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Dabbling with 3DS emulation today. Using a PS4 controller for input, including the touchpad as a makeshift touchscreen. Animal Crossing New Leaf upscaled to HD works pretty well and is a decent future stream idea.
These guys aren't quite as suited for dabbling as their more proficient Northern Pintail cousins. They often struggle to keep their balance as they dip down to forage.
Plating is not my strongest area, and I’ve only dabbled in deconstruction a few times. I recently picked up some plating tools so I am better prepared now, though the tweezers are all I’ve managed to use successfully. It does help for presentation to not finger the food. This kinda combines a little bit from all the recipes I’ve been using the past three months. My biggest hope is that it doesn’t look as stupid as some of my other attempts at deconstructed plating.
Without a doubt, this is one of the more complex food crations I’ve done. Whether it was properly executed or not is open to interpretation. Though I must say that deconstructed plates of food such as this are definitely more of a challenge at home than in a restaurant setting. The main reason for that is because the restaurant kitchen has a lot more supply of each ingredient to work with and do not require as much thought and care in trying to execute the perfect looking plate. They can make fifty of one dish before getting it perfect; at home... one usually gets one or two chances and their hand is a bit shaky as they are a bit too cautious and unsure about what they are doing. I have gotten some of my more irregular plating jobs right on the first try, and then proceeded to fail every other attempt at that dish since. Other deconstructed dishes I’ve done look like something a five-year-old made. Why do it? Because there are some advantages, the main one being - each ingredient is highlighted and more pronounced. The other being - it’s a good way to make a habit of portion control while still ensuring one gets the necessary calories to hit their total for the day without going over by too much. Lastly, lessons are learned. However, this isn’t something one wants to do every time they cook, as sometimes one just wants a full plate of glop ‘n' slop.
Clear the stove top, prep the surfaces, make room for dirty dishes, we’re deconstructing tuna casserole.
Gremolata Bread Crumbs
Crème Fraîche
Cucumber Vinaigrette
Agave & White Wine Seared Shallot Medallions with Thyme
Portobello Mushroom Slices in Sherry-Worcestershire Sauce
Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna Steak seared in Coconut Oil
Velouté de Céleri
Extra Wide Egg Noodles
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
FIRST THREE COMPONENTS
Gremolata Bread Crumbs
Crème Fraîche
Cucumber Vinaigrette
All three of these components can and should be made in advance.
SECOND THREE COMPONENTS
Agave & White Wine Seared Shallot Medallions with Thyme
Portobello Mushroom Slices in Sherry & Worcestershire
Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna Steak seared in Coconut Oil
These three components all require prep an hour or two ahead of time, and then get cooked just as the next two components fnish cooking.
FINAL THREE COMPONENTS
Velouté de Céleri
Extra Wide Egg Noodles
Before the water is set to heat, the pans or griddle for the tuna, mushooms, and onion should be heated up. Just as the noodles finish and are drained and tossed in some of the veloute, it's time to put the tuna, mushrooms, and onions onthe pans or griddle.
Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
Last but not least.
GREMOLATA BREAD CRUMBS
I’ve made gremolata before, which is a common topping for seafood, and earlier in the month I came across a recipe for bread crumbs that included parsley, garlic, and lemon. I didn’t notice it at first but later realized that it was breadcrumbs with a gremolata mixed in. Of course I’m going to use it as the crumb topping for my de-constructed tuna casserole.
135 g. (1 ½ c.) fresh Bread Crumbs
handful fresh Parsley (stems removed, about 15 grams)
2 lg. Garlic Cloves
Zest of one Lemon
Kosher Salt
* Combine parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and salt and finely chop
* Combine bread crumbs with parsley and garlic mixture
* Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use
* Warm before using if desired
CRÉME FRAÎCHE
I wasn’t going to add this but it’s definitely an ingredient that has found it’s way into a tuna casserole or two. I had some opened containers of heavy cream and buttermilk in the fridge so the wheels started turning and I made a crème fraîche, not necessarily strictly for this. To be honest, this crème fraîche turned out better than expected given that it’s still winter weather here and humidity and warmth aren’t exactly optimal.
