Ok you republican foodies, I know you are going to hate me but sadly I have to endorse Barack but I'll still feed you.
If it makes you feel better, at least I criticized him for something.
Click HERE.
oh.....and buy Sasha's book, it's a great read for everyone from chefs to Wharton Kids.
Click HERE for Sasha's book.
Plus a few repeats.
Enjoy.
There used to be a time when I consulted with clients to see what they wanted to eat when they host dinner parties at their homes.
Now they just go to the blog, pick what looks good and make their own menus.
Easy for me.
An educated consumer is the best customer.
You go girl !
Chilled Corn Juice
Grapefruit and Fennel Confit
Crab "Spring Roll"
Tomato-Sorbet
Mustard Oil
Quail
Anise Salt . Fig-Onion Jam
Wild Watercress
Vincotto
Lamb Loin
Eggplant-Raisin Caponata
Whipped Cauliflower
Lamb "Bolognese"
Carica Soup
Lemon Buttermilk Sorbet
Spicy Togarashi Rice
Conservatively I would estimate that 85% of the time you are served "we brew our own" fancy iced tea in New York Restaurants and its unsweetened, ask for simple syrup and you get stares like you just arrived at Ellis Island in 1901.
Thus Rule #36.
Sugar does not dissolve in liquids with ice cubes in it.
It is called "SIMPLE" syrup.
Trust me, it's easy to make.
You don't even need a Baume Scale however if you are OCD and into specific gravity of your iced tea, our friends at Cole-Palmer can sell you a hydrometer by clicking HERE .
SIMPLE SYRUP @ 28 Baume degrees.
2 Cups or more exactly 480 ml of water.
1 Pound or more exactly 455grams of sugar.
Warm together till sugar dissolves.
Cool and refrigerate.
How hard is that.
In this day and age of progressive "mixology", all kinds of simple syrups are required but herbs are delicate, you want the flavor and aroma not the color. In addition to that, some of the stems and twigs muddle the flavor.
Hot infusion would be the logical way to extract maximum flavor but then it comes with tannins and a bunch of other distractions.
Cold infusions on the other hand take an eternity..........that is unless you let science be your friend.
Vacuum compress the rosemary at 100% for a minute.
Cut the bag open and pour in cold simple syrup and reseal the bag with the slant tray in the vacuum sealer.
Freeze the bag overnight.
Defrost.
The rosemary simple syrup is more present and delicate than results from previous methods. Now to see if it works with other herbs.
I had some time off this weekend, typically I always just spend the time in New York City eating but due to a rare set of circumstances, I decided to head in the opposite direction.
It occurred to me that as long as I have been in this country, I have never actually been to it's capital.
After doing some research to figure out if there were any worthy restaurants for a 5 hr drive, that however became a moot point when I reached out to a great friend to see if he wanted to go down with me and he said "sounds awesome, why don't we take the DB-9 and take turns driving.
If I have a passion outside of cooking, its long touring drives in a fine British sports car at a good clip.
Nothing reckless, just let the car stretch its legs.
Of course one would have to contend with the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland state police but thanks to our friends at VALENTINE, we could see them from miles ahead.
I came up with a list. Ripert at the Ritz Carlton, Citronelle, Palette and of course Jaleo. I am a bit of a cynic, I almost believe everything on the internet is overhyped so I also took a slightly different approach.
I went to Molteni's website, found a sales rep and asked "does any restaurant in DC have a Molteni stove". Certainly there is no assurance of great food just because of a fancy kitchen but Molteni is very different, the thought process of hauling one of those gigantic stoves from France is usually an indicator of a restaurant concept that takes it's food seriously. For those who don't know, Molteni is HERE.
I found this place called the BLUE DUCK TAVERN. Delicious food, great artisanal meats and produce. Also visited JALEO Arlington. Good tapas, yummy.
A good two days off and a great time.
Washington is now on my radar.
By the way is that not the most appropriate misspelling ever ?
Where else would it be cool to confuse Champagne with Campaign ?
Clearly our politicians are drinking too much.
After 4 days of different methods including a Chinoise, Superbag, Coffee Paper Filters, the answer came in the form of gelatin and a fine micron water filter bag insert.
