Me: A Stage at Me Restaurant in Barcelona

Raw Artichokes

2012-10-27T05:52:00.003-07:00

Just got a question about keeping raw artichokes fresh for the Spinach Salad.

Squeeze 1 or 2 lemons in a 1/2 liter of water. Keeping raw artichokes in lemon water keeps them green and fresh.

Cut the tough, green leaves away until you are at the white core. The stalk should be trimmed as well. Scrape away the "hair" that grows over the heart of the artichoke.

Immediately put the artichoke cores in the lemon water.

Just before serving take the artichokes out of the water and slice thinly with a knife or with a mandoline and serve.

Note: If you are making the Spinach Salad from Me the order (bottom to top) is Spinach, Artichokes, Fried Shallots.

Shiitake Mushrooms

2012-10-13T00:39:00.001-07:00

A beautiful preparation of Shiitake mushrooms that will be on the menu this fall.

Shiitake Mushrooms

Crawfish Boil

2012-10-13T00:38:00.001-07:00

The crawfish boil is used to briefly boil the crawfish immediately before serving. The process during service will take about 5 minutes.

Here is the recipe for the boil:

Crawfish boil

6 liters of water
3 Lemons (peels and juiced)
1 stalk Celery (chopped)
2 big Onions (rough chopped)
2 Bulbs Garlic (whole)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 T dried chilis
2 T cayenne
12 T salt

And some photos of its development.

Whole Heads of Garlic, Celery, Lemon Peel and Juice, Red Chilis

Adding the Onion

It begins to boil

The Finished Crawfish Boil

Close up Photos of the New Stocks

2012-10-13T00:34:00.001-07:00

Close ups of the vegetable, fish, crawfish boil and beef stocks.

Beef Stock

Fish Stock (You can see the outline of the fish in the foreground)

Crawfish Boil

Vegetable Stock

Creating the Foundations - Stocks

2012-10-13T00:22:00.001-07:00

These stocks will form the base of several new dishes for fall. There are beef, fish and vegetable stocks.

From left to right: Vegetable, Fish, Beef and Vegetable (Crawfish Boil)

The empty pot in the first row is used to collect the impurities that arise from the animal based stocks as they begin to boil. For the first five minutes after the stock begins to boil we scoop off the foam that rises. The foam is placed in the empty bowl and then discarded. The vegetable stocks do not need this process.

Building a Mushroom and Polenta Dish

2012-10-05T00:17:00.003-07:00

Next week I'll be working with Thang and Marco on new dishes for the fall menu. Here is a preview of how we build a dish at Me. This is a vegetarian polenta and mushroom dish.

Here is the finished plate...

Mushroom and Polenta Dish

This dish begins with a base of polenta which is seared to form a crust. The crust gives a nice contrast to the creamy polenta. The mushrooms in the foreground are also cooked "a la plancha". At home this would be cooked in a regular frying pan with a a good amount of oil and high heat.

Mushrooms and Polenta (a la plancha)

We arrange the polenta and button mushrooms (sauteed in oil and cream, soy and sherry sauce) on the plate. The button mushrooms and polenta will vary the height of the other elements that will be added to the dish.

Arranging the Button Mushrooms and Polenta

We add five asparagus (blanched, sauteed in olive oil, tossed in a cream, soy and sherry sauce) to bisect the plate and rise from the bottom to the top of the dish.

Asparagus Bisecting the Plate

The sauteed mushrooms are then tossed in the cream, soy and sherry sauce. Once coated in the sauce we lay them on top of the asparagus. Spring onions are also added to the sauce and briefly sauteed.

Adding the Sauce to the Plate

The plate is arranged with a thin crust placed on the top like the comb that supports a mantilla. I will ask Thang about the inspiration. I doubt it comes from a traditional Spanish Catholic upbringing ;-) The dish is finished with the rest of the sauce and sea salt.

The Orientation of the Plate (Rising from Right to Left)

A sprig of parsley that has been fried flat is added and the dish is complete.

The Completed Dish

Lunch: Green Goddess Salad

2012-10-03T02:58:00.000-07:00

The Green Goddess Salad we are currently serving at lunch at Restaurant Me.

Green Goddess Salad

Lunch: Softshell Crab Poboy

2012-10-02T02:56:00.000-07:00

A Softshell Crab Poboy (New Orlean style sandwich) currently served at lunch.

A Painting by Javier

2012-10-01T03:07:00.001-07:00

This is a painting by Javier (one of the co-founders of Restaurant Me) that hangs in the entrance of the restaurant, next to the bar. I love it. It reminds me vaguely of a Pixies album cover. I think its the monkeys.

