If You Can Stand The Heat

Twice Cooked Scallop with Celeriac Puree, Apple-Bacon Butter Sauce

2012-02-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

Aki Kamozawa and Alexander Talbot at Ideas in Food have created the perfect scallop recipe, it appears in their book by the same name that was released last year.

For this dish I used U-10 (unit of measurement indicated there are under 10 per pound) dry-packed sea scallops. I removed the "foot" from the scallop and reserved it for use in the reduction for the butter sauce. The scallops were brined for ten minutes in a 5% sea salt-water solution, so for every 20 grams of water you will add 1 gram of sea salt. The quick brine adds flavor and slightly firms the scallops.

The scallops were then removed from the brine and laid end-to-end and wrapped in plastic wrap just as a terrine would be, creating a log shape. This gives the scallops a great shape and results in the scallops having more height and uniformity in the final product. The "logs" of wrapped scallops were then placed in cryovac bags and cooked in the immersion circulator at 122 degrees for thirty minutes. Once they came out of the water they were placed in an ice bath to cool. At this point they can be reserved for service and held for several days in cryovac.

After removing from the cryovac bag the scallops need to be dried thoroughly before searing...excess moisture will create a barrier of steam between the pan and the scallop, preventing then from browning as desired. After drying the scallops were seasoned with freshly ground white pepper, seared quickly in a cast iron skilllet, basted with browned butter and finished with a couple flecks of sea salt.

The twice cooked scallops were served with a puree of celery root and an apple-bacon butter sauce, then garnished with Lucky Leaf Garden's pea tendrils.

The finished product was absolutely outstanding...the scallops were tender and moist, the flavor was concentrated from the sous vide process, and the quick sear gave it outstanding color and texture.

Prime CAB New York Strip, Saint Andres Triple Cream Potatoes, Hearty Ragout of Winter Vegetables and Braised Beef

2012-01-29T09:45:00.001-05:00

In the middle of winter it's nice to sit down comfort food like this every once in a while. For this dish I used Prime CAB New York Strip that was prepared sous vide, triple cream brie mashed potatoes and a hearty ragout of asparagus, mushrooms, pearl onions and the trim from the strip loin.

The New York Strip was portioned, then placed in cryovac with whole butter, kosher salt, freshly ground toasted black pepper, crushed garlic, sliced shallot, fresh thyme and rosemary. The steaks were cooked at 125 degrees for thirty minutes and then chilled in an ice bath. To serve, the steaks were re-heated in a cast iron skillet in a 1600 degree broiler to give them a nice crust. They rested for several minutes after coming out of the broiler before slicing so the juices could re-distribute. The strip was then sliced and finished with coarse ground sea salt.

The ragout was made by caramelizing pearl onions in clarified butter, then removing them from the pan. The mushrooms were then sauteed on high heat. Both are seasoned individually while cooking. The onions were then added back to the pan with the mushrooms, along with the cooked, diced and chilled braised beef. Everything was sauteed briefly before the pan was deglazed with sherry. Once the sherry reduced almost completely, the pan was again deglazed with fortified veal stock and was allowed to reduce by half. The sauce should reduce far enough to thicken to the point that it can suspend fat. Once the sauce was thickened, the asparagus was added and allowed to heat through before the ragout was finished with a touch of heavy cream and several drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. It was then seasoned to taste again with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The potatoes were made by folding St. Andres triple cream brie to warm, freshly riced russet potatoes. The triple cream cream adds an incredible buttery flavor and the rind adds a slight tartness that is needed to cut through the richness of the dish.

The plate is finished with Lucky Leaf Garden's deli mix, a blend of micro broccoli and mustard greens whose flavor together resembles fresh horseradish.

Duck Fat Poached Pork Shoulder with Bacon and Apple Foam, Celery Root Puree, Beluga Lentils, Crispy Mushrooms

2012-01-15T09:25:00.001-05:00

For this dish pork shoulder was braised for six hours while completely submerged in duck fat. The shoulder was portioned after chilling down completely. For service it was seasoned and seared, then glazed with fortified veal stock before going into a low oven to gently reheat. It was glazed a couple more times with veal stock while in the oven to add color and deep, rich flavor.

The apple-bacon foam was a reduction of apple cider, bacon, white wine, peppercorns and heavy cream that was strained and finished with sherry vinegar. It was foamed using an NO2 charger and spooned over the shoulder.

