Ideas in Food

[docsconz]

Hangar Steak, cherry-lime leaf kohlrabi, parsley-juniper puree

While still a very good dish, this was perhaps my least favorite of the evening. Perhaps I was getting too full, but this dish lacked the full throttle flavor punch of some of the others. I liked the subtlety of the turbot, but I expected a little more flavor from the hangar steak and its accompaniment. In addition, as can happen with onglet, I had some sinews running through my piece, reducing the pure pleasure quotient of eating it.

In all the other dishes the wines served as either fine supporting elements or in one case a less than compelling match given the current structure of the wine. This wine, however, was the one wine that eclipsed the course that it was served with and became the star rather than a strong supporter. I think that had as much to do with the star-worthiness of this fabulous wine than anything else. Nevertheless, in the role of support to this outstanding wine, the hangar steak was credit-worthy.

[docsconz]

I was not the only one taking photos!

[docsconz]

The evening starting to wind down with a little amarone.

[docsconz]

Stilton Cheese, Asian pear apple, minus 8 vinegar, bee pollen-grains of paradise

Brilliant in its apparent simplicity and execution, this was a flawless composed cheese course. The stilton had been flattened between plastic, leveled then portioned. The bee pollen-grains of paradise added a hint of additional complexity, the Asian pear apple nuanced sweetness and the minus 8 some sweetness balanced with a beautiful acid tang.

We finished the Bussola with this course.

[docsconz]

The Color Orange, apricot, squash, tangerine

Reminiscent of the work of Pierre Gagnaire and more recently Will Goldfarb and Jordan Kahn, this tonal variation on the flavors of orange, the color, once again provided contrasts and balance within a wide range of possibilities resulting in a pleasurable and satisfying end to this exceptional meal.

This delighfutl Austalian semillon stretched the levels of complexity and flavor associated with the color orange even further. It proved an ideal match to this fine dessert.

Thus, our first experience with the creative cuisine of Alex and Aki had come to a close. My wife and I and one set of our friends headed home to our abodes (with designated drivers ), while Alex and Aki settled down under the roof of our hosts, the Taylors at Fern Lodge.

The next day, Saturday, would not dawn bright, but it would result in further culinary adventures, these of a more communal and traditional bent as everyone pitched in under the expert guidance of Alex and Aki. To be continued....

[Bueno]

What a glorious account of a glorious evening. I envy your life.

Thank you, John.

Edited October 31, 2007 by Bueno (log)

[docsconz]

What a glorious account of a glorious evening.  I envy your life.

Thank you, John.

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Thank you for reading and the kind words. I certainly have had a lot to be thankful for with this past weekend being no exception.

[edsel]

Insanely jealous doesn't even begin to encompass how I'm feeling at this moment.

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Heh, that makes two of us! I'm a huge fan of Alex and Aki's blog. They're so creative, and so generous in sharing their thoughts and ideas. I'd rank them up there with Shola Olunloyo in terms of wonderful, inquisitive, creative cooking. Mind you, I haven't had the chance to try any of their cooking - I just enjoy the ideas they share on the internet. I missed out on Keyah Grande and Studiokitchen, but I'll catch up with these folks sooner or later...

Great post, Doc.

[docsconz]

Insanely jealous doesn't even begin to encompass how I'm feeling at this moment.

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Heh, that makes two of us! I'm a huge fan of Alex and Aki's blog. They're so creative, and so generous in sharing their thoughts and ideas. I'd rank them up there with Shola Olunloyo in terms of wonderful, inquisitive, creative cooking. Mind you, I haven't had the chance to try any of their cooking - I just enjoy the ideas they share on the internet. I missed out on Keyah Grande and Studiokitchen, but I'll catch up with these folks sooner or later...

Great post, Doc.

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The comparison to Shola is an apt one. The original idea for the weekend was to have Shola up as well, but he had another commitment. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced Shola's cooking on several occasions including at Studio Kitchen. He is sensational. Now that I have had the chance to experience Alex and Aki's wonderful cooking I would really love to bring them together for a true creative, blowout weekend. We'll see.

[BryanZ]

SK + Ideas in Food? Only the most baller combination ever.

Seriously, I wish I had more substance to add to this thread. Again, soo cool.

[mkayahara]

Yeah, I'll add my voice to the chorus of "insanely jealous." I've been reading Ideas in Food for a while now, and I'm waiting for them to finally open up their own place so I can book a trip! Their approach to food is so fascinating, and their openness on the blog is remarkable and appreciated. It certainly looks like this meal didn't disappoint.

[adey73]

Doc you have a great, great life! ;0 )

[docsconz]

Saturday we got to see another side of Aki and Alex.

