Fiddlehead Gumbo

Ever had a poorly prepared fiddlehead?  If you ended up with a slimy mouthful of starch you did.  This starch was the reason I never understood why people went so crazy over fiddleheads.  Almost every time I ordered a dish with fiddleheads they had slimy character.  Then I moved to Portland, Oregon.  The land of the fiddleheads.  It was in Portland where I learned that when cooked properly a fiddlehead has a really crisp, green taste.  It tastes like a perfect spring day. 

So one day not too long ago, I was thinking about all the goo in fiddleheads and it made me think of okra.  When cooked in a certain manner okra also has that same starchy, slimy texture...but okra's starch is put to good use in such dishes as gumbo.  The starch helps to create a rich and thick broth.  Could we use fiddleheads in the same manner?  It turns out you can.  Last night we prepared a stone crab and halibut gumbo using fiddleheads in place of okra.  It was a huge success and I am now toying with the idea of a plat du jour-Valley Spring Gumbo, made with only items from the pioneer valley...

Anniversary

Today my wife and I are celebrating our fourth anniversary, so I am going to leave you with a picture and go back to celebrating...

BLG's BLG

When we were designing our monthly changing menu, we wanted to have one staple.  One item to carry from month to month, something that we could perfect into something really special.  We thought about a steak dish, then a fish, maybe a vegetarian entree, alas we settled on a burger.  At one point we almost called our burger "The Local Burger" because it sufficiently was a complete local burger.  I'm really happy we didn't.  We did have a customer in the other day that called it the real local burger.  I thanked him and politely corrected him, the original local burger.  We like to call it our BLG or Burger Les Gras.

What makes our burger so popular?  We use the best beef in the valley for starters.  We use River Rock Farms beef.  They dry-age their beef which gives it rich and decadent "beefy" flavor.  A bit pricey but well worth every penny.  We like to use a mixture of chuck and sirloin, and depending on the time of year we throw in some short rib and brisket.  It is important that we create a good balance in the meat especially because we serve half-pound burgers.  When cooked medium-rare I want the burger to be really rich and satisfying but not greasy or dry.  This took quite a bit of testing, but believe me no one complained.  Before we grind the meat we give it a bath in red wine, herbs, pepper and garlic.  Getting the timing on this also took some trial and error,  too long and the meat became soggy, too short and it doesn't build enough flavor.  After it soaks for the perfect amount of time, we drain it and grind it using a nice coarse grind.  In order to distribute the fat properly, we grind it a few times, mixing well between each pass.  Then we mix it by hand, chill it down and form it into perfect half-pound patties.

Now we are ready for the brioche.  We use a mixture of AP flour from Vermont and soft wheat flour from the Valley.  Brioche is an egg, milk and butter bread so naturally we use Mapleline Farm milk, local eggs (source depends on season) and some of our fresh churned butter (made with Mapleline cream).  We finish them with a little sesame seed and viola, the perfect local bun.

True to our fashion, the toppings change with the season.  Right now we are using an awesome cheese from Old Plymouth in Vermont and some delicious caramelized onions.  We always serve our burger with a healthy side of hand-cut frites (made from local potatoes when available) and our mildly addictive house aioli.  An awesome burger if I don't say so myself, my mouth is actually watering while writing this.  Maybe I need some a BLG love, that is what I say when I want my burger...

Writing Recipes

Oftentimes as a chef you get asked to write a recipe for something, maybe the newspaper or blog or in the case of tonight, a cookbook.  No matter what the recipe may be for it always becomes an obscenely tedious task for me.  I always remember back to my days at Daniel in the prep room.  While my eyes were busy preparing the mise for that evening's service, one eye was always careful to watch one of the Chef's de Cuisine prepare the plates for one of Daniel' cookbooks or articles or whatever it may have been at the time.  How absolutely perfect everything needed to be (and was).  It was refreshing in the sense that there was no fake ketchup or shellac for shine, but daunting in the sense that there needed be such perfection.  Watching him slice and sauce and plate was beautiful, a symphony and he was the conductor.  That is how much thought went into the picture, now imagine the writing of the recipe. 

When writing a recipe I don't write it for myself.  I think of every person I know, the ones who cook very well and the ones who can't make toast.  If I can orchestrate a recipe that both can follow I have done my job.  Unfortunately, this takes drafting and testing...and another draft and another test...and hopefully just one more round...then I have a written recipe I can stand behind.  What?  Now you want a picture?  You thought writing the recipe was tedious, now you want me to give you a picture of what I want you to see?  It's going to be a long night...

