Herbivoracious Dinner #2

I just finished my second Herbivoracious Dinner Party. I started these as a way to "stay in the game" of professional cooking. The first one was all the way back in April of 2008, and then I took a long hiatus while we had our second child. This time, Cafe Flora, where I previously interned, graciously agreed to host, which was fantastic because it gave me access to a restaurant kitchen and waitstaff, so I could focus on the food and not the thousand other details that go into this sort of event. Plus I got to work with all of my old friends. Chef Janine even offered to come in and help me plate, which was incredible - she's so fast and cool under pressure, it gave me a big boost in confidence.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will see that I've actuallly been working on the dishes for this dinner off and on for awhile now. [Click on the menu for a readable size]. I chose a Spanish menu because I love their traditional flavors and because Spain has been the source of so much innovative cuisine. Although I have a lot of interest in modern techniques, it would be too ambitious for me to prep a 7 course meal in that style for 15 people by myself in a limited amount of time. So I opted for a hybrid of traditional-style dishes with some modern twists that I felt confident I could execute.

We had a really cool group of diners. Some were close friends and family, and the other half from the wider community, including the proprietors of two other blogs: Tiger Chow and Dawn and Eric of Wright Eats. Cafe Flora set up a beautiful long communal table with white linen and candelight, and every time I popped out of the kitchen I could sense that the group was getting to know each other and having a great time. Which in the end is the point, right?

By the way, if you are interested in coming to future dinners, just drop me a note at herbivoracious@gmail.com, and I'll be in touch when they are scheduled.

We started with boyikos, waiting on platters for the guests as they arrived and got settled with a drink. Then came an amuse of a flash-grilled grapefruit segment with olive oil, Maldon salt, piment d'espellete, chives, and microgreens, followed by a salad of parsley, olives and blood orange in a sherry vinaigrette (similar to this version with persimmon).

The next course was the savory churro and morel "hot chocolate" I wrote about a few weeks back. That was the dish I was probably most proud of conceptually, but I had a slight execution problem, ending up with too much of the spice mixture on the churros. The intermezzo was an apple-celery sorbet, which underwent the most fine-tuning, including some great last-minute advice from Flora's wonderful pastry chef, Marie.

The entree was a slightly refined version of these fideos (toasted noodles) in a saffron-garlic cream sauce. Instead of basic cauliflower and broccoli, I hit up the farmer's market and ended up with German Butterball potatoes from Olson Farms, red carrots from Full CIrcle Farm, baby turnips from Whistling Train Farm, and tiny Brussel sprouts from Stoney Plains Farm. The purple and orange cauliflower had a few more petro-miles on it. Instead of cooking them off in the saffron cream, I blanched and chilled them each individually to control the texture and color, and each diner got one of each vegetable. (Photos of the fideos and the dessert courtesy of Wright Eats - thanks guys!).

Finally, the dessert was a trio of chocolates, using Aki & Alex's pectin-set "sliced chocolate" technique, which results in a texture somewhat like a chocolate pudding just thick enough to stand up by itself, and has terrific flavor release. From left to right was a 71% Callebaut with Maldon salt and cajeta, milk chocolate with strawberry croquant and sunflower "soil" (made with tapioca maltodextrin), and 58% Guittard infused with piment d'espellete and cinammon, with Meyer lemon zest and a roasted Comice pear.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me with this project, whether it was taste-testing, offering sage advice, hosting or coming out to dine! I really appreciate it, and I'm looking forward to doing it again.

 

Apple-Celery Sorbet - A Refreshing Recipe with Many Co-Authors

Apple-Celery Sorbet

I was trying to decide on a sorbet flavor for an upcoming dinner party, and I ran across this Apple-Celery combination from Michael Laiskonis. That sounded like a good fit with the other flavors I had planned, and the apples are both seasonally appropriate (from storage) and local here in the Pacific Northwest. Read on to find out just how many amazing chefs helped me work out the details.

When I went to make the recipe the first time, I ran into a few issues that made it a bit challenging in a home kitchen. Chef Laiskonis' recipe is designed for a world-class restaurant, and calls for glucose powder, sorbet stabilizer, and commercial apple puree, none of which I keep stocked! So for my first try, I juiced Mutsu apples on our Champion juicer, substituted a guesstimate amount of corn syrup for the glucose powder, and omitted the stabilizer completely.

The result was absolutely delicious, exactly the flavors I was looking for. Bracing, totally palate cleansing, not overly sweet. Consulting with my very select panel of tasters, we decided to increase the apple to celery ratio a bit for next batch, but overall I was really happy with it. The only problem was that by the next day, it had gotten icy instead of smooth. Clearly my substitutions weren't going to cut it. Also, I found the yield to be a bit lower than Chef Laiskonis' recipe. I emailed with him, and we figured out the difference was probably due to the apple product and how much air gets incorporated in spinning. Oh, and it turned a slightly unpleasant brown color because my juice oxidized.

When I went to make the next batch, I searched out glucose powder and found it at Seattle Home Cake Decorating Supply. If you live in Seattle and bake at all, you've got to stop in there. I'd be shocked if you don't find a piece of gear you can't live without. And the owner is incredibly helpful and nice. They don't even have a website, just go.

