IDEAS IN FOOD

Hot Yogurt

In our continued explorations with Activa and dairy we ventured into the world of yogurt. I was hoping to make almost pure yogurt spheres. It turns out that Activa works quite well in bonding yogurt into a perfect orb. And since we had the honey flavored yogurt spheres on hand, I tried heating them. The spheres held beautifully and the yogurt in its warm state was silky and decadent. Now we need to find a use for this new addition to our repertoire.

Flat Iron Pastrami

I have had an incredibly difficult time finding the point cut of a brisket. The reason for my quest is that is the piece I prefer in pastrami. While pondering alternatives I considered beef cheeks and short ribs and moved on because I enjoy them as they are, not cured and treated in the style of pastrami. Then I remembered a reference in the book Essence, where he braised an entire flat iron steak. The visual of the dish prompted me to look into perhaps curing and braising the flat iron as pastrami. Since we did not have any flat iron on hand I dropped Wylie a note and to see if he had tried braising that particular cut. He had not, though he was game, and had some flat iron on hand to give a go at. He shot back an email with his results, which produced a tender product, though for a true braise he preferred short ribs and brisket. I took his results and procured a flat iron. I then set about making some pastrami.

To brine the meat I borrowed the ratios from Charcuterie and incorporated some powdered smoke so I could eliminate the actual smoking time. Once the meat was brined, I seasoned it with smoked, cracked peppercorns and then cooked it sous vide for 24 hours at 67 C. Today the cooking was done. The results are better than I imagined with an intense meaty flavor and the troublesome rubber band-like sinew, which is often removed by chefs, had been converted into a rich decadent gelatin.

Where do we go from here? The end goal is pastrami bolognese, though the tasty and toothsome results of slow cooked flat iron are starting to trigger a number of other ideas and open a few other doors. What else exists in one form that could actually yield incredible results if treated with another approach?

Ice Cream and Fruit Leather

Two years ago we had the pleasure of watching Alex Stupak demonstrate the technique of squeezing raspberry jam into liquid nitrogen like Parisian gnocchi and then dipping the frozen pieces in a liquefied sable. The technique allows the liquefied butter to solidify almost instantly around the jam. In the refrigerator the jam becomes soft and tender again and the sable retains its shape, enrobing the jam. The component he demonstrated was a PB&J, in just one bite. Alex has since taken this technique to numerous other applications, I believe even enrobing ice cream.

This year we watched Rick Billings demonstrate this technique with a fluid streusel coating wrapped around blueberry coulis. I was once again taken by the technique, though Rick did not use liquid nitrogen. Rick's take on Alex's technique demonstrated and inspired the possibilities of changing the fats and flavors of what can become a liquefied cooked batter as an coating material. I suppose we could make liquid vanilla wafers to enrobe banana pudding.

Ideas grow and evolve. Recently I have been working on a caviar and ice cream dish. The components were clear. The presentation and delivery were not. One component of the dish was bitter tomato fruit leather. Then it dawned on me. I could dip the fruit leather in the unfrozen  ice cream and then into liquid nitrogen to freeze it. Several dips in ice cream base and nitrogen would hide the fruit leather in the center of the ice cream. Because the fruit leather is intensely flavored, it became a flavor surprise which was delivered as the diner bit into the ice cream. The fruit leather also allowed us to shape the ice cream differently. In our first trials I cut tortilla chip sized pieces of the fruit leather and enrobed them in the coconut-yuzu ice cream. Though eating these larger pieces in the actual dish proved difficult. We ended up cutting the fruit leather into small squares and the dipped pieces ended up looking like over-sized Chiclets. The ice cream to fruit leather ratio became more balanced and this allowed us to serve a dollop of the actual bitter tomato marmalade as part of the dish.

