Ultimate Consomme

I was able to take the centrifuge for a spin (pun intended). Rotating at 8,200 RPM, it creates the clearest and most pure consommes I have ever come across. The tomato consomme I made had a strong tomato flavour, and was very sweet.

The beauty of it, I think, is how light these consommes are. Flavour molecules, as I was told, are the some of the lightest molecules. So they go to the top while being spun in the centrifuge. While proteins, starches and other substances are the heaviest, therefore sinking down. So what you have then is a liquid that is free of starch, and protein and contains only water and flavour. PERFECT!

Here is a photo of the tomato consomme while in the centrifuge container. Taken with iPhone.

I ended up putting some watermelon puree into the centrifuge as well. The liquid comes out extremely clear. The sweetness will vary depending on the sweetness of the original watermelon. White tomato sauce is on the left, which is just tomato consomme and white roux, and watermelon consomme on the right.

To make a finished dish with the tomato sauce, I sous vide some halibut, then wrapped it with a parmeggiano reggiano crust. Paired it with some pickled fennel. Yes, a very white dish. Which is exactly what I wanted.

Another very interesting use of the white tomato sauce was pasta "Alfredo". It looked like alfredo but was far from. In flavour, it is a very delicious tomato and basil pasta, but definitely very unique in appearance, and VERY delicious. My coworkers at it all before I could take a photo.

OH HELLO!!!

It's been a while hasn't it? I'm back to working on culinary applications here in GPI and I couldn't be happier and more excited. Even more exciting is that we will soon be offering our products online for chefs to purchase. They will be sold in 1lb containers at very competitive prices. Stay tuned!

I also received my copy of Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold. It is an astonishing book with plenty of information. So what better way to jump-start the culinary work than by tackling a recipe from Modernist Cuisine, with some alterations of course.
This particular Pumpkin Pie recipe was from the MC website, found here:
http://modernistcuisine.com/2010/12/a-modernist-christmas-feast/
Here is a photo of the one I made.
Components are:
1. Pumkpin Pie Brulee
2. Filipino Shortbread Crumble (Polvoron)
3. Whipped Sour Cream
4. Fresh Ginger

The crumble provides a delicious nutty aroma and flavour from the roasted flour and it balances the sweetness of the pumpkin pie. The whipped sour cream also adds another balancing component and actually goes really well with the pumpkin. Creme Fraiche would also be an even better component for this!



Here is my recipe:
Ingredients:

Pumpkin Pie
1 Butternut Squash
50g Dark Maple Syrup
90g Organic Yogurt
80g Butter
100g Water
.8g Cinnamon
.25g Nutmeg
500g Squash Puree from Butternut Squash
6g CarraPure FlexiGel
3g CarraPure Kokumi

Method:
1. Slice the squash in half, remove seeds and coat with butter.
2. Roast the squash for 40 minutes at 205C(400F), and remove skin when cool to the touch.
3. Measure 500g of Squash and puree in a high speed blender. Add all the wet ingredients in the blender.
4. Mix the spices and CarraPure blends together, then add them to the blender. Mix for 1 minute.
5. Heat the mixture to 75C(167F) and then pour into a mold.
6. Place in a cooler for 2 hours.

Filipino Shortbread (Polvoron)
Ingredients
300g AP Flour
50g White Sugar
50g Unsalted Butter
50g Rendered Pork Fat (Preferably from bacon)

Method
1. Roast the flour for 30 minutes at 190C(375F).
2. Cool the flour to room temperature.
3. Mix all the other ingredients once its cooled. Optionally, you can compress the mixture if you want to form shapes with them.

Whipped Sour Cream
Ingredients:
100g Heavy Cream
50g Sour Cream

Method
1. Whip the heavy cream to almost stiff peaks
2. Slowly fold in the sour cream.

Pulled Beef Sandwich

Sandwiches are a definite pub classic. Burgers in the menu is a rule. Pulled beef however, is not as common. I think it's a burger that is just taken up a few notches. I mean, its still beef that has been physically altered by pulling it apart. In the case of burgers, the beef is just grounded. But pulled beef has so much more flavour because of the braising process. Also, you can reduce the braising liquid and add it to the pulled meat to heighten its succulence.

Haddock fingers and Pickled Fennel Salad

It's a really nice contrast in flavours, with complementing textures. The haddock tastes as it should, and the pickled fennel pairs wonderfully with the haddock. It also tastes good on its own. However, the pickled flavour also cleanses the palate quite well. So by alternating which one you eat, your mouth takes longer to adapt to the flavours, and therefore each bite still gives its full flavoured impact. Both the fingers and fennels have a nice crunch to them, with the fingers leaning a bit more towards crisp than crunch.

Rib Eye - 3 ways

The Rib eye is most defintely my favourite cut of beef. It has great balance in flavour, tenderness and richness due to the different parts. The cap is the most succulent part, tender and rich with marbling. The eye is flavourful and still tender. Then there is that small piece of meat attached by the eye and the bone. I like to call it a chuck, though I'm sure butchers probably have an official name for it. The idea really came started with the thought that these 3 parts cook in different rates, and should have varying doneness. The cap, having much more fat should be cooked closer to medium in order to render and melt as much fat without sacrificing the tenderness. The eye, having less fat content, and can be lean in some instances, should be cooked at medium rare. The chunk should take advantage of all the connective tissue and bone; I think this part should be braised or slow cooked. So here, The rib eye is separated into those 3 parts.


The cap is rolled and cooked sous vide to medium, and then lightly seared.


The eye is grilled to medium rare, and...


the chunck, which is the most flavourful, is poached in butter for 20 hours, then broiled to obtain a crust.

Back from Culinary School

It's been a month well spent at the French Culinary Institute in NY. I love that place. Well-equipped kitchens! Also a massive thanks to Chefs Jessica and Ryan. They were great instructors. I also got an opportunity to do an short internship there. They have a small group that cooks using all sorts of newer, 'scientific' methods. Hopefully I get the cookbook done in time for that before I start at George Brown.

I definitely learned a lot of hints and tricks during my stay at FCI. Those tricks will be showing up in my future dishes...ahem bacon...ahem butter.

First week back and I couldn't wait to get back to playing around the kitchen. So I made some cream puffs and panna cotta. For the panna cotta dish, carrageenan was used as the gelling agent, as well as the thickening agent for the white and dark chocolate sauces.

it's been a while!

Well, with the initial draft, recipes and all else done, I can start posting again. To start things off, here's a risotto tempura nugget. Mixed mushroom risotto, truffle oil, balsamic reduction.