Vadouvan

August 3, 2006

Does a restaurant really want to hear that everything is great, as people stop returning because they were just being nice?

I think this is the case .

August 2, 2006

Earlier descriptions made me think I wouldn't like these, but I saw a plate of them on my way in, and curiosity got the better of me. Guess what? I didn't like them.... They had a nice crunchy exterior, but the filling had no trace of cod at all, in fact it didn't taste like much of anything.

Jeff, I discussed this with you over dinner, it's interesting because several people had come to the same conclusion. An inteersting development since my dinner with Diann was word has gotten back to me (in fact sent to me) that the kitchen there is pissed off because they felt I trashed thier food unfairly even though I qualify the post by stating they have only been open for 3 days.

I actually just read my review again, it wasnt unfair, just a line item description of what we had,

I mean really is this nasty ????????

can one not express an opinion or should we just write up glowing reviews of restaurants despite the experience being the opposite.....???

how well you like these restaurants will directly relate to whether you have actually been to Spain and experienced authentic spanish flavors.
I dont buy the argument that things need to be translated, I see it as watered down.
As of last night, Ferdinand isnt quite as good but then again, they have been open for 3 days.
We had......
1. patatas Bravas, needs more salt, pimenton, and cut too small.
2. Bouquerones, Bread was paper thin, too much lemon, bread needs to be toasted and the whole thing needs to be doused in Arbequina olive oil.
3.Watermelon and serrano Ham, great Idea but should not be cooked at all, serrano should be much thinner and watermelon schould be ice cold, near frozen and sweet.
4.Bacalao Croquettes, slightly worse than Amadas which arent as good as people who appreciate bacalao would hope.
Salt cod dishes are about salt cod, it's really annoying when restaurants peddle mashed potatoes and fried Bechamel sauce as Brandade or bacalao.
Zero salt cod flavor.
5.Skirt steak, Fried egg, truffle.
Best thing we had all night, addition of truffle was disingenous as the dish had zero truffle flavor or aroma but was crowned with a prominent slice of preserved truffle.
Still quite delicious, cant screw up steak and eggs.
6. Tuna confit empanada.
I personally hate baked empanadas, they shoud be fried like samosa.
Also needs more Jerez, pimenton, salt and toasted fennel.
7. Albondingas with almond sauce.
Ice cold, sauce had no flavor.
they deliberately serve this cold, i prefer hot meatballs.
8.Grilled octopus.
decent flavor but overcooked, Octopus is cheap, I dont understand why restuarants buy tiny ones.
No contrast between the charred exterior and interior and a gratuitous addition of a bouchee.
Why ?
Bill for all this and 4 drinks came to $65.
Very cheap but despite that we felt the food lacked soul..............
Diann any further thoughts ?

You know it was interesting a few years ago when someone attacked laban for a bad review and I always question why people focus on the messenger and not the message.

Clearly there can be a diff of opinion but I think the fact that you are paying for food entitles you to talk about it honestly.. I have always thought the worst thing you can do to people involved in creativity is to tell them they are doing everything perfectly despite the contrary, I wouldnt wish such evil manipulation upon anyone.....besides, it would be unfair to others on the board to knowingly rave about non rave worthy meals just to be nice......

I mean really does anyone actually do that ?

I am curious about other's opinion......Percy, Evan, Phil ???

August 2, 2006

Ended up finding a good scale place that was in Brooklyn not too far from my house. Found a good deal on a Ashiba MP-500 -- resolution of 0.1 g

Johnny, I have 3 scales of various resolutions, the point isnt to brag but to inform you that i purchased them all from Brooklyn....

Great store.....http://www.itinscales.com/

Scales for all applications.

August 2, 2006

How much lecithin powder did you add? Is there a ratio of x grams lecithin to x grams liquid, or is it pretty rough? Was it just dry powder added to the warm liquid?

Had roughly 2 cups of Fennel Milk brought to just above a simmer, not boiling

1 used slightly less than 1 tablespoon lecithin, waited about 1 minute and frothed it up.

Boiling seem to kill the effect of lecithin granules.

There is gram ratio but i go with the rough measure and it works fine, cant exacly be whiping up scales on the line to weigh liquids.....

August 2, 2006

180 for 12 hrs it is.

12 hrs is way too short for pork belly, you should cook it for 24 to 48 hrs at 70 C.

You can then ice down the bags, portion it cold and then crisp it up on all sides.

