ongoing investigations of food
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Jonah Crab Claw Bordelaise & Turtle Soup @ Palace Cafe
The Palace Cafe is part the Brennan family of restaurants. It was located conveniently near our hotel and we had some great brunches there. They seat you directly on the Canal Street sidewalk so it’s real nice and relaxing.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Butchering a Pig for Salumi with Chef Alon Shaya @ John Besh’s Domenica
Chef Alon gave us an introduction on the differences between Western hog butchery vs classic Italian butchery practiced in Parma, Italy for salumi. Where most of us are used to breaking down an animal by its muscle groups, Italians are more concerned with the look and shape of the cut, so the cuts are never restricted to a specific muscle. This is mainly for two reasons; all cuts of meat need to be relatively even so that the salts penetrate and cure it evenly. The other reason is simple aesthetics; salumi is often hung and presented whole so creating beautiful cuts of meat is a priority.
The pig shown here is a Mangalista breed. They inherit an unusually thick coat of curly hair, and their fat melts at a lower temperature. You can tell the difference between salumi made form Mangalista pig and the more commercial Duroc because the fat melts easily in your mouth without having to chew—there is almost no texture; the fat just disappears, and the flavors absorbed by your palate.
Chef Alon walked us through the back kitchen and the dining room. Domenica is all about infusing and fermenting their own alcohols. This is apparent in their expansive collection of colorful bottles, each marked with a different flavor (fennel, lemon verbana, peach pit, etc.) The next time I visit Domenica I’m heading straight to the bar.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Making Sausage with Chef Spencer
Minch @ Emeril’s Delmonico - Part 2
And here are the finished products—some rabbit pate, capicola, and the Italian sausage Chef Spencer
made just minutes prior. He also gave us a tour of the rest of the restaurant, including the wine den
and aging fridge.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Making Sausage with Chef Spencer Minch @ Emeril’s Delmonico - Part 1
It was really cool to be able to get a peak at the inner workings of one of Emeril’s restaurants. You’d think with such a big name backing it, the kitchen would be loaded, but it’s the same as most other kitchens I’ve seen : cramped, arbitrarily hung salumi, make-shift repairs, etc.
Pork Belly Corn Muffins
with Arbequina Olive Oil Butter Cream
These were made for my birthday by our Pastry Chef, Jenna. She’s been doing some really amazing stuff for us, lately.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Lunch
Tom Philpott, food and ag blogger for Mother Jones, interviews Joel Salatin, author and farmer, Polyface Farms
Banh Mi Pate & Muffuletta
from Cochon : Butcher
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Adam Seger Hum Spirits
Crescent City Serenade
A spirited tea punch made from biodynamic rose petal chai tea, Hum Botanical Spirit, Death’s Door Organic Gin, Cresecent City Farmer’s Market cucumbers, Hollyfield Farm Tatsumas, Sweet Potato Syrup, PawPaws NOLA wildflower honey, Mayhaw-Jalapeno Gastrique
Shit was intense.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Opening Night
This year I had the honor and privilege to be invited to the Chefs Collaborative of 2011. Each year, some of the best chefs and leaders in the food industry come together to discuss the current state of food in America. Aside from food trends and health, the focal point of the discussion was sustainability and how we can be more responsible in our role in the food community.
I learned so much and met some very influential people during this trip. To top it off, this year the summit was held in New Orleans, which has—hands down—the best original American cuisine on the planet. It’s a melting pot of cultures that have come together to make a delicious stew called, Cajun cuisine.
Food :
Tea Smoked Cervena Venison
by Chef Graham Brown from Rouses Market
Oyster Tasting
from Gulf Coast Oysters
A tasting of oysters from all of the different reefs in the Gulf. It’s amazing how several miles could breed such unique tasting oysters.
Alaskan Salmon
from Mark & Beth Tupper at Triad Fisheries
We sat by this friendly couple during the closing brunch and they are some fun people with some great stories. Mark Tupper can really hold his alcohol.
