260897 Sat Feb 09 14:23:15 -0800 2002 5 26 International 0 1378675 I had posted on a "West Wing" TV show thread on the general topics board and was advised to post here as well. Last season, on The West Wing, the President is served a Provencal dinner which included "Tomato Saltimbiques", a "tomato stewed for three hours in a creme caramel and stuffed with passionfruit, kiwi, an hazelnuts on a pomegranate reduction." I was inquiring to its legitimacy as an actual recipe and was informed that Chef Passard prepares a very similar dish at Arpege. Has anyone experienced this incredible-sounding dessert and/or have the recipe or a link to it? Many thanks for any info!!! Sat Feb 09 14:23:15 -0800 2002 0 scott 1 1378677 tomate confit aux douze saveurs is one of alain passard's signature desserts at l'arpege. here's a link to the recipe on his website. in french. the english version does not seem to be working. bon appetit. Link: http://www.alain-passard.com/flash/index.html Sat Feb 09 16:32:03 -0800 2002 1378675 0 louisa 2 1378679 Merci beaucoup!!! Sat Feb 09 17:44:34 -0800 2002 1378677 0 scott 3 1378695 je vous en prie. what i find hard to believe is that - with all due respect since i've never seen the show but i hear it's good but hey it's still television - is that some hollywood tv writer knows anything about food much less la tomate confit! as far as being provencale i don't know but it does seem to be the same. there is also the well-known seasonal all tomato menu at restaurant christian etienne in avignon. here's a link to their site. Link: http://www.christian-etienne.fr/special/tomato.htm Sun Feb 10 13:17:05 -0800 2002 1378679 0 louisa 4 1378700 Well, not EVERY person working in Hollywood is a philistine, you know. Plus, they've got to do SOMETHING with all that money. Sun Feb 10 20:12:17 -0800 2002 1378695 0 scott 1 1378678 Scott-I was at Arpege for dinner on January 18th and here is the excerpt of my notes of the meal that dealt with the tomato. "We finished with the famous Tomato dessert. They take a tomato, sort a very large cherry tomato, blanch it, peel it, remove the insides, and then slowly sauté it over a low flame for two hours all the while basting it in orange caramel. They then make a filling of a dozen flavors like pistachio, cinnamon, clove, pineapple, etc and stuff the tomato with it. They heat it at tableside and our version was flambéed with Calvados just before serving. A small scoop of soft mint ice cream is served alongside it. Having heard about this dessert for so many years, I have to say it was sort of a let down. I like the concept but the dozen flavors weren’t my favorites. Too much of the flavor of dried fruits for me. I would prefer it a bit sweeter. But now that I know how they make it I have to try it at home" Hope that helps. It was a bit savory for my palate. I like things sweeter. The mont ice cream didn't help either. Something like an intense vanilla would have been better. Or if one wanted to have a flavored ice cream, something like Cardemom would have cut through the flavor of cloves, etc. The rest of the meal was fantastic though and the tomato was evaluated in that light. Also, I think the tomato prep stays the same but how they serve it changes. So on a different night they might have served it without the Calvados and with a different ice cream. Sat Feb 09 17:04:57 -0800 2002 1378675 0 Steve Plotnicki