Family Style

I had a chance to hang out with a few of my staff members away from the restaurant tonight and it was fun.  I love that we have a "family" at the restaurant.  That is something that turned me on about the restaurant industry to begin with.  Life is too important and too short to go through without good people around you and when you spend as much time at work as I do, the people at work are just as important as your close friends.  We have a great staff and hopefully we make them feel appreciated.  In some ways they are more than just staff, and that is the only way I would want it...

Rock Shrimp

Hands down my favorite shrimp, no doubt about it.  Rock shrimp are an Atlantic shrimp that have extremely hard shells, very much like a lobster.  Isn't it always the case that the harder something is to break into, the better it tastes?  Artichokes, check.  Nuts of all kinds, check.  Sea urchins, check.  These are no different.  Rock shrimp not only have the best texture of all shrimps but are also perfectly sweet...very much like lobsters, like spiny lobsters more so than Maine.  While I could eat these like popcorn all day long, if I had to make a dinner with them I would put them in a pasta with loads of lemon, wild ramps and just a little jalapeno.  Almost a scampi, but cooked so much more gently.  If I happened to have a really nice olive oil around, maybe some bottarga, I would be in for a something truly manificent.  If all I had was some pasta, rock shrimp, a lemon and a nice crisp bottle of white wine...I would be just as happy.  I can't wait to feature them next week in our rock shrimp salad, assuming there are any left after tonight's feast...

Easter

Today is Easter and I didn't make a ham.  Needless to say, I am pretty disappointed in myself (we won't even talk about what my wife thinks of this).  There really is no excuse for forgetting ham.  It is easily the most delicious part of any celebration.  Why else do you see ham at almost every holiday meal?  Well, any christian based holiday at least.  Chef rule #37: any chance you can eat or cook ham, DO IT!  No exceptions to chef rules, they are written for a reason.  What is my punishment?  So severe,  now I have to miss a weeks worth of leftover ham sandwiches and split pea and ham soup.  What a depressing way to start the week, hamless...

Cheese

Before or after a meal?  That is the question.  I am of the school of thought that there is no bad moment for cheese to make an appearance at a dinner table (or any table for that matter) but, if I had my choice, it would come at the end of a meal...just before a simple dessert.  I love cheese as an hors d'oeuvre but I feel as an appetizer in a coursed meal can be a bit rich.  It doesn't leave you wanting more food after eating it, besides more cheese and wine.  Cheese can suffice on its own.  The richness of cheese can have a dulling affect on your palate for the rest of the meal.  I prefer the tasty molded milk as a snack, a light meal with a salad, or simply on it's own.  If I have to incorporate it into a meal, it must come after all my savory courses.  Obviously this is my opinion and not everyone's (meaning my wife) or we wouldn't offer it as an appetizer.  Cheese is so wonderfully complex that having it the beginning of a meal would leave a hard act to follow, everything after would need be just as or even more complex.  I am not necessarily saying that we need eat cheese with every meal, though I have a serving staff that would happily argue.  Of course I am not saying that cheese needs to come before dessert every night either.  Nest time you have an extraordinary meal (anytime I say something like this just add at Bistro Les Gras in after, it would save me a lot of typing) try asking your server for a piece of cheese...and maybe some apricot jam, maybe a glass of sauternes.  Then order your dessert, a simple and decadent chocolate one...with a cup of coffee or tea.  A perfect ending.  If I am ordering cheese at the end of a meal it means I had a wonderful meal.  It is an important piece to an outstanding meal...

Tapas Bar Progression

 All we have left to do is decorate and we will be open on May 3rd...

May's Menu Part 2

I think I have finished the May menu and am pretty excited about the outcome.  Since it is early spring in New England and basically the only things coming available will be dark green vegetables, we will consider this our "green" menu.  I wanted to do a play on "May flowers" but no matter how you sugar coat edible flowers they just aren't that tasty...unless they are literally coated in sugar I guess.  Anyway, assuming I can get my hands on everything here is May 2011:

Appetizers
 Carpaccio of Leyden Lamb

 hadley asparagus, fried nicoise olives, pine nut mousseline

Braised Octopus

meyer lemon confit, baby arugula, black sesame, soy emulsion

Prosciutto Encrusted Boudin Blanc

fresh coriander salad, toasted coriander oil, red wine vinegar reduction

Chilled Rock Shrimp Salade

marinated raw vegetables (radish, fava, artichoke), basil cuisson 

 Entrees
Sirloin of Dry-Aged Beef
blistered asparagus, pickled spring onions, house-made worchestershire

Fricassee of Soft-Shell Crab 
green garlic, wild ramp greens, heirloom shell beans, french radish

Roulade of Barbary Duck
dandelion greens, local wheatberries, lavender-citrus broth

Chicken and Egg
wild ramp bulbs, asparagus, baby arugula, duo of spring pesto

Slow-Poached Wild Salmon
chive nage, nori-scented hand rolled couscous, ground morels

Hopefully all the ingredients will be available, let the phone calls to the farms begin...

