IDEAS IN FOOD

Butter Pecan

I like butter.  I like pecans.  The two go hand in hand.  I have eaten my fill of butter pecan ice cream.  I have eaten more than my fill.  The toasted aroma and rich sweet decadence blended with brown butter is what sparked my recent travels into the land of butter pecan consomme.  Again, the question begins with the idea.  Once I had butter pecan on the mind I started wondering what is possible?  What can we do with butter pecan?  Really, I am not sure.  I started with butter pecan broth which then became butter pecan consomme. 

As what I not consider normal we faced a few road blocks in the process of trying to make butter and pecans clear.  I made a broth.  I strained the broth.  I added gelatin.  I froze the broth.  I thawed the broth.  The broth was cloudy.  At this point I had several options.  Actually, as far as I was concerned I had two options.  I could find a use for a cloudy broth, or I could try and re-clarify the broth.  I chose option two.  I added a bit more gelatin to the broth and low and behold, after following the freezing and thawing steps I had clear butter pecan.

Of course once I had clear butter pecan on hand I had a few more things to think about.  The first thing on my mind was now what? 

We had some great vegetables on hand and the consomme on hand, why not weave the two together?  And we did.  Our first use of clear butter pecan was that simple.  I wish we had flashes of brilliance to show off the fact that the pecans were clear.  Yet, at days end the dish was tasty, the broth was clear, and now I can look for some other paths to walk down.

Purslane

Look, it is a weed.  It is something many people pick to be rid of.  And yet, now it is a table staple.  Well, it is a staple on our table.  Purslane is a succulent.  Purslane is succulent.  It also has a tang.  A crisp and juicy tang.  Purslane makes a dish. 

We had some trouble the other night.  We were working on dishes, that is what we do and the end result just was not where we wanted to be.  We were looking for some clarity.  Sure a clear vision for a dish is great, though at days end we get to the end of the path by fining through our mistakes.

We try and procure great ingredients.  We put ourselves in situations were we are able to procure great ingredients.  Even so dishes do not always emerge clearly, if at all.

Last evening we were fine tuning a dish with wahoo.  We had  a simple cauliflower puree which we were using to complement the fish.  While simple and short is good, sparse is sometimes viewed as lacking.  We turned to sprigs of purslane.  In leaning on purslane we needed to give it a bit of support.  We made a light vinaigrette with lemon vinegar, olive oil and salt.  I wish we were more complicated in out approach, though it seems simplicity was the torch bearer of the day.

The slow cooked wahoo, dressed with the lemon vinaigrette became enriched by the cauliflower and piqued by the succulent purslane. 

It is amazing to me how the addition of a weed could take what was a dish and make it memorable.  It really is in the eye of the beholder.

The Great Cock's Comb Adventure

I have a bad habit of expressing opinions I should probably keep to myself. That judgmental viewpoint that slips so easily off my tongue will probably morph into an entirely different opinion given a little time to germinate. People surprise us all the time. Circumstances provoke unusual words and actions. Situations shift without warning. New information is revealed and secret motivations redeem the villain. Thoughtless remarks last forever, or so it seems. People's memories are long and you never know when a past faux pas will rear it's head. The problem with expressing one's opinions, especially negative ones, is that it's human nature to change one's mind. I'm often the victim of my own inability to keep my mouth shut. People who know me and love me tend to overlook this sad personality trait. I try to live and learn. It doesn't always work, although I do try.

A classic example of changing my mind would be about cock's combs. Years ago I tasted cock's combs and was not impressed. I had the impression of a slippery texture and a rich brown sauce leaving a gelatinous trail down my throat and into my gullet. I tried them again at another restaurant and was still slightly repulsed by the combination of their textures and flavor, or lack thereof. I proceeded to file them away in that box in my head labeled "not worth the calories". Whenever they were mentioned I tended to expound on my theory that cock's combs were overrated and probably utilized more for shock value than for flavor.

This year when we were discussing our tasting plate for Taste 3, our theme was earth. We spent a lot of time talking about the concept of earthiness. Since the event was hosted by Mondavi Vineyards our discussion naturally turned to wine. After all, what tastes more like the essence of earth than wine? We talked about the different flavor profiles of the different wines.  California Sauvignon Blanc with it's  notes of lean citrus, meadow grass and minerals.  Floral and slightly rounded Viognier with whiffs of honey and pale stone fruits. Barnyard-y Bordeaux with it's rich texture and layers of currants, leather, and green peppers tempered with oak and slowly softening tannins. Dusty Brunello with it's faint hint of roses and goat cheese, dark fruit and cedar trimmings. The list goes on and on. We discussed using a wine syrup but dismissed it as too cliche. We focused more on flavor profiles and our final jumping off point was inspired by the meories of a few rich Italian reds like Patriglione and La Poja, which led us to our fresh cheese element and the ideas of exotic peppercorns and smoky, ranch flavors, although we veered wildly back and forth throughout the discussions.

We agreed on a fresh sheep's milk cheese. That was the first step. Springtime is the time for these dainty cheeses, redolent of milk and pasture, melting softly on the palate. We talked about proteins and what would best suit our earthy theme. Alex became fixated on cock's combs. I was reluctant. Our discussions reached an impasse. We went round and round, tossing back and forth different ideas.  He just would not let go of the cock's combs. He had already begun trying to source them, secure in the knowledge that he would eventually wear down my resistance. After several days of debate, I finally acquiesced. At which point he began to second guess himself about whether or not we could convince people to actually eat the cock's combs. Of course it was too late to back down, we were committed. Besides, I certainly was not going to put up with any waffling at that point. The final dish was to be beer battered, smoky (confited in bacon fat) cock's combs sprinkled with bee pollen and grains of paradise, served with a fresh sheep's milk gnocchi seasoned with the flavors of ranch dressing and served with a garlic-lovage puree.

We sourced our cock's combs from D'Artagnan. Thankfully when we got to Napa, the cases of cock's combs arrived pre-peeled. For those of you unfamiliar with their anatomy, the combs must be blanched and the skins peeled off before they can be cooked. This is a very time consuming endeavor and one we were hoping to avoid in an unfamiliar kitchen, on a tight schedule. We confited the cock's combs in a combination of bacon fat, duck's fat and grapeseed oil , we did not requisition enough bacon fat before we arrived and had to cobble together the remaining fats from what Richard had available in his kitchen. True to form, I spearheaded the cooking of the cock's combs because if I don't enjoy something I have to cook it myself to see if I can make it palatable. They came out of the oven and they were delicious, silky and unctuous. Despite the myriad collection of fats used to cook them, they actually tasted like the essence of chicken. Much to my chagrin I was hooked.

