Chestnut Soup

Same soup, different method. This is a continuuing refinement. The first time I tried making this soup I roasted the chestnuts and pureed them in a blender with stock. This time I cooked the chestnuts sous vide with cognac and brown sugar. I thought I might preserve some of the chestnut flavor by using the sous vide liquid in the soup, instead of diluting it with stock. When I opened the bag the aroma was very clean and complex - almost floral. The color had changed from translucent, pale-amber to an opaque clay red. Ultimately I'd like to make a soup without the addition of cream or milk - or more like a chestnut horchata with nutmeg and cinnamon if dairy is to be added.

Unfortunately the liquid was much too astrigent to be used in the final soup and with it went all the aromatics. In the future, I might try blanching the nuts first in hopes of removing some of the astrigency. Some of the nuts were overcooked and not only became mushy but took on a less pleasant smell like cooked beans.

To make the soup I thinned the puree with turkey stock to desired consistency. Season with salt and brown sugar. Without the cooking liquid the aromatic end is lacking. I either have to replace it completely with another ingredient or rethink the cooking liquid.

for the chestnut puree:

450g chestnuts
50g cognac
25g brown sugar
250ml water

peel the chestnuts. Add the cognac to a pan warm slightly. Flame off the alcohol. Melt in the brown sugar and add the water. Seal the chestnuts with the liquid in a vacuum bag and simmer 25-30 minutes until the nuts are tender. Strain the liquid out. Pass the nuts through a tammis.

ham and brie

ham
bechamel
pork fat
oyster
mandarin
shiitake mushroom
smoke
brie
stale bread

My parents used to make a dish of cured beef sliced thinly over toasted bread coated with a bechamel-like sauce. It was delicious, salty and bland. there is something about salty, starchy blandness that is very important. A well made bechamel poured over stale bread could be very satisfying.

The smoke is the only hesitation and possible omition to this train of thought. I would hate to overpower the delicate fungal nuances of the cheese.

Thoughts on fall

apple
Beaujolais
brown butter
cabbage
Candy corn
Caramel apples
cauliflower
Cedar
celeriac
Chestnut
cider
Cigar box
cinnamon
condensed milk
Crab apple
dried fruit
endive
Fallen leaves
fennel
fermented flavors
frankincense
game
grains
Hay rides
Hazelnut
Huckleberry
molasses
mushrooms
Oak
Old wooden cabinets
oxidized wine
pear
Pecan
pheasant
pumpkin
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin seed
root vegetables
Sage
salisfy
smoke
squab
squash
sunchoke
sweet potato
Thyme
toasted flavors
Tobacco
turkey
vanilla
venison
Walnut
Warm fireplace

Frankincense

At the fat duck they used it with a clear venison broth. I'm not really sure what to do with it. Use it for smoking? It has a fragrance vaguely reminiscent of pine when burned.

Douglas Fir Ice Cream

This is not particularly creative or original. What I wanted more so was to test a cold infusion. We didn't manage to capture the citrusy aromas that filled the room as we crushed the needles but we also didn't extract any of the bitter or resinous compounds. Most importantly it did not come off like eating cleaner. The ice cream is made without cream because we wanted the flavor to be short lived on the palate. The pine flavor has a long lasting effect, however. It would be impossible to place this anywhere but at the end of the meal.

30g needles, picked and washed (about 1 cup)
120g sugar
6 egg yolk
500ml milk 3.25%

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the needles until they become very fragrant.

Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together.

Bring the milk to a boil in a small pot. Pour the hot milk over the sugar and egg yolks, whisking.

Strain the ice cream base and chill thoroughly.

Vacuum seal the ice cream base and crushed needles together. Refrigerate 48 hours.

Strain and churn.

Fall tasting menu

Chicory
smoked quail, banana, dandelion

Mandarin-acorn Squash
oyster-emulsion, cashew, sichuan peppercorn

Cured Duck Breast
mangosteen, taro, bear’s garlic

Shrimp
chestnut-bacon, leeks, malegeuta pepper

Langoustine
rose-steamed, lady apple, parsley

Lobster Seared
barbados cherry, bok choy, black-eyed pea foam, rosemary

Wild boar ragout
marinated fig, buckwheat, tasmanian pepper

Poached Lamb saddle
bean sprout, curry leaf

Loin of Venison
hyacinth bean, black apple foam, strawberry leaves

The Majesty of Tomatoes

Its high enough in umami taste (savory amino acids) to rival mushrooms and meat. Its a fruit from the new world that penetrated europe and became the only ingredient to be be featured among the 5 classic sauces of french cuisine.

