Modern Pastry

1st Day

2012-01-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day at work. I am the Restaurant Pastry Chef at the Fontainebleau Miami. I will be in charge of running the pastry departments at 2 of the hotels Signature Restaurants, Gotham Steak, and Hakkasan. I am very excited for this opportunity. Check back for updates!

New Dessert

2012-01-07T09:44:00.001-08:00

Goats milk bavarois, blood orange segments, buckwheat honey gel, candied orange zest, rehydrated reindeer moss, blood orange jus, dill

A few pics from Miami tasting

2012-01-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Soft chocolate ganache, banana bread, chocolate crumble, crystallized cashews, grated cashew, banana brûlée, chocolate ice cream

Maple custard, toasted hazelnut hache, oatmeal ice cream, maple syrup

Coffee mousse, crystallized walnuts, candied chestnuts, caramel espuma,

"shattered" chocolate ice cream

Manresa's Desserts

2011-12-24T07:22:00.001-08:00

Citrus tapioca and yuzu sherbet, yogurt espuma

Apples in cider lees caramel, with rye crumbs, chestnut with quince sherbet

Pine nut pudding with maple gelatin, candy cap ice cream, sunchoke, chocolate

Chocolate millefeuille with banana and tonka bean, black sesame ice cream, sorrel

Chocolate Madeleine, Strawberry Pate de Fruit

Black Sesame Macaroon

West Coast

2011-12-13T07:46:00.001-08:00

Packing and getting ready for the next adventure...

New Dessert

2011-12-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

Tarragon "custard", ruby red grapefuit, celery, yogurt,

crystallized tarragon, campari gelee, campari gel

My Holiday Wishlist

2011-11-18T06:15:00.001-08:00

1) Vacuum Concentrator- Genevac Rocket $20,000

2) Centrifuge $20,000

3) Rotor Stator Ultrasonic Homogenizer $900

4) Rotary Evaporator $10,000

5) Pacojet $3,500

6) Vitaprep $500

7) Kitchen Aid Pro 600 $400

8) Dehydrator $300

9) Immersion Circulator $800

10) Cvap $5,000

11) Rational Combi Oven $15,000

12) Chamber Sealer with Gas Injection Port $4,000

13) Antigriddle $1,200

14) Thermomix $1,200

15) Centrifan PE $4,000

16) Peristaltic Pump $500

17) Blast Freezer $15,000

18) Freeze Dryer $30,000

Total Holiday Spending: ~ $132,300

The items listed are in no particular order. Please feel free to send the items or donations to my home address. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Grilled Pears at Noma

2011-11-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

During my time at Noma I was introduced to a variety of interesting techniques and ingredients. One of the desserts included a grilled pear and aerated pine parfait. I thought the method to achieving the grilled pear was really neat. You start with a conference pear. You then peel, halve and remove the core. Next you reshape the pear, and apply dill oil to the flat surface. Next comes the grilling. At Noma we used the "Green Egg" grills. Making sure the coals are piping hot we placed the cast iron grill directly on top of the coals. We then waited until the pears were completely blackened on the flat surface before removing them. Upon pick up we peeled off the chared surface leaving a perfectly caramelized grilled pear. We dressed the pear with a pear crudite garnished with oxidized pear juice, juniper, lemon thyme, verbena, bronz fennel, and flowers. The grilled pear was placed on the plate with oxidized pear sauce and the aerated pine parfat. A very simple looking plate with a lot of technique in the components. It was one of my favorite plates because it showed so much technique and provided the guest with a light and seasonal dessert. Below are pictures showcasing the method to the actual grilling of the pear, as well as the finished plate.

Saturday Night Projects

2011-10-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday night at the end of dinner service a few chefs and/or stagiers at Noma prepare a "project" for the entire kitchen to try. Basically during the week chefs will come in early or stay late to work on their project for the week. They will continue to prep for their dish throughout the week whenever they have free time. The chefs/stagiers taste and make changes to their dishes daily. On Saturday night at the end of dinner service, after the kitchen meeting, everyone will gather around the pass and plate there dishes in order of where their dish would come on a menu. (starters, mains, desserts etc.) The chefs/stagiers will each plate 3-6 plates in order for the entire kitchen to have a taste. Chef Rene leads a discussion and breaks down everyones dish and offers constructive criticism to the chefs. Anyone who wants to speak up with their own opinion on a dish is welcomed. I really really enjoyed this part of the week while I was staging at Noma. There is a great sense of urgency throughout the week to get all of your components together. The nervousness overwhelms you as you plate your dish, explain it, and answer questions in front of the worlds greatest chef and 30 of his best kitchen team. A sense of calm and relief overtake you as you clear your plates. Below is a picture of my project I worked on for my last week, as well as a link to Rene Redzepi's twitter feed where you can find pictures and brief explanations of past projects at Noma.

Smoked skyr mousse, fennel, compressed apple, celery ribbons,

apple gel, smoke gel, bronz fennel, lovage, crown fennel, coriander flowers

Rene Redzepi's Twitter Feed: http://twitter.com/#!/ReneRedzepiNoma/media/slideshow?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitpic.com%2F717rlm

AFK.....Noma

2011-10-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

I will be back posting when I return from Denmark, OCT 24.

Goodbye New York...

2011-09-24T11:36:00.001-07:00

My next adventure awaits....Stay tuned

Hydrocolloids- Kappa Carrageenan

2011-09-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Kappa is one of the three Carrageenans extracted from red seaweed. The other two being Iota, and Lambda. Typical manufacturing of the raw seaweed produces a wide range of blends all with different properties. A lot of producers of this particular seaweed derived hydrocolloid follow a specific extraction process that involves cleaning, heated extraction, clarification, concentration, drying, grinding and blending to specific customer needs. After manufacturing you a left with a fine powder. Kappa Carrageenan like Iota forms a thermoreversible gel. (A gel that can be remelted after setting...usually by heating about 10 degrees above the gelling temperature.) It is important to note that Kappa pruduces strong and brittle gels in the presence of potassium. It can also form very creamy textures when used in conjuction with dairy products (milk, cream) in concentrations as low as .15%. Kappa shows a great deal of synergism with Locust Bean Gum, and Konjac Flour, both increasing the gels elasticity and strength. Another important note to consider when using Kappa is the fact that gels formed by using this hydrocolloid are very susceptable to syneresis. (syneresis-the separation or release of water in gels). One can combat syneresis in Kappa gels by using a combination of either LBG (Locust Bean Gum) or Konjac Flour. Kappa is a very versatile gelling agent that can be used in a variety of applications in the kitchen. It has the ability to form gels that set very quickly, which in turn can be remelted and set again. Kappa can also be used in conjuction with Iota and Lambda to create a wide variety of textures.

Meadowood

2011-09-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to fly out to Napa this past week and stage at one of the best restaurants in the country/world. I had an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most professional and humble chefs this country has to offer. I want to thank everyone at Meadowood for a really great experience. A special thanks goes out to Chef Kostow, and Chef Boris. I look forward to seeing and working with everyone again in the near future. Below are a few pics of some of Boris's desserts.

WD~50 for the week 8/31-9/4

2011-09-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

Its always a pleasure to be in the kitchen at WD~50. Creativity, humility, professionalism are a few words that come to mind. Below are a few pictures of "The youngest pastry chef in NY" and his desserts. Thank you again Malcolm, Scott, and the rest of the team at WD~50 for another amazing experience.

