Molecular Gastronomy Part Two

A recent meal at Aphrodite Restaurant.

To save writing "This tasted super!" six million times, I'll say upfront that every bite was outstanding. This was one of the best meals of my life. It was performance art. It lasted over four hours, and despite the long list of dishes, it wasn't too much food - the courses were small, some only one bite - and it wasn't very rich. Also, despite what you might think when reading the details, nothing was gratuitous or gimmicky; everything made sense, was delicious, and was edifying.

Chef: David Faure
Address: 10 bd Dubouchage, Nice, France

The Revolution menu at 98 euros each:

Tangerine-vodka cocktail with dry ice (-78 degrees). Served in a round fish bowl steaming like a science fair exhibit, with a hollowed vanilla bean as a straw.

The virtual oyster ("A la recherche de l'huitre perdue"). On a bed of kelp, an oyster shell with what looked to be a raw oyster, but turned out to be eggplant and kiwi with a pearl made out of something in gel form. Also on the plate was a small glass of sea urchin mousse, and a tiny piece of buttered bread - we were instructed what order to eat it all in.

Nitro-Dragon of Vodka and green apple, curry wrong-smoked caviar, and Rai Faure cream. The waiter prepared them at the table, and made one for himself first to demonstrate. He dipped the Vodka/green apple espuma in liquid nitrogen and then put the result on top of the rest of the ingredients in a ceramic spoon. You slide the contents of the spoon into your mouth, where they create a sort of flavor-texture explosion. Then you breathe out through your nostrils, causing two huge jets of steam to shoot out your nose (like a dragon). Much giggling ensues.

The bread without bread. Long narrow strips of breadless bread are presented in a glass vase. One is a long strip of cooked parmesan cheese. Another is a strip that is akin to a big potato chip. I couldn't identify all of them.

Illusion of meat macaroni with duck liver. The meat-truffle macaroni was an extruded gel. It was served with peas, pea mousse, and some perfectly prepared, rare liver.

Warm spherification of liquid Pissaladiere, olive oil, oregano. Pissaladiere is a Nicoise specialty of pastry with caramelized onions on top. This rendition was a deconstruction of the traditional dish in liquid/gel form.

Texture and temperature. Ravioli of "sot l'y laisse" with roasted chicken juice (+70 degrees) and morel ice cream (-20 degrees). Morel ice cream is an AMAZING accompaniment.

Plume Iberique. Spanish pork, from the back of the neck, smoked with el Gringo, grilled green asparagus, peanut juice. This was served in an upside down glass dome full of smoke. When served, the waiter lifted away the glass dome and the smoke swirled around the diner's head. The meat was flash cooked in something very hot that caramelized the outside more than I've ever tasted.

Brie cheese ice cream, gingerbread, violet jam.

Sorbet. Made in front of us with liquid nitrogen (-196 degrees). The waiter took what looked like juice, combined it with the nitrogen, and whipped it with a whisk. It was amazingly creamy and lucious. The only drawback: the cold and acidity caused my tongue to hurt for a few minutes.

Virtual fried egg. Prepared at the table in a frying pan dipped into freezing liquid nitrogen, the waiter broke an egg into the pan (the egg was faked up) and it looked just like a fried egg - but it was a mango "yolk" with an unsweetened coconut "white". Cool trick and tasty.

Deconstructed dessert: wrong caviar or Irish coffee? The waiter ran up to the table an apologised profusely that he'd forgot to bring one of our first courses. He put down what appeared to be caviar, sour cream and blinis. But the caviar turned out to be irish coffee turned into tiny gel balls, and the whipped cream was unsweetened with an intense coffee flavor. (The blinis were regular blinis.)

Sweet morphing: The final dessert of the evening was a tray with a series of little things on it. One diner was chosen to serve, and instructions were given about the order and way to eat each:

• Green lemon sorbet sparkling lollipop - this crackled and popped in the mouth.
  
• Fruit jelly without fruit.
  
• Cornetto of strawberries and white balsamic vinegar.
  
• Wasabi chocolate with a tube of raspberry chok to spread on it.
  
• Solid "sex on the beach" - a tiny version of the cocktail, deconstructed.

Helium balloons to suck on and talk funny.

Here's Molecular gastronomy part 1.
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Make Perogies Not Prorogies!

After a Ukranian friend taught me how to make perogies, I played with the recipe to make it foolproof, added some non-traditional options, and published it in my 1994 cookbook, Akiddeleediveydoo. Here it is, for your foodemocractic pleasure...

Perogies

These are extremely tasty perogies, and easy to make. The mix of flavors is wonderful. Use fairly smooth mashed potatoes, made with potatoes, milk and butter - or however you usually make it.

