At Libretto their service is great. You have to get there early because it gets busy at around 6:00. [The famous pizza in the city is there] If you get there early, you’ll also be able to get a parking spot near the restaurant on Ossington.
It’s very spacious, but can be loud and you can sit at a very long table with other people. It’s called a communal table. They have crayons for kids because kids usually whine while waiting for their food (be aware, they still might whine). I don’t whine unless I’m really hungry. Their glass bottles of water are free and filled with their filtered tap water. When you finish it, just give it back to the waiter/waitress and they’ll give you a new full bottle. For the appetizer, I love the wild mushroom bruschette if they have it – we always ask. Their pizza is unreal! (spelt crusts – yum). I love the wild mushroom pizza also, but the one with arugula is really good too. The margarita has cheese and the marinara does not – they are both unreal. They can make them safe for my sister to eat (she has a nut allergy). They have nuts in some stuff, but they will make substitutes for the nuts. When we leave there is always a huge lineup, and lots of people, I wouldn’t want to wait in that line because I would whine about being super hungry!

I love my birthday. I love it so much.

Everyone seems to jump at the chance to feed me food I couldn’t otherwise afford, and for this I am thankful.

And I’m thankful when restaurants make it more affordable for my friends to treat me to quality eats.

Chaya Brasserie celebrates its 25th anniversary this month with a $25 prix-fixe menu.

Chaya Brasserie is French-Japanese fusion — when I first heard that, I thought it could either be really bad or really good. When I walked in and saw the cool contemporary decor, I decided that it would probably be very good.

Chaya is offering a special $25 prix fixe menu for their 25th anniversary. You get to choose from three options for appetizers, entrées, and desserts.

We got a Halibut Crudo appetizer, which was served in a yuzu green onion sauce and was melt-in-your-mouth tender. (not on the prix fixe menu) to share and a bottle of red wine. Everything else, we got for the prix fixe price.

My friends both had the Shrimp Tempura Roll appetizer. I tried a piece — it was tasty; not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly solid.

I had the Jalapeño Focaccia. It was served with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olive tapenade, and a nice slice of Fontina cheese. It was tasty, but I wish there had been more tapenade and I secretly felt that I could have made the focaccia at home.

On to the entrées. One of my friends had the Braised Short Ribs. It was served with a wild mushroom macaroni and green beans. I think they were the most tender ribs I’ve ever put in my mouth — they were that good. And the mushroom mac was delicious, too — it had some crunchy bits that lent a nice crunch to the dish. The beans were okay; a little overdone.

I liked my entrée much better. I got the Tai Snapper and Scallops. The fish is wrapped around the scallop and then seared. My scallops were done to buttery perfection. It was served over a lobster curry with basmati rice and julienned veggies, which was also quite tasty. I totally cleaned my plate.

And, finally, desserts. One of my friends got the Flourless Brownie. It was served with vanilla ice cream, which was necessary to bring balance to the ooey-gooey richness of the brownie. If you love chocolate, then I would highly recommend this.

And my other friend and I both got the Panna Cotta with Figs. Boy, howdy. There was a tangy balsamic reduction on the panna cotta, and it was just right. They cut the fig in half and brûléed the tops, which gave a nice crunchy component to the dish. And the panna cotta was just perfect — the creamiest I ever had.

Add to that the excellent service and that they let us stay for an hour after our meal and didn’t stand around clearing their throats and looking pointedly at their watches, and I think you’ve got a pretty solid dining experience.

Happy birthday to me!!

Chaya Brasserie
8741 Alden Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 859-8833
www.thechaya.com

Just a few things going on around here lately.

Shelling purple-hull peas on the porch.

Washing raspberries plucked from the bushes next to the St. John’s Wort.

Spider friend hanging out on the porch. She’s got the most glorious web. Garden spiders build stabilimentum–the thick zigzag in the middle of the web–which either attract prey, camouflage the spider, or ensure that birds notice the web and don’t destroy it by accidentally flying into it. The females are much larger than the males, and they eat them after mating. Human guys don’t know how lucky they have it. So often in nature males exist simply to assist in procreation and then they die soon afterward.

Wild mushroom in the neighbor’s yard. Love when these pop up. Some folks down the street had a giant fairy ring last fall, but they mowed it down before I had a chance to get a picture. I couldn’t fathom why they would just run their lawn mower over something so special.

Sweet li’l bird that sleeps in the eaves of our porch every fall. I love how it snuggles up. Hm. It’s pretty dirty and spider webby up there.

The rain continued to tail us throughout the morning, as we left Chame (2700m) for Pisang (3200m). Perspiration from the exertion made wearing a poncho unbearable – instead of just being wet, I felt hot and sticky as well. At a rest stop, I took off the poncho and converted it into a cloak. It became much more bearable after that.

Ruins of Bhratang

By about 10am, we arrived in the ruins of Bhratang – an abandoned Tibetan refugee village, once the home of exiled resistance fighters of Kham. Empty stone houses, broken ladders, washed out signboards, and a general desolation now dominated the village. A serious young man in denim – looking very much like a time-traveled Kham fighter – served us chya (tea). We had Coco Cakes (local coconut flavoured cookies) -  40 rupees a packet from a nearby shop. Simple luxury – pure heaven.

It was at Bhratang that we met yet another two trekkers – Joo Ho (guy), 32,  and Jung Ah (girl), 22, from Korea. The solo travelers met in Lumbini and discovered a common agenda. Joo Ho, an MBA candidate and a former marketeer, was fresh out from India through the southern Indo-Nepal border, and Jung Ah, a foreign language undergraduate, had been left unsatiated by a 5-day quickie trek to Jomsom-Muktinath-Marpha. Both were first-time trekkers, without guides or porters, on a shoestring budget. Truly admirable adventure spirit.

Way to Pisang, between Bhratang and Dhukur Pokhari

Paungda Danda, the impossible cliff

As we neared Dhukur Pokhari (translated: “bird pond”), the drafts became stronger – I felt my body alternating between hot and cold. A slight feverish feeling had seeped in, along with mild headache. By now, my mind had shut down – only my legs were moving. I was a dead man walking. Paungda Danda, a very smooth granite face that seemed to have been cleaved by a giant’s axe, appeared through the fog, glowing in the sunlight.

