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We tasted this lemon olive oil for the first time at a local farmer's market. Someone had drizzled it on some fresh cheese that they were offering samples of. Unfortunately the cheese didn't come with the oil and oddly they were only offering the unflavored olive oil (which we already had at home) for sale. Instead of buying the cheese we were off on a search for the oil. It's intense lemony-olive flavor is so good that when you first taste it you'll want to use it on everything. As with most quality condiments, a little goes a long way.
Last week I posted a series of links to other blog posts and one of them was whole wheat chocolate chip cookies by Orangette and of all the great ideas floating around, the idea of those cookies caught hold of Alex's imagination. So he turned to me and said "let's make whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, but not those chocolate chip cookies. I think you should make your cookies and just use all whole wheat flour."
Frankly I was stunned and not overly enthusiastic. I really didn't see the point of whole wheat chocolate chip cookies but as always I was willing to indulge his latest obsession (whole wheat everything) and made the cookies. We agreed that they should be vacuum sealed to hydrate the dough and I didn't end up having time to bake them for a couple of days so you can factor that into their evaluation.
These cookies were outrageous. Intensely buttery with a nutty wheat flavor balanced by the blend of milk and dark chocolate callets that we substituted for the chips. 100% percent whole wheat flour and absolutely delicious. And that's why I usually say yes to seemingly nutty requests, because you never know what will be an unexpected success.
...to buy Ideas in Food, Great Recipes and Why They Work even if it doesn't hit stores before Christmas (and yes, this is shameless self promotion but sometimes you've just got to do it):
As part of our new fangled, old school Thanksgiving dinner alongside the cranberry horseradish sauce was a bowl of salsa verde. It's Alex's newest obsession and he does it very well. Last night's version was made with several slices of bread soaked with a blend of malt vinegar and balsamic vinegar, several cloves of fresh garlic, anchovies, Crystal hot sauce, salt and a boatload of fresh parsley. It was thick and vibrant and very popular. People were eating it with capon, with stuffing, with salad, with green beans, with sweet potatoes, you name it and someone put the salsa verde on it. And today Alex took all the leftover sauce and made pasta out of it. Now that's some seriously good stuff.
Since our Harvard lecture was not filmed, we wanted to share our handout so you can get a sense of what we talked about. The class was on science, technology and creativity and we used pasta as the vehicle for our discussion. We brought the new pasta extruder to demonstrate how an understanding of science combined with technology can open doors to creativity by allowing us to accomplish things that wouldn't be possible without them. Below is a short video the pasta machine extruding and cutting chestnut noodles.
5 Factors Shaping Creativity in the Kitchen
1. Inspiration: observing and absorbing the world around you, asking questions, maintaining a sense of wonder.
- Finding answers is easy, finding the right questions is the true challenge.
-Mistakes are just steps along the path to success.
-Understanding history allows us to change the future.
-Finding the hidden links between ideas allows us to build a chain of development.
-Recording ideas allows us to have access to earlier inspirations and use them in the future.
-Exercise your brain by exploring new interests and ideas to keep your mind flexible.
-Allow for the cross-pollination of ideas, we get new perspectives and inspirations when we share ideas with others.
-Cyclical pleasures, enjoy the different seasons of any ingredient/idea and celebrate each new ending and beginning.
-Find balance between science and nature, if you can make them work together you can do anything.
-Juxtapose flavors, temperatures, textures, aromas so that each dish is a constantly changing experience that engages the diner and keeps them involved and excited in a meal.
-Match disparate ingredients. Don’t be afraid of trying unconventional pairings. You never know what will happen or how good something can be until you try it.
-Understand and identify relationships. Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are all part of the same family and go well together.
2. Flexibility: the ability to change perspectives on a dime. Looking at ideas backwards, forwards and upside-down. Separation of ego and invention: understanding that you will not necessarily invent the big idea but having the ability to identify it and extrapolate it will be more important than being the person who creates it.
