IDEAS IN FOOD

A Note on Markets

We have received several questions about the markets in Japan and the differences between them and the markets in the US.  After visiting just a few open air markets and a couple of food courts in the basements of department stores we came to realize our fascination with food is often inspired by its vast variety and seemingly limitless quantities.  In Japan we witnessed quality.  The quality was not just in the ingredients being sold, it was an approach to food, an appreciation for the ingredients and a desire to experience and share the pristine beauty exemplified through their ingredients.
Here we give you three pictures of different types of crab available last week in Tokyo and Osaka.  They are all equally beautiful in their different ways and none of them can be found in our local markets at home.  Wandering through the vast array of offerings was certainly an awakening.

The pictures are of tiny live crabs stored with what appear to be cedar branches, vibrant King crabs still swimming in their tanks, and a prepared hairy crab with its flesh exposed for examination (and easy consumption) and all its innards neatly arranged for use.  While our photographic skills are not perfect, these ingredients are close to some of the finest we have seen. The only thing we didn’t have was a kitchen to take them home and cook them in.

A Time to Pause

It seems our time in Japan was too short.  Memories exist where dreams once formed.  It is now up to us to harness these memories and draw on their influence on us as we continue to grow and develop.  I am looking forward to seeing how these recent experiences will affect our cooking and approach to ingredients.

I was quite surprised by my affinity for the simple.  The ingredients we saw were incredible.  They were pristine and unadulterated.  The purity and pleasure we experienced in walking through the markets in Osaka and Tokyo is captured in our pictures.  We did not end up buying much because we did not have a kitchen to work from so instead we mentally cataloged, sorted, compiled and cooked.

I came to Japan with high expectations.  I believed it would provide a stimulus to my mind and change the way I looked at food.  I was looking for an epiphany point.  What I did not expect and now realize is that the stimulus is already inside us.

Tofu and Shumai

I would not have imagined coming to Japan and having some of the tastiest food at a local pub. 

A friend of my mom’s recommended a pub in Osaka for us to visit. It was Mejiya in Tennoji. He drew us a map and sent us a picture of the entrance so that we would be sure to find it. This turned out to be a very good thing because without them we would never have known that the pub even existed. We arrived around one o’clock in the afternoon. The room was dim and narrow with a dark wooden bar, a row of wooden tables, and s small cloud of cigarette smoke hanging in the air. There were patrons scattered along the bar, mostly older men, and everyone was drinking beer or sake and eating lunch. We sat at the near corner of the bar, just in front of a tray of tofu, cooking gently in a metal pan. The man behind the bar seemed surprised that we spoke no Japanese and had wandered into his place. He did not speak English, the menus posted on the wall were in Japanese and there were no pictures anywhere to be found. Fortunately the man sitting beside Alex was very friendly. Although he didn’t speak much English he helped us figure out what to order. The only thing we remembered that we had been told to order was the shumai, which we did, Alex ordered a beer and we settled in to see what would happen.

Most of the men had bowls of tofu in front of them, along with a few small plates with shumai and various fried offerings. We quickly ordered a bowl of tofu to share. The tofu was heated in water, gently drained and topped with a delicate dashi.  A few slices of green onion and a small piece of yuzu zest perfumed the broth and accented the very delicate, silky tofu.  The blend of tastes and textures in what appeared to be such a simple dish were amazing.  The tofu gently breaking into pieces while still retaining some of it’s shape and texture beneath the rough, disposable chopsticks is a clear sense memory and a new benchmark for texture that will be with me from now on.  The broth was extremely aromatic and the flavors were nicely balanced with the bright citrus flavors of the yuzu balancing the subtle sweetness of the dashi.  It was Japanese comfort food of the highest order.

I was equally moved by the shumai we ate.  The skins were made with dried bean curd skin—yuba.  The texture of the yuba steamed pork dumplings was really amazing.  The flavor of the pork seeped into the bean curd and the shumai became a unified whole.  The first bite was scaldingly hot and we quickly learned patience, given a bit of time the dumplings were warm, and juicy, rich with the flavor of pork and minced onion. A dollop of spicy mustard and a dip into the soy sauce completed these incredibly tender porky packets.

We had only one bowl of the tofu and a couple of orders of the shumai. I could have eaten ten more of each.  We had a few other items but those were the standouts. Thankfully we left before I could get out of control ordering more dishes and changing the experience from one of pleasure and lingering desire to one of gluttony and excess.  I believe that this switch is something that has slowly come to fruition during the last few weeks for a variety of reasons. It’s a welcome change in my psyche. The emergence of new experiences and the recollection of memories associated with food are essential to the reception and subsequent success of any dish.  In this instance of dining in a local pub, we had no expectations, just open minds and hungry bellies.  We were extremely fortunate to walk away with incredible memories and new touchstones for our own cooking.