By noon, we made it to Dhukur Pokhari (3100m), where we met the same Swiss couple again. They appeared sullen/serious as the day before. At the same restaurant, we would meet another trekker – a very kempt middle-aged Korean woman doing a solo (with a porter/guide, I think). It was good to know we aren’t the only dummies doing a monsoon off-peak trek.

Glad to be out of the cold and wet, we placed our order for a fresh, hot feast: dhaal bhaat masu (Nepali rice with lentil soup and meat). But it was off-peak, so no meat. It was substituted by wild mushroom curry – a delightfully tasty dish. The chiao (mushrooms) were plucked fresh from the forests – it had a fresh wild taste, like nothing we tasted before. Using my hands to scoop the piping hot rice was a pleasure in itself. Dhaal bhaat just doesn’t taste the same from a spoon.

Manang Valley, Pisang

After lunch, the trek towards Pisang was a welcome transition. Dense forest gave way to lush valleys, dotted with pine and juniper trees. Horses grazed on the meadows, and an array of wild flowers splashed across the landscape. We arrived in Lower Pisang at about 230pm.

Pisang marked the transition from Gyasumdo (south of Manang) into another cultural zone – Nyeshang. Both have Tibetan roots, but their dialects are different. I guess to the outsider, they looked the same. Upper Pisang (about 100m ascent) loomed above, like a derelict fortress of stone and mud, still watching its charge below. The gray bastion was populated by an equally gray community, along with a handful of monks. A constant stream of devotees trekked up to pray in the gompa. Upper Pisang was a half-hour gentle ascent past pleasant buckwheat and barley fields.

Flowers in Pisang

Upper Pisang

Old woman carrying a dhoko, Upper Pisang

Off-peak is really the time to trek if you’re not looking for luxury in terms of food and accomodation. Most of the items on the menu that looked remotely exotic (read: Western) should be ordered at your own risk (for instance, “special pizza”) and getting really hot showers is like hitting jackpot. If you expect five-star reception at lodges, think again. During off-peak season, many of the lodge owners are away in Pokhara or Kathmandu, leaving only less-than-enthusiastic workers behind to entertain the rare monsoon trekker.

Special pizza at Hotel Maya deserves special mention. Saag (vegetables, in this case, bitter mustard leaves), tuna, yak cheese and tomato sauce just didn’t agree with each other on a pizza crust. The crowning glory of the dish – a fried egg plastered in the middle of the pizza – simply added to the bizzare taste. And a guidebook actually commended this lodge for its “excellent meals”. Later, I was told that most of the chefs were in Kathmandu during off-peak and these “special dishes” were made by their assistants – so don’t order anything too complicated (dhaal bhaat and anything made of potatoes is safe). A good piece of advice, a little too late.

Pisang

>> Day Six: Pisang-Manang

Mama J's Mushroom

Yes, I know, I was supposed to share the cornbread recipe today. But you know how it is:  sometimes, thing come up…

Well, this came up.  In fact, it grew up.  A great big Puffball Mushroom.  I have never, ever seen one even come close to this size.  My Mama J found it along side the road up the mountain.  Said she had been watching it for weeks and figured it was finally ready.

I believe she was right.  Not a worm in it. Pure white through and through.  Perfect!

All this rain has paid off with a crop of early mushrooms.  One more simple blessing from the beautiful rain.

I’d never cooked a Puffball before and was rather hesitant.  They are not poisonous, so I was not really afraid I would be poisoning my family by serving this as a side dish.  It’s important to be able to get a positive i.d. on your wild mushrooms.  There are many books available to help you identify, but they can be confusing and overwhelming. If you’re going to get a book, try to find a local one so that you only have to flip through the pages of real possibilities, not every single magnificent variety that can be and has ever been found from one coast clear to the other. The best bet is to learn from someone who knows.  Stick with the few varieties you are 100% certain about.  It’s really not worth getting sick over.

Since we were 100% sure, and this one was a beauty, we had to try it.  This thing was huge, so I ended up slicing, then dicing to get “bite size” pieces that would cook evenly.  We wanted to taste the mushroom, so I kept the cooking simple.  I melted 2 tablespoons butter in a medium cast iron skillet. Tossed in the diced mushrooms and coated them with butter.  Added ¼ teaspoon dried thyme.  Cooked over medium heat for about 8 – 10 minutes, tossing regularly to brown all sides.  Then sprinkled with garlic salt for the last minute. 

They were good.  Simple, smooth, flavorful… couldn’t ask for more. 

Figured I should share the recipe with you, simple as it is. It works well with most any kind of mushroom, but a wild variety will usually produce a richer flavor.

Most years, our mushroom season isn’t until August.  I wonder if this early rainy season has thrown off the cycle for the year, or if our August crop will come on as usual.  Time will tell.

Wild Mushroom and Lavender Soup

Crafted by our chef Joshua Gayer at Jenny Lake Lodge, the wild mushroom and lavender soup is a treat for the taste buds. The soup boasts earthy tones, with a hint of lavender and features a perfect creamy and acidic balance. Try creating this culinary concoction yourself.

Wild Mushroom-Lavender Soup
 
 
3 yellow onions peeled large diced
1 head of celery-tops and bottoms cut off (no leaves) and large diced
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves garlic
1/4 cup dry lavender buds
1 cup dry vermouth
3 lbs mixed wild mushrooms, Portobella, Oyster, Shiitake, Crimini, button (use what’s available)
1 Pint Heavy Cream
Sherry Vinegar, kosher salt, and fresh pepper to taste
 
 
In a large soup pot cover bottom  with clarified butter or vegetable oil. Use low heat or medium low heat.

Add onion, celery, bay leaf, garlic, mushrooms saute until all vegetables are soft. This will take a while. Do not brown.

Cover vegetables with vermouth, cook down until dissolved.

Add water (use bottled water if tap water has a undesired flavor) one gallon.

Add Lavender buds.

Simmer for twenty minutes.

Add heavy cream.

Puree soup with a hand blender.  Puree until almost smooth (you wont be able to get it completely smooth at this point). 

Chef’s Tip #1: Do not use a regular blender, the steam from the hot soup will erupt if blended in a sealed container. I learned the hard way some time ago.

Once blended strain through a medium size strainer or china cap.  If the holes are too small the soup will not strain properly. 