-Sharing ideas leads to new perspectives, which in turn leads to more ideas to be embraced and shared anew.
-Build a repertoire of techniques and ideas. Have confidence in your creations and own them. Just because they may have sprung from someone else’s inspiration doesn’t detract from your own evolution.
-Organize your ideas because it will make it easier to access them and utilize your creativity.
-Choose your goal. Decide what you want to work on or work with and explore it to the best of your ability.
-Water is always available. It can be used to dilute flavor to make it approachable, like a splash in your glass of scotch or it can be used to change textures, like rehydrating freeze dried fruit. It’s also important to know when not to use water because you want to add flavor instead of subtract.
-Know when to close the door. Sometimes you’re just wasting time. If a dish isn’t working, know when to walk away and try something completely different.
-Realize that most mysteries are lack of knowledge.
-Use your subconscious. Pay attention to random thoughts and dreams.
3. Motivation: the desire to create must be stronger than fear of failure. Throwing spaghetti on the wall knowing that you can always clean up the mess later.
-Creativity is an attitude. View life as an explorer looking for opportunities and relationships, pay attention to small details and occasionally step back to see the big picture.
-Every finish line is also a starting point.
-Know your own taste and establish a clear voice.
-Allow the ingredients to inspire you.
-Pay attention to sensory experiences. Taste and memory are intertwined and certain textures and flavors resonate with certain populations. Utilize sensations to increase flavor and improve the dining experience.
-Enjoy the moment. Food peaks quickly and then deteriorates.
-Spontaneity is facilitated by constant rehearsal of skill sets. Ability allows for creativity.
-Every “overnight” success is the result of hard work.
-Structure allows for creativity. Having too many options can be paralyzing. Embrace parameters because they can actually allow for more creativity.
4. Adaptation: the ability to learn from your mistakes, successes and all of the bumps in the road on the way.
-Focus your energy. It’s easy to be distracted by ideas and lose your way. Jot down new ideas but always keep the end goal in mind.
-Establish your own set of rules to work by but don’t be afraid to change them if the situation calls for flexibility.
-Many times the smallest detail can affect the overall outcome. Calibration can make a big difference.
-Realize that there is always a right and wrong in cooking that it is determined by your standards. You choose what is right for you.
-Keep your audience in mind when composing a dish. Nobody cooks in a vacuum.
-Science can be art and vice versa. It all depends on your perspective.
-Realize that the description can be as important as the execution.
-Draw on past experiences and extrapolate.
-Don’t just balance flavors on your tongue, use you nose and balance your aromas.
-Take advantage of your resources and use them whenever you can. They will only make you better.
5. Refinement (Editing): Knowing when to say when. Utilizing critical examination to determine when a preparation is at its peak, when a dish is done, when a technique works perfectly and when you need to do more. Being able to trim the fat and sharpen the edged to reveal the hidden treasure its best advantage.
-Have a clear goal. Focus on delicious and always keep it in the back of your mind.
-Have a sense of urgency to move you forward. Use your energy wisely and don’t spin your wheels if you can avoid it.
-Are your components working together or struggling against one another? Everything on a plate should taste good, eaten alone or together.
-Explore all your options and then narrow them down. Too much is too much.
-Subtlety is underappreciated. Big bold flavors are wonderful but so is finesse.
-Start with the best raw materials available and do your best not to screw them up.
-When using a filter remember that it produces two sets of ingredients that you can use.
-Trim the fat and remove any extraneous details that simply add noise to the plate.
Put both flours into the pasta machine and mix to combine. Mix the pumpkin puree with the eggs, salt, nutmeg, ginger and curry. With the machine running, drizzle the liquid mixture into the machine. Mix the dough for 6-7 minutes. Check the consistency after four minutes. It should begin to resemble course streusel. Squeeze the dough together in your hand. Break the dough apart. If it breaks cleanly the dough has enough water. If it crumbles add additional water in 20 gram increments. After the dough is kneaded, let it rest for ten minutes for ideal hydration. You can begin to extrude at this point as well.
