Jeanne Geraci

Thanks to everyone who had suggestions. Time limitations didn't allow me to send for any special ingredients, but now I have a plan for further experimentation. If anyone's interested, what I did for the balls for the party was whip 1/2 c. heavy cream to soft peaks. Then I added 1/2 c. grated parmesan. To that I added 1/2 c. dissolved unflavored gelatin powder. Then I freaked because it all turned to liquid - no more peaks. I put it in a plastic container as per one of the egullet pastry demos on whipped cream that AmritaBala pointed me to and presto chango, pretty soon it was firm, but the balls were sticky to work with. Will Goldfarb suggested popping it in the freezer, as did another participant here. I did and it was much easier to scoop, but it got a little crystallized. The key, I think, is just a quick freeze. I used a melon baller and kept them in the fridge on waxed paper until serving time. They tasted great and the whole presentation was pretty cool. The soup is really great if anyone wants the recipe. Another suggestion I am anxious to try was given by Alex Talcot and Aki Kamozawa:make a parmesan marshmellow, using glucose and isomalt. So, once I get some vegetables planted, I'm back to the kitchen.

Thank you - I found that textura website yesterday - also Will Goldfarb's willpowder, though they haven't called me back. Good idea about asking for samples. L'epicerie sells gelatin sheets; I'm not sure about the other items. Are there any classes out there in the NYC area for molecular gastronomy?

Not sure the alginate method would work as the parmisan being a cheese already has a decent level of calcium so you'd find the alginate would set solid. To get a liquid centre you'd probably need to do reverse spheriphication using a sodium alginate bath. Also as the calcium chloride now in the parmisan may change the taste and you may be better of using calcium gluconate. Finally if you use a parmisan stock (stir grated parmisan at 80 degrees C for 1/2 hour then strain) you'd need to thicking it with Xanthian gum to get a nice shaped ball - or freeze into balls before droping into the alginate bath. ← Many thanks for the tips - I need to find these ingredients and experiment.

I['ll serve the soup room temp to slightly warmed. I want the ball to float on top and kind of dissolve or pop into the mouth, but I want it as a separate piece, not just cream on top. I was at Perry St. on Fri. and the chef there in NYC said to use gelatin or agar agar for a solid ball and sodium alginate with a calcium chloride bath for a liquid center, so I am off tomorrow to GNC to try and find those items. My local health food store didn't have them. I'll let you know......

I can try freezing it I guess but am worried it might weep when I scoop it, or take on an ice taste. But it's worth a try - thanks for the suggestion.

Hi - Thanks for that. I have used lecithin for foams, but I would like the parmesan whipped cream to sit like a little marble or ice cream on top of the soup shot. Ichecked out the pastry video demonstration about whipped cream, but I don't know if parmesan instead of sugar will whip to that thick a consistency. And I'd have to use powdered geletin cause I can't get the sheets in time. Any other ideas would be welcome.

Thanks so much - I will have a look. Am I to use regular old unflavored gelatin in those boxes that you get in the supermarket?

I am making asparagus soup shots. It's a fabulous recipe, and, normally I just whip heavy cream and add parmesan and dollop some on top. I'd love to make it look better by actually having a ball of parmesan cream to serve on top. Any recipes out there? Am also looking for foam recipes using lecithin. I made almond financier cakes with an apple/ginger foam, but something was missing. It needed to be a little sweeter and I'd love anyone's help. Thanks!! Jeanne G.

Thank you, John, for that update.

After you've sauteed your broccoli rabe with garlic and good olive oil, put it on some crusty baguette or italian bread, slice some fresh mozzarella and stick under the broiler, open faced for a few seconds til the cheese melts and it's all warm and gooey. Take it out, drizzle just a little bit more oil, sprinkle some sea salt and eat - yum yum! It's also really amazing to serve over a bed of mashed fava beans; really superb.

Blend/mix in a blender, liquidise, etc. (correct English?) Makes that sense in the context of the recipe? ← Again, many thanks. Yes, makes perfect sense. I now have two or three recipes to try - some with and some without heavy cream. I don't see how it can solidify in the whipping canister without the cream. One recipe calls for a cup of oil. We'll be eating lots of peas 'til I get it right!

