R.W. Apple died this morning. This makes me a bit sad; he is someone I would have liked to meet. Coverage can be found at the New York Times, R.W. Apple, a Times Journalist in Full, Dies at 71.
Oct 042006
Sep 292006
Two good posts on food today at megnut. First, Michael Ruhlman writes on a proposed bill in New Jersey banning the production of foie gras, Foie Inanity Reaches New York. Second, Meg writes on raw milk consumption, Raw milk and E. coli. Both posts were quite interesting, and I agree with Michael and Meg wholeheartedly.
With respect to Michael’s post, factory farming practices are much crueller and dangerous than U.S. foie gras production. Any politician who decides that foie gras production is evil while turning a blind eye towards the majority of chicken and pork production is naive at best.
Meg is spot on the money with respect to raw milk. Milk is pasteurized for a reason. While there are good reasons to enjoy raw milk cheeses, it is important to understand the risks. If you don’t like typical milk, I encourage you to seek out milk that is not ultra-pasteurized and homogenized, like the milk at Ronnybrook Farm Dairy. Of course, everything has costs; Ronnybrook milk is more expensive than large-scale factory farming produced milk.
Michael Ruhlman’s post and comments has references to a book by another Michael, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. I read this book while I was on jury duty last month and meant to write about it earlier. This is a very well written book that documents how food gets to our table from the start of the process. He visits a variety of farms and finishes the book with a description of a meal he made with vegetables and meat he gathered and hunted. Michael also researches how our farm system is heavily linked to corn. Several parts of the book were published in various forms in the New York Times Magazine. You can read these items and others on his web site; they give you a good idea of the style of his book. One good sample to read is The Modern Hunter-Gatherer. I recommend picking up the book–it is an important work on the food we eat.
Jun 202006
I should really do a post with more photos and relate various funny stories. But I’ve been busy. So all I really want to write right now is that I really enjoyed watching Hell’s Kitchen on Fox last night.
May 032006
There’s a pretty great discussion about good places to drink beer in New York City on Eric Asimov’s blog, The Pour. I did my part and contributed.
Apr 272006
From the inside of a Hershey’s bar (Milk Chocolate with Almonds):
Candy is a treat. Please consume in moderation.
Jan 112005
As I wrote earlier, Larry took me to Per Se for my birthday. It was actually a few weeks before my birthday, but it is difficult to get reservations. We went with Peter and Mary Beth Weinberger. Larry got the reservation while looking at the restaurant through OpenTable. There must have been a cancellation; generally you need to reserve the restaurant two months in advance.
I arrived at the restaurant on the fourth floor of the TimeWarner Center just as the restaurant opened at 5:30. Larry, Peter, and Mary Beth had arrived a few minutes earlier. The front desk took our coats and we walked through the bar area into the dining room. The bar area is elegantly designed with many comfortable couches and chairs. One window faces onto Columbus Circle. The bar area is open for light drinks and snacks. However, they don’t allow sneakers or jeans, and they said they would prefer that men wear jackets.
We were seated at a nice, large round table that would have been used for five or six people at most Manhattan restaurants. The dining room seemed to have less than 20 tables, with ample space surrounding each table. The dining room is split level, and we were seated on the upper level. There are large windows facing out to Columbus Circle, broken only by a large fireplace with a healthy fire.
The restaurant has excellent sound design. It did not seem noisy at all even though we felt we could comfortably talk. I suspect the high ceilings with various light fixtures serve to muffle the sounds from other tables. We didn’t hear any noise from the street below.
We were offered drinks as we perused the menu. Larry and Peter each chose to have a glass of champagne, while Mary Beth and I each had a champagne cocktail. The champagne was dry and wonderful; it felt like it evaporated right off of the tongue. Our champagne cocktails were also great. There was a sugar cube at the bottom of the glass, and an orange twist went up the inside of the champagne flute. The cocktail was blended with several different liquors, and despite the sugar, it was a nice, dry, and refreshing before-dinner drink. None of the flavors were too cloying, and the before dinner drinks lasted into the amuse bouche.
