Docsconz- The Blog

Lyon is for Lovers: Chocolate Heaven

 

Valentine's Day is a day that celebrates love, both of the romantic kind as well as the Platonic. The holiday has a few specific icons associated with it including Cupid, red roses and not least amongst them, chocolate. I happen to love chocolate and it is my favorite icon of all those associated with Valentine's Day.

 

Dessert Blossoms

When I saw these beautiful squash blossoms last weekend at the Kilpatrick Farm stand at the Saratoga Farmers Market, I could not not buy them. Fried or baked, I have always had squash blossoms as a savory component of a meal, but this time I thought I would try something a little different. I chopped up a sweet Pennsylvania peach along with some bing cherries, mixed them with Liza Porter's fresh chevre and a little cinnamon and stuffed the delicate blossoms. I baked them at 325ºF for 15 minutes and served them. I did not add any additional sugar. They were plenty sweet (and nicely tart) for me, but if someone wanted them a little sweeter, I would think a drizzle of good honey across the top would do nicely.

Michael Laiskonis Does Chocolate

Michael Laiskonis, one of the world's great pastry chefs, a very smart man, great writer and super guy recently went to a chocolate plantation in the DR, where he he followed the cycle of cacao from beginning to end and presents it in an incredible way on his blog. This is a must read if you like chocolate.

Serendipity

We were supposed to be home. The original plan was to get an early start, spend a portion of the day at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J., head into Manhattan for an early dinner at Pulino then home. The plan was initially derailed by an extended shopping trip to Fairway (we went for bagels and "a few things") and even more so by an estate sale across the street in Ridgewood, where my wife bought 4 beautiful concrete planters for $20 each.

Although we were getting a late start, we still planned on going to the Science Center and Pulino until I got a call from my sister, Elizabeth, to see if we were back from New Orleans yet. She herself had just returned from Cabo on Thursday. I didn't think she was returning until Saturday. She was in the process of making stuffed artichokes and "meat in the gravy" and since we were still in NJ invited us over. As much as I wanted to try Pulino, how could we refuse? I was amazed that she undertook that degree of cooking without any assurance of company. We spent a couple of hours at the Science Center before heading upriver to her apartment in Fort Lee.

Not wanting to arrive empty handed, we went searching for a pastry shop along the way and hit paydirt at Giorgio's on Washington Street in Hoboken, where I picked up some cannoli and sfogliatelle-like "lobster tails" that were stuffed with cream.

We finally made it to my sister's. Knowing that we were coming, she went out to supplement her meal with some fresh mozzarella from A&S in Wyckoff (smooth, creamy and delicious), Italian bread with sesame seeds, olives and her own fried red peppers. Paired with a little pinot grigio, this alone could have made a satisfying supper, but then came her stuffed artichokes. Elizabeth makes them similar to the way my mother did, but with her own little tweaks. Stuffed with bread crumbs, herbs, Parmesan and chunks of provolone, they were magnificent. So was her "gravy over maccheroni. She made meatballs and braciole and also included sweet Italian sausage, all marvelous and my definition of comfort food, especially with a little ricotta added to the pasta. The pasta was served with a home-made red wine given to her by a friend. It was surprisingly good.

The pastries also turned out to be very good and just the right ending component for this wonderfully spontaneous meal. Thanks, Sis!

Happy Valentine's Day!

May your day be as sweet and romantic as this strawberry passion bon bon from The Chocolate Mill!

Starchefs 2009 Day Two: Dessert Threeplay with Iuzzini, Mason and Stupak

The morning of the second day of Starchefs 2009 was spent in small workshops featuring the Spanish pastry master, Paco Torreblanca and southern farm-meets-avant-garde chef Sean Brock, both of whom later did full-scale presentations on the main stage. I will cover their workshops when I get to their demos. The first demonstration of the day on the main stage featured three of New York City's, the countries and yes, the world's most top creative pastry chefs, Johnny Iuzzini, Sam Mason and Alex Stupak.

The original format  of the pastry demonstration was to be "Three Chefs and a Dessert" - an onstage collaboration between all three in the production of a single dessert, but as Johnny Iuzzini said, "when you have three chiefs and no Indians, things don't always work out." As a result, they decided that it would be better if they did three separate desserts built around a theme. Since the theme of the Congress was "What is American Food", they determined to create their own takes on American classics. Iuzzini created his version of "Dirt Cake," Stupak did "Apple Pie" and Mason, "Jello Shots."

Taste of the Week - January 17th - 23rd: Banana-Rum Bon Bons

The banana-rum bon bons from The Chocolate Mill were a revelation. Well balanced dark chocolate, banana and rum made these not-too-sweet bon bons really stand out. I love the combination of chocolate and banana and the addition of a hint of rum put the combination over the top. The coconut bon bons, which I also had for the first time were pretty much their equal, but I tried the banana-rums first!