As far as the crème fraîche recipe goes, it’s not mine and it never will be, and I don’t know who to credit for it. There’s basically, only one way to do it, rather one ratio to use:
240 ml. (1 c.) Heavy Cream
30 ml. (2 tbsp.) Buttermilk
* Lightly stir a couple times with a spoon
* Cover with a dry towel and allow to thicken in a warm place overnight (about 12 hours)
* Pour into a storage container, cover and refrigerate
* Add to plate as desired
CUCUMBER VINAIGRETTE (DERIVED FROM: The Food Network (foodtv.com)
Cucumber isn’t an ingredient that is common in tuna casserole but it does pair well with fish, evident by the recipe I tried that included it with peppered salmon. Green peas, which are common in tuna casserole, were not going to be included in this recipe but this vinaigrette look like a brighter and more vibrant green on the plate and they definitely add another layers of flavor.
1 English Cucumber (halved lengthwise, seeded, chopped)
60 ml. (1/4 c.) Rice Vinegar
14 g. (1 tbsp.) Sesame Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
* Puree cucumber with rice vinegar until smooth
* Add sesame oil and blend until emulsified
* Season with salt and pepper
* Add to plate as desired
AGAVE & WHITE WINE SHALLOT MEDALLIONS with THYME
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with the shallot but I knew I wanted it on the plate. In the end I opted for contrast and went with a sweet and sour kind of thing. I was a bit perplexed about how I wanted to not only place them on the plate but how to go about incorporating the flavor. In the end... medallions seared in the agave, white wine, & thyme vinaigrette won. There are a lot of options as far as sweeteners go, I avoid granulated sugar whenever possible, and agave is probably my default sweetener of choice as it’s similar to pure maple syrup but with a slight flowery taste to it. This is a vinaigrette, so it will keep for quite awhile if one doesn’t use all of it, and it can have multiple uses from marinade to salad dressing if one wants to make it again.
42 g. (2 tbsp.) Blue Agave Nectar
30 ml. (2 tbsp.) White Wine Vinegar
1-2 g. (1 tsp.) fresh Thyme (finely chopped)
2-3g. (½ tsp.) Kosher Salt
30 ml. (2 tbsp.) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
It’s not exactly a textbook vinaigrette, because my intention is for it to act as a marinade as well as a glaze, so the ratio of sweetener to oil is a bit heavy on the sweetener side.
* Slice shallot into medallions, about 1/4"
* Marinate for about an hour
AHI TUNA STEAK
I’ve cooked raw tuna a few times before and I recently did a pepper crusted salmon recipe I thought was really good so I decided to try it here. The difference... I’m cooking this in coconut oil.
112 g. (4 oz.) Ahi Tuna Steak
Coconut Oil
Kosher Salt
2 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper
* Lightly brush fillet with coconut oil
* Lightly salt fillet
* Gently press pepper into top side of fillet and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes
VELOUTÉ DE CÉLERI
Velouté is one of the five ‘Mother Sauces’ and is what ‘got the ball rolling.’ I was going to make a tuna casserole, and while I usually do make my own cream base, I decided to go full chef and make a textbook velouté . Though I later deviated from the textbook recipe and added celery because I felt celery would enhance the flavor, which should help provide an overall ‘freshness’ to the plate. I then figured, why not add some garlic and some additional seasonings as well.
907 g. (1 qt.) White Stock (chicken, fish, or veal)
satchet (parsley, thyme, bay leaf, black peppercorns)
* Bring stock to a low boil
56 g. (2 oz.) Unsalted Butter
56 g. (2 oz.) finely diced Celery
1-2 Garlic Cloves
* Saute celery in butter until very tender
56 g. (2 oz.) A.P. Flour
* Mix flour into butter until consistent and pale in color
* Whisk roux into stock until consistent, reduce to simmer for 30-40 minutes
* Strain through cheesecloth lined mesh strainer
Salt
White Pepper
* Season with salt and white pepper
* Keep covered on low, warm, until ready to plate
EXTRA WIDE EGG NOODLES
Not much to do with this. If one has a pasta maker then have at it but, either way, it is not a tuna casserole without noodles. The thought of plain, inevitably cold, egg noodles on the plate just wasn’t working for me. So, I decided to toss them in the hot velouté because that would give the noodles flavor and keep them warm for longer.