Three different menus were offered to us. There was a five-course tasting menu, a five-course vegetable tasting menu, and a nine-course tasting menu. There were also a variety of options offered with each of the tasting menus. Despite the difference in the number of courses, all of the options resulted in a full meal. The restaurant decreases the portion size of the nine-course tasting menu so that you get as much food as eating the five-course tasting menu. Incidentally, this is only restaurant of this caliber that I have seen that offers a real vegetarian option. I wouldn’t be shocked if they could make a vegan option as well. In fact, the restaurant went out of their way to point out that they would accommodate any food requests of anyone at the table.
One of the major options offered with the tasting menus was the option of adding a truffle course of some kind. For example, we could have a truffle risotto or a truffle pasta dish. I regret not taking this option. This is the season for truffles. I recently cooked with truffles (albeit from Oregon) recently, and they make an unbelievable difference to a dish. I will just have to take this option next time we dine at Per Se.
Amuse Bouche
Course number zero was an amuse bouche from the chef. The amuse bouche is a pre-appetizer appetizer; it is a way for the kitchen to greet its guests. In this case, the amuse bouche was a signature of Per Se: a small cone filled with creme fraiche and topped with a dollop of chopped salmon. The entire cone was no bigger than a finger, and it set the tone for the rest of the night: funny, happy, interesting, delicious, and satisfying.
What was striking about the dishes at Per Se was that no ingredient popped out at you like it was gratuitous. No course left you with an unpleasant aftertaste, and you could taste the freshness and richness of each course. On the tasting menu, each dish built on the last one–the flavors and seasoning of each course got bolder and stronger and the desserts were rich conclusions to an incredible dining experience.
Bread and Butter
We were offered three different styles of bread. I should have taken notes, because I don’t remember two of the three. The third style of bread was a miniature epi loaf. This is a baguette with leaves. I didn’t get it, but it was a joy to see. The bread is made on premises; it had a perfect crust and a rich interior. We were served two different types of butter. Both butters were creamy and luscious.
“Oysters and Pearls”
The first course was called “Oysters and Pearls.” This dish had two pieces of Island Creek oysters and a large spoonful of Iranian caviar. It was served in a creamy tapioca sauce, and you could see each individual pearl of tapioca. For this dish, we were presented with a small pearl spoon; it allowed us to gather each scrap of sauce and caviar. (A photo of this dish is posted on the Per Se website on the menu page.)
At this point, we were also ready to order our first bottle of wine. The wine list at Per Se is sensible. It is mainly composed of classic French and American wines, and the price range is very reasonable. This wine list was clearly a labor of love; it was comprehensive without being exhaustive.
We decided to start with an old-world style white wine. Old-world style white wines generally do not have an oaky flavor and tend to age well. Like some great red wines, old-world style white wines will be a blend of several different grapes (or varietals.) With the assistance of the waiter, we chose a nice white wine from the Burgundy region of France.
Salad of Hawaiian Hearts of Peach Palm or Hudson Valley Moulard Duck “Foie Gras En Terrine”
Larry, Mary Beth, and I chose the salad; Peter chose to have the foie gras seared. The hearts of palm were perfect. They were served with several small heirloom beets and a rich truffle sauce. The truffle sauce pulled everything together; it tempered the strong flavors of the vegetables and allowed them to be enjoyed as a single dish. I also tasted part of Peter’s foie gras. It was cooked well, but I don’t love the taste of foie gras. If you like foie gras, this dish is not to be missed.
Crispy Skin Fillet of Mo’i
The fillet of moi was the favorite dish of the table. Moi is a fish from Hawaii; Fish Fit for Royalty is an excellent article regarding the history and background of this fish. The dish was created with a small fillet that had been precisely cooked. The fillet was served on top of a bed of stir-fried julienned vegetables. Finally, the entire dish was surrounded with light wasabi oil. I am sure there are other ingredients to this dish that I couldn’t discern.
