Home Brew

So a very good friend convinced me to brew beer at the restaurant during off hours. At first I thought sure, that would be cool if we actually did it.  Then I thought, well I could use it for cooking and it would be great to further my knowledge in this simple but intricate process.  We talked it over and decided a few more consequential components of the brew fest were needed. 1-Time, 2-will, 3-ingredients, 4-guru (the most important), and five friends with $ & beer. After spending 80$ & 20 minutes at Jim's Home Brew the guru and I decided to take on an educational approach and take it one step at a time and start with the fundamentals. With 5 of us involved only one really knows the true methods of brewing. 1st stage in the rudiments is to achieve fermentation and a drinkable beer. We decided to use a hop extract, kicker to squeeze out another % or 2 of alcohol, English & an American Ale yeast and Irish moss to help coagulate protein and aid in purification. The guru says this is a fail proof method if sanitization is in use & procedures are correctly applied. This quick & simple process will help provide an awareness of brew procedures while learning the basic method. Next week we advance our method to a half mash by using a hop extract and whole grains and our third week we will try a full mash by using all grains.

Week 1: 11.25.09

English Amber Ale

American Amber Ale

Brew Guru: John Christman

Brewer: Jeremy L. Hansen

Brewer: Anthony Stabile

Brewer: Ben Hansen

1 big city 2 days 6 stars 17 courses

A long train ride from upstate NY (Hyde Park) to uptown (upper east Side) in Hostel Chocolat we live for another weekend. My love and I checked in to a small room with an unexpected roommate from Japan. After changing we ventured out for an 8 mile walk through Central Park straight for our favorite pizza (Bravo Pizza), deep dish love.  Today is a very special day for me especially because I get to cash in on my wife's birthday gift to our first three star Michelin rated restaurant experience.  My first choice is Daniel, second Jean~Georges and I got both, Daniel for dinner & JG for lunch. Six stars in one weekend. 

Lunch at JG: Atmosphere was clean minus a couple details. Food was great showing skill & precision with flavors that punctuate with balance. Service was perfectly executed beyond expectation if you were blind. The five personnel who serviced us were polite, clean and noticed most details and had perfect timing but did it with a frown. They seemed to be almost demoralized by the upper management to the point where they did their best to express the least. Otherwise this lunch was my personal best ever.

What we ate:

Gulf Shrimp with Smoked Bacon, Papaya Mustard and Avocado

Sea Scallops, Caramelized Cauliflower, Caper-Raisin Emulsion

Skate with Château Chalon Sauce

Carmelized Sweetbreads, Candied Pumpkin, Liquorice and Sherry Emulsion

Beef Tenderloin and Crunchy Potatoes,Tomato Compote with Chilies and Garlic

JG's signature chocolate cake

Apple cider & pomegranate with Apple Ice Cream

Chef de Cuisine:Mark Lapico

Chef/Proprietor: Jean-Georges Vongerichten

For Dinner From Chocolat we crossed Central Park to Park Ave. and walked south a few blocks to Daniel. Chef Daniel Boulud is an all time favorite with lots of knowledge and passion for french influenced food. I have studied his passion and techniques for some years now and only now can I truly understand it. The restaurant has also graduated from a two star to a three which is now one of only six restaurants in the states to have been given this world wide recognition. We were ten minutes early and greeted with a coat check and a seat in a elegant lounge style waiting room. Within a minute we were provided gratis, champagne and hand made olive stuffed pretzels. An awe- inspired conversation with my wife for eight minutes and we were graciously seated at our table for the rest of the evening. With my wife the day has been perfect and the dinner has begun to remind us of other beautiful days in the big apple we have shared. 

First the water guru, somalier, server then somalier again. By using eye contact the floor personnel worked together in stride. After friendly & witty conversation with the staff we soon had our orders in and a trio of amuse bouche on the table for each of us. The show begins and the food is amazing followed by the impeccable service. Some courses paired with wine and some not. The portioning was scaled perfectly just to give you enough to appreciate it and keep you satiated and wishing you had another bite.  All courses were built with balance in mind using professional techniques with precision. It is truly amazing to see such respect for food and be able to appreciate it for the work that is put into it. But its not just about the food its about the combination of professionalism, service, food and the paying attention to details. Chef Daniel Buloud has been a chef icon for years careering two stars for a while and is definitely staying on top of the game. 