The idea of coating the fruit leather opens up a number of possiblites. The control we can acheive with the leather is exciting. We may actually wrap something in the fruit leather to add another dimension to the bite. Now we start asking questions. What can be a fruit leather? Does it have to be thin? How intense of a strip can we put inside an ice cream bite? What shapes and sizes are possible? In fact, we can go in another direction and see what flavors we may fold into ice cream by tearing the fruit leather. And what if we were not using ice cream? We are only scratching the surface.

The Return of the Roe

The leaves are changing, the sun is setting earlier, the air is crisp and clear, and apples fill the green markets. These seasonal changes also mark the time when Steve Stallard starts producing roe again. Steve is an artisan. No question about it. We have written about him before and he has also shared his own words on these pages. His commitment to excellence is not only contagious and inspiring, it is what makes cooking special.

We have been addicted to his Blis products for years now. The syrups and vinegars are usually available year round, until they sell out. The caviar season coincides with that of the fish and Steve's penchant for perfection. If the roe is not right there is no caviar for anyone. That is both a simple approach and one which can be financially crippling.  Steve does not compromise. How often in life do we face two pathways? One passageway is wide and easy and the other is treacherous and much less traveled. Steve decisively chooses the harder road and we all benefit from his tough decision. The pristine roe he produces continues to be a catalyst for ideas and expressions of flavor, particularly in indulging my fetish for pairing ice cream with caviar. We just finished a dish combining wild brook trout roe with coconut-yuzu ice cream tablets, bitter tomato marmalade, and puffed coconut wild rice. The dish has been a work in progress, the key inspiration being the return of the roe. As the seasons continue to change so will the roe. I eagerly await the next batch, perhaps wild char in both natural and light smoke varieties. We shall just have to wait until we hear from Steve to find out what's next.

Roast Chicken Butter

The best parts of a roast chicken are the juices, fond and butter which mingle together in the bottom of the roasting dish, blended with browned chicken fat and infused with garlic. If all the flavor is there, why do we bother eating the chicken? Sure we could make a pan sauce and we have. Though the tastiest bites are those bits of crusty bread pulled through the juices and fat and quickly consumed in the kitchen with the aroma of roast chicken wafting through the air.

We have worked with flavored butters: truffle, miso, yuzu, smoked, mustard, the list goes on and on. Why have we not tried capturing the flavor of the roast chicken butter and serving it with bread? For that matter why do we not rub roast chicken butter under the skin of a chicken to be roasted? A ragout of ranch gnocchi glazed in roast chicken butter gets to the essence of tasty eating.

In order to stop leaving the deliciousness in the pan we set about making roast chicken butter. The initial goal was to serve the butter as we would with bread service, though as we started the process of making roast chicken butter we realized that using it in just one spot would be selling ourselves short.

To make roast chicken butter we needed to capture the flavor of roast chicken skin blended with caramelized butter and infused with roasted garlic. In order to increase the surface area of available skin we started with wings. We seasoned the wings with salt and smoked black pepper. Then we added butter and whole garlic cloves to the pan. When everything was combined we placed the roasting pan in the oven. In less than an hour we had a pan of beautifully roasted chicken wings and the entire house was perfumed with roast chicken. We allowed the chicken wings to cool in the butter, allowing any juices to transfer to the butter. We removed the cooled wings from the pan and poured the butter and juices into a Pacojet canister. I then peeled the browned chicken skin from the wings and added it to the butter. The whole garlic cloves, which infused the butter with the notes of sweet allium, were tender and beckoned to be squeezed into the butter. That was it. Almost. When the butter was cold we processed it in the Pacojet and the result is a concentrated, creamy, emulsified expression of  the buttery pan drippings, which we have happily indulged in, standing up in the kitchen, slathered on warm bread and sprinkled with a bit of coarse salt. Now we are able to share this simple cook's pleasure with everyone. It is beyond delicious.

The wings themselves did not go to waste. I picked the meat to make a Russian Dressing chicken salad. Since I am not a proffesional chicken picker, the wings had a fair amount of goodness left on them. These flavor specked bones soon became a quick roast chicken stock, thanks to a brief amount of time spent in the pressure cooker. The chicken salad was lunch. The stock, well, we're still not quite sure where we will take it. That will be a project for tomorrow.

