Kitchen Experiment, Potato Foam Spherification Gnocchi

I am very sceptical of the additives used in so called, modernist cuisine.  However since I use baking powder and baking soda all the time, which were once considered new, I do not want to outright reject all "modernist" ingredients.  Sodium alginate is actually made from seaweed and I use seaweed often in cooking.

We have decided to do a few experiments for our own culinary growth...   Our first attempt yesterday was an adaptation of Ferran Adria's famous Potato Foam Spherification Gnocchi.  Not bad for a first attempt!  It was fun and exciting to see the dish come together and to see how these new to us ingredients work.   The texture of the gnocchi was very interesting.  On the other hand my favorite part of the dish may have been the roasted potato skins we prepared for the broth...  This is what we did–

2 cups kombu dashi or other vegetable broth, 450 grams of potatoes, grapeseed oil, 350 grams water (cooking potato water), 5 grams of sodium alginate, 5 grams calcium carbonate, 1000 grams rinsing water, 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, fresh sorrel

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel potatoes with a knife reserving thick potato skins for roasting.

Place potato skins on a sheet tray, season with grapeseed oil, salt and pepper and roast until edges are browned, add to dashi, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.  Strain broth, discard potato skins (or eat them) and return broth to a pot and set aside.

In a medium pot add potatoes and cooking water and cook until potatoes are soft.

Drain the potatoes reserving 350 grams of cooking liquid.  Place warm cooking liquid in a blender, blend on low and slowly add sodium alginate.  Mix until smooth, about 2 minutes, add potatoes and blend until smooth, approximately 2 additional 2 minutes.  Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Pass potato mixture through a chinois, and pour into a 1 quart ISI whipper.  Infuse with 2 chargers, 1 at a time shaking the mixture 3 times after each charge.

In a 9" x 12" flat bottom dish add 1000 grams of water and calcium carbonate, stir to dissolve.

Slowly discharge potato contents into calcium bath making a long snake shape.  Cut immediately with scissors into 3/4 inch gnocchis.  Let sit for 2 1/2 minutes until outer casing slightly hardens.  Rinse gently and thoroughly in warm water to wash off the bitter calcium bath.

Fill bowls with hot broth and gently top with hot gnocchi.  Garnish with sorrel and serve immediately.

Note from Path Valley Coooperative

Anyone who has eaten at a Home Restaurant or knows me at all has heard me rave about Path Valley.  Just after they were formed, nearly two decades ago,  we connected with the cooperative of Amish farmers and they have been our primary source for produce ever since. Yesterday with the weeks order list we got a note:

Yay!  It is March and the weather is being predictable for once.  The winds are perfect for kite flying and the kids have been really busy running around "catching the breeze" and "adding more tail" and generally enjoying the weather.  Spring has never seemed so welcome.
All of the growers have been busy placing seed orders and tilling and preparing for a busy growing season.   Month after month we do more business than ever and with the increase in business comes an increase in WORK and we are all ready to work.
All of us are super appreciative of being able to grow produce at home.  This keeps families at home, specifically, it keeps the guys at home.
This is far preferable than working out as a day laborer or at the local pallet shop.  There is a strong current of gratitude that I don't often mention and yet it is a fact that we all appreciate growing produce for you and engaging in such grounding and rewarding labor.
Thank you for supporting our family farms.

Home Restaurant March 3, 2012

Photo Kate Headley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At open Home Restaurants it is a joy to bring people together to share a meal and enjoy conversation with other guests they have just met.  Consistently we have found that guests who choose to dine with us are open to the experience and make fast friends with the other diners.  Last night was no exception, conversation was steady, intense and animated.  When guests left many exchanged contact information and I guess that many conversations will continue long past the duration of the dinner– We had a good night!  Thanks to everyone who joined us last night.

PASSING

White Sturgeon Caviar, Sweet Potato/ Celery, Celery Root, Celery Seed/ Shad Roe, Sorrel/ Flat Iron, Caramelized Onion/ Oregon Black Truffle, Potato/ Parsnip, Fermented Grains, Chives/ Radish, Parsley, Sesame

(Ch. L'Eperonniere) Rose de Loire 2010Bay Leaf Lemon Vodka Cocktail

SEATED

Guinea Hen, Dashi, Leek, Carrot, Giant White Lima Beams, Crinkle Cress– 48 Hour Farm Bread  (La Sauvageonne) Coteaux du Languedoc "Les Ruffes" 2009

Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Pickled Baby Turnip, Pickled Baby Beet, Black Rice, Pea Shoots, Black Walnuts– Spelt Olive Oil Bread  (Thevenet) St. Veran 'Clos de l'Ermitage' V.V. 2009

Rockfish, Salsify, Scorzonera, Rhubarb, Baby Kale– Cornmeal Herb Roll  (Jean Marc Pillot) Bourgogne Rouge 'Les Grands Terres' 2008

Rush Creek Reserve Cheese and Cracker

Sauterne Olive Oil Cake, Mandarin Oranges, Frozen Sesame and Dates  (Eudald) 'Familia' Brut Cava NV

Cookies: Black Tea Savi Seed Oatmeal Crisps, Cornmeal Rosemary Walnut Drops, Chocolate Cake with Hickory Nuts and Coconut, Salty Macadamia Nut Chocolate Biscotti

Take Home: Chocolate, Fig and Red Walnut Bread

Firewood Joe

One of the important numbers in my phone is for "Firewood Joe".  He brings us wood for our Grillery.  We use it as our second oven– at Home Restaurants at least one passing bite and one of the seated courses is cooked over wood.  Joe's wood is fabulous to cook with, it burns easily and evenly.  He claims it has to do with the even splitting of logs, the hardwood varieties and the seasoning of the wood (meaning that moisture has evaporated)– a process that takes about 2 years.  And then there is the flavor that comes from the type of wood– Joe delivers a mix of maple, oak, apple and cherry woods– the result is a deep yet mellow smoky flavor that enhances but does not overpower the ingredients.