Dough:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
2 T oil
1 cup milk
3 cups flour

Filling base:
8 oz pressed cottage cheese (250 g)
4 oz cream cheese (125 g)
1 cup mashed potato
1/2 tsp salt
1 large garlic clove, minced

To make the dough, mix the egg, salt and oil, and then stir in the milk. Stir in the flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding more flour to keep the dough from sticking.

To make the filling, blend the pressed cottage cheese, cream cheese, potato, salt and garlic. Optionally, separate into four small bowls and add one of the following seasonings to each bowl.

Bacon and cheese:
2 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 tsp bacon fat
1 T grated cheese (provolone, cheddar, or whatever you like)

Sauerkraut:
1/4 cup sauerkraut, drained
1 tsp caraway seeds

Dill:
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1 T pine nuts, diced
1 tsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp Tabasco

Tarragon:
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 cup green onion, diced
1 tsp softened butter

Walnut:
1 T walnuts, dcied
1 T Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated
I T grated cheese (cheddar, provolone, or whatever you like)
1 tsp softened butter

Cheese:
2-3 T cheese, grated (cheddar, provolone, or whatever you like)

Roll the dough out very thin, using more flour to keep it from sticking. Place a mug of warm water next to you. With a sharp knife, cut a piece about 4" square. It doesn't matter if the piece is irregular or if it is larger or smaller. Put a glob of filling on the dough, as much as will fit, and stretch the dough over it. Dip your index finger in the water and use it to seal the dough. If desired, press it with the tines of a fork. Seal well. Do this with all the dough and filling: each of the four bowls will make six large or ten small perogies.

To cook, bring a large pot of water to a low boil. drop one batch of perogies in at a time, and boil about 5 minutes, until they float to the surface. do not let the water boil too hard or the perogies will burst. Drain the perogies and pour a little melted butter over them. If you like, you can lightly fry the perogies in butter after boiling them.

Serve with sour cream. Optionally, also serve with fried onions.

The cooked perogies freeze very well if spread out (not touching) on wax paper.

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New Techniques in Cooking

From my point of view, the problem with molecular gastronomy (aka "the science of deliciousness") is that it's too much about making the weirdest sounding crap imaginable. For example: bacon covered in butterscotch and dehydrated apple, threaded on a wire (at Chicago's Alinea restaurant). Lamb encrusted with crushed peppermints; foie gras lollipops encrusted with candy (at Avenues in the Peninsula, also in Chicago). Deep-fried mayonnaise (at WD-50 in New York). Snail porridge; sardines-on-toast sorbet (at The Fat Duck in Bray, UK). Deep fried bunny ears in the El Bulli 2003-2004 cookbook.

And that's why this stuff is just a flash in the pan. It makes one worry that our civilization has hit its zenith and is sliding into decadence.

But some people are taking the science of food (as I learned it from Shirley Corriher, Alton Brown and Harold McGee) and are pushing it into new realms with equipment, ingredients and techniques not previously found in home kitchens. Some of that has some interesting applications.

Take the iSi whipper (pronounced "icey"). This is like a soda siphon except it uses nitrous oxide cartridges. Restaurants use them to make whipped cream, but you can put soup, sauce or any liquid in them with interesting results. Here are some recipes. Four sheets of gelatin (1.7g each) is equivalent to one packet (1 tablespoon) in North America:

* Zaccardi's recipes
* ISI recipes
* Pina Colada and Americano drinks
* Prairie Moon

(Note about the iSi whipper: Some argue that this flash in the pan is already past, but I think the problem was that restaurants were using iSi-created foams (aka espumas) too much for garnishes that didn't add much to the meal. I think they have endless possibilities for drinks, cold soups, salad dressings, dips, and maybe mayonnaise. Be sure to get the model appropriate to your use: for example, only one model works with hot foods.)

You can also transform a liquid into a gel or foam with calcium chloride and sodium alginate, xanthan gum or agar agar. Gels and foams can be "poached" in a bath of liquid nitrogen to fast-freeze.

Emulsions are also popular. Here's a description of cinnamon oil. Here's a description of making emulsions with an iSi whipper.

Another idea that's new to home cooking is low temperature cooking. In the sous vide method, you put a piece of meat in a heavy plastic bag (you can add spices or sauces if you want). Squeeze out all the air and seal securely. Choose a temperature that you want the internal part of the meat to reach, and heat water to that amount. Put the bag in the water and leave for at least half an hour and up to several hours. The trick is to keep the water at the same temperature - you could do this in the oven, in a crockpot or on a hot plate, but you should pretest the temperature with a good kitchen thermometer. Choose 115F for extremely rare meat, up 160F for well done meat. When ready to eat, remove the meat from the bag and brown quickly on both sides in a hot frying pan. This method results in very tender meat. It can also be used to bring more flavor to very lean meat (and is used by restaurants to precook meat).

