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.