The vegetables were cooked but still crisp, the fish was succulent and crispy, and the wasabi oil was hot without being overpowering. There was a balance of texture and flavor between every component of this dish. The dish was clearly influenced by Asian and French cooking techniques, but I thought it was quintessentially a dish of the United States.
This dish epitomized my experience at Per Se. Everything about it was perfect.
Nova Scotia Lobster “Cuit Sous Vide”
Typically, Larry is not a fan of lobster. He finds that it is used at most restaurants as a mechanism for butter delivery. And in most cases, I think he is right. However, in this case the lobster dish highlighted the texture and flavor of lobster.
At the base of the dish was what I thought was a small potato cake. In fact, until I researched the menu more extensively just now, I did not know that it was actually a small apple cake; they called it “Pomme Fondante.” It had a very mild flavor and texture that gave the dish body without overpowering the lobster. The “Pomme Fondante” was surrounded by what was described as a lobster vinagrette. The vinagrette was more like lobster foam; it was distilled essence of lobster. The dish was crowned, both figuratively and literally, with a large piece of lobster. Like every other food we consumed that night, it had been cooked to perfection. It was certainly fully cooked, but it was probably the most rare lobster I had ever eaten. The texture was rich and interesting, and the flavors were not dull from overcooking.
We were down to the end of our first bottle of wine during the lobster course. One of the sommeliers came over to offer us another bottle of wine. After looking through the wine list, we had decided on buying a Meritage. A Meritage is a Bordeux-style wine that is made in California. The sommelier assisting us had another suggestion. The next course we were going to eat was duck, and he was concerned that a Meritage would overwhelm the duck. He suggested a half-bottle of wine to drink with the duck; after the duck, we could switch to a different bottle of wine. On his recommendation, we ordered a half-bottle of red wine from Burgundy.
“Aiguillette” of Liberty Valley Pekin Duck Breast”
For this dish, we were served a perfect slice of duck breast with two sauces: a quince sauce and a foie gras sauce. The duck was rich and cooked rare. There was a thin layer of duck fat along one side of the meat. The sauces were rich and delicious. The Burgundy selected by the sommelier was a perfect accompaniment to the duck. A Meritage would definitely have drowned the flavor of the duck.
As we were consuming the duck, the sommelier stopped by to help select the next bottle of wine. (Four people can easily drink a half bottle; one full bottle of wine typically serves four or five.) With his assistance, we selected a half bottle of Neiman Cellers Meritage from 2000. This was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
Snake River Farms’s “Calotte De Boeuf Grillée”
This dish was another one of my favorites. We were served a tender and flavorful piece of beef cooked medium rare. The outside was seared to perfection and the inside was warm and wonderful. To the side of the beef was something that looked like a little tater tot. Of course, it wasn’t a tater tot at all; it was actually a nicely cooked piece of bone marrow. The beef was served with forest mushrooms and a sauce Bordelaise.
This part of the meal was like ascending the summit of a large mountain. It was a great trip up the mountain, and the steak was like being at the summit. We remembered everything that came before this part of the meal, and we were excited to look forward to second half.
Needless to say, the Meritage was a perfect choice to go with the beef.
After this course had been removed, we were offered more bread to go with our cheese course. As I recall, two sorts of breads were offered, a raisin bread and some sort of nut bread. (My recollection of the bread is hazy at this point; my brain was swimming in a sea of happiness.) I selected a piece of raisin bread.
“Tomme D’Abondance”
Tomme D’Abondance is a hard cows milk cheese. It had a firm texture, but the flavor was subtle. I’m not complaining, but I suspect we would have tasted more if the cheese had not followed such a flavorful steak preparation. The cheese was served with “Bartlett Pear ‘Pain Perdu.'” This was essentially a small, spongy pear cake. The cheese was propped up against the cake, and very finely diced pear was placed on top of the dish. The cheese and cake were surrounded by rosemary oil with juniper balsamic vinegar.
