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A surprise on the plate !


Frederick

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Last month a meal ordered in a restaurant from the menu item "Three fish from the market " turned out to be grilled salmon ...grilled swordfish...and grilled  "Cuttlefish ".....that was a surprise ... I was not expecting one of them  but it tasted alright ... Anyone had any similar surprises  turn up on their plate when going out for a meal ?
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Mmmmm yours sounds good I love fish. Yes I also had a surprise in carcasonne while treating my brother to lunch, we went to a place that offered different priced meals of the day we picked the 15 euros one , we were not expecting much but we only wanted a light lunch. It started with a loverly seafood salad one of the best I have ever had. Then I had the tuna fish and my brother had the duck both very good, followed by cheese then real choc mousse , plus a glass of rose and coffee. We rolled away and I will be back there again soon I hope[:)]   
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Between the ages of 9 and 15 I travelled with my parents. If they liked the look of the hotel or restaurent they ordered blind then worked out what they were going to eat. I have followed the same rules through most of my life. Occasionally get a bit peaved with translations, Escargot de Mare are Whelks as far as I am concerned not Sea Snails and Boudain Noir is Black Pudding. Not mad on Steak Tartare. Used to eat on River Road in Nairobi which could be great fun. 

 

 

 

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When in Hong Kong it was one of the great pleasures, but engendered some strange looks from my Chinese colleagues sometimes who would hastily ask me whether I knew I had ordered..... at which point I interrupted and told them not to spoil the fun. They looked quite shocked as eating was so important to them that pot luck was almost a sacrilege. Wouldn't I kill to be back there now!
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Have eaten as a guest in the mountains of Taif in Saudi. First time there,in Ramadan, the food was laid out in the open courtyard in huge silver dishes and then everyone went for evening prayer!!   I was a bit worried about the hygiene aspect but whatever it was, plus the various dips, I survived.I didn't get the sheeps eyes but perhaps I had heard too many tales.

Having seen the Wild Gourmets , for 2 minutes, I have eaten eel, skinned/chopped and floured by a Canadian lady  who knew what she was doing,  my school pals mother , my pal and I had just caught them in the river at Sheeps wash,Throop, Bournemouth. It tasted a bit like chicken, which in those days,1952-3, I only ate at Christmas. How times change.

Regards.

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Look, don't any of you tell me you've eaten sheep's brain and goat's testicles, or whatever.  Have you been to Wales and eaten seaweed called "laver bread"?  It's vile.

I've eaten snake and turtle soup but laver bread with it's dreadful consistency and muddy pukey colour beats me completely.

Katie and Twinks, I apologise if you are laver bread fans but, to coin a phrase, "include me out"!

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Sweetie, I love laver bread, not the tinned type, that is rubbish.  You must buy it fresh in Swansea Market rolled in oatmeal.  It is lovely with a traditional breakfast.  I also made a lovely laverbread sauce in the summer, served with saltmarsh lamb stuffed with mint.

Twinkle hates the stuff but her French friends adore it.

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[quote user="Pads"]Mmmmm yours sounds good I love fish. Yes I also had a surprise in carcasonne while treating my brother to lunch, we went to a place that offered different priced meals of the day we picked the 15 euros one , we were not expecting much but we only wanted a light lunch. It started with a loverly seafood salad one of the best I have ever had. Then I had the tuna fish and my brother had the duck both very good, followed by cheese then real choc mousse , plus a glass of rose and coffee. We rolled away and I will be back there again soon I hope[:)]   [/quote]

Now come on P! Where is that place???

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Cor now your asking ..........Cant tell you the name, but if you come from the train station walk across the road park on your right, turn right keeping park on your right walk for about 10 mins crossing maybe 2 ish roads its on your left , you go down a ramp like your going into a carpark you go under the building and come out the other side into a very small court yard and in the door off the court yard , my brother showed it to me he says a friend told him about it and he wanted to try it for ages. you have to wait for a table as it was busy but well worth it. It wasnt a tourist place, looked very local but luckerly my brother speaks better french than me.  
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Yes Pads, I also would love to know the name and whereabouts of the restaurant in Carcassonne. It does sound very good, those 15 euros lunch menus can be dynamite!!!

 

I've never eaten some real laver bread unfortunately but would love to try. I am quite used to eating various kinds of seaweed - kombu, hijiki, etc... as they are ever-present in Japanese food.

We did eat a lot of seaweed during my macrobiotic phase.[8-|]

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Chez Fred ring any bells???

Come now P, I speak better French than you so that doesn't bode tooooo well for your bruver??![6]

We had friends to stay for  few daze last weak. When they arrived we came home and lunch time arrived. We had a salad with fritons (yum, yum), cep patie from the butcher in Villemoustuossou and their lovely salad ou mousseau. My mate's wife tucked into everything until I told her the salad ou mousseau is pigs nose. I love it, she didn't [:D]... Still, all the more for little me?

Hope your mum's OK P!![:D]

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Gastines

I used to work in the Wallisdown Rd and there was a super sandwich bar which did strange combinations like celery with date or something!

