IDEAS IN FOOD

Farewell 2009

It's been a heck of a year. We almost can't believe it's ending. Amaya has been the highlight and her amazing growth over the last twelve months have been exhilarating, exhausting, and simply amazing. The book has been a close second. For those looking for updates, the manuscript is with the editor and we're waiting for the first round of edits. The title is still up in the air although we are getting closer.

Thank you for joining us on our journey. We are really excited about what we will discover and share together.

We're closing out the year with a recipe. These apples are delicious and not as sweet as you may expect. Amaya loves them and that's good enough for us. Have a wonderful evening everybody! Celebrate all the good things about 2009 before embracing 2010. It was a very good year.

Red Hot Stock

300 grams red hots

250 grams red wine

200 grams water

4 grams of salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the pressure dissipate naturally.

Red Hot Apples

4-8 of your favorite apples (we used Honey Crisp)

Red Hot Stock

Peel the apples and leave them whole. vacuum seal the apples in a bag with all of the red hot stock. Cook for 50 minutes at 84°C. The apples may be enjoyed warm or cold with the accompaniments of your choice.

Don't Worry

Some words of wisdom from Hugh MacLeod about why closing your eyes and making the leap can
sometimes be better than thinking too much. A little knowledge is a good thing, too much can result in paralysis. Having been victims of over-thinking ourselves, this post was a timely reminder of why sometimes you've just got to take chance and trust your instincts for survival.

Snow Pea Salad

The snow peas are trimmed into rectangles and then brined for ten minutes. The wet peas are vacuum sealed and then blanched sous vide. The result is an intensely flavored snow pea, ready to be worked with. To complete the dish we add both young and old pecorino cheeses, a drizzle of green olive oil and some black pepper. The dish is void of traditional acidity, although the olive oil and the aged cheese point up the flavors in the dish in lieu of an actual acid.

XO, Butter and Clams

We have been working on a number of dishes featuring XO sauce and butter. A simple dish we prepared was clams cooked in an XO butter sauce. The pot of clams was delicious and the broth screamed for the crusty bread we had waiting in the oven. The XO butter sauce would work equally well with mussels and in the spring asparagus and peas.

 

Once we had the idea and taste of XO sauce paired with butter and clams in the brain we began working on a few more refined presentations. The first dish out of the gate used the XO butter and clams to create a sauce for creamed spinach agnolotti encased in preserved lemon pasta. A few young spinach leaves and a knob of sweet butter completed the dish. To serve and present the dish we looked to the shell of the Geoduck which works as a wonderful bowl and ties in nicely with the clam theme.

Red Hot Stock

With the aroma of mulled cider in the kitchen and an open bag of red hot candies on the counter it seemed only logical to marry the ideas. Really we are only making a simple mulled wine, however in using the red hot candies we gained a deeper flavor than that of using cinnamon and sweet spices. The stock is simple: red wine, red hots, water and salt. The flavor and color are amazing. The initial idea was to use it to poach quince and apples. After tasting the finished product I think we can do much more. This base stock can now be tweaked and enhanced with other flavors to fine tune individual dishes and component elements.

Inside Out

Looking at the individual fibers in a lobster claw got us wondering about how we were flavoring the meat. We have always taken the whole claws and warmed and seasoned the  from the outside in with butter or some other tasty flavoring agent. Take a close look at the skin holding the filaments of the lobster claw together. If we changed our approach and put the flavoring on the inside of the claw it would melt and wind its way between the filaments. Amazing what a closer look at what we are cooking shows us.

Red Hot Snickerdoodles

Instead of the traditional cinnamon sugar used for rolling snickerdoodles we decided to grind up red hot candies and use them as our coating. The result was a spicy, hot pink snickerdoodle, perfect for the Christmas cookie tray. They may not be for everyone although we think they are delicious. Happy Holidays everyone! Wishing you a magical Christmas night.

 

Pepperoni Miso

We found some great monkfish at the store and new that it could play a role in our 7 fishes dinner. I cleaned up the loins and wrapped them in cheesecloth. The cheesecloth wrapping allows us to marinate and even cook the fish in a thick paste and then remove the fish cleanly for serving.

I am back on my pepperoni kick and with that comes pepperoni miso. We blended white miso with pepperoni, olive oil, honey, soy sauce and coffee. We poured this mixture into a vacuum bag and added the loins. We sealed the bag shut and then let the fish marinate for four hours. Once the fish was marinated, we cooked it in the bag in the marinade/paste for forty five minutes at 55°C. When the fish came out of the bag we unwraped the cloth and the loins of monkfish are perfumed with the seasoning mixture with their natural color and structure intact. The meaty monkfish flakes along its seams and is deliciously rich with the melding of spiced pork and sweetened miso.

Eggnog For Breakfast

After being away for over two weeks I feel like I have missed some of the holiday festivities. Really, I have missed my time for the unchecked consumption of eggnog both spiked and lightly spiked. Today I went shopping to fill a refrigerator which has felt hopelessly abandoned while we were away. I returned with a quart of eggnog and a plethora of other groceries. I try and buy only a quart of eggnog per shopping mission so that I may buy eggnog whenever the mood strikes, which is often with The Tran-Siberian Orchestra blaring out of the speakers in the green jeep.