What we ate:

Pressed Duck and Foie Gras Terrine

Chimay Gelée, Chestnuts, Red Cabbage Chutney

Mosaic of Capon, Foie Gras, and Celery Root

Pickled Diakon, Satur Farms Mâche, Pear Confit

R, Haart Riesling "Piesport Kabinett", Mosel 1999

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Olive Oil Poached Cod "En Salade"

Artichoke Purée, Anise Hysop Dressing, Lemon Zest

Duo of Hamachi

Lettuce Wrapped Tartare with North Star Caviar

Vodka Beet Cured with Walnut Pistou, Mâche Salad

Grüner Veltliner, "Freiheit", Nigk, Kremstal 2008

.......

Handmade Spinach Tortelloni

Chanterells, Thomme de la Chataigneraie,Lomo, Black Garlic

.......

Whole Grain Crusted Skate

Chanterells, Swiss Chard, Kamut Berries, Capers

.......

Duo of Dry Aged Black Angus Beef

Red Wine Braised Short Rib with Parsnip~Potato Gratin

Seared Rib Eye with Black Trumpets, Gorgonzola Cream 

Foie Gras Stuffed Scottish Grouse

Celery, Caramelized Salsify, Beets, Walnut~Calvados Jus

Bosquet des papes "Couvée Grenache", Châteauneuf du Pape 2001

.......

Duo of Fruit and Chocolate Desserts

A few more things that I would like to mention about Daniel. To prove my point about paying attention to detail our main server knew who we were and I'm sure he did some research as well. The details were watched and attended to- even a personalized menu of what we had to eat and drink was presented to us. The Duo of desserts were wonderful but the birthday dessert was a surprise as well as the silver platter of friandise, seven mini assorted house made chocolates,  madelines and others. The service details can make or break you; when your server drops off a plate and tells you what it is you're about to experience you should commend them for caring. This is a major detail that cannot be overlooked. It lets the customer know that all involved with dinner are dedicated and have respect for all aspects & efforts of service. Daniel covers all details and more.

     

C.I.A. 3 & 4

Still another amazing day at the CIA. Day three was a day of organization & speed with one man less in our team the task at hand was rough but doable. day two's mise helped tremendously. We had six recipes to complete and completed all of them with precision. Day three tasks: start and stuff emulsified garlic sausage in beef middles and bring to pelical for smoking, creole beef & veal daube, smoked pheasant sausage, finish teté pressee, finish sulze. The day was short so speed was necessary 

Day 4

Because we cooked like seasoned pros yesterday, today was all about conversation and condiment building for Friday's feast. Today I decided to stay in 1st gear and break into my Santé salami for show and tell. After receiving permission from our chef I opened my airport inspected brown bag of cured meats. Inside was spec 9 months old, cold smoked  five spice cured duck prosciutto, saucisson sec that is filled with Berkshire, garlic & black pepper dry aged for 8 weeks using #2 curing salt and a 10 week old dry aged kielbasa that has no curing salt at all.  out of all of these fine specimens of charcuterie the most intriguing was the kielbasa and the saucisson sec. The flavor profiles and consistency  in texture in both are on point. Both sliced well and melted into your mouth as they should with the essence of cured meats.  The intriguing part was the absence of curing salt in one of them. The chefs words were "sexy". I was hoping for such words from an expert of charcuterie especially coming from a CIA chef. I knew they were good but not compared to the outside world, now they are and I feel good about it.  Sorry I have no photos of finished product unless Pete has some I'll find out and get back. 

C.I.A. day 2

Today was a day of mise en place. Mental mise en place ranges from thinking ahead about the procedures, cooking times for each item, and setting ourselves up for the next day. We did everything we could to make our next day easier because we  knew the day we were off to the city.  On todays prep list is S.W. green chile pork sausage, duck sausage w/sage & roasted garlic, smoke our beef jerky, and check the brining pig heads. 

