Amuse Bouche Recipes

[Alex Parker]

Hey everyone! Im getting ready to get into a week of black boxes at school, and I know we need to plate at least one amuse bouche course. We had one on Thurs, and I flew by the seat of my pants and did a ring molded potato and cheese bite, that was full of thyme, goat cheese, and a little seasoning, then fried. However, I would love to hear from some of the people here what would be some other ideas. Ive thought of doing a reconstructed sushi taster spoon, which would be really nice, but depending on our time limits, I may not be able to get it done in time. Anyone have any idea on something that would be fast, small, and full of flavour? Im definitely leaning towards more intense ingredients including things like onion, ginger, etc. Any help would be appreciated!

Alex

[Paul Bacino]

Had a poached quail egg in a cauliflower puree..served in a cracked egg shell...was pretty nice

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[ScottyBoy]

Made this on last night for a dinner. It's like a little breakfast in 2 bites. Quail egg, onion cream, crispy iberico ham and grape nuts.

[Alex Parker]

Hmm thanks for the suggestions! We arent allowed to use any outside ingredients which is a bit of a hindrance!

Either or, Im going to sit down tonight, and try both these ideas out. I just did one with a rose oil rice shaped in a cone, which was nestled on a puree of red pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, some lime juice and lime rind, and a bit of ginger, and then garnished with a fine julienne of ginger. I will snap a picture tonight.

My knife is going to get a workout tonight I bet

alexP

[ScottyBoy]

Yup, just keep in mind, I try and combine zingy acid-savory-sweet and then some crunch or another texture. As many dimensions you can get into a bite without overdoing it and jumbling flavors. Good luck!

[Paul Bacino]

Scott ..love the bowl presentation ...do you have 12 of those.

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[ScottyBoy]

Haha yeah I have 12 for sure, that's how many I have of every plate I own. The little piggy sets the tone for the fun dinner to come.

[Alex Parker]

Forgot to mention those Bowls Scott! Their epic!

AlexP

[ScottyBoy]

I feel it fitting I should come up with a amuse with a little cube of pork belly to fit right in...well...the belly.

[gfweb]

The amuse shouldn't be so over the top that a subtle app that follows is overwhelmed. To me, an amuse differs from a tapas type dish in that it is often more restrained.

[ScottyBoy]

Just a tease. Mine actually often have slightly similar flavors as the first course so people have that first bite, want more and then can dig into newly familiar flavors.

Edited January 16, 2011 by ScottyBoy (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Interesting, gfweb. If I think back to the most successful amuses I've had, they are all single bites of quite bold flavors. To be sure you need to make certain the progression works, but I think an amuse needs to wake up your palette: I fear that subtlety in a single bite may come across as blandness.

[Alex Parker]

Chris thats exactly what I was thinking. Hence why I am looking for the boldest flavours I can muster up. Things like Lemongrass, Ginger etc. I just want something that my chef likes, thats bold, and still in my style of things.

Alex P

[gfweb]

Interesting, gfweb. If I think back to the most successful amuses I've had, they are all single bites of quite bold flavors. To be sure you need to make certain the progression works, but I think an amuse needs to wake up your palette: I fear that subtlety in a single bite may come across as blandness.

By subtle, I don't mean bland. I mean restrained. If there's ginger...just a hint etc. The amuse should awaken the palate gently so as to not overshadow what is to come. Spicy stuff, to me, is to be avoided eg smoked paprika would be as far as I'd want go in that direction.

I recently had as an amuse a demitasse of a rich mushroom soup spiked with a hint of lemongrass. Lovely but not bold in the way I think of "bold" .

[boondocker]

I always try to make my amuse bright, with a nice vinaigrette or lots of citrus flavors.

this is one I've scaled to use as an amuse a couple times. grilled sardine with citrus tomato jam and a salad of parsley celery leaves and radish on puff pastry

[ScottyBoy]

Looks awesome, yes I think the use of an acid is always key. The one I posted above, there's sherry vinegar in the onion puree.

[Chris Hennes]

By subtle, I don't mean bland. I mean restrained. If there's ginger...just a hint etc. The amuse should awaken the palate gently so as to not overshadow what is to come. Spicy stuff, to me, is to be avoided eg smoked paprika would be as far as I'd want go in that direction.

I recently had as an amuse a demitasse of a rich mushroom soup spiked with a hint of lemongrass. Lovely but not bold in the way I think of "bold" .

Good point, I was just trying to imagine the amuses I personally had experienced. "Bold" is maybe not quite the right term: for example, your mushroom soup was "rich" or perhaps ScottyBoy's app is "bright"—what I was trying to mean when I said "bold" was more like "assertive" or maybe just "memorable," which these both fall into. Something flavorful, whether that flavor is acidity or umami or saltiness, etc. But not too restrained.

[tomdarch]

Interesting, gfweb. If I think back to the most successful amuses I've had, they are all single bites of quite bold flavors. To be sure you need to make certain the progression works, but I think an amuse needs to wake up your palette: I fear that subtlety in a single bite may come across as blandness.

By subtle, I don't mean bland. I mean restrained. If there's ginger...just a hint etc. The amuse should awaken the palate gently so as to not overshadow what is to come. Spicy stuff, to me, is to be avoided eg smoked paprika would be as far as I'd want go in that direction.

I recently had as an amuse a demitasse of a rich mushroom soup spiked with a hint of lemongrass. Lovely but not bold in the way I think of "bold" .

It depends a lot on what's going to follow. (I guess if an amuse is going to be perceived as a stand alone app then it's a totally different story) When Shawn McClain was opening Green Zebra, the amuses ranged from semi bold (garam masala popcorn) to very subtle/simple, like very lightly salted steamed edamame - but that's because the dishes to follow were exceptionally subtle. One of my favorites I've made at home was a rosemary fresh green apple juice (it was out a book of amuses, but it was from the library and I can't remember the title or author.)

In contrast, an amuse that's going to be followed by big fireworks should probably be pretty bold, and get the party started - get that chipotle mayo and sherry vinegar in there and top it with tempura crumbs for crunch! Kablooey!

(Don't forget that instructors/professors sometimes create lousy problems/assignments. A "black box" of ingredients and a limited amount of time makes for good TV ratings, and can be a good challenge once in a while, but I'm skeptical that doing that sort of thing more than once in a while is really going to teach students a great deal. Then again, I'm not a professional cook!)

[ScottyBoy]

Very good points. When I said above that I match my amuse with the meal I wasn't thinking....it a class and that's all you make. If you have only one bite to impress I would go big but stick with maybe 3-4 flavors, also sounds like you are thinking of using some pretty strong ones, balance is key my friend, subtlety but from all directions!

[aschall]

Here was a pretty good dish someone I know made the other day... leak and potato soup accompanied by another tasty vegetables, the potato is nicely shaped and put right in the middle of the soup making this a deconstructed dish.