some of the dumbest shit i've ever seen

i had to post this  because i couldn't even believe it when i walked around the corner and saw my new tournant doing this. i asked him to make some hash browns for a side dish that we have on the menu. i thought i explained the process to him pretty well, but i guess not well enough. after i got done explaining what an idiot he is for doing this, and busting his balls for awhile, i went to get my camera because i really couldn't believe my eyes. he took the shaved potato and put it in a fryer basket, then put a piece of aluminum foil over the top and put a half pan on top of that. now common sense would tell you that when you put a half pan into where the oil is its going to rise. i guess this thought never crossed his mind until it was to late. the oil did rise and overflowed all over the table and was splashed all over his arm. and instead of just stopping and rethinking the whole process he just kept on going. in the end it didn't even work. all that for nothing. i couldn't even feel bad for him. i just hope that the minor burns he received will be a constant reminder of what a stupid idea that was. don't get me wrong though he is a great worker and i am glad to have him in my kitchen.

conch ceviche

a recent trip to key west got me interested in conch. its not something new to me or something that i have never had or worked with before but just an ingredient that i haven't thought about in sometime now. after having a few conch dishes in key west i thought when i got back to the restaurant i would create something of my own. i had the best conch fritters in key west at a restaurant called B.O.'s fish wagon. it looked like a whole in the wall place but for me those are usually the best places to get a great meal. deciding to go in paid off it was hands down the best meal i had while in key west. i started off with conch fritters and then got a fried grouper sandwich with key lime remoulade which was amazing, all this and washed it down with a nice Heineken. what else do you need. once i returned to my kitchen i did a conch ceviche with sea beans, pickled cucumber salad with shave jalapenos and cilantro, and i just called the rest mojito flavors. this was definitely my drink of choice while in key west. the mojito flavors where the conch was marinated in lime juice and cachasa, on the plate was a mint puree and finished the whole dish with a lime foam. 

Black Winter Truffles Part 2

we had more black truffles than i thought and we ran out of the smoked tagliatelle. so this time we decided to make an aged black garlic pasta dough. we rolled it out and stuffed it with herbed ricotta cheese and one quail egg. that way once it was cooked the yolk would still be runny. we did this with nantucket bay scallops, three raviolis, and made a pan sauce with the black garlic puree, fish stock, squid ink, butter, and finished with chives, parsley, and oregano. before it went to the table we would shave the fresh black truffles all over the top.

Black Winter Truffles

we got in some beautiful black winter truffles the other day from oregon. we decided to pair them with some hickory smoked tagliatelle. we made a manchego stock with the rind of the cheese, onions, and thyme, cooked it for about an hour and strained it. the stock was reduced and tossed with the pasta and oregano. we put it in a bowl and topped it with a foam made of the manchego stock. we finished it with some edible flowers and lots of shaved black truffles. 

happy trees=happy times

this past weekend i went out to a party with my girl Alanzo. i went as my favorite 80's artist Bob Ross, and she went as a beautiful flapper. it was a great time painting those happy little trees all night.

my newest favorite cut

we started by buying a choice rib eye cap from Brandt farms in brawly California. once we got the cut in we cleaned it up and lightly pounded it, spread activa on it and rolled it up in plastic wrap. the next day we had this beautiful cut of meat with really nice marbling. we cut it into 7 oz. portions. it was then put in the cryovac with EVOO and thyme. it was sous vide at 128 degrees for a nice medium rare. we paired it with black garlic puree, smoked hollandaise, pomegranate, Guinness foam, mousseron mushrooms, and chestnuts. it became one of the best cuts of meat i have ever tasted. I'm sure we will be using this cut again in the future for some other things.

finished morcilla dish

the sausage has dried for a week. It is now ready to be used. We used it in this dish. the morcilla is on top of quinoa, we made another venison sausage and paired that with the chestnut puree, and we removed bone marrow from the bone and seared it. we paired the bone marrow with chicory fluid gel, compressed seckle pears, and pickled shallots. the dish was garnished with micro peppercress. 

morcilla sausage

here we are making our own morcilla sausage. we started by soaking pigs blood with diced bread overnight. we then took pork, pig fat, onions, garlic and put them through a grinder with the smallest die we have. we then mixed it with smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, oregano, sage, tinted curing mix, and chives. we stuffed it into the casing and tied off the sections into 3 inch sausages. we hanged them in the walk-in to dry and develop flavor. after about a week of drying we will serve them on a charcuterie plate in the restaurant.