Tonight, after dinner, I felt like puttering. What is not a better stepping stone than eggnog? Before we left for Hawaii, in case the sunset photographs did not fill in the blanks, Aki made eggnog french toast. It was delicious and made from frugality. We were just about out of eggnog and had a half a loaf of challah left. She made a delicious breakfast which when topped with some of Steve's maple syrup and our homemade butter proved to be much more than the frugal effort I began describing.

Aki's frugality sparked my gluttony. I made a quick mix of eggnog and eggs, sweetened with some extra maple syrup and then poured over a full loaf of cut challah. I packed the mixture into a loaf pan and have let the mix absorb and mellow overnight. I suppose I should have spiked the mix, although I would like Amaya to try the dish as well. Tomorrow morning I will start the coffee and turn on the oven. Eventually I will slip our eggnog bread pudding into the oven and then dash to the store for the heavy cream I should have bought had I planned this dish out. Nothing, well except for rum ice cream, would be better with the breakfast bread pudding.

And if you are against all of this preparation, brew a pot of coffee, stir in a a healthy dose of eggnog and top it with a fine float of rum.

Infuse Your Fat

What if we treated fat like a stock? Enfleurage is a process by which odorless fats, like lard or suet, are used to extract essential oils and perfumes from flowers. It works because fats readily absorb flavors and aromas. The newly absorbed essential oils can be used to flavor other ingredients cooked with the fat. If we infused duck fat with cracklings and lime pickle then we would be able to impart these aromatics to whatever was cooked with the duck fat. Imagine lamb gently cooked in red pepper oil or goose flavored with rosemary-orange oil. This premise is a continuation of our fat film approach, as well as a derivative from a question about how to make duck fat more ducky to impart a richer flavor into the meat, rather than the meat flavoring the fat. Even infusing the fat for searing scallops and fish now presents a wide palate of tastes. Instead of adding herbs to the pan at the end and basting, why not infuse the fat with herbs at their peak of freshness and then use that to cook with or even as a finishing accent just before plating? There are lots of ideas to work with here. It's a relatively simple procedure that produces exponentially beneficial results.

Not Just for Chocolate and Pulses

 

The folks over at Cooking Issues have re-sparked our interest in wet grinders. Over at the Quenelle, Francisco mentioned using a wet grinder, actually a melangeur, to make and bring back caramelized white chocolate to its pre-caramelized smoothness. I was hooked and eager to get one at the time. Unfortunately chocolate making was not high on our list of things to do and we were in the midst of book writing.

Dave's recent piece mentioned making ketchup chocolate and shared his recipe here. I read this article just after we finished our brown butter workshop. Ideas connected. Ibet a wet grinder would do wonders on brown butter solids. And since we have continued using finely ground and flavored milk solids as the basis of a number of preparations from a cleaner gingerbread soup to toasted argan oil solids I felt it might be a good time to take the plunge into the wet grinder world. The wet grinder is designed for making small particles of legumes and pulses as well as breaking down cocoa into chocolate. Think about using the wet grinder to pulverize dry spices and then blend them with aromatics from herbs to spices to dried fruits, vegetables or meats. The finer the grind with the least amount of heat will produce incredible flavors and textures.

Now I just need to see if Santa can fit one on his sleigh.

Fat Film

We wanted to warm the fish to just cook it and simultaneously coat the exterior with a fine layer of flavorful beef tallow infused with vadouvan. The tallow is warmed so that it is pliable and then it is spread on the sliced fish. We put the fish into the c-vap for ten minutes to warm and cook and the fat gently melts onto and into the nooks and crannies of the fish. This approach allows us to use a bit less fat in the cooking process, we are frugal with our tallow, and still impart a rich savoriness into the fish.

 

In taking a look at the fish, I wonder what would happen if we chilled the fish and used a paint sprayer to evenly coat the fish in fat and then let it refrigerate for a day to allow the fats aromas to penetrate. We could then slide the fish into the c-vap or a low temperature oven and the fat film would melt and just coat the fish. I believe this approach may be an excellent refinement in our fat smearing fish.

 

In fact, it asks the question about what else would benefit from a fine fat spray?

Mussel Soup

Mussels

2700 grams clean mussels

 

Pick through the mussels, removing any of the coarse beards that may be sticking out of the shells. Place a rondeau or a heavy bottomed pot large enough to hold the mussels on the stove over medium heat. Add the clean mussels to the dry pot and occasionally stir from bottom to the top of the pile of shellfish. As the pot heats the mussel shells will begin to open and they will release their juices. Once about a third of the shells have opened, stir the pot one more time, cover it with a tight fitting lid and turn the heat off the heat. Let the mussels rest, covered for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and separate the mussels from the liquid. Strain the juices using a fine mesh strainer. Chill the resulting mussel juice and reserve for later use. Pull the mussels from the shells, trying to keep them intact. Discard the shells and place the mussels in a small bowl. Cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

 

Pear Stock

425 grams pear

175 grams onion

200 grams fennel

100 grams skinned hazelnuts

20 grams garlic

1000 grams water

 

Quarter the pears and remove the cores. Clean and slice the onions and fennel into pieces 3cm thick. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes.  Allow the pressure to dissipate naturally. Alternatively combine the ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for one hour, skimming as needed. Turn off the heat, cover the stock and let it steep for an additional 30 minutes. Strain the finished pear stock through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the solids. Chill the stock and reserve until needed.