At this point decide whether or not your soup is the consistency that you desire.  If thick, add water. If thin, put into a soup pot and slowly simmer until reduced properly. Stir periodically.

Finish soup with kosher salt, sherry vinegar, and fresh cracked pepper.

Chef’s Tip #2:  The vinegar is very important, add a little at a time until you can taste it.  Without the acidity it would be a very boring creamed soup.
 
Enjoy!
 
 
Chef Joshua Gayer

So, one day I came home to find a rather large box at the door.

I opened it up, expecting to see a major award, only to find a styrofoam-insulated, ice-packed package of Buitoni Wild Mushroom Agnolotti sent to me from the good folks at Foodbuzz.

Though I was bit perturbed at the waste of packaging (the Al Gore in me screamed out in pain), I was just as excited to give these fresh pasta pillows a try.

I knew that I didn’t want to overpower the flavor of the stuffing, so tomato sauce wasn’t even considered. I  wanted something fairly simple, but also complementary to the pasta, and the peas and prosciutto idea (suggested by Foodbuzz) fit the bill. The only problem: my wife doesn’t eat pig.

A substitution of turkey bacon was made, and soon we were off and running. While the agnolotti were boiling, I browned up some butter (perhaps a bit too much of it) in a frying pan.

At the end of the cooking cycle for the pasta, I tossed in the frozen peas for a few minutes of boiling, before draining the whole deal.

After letting the chopped bacon crackle a bit in the brown butter, I turned the gas down and threw in the peas and pasta for a nice ‘cook and coat.’

With a few good tosses, it was ready for plating. I removed a good portion of agnolotti, peas and bacon (all coated with brown butter) to each plate, cracked some fresh pepper and sprinkled the shredded Grana Padano (a cousin of Parmigiano Reggiano) on top.

And there you go, absolute fantastic-ness. The best compliment I can pay to this pasta is that despite all the accouterments, the wild mushroom flavor really shone through. Buitoni certainly impressed me with this pasta, and I can’t wait to try a few of the other flavors they have.

In a word… bellisimo!

When Foodbuzz.com contacted their “tastemakers” back in March with an offer to try Buitoni’s new Riserva line of ravioli and agnolotti pasta, I jumped at the chance!  I love their regular line of pastas for both the taste and ease in preparation!  I hastily sent back my note of interest in hopes of being able to sample their new line.

Within a few weeks a rather large, mysterious package arrived at my doorstep and I was puzzled by what it could be.  Hubby looked on as I quickly unwrapped the packaging to find the precious pasta!  Since the pasta requires refrigeration, it had been shipped in an insulated box with cold packs to keep it cool!

Unfortunately, this complimentary package arrived around the time that my Harry was sick, so after oooohing and aaaahing over the free pasta for a few moments, it got tossed in the fridge.  It was never forgotten though.  I’ve been mulling over how to cook the pasta ever since I received it.  In the end, I decided to keep it simple.

I sauteed some veggies–asparagus, mushrooms, green onion, shredded carrots and garlic–in olive oil and seasoned it with a mix of sea salt, rosemary, oregano, cracked black peppercorns and red pepper.  I laid the cooked ravioli on the bed of veggies and topped it with Muir Glen’s fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, sprinkled with some shredded parmesan cheese.  If you haven’t tried the fire-roasted tomatoes yet, you’re missing out!  I love ‘em and hubby liked them too!

As for the pasta… wow!  It was awesome, and I’m not just saying that because it was free!  Hubby is a HUGE mushroom fan, so these guys were right up his alley.  He even snagged the extra few ravioli I had left in the strainer and tossed them on his plate once I was done taking photos.  I heard his famous “Mmmm” before I sat down at the table and I knew we had a winner.  Per the packaging, the ravioli are stuffed with “fresh portobello and crimini mushrooms, imported grana padano and parmesan cheese and fresh roasted garlic.”  See what I mean?  That sounds awesome, doesn’t it?  Seriously.  These were good.  And while the fire-roasted tomatoes were a yummy compliment to the pasta, next time I’d take Buitoni’s advice (again from their packaging) and “just toss with extra virgin olive oil.”  It would definitely let the flavor of this pasta stand out.

Many thanks to both Foodbuzz.com and Buitoni for allowing hubby and I to sample the wild mushroom agnolotti!!  We enjoyed it immensely!!

I figured there wouldn’t be a much better way to start off  Food For Her Soul than to show you the food for my soul. I was uploading pictures off my camera that have been there for months and I came across the pictures from the first time I dined at a restaurant that my boyfriend and I have become regulars at. It’s called Feng Asian Bistro located in Hartford, CT. We found this restaurant by accident this past Valentine’s Day while desperately trying to find a nice place to eat dinner.

With our stomachs growling and our patience thinning we were about to settle for another restaurant in Hartford, CT (which will remain nameless until we try it since we still haven’t) when my boyfriend found Feng Asian Bistro (we call it Fengs) and he started reading off the sushi menu to me. With us both being huge sushi fans, we were both fascinated by the interesting menu and decided to give it a go.

To this day, we have been there countless amounts trying a majority of the menu (I’d say half), and I will talk about our favorites and recommendations to anyone who hasn’t dined there before at the bottom of this post! After overdosing on their sushi on a daily basis, we discovered they have a VIP program where you can earn points each time you dine! After only about two months of having a VIP card now we have realized how big of a spending problem we have with this place. Each time our bill comes and updates us with our points, we see that we’ve basically spent rent money each month of their food. So, what does that say? It’s delicious, yes…but a bit pricey. Let’s just say it’s a good thing we don’t live in Hartford (we are a 30 minute drive from Feng’s) because they supposedly deliver…not fair.

