gfron1

Here are a few recent desserts - let's call it the Fun with Silicone collection: Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Tart The latest version of my Peanut Butter Pie - the best yet IMHO Poorly executed but a pistachio pate with morello cherry gelee, pistachio daquoise and pistachio shortbread From Dessert Fourplay - beet mousse

Wylie <bleep> losing <bleep> it <bleep>! What the <bleep> could you be <bleeping> talking about!?

I'll share the very preliminary draft menu as long as Verjuice promises not to read any further since she is coming down....... And for anyone who hasn't seen my previous tasting menus, I lean toward molecular gast techniques, and a heavy emphasis on locally source, very crude ingredients - by crude I mean things that others would not normally consider using. 1. Beet lollipops with horseradish coating - the beet center will be pure liquid with a cocoa butter shell. I'm debating this dish because it has serious potential to cover a guest in beet juice and thus ruining their night and my dry cleaning bill. 2. Veg terrine (I'll see what the farmers market has that morning) 3. Gazpacho Boba drink - the cucumber will be made into pea sized balls and served with boba straw. 4. Jicama spahgettini...not sure where this is going yet, but I want to do a sugar syrup blanching of the jicama. 5. Monkfish ceviche, roasted corn slaw, avocado foam, basil oil, lemongrass vinegar shooter 6. Bison tenderloin - I'm looking for a technique to cook the bison in clay or failing that, salt. 7. Local goat milk - we have our first producer starting up this year and her stuff is pretty good. I"ll have her tie mine in small croquettes wrapped in local herbs, drizzled with local honey. I"m debating freeze drying one of the disks for each guest. 8. Tomato dessert sampler - sorbet, pudding cake & ? using heirlooms, sugar cello wrap 9. Chocolate lolli - same as dish one except white truffle infused chocolate pudding 10. A dish of four liquid spheres - not sure about this yet either, just know that in our town spheres are still cool and unique so I'm still putting them out to much delight.

I think another reason why I feel WD messed up is that these shows usually include points for kitchen performance, and again, due to editing, it appeared as if he was running around like a chicken... I wonder if the egg dish is proprietary and he wouldn't allow more info to be provided.

Tess - I think his crash has more to do with editing than anything else. He just appeared to be a fish out of water like many chefs who don't have control over their pantries, kitchens, etc. And I can't help but think that between that waiver, and seeing Keller as a judge on TC on premier night that they aren't fishing for talent.

I'm kicking this dog - I set the date for July 18th. My geek friend has been working with me and we have some fun tech to integrate which I'll share later. Any new thoughts? And for the business type folks - any suggestions for good web conferencing services (preferably free) that will allow for multiple images and text display?

Look, we never watch TV (except the one week a year that we travel which happened to be last week), but I had to watch tonight because I have such respect for Wylie (and I wanted to know how to pronounce his last name). It was a lot of fun and a bit disappointing that Wylie was such a screw up. Here's my theory - that guy lives in his head - that's why he is so great. He is intellectually pushing ideas and limits with every plate - that's his shtick and what makes him great, but it doesn't translate well into a show like this. The best chefs seem to be the ones that are more innate, gut level chefs. Just a theory I'm playing with. Anyway, a fun episode, now I'll just read everyone else's posts to know who wins. edited to add: Can someone explain his sous vide egg trick - I didn't quite get it. It sounded like it was soft/gelatinous - if that's that case, how did he get it out of the shell? Does anyone have details on the technique?

New to my area - I've really been enjoying Gulden Draak from Belgium. It reminds me of the great beers I had when visiting that part of the world.

I guess I missed the part about you asking for your meal to go or other options. My bad. It takes two to tango.

Feel free to browse and ask for anything. They call me about every two weeks and say the same thing, "Just checking to see if you need any order items or samples." I always ask for samples with my orders and I always receive. Lately I've been asking for colors instead of flavors.

Like I said way back in the first posts - I would have done something. But, again, we all know people who will find fault no matter what you do.

But anyone in the service industry knows that there are people who will find fault no matter what you do. We all agree that the owner could have made more of an effort, but come on - you bring a dog, a baby, a cranky grandma to a restaurant and you are setting yourself up for an unpleasant experience. Even my well trained pooch will want to sniff passing guests and will surely bark if a squirrel runs by. So if this incident has led someone to bad mouth the restaurant, that says much more about the diner than the restaurant who is FOLLOWING THE LAW and RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF EVERY OTHER DINER IN THE RESTAURANT WHO WANT TO ENJOY THEIR MEAL.