Painting at Restaurant Me

Entusiasmos Tintos por Carlota De Otto (A poem inspired by Restaurant Me)

2012-10-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

Entusiasmos Tintos por Carlota De Otto (A poem inspired by Restaurant Me)

In Spanish

Entusiasmos tintos

Vamos acenar los cuatro en un restaurante de la calle París.
Queremosésa de la esquina, has señalado alpedir la mesa.
Eldueño trabajó como interiorista mecomentas mientras avanzamos por entre las mesas, un cultureta de esos que nova a perder nunca el acento francés.
¿Pierre,se llama?, te pregunto. Ysusurras: sale con aquella chica que conociste el día de la bodeguita, esaque tiene el taller en la calle Vic.

Él nos acompaña a la mesa y nos sentamos, colocados en unimperfecto cuadrado y con una botella de vino tinto en el medio.

Estamos sentados los cuatro y hablamos de dos en dos.

De la cocina, va saliendo: que si un entrecot saignon concitronella, que si panceta a las 7 especias con bok choi, que si polenta connosequé.

Y cosas así. Se va tiñiendo de colores el centro de lamesa.

Nosotros vamos bebiendo a sorbitos el vino tinto, picandode aquí y de allá, y nos miramos con los ojos pícaros para desprendernos de lasfogosidades y para calentar la atmósfera de esta esquina.

Las conversaciones juegan al escondite en línea recta o endiagonal, entre tus ojos y los míos, entre los de Clay que son azules y los deOtto que se ven oscuros con esta luz.

Y las palabras salen de algún lugar entre un pecho quetiembla y una sonrisa nerviosa, corretean disparadas por los ángulos de la mesacomo si fueran bolas de billar.

Entonces, en un momento dado, cuando los estómagos empiezana estar calientes y sonrojados por el vino, cuando ya están atados los lazosentre estas cuatro personas sentadas en una esquina, estos cuatro cuerposlanzados a la miscelánea de sus combinaciones..., En ese momento dadointerrumpimos momentáneamente las conversaciones, levantamos cada uno un brazo,cuatro brazos con cuatro manos y sus cuatro copas, y las chocamos en alto en elcentro de la mesa.

Brindamos bien alto, porqué los ojos nos vibran como sifueran de gelatina, y tenemos las sonrisas anchas, y porqué ahora mismo noexiste espacio ni tiempo en el que quepa este absurdo momento.

Brindamos alto porqué nuestras copas están llenas y esosiempre se tiene que celebrar.

Brindamos alto para que no quepa duda de que siempre, en elinstante en el que las sonrisas son anchas, los momentos absurdos, y los ojosde gelatina, las copas se alzan y caben todo el espacio y el tiempo en loabsurdo de un momento.

Y todo se lia tanto que brindamos alto, las copas rebosanvino que cae en la mesa, nos rozamos con los pies, nos acercamos impetuosamenteal centro de la mesa para reír y... después de una azarosa mezcla de cuatropersonas, un absurdo encuentro de pupilas de gelatina, después de un conjuro mágico selladocon un brindis altísimo, subliminal, elevado; cada uno vuelve a su propiocuerpo, bajamos las copas y los ojos, recogemos las sonrisas y pedimos otrabotella de vino tinto al maitre francés para seguir balbueceandoimbecilidades.

Y después quizás, sucumbir a un postre.

Squid Salad

2012-10-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous squid salad we are serving as a first course at Me at the moment. It's in Thang's hands.

Squid Salad

Notes From The First Day as a Stage at Restaurant Me

2012-09-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here are my notes from the first day as a Stage at Restaurant Me. There was a lot to take in...

Shark

1 filet, 3 inches by 3 inches

Veggie mix

1 bell pepper (remove inside white parts and seeds, cut off edges) diced fine to size of piece of corn

1 red onion center removed leaving outside 4 leaves (remove outside leaf, too) diced fine to size of piece of corn

2 long, thin green peppers (name) diced much finer (very small)

(retain all bits for salad)

Crayfish

(add to veggie mix with corn and saute before serving on top of shark)

Crayfish bisque underneath

(long thin onions on top?)

Swordfish

Pickled Tomato

8 unripe tomatoes (large) sliced in half at the width, remove seeds, large chop (3 sections by 3 sections for each half, 4x3 for larger ones) Wear surgical (latex) gloves when removing the seeds

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 lemons (rind removed and wide Julienned then juiced)

Mix it all together by hand in large pot

Cook on low heat until soft (about 1 hour)

Remove liquid and continue to reduce it (to not overcook the tomatoes)

Basil Cream (1 tb goes under the Swordfish)

Blanche basil (15 seconds) squeeze water out, mix with cold cream

Lemon juice, diced lemon rind, salt

Swordfish

2x triangular pieces 3 inches long on each side

Cover in spices

Put oil on each side (1/2 olive, 1/2 sunflower(?)

Grill 5 to 6 minutes. Keep moving creating hashes on each side in a square.