And it all started with Valentine’s Day..it was packed and surprisingly we were able to get reservations that night. The ambience is wonderful, lighting is pretty dark but I personally don’t mind that. Three appetizers (seaweed salad, sampler trio, and oysters), three sushi rolls (philadelphia roll, “the number 93 roll” and “the hartford roll”), and one entree (day boat scallops) later we found ourselves looking at a dessert menu which is a must for me, no matter how full I am. Eh, what the heck, it’s Valentine’s Day. We’ll have the first three things on the dessert menu which are as follows with pictures;

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake - Everyone has heard of lava cake, every chocolate lover wants one. It’s no ordinary cake. It’s the kind of cake you put your fork in and chocolate oozes out from the center, with hazelnut, white chocolate risotto, and vanilla ice cream which unfortunately you can’t see in the picture because of the weird lighting from my camera. I would have taken more pictures to get better quality, but with three desserts sitting in front of us we found it hard to even take this. This was a while ago, but if I can remember this was pretty good. Not the best lava cake I’ve ever had, I might have to go back and try it again to give a fair review for this one.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Sandwich

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Sandwich - two chunky perfectly baked chocolate chip walnut cookies with a creamy, delicious scoop of double fudge ice cream in between and chocolate and caramel sauces alongside. Strawberry adds the nice touch. Now, if there’s any dessert for my soul, it’s this. I have dined in top restaurants in NYC and Miami, paying hundreds of dollars for one meal and the desserts were phenomenal but never in my life did I think something as simple as two chocolate chip walnut cookies with double fudge ice cream stuffed between them could be so good. I can officially say, that up to this point in my life, it is my favorite dessert. Ever. I know it sounds extreme, and maybe I can’t justify or explain it but I don’t think I have to. Perhaps others wouldn’t agree with me that this is the best dessert a person could ever have, after all it is a huge statement, but I will guarantee you one thing–you will thoroughly enjoy every single bite of this dessert no matter who you are. Let’s just hope you are A.) strong willed unlike me or B.) don’t live close to Feng’s because these things are addicting. So, there’s your introduction. I will try to post more reviews and pictures soon! I’ve got a lot of pictures to sort through and unfortunately I get lazy with taking pictures at restaurants so the past year I’ve kind of slacked and missed out on a lot that I could have pictures of but don’t..so from now on I’ll try so I can share with you and keep you drooling.

But before you go! I got a little excited and posted the desserts first, but here is a picture of my main course. It’s the Dayboat Seared Scallops with wild mushroom risotto and vanilla butternut silk.

It was absolutely delicious and I’ve gotten it a few times after this as well. The thing that brings this whole dish together is the sweetness of the vanilla butternut silk sauce. It goes perfectly with the wild mushroom risotto and is unlike any scallop dish I’ve ever had. One thing I can say for sure is they have never overcooked the scallops out of all the times I’ve ordered this and each time I get it it’s consistent and enjoyable. I often think I’m going to have leftovers to bring home but end up cleaning my plate before I can ask to get it wrapped.

Feng Asian Bistro Dish Reviews

Bear with me as I have had these over the course of a few months and I might not be able to recall the dish exactly. (This gives me a reason to go back and try them all again) I see Feng’s in my future many more times (just went there yesterday actually) and if I try these dishes over again I will edit my review and rating for them and be more descriptive. I will also provide pictures so you can see what I’m talking about! It’s hard to talk about the flavor, etc when I haven’t eaten it recently. So my apologies for the reviews right now, I will improve them as time goes on so stay tuned. I will provide a star rating to sum up what I remember about each dish. So for now, until I revisit these dishes, here are my basic reviews.

– Poor.
– Below average
– Average
– Above Average
– Delicious!

Appetizers

Aged Miso Soup; exotic mushrooms and scallions – I’ve ordered this twice, both times I enjoyed it. I could definitely tell the difference since it is “aged”, it had a great flavor and if you like miso soup you will like this.

Rating: Price: $6

Clam Tomyum Soup; ginger, miso broth, oyster mushrooms, peas and cilantro – Really tasty, I don’t know why I’ve only ordered this once. I’m trying to remember how it tasted and I just remember it tasted good! The clams come in the shell with the broth great for dunking the clams in or just drinking as the soup it’s meant to be.

Rating: Price: $7

Seaweed Salad; pickled vegetables – I order this the majority of the time I go to Feng’s because I love seaweed salad. The pickled vegetables are at the very bottom of the salad so it’s not mixed in and messing with the seaweed (incase anyone got scared by the description). If you’re like the boyfriend, the word pickle will steer you away from anything no matter how good it sounds but he really likes the seaweed salad and even eats the pickled veggies at the bottom.

Rating: Price: $6

Edamame Soup; coconut curry broth – First bite I’m thinking “Mmm”, it’s a nice change of pace from their other soups as the others are mostly broth but this is a little creamier. Fifth bite my mouth is burning but I’m sensitive to spicy stuff and usually don’t like things too spicy. Actually, I never like things too spicy. This was delicious but for it was a little too much curry. My boyfriend said it wasn’t spicy at all, so the verdict is to try it yourself. I love edamame as well and I’ve never had an edamame soup until this one, I would order it again despite the burn.

Rating: Price: $7

Bamboo Steamed Edamame; hawaiian black sea salt – I am new to the world of edamame and aside from the soup I have only had steamed edamame at two other restaurants. The first was Roy’s in Orlando, Florida and the second was Onyx Fusion Bar & Restaurant in Springfield, MA. Both of the others had spicy seasoning on them and at Feng’s it’s just as in the description. It’s so simple yet you find yourself going in for another each time. What is it about edamame that we enjoy eating it so much? Well, there’s not much to say, if you’ve never had edamame it doesn’t taste like much (which is why it’s salted and seasoned wherever you order it) but apparently edamame is considered a healthy food for it’s protein content and it’s highsource of vitamin a, b, and calcium. I’d actually like to see if anyone does anything else with these little soybeans!

Rating: (Rating N/A..the edamame wasn’t bad by any means but if I were to give this 5 stars then that would be saying it’s as good, say, the chocolate chocolate chip sandwich..and it’s not.)  Price:$6

Carpaccio; seared tenderloin with black truffle mustard sauce – I’ve had this twice and MMMMM, I really liked it both times. Perfectly tender strips of carpaccio and the black truffle mustard sauce is delicious. My boyfriend and I tried to pace ourselves eating this becuase it was so good. A bit pricey but as you can see from what I’ve already reviewed, everything is a tad overpriced.

Rating: Price: $14

Chef’s Medley; dragon rib, crab rangoon, beef and chicken satay – For me, the best part of the medley was the crab rangoon because it’s not an ordinary crab rangoon, they put an (unidentified as of right now) herb in it that gives it a fresh almost citrusy bite to it. It could potentially have lemon or lime in it, next time I will ask. The dragon rib wasn’t anything to remember and the beef and chicken satay were good but I think mostly credited to the three dipping sauces they provided with them. I’m not a huge satay fan to begin with, so I could be biased against it.