Foie Gras Cotton Candy: and a bunch of other flavors too

Foie gras cotton candy

200g isomalt,
50g glucose
3g sucro
2g salt
90g foie fat
3g glice

Combine the isomalt, glucose, sucro and salt in a pot and cook to 160 degrees C.  In a separate pot warm the foie gras fat with the glice to 50 degrees C.  When both liquids are at their appropriate temperatures, whisk the fat slowly into the hot sugar.  Be careful, sputtering will occur.  An emulsion will be created and the result will be a foie gras caramel.  Pour the hot sugar on a silpat to cool.  When the sugar is cold, grind it into a fine powder and sift it to remove large particles.

Use the foie gras sugar in a cotton candy maker or go to Japan and scour the local markets for the cotton candy maker that can use whole chunks of candy.  If you get one of these, there is no need to grind the sugar, just break into chunks large enough to fit in the opening.

This recipe is both an extrapolation and modification of Ferran Adria’s olive oil spiral.  The technique in making the sugar is the same, though he then pulls and coils the sugar rather than letting it cool and grinding it. 

Also, this recipe works with any number of fats from bacon to pistachio oil so let your imagination run wild.

Lentil and Artichoke Ragout

When we get ingredients in our kitchen we work through a number of permutations and ideas.  Recently we were working with hoisin lentils.  The base is a combination of coffee and hoisin sauce accented with orange bitters and soy sauce.  The technique and inspiration borrows from two sources: the industrial world where false currants and other fruits are made by blending fruit puree with pectin and dropping it in a calcium bath, (check out Thickening and Gelling Agents for the recipe) and Wylie who was making mole lentils by dropping a mole base from an exact height to create a flattened legume presentation rather than a currant. 

With these two front runners as models, inspirations and catalysts for extrapolation, I set about looking at flavors that would make unique and tasty legumes.  I have had my heart set on hoisin for some time, just after the time Wylie debuted his lentils and I had a chance to try them, over a year ago.  Unfortunately, I often let ideas mull, fester and get dusty.  I finally opted to take the idea off the shelf and put it into action.  Once again I tripped.  I did not have any hoisin sauce.  That should not be a problem for most chefs.  For me it turned a crack in the sidewalk into a brick wall.  Instead of hoisin I fell back upon my current crutch, Dr. Pepper.  Dr. Pepper lentils are tasty.  The results were right it’s just that Dr. Pepper is no hoisin sauce.  Blasphemy is being muttered as I write this, though it is true.  Actually the flavors are closer than I ever imagined, it is the overall savoriness of hoisin that makes it a front-runner in the flavored legume category.

I finally was able to get some hoisin sauce.  As I noted, the base is a combination of the hoisin and coffee accented with a few other ingredients to focus the key flavors.  With the base prepared we set about dropping the hoisin into a calcium bath and letting the legumes form.  Once the lentils were made a quick rinse in water and they were ready to use.  For our regular readers you will remember us using the hoisin lentils paired with the doomed lamb shank.  The blend of cucumber puree and hoisin was tasty, very Peking Duck condiment, though it felt too cute, too contrived, and too wrong.

We had created the lentils of my imagination and now I did not have a use for them.  That is frustrating.  What makes lentils really tasty is the combination of cooked lentils with a puree of lentils, a cream of sorts which coats the legumes with a rich, decadent and flavorful coating, a secondary carrier of flavor and a supporting texture.  We used to use pureed lentils to make this textural contrast.  Then, we thought about supporting flavors.  What if we used a seasonal ingredient to create this creamy medium instead of the lentil itself?  In the summer we could use sweet corn, apples and pears in the fall, in the winter chestnuts and parsnips would be wonderful associates to the steely lentil.  When spring rolls around fresh peas, asparagus green and white as well as spring onions are all wonderful accompaniments.  Since we are in the middle of spring and we are working with artichokes it was not a large leap for me to think about an artichoke puree with our hoisin lentils.

We took the braised artichokes and pureed them with some of their cooking liquid.  A small amount of xanthan gum added body and richness to the puree without the need for additional fat.  When the puree was silky smooth we strained it and then folded in the hoisin lentils.  The artichoke puree filled in the voids between the lentils creating a harmonious whole.  The combination of the lentils and the artichoke is sweet, bitter, earthy, decadent, bright and still constrained.  Of course we are only part way home.  We have the lentil and artichoke ragout though not a complete dish.  That is all right, because the time for everything comes around and with this in our repertoire I do not think it is too long before the final dish shows its face.