Food Pairing lists the following common pairings

Fruit:
Grapefruit
Grapes
Banana
Pear
Sour Cherry
Strawberry
Raspberry
Kiwi
Orange
Black currant

Legume:
Beans
Truffle
Soybean
Pea

Seafood:
Mussel

Herb/Spice:
Tarragon
Cinnamon
Clove
Laurel (bay leaf)
Coriander
Pepper
Anise
Basil
Parsley
Oregano

Cultured Dairy:
Yoghurt
Buttermilk

Culinary Artistry Lists in alphabetical order the following common pairings:

Anchovies
Arugula
Basil
Bread crumbs
Champagne
Cheese – feta, goat, mozzarella, parmesan
Chiles
Chives
Cucumbers
Eggs
Garlic
Lemon
Lovage
Marjoram
Mint
Mushrooms
Olive oil
Olives
Onions
Oregano
Parsley
Pasta
Pepper, black
Peppers, especially red
Saffron
Salt
Seafood
Shallots
Sugar
Tarragon
Thyme
Vinegar – balsamic, sherry, wine

"peaches and legs have supple character" -'uncle' Danny

Alinea

Headed down for a 2 day stage-interview. More details to come...

Amuse Bouche

Tuna Tartar
spicy beet brunoise
olive bread chip

Lamb Follow up

Roasted Saddle of Quebec Lamb
marcona almond puree spiked with preserved lemon juice
summer vegetables
lamb jus

Elegance

Elegance; graceful, simple, beautiful.

A restaurant chef is always looking for the fastest and cheapest way to create something delicious that a customer will love. We throw carrots mindlessly into stocks and sauces. This recipe is incredibly simple and delicious and comes almost straight out of letters to a young chef. Of course, there are myriad flavors which pair beautifully with the carrot but for the sake of this recipe we want to keep it as simple as possible.

With any vegetable based soup, I start with a puree of the theme ingredient. If I can thin out the soup with the juice of that ingredient, it will be a beautiful clean soup. The carrot is a perfect example.

We start by glazing the carrots in their own juice and olive oil. Cook the carrots over low heat in a fair amount quality olive oil - about twice as much as you would normally use. The fat becomes a carrot-infused oil that will emulsify when the soup is pureed and enrich the finished product. With this method we capture the fat soluble flavors of the carrot with the oil. We use the oil to cook the carrot to represent the silky texture of cooked carrot and we add a lipid element that coats the mouth with the sweet flavor of carrot. To the sweating carrots, add fresh carrot juice, chopped ginger, coriander seed.

Once the carrots are cooked and the juice has reduced all the way down - puree the mixture and pass it through a sieve. Chill completely. When the puree has chilled, thin it with more fresh carrot juice. Season with ginger juice, lemon juice, salt, sugar, cayenne. This is your soup.

New Additions to Our Library

Someone very special got this book for me, "just because..."

Michel Bras is a true artist. Its full of amazing ideas - incredible book.

Blazing Saddles

We brought in some really nice quebec lamb saddles for a party. We also have live scallops and french black truffles coming in for the same party. Its more fun for the cooks.


We have probably 7-10kg of trim leftover. I'm thinking merguez?

Tomatoes

its that time again!

Fennel Soup

We are currently serving this soup chilled with a smoked fig and little lemon foam.

I love it conceptually because its made of 3 different elements that come together cold. The triad reminds me of bass, mid and treble applied to music. I prepare each element of the soup seperately and mix them like a technician moves levels to create the perfect sound.

Bass:
This is the cooked element. The fennel bulbs are cooked for a long time with butter, water, pernod and fennel seeds. After 5-6 hours or whenever it starts to completely fall apart - puree and strain. The result is a rich, silky fennel puree.

Mid:
This element is nothing but the fresh juice of the fennel bulb with vitamin c to prevent oxidation. This is most mild and pleasant of the three. Light and sweet with an off-white color identical to the bulb itself. I could drink a glass of this with ice on a hot day.