Prep Components

Long green onions / Spring onions / (other name big man uses)

cut long thin strips, cut in half first (or turn - more advanced)

put in cold water immediately with ice (so that they curl up)

Ajo Tierna (Garlic shoots)

cut long thin strips, cut in half first (or turn - more advanced)

mixe with very thin sliced ginger

Long green onions

slice with long, rhythmic motion for clean, rolling cut rather than chop

Salmonetes (3 overlapping - go over rice cake)

filet

remove bones

foam (soy lecithin and reduced fish stock, use exprimer to create foam)

thai chili (very thin sliced - about 1.5 inches long)

lemon grass (remove outside leave or two - slice very thin at the width)

Veggie plate

Arugula - arrange large pieces in crosses on the plate across the outer edge. Add bed of arugula in the center.

Radish - then sliced placed on the crosses

Pastry - put on oval metal plate (for oven)

(type of small onion) roast, place on center of pastry

Mushrooms - (previously cleaned, half cooked - in what preparation? - vacuum packed) heat up, place on pastry

Asparagus - saute 3, slice in 3 at an 45 degree angle (leave ends) points face up, remaining asparagus goes along the outside

combine and place in oven for 5 to 10 minutes to warm

Fried garlic chips - place four on top

Cream - 2 tbs mixture (what is in this mixture?), 1 "poached" egg yoke (put in steamer until egg whites go "white" for 2 to 4 minutes, you can shake the egg yolk loose), put diced chive in bottom of pouring cup, mix the liquids with an exprimer and add to special serving cup

Oil, lemon and salt to garnish on outside

Steak

Garlic - fine chop

Lemon grass - fine chop

Oyster sauce - 1 tbs per side

Soy sauce - 1 tbs per side

let sit for 5 minutes to marinade

Presa Iberica

Green daikon "spooled" out then placed in cold water. Change water a couple of times to keep fresh.

Wipe down the station as you go

Clean at the end of the night

Get chef pants? (cool would be good because it gets a little warm)

Black t-shirts

What kind of shoes to wear?

Lasagna (family meal)

2012-09-30T09:16:00.002-07:00

This is a delicious vegan lasagna I had as a family meal (meal prepared for the restaurant staff). The photo does a good job of communicating what it actually tasted like. You can see the onion, tomato and mushrooms spilling out the side. What really worked was the crunchy pasta layers.

A non-vegan version that included mozzarella (and no tofu) was served at lunch for awhile.

Jasmine Garden Dessert

2012-09-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

A beautiful dessert dish that is currently on the menu. I took this photo when I was working the pastry station in the spring.

On the left is dried coconut. In the center is a jasmine truffle with jasmine flowers and on the right are cranberries. It is served with a Jasmine tea.

Jasmine Garden Dessert

Spinach Salad

2012-09-30T08:49:00.003-07:00

Most people will want a second plate of this Spinach Salad.

Here is the full recipe in English:

Serves 4 to 6

Dressing
1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Mirin (Rice cooking wine)
3/8 Cup Soy Sauce (Kim Ve Wong brand is best)
1/4 Cup Sesame Oil
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
130 grams ginger grated fine with a microplane
Black pepper (fresh ground) to taste

On top of salad
Fried shallots
Sliced fresh, raw artichokes
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and finish with Maldon.

Spinach Salad Dressing

They Are Architects

2012-09-30T08:07:00.001-07:00

Both of the founders of Restaurant Me, Thang and Javier, are architects. You can see it in the interior of the restaurant and also in this dish.

Tuna with Tomato and Mint on a Basil Cream Sauce

Tuna with Tomato and Mint on a Basil Cream Sauce

Would you like the recipe? As soon as at least 10 people plus, tweet or like this dish I'll add the recipe.

Kitchen Shoes

2012-09-30T05:56:00.001-07:00

A lot of things drop on my feet in the kitchen. Hot and wet things, sharp things, heavy things. Each day the floor of the kitchen starts dry but by the end of the night it can get slick.

Next week I'm trying out a new solution. I'm retiring my Camper's and starting with plastic clogs made by Birkenstock.

They will definitely be good for getting out of quickly. They should also help my back.

They should last for a long time, too, since they are plastic with a replaceable liner. We'll see how they work out.

The Chef's Knife

2012-09-30T05:47:00.001-07:00

This is the main knife I use at the restaurant: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Miyabi 5000S Gyutoh 8" Chef's Knife

Thang picked it out for me. It's light, flexible and maintains sharpness. The Japanse have it nailed. Every chef in the kitchen is using some kind of Japanese knife - either this one of various lengths or a Global.

Once every ten days or so we use a wet stone to get the edge back on the blade. During a shift I'll sharpen it with a sharpening steel four or five times by "hitting" it at a 20 degree angle for on both sides for a minute or so. This is how you do it. It looks - and is - dangerous as hell.