Michael Pollan's Short Stop-Motion Animation Film

I have been a fan of Michael Pollan's for awhile now.  When I first read Omnivores Dilemma I said he articulated much of what I believe much better than I have ever been able to.  Since then I have continued to follow his writing, have had the opportunity to see him speak... I came across this film through a link from GRACE, an amazing organization that in addition to making the Meatrix is doing all sorts of thoughtful work in the space where food, ecology, technology and health intersect...

Had to share–

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/35444471]

Late February Flowers

I sent flowers to a friend this week and got to choose anything I wanted... no colors, budget or design plan to adhere to!  I arranged them in a two piece white egg-shaped vessel made for me by Middle Kingdom.  I filled half of the egg with Virginia anemones, French green ranunculus, New Jersey parrot tulips and the first hyacinths from a protected spot in my back garden–

Super Immunity Class, #2

Early this year I taught a class with Davina of Nutrition Groove that was inspired by Joel Fuhrmans book Super Immunity: The Essential Nutrition Guide for Boosting Your Body's Defenses to Live Longer, Stronger, and Disease Free.  Essentially he purports that diet is integrally linked to your body's ability to fight off illness of all sorts from the common cold to cancer.  I am a believer. We had such a good response to the first class that we taught another one yesterday.  Both the talking and cooking were based on Dr Fuhrman's acronym GOMBBS, greens, onions, mushrooms, berries, beans, seeds. The recipes from the classes can be found on the Super Immunity Post on my blog.

In addition to cooking and lots of solid nutrition information from Davina we talked a lot about how each of us needs to incorporate healthy eating into our daily practice in a way that works for us as individuals.  There is no one way to eat– each of us has different requirements based on our individual biological needs, living situation, daily routine, seasonal changes and work demands...  Regardless what your diet is at the moment there is great information to be gleaned from Dr. Fuhrman's studies and insights– and potentially shifts in your everyday eating.

California White Sturgeon Caviar with Salsify

We recently started getting caviar from California... initially we were skeptical since traditionally the only caviar we served was from wild sturgeon of the Caspian or Black Seas.  However wild sturgeon, once plentiful in many places in the world are now threatened by overfishing, loss of habitat and pollution.  In fact, the sturgeon of the Caspian Sea are nearly extinct.  In response sturgeon are now farmed raised in many parts of the world, some farms are sustainable and others are not.  The California caviar from the Sacramento area we are getting is said to come from a perfected sustainable aquaculture environment.  The taste and texture are of this Osetra-like caviar is phenomenal.  We served the caviar with a long time favorite pairing of ours, roasted salsify.  In the past we have topped it with creme fraiche but this time with fermented grains and wild chives from our neighbors front yard.

Purple Flowers

Got in purple flowers for a sample, the client has seen them and now I am enjoying them.  Years ago a good friend of mine/talented designer who favors subtle colors and lush textures told me purple flowers act as a non-color in rooms she has designed... they just enhance.  I have embraced her advice and when going with color in flowers I often opt for purple.

Holiday Cooking Class, Bread Sticks

Someone from last weeks cooking class organized a group for a cooking class yesterday which included both adults and off from school kids...  We are having fun with these classes and are open to doing more of them in the future. We baked bread, made spreads and then enjoyed eating our labors... Special requests included bread sticks and chocolate bread.  Below is a bread stick recipe, we made them a little too thick yesterday I think the key is to roll them as thin as a pencil.

Rosemary Bread Sticks

2 teaspoons fresh compressed yeast

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup whole wheat flour (substituting this for 00 flour would result in a lighter breadstick but I like the whole wheat for both taste and nutrition reasons)

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, could substitute other herbs, seeds, minced garlic...

In a medium sized bowl combine the yeast, water and oil.  Mix in the flours, salt and rosemary and knead until dough is very smooth.

Prepare a baking pan by spraying with oil and sprinkling with cornmeal.  Roll out long thin bread sticks and cook in a 375 degree oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.  Eat hot or very crispy at room temperature.

Oranges, Kate Headley

Kate Headley's wedding photographs are all over my blog, weddings blogs, Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine and other local and national wedding publications.  At the moment she is less know for her editorial work.  Recently she launched an editorial section to her blog separate from the wedding section, check it out– We were fortunate to enjoy Kate's company for a casual lunch a few weeks ago–  she came with camera in hand so in addition to a visit we got photos.  Enjoying this  series of orange images... and enjoying eating lots of citrus which is at it's best right now!