Another low temperature method is fish cooked in cooling water.

Turn pastes (for example, Nutella) into a powder using tapioca maltodextrin.

Make boffo spun sugar creations with isomalt sugar.

Use vodka and beer instead of water in your fried fish batter for a crispier, longer lasting crust.

It's not easy to find recipes for some of this new stuff. The El Bulli 2003-2004 cookbook will run you over $250. There is even talk of licensing recipes.

Khymos has some good info. Ditto a la Cuisine. There's a good overview at Foodite. My favorite source is Hungry in Hogtown.

Update: French Culinary Institute blog

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Cheese Biscuits

The key to this recipe is the cheese. Use high quality, old, sharp cheddar. Orange cheddar gives the wafers a nice color. Other than that the recipe is easy and pretty fool-proof.

1/2 cup butter (1/4 lb or 1 stick) at room temperature
6 oz cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
large pinch cayenne
1 cup flour
4 Tablespoons sesame seeds
40 pecan halves (about)

Beat the butter, cheese and cayenne until blended. Add the flour and beat until thoroughly blended. (You can use a spoon or a food processor or mixer.) If necessary, put the dough in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes so that it firms up enough that you can work with it.

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Shape the dough into a log that is about 10" long. Roll the log in the sesame seeds, coating completely. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least several hours.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the dough into very thin slices, about 1/4". Place on greased baking sheets. Press a pecan half into the center of each slice. Bake in the center of the oven for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool on racks.

These can be served as an hors d'oeuvre, snack, or with dessert.

Mary's Berries with Ricotta

First and foremost delicious... also easy and healthy.

Ingredients

Berries: such as a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

2 cups ricotta (475g or 16 oz)
4 oz (125 g) cream cheese
2 T honey
2 T sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Wash the berries and drain them. If they aren't really sweet, you may want to put one or two tablespoons of sugar or liqueur on them. Taste: you might also want to put 2 teaspoons of lemon juice on them.

Put all else in a food processor and whip until it is smooth.

For each serving, spoon some berries in a bowl and top with a large dollop of ricotta.

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May Recipe: Banana Curry

Use ripe bananas. You can use yellow mustard seeds, but black are better.

1/4 cup cooking oil
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1.25 cups water
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
6 large bananas

In a large frying pan, heat the oil. When it starts to smoke, add the mustard seeds. As the seeds begin to pop, reduce the heat and add the rest of the spices: cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring. Add water and coconut; cook for 10 minutes. Add bananas and cook a few minutes more until tender but not mushy.

This is a good condiment for Indian food, but is also good with lots of other foods, including brunch. For a spicier version, use 5 bananas and reduce the water to 1 cup. This is also delicious made with sweet potatoes.

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April menu: Asian-inspired brunch

Ginger Salmon

20 oz. salmon fillets (about), cut into serving-size pieces
2 green onions
1 T fresh ginger root, grated
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 T light soya sauce
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp lemon rind, grated
1 tsp sugar
1 T sesame oil

Arrange raw salmon in one layer in an oven-proof dish. Pour remaining ingredients over top. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for one hour. (The marinade partially cooks the salmon, so don't exceed this time by too much.) Bake in a 425 degree oven until the salmon is done---about 15 minutes. Cool and store in the remaining juices. Serve cold.

Fragrant Beef

2.5 pounds (about) boneless beef chuck, shoulder or shin
2 cups water
1 tsp star anise
3 T dry sherry
3 T soya sauce
3 slices fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, halved
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Combine all in a large pot. You can marinate the meat or cook it immediately. Bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 2 hours, turning the meat at least once during cooking. Slice the meat and return it to the marinade. Chill. To serve, shake the marinade off the meat and arrange on a platter.

Rice Noodles

Buy the wide rice noodles that are cooked by sitting in hot water for a short period. Rinse the cooked noodles with hot water and drain well; then add to a frying pan in which you have fried some onion wedges in dark sesame oil and stir to coat the noodles completely with the oil. Optionally, you can also add:

- tiny slices of ginger about 1/4 the size of a match stick
- cooked shrimp
- strips of red and yellow sweet pepper
- eggs beaten with chives and salt and then cooked in a thin layer in a frying pan and cut into strips
- a topping of fresh coriander and chopped peanuts

Sweet & Sour Zucchini

4 lb zucchini
1/2 cup olive oil (about)
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 T sugar

Slice zucchini into rounds 1/4" thick (which is quite thin). Put a little oil in a heavy frying pan; add one layer of zucchini with none of the pieces touching. Cook over medium-high heat until dark brown blisters form on the zucchini; turn the pieces and cook until the other side blisters. The zucchini should be dense and chewy. Repeat with rest of zucchini. As the zucchini is done, place in a serving bowl in layers. On each layer sprinkle a little of the oregano. Mix the red wine, garlic and sugar and boil for 3 minutes; pour over the zucchini. Chill.

