Archives for March 2008
Outtie 5000.
29 March 2008 | jeff, news | 1 Response
Well faithful readers, I hope you’ve enjoyed this past weeks flurry of posting, because you won’t see fuck all until I get back from Europe. That’s right, Kate and I are taking off for a well deserved and long planned vacation. Landing in Germany and traveling through Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France before flying out of Brussels, Belgium. I have never taken a trip like this, and the thought of all the raw milk butter and cheese is just staggering. I’d like to thank Jaybill and Keri in advance for watching my bitches, and big ups to the guys at work for holding down the pastry station, and of couse keeping the game going. I’m sure I’ll have tons to write about when I get back, so until then, arevaderche suckers!! Consider this my exit phrase!
I Make Dessert VI.
27 March 2008 | Ten 01, food | No Responses
When I’m not making the dinner desserts, or random birthday cakes, or setting up banquet items, more than likely you’ll see me slaving away with my favorite robot making mignardises. The little tray of sweets we put down for free with every check is arguably one of the best feebies in the city. The abundant array of truffles, chocolate candies, caramels, and pate fruit is so great it became the third course on our popular Power Lunch. I’m so busy with these that Chef and Arturo can both be found helping me out polishing or filling molds. Most of the recipes I use for these come from my new favorite cookbook Chocolates and Confections by Peter Grewling. This book is loaded with recipes and valuble techniques. Buy it. Read it. Know it. Another thing I can be seen doing lately is making crackers. That’s right faithful readers, crackers. One of the easiest recipes I posses is also one of the tastiest. Lavash crackers simply contain flour, garlic powder, water and olive oil. They are rolled really thin and brushed with a little more water, to hold on the salt, seeds, cheese or other desired flavoring. At the Vail Cascade, I made six full sheet pans of these everyday. They are crunchy and delicious, and really easy to make. Since I started making them at Ten-01, I have gotten a great response, with many customers asking for more. Seriously, you should try making them, here’s the recipe:
Lavash Crackers
1 1/4 lb. all purpose flour
3/4 oz. garlic powder
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and work with the dough hook on low speed
2. Beat up the dough for about 8 minutes, until it looks smooth
3. Chill for 30 minutes before rolling out on a well floured surface
4. Roll the dough paper thin and transfer to a well greased cookie sheet
5. Slice the cracker lengthwise to create several smaller crackers
6. Brush with water and sprinkle with salt and desired other topping
7. Bake in a 325 degree oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve with cheese or butter
I Make Dessert V.
26 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, plated dessert, dessert | 4 Responses
Awww…it’s cute!! Well as Tony once said, we’re in the cute business. This is the Sorbet Trio, dreamed up by Jack Yoss, and realized by me. Chef wanted to do this dish for this past New Years Eve, and they we kept it on the menu as the light choice. At first, before I got Gelatoo-D2, we were buying all of our sorbets (and ice creams) from Great Northwest Ice Cream in Vancouver, WA. Now that we make our own, I use the simplest of techniques for sorbet. Mix 2 parts fruit puree to 1 part simple syrup. As a general rule this works for every puree I’ve tried. Pictured above is pear, strawberry, and marionberry. I adjust sweetness to taste by adding water, add a little lemon juice, and spin it. An easy test for proper ingredient porportions in the “egg test.” I don’t know why this works, but it does. I believe it is somehow measuring brix. Anyway, after you mix together all your ingredients, gently place a whole egg in its shell into the sorbet base. If the egg floats so that only a dime-size portion of the shell is above the liquid, he has achieved the right balance of ingredients. If it sinks lower, the mixture requires more sugar. If more of the shell is visible, the recipe needs more water. Like I said, I’m not sure of the science here, but I’m okay with that. So you’ve got your sorbet, how about those adorable little cones? Those are made from a simple tuile cookie recipe that I stole years ago from Charlie Trotter’s Desserts. The batter is spread into a flat cone shape, sprinkled with chopped hazelnuts, baked, then molded while still warm in a pastry tip. In an airtight container, they last forever. I rotate the flavors of “broth” that the sorbet’s sit in, it’s basically a sweetened fruit puree and a complimentary wine that is brought to a simmer and then chilled. This week it’s Raspberry-Rose. I use little stray pieces of pate fruit (gelee) to garnish the soup. Here’s some recipes:
Basic Sorbet Base
2 cups fruit puree
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
juice of half a lemon
1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepot and bring to a boil. Chill completely.