Artichokes and Brown Butter Gnocchi

We are still working with artichokes and brown butter.  As a child one of my very favorite treats was stuffed artichokes.  I could only get them from my Aunt Lucy, who happened to be an amazing Italian cook. When we would go to see her for the holidays or whenever she would come to visit us, if there were artichokes to be had in the market, we had them on our dinner table. The petals and center were filled to bursting with an herbed, garlicky bread stuffing. No on else made them the way that Aunt Lucy did and she passed away before I was old enough to learn.  We always felt special when she set them out on the table because we knew that she made them because we loved them so much.  Her husband, my Uncle Alex, would make them for us after she was gone. He tried hard but the artichokes were never the same, although they all still tasted like love and we consumed them happily because they told us how much he cared both for us and for her memory.  It's no wonder that I cannot resist artichokes in any of their guises. They are labor intensive to prep and to eat and the rewards for your effort are great. How many other ingredients have the ability to change the flavor of other food and make everything around them just a bit sweeter?  The thistles are beautiful when allowed to bloom and dry.  Although it does seem a pity not to eat them up.  Somehow I've never been able to stuff them for myself, it seems wrong, yet whenever I see them in a restaurant I am compelled to order them and savor each bite.  It's just as wonderful when Alex prepares them for me because in my mind artichokes are a symbol of great love and care.

The combination of roasted artichokes and their puree expresses it's inherent flavors differently because of the varied textures.  The silky puree eases down gently with a lingering punch of that sweet, earthy flavor. On the other hand the roasted pieces are tender and yielding, with a bit of chew from the petals and fibers to force you to really savor each bite. The brown butter potato gnocchi with their creamy, delicate centers encased in the slightly brittle outer crust from a quick sear in butter provide a beautiful counterpoint to the unique flavors of the thistle.

The straightforward presentation of these ingredients allows for an honest expression of tastes.  We both enjoy the restrained simplicity of this dish and the fact that it allows the vegetable to take the spotlight.   These elements would work well in conjunction with hot smoked trout or even the fabled and feared steak. For today though, it seemed best on its own.  It may not be perfection but it is pretty darn close. It's the flavor of love.

Marbled Meat

Sliced Chocolate

An expression of flavor may be both focused and harnessed by eliminating distractions.  In order to elevate the inherent nuances in a chocolate dessert we set about removing extraneous, flavor muting elements, namely fats.  In place of the fats we used water to allow the complex flavors of the chocolate to really bloom.  To give the dessert some structure we incorporated LMA pectin.  The finished chocolate preparation is sliceable and still soft and melting on the palate.  All of the fruity and floral notes of the cacao come through.  The smooth, ganache like texture is something to experience.  In fact, while we were immersed in working on a sliceable chocolate we completely overlooked the opportunity to make a more chocolate forward ganache and play with chocolate fillings.  Those will be projects for when we return to New York.  Since we are building off of our initial idea, instead of water we could use a vast number of liquids from fruit juices to tea in order to compliment and accent the chocolate in those types of applications. 

In this initial presentation of the sliceable chocolate we paired it with banana crisps.  It is a classic combination wih good reason. The two flavors harmonize well, each bringing out the best in the other.  As we move forward with a new perspective and panopoly of ideas, we shall see what develops.

Shrimp and Rhubarb Vinaigrette

Can you tell that rhubarb is in season aound here?  In keeping with rhubarb's ability to accent and accentuate flavors, I wanted to use it with raw fish.  Since we did not have any raw fish on hand I opted to pair shaved rhubarb and its natural vinaigrette with a chilled sheet of pounded shrimp.  The shrimp is topped with an even thinner sheet of braised leek.  The original idea was to use the leek as a transparent window to the shrimp beneath adding sweetness and notes of cooked allium.  The leek sheet certainly adds flavor and layers nicely with the shrimp.  Although, since this is a dish in progress, focusing on the marriage of flavors and the combination of textures, the leeks integration in the final composition will more than likely change completely. It's interesting and tasty, but somehow it just hasn't quite come together yet.

The shaved rhubarb is seasoned with salt, a dash of cayenne and agave nectar and then compressed to quickly allow for a marriage of flavors.  We then remove the rhubarb slivers from the vacuum sealed bag and blend the rhubarb juices with a touch of olive oil to complete the vinaigrette. The sweet, tender shrimp and the earthy, silken leek combine to form a platform for the crisp, tangy rhubarb. Now we just have to find that final piece that will bring the dish to the next level.

May and June Classes

The schedule for classes for the end of May and June is now up in the side bar.  Private workshops may also be arranged.  You'll notice that we've added a few more weekdays because our weekends are filling up with other projects.  Our journey to find another space is taking longer than we'd planned on, fortunately we're enjoying the array of new opportunities that have opened up for us.

