Oldie but defenitely a goodie....Caviars

Coconut 5 spice Curry Caviar for our Banana Napoleon Dessert on the New Years Menu...

So it's new years coming up and I haven't used my 96 dropper for caviar since the beginning of 2009 when I started messing with my first hydrocolloid sodium alginate to make caviar's. It's crazy how much you learn in a year of hard work and dedication to the craft you love. Once was hard and frustrating is now a fun, fairly easy and enjoyable thing to do. Happy new years everyone, I'm looking forward to 2010 for sure...

Brussel Sprout Kimchee...

Ordered a case of Brussels to test out the Brussels sprout kimchee finally and maybe serve it on a dish for new years. I basically did a quick salty brine over night and its sitting in the refrigerator as of right now. I cryovac'd the liquid, shaved baby carrots, and English cucumbers to speed up the process as well. I didnt mean to but I compressed the cucumbers at the same time so I guess it's going to be a Brussel Sprout, Compressed Cucumber Kim Chee. Finally product pictures and reviews to come.

Follow up...Soft Boiled egg @ 64 Degrees C (1 hour)

Soft set whites and a creamy yolk...eggs benedict anyone?

48 Hour Beauty...

Out of the water....
Perfect Medium Rare through out the entire cut of meat...Short rib has the texture of prime rib...Success

Kona Lager 48 Hour Sous Vide Short Rib...

The goal of the perfect short rib for new years is maintaining nice medium rare pink all the way through but literally falling apart like a great braised piece of meat should. This is a hard goal to reach using a traditional classic braising method so I will be using the thermal circulator to achieve this.

Hard sear on all sides...
Chill down to 38 degrees F

Bag with butter, thyme, demi, salt and pepper, and a little Kona Long board Lager

57.2 Degrees C (135 degrees F) for 48 hours

The time allows the short rib to break down the natural tissues in the short ribs, making it a succulent and tender piece of meat...pictures to come...see you in two days.

New toys...refills..and additions

Sel-Rose TCM Curing salt for my Christmas Ham, Versa Whip

Kelcogel LT and F..Lethicin

Isi Thermowhip...keeps hot foams hot and cold foams cold...

Ideas...

-48 hour Sous Vide Kona Lager pressed Short Rib...Kona Lager Air

-Fresh Whitecorn "Polenta"

-New way Spinach "Cream" Cream Spinach

-40 Second Micro "wave" corn cake

-Pliable Parmesan

-Parmesan Sponge

-BBQ Grits

-Bacon Brussel Kim chee

Pictures to Follow each project...hopefully?

Tomato Jam?

To be continued....

(Carrot jam...to follow)

"Amuse"-ing the Bouche with a good ol' Smoked Pastrami "sandwich" under a smoke dome

Hot Pastrami on Molten Havarti Bread, Horseradish yuzu whole grain honey mustard aioli, pepperoncini, arugula.

Used the "smoking gun" and filled the wine glass dome with mesquite smoke to enhance the flavor the one biter and alter the senses of the person dining.

Diners' perspective


Enjoy...hopefully G will let me uses this as an amuse for new years...350 people...easy enough?

Egg Cookery...4 minute egg, Tempura 4 minute egg, and 17 minute steamer egg

Bored in the kitchen today so we did a little egg cookery. Egg cookery is one of the most difficult things to do "well" and takes a lot of finesse and care to execute properly...

Bring to water to a rolling boil...drop egg in (room temperature or will crack as you drop it in) and boil for 4 minutes.

Peel Egg and you have a cooked white but a beautiful running yolk.

Decided to Tempura fry it for the hell of it. Turned out nice

This egg was done 17 minutes in a commercial steamer...Perfect hard boiled or in this case "steamed egg"
Next on the list ...the 63 degree egg...

The ridges in a chef hat represent the different ways that particular chef can cook an egg. The more ridges the more accomplished the chef was (in theory, a long long time ago)

Bauti for thought....