2. Mix the 2 cups puree with 1 cup of the simple syrup. Add the lemon juice. Taste it. Is it too sweet? Add water.
3. Perform the egg test as described above…go ahead…it works.
Tuile Cookie Batter
6 tblsp (3 oz) butter
pulp from 1 vanilla bean
3 egg whites
1/2 cup plus 1 tblsp sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tblsp a.p. flour
for chocolate use:
1/4 cup plus 1 tblsp a.p. flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1. Melt butter with vanilla pulp and cool to room temp
2. Whip egg whites and sugar to soft peaks
3. Sift in flour and mix to combine
4. Store or spread thin and bake @ 350 for 5-7 minutes
I Make Dessert IV.
23 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, plated dessert, dessert | 3 Responses
Now, as my faithful readers know, I love Bread Pudding. If I see it on a dessert menu, I order it. Something about soaking brioche or croissants in a rich custard and then baking it (and then frying it,) really appeals to me. In the case of Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding , pictured here, I use brioche. I serve it with caramelized bananas, dark rum sauce, and salted caramel ice cream. It’s starting to beat out the Chocolate Cake as our top selling dessert. The idea for bread pudding, is as old as the hills, and its no wonder. Set the Way Back Machine for the middle ages, at the advent of custard. Dude’s sitting there eating his baked custard, or more likely, swirling his day-old bread in his creme anglaise. Ever the frugal cook and lover of bread (in spite of its short window of delicious,) he swirls and dunks and lifts and chews. POP! The light bulb goes off, bathing everyone in the light of pudding history, bread pudding is born. Seriously, though, a better use for stale bread bread cannot be found. It’s actually better with stale bread, because it’s more absorbent. Old cookbooks have tons of random recipes, but I like to take a slightly different approach. Chef Tony showed me a way to make the custard that makes a lot of sense. Creaming. If you follow the creaming method, you get a nice rich custard where the butter is evenly dispersed in tiny little particles that melt into the bread in the oven. Overnight soaking is key, getting that bread good and permeated with eggy flavor and creamy goodness. Below is a huge recipe, adapted from Chef Tony Martin’s Bourbon Bread Pudding that to this day, is the best I’ve tasted. I added chocolate chips to his base, but you could add almost anything to this, and it would be damn good. This recipe is 1/3 of what I use, it makes one 2″ hotel pan. Want a smaller recipe? Try this one.
Bread Soaking Custard
1 lb 4 oz butter
1 lb sugar
15 eggs1 qt heavy cream
1 qt half & half
vanilla extract to taste
1. Cream the butter and sugar light and fluffy with the paddle attachment in a stand mixer.
2. Add the eggs slowly, in three additions, waiting until the eggs absorb and scraping before each addition.
3. Switch to the whip and add the cream and half and half.
So now that you have your custard, you need to soak some bread in it. You need enough stale bread (brioche, croissants, or other bread-remove crusty crusts) to soak up almost all of the custard right when you mix it in. Then cover it and soak it over night. Next day mix in the desired amount of chocolate chips (or ripe bananas, caramel apples, scales of a sea serpent, eye of newt, or whatever tickles your fancy.) and bake it, covered with foil, in a 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until its set. If you like, pull the foil off 10 minutes before its done to brown the top. Try something else delicious: omit the sugar, andbefore baking, add sauteed mushrooms, or chunks of foie gras, or bacon, or something savory. It’s gonna be great.
I Make Dessert III.
20 March 2008 | Ten 01, creative presentation of the week, delicious, plated dessert, dessert | 4 Responses
So we’ve all had creme brulee, and we’ve all had peanut butter and jelly, but who out there among my faithful readers has had PB&J Creme Brulee? I love this fucking dessert. I think it deserves Creative Presentation of the Week. Why, you may ask? Well, it’s the culmination of alot of hard work, during which I subsisted on pb&j sandwiches, and also, I’ve known this peanut butter custard recipe was solid since The Velvet Elvis. This idea had been struggling to come out, and it took the influence of Chef Jack Yoss to see it’s realization. I made him the peanut butter brulee to try and he suggested putting marionberry jam into the ramekin first, ’cause he loved the custard…and he loves pb&j, too. We first tried it in our regular brulee molds, but after one day the jam would seep through the custard and create this gnarly looking scar when you tried to brulee it. We went to a deeper dish to avoid that problem, and also started reducing the jam first to remove any excess moisture. House made honey roasted peanuts are sprinkled on after carmelizing the custard. The shot of chocolate milk actually came about because of a guest suggestion: it was good, but needed chocolate. After some experimentaion, I went with good old Hersheys choclolate syrup to make it because let’s face it, that’s what chocolate milk is. A little heavy cream adds some creaminess, as if this dish needed it. This is my favorite item on the current menu…I don’t know why we don’t sell more of them…C’MON PEOPLE!!! The only thing missing is the bread, and you had some with your salad!! Anyway, here’s the recipes:
Peanut Butter & Jelly Brulee
1 1/3 cups whole milk
1 1/3 cups whipping cream
6 tablespoons plus 6 teaspoons sugar
5+ oz creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned style or freshly ground)
8 large egg yolks
marionberry jam as needed (or any other jam that you prefer)
1. Combine milk, cream, sugar and scald
2. Temper in eggs
3. Temper in peanut butter and whisk until smooth
4. Taste the cream. I always end up adding a little more peanut butter, up to 1 cup
5. Strain the cream and chill overnight or at least three hours.
6. Place the jam in a saucepot and reduce it by one-third over low heat, stirring occasionally.
7. Cool the jam slighty and then spread it in an even layer into the bottom of desired (deep) ramekin. Pop them in the freezer to set the jam.
