Workbook

Orange You Glad

 

I had heard about Cara Cara oranges for a long time, but I hadn't actually seen nor tasted one until I was in Japan a few years ago. Ever since, I've missed their short season. I added some onto a recent produce order, and I'd better use them before we eat them all.

This spontaneous composition centered on segmented Cara Cara oranges, an orange curd, crushed sablee, dried orange zest, yogurt sorbet, and meringue.

     

 Download: Yogurt Sorbet-Workbook 28.2.09

It's the 'creamsicle' thing again: I'd love to work out a way to do a sort of refined frozen 'push pop'. I don't know that it would necessarily work in the restaurant, but it would be cool... 

Buzzed

 

I'm lucky, in that my modest visibility as a chef- or status, or whatever you want to call it- will occasionally get me invited to the random culinary-related event. Of course, I'm usually stuck in the kitchen, so I miss most of them. One recent party that had me particularly interested, however, was Starbuck's launching of its newest product, Via. And it also afforded a chance to meet the brain behind the company, Howard Schultz; I kind of admire his story, how he built it all from one store with an unwavering passion and vision.

So it turns out that Via is Starbuck's answer to instant coffee, an idea and process that they've been working on for years. Now, I'm pretty serious about coffee. I might as well just walk around with a pot and an IV drip. But I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this new product; it certainly doesn't resemble typical freeze dried coffee. While I'll always prefer the 'real' thing, what really got me thinking was the possible culinary applications. The Via is slowly being rolled out into the market over the next few months, but I was able to get my hands on a generous boxful of samples to work through some ideas.

    

Using instant coffee as flavor booster in pastry isn't exactly new. But then approaching it like we've come to use any number of dried and concentrated flavors can open up some doors. The first logical train of thought led to a flavored caramel, starting with the neutral fondant-glucose-isomalt base popularized a decade ago by the Adrias. The base is cooked, cooled, and then ground, reheated, and shaped at will. Adding the coffee and milk powder would work well; I wrote about the same technique with microwave popcorn last year. 

     

The pliability and texture of this garnish lends itself well to wrapping and encasing other components. Rolled into a tube, I can see this stuffed with a mascarpone cream, perhaps a fresh take on tiramisu. The coffee is, of course, concentrated; my first attempt was a little bitter.

Download Coffee Caramel-Workbook 27.2.09

 

And Eating It

 

The opportunity to play around with another entremet presented itself. This time around I circled back to a couple of more 'old school' techniques, one of which is the exterior band of decorated sponge. It's difficult to do well in terms of taste and texture, and to give it a look that doesn't feel dated. I also love a masking of meringue on cakes.

     

     

The components:

'Decor' sponge, pistachio pain de genes, raspberry gelee, ginger-vanilla cream, lemon mousse, caramelized pistachio, and Italian meringue. 

The only bummer was that after it had been presented to the guests, they opted to order dessert from the menu and take the cake home. Usually I would prefer that scenario, but I really wanted to get a photo of the interior structure after it was sliced!

     

     

Download: Raspberry Gelee-Workbook 26.2.09

Download: Lemon Mousse-Workbook 26.2.09

 

Back To School

 

 

I'm doing a couple of guest sessions this month at ICE here in New York. These are classes that are limited to a dozen or so attendees, yet we're given a five hour block to cover things in depth, as opposed to most demo settings, where we skim the surface at best. The program is intended to be hands-on for the students as well; the make-up of the class is always a nice blend of pros and amateurs.

 

 

I chose general themes for the classes, the use of herbs for the first, and later in the month, contemporary plated desserts combining Asian flavors. Below are highlights from the desserts that incorporated basil, tarragon, thyme, and rosemary.

 

Download: Basil Foam-Workbook 25.2.09

Download: Rosemary Ice Cream-Workbook 25.2.09

Download: Citrus Thyme Ganache-Workbook 25.2.09

 

   

Sliced

   

Cakes, or entremets, don't get too much play in restaurant settings. If anything, they apply to a small number that are set up to produce them and offer that higher level of service, making the option possible. I also think some restaurant pastry chefs are so focused on the control and spontaneous nature of a la minute plated desserts, that they see the task too limiting.

