wallchef

Trust me, while I won't cut into your steak, I would have fingered it and tasted everything else on your plate. The nicer the restaurant, the more fingers that have touched, tasted, etc. your food. Then again, I don't serve steak, so who knows what I would have eaten off your plate before it goes to you.

With the flavor profile, sounds like you very well could have gotten insipid Oregon truffles. Or as others have suggested, old ones.

No worries, as Marco Pierre White would say, "We are all commis." We all have something to learn. Keep on researching, keep your ideas fresh.

Ha! We used to make this joke when we were getting punished with menial tasks as commis.

You are very incorrect to state that Maillard Reaction starts at 338 degrees. Maillard reaction can happen at room temperature, even below.

You may have done a lot of research, but not enough. A maillard reaction happens a much lower temperatures than you think. You can achieve a maillard reaction using sous vide technology. Check out La Cocina al Vacio by Joan Roca and Salvador Brugues for further information.

Roasted beets, chevre, pine nuts and drizzle with a little aged balsamic.

Mate, uncover your cricket bat from distant summer memories. Whack the shit out of it, marinate in a little ginger, scallion, garlic, sesame oil, and soy. Fire up the barbie and run with it. The first time I had abalone was after the first match of rugby I played in Australia. I'd been picked up by a semi-pro team and during the social a guy was griddling up heaps of them and serving them on white bread with tomato sauce!

Correct, I whip the egg whites until you can pull the whisk from the whites and have a continuous 'string' of egg whites out of the bowl. Then I add my lean protein, acid, and vegetables into the bowl, then into a pot with cold broth.

I've always whipped my egg whites to make a consomme. It promotes the necessary coagulation of protiens to clarify the broth.

Just a quick suggestion for all involved in confiting delicious swine, try confiting any applicable pork product in rendered bacon fat. Let you head explode!

Tabasco in the drinking straw. Freezing personal items in buckets or bain-maries. My favorite is taking the brulee torch and heating up people's bake pans or the handles of their reach-ins.

Au Pied de Cochon It fulfills about every requirement you stated.

Stuff with saffron-scented rice, aromatics, and chorizo, top with some manchego cheese.

I remember being in either portugal or spain and eating a pork and persimmon skewer that had been grilled. The pork had a slightly spicy marinade and was really nice dish. Not much of a recipe but depending how skilled you are, you could easily pull it off.