When you cook it that long, the lean part is actually confited by the fatty part.

I just staged at the Fat Duck a while back and they also do 70C 36 hrs....

August 2, 2006

Melon question: In Italy, melon and prosciutto is a classic pairing. The melons here are excellent and the prosciutto is...well, it tastes like it was meant to taste. If you were to make melon soup, using the freezer technique, how would you bring in the prosuciutto element? I've gotten as far as thinking of making tiny little prosciutto/bread croutons. Anyone else inspired?

1. proscuitto panini / Shotglass of melon soup.

2. Fine dice of melon in the middle of bowl topped with a very thin proscuitto chip (dehydrated), soup around....

August 2, 2006

1.

n your arsenal of oils, what do you use to sauté?
On spices…how much do you purchase at a time? I don’t usually use things like lecithin or fennel pollen, but for other spices, how much should I get, and how long will it last in my pantry if stored properly?

I use grapeseed oil, this particular brand...about $7.50 per bottle.

Downtown Cheese

as for spices, based on how frequently you cook, not more than 3 to 4 ounces unless you have a specific preparations that require more volume...ie Indian food ect ect.

Keep it airtight, cool place, away from sunlight. I feel the spice terminal in RT does a decent job.

It should last 6 to 8 months....

this may be a bit much but I keep all my ground fragrant spices frozen, cinnamon, clove ,allspice, star anise.

They last much longer and retain intensity.

Things like Bay, thyme, rosemary....buy fresh, the dried stuff is crap.

2

The presentation sucks, though. Vadouvan, what guidelines do you follow in plating, etc? I've always tended to follow the "lunchlady Doris" school of food presentation. Efficient, but not exactly elegant; any advice?

To add to Shalmanese's already excellent comments, the key is just to keep it simple, tight, clean and elegant. In my world, the biggest problem with serving food to the wealthy is that thier perception of elegance is F'd up.

They want food to be served on garbage like this....

Ugly huh......ughhhh !

But you really just want to go with plain white bright porcelain.

Soups with center garnishes ( I believe the french word is salpicon) draw your attention to the center first so that part of the puzzle should be on point.

Use ring molds, they dont have to be expensive, you can even use pvc couplings from home depot.

If you center the ring like this......

You can then pack it nicely and press down so it hold together.....

Leftover Nicoise

and when you remove the mold gently, you get.......

and you can pour your soup around afterwards....

3. Shake Shaq....

o you froth your lecithin mixture in a contraption like an isi or is it done by hand?
While on the subject of chemical manipulation, Alex mentioned the use ofmethylcellulose above. Can you clue us in when/why this substance is useful? I know you are not a fan of horseplay with alginates but it sounds like lecithin and methylcellulose are things that have a place in your kitchen.

Yes Evan, I use methocell all the time, remember that seared hot Potato/ham terrine of many moons past......That is what holds it together.

Sort of like a high temperature gelatin.

The Alginate stuff is fun, dont get me wrong I am all for all the experimentation and so called molecular gastronomy......but I just find that a lot of people are cooking food that is novel in its conception and lacks deliciousness. Things like Methocel and activa however that help you structurally create interesting Items are great, I have just found alginated caviars to be too salty and dying whispers of the items they claim to be....I am very interested in the science of food, I just hauled my ass all the way to Orlando to attend the IFT convention which was just fabulous, you get all the ino from one source...

http://69.36.34.245/cms/

Expect some fun tasty things coming......

Lecithin Foams.

Use a hand blender, its more of froth/air with a hint of flavor, i didnt want a heavy dairy presence in an otherwise provencal /mediterranean dish.

I also use the BAMIX which is the best handblender in the world.

It has changeable tips and there is one that generates tons of foam......

Bamix Puree/Foam/Mix

4 Chefs.

I have a dinner party challenge for you, V. What do you (rather, I)cook for three chef friends on their night off? Don't try to impress them with the spectacular, as that's not possible. Simple, summery, and flavorful is what's needed. Creativity not necessary.

Chefs are happy to eat and not cook on tier days off, just make something you do well that tastes good. Keep it simple, what do you feel strongest about, perhaps I can add some tips ?

August 2, 2006

Thanks Jeff, we all benefit from understanding ....some people behave badly in restaurants, some restaurants treat patrons terribly, we just have to meet halfway.

In fact i got a book deal a few months ago, detailing little tricks that restaurant use to sucker you...

My working title is ..