By the way, this picture was taken in Maruyama Park in Kyoto yesterday. The weather has been absolutely beautiful and the landscaping nothing short of amazing.  More to follow when we get to the ship.

Artichokes and Rhubarb

We were taught to cook artichokes in acidulated water.  The reasoning, at least what I remember was to preserve color by preventing oxidation.  Yet, by cooking artichokes in a piquant, acidic environment the end result is more of a pickled vegetable. While delicious it does not capture the essence of the sweet, tender, earthy ingredient, which is what we were after.

Artichokes barigoule and other acid based artichoke preparations can be mouth wateringly good.  Unfortunately the fully integrated acidity can become tiresome.  As we continue to look for ways to control flavor, this approach, which involves infusing an ingredient with a uniform and expected seasoning becomes less appealing. We were looking for something different.

What we've learned is that artichokes do not need to be cooked in extremely acidic environments.  Some acidity certainly helps, though it is used more as a seasoning than as a preservative.  Recently we cooked artichokes in a broth flavored with chermoulah and salt.  No acidity was added.  The artichokes cooked beautifully and the chermoulah seasoned the artichokes throughout while the dominant flavor remained that of the artichoke.  We have been working with these artichokes in a variety of dishes, preparations, and ideas.

The first composition united the spiced artichokes with fruity, acidic rhubarb.  Since we did not involve acid in the cooking process we wanted to integrate an acid in the dish to balance the chermoulah and sweet earthiness of the artichoke.

We used two preparations of rhubarb in this dish.  The first is a rhubarb pudding that is started in a pressure cooker and then thickened with pectin.  The pudding itself may be used in both sweet and savory applications.  In this case, it acts as a thick accompaniment, almost a fruity mayonnaise for the artichokes.  (As for the fruit mayonnaise idea, we will have to delve deeper into its uses.  Coleman Andrews wrote about a quince aioli in his book on Catalan food and I believe it is time to revisit the possibilities.)  The rhubarb pudding adds richness to a dish, which by all sensibilities should be lean and stark.  Rhubarb also has a sharper side, an ability to strike quick and fast, accenting an ingredient and keeping its presence known as a savory element.  We incorporated these characteristics by slicing the rhubarb thin and then seasoning it with a few grains of salt and drops of Dr. Pepper syrup.  Then we vacuum sealed it to compress the cell walls of the vegetable and accelerate the seasoning process. 

With the elements for the dish in place we set about uniting them.  We started with a streak of the pudding, showing its viscosity and smoothness.  The artichokes were drained from their poaching liquid and arranged on the plate.  The shavings of rhubarb were then placed upon the artichokes to allow the diner to taste the combination of ingredients in their own order.

Finally, we added rhubarb vinaigrette that combined stewed rhubarb juice with rose syrup and olive oil.  We really enjoy the combination of rhubarb and rose.  The rose syrup is delicately floral without the cloying heavines of potpourri.  I also enjoy cooking rhubarb with rose hip jelly, though that is one for another day.

How did the dish come together?  The elements make sense.  The approach is sound.  There are a variety of textures, tastes, and most importantly flavors.  To our eyes the dish is simple, flavorful and elegant.  Could we have done more?  Perhaps, though the marriage of artichoke and rhubarb seems quite content without any supporting cast members.

Shrimp Sphere

It was only a matter of time before I would leap from crab spheres to those made of shrimp.  The shrimp are bound with one percent Activa RM and then set in silicone sphere molds.  We vacuum seal and then cook the shrimp in these molds to retain the perfectly round presentation of the shrimp.  Here we paired the shrimp with a minced jelly made from grapefruit-yogurt consomme.  A few shards of zucchini crisps added texture and vegetal notes to the dish.  An accent of cranberry molasses acts to highlight the dish and add bright acidic notes to the  sweet, briny flavor of the shrimp. It's a playful spring dish in both spirit and flavor.

Brown Butter Gnocchi

We continue to modify and update our base recipe for flourless potato gnocchi.  In our most recent class we added brown butter puree to base.  The rich caramel notes of the brown butter accented the entire batch of gnocchi adding a richness to the earthy notes of the potatoes.  We have also taken to marking the gnocchi after they set so they capture the ridging often associated with hand rolled gnocchi.  These brown butter bites will see a fair amount of action in a number of dishes this spring and summer.

Off to Japan

We're off to Osaka this morning. We've got a few posts scheduled so you'll hardly know that we're gone. Comments will be slower to appear than usual because our Internet will be sporadic at best until we arrive at our hotel. A big thank you to everyone who sent their thoughts on Japan with suggestions and advice. Your help was invaluable. It'll be a jam packed couple of days before we meet the ship and we can't wait to see what kind of goodies we discover! As always we'll we posting regularly from the ship.

