Here it is. Another week. We're looking forward to moving ahead in 2009 and re-evaluating our direction and drive. There are so many ideas we want to explore. The blogosphere has been popping up with new sites every day like mushrooms in the grass. Things are so different now. This is a great time in cuisine in so many ways. Thanks to everyone out there sharing ideas and photos and keeping the creative machine rolling.
Inspired by the Frederic Bau book on Chocolate, this is a foie chocolate bar with its very own golden ticket. Who needs gold when you have chocolate and foie? Chef K incorporated creamed foie and fat into an 85% chocolate ganache. The mixture was then studded with chunks of foie parfait, flavored croquant, and cachaca-soaked raisins. It was a very rich dish for being so early in the meal... but, no one complained.
Another variation on the cold bouillabaisse, this time with gel beads of shellfish consommé.
Ben is one of our PM cooks who started as a J&W intern (contacting us via email from this blog... first signal to us that times were changing). He has a great interest in modern cuisine, and came up with this 'hearts of banana' idea. Incorporated with it are peanut butter powder, bacon ice cream, and peanut air. Elvis would be so proud (of both the dish and Ben's sideburns).
An 'affogato' of chocolate sorbet which very strong espresso was frenched over at the table.
Greek flavored lamb loin C-Vapped at 58ºC, halva demi glace, feta powder, whipped garlic oil, crispy grape leaf, and gel cubes of carrot, celery, and tomato. Alex's recent reference to sugo brought visions of classic roasts of meat presented with the braising vegetables. Gelling these flavored juices and serving them along side the protein is a throwback to old cuisine. This halva demi was a simple, but I can't stop thinking about the flavor combination.
We were also very fortunate this week to have help on the mixology side of things from Gabriel Orta of Bar Lab Consulting in Miami. He went with a cachaca theme (in reference to our guest representing Cabana Cachaca), and threw out some nice techniques. We look forward to having him back as there are not a huge amount of chefs or mixologists in the Miami area practicing these modern techniques... but, that number grows everyday. If you're one of them, drop us an email.
Gabriel also brought some liquid nitrogen with him, giving us the first opportunity to actually put our hands in the substance and get a feel for it. After a long battle of trying to get LN2 in our kitchen in 2008, and facing the realization of having to wait a year or more due to economy, this was a very brief but fun experience. We couldn't help but feel a little goofy trying to freeze blackberries, olives, and olive oil late at night while watching the last few grams of nitrogen evaporate into gas. Here's some frozen olive oil powder.
Check, please.