Jeanne, I believe there are some topics dealing with foams. Dunno if this topic holds it. Maybe check there (for instance, foam Sauce, Step in preparing foam sauce). My answer would be: what is the texture u have and what is the texture u want? If I were to make a solid (whipped cream like) cold pea texture, I'd go for pea-flavored whipping cream. If I need warm whipped cream like pea structure, then the latter won't work as the whipping cream isn't stable. I'd try an pea-flavored anglaise or even use some powders from the Texturas range. If I would want a very light (like soap foam) foam, I'd make a very thin water-based pea soup (no fat) and use lecithine to make it foam. Just use a simple whip to make the foam (no ISI). ← ← Thanks Charlie O and Tomtom 11 for your help. My computer crashed or I would have thanked you sooner. One question - what does it mean to "blitz" in a recipe. The UK link re pea foam used that word many times.

Hi - I'm trying to find the right proportions to do a pea foam using the whipping canister. The ingred. are peas, chicken broth, onion which are cooked and then put through a sieve. Then heavy cream, salt and pepper are added. I can't get the consistency right. Any help starting with a 16 oz bag of peas? I'm trying to do a great amuse bouche with this for Valentine's day. Oh, and you top it with mini croutons. THANKS IF YOU CAN HELP.

Well, for heaven's sakes, she gave him a gun as a gift. Why on earth would she do that, knowing and living with his highs and lows????

A friend and I had lunch in the bar room at the Modern last Thursday. It was my first time there since the re-opening of Moma. The art was stupendous and the reward of a lovely bottle of champagne (which disappeared mysteriously fast!) and quite succulent appetizers made for a lovely day of hookey. You can mix and match at will - so it is very easy to put together a meal that will suit a variety of appetites. My friend had the tuna carpaccio which was very fresh and artistically plated. Her second appetizer was also a raw fish - I just can't remember now, but she raved about it. I also chose two appetizers that I would completely recommend: smoked eel rillettes and then a poached egg with serrano and cockles in a garlic sauce. That was exceptional. The portions were generous and we were quite full. The service was efficient and friendly. My only negative comment was the reservationist who called for the confirmation and said if we didn't call back in five minutes we would lose the table. We were also told that we'd better be there on time. Once there, however, everyone was nice. Oh, and the unisex bathrooms should go. All in all - everyone should give it a try (the restaurant, not the bathroom). We are going for dinner to the main dining room on Nov. 12 - we are very excited about it - it's a tough reservation to get.

I've been trying to get my hands on a copy of Remy Pascal's "An Inspector Sits Down to Eat" - I can't quite remember the french title. Any leads? I think it was published right around the time Derek Brown left Michelin? Thanks, Jeanne

Robert, Wow - that was like reading a replay of our own horrid night. Had I been part of e-gullet back then, we may never have gone there for the first time in 2003. But, as I had said, that night was magical (hence the mistaken desire for a repeat experience_- interesting food presented with care (although the chocolate eggplant was a little nauseating). The service had also been lovely. I guess they don't last long working for Madame.

Absolutely Loulou is a better pick over Bacon. We ate at both in 2003 and the meal at Loulou was so fresh and the service so lovely. It was a lively atmosphere as well. Bacon, on the other hand, didn't seem to have our reservation, even though I had the faxed confirmation in hand. The food was actually pretty good, though, for all the hype, the bouillabaisse, while fine, was nothing to rave about. You can't beat the setting and the view, however.

Dear Jonathan, Thanks for your posting. I did actually send a letter by snail mail to the Michelin office in Paris some weeks ago. I haven't heard back; I didn't think they replied to letters, but I do hope they send a new inspector. It is encouraging to know that you heard back from them regarding your experience. The "Table d"horreur" event certainly will not affect my love for that area - we have vacationed there several times and have many favorite places in the region. Just a couple: Le Cagnard, Domaine St. Martin, Don Camillo. If I could have another home anywhere in the world, it would be in the south of France. It just steams me to have had and paid for such a crummy meal. I plan to look up Robert Brown's comments. Thanks again for the info.