Baby Bok choy

Wash baby bok choy well and chop into bite-sized pieces. Separate the leaves from the rest. Put some sesame oil in a frying pan. Add the bottoms of the bok choy and cook, stirring rapidly, for a minute or two. Add the leaves and cook another minute. Salt to taste. Serve hot.

Fruit Salad with Coconut Gelatin

Cantaloupe and blueberries (or other assorted fruit)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
4 cardamom pods: hulls removed, seeds crushed
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 package unflavored gelatin (about 1T)

Reserve 1/4 cup of cold milk. In the rest of the milk, mix the coconut, cardamom, sugar and almond flavoring. Bring to a boil (you can do this in the microwave), cover and let sit at least 15 minutes. Heat to the boiling point again, and then strain through a coffee filter, or through a strainer lined with a paper towel.

Pour the gelatin into the 1/4 cup cold milk and let it sit at least 5 minutes. Mix the dissolved gelatin with the very hot strained milk and stir for one minute. Pour into ice cube trays and chill in the refrigerator.

To serve, put the fruit in a serving bowl and upturn the jelled coconut cubes over the fruit. (The cubes break apart easily so should not be stirred.)

Indian Almond Fudge

3/4 cup sugar
5 T water
3/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
pinch of saffron
6 whole cardamom pods

Boil sugar and water to the soft ball stage, 240 degrees. Lower heat and add almonds. Add butter, a tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. Add saffron and taste: you may want to add more, depending on the strength of your saffron. Spoon into a shallow buttered dish. Crush the cardamoms and discard the hulls. Press the crushed seeds into the top of the mixture. Chill. Cut into diamond shapes.

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March Menu: Ham & Morels, Wild Rice, and Pear Tart

The recipes in this menu serve up to 6 people. Serve with steamed broccoli and baked yams for a special family meal or a dinner party. All of these recipes can be made in advance if desired.

Wild Rice

1 cup raw wild rice
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
3 T butter
1/2 white onion
1 or 2 carrots
1 or 2 stalks of celery
8 to 12 white button mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Put wild rice, water and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, which will take from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the age and variety of wild rice. If there's any excess water, strain it and discard.

Dice the vegetables into tiny pieces. Sautee them lightly in the butter.

Mix cooked rice, vegetables and pecans in a buttered casserole. You can now refrigerate the dish and heat it later, or use it right away. In either case, bake the uncovered casserole in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until hot through.

Ham Steaks with a Morel Brown Sauce

2 lb ham steaks (about)
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 10 oz can beef broth
1/3 cup sherry
1 bay leaf
1 T dried morels or 4 fresh
1/2 cup whipping cream

Melt butter, stir in flour, and cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Stir in broth, slowly at first so it doesn't lump. Add sherry and bay leaf. Simmer, uncovered, until it reduces by about a third, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.

If you are using dried morels, they might have dirt and grit. To get rid of this, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes. Put a paper towel in a seive and drain, draining the liquid into the sauce. Dice the morels and add to the sauce. Stir in the whipping cream. If the sauce is too thin you can cook it down some more. Taste: you may want to add more morels, depending on how flavorful yours are.

Ham steaks are already cooked. Fry them to brown the outside and heat through. Put on a platter and top with sauce to serve. If you have extra sauce, serve it on the side.

Pear Tart

This easy tart has a shortbread crust, a thin layer of pears, and a sweet glaze.

Pastry:
1.5 cups flour
3/4 cup cold butter (One and a half sticks)
2 T sugar
pinch salt
3 T ice water (about)

Put the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Process for a few seconds, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. With the machine running, add the water and process for about 30 more seconds. If the dough does not form into a ball, add a little more water and process until it does form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour.

Roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Put it in a 9-inch tart pan. It's especially good if the crust is fairly thick. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. While you're preparing the filling, pop it in the freezer for a few minutes before adding the filling.

Filling:
2 or 3 medium-ripe pears, peeled and cored
5 T sugar
4 T butter
1 T fruit liqueur, brandy, or orange juice
1/2 cup flaked almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the pears into very thin slices. Fan the slices over the cooled pie crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut the butter into small pieces and dot the pears with the butter. Sprinkle with the liquor or orange juice. Optionally, sprinkle with almonds.

Bake until the pears are carmelized and the crust is brown, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before applying glaze.

Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot jam (or another type of jam or jelly)
2 T fruit liqueur, brandy, or orange juice

Heat the jam and liquor or juice in the microwave until it's liquid. If it's lumpy or has pips, put it through a strainer. Spoon the glaze over the baked tart.

Good served warm or cold.