Prosciutto and Brioche

As we mentioned the other day we've been playing with brioche dough. It's one of my favorites and I can eat it out of hand with no adornments anytime. As a culinary student, my baking and pastry classes took place in a bakery called La Brioche. It was one of the first places I visited the morning after unpacking my bags and I was lucky enough to snag one of the last pieces of brioche in the last case. I was stumped by the fact that there was so little brioche in a bakery that was named after the bread. Of course I later learned that the brioche dough was also used for cinnamon rolls and that the plain brioche was made in much smaller quantities since the majority of our customers preferred the fat, frosted buns.

Fast forward several years to when Bouley first opened Bouley Bakery. In the case on my first visit was a pastry cream stuffed brioche that changed my world. It was delicate and fluffy, rich without being overpowering, and filled with a not to sweet cream that was perfect counterpoint to the bread. I loved it and although I didn't get to sample it very many times at all, it stayed with me, provoking me to create my own versions in search of the holy grail.

Another favorite is the sugar brioche from the Standard Baking Co. in Portland, Maine. The bakery itself is one of our favorites and a must visit on the increasingly rare occasions we find ourselves up north. Dinner at Fore Street and breakfast at the The Standard Baking Company is the way to go if you have only one night in the city. The bakery's brioche is simply delicious, with a tender crumb and a shiny crust, coated with crunchy grains of coarse sugar. Their other baked goods are equally good, we usually get a variety to go, but the brioche is always eaten first.

One of our last experiments this weekend was with brioche dough made with rendered prosciutto fat. We took one pound of brioche dough and four ounces of chilled prosciutto fat (the fat is much softer than butter at room temperature) and laminated the dough, doing three turns, before shaping it into a loaf and baking it off. The results were pretty tasty, creating a light, flaky bread with a pronounced prosciutto flavor. I think that next time we may reverse the process and use the prosciutto fat in the dough and do a traditional lamination with butter to create the layers because the fat may be absorbed more efficiently that way. The question now is what to serve with it?

Xanthan Gum

Our latest article on xanthan gum is live over at Popular Science. Check it out and learn why this readily available ingredient is such a boon to cooks, whether they be amateurs or professionals.

Steamed Brioche

Why don't we steam more doughs? Seriously. Not everything needs a crust. Aki was working on a brioche recipe whose size allowed for many modifications. One of the batches humored my question. Can we steam brioche? The answer is yes and the results have changed my world. It is that good. Tender, buttery, soft, with a bit of chew. What about the crust that is usually cut off when the brioche is toasted and served in fine dining restaurants? It simply does not exist with steamed brioche. Wait, no cutting off crusts, instead we have a completely usable bread with great texture and flavor. We steamed it as buns today, tantalized by the idea of various decadent fillings: foie gras, charred scallions, hoisin, pickled cucumbers...look out taste buds.

What about other steamed breads? Traditional Chinese steamed buns employ a simple, slightly sweet white dough, changing the flavor profiles can take things to another level. Sure crust is important, though perhaps it's not always necessary. In steaming the different doughs a whole new set of textures and tastes are now available.

A Few Seats

On November first we are doing a collaborative dinner with Mike and Daniel from A Razor, a Shiny Knife. What we know: the venue is in Brooklyn, there are some hands on learning opportunities (no not dish washing), we are cooking, food will be served, wine is included, the cost is $200 per person all in. For more information about the specifics please email Michael: [email protected] to get the in depth specifics if you are interested in attending and please put Ideas in Food in the subject line.

See you there.

The Limitations of Creativity

What is possible is only limited by your imagination. Taking the time to figure things out and putting in the effort make them happen are what often separates good from great. How do you decide what is finished and what is a work in progress?