"Dumas party of 4 , your table is ready"...... :laugh:

August 2, 2006

jeff you can find Carnaroli at Dibrunos and Bomba at Downtown cheese.

Arborio just lacks the textural delicay of Carnaroli which cooks better.

I actually used Bomba rice out of neccessity a few months ago and now I use it almost exclusively for all risotto, cooks perfectly...is sometimes labelled "calasparra rice".

In the biz, we actually refer to it as "Arboring rice"

August 2, 2006

Dinner Tonight......Nicoise 101

Repeat after me......Knee-swas...... :smile:

Ok here goes, this whole thing of cooking your dinner and shooting 50 photographs is getting tiresome quickly but this one actually is good, basically the same dish done 2 ways, one for the lazy or time constrained, the other for the ambitious, good thing is they both basically taste the same.

There is minimal skill needed here so hopefully this is easy.......

Diann, Shaq, Uncle Phil, Bill......

Red Snapper "Nicoise"

I basically bought everything for the Nicoise relish out of the bulk containers at whole foods and chooped them up.

First off...Fish

Red Snapper Reading Terminal.......

The fish was pretty fresh but the butchering was a bit on the lame side, you would think Dr Mengele worked there....but since we are getting our rustic on tonite, its OK.

REST of The Ingredients.....

Roasted Tomatoes Divina

Peppadew

Oil cured Olives

Capers

Bouquerones

Basil

Not that anyone needs to be reminded what basil looks like....

Cilantro

Olive Oil

Pastis or pernod

Chop it all coarsely, leave the capers whole and combine....

You get Zees..

Nicoise Relish

NEXT.....

get a Fennel Bulb

Finocchio

Shave it really thin so it cooks....

Speaking of shaving.....if you dont own a japanese mandoline yet, buy one.....best 30 bucks you ever spent....

Benriner

Lazy/time sensitive way out....

Layer everything "en papilotte"...actually "en aluminium foil" as it provides a better seal....

Splash with pastis, olive oil, white wine,,

Crimp the edges and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 mins...

Open it.....

Trasnfer to a warm plate with all the juices, serve with crusty bread.....

and in my case tonight.......some Albarino...

Quite tasty for a bunch of supermarket stuff, one could in fact make the Nicoise a day ahead and the flavors would blend even better......also makes a banging bruschetta.

The "less easy" way out.

1. Saute the fish and crisp the skin.

2. Put the fennel scraps in a pot.....

add milk, pastis, salt sugar to taste and infuse for 20 mins.....

Seperately warm up nicoise relish slightly...

Saute the shaved fennel and serve on a plate topped with fish and a nice scoop of the relish

Froth the strained fennel milk with lecithin.....

You get......zees

At the risk of appearing foam obsessed, the fennel foam actually enriches and cuts though the saltiness of the nicoise components.

Version 2 actually tastes better due to crispy skin and contrast/caramelization with sauteeing...although version1 is pretty solid and perfect for a weeknight quick dinner....

and no dishes...... :smile:

Fata paper is a good alternative to foil and much less ghetto than bringing foil packages to the table.........sorta like 400 degree saran wrap....

Gnight all...

easy enough ?

You want easier ??..... :huh:

August 1, 2006

and since this is now a gospel thread, make your own vinegar

making Vinegar isnt easy....but you should have no problems if you listen to you MOTHER..... :raz:

August 1, 2006

Question: tell me more about the orange oil upthead. Its too far upthread to find it now, but you mentioned that you distilled one drop of oil.
Yo Judy, its Tuscany hot here, how goes it there ?
I dont distill anything, far too complicated. I but super high quality steam extracted food grade essential Oils and I use to amp up some flavors.
It is used extremely sparingly though....they sometimes use Latin names so its a bit cryptic to decipher.
The citruses I use are
Citrus Reticulata aka Mandarin Orange
Citrus Sinensis aka blood Orange
Citrus Hysterix aka "combava" according to Gagnaire but basically Kaffir Lime.
Read Daniel Patterson's book, its a great place to start if you want to experiment...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-...8?redirect=true
He also just opened a place Called COI in SF.
Read the review to see how they use it....
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...1.DTL&type=food
p.s. You really can't get good wasabi in Philadelphia?

Powder Yes of course.

The actual root like horseradish.....No.

similar to the diff between using fresh and powdered ginger....

night and day.

