David Ross

As others have mentioned, I just put the chicken feet straight into the stockpot. I buy them fresh at my Asian market. I usually put about 5 or 6 chicken feet into the stockpot for a standard recipe. In other words, take the basic recipe and add 6 chicken feet. I also add one fresh pigs foot, cut in half. The pigs foot also comes from my Asian market. The pigs trotter adds even more rich, sticky collagen to your chicken stock.

I have Chef Robuchon's "Simply French" cookbook (written with Patricia Wells, William Morrow, 1991), in front of me right now. I had to satisfy my own confusion over this Clafoutis in a crust or not in a crust debate and I knew that since my recipe was based on Robuchon's, he'd have the answers I was looking for. After reviewing Chef Robuchon's recipe and comments on Clafoutis, I guess both sides of our crust/no crust discussion could argue their point successfully. Whichever method you choose I don't think you can go wrong. This is a wonderful dessert using any kind of fruit with pits, and then of course it must be served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Here is what Chef Robuchon and Ms. Wells have to say about the issues we have been discussing-fresh vs. frozen cherries, (He only uses fresh), how to reduce the amount of liquid from the cherries, pitted vs. non-pitted cherries and pastry crust vs. no pastry crust. Cherry Clafoutis Clafoutis Aux Cerises "Leave it to Chef Robuchon to come up with a truly stunning, original version of the most classic of all French Clafoutis. Cherries-one of the few truly seasonal fruits left in the world-are delicious but problematical. Their juiciness often gets in the way when cooking, causing tarts and desserts to turn soggy or to overflow. In Jamin's kitchens, the problem is solved two ways. First, the pitted cherries are baked with a touch of Kirsch and sugar, as a way of reducing and thus harnessing the rich flavors of the juice. Then before baking, the cherries are sprinkled with fine crumbs prepared from the trimmed sweet pastry. As with most recipes, this is a simple blueprint. For a more rustic (and traditional) Clafoutis, the dessert may be baked in a porcelain baking dish, without the pastry. Also, cherries are not pitted in the traditional cherry clafoutis, so you may choose to folow suit."

Thanks, I remembered you liked that Clafouti.

I found my Cherry Clafoutis photos. I made this particular Clafoutis last Summer using fresh Bing cherries picked not far from my home in Eastern Washington. From what I am hearing, a traditional Clafoutis isn't baked in a tart shell. But since I got the recipe from Joel Robuchon and I consider him one of the top French chefs of the day, I'll trust that this was his modern adaptation of a classic French dessert. Pastry Shell: Fresh Bing Cherries in Tart Shell: Custard Poured over Cherries in Tart Shell: Baked Cherry Clafoutis dusted with Powdered Sugar:

Maybe I've been calling my dish a Clafouti when it really wasn't? I'll have to check Chef Robuchon's cookbook when I get back home this evening, but I am pretty sure what he calls a clafouti are cherries placed in a tart crust and then the custard poured in and the clafouti baked. What stands out in my mind is that Robuchon mentions that after the pastry dough is formed in the tart pan that you take the pastry trimmings and sprinkle them over the custard so that it sets up as the Clafouti bakes. Now I'm going totally off memory right now as to the specifics of Chef Robuchon's recipe, so I'm not 100% sure that his definition of a Clafouti is one baked in a tart shell. I sure wouldn't argue with Chef Joel Robuchon as to what makes a Clafouti! Clafoutis is a wonderful dessert that somehow doesn't seem to appear on menus as much as it probably should.