New Dessert

2011-08-30T17:03:00.001-07:00

Soft chocolate ganache spheres, chocolate high ratio cake, chocolate crumbs,

matcha sabayon, tempura shards, chocolate vines, yuzu caramel

Lady M

2011-08-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was heading uptown to my favorite bookstore (Kitchen Arts and Letters) when I decided to make a quick stop in at Lady M Cake Boutique. I have heard a lot of talk about their signature Mille Crepes Cakes. Today was my day to be the judge. I decided upon the "Coconut Mille Crepe" The store was packed so I opted for take out. I payed my $8 and took a seat on the curb. I have eaten a lot of cakes and confections in my day...but I have never had anything like this before. There must have been over twenty individual crepes sandwiched together with a light coconut cream filling (I would imagine a coconut diplomat cream) , topped off with toasted coconut. If you have not had a Lady M Crepe Cake you are definitely missing out. Best slice of cake I have ever had!

New Dessert

2011-08-10T14:40:00.001-07:00

Blackberry, cornbread, mascarpone spheres, creme de cassis spheres, honeycomb, palm seeds, basil seeds, sabudana chips, anise hyssop gel strips, assorted flowers

New Dessert

2011-08-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Cherry glazed cherry, cherry cheeks, maraschino gelee spheres,

pistachio pain de genes, rose hip ice chips, freeze dried raspberry,

raspberry tuile, lime zest

New Dessert

2011-08-05T15:42:00.001-07:00

One Bite

Fennel mousse, strawberry, fresh aloe, verbena noodle

Blakes #3

2011-07-30T09:22:00.001-07:00

Black strap molasses royale cube, brûléed peaches, oat crumble, peach ginger black tea sorbet, ginger microwave cake, rye wiskey noodle and bubbles, Cataluna spice tuille.

Lecithin Air

2011-07-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

The other day Blake brought in an aquarium pump to make rye whiskey air. The basic concept of using an aquarium pump to create bubbles is simple. Plug the pump in, regulate the air flow of the pump to create air bubbles. The air was made using rye whiskey, simple syrup, and 1.5% lecithin. The ingredients were sheered well using a vitaprep. Now usually I have seen and used handmixers to sheer the mixture to form stable air bubbles. By using an aquarium pump fitted with a rock diffuser you can create bubbles that have a larger structure to them. Now common physics tells you that the smaller the air bubble the more stable the final mix will be. Using lecithin in your recipe will help in emmulsification as well as the stabilization of these air bubbles. The air itself had great flavor release. It tasted pretty close to taking a shot of whiskey. The bubbles were stable for about 5 minutes or so before they began to deflate. By using the aquarium pump you achieve a very unique looking bubble that not only looks visually appealing but also tastes great. Below are pictures of the aquarium pump blake used, and the rock diffuser. The videos show first the bubbles created using the rock diffuser in water and then the rock diffuser being submerged into the rye whiskey mix creating large stable air bubbles.

Manhattan Magazine

2011-07-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

Below is a link to the July-August edition of Manhattan Magazine where one of my desserts is published

http://digital.modernluxury.com/publication/?i=73931&p=77

Principles of Modernist Cuisine

2011-07-17T13:32:00.001-07:00

The concept of Modernist cuisine is still young and evolving. Its direction has been determined by the vision of individual chefs, rather than by committee or consensus. Still, looking at the movement today, it is possible to discern some shared general principles. In much the same way that the Gault Millau guide outlined the “10 commandments” of Nouvelle cuisine.

1. Cuisine is a creative art in which the chef and diner are in dialogue. Food is the primary medium for this dialogue, but all sensory aspects of the dining experience contribute to it.

2. Culinary rules, conventions, and traditions must be understood, but they should not be allowed to hinder the development of creative new dishes.

3. Creatively breaking culinary rules and traditions is a powerful way to engage diners and make them think about the dining experience.

4. Diners have expectations — some explicit, some implicit — of what sort of food is possible. Surprising them with food that defies their expectations is another way to engage them intellectually. This includes putting familiar flavours in unfamiliar forms or the converse.

5. In addition to surprise, many other emotions, reactions, feelings, and thoughts can be elicited by cuisine. These include humor, whimsy, satire, and nostalgia, among others. The repertoire of the Modernist chef isn’t just flavour and texture; it is also the range of emotional and intellectual reactions that food can inspire in the diner.

6. Creativity, novelty, and invention are intrinsic to the chef’s role.When one borrows techniques and ideas or gains inspiration from other chefs or other sources, that should be acknowledged.

7. Science and technology are sources that can be tapped to enable new culinary inventions, but they are a means to an end rather than the final goal.

8. First-rate ingredients are the foundation on which cuisine is built. Expensive ingredients such as caviar or truffles are part of the repertoire but have no greater intrinsic value than other high-quality ingredients.

9. Ingredients originating in food science and technology, such as hydrocolloids, enzymes, and emulsifiers, are powerful tools in helping to produce dishes that would otherwise be impossible.

10. Diners and chefs should be sensitive to the conditions under which food is harvested and grown. Whenever possible, they should support humane methods of slaughter.

(Modernist Cuisine-pg. 56)

Carbonated Fluid Gel

2011-07-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

So the other day I was looking at Blakes iSi Twist and Sparkle and thinking of things that would be cool to carbonate. I had an idea to carbonate a fluid gel. Now, I have put gels into iSi's (thermowhips, etc.) and charged them with Co2. When you do so, the gel airates with the combined pressure of the Co2. Though you do achieve carbonation, the resulting gel becomes more of a foam. I wanted to produce the same carbonation that you get with a thermowhip but did not want the gel to foam. I wanted the same viscosity you would have with a normal fluid gel. The Twist and Sparkle provided me with the ideal vehicle to achieve this result. I set a loose fluid gel using .5 % low acyl gellan and water as a control. I filled the Twist and sparkle with the water gel and carbonated it twice with Co2. The video below shows the 2nd charge of Co2 into the gel. You can see the suspension of Co2 within the gel. The resulting gel was effervescent and held its structure for about 10 minutes before the carbonation began to fizzle out. The picture below is of the carbonated gel about 5 minutes after being charged twice with Co2. Notice the Co2 bubbles suspended in the gel. I believe this technique could open up a lot of possiblities to create some pretty interesting fluid gels.

Fruition

2011-06-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

fru·i·tion

1. a state or point in which something has come to maturity or had a desired outcome

2. the enjoyment of a desired outcome when it happens

3. the production of fruit by a tree or other plant

Fruition is: Superlative, delicious, handmade chocolate and confections

I had the honor of working with an extraordinarily talented pastry chef and chocolatier a few years back while I was still in school. We worked on a chocolate showpiece alongside Peter Greweling called "Detritus" (pictured below). Over the past few years we have stayed in touch and now he is starting up his own bean to bar chocolate company in Beacon, NY. His name is Bryan Graham. He started making his own chocolate (in his house) about 3.5 years ago and has been doing it ever since. I recently had the pleasure of trying a sample of his 65% chocolate. Let me say this....probably one of the best chocolates I have tasted in a while. Rich and full of delicious flavors and nuances. It had a lot of complexity and depth to it. Really a great chocolate. He plans to be up and running and turning out 500# batches by early July. He mentioned to me that he wants to start with a couple different origins through which he will purchase his beans...Costa Rica and possibly Peru. He plans to have a couple different chocolate percentages from each 65%, 72, a milk, and a dark-milk. One very interesting thing that he mentioned to me is he plans on being able to cater towards his fellow pastry chefs and design specific blends, roasts, covertures etc. to fit there needs. VERY COOL! I am very much looking forward to sampling some more of Bryan's work. Below is a link to his website. I strongly recommend checking it out. Well done Bryan. Congratulations on all your hard work and accomplishments. I cant wait to come up and visit your facilty.

http://www.tastefruition.com/

"Detritus"