The "broken" truffle vinaigrette which dressed the arugula added some much needed acidity to cut through the richness of the dish. It was made using sherry vinegar, truffle juice, lemon juice, freshly minced shallot, salad oil, kosher salt and freshly ground toasted black pepper.

Smoked Salad of Duck, Pistachio, Beet and Microgreens with White Balsamic and Pear Vinaigrette Foam

2011-12-31T13:15:00.010-05:00

This was a very different kind of salad, inspired by a course that Chef David Quintana from Kobe's Kreations made for a pop-up dinner at the Atherton Mill and Market here in Charlotte.

The salad consists of hot smoked duck ham, ground pistachio, beet powder, various microgreens including Lucky Leaf amaranth and micro beet and a white balsamic and pear foam. Everything was packed into a Weck canning jar, smoked and then sealed until opened by our guests at the table. The smoke wafted out after opening and the salad had a great smoky flavor.

I like Weck jars as opposed to others because of the quality...they are just heavier and more sturdy than anything else. I actually dropped one jar in the kitchen without it breaking!

Weck has been around for over a hundred years and helped proliferate the canning movement that was so popular by the time I watched my grandmother can summer vegetables in her kitchen.

To apply the smoke I used the newly redesigned Smoking Gun from Polyscience. The smoking gun is available for about $100 and comes with a couple samples of wood chips including hickory and apple wood (used for this salad). The new design of the gun is far superior to the previous iteration, which had a wooden reservoir for the chips that eventually would deteriorate. The screens are also much easier to access and clean on this model.

Butter Poached Lobster, Angel Hair Pasta, White American Cheese Sauce, Caramelized Onion

2011-12-19T09:05:00.001-05:00

Last night after working on Christmas cards for a couple hours I went digging through the refrigerator for something easy for dinner. What I found was very disturbing...a container from a local restaurant containing what was definitely Kraft Easy Mac. I ate enough of it in college to be an expert on the product and I couldn't believe that a restaurant was pawning this off for $3 per side.

Macaroni and Cheese is a dish that is as American as apple pie and everyone has their favorite iteration of it, usually depending on what their grandmother prepared for them when they were young. My grandma liked to use American cheese and a cheese sauce, others prefer to use custards and other cheeses.

The sauce I make for mac and cheese is extremely simple, using only several ingredients: Heavy whipping cream, cornstarch, white American cheese, kosher salt and ground white pepper. Simply heat the heavy cream until it reaches a simmer. Prepare a slurry by stirring cold water into corn starch until it reaches a pourable consistency. Whisk enough cornstarch slurry into the simmering cream for it to thicken to the point that the cream coats the back of a spoon. You should be able to run a line across the back of the spoon with your finger without the sauce running. Then fold in white American cheese until it reaches the desired flavor and consistency. Season to taste with kosher salt and ground white pepper.

Typically I use fresh pasta and boil it as needed. Fresh macaroni can be tricky to find, but shells or other extruded shapes work just as well...the key is to make sure the pasta is fresh and not dried. When boiling fresh pasta you'll need to keep a close eye on it as it cooks much faster than dried pasta.

Toss the fresh pasta with the cheese sauce and taste for seasoning. The mixture can be topped with more white American cheese and baked, or served as-is.

This is a side of macaroni and cheese I would gladly pay $3 for, and it is almost as quick and easy as Kraft!

Duck Roulade with Sweet Potato Gnocchi, Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Bacon and Toasted Pecans, Cherry and Bourbon Gastrique

2011-12-04T10:06:00.002-05:00

Gnocchi are traditional Italian fare with their name originating from the word "nocca", meaning "knuckle". They are prepared a variety of ways mostly using a flour of some kind, eggs and usually a potato or cheese. They are thick dumplings that are typically poached, then sauteed. They are often served as a first course in Italian cuisine and their smaller counterparts, gnocchetti, can often be found in soups like minestrone.

For this gnocchi I used roasted sweet potato that was pureed and flavored with cinnamon, allspice, ground ginger, cardamom, clove and dark brown sugar. A little Grand Marnier and orange zest was added to the sweet potato puree. I used roughly one cup of puree, a cup of all-purpose flour, one egg and one egg yolk to prepare the dough. The amount of flour varies greatly depending on how thick the puree is. Before shaping the dough lightly flour your work surface and your hands to help prevent sticking.