Don't let your environment hold you back from expressing yourself through food. Seek success. Anything else contradicting this sentence is an excuse + laziness...Improve and stay true to yourself

Bacon jammin'....big in the south, big on flavor

500 degree oven...render render render.....

Julienne onions after removing rendered bacon

caramelization of onions in bacon fat....

Add bacon back in...deglaze with chicken stock and brown sugar and reduce until "Au Sec"

Blend until smooth and you have bacon jam...

Inspired by Kevin Gillespie from the ATL. I was questioning the "bacon jam" produced in the south, I had to try it myself...here's the procedure....and the success behind it.

Yesterday I made a brioche sandwich with crispy bacon..bacon jam, arugula, sunny side up egg, and a cracked coriander blue cheese sauce...delicious...BACON JAM....Endless possibilities.

Playing with Kelcogel "Gellan" LT and F

Gellan= A water-soluble polysaccharide produced by fermentation, that can be used alone or in combination with other products to produce a wide variety of interesting textures. It is extremely effective at low use levels in forming gels, LT and F are high acyl and form soft, very elastic, non-brittle, and fluid gels.

This is the first time using this and I used a standard recipe for a basic sauce "sheet." With the combination of Gellan(both LT100 and F) and Bronze Gelatin Sheets it allows you to make elastic, heat resistent, and pliable sauce sheets. In this case we did an orange yuzu sauce sheet as a tester. It could be a little thinner and refined but like I said before, this was the first time trying this. Enjoy.

Ideas come to life...

"Jamon and Melon" : Ham Brined and Hand Smoked Pork Tenderloin, Compressed Melons, Potato parsnip puree, Pancetta Jam, Ham Hock pork Glace, Basil

Hokkaido Scallops, Cauliflower "Cous Cous" (Fine Herbs, Lemon Zest, Pine nuts, Butter), Mint Gel, Shiso, Chorizo Vinaigrette, Concasse Tomatoes)

Lake Superior Whitefish, Parsnip Puree, Pickled and smoked hen of the woods, Mache, Warm grapes, Sous vide pearl onions, brown butter powder, port molasses syrup...

Brainstorming and writing things down on paper is a must. But the outcome when you achieve success through thought and analyzing is a priceless feeling. Try it yourself...Make yourself better

22 "Tastings" @ Saam

Chef Jose Andres

Marcel Vigneron (Sous Chef)

Joshua Whigham Chef de Cuisine @ SAAM

Tarragon Concentrate

Nitro Caipirihna

Artichoke Chips

Olives Ferran Adria

CAVA

Bagel & Lox Cone, Ikura, Dill Cream Cheese

Olive Oil Bon Bon

Caviar Steamed Bun, Cauliflower Creme Fraiche, Lemon Air

Jose's Ham and Cheese...Iberico Ham, Airbread

Boneless Chicken Wing, Avocado Puree, Spinach

"Canned" Asparagus, Mayonaise Espuma, Tarragon, Sexy Tomato (Caviar)

Sea Urchin Ceviche, Hibiscus air

Japanese Baby peaches

Guacamole New Way, Tomato Granite, Corn Nuts, Cilantro

"Corn On The Cob" Baby Corn, Corn Puree, Huit le coche puree

Kampachi "Nigiri", Compressed Watermelon, Shiso, Soy Caramel Foam/Sauce

Norwegian Cigalas, Baby Lobster En Brioche, Seaweed, Lobster a la nage

"Smoked" Arctic Char, Greek Yogurt, Encapsulated Yogurt, Olive Salt, Compressed Cucumber, Mint, Chickpea chip

Not your everyday Caprese

Tournedos Rossini, A5 Kobe, Foie Gras, White Truffle Cotton Candy

Foie Gras Cotton Candy, Corn nuts

Thai Dessert, Coconut sorbet, peanut butter powder

Bread pudding, Vanilla Ice Crea, Saffron Sauce

Warm Chocolate Mousse with pear

Bon Bons/Tablets