Anatomy of a Dinner Party

[ludja]

Great looking menu, Vadouvan! I can't wait to see all of it, especialliy the pork belly dish and the desserts.

I always make up a source list as well for more elaborate dinners. It's critical as I usually have quite a few different places to buy things as well.

edited to add: Do you already have your wines chosen?

Edited July 27, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Vadouvan]

Great looking menu, Vadouvan! I can't wait to see all of it, especialliy the pork belly dish and the desserts.

I always make up a source list as well for more elaborate dinners. It's critical as I usually have quite a few different places to buy things as well.

edited to add: Do you already have your wines chosen?

This post has been edited by ludja: Today, 05:15 PM

Thanks foe asking Ludja, wine is the least of my problems right now, sufice to say i now know why I have never seen a banana tart tatin in a restaurant in 10 years, it's incredibly easy to F it up in several ways but i think I have if figured out after rummaging through my Previn box-o-tricks.

I have only ever had one at Maison Novelli.......Jean Christophe Novelli.

[johnder]

HI Vadovan!

Excellent thread! I am drooling over the pork belly already. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

I had a pretty awesome banana tt that was part of an all pork fest at Rosewater resturant here in Brooklyn. They actually added some bacon batonettes in along with the bananas that gave it an awesome smokey aroma, as well as a great mouth feel.

John

[Vadouvan]

They actually added some bacon batonettes in along with the bananas that gave it an awesome smokey aroma

Bacon and bananas ?

Elvis re-union .....

[Vadouvan]

So these are the shrimp after cooking, they were done in a water bath in court bouillon at 58C til just barely done and iced down. Also a bamboo skewer was inserted to keep them relatively straight before rigor mortis sets in.....

Cooked Shrimp

[Vadouvan]

I suppose one ought to start prepping at some point if there is any eating to be done.

Life is much easier when you are organized, I do all my tedious chopping and slicing at once just to get it out of the way and reduce cross contamination.

These "speed racks" that bartenders use are also great for organizing chopped herbs and garnishes like a pro.

Scallion,Mint,Chive,Parsley,Celery,Celery

Not that I really need all this crap but It's a great way to practice knife skills you may have taken for granted...!

The Making of the sauce for the Beef, I use Oxtails as they have tons of flavor and meat to bone ration, meat exclusive sauces I find too light and roasted bones get bitter...

And after slight roasting in the oven...

Yum, i am thinking of my favourite pasta, the oxtail ravioli with squab liver sauce at Babbo...!

Edited July 28, 2006 by Vadouvan (log)

[Vadouvan]

On a good Note, I got the Foie from sonoma which I wanted, I personally like the taste better for saute' as opposed to Hudson or Palmex.............plus it's more evenly shaped.

Strangely enough, it is a "Product of Canada" as the label says.

Since when did the Sonoma Valley end up in Canada ?

This must be a result of Whole foods (Hypocrites) squeezing out Grimaud farms from processing Foie Gras......anyone know ?

Sonoma Foie Gras 1.65lb

[Vadouvan]

Croquettes are all the rage in Philly now that "Tapas" is the new black.

So far I havent had any I really like, All the bacalao in philly has no salt cod flavor and some are wierdly topped with some kind of caviar. Frying properly is a lost art, very few people do the "pane anglaise" method properly.

Flour....Egg or Egg Wash...........crumbs..........chill...........Fry.

I braise my short ribs, pull it off the bone and pass it through a kitchen aid meat grinder with the large hole.

Add caramelized onions, spices ect ect, bread soaked in milk and squeezed out and seasoned properly. I add some light veal stock with gelatin to it and a little bit of methocel base.

Gelatin keeps it set Cold

Methylcellulose keeps it set hot.

I hate rolling croquettes so in the interest of speed and efficiency, I pack the stuffing into a small round "Pain de Mie" mold to set.......

Once it sets and you unmold, you get a torchon of short rib which you can cut with an electric knife into exactly equal sizes (3/4 inch)...flour, egg, in this case cornflakes...and fry..

Perfect croquettes everytime.

speaking of meat...

Here is the tied, marinated wagyu tri-tip just before sous-vida-loca....

[Vadouvan]

Non Starchy Purees.

The current issue of Cooks illustrated rates blenders.

Naturally the actual winner was the Thermonix.

To those unfamilair, it's a blender that also cooks but besides the convenience, has super sharp blades and makes incredibly smooth purees.

thermonix

Temperature above, speed below.

Peeled Parsnips, Milk, Mace, Salt.

Cook till tender, turn on blender function

and you get purees like this...

