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Injera bread is made with with fermented Teff grains/cereal. It has distinctive sour taste, but goes very well with spicy condiments.
Fish Course:
- poached Atlantic Halibut, PEI Mussels, caramelized Brussel Sprouts, Chinese broccoli, black garlic, microgreens.
Another dish influenced by Chef Michael Anthony and food of Gramercy Tavern in NYC. This is not an exact replica of a similar dish at GT, however:
- halibut was slowly poached in unique extra virgin olive oil, served with Chinese broccoli and black garlic sauce, with an addition of caramelized Broussel sprouts and Prince Edward Island mussels.
This was my favorite plate of the entire dinner.
Please take a look at the entire Dinner in Sioux Falls picture set.
This Tuscan red matched both the acidity of tomatoes and richness of the steak.
This wine is comprised of 70% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet and 10% Merlot. Because of its gentleness and grace combined with just the right amount of acidity, the Sangiovese grape is on the list of our top favorites. If you know the Sangiovese grape well, you can instantly detect certain subtleties upon the first sip or two. It has the signature traits of the grape – a lighter red color, noticeable scents of cherries on the nose and lovely aromas and flavors reminiscent of spring flowers and pretty perfume. With a silky and delicate mouth-feel, this wine is elegant and charming.
This is my attempt to replicate almost identical dish I had at Casa Mono in NYC.
This version shows marginal improvement - I prefer texture of flash-cooked octopus over sous-vide on this plate. Still, advantage "Casa Mono" - they just do it better.
Ahhh-hhh, the morning after.... I made a few things last night - there were some leftovers. :-)
Thick slice of house made brioche, European Butter, Thinly Shaved Truffles, Grey Sea Salt.
Sometimes there are no words....
Meat Course:
- flank steak, onion puree, pickled pearl onions, green beans, pickled mustard seed.
This dish is Scandinavian in nature, in fact it is inspired by Chef Gustav Otterberg fron Leijontornet Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden. Steak was seasoned just right ( salt, black pepper, kebbeh spice) and cooked to perfect medium ( as desired by most at the table) - which is easy, if you use sous-vide techinique. I should mention that the steak was flash-seared in clarified butter and had a nice golden-brown, caramelized crust.
I was a little concerned about the acidic flavors at first, but sweet onion puree balance the flavors on the plate very nicely.
Please take a look at the entire Dinner in Sioux Falls picture set.
Linguine with sauteed portabella mushrooms, asparagus, white truffle oil and freshly grated parmesan. One of those "randomly thrown together" meals after work. :)
Planning on re-making dish and re-taking photo at some point because my brother said the mushroom was "upsetting" and my friend found the asparagus "threatening"...ha ha!
This was supposed to be succulent, sweet morsel of lobster tail meat - just to tease taste buds with what to come. It turned out to be completely inedible, tough and tasteless chunk of shellfish. Absolute failure on my part, enough said.
I still don't understand why the lobster overcooked. The rule of thumb is about 15 minutes of boiling for a 2 lbs. lobster - mine was in hot, but not boiling water, and for 7-10 minutes at the most. Did it have to do with the size? Was my catch too old, or sick? I just don't know... may be somebody else does.
This is an attempt to replicate a similar dish form Per Se .
Overall, it worked - I especially enjoyed making the "vanilla mousseline". Unfortunately, I was not able to find any red-fleshed squash - which basically ruined the dish for me. Lobster was cooked sous-vide at 59.5C with sweet cream butter, tarragon and spices - quite good.
Salad:
- poached shrimp, green beans, black-eyed peas, sliced cucumbers, cucumber water, chorizo oil.
This plate is very heavy influenced by Chef Michael Anthony and food style of Gramercy Tavern in NYC. Shrimp was poached sous-vide in sweet cream butter, green beans and black-eyed peas were blanched to al dente and seasoned with black pepper and Meyer lemon juice, cucumber water was seasoned with black mineral salt and drizzled with chorizo oil just prior to service.
Please take a look at the entire Dinner in Sioux Falls picture set.
Heart and Tongue, Sichuan Style:
- Pork Heart, Pork Tongue, Sweet Chili Oil, Honey, Black Garlic, Bok Choy, Sichuan Peppercorns.
This is a very interesting dish, and on quite a few levels.
The inspiration came from a recent "Australia" episode of "No Reservations" with Tony Bourdain. In this episode they had a segment shot at Dainty Sichuan Food Restaurant, the food of which is pictured by avlxyz.
Real Sichuan Food is hard to find outside of China. Multiple levels of flavors, and the much sought after balance between hot dried chillies and floral Sichuan Peppercorns is complemented by sweet overtones and spicy accents of other ingredients - it is not an easy craft.
