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.

 

Savory Churros and Morel "Hot Chocolate" - Recipe plus an Invite To Dinner

This is one of the dishes I'm working on for my next "underground" dinner party. Cafe Flora (where I previously interned) has graciously agreed to host this time. The menu I'm working on will be Spanish, with both traditional and modern elements. (If you are interested in attending the dinner on Tue. 1/27, there might be a few spots left; drop me an email at herbivoracious@gmail.com, let me know how many in your party, and I'll be in touch).

Churros and thick hot chocolate are popular throughout Spain and much of Latin America, often as a breakfast treat or street food. They can be made thick or thin, straight or knotted, and from a potato based dough or wheat flour, but they are always extruded and fried like a doughnut.

Churro dough is similar in conception to a choux paste - you make a hot mixture of flour, butter and water, and then beat eggs into it. I used this recipe from Michelle Bernstein, which worked terrific. Since I had a savory application in mind, I rolled them in smoked paprika (pimenton dulce), cinammon, and salt instead of cinnamon and sugar.

I've had dried morels in my pantry for a bit, and my friend Dan has been challenging me to invent "s'morels" - s'mores somehow involving savory marshmallows and morel mushrooms. The snag on that has been a good vegetarian marshmallow recipe, but I still like the concept. Anyhow, that thought must have put me in the mindset to come up with this idea, where the morels make a soup for dipping the savory churros.

I still used some cocoa powder in the soup as well. The combination is pleasing. As in a mole, chocolate used without sugar provides a subtle, earthy, slightly bitter note that marries easily with the mushrooms.

For the final dish, I plan to froth the soup, serve it in a demitasse and use a star-shaped tip for the churros. Here is the recipe for the soup, which would also make a fine first course without the churros. It is rich, so plan on only about 1/2 cup per person.

Morel "Hot Chocolate" Soup
Serves 4 as a tiny appetizer, preferably with churros rolled in pimenton and cinnamon
Vegetarian and gluten-free; not vegan

• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 0.6 oz. dried morel mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons high quality cocoa powder (not Hershey's please); I used Lake Champlain Chocolate
• 1/2 cup half & half
• sea salt

1. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the morels, and simmer on lowest possible heat for 10 minutes.
2. Turn off heat and allow to rest for 30 more minutes.
3. Add the cocoa powder, half & half, and a couple pinches of salt.
4. Puree very thoroughly in a blender, then strain through a fine mesh sieve.
5. Taste and adjust the salt.
6. To serve, reheat and then carefully froth with a handheld blender.

Some Amazing Chocolates To Try - Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon Wrap-Up

Guittard chocolates for baking (or, um, eating)

The first Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon was a resounding success! 20+ chocolate artisans showed up to offer samples and talk about their work. For only a $20 entrance fee and unlimited tasting, this was a fantastic bargain for anyone who lusts for cacao.

This year's event was made slightly surreal by the sight of an enormous cruise ship docked right outside the the Bell Harbor Conference Center, filling the view out the salong windows. Apparently the ship caused a short circuit in the building, which in turn lost air conditioning. Some of the chocolatiers said the warmth was affecting the "snap" of their chocolates, but I have to say it wasn't a big deal. Definitely an application of Murphy's law!

I had the awesome responsibility of being a judge for the event, which was sponsored by TasteTV. I spent a couple of hours wandering from booth to booth, gorging, being awed by both the natural flavors of chocolate and the amazing confections built on top of them. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Amano Chocolates really demonstrated the principle of terroir. Their Ocumare Grand Cru and Cuyagua Premium are from adjacent valleys in Venezuela, yet taste completely different.
• Kekau Chocolatier, out of Eugene, Oregon, makes truffles in both very traditional and quite extreme flavors. The Black Truffle Honey, with juniper and rosemary was spectacular. I was a little scared of the Smoky Blue, with Rogue River smoky blue cheese and chipotle, but I have to admit it worked!
• Local favorite Theo showed beautifully with both their single origin bars, and their 3400 Phinney line of flavored bars. My new favorite is the Fig, Fennel, and Almond Dark Chocolate.
• Poco Dolce, out of San Francisco, makes this great line of "tiles", which are little stacked squares of chocolate in a box. You can sometimes find them at Whole Foods. Try the Burnt Caramel, and I dare you not to eat them in one sitting.
• Claudio Corallo is an agronomist who makes some of the most ideological chocolate you will ever find. The heirloom varieties of chocolate are beyond Fair Trade. Everything is grown sustainably and with biodynamic principles. He's working with local growers to revive abandoned plantations for future generations. The chocolates are not conched, so they have somewhat of a gritty texture. (Some of the Blanxart bars you find in good stores have a similar quality). No flavors, not even vanilla is added, nor are any emulsifiers.  I'm not going to say I exactly loved the experience on a pure palate level, but it is educational and fascinating and I'd try it again.
• Last but not least, I was thoroughly impressed with the offerings from Guittard. I love all of the new micro-boutique chocolate artisans out there, but we shouldn't forget the old-school gangsters. Guittard has been doing it right since 1868, and they have clearly learned a few things along the way. I found that their single origin bars had extremely clear flavors on the palate, and the 91% Nocturne bar was amazingly smooth for a product with no added cocoa butter. I also loved Quetzlcoatl bar, and of course they offer a complete line of baking chocolates and cocoa powder.

Several other bloggers wrote reviews of the event, including Gastrolust, Seattle Bon Viv, Culinary Fool, and Cookie Baker Lynn.