KendallCollege

Mustard is a magical binder. However, so is a clove of garlic. They both emulsify impossible liquids. Take oil, vinegar, a clove of roasted garlic, and run 'em through a blender (with salt and pepper, of course). You'll end up with the same results. Garlic behaves just like mustard. Trev.

Brian. Would you please explain your constant inclusion of a cheese course? Do you like nice cheese with your nice meal? Why a cheese course? Since it came across my mind... How do you write your menu? Do you have a "guideline"? Rules? Cheers. Trev.

Milk (or dairy-products) pulls the blood out of offal. Why?

since its that time of year... how far would you "stretch" a turkey?

I did something similar with Rabbit. I cooked the hind legs, sous-vide, with juniper berries/chicken fat. The front legs were braised in a really nice veal-stock. The ribs were simply seasoned and passed over the grill. I slow-smoked the loin over a bed of pecan wood, pine needles, juniper berries, and star-anise. The legs were de-boned and served on three piles of leeks (melted down in a vacuum-bag with butter/salt) and three fluffy potato-pancakes on the bottom of each. The dish was scattered with bias-cut slices of the loin and individually cut rabbit ribs. It was finished with a sauce made from mangos that were cooked in a vacuum bag with juniper berries and finished with the nice veal-stock used to slow-cook the front legs. It'd be interesting (but not cost-effective) to do an all-leg dish or an all-leg menu...Frog Leg, Quail Leg, Squab Leg, Duck Leg, Rabbit Leg, etc.,. And you're quite welcome, ChefJohnny.

Duck is, as you said, really versatile...Your dish is spot-on with what i'm talking about. I thought that I'd add ChefJohnny's "Carrot Dish" as an interesting filler: "I called it "Textures of Carrot". It was Carrot Agnolotti (Carrot farce in Fine herbs pasta dough), carrot top puree, carrot foam, and carrot powder. It was a great dish, now that I think about it. Anyway, it was the "pasta" course of a 9 course vegan menu we did a while back." What ingredient is GREAT for stretching and what would you do with it?

I'd like to start a topic that explores any single ingredient and what you've done (or would like to do...or could brainstorm doing) with it. The idea started when I thought about Carrot tops. I realized that "stretching" an ingredient as far as it can go is a wonderful idea because it allows for flow, harmony, creativity, and cost-control. ChefJohnny talked about a "study of carrot" in the CarrotTop post and he really kick started this post for me. So, without wasting any time... I'll post a description of a special that I ran at the end of this past summer/early fall in order to "set the pace"... Grilled Sea Scallops. corn whipped potatoes.grilled corn compound butter.red corn scatter.corn beurre blanc.

I'd like to see entire menus written like that... "an array of an ingredient". cooked form.raw form garnish.form as powder.form as froth.form as puree.form as sauce. "a study of the next ingredient". its heated.its blended.its flowers.its greens."it" as a serving vessle. do you know what i mean? i absolutely LOVE that style of cooking. we should explore/brainstorm that in a new topic..."an ingredient and its array, what would YOU do?". fantastic.

I like that! great idea! what dish did you use them in? t

broccoli leaves, hmm... 1. topping to beer/cheese soup...or fondue. 2. chopped and added to stir-fry...or better left whole, maybe. 3. instead of "watercress sauce/essence", "broccoli sauce/essence". 4. addition to a tomato dipping sauce for cheese sticks. 5. replace spinach with broccoli leaves for ravioli filling. 6. topping for a grilled pizza or flat-bread.

carrot or carrot-top oil. those oils might make nice poaching mediums, eh?

carrot tops... 1. functional, raw garnish. 2. addition to an herb salad or "mesclun" mix. 3. (repeated) great for stocks. 4. addition to a hearty soup like sausage/escarole, borscht, etc.,. 5. i wonder if it'd be interesting if it were dried and spun through a coffee grinder. 6. part of an herb compound butter, maybe. .t.

so the next part of my quest begins...thanks again, Mr. Parsons.

Does anyone have anymore information? Cheers. Trevor Williams -Kendall College-

Sir. This is really great information! I sincerely appreciate the update in his endeavors. However, it still does not get me any closer to getting in contact with him. Do you have any other suggestions or insights as to HOW I can contact him? I'd like to write him a letter. Does anyone, who belongs to the egullet community, know how I can accomplish this? Cheers. Trevor Williams -Kendall College-

While I wait for "Free Press Publishing" to pass along (or ignore) my attempt to contact Chef Jeremiah Tower, is there anybody that can offer any other insight on my inquiry? I'd sincerely appreciate any other advice that can be offered. Cheers. Trevor Williams. -Kendall College-

Thats quite a dated story. I guess I'm looking for something alittle more current. TW -Kendall College-

I'd like to send an email to Chef Jeremiah Tower. If anyone can assist me in anyway, I'd sincerely appreciate it. Cheers. Trevor Williams -Kendall College-

you're right, mr.coonce. ::TW:: -Kendall College-

For what its worth...Although Charlie Trotter has been a "side-line foie'nemy" for a number of years, he has still publicly stated that Foie Gras issues should be left to each cities' restaurant community and NOT to local governments. If that claim is true, he's made quite a valid point.