 

Chamomile Infusion

300 grams pear stock

1.5 grams fine sea salt

3 bags chamomile tea

 

For a vacuum infusion, combine the pear stock, salt and tea bags in a shallow container. Place the uncovered container in a chamber vacuum sealer. Turn on the vacuum sealer and watch the liquid as it rises to the top of the container. When it is within 5cm of the top, turn off the vacuum sealer. Repeat three times. Remove from the vacuum chamber and discard the tea bags.

 

For a cold infusion, combine pear stock and salt, stirring well to dissolve the salt. Add the tea bags. Cover the container and let it rest in refrigeration for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. After 24 hours the infusion is finished. Discard the tea bags.

 

Chamomile Foam Base

285 grams chamomile infusion

2.85 grams Methocel F50

0.375 grams xanthan gum

 

Put the chamomile infusion in the blender. Turn the power onto medium and create a vortex.  Sprinkle in the Methocel and the xanthan gum.  Increase the power to high to fully disperse and shear the hydrocolloids into the liquid. Turn the blender off and pour the mixture into a bowl sitting in an ice bath. Chill the mixture until it reaches 10ºC, the temperature at which Methocel is fully hydrated.  Reserve the chamomile foam base in the refrigerator.

 

Candied Hazelnuts with Miso

150 grams skinned hazelnuts

1255 grams sugar

5 grams instant miso soup powder

 

Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with non-stick pan spray or rub lightly with butter. In a heavy bottomed pot combine the sugar and the nuts. Place the pot over medium heat and let it cook undisturbed until the sugar melts around the edges and begins to form small bubbles. Using a heatproof spoon or spatula, stir the nuts and sugar until the caramel turns a deep amber. Remove from heat and add the miso powder, stirring well, Pour the hot caramel nuts carefully onto the prepared sheet tray. Set aside to let the nuts cool completely. Place the candied nuts in a zip top bag and use a paillard pounder to shatter the nuts into a coarse, crumbly texture and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

 

Mussel Mosaic

200 grams cooked, shucked and chilled mussels

2 grams Activa RM

 

Place the cooked mussels in a bowl. Sprinkle the Activa over the mussels and stir them to evenly coat the mussels with the powder. Divide the mussels between two vacuum bags and seal on high pressure. Use a meat mallet to flatten the mussels in the bag to an even 2mm layer. The pounded mussels will resemble a marble mosaic in appearance. Place the mussel sheets in the refrigerator and refrigerate at least six hours, or preferably overnight to allow the bond to occur between the mussels.

 

After the mussels have been bonded into a uniform sheet, cut them out of the bag and use a 7 centimeter round cutter to cut circles of the mosaic.  Lay the mussel rounds on a flat tray, cover them with plastic wrap, and reserve in the refrigerator until needed.

 

 

Mussel Soup

400 grams cold pear stock

400 grams cold mussel juice

200 grams cooked, shucked, chilled mussels

 

Combine all three ingredients in a blender. Blend until completely smooth. Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer, place in a covered container, and reserve in the refrigerator until needed.

 

To Assemble

 

Mussel Soup

Mussel Sheet

Pear Chamomile Foam base

Mussel Sheets

Candied Hazelnuts

 

Pour the soup in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  While the soup is heating, whip the pear chamomile foam base in a standing mixer with a whisk attachment until it forms soft to medium peaks. Place the mussel sheets n a sheet tray, brush them with a thin layer of mussel soup and place them in a 95ºC oven to just warm through. When they are warm, place a mussel circle in the center of each soup bowl. Sprinkle the equivalent of 8 broken candied hazelnuts on the right hand side of the mussel mosaic. Top the hazelnuts with a spoonful of whipped chamomile. Once the soup is hot, place it in a heatproof pitcher. Serve the soup bowls with the mosaic, hazelnuts and whipped chamomile. Pour the soup into the bowls tableside, in front of the diners.

Follow Your Nose

We know that the majority of taste is actually aroma. There are literally thousands of different aromas that can be interpreted by the scent receptors in your head. It’s a complex system that ties scent to memory in order to allow us to have a frame of reference for different scents and flavors. It’s not something that we think about often enough in the kitchen. Admittedly there are many chefs that use aroma to create an effect. Burning wood, blowing perfumes, even Mrs. Fields relies on the aroma of fresh baked cookies to draw customers through their doors. Unfortunately in the kitchen many cooks forget the importance of their sense of smell.

We always employ our noses to build flavors with spices. Instead of thinking through a flavor profile we like to actually sniff the spices and decide what to pair that way. It has led us to some unusual and wonderful combinations. The same approach works nicely with herbs, helping us determine what fresh green flavors will best compliment a dish. The smell of burnt sugar and fresh orange zest can take us in one direction while the earthy aroma of matsutake mushrooms and cinnamon send us down a different path. When we are stumped on the kitchen, taking a moment to close our eyes and simply breathe in a few different ingredients can reignite our creative juices and help light the way forward.