Rating: Price: $13

Korean Style Calamari; sweet chilli salsa – My second favorite appetizer. I’ve always been addicted to fried calamari, but the first time I ordered this it didn’t seem fried at all. However, it seems with time it evolved into fried calamari because the last time I ordered it, it was crispy and perfect with the “sweet chilli salsa” which is more sweet than spicy, and more of a sauce than a salsa. It tastes like sweet and sour sauce to me, a little tangy and the same kind of consistency. I’m glad that each time I’ve ordered this, it’s never been drenched in the sauce beforehand (I like to control how much I soak my calamari especially if it’s fried. Soggy fried calamari = bad).

Rating: Price: $10 Recommended!

Rock Shrimp Tempura; spicy creamy sauce – First let me say, the sauce really isn’t spicy. It has less heat than spicy mayo, if any at all. It is, however, yummmyyy! We have a hard time not ordering this everytime we go (but we usually give in and do it anyway) because it’s our favorite appetizer. My boyfriend doesn’t even like shrimp but it’s tempura shrimp so it’s crunchy and creamy on the outside and softer on the inside. Probably one of the most unhealthy options on the appetizer menu, but it’s one of those things that is a must try so screw the diet for one night.

Rating: Price: $13 Recommended!

Kukomoto Oyster; three chilled with sake cocktail sauce – I don’t eat raw oysters, that’s something I won’t eat raw. I mean I have, but most of the time I just smell or watch. I don’t like the feeling of it slipping down my throat, I don’t really like the taste. I’d rather have something less slimy. My boyfriend loves them of course, so this is his star rating.

Rating: Price: $9

Sashimi Trio; tuna with guacamole, yellowtail with cilantro mango, and salmon with kimchee sauce – The description might be a little off, I can’t remember if the yellowtail had the cilantro mango or the salmon but either way this appetizer was yumm. If you like sashimi, this is basically three pieces (we got six possibly because there’s two of us) topped with yummy condiments that really made the difference. Whether it was worth the $14, maybe not, but it was a nice little experience.

Rating: Price: $14

Main Dishes (prices coming soon)

Lemon Pepper Roasted Duck; japanese plum, peach chutney, and wild rice – My boyfriend ordered this and it was good (he really liked it) but for me the duck was a little dry for my liking and there wasn’t enough of it. When I combined the sweetness off the plum and peach chutney I almost forgot that it wasn’t amazing duck and enjoyed it anyways.

Rating: Price:

Shang-Hai Braised Meat; short rib on daikon, pork osso buco with wild rice, lamb shank over bok choy – My boyfriend also ordered this one. It looked beautiful, very nice presentation, but overrall it didn’t work for me. It was just OK. All the meat seemed too dry, which was disappointing because it was a great idea for a main dish and I had read a review on it before and it just didn’t come through.

Rating: Price:

Day Boat Seared Scallop; wild mushroom risotto, vanilla butternut silk – Ok, you already know I love this one. It’s probably my favorite entree or comes close tie with a couple others that I haven’t gotten to in the review yet. Scallops are nice and tender, not overcooked (but actually might be a little undercooked for certain people’s preference). Wild mushroom risotto is creamy and hearty (and good by itself) but 10x better with the vanilla butternut silk combined with it.

Rating: Price: Recommended!

Wasabi Tuna Tempura; lump crab avocado roll, wakame seaweed salad and pineapple sake nectar – I don’t remember how many pieces of crab avocado sushi there were..either 6 or 8 undearneath the wasabi tuna tempura with a bed of seaweed salad and a sweet sake sauce all over the bottom for your dipping pleasure. This was extremely tasty, we really loved taking a piece of the tuna tempura with it’s crispy crunchy outside and medium rare inside (big pieces by the way) with a piece of the lump crab avocado roll and drench it in the pineapple sake nectar. When you combine everything together you can have fun with it and the sauce was really delicious. This is another sweet and savory dish and I love how it’s got crunch to it, probably one of our new favorites as we’ve only ordered it once.

Rating: Price: $28

Tangerine Soy Glazed Red Snapper; fresh soy beans, tomatoes with purple sticky rice – We ordered this a little while back and I think it comes in second or ties for second in best entree at Feng’s. We do have a few more to try though before saying for sure, but the red snapper was perfectly cooked and I’m definitely a new fan of purple sticky rice! It was so good! I’d like this to be one of the dishes I try again.

Rating: Price:

Side Dishes

Coconut Curry Mashed Potatoes – I really liked these mashed potatoes. If it were up to me…MORE coconut and MORE curry please! A little too subtle in flavor, but you can definitely taste both of those components. It just left me wanting more of the coconut curry flavor.

Rating: Price: $5

Garlic Bok Choy – Believe it or not, this was the first time I’ve ever had bok choy. At least I think it was. I’ve known what bok choy is for years but just never got around to trying it. Garlicky? Yeah. Yummy? Decent. Not my favorite side dish.

Rating: Price: $5

Tempura Sweet Potato – I love sweet potato and the tempura ones look like fried sweet potato cakes. They also have a sweet potato tempura roll that I enjoy too, but for $5 you get a lot more of the actual tempura sweet potato and not as much rice, which is what I prefer.

Rating: Price: $5

Feng Special Rolls

I’ve had most of their specialty rolls, but only a few in the past month (I usually get the same ones over and over)..so for now I’m going to tell you which ones I personally recommend.

Irene’s Paradise Roll; spicy king crab, avocado and shrimp tempura, topped with spicy crunchy salmon, honey wasabi sauce – Probably my second favorite roll, it’s got some a nice little mound in the middle from the shrimp tempura and hints of sweet flavor from the honey wasabi sauce.

Feng Chef Roll; salmon, yellowtail, tuna, tobiko, radish sprouts, asparagus, avocado, spicy mayo – Yummy, yummy. One thing I can say about this roll and all the special rolls at Feng’s is that they don’t skimp on the fish and it’s fresh and delicious. Everything tastes better with spicy mayo and it’s usually topped with panko bread crumbs which gives it a nice crunch.