Reviews

2012-09-30T05:31:00.001-07:00

If you haven't been to the restaurant you can check out some reviews on Trip Advisor. Nice one from "laurengonzo" recently. We appreciate it :-)

What is a Stage?

2012-09-30T05:05:00.002-07:00

A Stage is an intern, an apprentice, in a professional kitchen. The origin of the word is French as are all of the names for the roles performed in the leading kitchens of the world. If you are interested you can see Escoffier's breakdown of the roles.

At top restaurants the majority of the people preparing your meal are Stages. El Bulli is famous for having only 3 paid chefs among the dozens in the kitchen. In fact, most of the top chefs today have worked at El Bulli as Stages including the Executive Chefs of Noma and Alinea.

Stages are typically unpaid. Your work is your tuition. In exchange you get hands on instruction and, hopefully, a rapid increase in your cooking skills.

Being a Stage is the best way for a home chef to start working in a top restaurant. It's probably the only way. The rest of the kitchen doesn't expect much from a Stage except hard work and enthusiasm. Over time as a Stage's skills develop she can take on more complex tasks and continue to improve her skills with new challenges.

Turbot

2012-09-30T04:52:00.003-07:00

Turbot (Rodaballo)

Filet

- 3 cuts on top

- long, smooth cuts close to the bone with filet knife (avoid short choppy cuts)

Preparing the Turbot (Rodaballo)

Cut filets of both sides of the fish (black and white). Combined the two filets for each plate should = 150 grams total

Flour (dust on both sides), salt and pepper

4 minutes on an oiled saute pan (or "plancha") - 80% on skin side until crispy, finish on flesh side for remaining 1 minute.

Put on base of creamy, spicy polenta and add a spicy tomato sauce on top with a chiffonade of fresh basil.

Garlic Cheese Polenta

2012-09-30T04:42:00.003-07:00

Garlic Cheese Polenta

A southern dish served at Me as a base for Turbot (Rodaballo) with Tomato Sauce.

Ingredients
3/4 cups polenta

5 cups water

50 grams butter

1 t garlic finely chopped

2 green chilis 1 red (jalapeño or Serrano)

150 grams of cheddar (grated)

Preparation

Boil water with garlic and butter

Add polenta

Bring polenta down to a simmer

Keep the polenta simmering, stir occasionally

--after 20 minutes--

Add chillies and cheddar

Salt to taste

Tabasco to taste

Tomato Sauce for Turbot and Cheese Grits

2012-09-30T04:33:00.001-07:00

Tomato Sauce for Turbot and Cheese Grits (and just about anything else)

This is a dish that is fairly easy to do at home and gets rave reviews every time. It has the Me signature: unique combination of flavors (sweet, salty, acid, etc) and textures.

Ingredients and Preparation
1 kilo plum (roma) tomatoes (Blanche - clean eyes and slice bottom) salt the water for blanching

Blanche for approx. 30 seconds

Throw in ice water

Remove peel

Seed tomatoes

Dice

Tomatoes: blanched, peeled and seeded

1T Basil dried

1t Thyme dried

1t Cayenne pepper

Mix with 1 diced onion

Sautee until onion is soft

Basil, Thyme, Cayenne with Diced Onion

Add 2 Cups pureed canned whole plum (roma) tomatoes to onions and herbs.

Simmer to reduce by 1/3

Then add the fresh diced tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Low heat. The diced tomatoes should be recognizable (retain their shape and texture)

Add Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco to taste.

Cook on low heat

Creating The Autumn Menu

2012-09-30T04:13:00.005-07:00

Over the next couple of weeks I'll be working with Thang, Marco (Sous Chef) and the guys as we create the Autumn menu. We will be experimenting on the days when the restaurant is dark (Sunday and Monday). The dishes will start appearing as specials until they find their way on to the new menu.

Stay tuned for photos and recipes of the new dishes we will be bringing out.

Restaurant Me

2012-09-30T04:06:00.000-07:00

The restaurant where I work as a Stage is called Restaurant Me. It is in Barcelona, Spain at 162 Paris street in the Eixample district.

The name "Me" = Mom in Vietnamese.

The founders, Thang and Javier, lived for many years in New Orleans. Thang is Vietnamese. Both have now lived for +10 years in Barcelona. The menu and service comes out of this unique background.

Thang is the Executive Chef. His most important cooking influences are women. In chronological order the influences are his mom, his best friend's mom in South Carolina during his teenage years and Ann Cashion of Washington, D.C.

His dishes are nourishing and balanced - the best "comfort" food I've ever had. Thang is classically trained (Le Cordon Bleu, Paris) yet he's opposed to what he sees as the masculine, ego driven show of modernist cuisine of the last 20 years.

Javier runs the front of the house with a warmth and style that reminds me of New Orleans. It's personal, friendly and unique in Barcelona. From the first visit I felt like I was in a friend's house.