Treble:
This came about because the chef wanted the soup to be green. Originally I planned on blanching the fronds and pureeing them into the soup for color. I found the fresh juice of the stems and fronds is a lot more interesting. This is the most intense and abrasive bit of the soup. It is vibrantly electric green in color and tastes almost sickenly sweet of licorice candy.

Once the three are prepared and chilled, I mix them, taste - too much green, too much cream, etc. The balance is simply beatiful. The only downside is it takes a case of fennel to make a little over 1/2 gallon of soup.

Confusion

"Barbeque" is not a device, it is a style of food. You might even go so far as to call it a method. A "grill" and a "smoker" can be used to create barbeque but you cannot "throw something on the barbeque" anymore than you can throw something on the remouillage.

"...be generous, be extravagant. Without generosity there's no love, and without love there's no understanding. A mean cook is a failed cook."

-Marco Pierre White

Banana Fritter with Coconut Crust, Tamarind, Spiced Rum Ice Cream

The beauty of bananas is you really don’t have to do anything to them to make them pop - both on your palate and on the plate. The flavors are naturally vibrant and intensely floral. I can’t think of anyone who could say they don’t like a fresh banana. We use them right now with the lamb dish. We simply puree the raw banana with a little vitamin c and xanthan gum to thicken. No sugar, no salt.

In flavor and execution the banana fritter dessert was quite nice but the presentation was definitely lacking – brown, darker brown and off-white. Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture since it was a one time dessert.

For the Fritter:
Take very ripe bananas and mash them with a whisk in a large bowl. We wanted the fritter to have some texture so we didn’t puree the bananas. Add brown sugar, vitamin c, banana liquer and .24% dried agar flake by weight. Heat the mixture while whisking over a double boiler to 32C. Pour into molds and set overnight. In our case it was a sheet pan since we didn’t have rectangle molds for 150. Once they have set they can be sliced but are fragile. When you’re ready to bread them, unmold or slice as desired. We cut them into flat rectangles. The result is sort of a warm flourless banana cake.

Process equal parts panko crumbs and rice crispies. Add to that 50% chopped unsweetened coconut. Bread the fritter using standard procedure.

For the tamarind coulis:
Pour hot water over dried tamarind pulp and work with your fingers until everything but the hard skin is dissolved into the water. It should be a thick gloppy consistency. Add brown sugar, coffee, dark rum, lemon juice, salt. Pass through a fine chinois.

The rum ice cream was the only component for which a proper recipe was developed.

Rum Ice Cream

750ml whole milk
750ml heavy cream
14 egg yolks
100g white sugar
150g brown sugar
600g gold rum
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 (1”) orange zest
2(1”) lemon zest
¼ tsp nutmeg, ground
11 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks

Our test batch was made with dark rum which had a nice flavor but intense. The gold rum is a little more rounded and showcases the spices a little more. If you use spiced rum, omit the vanilla.

Set the rum aflame and allow to burn out. Cover and refrigerate. Whisk the egg yolks and sugars together. In a pot, heat the milk, cream, vanilla, orange and lemon zest and spices to 50C. Pour over egg mixture while whisking. Add back to the heat and bring up to 70C for ten minutes. Remove from heat. Its best to let the custard cool with the spices overnight or at least 4-5 hours before straining. Add the flamed rum to the cold ice cream base and churn.

We plated these on a rectangular plate with the fritter at one end and the sorbet resting on shredded coconut at the other. A painted stripe of tamarind sauce connected the two.

Desserts

Desserts have been a constant struggle since we opened the dining room. In previous years all the pastries were outsourced from a company who is as mediocre as ubiquitous in the area. There is no room physically or in the budget for a pastry person. Neither myself or the chef have any real pastry training and the result is a lot of time wasted and a lot of frustration. Just as I'm about to give up, I look through the desserts we've run so far, and think about how much I've learned in a desperate attempt to make salable pastries.

sorbets:
green apple
red plum
cucumber
lavender
kirsch
banana
banana-lavender
espresso
spiced rum
blueberry
gazpacho
celery leaf
grape
saffron
croissant
green tea-mojito
black olive-root beer

Next week we'll try a mango dessert with a lychee bavarois and rosehip jelly. Quebec strawberries are nice right now. I'm thinking it would be nice to marinate them in strawberry juice and serve with a white grape-vanilla mousseline and tarragon syrup. Cherries - always on the brain.