On My Mind

I was recently intervied by Jeremy over at Stir the Pots.  We first met Jeremy in one of our cooking classes.  He is passionate about cooking and equally excited about what makes chefs tick.  During our conversation he was kind enough to allow me to speak for both Aki and myself.  You can hear the entire interview here.

Cooking with Sean at McCrady's

It is with great pleasure that we are announcing a guest chef dinner we are cooking with Sean and his team down at McCrady's.  Sean's passion for cooking and his open source approach to ideas have been instrumental in our growth as cooks.  The dinner is scheduled for June 29, 2008.  The dinner will be anywhere from 4 to 400 courses. (Sean's guidelines).  Since the dinner will be in June it is reasonable to believe Sean's garden project will be donating a few ingredients to the cause.

What else can we say except we are absolutely brimming with excitement and we can already feel the creative juices begining to flow. It will be great to be cooking in a restaurant kitchen again.

Alright, I cannot keep my ideas all pent up.  One exciting dish which is on the drawing table involves eucalyptus and tomato.  Thankfully eucalyptus grows wild down in Sean's neck of the woods. We can't wait to see what else his garden produces to go with it.

Place Card Holder

The simplest solution to an everyday problem is often right in front of you.  While I have had this idea for some time, it was only yesterday that I was actually able to get my hands on these shiny cubes designed for displaying place cards.

Of course place cards are the last thing we plan to use these for. As you can see, they are perfect for serving our beautiful and extremely delicate crisps. In the photo is a zucchini, one of many in our culinary arsenal.

There is no doubt that other uses will evolve. For tonight we are perfectly content with the simple beauty of silver and green. Now if only we had a bowl full of crispy morels atop a mound of fresh pasta simply dressed with butter, pepper, and a dollop of fresh ricotta to go alongside it.

Chicken Tails

When you roast a chicken in our house, the rule is the roaster gets the tail.  Why?  Because there is only one.  Though I am sure there has to be a glut of chicken tails somewhere.  The market for boneless and portioned chicken parts means that these delicious tails are being left on a carcass destined for stock.  That is truly terrible.  These tails need to be freed from the stock pot and put on a pedestal or at least in a paper cone after they have been fried and served alongside some yuzu kosho mayonnaise.

For now, we get one tail at a time.  Hopefully soon we will have more than one to fight over.  Of course with only one tail it certainly motivates both of us to be the one to cook dinner.

*We are currently looking for sources for a variety of tails: chicken, duck, turkey, pintade.  Perhaps a frito misto of tails is in order.

Lamb Shanks

We've used lamb shanks on and off again.  I remember serving them on a bed of pappardelle and ratatouille in our first professional kitchen together on our own.  I remember braising vast quantities of shanks, searing them first in roasting pans because we did not have anything of size to cook the shanks.  I remember cooking them in an oven which enjoyed turning itself off when I wasn't looking.  I remember the fire I started as the fat, which had risen to the top of the braise, spilled out onto the heat source of the oven.  I remember that while our lamb shanks gained in popularity I was not a huge fan.

We have not cooked lamb shanks in roughly eight years.  Last week we revisited the lamb shank.  We removed the bones and the gristle and sinew.  We seasoned the meat with garam masala and salt.  We dusted the meat with Activa and rolled it into a roulade.  Once the roulade was set we brushed it with vadouvan yogurt and then cooked it sous vide for 24 hours at 67 degrees Celsius.  The meat became tender and absorbed all the flavors we wanted to impart in it.  We were then able to sear the braised meat to make a rich and crispy crust on the exterior while keeping the inside moist and tender.  We paired the shank with a relish of cucumber and orange marmalade and a ragout of hoisin lentils and cucumber puree. 

The combination of flavors was tasty.  We were really pleased with the ragout of cucumber and hoisin.  Still, the meat itself, despite all our efforts, fell short.  Lamb shanks tend to be overly lamby in flavor.  While the meat was nicely cooked, the texture did not win me over.  I would much rather eat a braised or roasted lamb neck or even a slice of braised lamb belly.  The uniform marbling in these other under utilized cuts of meat far surpasses that of the shank.

Though if we start talking other shanks like veal and beef I am certainly game.  Those shanks are well worth the efforts it takes to cook them. In fact veal shanks are a real favorite and have always been greeted with enthusiasm when they emerge from our kitchen. So perhaps the problem is that we have yet to discover the ultimate method of cooking our lamb shanks. We'll keep trying, just not today.