This dish is not an attempt to cook authentic Sichuan fare, but rather to introduce original flavors of Sichuan cooking to Western palate.
Pork heart was brined and cooked sous-vide for 24 hours, pork tongue long-braised witrh Sichuan Peppercorns, Kaffir Lime leaves, Orange Peel and Soy Sauce, and quickly tossed in sweet chilli oil, with Black Garlic, garlic, ginger, Nu Er Hong Rice Wine and Sichuan Peppercorns.
This dish truly worked out for me - the complexity of flavors and balance between hot and sweet flavors was nicely complimented by slightly numbing coolness of Sichaun peppercorns.
I love making dishes made by incredible Chefs - replicating and sometimes improving the original. Not so long ago, however, a friend and someone who's epicurean opinion I value above others asked me why I don't spend more time doing original stuff.
Well, here is one:
Frog Legs Sous-Vide, Cauliflower Tempura, Watercress-Yuzu and Pear-Saffron Sauces, Heat of Bird Eye Chilies
This dish is inspired by pictures made by Bu Pun Su and yummyinthetummyblog
Interesting thing about this plate - both salsas were made without a touch of oil/butter, and were thickened with xantam gum.
Overall the dish worked: liked it, but did not love it.
Seared Foie Gras, White Beans, Young Coconut, Pomegranate Reduction.
This is an original recipe, although the idea came from Refined Plate/ L'Astrance .
I am really proud and pleased by the result - truly a great flavor combination.
Hollowed out tomatoes stuffed with a mixture of crabmeat, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, edamame, cilantro, and diced tomato.
Lobster Salad, Vietnamese Style:
- barely cooked Lobster Claws, Arugula, Vietnamese Cellophane Noodles, Black Garlic Nuoc Cham Dressing.
I have reserved claws from the same lobster used in Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and cooked a la "Per Se" style - i.e. repeatedly covered them with boiling water for about three minutes, which resulted in a very tender texture. Nuoc Cham dressing was made with black garlic , chillies, lime, lemon and yuzu juice, generous amount of fish sauce and brown Muscovado sugar - delivering sweet, sour, salty and umami flavors, complimented by sweetness of the shellfish and slightly bitter crunch of arugula.
I would go against Chef Keller's salads with this any day of the week.
Poached Egg:
-egg poached @57C, Vermont maple syrup, chives, whipped cream, sea salt.
Much have been said about this preparation - it's nothing new, but it's still a hit. The preparation pictured is identical to that of Manresa , described and pictured by ulterior epicure.
One of the ladies at my dinner table said: "I could eat twelve more of these... ;-) ", which is exactly how an amuse should be, I think.
Please take a look at the entire Dinner in Sioux Falls picture set.
Cabbage Soup with Mustard Cream and Choucroute.
Soup is made by poaching red cabbage with pears, ginger, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and herbs, then pureed through a tamis, seasoned with cumin, coriander, fenugreek, white pepper and gray sea salt, and finished with slightly whipped cream.
Look at that beast - 10 lbs, Lobster.
I can't tell you how excited I was to have found a lobster that big - usually ( well, when - to be more accurate) I cook 1-2 lbs Nova Scotia Lobsters, which have rather mild, but pleasantly sweet taste.
This crustacean was supposed to be succulent, sweet and meaty - regretfully, it was anything but... It was, without a shadow of doubt, live and active when I bought it and right before I started cooking it. I cooked it in a way I always cook shellfish - with the remaining heat of boiling water, but not actually poaching in the rolling boil.
I sensed trouble the second I cracked the claws - they had unpleasant, muddy swamp smell and sediment between the claw and the "finger"; tail was just as bad. Also, despite using minimal cooking time both the tail and the claws instantly overcooked. I have no idea why...
I should not have served that lobster, and in a restaurant - I wouldn't have, but at home I compromised - it was a mistake.
Lobster Salad, Vietnamese Style:
- barely cooked Lobster Claws, Arugula, Vietnamese Cellophane Noodles, Black Garlic Nuoc Cham Dressing.
I have reserved claws from the same lobster used in Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich, and cooked a la "Per Se" style - i.e. repeatedly covered them with boiling water for about three minutes, which resulted in a very tender texture. Nuoc Cham dressing was made with black garlic , chillies, lime, lemon and yuzu juice, generous amount of fish sauce and brown Muscovado sugar - delivering sweet, sour, salty and umami flavors, complimented by sweetness of the shellfish and slightly bitter crunch of arugula.
I would go against Chef Keller's salads with this any day of the week.
This is an exclusive Indian chicken recipe that is very popular all over the world. It was first introduced in 1965 in the restaurant of Chennai.
