Squirrel Hole

It's that time of year again to start picking, preserving, drying, salting, saving. The cabinet in my office is starting to get full with our preserves and pickles the we have been making for our fall menu. After all the pickled ramps and preserved spring vegetables are gone, we start with more summer time fruit and veg. Right now we have 3 different cherry varieties working, long peppercorn, spicy thai cherry bombs, and a port balsamic.



The goose berries could possibly end up being paired with some chilled lobster.

ICC

Finally got the go ahead for ICC. I didn't make it last year. I was in Pomona cooking for the Directors Dining Room, one month, no budget, only 2 chefs, doing 40 covers a night, new menu every night. I found myself shaving white truffles into my omelet for breakfast or pasta for lunch, sifting through my mini fridge in the hotel room loaded with shaved wagyu tenderloin, ox-heart tomatoes, fat tire, honeycomb and humboldt fog.







Bresse Chickens, brittany lobster, pouisson, live korean halibut, lupe de mer, rouget, maitake, st. pierre, toro, geoduck, monterrey abalone and scallops were regulars on the menu. It was a good experience and a chance to work with the best ingredients money could buy so I can't really complain.
Not this year. We are leaving the DDR to the california chefs, have fun, I'm going to NY. See you all there. I think Bar Boulud, Tailor, Eleven Madison Park, Saam Bar, Corton, and Del Posto would be a good start. I'm probably already behind on making some resos.

5 Spice Bacon

Our chinese bacon finished curing. We cold smoked it with a mix of ginger peach tea and birch. 5 Spice is one of those love it or hate it flavors. In moderation it works but can easily overpower. Here it was nicely balanced and not overly offensive in the clove department. Here is the smoker in action.



Pork fried rice family meal tomorrow??



At least that is what I would make if I was going to be here but I am gone for a week on some forced time off for labor purposes. I'll take it, get to spend some time with the family, get my head together for menu change, finish United States of Arugula and relax.

Fennel and Coccoa Rubbed Lonzino

This was a test run on a recipe we found on Grant Van Gameran's site. We took suckling pig loins, cured and rubbed them. Put them in a beef middle casing and hung in the meat locker. Being suckling loins they moisture loss happened fast. We just hung them on 6-24 and could have actually pulled them a week ago and would have been ready. They should be around 38% moisture loss and we were pushing 58% so not a lot of yield but a really nice flavor.



This was one of Baxter's best that he has produced. It's all trial and error, super salty, or not enough and you loose it to spoilage. There is a fine line. We are using some product to assist us like bactoferm and insta cures since the Florida environment isn't really the best place for Charcuterie. Another month left on our suckling pig prosciutto, can't wait.

Georgia Inspired

Utilizing some vidalia onions in our pasta tonight. The tortellini are filled with a mixture of pureed confit vidalia, potato, and extra virgin. When removed from the water they are tossed in a smoked burro fusso. We paired these with an orange molasses brined pork belly we picked up from Snake River Farms, some chanterelles that happened to turn up after not being utilized at another event in the hotel, some evo pudding, onion blossoms, arugula, and peach.



This is my flavor test run for the new pork that will be on the menu. Instead of vidalia confit tortellini we will agar and mold spheres of the onion puree, double bread them and fry for a nice liquid center vidalia "fritter".



The onion blossoms are intense! I recommend not eating these on their own as Aaron and I each took a nice bite out of one of the blossoms and ended up regretting it. I have come to the conclusion that there is pretty much nothing on the planet that will get that taste out of your mouth if you have too much at once. Eat one and it will only take about 4 hours for it to go away. Needless to say, we are using them sparingly as to not offend anyone's taste buds but it is a good background flavor in moderation.

Chanterais

It's that time of year again and our chanterais melons have come in from Charlie at Hammock Hollow Farms. The whole walk in smells like melons. They are similar to cantaloupe but far superior flavor. The executive sous chef of the hotel Arnaud Violtat reminded me that "they are so good because they are french" like him.



I replied by saying "of course they are french, they are only good for two weeks out of the year." It was all in good fun, I've worked for and been yelled at by enough french chefs I can get away with it, sometimes.

Here is last years chanterais plate of mint yogurt, procuitto, honeydew fluid gel, and compressed chanterais. This was also one of the first dishes where we used fluid gels on our menu.



We used them tuesday on our tasting with some dungeness crab, yuzu rice vinegar compressed heart of palm, and whipped coconut, micro shiso.

Olive Oil Pudding

A balance of sweet and salty olive oil goodness.