Heston Blumenthal went on Martha Stewart's show to demonstrate how to make ice cream with dry ice at home:
He then discusses his recent adventure cooking a whole pig sous-vide in a jacuzzi bath, which sounds really cool.
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October 2008
October 29, 2008
October 21, 2008
Small town sous-vide
"What do those things do?", our dishwasher asks at the end of the night.
"Oh, they keep the water temperature constant so we can cook things for a really long time", tired after a long shift, and more tired of having to answer the same question a thousand times from everyone who comes in to the restaurant.
"Cool, so do you just vacuum seal the bags?"
"Uh, well yea, we do", somewhat caught off guard by his self-fulfilling question.
For some reason, sous-vide cooking, the lovable offspring of classical French cooking and modern technique, makes sense to everyone at first sight. Why? It doesn't seem intuitive, and even after being around it for close to a year now, I still sometimes feel it is somewhat cold and scientific. It's very strange not being able to pull the food out to taste it or smell it. The results are amazing, however, and for many foods, it enhances them so much that I wouldn't choose any other way.
On the other hand, you have the occasional person saying, "so I hear you cook everything in a bag for a long time. I hear that's the fancy French way of doing things".
How does this happen in a small town? I can only assume that the technique is becoming more commonplace in the American lexicon, and that it is less esoteric than all of us in the kitchen might think it to be. For so long, it seemed it was a little secret among chefs that were "in the know". Not so much, any more. And that's a good thing, in my humble opinion.
October 20, 2008
Dry Ice
Lacking space for a liquid nitrogen tank, we're forced to be more creative with our resources. Can dry ice be used effectively as a substitute? I've seen ice cream recipes, but they don't seem very refined. The Alinea book's discussion of it as a replacement for the Antigriddle is interesting, we messed around with it a little bit, but it wasn't anything amazing. I think I'm just predisposed to anything super cold due to too many early morning hockey practices, but I'm willing to keep trying. Any advice?
It does have some an awesome warning label, which makes it all the more intriguing...
Service
Some entree-sized plates about to get run.
No, just kidding. Although you never know what you might hear...
Grilled fish sausage amuse from a private event a few weeks back. The sausage was scraps of grouper that we mixed with herbs, veggies, and Activa. We garnished this with a little eucalyptus oil.
Shaving Cream
I've always had a large fascination with shaving cream: its texture, feel, and appearance. I love how it is simultaneously a foam, yet dense enough to pick up and mold. And although I lack the ability to grow decent facial hair, I still enjoy the ritual of a liberal dousing of Barbasol and a sharp disposable razor-no fancy stuff.
I think Wylie Dufresne has touched on this at some point, but what if you could produce a food product with properties similar to a nice mound of shaving cream? It would be great to have a stable foam unlike those made with lecithin or Versawhip that would be without bubbles, allowing it to capture great shadowing from the lights in the dining room.
October 08, 2008
Beets
Yum.
October 07, 2008
Organization
So crucial in any industry, but even more so in a restaurant with limited space...
All our magical powder and insanely nice spices from Terra Spice:
And the grace note to a lot of our food...pork fat.