Hi Kim. I love making Clafoutis. I'm just sorry I couldn't find a photo of one to post for you. My guess is that maybe you didn't add enough starch to the custard and it is not thickening/setting up properly. It could also be the type of fruit you are using. Fruits that put out a lot of juice like cherries can cause a Clafouti to be too runny. Maybe it needs another egg? You might want to look at Joel Robuchon's Clafoutis recipe in his book, "Simply French" written with Patricia Wells. Chef Robuchon uses bits of leftover pastry dough folded into the custard to help soak up some of the juice of the cherries as his Clafoutis bakes. I use his basic recipe, but I don't add the pastry bits to the custard. Mine seems to set up fine. Here is my recipe. Compare it to the one you are using and let me know what the differences are. Sweet Pastry Crust 2 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup cake flour 1 tbsp. superfine granulated sugar 1 tsp. salt 1 stick unsalted butter, chilled ½ cup Crisco shortening, chilled 1/3 cup ice water In a large bowl, combine the flour, cake flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter, blend in the butter and Crisco. Cut the mixture until the pieces are the size of peas. Using a fork, blend in enough of the ice water so that the dough begins to form a ball. Using your hands, gently form the dough into one ball. Place the dough in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before using. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature. Sprinkle a board with flour. Roll the dough out into a circle large enough to fill the bottom of a tart pan. Spray the bottom and edges of the tart pan with a non-stick oil such as Pam®. Line the tart pan with the dough then trim the edges of the pastry. Filling 1 1/2 pounds cherries, pitted 1/3 cup Kirsch, (cherry liqueur) 3 tbsp. flour ½ tsp. salt 1/4 cup granulated sugar 4 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream ½ vanilla bean ¼ cup powdered sugar Place the cherries in a bowl. (Do not use a metal bowl as it will react with the cherry liqueur). Add the Kirsch and toss the cherries to coat. Let the cherries macerate in the liqueur at room temperature for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 375°. Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of the food processor. With the processor running, add the whole eggs, egg yolks, milk, and cream. Cut the vanilla bean in half and add the seeds to the batter mixture. Drain the cherries, reserving the liqueur for another use. Place the cherries in an even layer in the bottom of the tart pan. Pour the batter over the cherries. Bake the clafoutis in the oven until the top is browned and the custard is set, about 45 minutes. Remove the clafoutis from the oven and let it cool completely. Dust the clafoutis with the powdered sugar then cut into wedges and serve. Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Thanks, yes those are thin onion rings on top of the chicken. I'd love to get that recipe for that bleu cheese dressing. Your salad looks delicious. The onion rings have a thin coating of seasoned fry mix rather than the heavy batter you find on most onion rings. It's a different taste than battered onion rings where you have to fight through a mouthful of doughy batter to get to a sometimes soggy onion. The thin coating helps the onion ring to be crispy but still allows for a lot of natural onion flavor to come through. Here is my recipe: Frizzled Onions 4 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying 1 large yellow onion (I use Walla Walla Sweets in season) 2 cups milk 1 cup frying mix (I use Pride of the West fry mix made in Portland) 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. black pepper ½ tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. paprika Heat oil in a heavy stockpot to 375°. Using a mandoline or vegetable slicer, thinly slice onion into rings. Place onion rings into a large bowl and cover with milk. Let the onions soak in the milk while the oil heats. In another bowl, mix together fry mix, salt, black pepper, cayenne and ½ tsp. paprika. Drain onions from milk. Dredge onion rings in seasoned fry mix and shake off excess. Deep-fry onions until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain onion rings on paper towels. Sprinkle with remaining ½ tsp. paprika.

Yes indeed, homemade croutons, although this time I cut the bread into cubes that were a bit too small for my tastes. I start with a good loaf of Italian or French bread-I don't use an artisan style bread because I don't want a bread with big interior air pockets. That doesn't make for solid croutons. I cut the crust off the bread, then cut the bread into good size cubes so that they can soak up all the stuff I'm going to add. I spread the bread cubes on one layer on a cookie sheet. Then I toast the bread cubes in a low oven for about 15 minutes to get them a bit hard. Then I take the croutons out of the oven and put them into a bowl and add salt, pepper, melted butter and a good measure of garlic olive oil. I don't want the croutons soaking wet, but I do want them well-coated with the butter and olive oil. Then I put the croutons back on the cookie sheet and put them back into the oven to brown-about 15 more minutes. Finally, after I bring the croutons out of the oven I put them back in the bowl and toss with a bit more melted butter and olive oil. You end up with these buttery, crispy croutons that are far better than anything you'll buy in the supermarket. By the way, I make garlic olive oil by pouring 1 cup of olive oil into a small dish and then adding 4 crushed cloves of garlic. I let the garlic steep in the olive oil for about two hours before using it. I've read in some older cookbooks where this is a dangerous technique-letting garlic sit in oil can make the oil go rancid. I've never gotten sick off my garlic olive oil so I guess it's ok.

Last night I started with my Caesar Salad, but this time I changed up the recipe and added a garnish of tapenade that I made with Kalamata olives, garlic, oregano, anchovies, black and red pepper. I make the traditional Caesar dressing with coddled egg and anchovy. As you can imagine, I like anchovies. I always use a lot of fresh lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce in the dressing so it cuts through the saltiness of the anchovies: Then my basic rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. This time served with green beans and a basic jus made from stock and the chicken drippings in the rotisserie pan. Sorry, not a great photo but it was late and I needed another glass of wine:

Those ribs are a thing of beauty.