We are headed down to visit with Spike and his team at Woodberry Kitchen. We are doing a workshop on December 7th from 11am to 2:30pm, geared towards those who work behind the bar: both baristas and bartenders. Though focused on beverages, the material being covered will apply to preparations in the kitchen as well. The lessons learned will then be applied at an intimate cocktail party on December 8th.
Topics which we will cover:
Agar Clarification
Utilizing Gellan
Hot Foams
Extraction and flavor
Alcohol and aroma
Carbonation
and a few black box ideas. (you do know they have a wood fired oven...)
The cocktail party will feature a number of tasty libations and scrumptious delectables.
These two events are open to the public at a cost of $100/person for the workshop and $50/person for the cocktail party . If you wish to attend both, which we certainly hope you do, the cost is $125. Reservations can be made by calling Woodberry Kitchen at (410) 464-8000.
We have received a number of requests for this recipe after our appearance on Food(ography). Tonight we served it with pumpkin macaroni rigate. And if you are not in the mood for meatballs, the pressure cooked turkey stock is a true time saver for Thanksgiving proper.
Thanksgiving Meatballs
7 grams smoked paprika
1 gram nutmeg
1.5 grams red pepper flakes
3 grams fennel seeds
5 grams garlic powder
15 grams salt
110 grams celery (5 celery branches)
300 grams onion (1 onion)
100 grams shiitake mushrooms
250 grams sliced bacon
250 grams Challah Bread
35 grams potato flakes
200 grams (4 large) eggs
60 grams heavy cream
25 grams soy sauce
10 grams crystal hot sauce
7 grams sage leaves
1000 grams ground turkey thigh
500 grams ground turkey breast
Reserved turkey stock
375 grams red wine
Preheat he oven to 350°F
Put the paprika, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, fennel seed, garlic powder and salt into a spice grinder. Grind into a fine powder. Put the celery, onion, and shiitake mushrooms into a food processor and process to a fine mince. Mince the bacon by hand or in a food processor. Cook it in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and crispy. Add the minced vegetables and spices mixture and cook until the vegetables are just tender. Remove from the heat and put the mixture into a bowl.
While the bacon and vegetables are cooking, cut the bread into a 2 cm dice and toast in the oven until it is a foxy brown, about 15 minutes. Put the potato flakes in a heatproof skillet and toast them in the oven until they are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the toasted Challah bread and toasted potato flakes to the warm vegetables and mix to combine. Allow this mixture to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 325°F
Put the eggs, heavy cream, soy sauce, hot sauce and sage leaves bread into a blender and puree on medium speed until homogeneous. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetable-bread base. Add the turkey thigh meat and turkey breast meat. Mix all the ingredients together. Use your fingertips to break up the Challah so that is combined with everything else. Shape the meatball mixture into 4cm meatballs and lay them out on a tray.
Once the oven is up to temperature, put the turkey stock and red wine in a Dutch oven or roasting pan large enough to hold all the meatballs and the liquid and put it in the oven to heat up. Once all the meatballs are made, put them in the hot broth, put the lid on the pan and put it back in the oven. Cook the meatballs for 45 minutes, until they are firm. Remove the meatballs from the oven and allow them to cool in their braising liquid. To serve, warm as you desire: in broth, sauce, brown slowly in a sauté pan in butter, broil in the oven, or deep fry and serve with your favorite cranberry sauce.
Pressure Cooked Turkey Stock
1000 grams turkey wings (2 wings)
1500 grams water
600 grams apple cider
50 grams dark miso
500 grams smoked turkey wings (1 wing)
135 grams celery (6 celery branches)
50 grams mushroom stems
50 grams garlic (1 head of garlic)
225 grams onion (2/3 onion)
200 grams carrot (5 carrots)
225 grams kimchi
Preheat an oven to 400°F.