Pictured here is a slice of rib eye cap glazed with an aji dulce sauce, with ranch gnocchi and pickled cubanelle peppers. Tucked behind the steak is a bit more sauce to gild the lily. It's a finished dish. Simple, complex, and delicious. Still, upon reflection and analysis we probably can and will do more. Sometimes the hardest part of creation is knowing the difference between when to stop and when to simply pause for a better perspective.

the results of a recent workshop:

bonding mozzarella sheets into ravioli
2 minute risotto
green apple and butternut squash glued together
simplicity
humble pie
precision and details
not all critiques are meant as criticism, we can learn from the experience of others
if someone has walked the same path, listen to what they say, learn from their mistakes and pay attention as you do not know what you will find
order matters
eat food for pleasure, not to look for flaws
slow food should not be a movement, rather a search for delicious food should be a way of life
if you are given a bowl of lemons don't bother making lemonade, enjoy the incredible aroma
while bashing contemporary cooking is the new black, remember without foam a cappuccino is just a coffee with milk
a food mill is an instrumental kitchen tool
green is important
the greatest response to all the work is when the wow factor goes away and the results are just what is desired
the world is small, the people are important
the difference between honesty and nitpicking  is the approach

Jay Rayner at El Bulli

For those who haven't seen this, it's a brief recap and video of Jay Rayner's day with Ferran Adria. It's an interesting glimpse into the world of El Bulli in Adria's own words, especially for those of us who have not been lucky enough to make it out there. You just never know what you'll find over on the Word of Mouth blog.

Hydrocolloids at Home

The nesting syndrome has officially settled in and the major construction/reconstruction projects in the house and front yard are finally done. Everything is almost back together again and what that means is the return of group classes here in Forest Hills. We're beginning with Hydrocolloids at Home this Saturday, October 25 at 10am. The class covers a basic introduction to what hydrocolloids are and how to use them properly. After the overview we'll be working specifically with xanthan gum, agar agar, carrageenan, and locust bean gum. It is a three hour class and costs $125 per person. Please email us to make a reservation.

We'll be putting together some new classes for the winter season. If there are any specific topics/techniques that people would be interested in exploring, please feel free to let us know.

Shoulder Chop

Classes are great because we are exposed to the viewpoints of others in an open forum. While we brought the Turducken terrine to the class, the class gave us the shoulder chop. Take one pork shoulder, bone it out, clean it up, and put it back together again. Simple, beautiful, and  ready to roast.

TurDuckEn

Just in time for the holiday, we are talking T-day preparations, are our thoughts on the TurDuckEn. In our first rendition we used the thighs of the requisite birds, bonded with Activa, flavored with chermoula. The results were just down right tasty. Two evolutions to consider: a roulade of stuffing down the middle or perhaps a stuffing flavored ravioli dough encasing a giblet gravy--a soup dumpling of sorts. Today we simply served it sliced to conclude our Activa class at Astor Center alongside a few ricotta gnocchi. Because tasty doesn't always need to be complicated.

The Perfect Combination

Cookwise and Bakewise by Shirley O. Corriher. Seriously, we only wish we could be this  smart. These two books will teach you just about everything you need to know to understand the hows and whys of cooking. The books are informative, easy to read, and incredibly user-friendly. Bakewise just arrived on our doorstep the other day and I've hardly put it down. As we've said before, it's much easier to be creative with ideas and techniques when you understand how things work in the first place.  Corriher's voice is very conversational and the recipes are well thought out and thoroughly explained. Not to mention the fact that they sound delicious. She provides explanations for everything she does in a matter of fact, chatty tone. It's feels like learning how to cook from your favorite aunt, who just happens to be well versed in food science and good taste.

Last Call For Activa and Methocel

There are still a few spots open for tomorrow's classes on Methocel and Activa at Astor Center.  As we mentioned before, the companies have generously donated samples of their products, so everyone attending will get to bring home the same varieties of Activa and Methocel that we use in the workshops to continue experimenting with at home.