The next step of course was figuring out how to fry the combs without setting the winery on fire. The test combs we battered and fried in the kitchen came exploding out of the pot like flying missiles.  I worked out a heavier batter that held more tightly to the cock's combs and crossed my fingers. Meanwhile Alex was having his own issues with the gnocchi. We were unable to get the cheese that we had wanted and were dealing with a substitution. The first batch was a bust. The cheese had an unpleasant chalky texture and flavor that lingered on the palate for what seemed like forever. Since the menu actually listed them as "ranch gnocchi", we decided to make them into ranch flavored sourdough gnocchi. Second batch was bomb, the acidity of the sourdough hindered the ability of the Methocel to hold the gnocchi together. In the meantime, our lovage garlic puree became a parsley, celery leaf and garlic puree because lovage was unavailable. In the last two hours before the event Alex finally worked out a successful batch of ranch gnocchi and we were ready.

As Alex was putting the finishing touches on our station, I was called outside to help out with the cock's combs. The fryer was set up downstairs, across the building and outside of where the actual event was taking place. We had a cook frying and and another cook running. When the runner brought the first batch up for me to check I knew there were issues. I had gone over the procedure with the cook but hadn't made it back downstairs to supervise the frying of the first batch. I ran downstairs and knew immediately that the batter was too thin. I fixed the batter, made some minor adjustments to the way the fryer was set up and dropped in a few testers. As I dropped them in, everyone around me took a giant step back. It was a telling moment and I knew immediately that there had been some flying missiles in the first batch. I quickly set a rack over the fryer so that nothing would jump out at me. Thankfully the adjusted batter held and I headed back upstairs to start plating with Alex and Jonathan.

All in all the cock's combs were a success. We told everyone to think of them as fried chicken, which they were. The beer batter was part of our strategy to get people to eat them. Almost everyone did. Many people enjoyed them. Many were glad that they didn't know what they were before they ate them. A surprising number came back three and four times to help finish the supply. We were exhausted and thoroughly pleased with the experience. It was a pretty damn good dish, especially for the first time we had ever played with cock's combs. People were enjoying themselves and we gave them something to talk about. We got to cook with some amazing chefs and met some incredible people. We even learned a thing or two ourselves. Still, I'll always remember it as the weekend I learned to love cock's combs.

 

Watermelon

Watermelons are large.  We often end up eating more of the watermelon than we serve solely because of large amounts of trim and the fact that we had not thought of trying to find other uses for the vast quantities of flesh generated by a single watermelon.  We now have a delicate watermelon blanket and a crispy watermelon wafer to add to our repertoire of compressed watermelon and pickled watermelon rind.  The watermelon blanket is made from a watermelon pudding which is seasoned in the style of gazpacho.  Actually, the crisp uses the same base, though it spends time in the dehydrator.

Our latest watermelon dish leaves the pickled watermelon rind on the shelf and utilizes the compressed, the blanket and the sheet.  We serve these watermelon textures with nasturtium leaves, feta cheese and minus 8 vinegar.

Nut Demi Glace

We have strayed, no rather veered away from the making of traditional stocks.  I appreciate the time and patience it takes to make good stock.  I understand that when made correctly stock becomes an integral addition to any kitchen pantry.  I also know that veal stock tastes like veal, even when infused with other flavors.  Chicken stock tastes like chicken, even when used to make soups.  The under lying backbone of the stock, is that it is robust, full bodied and has a presence.

I have become infatuated with the essences of food.  Particularly those of a roast chicken or a slow roasted veal shank.  The fond left in the pan from these roasts resonates within me.  The pan drippings are what excite me.  The amount of flavor and intense character generated in one teaspoon of pan drippings blows the doors off the refined, polished and reduced staple we call stock.  I have become driven to capture the fond.  A number of years ago we roasted chicken legs for stock.  It turned out that where we were chicken legs were cheaper than necks and backs for making stock.  When the chicken legs came out of the oven (we were making a roast chicken stock) we would eat a leg or two with some salt, (I usually just took the roasted crispy chicken skin) and then the rest become the base for the stock. I noticed the roasted chicken residue on the sheet pans and released some of it with water.  The taste was exactly what I was searching for.  Roast chicken in a bottle. 

At this point we began making chicken fond jus.  The legs still went to the stock and the fond was carefully deglazed from the pans, simmered briefly in a pot and then strained and reserved.  We used the fond jus for special dishes.  The dishes we needed to really make pop.  We made a beurre monte with the chicken fond and used it to dress zucchini-Parmesan agnolotti that we served with lobster and zucchini relish.  The agnolotti took on a different dimension of flavor after a quick bath in the fond butter.  Since those early days of coveting fond, we looked away from stock and right at the essence.  Now when we roast chickens for dinners, the residue created is the sauce.  Or if we have other plans in mind, then we save the fond for a dish to come.

Over the past few weeks we have had discussions over the benefits of stock in cuisine.  It becomes even more exciting when the back and forth discussion is with Ed Janos, a CMC.  In many ways our opposing views on this subject sparked my recent thought process.  What if stock was not just stock?  Why does it have to be done the same way?  What if we wanted a different end result?  Many of these thoughts have been worked through in our exploration of what can be a broth or a consomme.  Recently, we put the finishing touches on butter pecan consomme.  And then I began to think of the essence of such a consomme, which, in the words and world of Ed, would be a version of a glace, in this case a glace de noix.  Now that progression is interesting.  How can we make a nut demi glace?  What else could be a demi glace?  What do we have to do to create these essences, these elements of cuisine sparked by the traditional?

Now the work begins.

Sunday Morning Musings

It's our day off today and I'm craving pizza. The nearest parlor is 30 minutes away in the closest town to where we are. We stopped by there last night on our way home from a shopping excursion in Bozeman. We were going to grab a pizza and bring it back to devour after we finished unloading the groceries. There was only one young girl working last night and she was seriously in the weeds. When we arrived, she was painstakingly constructing a pizza while another couple waited patiently to place their order. She greeted us rather timidly, refusing to make eye contact, and asked that we wait until she was done before she took any more orders. Ten minutes later we left.  I wasn't sure if she was glad or sorry about our departure. She was doing her best. I had to respect her effort to exert a little control over what was clearly a difficult situation. It was getting late and we were starving. Since we still had to drive another half hour home and unload the truck it was time to cut our losses and hit the road. Today I'm still thinking about that girl and her pizza. Although I'm beguiled by the idea of a crusty, gooey pizza, studded with jalapenos and sausage, it's the image of that girl, alone in her kitchen that tugs at my imagination. I wonder what she was thinking and how she came to be there, all by herself. There's a story there somewhere.