August 1, 2006

V,
Phil and Evan clarified exactly what I meant in my earlier request. What are your pantry staples? What are some good techniques for basic proteins, vegetables, and starches?
I really like that melon-cucumber soup, by the way. Do you have a good source for wasabi in Philadelphia or do you go to New York for it?
Evan -- I believe the basic method for the corn soup is: soak fresh corn in whole milk for a few hours (2:1 ratio of milk to corn). Puree the mixture with a hand blender, then use the chinoise to strain it, then bring it to a simmer (or a boil?). Add salt. I think that's it. Of course, you could then go on to make mushroom and chicken raviolis and truffled foam for the soup, and source some good amaranth as a garnish...
Somebody feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in my description of the soup.

Gmorning..yesterday was a day without computers, brain needs a vacation now and then.

On to your questions.

1. You cant find wasabi in philadelphia.

Depending on which tunnel you are rolling into Manhattan with....

Lincoln.........MITSUWA in NJ

Holland........SUNRISE MART......Broome/West Broadway or St Marks Place.

2. Pantry staples.

The biggest 2 problems folks make with buying staples are

1. They dont buy enough of a variety of stuff to cover more than two cuisines.

2. The succumb to marketing and buy overpriced garbage instead of actual ingredients.

VARIETY

You just want to get the 3 or 4 basic ingredients that allow you to cook, Italian, Japanese, Frenchie stuff ect ect so you have variety if you supplement with a reasonable spice collection and the proteins of choice, salad greens and herbs.

MARKETING

I am all for free enterprise but if you are buying food ingredients based on the fact that there are famous faces on the bottles or jars, you are missing the boat........in fact you are at Chelsea Piers and the boat's in Madagascar. Famous people sell grapessed oil in 8 oz bottles for like $12 when you can buy a gallon of it for $15.............so dont waste your money, buy quality artisanal products, store them well and use them wisely, a little goes a long way.

Someone PM'd me yesterday saying they liked this thread but i should make it less "preachy".

To which I say first of all "preachy" is NOT an Adjective and people come to church on thier own free will, those who dont want to can stay home and watch Stephanopoulous.......but you cant come to church and complain about the preachers tone....... :wink:

With that said......here are a few goodies....

PANTRY STAPLES

Any serious home cook should at least have..

1. Olive Oil (s)

A good basic oil for cooking and more specialty oils for finishing dishes.

On the low end, the basic house brand at whole foods for example is great for marinara sauces and cooked applications for $7 and a pretty substantial amount.

There are good crossover oils in the mid range (around $15 for 16oz bottles) like Frantoia and Aguibal...

More special oils with pronounced Character for salads, uncooked food, finishing dishes.

My current favourites....

http://www.olissrl.it/en/oil.html

http://www.marquesdevaldueza.com/

A fabulous arbequina.....

and of course....

http://www.manni.biz/w2d3/v3/view/mannibiz...e--0/index.html

BALSAMIC

Villa manodori is my favourite balsamic vinegar.

You can buy at Reading Terminal downtown cheese, it is expensive but lasts about 4 months, roughly $9 per month.

Second favourite is actually the balsamic at the Olive oil store on Bleecker street in the West Village......and a fraction of the price.......

O and CO

Flavored Oils and Vinegars are also good.

Best flavored Vinegars are by.. Perel, Unio from catalonia and Gegenbauer.

Gegenbauer makes some killer flavors as you can see...

and then supplemented with other basics.

Apple cider vinegar (braggs)

Shery Vinegar (any jerez from spain)

Rice Vinagar (Mitsukan)

Verjus

white wine

red wine

madiera

port

Brandy.

Depending on how serious you are.......

The only flavored olive oil I use is lemon scented, currently bartolini

Dibruno

Cold pressed nut oils are delicious in vinaigrettes and vegetable purees

Keller Oil and Montegottero...

I would refrigerate these.....

Basic japanese staples..

Miso

Shoyu

Mirin /sake

Sansho

Togarashi...

Sometime I make Dashi.......

Most of the time for non actual miso soup dashi needs, I use Shiro -dashi..

Hahn Ah Rhuem...NJ

I always have risotto rice, Ferron is my favourite, Vialone and carnaroli.

Montsia's BOMBA rice is fabulous too......

I never use arborio rice....

More to come later...

Perhaps I shall upload my dinner tonight using all grocery store items and no fancy ingredients...