Bacon and Egg Chawan Mushi

The goal was simplicity.

Yuzu-Coconut ice cream, coconut krispies, bitter tomato marmalade, wild brook trout roe

Yuzu-coconut ice cream

 

210g simple syrup

60 grams agave nectar

40g yuzu juice

4g salt

395g coconut milk

150g heavy cream

105g yogurt

 

Mix the simple syrup, agave nectar, yuzu juice and salt together. Stir the coconut milk, heavy cream and yogurt together.  Stir both mixes together until smooth. Strain through a fine meshed conical strainer. Refrigerate for four hours or overnight to allow the flavors to mature.

 

 

Bitter Tomato Marmalade

 

3000g tomatoes (blanch, peel and seed becomes 2600g)

300g orange maramalde

50g blood orange bitters

20g salt

 

310g isomalt

10g caraway seed

 

Use a pairing knife to remove the core from the tomatoes.  Blanch them for ten seconds in boiling water and then shock in an ice bath.  Using your hands, break the tomatoes apart and scrape out all the seeds.  Reserve all the scrapings.  Once all the tomatoes are broken apart, strain the tomato scrapings through a strainer onto the de-seeded tomatoes.  The seeds will be caught in the strainer and the juices will coat the tomatoes.

 

Put the isomalt into a large heavy bottomed rondeaux and put the heat on medium.  Let the isomalt slowly melt and begin to caramelize.  When the caramel is dark, just shy of black, sprinkle in the caraway seeds and let them toast for a second in the hot caramel.  You will hear a few of them pop.  Once the caraway are in the pot, add the tomatoes and their juices.  Be careful during this addition because the hot caramel will sputter and spew hot sugar as the cool tomatoes come in contact with the molten sugar.  Once the tomatoes are in the pot, stir the mixture to make sure all the caramel is loose from the bottom of the pot and then start cooking the tomatoes.  While cooking, skim any foam which rises to the surface of the pot.  The tomatoes will continue to cook down as the water evaporates and the tomatoes concentrate.  The entire cooking process will take several hours.  As the tomatoes cook down and become thicker in consistency make sure to stir the mixture and scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent the tomatoes from sticking and scorching.  The tomato marmalade will be finished when it takes on a shiny appearance and all of the moisture is absorbed into the tomato flesh.

 

To Finish

 

50g blood orange bitters

2g salt

 

Mix the salt and the blood orange bitters.  While the tomato marmalade is still warm, stir in the bitters and salt mixture.  Cool the marmalade and reserve.

 

Bitter tomato marmalade fruit leather

 

480 grams Bitter Tomato Marmalade

8 sheets of acetate 20 cm long and 5 cm wide

 

 

Puree the bitter tomato marmalade in a food processor until it is smooth. When the mixture is smooth, pass the marmalade through a fine screened tamis. Reserve the smooth marmalade in a container. Spray the sheets of acetate with pan spray. Use a paper towel to wipe the acetate sheets leaving a fine film in place. Use an offset spatula to spread an even layer of the smooth tomato marmalade on the acetate sheets. The thickness should be less than 2mm. Once all eight sheets are coated with the marmalade place the sheets in a dehydrator set on medium and allow to dry. This will take several hours. When the sheets are dry to the touch, peel them off the acetate sheets and return them to the dehydrator for another hour. The dried tomato sheets should be flexible and dry to the touch. Use a pair of scissors to cut the the dried tomato sheets into 2 cm squares. Return the squares to the dehydrator until ready to use. If the squares become tacky, turn the dehydrator back on and dry the sheets to remove the absorbed moisture. There will be more tomato puree and squares than are needed to complete the dish.

 

Coconut Yuzu ice cream coated fruit leather

 

Coconut-Yuzu ice cream

Bitter tomato fruit leather squares

2 liters of liquid nitrogen

 

Use surgical tongs to pick up a square of bitter tomato fruit leather and dip it into the ice cream base. The ice cream will lightly coat the fruit leather. Place the dipped fruit leather into the liquid nitrogen. The extreme cold of the nitrogen will freeze the ice cream around the fruit leather. Use the tongs to pick up the dipped square out of the nitrogen and place it back in the ice cream base. Another layer of ice cream base will cling to the square. Place the dipped square back into the nitrogen to freeze the ice cream. When the second layer of ice cream is frozen in place remove the square from the nitrogen and place it back in the ice cream base to get a third and final coat of ice cream. When the square is coated in the base remove it from the mix and place it in the nitrogen to freeze the final ice cream layer in place. When the final layer of ice cream is frozen remove the square from the nitrogen and place the square on a tray in the freezer. Repeat the process with the other bitter tomato fruit leather squares. You will need at least twenty four ice cream coated fruit leather squares.