Put the turkey wings onto a sheet pan and roast them in the oven until they are a rich golden brown, about 45 minutes. Put them into a pressure cooker with all of the remaining ingredients. Cook the stock for 30 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure dissipate naturally and then strain the stock. Let it cool it down in an ice bath and reserve until needed.
It takes the right question to spark ideas. When we received the gift of Espelette peppers from Simon we were excited by the beautiful bundle but not quite sure what to do with them. Then tday we were talking to Spike, from Woodberry Kitchen (we will be down there shortly cooking and teaching, stay tuned for a detailed post.) Spike is a locavore. If a great ingredient isn't local, it has to make local better. He pushes the envelope and pushes our buttons forcing us to think. We were refining the workshop agenda when he asked about the peppers. At first I was wondering why, of all things, the peppers resonated with him. Then, like lightning, it hit. The peppers were full of seeds, and seeds are hidden potential. Before he could say it I interrupted as politely as I could saying "You are interested in the seeds." His affirmative response confirmed my theory. He wanted to grow his own Espelette peppers on his turf. This illustrates an approach to life. There are opportunities and hidden potential all around us. You may miss them on the first go round, but if you are open to all possibilities, you can see clearly enough to find the treasures cleverly camouflaged in plain sight.
The pork shank is slathered in our charred nori and red miso puree. The shank is marinated overnight and will eventually be slow cooked. This shank is a test run for other extrapolations using seaweed as the base for wet rubs for meat. It is wonderful to blend the idea of surf and turf on this initial level of preparation. It begs the question about making improvements on the classic pork and clams. In our case we replace the clam with a sea vegetable. Furthermore, we need to ask what other vegetables would also make wonderful bases for marinades, glazes and rubs?
Recently we have been exposed to a lot of charcoal, hay, seaweed and sea vegetables. These influences have directed our mental doodling. Recently I was inspired to make pesto with charred nori. The other elements of the dish prepartion would be the same, but instead of basil we would substitute nori, or in our case, charred nori. After making this first leap we began to wonder about other classical herbal sauces made with seaweed and oceanside herbs. Imagine wakame salsa verde, hijiki gremolata, kelp romesco.
And what if we moved this approach inland and started looking at these same preparations with lichen as herbs?
These noodles are made with flour, semolina and salt cod stock. The salt cod stock is interesting because it utilizes the aromatic poaching liquid from preparing the salt cod along with the trimmings and small bits which can often be discarded and overlooked in salt cod preparations. The intensely flavored broth contributed to a balanced and full flavored noodle. In our explorations in noodle making we have found that our flavored noodles fresh from the extruder are not fully balanced. In working with aromatic and flavored noodles we have found that allowing them to mature for a day in the refrigerator allows for their flavors to bloom and develop. These salt cod noodles were no exception.
Remember those pictures of squash butter a while back? Today we're bloggin over at The Daily Meal and there you'll find the recipe for that and the other components of our Butternut squash cavatelli dish.
The tapioca pearls are cooked in a burnt caramel-apple cider broth and then seasoned with cinnamon, black pepper and ginger essential oils from Mandy. We used this as part of the soup we cooked for the Flavor and Alchemy weekend at Astor center. The candied apple pearls were warmed and paired with a squash soup infused with dried grenada peppers and bananas. The soup was served in a shot glass with a bubble tea straw.
This ribbon of apple is made with a Japanese vegetable sheeter. We take our caramel apple jelly and puree it. The viscous puree is put into a vacuum bag along with the rolled up apple sheet. We vacuum seal the two together and the process pulls the apple jelly puree into the apple. In this situation we do not apply heat to the apple, so it retains a crisp texture while picking up cooked flavors from the jelly. We used this apple roll as part of an apple pie and coffee dessert. Candied apples two ways, sweet and savory. Gotta love fall.