Activa is at 10am and we will be working with Activa GS, RM, & YG. We will be demonstrating the proper way to hydrate and utilize GS by making whole boneless chickens, which may come in handy with larger birds as Thanksgiving looms on the horizon. We will also be exploring the functionality of RM and using it in both dusted applications and pureed into a mix. Lastly, we will be making our ricotta dumplings and discussing creative uses for YG.

Methocel is at 3pm and in that workshop we will be utilizing Methocels F50 and A4C. First and foremost we will be demonstrating the proper way to utilize the products and make sure that they are correctly hydrated and dispersed in a recipe. We will be making hot whipped cream, reheatable hollandaise, mozzarella chawan mushi, and other Methocel preparations.

A Few Adjustments

Patting ingredients dry is often time consuming and inefficient. Today we tried wrapping chopped parsley in paper towels and then vacuum sealing the herb. The process dried the minced herbs and the compression brightened the parsley's color. We applied the same approach to minced jalapenos with equally pleasurable results. Then we vacuum sealed raw diced onions in bacon fat as part of our preparation for risotto. This step evenly coated the onions with the fat and allowed us to put fat coated onions directly in a hot pan and sweat them for making seven minute risotto. These steps were small changes in our approach, though if they were repeated on a daily basis in a restaurant environment, the time saved and efficiency built into the cooking process would be monumental.

Honeycrisp Apples

Here in New York, apple season is in full swing. It seems as though everywhere you look there are piles and baskets of crisp juicy fruit, just waiting to be taken home or eaten out of hand. The nice thing about living in an apple producing state is that we can actually get our hands on fresh, un-waxed specimens and enjoy them straight from the tree, if we so desire. Although we haven't been apple-picking this fall, we still hope to get out to Warwick Valley Winery, one of our favorite places to pick fruit and  pick up a bit hard cider. If all goes well, we'll make it out there before the season ends.

One of our favorite apples for eating out of hand is the Honey Crisp. It's commonly believed to be a cross bred variety, developed in Minnesota and derived from the Macoun and the Honey Gold. In 1964, DNA fingerprinting proved that neither of these varieties were the actual parents of the Honeycrisp. Instead the Keepsake variety was noted as one of the the original breeds, while the other still remains a mystery. The weather damaged tree or trees, depending upon the source, from which the Honeycrisp originated were protected and maintained by David Bedford of the University of Minesota. The cultivar wasn't released until 1991, thirty-one years after the variety was officially recorded.

In spite of its dubious parentage, the Honeycrisp has grown to be one of the most popular apples in the marketplace. They are rounded in shape with flattened tops and bottoms. mottle red and yellow skins with a cream colored flesh. The flesh has larger cells than the average apple allowing the fruit to retain larger amounts of juice. The Honeycrisp is characterized by its crisp texture and balanced, slightly floral, sweet-tart flavor.  It's the type of apple that requires a napkin in hand to wipe a sticky chin from the excessive juices released when biting into the fruit. Honeycrisps are available from mid-Septemeber through mid-November and keep for up to six months when stored in refrigeration. We like to keep a big bowl of them on the dining room table for snacking, knowing full well that it's only a matter time before that apple pie makes its appearance after dinner.

Teamwork

I was just sent this picture. It's our kitchen team from the summer of 2001. A flood of memories flashed back in one digital image. What I realized, besides the fact that I need to grow may hair out again, is that teamwork is essential to success. The more you work together, the greater the results. As a team we certainly had our moments, both good and bad. Upon reflection it was a truly instrumental summer in everyone's growth and development. In spite of all our ups and downs, the food was good and the friendships were even better. Thanks Jesse for giving me a bit of perspective.

Garlic and Cheese Foccacia

As the weather changes and foliage arrives on a breath of cool air, the oven slowly gets cranking in the kitchen. Baking becomes a rediscovered passion and craving for pie or garlic bread quickly become a delicious reality. This recent bread was the result of one such garlic craving paired with the fortuitous discovery of leftover grated Parmigiano-Reggiano in the fridge. We baked our bread in an 12-inch iron skillet although you can easily shape it on on a sheet pan and bake it that way too.