 

Coconut Puffed Wild  Rice

 

110 grams coconut oil

110 grams canola oil

50 grams wild rice

 

20 grams powdered coconut milk

2 grams salt

0.15 gram cayenne pepper

 

Place the coconut oil and canola oil in a small pot so that it comes only one third of the way up the side of the pot. Heat the oils till they reach 177 degrees C. Line a half sized sheet pan with paper towels. In four small batches fry the wild rice in the oil. The rice will sizzle and puff. Not every grain will puff, that is alright. When the rice puffs, use a fine meshed strainer to remove the rice from the oil and drain it on the paper towels. Continue to fry and drain all the rice. When the rice is fried, remove any grains which did not puff. Sift the coconut milk powder, salt and cayenne together. Add the drained puffed rice and toss all the ingredients in the bowl to coat evenly. Place the coconut coated puffed wild rice in an air tight container and reserve.

 

To Assemble

 

113 grams Blis wild brook trout roe

Bitter Tomato Mamalade

24 coconut-yuzu Ice Cream coated fruit leather squares

Coconut puffed wild rice

 

Place a spoonful of the bitter tomato marmalade in the center of each plate. At the two o’clock position place a small cluster of puffed wild rice. The rice will be touching the tomato marmalade. Place one coconut-yuzu ice cream square on the puffed rice and arrange two other squares on the tomato marmalade. Place a large spoonful of the trout roe on top of the ice cream squares and then accent the squares and the roe with more coconut puffed wild rice.

 

Remembrance

Auntie always said she wanted a party instead of a funereal. She wanted people to tell stories celebrating her life, lift a glass, laugh, and be happy. We did our best but truthfully it wasnt entirely possible last year. This year we're trying to remember her the way that she would have wanted. This cruise to Hawaii just came up a couple of months ago and when we saw the itinerary and realized that we would be in Lahaina on December 15, we knew that we had to do this. Lahaina is in one of Aunt Marie's top five places in all the world and it is my goal that Amaya will visit them all eventually. Today we will remember Auntie fondly and with laughter. We ask that everyone think of someone they love and do something to make them smile. As we learned from Auntie, sometimes it's the smallest gestures that can make the biggest difference.

It feels like summer here in Hawaii. At home there's rain and snow but I'm looking out at a deep blue ocean and a bright blue sky. It brings to mind beaches, seagulls, and lobster. Lobster was one of those special meals. We would cook them for her whenever we could be with her for her birthday. Rhode Island, Charlestown Beach to be exact, was where the celebration would take place. We would buy the lobsters in Galilee and cook them for anyone who was up for the party. We liked them large and mostly unadorned although if the crowd was particularly large we would make them into pasta or some other special dish. Nothing made Auntie happier than a week at the beach surrounded by the people she loved. She and Alex had a special relationship and she loved the dishes he created just for her. They were peas in a pod and seeing it always made me smile.

 

I don't know if I'll find lobsters today. They are already one of Amaya's favorite foods. I do know that there will be a two glasses of champagne this afternoon lifted in fond remembrance of a woman who loved unconditionally and with all of her heart. We'll do our best to follow her lead.

Apple and Cheddar Soup

Here is a recipe from last winter that we are happily looking forward to working with again.

Apple and Cheddar Stock

230 grams onion

480 grams aged cheddar

900 grams apple cider

 

Slice the onions 3 centimeters thick. Dice the cheddar into 5 centimeter chunks. Combine the onions, cheddar and cider in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally dissipate. Alternatively combine the onions, cheddar and cider in a large heavy bottomed pot. Bring the ingredients to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for one hour. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the finished stock through a fine mesh strainer lined with damp cheesecloth. Discard the solids. Reserve until needed.

 

Apple and Cheddar Soup

Strained Apple and Cheddar Stock

650 grams peeled apple

 

Place the peeled apples and the apple and cheddar stock in a 6-quart pressure cooker.  Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and then let the pressure dissipate naturally.  Alternatively combine the stock and apples in a large heavy bottomed pot and bring to as simmer and cook until the apples are tender.  Puree the cooked apple and stock mixture in a blender until it is completely smooth.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, cool and reserve.

 

 

Cheddar Milk

500 grams milk

250 grams aged cheddar cheese

 

Place the milk and the cheddar cheese into a heavy bottomed pot.  Bring to a simmer and cook for five minutes to melt the cheese.  When the cheese has broken down, turn off the heat and cover the pot.  Let the mixture steep for twenty minutes and then strain the mixture through a cheesecloth lined strainer.  Let the contents drip through the cheesecloth.  Press gently on the solids to allow the moisture to be extracted from the solids.  When the liquid is strained discard the solids and reserve the cheddar milk.