In addition to the taking special requests, we offer a few options in the reservation process to guests who might be looking for a cake. They're fine, but I'm always looking to upgrade the variety and inventiveness, though it tends to be of relative low-priority. When I know we'll have VIPs celebrating birthdays or anniversaries in the restaurant, I usually try to put together something tailor-made. Such was the case with two parties on a recent night; I assembled this cake based on components that I just happened to have lying around:

Maralumi MIlk Chocolate Mousse, Lemon Cream, Caramelized White Chooclate, Crispy Rice, Chocolate Pain de Genes, Sablee Breton, Chocolate Glaze

     

     

I find cake work challenging on three levels: physical strucure and architecture, balance of flavors and textures, and clean presentation. Flavor is, of course, most important, but when everything comes together perfectly, it's very rewarding.

     

   

Structurally, things have to be solid, yet soft and pleasing enough to eat. And the overall balance of flavor is due not only to the integrity of each ingredient, but also to their proportion to one another. Texturally, I've always thought it important to incorporate at least three elements- airy, creamy, crunchy, etc. And as many entremets become motonous in terms of mousse and cream, I also try to bring a bright contrast of acidity. In the end, we want each bite to be catch the diner's attention.

   

     

     

While I think this off-the-cuff yet straight-forward cake turned out well, we'll be trying out some new ideas in the coming weeks, exploring some new techniques not only in terms of components but also decor. A lot has happened in the world of equipment and molds over the years, as well, many of which I have yet to play around with.

 

     

Cakes may not have much relevance in our day-to-day, but having to think in the narrow window of the 'ring' can also tighten up all of our work, no matter how it's presented.

This glaze is very reliable and versatile; while many purchase them ready-made rather than make their own, I like having ultimate control over such things.

Download Chocolate Glaze-Workbook 24.2.09

Old School

 

In the search for new ideas, we tend to overlook the classics. It's not necessarily a high-brow vs low-brow thing; sometimes we just forget. But often when we realize how delicious an old school dish can be, then we wonder why we didn't think of it first.

     

Clafoutis of greengage plums...

I don't recall the source for this recipe. For years I used a heavier, egg-ier variation; this one provides more nuanced flavor from the toasted almond flour, and a lighter cake-like texture that I've come to prefer.

Download: Clafoutis-Workbook 23.2.09

     

   

Cultured, Part Two

 

It's yogurt again. Of course, I'm taking a page from Albert Adria and his 'micro sponge', an idea that I've grown fond of. Though I assume it's in Natura, which I've only managed to flip through once, I went through a little trial and error.  

     

The first attempt saw whole eggs in the batter, which obscured the flavor and just plain didn't work. I then switched to egg whites and a bit less sugar. I also liked the result of decreasing the power and increasing the time. The flavor doesn't scream 'yogurt' but it provides a nice foundation for other components. Here, the sponge is plated with blood orange, lemon, rhubarb, and pistachio.

     

One that had slightly underbaked developed a moist skin of sorts that neatly peeled away from the rest. It immediately reminded me of yuba- the skin that develops as soy is cooked down into tofu; coincidentally, I had just picked up some yuba the day before. I instinctively caramelized the yogurt sponge 'skin' to great effect.

Download: Yogurt Sponge-Workbook 22.2.09

   

Cultured

 

My general obsession with all things dairy has recently renewed my interest in yogurt. With the breakthrough of the Spanish pastry explosion a decade ago, it seemed to take hold here in only a limited fashion. Of late, I haven't paid much attention to yogurt either, outside of panna cotta or sorbet, so I've been thinking about how I might apply it in other ways.

Though I was familair with 'orbing' yogurt into an alginate bath (and had thus used it in a demo or two with regard to 'reverse' spherification- the process relying on the naturally occuring calcium in the yogurt), I was intrigued by the Ideas in Food experiments using low acyl gellan. It was a hectic evening, but I set out to revisit the notion by doing a comparison of the two methods. Needless to say, service distracted me away from the project; I lacked the sodium hexametaphosphate called for anyway. What can I say, sometimes I'm impatient.

Download: Yogurt Spheres (Alginate)-Workbook 21.2.09

This is the 'traditional' method. I've used an addition of heavy cream in the past, but the only yogurt I had at hand was drained and full fat. A little skim milk thinned it out and added a higher dose of calcium, just for good luck.