Had a fab secretary who made me laugh like mad and made me go for cocktails with her in the lunch hour so that I would then have to sleep over somewhere and not go home at all!

Crazy days!

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[quote user="Gastines"]Jonzjob. Are you talking Chez Fred In Westbourne Bournemouth by any chance?[/quote]

A bit further South than that G. About 600 miles, on the edge of Bass Carcassonne, near the port. Not been in there but had several recomendations. Perhaps Pads to add to that!!

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[quote user="Jonzjob"]

 the salad ou mousseau is pigs nose.

 

[/quote]

[:D] You must be meaning "salade de museau". I can't imagine many of my British friends eating it knowingly, so there must have been a lot left for you!


Sweet17, I have been out of my macrobiotic phase for many years, it didn't last very long - it was interesting while it lasted though, all this brown rice and roasted pumpkin seeds and miso soup....

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5-element

Miso soup is vile (at least in my opinion).  Tell me, is tripe cooked a la Caen or any French style any good?

Years since I ate tripe but I have only had it deep-fried and look at the packet stuff in the supermarket with suspicion.

Strange, used to eat all sorts of stuff as a child and now I baulk at anything slightly weird looking.  Still eat escargots and andouilletes but my stomach does not seem as strong as it used to be!  Shame really [:P]

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I don't care how it's spelled, there was loads left for me and Sweet17 if you can eat the used food called andouilletes then you have a stronger gut than me. YYUUkkkkk![+o(]

I have enough trouble spelling in English, what hope in Franche (?)[8-)]?

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[quote user="sweet 17"]

5-element

Miso soup is vile (at least in my opinion).  Tell me, is tripe cooked a la Caen or any French style any good?

 Still eat escargots and andouilletes but my stomach does not seem as strong as it used to be!  Shame really [:P]

[/quote]

There are all kinds of Miso soup, and sometimes I still like some, find it can be a bit like Marmite, i.e. an acquired taste.

Tripes à la mode de Caen, or andouillettes, I must have at least tasted them in my youth, but never actively attempted to repeat the experience, as it doesn't appeal strongly enough. Escargots is another matter, I used to eat them whenever I got the chance. Does anyone know Tielles? They are local to Sète (Hérault). And they are like a Cornish pastie made with seafood - baby octopus and cut up cuttlefish in a spicy tomato sauce flavoured with saffron - LOVELY!

But it's true that once I served some to British friends who claimed to like "seafood". When she saw the baby octopus she just spat it out. Their idea of seafood, it turned out, was either cod, or prawns and nothing else[:D]. Even the grilled tuna was not popular - even less, the carpaccio of fish, which naturally, like all carpaccio, means it is raw..... just like Carpaccio of beef.

 

Jon, I just thought you might like to know exactly how to spell and say salade de museau, for future reference? You never know when you will need it...[;-)]

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I get the meaning 5E. I must admit that I am terrible at spelling, so ta [:D]...

Tielles, love the good ones but not some of the junk they sell in the s/markets. Our neighbour is from Sète and she had some proper ones. As I am the only one in our house hold wot likes them I get the lot!! Yum, yum! I love escargots too, in a garlic sauce, lovely grub..

We didn't go near boudin blanch for ages because we thought that it was used food (andouillettes). We have now learned the error of our ways and making up for lost time. It really is tasty!

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Would love to taste these tielles.  Can you get them other than in the South East? 

Where I live, there is a lot of duck (I LOVE duck) but have only had an oven for a couple of days and it's playing up a bit.  Fortunately, I also have a bois charbon oven and will light that up and get going with some ducks' legs.

There was a recent thread on the best way to cook them, so I should have hours of fun cooking and eating them!

Any suggestions as to the best wine to accompany duck?

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As far as I know you can only get tielle in this area, but I stand to be corrected. If you do find them don't go for the tiny ones, about 2" across, they are mostly pastry. The proper size is about 4 to 5 inch diameter. All of our local s/markets sell them, but some are better than others, some are a load of old pony poo too!

Duck. Breast of duck is best done on the BBQ, good and hot. Just make sure that you have a lot of water in yer squiter to put the flames out. Done in the house you will have to clean up quite a lot of flying fat as it spits all over the place if you do it in and open pan. Your oven won't go rusty if you use that though [:-))]! Leg is best done low and very slow, as you have seen from that other thread. Gessiers only takes a few minutes to do in a frying pan and it's lovely and tasty tender. I have gone quite hungry now [:'(].

Wine to go with duck? Go for a really dark rich red like a Minervios or Cabardes. Mind you there's not a lot of Cabardes away from here either. Any of the good wines from the largest vineyard in the world will go well with leg, breast or gessiers. As has been said, a wine with a meal is very much up to what you like and if you like a rosé or a white with red meat then why the hell not? He who pays the piper calls the tune, peut etra?

Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may [+o(] diet?

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[quote user="Jonzjob"]

Chez Fred ring any bells???

 

[/quote]

I have heard of Chez Fred but dont think it was the place we went to (It may of been[8-)]) Hubby and I went looking for Chez Fred the very first time we went to Carcassonne as we had been told it had broadband access, but we never found it ,   

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