After the dough is prepared it should sit for thirty minutes to allow the dough to relax, resulting in a more tender product. The dough can then be cut into smaller portions and rolled by hand into long, snake-like shapes. Using a knife or bench scraper cut small portions of gnocchi from the dough. These pillow-like portions can then be rolled over the back of a fork or over a gnocchi paddle, using your thumb to create an indention in the center. The ridges on the outside and the pocket formed in the center creates a nice texture and helps the gnocchi hold onto sauce when it is served.

The gnocchi should be cooked in simmering water just until they float then chilled immediately in ice water to cool them down quickly. Saute lightly in whole butter to re-heat and finish with the sauce of your choice. With the sweet potato gnocchi I used only browned butter and chopped sage.

Shrimp Terrine with Horseradish Panna Cotta, Spicy Tomato Gelee, Candied Lemon Zest, Micro Basil

2011-11-20T07:38:00.001-05:00

This dish was another variation of Shrimp Cocktail, with the horseradish panna cotta and spicy tomato gelee acting as a kind of deconstructed cocktail sauce.

The shrimp terrine was made by blending shrimp with sherry, heavy whipping cream and shallot, seasoning with kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper. The shrimp mousseline was rolled into cylinders in plastic wrap, then a needle was used to poke out any air bubbles. After wrapping one more time in plastic wrap it was cooked in the immersion circulator at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour. The terrine was then cooled in an ice bath before slicing.

The most difficult or technical aspect of producing this dish was making the wrap for the terrine. It was made using a pastry relief mat on a flat sheet tray.. The tomato gelee was poured first, then allowed to set in the cooler. The horseradish panna cotta was then poured over the gelee and allowed to set up. The wrap was then turned out of the sheet tray, onto a cutting board. The easiest way to measure how much of the wrap will be needed for the terrine is to wrap the terrine in a sheet of paper, wrapping it once then slicing off the excess. The paper that was used to wrap the terrine can then be used as a template for the gelatin wrap.

To apply the wrap, place it on plastic wrap, presentation side down. Warm the terrine very gently using a water bath or torch, then place it on the wrap and use the plastic wrap to roll the gelatin around the terrine. The warm terrine should slightly melt the gelatin, allowing it to bond once cooled.

Slice the terrine while still wrapped in plastic to help maintain the shape, then remove the ring of plastic wrap on the outside of the slice before serving.

Vanilla Cured Foie Gras Torchon and Cherry Preserve en Brioche, Cherry and Bourbon Gastrique, Pistachio Powder

2011-11-13T07:47:00.001-05:00

Last week when the vanilla cured foie torchon was used for the Roasted Apple and Butternut Soup, some was reserved for this preparation.

For this preparation a loaf of brioche was thinly sliced, then the strips were sauteed to soften and brown them. The strips were then laid out side-by-side on a sheet of plastic film before being topped with the cherry preserve. The torchon is then placed on top and rolled tightly to form a cylinder. A needle was used to prick the plastic and remove any air pockets. Both ends were then tied tightly and it was left refrigerated over night.

The torchon was sliced very thinly for service and accompanied by pickled cherries and Lucky Leaf Garden microgreens, cherry and bourbon gastrique and pistachio powder.

Roasted Apple and Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Creme Fraiche, Spiced Bread Croutons, Shaved Foie Gras Torchon

2011-11-07T08:45:00.002-05:00

This is a really simple soup that I usually end up making at some point every fall.

Green apples are peeled and cored, then quartered and sauteed with whole butter, ground cardamom, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and dark brown sugar. They are cooked until golden brown, then deglazed with apple juice.

For the butternut squash, I cut it in half and remove the seeds. I score it deeply in a cross-hatch with a pairing knife, then rub with butter before sprinkling the same spices with dark brown sugar over it. The halved butternut squash then roasts in the oven at 325 degrees for about an hour, depending on the size, until it is browned and cooked all the way through.

The meat of the squash can then be scooped with a spoon and removed from the skin. Place the roasted squash and apple into a blender and process on high until smooth. Use the remaining apple juice from the saute pan to thin the puree as needed. Finish with heavy whipping cream and season to taste with kosher salt.

The creme fraiche is made by heating a cup of heavy cream to 105 degrees, then adding a tablespoon of buttermilk. The cream should then be covered lightly with plastic wrap and should be left in a warm location in the kitchen for 24-36 hours, depending on the desired thickness. The longer it sits, the thicker the consistency and the more tart the flavor will become. Ultra pasteurized cream will take longer than pasteurized cream. Don't worry about the cream spoiling at room temperature; the buttermilk contains benign bacteria that multiply and counter any harmful bacteria.