Lobster Salad

Lobster salad is a fickle preparation.  The idea that the lobster should be dressed a certain way or contain specific ingredients often leads to flops and failures.  In a recent dish we made lobster cubes which we paired with compressed spinach, grated almonds, and a grapefruit-yogurt consomme.  The flavors were delicate and the lobster stood out.  Unfortunately the accompaniments were so subtle that they just could not balance the strong briny flavor of the crustacean and were themselves completely washed out.  The dish contained wonderful flavors and textures yet the lack of harmony between the elements emphasized the inherent disconnect in the dish.

Upon further examination the lobster cubes do have a place in our kitchen, just not in this particular composition.  The grapefruit-yogurt consomme is now a staple.  It is tangy, sweet, spicy, slightly bitter, rich, and still light on the palate. With the warm weather beginning to make its presence known it will be invaluable for future dishes.

Perfectly Ripe

If you're reading this you probably know that Alex and I love a good cheese. Hard or soft, firm or fresh, cow or goat, we'll happily taste them all. So when Tyler said that he had some new cheeses that he wanted us to taste (and take a few pictures of), we said come on over. Apparently Blackberry Farm is now making sheep's milk cheeses for the public to enjoy.

There's a fine line between a perfectly ripe cheese and an over-ripe one. Whenever I see a beautiful, runny piece of cheese that is encased in plastic wrap I know that I'm running a risk. I'm not afraid to stick my nose in there and try to scent out any ammonia and sometimes the plastic can fool me. I've had many a cheese monger tell me that the scent of ammonia isn't a flaw, it's a natural by product of aging the cheese. This may be true, I'll admit that I'm not entirely convinced, although in the end it doesn't matter whether the taste and odor are considered a flaw or not. I just don't enjoy them and it ruins the cheese for me. So if the ammonia is present the cheese goes in the bin. Unfortunately, I am hooked on ripe cheese. Cheese that is runny and not liquid, with an almost elastic texture, and a flavor that melts across your palate as you slowly chew and swallow each decadent bite. The odds of catching it at that perfect moment before it topples over the edge of the hill are slim and yet the rewards are gratifying enough to be worth the risk.

One of the cheeses Tyler brought by was the Trefoil. It's a soft ripened cheese and it had that soft, giving texture that we look for when he arrived. The cheese was wrapped in paper and tied with rustic twine. It was helped along by the fact that it had been in his refrigerator snuggled up to a quantity of black truffles. The cheese itself was quite beautiful and  perfectly ripe, just teetering on that edge. It is named for the clover that the sheep graze upon and the grassy herbal flavors are clearly present in the cheese. It was certainly a cheese that I would happy to taste again. It will be interesting to see how their program develops. The fact that so many people are jumping into the cheese game is a wonderful thing for the rest of us.

Photo Shoot

We just finished up a photo shoot for MouCo Cheese. If you have been following along for a number of years you will have seen and heard us talk about MouCo.  They are a small cheese producer in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Their cheese, three varieties now, made a distinct impression on our palates and soon became a staple in our Colorado pantry.

Ingredients influence and guide the development of our cooking and MouCo cheeses were no exception.  We included the Camembert in picnic baskets and paired the ColoRouge with musk melon and licorice.  Robert, the cheese maker, really enjoyed our work with his cheese and eventually approached us to do a series of pictures for him.  How could we say no?  Last year we were sent a box of assorted cheeses: Camembert, ColoRouge, Blu.  The task, to create dishes around each and photograph both the naked cheese and it's various extrapolations.  What a pleasure.  We were familiar with the cheeses and we had a few ideas to begin with.  Take a fresh box of cheese, a new season and setting, (we had just relocated to Forest Hills) and we were able generate a series of shots which combined our newly felt freedom and the beauty of Robert's cheeses.

We submitted over forty pictures to be culled down to ten.  It was exciting to see what pictures were chosen and hear the comments on why others were close and why a few just fell flat.  That is learning.  When the pictures were selected we sent them along and lost contact with MouCo for a bit.  Until the summer when we received a shipment of cheese from Tomales Bay.  They had included some of Robert's cheese and a post card with one of the pictures we had taken.  What a rush.  As soon as I saw the card I picked up the phone to call Robert and tell him how cool it was to see the pictures in action.  Unfortunately he was out when I called and then I became caught up with other projects.

Happily,  Robert did not forget about us.  He dropped us an email wondering if we were interested in doing another round of photographs.  Of course we were.  Once again we were given the guidelines of being ourselves.  That is a wonderful place to be.  What is equally exciting is seeing how the cheeses had evolved in a year.  The flavors were more focused, the rinds beautiful, the veining in the Blu more consistent and the cheeses seemed just tastier.