May Appetizers

Here are a few appetizers I have been playing around with for next month:

Carpaccio of Leyden Lamb

 hadley asparagus, fried nicoise olives, pine nut mousseline

Braised Octopus

meyer lemon confit, baby arugula, sesame seed, soy-ginger emulsion

Prosciutto Encrusted Boudin Blanc

fresh coriander salad, toasted coriander oil, red wine vinegar reduction

Chilled Rock Shrimp Salade

marinated raw vegetables (radish, fava, artichoke), basil cuisson 

You can kind of see what I was talking about yesterday.  This is a very complex and refined menu, at least for the BLG.  I am going to start incorporating more of the ingredients I love to use at home, such as soy.  Menu planning this time of year is hopeful and ingredients might change a little, how major the change is up to mother nature.  May's menu should be pretty exciting...

Year of the...

Apparently, 2011 is the year of the big decisions at Bistro Les Gras.  First, we decided to abandon lunch.  Then we decide to close the cheese market and convert it into The Market, a french tapas bar.  Today, or I should say next month, I have decided to really let our food loose...more my vision of what our food should be.  This is a big step.

My next month's menu will display my food with a no-holds-barred attitude.  I have been a little safe in designing my menus and I am not really sure why.  Maybe it's because I wasn't sure it fit Northampton.  Maybe it was because I listened to the wrong Northampton people talk about our food.  We have always made our customers from the other areas incredibly happy but failed to really wow the locals.  I have actually had a customer from Philadelphia offer to invest in a restaurant if I so decided to move.  Tonight we had a group from San Francisco that claimed Bistro Les Gras could hang with the best of the golden gate city.  New Yorkers always love our place and we actually have regulars that visit from the city.  Maybe I didn't give the Pioneer Valley enough credit, since we opened I have been almost obsessive about being safe with our menu design.  Maybe my problem is my impression of the area.  Maybe I thought that I needed to play it safe because it isn't New York, it isn't Portland, it isn't a big city. 

I am sounding a bit dramatic.  It's not like I am going to release some new way of cooking and I am some sort of culinary god.  I am just going to cook what I would want to eat, at bit different than what we have been cooking.  I feel that I have been too conscious of what I think the Valley people would like to eat, and in doing so I have not been true to myself.  Maybe I was scared that my cuisine is not good enough.  Maybe I am not good enough to cook the food I want to.  Maybe I have a blog (also something new this year) and I am now ok with showing my true self.  Anyway, this is a big decision in my book and I am going to wear my heart on my sleeve in my blog, in my restaurant and in my cuisine.  Only time can tell, well, a lot of things I suppose...

Cured Meats

Easily one of my favorite places to hang out is in the my charcuterie room.  The aroma alone is enough to bring a smile to my face, sweet curing meat and strong spices.  If a chef ever needed a meditation room this could be it...

Sometimes

It just so happens that my father is in town, my wife's childhood friends are in town and my father-in-laws entire household is out of town.  When you own a restaurant your main objective is to bring people together over food and drink and sometimes your restaurant turns into a common meeting place for your family and friends.  This weekend ended up being more about friends and family than about work and most of the "hanging out" took place at our restaurant.  I couldn't imagine a better reason to own a restaurant.  I look forward to the next time everyone is town and to the new friends that we may end up hosting...

Fish Season

This is the season that I start craving fish as our menu will show.  Fish is fun because with fish there is no middle ground in the way I like to prepare them.  It's either very simple and delicate or as bold as I would prepare a meat.

I think too many times people sear the life out of a fish and while you get to enjoy a strong flavored, crispy flesh, you also have to choke down the rest of the dried out fish.  I love a well poached fish.  An exceptionally poached fish is one of those perfect foods I often babble on about.  When we get in beautiful ingredients (be it fish, meat or vegetable) we love to let the quality do the talking by preparing that food as simple and subtly complimented as possible.