The foie gras torchon preparation is described in a little more detail here: Foie Torchon. The foie was frozen and then shaved over the soup with a microplane zester.

Strawberry Sorbet with Olive Oil Powder

2011-11-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

This was a photograph that I took of an intermezzo for one of our dinners by pastry chef Rebecca McLean. It is Strawberry Sorbet with Olive Oil Powder. Producing powders from fats was described briefly in a previous post, seen here.

Intermezzo has become one of my favorite courses and it is usually seen in a five-course menu or larger. Traditionally it follows a seafood course and is meant as a palate cleanser before heading into the entrée. I enjoy it because they are usually very light and fresh, providing a nice contrast with the other courses of the meal. Also they are usually gone in a couple bites and are still at the front of your mind when the entrée arrives.

Intermezzos are typically a little tart or bitter with a clean finish. I think lemon sorbet is probably the most ubiquitous intermezzo and is the perfect example of this flavor profile.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Cauliflower Puree, Chipotle Powder

2011-10-22T21:32:00.000-04:00

This was a really fun dish, both to cook and plate. I've always enjoyed cooking scallops; there's another post that describes the process in detail here.

It was also great to utilize cauliflower, which seems to be an often overlooked or under-appreciated vegetable that was interesting to showcase here. Cauliflower has such a subtle, earthy flavor that adding just a little cream, onion and seasoning can turn it into something truly unique and decadent.

Most of the flavors on this dish are rich and muted but the occasional bite of smoky bacon or spicy and aromatic chipotle delivers a shock and keeps the dish interesting and novel until the very end.

It was a fun dish to plate because the cauliflower puree provides such a clean canvas to work on. The rust-colored chipotle powder dissolves into the stark white of the puree, creating a nice effect. The purple and crimson micro amaranth and swiss chard, which was provided by Lucky Leaf Gardens, looked phenomenal against the white background.

Baby Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Candied Walnut, Spiced Pumpkin Cracker

2011-10-20T22:52:00.003-04:00

This was a nice, light seasonal salad featuring some great Fall flavors and some fun textures. On this plate is Tega Hills greens tossed with a red wine and roasted apple vinaigrette, blood orange gelatin, local baby beet, candied walnut and a spiced pumpkin tuile.

Gelatin is a throw-back that seems to be coming back into fashion. The secret to putting gelatin on the plate is that it's all about the ratio that you use. Too much gelatin to liquid and it becomes a tough, unappetizing addition. If you get it just right then it's little more than a bound sauce.

For glazing items I typically use ten ounces of gelatin to a gallon of liquid. For a bound sauce like this one, I use six ounces of gelatin to a gallon, pour it into a flat sheet tray and freeze it before cutting. After it thaws on the plate it becomes very delicate and melts on your palate.

It's a nice way to introduce interesting color and designs on cold plates.

Braised Osso Bucco with Roasted Garlic Polenta, Honey Glazed Root Vegetables

2011-10-16T21:16:00.000-04:00

I made this dish the other evening to pair with a big Italian cabernet, it's braised osso bucco with roasted garlic polenta and honey glazed root vegetables. It was served with a reduction of the braising liquid and gremolata.

Osso Bucco is an Italian favorite, literally meaing "Bone with a hole". This would of course be a reference to the huge bone protruding from it. Osso Bucco is a dish that orginated in the 19th Century in Milan, it is a braised cross-cut of veal shank, usually taken from the upper thigh because of the higher meat-to-bone ratio.

Veal shank is an extremely flavorful cut, but the toughness of the meat requires braising. Since the shank is part of the leg the muscle is constantly worked, as opposed to a muscle like tenderloin which is never worked and is very tender.

Braising is hands-down my favorite method of cookery due to the number of steps required. The more steps, the more opportunity to introduce flavor and the better a product can become if handled properly.

First, the veal shanks were seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper, then lightly dusted with all purpose flour with a little onion powder and granulated garlic. The shanks were seared until lightly browned, then removed from the pan. Then, medium diced onion, celery and carrots were added to the pan and cooked until caramelized. Tomato paste was added and cooked down until almost dry, then the pan was deglazed with red wine. Once the wine had cooked down to almost sec, chicken stock and veal stock were added in equal parts, along with fresh rosemary, thyme and crushed garlic. While waiting for the wine to cook down, butchers twine was tied very tightly around the shanks to help them keep their shape during the cooking process. The veal shanks were then placed back into the pan, into the stock, and allowed to just come to a boil. Once it had boiled very briefly, the pan was covered and placed into a 350 degree oven for five hours.