Desserts aka my favorite part

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Sandwich – Some days the cookies are softer, some days crispier but every time they’re crunchy, chocolatey, nutty, and amazing. The double fudge ice cream in between makes this a very sinful dessert and I love the chocolate and caramel sauces that come on the side for dipping, the caramel is probably my favorite.

Rating: Price: $7 Absolutely Recommended!

Spiced Rice Pudding; with pistachios – Served cold, the rice pudding is really tasty has a delicious creamy texture and though I couldn’t really taste the pistachios, I definitely tasted the spice which had hints of cinnamon and clove. I brought the leftovers home and heated them up because I thought I’d enjoy it more warm, but it was actually better cold.

Rating: Price: $7

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake; hazelnut, white chocolate risotto, vanilla ice cream – As I said before it’s not the best lava cake I’ve ever had and I don’t remember being  blown away by it. I did ask a waitress there recently what she recommends and this was the one so I do need to try it again because I haven’t had had it in months.

Rating: Price: $8

Ginger Brulee – I think creme brulee should remain untouched and shouldn’t be jazzed up because it’s usually always best in the classic flavor. This was no exception to my opinion on that. I don’t mind ginger in desserts but it didn’t work in the creme brulee. I know they’re probably trying to put a spin on it because it’s an asian bistro but it could have been a delicious creme brulee without the ginger, which is what is disappointing about it.

Rating: Price: $8

Green Tea Cheesecake – Since we had the chocolate chip sandwich dessert so many times, we wanted to give another dessert a try so we ordered this. You know when you think you know exactly how something is going to taste and it ends up being completely different? This was one of those times. I pictures the cheesecake texture to be like most but it was actually extremely delicate and soft, creamier than your typical cheesecake. I also thought the green tea flavor would overpower the cheesecake but I was wrong, it didn’t overwhelm the cheesecake at all which was a huge surprise.

Rating: Price: $8

More coming later!

So I mentioned previously that I would be getting back to Jaspas in Soho and tonight was the night.  Since my last meal there (the osso bucco) left some room for improvement I decided that tonight I was a vegetarian and gave their wild mushroom risotto a try…

This was DELICIOUS!  I’m somewhat of a risotto connoisseur and let me be the first to applaud Jaspas in their aldente perfection.  They also use the nice thick shavings of parmesean cheese for an extra surprise on your palate.  The mushrooms are also quite nice since they are so large and plentiful.  My one wish for this dish would have either been for the chef to have used a little more shaved parmesean when cooking the risotto or for an extra dash of salt right at the end to bring out the flavor just a tiny bit more.

We also had the eggplant rolls for an appetizer which were cooked quite nicely but I just don’t think I was in the mood for that much goat cheese tonight.  Otherwise, another nice dish indeed.  All swallowed down with a refreshing glass of ginger ale.

Giving restaurants a second try…yet another reason to Live to Eat

Serves 4-6

Preparation time over 2 hours

Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

Ingredients

For the pasta

300g/10½oz Italian ‘00′ plain flour, plus extra for dusting
200g/7oz semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
flaked sea salt
4 medium free-range eggs
2-4 medium free-range egg yolks
For the filling
5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1kg/2lb 4oz mixed wild mushrooms, brushed and cleaned, larger varieties roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only, finely chopped
1kg/2lb 4oz spinach
freshly grated nutmeg
50g/2oz parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra for topping
300g-350g/10½oz-12oz sheep’s curd or soft fresh goats’ cheese
freshly ground black pepper
50ml/2fl oz single cream

Method
1. Place the plain flour and semolina flour and a good pinch of salt into a food processor and blend to combine.
2. With the motor running, crack in the whole eggs, then the yolks, one by one. As soon as the crumbs start to come together you have added enough egg yolks.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead to a crudely assembled mound. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, using the ball of your thumbs and palm of your hands to work it.
4. Mould the dough into a block, then wrap it in cling film and place it in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.
5. For the filling, heat three tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat and when very hot add the mushrooms and the salt. Fry the mushrooms, stirring regularly, until golden-brown all over. Make sure any liquids that are released evaporate with the heat.
6. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for one minute. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl and set aside.
7. Wipe the mushroom pan clean and add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil. Place over a high heat, then add the spinach. Fry, stirring well, until the spinach has wilted down.
8. Grate over a little nutmeg and add a pinch of salt and stir well. Transfer the spinach to a colander and, using the back of a spoon, press out any excess water.
9. To roll out the pasta, fix the pasta machine firmly to the edge of the table. Sprinkle a clean work surface with semolina flour. Cut a playing card-sized slab of the dough and feed it through the pasta machine on its thickest setting. Fold the pasta end to end and, winding the folded end first, feed it through the machine again.
10. Repeat this process changing the pasta machine setting down by one each time, feeding through twice each time, until you have fed the pasta through the machine’s thinnest setting.
11. Lay the pasta sheet out and cut it into sheets approximately 12cm/5in long. Set them side by side (not on top of each other).
12. Cut and roll some more dough and repeat the process, until all of the pasta dough has been turned into lasagne sheets.
13. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
14. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. (The pan must be large to ensure the pieces of pasta are not crammed together in the water.)
15. Place the lasagne sheets into the boiling water and cook them for approximately 2-3 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta, then refresh under running cold water. Drain again.
16. Place the lasagne sheets into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Gently turn the lasagne to coat in the oil.
17. Grease a deep baking dish with some olive oil. Sprinkle over a layer of freshly grated parmesan (reserving some for later).
18. Place a few sheets of the pasta over the bottom, all slightly overlapping.
19. Spread some of the mushroom mixture over the lasagne, then sprinkle over some of the sheep’s curd or goats’ cheese, broken into lumps.
20. Add a layer of the cooked spinach, then drizzle over a little olive oil and grind over some black pepper. Repeat these layers until all of the lasagne sheets and fillings are used up – which should be three thick sections of these layers. (NB: The last layer should be pasta.)
21. Press down the top with a spatula to compress the layers slightly.
22. Pour the cream over the top of the lasagne and drizzle with a little olive oil.
23. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan, then bake in the oven for around 30-40 minutes, or until cooked through and the top is golden-brown and bubbling.