Today is dedicated to relaxing and simply letting things roll. We've been getting too caught up in the small details of our new environment. It's hard not to over-analyze what we say and do, the best way to handle different situations, the best dishes to prepare, and the smartest way to build our pantry. It was a struggle to actually take a day off. We're only cooking for a small number of people this week and it almost feels indulgent to take a day off. We know we need it though. Sometimes it's hard not to lose yourself in the minutiae. There are so many new ideas to play with here. There are so many new people to learn from, here and through the website. People are asking tough questions and pushing us to work harder and learn more.  It can be a struggle because there so many ways to second guess ourselves. We do our best to live up to it all.

I'm still trying to adapt to this new way of life. People are more relaxed here. They're neighborly and they smile a lot more often than I'm used to. The speed limits are high and often ignored. Very few people seem to be in a hurry here and the big clouds of dust from fast moving cars are often the out of towners. As a native New Yorker this can be tough to absorb at times. On the rare days when we leave the property it's showing me a different way of life. It's a place where a lady who's trying to buy a bottle of oil because her car is dead is gifted with what she needs. Upon asking if she could pay for it, she is simply told to pass it on. Spread the warmth and be kind to someone else. Situations arise and people simply go with it. Plans change, times change and it's all just fine. This kind of attitude is not my forte but I'm learning.

From Large to Small

Sometimes a dish is not found until it is in front of you.  We are lucky enough to have a river near by as well as an abundance of trout and a chef wanting to spend time on the river.  Yesterday a fresh trout miraculously appeared in the refrigerator.  The fishing chef cleaned up the fish and fired up the smoker.  Aki grabbed the baton and made a smoked trout rillette with some fromage blanc, chives and minced jalapeno.  (Meanwhile, with the smoker still on, I snuck some celery in for a new one for me--smoked celery.  Yes, once it was smoked we compressed it.)  We then went to work on several other vegetables.  The result was a plate of crudite (truly bastardized) with smoked trout rillette.  The tray was truly enjoyed, it returned empty.

The components of the crudite sparked the idea of personalizing the large platter.  We trimmed down a few of the vegetables while keeping the essence of the ingredients.

Why Did You Do That?

This is an important question and one that gets to the root of much of our cooking.  We cannot always explain why.  In cooking, intuition or a gut feeling, directs many of the paths we choose to wander.

When we started looking at asparagus and the cooking of it, we were not happy with the traditional method of cooking it in a large pot of salted, boiling water.  First of all because when we in cook this way, many nutrients are leached from the vegetable end up in the cooking water.  Second of all, in order for us to keep a large rolling boil in the pot, we can only cook a few pieces of asparagus at a time, which is not the most efficient way of getting things done.  Last but not least, we have continued to find ourselves in more and more remote locations, so we often have to procure good produce in bulk and find ways to preserve both quality and flavor. We wanted to find a method which would preserve the essence of the vegetable without destroying its clarity and freshness.

We were introduced to the concept of compressed fruits by an article about Thomas Keller.  We don't know if he invented the method, although upon reading about the process-- vacuum sealing fresh melons to compress their cell structure and change the texture from raw to firm, yielding a juicy and concentrated end product, we were inspired.  Upon discovering the technique we were inspired to put all kinds of fruits through the vacuum process.  Yet, while our results were good, we knew that our Food Saver just was not as powerful as the commercial vacuum sealers that really make magic happen.

After working with fruits, our minds wandered.  We wanted to know what would happen if we tried green vegetables.  I gave it a shot and the results were good.  Then we called up a few friends (Sean and Shola) who had professional vacuum machines and asked them to test the process on asparagus.  Their more powerful machines yielded better results, although the vacuum still did not break the cells enough to create the texture of a cooked vegetable.  As we continued to read about preservation methods and discuss the concepts with others, the idea of freezing the vegetable after it was vacuum sealed and then letting it thaw came to mind.  The freezing of the asparagus under vacuum controls the growth of ice crystals, keeping them small and allowing for them to just pierce the cell walls.  Upon thawing the vegetable, the result should imitate that of a perfectly blanched vegetable. 

We've all tried the process and the results are amazing.  It works.  You can "cook" green vegetables in the freezer.  No fresh flavor is lost, the essence of the vegetable remains intact, and they are tender and delicious.  It's a much faster process than blanching large quantities of vegetables.  This method also yields better results than traditional blanching.  There's no danger of overcooking and it allows us to capture a vegetable at its peak and be able to present it at it's best.  Finally, in our remote locations it allows us to have fresh tasting vegetables on hand at all times.

What's the purpose of a brief soak in salted water?  It allows us to uniformly season the vegetable.  In situations where we work with white asparagus and for our experiments with root vegetables, we use a sugar and salt solution to sharpen and balance the flavors in inherent in these vegetables. It simply adds more flavor to the finished product.

An Asparagus Progression

Here is our process for preparing asparagus.  We removed the leaflets which run the length of the asparagus originally for an aesthetic purpose, though as we worked with the asparagus we found pockets of dirt beneath these triangular leaves.  It turns out that as the asparagus grows through the soil it captures some along the way.  I found this particular discovery fascinating.

After trimming the asparagus we soak them in a 2.5% salt solution for ten minutes.

Then we drain the asparagus and pack them into vacuum bags which we seal under high pressure.

Finally the vacuum sealed bags are placed into the freezer, waiting for us to pull them out and integrate them into a dish.

Melon Salad

Here is a pave of melon seasoned with Korean chile threads, (thanks Shola) served with blistered ramps, Chinese sausage and minus 8 vinegar syrup.  The dish is light and refreshing, a blend of hot and cold, sweet and salty refreshing and spicy.  What I find exciting is the need for opposition in creating balance.  This dish looks at many opposing characteristics and uses them to pique and harmonize flavors.

What's Not Cooking

 

We had a moment today to take a further look at what is possible.  We also figured we could use technology to help us share our thoughts.  In the video we are working with basil, though as it shows any green herb is possible.  We then freeze the basil or just cut the bag open, and puree the herb to make sauces.  Really, this is a new thought for us, we are not sure what paths will open.

*If you're reading this on an RSS feeder, you may have to visit the website to see the video.

Customer Service

It's snowing in Bozeman today. How do I know this? I just got a call from our local FedEx delivery man, who drives the many miles from there to here with our packages, to let us know that he would probably be late because of the snow, but that he would be here eventually. He's going to leave our boxes on the covered porch by the kitchen door if we're not here when he arrives. You have to love that. He called before 9:30am so we wouldn't be left wondering where he was or what was happening. This is an especially good thing because he's carrying both our fish shipment and some wine for our personal consumption. Peace of mind is a wonderful and unexpected thing when it comes to deliveries. There are certain benefits to being in a small town, and we're discovering new ones every day.