Watch the video for recipe instructions youtu.be/ommGK1XUdeA?t=2
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Made using a recipe from Dîners fin de mois by Cyril Lignac, which was originally brought to my attention by a French blog friend...merci!
NOTE: The recipe below uses half of the original ingredient measurement quantities that were listed in the cookbook recipe, which was supposed to serve 4 people...I actually find that this still serves about 4 people...a little goes a long way!
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. penne pasta
4 fresh figs
2 small goat cheeses (weight/unit size of cheese was not provided, use your judgment/taste)
2 slices of prosciutto (Parma ham)
25 g (about 1 oz.) sliced almonds
4.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt (I forgot to add this in, but found I didn't even need it)
DIRECTIONS:
Cook the penne according to package directions.
While the pasta is cooking, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice.
Brown the sliced almonds in a pan or toast on a baking pan in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350F until lightly browned.
Slice each fig into thin wedges, and each goat cheese piece into bite sized pieces. Cut or tear each slice of prosciutto into smaller bite sized strips.
Drain the cooked pasta and toss with the olive oil/balsamic vinegar/lemon juice mixture. Allow to cool slightly.
Placed cooled pasta on plates and top with the figs, prosciutto, goat cheese and toasted almonds. Use salt to taste if desired, though you may find it seasoned enough already because of the goat cheese and prosciutto.
Bon appetit!
I saw an interesting dish on a menu at Congee Village in NYC:
"Boiled Conch with Asparagus" ( item S520 on the menu, "Seafood" section, $20.95)
Although I did not try it, primarily because of the cost - I still wanted to make a replica of that plate. This is how it turned out.
Conch was cooked sous-vide @ 77F for 12 hours, and had almost abalone-like texture, asparagus was quickly blanched, sauce was simple light soy with soaked fermented beans and preserved lemon. Unfortunately, I ran out of fresh chillies - my idea was to quickly pickle them and use as a garnish on the conch, perhaps with strings of orange zest.
This is a very light and enjoyable appetizer.
Does this look familiar? Those of you how are familiar with SiFu Renka and her adventures will hopefully think so - this is a replica of a dish lovely Renee had at Sushi Kaji.
I have not had the original dish, but used Renee's picture and blogpost blogpost for guidance.
OK, silken tofu was house made, incredibly sweet and flavorful purple uni came form CA, broth was made with bonito flakes, wasabi and fresh scallion, with a touch of organic soy sauce. I like the contrast of sweet uni against creamy tofu - delightful pairing.
Buffalo Tendorloin, Swiss Chard, Cherries, Demi, Microgreens
This plate is heavily inspired by lamb course I had at "Per Se". Buffalo tenderloin was cooked sous-vide, and browned with Kebbeh spice mix. I was quite please about this dish.
Oyakodon, served in these beautiful covered bowls that my dad gave me recently. (Thanks Dad!)
Recipe (1 Serving): Combine half a cup of dashi stock, one tablespoon of caster sugar, one tablespoon of soy sauce and one teaspoon of mirin in an oyako nabe or other small shallow pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add a handful of thinly sliced leeks, a handful of thinly sliced chicken, and a pinch of sliced scallion. When the chicken is cooked through, pour one beaten egg evenly over the mixture...when the egg looks about halfway cooked, cover the pan for about half a minute. Remove from heat and slide over a bowl of freshly cooked rice, including the sauce. Sprinkle with additional scallions for garnish and serve.
Aged Rib Eye
- 60-day aged rib eye, roasted New England tomatoes, micro basil
Again, simple and straightforward, but incredibly tasteful offering.
The orange salad is one of the Spanish salads that I am most fond of. It’s sexy and it’s deliciously fruity.
White Wine Pairing: 93 point Linne Calodo Contrarian
- Linne Calodo’s gorgeous white wine, one of the best dry whites of the area, is the 2006 Contrarian, a blend of 68% Roussanne and 32% Viognier. This is a dry, full-bodied wine with notes of honeyed melons and citrus, a bit of pear, and some more exotic rose petal/floral notes. The wine has terrific fruit and finishes dry. Moreover, the good news is that there are 450 cases of it. All of this comes from both the James Berry and Denner Vineyards.
Veal Tartare
- fall apples, red sun-dried tomatoes, yellow sun-dried tomatoes, shallots, spices
This is a dish inspired by a very talented Australian Chef - Donovan Cooke. He once paired the apple-shallot-tomato relish with crayfish, but I felt it would go quite nice with the veal tartare. It did.
I suppose this plate can use a little touch-up in terms of "haute cuisine" presentation, but it could certainly be served in a contemporary bistro-style restaurant as is.