Survived day two of the grind, three ride-alongs and one assignment later. My day included CHEO children playing at an accessible playground, Spam, Carleton University architecture students and shaking hands with the Indonesian ambassador. None of my pictures knocked my socks off today so it just means I’ll have to work even harder tomorrow. Sleep seems like a far off notion, but maybe I’ll give it a try!

OTTAWA, ON. October 22, 2008 – Le Cordon Bleu Signatures Executive Chef Yannick Anton creates a dish that creatively uses Spam luncheon meat to add salt and fat to an ox tail ravioli.

Grilled Sea Scallops on Forest Mushroom Risotto is classic combo. Kind of like Wieners and Kraft Dinner, only more gourmet, savoury, delicious, tastier, better for you, more …  Okay it’s nothing like KD & Wiens except that it’s a combo. Scallops are easy and quick to cook.  I just toss them in a little olive oil and fresh ground black pepper, grill them for a couple of minutes on each side and that’s it. There is so much flavour in the the risotto, it’s nice to keep the scallops simple and enjoy their clean fresh taste. It’s great that the scallops are so simple because the risotto takes a little more effort. Please do me a kindness and have a bottle of your favorite red wine with this dish.

I would love to tell you that the chicken of the woods in this recipe was the result of an exciting day spent foraging, prowling the likes of Hampstead Heath, waiting for the yellow glow of a strip of funghi beaming from a tree. Unfortunately, this is not the case. These are from Borough Market.

I would love to know how to forage for mushrooms without being in fear of my life. I’ve bought several books, including a mushroom encyclopedia, but the knowledge that 300 people die in France each year from eating poisonous mushrooms, terrifies me. I will do it, but first I need to learn from a pro, someone who knows what they’re doing and can impart that information to me. For now, I’ll forage the obvious, nettles, wild garlic and the likes, and buy my wild mushrooms when I can.

Don’t underestimate the excitement contained in turning the corner of the market and spying a table in front of a shop laden with large misshapen fungi. I had to know what it was and I had to have it. I was curious as to what I would do with it. I thought, originally: Risotto? Tagliatelli? With garlic and butter on toast? Then I thought, well, it apparantly tastes of chicken, so why not deep fry it? I could make it a wild treat and accompany it with a homemade wild garlic mayo?

As for tasting of chicken – what next?? Everything seems to taste of chicken, how did this become our culinary benchmark? A fungus, tasting of chicken? I had to investigate. I must confess that I didn’t find it much like chicken atall, it didn’t have a strong flavour, and the texture wasn’t particularly chicken like. Ok, so it’s more like chicken than other mushrooms. This may be because it wasn’t as fresh as it could have been, so I will try it again before discounting the chicken connection. I am too intrigued not to!

The mayonnaise is really straightforward, if time consuming. I promise that it is worth it! I made a small amount as I wanted to make it by hand and didn’t want to spend all night doing it. Even at that I have two blisters to show off tomorrow. I used beautiful Burford Brown eggs with large golden yolks, so if you’re not using these you might want to use less oil. I used the egg white leftover from the mayonnaise to coat the fungi. To coat I used panko (japanese breadcrumbs) – they are fantastic, but if you can’t get them, it’s fine to substitute normal mushrooms. I pureed some wild garlic with some walnuts in a small amount of olive oil. This was the result of an experiment earlier in the week, and for my taste too strong for a pesto, but really good with the mayonnaise. You only need a small amount so, if you are making it only for this dish use about 5 leaves and 3 walnuts, blanch the leaves for 20 seconds in boiling water to take the sharpness off them, and grind them with with the walnuts in a little olive oil in your pestle and mortar and add it to the mayonnaise. I would forgive you for using shop bought mayonnaise if you don’t have the time

Ingredients:

Fritters:
Chicken of the Woods, cut into slim segments (I used two medium ones, use as much as you want)
Some seasoned flour (plain flour seasoned with S&P)
1 egg white (add another egg if you have alot of fungi)
Some panko (or normal breadcrumbs)
Oil for frying (I used groundnut)

Wild Garlic & Walnut Mayonnaise:
1 large egg yolk
50ml extra virgin olive oil
60ml groundnut oil
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Roughly (depending on your taste): 5 wild garlic leaves and three walnuts, ground in a pestle and mortar with a little olive oil, as above

Method:

Firstly, make the mayonnaise. Add the salt, mustard and vinegar to the egg yolk, and whisk adding the oil a drop at a time. (Promise! It’s worth it!). Be careful to add it slowly as it may curdle otherwise, it’s not worth the risk. As you add the oil, it will start to get thicker, you can start to add it a little quicker then but not too much. When you’ve added all of the oil check the seasoning. Add the wild garlic and walnut mixture to taste.

Coat each slice of mushroom, firstly in the flour, then the egg white and finally the breadcrumb. Heat some oil until a piece of bread cooks on adding to the oil. Add your fritters to the oil and cook until golden brown, turning halfway through if necessary. This should only take a couple of minutes.

Drain excess oil and dry on kitchen paper. Season. Serve immediately with the mayonnaise.

Skinny Pancake – Burlington Vermont

Skinny pancake is on the corner of Lake St and College St in Burlington Vermont. Skinny Pancake is a funny euphemism for Crêpes. Crêpes make me think of the handful of times I’ve had them growing up with mixed results. Mostly they’ve been sweet (too sweet for my taste), so with my personal prejudice in mind I stepped up to the (crêpe) plate.

Skinny Pancake – Crepe Pie

This crepe pie is wild mushroom and chicken in herbs, in six crêpe layers with Mornay sauce(a light cheese / cream sauce). It is accompanied by a nice mescun side salad with phenomenal pesto vinaigrette. The cake was delicious and maybe a tad steep at $9, but the ingredients are good AND local.

Skinny Pankcake – “Red, White and Blue Smoothie”

Blueberries, cherries and a few other ingredients make this tasty healthful treat. Not since Liquid Energy Cafe (I miss you!) have I had such a good smoothie. This fruit smoothie makes me want to go buy a blender, especially since this frozen fruit ice bath is $4.50. This smoothie has the correct ratio of frozen content, there is one thickness, not a pool of liquid like some poorly made smoothies. Just be careful of brainfreeze.