I have the 'Pressure Magic' model by Fagor. I'm not sure if they still sell them, but if they do, it's worth the cost. Yes, there is a lot of furor out there over the older models of pressure cookers and using them for deep-frying. From the research I did when I wrote my piece on Fried Chicken for TheMediadrome.com, I found that the Fagor 'Pressure Magic' model was the only one safely certified for pressure cooking/deep frying. I think that the controversy and issue of safety came about because there were home cooks who were using their standard pressure cookers to deep-fry when the cooker was not certified to do so. The basic idea of a pressure cooker is of course to cook foods under the intense pressure of steam. But think of adding the extra pressure of hot, bubbling oil, and steam, all under pressure. If you use a pot not certified to handle that, you would probably be creating the platform for a monumental explosion of steam and fat and chicken all over your kitchen walls. Not to worry though if you use the Fagor 'Pressure Magic' model. I've used it for about 7 years now and never once had an accident. I want to make sure that the lid seals extremely tight onto the pot, so I do regularly clean the rubber seal that fits under the lid and I clean the grease that accumulates under the lid itself. Ultimately what you are trying to create is the same flavor and texture of chicken that the Colonel fried or what you find at the grocery store deli-chicken fried in hot oil first, then finished in a large vat under steam pressure.

Thanks. It depends on what I want in terms of the texture of the outer skin of the chicken. Sometimes I use the batter method for a softer skin more like Kentucky Fried Original. But if I want a more crispy skin like Kentucky Fried Extra Crispy, I prefer the the second dredge method that you see in the photo above. I use both techniques, but my personal favorite is the second method: -Dredge the chicken -Chill the chicken pieces -Dredge a second time -Fry in a pressure cooker Seems to consistently work well.

Last night was a Rueben Sandwich. (You can see the details and photos of my attempt at homemade Corned Beef in the "Corned Beef at Home" thread in the Cooking Forum). I normally don't eat sandwiches for dinner. But this one time for dinner-a sandwich made the day end on a delicious note.

Sorry, that last photo was a bit too red and fuzzy. But as promised, here are the results of my attempt at making Corned Beef at home. Sliced and ready for the Rueben: And in the classic Rueben-Dark Rye, Homemade Russian Dressing, Sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, Corned Beef (most of the fat left on). All toasted in a cast iron skillet with a good measure of butter to crisp the bread. Served with a Dill spear:

If anyone is looking for deals on Le Creuset, go to their website and check on the locations of their stores at outlet malls. If there is one near you go check it out. They have a store at the outlet malls in Woodburn, Oregon, South of Portland on I-5. Great prices.

Here's a pizza I made about a month ago. I posted it on the 'Dinner' thread and forgot to post it over here. For the crust, I used the 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes' dough recipe that is posted over in the baking forum. The dough bakes into this oddball shape with all sorts of pockets and crevices-and a crispy outer coat. The toppings were prosciutto, kalamata olives, chopped tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. I always wait until the pizza comes out of the oven before Isprinkle on some freshly shredded basil. Enjoy.

Jon-I think having the chefs deliver the dishes to the table is a good move. Based on the concept of the restaurant/kitchen, my guess is that you will attract customers that are pretty well-versed in food and wine. They will no doubt appreciate interacting with you and the other chefs as you serve the dishes. I think you'll get a good measure of satisfaction being able to discuss the preparation of the dishes with your customers. I know that I would. Please send us some photos of the dishes once you have them ready and prior to your opening night. I'm looking forward to continuing to watch and read about your story. Very exciting.

Thanks for the nice comments. A photo of the slice of cake, served with another sweet from years ago, my Grapefruit Ice Cream.

My passion for 'retro' desserts continues. Burnt-Sugar Cake with 7-Minute Frosting, Toasted Coconut, Toffee:

Last night I made Roast Salmon with a Rice/Spinach Cake and a Coconut-Curry Sauce with Baby Corn and Straw Mushrooms. There is a little salad of Cilantro and Fried Shallot on top of the Salmon:

Asian? I have to think it might have something French to it... ← Yes, I stand corrected. I checked my French dictionaries and you are correct. Maybe this speaks to my point that the name of a restaurant can be confusing to the customers if the name doesn't directly reflect the style of cuisine that is served?