Garlic and Cheese Foccacia
3 cups AP flour
1.75 teaspoons instant yeast
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or any dry, full flavored cheese of your choosing)
2 large cloves of garlic minced or zested on a microplane
3 tablespoons good quality, flavorful olive oil
1.5 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for the greasing the baking pan
semolina or cornmeal to coat the baking pan
Kosher salt or fleur de sel
Black Pepper

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and cheese in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Turn the machine on low for 20 seconds to blend. Combine the garlic, water and olive oil and pour them into the flour. Turn the machine on low and stir until the mixture comes together in a rough dough, cleaning the sides of the bowl. Turn off the machine and change the paddle for a dough hook and turn the machine back on and slowly increase the speed to medium. Knead the dough for five minutes unti it becomes smooth and elastic, it should be moist and slightly tacky but not sticky. Rub a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and place the dough in the bowl, turning it once to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl and let it rise until doubled, approximately a hour to an hour and a half depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Either punch it down and let it rise again or shape the dough after the first rising.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub a 12-inch iron skillet with olive oil and sprinkle semolina or cornmeal over the bottom of the pan. Press the dough into the skillet, gently stretching it to evenly cover the bottom. Drizzle with 2 teaspons oil and using your fingertips, gently spread it over the top of the dough. This will keep the dough from drying out as it rises. After 30 minutes, gently press indentations in the top of your dough with your fingertips, any excess oil will fall into the valleys. Sprinkle the top of the bread with kosher salt or fleur de sel and fresh ground pepper to taste and bake for 30-35 minutes until the bread is golden brown. if the foccacia is not browning in the skillet, pull out the pan after 25 minutes and gently flip the foccacia over so the bottom side is on top. The top will brown in the last few minutes on the bottom of the pan. Let cool on a rack for 20  minutes before cutting into the bread.

*Since this bread is not as thick and puffy as other types of foccacia, the leftovers make excellent sandwiches, paninis, and impromptu stuffings...

Frozen Bananas

There's just something about frozen bananas. Frozen grapes are an indulgence, but you won't see those sold on sticks. Frozen bananas are eaten straight, dipped in chocolate or caramel, and occasionally even rolled in nuts. They are rich, creamy, and good for you. What more could you ask for? They have a firm texture that yields slowly against the teeth, softening gently as the fruit slowly melts. Somehow bananas retain their creamy texture through a range of temperatures, so that they are equally indulgent straight from the deep freeze and after several minutes at room temperature. Our recent adventures with liquid nitrogen led us straight to the banana. Once frozen solid, they can be placed in a blender and powdered. This light, frozen powder can be scooped up like snow and once eaten melts quickly into a rich stream of banana goodness sliding down into your tummy. A little extra nitrogen helps the powder stay cold on the way to the table, creating a taste sensation your guests will not soon forget. Powdered frozen bananas, try them and you'll never go back to bananas on a stick.

Revisiting Ranch

In the past we have made Ranch flavored gnocchi. We've also failed at making Ranch flavored gnocchi. A couple of years back we successfully prepped, cooked, and served Ranch flavored gnocchi to a large audience with a reasonably good reception. Satisfied, we put the idea to bed.

Ranch dressing is a delicious and ubiquitous condiment for both the fancy and the familiar. When Ranch dressing is around, for many people all is right with the world, at least the world at their table. It can be the bane of chefs as it slowly replaces ketchup as the condiment of choice on the American table, although these days the only times we really raise our eyebrows are when it's slathered on pizza or drizzled on lasagna.

As I write this, I am inspired because while Ranch lathered pizza might sound a bit strange, Ranch seasoned ricotta and mozzarella could be just what I need. To incorporate these flavors into those cheeses we would need to make a dry Ranch flavoring and then incorporate it into the milk and proceed with the cheese making. Since we have not tried this yet and are speaking only in theory, we will revisit this tangent at a later date.

