Burrata

- Buratta, vine-ripened New England tomatoes, chipolino, micro basil

This is simplicity in it's earnest - not necessarily a new idea, but what an astounding combination of flavors.

Semifreddo:

- Coco Semifreddo, pickled watermelon rind, blackberries, corn cake crumble, butterscotch jam.

Again, nothing new - I described this dish twice before: original version from Del Posto and my very own replica of the same plate. It was very nice, however - butterscotch worked a lot better than milk jam, I thought.

Please take a look at the entire Dinner in Sioux Falls picture set.

Tartare was made with hand-chopped NY strip, Grains of Paradise, Long Pepper, Black Pepper, Sea Salt and home-made Spiced Clarified Butter (Niter Kebe), and topped with unsalted feta cheese.

Niter Kebe: unsalted butter was slowly heated with shallots, garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, white cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, fenugreek, long pepper, allspice and dried herbs, and subsequently clarified and finely strained.

I liked this plate: broccoli stems were slowly poached with Long Bali Peppercorns and butter, New Zealand grouper cooked sous-vide with a touch of espelette and French truffle salt, Enoki mushrooms were quickly braised, Shitake foam with cream was just strong enough, but not overpowering and quail egg yolk poached in red wine turned into natural sauce and provided an excellent background to truffle flavor.

I enjoyed sweetness of cooked broccoli stems against earthy truffle taste and runny egg in one bite. Also, this dish was not at all "too rich", although I used butter and a touch of cream, and I really enjoyed a warm touch of espelette and how nicely it mixed with other flavors.

Weekend cooking - making green tea chocolate truffles

Retsept / Recipe in Estonian

Annabelle is the cutest We just had to re-post this photo - what a great way to do therapy, while having fun! We are so glad our Pink EazyHold helps her hold the dumbbell - Adaptive Fitness!

Re-post from @capturing_annabelles_journey

This afternoon the girls had fun decorating their ice creams, we had a dance around the living room listening to ‘call on me’ and lifting weights and the girls did some colouring. It was all sneaky therapy for Annabelle which is definitely the best way to do therapy at the weekends! Massive thank you to @keliss_mountain_climb for Annabelle’s cooking outfit that arrived when we got back from London just because they wanted Annabelle to have a new gift after her operation for being so brave. Absolutely love this guys ❤️

Aji Panca Ceviche

- halibut, Aji Panca, lemon, rock sugar, black pepper, sea salt, fresh garbanzo beans

Again, another attempt to make a blind replica of a plate I have never tasted before. This one worked, although I went a little too heavy on the pock sugar in the cure - to be adjusted next time.

I am certain that the original plate is made with peas, but I was I too intrigued by the flavor of extremely rare fresh garbanzo beans (chickpeas) - very similar to peas, but not quite.

Overall, a decent plate - could've used a bit more heat, definitely less sweet and perhaps a touch of more "mineral" salt - like Hawaiian pink, or Japanese white.

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This is what you end up with on your palate... Do I even need to say more?

Chaource, Asian Fragrant Pears, Honeycomb, Microgreens, Clove-Allspice Oil

This was one of my favorite dishes of the entire dinner. Everything worked, flavors, textures - everything. I loved the local honeycomb - very complex.

Anatomy of "The Egg" - this is a working copy of "Le Bernardin" original recipe ( pp.210-211, ⓒ Eric Ripert, "On The Line", Artizan 2008, ISBN-10: 1579653693)

Quinoa-themed dinner at home

For the post and some recipes of this meal, please CLICK HERE to my blog.

General ingredients to the Chinese-style lamb stew:

Szechuan pepper (花椒)

Five spice powder (五香粉)

Whole star anise (八角)

Cinnamon (肉桂)

Ginger (姜)

Garlic (蒜)

Chinese rock candy/sugar (冰糖)

Potato

Carrots

15-Year Old Cognac

Dark and light soy sauces

Chinese bean sauce (豆瓣醬)

The Wandering Eater | Twitter

© 2011 Tina Wong; The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved. Images may not be reproduced, copied, or used in any way without written permission.

It's been pretty warm out so I wanted something cold and refreshing waiting for me in the fridge when I got home from work...I knew I would be too tired/grumpy to cook. :) This is great to make a day ahead anyway because the flavors set nicely in the refrigerator overnight.

1) Noodles: One package of soba noodles (I used a 9.5 oz package with three bunches of noodles in it) cooked, drained and rinsed under cold water per package instructions.

2) Add-Ins and Garnishes: To the cooked noodles add half a 14.5 oz can of wild pink salmon (drained and flaked), 1 cucumber (thinly sliced with each slice further cut into quarters), 2 scallions (chopped or sliced on the diagonal), and 1 cup of cilantro leaves. Toss everything together in a large mixing bowl. I saved the loose ends/leftover scraps of the cucumber and cut them into flower shapes for fun, setting those aside for garnish.

3) Dressing: Whisk together the juice of two limes, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon minced ginger root, 1 tablespoon caster sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Pour over noodles and toss gently.

At the last minute I thawed a handful of frozen cooked shrimp from the freezer and added a few to each plate for color because the canned wild pink salmon, while flavorful, just wasn't as pink as I thought it would be (probably because it was from Whole Foods Market and more "natural" in appearance). Next time I will just cook the salmon myself.

Serve with extra lime wedges and enjoy!

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.

Quinoa-themed dinner at home

The quinoa is made with dried scallops, shiitake mushrooms, parsley, soy sauce, black pepper, sesame oil

Many thanks to Foodbuzz for selecting me to write their monthly 24x24 post! (In case you haven't noticed, it's all about quinoa from savory to sweet.)

