Jump to content

gfron1

eGullet Society staff emeritus
  • Posts

    6,149
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by gfron1

  1. And I quote: I don't know what is appropriate as far as me talking about these details, but this is amongst friends, right? The interesting thing about Ten Speed is that they are the biggest of the boys, and my assumption is that I would have less control over the process. Could be an erroneous assumption on my part. But, I do want to keep my designer. I do want to have some say over the images, recipe flow, and color scheme, etc. So, we'll see how it rolls out. Money talks, but I'm not a professional cookbook author, so there's more to it to me than making a living.
  2. Tonight I finished making changes suggested by an unofficial editor. If anyone is an anal retentive editor-type, who wants to give it a gratis read, I sure would appreciate one more set of eyes (PM me). I also have a big picture reader going at it right now to see if the stories are complete and the vision is coherent all the way through. My agent has warned me against doing too much since they often will make big changes, but I want my manuscript to be as clean as possible before any more publishers see it.
  3. roast, sausage, braise...same ol. The key is to process in the field and not disturb the glands. If its bled in the field then the meat is nice, otherwise it can be a bit challenging.
  4. That's a lot going to burger, but I would probably do the same if I hunted for home. I do love shank more that almost any cut of meat however. As far as cutting in fat, I add straight pork fat trimmings from our hogs. I wonder about the difference in fat from where you are versus us - our animals are so lean because they can't find field corn anywhere around here - just wilderness plants. BTW, I've got my javelina hunt in 2 weeks. Looking forward to that one.
  5. oh sorry, yes, spherification of green apple, white grape and apple peel.
  6. And I didn't answer the question of whether I would do it again. Today I say hell no, but time will heal all wounds. We did it because January is such a slow month for us and we made decent money. Was the effort worth it - barely. Was the good will worth it - absolutely. I will skip TorC next time and probably do 2 nights per city - easier on the body if we only have to load/unload once every other day.
  7. When shopping for the plates there are a few factors. First is size. The bigger, the more expensive. Second, is completeness. The more complete the more expensive - I like the broken ones - more interesting to me. Third is location. I saw Madagascar (?) ones for $30. Mine are avg 6" diameter, broken, Arizona. Here is where I bought much of mine (http://shop.jimgrayspetrifiedwoodco.com/) Kenny's notes: Wines for the dinner: 1st.Veuve Devian Blanc de Blanc. (elegant, creamy, w nice acidity) 2nd. Maryhill Viogner (notes of honeysuckel w rich viscosity) 3rd Golden Rule Lucky Prospector (AZ grown and bottled I work w this winery and it's my signature blend!!!! 80% Sangiovese 20% Syrah) 4th Peltier Station Petite Sirah (big, rich, inky, unctuous w aromatics of bacon fat) 5th. Bonifacio Alicante Boushet (our fullest bodied wine for the evening, notes of basil and stewed tomato on the nose, w notable tannin structure) Kenny will be doing a dinner with me on the 7th in Silver City - 10 courses, all chocolate, nothing sweet.
  8. The plates that I bought were in the $40 range which is pretty standard for restaurant china. And I can't compare that price to the overall revenue, although, yes, we did more than break even. $100 per person, 24 ppl per site, 6 dinners. But I will say my Instagram and Facebook sites got all sorts of new followers, so it was worth it on many levels.
  9. Thanks Nancy. The plates are polished not treated. They run them through a polisher like they do their other stones. And you can buy them online. I wanted local, but there are a few sources.