Toodle--oooo

Oh percy...your Gazpacho recipe seems right on but I use lightly toasted bread and almonds in mine and then chinois it......just gives it good body and adds that spanish-ish twist.

July 31, 2006

Bill, Chambolle was definitely not a miss, good stuff indeed

I have only used vadouvan with game, specifically squab and partridge.

It's very garam masala-ish.

Dont laugh but remember that spontaneous trip this spring to Paris on the Eurostar chunnel ?

I got it from .......Maison Thiercelin........ in Paris.

So far, no luck in the USA, even the dudes at kalustyans were looking at me like I just fell out of the sky..... :huh:

I became exposed to it while eating at this place....

http://www.sketch.uk.com/downloads/lecturecarte.pdf

It was with a squab but no longer on the menu.

PG uses a lot of exotic spices.

So far the only two restaurants with Vadouvan on thier menus I have seen so far are

Bastide in LA / Ludovic Lefebre.

Gilt in NYC / Paul Liebrandt.

I suppose one should just call and ask them but I wont expect success since Lefebre is French and Liebrandt is English, they probably bought it overseas too.

Obviously Liebrandt is influenced by PG.

July 30, 2006

Speaking of Inspiration.....

Here is an example of how everyone benefits.

There is probably no 48hr period when I am not on the phone at some point with Alex Talbot.

A brilliantly inspirational friend, within a 10 minute phone conversation, the seeds of 20 ideas could be sown, shuffled into the notebooks to be attempted later......

Some even spark old thoughts that have been forgotten and never executed....

Case and point :

Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa created ....

http://ideasinfood.typepad.com/

Recently he posted a topic called "My friend the freezer" inspired by.....

http://phatduck.blogspot.com/2006/07/perfecting-purees.html

I have always thought about intensely flavored fruit or vegetable consomme's, perhaps served cold as a pure essence of the base flavor.

Purees were too thick, juices couldnt be clarified without a centrifuge ......?

I just forgot about it.

So taking Alex's spark......

I simply pureed 2 peeled seedless cucumbers and 1 ripe green fleshed melon yesterday, buzzed in a pinch of wasabi and froze it overnight....solid.

Today I popped it out of it's tupperware, placed the frozen block in a chinois lined with fine kitchen muslin and let it melt undisturbed.

The result was a bright vivid green but clear liquid bursting with the taste of melon and cucumber.

Simply garnished with some chilled fresh crabmeat, basil oil and some young basil, it made an excellent light cold summer soup for a 98 degree day.

Cold Cucumber Melon Soup.

Delicious with Gruner Veltliner..

The more we share, the better we all eat...... :smile:

July 30, 2006

Percy, apologies....

I just read your question, probably a bit late to add any suggestions at this point but I get the point of the larger question. This thread wasnt devised to turn everyone into a professional cook, it more to illustrate the thought process and mechanics involved in concieving dishes.

But I'll concur with D and P, it would be interesting to know about some dishes that can be really dramatic, but made without long multi-stage prep, exotic gear, or special skills. What do we need to make something quick and good?
Are there vital pantry supplies, and if so, where in Philly can we find them? Or are there techniques (like your salmon cure) that aren't all that complicated, but give great results?

Great question uncle phil, in fact I have absolutely no professional obligations for the next 9 days and I shall walk around philly and come up with some simple stuff starting tommorow.

I love the question of pantry staples, this is key because if one can put together a list of "basics" you should have for baseline deliciousness, it simply leaves picking up your proteins and a few veggies for a tasty dinner......

"We're not worthy! We're not worthy! Schwing!"
Man this is awesome.

John, Thanks, its not about any one person, it's about food, the more people know the better.

Consider it another phalanx of soldiers in the war against mediocrity.

Information is free, knowledge should be too, the more we are inspired by each other, the better we all eat.....

July 30, 2006

Simple deliciousness ?

How about some Ideas, what do you want to learn to make..... :huh:

Give up a few examples......

July 30, 2006

Dinner was simple but tasty. I think the dish works, salmon was just barely meduim rare.

Untimately served with oxtail and russian porcinis.

Without porcini for mushroom allergy girl...

and

Ultimately, we chose red wines, twin Torbrecks from the Barossa valley and a Molly Dooker "Enchanted Path".

Torbrecks rocked.......The Factor is 100% Shiraz and The Descendant is 92%Shiraz,8% Viogner.........very odd....but solid wines to go with the fish and oxtail.

Molly Dooker was young but interesting, Parker seems to like it.

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