 

But then I hit a common roadblock. Having harnessed and perfected a technique, what do I do with it? It's a self-imposed dilemma, perhaps. Some things, no matter how cool and exciting, don't easily lend themselves to the refinement we seek. Something like this doesn't really work in a plated composition very well. I could certainly present it on it's own, say, on a spoon. But at the end of the day, it's still just a spoonful of yogurt.

The important thing is that we keep asking the questions, and seeking out the answers...

 

 

Reference Point

 

I think it's interesting, if not important, to view modern cooking through the lens of history and other cultures. In order to advance, it can be helpful to have such reference points that show where we've been. I'm thinking, in particular, of our current fascination with textures- and the techniques and ingredients used to achieve them. It's a generalization, but in Japanese cuisine as much thought is given to texture as to flavor. And its dessert traditions are almost exclusively based on gels and starches. In addition to mochi and wagashi, there's agar agar of course, but also the increasingly trendy konjac (konnyaku). I've long been curious about kuzu jellies, too.

This idea was further pushed forward when I recently uncovered a bubble-wrapped parcel deep in one of my cupboards at home. When I was working in Japan a couple of years ago, this was actually the only souvenir I bought for myself: a tokoroten tsuki. Literally translated as "noodle thrust", blocks of gel (savory or sweet) are pushed through a series of wires to produce, well, noodles...

     

I just happened to have a block of store-bought red bean jelly hanging around (what, and you don't?), so I decided to give it a test drive. I plated the subsequent noodles with a vanilla emulsion and a quenelle of green tea ice cream.

    

   

Next, to investigate the kuzu. The plant from which this starch is derived is indeed a species relative to the kudzu that covers the southern U.S. It's a weed that, initially introduced to combat erosion (it also fixes nitrogen in soil), has since become considered a pest. Nonetheless, the dry, crumbly starch is used to create a dessert called kuzu mochi. Neutral or flavored, it is often topped with kinako, roasted soybeans that are ground into a sweet, almost malty tasting flour. I've been playing around with kinako off and on as well, but that's another post for another day.

I decided to go with a green tea kuzu mochi. In my research, I came across this amusing video. I'm still trying to figure out the dog's role in all of this.

Download: Matcha Kuzu Mochi-Workbook 20.2.09

     

I think this idea can be applied to several variables and taken in many different directions. Here, I started with a basic blood orange gel set with agar agar. I think the recipe needs to be refined a bit; I see the addition of gelatin lengthening the texture some, and giving a little more elasticity.

Download: Blood Orange Gel-Workbook 20.2.09

   

Star Power

 

The New York photographer known by most as Battman, has been making the rounds this week shooting for his new book. This latest will be his eighth food-focused project, the theme being "small bites". I chose a subject that I've been thinking about for the last year or so, the idea of an a la minute chocolate petit four, or I guess, a sort of bon bon frais. Often, when I submit something to a media request, it's almost like giving the idea a sense closure; by putting it "out there" I can move on to other things.

Such is the case with the trio of bon bons we photographed for the book. Through dark, milk, and white chocolate, each paired with a different citrus, I assembled molded chocolate cups, a cream, and agar pearls. The pearls, too, have begun to feel tired, and though I think they're put to best use in these petit fours (as opposed to scatterd on a plated dessert), I feel like it's time to leave them alone for awhile. With the white, it was the caramelized white chocolate and lemon: grapefruit and Earl Grey factored into the dark.

The match for the milk chocolate is one of my favorites: star anise. It's one of those synergies that aren't exactly subtle, but unless you know it's there you might not be able to put your finger on it. The milk chocolate cream is topped with orange pearls.

Putting these chocolate creams together really made me think about how to "perfect" the emulsion of cocoa butter, water, and milk fat. There has been a lot written about the subject, from Frederic Bau to Herve This. With ganache in particular there are a lot of conflicting opinions, but it's something I'm beginning to pay a lot more attention to. As always, looking toward science to better serve our cooking.

Download: Milk Chocolate Star Anise Cream-Workbook 19.2.09

Download: Orange Pearls-Workbook 19.2.09