 

Cheddar Tofu

385 grams cheddar milk

260 grams firm tofu

1.5 grams fine sea salt

1.3 grams high acyl Gellan (0.2%)

1.3 grams low acyl Gellan (0.2%)

 

1 Pyrex dish 22.5 x 22.5 centimeters.

 

Place the cheddar milk, tofu and sea salt in the blender.  Puree the mixture until it silky smooth.  With the blender still running, sprinkle both Gellans into the vortex to evenly disperse the hydrocolloids in the mixture.  Once the Gellans are dispersed pour the mixture into a heavy bottomed pot.  Turn the heat on medium and stir the mixture as it heats.  Continuous stirring prevents the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot and allows it to heat evenly.  Warm the Pyrex dish in a 95°C oven.  The warming of the dish will prevent the hot cheddar mixture from seizing when it is poured from pot to dish.  Continue to stir and cook the mixture until it reaches 90°C.  When the mixture has reached this temperature the Gellan will be fully hydrated.  Quickly transfer the mixture from the pot into the warmed Pyrex dish.  Pour the liquid as quickly as you are able to without splashing, keeping the flow as smooth and even as possible because the Gellan in the mixture sets rapidly once it is removed from the heat.  Cool the cheddar tofu in the dish.  When the tofu is cold, remove it from the pan and trim off any rounded edges.  Cut the tofu into 1.5cm cubes and reserve on a tray in the refrigerator.

 

 

Spicy Pickled Apples

110 grams onion

18 grams garlic

5 grams jalapeño pepper

10 grams Espelette pepper puree

50 grams apple cider

2 grams fine sea salt

25 grams lime juice

 

3 Granny Smith apples

 

Place the first seven ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.  Strain the mixture through a fine meshed conical strainer. Peel the apples and cut the rounded edge off the apples.  Place the apples on a cutting board with the stem side up. Cut a slice 1cm thick off the left and right sides of each apple.  These slices will be larger planks. Cut slices 1cm thick off the top and bottom sides of each apple to create two smaller planks. Cut these planks into 1cm cubes of apple.  Place the diced apple in a vacuum bag. Compress the fruit and seal with a vacuum sealer on high pressure. The compression will transform the apples from opaque to translucent. The compression and its effect on the fruit will take a few minutes after the apple comes out of the machine. Let them rest in the bag for 5-10 minutes. Once the apples appear translucent, open the bag transfer them to a fresh bag and add the pickling liquid.  Seal the new bag on high pressure. Refrigerate the mixture for two hours. Once the apples have marinated, remove them from the bag, strain off the pickling mixture. Place the apples in small bowl, cover them, and reserve them in the refrigerator until needed.

 

To Assemble

 

Apple and Cheddar Soup

Cheddar Tofu

Spicy Pickled Apples

Sliced Chives

 

In a pot over medium heat, bring the apple and cheddar soup to a simmer. Place the spicy pickled apples in small pan and warm gently. The juices from the apples will keep them moist. Place the cheddar tofu in a large pan with 20 grams of water and cover with a lid. Heat the tofu on medium heat so that it steams gently and becomes heated through. When the soup is hot, use an immersion blender or a stand blender to puree it and make sure it is smooth and homogenous. In each soup bowl arrange eight cubes of pickled apple and eight cubes of cheddar tofu in a pile on the left hand side of the bowl. Alternate the pieces of apple and tofu to build the pile of cubes. When the cheddar and tofu are in place, sprinkle them with chives and pour the hot soup around the pile of cheddar tofu and spicy pickled apples. Serve immediately.

Corned Beef Hand Roll

We are always surprised at what can be rolled between rice and seaweed. Today I ate our first corned beef hand roll. I say first because I think this and other non-traditional preparations have some real potential. I would not mind a bacon cheeseburger hand roll or a fried clam version with sea urchin thousand island dressing.

Musk Melon Soup

Musk Melon Soup

 

Broken Honeydew Melon

1 honeydew melon

Salt

2 liters of liquid nitrogen

 

Using a sharp knife cut off the top and bottom of the melon. Stand it up on one of the cut ends and starting from the top, slice down around the fruit to peel the skin from the melon. Cut the peeled melon into quarters and cut out the seeds. Season the melon lightly with salt and then place into a vacuum bag.  Vacuum compress the melon in the machine on the highest setting. The melon will transform from pale green to a translucent emerald green. When the melon is compressed, open the bag and pat the melon dry.

 

Pour two liters of liquid nitrogen into a Styrofoam cooler and then slide the melon quarters into the liquid nitrogen. The nitrogen will boil furiously so take caution when adding the melon. When the melon pieces are solid all the way through and begin to crack and show fissures they are cold enough to be broken. Remove the melon pieces and place in a clean metal bowl. Use a meat mallet to break the melon into shards, fragments and chunks. Use caution because the melon at this stage is extremely cold and it can cause frostbite if eaten or handled with bare fingers. Once the melon is broken into pieces, place it, still in the bowl, in the refrigerator to defrost. When the melon is completely thawed, place it and any juices in a smaller container and reserve.

 

Alternatively you can freeze the cleaned planks of melon in a re-sealable plastic bag overnight. Let the melon thaw in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Remove the melon planks from the bag, reserving any juices. Dice the melon into 2cm cubes and return it to the plastic bag with the juice. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

 

Prosciutto Oil

500 grams Prosciutto San Daniele or Prosciutto de Parma fat and trim

50 grams water

 

Cut the prosciutto fat and trim into 2-3 cm pieces and place them in a pot large enough to comfortably hold the fat. Add the water to the pot and turn the flame on low. Slowly simmer the fat and water. The impurities will begin to bubble out of the fat and the water will reduce and evaporate. Once the water is evaporated, the fat will begin to render out of the prosciutto. Continue to cook slowly, stirring occasionally. The fat pieces and chunks will continue to shrink and slowly brown as the fat is rendered into the pot. When the initial prosciutto pieces have transformed into golden brown cracklings floating in liquid fat, the prosciutto oil is finished. Let it cool to room temperature and then strain the fat. Reserve the prosciutto oil and discard the rendered prosciutto pieces.