The flavor of Ranch and many other dressings from honey mustard to Thousand Island are unique and comforting. They carry us to places in our memories where the world was simpler and kinder and happiness could be found in a plate of food prepared with love. I cannot recall when I first tried Ranch, in fact it is a relatively new fetish. The Trainwreck Fries at Virgil's Real BBQ are a fine place to start. That may have been the spot where I thought up Ranch gnocchi, though our first rendition did not retain the down home goodness which is evoked each time we dig into the enormous platter of loaded fries, usually accompanied by an ice cold beer.

Last week I contacted our friends at The Spice House to see if we could work on a Ranch powder for our new take on Ranch gnocchi. They were more than generous with their time as we rooted through aisles of spices and powders, tasting and blending in order to achieve the essence of Ranch. Since they had just sold the last of their buttermilk powder they gave me the initial blend and left it to me to incorporate the final ingredient and finish the mix. The final product is resplendent with intense flavor and aroma, and finishes on the palate with the distinct lactic tang, which to me defines a great Ranch dressing.

In the gnocchi the intense flavor of the powdered Ranch blends beautifully with the potatoes. Where our original Ranch gnocchi were dependent on Methocel for their structure, the new version depends upon tradition and evolution.

We used twice cooked potatoes, cooked first in a 65ºC in a water bath to stabilize the starch, chilled, and baked.  We riced the hot baked potatoes and then folded in some flour and egg to bind the dumplings. We used our Ranch blend for the seasoning, let the dough rest for half an hour and then formed the gnocchi. We then poached them and chilled them overnight in the refrigerator. Although they were tasty when we created them, they were even better this morning after the ranch flavor had an opportunity to hydrate and bloom. The finished gnocchi have a delicate chewy texture and a haunting ranch-potato flavor. We were tempted to serve them this evening with lobster but we held back. Tomorrow we'll see where lightning strikes the potatoes.

Hot Glue

We have worked with fruit glue for some time now. although we have not methodically tested its boundaries. Today we had the opportunity to test its thermal stability. Sure, we've seared melon terrines and broiled zucchini sheets, what we had not tested is how the glue would withstand a bit of sous vide cooking. We glued honeydew melon to compressed papaya. That in itself knocked down a mental barrier, as we thought the papain in the papaya would interfere with the pectin's binding capabilities. There we go thinking again. The enzymes in the papaya did not effect the glue. Once the melon and papaya were bound together, we sealed pieces of it in vacuum bags. We cooked one piece for thirty minutes at 50 degrees Celsius. When we removed the fruit from the water bath and then from its bag, we found the fruit perfectly adhered and warm throughout. From warm we wanted to test hot. We placed the second piece of papaya-melon into water bath at 65 degrees Celsius. We cooked the fruit for an hour at this temperature. After the hour we cut the bag open and tried to pull the fruit apart. It held. We were able to slice the fruit and, in this case, serve it hot.

The application of heat to the glued fruit not only proves useful in its current form, it presents possiblilites for glueing and then cooking root vegetables as sheets and perhaps as planks. Furthermore, as the tested application of heat is new to us, we will certainly trip across a few other ideas like tenderizing radish and zucchini sheets. The recent chill in the air proved to be the perfect spark for us to begin accurately testing the heat stability of fruit glue.

Powdered Pie and the Intense Application of Flavor

I wanted to capture the essence of pumpkin pie in a dry mix. Sure, I have seen pumpkin pie spice on the  supermarket shelves and in many pantries, though I have not experienced actual powdered pie. Today I was working on a few projects when the idea of powdered pie came to mind. I dashed off a note to Marie at The Spice House to see if my idea was plausible. It turns out they just started carrying a range of powdered fruits and vegetables, pumpkin being one of them. I headed out to their warehouse and after working out another idea I was shown the new powders. The pumpkin is amazing, as is the banana and the apple. I want to work on a powdered key lime pie as well, though with the leaves turning and the chill in the air, powdered pumpkin pie is now at the top of my list.