8. When the jam is super cold and won’t be distured by pouring in the custard, pour in the custard
9. Bake the custard in a 300 degree oven, in a water bath for 30 minutes or so, or until set at the edges, and a little loose at the center. Open the oven, turn it off, close the door, and finish them for another 45 minutes.
10. Chill the brulee’s for at least 3 hours before sprinkling some granulated sugar and a blowtorch to carmelize. Sprinkle with loose chopped honey roasted peanuts if desired.
Chocolate Milk
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
10 oz Hershey’s Syrup
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend. Serve ice cold in a chilled glass.
I Make Dessert II.
18 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, dessert | 9 Responses
Here is another dessert that I serve at Ten-01. It’s called Olive Oil Beignets with Lemon Sage Anglaise. I did this dessert at my tasting for the job here because we have these really sweet bowls. The sauce rides in a little caddy up front, and the dougnuts in back. I think these were what got me the job. Oh yeah, and a little magazine called Bon Appetit is running them in thier June 08 issue. The pastry is a basic pate choux, where most of butter is replaced with olive oil. Typically, choux paste uses water, but I like using good ‘ol whole milk. The batter is basically an enriched roux that eggs are added to while its still warm. I’m not sure what science is going on here, but according to Harold McGee in On Food And Cooking, cooking the flour with the liquid and fat tenderizes the gluten protiens, preventing them from develpoing elasticity, and the addition of eggs adds flavor from the yolks and structure from the whites. This basic recipe dates back to 1540, and was fine tuned much later by none other than Antoine Careme. After making the batter I pipe it into little dougnut shapes and freeze them rock hard. They go from the freezer straight into a 325 degree fryer for about eight minutes, until golden brown. While they’re still a little greasy and pipng hot, I toss them in granulated sugar. Half the point of this dish is the sauce, and with the infusion of sage and lemon zest, it nails that whole sweet/savory thing. Another ancient recipe, creme anglaise, is about as easy as it gets. Bring the cream, sugar, zest and herbs to just boiling, kill the heat and cover it for 30 minutes. Strain out the cream and temper in the yolks and cook it, stirring constantly, to a thick custard, around 165 degrees. Once cool, its perfect for dipping doughnuts or spinning into ice cream. Pastry Chef Heidi Kaufmann at Fenouil gave me this sauce recipe, it’s really quite good.
Olive Oil Beignet
2 cups milk
2 oz butter
6 oz olive oil
2 tblsp sugar
1/2 tblsp salt
2 cups A.P. flour
8 eggs
1. Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil
2. Sift flour and add to pot, cooking until it forms a ball
3. Transfer the mix to the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the eggs slowly, one or two at a time
4. Pipe and freeze
Lemon Sage Crème Anglaise
by Heidi Kaufmann
3 cups heavy cream
6 oz sugar
pinch of salt
Pulp of ½ vanilla bean
1 handful of loose chopped Sage (stems as well)
Zest of 2 lemons
3/4 of a cup egg yolk
1.Combine first six ingredients and bring to a simmer
2.Turn off the heat and cover, steep for 30 minutes
3.Strain the resulting liquid and return to heat, scald.
4.Temper in egg yolk and cook to nape
I Make Dessert.
16 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious, plated dessert, dessert | 4 Responses
Okay, so I’m no Michael Laiskonis. I am however, a pastry chef, and I’m making some pretty tasty delights at Ten-01. I’m going to use my next few posts to describe my current menu, because I’m pretty proud of it. What better place to start than our best seller, The Chocolate Whiskey Cake. It’s a rich flourless cake that contains all my favorite ingredients: chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, and booze. The butter is melted and poured over the chocolate. While that cools to room temperature the eggs and sugar are whisked up until they just turn pale and the sugar is dissolved. The to mixtures are then combined, and finished with the booze, which in this case is Maker’s Mark. I pour the batter into a framed half-sheet pan, and bake it in a 250 degree oven in a water bath. The tricky part of this recipe is knowing when it’s done. I pull it when its still loose in the center, and its starting to souffle a little on the edges. It needs to cool and set up before slicing and serving, which I like to do overnite. The cake is covered with ganache and white chocolate lines before slicing. I serve it with a Dulche de Leche ice cream and Brown Butter Caramel. The chocolate flag garnish gives it some height. It’s fucking delicious. To be quite honest, I’m kind of bored with it, and I wish someone else would make it. So here’s the recipe:
1 lb 13 oz chocolate (%68)
1 lb 13 oz butter
13 oz sugar
13 oz whole eggs
3/4 cup liquor (I’ve used whiskey, kaluha, bailey’s, meyer’s…you get the idea)
1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a bowl
2. Melt the butter until it just starts to bubble, then pour it over the chocolate-cool to room temp
3. Whisk the eggs and the sugar together in a seperate bowl
4. Whisk the eggs into the chocolate
5. Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake in a 250 degree oven, in a water bath, for thirty minutes or so.