We set about the process of making cheese-centric dishes by first sitting and eating the cheese.  With our full bellies we had a clearer picture of what we wanted to do.  It was interesting to see our own evolution in this process.  The food has more confidence and the pictures have a voice.  To compare the two shoots is interesting. The first year shows freedom and a pleasure to be creating. The most recent pictures seem to explode with restrained enthusiasm.  As I look at them the dishes want to jump off the plate to be eaten and shared. That is definitely progress.

The New Fall Season

This morning we were alerted via Khymos that Heston Blumenthal's new tome The Big Fat Duck will be released this fall. It is in very good company as autumn also sees the release of books by Grant Achatz, Johnny Iuzzini, and Eric Ripert (perhaps with desserts by Michael Laiskonis). It will be a veritable bounty of information and ideas. And it's only April. Who knows what other gems will appear on the horizon. We love having good things to look forward to!

The Repertoire

There aren't many staples in our repertoire. Our need for constant evolution and Alex's short attention span often translate into constant change. We have to really love something for it to make multiple appearances in a variety of incarnations. The newest addition to our culinary repertoire is the pressed chicken thigh bound with Activa RM.

The thigh is both of our favorite joints on the bird. It has a rich texture, with a variety of juicy muscles bound together with rich pockets of fat and a gorgeous crispy skin. The variety of textures and flavors can be revelatory when handled properly. In the terrine, the chicken retains all of it's positive properties and the bone is eliminated. This makes it versatile, beautiful and easy to eat. You can season the meat with anything you wish before pressing it together and the time in the mold allows the flavors to permeate the meat. For fans of dark meat it is the ultimate expression of the bird.

Pictured here is a crispy, chicken terrine seasoned with vaudovan and paired with cauliflower and egg yolk. The flavors balance beautifully, both suave and aromatic, creamy and crunchy, earthy and meaty. It is today's culmination of of chicken and vegetable.

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties

When I was kid, occasionally on tv we would lose our shows and a pre-recorded meaasage would periodically announce "We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please Stand by." This post is our equivalent of that recording. We are making some changes on the site and things have gone a bit kerflooey. We've gotten a bunch of emails about the issues and we appreciate your concern.  We are working with Typepad to resolve things as quickly as possible. Hopefully everything will be happy again soon.

Artichokes, Grapefruit and Celery Leaves

We had a post about complexity versus simplicity.  Apparently we were too wordy as the website swallowed the post and all its contents whole.  Thankfully the picture was not consumed.

The dish combines chermoulah poached artichokes with whipped ruby grapefruit and celery leaves.  The short version of our initial post is that simple is the new micro.

Vadouvan, Maple and Scrambled Corn

While corn season is still a number of months out we have not been able to keep its presence out of our kitchen.  We use frozen corn which captures the essence of sweet corn.  We do not use the kernels in their whole form because the texture of frozen corn is a bit strange.  Instead, we make a puree seasoned with chipotle and butter whose flavor stands up and reminds us of Summer's seasonal bounty.

The corn puree was used in our most recent class on Methocel.  We used it to create scrambled corn, a preparation we worked on a number of years ago.  Since our initial developments with scrambled corn we have learned a lot.  We have also made plenty of mistakes.  The
combined results of learning from our failures has helped us produce our most recent formulation of corn, which may be cooked into beautiful egg-like curds.  The addition of iota carrageenan adds a richer creaminess to the base and solves the syneresis issues we struggled with in the initial formulation.

We paired the corn with a vadouvan and maple syrup consomme which added spice, aromatics and a cleansing note to compliment the creamy curds.  The sliced chives pick up the allium notes in the vadouvan. All in all we were quite satisfied with this creamy, tasty hint of what's to come.

Curry Leaves, Tequila and Golden Raisins

We had a bit of leftover Sauza Hornitos which had been infused with fresh curry leaves. If you've never tried the combination, curry leaves and tequila are a match made in heaven. Combine that with some fat golden raisins and let it macerate for a couple of days. Voila, you've created one of the world's best condiments ever with almost no effort at all. Recipes just don't get any better than that.

Black Garlic

Black garlic is a new ingredient to our pantry.  It is tender like roast garlic with undertones of malt and molasses, and an overall sweet garlicky flavor and none of the acrid bite of raw garlic.  In trying to research this ingredient we stumbled across a number of road blocks and oddities.  There's a definite lack of information on the process available. It is produced in Japan, China, Korea and California. It seems that in some modern cases the process is patented using specially designed machines and controlled temperatures, although it appears that early versions were as simplistic as storing the heads in earthenware jugs in caves or other cool areas for a few months until the transformation is complete.  We were recently informed that the garlic we have is air dried for forty days over aged soy sauce.  It's an ingredient that is slowly gaining ground in the culinary arena. Apparently in some circles it is now trendy to dip the black garlic cloves in chocolate for the the true garlic lover to enjoy.

