taqueria plate
with all-spice black beans and chorizo rice
This is me trying to get fancy with some Mexican food:
Slow-Cooked Salmon
with lime crema
Carnitas Taco
with salsa verde
Crispy Pork Belly
with yuzu salt
simple mac & cheese
with smoked cheddar crust
I love mac & cheese all sorts of ways, but sometimes, simple is best. For instance, here we have a cheese sauce made of just cream, butter, and cheese—nothing else. No roux is needed if you add enough cheese and you toss the macaroni a la minute. The topping is sharp cheddar mixed with smoked cheddar and melted in the broiler.
oven fries
My friend showed me this recipe. Basically, you cut and rinse russet potatoes and toss them in fresh garlic, garlic powder, couple pinches of corn starch, olive oil, and parsley. Then, place on a silpat and bake at 425 degrees F until golden brown, flipping each fry halfway through. The cornstarch gives it a crisp ‘shield’ and makes these fries stand out from other potato wedge recipes.
french onion soup
with gruyere & croutons
One of my lead cooks made this for me when I was holed up in the office. Man, I love my team.
lobster corn dog
with tarragon mustard & truffle powder
Made these for a party. It’s real simple. Just take some lobster tails, cut them into large pieces, coat it in flour, then batter, then deep fry.
Readers beware: This is a post that contains over 50 photos. This is a post that took me a few nights to finish writing and editing. This is a… super, duper long post. You have been warned.
Smack back in the middle of our eating adventures came the mama of all eating adventures. The one place…
mini nigiri
with garnishes
This reminds me of a box of assorted chocolates and I will keep that in mind as a neat little presentation trick for the future.
apbc
francisco miyoga
Dessert case at Apple Pie Bakery Cafe at CIA in New York. Edible jewels in my opinion.
figs
black mission varietal
These figs are gorgeous.
Kobe Beef, Grade 10 out of 12; Black Truffles; Duck Fat; Sous-Vide
'Nuff said.
"Thit Heo Nuong" Vietnamese Barbecue Pork
The marinade : fish sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar, 7-up, pear puree, scallions, garlic, onions, lemongrass, thai chilies.
The trick is in the pear puree which contains an enzyme that tenderizes the lean pork. I borrowed this technique from the traditional Korean barbecue marinades.
Grilled Line-Caught Swordfish with Serrano Citrus Salsa & Micro-Licorice Greens
The presentation looks like something you’d find at McCormick & Schmick’s. Bleh…tasted good though!
Sous-Vide Fennel-Crusted Pork Loin with Sparrow Lane Pear Gastrique
Sous-vide at 141 F. Crusted with mustard seed, fennel seed, & fennel pollen. D’anjou pear vinegar from Sparrow Lane winery is one of my favorites. When you cook it down to a syrup, it develops an almost vanilla flavor.
Mini-Eggplant Parmigiana Brulee
Globe eggplant, smoked tomato coulis, fresh mozzarella, & finely chopped chives. A great, healthy alternative to the deep-fried Italian staple.
Sous-Vide All Natural Lamb Leg with Citrus Herb Salad
Lamb sous-vide at 135 overnight. Citrus Herb Salad = parsley leaves, celery hearts, chives, mint leaves, cilantro leaves, red onions, green onions, orange-infused arbequina olive oil.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Closing Brunch @ Pavilion of Two Sisters
Chef Susan Spicer of Bayona coordinated with chefs in the Louisiana area for this amazing brunch.
Smoked Redfish Salad with Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette & Soft Boiled Egg
Allison & Slade Rushing, MiLa
Rabbit & Pork Galette with Dirty Farro
Aaron Burgau, Patois/True Burger
Creole Chaurice & Seasonal Greens Gumbo with Louisiana Popcorn Rice
Jeff Baon & Bart Bell, Crescent Pie and Sausage Co.
Pork Grillades & Stone0Ground Fontina Cheese Grits
Frank Brigsten, Charlie’s Seafood/Brigtsen’s
Louisiana Sheepshead Court Bouillion with Jazzmen Brown Rice
Tenny Flynn, GW Fins
Wild Mushroom Pierogi with Caramelized Vidalia Onions
Sue Zamenick, Gautreau’s
Wood-Oven Roasted Squash & Green Beans
Cindy Crosbie, Mondo
Chocolate Hazelnut Phyllo with Candied Satsuma
Kerri Dean, Bayona
Sweet Potato & Pecan Pie with Cinnamon Chantilly
Ray Gruezke, Rue 127
I’m so thankful for all of the people that worked so hard to make this collaborative happen. I learned and ate so much. Here’s looking forward to next year—Seattle!
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Closing Brunch @ Pavilion of Two Sisters
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Grass-Fed Beef Tasting
This seminar was held by some big, experienced names in the industry : Dan Rosenthal of Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op, Will Harris of Harris Farms, Chef Michael Leviton of Lumiere, Chef Evan Mallet of Black Trumpet, and Chef Andrea Reusing of Lantern.
When you’re tasting beef, everyone’s a winner, but if I had to pick, I’d go with White Oak Pastures from Harris Farms. It was super lean, but when cooked blue-rare it was almost like a good piece of tuna. No sinew or chewiness.
During one of the earlier workshops I spoke to Will Harris at length about grass-fed beef and how we’ve tried to initiate a program at Google. Little did I know he was the largest provider of grass-fed beef in the Louisiana area. His farm raises 100% pasture grazed cattle from start to finish, which is rare (most farms that claim their beef is grass-fed, start their cattle on grass but finish them with grains). During our conversation I spit out everything I knew about grass-fed beef, trying to pose as some kind of expert; now I realize I probably made an ass of myself not know how big of a player in the industry he was.
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Sustainability Awards Dinner @ Riverview Room
The meals during the summit were just unprecedented. We were fed a fantastic spread by the top chefs in the New Orleans area—all in one meal, all in one place. From the top:
Beef Tongue with Cherry Tomatoes, Baby Turnips, and Ravigote
Michael Stolzfus, Coquette
BBQ Shrimp with Andouille Cornmeal Pancakes and Cane Syrup
Jeremy Wolgamott, High Hat Cafe
BBQ Anna Marie Seafood Shrimp and Papa Tom’s Stone Ground Grits
Chuck Subra, La Cote Brasserie
Peacemaker Po-Boy
Ben Wicks, Mahony’s
It’s been said that they’re called Peacemakers because when the husband would come home late at night, he would offer his wife a Po-Boy in order to make peace. Makes sense cause this shit was amazing. Imagine a BLT and a Po-Boy having sex and birthing its offspring—in your mouth. The bread was soft as a cloud but had an explosively crisp crust.
Ham ‘n Parsley Terrine, Smoked Oyster Ketchup Crostini
Ben Hammond, Cochon
Beef Shortribs with Green Wheat, Pumpkin, & Sage
Justin Devillier, La Petite Grocery
This should of gotten its own award. Loved the fresh herbs and green wheat.
Goat Milk Rice Pudding with Caramelized Satsumas
Kristyne Bouley, Dante’s Kitchen
Chefs Collaborative National Summit 2011 - New Orleans : Sustainability Awards Dinner @ Riverview Room
Hosted by the very animated Poppy Tooker, the first night closed with an awards ceremony and dinner. Pictured here are Jessica Harris, author of High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America, and Fidel Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appetit Management Company, in other words, my boss’ boss’ boss. He took home an award for us as well.