You're absolutely right, Mr. Coonce, but those things do happen and they haven't been banned. The essay was written with a slightly persuasive attitude and so I used cognitive dissonance as a means to make the writing "stick" and "upset". ::TW:: -Kendall College-

Chef Alex Stupak is Leaving Alinea? ChefG: "It is true. Alex will leave Alinea at the end of July. I think it is important to note that I gave Alex full creative freedom at Alinea. His desserts are a direct expression of his vision. I think the notion that his desserts will revert back to being more soulful or approachable when he arrives at WD-50 will only be the case if he or Wylie intentionally decide that is the direction they think is best."

Luxury Food as Public Debate. When alderman Joe Moore presented a potential policy that would ban the sale of Foie Gras in restaurants throughout the entire Chicago area, local chefs scratched their heads as they stared down at the glistening, golden lobes lying on their cutting boards. They all wondered, “Is Foie Gras really an issue?” The aldermen answered with a resounding “Yes!” as they almost unanimously voted for the ban on the sale of fattened Goose and Duck livers. With this ban almost in place, restaurants are saying that luxury foods, such as Foie Gras, are a treat and are not up for public debate. Foie Gras is a process that was observed, mimicked, and championed by the Egyptians. These early people noticed that before Geese and Ducks prepare to take flight for their seasonal “vacations”, their abdominal areas became engorged. It was during this period of time that the birds’ livers were at their fattest and most decadent. The Egyptians started to fake this natural process by feeding the birds five times as much grain and fruit in order to enlarge their livers by leaps and bounds. The Romans, who had entered into Egypt, fell in love with this process and brought the technique with them. They experimented with different types and qualities of grains. They also tried many different varieties of fruit, along with the grains, in order to produce the sweetest and most delicious variation of Foie Gras. When the Romans went into Gaul (France), they left behind this wonderful preparation and it was adopted into the French culture. The French people began rearing Ducks and Geese on farms in order to create many different forms of the liver. These products are still prevalent today in the form of pates, spreads, butters, and stuffings. The most popular and controversial form of Foie Gras is the whole, raw liver or lobe. There are a few farms around the United States that are currently producing a product of similar or superior quality. Therein lays the problem. One of the farms was recorded on video adhering to less than humane standards. This video circulated and fell into the hands of Chicago Aldermen. Like all products that are produced in larger quantities, there will be slip-ups in perfection. Perfection, as the word is defined, is difficult to achieve and even more difficult to maintain. Once perfection is achieved, it is no longer perfect. The bar is raised. The Chicago Aldermen have raised the bar. They have moved beyond the level of servants of the people. They have taken away peoples’ rights. Foie Gras is, at the end of the day, just a food. Like all food, it doesn’t come with a disclaimer. People would not want a police officer to walk up to their table and remove their chicken sandwich from their plate because those chickens were raised without beaks. Those chickens were raised in their own feces and lived their entire lives with their feet nailed to the floor. The guest is only concerned with impressions. What impressions matter? If Foie Gras is successfully allowed to continue to be banned from Chicago restaurants, it is a warning sign to the rest of the public and private sector. George Orwell wrote a successful book about the very matter that is on the desks and tables of Chicago government leaders and restaurant owners. This message is that if we allow our government leaders to control what we see, feel, hear, smell, and taste, we will become pawns. Even though pawns are important, they are also the easiest target to manipulate. Unfortunately, they are also the easiest figure to remove. If people keep allowing pleasures and sensations to be removed, what are we left with? Where does it end? When did pleasure and enjoyment go up for public debate? Why do we have to be stripped of our enjoyment of Foie Gras? Trevor Williams -Kendall College-

I recently wrote an essay about the ban on Foie Gras. Its something that I just can't get out of my head and I felt that, if I typed something about it, I'd find some piece of mind. If anyone is interested in looking at it, PM me and I'd be happy to forward it to you. Trevor Williams -Kendall College-

As a weathered Wisconsinite, I stand behind Ron's recommendation. Trevor Williams -Kendall College