Jon-First off, congratulations on a very good website. I thought I'd learn a bit about you and the restaurant, so I went straight to your site. I like the fact that you have bios of your staff. In todays world, many of your customers will go to your site before they make their reservation. They want to read your menu to see if it suits their tastes, but I think they are also interested in learning about the people who create the food. As you change your tasting menu remember to update that information on your website. While I realize most restaurants only post 'sample' menus on their sites, I'd prefer to have the current tasting menu posted rather than see a 'Spring' tasting menu posted in October. Certainly, the more feedback you get from a broad range of different perspectives will help you build a stronger restaurant. Sometimes I find myself in a discussion with other food writers about a particular restaurant. Owing I suppose to our intense nature, our group often gets too wrapped up in whether or not the foie gras was served 5 degrees too cold. We tend to forget that the ultimate judge of the food, the menu, the wines and the service-is the customer. So with that introduction, I look at your menu from a bit of a different perspective-both as a food writer and a customer. Is J'ai named after the intials of the names of the partners in the restaurant? Just a small question. It sounds as though it might be Asian in background but I note that your restaurant will be serving progressive American cuisine. Will you only be offering the tasting menus or will you also offer an ala carte menu? Your price of $155 for the twelve course tasting menu with wines is actually quite a good price. I wouldn't hesitate to pay that. While I'm not that familiar with the prices in your city, I am familiar with the dining scene in Las Vegas. A similar tasting menu with wines at one of the finer restaurants in Las Vegas would be around $200 or higher. In general I think you've got an intriguing and fun menu. But I would caution you about getting overly adventurous with dishes that may not play within an overall cohesive theme. I think it's ok to experiment with different cuisines within a menu, but a tasting menu should be looked at in terms of creating an overall theme with a progression of tastes and textures that begins with the first course and then builds throughout the menu. Each course should compliment the previous course and play a part in the overall menu theme. For example, you go from what sounds to be French in style-Shellfish Consomme, Lobster, Vacherin and Escarole, to what sounds as though it is French/MIddle Eastern/Asian-Turbot, Fennel, Bok Choy, Couscous, Blood Orange, to American-Hickory Braised Short Rib, Pancetta, Brussels Spourts, Yuka and Chanterelle. I'm not saying that different styles of cusine can't work together or that French style ingredients don't work in Middle Eastern dishes. But I'd just be careful to not get to out there with too many styles of cuisine because it tends to pull apart the overall theme of the menu. Taking this issue a step further, be careful that you don't have too many competing tastes within each dish. For example, what does the Vacherin add to the Shellfish Consomme and Lobster dish? How is the Vacherin added to the dish? How is the Escarole prepared in the dish? Does the Escarole give a bitter accent to the dish? On your printed menu, I'd add a description for the customers on how the ingredients in the dish are prepared. For example, is the "Hickory Braised Short Rib a short rib of beef or is the dish made with pork? You list "Beef, Indian Curry, Basmati." As Doc mentioned in his post, what exactly is Indian Curry? Trust me, there are probably plenty of customers who may not know a darn thing about curry, so a bit more explanation on the menu would help. One last example, give your customers an explanation of what the "Black Pearl" is in the Bing Cherry dessert. I'm sure you know that part of the key to carrying out this tasting menu is how it is presented and served to your customers. Make sure your servers are enthusiastic and believe in your food and that they can clearly explain each dish and how it is prepared to the customers. I've now convinced myself to book a flight and come enjoy your menu. Good luck and keep us updated.

Hey when I get sick that's what I want to eat. Looks delicious.

Last night started with a salad of Orange, Jicama and Pickled Red Onion with Blue Cheese and a Orange Juice-Ginger-Herb Vinaigrette. I usually wouldn't mix the flavors of Bleu Cheese with Ginger, and I wouldn't mix Ginger with Herbs like Oregano and Marjoram but in this case the flavors worked pretty well. The Ginger seemed to accent and punch up the other flavors: Followed with my Cioppino. I seem to change up this recipe every time I make it depending on what seafood looks good on the day I buy it. This Cioppino had Clams, Dungeness Crab, Oysters, Salmon and Pink Prawns from Florida:

Ted thanks for the clarification. I should have edited my original comments on the dish to say I used the base of Delia's pudding but added the puff pastry top as a garnish rather than use her suet pastry and steaming method. I've had the steak and kidney at Elephant and Castle pubs in Portland and Vancouver, BC and to be honest, what I thought was a pudding I now realize was a 'pie' due to the puff pastry crust. Well thanks again for your feedback. Of course, now I'm going to have to do it the right way with a suet crust just so I can taste the difference between suet/steamed and puff pastry/baked. I love a tasty experiment.