On another note our trip to the city was an amazing 5 hour adventure with a visit to Columbus Circle to see my old work place Cafe Gray, which has since been replaced by a new restaurant called A Voce. We were able to walk in and explore the dinning room and check out the kitchen. Our next stop was Bouchon Bakery, Masa, and Masa Bar. Another interesting part of the food mecca in 10 Columbus circle is Thomas Keller's Per Se where I spent 3 hours with Johnathon Benno the chef de cuisine and got a full tour of the kitchen. Per Se has a new addition which is a bar with a projected wine menu on the bar itself where you can scroll through the list with your finger, crazy cool! Also across the street is another Chef I admire named Jean George where Tobin and I watched the kitchen in action from outside through the window. 

At the end of the night at 3am Pete and I ended up at a traditional diner with the silver sides.  The cooks and servers where happy but bickered in Spanish at each other while cooking up our orders. The place was packed and all of us participated late night conversation about nothing with plenty of laughter. If you park in the Bronx and are leaving your vehicle for a late night jaunt park in front of a 24 hour diner where the cooks can see and watch out for you and don't forget to tip well. I had the classic pancake & maple syrup and it was exactly as I expected but what was amazing was a plain muffin that was sliced in half buttered and grilled to crispy and if was the best muffin ever, plain & grilled YUM!

Culinary Institute of America Day 1

For being recognized as the most preeminent culinary school in the world, you would think that would be an overstatement like most things that are dubbed as the best. The CIA proved to me today that their title has been earned. The clean, groomed and well cared for campus is as beautiful as you could imagine. Our first day in class and Tobin and I are the team of two from the west. Our first project is tête pressee and sulze which are both a form of head cheese. Two pig heads were given to us to take across campus to slice in half so we could discard the brains. We decided to pan fry and eat "yum brains".  We also made beef jerky and Kansas City Spareribs. Our instructor was as pro as they come with a wealth of knowledge. The day went great with a three course meal: Italian sausage risotto, salmon w/beurre rouge  and cheese cake. All & all the day was great with 4 more to come. 

New York City

       On my way for another culinary adventure in one of the worlds greatest cities. One hour and forty minutes north in Poughkeepsie, NY  the Culinary Institute of America resides as I will for a week at the school.  Chef Tobin and I  will be entering the next level of charcuterie by completing the schools extended learning program. My focus will be on patés, terrines, ageing and bactoferm. The campus looks beautiful and prodigious, I cannot wait to explore it. My adventure does not end at the school as my need to dive deep into food while I spend an extra three days in Manhattan. Old photos new photos and food photos will be posted during this literary viand fête. I will be eating at Del Posto, Daniel, Bark, Jean Georges, and a few others. This will be my first experience eating at a three Michelin star rated restaurant and I will eat at two of them.

Michelin Stars: The highest and most profound award ever to be given to a chef. Only a few have them and even less have multiples. Each restaurant is only awarded three at most but a chef that is worthy with other restaurants can accumulate them. Both Daniel and Jean Georges have three stars.

Manhattan Food Sean is where being a pro is a way of life. The best of the best are at play with research and creation of new and recreations of old. The food is well thought out, and teamwork and organizational skills are on display at its highest level. Not many cooks can make it in a New York City Kitchen as the demand for high energy, dexterity, and precision are required all day and every day. Passion, understanding of methods teamwork, communication, and uncompromising execution is mandatory. Many young culinarians go home broken with a new found respect for this world.  I would not recommend it for the faint hearted as most are chewed up and spat out and left to dry as the tears pour down the faces of defeat. I can only suggest you hold your head up and know you tried to compete with the best. Though failure is abutting all you have to do is stay focused, pay attention, move quickly with finesse, do what is asked in a timely matter, keep your head down and work, oh ya and "yes Chef". Oh ya and if you don't know your products, methods, or flavor profiles you might as well turn back now and return when your absolutely ready.

 Photos: First pic back in the city Time square, Bryant Park my favorite park in the city.