In developing our stem salad we rediscovered a number of stems which we had not thought of using. The process of cleaning and utilizing what we often overlook and discard unearthed a bounty of new components to our repertoire. We may make the salad itself on occasion, however the real excitement in creating the stem salad was realizing how many parts of an ingredient we can serve. If we look at a bunch of radishes, we can shave slices on raw fish, use the leaves for pesto, and saute the stems and serve them with ranch dressing poached pork. The possiblities are wide open.
By seasoning a fairy tale squash with tasso spices, vacuum sealing it, freezing it and thawing it we ended up with a delicious, aromatic raw squash consomme. We were then able to cut the squash up and and blend it with its juices to make an incredible puree. Up next: carrots, parsnips, celery root and onions.
Oh and let's not forget pumpkin with pie spices for pumpkin pie consomme.
Ingredients are full of nooks and crannies. There is a lot of surface area for aromatic compounds to cling to. When looking at blending texture with aroma to create flavor experiences, the medium we use to infuse these ideas is essential to the enjoyment of the final dish. In order to truly take advantage of the idea of infusion and textural contrast in foods, we looked to freeze dried ingredients. In most instances kitchens do not posess in-house freeze dryers. That means if we are using freeze dried ingredients they were made elsewhere without a chefs specific taste and vision in mind. As we know well, chefs are notoriously opinionated and control oriented. If an ingredient cannot be customized it is often regarded as a waste of time.
Today we took some freeze dried rambutans and put them in a zip top bag. We took a square of paper towel and added 2 drops of lime oil from Mandy. We put the aromatic tab in the bag and sealed it. By the time we took some pictures (about ten minutes) my patience was worn and I opened the bag. I was immediately hit with the aroma of lime. I took out one rambutan and closed the bag. I stepped away and smelled the fruit. It had a wonderful lime aroma. I tasted the rambutan. It was crispy, sweet, floral and full of lime. The results were greater than I anticipated.
In this first example we kept things simple. Now we may begin blending aromatics and playing with infusion times. We are thrilled with the library of aromas we have on hand. Think about matsutake mushrooms sealed in a zip top bag with pine and black pepper aromas, and then shaved over fresh noodles or raw fluke.
We're working on an Italian inspired dinner for a good friend's 50th birthday party this weekend. It's a buffet and we're exploring several different vegetable options to go alongside the heartier meat offerings. I came across a version of Eggplant Parmigiana in Susan Hermann Loomis' Italian Farmhouse Cookbook that featured broiled eggplant slices with a fresh tomato sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. I loved the thought of a lighter version of the Italian American classic, especially as part of a buffet and we decided to use that as an inspiration for our interpretation of the dish. When Alex suggested seasoning it with harissa powder I paused, it was certainly non-traditional but I could see how the flavors would weave together. We ended up making a seasoning blend of harissa powder, sea salt, and grated parmigiano cheese. It was quite frankly amazing and helped us create a dish to remember. Sometimes crossing cultural lines pays off by creating something exceptionally delicious.
We've been trained to strip leafy greens from their stems before cleaning and cooking them. How many of us blindly toss those stems into the trash? We separate the leaves and stems because they cook differently, not because one has more value than the other. Served raw and thinly sliced sliced, broccoli stems can add crunch, sweetness and texture to a salad. Moist, gentle cooking changes seemingly tough, stringy vegetable stalks into tender bites that are full of earthy flavor. Braising mustard stems can change them into something sweet and almost delicate, belying their inherent sharp, slightly astringent profile. So the next time your're prepping your veggies, take a moment to appreciate their beauty and think about how you can take the trimmings and transform them into something special.
Fresh pumpernickel noodles are glazed with butter, red onion and mustard green stems. We gilded the lily with a generous dollop of smoked roe and then simply let the flavors and textures flood the palate. Sweet, spicy, salty, straightforward and complex. It's bold food that lingers in your mouth disguised behind an elegant veneer.
