentum of reinvented Nordic cuisine does not appear to have suffered much.

Emotional scars from getting comfy with Salman Rushdie’s genitals.

Sabarot sells dried coco beans (another type of lingot bean) from the Lauragais region for a mere $4 or so which is the standard bean for Castelnoudary cassoulet and neighboring garbure in the Béarn. Short of that, navy beans are an adequate substitute.For cassoulet purists, there are 3 primary varieties which all fight for the distinction of having invented the dish and each comprising their particular base proteins: Castelnoudary, “The Father”; pork products (shank, belly, butt, shoulder, sausage, etc…) and goose or duck confit. Carcasonne, “The Son”; pork and red-legged partridge. Toulouse, “The Holy Spirit”; pork, lamb, mutton, duck confit, Toulouse and pork skin sausage. According to Prosper Montagé,a Carcansonne native who drafted the first edition of the Larousse Gastronomique and most rival Chauriens, a legend suggests that the cassoulet started in Castelnoudary during the Hundred Years’ War as a means of feeding the troops who, well fed by an enormous ragoût called estofat later beat the Brits. However, common beans weren’t introduced to Europe from South America until the 16th century, so the story is probably a comforting tale to reclaim some sort of honor after the town was mostly burned to the ground during said war. Dried favas or other broad beans were likely used back then and the dish was called estouffet up until the 18th century when it acquired the cassoulet title. Any authentic version of either from the cassoulet trinity should contain pork skin lining the cassole which thickens the cooking liquid and prevents the beans from burning.

Pumpkin à la Lozèrienne

Amarelle in the hamlet of Wading River. NY Times review: "Excellent"

Sort of… more in the spirit of Harvey Levin than Barlett & Steele. Spike’s “farm” may actually be a 165,000 sq ft warehouse facility in Savage Maryland who’s other exclusive clients (Outback Steakhouse, Baja Fresh Mex, Bertucci's, Cosi, Applebee's…) might get their produce from industrial Californian farms as well. Technically farm fresh though more national than local. However, such a successfully charismatic chef (with a proven Les Crayères, Bouchon, Le Cirque pedigree and the awesome, yet misspelled "Francis* (sic) Roth Leadership Award" according to his inflated bio) would have absolutely no reason to make fraudulent claims of product provenance and is probably concentrating on birthday party food for fat kids now while patiently pursuing “his professional dream which is to one day bring the very coveted Three Michelin Stars to his resume” since “becoming a ‘Top Chef' cannot be accomplished on a reality show, because it takes a lifetime…" of making burgers and pizza, presumably. *Frances Roth -CIA co-founder. (she’s a chick, not a dude, Dude)

Protein consumption as a function of winters and poor soil highlights the versatile pig due to its indiscriminate palate, large litters and easily preserved meat, though parasites and difficulties in porcine herding have led to its prohibition from predominantly shepherding societies (pigs eat all their crops). Winter diets of centuries past relied heavily on preserves, roots and stored grains.General meat consumption however, and its hefty proportions to produce/grains have been the hallmark of the wealthy gentry who consume(d) in a manner to distance themselves from the philistine’s paltry pantry, often at the expense of dietary health (e.g. gout and the nutritional deficiencies of “white bread”). Modern steakhouses are a shameless homage to those regal fat cat appetites of antiquity. Domesticated grain crops such as wheat, rice, barley and maize/corn were and remain far more efficient means of providing nourishment than livestock sharing the same land and permitted otherwise nomadic folks to settle down. Those crops made meat an expensive luxury up until the industrial age, which then allowed for cheaper and more widely accessible meat as a result of efficient pasture management, formulated feed, selective breeding, automation and transportation. Meat is only a cheaper commodity in the industrialized world and remains an expensive privilege everywhere else.

New knife for sale: $124 Sold. 240mm (9.5") Masahiro western style Virgin Carbon Steel Gyuto. Forged virgin carbon steel (2%) Right handed, single bevel pakkawood handle HCR 61-62 I ordered the wrong sized knife and can not be bothered to pay the shipping back to Japan and prefer that the hands of epicurean/professionals get first tickle rather than the opportunist perverts on Craigslist. It is being sold to cover the $124 cost(knife + shipping) and order anew. Received it Saturday and it has not been used. The blade is still coated in protective lube, so you know it’s fresh. The knife is still in its box and all the literature is in Japanese but I think it says: A wily technician blames their tools. With this one you will have no excuses for cuts rivaling those from a blind lumberjack. Virgin or “white” carbon steel is not from recycled steel and is therefore purer/harder than “carbon steel” which is often a mix of recycled steel, though a metallurgist would be better able to offer and appreciate the different carbon percentages of white, blue and high carbon steel, the later more resistant to rust, but softer. The compromise of carbon steel is much harder steel that keeps a sharper edge, but requires mature and fundamental care to prevent rust (keep dry, oil the blade), though over time it will develop a characteristic patina. The right side of the blade is beveled and the spine is thin. Save the clunky German stainless for opening cans or clams, driving nails and bludgeoning poultry bones. The knife was purchased from the owner of JapaneseChefknife via correspondence since it is not available on their website. Masahiro phased out rosewood handles a few years ago in favor of compressed wood (pakkawood layers impregnated with resin to ensure durability and a waterproof handle –very common now), but have begun to replace those with synthetic POM handles for some reason. As far as I know, Masahiro VC with compressed wood handles are only available elsewhere at Knifemerchant but at a higher price, and at PhoenixKinfeHouse though they only carry wood handles on the 270mm knife, the others are cheaper synshittic. I will gladly answer any questions publicly or privately, accordingly.

Vindaloo is not a sauce. It is Portuguese in origin, similar to the French daube or German sauerbraten or any other regional variety of a dish that uses [eastern] Europe's native grapes and the properties of red wine and/or it's related vinegar for meat preservation before the refrigeration era. While the French may not have invented the science and methodology for sauces, they trademarked the organization. It is a Western Show in a western country whose culinary vernacular alone is heavily influenced from France and western European precedents. There is no reason not to ask them to make a vindaloo in as much as any mechanic worth a damn can change the fluids on a foreign car.

The such tragic service liabilities are intentional. It weeds out those whose time is more precious than others’, whose company is unbearable to talk to and are just as inconvenienced by having to wait for public transportation. Lasts was no different than any other casual visit to what is essentially a bar (tavern license perhaps) that happens to offer exceptionally savory, streamlined food from a minuscule kitchen and decorated with enough bric-a-brac to keep this tolerant simpleton distracted from the clock. Chicken liver & toast, merguez “hot dog” and calf’s tongue sandwich were noteworthy.

When on Egullet, go to the browser menu and click on tools and click on options, then content and check to see if the font isn't in wing-dings or something which would make the page unreadable. Otherwise, the forum page content is, without hyperbole, identical to what it used to be and the search function works just as it used to on any screen larger than a matchbook. Only the colors and lines have changed, like a new automobile, newer browser or the latest MS Office. When "The Cosby Show" changed their intro I thought it was a spin-off or a seasonal special, but it turns out that it was the exact same show. Maybe it's a geriatrics/generation thing. But the avatars on the right side is indeed enough to never read the site again. That just screws everything up.