56 g. (2 oz.) dry Extra Wide Egg Noodles
Velouté de Céleri (warm)
* Cook noodles per instructions on package, drain and set aside
* Toss egg noodles in hot veloute before plating
* Cover and refrigerate any leftovers
AGAVE & WHITE WINE SEARED SHALLOT MEDALLIONS with THYME
I had my doubt during the process but these tasted better than expected.
Marinated Shallot Medallions
* Drain off excess marinade, place into hot pan on high-medium heat for a couple minutes
* Turn and sear other side for a couple minutes and remove from heat
* Plate and drizzle any remaining vinaigrette over top as desired
* Cover and refrigerate any leftovers
PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SLICES IN SHERRY-WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
I wasn’t going to go big with the mushrooms, and I don’t use these type when doing something like a tuna casserole, but eventually I felt they’d work best for presentation purposes.
10 ml. (2 tsp.) Dry Sherry
2.5 ml. (½ tsp.) Worcestershire Sauce
Kosher Salt (as desired)
Cracked Black Pepper (as desired)
* Combine Sherry, Worcestershire. salt, and pepper
drizzle or two of E.V.O.O.
1 dried Red Chile (about 1 gram, pounded or finely chopped, if desired)
1/8 tsp. Kosher Salt
* Heat pan on medium heat, add oil and heat to hot but not smoking
* Add chiles and salt to hot oil in pan
1 Portobello Mushroom Cap (sliced into 1/2" slices)
* Add mushroom slices to oil for 1-2 minutes
* De-glaze with Sherry/Worcestershire mix
* Turn and saute another 1-2 minutes
* When pan is dry, remove from heat, season with salt & pepper as desired
* Plate immediately
PEPPER CRUSTED AHI TUNA STEAK seared in COCONUT OIL (fully prepped)
One may need to melt their coconut oil to brush onto fillet, just be sure to not add hot oil to the fish before cooking, otherwise it could end up more cooked than desired.
Coconut Oil
Prepped Ahi Tuna Steak
* Add coconut oil to hot pan over medium heat
* Add tuna fillet to pan, top side down first, and sear for about 2-3 minutes
* Lift fillet with slotted spatula, add just a touch more coconut oil to hot pan and sear other side for about 2-3 minutes for internal temp of 145 degrees ( it should still have color in the middle)
* Remove from pan and let drain for 30 seconds, and plate
SHAVED PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano was the biggest problem. I’ve tried it before and... I just don’t like how they look when I do them onto a plate. Plus, how do you add shaved cheese to a warm plate? You don’t, and that limited the number of places for the cheese to go.
All the effort of a full Thanksgiving dinner, and none of the food. It is a bit fitting that I am doing this now since about seven years ago at this time of year is when my cooking to a real turn for the better. I was laid up for about a month with two inflamed knees that refused to move, crawling around the house and barely eating, then when I was finely able to stand again and start cooking... it was like a light went on and since then my food crations have been improved. I guess you can say - no fear, I’m doing wtf I want, because most people would have called for help or went to a hospital in that situation.
These are male and female Mallards ("Anas platyrhynchos") feeding on the river Dee, near the city of Chester.
Daemonic Labs (@dabbleapp) launches Dabble in the Mobile Technologies category during DEMO Spring 2012, the Launchpad for Emerging Technologies, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California Wednesday April 18, 2012. For more info on Daemonic Labs please visit bit.ly/DAEMONICLABS. DEMO is sponsored by AARP, Dynamics, Fusion-io, Microsoft BizSpark, Startup America Partnership, Porter Novelli and PlugandPlayTechCenter.com.
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Photos by Stephen Brashear: www.stephenbrashear.com
It is nice to see Pintails. The first couple of years living here(2010-2012), I saw far more than I see now.