I present you the absolutely clear "Bloody Mary".
Clearly it isnt a bloody mary but it tastes exactly like one.
What fun !
Now what do we call it ?
If I could have drinks on me with 10 people is all of history, who would they be ?
Who would yours be ?
Here are mine.
ED BRADLEY was the man.
MILES nothing to be said.
JOSH the new generation.
CASPAR THE FRIENDLY GHOST ha ha !
BILL for sure......if just to ask what the hell were you thinking.
MITSUKO is technically perfect.
GEORGE AND GLENN crazy fun.
ITO-SAN simply brilliant
Click the links.
What do you do when a really nice lady client say's I love beets and grapefruits but I have Celiac disease so I can't have vinegar either and Oh ! by the way I am a vegan.
Why overthink things, sometimes the answers are right in front of you.
Roasted Beet Salad
Grapefruits . Verjus
Wild Watercress
Mint Oil
Like GR say's..........DONE !
Beets:
Chioggia
Candy Stripe
Golden
Sweet Yellow
Ruby
White
Roasted White Eggplant and Peanut Milk Soup
Puri Paneer filled with Eggplant "Marmalade"
Roasted Peanut Oil.
The Indians have all these fun crispy things like Papads and such.
Puri Paneer is a fun little vessel to hold savory relishes.
Stacking 4 or 6 layers of tomatoes and mozzarella does not make a "Napoleon".
Its just tomatoes and effing mozzarella.
There is a reason the Frenchies call it Millefeuille.
Speaking of Napoleons:
Subsection 1 of rule 35:
Napolean is not a culinary term, I guess that's a very thin short person with dictatorial issues ?
Caponata:
Eggplant
Maui Onion
Green Coriander Seeds
Vadouvan
Pine Nuts
Sultanas
Lovage
Served with:
Loin of Elysian Fields Lamb
Sunchoke-Almond Puree
Curry Leaf Brown Butter
Encapsulated Lemon Curd
Fluid Basil
Compressed Gooseberries with Elderflower and Hendricks Gin.
While the process of encapsulation annoys me, these gooseberries are ending up in a cocktail by 3pm today.
In a slightly tipsy conversation with a few fellow cooks last night, someone started talking about the perfect dish, not the universal perfect dish per-se but the one thing you ever cooked that could absolutely not be improved on. Just purely from a perspective of continously seeking innovation without even factoring in the OCD tendencies, nothing is ever good enough, we continue to tweak and adjust. Everyone came up with a dish, I scoured my archives and I would say it's the Uni Custard with Mirin Glaze, Roasted Marcona Almond and Caviar. Flavor and texturally perfect.
Here is a quiz you can't bullshit your way through.
Either cook some food or listen to some music, I recommend both.
For your trouble, a half bottle of 1990 Y'quem delivered to a street address anywhere in the world assuming you are the first to get it right.
You have 30 days and 2 chances.
As Georges Perrier used to say "Open your eyes and listen".
Match the pair in Part A with the pair in Part B.
Part A.
1. Corn + Grapefruit.
2. Pineapple+ Basil.
3. Polenta + Ginger.
4. Scallop + Chicken Wings.
5. Sesame Oil + Lemon juice.
6. Elderflower + Watermelon.
Part B.
1. Miles Davis + Marcus Miller.
2. Pat Metheny + Lyle Mays.
3. Richard Wagner + Herbet Von Karajan.
4. Robert Fripp + Brian Eno.
5. Sting + Stewart Copeland.
6. Peter Gabriel + Youssou N'Dour.
Hints :
1. Seamless Integration.
2. Brilliant Juxtaposition.
3. Sharp Contrast.
4. Synergy.
5. Chemical Affinity.
6. Teleological.
Even if you fail, its a great workout for your brain and that's always a plus.
That would be basil seeds my friends.
A margarita with texture and ...................SALTY....Lemon Verbena Foam.
Strangely enough the drink freakishly imploded into itself while I was shooting the picture.
Although delicious, it looks like something a new-born threw up but all you bubble tea fans will love it.
Garlic Scape Risotto
Nantucket Bay Scallops
Lovage
Foamed Infusion of Sesame Oil and Lemon
The "creative" use culinary terminology being stretched into absurdity needs to stop.