Initially we smashed the garlic flat.  While it was an interesting visual and a great way to transfer the flavor to different components of the dish, the beautiful individual cloves have a distinct personality which we want to keep intact.  That is not to say we will not be smashing this garlic again, just that we are not convinced that it's the best way to highlight the unique qualities of the ingredient.

Today produced more failures than successes although these early attempts have helped fertilize our blossoming ideas. The black garlic has provided some fresh inspiration. Tomorrow we'll see where it takes us.

Crispy Duck and Spring

We wait for the actual signs of Spring.  Somehow the arrival of fresh tender fava beans, pungent ramps and early morels provides a fresh start for the mind, wiping away stagnant ideas and replaing them with tentatively, blooming inspirations.  A hold over from the chilly winter months is a boneless duck leg which we flavored with salt and pepper and a bit of garlic.  We braised the leg and then when we are ready to eat we deep fry it.

With the beginning of Spring's gifts becoming available we have chosen to lighten up a presentation with the duck leg.  We paired the duck with beet noodles flavored with smoked balsamic vinegar.  A quick saute of fresh wood ear mushrooms add an earthiness and a tender, chewy element to the dish.  Leaves of tangy wild wood sorrel help cut through the meaty duck and accent the dish. It is a celebration of springtime and it's vibrant aura of renewal.

Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are the prize of a roast chicken.  Actually a chicken has a number of prizes.  Our favorite is the chicken tail which we alternate sharing.  Next is the chicken oyster.  Thankfully there are two per bird, no coin flipping necessary.  Once these tasty morsels are savored we get to the meat of the bird.  For us the chicken thigh is it.  The skin is slightly thicker and crisps up wonderfully.  Since Aki does not often eat chicken skin I usually get a double dose.  The organic birds that we procure at our local market are fat and juicy. The meat of the thigh is well marbled with varying muscles lined with small pockets of rich fat. The roasting process seems to enhance its decadent characteristics leaving us with intensely flavorful crisp and chewy morsels of meat to enjoy.

The hitch in the thigh is that bone.  It gets in the way.  Many will note that the bone is adding flavor and helping to keep juice in the meat although we're not clear on the science behind that yet.  We have not done a study on the benefits of bone in cooking versus bone out (perhaps we shall soon) so the proof right now is in the eating and perception.  While at home Aki enjoys meticulously cleaning the meat from the bones, it just slows me down. On the other hand, in more formal settings Aki appreciates food that is both delicious and easy to eat since the conversation is usually at least as important as the food.  With that in mind, we felt that if we boned out chicken thighs and flavored them with tarragon, salt, and pepper and then re-assembled the thighs without the bone we could control the flavor and the cooking process which means that we would be able to consistently produce a nearly ideal chicken thigh.

In the photo, the thighs from two birds are compressed in a Battera Sushi mold with their skins fitted into place on top to produce a terrine of chicken thigh which we then cook at 60 degrees Celsius for an hour and cool down. Once this is done we may butcher it into individual portions and pan roast them.  While the front side work is certainly more involved the end results support and surpass the effort involved.

German Potato Salad Gnocchi

The results are in.  German potato salad gnocchi are just too tasty.  These babies are the result of our continued work exploring new possiblilities with potato gnocchi.  We incorporated minced bacon, cornichons and tarragon mustard into a gnocchi base bound with Activa y-g. They are warm, crispy, creamy, porky, tangy and satisfying. This afternoon they were the perfect finger food to brighten up a slightly gloomy afternoon.

Osaka and Kyoto

Well it's almost that time of year again. We are lucky enough to be setting sail on another Holland America cruise where we will be doing cooking demonstrations and classes. This is Alex's first trip to Japan and we have tacked on two nights in Osaka and one night in Kyoto at the beignning of the trip. We only wish that we could afford to stay longer.

We're looking for a little guidance from anyone who can advise us. We'll be arriving in at Kansai International on April 20 and plan on spending the night in Osaka.  Then we are planning to take the train to Kyoto and spend the night there on the 21. We'll return to Osaka on April 22 for one night and we set sail from Kobe in Osaka on the afternoon of the 23. If anyone has any hotel or restaurant suggestions we'd appreciate it. We're looking for local specialtes all the way and we're definitely going to have kaiseki in Kyoto.  I'm hoping to book us into a traditional ryokan in Kyoto although we will be a bit more budget minded with our lodgings in Osaka. I know this is kind of last minute but we were debating the viability of the extra days up until just last week. Then we realized that it just had to be done. Even if it is only a few extra days, we can't pass up the opportunity to explore. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

*The cruise departs from Kobe and stops in both Tokyo and Hakodate so if there are any suggestions and recomendations for these stops as well, we are equally open.