Speakers from left to right :
Chef Donald Link of Herbsaint, Cochon, & Cochon : Butcher (New Orleans, LA)
Chef Michael Leviton of Lumiere (Newton, MA)
Editor-in-Chief Dana Cowin of Food & Wine Magazine
pho ga
vietnamese noodlesoup with sous-vide chicken breast
(@google)
METHOD:
preheat oven to 400 F.
cut pork shoulder into large pieces, about the size of your fist.
brush with liquid smoke/water mixture.
season heavily with salt.
place each piece of pork in an aluminum foil pouch with crushed garlic, whole black peppercorns, banana leaves (for flavor), raisins, apricots, and enough water to fill the pouch 1/4 way.
cover pouch tightly and bake for 2 hours. check halfway and make sure there’s still water in the pouch. if not, add more.
garnish with fried egg, jus from the pouch, and shaved/chopped scallions. serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Pumpking Carving Time!
donna - adventure time & harlequin baby
dan - scott pilgrim
thao - lockjaw
long - jack-hole-lantern
mine - spidey!
These figs were from Knoll Farms in Brentwood, CA, run by Rick and Kristie Knoff. They grow and pack the best figs in California. This year, fig season ran a little late so we took advantage of it. Sadly…it’s just about over now.
McDouble + McChicken
'nuff said.
I won a chef knife for this, but I think I lost a little bit of my soul in the process…
From 2006 to 2008, foie gras was banned in Chicago, thanks largely in part to Chef Charlie Trotter, who made a big deal about the harvest of foie gras being an act of animal cruelty.
During this period, Hot Doug owner, Doug Sohn continued to serve foie gras leading to some media attention, which really put this place on the map for foodies outside of Chi-town (including me). Eventually, the ban was lifted, so it was all pretty pointless, but Hot Doug certainly didn’t suffer from the publicity of the whole thing.
Long-ass mother…
…fuckin’ lines.
Yet—all the seats are empty…
Duck-Fat Fries
meh. didn’t taste any duck flavor
Aged-Manchego & Smoked Paprika Aioli
with a sausage that I cannot remember…
Chardonnay & Jalapeno Rattlesnake Sausage
with pomegranate mustard
Lamb Sausage & Feta Cheese
with mint pesto
Foie-Grais Torchon & Sauternes Sausage
with black truffle mustard & fleur de sel
This was good, but not phenomenal; although it was inexpensively priced, which made this was a very good deal. Plus, foie gras and sauternes wine is a great combination.
Sauternes wine is pretty interesting in its origin; here’s some info:
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes is made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines. Due to its climate, Sauternes is one of the few wine regions where infection with noble rot is a frequent occurrence. Even so, production is a hit-or-miss proposition, with widely varying harvests from vintage to vintage. Wines from Sauternes, especially the Premier Cru Supérieur estate Château d’Yquem, can be very expensive, due largely to the very high cost of production. Barsac lies within Sauternes, and is entitled to use either name. Somewhat similar but less expensive and typically less-distinguished wines are produced in the neighboring regions of Monbazillac, Cérons, Loupiac and Cadillac. In the United States, there is a semi-generic label for sweet white dessert wines known as sauterne without the “s” at the end and uncapitalized.
And I don’t remember the rest…
Straight forward, good food. Ad hoc demonstrates a simple approach to cooking. The best way to describe it would be, how a chef would prepare a meal at home for his family and friends. Very little manipulation is done to the ingredients, some of which are grown right outside in the restaurants own garden.
ad hoc was originally intended as a temporary restaurant, opened in the interim, until Thomas Keller would actually use the space for another concept. However, this temporary restaurant became so popular, that it became a permanent fixture in Yountville.
The Menu
Roncal Sheep’s Milk Cheese & St. Supery Star Thistle Honey
with celery and pickled garlic relish
The French Laundry Garden Mixed Green Salad
with shaved torpedo onions, spiced cashews, d’avignon radishes, yellow nectarines, and banyul’s vinaigrette
Colorado Lamb Ribeye
with summer squash, bulb fennel, & sweet carrots
Butterball Potatoes
poached in red wine
This was from a few years ago…
Celery Root Puree & Seared Diver Scallop
with chive blossom, lemon oil, and avocadoes
Chilean Seabass & Tri-Color Succotash
with almond beurre blanc and sous-vide asparagus