For the post and some recipes of this meal, please CLICK HERE to my blog.

The Wandering Eater | Twitter

© 2011 Tina Wong; The Wandering Eater. All Rights Reserved. Images may not be reproduced, copied, or used in any way without written permission.

via Instagram ift.tt/1VA7cPi

Shrimp with Saffron Cream (more like a broth, only a tablespoon of cream to level the flavors).

Retsept / Recipe in Estonian

For Daring Bakers January Challenge

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Jordan Creek Oyster.

A mixture of half a cup of dashi stock, one tablespoon caster sugar, one tablespoon soy sauce and one teaspoon mirin. Once this was brought to a boil, thinly sliced chicken, scallions and leeks were added.

Cabbage Soup with Mustard Cream and Choucroute.

Mustard Whipped Cream and Choucroute ( red cabbage, Asian pear, oregano, thyme and fennel, cured with Sweet Potato Vinegar and Japanese Rice Vinegar)

Robert and I (and our friends and neighbors and my coworkers and his coworkers and the whole wide world) have been miserably sick with some lingering bug recently. Since cold medicine and Mucinex haven't worked, I decided to bring out the big guns and make a big pot of chicken soup.

I think it's actually working, though I may have to refill the "prescription" soon. ;)

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Elderberry sirup - deep berry taste, reminicient of blackberries.

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Red Bean and Mango frozen treats, posted about here.

Thanks to my cousin Leng (and Lisa and Ananda) for originally sharing the recipe!

Retsept / Recipe in Estonian

For Daring Bakers January Challenge

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I liked this plate: broccoli stems were slowly poached with Long Bali Peppercorns and butter, New Zealand grouper cooked sous-vide with a touch of espelette and French truffle salt, Enoki mushrooms were quickly braised, Shitake foam with cream was just strong enough, but not overpowering and quail egg yolk poached in red wine turned into natural sauce and provided an excellent background to truffle flavor.

I enjoyed sweetness of cooked broccoli stems against earthy truffle taste and runny egg in one bite. Also, this dish was not at all "too rich", although I used butter and a touch of cream, and I really enjoyed a warm touch of espelette and how nicely it mixed with other flavors.

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.

Retsept / Recipe in Estonian

For Daring Bakers January Challenge

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This is my attempt to replicate almost identical dish I had at Casa Mono in NYC.

Minor differences: they used grapefruit - I used Pomelo, original dish calls for baby octopus to be flash cooked - I sous-vide mine, they use extra virgin olive oil for garnish - I used Spanish Chorizo oil. Overall the replica worked: Pomelo matches fennel better than grapefruit, in my opinion. However, advantage is clearly on the Casa Mono side - their dish just tasted better, for some reason.

This is my attempt to replicate almost identical dish I had at Casa Mono in NYC.

Minor differences: they used grapefruit - I used Pomelo, original dish calls for baby octopus to be flash cooked - I sous-vide mine, they use extra virgin olive oil for garnish - I used Spanish Chorizo oil. Overall the replica worked: Pomelo matches fennel better than grapefruit, in my opinion. However, advantage is clearly on the Casa Mono side - their dish just tasted better, for some reason.

Frito pie with Wolf Brand Chili.

It's cold outside. We needed this!

The last time we had Frito pie (made by a Texan friend), we were picnicking outside watching Aussie rules football on one of the most blisteringly hot days of the summer...so we're holding on to that memory to get through the winter. :D

Tomato sauce is the sauce I have the most. I can’t live without it. Whatever kitchen style you have you will need it at least once a week, without fail. Its like salt. Doesn’t matter how much you use it, you must have it.

This plate is inspired by, and made according to the recipe of Eric Ripert form "Le Bernardin" - one of the best restaurants I have ever been to, and up to this point one of the three all-time top meals I've had.

The recipe truly works, as does the final dish - it turned to be only slightly acidic, with a nice play of textures. I used a Geoduck from New Fulton Fish Market, local veggies and freeze-dried corn from "Whole Foods".

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.

Irish Soda Bread - so simple, but so good!

This is one of the easiest quick breads to make - ready in about an hour. I've tried it with salumi, herring and foie gras - all three work really well.

This bread is inspired by Sportsman Pub meal pictured by ulterior epicure.

Pasta a Picchi Pacchi

Kind of like pasta puttanesca, but minus the olives and capers and with basil instead of parsley. With the start of summer, we have been using a lot of fresh basil and tomatoes in our dinners these days. I can't wait to try this with really good heirloom/farmstand tomatoes. :)

(Made using this recipe.)

This is a replica of a Octopus dish I tasted ( and sent back to the kitchen) at "La Bernardin"..

Warm Octopus, Smoked Paprika, Preserved Lemon, Garlic, Parsley, Extra Virgin Olive Oil: octopus was cooked sous-vide @ 77F for about 4 hours, and retained just a touch of "al dente" bite, other ingredients matched and worked in unison. My first taste was identical to what I tasted at the "Le Bernardin", i.e. it was too acidic! I adjusted the acidity by adding a touch more parsley and just a drop of Clover honey. Great dish - will make again any time.

Lobster, "Peas and Carrots"

- fava beans, carrot mousseline

Everything on the plate worked, except the lobster! What was I thinking??? Just another example of how integrity must never be compromised - I should not have served this.

Retsept / Recipe in Estonian

This was the first truffle I touched for a while... Just for an idea of size: I wear XL size gloves.

I generally don't like fruit beers, and Belgian beers, in particular. This brew, however, was absolutely outstanding - solid 96 points. It was crispy, did not have taste of alcohol, and was neither too sweet, nor sour. I paired it with smoked duck and pickles.