When they come out of the oven, what you should look for is the tightness of the bone. They should be cooked just until the bone becomes loose, when the collagen has fully broken down. Over cooking can result in an unpalatable consistency, under cooking will result in a seriously jaw-strengthening dinner. Just check the bone, and you can check the tenderness of the meat with a skewer as well just to make sure it's done.

Once the shanks are out of the liquid, the braising liquid should be strained, reduced, skimmed, seasoned and thickened if necessary. The braising liquid is fortified by the braised shank and the end result is like liquid gold.

All of that made this dish very good, but what made it great was the addition of the gremolata. Gremolata is simply a mixture of parsley, chopped garlic (blanched), lemon zest, orange zest, and salad oil. The acidity cuts through the richness of the osso bucco, and the orange really makes the whole flavor profile come to life.

I've been fortunate enough to have eaten a lot of great food...this was top ten material.

Field Greens with Honey-Thyme Vinaigrette, Citrus Segments, Candied Walnuts, Raisins, Duck Confit and Chevre Crostini

2011-10-10T10:32:00.003-04:00

In honor of October being named "American Cheese Month", this post is focusing on my favorite local cheese producer here in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Bosky Acres is located in Union County, just around the corner from Waxhaw and Charlotte. These guys raise dairy goats using healthy and sustainable practices and provide fresh, unripened goat cheese to local restaurants, farmers markets and whole food grocers like Earth Fare. Their goat cheese is hormone and antibiotic free. For more information on their method of production, you can follow this link.

Their goat cheese is rich and creamy, with a slight tart flavor. It has become not only my favorite goat cheese, but it's created a lot of fans in our kitchen and we even sold a container of it to a guest in the dining room after they experienced it on the menu.

This salad was built around the Bosky Acres goat cheese and features some great Fall flavors: Orange segments, candied walnuts, raisins, and duck confit. More about our duck confit can be found here.

Butter Poached Lobster Tail with Sous Vide Beef Tenderloin, Duck Fat Poached Creamer Potatoes

2011-09-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

This dish was a kind of surf and turf, with sauteed spinach and duck fat poached creamer potatoes.
The lobster was poached in the immersion circulator at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for about fourteen minutes. This seems to be the perfect time/temperature for lobster tail, leaving it fully cooked and with the perfect texture.
The beef tenderloin was cleaned, left whole, and bagged with garlic, shallots, rosemary, thyme, kosher salt and ground black pepper. It was cooked at 125 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour and a half. It was seared quickly before slicing for service, and seasoned again before plating. The beef we use for this preparation is Certified Prime, Angus beef with outstanding marbling. The cooking process is so gradual that it leaves all of the phenomenal intramuscular fat intact. The process of cooking sous vide is so reliable and has such predictable results that we were able to prepare this tenderloin for a party of 80 in the context of a five course dinner...every slice was perfect and cooked uniformly!
Just a note about the rosemary "skewer": I don't typically serve inedible garnish on a plate, but the surf and turf tower required some server-proofing before it went to the table.

Warm Shellfish Terrine with Roasted Corn and Leek Risotto, Beurre Noisette

2011-09-18T08:15:00.001-04:00

This shellfish terrine was made of shrimp and lobster and using a product called Activa. Activa is a "transglutaminase" produced by a Japanese company called Ajinomoto. It is a dry powder that acts as a protein coagulant, using a naturally occurring enzyme to link proteins. While large companies have been using this for years with unfortunate results (think chicken nuggets), it has slowly been trickling down to modern kitchens over the past several years.

Activa can be sprinkled onto a protein as a powder, or a slurry can be made for the protein to be dredged in. It doesn't work as well for proteins that have been cured, such as bacon or prosciutto, and doesn't work at all on proteins that have been cooked. When handling Activa, it is important to exercise caution as it is a very fine powder and you are made of protein.   Inhaling Activa could lead to unfortunate results.

For this terrine I used a shrimp mousseline, mixed with chopped lobster knuckle and claw meat. The raw shrimp was roughly chopped and seasoned with kosher salt, freshly ground white pepper, then tosses with sherry and raw minced shallot. It was then placed in the freezer until semi-frozen, then run through a meat grinder with a medium die. The ground shrimp was then placed in a Vita Prep blender with a small amount of heavy cream to add some fat and flavor, and egg whites for added protein. It is absolutely crucial to made sure that all ingredients are ice-cold so they can be emulsified, ensuring that the resulting mousseline will be smooth and not broken. All equipment used is placed in the freezer until chilled.   The Vita Prep blender is used because it's powerful motor produces enough revolutions per minute to emulsify the mousseline without keeping it in the blender long enough to become warm and break.