Now on the other side of the field we often prepare fish as a we would a meat.  The polar opposite of delicate.  This is because I like to show the versatility of things almost as much as I like to show the quality.  When you come into Bistro Les Gras you may see wild king salmon on the menu, but you probably have never had it prepared the way we prepare it (at least that is the intention), maybe we are serving it with a rich chocolate bordelaise or encrusted with pastrami spices.  I almost want to force people to try something new or at least in a new light.  To be honest, sometimes my plan backfires.  I know it's all part of the game.  I also know that fish season is here and I am very excited to try some new things this year...

Moving On

Every now and then a great dish comes out of nowhere.  Our Crepes Les Gras is one of those dishes.  We were going serve crepes suzette but ran out of oranges so I made a twist with ingredients we had on hand and an instant BLG classic.  It is a dish like this one that sends waves of regret for our monthly changing menu concept.  I could eat this any day of the year and be thrilled.  Alas, the maple season is over and the cider supply is ending.   So must our "New England" take on crepes suzette.  No more crepes with maple butter instead of orange, no more cider sauce instead of Grand Marnier.  It's time to say my goodbyes and time to change the season.  I always say that I will remember this dish for next year but when the the year changes so does my style.  I think this is one to remember.  I guess we will see, next year...

Ramps

In a chef's mind, spring is here when the ramps are in hand.  Well, spring is here.  If you have never had  a ramp before I highly recommend trying some.  They are sometimes called a wild leek and grow around the outskirts of Northampton and all over New England.  The aroma they give off is quite amazing, just having them on the counter is enough to fragrance the entire kitchen.  Short-season treats like ramps can be a little intimidating to work with for the home cook so I am offering two recipes.  The first is extremely simple but wonderfully complex and satisfying in taste.  The second is a little more refined, but also fairly easy and a great way to show off both parts of the ramp.  This are "chef" recipes, meaning there are no amounts.  The quantity of ingredients is up to you, just don't skimp on the ramps!


"Breakfast for Dinner" with dry-cooked ramps and potatoes
-Heat a stainless saute pan over medium-high heat until very hot.  Add (cleaned) whole ramps and dry cook until charred.  Remove and lightly season.
-Turn pan down to medium and add olive oil.  Throw in some cubed potatoes and saute until cooked through.
-While potatoes are cooking, poach a few eggs.
-Toss ramps back into potatoes, remove from heat and add a tbsp of butter.  Toss well and season.  Top with a poached egg and enjoy.
~there are a number of ways you could dress this up...maybe some roasted asparagus and a nice hollandaise!  Poached eggs are definitely not necessary, ramps and scrambled eggs are superb...just add a nice salad and you have a lighter dinner.

Pan-roasted loup de mer with toasted quinoa, sauteed ramp greens and pickled ramp bulbs

 -Cut slits in the loup de mer (sea bass, branzini) skin, season and let air dry in the refrigerator.
-Separate bulbs from greens and clean well.
-To pickle bulbs: heat 1/4 C white wine vinegar, 2 T water, coriander seed, pinch salt, black peppercorn and bay leaf until simmering.  Throw in bulbs and simmer for one minute.  Remove and let cool.
-Toast quinoa well in dry pan and add water or stock and steam until tender.
-While quinoa is steaming, heat pan with olive oil.  Once oil is hot and rippling, add seasoned fish to pan skin side down.  Throw in a tab of butter and some fresh thyme, baste flesh side with hot fat.  Cook until skin is crispy and remove.  Throw greens into pan and add some lemon zest.  The greens will cook quickly, all you are looking to do is wilt them.  Season greens.
-Plate and enjoy
~you could use just about any fish with this preparation.  An addition of something creamy and/or herbaceous would benefit this dish, maybe  fresh herb-lemon aioli...heavy on the herbs of course.  You could also blend some of the greens in a blender with a splash of lemon and some water to make a ramp vinaigrette, one more layer of ramp couldn't hurt.  You can also take this in all sorts of ethnic directions, add a little soy to the pickle and serve with steamed rice...maybe head in an Indian direction.  The sky is the limit.

Gift

One (of our many) gifted employee artists, who thankfully moonlight as servers, painted this on our back window.  At night when the moonlight shines through it is reminiscent of a Paris apartment window.  I have been thinking about doing this since we were last in France because this was our backdrop...

