:)

i got the pied de chochon cookbook/dvd last week and i love it. martin picard is one of those nose-to-tail chefs. i don't know if i'm ready for all of the "weird stuff", but i'm getting there.

i've put montreal next on my list of places to visit! (michelle of montreal, have you ever been to the restaurant?)

mfm,
I haven't been to Pied du Cochon yet (it's hell to get a reservation because of the popularity of the book), but I'm long overdue for a fancy restaurant meal....

It does appeal, as Chinese cooking (the mainstay of my diet) is very nose-to-tail as well, but I don't know if any of my regular resto-going buddies would be into it.

Montreal is full of great eats, and I'd recommend it highly for any foodie.

thanks, michelle. i hadn't realized that chinese cooking was that way as well. i still have a lot to learn about eating and cooking meat, but i do like the idea (and so far, the taste) of using the whole animal. being vegetarian for so long made me squeamish, and i'm trying to get over it.

if you don't get to go to PdC before my trip, i'll accompany you ;)

haven't been to APDC yet either, my SO has resolutely said no to going there. I'd go to try the poutine foie gras + a light dish(there are some--but few!). The signature dishes-duck in a can, etc, are huge! I've heard mostly good reviews & that it's definitely worth experiencing at least once. The trick is to go early (they open at 5pm).

no-knead bread question:

i just got the 5 quart lodge dutch oven, but the top has those self-basting spikes. would those spikes ruin the bread?

(i don't think I can return it after i try....)

thanks

Jill

I just baked a loaf of Irish Soda Bread this am in my PREHEATED Lodge dutch oven and it has the crispiest thinnest crust ever! I think it's a great method, but I am not much of a bread baker so I was actually wondering what yeast bread would be like baked this way. Please post your results.

Oh, and if you decide not to use the Dutch oven for bread if spikes cause problems all I can tell you is there are a million other ways to use it. I make all my daubes, stews, etc. in mine.

so more about Pied du Cochon...this from a foodie friend. It's apparently very good, but very rich and heavy. An uncommon wine list to go with their uncommon food. And besides the poutine with foie gras that leeds mentioned, apparently there's a chicken pot pie with a chicken foot sticking out the top!

mfm...I really respect that your embracing of meat might include the less attractive parts of an animal.

As it's currently -7 degrees here, I'm doing lots of soups: a smoky tomato-basil bisque this afternoon, and a semi-Moroccan chicken stew tomorrow.
Oh, and I finally got around to trying the Bittman granola "recipe" (guidelines, really): brilliant. So delicious. I tossed in dried peaches & cranberries with pumpkin seeds and cashews- I may have a third helping today.

nadarine: post your moroccan chicken soup recipe when you make it. that sounds perfect for winter!

I have a 5qt dutch over, a round one. I use it to make the no knead bread and the bread never rises more than about 1/2 way to the height of the dutch over. So I don't think the spikes in your Lodge pot will cause a problem.

The important thing about cooking the bread in a pot is that it is in a small enclosed space.

awww...moraccoan chicken stew sounds wonderful. will you post the recipe when you have a moment? it sounds divine!

I got a hankerin' for some family Italian food so I sauteed some Napa cabbage (I can NEVER find Savoy cabbage) with some garlic, olive oil, fresh grape tomatoes, ceci beans and crushed red pepper. It took about ten minutes and it was SO delicious!
~Monica

the semi-Moroccan stew is still a rough idea right now, but I think that after work I'll toss it in the crockpot while running errands. I'm planning on using: 5 large links of chicken sausages of assorted spicinesses from the co-op, a 28 oz. can of crushed Muir Glen tomatoes, a bunch of veggie stock, 2 yellow squash, 1 zucchini, and about 2 cups of cooked Israeli couscous. I'll season with saffron and cumin... and whatever else is floating about my cupboard.
Hopefully this stew will be a resounding success, because I'll feel bad if I have to call the pizza delivery guy out in this cold!

I got,er, semi-Tunisian with a lamb stew -- recipe in Suzanne Goin's book Sunday Suppers. The spice mix was a surprise - caraway and paprika and I can't recall what else. It was nice, and didn't tast like anything I'd ever had before.
Sadly, never been to N.Africa....

The stew turned out delicious, but I learned a very, very important lesson: when easing back into carnivorousness from 10 years of vegetarianism, it's a bad idea to jump straight into sausage. Cutting squishy raw chicken sausage into chunks freaked me out quite a bit- next time, I may go for something less threatening. Like precooked cocktail shrimp.