This was a first attempt to cook a recipe from Noma as closely as possible to how it’s written in the book. I made a sort-of Noma recipe before and loved the focus on the vegetables. They are cooked perfectly and presented simply. This particular recipe caught my attention from the first time I flipped through the […]
Noma: Vegetable Garden Read More »
Aesthetically, this dish needs work, but I am extremely proud of how delicious it was. The flavors popped and worked brilliantly together. It was fresh, healthy and refined. Cooking from the NOMA cookbook is not an easy feat. NOMA in Copenhagen is the new “Best Restaurant in the World”. Rene Redzepi’s cuisine is fiercely local, and in Scandinavia local
Barley Miso Porridge, Soft Cheese, Vegetables Read More »
Making something delicious out of “scraps” is one of the pleasures of cooking. It’s simple to make a piece of steak or a chop appetizing, but transforming an admittedly ugly-looking piece of pig – a tail in this case- into a dish worthy of a classy fine dining restaurant needs technique and some creativity. So, when a friend
Under Pressure: Fried Pig Tail, Deviled Quail Egg, Beans and Sauce Ravigote Read More »
Cooking pork shoulder (butt) sous vide makes this most delicious and versatile of cuts even more convenient and easy to use. The pork is cooked in two or more packages, depending on its original size and then used as needed. In this case, I decided to go with Asian flavors. I brined the pork shoulder in a salt,
Pork Shoulder Sous Vide – Asian Flavors Read More »
Reading through this recipe in the Alinea cookbook I got the feeling that this will be a warm and comforting dish. What I could not wrap my mind around, was how all the components will fit together. Each component, taken on its own, sounded great but put them all together and I was not that sure.
Alinea: HALIBUT, Shellfish, Water Chestnuts Read More »
I have cooked pheasant a couple of times before and was always underwhelmed. I hear wild pheasant is a different animal and is delicious, but this farm-raised, store-bought bird is always ho-hum. The legs are tough and stringy with numerous little tendons/bones and the breast meat seems to dry out very fast even though it
Porcini Pheasant, Creamed Corn, Carrot-Orange Sauce Read More »
In addition to working on making a proper one-spoon quenelle (or rocher), I really need to work on applying a proper sauce “drag”. The elongated teardrop shape on a plate looks simple, but it is tricky. More practice is needed to apply that properly. On to this dish. I really liked the short rib preparation from
The Fat Duck: Beef Royal (1723), Course 3 Read More »
I was picking up some ingredients for another dinner of Ramen the other day and stumbled on these awesome looking King Trumpet mushrooms. They looked fresh and plump, so I picked a few clusters up. The first thing that came to mind is to treat them as if they were the more prestigious Porcini or
King Trumpet, Miso, Fried Tofu Read More »
Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck restaurant outside of London is one of the most creative and sometimes really “out there” chefs today. He explores cuisine from every perspective and sense. Taste is paramount, but it’s not just about taste, it’s about an experience. Every sense is explored, he of course controls the look of
The Fat Duck: Beef Royal (1723), Course 2 Read More »
I so need to work on my presentation skills. Funny thing is I had a much better “scheme” for this plate on paper, but not sure why I did not follow it last-minute. Oh well, next time around. One thing I can say is that flavor-wise this worked wonderfully and it really does not look
Crab and “Crab”: King Crab, Crab Apple, Basil and Olive Oil Jam Read More »