The lobster was then tossed with Activa, then folded through the mousseline with dried parsley and thyme. Typically I use fresh parsley, but I've found that the dry parsley rehydrates and has great color in applications like this, whereas fresh parsley tends to bleed its color into the terrine.

The terrine was then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and punched with a sausage poker to remove any air bubbles. Then it was wrapped in another layer of plastic wrap before going into the water bath at 140 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour fifteen minutes. The terrine was then removed and placed into an ice bath. It was refrigerated overnight before being sliced.

When slicing, it is important to use a very long, very sharp slicer to ensure that the slice can be made with one stroke and will not have the "stair-steps" that result from moving the knife back and forth.   It is best to slice terrines while they are still in plastic wrap, to help support it's structure while you're slicing it.   The plastic wrap can easily be removed from each piece after slicing. Also, presenting the slices in the order in which they were cut will result in a uniform and attractive presentation.

The fully cooked terrine slices were reheated gently in a tightly wrapped hotel pan that was placed in the steamer. They were brushed with clarified butter before plating to add flavor and a nice sheen.

The popcorn shoots are courtesy of our friends at Lucky Leaf Garden.

Hog Nose Snapper with Brioche Crust, Prosciutto Inlay

2011-08-28T21:22:00.004-04:00

Hog Nose Snapper is known by several different names…Hogfish, Hog-Nosed Snapper, Hog Snapper. Whatever you call it, it is an outstanding fresh-water fish.

Hog Nose Snappers are found in tropical-temperature waters, usually trolling for shellfish around shipwrecks and coral. The meat is bright white, tender and has a very mild flavor. This snapper was spear-fished and brought in by Tim Griner, owner of Charlotte Fish Company. Tim heads out to the eastern coast of North Carolina a couple times a week and brings back exceptional Red Grouper, Mahi and the occasional Hog Nose Snapper among other items.

For this preparation the snapper was filleted and skinned, then the filets were bonded back together using Activa with a thin layer of prosciutto between them. The bonded filets were then placed in cryovac and refrigerated overnight to allow them to fully bond.

After the filets were bonded together, it was cooked sous vide at sixty degrees Celcius for fourteen minutes. It was then moved to an ice bath to chill completely before opening and portioning with a very sharp slicer.

The scrap from the snapper was used to make a mousseline with heavy cream, kosher salt, white pepper and minced shallot. The mousseline was spread over the top of the fish, then a crust of pressed brioche was added to give it some crunch and color. It was reheated gently in a sauté pan before plating.

Accompanying the snapper is a late summer succotash consisting of corn, black eyed peas, sungold cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.

A gastrique and Lucky Leaf Garden’s pea shoots finish the dish.

Out Of This World

2011-08-28T15:40:00.024-04:00

The theme of this party was "Out of This World". What was initially an intimidating theme (space food?) turned out to be pretty awesome.

The main buffet was "Third Rock From The Sun: A Tasting of Earth's Animals and Plants From Land and Sea". It featured Summer Rolls, Tempura California Rolls, Oysters, Shrimp, Crab Claws, Petit Beef Short Rib Pot Pies, Chicken Kabobs and Beef Tenderloin Sliders among other items.

The Babelfish from "Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy" was paid proper homage in the form of an ice carving by the very talented Lydia Ross. It is pictured in the center of the buffet, along with the seafood items.

Outside of the main buffet, there were various "Space Stations" featuring different themes. The first was the "Tang Tasting" station, featuring a trio of selections which highlighted the Apollo mission's gift to gastronomy.

Vanilla Cured Foie Gras Torchon with Grand Marnier Sabayon, Tang Caviar, Raisin
Spice Bread Crostini

Tang Smoothies with Truffled Honey Cream, Citrus and Pineapple

Tang "Push Ups": Tang-flavored frozen yogurt, made on the station using a Paco Jet. The flavor was reminiscent of a Dreamsicle.

The next station was called "Future Foods", featuring hors d'oeuvres prepared using contemporary techniques (bonding, cryovac, immersion circulation).

Duck, Foie Gras, Dried Fruit and Chestnut Roulade, wrapped in bacon and cooked sous vide on the station. The roulades were crisped in a saute pan before slicing. They were served with a Truffled-Port Demi.