Jackfruit Sorbet
Thomas Keller is a chef with a sense of humor. Well, at least I thought the jokes were funny. Jackfruit sorbet doesn’t need extra description–it was a simple tasting sorbet made with jackfruit. The jokes in this dish came with the sauces and garnish. The sauce under the dish was a “Haas Avocado ‘Emulsion.'” Everyone knows that avocados are savory, but here they were in a dessert dish. And they were well placed–the high fat content of the avocado added a great richness to the sorbet. On top of the dish was a “Cashew ‘Nougatine.'” Like the jackfruit sorbet, this was both straightforward and fantastic. It was cruncy, flavorful, and fun to eat.
The joke part of this dish came with the final component. As the waitress placed the table she recited the description, ending with “mumble-mumble foam.” No one on the table quite caught that, and we asked her to repeat what she said: “‘Red Hot’ foam.” We asked “As in the candy?” She said “As in the candy.”
And why not? The Red Hot foam gave the dish a spicy cinnamon zing without overwhelming the rest of the components. It elevated this course from a perfectly fine palette-cleansing course to a fun and interesting course by itself.
“Tentation Au Chocolat, Noisette et Lait”
I am not great with describing desserts. My mind wanders when I am fed cream, sugar, and butter. The addition of chocolate makes it almost impossible to concentrate. Here are the components of this dish:
- Milk Chocolate Crémeux
- Hazelnut Streusel
- Condensed Milk Sorbet
- Sweetened Salty Hazlenuts
- Vanilla Sugar
What can I add to this list? The chocolate creme was like heaven. The sorbet was rich and dreamlike, and the vanilla sugar was subtle and wonderful. This dessert alone would have elevated the level of any meal anywhere.
Bonus course
We were presented with an extra dessert course. Waiters placed crème brulee in front of Peter and Mary Beth, and Larry and I both received a double-layered custard dessert. I didn’t taste the crème brulee, but like all of the dishes we were served, the presentation was perfect. Unlike so much in life, I am sure that it tasted as good as it looked. From what I recall the custard dessert had a layer of fruit custard covered with a simple layer of plain custard. It was a great way to wind down the meal.
Dessert wines and coffee
I love dessert wines. I like the sweetness of the wine and the power of the flavor. Peter and I both got small glasses of dessert wine. I wish I had written down what I got, because I can’t remember now. Regardless, the dessert wines were top-notch French dessert wines. I believe one of the wines was a port-style wine, and the other wine was a late bottle vintage (LBV), but I can’t be sure.
I also drank an espresso. (Decaf, of course; I can’t stay up all night!) They served double shots of espresso in an interesting double-cup. The saucer was elevated around two inches off the table, and the cup was nestled inside. It was an interesting design, and it made you feel as if you had gotten twice as much coffee.
“Mignardises”
As the bill arrived, we were given a three-layer tray of cookies. No cookies were present when we left the table. The cookies ran the gamut of the cookie world: every combination of density and flavor were covered. Yet they were all perfectly made.
More cookies
Of course, since we ate all of the cookies that came with the bill, we were given more cookies to take home with us. Who doesn’t like to leave the restaurant without a little treat?
Stay tuned…
What more can I say about Per Se? Well, I can say quite a bit more. The service at Per Se was astoundingly good. We asked some silly questions and got serious and intelligent answers. Peter asked to see the private dining room. We were offered a tour of the entire restaurant, including the kitchen areas. It was the cleanest and calmest kitchen I have ever seen. The chef de cuisine shook our hands. During service. And finally, I will talk about the price of the meal at Per Se. It wasn’t the most expensive meal I have ever eaten, but it was certainly in the top five. However, this meal was arguably a good deal. Expect more information in future postings.
Dec 302004
Larry scored an extra reservation tonight to Per Se through one of his coworkers. Four of us will be going there. It should be an interesting experience. Frank Bruni of the New York Times gave it a four-star review. [He just gave another four-star review to Masa, a restaurant in the same building as Per Se.] I probably will not take photos at the restaurant.
While I’m thinking of food, I ate at some great places in Seattle. Dandelion is a small restaurant in Ballard with a terrific local menu and a great wine list. The red wines were mainly local to the Washington and Oregon areas; the white wines were mainly blended French wines. The service was friendly and efficient. It was a small place, and it took us a while to get seated. In fact, they gave us glasses of wine because of the wait.