Reputation

I was watching Top Chef and one of the contestants apparently called out Tom Colicchio for his use of corn-fed beef in his Las Vegas restaurant and for being a spokesman for Diet Coke.  Yes, I watch Top Chef every once in a while.  More so lately thanks to the wonders of tivo and the fact that I am thinking of auditioning.  Personally I don't think I am the personality type for reality tv, but if you hear enough people tell you that you should do something maybe you should.  Anyway, back to the issue at hand.  If you are not familiar with Colicchio, you probably don't watch tv, don't keep up on Food and Wine and don't work in the restaurant industry.  He is considered an American idol (like the way I stuck with the tv theme) and very well should be.  He has embraced the farm to table movement throughout most of his career and has been an important chef in preogressing "New American Cuisine."  I am usually a big supporter of him (based on his culinary reputation not his new found celebrityhood) but after hearing his rebuttal to the accusations, I was a little disappointed.

In my opinion, Colicchio countered the Diet Coke argument well.  He went with the defense that he drinks the beverage and pours the soda in his restaurant so why wouldn't he promote something that he uses.  Ok but it was his response to the beef issue that had me shaking my head.  At first his response was very professional and logical and I was almost sold...until he said that you couldn't have a steakhouse without corn-fed beef.  Why not?  If anyone has the power to do so I would think that he does, especially at this point in his career.  Maybe he did sell out a little.  You make it that far in business and you often come to that crossroads, the money or the morals.  The money road has the most travelers.

I am a firm believer in reputation, which is why I am never on board with the latest fads or the new hot things.  I think that reputation says a lot about who we are.  Sure your branches may lean a little this way or a little that way throughout your life/career, but once you set your roots that is where you should lay.  I do believe too many lay their roots too early in life but that is what our society pushes young people to do, unfortunately. 

I guess I am most disappointed because I know that an insane number of people watch these shows and while he has made huge progress for American cuisine and even more headway in the farm to table battle, his impression was that business and money talks.  I am not as disappointed in his business choice as I am with the way he said it.  He could have seemed a little more upset about the issue or maybe he could of danced around the subject like a politician accused of being unfaithful, I don't know.  I know that my actions as a chef are looked upon by others and in particular younger others.  My menu doesn't have to have corn-fed beef on it.  I am ok with not eating or serving it just because it's cheaper.  That is important to me so why shouldn't it be for my business.  That is the reputation I carry and I am good with that...

Tapas Bar

We started the build-out for our tapas bar tonight.  This is going to be a little trickier than the build-out for the restaurant because we have to remain open.  I am building the bar myself and a fair amount of the work is going to done off site so I don't make a mess in the restaurant and to keep the stain and polyurethane smell away from the food.  I am pretty excited about this renovation, it should turn the market into a pretty cool little spot.  I think the area could use something that is open a little later and cheap enough to be a nightly hang out.  I will definitely miss cheese market but I think this concept will be a little more practical for the small space.  Besides, now I"ll have an excuse to open another cheese shop, one with more room and display space for the lovely stuff.  Hey, dreamers can always dream...

Another One In The Books

Another wine dinner in the books.  I don't feel like this was my best work.  We were insanely busy this week and I felt the dinner became a bit of an after thought.  It turns out tonight was an eye opening of of sorts.  Even though we lacked the focus we usually bring to our wine dinners, the evening was seemingly a success.  I was comforted in praise at the end of the meal and surprised at the white plates that returned to the kitchen after every course.  Sometimes lack of focus can show you who you really are, it forces you to resort to instinct and apparently our instinct is to cook delicous food and make people happy...

The Finalized Offal Dinner Menu

Criticism

Once every few months I get up the courage to look at online reviews to make sure we are doing what we should be.  I decided to do just that late last night, probably not the best time as I am already an anxious sleeper.  When you pour your heart and soul into your work, work endless hours and shed blood, sweat and tears (not into the food of course) to create food and a dining experience that represents something that you yourself would truly enjoy, it is a little hard to read a bad review.  That being said, it is good for us to read through the reviews be them good or bad.  It keeps us in line.  We get to see the things that people like and dislike and when necessary, make the appropriate changes.  Criticism is hard to take but I think I secretly like being criticized.  It tends to bring out my competitive side and forces me to keep improving and learning.

