Wow! Must be a very good friend. Let us know how the recipes are.

It is a good friend, for sure!

And will do!

I have it; it's a great book.
One of the criticisms is that the recipes are too hard, but it's damn good food and good eating takes time.

The braised chicken, pork belly, scallion potatoes, and potatoes pave are some of my early favorites. The fried chicken recipe looks amazing but the ordeal of frying things at home has so far kept me from trying it out.

3) Agreed. I just can't get away with frying in our small apartment. It doesn't look easy. You know what I've been meaning to do? Roast a chicken. The simpliest of things, I suppose, but I haven't done it in years.

We roast a bird about every other Sunday. Usually chicken, but duck when we can find it fresh.
Usually get a couple dinners out of it and boil the bones down for stock, which gets used for soup, short ribs, risotto, etc.
Ducks are great if you roast on an elevated rack- you can collect the fat and that stuff keeps forever in the fridge. Makes for good potatoes.

why can't you fry in your apartment, Alex?

6) It drives the Mrs batty. And we can't have that now, can we? Plus, my desire to fry anything isn't strong enough.