Bon Bons

There is something about the tropics in the middle of winter that is particularly appealing and one doesn't even necessarily have to go there to enjoy them. These bon bons from The Chocolate Mill in Glens Falls, N.Y., the creations of Frank and Jessica Vollkommer, are examples of just that. Banana Rum, passion fruit and coconut (L-R & top to bottom), they really transport to another climate and state of mind, one of pleasure and warmth. The pure flavors are well balanced and not over-sweet and the shapes, colors and design simply beautiful. The photo doesn't really do them justice.

See here and here for more on The Chocolate Mill.

Portraits from Starchefs 2009 - Michael Laiskonis

A measure of respect that chefs have for one another is the way they come out to watch, listen and learn from each other. That was evidenced by Le Bernardin Pastry Chef extraordinaire, Michael Laiskonis, here watching the proceedings of his colleagues from the audience.

Taste of the Week - October 4th-10th

In my house, I use the oven to roast. My wife is the baker in the family. That is something that she has always been good at and I have been quite content to leave to her. This week we had some plums from the farmers market hanging around in the refrigerator. She combined them on the stove with butter, Sicilian pistachio paste and some spices. She filled her pie crust dough and folded them to make little plum-pistachio tarts. They were incredible -tart, sweet and savory all at the same time and some of the best things she has ever baked (that is no small statement). There can be no question that this is my taste of the week.

Perhaps, if anyone is interested, she might add a comment with more detail about her ingredients and technique.

Harold McGee and His Berries: An Addendum

It seems that in my recent post looking at Harold McGee's technique for delaying and diminishing berry mold, I made the situation a bit more complex then it seems it needs to be. In a personal communication, posted here with his permission, Harold wrote to me:

"Hi John, thanks for this, and glad to hear about the cvap solution! But I would never suggest a method in the Times that required an immersion circulator, which a vanishingly small proportion of readers would have access to. I was just writing about a pot of hot water and a thermometer. The temperature change in 30 seconds is minimal, and the exact temperature isn't that critical. Anyhow, nice to hear from you, and hope our paths cross again one of these days--  Cheers,  Harold"

The CVap worked and an immersion circulator would no doubt work, but McGee's experiments used neither. While I will continue to use the CVap for this purpose as it does offer some advantages, there is no need to reinvent the wheel!

The Chocolate Mill: Part 2

 

I recently had the opportunity to visit with Certified Master Pastry Chef Frank Vollkommer and his wife, Pastry Chef Jessica Vollkommer, both of The Chocolate Mill in Glens Falls, N.Y. and to observe them at work in their pastry kitchen. It had been a particularly hectic week for the Vollkommers, who have opened their new shop to extraordinary demand, finding it difficult to keep up and even more difficult to find sleep.

Despite their workload and sleeplessness, both chefs  still managed to maintain an orderly and neat kitchen, incredible energy and friendly temperaments, not to mention extraordinary product.

Jessica Vollkommer, so far has spent a lot of time in the front of the house ensuring a smooth opening, something that has been accomplished despite the stress of supply having a hard time keeping up with demand. One item that has seen particularly strong demand has been the chocolate croissants. Frank Vollkommer told me that on their first day they had prepared enough of the croissants to last for what he expected would be two days, however, they were sold out by 11AM! Since then, they sell out almost as quickly as they get into the display case. One evening I came in around 5:30PM to pick up a birthday cake that I had ordered (Mango-pineapple mousse -amazing) and the cafe already had sold out of everything but a few patés de fruit. As stressed as the Vollkommers have been about keeping up, the problem beats having too much product. What bothers them the best is having customers come in and be disappointed to not get what they came for.

In light of that stress, it was particularly gracious of the Vollkommers to allow me into their kitchen to observe their work. I did my best to be as unobtrusive as possible. Frank started tempering chocolate for use as garnishes for various cakes. The particular items he was making he referred to as "Stegasaureses", which were thin serrated flat tablets that resembled the plates on a stegosaurus' back. He took the perfectly tempered chocolate and ladled it out onto an acetate mat, quickly following with an off-set spatula to spread it out in a thin, flat layer. The perfectly smooth acetate serves to provide the chocolate with a glossy sheen, once it is removed. He also showed me examples of other surfaces he uses to provide alternate textures for his chocolate work.

 

Chef Vollkommer uses Cargill chocolate in his work. I was not previously aware that Cargill, a large food conglomerate, actually made chocolate products, but Vollkommer was for some time their chocolate company Executive Chef.The chocolate comes to him from Switzerland, where it is processed. Cargill sources their cacao beans from various sources around the globe.