Next, I checked with Dana Cree, pastry chef at Poppy and one of the real rising stars in American pastry and co-author of tastingmenu.com, to find out where I could buy sorbet stabilizer in our fair city. She gave me a much better idea - use xanthan gum instead.

Xanthan gum is a nice introduction to so-called molecular gastronomy. It is easy to find at natural foods stores because gluten-free bakers use it to improve texture. I love to use it to thicken sauces, because it gives you great control over viscosity without altering the flavor, and it hydrates at room temperature so you don't have to cook your product. It has good pseudoplasticity, meaning it will seem thick on the plate but thin nicely under pressure in your mouth. I didn't realize it would also work to stabilize a sorbet, but it worked a treat, as the Brits say. I've had a batch in my freezer for a week and it shows minimal crystallization.

Finally, out of pure luck I saw a tweet from my friend Traca of Seattle Tall Poppy where she mentioned that she was going to an apple tasting with Chef Jason Wilson of Crush. I asked her to request any hot tips from him. Mere hours later, I heard back from Traca that he said to use Pinata apples, strain it very thoroughly, and add calcium citrate to preserve the color.

I couldn't find the Pinatas, but I went to the University District Farmer's Market on Saturday, and had my own little impromptu tasting with Wynne from Jerzy Boyz Farm, and we settled on two heirloom apple varieties: Gold Rush and Golden Russets.

So, um, holy cow. Now I'm making a modified Michael Laiskonis recipe, with tips from Dana Cree and Jason Wilson, and apples direct from the grower. It is pretty amazing to me the way the blogosphere makes it possible to communicate and cross-pollinate ideas. And it results in a damn tasty sorbet, too. Thanks for all the help guys!

Apple and Celery Sorbet
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free
Makes about 2.5 cups (600 ml), enough for at least 6 small servings as a palate cleanser

• 65 grams granulated sugar
• 35 grams glucose powder
• 110 grams water
• 2 pinches sodium citrate or citric acid
• 282 grams freshly made apple juice (requires about 3 pounds of apples, peeled and cored)
• 117 grams freshly made celery juice (requires about 1/3 head of celery)
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• celery leaves for garnish

1. Bring the water to a boil with the granulated sugar and glucose powder. Boil for 30 seconds. Cool, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
2. Put the citric acid powder in a container and juice the apples directly into it. This will help prevent any oxidation.
3. Strain the apple and celery juices and combine them in a blender with the sorbet base. With the blender running on a low speed, carefully remove the top and sprinkle in the xanthan gum. Put the top back on, raise the speed to medium, and blend for 5 minutes.
4. Process in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. It should turn nicely pale when it is sufficiently aerated.
5. Garnish with a celery leaf.

Fresh Fettucini with Hedgehog or Shiitake Mushrooms and Ricotta - Quick and Easy Recipe

The luxurious quality of this dish belies how simple it is to make. Really you do most of the work at the market, acquiring great fresh pasta, ricotta, and mushrooms. Come dinner time, all you have to do is boil the noodles and saute the fungi.

I made this dish with hedgehog mushrooms, which taste very much like chanterelles, but are a little less expensive and have a later season. If they are done in your area, cultivated shiitakes seem to be available year-round now and would also be delicious. King oyster mushrooms work too.

Italians will tell you that it isn't a question of fresh or dried pasta being better. They are just different, and each marries best with a certain range of sauces. Fresh pasta is especially well suites to cream sauces, and you can think of a big dollop of fresh ricotta as the world's simplest cream sauce.

You could of course make the pasta yourself, but then we aren't in weeknight-dinner territory, we are in project land. You can find fresh pasta at many farmer's markets, or in the refrigerator section of a good grocer. The quality of the grocery store stuff varies, so you might have to experiment to find a brand you like.

[If you happen to live in Seattle, DeLaurenti's in Pike Place Market sells Calabro ricotta in bulk, and also cuts fresh pasta to order. They barely advertise it, but if you look over in the corner between the cheese counter and the checkout, you will see a sign with the various shapes and doughs. Delicious stuff. Walk out the door to the produce vendors, buy your mushrooms and a Meyer lemon, and you are all set for dinner.]

Fresh Fettucini with Hedgehog or Shiitake Mushrooms and Ricotta
Vegetarian; not vegan or gluten-free
Serves 4 as a main course

• 1 pound fresh fettucini noodles
• 1 pound fresh ricotta (preferably Calabro)
• 1 pound mushrooms (hedgehog, chanterelle, shiitake, king oyster... probably not standard white buttons)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• zest of one lemon, Meyer if possible
• sea salt (Maldon!)
• freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Get the ricotta out of the fridge so it isn't ice cold when you serve it.
3. Clean, trim and slice the mushrooms. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Saute the mushrooms until tender and browning, about 8 minutes. During the saute you may need to adjust the heat so that the butter isn't burning.
4. Boil the pasta, either according to package directions or until it is al dente. Fresh pasta doesn't take as long as dried, usually just a few minutes. Taste a bite frequently, and stop the moment it is done.
5. Drain the pasta and toss with the remaining tablespoon of butter.
6. To serve, divide the pasta among 4 bowls and top with the mushrooms, ricotta, lemon zest, more salt, and a good grind of black pepper.