 

Shrimp Powder

350 grams peeled 21-25 shrimp
4 grams fine sea salt

.25 grams cayenne
3.54 grams Activa RM transglutaminase powder

50 bush basil leaves

2 liters liquid nitrogen

Cut the shrimp into 1cm pieces then place in a bowl and season with the salt, and cayenne and mix to coat evenly.  Sprinkle the Activa onto the shrimp and stir to coat evenly. Add the bush basil leaves and then place the shrimp in a vacuum seal bag. Vacuum seal the bag and then use a meat mallet to flatten the shrimp evenly to cover the interior of the bag into a uniform sheet. When the shrimp is completely flat it will look like a mosaic of shrimp. Place the bag in the refrigerator overnight to allow the transglutaminase to bond the pieces of shrimp. The following day, place the bag into a water bath set at 52 degrees Celsius and cook the shrimp sheet in the bag for twenty minutes.  When the time is up, place the bag into a large ice bath in order to rapidly chill the shrimp.  When the shrimp are chilled, cut open the bag and remove the sheet.  Lay it on a cutting board and cut into 6cm squares.

 

Place two liters of liquid nitrogen into a Styrofoam container and then slide the shrimp squares into the nitrogen.  The nitrogen will boil furiously with the addition of the shrimp pieces.  When the shrimp is frozen solid and the bubbling subsides use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp and place into a blender. Turn the blender on low and increase to high, grinding and pulverizing the shrimp into a fine powder. When a fine powder is achieved, turn the blender off and use a rubber spatula to scrape the frozen powder into a re-sealable plastic bag.  Place the frozen powder in the freezer and reserve.

 

Alternatively, bring 1000 grams of water seasoned with 4 grams of salt and 0.25 grams of cayenne to a soft boil. Turn off the heat, slide in the cleaned shrimp and let the liquid cool at room temperature, uncovered. Once the shrimp are cool, place it in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to a fine, crumbly mixture resembling couscous. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the shrimp into a re-sealable plastic bag.  Place the shrimp in the refrigerator and reserve until needed.

 

Melon Soup

610 grams peeled, seeded musk melon

60 grams tequila vinegar

10 grams melon juice

4 grams fine sea salt

5 dried lavender buds

5 gratings of nutmeg from a rasp grater

0.68 grams xanthan gum

 

Place the melon into a vacuum bag and vacuum seal on the highest level to compress the fruit cells. When the melon is compressed, cut the bag open, remove the melon, and reserve any juices left in the bag. Cut the melon into 2cm chunks and place in the blender with the tequila vinegar, the reserved melon juices, salt, lavender, and nutmeg.  Puree the mixture for five minutes until the melon is completely smooth. With the blender still running, carefully remove the lid and sprinkle the xanthan gum into the vortex formed in the blender.  Continue to blend on high until the xanthan gum is fully dispersed and the soup has thickened slightly. Strain the soup using a fine mesh conical strainer into a flat container with sides at least 12 cm tall. 

 

To remove the air incorporated by blending the soup, place the soup in the container so that it comes only one third of the way up the sides. (There will most likely be more soup than fits in the container and this process will need to be repeated.) Place the melon soup and the container in the chamber of the vacuum machine and close the lid.  The vacuum pulled on the chamber will begin to pull the air bubbles out of the soup. The soup will begin to climb the sides of the container and when it comes to just below the edge of the rim, shut the machine off. The chamber will then fill with air again and the soup will shrink back down in the dish having dispelled many of its air bubbles.  This process should be repeated until the soup loses 95% of its air bubbles and changes from pale orange to an intense orange in color. Once the first batch of soup is free of air bubbles, remove it from the container and reserve in a bain marie or other suitable storage container.  Repeat the process with the rest of the soup.  Use immediately or reserve in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

 

Alternatively you can prepare the soup one day in advance and let it rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours to allow the bubbles to dissipate before serving.

 

To Assemble

 

Broken Honeydew Melon

Prosciutto Oil

Shrimp Powder

Melon Soup

56 Small Nasturtium Leaves

 

Arrange a pile of broken honeydew in shallow bowls. Place a second smaller pile of the melon 6cm away on the flat side of the plate. Place a spoonful of shrimp powder on each pile of broken melon. Ladle the melon soup into the bowls around the garnish.  Place two nasturtium leaves on the soup and two more leaves on the broken melon, which is cascading into the soup.  Take one more leaf and place it on the back of the pile of melon touching the soup.  Place the final two nasturtium leaves on either side the left and right of the broken melon on the flat portion of the plate.  Drizzle 8-10 drops of prosciutto oil onto the top of the melon soup and 3-4 drops on the broken melon piles.