Somehow I got up fairly early the next morning to go get some things for dinner. I made trips to both the Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs farmers markets despite the fact that it was cool and quite rainy.

After my shopping excursion I zipped back up to Friends lake to meet Alex and Aki and take them to a nearby cheesemaker, Nettle Meadow. Though I have greatly enjoyed a number of their cheeses and met one of the owners previously, I had never been to the farm so it was a new experience for the three of us.

Though it was sloppy and rainy we were undeterred. The first part of our visit was to the farm itself where we visited with the animals and were shown around by one of the ladies who takes care of them.

The animals, primarily goats but many others as well, looked to be very well taken care of and reasonably happy. In fact, the farm hosts a shelter for imperfect farm animals including a one-eyed turkey hen, a thoroughbred with a bum leg and others.

Were it not rainy and very muddy outside, the goats would have been out there as well.

Aki maked a new friend.

The chickens didn't seem to mind the mud.

Curious kids who just wouldn't sit still for the camera!

Mr. Bill(y)

Aki made another friend.

The shelter barn

The animals were great to meet, but our main purpose was coming up soon...

[docsconz]

...we were off to find the cheese wizards and we did in a nearby building. We met Lorraine Lambiase and Sheila Flanagan, the co-owners and cheesemakers of Nettle Meadow. The farm and cheesemaking operation was started in 1990, but has only been owned by Lorraine and Sheila for the last three or four years.

Sheila in the cheese making room.

Crane Mountain on the left and Kunik on the right are my two favorite cheeses from this farm and two of my favorites in this country and exceptions to Fat Guy's rule.

Lorraine explaining to Aki and the rest of us how the molds are used to fashion the cheeses.

Sheila cutting samples.

The Kunik is in the back. The Crane Mountain in the foreground is an example of one quite young. The flavor of this pure goat cheese is mild with a very creamy consistency. While still very good in its own right, it gets better with age. The Kunik is a mixed goat and Jersey cow milk cheese. It too is mild, but with a bit more flavor than most camembert style cheeses in the U.S. It also ages well, but is probably better eaten at a younger point than its sister Crane Mountain.

Kunik is named for the first goat on the farm back in 1990. The cheese was produced by the original owners who now have a dairy and cheese operation in Quebec and still produce another version of "Kunik".

Crane Mountain is named for the Adirondack mountain that overlooks the farm.

A more aged version of the Crane Mountain, the last in stock that was truly ready to eat though it gets even runnier and better with even more age. Indeed their current supplies are such that they had no Crane Mountain ready to sell to us. What they had was still too young so they wouldn't part with any just yet. It sells out quickly.

Their most popular cheeses are their chevres and fromage blancs, with a number of flavor variations including what is shown here and more. The lavender, rather than added directly to the cheese infuses it like a tea during the cheesemaking process. All are very good with the flavored cheeses making good dessert options. The plain chevre is very mild, which apparently is what the majority of their customers prefer. I tend to prefer it a little more "goat-y" myself.

Alex and Sheila had an interesting discussion as Alex was intrigued by the infusion technique and envisioned many additional possibilities. Of course, Alex freely shared these ideas as he so often does.

After an enjoyable discussion and sampling we were off and I dropped Aki and Alex back at the Fern Lodge while I returned home to a much needed nap.

The same crew as the night before would re-convene later back at the Fern Lodge for a much different, but no less satisfying dinner. If anyone had any doubts as to Alex and Aki's skills cooking conventionally let them rest right now.

[docsconz]

That morning when I drove to Friends Lake to pick up Alex and Aki, I dropped off a few ingredients so I wouldn't have to later. Amongst them were some stellar shiitakes I purchased from New Minglewood Farm at the Saratoga Farmers market, Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor cheese, Saratoga Apple hot Italian sausage from the Glens Falls farmers market, Mrs. London's baguette and Fire bread and three California raised blue foot chickens that I had purchased from D'Artagnan for an occasion such as this.

The idea was supposed to have been that we would all participate in the cooking. We did to varying degrees. My wife and I returned a little bit later than we intended to find chicken and other preparations underway, led, of course, by Alex and Aki who were not getting paid for their work with this dinner.

Much of the prep work done, we settled down to have some wine and nibbles.

[docsconz]

Warning

What follows in the following post is pure unadulterated food pornography

Do not enter if you have not eaten over the last hour as it features fully exposed blue-foot chickens in heat

[docsconz]

The chickens were cleaned and dressed by Mr. Talbot. They came with heads and feet attached.He is principally if not solely responsible for what was shown by these photos.

What I may have neglected to mention before now is that the Fern Lodge kitchen possesses a beautiful, built-in, wood-fired pizza oven. It was put to very good use on this night.