I can tell you that most restaurateurs, myself included, are not 100% behind the boom of internet review sites that have become so popular over the recent years.  It is not because we are too arrogant to read them, it is because the system is slightly flawed...at least in my opinion.  Like many other aspects of life, technology has caused us to lose some of the personal relationship between a restaurant and a customer.  For example, often times I come across a bad review and one or all employees involved can remember the specific situation.  We are a small enough restaurant with intimate service and we care, so it should be no surprise that we can remember the specific customer, the table and most of the time the exact order.  The server will remember going over and asking the customer(s) how everything was and clearly remember the response which a lot of times is "everything is wonderful."  In such a case the customer was not happy and instead of telling us that something was wrong, we get a false response and then read about our "lousy restaurant" review later.  Please trust me when I say that we would rather know if you are unhappy so we can do our best to correct what ever is wrong.  If you still want to write the review after that, fine.  You are paying hard earned money for a service and we should be adequately providing said service, I can deal with a poor review if we couldn't make you happy.  Imagine if someone told you that you did a wonderful job at work today and then you over hear them later telling someone what a poor worker you are. 

The hardest reviews to deal with on a personal level are what I call the "blatant" reviews.  Reviews that are a obviously from a competitor  or reviews that are saying false things; they lack respect.  There is more of these out there than I would like, which is to say the least a bit unfortunate.  An example?  In December we had a review posted that reads:

My boyfriend and I ate here on 12.5.10. The setting is cute and romantic. The meat and cheeses are great and beer selection good too. The main courses are flavorless and over priced. Less then half breast of chicken and a few carrots was $28!!! Will not go back. 

I understand our prices are high, I talked about it in my first post Locavore.  I know that our food at the beginning of the month may not be as strong as at the end of the month, I talked about that in the post Creating a New Menu.  I know that our portion sizes are not over-the-top, that is just not our style.  I also know that taste is subjective and we are never going to please everybody.  People like different things, that's life.  Hell I can't stand baked potatoes, apple pie and chili (just to name a few).  How many people do you know that don't like apple pie?!  Anyway, all we ask is that the review is not written with false pretense.  In this case I am positive that we served a whole local chicken breast and none of those breasts were under 5 ounces of meat (the larger ones were close to a half-pound).  I also know that we had more than just a few carrots on the plate, we also served it with a rich potato preparation called pommes boulangere and garlic confit.   I am fine that the person wrote that our food was flavorless and overpriced as that is their opinion, but to exaggerate the quantity of food they had is is slightly disrespectful.  I happen to have a picture of that dish in case you didn't make it in to the restaurant in December...

I would be lying if I told you that we don't get a laugh out of some of these.  We once had one that said we must have sharpened our green beans because the beans cut their throat.  That is hilarious (unless they really did get hurt, then I am very sorry...but you should have mentioned something then).  I understand when a person has a good experience they rarely write about it just as much as I understand almost every bad experience will find it's way to a review site (a little side note, if the review is too rewarding the sites will not post it as the assumption is it was posted by someone involved with the restaurant).  I am a strong believer in constructive criticism and think that these sites, when used properly, can be extremely beneficial.  I would always rather a personal response but again I understand it's not everyone's preferred method.  In the end I hope the system evolves away from disdainful and fictitious reviews because it would be more helpful to me and to you the customer.  Of course, then the only amusement we could get out of reading them is seeing all the things we are doing well, but I think I could live with that...

Day Dreaming

 

All day long I was dreaming about my favorite cheese shop in Paris.  It was this little mom and pop shop (of course what places there aren't) in the Marais just off the Rue Vieille du Temple.  It was not in any guidebook, not highly recommended by anyone, just a cool little shop we found where the owners were wonderfully helpful and as polite as can be.  They truly loved and adored everything in their shop and better yet they were willing to give a healthy taste no matter what the cost or what the item.  We couldn't get enough of this shop.  There was definitely more than one occasion that we picked up a snack and a bottle of wine while on our way to lunch.  A delicious memory.

The Perfect Egg

 They say that every crease in a chef's toque represents a different technique you can do with an egg.  While I don't know if that is true, I do know that an egg is adored by cooks around the world for how versatile it can be.  An egg consists of two basic parts, the yolk and the white.  They can be used together as in scrambled eggs or they can be separated as in a souffle.  Why are they so different?  In the end they aren't.   It all boils down to protein and fat.  The white contains more of the eggs protein, about 57%, but has zero of the fat.  (Hold on...before all you diet crazed people swear off yolks for ever, keep in mind that most of the egg's nutrition is in the yolk, including the rare and illusive vitamin D).  It is the lack of fat in the whites that enables them to be whipped into meringue.  Well, the lack of fat and the fact that it carries both hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids (proteins), but we need not go down that road today. 