New Dessert

2011-06-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

Violet, Raspberry, Acai, Verjus Blanc

Violet custard, crispy angel food cake, argan powder, raspberry gel, acai gel, rasberry tuile, verjus blanc veil, candied violet, acai sorbet, fresh raspberry

Fried Tapioca

2011-05-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

One of Blakes components to his "Blueberry Cheesecake" dessert was very interesting to me and I thought deserved its own post. The component was fried tapioca pearls which he used to add both texture and a unique flavor. The technique he used to create these little fried morsels was really cool. He basically cooked large tapioca pearls in water until they were fully cooked. He then took the pearls which still had some of the slimmy residue on them and spread them onto a dehydrator tray and dehydrated them overnight. (the picture above is the tapioca pearls that have been dehydrated) Blake then proceeded to break the sheet into smaller shards and fried them in grapeseed oil. The shards puffed up a lot as soon as he placed them in the frying oil. The pearl shards took less than a minute to fry in the oil. He took the pearls out and immdiately "seasoned" them with a mixture of freeze dried blueberry, buttermilk powder, and fennel pollen. I tasted the pearls before and after the seasoning. The pearls that were not seasoned had a very neutral flavor and a very crisp and crunchy texture. I really enjoyed learning a new technique for frying tapioca. I think the possibilities for flavoring the finished fried tapioca are endless. You might even try flavoring the cooking liquid that you cook the tapioca in before dehydration and frying. The picture below is a finished shard of fried tapioca after being seasoned. Thank you Blake for making a really awesome component and teaching me a new technique!

Blakes #2

2011-05-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

"Blueberry Cheesecake"

Japanese style sponge, tarragon pebbles, candied anise, blueberry cremeux, fromage blanc mousse, absinthe palm seeds, absinthe drageed almonds, freeze dried blueberries, blueberry tapioca, fennel sorbet, fried tapioca dusted with buttermilk and fennel pollen

Well done Monsieur Blake.

Gel Sheets and Veils

2011-05-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

I have seen and made quite a variety of different types of gel sheets/veils in the pastry kitchen. The actual technique of making most gel sheets is relatively straight forward. You are basically making a very thin sheet of a gel which you will use as a base, wrapper, or veil (a gel sheet that is draped over other ingredients) . Now when you are contemplating which ingredient you wish to gel you have to decide what type of texture, temperature, and application you will be using your gel sheet for. By doing so you can then decipher which hydrocolloid/s if any you are going to use for the specific finished dish. There are a lot of different combinations of gelling agents that can be used to achieve different results. If you want to make really elastic and malleable sheets you can use: straight gelatin, combinations of agar and kappa carageenan, and combinations of high and low acyl gellans. If you wish to make more brittle gels: you can use straight agar, straight low acyl gellan, locust bean gum and kappa carageenan, and agar and low acyl gellan. If you are using products that contain calcium you can use the combination of iota carageenan and gelatin, low methoxy pectins, and low acyl gellan. If you want to make cold sheets you can use: straight gelatin, agar, agar locust bean gum and xanthan, low methoxy pectin and a calcium suppliment such as calcium lactate or calcium gluconate, or I have even heard of chefs using aloe vera. If you want to make hot sheets you can use: high acyl gellan and sodium hexametaphosphate (a sequestrant used to improve stability), agar and locust bean gum, locust bean gum and xanthan gum, agar locust bean gum and sorbitol (a sugar alcohol) Basically a gel sheet or veil can be made from any type of gel that you wish to spread thin and set. By using this technique you can imbue a lot of your food with very delicate flavors, aromas, and textures. The picture above the post is of a past dish at Alinea using tropical fruits and a coconut gel sheet.

Top 3's

2011-05-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Top 3...Favorites

1)Milk chocolate, black bean, plantain, soy, peanut

WD~50

Malcolm Livingston II

2)Toasted coconut cake, carob, smoked cashew, brown butter sorbet

WD~50

Alex Stupak

3) "VIP Set"

Yuzu curd, seasonal fruit, yogurt, nigella, melon

The French Laundry

Daniel Michael Ryan

Top 3...Most memorable

1) "Mat-Plate"

Chocolate, blueberry, tobacco, maple

Alinea

Grant Achatz/ Dave Beran

2) "Coffee and Doughnuts"

Cinnamon-Sugared Doughnuts, and Cappucino Semifreddo

The French Laundry/ per se

Courtney Schmidig/ Elwyn Boyles

3) Ambrosia Melon Sorbet, French Laundry Garden Strawberries
The French Laundry

Courtney Schmidig

Top 3... I wish I could have tried

1) "Creamsicle"

Rooibos, persimmon, orange blossom
Alex Stupak

2) Opera torte, orange blossom, apricot
-Jordan Kahn

3) "Shattered"
dark chocolate shards, milk chocolate cream, lavender gel, black olive, yogurt powder, silver sugar
-Jordan Kahn

Modernist Cuisine

2011-05-10T21:03:00.001-07:00

I finally recieved my copy of the Modernist Cuisine a few weeks ago. One word...Overwhelming. What Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet have put together is brilliant. The wealth of knowledge that one can gain by this volume of books is just, well overwhelming. I have not even begun to scratch the surface of the series yet. Just reading the first couple pages about the authors is inspirational. I really believe that these books are going to instill a great deal of influence on a lot of today's chefs. The amount of work that must have went into making this series is mind boggling. The countless hours of trial, error and calculations should be motivation to us all. If you haven'y already ordered yourself a copy I highly suggest you get on it. I believe they have already sold out of there first printing and will soon be printing the second batch. There is only one drawback to the series and that is the heavty pricetag. I believe amazon is advertising it for $460. I wouldn't shy away from this book just because of the price, just start saving and ask mommy and daddy for some funds. I was ecstatic when my 50 pound box of knowledge showed up on my doorstep (or should I say mailroom) Though it took me about 20 minutes to open all the boxes it was well worth it. I can't say enough good things about this book. If you are at all interested in modern cooking techniques, ingredients, equipment and fundamentals I highly suggest to GO OUT AND BUY IT NOW. Here is one of my favorite pictures from the book. There cooking lab.

Sigh....I wish I had all of those toys

World's Smallest Macaroon

2011-04-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

New Dessert

2011-04-18T21:20:00.001-07:00

Strawberry, yogurt, aloe

New WD~50 Dessert

2011-04-15T21:50:00.001-07:00

Rass el honout cake, coconut cream, freeze dried corn, coriander sauce, compressed pineapple, tamarind ice cream, micro arugula

Cant wait to try it Mr. Livingston.

Endo and Exothermic Reactions

2011-04-10T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well lets start out by first describing what each of these reactions are. An exothermic reaction is a chemical reaction in which heat is given off. An endothermic reaction would thus be the opposite, a chemical reaction in which heat is absorbed. Do not get this confused with endergonic reactions in which energy not heat is absorbed. Now that we know what each reaction is lets talk about some examples of each of these as it relates to the pastry world. Whenever you boil water you are producing an endothermic reaction. The evaporation of water moleculars provides this reaction. The melting of ice crystals also provides you with an endothermic reaction. Another great example of this would be photosynthesis. (The process in which sunlight provides energy to plants to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds) Without this endothermic reaction we wouldn't have all that beautiful produce in which to make our delectable desserts. Lets switch gears and talk about exothermic reactions. Whenever you burn something you are essentially creating an exothermic reaction. So the next time you are toasting nuts spices etc. just think to yourself...wow what a cool exothermic reaction I am creating. Adding concentrated acid to water is also an exothermic reaction. One of my favorite examples would be the production of chocolate. To be even more specific molded chocolate bon bons. Whenever you temper chocolate and cast chocolate molds you are giving off heat (latent heat of crystallization) When chocolate is crystallizing the cocoa butter is actually changing from a liquid to a solid and in turn gives off heat. I was looking on youtube the other day and found a really interesting clip of "hot ice" using the chemical sodium acetate trihydrate. Basically this is a really dramatic exothermic reaction. Check out the link below to learn how to make "hot ice" (Not really related to pastry but still super cool) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-KOYQsIvU

Blakes Dessert

2011-04-05T08:53:00.001-07:00

Cashew, banana, pretzel

Components

Cashew Sponge

Banana Chiboust

Cashew Gianduja

Cashew Powder Pebbles

Banana Gastrique

Chicory Milk Jam

Pretzel Lavash

Drageed Cashews

Malted Milk Meringue

Malted Barley Ice Cream

Blake is our 3rd member of our pastry team at Corton. This is a picture and description of the first plate up of his dessert. Well done Blake!