Blogger's Choice Awards

Well, if someone thinks enough of us to give us a nomination, we would be quite remiss if we didn't acknowledge it here. A special thank you to Chris Abraham for nominating us! If you're so inclined, please vote for us by following the link and clicking on the button where it says total votes, if only so that we're not the only blog out there with zero votes. Modesty prevents us from voting for ourselves...

Week One in Montana

I can hardly believe that as I write this we've been here for exactly one week. It seems like we been here for eons, as so much has happened in such a short time. Lately we've been talking a lot about food and it's effects as we helped set up the employee kitchen with Ben and Lorraine. The idea is to feed nourishing, tasty food to the staff while keeping in mind seasonality and frugality. What this means is that many of the people we are feeding work outside, tending to people, animals and the earth itself. In many cases this involves hard physical labor and so we want to nourish them and set them up for the afternoon's work. There are no siesta's here on the ranch. So, producing tasty belly bombs that will have people feeling leaden and sleepy half an hour after lunch is not in the plan. As the temperature increases we know that appetites will plummet, although calories and nutrients will be even more important to keep people going through their day. So we're talking about cold salads (both vegetable and grain based), lots of fruits and vegetables, leaner proteins and many variations on Gatorade style drinks and iced tea. Part of the trick is layering the menus so that people don't feel as though their always eating leftovers and still avoiding waste. We are in a remote location so there are minimums to be met and deliveries are only once a week. We want the meals to be fresh and diverse so that people are excited about coming in to eat. It will need a bit of ingenuity and flexibility, two talents that will serve the kids well anywhere else they may go in the future.

In spite of the fact that we will all be working hard, the cabin style accommodations and the rec hall dining make it feel like summer camp for adults. The lower kitchen is lucky in that they will be serving the same core group of people all season. This will allow them to get to know their audience and really cook to their tastes. In a place that can be far from home, mealtimes are often so much more than food. Over the past week as people have arrived and the group has grown, dining periods have grown louder and smiles have bloomed more often. People are slowly starting to relax and build relationships. Meals are their time to re-charge their batteries in the midst of a busy day. It's important to remember that while you're cooking. The staff may never know how much care and thought has gone into the preparation of their meals, and that's perfectly okay. They just have to enjoy their food. In this situation the dining hall is the home base, the chefs are  nurturers and a good time should be had by all. We're very lucky in that we have a great team so far. I'm feeling very confident that Ben and Lorraine will be able to shoulder their responsibilities well.  I think it will be a real growth period for both of them and that their cooking skills and confidence will blossom in these green Montana hills.

Our kitchen? We actually haven't spent much time up there these last few days. We've been taking the opportunity to help streamline things down below and we'll move our focus to the lodge as the time for guests grows near. We're not really serving anyone until next week and even then the numbers are low in the beginning. For now the action is in the employee kitchen because that's where the people are. Because it's just fun to cook regardless of what we're cooking or who the audience is. When it comes down to it, we just like to play in the kitchen.

Pickled Watermelon Rind

Working in remote, isolated locations often dictates that we find more uses for an ingredient in order to use is all.  Similarly, isolation sparks ingeniuity.  How to make several dishes out of one base ingredient?  That is where the pickle comes in. 

Pickles take time.  Pickles also capture time, at least a moment in time.  Actually, pickles often get us out of a pickle.  We were working with watermelon and I realized we had not made pickled watermelon rind in a long time.  I took the opportunity to look at the process of pickling.  In pickling we are transferring flavor from a broth, and acidic brine to a vegetable or other ingredient.  We have made quick pickles before with soft celled fruits and vegetables: cucumbers, musk melon, strawberries.  My challenge was to see if I could take watermelon rind, a tough celled ingredient and go from start to finish as a pickle in less than twenty four hours. 

Why the rush?  Well, why wait if you do not have to.  Perhaps we can change our approach and yield a fresher, cleaner tasting product.  Perhaps trying something different keeps us from getting stale.  Perhaps the process will take more time, yield a poor result and I can then cross off another do not do from my list.

I know that compressing watermelon proper under a vacuum breaks down cells and concentrates flavor.  Why would it not work on the rind?  So, the rind went in the bag and compression began.  The picture from yesterday was both the melon and the rind under compression.  I put the melon rinds in the refrigerator overnight.  While the melon rind rested I made a pickling solution with rice vinegar, honey, salt, water and fratelli pofi vinegar.  The solution balances bright and rich flavors, touched with salinity and underscored by floral notes.  The following morning I opened the bags I poured the cool pickling solution into the bags and sealed them again.  The compressed cells easily happily accepted the pickle.

When I opened a bag later in the day, twenty four hours from initial compression, I was eating pickled watermelon rind.  The flavors were cleaner than I anticipated.  Over time the pickle may evolve and change, though the process demonstrates that while pickling is for preserving we do not need to wait until winter to enjoy summers bounty.

Perfectly Uncooked

I am really enjoying having a full strength vacuum sealing machine at my disposal.  We are using a Berkel 350D.  It is certainly powerful and heavy as well.  As we have noted, we have worked with vacuum sealing to compress and "cook" vegetables in the past.  One step in the process involves freezing and then thawing the vacuum sealed vegetable.  The ice crystals which form, break down cell walls and when the vegetable thaws the vegetable takes on the appearance and texture of perfectly cooked vegetables.  Todays efforts showed us that we can freeze the fleeting ramp in its raw state and when we thaw it, the young ramp is vibrant and full of life.  Also, in this process the ramp leaves are saved and intact, something we have not been able to do in the past.  Well, we have made ramp green puree and ramp kimchee, though here the entire ramp is a viable entity.

Working with Watermelon

When it is hot, and it is hot now, my appetite shrinks.  I crave fruit, ice cold fruit.  I often look like a chipmunk with my mouth filled with the pits from cherries or several pits from stone fruits after a visit to the walk in.  While we have not come across these summer treats, I have had the pleasure of indulging in some watermelon.  While watermelon is refreshing it lacks the intense flavor of ripe stone fruits.  That is until we season it with a touch of salt and compress it under a vacuum. 

Yes, we have compressed water and other melons before, yet we were using a Foodsaver.  Foodsavers are great, they have been instrumental in a fair amount of our cooking, though with a full on vacuum machine at our disposal, the game has changed.  Compressing fruits is now like comparing apples to oranges.  It has also led us to think about the speed in which we can pickle ingredients and whether or not heat is needed in the process.

Just yesterday we were able to start pickling watermelon rind and today before dinner we had a finished pickle.  We compressed the cleaned rind and then today we added a pickling solution.  We vacuum sealed the two together again and the result, pickled watermelon rind.  We will pursue the uses of the rind and the compressed watermelon in the next few days.  As it has become apparent we follow an ingredient through many applications and ideas. 