Besides a bit of whimsy these powders provide an enormous flavor punch for ice creams, breads, cakes, marinades and dry rubs. Without the pressence of water, the powders present pure flavor. Think about donuts, pasta, and puddings. We can always add moisture, taking it away is the difficult part. Imagine a warm, crisp buttermilk donut rolled in powdered pumpkin pie. Now there's a taste of autumn.

Think about the possible applications for these intense vehichles of flavor.

NYC in October

Just a brief reminder that we are doing two workshops at Astor Center on Saturday, October 18, 2008. At 10am we will be Cooking with Activa and at 3pm we will be Exploring Methocel. These are hands on workshops limited to 14 people per session. Our readers can use the promo codes ACTIVA and METHOCEL respectively, to get a 10% discount on each session.

We will also have Activa and Methocel parting gifts, thanks to Ajinomoto and Dow Chemical, for each attendee so that everyone will have some ingredients to go home and cook with.

Also this month we will be speaking at the October meeting of the Experimental Cuisine Collective on Thursday, October 16, 2008 from 4-6pm. The meeting is free and takes place at the food studies department at NYU. We will be discussing cooking, the creative process, and the impact of the internet on both. Please contact the ECC for more information or to RSVP.

Artichoke Evolution

The power of editing and refinement and the results that evolve from their utilization always has the power to amaze us. The first picture shows our artichoke plate in its infancy. The second is the next evolution and the third picture is the final presentation of the dish.

The finished dish is an aromatic braised artichoke with artichoke yogurt, a whipped artichoke crisp, sliced chives and Chartreuse. We knew we wanted to blend artichokes and Chartreuse, it just took some time to figure out the best way to bring them together.

Cook with Care

October 4, 2008

Ideas in Food meets Slow Food at the Farmer's Markets in Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls accompanied by selections from John Sconzo's wine cellar...

Belle De Bosque Apple
ground parsley seeds, baby arugula
Bollinger Grande Annee 1990 Rose

Butter and Sugar Corn
Kistler Chardonnay 1999 Durell Vineyard

Slow Roasted Suckling Ham
fairy tale eggplant, sage, cracklings
Zind-Humbrecht Gewurtztraminer 1997 Goldert

Big Yellow Banana Squash Carbonara
Kistler Pinot Noir 1998 Hirsch Vineyard

Braised Lamb Neck
ribbed zucchini, vaudovan, mashed fingerling potatoes
Chateau Cos D'Estournel 1982

Roast Duck
grape puree, celery puree
Allegrini Amarone 1996

Porchetta
peanut squash, collard greens
Clos de Truffieres, 1997

Mountain View Fresh Feta
tomatoes, honey
Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Strawberries and Creme Fraiche
Chateau Rieussec Sauternes 1988

Duck Tails

While I have been enamored with chicken tails and been keen on sourcing them, I have not been able to find a reliable supplier for them. In fact, I have not thought of these delicacies since visiting with Sean in June when we hoped to fine tune a dish revolving around these culinary gems.

Tonight we started preparing the dishes for tomorrow, the first is slow roasted and maple glazed ducks. As I was massaging the ducks with the salt and maple syrup I became struck by the duck tails. The meat to fat ratio is great and the size of these tails prompted the idea of utilizing them as starring ingredient for a dish. The tail may be trimmed and the back bone can act as a handle. Really, we are looking at an old idea with new eyes, though I believe with the amount of duck processing which goes on and the by-product of much foie gras being raised someone should be selling these tasty morsels. Imagine chicken fried duck tails with pickled watermelon, tempura battered duck tails with ginger scallion sauce, or cracker crusted duck tails with red pepper jelly...the list goes on and on.

Freeze Dried Food

Our latest article on freeze dried food is up over at Popular Science. Check it out and let us know what you think...

Honey Filaments

Like hot maple on fresh snow, drizzled honey into liquid nitrogen. Time to explore the world of frozen spun sugars.