A Matter of Taste

2011-03-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

I just had the opportunity and pleasure of pre-screening my boss and Chef Paul Liebrandt's new documentary "A Matter of Taste" ,"A Mouthful". Let me just say one word about this film...inspiring. I left the Tribeca screening room with an overwelming sense of pride and enthusiasm. Pride for working for and with one of this countries greatest chefs, and enthusiasm for motivating me to create great desserts for him. The film was a brilliant overview of Paul's career here in NY. The documentary really goes into a great amount of detail about the passion he has for great food. The level of sophistication, refinement and finesse he shows through out the film is evident in every dish that comes out of Cortons kitchen. Below is a link to a trailer for the documentary which will air in June on HBO. http://eater.com/archives/2011/02/02/the-trailer-for-a-mouthful-the-paul-liebrandt-movie.php

New Dessert

2011-03-16T23:01:00.001-07:00

Green apple, coffee, cardamom, yogurt, quinine

Aloe Vera

2011-03-13T19:25:00.001-07:00

Aloe Vera is most typically associated with beauty products. You can also use in cuisine. Aloe Vera is a perennial plant in the Lilacea family. It originated in eastern and southern Africa. People first, and still to this day use it for its medicinal properties. Usually these plants need to mature for up to 5 years before it can be considered for use. In order to make this plant palatable you must first remove its skin. You will then be left with a very sticky and undesirable mass. You must take this mass and soak it in water baths (changing the water every couple of hours) until all of the resinous matter has been thouroughly cleansed. You will then be left with a translucent vegetable that has a very gelatinous texture, and in my opinion a very unique and interesting flavor. Aloe can be used as a thickener/ emulsifier, and even as a gelling agent. To properly disperse and hydrate the aloe in your aqueous medium you must emulsify it into whatever you wish to thicken/emulsify/gel and bring this mixture to a boil. It has emulsification properties close to that of soy lecithin. Its gelling capibility is similar to that of a standard protein based gelatin. I really believe that aloe has a wide range of use in the pastry kitchen. It has a very pleasant taste when properly handled and treated. The only downfall to this pant is the time it takes to properly mature (3-5 years). A lot of companies now sell already processed aloe that is ready to eat/drink. The plant has a vast array of medical and well as nutritional benefits to its consumption. It contains many nutrients that your body craves on a daily basis including Vitamin C, and antioxidants. I have used aloe in the past to make sorbet that I "pacotized" which came out very pleasing. It was paired with strawberries and black sesame. I would love to experiment more with its gelling and emulsifying properties, rather than just in its raw state. Below is a picture of the plant before processing

Pastry Chef at WD~50

2011-03-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Malcolm Livingston II......

wins for the cheesiest smile ever

V-Day at WD~50

2011-03-09T20:40:00.001-08:00

Clove cake, milk chocolate cream, violet ice cream, violet sauce, raspberry meringue, candied nibs, milk foam

Wish I could have eaten this Malcolm

New Chocolates

2011-03-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Coffee

Meyer Lemon

Pomegranate Tuile

2011-02-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

The picture above is the tuile I used for my new dessert. It is made by taking pomegranate juice, and lemon juice and thickening them with a modified food starch called ultra tex. Ultra tex is derived from tapioca. It exhibits a lot of the same characteristics from that of a modified cooked starch. The interesting thing about ultra tex is that it is cold water soluble, meaning that you do not need to heat the liquid being thickened. The way I hydrate the ultra tex into my pomegranate lemon juice mixture is by using a vitaprep. The ratio of ultra tex I used for this particular application is 5%, meaning if I were to use 500g of liquid I would use 25g of ultratex. It seems like a lot but ultra tex does not exhibit a lot of flavor. When I am done sheering in my ultratex I pass the mix through a fine chinoise. I leave the mix to fully hydrate overnight. The next day I take a piece of actetate and spray it with cooking spray and then wipe off the excess. I spread the pomegranate tuile mix as thin as possible onto the actetate and then place into a dehydrator until crisp. (usually about 24-36 hours) What I think is unique about this tuile is the fact that it spiderwebs. (which was actually a mistake that I took advantage of) Also I really like the clarity of the tuile, it is basically like red glass. I think the tuile itself looks very interesting kind of like a dreamcatcher. You can break the tuile apart into shards and you will still get the same effect on the plate. (See below New Dessert)

New Dessert

2011-02-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

Popcorn, pomegranate, brown butter, caramel, smoke

Ai Fiori 2/10

2011-02-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

I recently had the chance to go into Michael White's new restaurant Ai Fiori with my girlfriend and her parents. We had a spectacular meal. We played the passing game with every dish, which allowed all of us to try just about everything on the menu. Below are a few of Robert Truitt's desserts. My favorite.....Baba al Rhum, beautiful and tasty. Thank you to everyone at Ai Fiori for a memorable evening

Baba al Rhum, tropical fruit, passion fruit coulis, crema di coco (Baba al Rhum plated separate)

Vacherin, basil cream, walnut, persimmon, meyer lemon sorbet

Dark chocolate tart, grapefuit, anise, hazelnut gelato

Coulant, lemon honey, stracciatella gelato

Mignardises

WD~50 2/10

2011-02-10T21:38:00.001-08:00

Had to make a stop back to check out Malcolm's new desserts. One word...incredible. See for yourself

Caramel, buttermilk, kumquat, orange blossom.

Chamomile, almond cake, dandelion root, apple, celery

Milk chocolate, black bean, plantain, soy, peanut

Computer problems... I will be back up and posting soon

2011-02-05T07:37:00.000-08:00

Volatile Compounds

2011-01-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

So...I was talking with my friend (and now pastry chef at WD~50) today about flavor combinations. While we were chatting he brought up an intersting topic, volatile compounds in food. Basically a volatile compound is an organic and or chemical compound that can be found in food. I have not yet down much research on the topic but I can assure you I definitely will be. If you know what the chemical breakdown of certain foods are you can begin to match and pair flavor profiles with like chemical structures. Very intersting stuff. My friend told me there are books on the topic but they are extremely expensive. If anyone knows of any online databases or free lists of these compounds PLEASE post me a link. I would love to learn more about this fascinating subject.