As I do almost every time I’m in Seattle, I ate at Harvest Vine and Le Pichet, a tapas restaurant and a French wine bar respectively. Harvest Vine has a seasonal menu; at this time of the year this means that there is less vegetables and more meat on the menu. I went by myself and sat at the bar. This makes for a great experience, as you get to see the chef prepare dishes for the entire restaurant. There is nothing bad on the menu; I had three or four dishes, and even though it was several weeks ago, I can still recall the elegance of each dish.
Le Pichet has a fantastic list of around 30 wines by the glass, pitcher, half-bottle or bottle. It is a great way to get to know a wide variety of French wines. There is a small bistro menu that is designed so that you can have a small snack or a full meal.
I will try to write more about food in Seattle and Portland later. For example, I can spend a good amount of time describing the various mushrooms I purchased at Pike Place Market. I also will write about some adventures with my godson and hanging out with friends.
Pike Place Market at night.
Mountains on the flight to Seattle
Oct 092004
On Thursday night, I went to ‘inoteca with Sarah and Jeremy. It was quite good. It’s a small restaurant with wines, small plates, and sandwiches. We had to wait around an hour to get a table, but I think it was worth it. There were 25 wines by the glass and a very nice wine list. Jeremy and I shared the assorted meat plate; it had a selection of five or six different cured meats. We all shared a heirloom tomato salad with buffalo mozzarella, fried risotto balls, and a couple of sandwiches. Sarah and Jeremy split a nutella panini for dessert; I had some roasted fruits.
They serve food until 3 am; the waiter and the host said they will be opening for breakfast soon. When their full schedule is in effect, they will be open 19 hours per day!
Sep 052004
I’ve eaten in many places while I have been in Rome so far, and the food has not disappointed. From the small “bars” that carry sandwiches and drinks to the larger more formal “ristorantes,” I have not had anything that I didn’t enjoy eating. Of course, there are a couple of places that I will definitely remember.
The first truly memorable place I visited was Cul de Sac, an Enoteca on Piazza Pasquino, just outside of Piazza Navona. Morgan from Otto suggested that I check this place out. (He got the recommendation from a coworker at Babbo.) Cul de Sac was quite amazing, and I will try to get there again before I leave Rome. It reminded me very strongly of Harvest Vine in Seattle. The restaurant has over 1,400 wines by the bottle; there were easily 20 wines available by the glass. The portion size was on the small side; this meant that you can enjoy several dishes without getting full. I recommend going with a few people so that you can share more dishes.
My notes for my meal are sparse. It wasn’t that I was drunk or lazy; it’s just that I enjoy eating and drinking a lot more than I enjoy taking notes. When you combine this with a poor memory, you end up not remembering exactly what you ate and drank. That being said, I started out with a glass of Liguria Cinqueterre “Riomaggiore” for €3.30 while I decided what to eat. During the meal, I had a glass of Toscana Cum Laude “Banfi” for €4.20. This was a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. I would describe it like a sharp Bordeaux. It had a lot of flavor, but it was still sharp like a young red wine. I had a third glass of wine, but they pulled a switch on me, and I don’t recall what it was. All three wines were excellent.
The food at Cul de Sac did not disappoint. I started out with a small bowl of olives. They cured in olive oil and lightly seasoned with dried herbs and salt. The seasoning made all the different, and each one was a pleasure to eat. I followed up the olives with a selection of three pates. The first, and most mild, was hare with truffles. The second pate was venison with juniper berries. The third, and my favorite, was pheasant with pepper. What amazed me about all three pates was that they each were smooth and rich, yet each pate had a very distinctive texture and taste.
I finished my meal at Cul de Sac with “parmentier di verdure.” This was a layered vegetable dish. The bottom layer was spinach. This was covered by a layer of mashed potatoes that was crispy on the top. I wouldn’t be surprised either way regarding the presence of cheese in the dish. It was quite hearty and was a perfect main course.