I'm certainly not experienced enough to answer with authority but I've been training three new staff over the past month and have learned to say, "This is about speed, not precision," or "This is about perfection so take your time and do it right."

Big time dog lover here, and I always have fresh baked dog biscuits for my four legged customers, but I can't allow dogs into my restaurant - just outside, weather good or bad. I might have offered to comp a future meal for you even though it wasn't the owners fault. Actually I would have played to the audience and found a way to offer you a gift for your dog...hell, a doggy bag would have been kind of funny in this situation.

Same here plus I use a fork to pull it out - seems to provide more control for me. If you are hellbent on dirtying more dishes, then put in a container and microwave briefly to thin it out and then pour...but I wouldn't.

A well timed question! Last week at NOCA in Phoenix, MoltoE shared a new cocktail that they were working on - this is my best guess as to the technique: Vodka steeped with chipotle, strained, purified to clear, a bit of celery infused salt on the rim of the glass...and a chipotle martini ala Bloody Mary.

I happened to see the first episode (?) while traveling last week and saw the one lady lie about something, get busted, and still be allowed to continue. Not really interested in seeing any more.

thanks for the info.

In case anyone missed it - in the recent Saveur they reported soaking is fine, even good in that it reduced cooking time by at least a quarter, it isn't necessary. The quick soak method had no effect on cooking time. Salt didn't change the texture or cooking time so salt as you like. They also said that if you include tomatoes, leave them out until the end because acidic ingredients make things cook much slower.

What's the difference? I recently had a meal that served a lobster carpaccio and also a tuna crudo. Both were thin pieces of raw dressed flesh on a plate. Could the lobster have been called a crudo also?

For me the 80% bar is the best. In the chocolate forums, CC gets tossed all over the place and typically the discussion ends with, "you just don't get it." CC uses a process that results in a much less refined outcome than what we expect, but when you sample the bar v. eat the bar, the texture, flavor profile and even the dare I say it, bouquet are extremely refined and complex. My favorite part of CC bars is when I snip the silver foil and that first whiff of perfume is released. I can live on that smell for a good hour. All of his bars with add-ins (ginger, sugar crystals, etc) are good, and I enjoy them, but I always feel like that's a cop out to inferior chocolate. Same goes for Askinosie. But, when you turn off the chocolate snob and turn on chocolate lover, then those bars are wonderful - especially Askinosie. Long answer to short question

I use the raspberry framboise daily, and the pistachio, black cherry & prickly pear weekly. I often will use the compound in conjunction with a puree when possible. As for the flavor...not sure what to say. If I could achieve the same flavor from fresh fruit I would, but I like strong flavors so the compounds work well for me. Only in a few instances have I had the chemically taste that some people talk about (ie Butterscotch). My flavors contain fruit, sugar, acid and then the cherry has color, none of my others have color.

I'm back on my pastry quest. This morning I hit the Old Heidelberg Bakery - some nice breads, a little market, and of course, heavy, sweet German pastries. They were all exactly like Oma would make. Right now I'm back at Scratch which I'm thinking is the best pastry shop in town. Today I had the rose strawberry dome which tasted a bit freezer burned and floury. The Chocolate mousse topped with raspberry was very tasty. The mousse was great, but they should have strained the seeds out of the topping. Just nitpicking now, because if you want pastries this is a great place to go. As I said previously the flavors are just slightly off to my liking.

Yesterday was an odd day for me because believe it or not I had never seen Top Chef - the regular version, but watched it all day concluding with the finale. Then I was going to turn off the Masters show because I really didn't want any more of the snarky comments, immature snipes and "I cook from my heart" crap. Masters was just plain fun. Yeah the tests were a bit silly, but it was fun watching these guys play along. And I couldn't believe that for the girl scout test none of them went for a girl scout cookie dessert - one accidentally stumbled upon a tag along, but not intentionally.

Zeb -we're passing in the night! I'll be at NOCA tomorrow. Tonight was Los Dos Molinos (spelling corrected from the earlier post). Being a New Mexican I can say that this was better than any NM food in my town. Certainly not high dining, but a great meal with the heat I love.