Tapioca Pearls

2011-01-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

Tapioca pearls have to be one of my favorite ingredients in the pastry kitchen. I really love the versatility they give to a dish. They can impart a great deal of flavor as well as add a unique texture to your desserts. Tapioca is a starch derived from the cassava plant. The starch is then broken down into: powders, flakes, sticks, meal, and pearls. Tapioca pearls being the most common of the commercial starch. All of the forms powders, pearls etc. must be rehydrated before being cooked. When you begin to cook your tapioca pearls they will begin to absorb the moisture and begin to swell. After a few minutes they will begin to get very sticky and "snotty". I have found it very useful to rinse the gelatinous mixture from the pearls through a china cap with warm water, add the rinsed pearls back to your pot with your desired cooking liquid and cook over low heat stiring constantly. The tapioca pearls will become more and more translucent as they finish cooking. I always like to give them a taste to check there doneness. I usually pull them from the heat when there is a small spec of white in the middle of the pearl. You may want to cook them longer or shorter depending on your desired end result. Below are a few pics of some different sizes of tapioca pearls as well as a few of my favorite dishes that include tapioca pearls. Not in any specific order listed from the top picture down.....Oysters and Pearls- The French Laundry (not a dessert, but probably the best two bites I have ever put in my mouth), Pink Lady Apple Sorbet Set- The French Laundry, and Bubble Gum Shooter- Alinea.

Food Saver

2011-01-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

When you usually think of food savers your thoughts might take you to your at home vacuum sealer. My thoughts take me to the pastry kitchen. Yes I do have an at home food saver. I usually use it for marinating and sealing products to be frozen. (extending the shelf life) Lately my fellow workers and I have been using the plastic food saver containers to aerate ice creams chocolate and even gels. Basically the process that we go through is this (for aerated ice cream): spin or pacotize your ice cream base as normal, pipe you spun ice cream into your food saver container, place the lid on and twist the cap to the open setting, place your food saver container into an industrial cryovac machine and start taking the air out, the ice cream will begin to boil and thus create air pockets, when the cycle has completed take you food saver with you aerated ice cream out of the cryovac machine and twist the cap to the closed setting thus trapping the air and preventing your ice cream from collapsing, reserve the container in a freezer until needed. I have also used these containers to aerate chocolate to form aerated chocolate deco and other interesting textures. What I would like to experiment on next is an aerated pate des fruits using this technique. Below are some pics of my at home food saver, the container used for making the aerated products, and the lid which shows the open/close valve.

Smoked Bread

2011-01-16T13:20:00.001-08:00

We just started implementing a new bread at Corton. It is a lean dough mini baguette. What makes this bread unique and interesting is the fact that we smoke the flour and use a smoked beer in the recipe. We smoke the flour in hotel pans with hay. The bread flour itself imparts a great deal of smokiness from this process. We also use a smoked beer for some of the liquid in the recipe. By using both the smoked flour and the smoked beer the finished product has a very pleasant aroma and taste of smoke. Now all we need is some nice smoked butter and smoked salt to accompany it and then we will have smoke overload for one aspect of our bread service. Well done Blake thanks for coming in today. The pics are: the label from the smoked beer (dont ask me to pronounce it), and the baguettes proofing after preshaping and shaping.

so good..

2011-01-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

If you havent already figured it out so good magazine might possibly be the best magazine out there for pastry. I have always been a big fan since the first issue. This particular magazine comes out twice a year, and is a highly anticipated item for me. I have not purchased the most recent issue yet but I can assure you it will be bought very soon. There are a few individuals who I must congratulate for there appearances in my favorite magazine; Alex Stupak, Robert Truitt, Grant Achatz and Francisco Migoya. Well done gentleman you all set the example.

Natural Chocolate Deco

2010-12-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

I first saw this technique demonstrated by Jordan Kahn. I believe he used white chocolate and matcha. (dont quote me on that) Basically all I did was take some tempered dark chocolate and piped random swirls onto sifted coconut powder. I then sifted more coconut powder on top of the piped designs. I let the chocolate crystallize and then carefully removed the deco from the coconut powder. I think this technique is a pretty cool way to make natural looking vines, twigs, shapes, etc. Not to mention the chocolate and coconut powder go really well together and taste great. Enjoy!

Perfect Chocolate

2010-12-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

What a sharp looking chocolate.

24k Deco

2010-12-07T21:14:00.001-08:00

So I first saw this technique on the pages of one of my favorite books, Siete. Paco Torreblanca, the father of pastry in my mind had his hand in on developing this method. I think the broken shards of gold chocolate are visually appealing. They also give texture, with the snap of your properly tempered chocolate.

I first lay out small sheets of acetate on top of a flat service, in this case a cutting board. I then place the gold leaves down on the pre cut acetate.

Next, I spoon a small amount of tempered dark chocolate on top of the gold leaf.

I then lay another sheet of acetate on top of the tempered chocolate and gold leaf. I use a pallet knife to spread the chocolate evenly over the gold.

I then lay another cutting board on top of the deco. I weigh the top cutting board down until the chocolate has fully crystallized.

A finished gold shard

Hermetic Jars

2010-12-05T16:02:00.001-08:00

I have always been a firm believer of organization inside and outside of the kitchen. Just a few of my personal belongings.

New Dessert Cont.

2010-11-28T07:56:00.000-08:00

Kaffir, Coconut, Pineapple, Macadamia nut

Basil Seeds

2010-11-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese Basil Seeds. I have also heard them called Subja Seeds, Sabja Seeds, Takmaria Seeds, as well as a host of other names. This specific seed is one of the main ingredients in the Indian dessert Falooda. This varietal of basil seed begins to bloom when submerged in water. The whole process from seed to bloomed seed only takes about 5-10 min. The finished product does not have a lot of flavor. I think it is more of a texural and visual component. The bloomed seeds remind me of tapioca pearls with a little crunch on the inside. I will be using these seeds on a new dessert at Corton. The pictures below are unbloomed seeds, seeds blooming in water, and the finished bloomed seeds

Congratulations

2010-11-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Chicago for finally getting rated by the Michelin guide. And Congrats to both former employers Grant Achatz and Laurent Gras of Alinea and L20 for recieving 3 stars. Well done

Chocolates

2010-11-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Unmolding at Corton

New WD~50 Dessert Cont.

2010-11-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

Grapefuit curd, Hibiscus, Campari, Sorrel streusel, Sorrel sorbet.

(Nice pic Malcolm, can't wait to try it!)

NYC Chocolate Show

2010-11-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day to attend. I had the pleasure of visiting the 2010 NYC Chocolate Show on my birthday (November 11). Let me just say this, I am still recovering from chocolate overdose. With over 50 participants the chocolate show boasted a staggering lineup. From what I saw there was a host of "mom and pop" private businesses with only a small number of heavy hitters eg. Valrhona, Guittard, Michel Cluizel. If you are like me and can not live without chocolate you must stop what you are doing right now, and take a trip to the Metropolitan Pavilion for the last few hours of this glorious event. Booth after booth of : hand dipped truffles, molded chocolates, chocolate sculptures, dragees, hot chocolate, wine, pralines, couverture, etc. It was a great way to spend my birthday afternoon. Below are a few pictures of some chocolate sculptures that caught my eye as well as the E. Guittard booth, and some assorted bon bons.

Talenti

2010-11-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto, an artisan gelato and sorbet maker. The brand originated in Florentine in the mid 1500's by Bernardo Buontalenti. The gelatos and sorbets are made from all natural ingredients of the highest quality. So...I was at the store the other day and was in the market for ice cream. I came across this brand that I have never heard of or tried before. So I go ahead and pick up a pint. It actually has a very nice mouthfeel. A little airier than what I expected from a typical gelato, but overall very nice. With a price point of nearly $7.00 a pint it is the most expensive brand that I have ever come across (probably $4 worth of packaging). The picture above is the lid and below is the container and the rest of my order. God I love ice cream.

