Text 11767, 86 rader
Skriven 2007-02-13 15:08:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av IAN HOARE
Ärende: ELECTRIFYING 57
=======================
 > ML> Speaking of pine needles, sorbets and infused oils of pine
 > ML> are fashionable now in certain avant-garde culinary circles
 > ML> (see below on my attitude toward them).
 IH> Yes, I've had them a couple of times, (for me that was one of the few
 IH> slip ups at the French Laundry, now you mention it) 

I do prefer my supper not to taste of disinfectant or
other things not generally recognized as edible.
 
 >I enjoy pretentious cooking just as much as any other cooking,
 >if the results are good.
 IH> I guess I find the two are mutually contradictory. In my view, there's
 IH> nothing pretentious about really fine food - of itself.

I'd go to Adria's or Achatz's restaurant and perhaps
enjoy the food qua food as well as marvel at the various,
er, innovations offered by the meal. And what could be
more lovely than a rose made of thin petals cut from a
raw sturgeon or salmon.

 IH> But your list is fascinating.....
 >Bresse chicken  not really
 IH> can't say.

They're chickens. Nice firm but tender white meat,
good flavor, but no more than chickens.

 >chanterelles    sometimes
 IH> only sometimes? hmm.

Only sometimes. Perhaps ours aren't so nice as yours, or
perhaps the mystique has been diluted by my having found
them wild even with my own defective eyes. Be that as it
may, I prefer mushrooms with a more forthright (less subtle?)
mushroom taste. And I was never thrilled with their texture.

 >Dover sole      never
 IH> Goodness me. Don't agree at all. 

Okay, it's a lovely delicate fish. But our own flounder
(Hough's Neck in Quincy, Massachusetts, about ten miles
south of my apartment is considered the flounder capital
of the world - whatever that means) is almost equally
lovely and much fresher, and the fact that one can get
it for a tenth the price doesn't hurt.

 >foie gras       almost always
 IH> (that's a "sometimes" for me.)
 
A special treat here rather than a fact of life. That
and the fact of my high esteem for extreme fat.

SALMON AND MANGO NAPOLEON
cat: fancy, appetizer
serves 4

1 c heavy cream
1 lemon; juice of
2 Tb finely sliced chives
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into 1/8" slices
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 x 4"x12" thin slices smoked salmon
sea salt
coarsely ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Whisk cream until it forms stiff peaks. Add juice and
chives; and mix well. Taste mangoes; if they are very
sweet, you may wish to add more lemon juice to cream
mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Place a slice of salmon on a cutting board. Spread a thin
layer of lemon cream on salmon, covering it completely.
Cover cream with slices of mango. Place a second layer of
salmon on the mango, and again cover with a layer of cream
and a layer of mango. Top with a layer of smoked salmon.

Cut into four rectangles of equal size, and transfer to
four plates. Sprinkle with sea salt and coarse pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil, and serve immediately.

Adapted from Cyril Renaud, La Caravelle

___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)