Chef at Home

Archive for February, 2010

Go to Source

In the digital world, everything changes, evolves, and transforms. We have been taking pictures of food for over five years now and have only occasionally taken the time to print them out and experience them on a wall. There is something evocative about the transformation from computer screen to reality. The idea of bringing tangible versions of our work to the table has been on our minds. Recent requests have spurred us to take things to the next level.

There is often the question, what should we put on our walls? What is artwork, what captures a feeling and inspires thought? We have created a gallery of our favorite images that will found inside the egg. We've received our copies of each print to check out the quality and clarity and they will be available for perusal and for purchase in about a week.

If you are in the Philadelphia area and are interested in obtaining one of the pre-release copies of these photographs e-mail us.

Go to Source

One of the nice things about being in Cabo is the seemingly endless supply of guacamole. It is a favorite of ours and one that tends to be doled out in somewhat stingy and expensive portions in restaurants back home. When made with spicy jalapenos, ripe fruit, sharp lime juice and a judicious amount of salt, guacamole can make many things better. It’s like Mexican butter except that I can tell myself that its made with a fruit and eat as much as I please.

Avocados are a shippers favorite type of fruit because they are picked hard by necessity and only soften after harvest. Like pears they must be mature before they are picked if they are to ripen into something delicious. Interestingly the oil content of the fruit increases with maturity, which is why some avocados still taste grassy and watery and soften without developing the smooth, supple texture of a mature avocado. As oil volume increases, water content decreases changing both the texture and the flavor of the developing fruit. Once it has been harvest the avocado will soften but it will no longer mature. The easiest way for growers to measure the maturity of the avocado is by determining the percent of dry matter. The dry weight is determined by weighing the fruit and then removing the water content and reweighing, this second number is considered the dry weight of the fruit. Growers have minimum dry weight standards that must be reached before they can be sold. These are generally measured by standard size and weight requirements which vary based on the variety.

Although there are well over twenty different cultivars, by far the most commonly found avocado in the United States is the Haas. They are popular for their smooth, creamy flesh. They change color from green to black as they ripen, making it easy for home cooks to identify ripe fruit. They are easy to peel with a small to medium-sized seed. They are grown in California, Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and New Zealand, ensuring that they are available year round in the United States. Although avocados are relatively high in calories with 250 calories per medium sized fruit, they are rich in unsaturated fats and contain many different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients vital to human health. They also help the body absorb fat soluble nutrients.

Frankly the best thing about avocados is that they taste good. I remember the first time I had a really ripe avocado sandwich. It was in the summertime at a cabin with friends. The sandwich was made with homemade white bread and the avocado slices were liberally salted and spiked with lime juice. There was a thick slice of ripe tomato and a touch of mayo to hold everything together. I had been a bit skeptical when my friends came back from shopping with nothing but bread, avocados and tomatoes. I had always though avocados were kind of boring and bland. I was proven wrong. That sandwich was delicious in the way that fresh seasonal produce can be when the stars are all in alignment. After that avocados joined my list of favorite foods and I’ve never looked back. Admittedly a bad avocado is a sheer waste of calories. A good one…I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Go to Source

Ever since I learned that baking in clay allows for a longer and slower cooking, I have used it from time to time use it to bake. Clay diffuses the heat in a very gentle way allowing the protein to keep all the natural moisture. Lamb, black truffle, sturgeon and salmon have been some of the ingredients I have worked with in clay. Of course they are first wrapped in parchment paper before being sealed into the clay. 

The clay is usually served in the dining room, so we wanted to created the ultimate touch: a stamp to mark the clay with L₂O logo. Emiliano, one of our staff, used all his connections on a recent trip to Mexico to make the metal stamp. It was done in less than few hours. No proof reading or pro-format or additional thought were needed to complete the job. I liked it that way, quick, fast and well done.

Go to Source

The terrine itself has a beautiful aesthetic. The shrimp and fennel flavors go wonderfully together and the harissa spice blend in the mix makes eating the terrine a delight. The issue arises when we look at serving the shrimp. A large block of shrimp is just not that easy to eat and certainly not something we want to serve. Consequently, we have hit a road block. The key is finding the proper balance between shrimp and the rest.

Often times stepping away from the subject and writing about the issue will spark ideas and reveals pathways. A salad of ripe and green mango and a puree of pine needle yogurt is one interesting avenue.Thinly slicing the the terrine like traditional charcuterie and serving it with a touch of mostarda fruit is another. Cutting the terrine into a large dice as the foundation for  small bite is an intriguing idea. The more we ponder, the further we get.