Curtis Duffy

2010-11-06T22:17:00.000-07:00

www.Curtisduffy.com (must see)

Modernist Cuisine

2010-11-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

A line of books coming March 2011. I cannont wait until this series is released. Authors, Dr. Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet have put together what looks to be an outstanding volume of books. The 6 volumes will have a pricetag of $500.00. You can begin to pre-order your books on amazon. With chapters like: Microbiology for Cooks, Heat and Energy, The Physics of Food and Water, Cooking Sous Vide, Thickeners, Gels, Emulsions, Foams, etc. these books will be a highly sought after item for cooking professionals. From what I have seen the photography is phenomenal. I am going to start saving now for this book

Two Tone Pate de Fruit

2010-10-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

Quite possible the coolest Pate de Fruit I have ever seen. The two flavors I used for this Pate de Fruit are Verjus Blanc, and Verjus Rouge. Verjus translates to "green juice". It is basically the liquid taken from white and/or red wine grapes before they undergo fermentation. The grapes are broken down and harvested when the natural sugars in the fruit are at there peak. The Pate de Fruit is a pretty standard confection when it comes to the pastry kitchen. It is basically a gel that is set with pectin. In this recipe I used high methoxyl pectin, sugar, glucose powder, and a citric acid solution. I scaled both recipes, both a little different than the next taking into consideration solids content, natural sugars, and acidity. I began by cooking the Pate de Fruit that required the higher temperature first, pooring it on a silpat with confectionary bars as a frame. Directly after pooring the first batch I began cooking the 2nd. Before pooring the 2nd batch on top of the 1st I used a heat gun to warm the top layer of the 1st. (ensuring a solid adhesion between the two) I think the two tone is a more modern take on the classic confection. Not to mention it looks really cool and tastes great.

COI

2010-10-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

Above: Pastry Chef Bill Corbett and myself. Below is a picture of one of the Pastry Chef Bill Corbett's summer desserts. It is Caramelized White Chocolate Namelaka, Raspberries, and Sorrel. It was very refreshing and artfully presented. I really enjoyed the short time I had working alongside Chef Corbett. They are doing some really great things at COI. I highly recommend making a stop in and eating if you are in the Bay Area anytime soon. I also hear that Daniel Patterson and Bill Corbett have big plans for Plum, a new Oakland restaurant as well. I look forward to eating there the next time I make it to California.

New iSi Product

2010-10-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

It is called the "Twist and Sparkle" It is basically a more affordable soda siphon. Williams and Sonoma are selling it for $49.95. From what I can tell you would add your liquid or anything that you wish to carbonate into the plastic bottle, insert a Co2 canister into the top, and screw the top on to add carbonation. It seems like it could come in handy when making cocktails, or any other carbonated beverage. I wonder if the little wand has to be submerged into the "liquid" or if the entire bottle would be carbonated upon the C02.

Hydrocolloids- Agar

2010-09-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Agar is another example of a phycocolloid (a colloid extracted from seaweed). It was actually discovered years before the other 2 phycocolloids (carrageenan, and alginate). Agar is a very versatile gelling agent. It forms thermo-reversible gels that gel when cooled and melt upon reheating. When using agar it is good to know that even the smallest concentrations (.2%) can create a stable gel. When used as your sole gelling agent agar forms brittle gels with a very short texture. I have used agar for a variety of different applications in the pastry kitchen. One of the biggest uses that I have come across is "fluid gels". Basically a fluid gel is a gel that has been set and then reblended to form a "thickened" sauce or puree. Agar can also be used in conjuction with other hydrocolloids to form a wide range of textures. One of the most common synergies is the agar/ locust bean gum (LBG) concentration. By adding a small ammount of LBG to your recipe you can vastly change the outcome of the gel. The gel strength will be increased, and the texture of the resulting gel will become more elastic. This can provide a better mouthfeel when eating the gel. Agar gels also have the ability to become heat stable to a point. Gels made using agar can be held at temperatures up to ~80 C before remelting. This can be a desired property if your trying to make a "hot gel". Below is a basic fluid gel recipe using agar.

Fluid Gel
350 liquid
1.5 agar
.5 ascorbic acid
1.5 gelatin
tt sugar

Method
Bloom gelatin in ice water
Sheer agar, ascorbic, and sugar into liquid
Bring the liquid to a boil while whisking
Simmer for 1 minute
Take off heat, and add bloomed gelatin
Poor out and leave to set
Vitaprep the gel smooth
Pass
Enjoy

Corton

2010-09-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

Day 1, excited.

My Apologies

2010-09-22T10:35:00.001-07:00

I apologize to anyone who has left a comment and I did not respond, I am a rookie blogger and just realized how to check my comments.

NY Starchefs

2010-09-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I was not able to attend the NYC starchefs, but have been hearing many great things about the demostrations and presentors. If anyone has attended and would like to post a comment about your experience I would love to hear any feedback. I do know that they have a few more classes/demos today, I am not sure what the scheduel is like for tomorrow. Please fill me in, I am dying to know details.

iSi ?

2010-09-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

By the way, does anyone know what iSi stands for?

iSi Thermowhip

2010-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have used a variety of different cream chargers. I have found that the iSi Thermowhip works the best for me. If you dont already know what an iSi creamer is I will tell you. They are a brand of cream chargers originally meant to make whip cream at home. It is basically a metal canister that holds liquid or other ingredients, it is air tight, and when used in conjuction with either Co2 or No2 you can make a variety of whipped or soda charged recipes. I really like the thermowhip because you can hold hot or cold ingredients in it without having to reheat or chill the canister before use. Cream chargers are very versatile tools in the pastry kitchen. You can make a wide range of recipes: foams, espumas, drinks, cakes, soups, sauces, whipped creams, etc. Below is a basic chocolate mousse recipe that can either be used hot or cold, I prefer hot.

Chocolate Mousse

500 Chocolate 64% or 72%

200 Whole Milk

75 Cream

1ea. Used Vanilla Bean

p Salt

Method

Sous Vide all ingredients together in a bag

Place bag in hot water to melt

Remove vanilla bean and poor into iSi Thermowhip

Charge with 3-4 Cream Charges

Enjoy

Hydrocolloids- Dispersion vs Hydration

2010-09-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

One must lead to the next. Lets first discuss the definitions of each term as they relate to hydrocolloids. Dispersion is a mixture of two components that are not alike. This usually relates to the chemical (hydrocolloid) that is being used and an aqueous solution (water). Hydration is the process when the chemical (hydrocolloid) binds with the aqueous solution (water) and becomes fully dissolved. Now that we have gotten the definitions out of the way I can explain some of the different methods in which to disperse and hydrate your hydrocolloid. There are a few different ways in which to disperse hydrocolloids. First and foremost not all hydrocolloids can be dispersed in the same manner. When adding your hydrocolloid it is important to know whether or not it can be dispersed using cold water or hot water. It is also important to know if the the said hydrocolloid should be mixed with another ingredient before being added to the water. In most cases the hydrocolloid can be dispersed easier if mixed with sugar, oil, and/or alcohol. Now that your gelling agent has been dispersed in your liquid it must be hydrated in order to achieve the desired set. To properly hydrate your gel there are a few different methods that you can take depending on what it is that you are gelling. Under most circumstances a strong sheer may be used. Either a hand mixer or even better the vortex of a vitaprep will work. You may also need to heat or cool your dispersion in order to achieve a fully hydrated gel. There are a few signs that you have aquired a properly hydrated mixture. The mix may appear to swell or become more viscous. This is a good indication that you have properly hydrated your gelling agent. You can now leave your gel to set. You disperse to hydrate.

Quote

2010-09-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

-Dr Robert Schuller

WD~50 8/29

2010-08-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

I once again took a trip to NY, and I once again had a quick bite at one of my favorite restaurants. I had the honor of trying a few of Alex and Malcolm's new desserts. The 1st being "Rainbow Sherbet" (already posted a pic). The second new dish was my friend Malcolm's creation. A soft chocolate ganache (incredible), candied nibs, frozen raspberry, raspberry longpepper sauce, and ricotta ice cream. The dish was stunning. See for yourself...Hats off to WD~50, Alex, and Malcolm once again

To The French Laundry

2010-08-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you for an amazing experience I hope to stay in touch with all of you.