I am excited to taste and see our own juicy evolutions.

New Beginnings & the Bacon Broth Recipe

Competitive talking. It's a phrase I learned in Napa, at Taste 3, and although I had never heard it before, it made sense immediately. There were so many interesting people there that you had to be somewhat aggressive in seeking out those whom you wished to meet. Alex is pretty good at the meet and greet. On the other hand, it's not something that I do well or comfortably, so it was very welcome when people came to us.  It's a wonderful thing to have your work recognized and appreciated. It's even more special when it's enjoyed by someone who's work you admire in return. We were slightly amazed by the response to this website and it has really motivated us to continue trying to make it better. We met so many interesting people that our brains were practically on overload, churning with new ideas and inspirations from the various conversations that we had. There is a laundry list of new ideas to play with and experiments to carry out over the next few months.

Of course once we left California and began our adventure in Montana, all of my aspirations were quickly smothered by sheer exhaustion. Thankfully I'm finally catching up on sleep and things are starting to gel out here on the ranch. New beginnings are usually difficult but the rewards can be great. Re-opening a seasonal kitchen usual involves a fair amount of cleaning (in our kitchen this was more organizing than actual scrubbing) and cursing (I have a tendency to bang into things in an unfamiliar kitchen) and a lot of  energy and imagination to get things up and running. It's inspiring to look out over an empty dining room and imagine the people who will joining us there. It's equally inspiring to see the empty shelves in the walk-in and map out what to fill them up with.

We're basically starting with a blank slate for our new pantry. As I write this, there is some bacon broth working on the stove. We've found some rather large bottles of a good raspberry vinegar and a basic balsamic vinegar and are reducing them down to syrups. We'll keep some of the reductions separate and combine some for a blended raspberry-balsamic agrodolce type liquid. We've got Meyer lemons, morels, ramps and elf mushrooms to pickle and preserve over the next day or two. We're still debating over what to do with them because while the same old, same old is good, we want to make something better this time. We're definitely open to any suggestions you want to throw out in the comments. We've also got two new cooks working with us for the season and we're eager to see what they come up with as well. We've got quite a few toys in the kitchen to play with. There's an enormous smoker, a serious dehydrater, juicers, a paco jet, a couple of circulators and a beautiful range. We're only limited by our imaginations. We're focusing in on healthier foods and maximizing flavor without heaviness on the palate. The following bacon broth is a good example of how we can use fat in the process for flavor and still basically eliminate it in the end product. As always, feel free to add or subtract whatever flavor elements you wish, the only real must haves are the bacon, the water and the gelatin.

Bacon Broth

2# bacon, sliced into matchsticks
2 large onions, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup-3/4 cup pickled jalapenos with their brine (to taste)
1 cup of soy sauce
2 gallons of water
gelatin sheets

Render the bacon in a large pot and then slowly let it caramelize in it's own fat. Once it starts to brown, add the onions and cook them together until they are both a rich golden brown. Then add the pickled jalapenos, soy sauce and water. We leave the residual fat in the broth to help infuse flavor. Simmer the broth for 45 minutes-1 hour.  Then strain it, skim the fat, weigh the resulting liquid, calculate 0.5% and add that much sheet gelatin (bloomed first in cold water) to the hot liquid and dissolve it in the broth. Cool the broth in a hotel pan and then freeze it overnight. The next morning pop it out of the pan and put it in a cheesecloth lined perforated hotel pan over a deeper hotel pan. Place it in the refrigerator and let it melt over the next two days. Discard the cheesecloth and it's contents. The liquid in the bottom pan will be a clear bacon broth.

KISS

When I was younger I had the pleasure (at least in looking back there is some comedic value) of having my father read/edit/revise/direct my writing.  It actually began with the letters from summer camp, which I was forced to write bi-weekly.  At summer camp, mail was a pleasure, a special treat, a voice from the outside world which was supposed to be comforting and in some cases, uh...educational?  My letters from home were Australian in nature in that they had a boomerang effect.  I sent them out to my parents, full of my stories from camp, written with an imaginary gun to my head for fear of the consequences if I did not meet my deadlines. When I joyfully received letters from my parents with their tales from home, I also had returned to me the letters that I sent to them.  Except that the letters had been altered.  They were corrected with red ink.  Sentence fragments were pointed out, as were poor word choices and spelling errors.  I was sent a copy of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. The idea was that reading it would teach me how to be clear and concise in my own writing.  Irony now rears it's head for I just received David Pasternack's The Young Man and the Sea for this summer's reading.  While I have not yet delved into the book, I can say I have been eagerly anticipating its release.  The ideas behind and concepts of the restaurant Esca are brilliant and if they have only been partially transcribed to a published text I am in for some fun reading.

Back to the story at hand.  You now know why the book Old Man and the Sea was sent in my direction. 

After camp, I was tutored in writing by my father.  This is back in the day before computers, when we hand wrote our reports.  His were medical stock based, mine were forgettable junior academia.  The memory that stands out is the acronym he wrote on most of my scholarly pieces: KISS.  KISS stands for keep it simple stupid.  Well, although the intonation may seem a bit harsh, in retrospect, the theory really makes sense. 

Keep things simple.  Now that is not so simple a task.  Actually is it is nearly impossible.  Impossible is a tough word.  Anything can be possible, you just need to be either ruthless or precise to achieve certain goals.  In fact being ruthless and precise at the same time can create a clear path to focused simplicity.  In telling an old story, one with both humor and pointed memories, I have illustrated something that has become a foundation of our approach to cooking. 

Recently we served a dish, one in which KISS played a role in creating.  The dish, which sparked these memories is griddled shrimp with blistered ramps, Meyer lemon puree and our bee pollen-grains of paradise spice blend. It captures the essence of KISS, a theory which at times I have resented and now whole-heartedly embrace.

Bacon Poached

I believe in our haste to pack, travel and cook cock's combs I forgot, or at least overlooked, the idea and execution of our bacon brine as a poaching medium.  Originally, I wanted to make duck bacon.  My approach was to make a bacon flavored stock/broth/consomme flavored with bacon and give it a bit of backbone with pickled jalapenos and caramelized onions.  We added some soy sauce (really everything can use a bit of soy) and a touch of acidity from Banyuls vinegar.  We then marinated, really brined, the dry aged steaks in the broth for 24 hours.  Then we slow cooked them in the same broth for three hours.  The cooled steaks in their broth can then be patted dry and pan roasted when you're ready to serve them.  The steaks, great to begin with, take on an infusion of bacon seasoning without the extra fat.  Look, I like bacon, I like fat, I like bacon fat.  Not everyone else likes the full combination.  And if the steak is as it should be, additional fat is not necessary, although the bacon flavor is appreciated.

