Cooking And Eating....“Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es”

eggless, crunchy rusk with mummified partridge thigh, presented with a sharp, damascus blade to slice the duck fat in which the rusk is fried......and in which the dry thigh is rehydrated.......o.k., Andrew Zimmern? A perfect accompaniment for a hundred year old egg, or...if a century egg is not available......a cave swiftlet's egg will suffice.....

  Fonds d'Artichauts Farcis, Bearnaise craving has drawn this old insomniac into a dark kitchen.......then, on 'second thought'.......I opened a jar of artichoke bottoms in olive oil, terragon and lemon juice.......toasted a couple of slices of sourdough and emptied a glass jar of 'pre-made' Bearnaise Sauce over some leftover poached eggs, from yesterday's b'fast and some sauteed mushroom slices with leftover wine 'dregs'.........Not 'Perfection', perhaps...but, then, it IS 4:30 am! I know there must be some parsley in the fridge, from yesterday's 11PM 'run' to Kroger, for some smoked paprika.....

  when in doubt, just use your fingers.......in 1900, Edith Wharton would have had the 'proper silver implement' to transport this roasted cicada over a almond butter and honey-topped Golgappa puri, filled with lemon custard, to one's 'perhaps, not that eager' palate.....

they've been a 'regular' at my dinner table since I was 6 years old....and liked them with ketchup.....then, at 12, with tartar sauce.....later, after watching Julia Childs and other TV chefs prepare them...many ways..... the salmon patty gates were open to my Imagination....

ROASTED FIGS AND CHEESE EN CROUETTE........ THE 'COMPROMISE'  GREEK CHEESE SPIRAL ....FROM THE FROZEN PRODUCTS DEPT. AT TRADER JOE'S......