I was prepping some of our six-minute eggs today and realized how simply beautiful they were.  Beautiful and delicious.   A poached egg used to be at the top my list as the the most perfect food, but I think I have come into the soft-cooked age of my life.  The I was  describing the difference between the two parts of an eggbecause I think a perfectly cooked egg should show each of the parts prepared in the way that highlights their best characteristics.  In a six-minute egg you have a light, tender white and a luxurious, runny yolk.  One egg can produce so much texture when prepared in this manner.  How many foods do you know that can sauce themselves?  All you need is some coarse salt sprinkled over the liquid yolk and the white, and of course a fork, and you have a fine little snack.  Add it to a salad and the salad becomes a meal.  Add to some spaghetti with some crisp pancetta and you have a quick and easy mock carbonara.  I could go on and on but I think I will just give you the simple recipe and you can start your own list.

The Six-Minute Egg

-Bring a large enough pot of salted water up to a boil so that it won't lose a boil when the eggs are added
-Once the pot is at full boil, reduce heat to medium-high
-Using a slotted spoon, lower the eggs gently into the pot and cook for exactly 6 minutes if using farm fresh eggs, if store bought cook for 5 1/2 minutes
-Remove to an ice bath immediately to cool
-Once cooled enough to handle, gently peel.  If you wait to long to peel them they will be very difficult to peel without breaking the white.  If you want to serve them warm, drop back in the warm pot of water for a few minutes then serve.  If you want to store them, store them in a container covered in water (this will help them keep their shape and keep them from breaking open) for 2 days.  Any longer and they will be "watery" tasting.

A Day Off

Today I took my first full day off in over a month.  I had sugarplum dreams of working out some new dishes today, trying a new technique or maybe unlocking some strange and exciting spice combination.  Instead I napped all day, placed an order or two and watched bad movies.  As for dinner, rather than a test dish we went the comfort of a hot and bubbly mac and cheese.  That is what a day off is all about, isn't it?

Food without Wine

I realized last night that I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten a meal, except for my morning toast, without a glass of wine.  I'm sure this makes me sound like I a lush.  I really only drink wine anymore, maybe an occasional cocktail, and I work way too much to drink any other time then over a meal.  My wife and I usually take part in a little over a bottle a day, usually a little more for me than her, and only over food.  Can I enjoy a meal without wine?  I made a half-hearted attempt to do so last night.  We sat down with a gracious bowl of fresh pasta and ricotta cheese and within three bites I couldn't resist getting up and pouring a glass of wine.  Food just doesn't taste the same without wine.  The fruity body of the wine dances harmoniously with the flavors in the food (sounds like I have had a glass or two already).  The tannins in wine work to calm the tannins in the food making the food taste less bitter.  The acidity in wine helps cleanse your palate, it balances the richness and subdues the salt just enough to make the next bite almost as exciting as the first.  Not to mention all the medical and spiritual qualities a few glasses of wine a day can bring to the table.  Sometimes  a great meal has little to nothing to do with the food.  I can honestly say that of my most memorable meals have had very little to do with the food itself.  I believe it is the whole experience, the company, the ambiance, the leisure and yes, the wine that are just as important.  It would be hard for me to imagine not having leisurely meals as often as I do without the good company I dine with, the comfortable surroundings and of course a delicious glass of wine

My Feelings on Foie Gras

We feature duck foie gras on our menu every so often and every so often I hear a comment about how someone "will never eat foie gras, it is horrible what they do the ducks."  I take a certain responsibility for everything we put on our menu, from our eggs and pork to our lettuce and foie gras.  I want to know where it comes from, how it was treated, what diet it was fed and who the farmer is that is raising it.  I want to be able to use as much as I can of that animal, if we can kill the animal we should be proud enough to use all of it (we use all the parts from the ducks that harvested for their foie gras, I wish more restaurants would as well).  The luxurious duck liver is a little different from the other meats on our menu because there are only a few farms in the country that produce it.  Fortunately for us there are two producers just across the border in upstate New York, Hudson Valley Foie Gras and LaBelle Farms.  I tend to use Hudson Valley more than LaBelle simply because I feel it has a slightly richer flavor, but both farms are equally careful and humane in how they farm their prized product.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras is run by two gentlemen, Izzy Yanay and Michael Ginor.  Izzay will happily take you on tour of his farm and show you his cage-free method of producing foie gras, all you have to do is set up an appointment.  There is no force-feeding.  You can actually watch as the ducks come running to the feeders at meal time, the same way my dogs get excited when they hear the food scoop scraping at their kibbles when it is time for dinner.  I have seen the process in its entirety and it is hardly a scene worthy of being called cruel and inhumane.