Tuna and Compressed Watermelon Poke with Wakame Salad, Soy Reduction, Rice Crisp

Compressed Summer Melon with Arugula, Peach Vinaigrette, Crumbled Goat Cheese

The next station, my favorite, was the work of Mathew Tilman. It was called the "Mars Bar", and featured a selection of gastro-cocktails.

"Unbloody Mary": Gelatin Clarified Bloody Mary with Pickled Ramp and Okra

"Bourbon and Coke": Coca-Cola Gelee with bourbon, Marischino Cherries and Textura's Fizzy

"Pina Colada": Compressed and grilled pineapple with rum espuma, coconut flakes (pictured being skewered)

Other stations that evening included a Southwest inspired "Area 51", and an outstanding pastry display by Chef Bill Hallion and his team.

In the midst of long weeks and high stress, it's easy to sometimes forget why a person would enter this field. A night like this, though, where you get to stretch out creatively and have fun with the food brings you back to those first days of cooking. Having no walls in between yourself and the people enjoying the food is another added bonus.

BLT Salad

2011-08-18T22:46:00.003-04:00

The pairing of bacon, lettuce and tomato are like a universal truth. When they are paired, the flavors just sing. This salad consists of some of the best examples of each of these ingredients: Braised bacon, local tomatoes at the height of their season, fresh greens that are lightly seasoned and tossed with a light vinaigrette.

The braised bacon is a slab of pork belly that has been cured, smoked and hung. For this preparation the belly was then cooked sous vide at 200 degrees for five hours, breaking down connective tissues and becoming very tender. The bag was then placed in an ice bath to chill before portioning the bacon.

Also featured on this salad are pickled red onions and flash-fried brioche croutons.

Sous Vide Beef Tenderloin with Veal Sweetbreads, Caramelized Onion Arancini, Vegetable Ragout

2011-07-23T11:51:00.006-04:00

The beef tenderloin was seasoned with kosher salt and ground black pepper before being bagged with whole butter, sliced shallot, smashed garlic cloves, rosemary and thyme. It was cooked for around an hour and a half at 60 degrees celcius in the immersion circulator. Once it came out, it was chilled in an ice bath and held for service. When it was time to reheat, it was taken out of the packaging and seared in a sauté pan before being quickly finished in the oven. After resting for about ten minutes under a heat lamp so the internal juices could re-distribute, it was sliced and finished with coarse sea salt.

Veal sweetbreads are a delicacy that are rarely seen on menus these days. Sweetbreads are the thymus gland of the cow, found both in the neck and near the heart. Typically the one that is used in the kitchen is the one in the neck, which tends to be more tender and flavorful.

Preparing sweetbreads is a process which requires some planning, as it can take several days to reach the end result. The first step is to soak the organ in whole milk overnight, which removes all of the blood and impurities, leaving you with a much more appealing product to work with. Next, sweetbreads are poached in a court bouillion, a short stock, comprised of water, onions, celery, carrots, thyme, garlic, white wine, kosher salt and crushed white peppercorns. The sweetbreads are poached lightly until fully cooked, then chilled in an ice bath.

After the sweetbreads are fully cooked and chilled, the outer membrane can be removed with the aid of a paring knife and some patience. Then they should be stored overnight in a pan with another pan on top of them, loaded with something heavy such as bricks, to press the product so they become firm.

After they are pressed, they can be sliced and sautéed. I like to bread them with Wondra, a pregelantinized wheat flour that can be found in any supermarket. Wondra is a low-protein flour that browns quickly and leaves a phenomenal crust.

Also on the plate is a caramelized onion arancini, a fried rice ball that is coated with herbs and bread crumb.

Molasses Glazed Smoked Scallop with Truffled Corn Soup, Bacon Foam

2011-07-17T19:18:00.003-04:00

It's rare that you have a scallop that is mediocre...they usually turn out really good or really terrible. Prepare them correctly and you have a tender and mildly sweet treat; prepare them incorrectly and they are dry and rubbery dog treats. The key to cooking a great scallop is to use high heat, a small amount of fat (I use clarified butter), patting the scallops dry before sauteing, and waiting to season until the last minute so the salt doesn't pull out extraneous moisture. If a dry scallop goes into a hot pan for a short amount of time it will be golden brown, flavorful and tender.

For this preparation I brined the scallop for a short amount of time before letting it rest in the refrigerator uncovered to form a pellicle. It received a quick hot smoke on the range before being sauteed, then glazed (two parts molasses, one part veal stock) and briefly placed in the oven.