Go to Source

Go to Source

Stonington, Maine, on the island of Deer Isle off the coast of Maine, near Bar Harbor looks like a peaceful, picture postcard fishing village, surrounded by an archipelago of Spruce covered, uninhabited islands.  But in fact, it is the beating heart of the Maine lobster fishing industry, where over 30 million dollars worth of lobsters are landed every year. Boys (and some girls) start life dreaming of the  day when their fathers will take them “out to haul”, and by the time they are sixteen, they have their own traps, and sometimes their own boats, or else, go fishing alongside their fathers or grandfathers as stern men.

The season begins in the summer when the lobsters shed their old shells and grow into new ones. At this time, their shells are extremely soft, and the lobsters hide in the rocks to protect themselves from predators.This is when lobsters should be eaten in Maine,at a clambake,  on a beach, or a backyard  picnic or restaurant near where they were caught. They won’t survive being transported, and are noticeably full of water. Even though they are not full of meat, they are deliciously  sweet and tender. 

The best time to eat lobster outside of Maine is in the fall and winter when the shells have hardened, and the lobster meats have filled out, but are still tender. These lobsters are called “hard shedders”. They travel well, and are really a premium lobster. That’s when we in Maine eat lobster at home. The French eat lobster for New Year’s. They are right.if they are from Maine, are fresh caught  and have not been held in lobster pounds where they tend to acquire a muddy flavor. “Pound lobsters” have rough shells which don’t shine. In captivity, their antennae may have been chewed off.

Maine has strict regulations meant to protect a sustainable fishery. The smallest lobster which is a “keeper” is a chick lobster, weighing about a pound. Keeping large lobsters over about three and a half pounds is illegal. They are considered breeders. There are specific measurement requirements for the carapace, and illegal lobsters can cost a fishermen his or her license to fish.There are limits to the number of traps each fishermen can fish, and limited entry requirements. Females with eggs are thrown back into the sea, their claws v-notched to show that they were caught and thrown back. These regulations are exclusive to Maine. Go over the border into New Hampshire, and lobsters there are not subject to any such restrictions. This is part of what makes Maine lobsters unique, and especially those which come from Penobscot Bay, the waters around Stonington, where the nutrients create an exceptional micro climate which gives them a distinct flavor of their own.

It is a dangerous profession. Almost every year in Stonington, a fisherman drowns at sea. The island is an extremely close community. Every lobster which comes from here has the stamp of a fisherman’s life, of his passion for what he does, and the risk he is prepared to take in order to do it, and protect it for future generations.

Written by Ingrid Bengis, our seafood supplier

Go to Source

When I was in Brugge, speaking at The Flemish Primitives, I became re-energized in my pursuit for exploring the uses of high pressure in cooking today (Download HPPFactSheet) . I have had conversations with a number of individuals prior to this event. My initial thought was using pressure as a cooking method for fruits and vegetables. We were only able to speculate on the topic and soon the idea grew dust on the shelf.  In Brugge I was finally able to eat the results first hand backstage and as part of the opening presentation. The seafood tasted, all raw, was plump and vibrant. The cockles were amazing while the mussels left me a bit hesitant. I had never eaten raw mussels before so that may have had something to do with squeamish feeling I got. High pressure processing is not new, what we can do with it is.

Currently we know of some folks using high pressure machines to remove the shells from King crabs and lobsters to produce an ingredient with more viable paths. One hesitation about high pressure processing is the results. The technology has been around for a long time although the refinement of it and the desired applications: from texturization, to infusing aromatics to enabling control in an exact cooking method are now not just coming into play. These reasons and results are some of the driving force sbehind creativity and execution in the kitchen.

Go to Source

How do you show people that you love them? Alex does it by walking tirelessly up and down beside the pool where we are on vacation while Amaya sleeps peacefully on his shoulder. We’re not much for Valentine’s Day in terms of gifts and spending lots of money. Instead we simply take a breath and a moment to appreciate the ones we love. Less marketing and more communion makes Valentine’s Day a holiday worth marking on the calendar.

Go to Source

There is an opportunity in every ingredient used and in each step along the way to heighten or diminish flavor. Making informed and calculated decisions in the processes, preparations and presentations allows for the seemingly simple to magically appear. In order to express any given flavor at any given time we must look into what we are doing and why we are doing it. 

The programmed answers intuition, inspiration and creative impulses are no longer adequate. Sure, at times it feels like we are just bringing ingredients together seamlessly as musicians do on stage. There is a feeling of wonderment when something comes together before our eyes that is just so simple. The simpler a dish or an experience feels the more work went into the stripping away of the excess to achieve the harmonious end.

Go to Source