  10. We returned to Silver City at 2 am on Tuesday and I was back in the kitchen at 7 am for my regular service. Just getting a day off now to reflect. (My daily notes) First, only Santa Fe was not sold out, and that was frustrating, but understandable since we only secured a location 10 days before the event. It was too bad though since it was a Saturday night and should have been an easy sell. I mean, really, if I can pack the house in Las Cruces on a Monday, I sure as hell should be able to do the same on a Santa Fe Saturday. (My nightly selfie in a new kitchen - this one was Cruces) One of the fun and challenging parts of this trip was the new kitchen every night. I cooked in commercial kitchens in Tucson and ABQ, but all of the others were private homes. Of the private homes, two kitchens were bigger than what I cook at in my restaurant, and one was very, very small. I think my work was easier than my dish washer's! In Santa Fe the oven was a super fancy expensive brand new thing and it kept shutting down on us...good thing I brought my blow torch and a couple of induction burners. (Having beer for breakfast in ABQ at Red Door Brewery - trying to live the rockstar life but feeling too old) Our daily routine was fairly regimented. Up around 7, on the road by 8, on location by noon, cooking by 1, other staff out shopping for me or getting me lunch, all back on site at 4 for set up, dinner at 6, cleanup and tear down and out the door at 11. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat... Our host in Scottsdale and TorC put us up in guest rooms which was really nice. (Plating space was always a rarity - this is ABQ using an AC unit and prep table; plating on our Arizona petrified wood plates) The menu was untested and brand new for the trip. That first day in Tucson I had so much prep to do, but by the second night of ABQ we were so refined in our prep that I was down to a leisurely afternoon of work...by my hyperactive standards. (ABQ with Chef Jason Michael Salvagno - a rockstar for sure! ABQ, unbeknownst to me, used the dinner to promote a reinvigoration of downtown nightlife - speeches and VIPs) A few interesting things that were unexpected. Each town I had chefs asking to work with me - how cool was that! In Tucson, ABQ, and Santa Fe I had a one-day stage. In every city I had the host and their friends standing around our peeking in. I'm very sociable, but not when I'm working...then its heads down, fingers back and blistering pace, so onlookers were fun but a bit of a challenge for me. (The most challenging dish of the trip - elk heart crudo, savory popotillo blueberry internally poached yolk (Axta yolk), salt cured blueberries) And I think I lost something in every city we visited - Tucson (phone charger), Scottsdale (my pillow), ABQ (a few prep inserts), SF (a cooler), Cruces (my chocolate tupperware). Nothing important and I got my pillow sent to me (The hit of the trip - foraged acorn croquette with fried moss)
  11. I do both - spray white and not. A good example - yesterday I did an emerald green spray on one chocolate and backed with white - the green popped. On another I sprayed forest green and went straight to the chocolate coat. That color was a dark, deeper hue...the effect I wanted because I had white splatter. I also will do the mid-range of a light spray of white. Each has a purpose. If I want bright, there will be a full white coating. Sometimes I also just spray the top center of my domes with white because I want the nipple to be highlighted and the sides to be more muted.
  12. I just signed my agreement with Full Circle Literary this evening. I am officially represented. I have a standard contract so I'm happy to share details if anyone is interested.
  13. You may know I've been on the road doing pop-ups for the past 8 days...today's my last. Then I'll update everyone because as of last night I got an agent! She is highly regarded and has strong history of financial success with her clients. More later this week.
  14. We were pampered in TorC and final night - Las Cruces. LC sold out in less than 10 minutes so this should be a good crowd! Can't wait to settle down and tell you all about this trip - what a tiring blast!
  15. Coming up for air. Just wrapped up Santa Fe dinner - perfection in every way! Now we're off to Truth or Consequences.
  16. She is the best. Really great server. I'm in ABQ now. Stopped by Laguna Burger for their award winning green chile cheese burger, which I preferred to our local Sparky's. It'll be nice to be doing 2 nights in ABQ so i don't have to pack and unpack that van again. That's the part of this trip that's killing us...so much packing and unpacking. We're all kinda lost and googly headed. It feels like Tucson was a week ago but it was just two days...minds melting before us. Tomorrow I get to work with one of my favorite local chefs - Jason Michael. Should be fun.
  17. yes, we're going to send out details once I get back to Silver City.
  18. So Kenny...he was a great surprise! I have never worked with a magician stripper sommelier! He was fantastic. And yes, we found a kumquat tree just around the corner and the owner let us strip it bare, so it became a kumquat chutney. I don't like urban foraging but they were kumquats...how could I pass that up!
  19. To say I'm exhausted is an understatement. The cooking is normal for me, the unloaded a 15-person van full of food and cooking equipment multiple times a day is not. I'm achey today, and we're getting ready to load up and head to Scottsdale. Last night worked out a lot of kinks for us. We packed the van very differently last night, so it should be more efficient this morning when we arrive up North. On the menu, much of my prep is done so the workload will be less...first days of menus for me are very challenging because there are so many components. Some commentaries of the food - I need major refinement in my first course, the soup. It was good and spot on with taste for my purpose of a first course, but my foraged poppy seed cracker gave me fits in my pasta roller. The elk heart I knew was going to be a tough road, but techinically its a big boys dish - meaning, the technique used to make it is pretty epic, and I pulled it off without breaking a sweat. That said, FauxPas' comment about salt we heard from a few. Interestingly, I won't be upping the salt, but tapering the salt in the previous course. The elk and yolk flavors were so complex, yet subtle, and really are masked with even the slightest touch of salt. After word came back about the salt, I and my helpers tasted it (having not eaten the other courses) and we were all in love with the complexity. IDK, maybe it'll be an adjustment to the previous and a very minor to the elk...or maybe I move the course somewhere else in the menu. I have a former cook from Clio in Boston helping me in Scottsdale, so he'll have something to say about it all. Well, one down, 6 to go.