Case and point "Tomato-Tartare".
They are just diced "effing" tomatoes.
There is nothing "tartared" about them and that goes for the cauliflower "tartare" I encountered yesterday too.
Tartare requires raw proteins/seafood.
But wait a minute, since we can have salads without any actual vegetables, maybe we can have "tartares" without meat or fish no ?
As cooks, one certainly expects variations in flavor between spice blends, no two Garam Masalas or Quatre Epices are ever the same.
There is variation in the quality of initial spices, whether or not they are toasted, airtight container etc.
However one does not expect two samples to be totally different as it is with "Vadouvan" sourced from two different places.
The yellow stuff is from Jing at Le Sanctuaire and the black from
le Grande Epicerie in Paris.
Two completely different characters, not even remotely the same.
My first Vadouvan dish was a few years ago at the Gagnaire inspired London restaurant SKETCH. Interesting menus in the formal room.
Black Vadouvan is about 10 times as savory as the yellow stuff and is more compatible with deeper flavored meat and game dishes.
Above is a previous roasted squab with vadouvan.
I have slowly been educating myself on the wonders of serious Sake, unfortunately most stores that sell Sake carry garbage unless you find a Sake specific store.
One such good place is Sakaya on the East Side of town.
Their website is HERE.
If you want to develop a serious interest, do pay them a visit, very nice people too.
Brining free Range Chicken in Olive Brine for Sous Vide Cooking. The brine is straight from a jar of HQ cerignola olives adjusted with garlic and rosemary.
I expect to brine for 24 hrs, CSV @62C for about 45 minutes and finish with a sear basting with brown butter.
As for the rest of the plate, gently cooked fruits and vegetables, very thin "loose" Chermoula.
That is dinner tommorow.
Slow Cooked "Meadow Run Farm" Egg
Smoked Ham Hock Dashi
Sansho Pepper
King Crab Gently Griddled with Kaffir Lime and Screwpine Leaves
Pickled Spaghetti Squash
Spicy Sudachi Lime Gelee
Mint Oil
Miso Marinated Hamachi Belly
Fine Herb Salad
Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Foie Gras Poele
Yuzu Kosho
Delfina Cilantro
Kumquat
Star Anise Scented Quail
Ketcap Manis
Roasted Beet
Sorrel
Goat Cheese Brik
Fig-Onion Marmalade
Oka Hijiki
This is Red Veined Sorrel shot under a new light system and now that I have a complete grasp of Adobe's Lightroom, expect better pictures.
Click: Adobe Lightroom.
The rest of the pictures are in order :
Delfina Cilantro.
Oka Hijiki.
Fine Herb Blend.
Getting ready to cater a fun dinner, back to the kitchen.
Old school cookery is the basis for everything we do today, sometimes we need as cooks to step back in the classroom, whip out the Japanese knives and take apart a whole animal.
All the details of cooking methods, fabrication and multiplicity of flavor get lost in today's world of Xanthan gum, Gellan, Alginates and such.
The old school can still be very exciting, delicious and frankly a bigger pain in the ass than a lot of modern techniques, the key is to apply enough modern to the old school to push forward.
Class is over.
Lamb 4 Ways.
Rack Roasted with Star anise salt.
Neck confit wrapped in mustard greens.
Shoulder restructured with activa, seasoned with vadouvan, poached in olive oil sous vide, seared.
Leg ground, made into tomatoless "bolognese" with eggplant "ravioli".
Sauce slightly adjusted with Keltrol TF for flow and sheen.
Sudachi-Lime cured Hamachi
Tomato Rhubarb Sorbet
Leaves and Shoots of Summer
Paired with Ice cold Yuzu Shochu
Stay Cool.
"Seasoned" and "Salty" do not mean the same thing.
Just because you "don't like salty food" which virtually nobody does is not a legitimate reason to eat tasteless food.
New York UES 6.06.08.
Lamb poached in Olive Oil-Vadouvan Spice.
1 in a quartet.
3 Supporting Characters coming.
Braised Lamb Neck Marmalade.
Rack Roasted with Fennel Salt.
Shank-Eggplant Ragu as a Raviolo.
Channel-Lock bags do a great job of keeping liquids sealed.
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