We prepared sirloin steaks in this manner.  We served them with our balsamic consomme and a ragout of spring vegetables.  I wish we had a picture of this dish.  It was the steak dish I was looking for.  Perhaps soon.

The idea here is the key.  I have used broths/consommes/stocks to flavor and poach a variety of proteins and vegetables.  What is truly remarkable is the transfer of flavor without additional fat, resulting in a light yet vibrant taste on the palate and no additional heaviness in the belly.

Arrival

Driving cross county is not high on my to do list.  We usually try and get from point A to point B as quickly as possible in as little time as possible.  On our last journey I vowed that we would not drive cross country again--at least not in the near future.  As usual I was wrong.  We just finished driving west again.  This time we took a different route.  That makes some sense since our end destination was Montana rather than Colorado.  We also took some time driving.  We actually pulled off the road and stayed in hotels.  Choosing a hotel while driving cross country is a bit of a crap shoot.  It is more like Russian roulette.  I guess that is why in past trips, 8 or nine of them we just drove straight through.  This time was different.  I just cannot make the 36 plus hour drive without sleep, or at best minimal sleep.  Also, after one of those journeys, I end up exhausted, taking more time to get my sea legs.  So this time we agreed to stop.  We were also aided by a GPS which not only got as 99.8% of the way here without a problem, it also allowed us to scout ahead on our route to find dog friendly hotels.  Unfortunately, our scout does not allow us to see the interior of the hotels. 

On night one we found the bullet.  Our place of residence was certainly not a dive, though its levels of comfort and cleanliness matched my college dorm room days.  However, night two was much more promising.  Yes, we paid more buck and we got more bang.  The room was large, spacious and clean.  We hesitated a bit when we arrived to the hotel and saw stacks of mattresses by the dumpster, though upon further investigation we learned that all the beds had just been replaced with new pillow top mattresses.  (Yes, they were comfortable.)

Today, we arrived at our new home after a last bit of stuttering.  Our GPS kept finding the same road again and again.  I became frustrated quickly.  I was tired and new it.  I also just wanted to reach the finish line.  When I drive long distances, I feel quite relieved to finish, to stop, to actually get there.  It was fascinating to see how the property itself changed in only a month since we last saw it.  The grass is green, the rivers are full.  I am just a bit concerned about roof over our heads.  (picture included) 

Oh yeah, and that is the 4 runner after a the cross country run.

Ivory King Salmon

I really like Ivory King Salmon.  While I am not certain if it really tastes different than traditional King
Salmon the flavors appear cleaner and slightly leaner.  Anyway, its color, an off white with perhaps a thought of pink is its signature.  The flesh is dense and fatty, a great medium for tartare and other raw or just warmed preparations.  We (Aki) finely dice the fish and blend it with olive oil and salt.  We add a bit of chive and minced jalapeno for a piquant element.  The fish is then topped with shavings of Pecorino Crotonese and leaves of claytonia.  We accent the tartare with a syrup of Minus 8 vinegar.

Wall Art

We were lucky to take an in depth tour of The French Laundry while we were in Napa.  One piece of particularly striking artwork on the wall headed to the kitchen was the opening menu from Per Se.  As many people know, I have an affinity for menus, reading them and then day dreaming.  It was certainly fun to snap a picture of this one during our journey.  (zoom in to read the menu in its entirety)

A California Education

When you get to California, particularly Napa Valley they begin with some real important education.  Here at the Copia center we were given a visual cue to the importance of wine in the world of food.

On the Road

We'll be spending the next few days on the road to Montana. We've arranged for some new posts to publish while we travel. Comments will be approved whenever we have an internet connection, so don't be alarmed if it takes a day or two to see yours appear. We should be at this summer's home away from home late on Sunday. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cock's Combs

Sometimes you have to just do something different.  In this case, we opted to serve cock's combs to a discerning crowd of food and wine enthusiasts.  We received many responses to the cock's combs from, "really, it's that?" to the sound of fingers being licked as patrons came back four and five times. 

We met guests who were used to eating cock's combs as street food in Bali to others who needed us to put our hands over our heads and wiggle our fingers to signify what exactly a cock's comb is.  In all cases, the cock's combs sparked conversations about food, its history and many ideas about what is possible with ingredients.

At the end of the day different was actually familiar.  We served a fried chicken with ranch dressing on a paper plate set in field of grass on a stone table with the scents of flowers and bees all around.  We just modified a few things.

3

Taste3 that is.  Yesterday was busy, quite busy, actually stupidly busy.  Aki and I normally cook for small crowds.  We cook on the small scale and do most everything ourselves.  We were just reintroduced to the other side.  The side where we need to figure out how to do a canape for 300 guests.  A side where our contemporaries, our friends push us to excel, to make sure second best does not get any further than the bin and that fine tuning is done to the last second so that we can try and excel and create great food. 

I make gnocchi.  Not traditional gnocchi, rather many varieties of gnocchi made with Methocel.  For the event last evening we were serving ranch gnocchi with smoked and crispy cocks combs, bee pollen-grains of paradise and garlic-celery leaf puree.  I will go further into the dish and the event and the people soon, I hope.  We are trying to relocate west and time is moving faster than I thought was possible.  The story I wish to tell revolves around the gnocchi themselves.  The basic gnocchi base is relatively simple.  Yet, I managed to mess it up twice.  And mess it up I did.  We were making the ranch gnocchi and the first base was grainy.  I could blame the cheese.  It was not the one I wanted.  However, I am smart and have a bit of common sense and should have worked and adapted to the ingredients.  Yet, I did not.  Back to the drawing board.  I refashioned a recipe and swung for the fences.  What a miss it was. 

Now, time was getting short.  The other chefs were organized with their dishes together and their stations set.  Aki left me alone.  I had the look.  I was frustrated with myself  because the gnocchi should have been fine.  They should have worked.  They should have been a no brainer.  They were not and I had just over an hour before the event started to go from start to finish with the gnocchi.  My first two failures actually taught me a fair amount about what I wanted with taste and flavor from the gnocchi.  I put my head down and soon Aki emerged from making sure everything else for the dish, the station and what we needed to get done for the event was completed to make sure I was going to make it.  I was there.  I was not able to do it alone.  I was helped by a number of the cooks in the kitchen of Mondavi winery as well as the exposure to the other chefs who were producing creative and polished dishes.  The gnocchi came together.  In fact, the flavor, texture, and taste of the final gnocchi is what we were going for.  It just took three times to get it to taste right.

Adjustments

Good things need to be tested.  That is usually why Aki and I balance so well.  Yet, in a recent dinner we did an artichoke soup fell under fire.  The reason for the critiques was not the soup proper, rather it was that the soup was served cold.  In constructing the menu for the dinner I felt a cold soup would work well where we served it.  Also, the night of the dinner was quite warm so the cold soup would be a refreshing point in the meal.  Regrettably, I did not pick up an early warning sign; Aki saying that cold soups are fine in August, though off putting in April. 