I had a great meal at Cul de Sac. The service was quite good; the waiters shared responsibility for all of the tables. The point of sale system was interesting. Waiters would place orders using a wireless system, and every item on the menu was numbered. The menu is large; it filled several pages with small type. Of course, the wine list is impressive. Expect a photo of the restaurant to be posted as soon as I can find a place to upload my darn photos.
I wish I could say that ‘Gusto was as exciting as Cul de Sac, but it wasn’t. Before it sounds like I am ragging on the restaurant too much, please keep in mind that it was very good. In New York City, it would easily be a two-star restaurant, and I could see it getting three-stars without breaking a sweat.
‘Gusto has a lot going on. There are several separate shops: a restaurant, a pizzeria, a wine bar, an osteria, an enoteca, a book store, and a cheese shop. The entire operation takes up a large part of two floors of a city block in Rome. This is a big operation. ‘Gusto is clearly concerned about their image. (Check out the website if you don’t believe me.) I first visited the wine bar, and then I continued on to the restaurant.
The wine bar was interesting in that it offered five white wines and five red wines by the glass. There were many, many different mixed drinks and an impressive set of high-end liquors.. Most of the drinks were American concoctions, but there were a couple of house specialties. I started out with a mixed berry/sparkling wine mix that was quite good. I also had a small dish of olives and a couple of small rounds of bread with salmon and roe. The olives were not great; they were a step above olives out of a can, and were served unseasoned. The salmon was just okay. It was fresh, but it also lacked seasoning. The glass of red wine was good.
I went on to the restaurant. Although I was dressed nicely, I was dining alone and what was probably thought of as a poor table near the service station for the wait staff. I actually enjoyed the seat because it gave me a great view of the rest of the restaurant and the wait staff working.
The wines I had at the restaurant were okay, but nothing stood out as spectacular. My first wine was a run-of-the-mill chardonnay. The second wine was a very nice white wine with rich mushroom undertones, but I do not recall the name. I wanted a third glass of wine with my third course, but the wait staff didn’t ask and I wasn’t insistent. I did have a glass of Saturnes with dessert, but again, it was not spectacular.
The food was just short of being really good. If I had one message for the kitchen staff, it would be: underseasoned, underseasoned, underseasoned! Every dish I had lacked salt, pepper, or major herbs. The ingredients were ready to show their stuff, but there was no accents available to make them shine. And the dishes are so close to being great. My menu:
- Sea Bass Tartare with Pesto Sauce. Both the sea bass and the pesto were very mild.
- Round Egg pasta Stuffed with Ricotta and Mussels. This was the best dish of the evening. The ricotta had a strong egg flavor, and the mussels were full flavored and rich. There were four additional mussels on the side of the plate, and the was a subtle, rich sauce surrounding the dish.
- Pork with Apple Butter and Mixed Vegetables. This was a good, hearty dish, but I wish the pork had some sort of rub. The mixed vegetables were eggplant, carrot, and zucchini. They were prepared in perfectly cut diamond slices with a mild glaze.
- Chocolate Mousse with Hot Peppers and Orange Sauce. This dish was very disappointing. The chocolate mousse was rich and thick; it was topped by a semi-solid dark chocolate cap. However, I didn’t realize that the hot peppers were even in the dish until I had one at the very end. There was no heat in this dish at all, and the orange sauce was mild at best. It was a far cry from the habanero fudge from Third and Main in Salt Lake City.
Sitting next to the service station for the waiters, I also had a unique view of the service of the restaurant. For example, at one point, they ran out of silverware at the service station. The service was not slick; in fact, the wait staff seemed a bit harried. I was also a bit surprised when my entree plate left a dirty ring on the white tablecloth. It was a very strange occurrence considering how much importance the restaurant placed on style.
Overall, this is a restaurant to see people and be seen, not necessarily to get food. I would definitely go to ‘Gusto for drinks, but I don’t know if I would go there for wine. I’m not unhappy with my experience, but I have had better.