This crêperie’s only problem is that it very busy during the lunch time, I would recommend calling your order in or going off hours. I would strongly recommend against the “starch bomb” “Coconut Curried Potato” on the menu, I ordered this not thinking and as Suzanne suspected, its too much starch in one place. Also of note is the whimsical interior and wrought iron 3-prong forks, they’re also a fondue bar during the evenings (I need to find a cheese-lover to go with).

The ‘lantern’ chilli supposedly to be the ‘hottest’. Some even say hotter than the chilli ‘padi’. I guess it all depends on your spice buds.

Left: Chilli, brinjal and cucumber

Pumpkin!! Great for pumpkin soup, pumpkin cake or just steam!

Left: Wild mushroom and galangal

The wild fern known as ‘paku‘, fry with ‘belacan’ (shrimp paste, chilli, shallots) DELICIOUSSSSSS!

Clockwise: Tomato, paku, pegaga, chilli padi

from The Splendid Table
Wrinkles and spatter marks impart a sense of history to a page. They are evidence of repeated visits. I first made this recipe from Rossetto Kasper’s splendid book while I was spending a year at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., in 1993. Strange to think that I’ve been obsessed with cooking for that many years — but actually it’s been longer. Memory tells me that that year stands about mid-way on my personal culinary time-line. But that can’t be!

Every time I’ve made this for the Holiday Crew, as I’ll refer to those of you with whom I usually spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, it seems to have pleased. I believe when I first made this recipe, I hadn’t yet worked out my all-purpose pasta recipe. For that, I had to move back to the West Coast to learn about pasta-making (none of my friends in Italy make their own dough). I still stick to Marcella’s two-egg/one cup flour ratio, but, recently, additional egg yolks have made their way into my dough.

Here’s how LRK does it:

1 1/2 cups (1 1/2 oz) dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups hot water

3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 oz Prosciutto di Parma, finely chopped (optional)
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
1 lb fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2-inch branch fresh rosemary, or 1/2 t dried whole-leaft rosemary
4 fresh sage leaves or 4 dried whole sage leaves
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 lbs canned tomatoes, drained of most of their liquid and crushed

6 quarts water
3/4 recipe Egg Pasta cut for lasagne (to follow) or 12 oz imported dried lasagne
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream blended with 1/4 milk

Working ahead: The sauce can be made 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate. The lasagne can be assembled several hours before baking. I prefer not to refrigerate lasgne before cooking, as the topping usually overcooks before the interior is heated through.

Preparing the porcini: Rinse the dried mushroom pieces under cold running water to rid them of sand and particles. If mushroom pieces are small, rid them of sand by swishing them in a bowl of cold water. Pause for a moment, allowing the sand and particles to settle to the bottom of the bowl, then quickly scoop out the mushrooms with your hands. Repeat if necessary. Then place them in a medium-size bowl and cover with hot water. Let stand 30 mins, or until softened. Life the mushrooms from the soaking liquid, squeeze out excess moisture, and coarsely chop. Line a small sieve with a paper towel for straining the liquid into the mushroom sauce.

Making the sauce: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, prosciutto and parsley. Sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, 5 mins, or until the onion is barely tinged with gold. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook over high heat 10 mins, or until they are golden brown. Stir in the chopped porcini, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook 2 mins. Cook in the garlic and herbs 1 minute.

Strain the mushroom soaking liquid into the skillet. Let it bubble down over medium heat, 5 minutes, or until it forms a thin film on the bottom of the skillet. As the liquid simmers, use a wooden spatula to scrape up the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and reduce it in the same manner, about 3 mins. Once the wine has cooked down to a sheer film, add the tomatoes. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat 10 mins, or until the sauce is richly flavored. If it is at all watery or lacking body, keep it bubbling over medium-high heat until reduced and intensified.

Cooking the pasta and assembling the lasagne: Spread a double thickness of paper towels on a large counter space. Have a large bowl of cold water handy. Bring the salted water to a vigorous boil. Drop three or four sheets of lasagne into the boiling water, and cook until tender but still pleasingly firm to the bite. This will take about 2 mins for fresh pasta, or 4 or more for dried. Remove the sheets with a large skimmer or flat slotted spoon, and drop them in the cold water to stop the cooking. Then lift the sheets from the water and drain on the paper towels. Repeat with all the lasagne sheets. Lightly oil or butter a shallow 2 1/2 – 3 quart baking dish. Have the sauce, cheese, pasta, and cream mixture close at hand. Film the bottom of the baking dish with a little of the sauce. Cover the sauce with overlapping sheets of pasta. Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pasta, just enough to moisten the sheets. Sprinkle the sauce with 2 to 3 T Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat the layering, saucing, and sprinkling with cheese until you reach the top of the dish. All the mushroom sauce should be used up, and about 8 T of cheese will be left over. Blend the remaining cheese with the cream mixture, and spread it over the last layer of pasta. Lightly cover the lasagne with foil.

Baking and serving: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the lasagne 30 mins. Uncover and bake another 10 to 15 mins, or until bubbly. Turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the lasagne rest about 10 mins. Cut the lasagne into squares, slipping a spatula under each portion to lift it to a dinner plate.

Pasta:

4 jumbo eggs
3 1/2 cups (14 oz) all-purpose unbleached flour

Blend ingredients, shape into dough, divide into two halves, prevent one half from drying out by covering it while you roll out the other half, cut into 3in x 5 inch rectangles.

Here’s how I adjusted it:

I made an American compromise. I did everything the same, only I doubled the sauce. For the pasta, I used 4 cups of flour, but that’s the sort of thing that requires practice and a sense of how the dough feels. Better to use too little flour and work in extra than too much. The cream/milk/cheese mixture evaporates in the baking, so I keep the proportions the same but increase the amount. When the entire dish is assembled, I pour the mixture over the top, lifting the edges to let it seep through to the bottom. The baking dish should be filled right to the top edge. And I sprinkle a bit more cheese over the top.

Last Thoughts:

You may think that I have prescribed a typical Italo-American tomato-saucy lasagne, but you’d be wrong. In spite of the changes in proportions of ingredients, the result still has the look and taste of a rather austere lasagne. By the way, prosciutto is not optional, unless you’re a vegetarian. And I once made two lasagne for the same meal, one with fresh porcini, the other with dried. Some of the crew, including myself, preferred the dusky, earthy flavor of the dried mushroom. Others liked the meaty texture but more delicate flavor of the fresh.