We served the soup chilled and the responses were mixed at best.  The chilled artichoke soup with lump crab meat and horseradish (three flavors which I love together) received ho hum responses and notes of flat flavors.  I really liked the soup and thought it spoke of the flavors of artichoke and while letting the crab shine.  The guests commented on the fact that they do not really like cold soups.  Now we (I, should have listened to Aki) had three people telling me that cold soup just does not fit the bill.  Time to take a closer look at the dish.

The following evening we served the soup again.  This time we served it as a cappuccino; the now over used concept of soup as a cappuccino. Actually, I really enjoy the idea of soup as a cappuccino.  Especially now that we can make more flavorful foams, rather than aerated infused milks which we used to make.  Yet, it worked, quite well.  In this instance the soup was a canape and so we treated it like a cappuccino proper, base and foam, no ragout of artichokes and crab.  The soup was a hit, mostly.  The artichoke flavors became more pronounced in the hot version and the whipped horseradish mimicked a light and frothy head on a great cappuccino, soft and melting, not hot, not cold, just soft ethereal foam.  The one critique came in two parts.  First, artichokes supposedly do not pair well with wine.  The second, another sipped drink is difficult to consume during cocktail hour.  While we accepted these comments, our reasoning for serving the soup as we did was so the host of the party would be treated to more courses of food without having them served formally at the table.  As far as artichokes and wine, yes there are many difficulties in that culinary marriage, though I do not believe all hope is lost, it just takes a bit more thoughts.  Similarly, artichoke soup served with cocktails like vodka tonic works out just fine.

When we returned home after the second party we discussed the soup comments some more.  While constructive criticism can seem more like criticism, we fine tuned the soup once again.  We prepared the soup hot, with a warm ragout of crab and artichokes.  We also integrated a bit of our Meyer lemon-cayenne puree to balance the warm richness in the soup.  Finally, we added the whipped topping, horseradish.  The final dish really came together, an expression of Spring, hot and cold, bracing and smooth, each bite a little different.

The Upswing

We arrived at the building which houses Le Sanctuaire and were quickly introduced to San Francisco's very expensive short term parking meters.  On the plus side they take all manner of coins, unlike the meters in NYC which are partial to quarters. Aki and I fumbled with our loose change and fed the 30-minute meter.  As we walked away, she made a point of reminding me to check the time (she usually doesn't wear a watch) so that we would not get another ticket. 

We took the elevator to the fifth floor and when the doors slid open our day changed.  The room is bright and welcoming with an open layout which cues the brain to beging thinking, particularly about food, ingredients, dishes, cooking utensils and mediums, and the need to blend them together.  For a second I just stood there in the store, half dazed from our morning and half dazed by the fact that we were suddenly surrounded by a hand picked arsenal of cooking supplies which truly represented an individual's passion for the ultimate.

Jing Tio is that individual.  I had spoken to him briefly when we were leaving the west, and he acknowledged that he had seen our website once or twice before.  He was busy and my phone call was random.  We talked briefly about spices and ideas and that was that.  Since then, I have had many conversations with other chefs who sing high praises for Jing, his spices, his quest for the exotic and the undiscovered, and his true passion for food.  I have been told many times that we really must meet Jing and talk to him.  We had to go to his store in Santa Monica and drink from the well.  Unfortunately, we were not traveling to Santa Monica any time in the forseeable future.  However, I recently made a connection with the store.  As our new travels will temporarily be taking us to another remote location, I figured some great ingredients would be necessary.  During my conversations with Fany, I was told about the new outpost opening in San Francisco.  Bcause of our upcoming trip to Napa, stopping by at the new store was an actual possibility and became a reality yesterday afternoon.

What is even more interesting is that Jing was there.  I walked up to the unassuming gentleman and reintroduced myself.  I handed him a card and proceeded to expound on the thrill of being in his store and the the pleasures of being exposed to so many fascinating products.  A conversation began.  While we were talking, another chef walked in and Jing became visibly torn between continuing our conversation and assisting a long time patron.  At this point, our meter was running short, and we needed to make a decision.  The day was already long and we had not found good coffee or any food.  I knew I was teetering on the edge, wanting to continue to talk to Jing about food and but knowing that we needed sustenance.  I can go long periods without food.  Coffee, even bad coffee, keeps me going relatively well.  Aki needs food. While I can eat like a wolf, consuming large amounts of food at once and then going for long periods without eating, Aki is much more civilized and benefits from regular meals spaced judiciously throughout the day.  She can get away with light grazing, although if there is nothing to graze upon, her blood sugar falls and grumpy does not begin to describe the results. I got lucky, though I did not realize it at the time. Jing had asked us to wait while he helped the other chef. Aki volunteered to run down to the meter and put a few more coins in. While she was down there she went off in search of coffee to ease things along for both of us.

I waited, exploring the store.  Not really a hardship, although I was getting hungry too and begining to fixate on a good cup of coffee.  I was waiting both for Jing and for a printed catalog. They had offered to email one, but I find great pleasure in holding the paper whle I look at lists of ingredients, thinking about them, daydreaming about new compositions, scribbling notes and wondering how we would use them.  We had to wait until they could break away from customers and print out the entire collection for us to take home. Finally, the list was finished and organized in a folder. I knew it was time to move on.  Also, I had not seen Aki in a while and that was making me nervous.  My phone rang, it was her.  I thought I would really in the dog house because it took so long.  Yet when I answered the phone, she simply said that she had picked up two iced coffees and was waiting by the car for me.  I felt like I had dodged a bullet and told her I would just say good bye and be right down. 

Jing, like many passionate people, gets caught up in conversations.  I interupted his briefly and told him we needed to run.  He asked where we were going for lunch.  I told him we have no idea.  He asked if we liked dim sum.  Like dim sum, of course we do, who doesn't like dim sum?  He gave me the name of a place and then Coco (I am sure I have spelled her name wrong here, I apologize and will correct it as soon as I am able.) wrote down the address.  Jing was juggling several conversations, guiding patrons through that vast candy land of spices and exotica.  As I was leaving, he asked if we could continue our conversation after lunch.  I took a leap and asked him if he had time to join us for lunch.  He said yes.  I went downstairs while he finished the business he was involved in.  I gleefully told Aki we had a place for lunch, dim sum.  She seemed surprised because earlier I had been insistent on going to the Ferry Market for lunch.  I told her the story and concluded with the fact that Jing was coming with us.  How cool is that? 