  20. We're in Tucson getting ready for the first night. Still scrambling through connections and social media to get those last few seats sold. Smartest thing I've ever done was turn of the responsibility of feeding me to my staff...they're out right now getting me something so I can focus. Also, I do a lot of my stocking up here in Tucson (I'm 3 hours away in the mountains), and so I knew right where to go - Lee Lee's Oriental Market on Orange Grove. BTW, here's my almost final menu: Course 1 Juniper infused butternut squash soup, goat cheese mousse, seeded crackers Course 2 Purple potato gnocchi, 3-year house-aged parmesan sauce, beet balls, boba Course 3 Hackberry broth farro risotto, caramelized amaranth, poured lemon cream Course 4 Thai spiced acorn croquettes, cilantro sauce, lichen Course 5 Elk heart crudo, savory blueberry sauce with popotillo, egg yolk, fresh blueberry, salt-cured blueberry, shaved pecan Course 6 Goat tagine with chocolate couscous, cumin scented mayonnaise, roasted turnip balls Course 7 House cured bacon, celeriac stock, celeriac cubes, roasted Brussels sprouts, yeast syrup, onion ash, raw apple, pickled mustard seed Course 8 Liquid juniper caramel, crème fraiche, milk crunch, pine needle Course 9 Nocino syrup, goat cheese Bavarian Course 10 Bonbons (cinnamon or Mexican vanilla), butter pecan caramel
  21. Just yesterday we locked down a Santa Fe location - a PR director who's trying to sell her home near the plaza. We have plenty of tickets for that since we just opened sales - PM me for details if you don't already know how to get info. Curious Kumquat Pop-Up Series This is starting to feel nuts to me. What the hell was I thinking! Here's the latest as of this morning: Monday, Jan 5th Tucson – 6 seats left Tuesday, Jan 6th Scottsdale – SOLD OUT Thursday, Jan 8th ABQ – SOLD OUT Friday, Jan 9th ABQ – SOLD OUT Saturday, Jan 10th Santa Fe – On Sale now! Sunday, Jan 11th Truth or Consequences – 8 seats left Monday, Jan 12th Las Cruces – SOLD OUT TorC is the problem child. Today I'm emailing spas, hotels, B&Bs, doctor offices, lawyers...anyone who might be a customer. We've nailed down free housing in each city. We've been loaned a 15 person van to move our stuff around in. Our expense is uber low, profits high, stress astronomical. But as all of my in-town peers shut down for the week or two because there's no money to be made...I'm much more hungry for a profitable business. So seeyalaterzgaterz!
  22. Its been almost a month since I've updated this because I've been out of control busy with the cookbook, the trip to Helsinki and keeping up with the holidays. The latest is that we're sold out in ABQ and Las Cruces; almost sold out in Tucson and Scottsdale. Truth or Consequences is turning out to be a dog. And Santa Fe we still don't have a location. Yesterday I turned to my friends at the various Edible magazines who are now helping, along with my restaurant and wine distributors. Once I have Santa Fe located it should happen fast...I hope so since its coming up in just over a week. TorC may just have to be an intimate affair.
  23. Its all about who you know. I have a Facebook friend who has published a couple of cocktail cookbooks, and I asked her about agents. She referred me to hers. Her agent said she wasn't accepting new clients but since my friend referred me she would look at my proposal. I sent her my proposal, manuscript and a few pics, and now she's very excited about the project. She agrees that its a niche book, but she said, "niche books are what's selling." I like that attitude. Fingers crossed.
  24. If anyone really really wants them, I have plenty in my neck of the woods come monsoon season. There are spots where the road literally is covered and when you drive through them you hear the pops - disgusting. So I'll sell them to you for $10 less Joking...no orders please.
  25. And of course the circket power bars - Exo (I think) have gotten all sorts of press. I bought a case to support the idea...but the texture made it my last case. I'll eat anything. Once.
×
×
  • Create New...