 

A New Source of Ideas

 

The weather certainly influences what we cook and even how we cook. The weather also affects what and how we eat. If we are designing dishes and bringing ingredients together, can we use the weather as a tool to help shape a dining experience? Furthermore, can we use specific moments such as sunrises and sunsets, rainstorms and blizzares to make a dish greater than just the food on the plate? If we created a dish around grilled lobster and before the course arrived showed a sunset on the ocean, have we brought the diner to a better place to enjoy the food? Smell and sound are always important. Sometimes we forget about what is right in front of us and what we can do to enhance the experience with what we see.

Planning For Success

As chefs we are often privy to the dining experiences of others. Some are good, some are bad. What we do is listen and learn.

A man was complaining about a recent restaurant experience. He detailed the fact that he ordered prime rib, end cut, well done and it arrived room temperature to warm. So he sent it back and ordered it again and when it arrived it was still just warm and not hot enough. Then he changed his order to well done steak and this wasn’t hot enough either. He sent that one back for yet another steak, which of course still didn’t meet his standards. He went on and on about how the restaurant had failed him. The question is if he wasn’t happy with the meat why didn’t he try something else? Why not give the restaurant a chance to please him instead of setting them up to fail over and over? The other question is why they let him keep ordering and didn’t send him on his way. At a certain point you have to realize that you can’t please the customer and you can’t fix the situation. So what do you do, cut your losses or keep trying?

Sunrise

We do not watch enough sunrises. They happen everyday and we are usually awake when they take place. However, when the sun comes up we are busy. Making breakfast, writing notes, working on recipes, and on and on. Occasionally we remember to look up and around. The sights and sounds of dawn are amazing. Some mornings are soft and beautiful, others are striking and sharp. Each day is different and when we have the opportunity we should find a moment to savor the experience. Taking the time to observe and appreciate the everyday miracles provides a unique opportunity to experience the world. There can be more inspiration in the few moments when the sun breaks through the horizon than in an entire day’s worth of searching for ideas.

Everything Mayo

One of our favorite sandwiches is tuna salad on toasted everything bagels. Everything is a unique blend of seeds and seasonings which when combined with the toasted flavor of flour in a bagel creates a taste greater than the sum of its parts. However, sometimes we are not always in the mood for tuna fish and bagel. What we crave is the combination of toasted seeds, seasonings and bagel. Imagine if we could make that into a dipping sauce or a spread. As we developed an everything cure for salmon, we realized that the flavoring blend could be pureed into a number of forms we had not previously thought of. The first was everything cream cheese. The second was everything mayonnaise which is amazing with French fries and raw oysters. The mayonnaise also works well in the tuna fish salad. With a jar of everything in the refrigerator ideas continue to be fed. Next up is everything hollandaise followed by everything soup. It is great to know that everything can be anything.

Windy

The rain is sheeting down as we get ready to set sail. We're gearing up for another fun cruise with plenty of play time in the kitchen. It'll all be sunny tomorrow after a good night's sleep. Bon voyage.

Happy Birthday

Round here we've got reasons to celebrate. Amaya passed her Aunt Barbara's criteria for walking into her first birthday party and her reward was this cake. Pretty cool. Thanks again to Barbara & Katie for their excellent work. Aunt Peg provided a second smaller cake just for Amaya. She graciously shared it with Daddy and simply took a few dainty bites. It's been an amazing year. She's starting the new one in style with a Holland America cruise from San Diego to Hawaii and back again. Starting tomorrow we'll be posting from the ship. Not to worry though, we'll be home in time for Christmas. Happy 1st Birthday Amaya! We love you lots.

Anniversary

 

It's been five years since we began this website. Interestingly the best description for what we do now comes from Alex's favorite children's show, Sid the Science Kid. The show's motto is: investigate, discover, explore. That's what we try to do every day, when we encounter a question or a concept, the first instinct is to find out more. Can we make it happen? What's the best way to proceed? Those are the questions that drive us day in and day out. Thanks for joining us in the kitchen and helping us find inspiration in each new day.

Toasted Marshmallow

There is an art to toasting the perfect marshmallow over a campfire to make the ideal s'more or just to indulge in a well cooked marshmallow off a stick. Since campfires are often difficult to control inside the house and at a moments notice we decided to make toasted fluff. The spreadable marshmallow tastes as if it was masterfully watched and turned to cook uniformly and its spreadabilty mirrors the texture of a molten marshmallow. The only thing missing is the smoke in your eyes.

Hatched

The Ideas in Food t-shirt has hatched and is now available from the Stove Monkeys.

Sun Chokes and Grapes

Jerusalem artichokes are crusted with a yogurt-mastic crumb and accented with a concord grape-garam masala puree. A few leaves of shiso finish the dish.

As a Matter of Fat

 

If fat cannot penetrate water, can fat flavor water? Why yes it can. Aromatic fats have been used to make perfumes and even flavor alcohol. If that is the case, and aromatic fats may flavor water and water based mediums like alcohol, then the fat used in cooking matters. The fat may not penetrate what is being cooked in it but the aromatics of the fat and what is carried in the fat plays a larger role than we think. That is why cooking duck legs in a third generation duck confit fat taste more duck like. The fat is not penetrating the meat, its aromatics are. So, then is fat flavor or perhaps fat is aroma?