No pots, no mess, no BS........and dishwasher safe.....

...and if your girlfriend or wife says 'we dont need a $800 blender, say honey it's half the price of Manolo Blahniks, its a really good deal.....

Edited July 28, 2006 by Vadouvan (log)

[ludja]

Wow, this is both terrific and informative to follow along with. Everything looks great so far!

[mrbigjas]

...and if your girlfriend or wife says 'we dont need a $800 blender, say honey it's half the price of Manolo Blahniks, its a really good deal.....

actually it's about twice the price of most... uh, i've said too much already.

anyway, what to do about this salt cod issue? is it the salt cod itself, or the chefs making the bland croquettes that is the problem?

last time we were in spain, at this restaurant in barcelona called goliard they made a sort of bacalao quiche dish--a baked egg pie loaded with salt cod. i've been meaning to make it ever since, but i haven't. i think i'm going to early next week. although oddly i haven't seen it at dibrunos on 9th recently. i'll have to ask.

[Andrew Fenton]

last time we were in spain, at this restaurant in barcelona called goliard they made a sort of bacalao quiche dish--a baked egg pie loaded with salt cod.  i've been meaning to make it ever since, but i haven't.  i think i'm going to early next week.  although oddly i haven't seen it at dibrunos on 9th recently.  i'll have to ask.

If they don't have it at DiBruno's, I've seen it recently at Anastasi's. No idea about quality, etc. But it's there.

[shacke]

Thanks foe asking Ludja, wine is the least of my problems right now, sufice to say i now know why I have never seen a banana tart tatin in a restaurant in 10 years, it's incredibly easy to F it up in several ways but i think I have if figured out after rummaging through my Previn box-o-tricks.

I have only ever had one at Maison Novelli.......Jean Christophe Novelli.

←

It sounds great. If you have any tips for success after you have baked it, V, please let us know. Banana for dessert is like - uh - so dreamy.

Evan

[Vadouvan]

It sounds great. If you have any tips for success after you have baked it, V, please let us know. Banana for dessert is like - uh - so dreamy.

Evan

Whats up Evan shake -shacke......

I am looking at the line at shake shack on my OSX widget.....we can still make it if we leave now....

Thanks for the Londer Pinot, I quaffed it with some ribeye at a barbecue last night.......

By the way your PM regarding banana creme brulees. I tried making a few and it just isnt worth it.

Just make bananas foster with sheet loads of rum and brown sugar and then spoon it on top of a burnt creme brulee immediately before serving, sprinkle some fennel pollen too...it rocks.

[twodogs]

use freeze dried bananas, burnt caramel, rum and somr methylcellulose to make hot creme brulees, or even hot banana creme brulee ice cream. thanks for sparking the idea.

[Vadouvan]

Shrimp Tales....The final chapter

Seems I made out like a bandito on the shrimp, I wanted 10/20 shrimp so I could do a Tetsuya-esque presentation....even the label said....

However upon opening the box, it contained U-10's.

It's hard to be honest in these kinds of situations but I threw myself to the sword and informed my Fish Dude...certainly with no intentions of paying the difference but to save him a bunch of $$$ in the long run. He was happy, I saved 50 bucks.

On to the plating.......this isnt the most creative food out there, although I am fascinated with the so called Molecular gastronomy, I have little interest in modified texture stuff and Alginates, I just want the stuff to taste good and look fairly smart.

You could say the Keller school, make it , make it again, refine it, refine it more, plate it properly.

I do appreciate what the MG people are doing, someone has to push the envelope, Imagine the state of music in America today if Miles never recorded "Bitches Brew".

However for me.....

To borrow my good friend John Sconzo's signature...

"It is preferable to have big-ass shrimp you were undercharged for than shrimp noodles made with activa"

Plating #1

Had two extra shrimp, chopped them up with tomatoes, tarragon, other stuff to make a salpicon

poured the gazpacho around it.......

drizzled some of this....

Per Me

and you get zees

good but to damn rustic looking.....

Final Plating......

Wines......

Blanc Fume De pouilly 2004 Dagueneau de chez Didier Daguenau

and..

Les preuses...Chablis Grand Cru 1999

I highly recommend mutiple wines with courses, seems something always gets corked.

Edited July 28, 2006 by Vadouvan (log)

[Vadouvan]

use freeze dried bananas, burnt caramel, rum and some methylcellulose to make hot creme brulees, or even hot banana creme brulee ice cream. thanks for sparking the idea.

Alex you crazy dude, how are them templates working out ?

You know I was thinking exactly what you said based on methocel but I just didnt want to say it since the public has limited access to it. I wonder if Goldfarb sells it in small packs ?