Don't be in a hurry.

Take it slow.

Feel the heat.

Getting there

Not quite. Patience.

Time to add the offal.

Oh yeah!

After a suitable rest, Alex was back at those chickens completing the job...

[docsconz]

Amongst other things, we nibbled on the Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor and Michael London's Fire Bread and baguette - delicious - especially as we were all salivating over those chickens.

We also sipped upon some lovely "Tir Na Nog", a fine grenache from Down Under.

[docsconz]

A pizza oven is supposed to be for making pizze so of course pizze were made. Our friend Amy made the dough earlier in the day, while various topping combinations were devised based on the ingredients on hand. Amy made a beautiful tomato-eggplant dish using the last of the season's tomatoes and farmers market eggplants as she also visited the Glens Falls farmers market.

The experienced Greg was the pizzaiolo with the dough. Six different pizze were made.

Alex cuts Asian pear apple for a pizza.

...and adds it to dough as a base layer.

Aki adds Stilton and pancetta to the apples to compose one pie.

Aki adding Amy's tomato eggplant as the base for another pizza.

Mushrooms and pecorino.

Eggs cooked in the water bath. Alex couldn't totally pass on modern technique.

Mozzarella topped the tomato and eggplant.

Everybody's enjoying the show...

...and the next wine.

to be continued...

[chickenfriedgourmet]

This is like reading a good novel and waiting for the next chapter to arrive, I cannot wait.

- Michael ak.a. Chicken Fried Gourmet

[docsconz]

Roasted cipollini from "Our Farm" at the Glens Falls farmers market.

Close-up of the tomato-eggplant and mozzarella.

Eggs and mozzarella on top of the mushrooms and pecorino.

Greg readying a pizza for the oven.

A pizza in the oven.

Tom, Amy and I picked at the chicken carcasses while we were waiting for the main event.

The chickens ready for the table.

The next wine...Abadal, a beautiful red from just north of Barcelona I picked up this past May. Greg had asked that I bring something he had never had and amazingly, I did!

...and the next wine, another beautiful red, this time brought by Aki and Alex.

Tom opening the wines while I pick. My wife took the shot on the right.

[docsconz]

This is like reading a good novel and waiting for the next chapter to arrive, I cannot wait.

- Michael ak.a. Chicken Fried Gourmet

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Thank you, Michael. Nice blog!

[docsconz]

Pizza with sausage, tomato, onions and mozzarella

Pizza with tomato, eggplant and mozzarella

Alex and a quattro formaggi pizza with mushrooms.pizza.

Three finished pies.

Pizza with Asian pear apple, Stilton and Pancetta

Somehow in my delirious hunger I missed closeup photos of several finished pizze including the mushroom, pecorino, mozzarella and egg and another that for the life of me I can't recall. In any case they and the chicken were all so delicious and we were so stuffed!

Of course we had dessert though as my wife baked an apple pie with local northern spy apples.

Earlier in the day, Alex and Aki had mentioned in the course of conversation that neither had ever had an ice apple cider dessert wine from Quebec, so I brought a 2000 Pinnacle that proved to be a perfect match to the apple pie. Unfortunately, the food and the wine had caught up to me and once again I neglected to take a photo of it!

In any case, we all felt a wonderful exhaustion borne of fantastic food, wonderful wine and fast friendship. This was a weekend that I will never forget. Hopefully, someday there will be a sequel.

[prasantrin]

Add my echo to the "I'm so jealous" crowd!

Question...why did you (collective, not individual) decide to cook the eggs before adding them to the pizza, rather than crack raw eggs onto the pizza and let the oven cook them?

I like the egg yolk to run all over my pizza, and I fear those waterbath cooked eggs would end up much too cooked for my liking. Not that it matters, since I didn't get to eat any of your amazing looking pizzas.

[docsconz]

Add my echo to the "I'm so jealous" crowd!

Question...why did you (collective, not individual) decide to cook the eggs before adding them to the pizza, rather than crack raw eggs onto the pizza and let the oven cook them?

I like the egg yolk to run all over my pizza, and I fear those waterbath cooked eggs would end up much too cooked for my liking.  Not that it matters, since I didn't get to eat any of your amazing looking pizzas. 

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I think the reality of the matter is that they were among the available ingredients as they had been cooked earlier in the day. The pizza cooked so fast that somehow the yolk remained runny. It was delicious and probably my favorite of all with the possible exception of the pear apple, stilton and pancetta.

I couldn't share this with all my eGullet friends in actuality, so the best I could do was share it virtually. I know that it is not quite the same thing. However, for those in the NY area, Alex and Aki obviously do cater while they are waiting for the right restaurant opportunity.