Here is what I know.  Foie Gras is a fattened liver from either a duck or goose.  It is a naturally occurring process for these animals.  In order to make the migration south for the winter, ducks and geese gorge themselves with a high protein, high fat diet.  Their body cavity actually changes allowing for their liver to swell as large as needed.  I completely understand that the size and richness of a completely natural foie gras and one that is farmed is drastically different.  A farmed fattened liver is said to weigh twice that of a natural one.  It is also said that a natural liver doesn't have quite the decadence that a farmed one has.  I personally have never tasted a natural foie gras, I will let you know after I get my hands on one.  It is no surprise to me that a farmed liver is that much larger and richer than a natural one, why wouldn't it be?  Think of a wild boar and a farmed pig.  Of course the pig is going to be fatter and have sweeter taste, the farmer is controlling what the pig eats, how often it eats and how much it eats.  All the pig has to do is eat while a wild boar has to forage for his meals, in many cases traveling great distances and settling for whatever it can find.

I understand that ducks and geese were probably abused in the making of foie gras at some point and probably still are somewhere.  Unfortunately, that can be said for a lot of meat.  This is why it is important to get meats from a reputable source.  I would rather not eat meat than eat meat that is not from a farm that raises their animals properly.  Foie gras has an unfortunate reputation and for some reason it cannot shake it.  No matter how "humane" the process becomes foie will always be looked at with disgust by some people (ignorance is not always bliss).  At least that was my thought before I saw a video through TED.  Dan Barber, the acclaimed chef from Blue Hill, put on an very interesting lecture about a "new breed" of foie gras.  I could bore you to death on the lecture or I could let Chef Barber take it from here:

Soon (hopefully) foie gras can sit along side the other meats and be enjoyed without prejudice.  I am starting to realize that I like things I have to defend, or at least things that are notorious under false pretenses.  Excuse me, I am going to go hang out with my pit bull and eat foie gras while listening to Joan Jett's Bad Reputation...

Goat Feta

I have been tinkering with the idea of making our own cheese at the restaurant.  I am leaning towards goat cheese.  Why goat?  Mainly because I am a am a control freak who loves to experiment.  A goat is an animal that I could (possibly) raise at home and the styles of chevre can range from simple and quick to complex and aged.

This idea dawned on me because I was out at Town Farm the other day talking about this upcoming season with the owner Ben when the conversation turned towards his livestock.  Town Farm is mostly a vegetable farm but they also have goats and pigs.  They have pigs to help churn and work compost and goats to handle grazing and to produce milk for their family.  Apparently their goats produce up to two gallons of milk per day (right now at least), that's a lot of cheese. 

It doesn't take much for me to get inspired and hearing how "easy" it is to care for and how much milk a goat can produce planted a seed.  We'll see what that seed will actually grow in to, but for now it has me tasting goat cheeses.  A hard job, but research and development is important...right?   I have been trying feta (a good starter cheese) and let me tell you their are some good ones out there, including a fantastic one from Sangha Farms (one of our "go to" cheese farms).  Sangha's is tangy and bright with acidity and has a nice crumble making it perfect for a homemade Greek feast.  Continuing down the "tough" R&D road of tasting goat fetas I landed on a perfect cheese, in my opinion.  It is from Meredith, Australia.  Meredith Dairy's marinated goat feta to be exact.  It is rich and creamy, almost to the point that you feel guilty eating it, then you get a pleasant goat tang and the sweet milk flavor.  It is marinated in olive oil which adds just enough fruity bitterness to compliment the cheese without overpowering it.  If you can find it (we have it in our cheese market right now) buy it and get yourself a nice glass of wine, some good crusty bread and a crisp salad and you will find yourself with a sublime meal.  I would be a hypocrite of sorts if I do not abide by my own preachings, so I am off to have a delicious dinner...

French Cheescake

A french cheesecake is a beautiful thing.  It is much lighter than it's American sibling due to the whipped egg whites added before baking.  If the French can find a way to put egg whites into something they won't hesitate.  We are still tinkering with this dessert but I think we have an excellent start.  We infused the cream with a little lavender and incorporated some of our house-made creme fraiche made from some delicious local cream and buttermilk for some tang.  The sauce is a thinned out lemon curd and for texture we made an almond brittle with some intense honey from a farm by my house.  Just writing about it is making me drool.    I might have to indulge in one tonight, if my wife leaves me some...