Tasting of Watermelon

2011-07-01T17:24:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite ingredients to use during the summer is watermelon. This dish, by assistant pastry chef Rebecca McLean, is a tasting of watermelon featuring: Watermelon with Marscapone Ice Cream and Balsamic Reduction, Watermelon with Candied Mint and Creme Fraiche, Watermelon Noodles, and a watermelon cocktail.

Crab with Wasabi-Yuzu Vinaigrette, Cucumber Sorbet, Avocado, Pickled Radish

2011-06-26T09:05:00.004-04:00

This is a variation of a salad made this spring, with the addition of cucumber sorbet and yuzu vinaigrette. It was created for an abbreviated tasting menu, as a kind of combination of a seafood course and intermezzo.

This was the first time I've used yuzu as an ingredient, it definitely won't be the last. Yuzu is an Asian citrus which resembles a grapefruit and has a similar tart flavor with sweet overtones. Yuzu is rarely eaten on it's own, but is featured prominently in both Chinese and Japanese cuisine. The most common preparation featuring yuzu is ponzu sauce. One of the unique characteristics of yuzu is that the plant is hearty enough to survive tough winters, weathering lows of 15 degrees Fahrenheit. I wonder how it would fare in North Carolina's climate...

Seared Foie Gras with Pain Perdu, Salted Grapes, Vanilla-Maple Espuma, Ice Wine Gastrique, Purple Sweet Potato Puree

2011-06-05T08:33:00.003-04:00

This dish was made for a Chefs Table last week, it’s a kind of “breakfast for dinner” plate. There are a lot of big flavors on this plate; the richness of the foie gras, the salty tartness of the grapes, the buttery pain perdu, sweet and sour gastrique and the sweet and airy vanilla-maple espuma. The contrasting temperatures of the chilled espuma, the ambient grapes and gastrique and the hot foie gras and pain perdu made the dish novel from start to finish. In every bite there was a different flavor and temperature combination.

Pain Perdu is commonly known as French Toast and it’s literal translation is “lost bread”, referring to the stale bread that is typically used for the preparation of the dish. Bread is dipped in an egg and dairy mixture and then pan fried until brown on both sides and the egg has cooked through.

The Vanilla-Maple Espuma was made by combining maple syrup, water, vanilla bean and lemon juice in a sauce pot and bringing it all to a simmer, then letting the vanilla bean steep in the mixture as it cooled. Once it reaches room temperature, the mixture can be strained and then chilled. Pasteurized egg white can then be added as the lecithin will help the mixture hold air. When ready to serve simply run the infused syrup mixture through a co2 charger to froth it.

The gastrique was made just as the tomato gastrique was for the “Deconstructed Shrimp Cocktail” a while back, you can click here to re-visit that post. The acid used for the gastrique was Minus 8 ice wine vinegar, made from Riesling grapes harvested at eight degrees below zero in the frigid fields of Ontario. The grapes are dried before squeezing, resulting in the signature sweet and explosive flavor of this vinegar.

Trio of Beef with Carrot-Coriander Puree, Sous Vide Heirloom Carrot, Spring Peas

2011-05-23T07:38:00.003-04:00

This trio of beef was created to serve with a 1998 Silver Oak Cabernet, a big wine requiring big flavors to stand up to it. It had several components including: Prime CAB flat iron steak that was bonded with Activa and cooked sous vide, braised beef short rib wrapped in brioche, steak tartare with sunny side up quail egg and bearnaise aioli, and sous vide heirloom carrot with spring peas, pea tendril and carrot-coriander puree.

Steak tartare is a preparation in which raw, high-grade beef (in our case, Prime CAB beef tenderloin) is minced then typically mixed with capers, onion, lemon, oil, salt and pepper. Traditionally it is served with chopped egg; in this case we served it with a sunny side up quail egg and an aioli infused with fresh tarragon and tarragon vinegar.

Legend has it that steak tartare originated with the nomadic Tatar people of Central Asia, who rode on horseback and seldom had the time to cook their beef. It is said that rather than mincing their steak, they placed it under their saddles as they rode to tenderize it. The version that we have come to know was first served in the early 20th Century in France and was called Steak a l'Americaine by Escoffier. The key difference between Escoffier's preparation and the one we've come to know is that the classical preparation was served with tartar sauce rather than egg, probably how we've come to know it as "Steak Tartare".

Posts for the beef shortrib en brioche can be found here, and the Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak is explained in detail in the previous posting.