           

McGee's Berries

Yesterday morning, my wife brought home some raspberries from the Glens Falls Farmers market. Given that they were undoubtedly picked the day before and it had been raining all night, it was no surprise to discover mold already encroaching on a number of the berries. It was disappointing though, but then I recalled an article I had recently read in the new York Times.

In this article, Harold McGee describes a way to inhibit mold growth on normally mold friendly berries, a problem that anyone who has picked or purchased fresh berries has no doubt encountered.  McGee's technique:

"I bought pints of various berries, divided each batch into two samples, and heated one by immersing and swishing its plastic basket in a pot of hot water. I emptied the heated sample onto towels to cool down and dry. Then I repacked it, and encouraged both baskets to spoil by wrapping them airtight and letting them sweat on the kitchen counter. After 24 hours I counted the moldy berries in each basket...I tried the same treatment, 125 degrees for 30 seconds, on raspberries and blackberries, and got the same good results. There were many fewer moldy berries in the heated samples."

As the quote above shows, Harold used water heated to a specific temperature, presumably with an immersion circulator. Not having an immersion circulator, I had something else I could try. - a CVap oven! Already set to cook a sirloin roast at 125ºF, I laid the raspberries out on a sheet pan and placed the pan in the oven for 30 seconds. I was skeptical when I removed the pan as I couldn't really discern any temperature change for either the berries or the pan, but I placed the berries in a single layer on a paper towel and covered the container with Press'n'Seal wrap before putting them back in the refrigerator.

I checked the berries this morning and lo and behold, there was not a trace of mold, even though a number of them had mold already present when placed back in the fridge! Unfortunately, I did not take any "before" photos, but here is what they looked like this morning:

 

This is a technique that I will clearly use in the future, especially for raspberries and blackberries. The CVap ws a perfect tool for this and a great substitute for an immersion circulator, but there is the rub. The technique couldn't be simpler for anyone with either of those tools, but I don't know of too many homes that have either of these. I imagine that with careful attention, one could simply heat water to temperature and quickly add the berries before the temperature rises too much further, but I imagine that approach could have a steep learning curve. Anyone with other approaches to this problem?

The Chocolate Mill: Part 1

Glens Falls, N.Y. is a lovely town in northeastern N.Y. State, a bit north of Saratoga Springs, a bit south of Lake George and right on the southeastern cusp of the Adirondack Park. Dating back to the 1940's, it was christened "Home Town USA" by Look Magazine, then one of the most influential photojournalistic magazines in the country. It remains, in many respects, an archetypal American small city, with many of the good and a few of the bad things present in most small American cities. Above all, it is a lovely area in which to live and raise a family. It has not, however, despite access to some of the finest seasonal produce in the country (as this blog has hopefully demonstrated), been much of a mecca for top notch cuisine. That is not to say that there haven't been good eateries and excellent cooking, both in restaurants and in homes. In the 18 years that I have lived in this area though, neither Glens Falls, nor its surrounding towns, have housed a truly world-class culinary destination. Saratoga has and does (Mrs. London's comes immediately to mind) and there have been a number of such places in and around the Adirondacks such as The Friends Lake Inn back in the 1990's and The Inn at Erlowest, when Matt Secich was the chef and the product and delivery was first rate. It appears though, that Glens Falls may have its first truly world class culinary destination, at least since I have been here.

 The Chocolate Mill, a small patisserie, confectionery and cafe featuring breakfast and lunch items, opened last weekend. Owned and run by Frank and Jessica Vollkommer, the product that they have put out in their first week of business has been wonderful and unlike anything this town has seen from within it's limits.

Frank Vollkommer, 39 years old, has serious credentials and experience in both pastry and savory cooking. A graduate of Saratoga Springs H.S. and The New England Culinary Institute, Vollkommer spent 8 years (1998-2006)as a chef/instructor at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. In 2005 he earned the very difficult and prestigious title of Certified Master Pastry Chef, at that time becoming only the 13th person in the world to have done so and only the 4th American born pastry chef. he is also the most recent to have achieved this high honor.

Vollkommer's wife, Jessica, is no slouch either, having been the valedictorian of her class at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. and along with Frank, until recently the principal culinary team at The Saratoga National Golf Course.

Credentials are one thing, but as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding...or the bon-bons, or the eclairs or the mousses. Over the past week, i took the initiative to  try a number of items from the shop as well as a breakfast. Amongst the treats I sampled were various bon-bons, malted milk balls, a Peach Melba mousse cake, "Eggs Boursin", almond and chocolate croissants, an apple pie and some tea. I am thrilled to say that the quality of the product lives up to the quality of their resumes. The "Eggs Boursin", an over easy egg on Cottage Cheese Herb Toast with bacon, baby spinach, Boursin cream, tomato & red onion relish, is a play on the theme of "Eggs Benedict," breathing new life into that classic. It is simply delicious.