6. Chill the cake for at least 3 hours before slicing
Birthday Dinner at Sel Gris.
13 March 2008 | delicious | 2 Responses
Kate took me to Sel Gris for my birhtday dinner last night. Sadly, this grainy picture from her phone is the only image I can share with you. I don’t normally review my meals, because I hate reviewers, but our dinner was amazing, and deserves some recognition. The standout for me was the Foie Gras Two Ways, form of seared lobe and salt-cured torchon. The seared was good, kinda small, while the torchon might have been the best thing I have eaten in my life to date. A truly historical dish in my life, it will be hard to top it. For my entree I had the Pork and Beans, which is “all-day braised” pork cheeks with french beans. As you well know, I love pork cheeks. They are hands down my favorite pork product (of course next to bacon!) Three cheeks, which means two pigs had to die, met and exceeded my expectations. I like Chef’s beans better, but these were good, too. Kate had the endive salad, which came with Humboldt Fog-an amazing blue cheese, poached pear, and wlanuts. She loved it. Her Salmon with foie melted leeks were sooooo good. I ate some, too. As full as we were, and as tipsy off the champagne, we had to get dessert. Pastry Chef Steven Smith was the worked at Carlyle before I did. Small frickin’ pond out here, man. Anyway his Raspberry Choclolate Mousse cake was divine, even if raspberries aren’t in season and if it was little heavy on the gelatine. The cocoa nib cookie was a nice bitter/crunchy tone with the other sweet flavors. Steve’s breads were also good. To make a long story short, Sel Gris deserves all the great press that they get. Service was efficient and smooth in a tiny packed dining room, and the food was the best I’ve had in Portland so far. Dinner there glazed the grayness of aging with rosy hues. It almost made me forget that I’m twenty-nine now, and next year I’ll officially be old.
The Sausage Man Cometh.
10 March 2008 | Ten 01, delicious | No Responses
Meet John Baldasarre (sounds like “balls are hairy,” or “bald and scary”.) This picture of him would lead you to believe he is a cold blooded killer, who turns his victims into sasauge. That sentiment is partially true. John is Ten-01’s charcuterie master. He makes killer sausage. He’s also one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He once took me blindfolded and ball-gagged to the secret salami room, where all of his work hangs to dry out and age. He’s even got some full on legs of prosciutto hanging up there. All of this meat eventually is sliced and served on the house charcuterie plate. It’s one of the best in the city, if not the best. Chef, in an interview with Food Arts, named John and his sausage stuffer as his favorite piece of equipment. Working with John is always proves interesting, like the time he almost took off his thumb with the slicer, or the time he made pudding from cocoa and pigs blood. He also has the ability to get the most annoying song possible stuck in your head for the entire day (chang chang chang goes the trolley.) His stories of his commute home on the Number Twelve are always welcome, as are the random late-nite text messages (barko beep fuck.) So here’s a mrjeffmccarthy.com salute to John: I LOVE HIS SAUSAGE!!
The Game.
5 March 2008 | food porn | No Responses
If you’ve ever worked in a kitchen, you know that cooks can have pretty dirty minds, and sick senses of humor. Our kitchen is no different. It’s always a dick, fart, or deviant sex act that makes us laugh. Or a food sculpture of a penis. Not suprisingly, there is no shortage of cock-like food items to arrange and stash in your fellow cooks station. Consider the cornichon, or the hand-made sausage, the almighty mushroom, hell consider the fennel seed. Cooks will look at those items and think: “I can make a dick out of that.” Now our game isn’t as easy as all that. You can’t just walk up and plop a cock-sculpture on somebodies cutting board and walk away, you’ve gotta be subtle. In or under a bowl, behind the six pan in the low-boy, perched on the ticket machine, these are venues for the true master of the game. I once found a huge hand-molded polenta cock when I opened my station, complete with metal scrubbie pubes and heavy-cream dripping head. It’s food, and hell, as far as I’m concerned, you SHOULD play with it.
