Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

StudioKitchen (2008-)


GordonCooks

Recommended Posts

As usual, Philadining, after seeing your photos, I don't want to even point out my own. Beautiful! The dinner was absolutely wonderful. I had great company on Friday night as I'm sure you did on Saturday, but I'm sorry we were at different nights. For anyone who might be interested, my descriptions and photos are on my blog.

Mexigaf, I agree about the steelhead roe & watercress ice cream dish, but my favorite was the skirt steak.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff. Can attendees say more about the chicken marsala and skirt steak preparations?

From my blogpost

"Chicken Marsala. egg yolk, morels, nasturtium" - this was not my father's chicken marsala, though it was no less enjoyable. The deceptively simple looking chicken was the product of an elaborate process. First chicken carcasses were pressure cooked with marsala wine and other ingredients to make a stock. This stock was then used to poach the morels, which were then set aside. The remaining liquid was reduced and pureed with the white and dark raw chicken meat, mixed with activa and set in blocks. The blocks were cooked sous vide, chilled then sliced thin. For service the silky, mortadella-like chicken ribbons were warmed in a C-Vap. The chicken itself contained all the flavors of a classic chicken marsala. Combining it with the morels, nasturtium leaves and a sauce from rich egg yolk created a delicious, fun and unique dish all their own.
"Skirt Steak, honeydew melon, rosemary, fermented vadouvan" married perfectly cooked skirt steak with the plate's principle green element, the honeydew in sublime fashion. Cooked sous vide and finished on the grill, the meat melted in my mouth. The best part was that additional meat remaining after the initial plating was passed around for much appreciated seconds. The rosemary actually came from rosemary flowers, which left a lovely, yet subtle perfume. The vadouvan provided a perfect compliment.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
FYI... The next round of Studio Kitchen Ideas in Food dinners is this coming weekend.

I'll be at the Friday dinner (there is also a second one on Saturday). I also attended the Friday dinner of the first series (although I didn't post anything given the other excellent recaps).

I'll try and give an overview afterward this time.

I'm really excited!

Edited by SyntaxPC (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

FYI... The next round of Studio Kitchen Ideas in Food dinners is this coming weekend.

I'll be at the Friday dinner (there is also a second one on Saturday). I also attended the Friday dinner of the first series (although I didn't post anything given the other excellent recaps).

I'll try and give an overview afterward this time.

I'm really excited!

When? Where? How does one find out about these things in time?

I'm assuming I'm surely too late this time around, but would not want to miss the details next time around...

sockii

__________________

| South Jersey Foodie |

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FYI... The next round of Studio Kitchen Ideas in Food dinners is this coming weekend.

I'll be at the Friday dinner (there is also a second one on Saturday). I also attended the Friday dinner of the first series (although I didn't post anything given the other excellent recaps).

I'll try and give an overview afterward this time.

I'm really excited!

When? Where? How does one find out about these things in time?

I'm assuming I'm surely too late this time around, but would not want to miss the details next time around...

Just watch his blog...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My fellow dinning partners from last night's collaboration are probably still recovering from the food induced coma by the 11 heavenly courses.

Pictures and a list of the entire menu can be viewed here.

There were so many excellent flavor combinations, that it is hard to highlight a select few...though I will try.

Mango-Yogurt sorbet, wild char roe, arugula - I would never have thought to combine a mango sorbet with roe, but believe me, this is simply delicious!! The wile char roe was from the maker of Bliss Maple syrup and I believe is treated with Fleur de sel.

Corn Pudding, Smoked Sea Urchin - The rich, creamy, lightly smoked Santa Barbara sea urchin on top of delicately sweet and luscious summer corn pudding the consistency of a thick soup. One of my favorite dishes of the evening.

Goose Egg Yolk, Chorizo-chanterelle hash, garden herbs - The slow cooked Goose egg yolk was not runny but rich enough to perfectly balance the spice in the chorizo hash. This dish was so good, I could eat it for breakfast everyday.

Foie Gras Marble - Another unique dish, brilliantly executed dish; my preferred substitute for a PB&J. The texture of this dish varied from left to right - from a pistachio nougat consistency to a less dense foie gras consistency.

Soft Shell Crab Tempura, Honeydew raita - Succulent, well seasoned soft shell crab, with the honeydew sweetened raita providing a cool backdrop. Shola is thinking about experimenting by infusing more Indian flavors such as garam masala into the batter. I want to be there when he tries that.