Truffle Indulgence

2010-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Macmbouche

2010-08-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

A take on the classic croquembouche made and constructed by: Elwyn Boyles, Malcolm Livingston, Richard Capizzi

Modified Food Starch- Tapioca Maltodextrin

2010-08-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

Also refered to as N-Zorbit M Tapioca Maltodextrin is a modified food starch derived from tapioca starch. It plays a very pivotal role in the stabilization of aqueous mediums. Another interesting thing to consider when using tapioca maltodextrin is that when combined with high fat solutions (oils, butter, fat) it will transform the liquid fat into a free flowing powder. I have used tapioca maltodextrin to make a variety of powders from many different types of oils and fats. Some of my favorite oils to use in my recipes are nut oils. A basic recipe follows:

Nut Powder

30g nut oil

27g tapioca maltodextrin

5g 10x sugar

10g dextrose

tt salt

Method

Whisk all ingredients together

Pass through a tamis

Reserve in a dry vessel

"Quote"

2010-08-08T13:47:00.001-07:00

Creativity is seeing something that no one else sees

- Ferran Adria

TFL Desserts Continued

2010-08-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

1) Passion cremeux, pistachio crumble, white chocolate cream, passion sauce, white chocolate sorbet, yogurt, strawberry

2) Ricotta cake, blueberry gel, lemon curd, pinenut nougatine, buttermilk sorbet

3) "Snickers"

4) Grilled peach, vanilla basil ice cream, almonds

Past per se Desserts

2010-07-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

1) Cherry, hazelnut, tarragon

2) "Mud Cake", liquid caramel, sassafras

3) "Snickers"

4) Coconut, pineapple

Hydrocolloids- Pectin

2010-07-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

Pectin is a very common hydrocolloid in most kitchens. There is a variety of different types of pectin that react differently to changes in ingredients used. The two most common types of pectin that I have come across are; high methoxyl, and low methoxyl. Both types of pectin are extracted from natural means. Most commonly they are obtained from the skins and pomace of citrus and apples. The two types of pectin mentioned above (high and low methoxyl) differ in the degree of esterification. Esterification meaning in this case a chemical reaction between alcohol and acid reactants. Basically the higher the DM (degree of methylation) the faster the set will be in the pectin. (taking into consideration other ingredients used). High methoxyl pectins are characterized by their; thermoirreversability and ability to gel in high sugar, low pH (acidic) solutions. Low methoxyl pectins are characterized by their; thermoreversability, and ability to gel in the presence of calcium. Whether you are using low or high methoxyl pectins in your formula you must take into consideration a few variables; the ammount of sugar you are using, pH level, calcium level, ammount of solids, and the reactivity of the pectin. By knowing how each ingredient will react to the ammount of pectin used you can begin to formulate recipes to achieve your desired texture and consistency. This will take trial and error...fortunately you can always learn from your mistakes.

VIP Sets Continued...

2010-07-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

1) Chocolate, Cherry, Hazelnut

2) Snickers

3) Fresh Fruit Skewer

Hydrocolloids- Gelatin

2010-07-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Gelatin may be the most common of the hydrocolloids. It is a protein derived from the collagen and connective tissue of animals. Gelatin can usually be found in 2 different forms; powdered or leaf. Gels made using gelatin are characterized by there transparent appearance and are also thermoreversible. Gelatin forms a soft elastic gel that gives a melt in your mouth feeling. When using gelatin as your main gelling agent you have to take into consideration the bloom strength of the gelatin (the gelling strength). Most leaf gelatins are classified by their bloom strength and given names; Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Bronze being the weakest and Platinum being the strongest. Gelatin is a very useful hydrocolloid because it can be used synergistically with other gelling agents to give a variety of different textures and properties. To use gelatin you must first hydrate or bloom your gelatin in cold water. I usually throw in a couple ice cubes as well. After a few minutes the gelatin leaf will become elastic and soft. To add your gelatin to your mix you must heat a small portion of the mix and dissolve your bloomed gelatin leaf in the heated mixture. You can then add your heated gelatin mix to your original mix and leave to set. Gelatin is a very versatile hydrocolloid with many uses in the kitchen. It is one of my favorite gelling agents because of its ease of use, the soft elastic texture it gives to your product, and the fact it can be used in conjunction with other gelling agents to form a variety of different textures.

Words to live by...

2010-07-17T14:07:00.001-07:00

Can be found on the walls of Thomas Keller's Restaurants

A Few VIP Sets

2010-07-14T11:14:00.001-07:00

1) Strawberry, balsamic, passion gel, pistachio crumble, passion sorbet, lemon granite

2) Chocolate Tart, almond crunch, banana sorbet, chocolate sauce

3) Compressed watermelon, passion gel, passion fruit seeds, passion sorbet, lemon granite

4) Strawberry Float

New WD~50 Dessert

2010-07-12T09:36:00.001-07:00

Rainbow sherbet, rhubarb, lemon balm, orange, olive oil

Hydrocolloids- Gellan Gum

2010-07-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Gellan Gum is a man made polysacharide made by fermentation. There is a variety of different variations of this gelling agent. The two most popular variations that I have come across in the food industry are categorized by their alcohol precipitation content used in manufacturing (low acyl, high acyl). These two variations of the gum can help to produce a wide variety of textures. Low acyl gellan gum is characterized by forming firmer gels with a more brittle texture, similar to the gels formed by agar and/or Kappa Carrageenan. On the other hand high acyl gellan gum is characterized by forming gels that are softer and more elastic. Another major difference between the two varietals is that the low acyl gels are thermoirreversible meaning that once the gel is dispersed, hydrated, and set it will not melt. High acyl gellan gum is thermoreversible meaning it can be melted and re gelled after the gel has been set. Gellan gum is a fairly young hydrocolloid in the food industry. I am sure further advances in studies of this hydrocolloid will provide the food industry with continued usages for the product.

Past TFL Desserts

2010-07-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

1) Savarin Au Citron" Citrus "Vierge" Per Mio Figlio Olive Oil and Staus Dairy "Creme Glacee

2) Rhubarb & Kumquat "Vol-Au-Vent" Vanilla "Chiboust, Poppy Seed Ice Cream and 30-year aged Balsamic Vinegar

3) English Cucumber Sorbet, White Verjus Gelee, Green Grape, and Quinine-Juniper Foam

Hydrocolloids- Iota Carrageenan

2010-07-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Iota Carrageenan is a phycocolloid meaning a hydrocolloid that is derived from seaweed. In this case red seaweed. It is one of three Carrageenans, the others being Kappa and Lambda. Some of the main advantages of using Iota as a thickening or a gelling compound is that it yields more elastic or softer gels, as opposed to one of its brothers Kappa that produces more rigid or brittle gels. When constructing formulas using iota it is important to note that it reacts best with the presence of calcium (ie milk, cream, etc). It is also important to note that gels made using iota have the ability to be frozen and then thawed before use. This makes it possible to make a base and to mold it and freeze it or keep it frozen and to take it out before service, thus prolonging the shelf life of the gel. I have found that there is a wide range of ratios in weight of iota:rest of ingredients that you could use depending on what your desired end result will be. You also have to take into consideration the formula you are using; whether or not your using milk instead of cream or other dairy products (fat concentration), are you using an acid in your base, how much sugar are you going to add, how much salt your going to add. There are many factors that will determine the final outcome of your finished product. I have seen and made gels that eat like cooked custards using a ratio of 1K of base:2-3g of iota (.002-.003). I have also used iota in combination with other stabilizers in ice cream formulas. I have found that by using iota in my base it promotes a creamier mouth feel to the finished frozen dessert. When it comes down to it Iota Carrageenan is a very versatile hydrocolloid, with a vast array of uses in a modern kitchen.

