Moving can be quite exciting. Especially when it is across the country. Chicago is an incredible city and I am very excited for all that it has to offer. My first day at Alinea is Friday.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
- St. Augustine
Many people trim and discard salmon belly not realizing that it is the fattiest and tastiest part of the fish. In fact, I had quite a bit of trouble getting my hands on some belly this week. After spending the weekend refining the potato smoking technique, I decided to potato-smoke some salmon belly and it turned [...]
As it begins to warm up outside I felt it was appropriate to do another dish based around ice cream (I’ve had a recent obsession with ice cream). The natural sweetness of the english peas make for a fantastic ice cream base. The flavors are light and refreshing.
Mint Sponge Foam
100 g whipping cream
28 g mascarpone
20 g [...]
A crisp, a crack, and a crunch, and then… carrot. I am excited for what this crisp has to offer in an upcoming dish. It will be a play on peas and carrots. And the crispiness will add some great texture. As for the flavor, it is pure carrot.
One of the most powerful experiences of food is when a dish brings up a memory. This dish consists of porter ice cream, smoked chocolate-whiskey pearls, and burnt chocolate at 94°. It has very mature flavors that are presented in a way that reminds me of childhood. Two of my favorite desserts when I was younger [...]
This is a dish I have had in my my mind for a while now. It originated from a porter-honey braised lamb dish I made while catering my senior prom dinner for twenty close friends. Since then, I have expanded on the dish and this is the result.
Sous-vide lamb
Black butte porter-honey froth
Hot Rhubarb pudding
Morrocan mint gelée
Smoked [...]
120 g butter, room temperature
70 g dark chocolate, smoked
Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie. Take off the heat and emulsify butter into the chocolate. Freeze the compound butter until needed.
I started working on this dish yesterday. I still want to make some improvements on some of the techniques presented. I am toying with the idea of grapefruit caviar instead of just the flesh. The flavors and textures worked out very well together.