Ramp Cavatelli, Geoduck clam Sauce - The ramps were blanched and pureed a few months in advance before being cryovaced and frozen. Amazing clam flavor and according to Alex, the touch of baking soda gave the pasta a nice plumpness and made it a little more chewy, similar to Chinese dough. The recipe and prep is well documented here.

Sweetbreads, Lemon Verbena, Pickled Watermelon Rind - Not the typical fried "McNugget" style sweetbreads, as Shola would say, nonetheless they were delicate and creamy with the pickeled watermelon rind bringing some acidity to the party.

Pig Cheek, cornbread, collard greens, red cola sauce - The cheek is one of my favorite cuts because of the flavor and texture and this did not disappoint. The corn bread was more like a loose corn pudding and I could have eaten a big bowl of this.

Sangaria Squab, Berbere Potsticker, Kohlrabi - Perfectly pink sous vide squab with an amazingly flavor packed potsticker. We had a large selection of Burgundy, new world PN and mature bordeaux to pair this dish with.

Delice de Bourgogne "Buratta", Fennel, Green Olive Oil - Not sure what Alchemy was involved to achieve this, but all I was say is that the flavor combinations were out of this world, though I would have loved to have some crusty toasted bread with this.

Carrot-Bacon Cake, Blood Orange Marmalade Ice Cream, Maple Vinegar - Familiar flavors with a twist - the bacon did not overwhelm like I had feared, rather it lightly punctuated with salty accents sprinkled throughout the carrot cake.

The main focus of this dinner was the food, though we did fairly well in pairing roughly 20 wines ranging from Gewürztraminer, Sav Blanc, old and new world chardonnay and PNs, mature bordeaux, Amarone and others I am probably forgetting.

If you have an opportunity to attend, I highly recommend it, though you probably do not need me to tell you so.

Shola also mentioned starting some cooking classes on Sat morning, which sounds terrific.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Percy summed it up quite well. What an incredible evening of food, wine and commraderie of the table! While every course was pretty much lights-out for me, the first four dishes were the finest courses I have eaten all year, with the "Corn Pudding, Smoked Sea Urchin" being at the absolute top of the list. The generosity of our fellow diners re: wines was unreal ('01 Quilceda, '90 Lagrange, '04 Aubert, '89 Conseillante, several Grand Crus from Burgundy and Alsace -- the list goes on!) and quite simply, this was truly a one of a kind, world-class experience. Thank you Shola and Alex!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soft Shell Crab Tempura, Honeydew raita - Succulent, well seasoned soft shell crab, with the honeydew sweetened raita providing a cool backdrop. Shola is thinking about experimenting by infusing more Indian flavors such as garam masala into the batter. I want to be there when he tries that.

He did, in fact, involve garam masala in the dish on Saturday night, to excellent effect.

"I've been served a parsley mojito. Shit happens." - philadining

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a little late to the game, but here are my quick notes from night one of last week's StudioKitchen/Ideas in Food tag team match.

Mango-Yogurt Sorbet

wild char roe, arugula

If the idea of fish eggs paired with ice cream seems strange, just pare it down to its base elements: salty and sweet. And really tasty. A real jump-start for the palate. The cured wild char roe is produced by BLiS, the same company that makes some of the most hedonistically delicious maple syrup on the market.

Corn Pudding

smoked sea urchin

Santa Barbara uni, gently smoked over cherry wood. Corn shoot garnish. The corn “pudding” was seasoned with ginger, celery, onion and lemongrass, and thickened with carrageenan. Shola made corn soup at the first StudioKitchen dinner I attended, many moons ago; it’s been a constantly evolving staple in his arsenal ever since.

Goose Egg Yolk

chorizo-chanterelle hash, garden herbs

The goose egg was slow-cooked in its shell for two hours at 65 degrees F. Served with chorizo from Despaña and topped with a nasturtium. Like I said, beautiful and delicious. And a fantastic pairing with Huet’s 2002 Vouvray Brut Pétillant.

Foie Gras Marble

blueberry, pistachio, cantaloupe

PB&J for grownups. (I see Percy and I were in the same camp....)

Softshell Crab Tempura

old bay, honeydew raita

A tiny crab so late in the season for softshells… a testament to working with a good fish monger. Delicate and perfectly cooked, accents courtesy of garlic scapes and borage flower.