I was now sipping a beautiful iced coffee on the sunny streets of San Francisco about to go have some dim sum at Yank Sing with Aki and Jing.  Now that is an upswing of the very best kind.

Is this for real?

I will begin with the fact that we normally do not check our luggage.  For some reason we decided to do so today.  Hmmm?  We hoped it would be an auspicious beginning to our trip.  Although it was actually rough going way before we checked our baggage.  I over-filled Aki's coffee cup at four in the morning.  Aki took advantage of the circumstances and spilled it down her white shirt a few minutes later.  We then got in the car (late) and I was about to drive away, when I noticed that Aki did not have her purse or computer. She thought that I had already put them in the car for her, leading to a rather loud discussion in a very quiet, residential street. We arrived at the airport to see amazingly long lines at check-in. After an hour on line we reached the counter only to discover that Aki had somehow forgotten her license and had no photo identification. This led to having to stand on the longest security line and go through an extra security check. We barely made it to the gate for the final boarding call. Finally in our seats, we buckled in and waited for takeoff. Two hours later we were still waiting. Not only were we still waiting but we had watched our luggage get taken off the plane half an hour before, along with a large group of people headed for Shanghai. The air staff assured us that all was well. Our luggage was being put on the 8am flight, which was leaving before our 6:30am flight, and our bags would be waiting for us in San Francisco when we arrived. The cause of our delay was some sort of malfunction with the fuel line. They couldn't get any fuel on the plane and when at last they did get it to work it was very slow going. We finally took off close to 9:30am. When we arrived in San Francisco we discovered that our bags did not actually take off before we did. The plane that they had moved our luggage to also had mechanical difficulties and it would be at least two hours before our bags arrived. They could not guarantee our luggage would make it to Napa tonight and suggested that we remain at the airport until our bags (hopefully) appeared. One of the desk agents was very nice, while the other managed to imply that if we didn't sit around and wait for our luggage, any further mishaps were entirely our own responsibility. Needless to say we were in no mood to wait. Besides, Le Sanctuaire's newest outpost in San Francisco was closing at 2:30pm and this was our only opportunity to stop by. As it was now well after twelve, we ran to the car rental desk to get to town. Things didn't exactly improve at the rental desk but we did make it to the store with time to spare, when finally our day took an incredible upswing...

*Although our luggage had not arrived by the time we tumbled into bed at close to 11pm, thankfully it was at the front desk when we opened our eyes this morning. Hopefully the rest of the trip will be smooth sailing. At the very least, now we have our essential supplies.

Brioche Tubes: fancy corn dogs

I became inspired by the frozen tubes of liquid filled desserts, created by Alex Stupak, which I ate at wd-50. The small tubes were of one flavor and a liquid center of another resided in the tube and was released when the diner breaks the ice cream like shell.  The secret center is something I have been a fan of and try to incorporate into a number of our dishes.  It does not have to be a secret center, rather, it is the hidden surprise which adds and element of surprise and excitement.

Yesterday, we went to work on brioche and using it as a tube.  In our first dish, we filled the brioche tube with king trumpet mushrooms cooked with smoked maple syrup (thanks Pops' ) Meyer lemon puree, shaved jalapeno, Fiore Sardo cheese and golden raisins.  The dish is really just mushrooms on toast.  It developed because we wanted to see if we could make hot tubes of brioche.  If the mushroom worked, or came close to working, then we would pursue our other ideas: shrimp toast, peanut butter and jelly, foie gras en brioche, truffled egg toast, lobster roll.  The possibilities are now possible.  And as Aki-it's too rich--Kamozawa points out we can use other breads like sourdough and pumpernickel, and corn bread and other exteriors completely, like celery root and potato.

While I am quite happy with what we have done, I cannot stop thinking that perhaps we just made a fancy corn dog.  Is that so wrong?

The First Rule About Dinner Parties...

Is that we can't talk about them on the blog unless we get permission first. A dear, and brave, friend invited us to dinner last night. We laughed and ate and drank and laughed some more. And then she told us that she would strangle us if a single word about the actual events that took place appeared on the blog. So we're not telling. We'll just say Thanks Barbara! We had a blast.

Banana Jam, the recipe

After reading Alex's post yesterday we chatted a bit about my methodology. You see, it's not that I want Alex to wait around to see what develops exactly, it's simply that if I tell him what I'm playing with before I get it in progress, he comes up with a million ways to change what I want to make into something else, before I even get started with the original concept. I'm the first to admit that many of his ideas are good and we've come up with many amazing results through our collaborations. Sometimes though, I want to make what I want to make first. We can change it around together later, if it needs tweaking. Occasionally I just like to see the progression of an idea from start to finish, without any additional input. In every partnership a little space of your own can be a very good thing. It makes you appreciate the teamwork that much more.

This is an incredibly easy recipe, made even more simple by the fact that I used high quality bottled citrus juices. Clearly fresh citrus juice, in a variety of configurations, would be an admirable substitute if you have the time and the citrus at hand.

Banana Jam
1 cup of sugar
2 ounces of yuzu juice
2 ounces of key lime juice
pinch of salt
3 large bananas, thinly sliced

Heat the sugar and juices in a heavy bottomed saucepan, over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the salt and the bananas and bring back to a slow boil. There will be foam but it will dissipate during the cooking process. There is no need to skim. Cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes. Cool to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.

Bananas and Caviar; again

I am not quite sure how Aki does it.   Yet, when she does a tremendous burst of passion fuels our cooking.  What do I mean?  Well, there are times that I come into the kitchen and ask, "what are doing/making?"  The response, as if it is now carved in stone, "you'll see, you just have to wait."  Again, there it is, me having to be patient, like training a puppy.  And I wait. 

This past Saturday, I was delighted to wait for a banana and lime jam.  I did not know that I was going to be delighted to wait for this jam.  I mean, it was not even on the list, though when it was done, I was privy to another brilliant flash.

We were fine tuning several dishes for this past weekend one of which revolved around crispy yogurt and Steve's sake cured steelhead trout roe.  The kicker was the dish had not evolved.  It is not that we had not worked on the dish, it was just that the concept while good, lacked substance.  And then the banana jam came on the scene.  In fact, when Aki was making it I asked her what she was doing and when she said "making banana jam." I just laughed, because our list was big enough, we did not need anymore...and at the exact point, my brain made a connection.  Several years ago we made a banana and caviar dish.  Actually, looking back we have made several banana and caviar dishes.  And then, while I write, heck there was even a restaurant named Bananas and Caviar.  Simple minds work slowly. 

And when the jam was finished the dish became complete.  The soft and firm texture of the banana jam surrounded the floral-sweet sake roe, adding acidity and an unctuous nature to the dish.  A few arugula blossoms added spice to the dish and the crispy yogurt brought texture and tang to the table.