Inspiration Continued

2010-06-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Having been here in Yountville California I have become more in touch with nature. Just being outside and walking around Yountville and Napa I have come to realize that there are many different aspects in nature that can be replicated and/or reproduced in the kitchen. Being able to see the apricots and the first of the season peaches growing on trees and then going into work (TFL) and breaking them down and turning them into something else is just awesome. I can now see why a lot of these restaurants in this area recieve some of the best produce in the country. It is truely a "farm to table" experience being in Napa and I love it.

Yogurt From Scratch

2010-06-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

While I was working at L20 I wanted to make a dessert using yogurt. Laurent had the idea of making yogurt from scratch. So I did some research as to how I would go about doing this. I found a website that you could order live cultures from. Here is a link to the website http://www.dairyconnection.com/. Basically what these cultures contain are live bacteria. Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium longum are the main bacteria’s found in all of dairy connections cultures (in different moderations) The bacteria’s are combined and then freeze dried. When you order the bacteria culture you will have to store them in a freezer to keep the bacteria dormant. Now let’s get to the “how to” portion of yogurt making. There are a lot of factors that will determine your final product, so experimentation will be necessary to create your desired end result. I will give you a basic recipe that I used to make my yogurt:

1G Vitamin D Milk
¼ t ABY-2C Culture

Your method is as follows:
1) Take you Milk and heat it to 185 degrees F (Pasteurizing)
2) Poor hot milk over an ice bath and chill to 115 degrees F.
3) Whisk in your culture.
4) Poor your mixture into stainless steel bowls.
5) Hold the milk and culture at a constant 115 degrees F for about 8 hours (I used a rational steam oven set to 115 degrees F dry heat with no fan)
6) Remove from oven and reserve in a refrigerator until yogurt is chilled.

Now if you wanted to alter this recipe I will give you a few options and explain what each ingredient will do to your yogurt. If you wanted a yogurt with more body you could add milk powder when you add your culture in the above recipe. You could also combine cream into your milk for a richer yogurt. If you wanted a yogurt with more acidity you will have to incubate or hold the mixture at 115 degrees F for longer than 8 hours. If you wanted to flavor your yogurt (Honey, Fruit etc) you can do so by folding in your flavoring after you yogurt has been chilled in the refrigerator. I hope that I have enlightened and inspired you to go out and try making fresh yogurt on your own. Below is a picture of the 1st plating of my dessert. (Not how the dessert is plated on the menu)

The French Laundry

2010-05-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

Just got into Yountville less than 12 hours ago. Let me just say this, Yountville = Beautiful. Such a quaint little town. I started off my 1st morning by waking up at 6am (still jet-lagged) and going to get some coffee at Bouchon Bakery. I then strolled through town checking out all the little shops and restaurants. I start my stage at the French Laundry on Monday. I am very excited about this opportunity. I will be here at the Laundry for 3 months. From what I hear from friends these 3 months (June, July, and August) are the best. Spending the summer in Napa is going to be an amazing experience. I am sure I am going to learn a lot and meet some great people along the way. To be continued....

Pacojet vs. Batch Freezer

2010-05-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

I have worked in some of this countries top restaurants and they have all had some type of machinery to spin ice cream. Which machine works better batch freezers or the Pacojet? Well I believe it is a matter of opinion. You have to look at a few variables when thinking about this topic. First and foremost how much money are you going to have to purchase your machinery? What types of products are you going to be making? How much space do you have available etc.? There are a lot of things that you must consider when purchasing. When it comes to functionality, both machines will produce a quality product. You have to look at the pros and cons of each machine and think about which will be the best fit for your business. If you are not familiar with the Pacojet I will give a brief explanation. It is basically a tabletop machine that weighs about 30 pounds and has a very small footprint on the counter. The way this machine works is that it uses beakers specifically designed to fit as the vessel to put your ice cream/sorbet base into. You place the beaker filled with your base into a freezer and freeze the liquid solid. After it has frozen completely you place the beaker into the Pacojet machine fitted with a blade attachment. Basically what happens is that a blade drills down into the frozen ice cream and “shaves” the base so fine that it appears to be “churned.” The texture and mouth feel of the finished product is very smooth with very small ice crystals. The way a regular batch freezer works is that you poor your base into the machine and a paddle aerates the ice cream while a cooling element chills the mixture. There are certain machines that you can adjust the speed of the paddle to create more or less overrun (amount of air that is incorporated into your base as it is churned). There are many factors to choose from when purchasing an ice cream machine. I just wanted to touch on a few things that I thought are of importance. I believe that every establishment serving plated desserts should have at least one type of machine to produce frozen confections.

WD~50 Desserts

2010-05-22T08:12:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of eating Wd~50's Tasting Menu on Thursday. By far the most creative menu I have ever eaten. The food at WD~50 was amazing. The desserts blew my head off. Alex's desserts are out of this world. The pictures that follows are the desserts that I saw on my menu .(Not usually on the regular tasting menu) The first picture is of the pre dessert which is: chewy lychee sorbet, yuzu foam, celery, vanilla oil, caramel and pistachio mix. This pre dessert is a great example of how to bridge the gap between the sweet and savory courses. Really refreshing and awesome! The next course I recieved was: lemongrass mousse, jackfruit, jackfruit puree, lemongrass foam, lemongrass ice, brown sugar crust, and whole wheat sorbet. A stunning presentation! This dessert has a lot of complex flavors that have excellant balance. One of my favorites. The course that followed was: licorice custard, pear tuile, poached pears, pear foam, sake gelee, licorice powder, and sake sorbet. This dessert was very light and very refreshing. My next course was: airated coffee ice cream, argan oil, argan foam, candies pecans, chocolate plaques, and chocolate sablee. Airated coffee ice cream = The coolest technique EVER! My next and last course was the 1st plating of the "Floating Island" which consisted of: dried meringue, passion fruit mousse, banana puree, fresh bananas, vanilla anglaise and passion fruit sauce. It was an honor to recieve a dessert which is not even on the menu yet. The last picure is of the mignardes: milk and cookies, and a chocolate packet. I applaud Alex and Malcolm for their creativty. I want to thank everyone at WD~50 for a great meal and an amazing learning experience.

WD50

2010-05-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have now spent 4 days working at one of the most creative restaurants in the country, if not the world. I have really enjoyed working with my friend Malcolm and the rest of the crew. I have already learned so much. What I really enjoy is that everyone at the restaurant is very intelligent and humble. If I ask a question they will have an answer ready with an explanation on why and how a certain recipe or hydrocolloid works. I am really looking forward to the next few weeks. Right now I am like a sponge just trying to absorb everything I can in the short time that I have. Great people, great food, great restaurant.

A Few of Avenues Desserts

2010-05-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

2 days after my meal at Alinea my girlfriend and I ate one of the best meals of our lives. I have to admit that the food that Chef Curtis Duffy sent out to us was amazing. The few pictures that follows are of our pre dessert, which was a passion fruit hollowed out with passion fruit tapioca pearls, rose and vanilla cream. The next picture is of the dessert that was sent to me. Chocolate saffron, bergamont, and chewy honey. Awesome! The next pic is of the dessert that my girlfriend ate. Raspberry, Thai black pepper, mascarpone, and African blue basil. And the last pic that you see is of our mignardes, Chocolate truffles.(Reminds me of Norman Loves Black Collection wink wink) Outstanding Meal.