This summer, my husband and I recently had a horrific dining experience at Jacques Maximin, in Vence, France – an establishment with two Michelin stars – that deserves none. We are serious about food and plan our trips to France around your many wonderful recommendations. Therefore, we do not speak carelessly or lightly about the evening of August 19, 2005. We made this reservation (which was an important date– our 26th wedding anniversary as well as the final night of our two-week trip to France) in part because two years ago, also on our final evening of a holiday in France, we ate in Vence at Jacques Maximin and had the most wonderful dinner (there were 5 of us that evening). We wanted to share the experience with our good friends and traveling companions and faxed the restaurant from New York to secure a table, explaining the special evening and that we had enjoyed a most memorable feast two years prior. When I didn’t receive a confirming fax back, I should have been alerted to management problems at the restaurant. I called several days later and was told, yes, they received my request, but there was a problem and my machine wasn’t answering back. (I had received confirmations from every other restaurant I had faxed for reservations). No problem, I thought, we have confirmed on the phone. (Once we arrived in France, the restaurant called us several times to reconfirm. There was an air of suspicion, if not hostility, in their inquiries about the size of our party (eight persons). When we arrived for our reservation the table in the outdoor dining area was ready but we were barely greeted. Our waiter, who did come in a timely fashion to take drink orders, informed us it was his first night on the job. Again, not a problem– this was to be a lovely, leisurely, last meal before returning home. When our drinks arrived, they were accompanied by two very sorry plates of cherry tomatoes, radishes, and lukewarm toast points. It was an unappetizing invitation to dine and hardly compared to the types of amuses one would expect at even a one-star or lesser fine dining establishment. Menus were handed around, but with no explanation of the choices in what was a radically redesigned and poorly planned menu. What a disappointing change in menus from two years ago when there were four or five tasting menus to choose from, each more tantalizing then the next. Now, you could order a 100euro lobster menu, choices a la carte, or a 50euro menu. That menu, while offering a reasonable selection of appetizers, gave but two poor choices for the main course, veal kidneys or cod. Then, nothing happened–an hour went by before we were able to order our food. When Madame finally did come to the table, I asked a few questions. When I said I wasn’t ready to order, please start with one of our seven other dining companions, she promptly left and went to another table to take their order! During the long wait, our friend went inside and ordered a bottle of champagne in celebration of our anniversary. After the first pour, the bottle disappeared and the waiter said it was empty. We realized it could not have been, and after asking, it suddenly reappeared. At one point, another drink was ordered that was never delivered. Bread finally arrived, also delivered by an inexperienced server, who fumbled and dropped one piece, then picked it back up and served it. He later dropped a fork behind one of our party. (Normally, inexperience never troubles us–people have to learn, but this was all magnified due to the non-attention given to our table). Oddly, throughout the meal, he would come and remove unfinished pieces of bread with tongs and replace them with full pieces. Disconcerting to say the least. It was truly impossible to get anyone to look at us so we could order. The staff was excellent at not paying attention and looking everywhere but at us. Finally we ordered–four had the 100 euro lobster menu and four had the 50euro menu which came with two glasses of wine. The waiter had no idea that the 50euro menu came with wine pairings, and it was embarrassing having to ask. Also, when I asked what he recommended for my fish, he said, but of course the white, Madame, yet couldn’t remember who to deliver it to when he brought it. Tea or coffee was also included, yet never offered, and by the end of this meal that any experienced home cook could have produced, we didn’t want to fight for it - we just wanted to leave. At one point, another drink was ordered that was never delivered. In the last confirmation phone call, one of our friends mentioned again that it was a special anniversary and could they do something to make it memorable. Other restaurants have produced a candle in a cake or given a special dessert– and while it is always nice to be acknowledged, we were not expecting anything. We were therefore surprised when, after the deserts that came with our menus, we were brought an entire cake that was placed before me with wishes for a happy birthday. We know the word anniversaire means both birthday and anniversary, but, really, this is in no way two star treatment. Whatever delight that surprise might have created was immediately obliviated. First, the cake was really inedible. And then, when we received our check, we saw that we had been charged the stunning sum of 80euro for it. The piece de resistance, however, was the bill, which contained two more bellinies than had been served. One had been ordered and not delivered. Any other establishment would have immediately removed them from the bill, with apologies. Well, not our dear Madame, who insisted we ordered them and that “we are honorable people, monsieur”. Her attitude and belief that we were trying to not pay for two drinks was so unsettling. Finally, the bartender admitted to having made one, but not served it. No apology was offered for the offensive, accusatory behavior. The whole experience was so distasteful that we truly feel cheated and are very disappointed in Michelin’s continued two star rating of this restaurant. Nothing at all about the evening, other than the lovely setting, merited the two-star ranking.