Made By Hand

Hot coppa, sweet coppa, salami, Spanish chorizo, saucisson sec, aged kielbasa,  guanciale, chicken terrine, mortadella, bresaola, spec, pancetta, duck prosciutto, jambon cru, house smoked bacon, rabbit terrine, fromage de tête, and maple sage breakfast sausage.  Charcuterie at Santé.  Days are long but fast. 2 hours to break down a whole hog, 1 hour to salt cure, 3 hours to grind, season and stuff, 2 hours to emulsify and stuff, over night to dry and let seasonings steep, then a day of smoking if need be. All of this done with a smile on a biweekly basis. Not to mention weekly menu planning and product research, I love my job. 

Fresh hand made gnocchi, foie gras au torchon, head cheese, rabbit terrine, and fresh Hog snapper from Florida.  All in this weeks work with the snapper as the headliner for the indian summer menu.

A day at Rocky Ridge Ranch

I would like to talk about a place where all you get to eat is organic grains, peas, lentils, apples, amaranth, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, giant zucchini, all types of squash, wheat and other organic vegetables and grains.  Vegetarian's dream right! How about if you're a meat lover and the meat you eat has been raised on all these items? The unequaled slice of prosciutto comes from Italy (parma).  The hogs eat acorns and grass. Gary at Rocky Ridge Ranch north of Reardan, WA. raises Berkshire hogs and feeds them this exact menu. All ingredients are organically grown on the farm and count for a good portion of both his Berkshires and Angus beef diets. The Berkshire is a heritage breed of hog that is prized for its belly "bacon", yum! We at Santé live to break down the Berkshire. Every two weeks we receive a whole hog to process and the meat is very consistent, with delicious flavor. The bellies have the perfect ratio of meat to fat, the jowls are perfect for guanciale and the hams make the "Parma" like prosciutto that is impressive, trust me I know. I have tried at least ten American made conventionally raised and cured hams and they are just not the same. These hogs eat well at medium rare and are perfect for a BBQ.  The diet the Berkshires have is directly related to the flavor and eating ability. Truly amazing. 

Gary is raising at least 30 Berkshires for me next year and if you would like to have one click here. 

You can meet Gary and his wife at the community building during farmers market hours. I spent the day on the ranch with Gary and experienced his life as a farmer. He's not just a farmer, but an all American man that did a tour in Vietnam, came home, bought land and turned it into a farm. Great American cowboy dream. Without using chemicals to sustain his farm, he deals with the harsh climate that the organics have to live in. He is a man that's doing us all a favor by doing his hogs a favor and feeding them food they are supposed to eat. 

Black Box Kitchen

Over a year ago, with the support of my wife I fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams and opened Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie.  Originally we set out to provide good food for our family and friends, in the hopes to share my cooking philosophy and help inspire better eating habits in the community.  It quickly evolved into something much bigger; a sort of platform for us to advocate a local, healthy (which Santé is french for), ethical lifestyle. There are many reasons I have started this blog, one of which is to share my thoughts and journeys related to food and cooking.  I also hope to spread my beliefs and passion with anyone who is interested in the importance of localism, sustainability and eating seasonally.  Other topics will include restaurant reviews, local farmers, cooking techniques, food books, food photography, local events, Q & A's on food related topics, sharing recipes, new restaurant openings and of course the Black Box Kitchen.

Black Box Kitchen: The Black Box Kitchen is to me a way of life.  It's not just being a chef, it's having the passion for cooking and all that surrounds it.  It's finding local ingredients and using them in multiple ways in revolving and evolving menus.  Many culinarians know the Black Box to be a final exam in which they have an hour to create a menu from random (aka blind) ingredients selected by the instructor. This requires a test of technique, skill, and flavor balance by incorporating ones individual cooking style.  By using the twelve seasons to develop my menu is the Black Box approach in my kitchen- not just using what food purveyors or myself can find on the market.  Its all about the season, being local, sustainable, and fresh by cooking with high standards and taking the time to use proper techniques and developing my own.  

I appreciate anyone who is interested and takes time to read this, and encourage any questions you may have. I look forward sharing more of my culinary journey with you.