For brunch today, I went to Tazio Brasserie in the Piazza della Repubblica. The restaurant looks out onto the plaza and is half-situated in a four-star hotel. The food was quite good and quite expensive. It is clearly a very trendy place, but the food and service were top-notch. The first course was served buffet style. There was a selection of roasted vegetables, meats, and small fried items. I had a piece of cheese wrapped in zucchini, thinly sliced zucchini chips cooked with soy sauce, roasted vegetables, small fried pork chops, and a stuffed tomato.
The stars of the first course was the roasted tomato that came with the roasted vegetable, and the soy sauce zucchini chips. Both were unexpectedly good. The tomato tasted as if it were fresh from the garden, and the zucchini chips were full of flavor.
The second course was described as fish soup. I had forgotten that in Europe this can mean some really huge pieces of fish, and very little liquid. I wish I had remembered; I would have eaten less for the first course
I was delivered two large pieces of halibut with a crushed tomato and olives. It was a wonderful, flavorful dish. My only complaint was that the olives seemed to be machine pitted and processed cocktail olives rather than nice marinated Italian or Greek olives. Do they think their customers can’t handle olives with pits? It was an odd note in an otherwise excellent meal.
I had a couple of nice glasses of wine. I started out with a glass of Barberesca and followed that glass up with a glass of wine from Puglia. (The captain offered me a choice between a new bottle from Puglia or a new bottle from Margaux. The Bordeaux was tempting, but I’m in Italy right now.)
To finish my meal, I had an espresso and a couple of chocolate hazelnet merangues. Meringues are some of my favorite cookies: light and delicious without filling you up. At the very end of the meal, the captain brought me a glass of moscato passito. This is a light and refreshing dessert wine. It was a nice gesture.
One interesting restaurant aside: a gratuity for service is not always included in the bill and unlike the United States, when you pay by credit card, there is not a line for service. Make sure you have some extra cash on hand when you dine out so that you can leave an extra tip. The wait staff will remember you as the dumb American who left an extra tip and not as the dumb American who couldn’t speak Italian.
I am have a great time in Italy. I wish everyone I knew were here so that we could enjoy everything together. I am in Rome until Tuesday, and then I am off to Florence. If you have food recommendations, please be sure to send them my way Also, please send me any spelling corrections. The spell checker is of limited use given my use of both Italian and English.
Jul 042004
Today my friends Henry and Jill are having a barbecue. It is a “Beat Bush Barbecue.” Everyone who attends is supposed to bring a check for John Kerry for President or MoveOn.org. At first I thought this was kind of annoying, but then I realized that these are both organizations I believe in. I haven’t given either organization financial support yet, and this BBQ is just the kick I needed to donate.
I made a chocolate mousse for the BBQ. I got the recipe from Craig Claiborne’s New York Times Cookbook. This is a great cookbook. All of the recipes are well tested, and you don’t have to be an expert chef to use them. It is definitely one of my go-to cookbooks.
Below is a photo of my chocolate mousse. It is in a pretty Emile Henry dish. The dish is red, but you can’t tell because the mousse is backlit.
The recipe is not as safe as it could be. It contains raw egg whites, which could cause Salmonella poisoning. You can cook egg whites to 160°F to kill any bacteria, but this is a fairly annoying extra step. I will definitely let people know that there are raw egg whites in the mousse, but I am not too concerned. To look up techniques to make raw egg whites safer, just do a Google search for “safe raw egg whites.” Many sites will come up. I found the directions at Aki’s Kitchen fairly easy to read. Again, I didn’t bother.
I think a chocolate mousse is only as good as its ingredients. I used heavy cream from Ronnybrook Farm, unsweetened chocolate from Lindt, orange liqueur from Grand Marnier, and large organic brown eggs from Organic Valley (cool domain name). I also used white granulated sugar to sweeten the chocolate, and vanilla beans from Blue Apron Foods.
[Wonderful Blogger behavior. After spending a good 20 minutes writing this post, I clicked preview. When I clicked the “back” button, Blogger essentially deleted my post. Web sites that cause the “back” button to have poor functionality are very lame.]