Ramp Top Cavatelli

geoduck clam sauce

Ramp season may be gone but blanched ramp greens apparently freeze very well…. I’m in complete agreement with Shola, who likes to eat this by the bowlful; unquestionably the comfort food dish of the evening.

Sweetbreads

lemon verbena, pickled watermelon rind

The sweetbreads were brined overnight in a bath of buttermilk, salt, sugar and verbena. No crusty distraction here, all organ-y goodness, with balancing brightness and snap provided by the bed of pickled watermelon.

Pig Cheek

cornbread, collard greens, red cola sauce

The only dish of the night that didn’t entirely excite me, perhaps better scaled toward a stand-alone main course than as a small plate. The collard greens in particular didn’t seem to sync with the rhythm and vibe of the rest of the meal.

Sangria Squab

berbere potsticker, kohlrabi

Startlingly gamy at first bite but deeply satisfying at the last. Squab from Central New Jersey’s Griggstown Farm.

Delice de Bourgogne Burrata

fennel, green olive oil

The decadent richness and creaminess of Delice de Bourgogne, adjusted to show the fresh, slippery, bubble tea-like texture of burrata. Dressed with the delicious Olio Verde of Gianfranco Becchina, produced at Antica Tenuta Principi Pignatelli in Castelvetrano, Sicily.

Carrot-Bacon Cake

blood orange marmalade ice cream, maple vinegar

Just as savory – if not more so – as sweet. Many at the table agreed that this could work just as easily as a stuffing for game birds as it could dessert. Lovely with a little taste of PX – and a fine way to savor the end of the evening's adventures.

You'll find my further commentary, along with scaled down versions of Shola's fantastic pictures at: StudioKitchen meets Ideas in Food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Indeed.  It looks like he is having another series of dinners (corn) next weekend!

Saw that yesterday and promptly signed up for Friday. Though have to do this one solo.

We signed up (and paid) for Friday also; we should see you there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corn dinners cancelled.

And from the e-mail it sounds as if a large party held the event(s) hostage by saying if they couldn't have a group of 10 on Saturday (they reserved for 5 & 5) they would cancel. I hope those people don't read eG because I'm really annoyed.

Shola has a very small business - a one man show. You can't monopolize the table and then threaten to cancel if you don't get your way. You didn't know there was a no cancellation policy? You pre-paid, you knucklehead(s).

People are generally a-holes, no doubt about it.

If there is another side of this story, I would love to hear it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corn dinners cancelled. 

And from the e-mail it sounds as if a large party held the event(s) hostage by saying if they couldn't have a group of 10 on Saturday (they reserved for 5 & 5) they would cancel.  I hope those people don't read eG because I'm really annoyed.

Shola has a very small business - a one man show.  You can't monopolize the table and then threaten to cancel if you don't get your way.  You didn't know there was a no cancellation policy?  You pre-paid, you knucklehead(s).

People are generally a-holes, no doubt about it.

If there is another side of this story, I would love to hear it.

I wonder if perhaps he could just do the dinner on one night, e.g. Friday? I am sure some attendees would be willing to move their reservation back (or forward) a day. But that large party of 10 (well actually two parties of five that wanted to be one party of 10) that ruined everything needs to be publicly flogged!

Now that I have some time on my hands for Friday night, I think my wife and I will go check out the "new" Marigold Kitchen.

Edited by tbabes (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if perhaps he could just do the dinner on one night, e.g. Friday?  I am sure some attendees would be willing to move their reservation back (or forward) a day.  But that large party of 10 (well actually two parties of five that wanted to be one party of 10) that ruined everything needs to be publicly flogged!

Now that I have some time on my hands for Friday night, I think my wife and I will go check out the "new" Marigold Kitchen.

I offered to switch to Saturday, but haven't heard back. I was driving down from Connecticut and had already paid for my room for Friday (here's the drawback of using Priceline). Would still do either night.

If the dinners are absolutely DOA, I'd consider a drive down for an alternative plan, since I have the room. FWIW.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

what was the deal? you couldn't reserve more than 5 seats? so they grabbed two reservations for 5?

Shola's message said that they wanted 10 (which was the limit each night). Since there were already reservations made, they split their group over two nights, Then they called Shola yesterday and said either all of them together or none of them at all - now that it will be difficult to fill the tables at the last minute.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...