Sethro

Actually using lecithin isn't a bad idea, although its not what I had in mind. I actually wanted to change the texture of the drinks. The packaged syrups for the machine produce a much smoother, fluffier product than a traditional syrups.

God I HATE this place. Why do skinny girls always want to go eat at the most bowel impairing places? It's never made me sick, per se, but not defecating for days isn't exactly healthy.

I was trying to remember where we got our ube from at Nobu, and I think the Japanese produce purveyor was Akimono. Hope that helps.

I think the modern diners' fondness for the Amuse speaks volumes as to where the fine dining experience in general is headed. People like surprises, and they like a chef they can trust to work with impulse and a free hand. The amuse is to a meal what "noodling" is to a jazz record. A treat, a bonus, unconfined by expectations and often extremely expressive as a result. More on that later, possibly...

I know commercially produced frozen drink syrups utilize thickening and stabilizing agents, but I think they are probably pre-processed in a way that wouldn't be aplicable for a restaurant or bar. Has anyone played around with this? Will a little dry milk and guar gum keep a frozen drink from "breaking"? Any input greatly appreciated.

You should have no trouble at all finding kondu and Bonito flake. Try Asian Market on Mulberry. They have just about everything, and will deliver small quantities same day.

OK I'm hoping to make it in tommorow night. I am very very excited...

Got my foam perfect! Satsuma Foam 400 ml satsuma tangerine juice 25 ml lemon juice 25 ml sherry vinegar 50 ml sake 30 g sugar 6 g versa-whip 600 2 g xantham gum 1 pinch salt Combine the liquids and bring to a steam (160 f ish) Whisk together the dry and slowly whisk into the liquid. Strain and chill. Load into whip canister and charge with two N2Os.

I was suggesting a bain marie because of its shape. I saw Sam Mason using a quart container in that pic after I posted though. I don't remember any green foams at WD~50 though...I feel like that might be the basil meringue which to me would make more sense with a KA handheld. Anyways I had a bit more sucess yesterday, bringing the juice base to 80c and incorporating the vw with a bit of sugar to avoid clumping. I really have to use the iSi whip because my service area is cluttered enough without a KA sitting out, and service is usually one person and that would turn into a great white whale having to wip the foam ala minute for every order (its part of the tasting menu).

I haven't even broken into the 600 yet, and honestly have no idea if the higher number indicates a difference in strength or what. So are you saying that at WD~50 they keep the foam base in a bain marie or something and hand whip it to order? The versa whip isn't the easient thing to get homegenous, so I can't imagine them doing the whole process ala minute. Maybe it's re-whipped to order?

I am foam retarded. I have versa whip (500 and 600). I have a recipe (5g versa whip o 500ml fruit juice). I have a good bottle (an iSi). The foam just isn't stable at all though. Does it sound like I've missed the mark somewhere? I think I need some very specific instructions on handling the versa whip. Right now I'm stick blending it into the juice and resting it overnight.

That is awesome.

Its a fondant of sorts, baked in titanium dome molds. The "yolk" is curry ganache. I wish I had a pic before the yolk was broken, they looked just like little chocolate poached eggs. The ice cream was pilsner, it was a curry and beer thing. Anyways I would never put that on the menu again unless I designed my own dome molds with handles. We had to unmold them by holding the molds with pliers, and the round shape made the fondants really suceptable to fliping over as you turned to unmold so on top of that you had to have a wide offset in your left hand to brace it. I guess thats why you don't see alot of round fondants!

If its just sugar and water, I'd use it indefinetely. If its got cream in it, you'll easilly be able to smell and taste it turning. Even with dairy a caramel sauce will hold much longer than say an anglaise, because of the high sugar level. 5 weeks would be pushing it way past the point though (I think).

Started uploading some old stuff finally: Chocolate Curry

There's actually a cake on my menu that I refridegerate the batter for upt to a week, and I had a problem with it rising too much and doming on the bottom. I have to put it back in the mixer for a few minutes just so that doesn't happen.

Whoa.

I suppose it could be stabilized with gelatin and or guar/xantham gum and then kept at a very high service temp like 20 degrees. You'd need a dedicated service freezer for something like that.

Technically you don't need any sugars, but it will freeze rock hard. If there's really no sugars of any type added, then there has to be something else in there with thermogenic properties keeping in soft...

FWIW, I'm pretty sure I know what you mean. I've never really been able to put my finger on it (much less articulate it), either. I think part of my coming to like WD-50 was my getting used to it. (I keep saying "it" because I can't come up with a word for the taste/flavor element I'm/we're talking about.) ← It seems like Wylie in particular is fond of bitter flavors. I find with some of his dishes I want more sweetness to balance out the bitterness. I've never detected any "chemical" flavors (I think that would indicate a marked failure and many more diners would respond to it), but there is alot more bitterness in the forefront then most other chefs employ. At least that's a conclusion I reached after eating WD's food repeatedly. I would imagine Sam is employing more of the chem-kit ingredients in his desserts any way. Does anyone think they've detected any off-tastes in his stuff? I certainly haven't.

Pee on them!

RAAAA I can go!!! Now I know what I'm doing on my day off.

Pichet and Sam are two of my biggest inspirations. I can't wait to frequent the hell out of their places.

So, the infusing method actually worked great, to my surprise. Sesame Tiramisu 8 oz sesame cream 3 oz egg yolks 5 oz sugar ¼ tsp salt 16 oz mascarpone 8 oz whiped sesame cream The sesame cream is one cup toasted white sesame to one quart cream, brought to a boil and covered for 30 minutes. I soaked the ladyfingers in 2:1 chocolate liquor to water.

I decided I'm going to soak the ladyfingers in a water/sugar/chocolate liqeuer mixture. There's chocolate in one of the other components so I might as well reinforce that. As for the custard, I'm going to try two ways. First I'm going to try the halavah waith the mascarpone, so I'll let you know how that goes. Second I'm going to try infusing cream with toasted sesame, and then using that cream both in the anglaise and as the whippec cream. I've had sucess with sesame anglaise this way before, so its just a matter of wether it can hang with all that mascarpone in the mix. Be back with results.