Look for pictures of the dehydrator later.....

[Kevin72]

Fun, fascinating thread. I love watching the buildup to plating and all the equipment and prep used.

But I now think much, much less of my own DP skills . . .

[wkl]

hey v,

when you say you cooked the shrimp in a water bath, you mean the lab water bath you normally sous vide stuff in?

do you ever cure shrimp?

[Vadouvan]

Bananarama

I like individual preparations, I hate sharing stuff, if I want communal food, I will go to Chinatown.....or China Grill.... "we encourage you to share, so you can order more food than you need to, we turn the table faster since there is no expediting and we make tons of money".

Suckers born every minute....!

Anyway......individual tatins....

I reccommend you buy teflon lined molds like these, you can never have too many....

use the round one, the teflon-phobic need not be alarmed, the teflon is to release the parchment paper between the tin and the tart.

Seems caramel doesnt release easily even from teflon...

The bananas are sauteed slightly and glazed with rum....

and docked dough is put on.....

By the way, if you like to bake, commit to the French ASAP, all the tools they make have dimensions that work with each other, American stuff is annoying.

Matfer thermoplastic cutters.....perfect size for the tart pans and dishwasher safe...

and for Silpat.....

Sidebar......Orange rinds.

I boil them in 20 degree (density not temperature) syrup till transluscent.

Google "Baume Scale" when you have time.

Drain, cool, toss in sugar.

and then dehydrate them till crispy.....

It's very important to use a very low oven or actual dehydrator that removes moisture so you dont melt the sugar on the surface.....use superfine sugar too.

I use a nifty device that is a combination of both....an oven and dehydrator.

Basically an extremely accurate convectinon oven that starts at 30 degrees centigrade and you can control the vented air ratio so you basically dry anything faster than any other method I know....

here is the control panel....

Speaking of China.......Bernadaud.

If you cant cough up the $$$, hit Crate and barrell, they have excellent bargains and lots of clever things.

at the end of the day....

and wine...

1983 Sauternes

An excellent match, the tart was given a whiff of Orange hydrosol after it was plated with tied in with the citrusy undertones of the Yquem.

toodle-oo.

[Vadouvan]

hey v,

when you say you cooked the shrimp in a water bath, you mean the lab water bath you normally sous vide stuff in?

do you ever cure shrimp?

Sup Bill.....

yes Polyscience bath, it has a stainless steel insert and NSF certified.

You cant overcook the shrimp.

do you ever cure shrimp?

I only cure live shrimp.

I make a dish of Scampocarpaccio with Olive oil lemon and fennel.

cured lightly with maldon salt and sugar.

It's best with live spotted prawns.

Chinatown....capt Thomas..10th and race.

When are we barbecueing ?

[Andrew Fenton]

Bananarama

yes, it's a cruel, cruel summer, while I'm sitting here drooling at the screen...

Hey VDV, have you ever played around with varieties of bananas? My Hawaiian friends are always talking about how great apple bananas, etc. are.

[Vadouvan]

Hey VDV, have you ever played around with varieties of bananas? My Hawaiian friends are always talking about how great apple bananas, etc. are.

Yes mr fenton, they are quite tasty I use them to make Chimichangas.........

But before you cringe, hear me out.

Gogle any terms you dont understand.

Caramelize the bananas whole

Take a piece of brik paper, put the banana on lengthwise.

Pipe a little bit of thick Chiboute cream on the side.

Roll up, seal with egg.

Refrigerate.

Deep fry till golden, drain and toss in cinnamon sugar.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

kinda sick actually but damn tasty.

[hathor]

Yum, i am thinking of my favourite pasta, the oxtail ravioli with squab liver sauce at Babbo...!

←

Vadouvan: if you behave, I'll make you some oxtail ravioli when I get back to the States this fall. You're in Philly, right? But, you do need to behave!

edit: OK, I will behave if you make me some of that banana heaven!! Please....

Seriously beautiful.

Speaking of orange peel: This is interesting. Peel the orange in strips (no pith), marinate in a sweet desert wine that has one mushed up very hot chili pepper. Dehydrate the strips, then pulverize them. Spinkle on just about anything.

Edited July 28, 2006 by hathor (log)

[Vadouvan]

Peel the orange in strips (no pith), marinate in a sweet desert wine that has one mushed up very hot chili pepper

Interesting Judy....the immediate classics are red wine beef daubes and provencal shellfish stews sort of like the Orange/esplette combination.

would be great dusted over marshmallows as a mignardise.

What kinda wine ?

recioto soave or vin santo ?