The Peach Melba Mousse Cake incorporates raspberry along with peach to provide exquisite balance of sweet and tart along with an ethereally light consistency. The chocolate items provide great chocolate depth, beautiful workmanship and exquisite combinations. A quick favorite in my house are the passion fruit bon-bons. I found nearly all of the items I tried to be delicious with the sweetness well balanced to my taste. The almond croissant, for example, had terrific balance, whereas most in my experience lean towards being too sweet. There were a couple of exceptions, though, where the sweetness was greater than my preferred levels, the beautifully crafted malted milk balls (I brought a container in to work and they were quickly devoured) and an apple pie, upon which there was a coating of sugar crystals. I dare say, that I prefer my desserts to be less overtly sweet than most and opinions may vary.

When I first heard that the Vollkommers were coming to Glens Falls and what they were planning, I was a little concerned that perhaps there wouldn't be a sufficient market in Glens falls for their special talents or that their prices would make it untenable. For their first week at least, the area's residents have allayed my concerns. The biggest issue at the moment is for the Vollkommers to keep up with the incredible demand that has materialized. So far, it is proving to be impossible for them to keep their pastry cases stocked as many items appear to sell out almost as quickly as they are restocked. It beats having full cases at closing time!

While visiting the Cafe, I had the opportunity to observe and photograph the Vollkommers along with their assistant, Diane Fehder, work in their kitchen. I will detail that soon!

For the record, all of the items I sampled and described above, were purchased by me or my wife. The only items I sampled that were not paid for were a few tastes of what was being worked on in the kitchen, none of which are mentioned in this post.

Cherry Pie

My wife bakes the best pies. Her crusts are buttery and crisp and her fillings are always well-balanced and never too sweet. One of the best that she makes is cherry pie. This is made with local, in-season sour cherries from Saratoga Apple. I can't wait.

The Ice(cream)man Cometh

It is not gelato, but American soft-serve ice cream has an allure all its own, with a great smooth and creamy mouthfeel and a comfort factor that brings me back to my childhood and the boardwalk at Coney Island. I have always loved soft-serve ice cream whether from Carvel, Mister Frostee or any number of other purveyors. Never though, have I lived in an area with an abundance and richness of soft-serve ice cream as I currently do in the are of Glens Falls, N.Y. Saratoga Springs and Lake George get the glamor and the press (relatively speaking), but when it comes to ice cream and especially soft-serve ice cream, the Glens Falls area plays second fiddle to nowhere else.

While not exactly a small town, neither Glens Falls nor its neighbor, Queensbury, are major metropolises either. Together they and other surrounding towns comprise a nice community nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks and just a stone's throw (ok, by an Olympic class shotputter!) from the major urban areas of NYC, Boston and Montreal. Along with the restaurants of Saratoga and Lake George and the bounty of area farms, there is plenty of good food to be had. That a dairy item like ice cream should be amongst them is not really a surprise given that the area has a longstanding tradition of excellence in the dairy industry. That they should be so concentrated in Glens Falls/Queensbury is unusual though. The main reason for that may have been the development and history of our local amusement parks such as The Magic Forest and especially Storytown, which evolved into Six Flags' The Great Escape. It wasn't so much that they developed the taste of this ice cream. Rather one of the area's best, Martha's Dandee Cream was situated across the road from the park. Martha's became an institution, until the family who started it sold it to Six Flags. When that happened, the road to competition opened, with some members of the Martha's family opening Rob & Deb's Frozen Dreams across town followed by an expansion into ice cream both soft and hard of the successful local micro-brewery Cooper's Cave Ale Company. In addition, after owning Martha's for a number of years, Six Flags sold the store back to some members of the family that started the store.

The soft-serve in each of the local mainstays, Martha's, Rob & Deb's and CCAC are all of excellent quality, but they have developed different strategies for their stores. Both Martha's and the related Rob & Deb's use the formula of having only a few flavors available on any given day. Vanilla (my traditional favorite) and chocolate (my wife's) are always available. In addition, every couple of days they rotate flavors amongst a larger variety such that on any given day only a handful of choices are available. Cooper's cave, on the other hand, has a boatload of flavors including plenty of exotic ones like red passionfruit and the pictured chocolate banana available all the time. While I think the marketing plan of Marth's and Rob & Deb's is the smarter one as it keeps people coming back just to see what new flavors or old favorites may be available that day, Cooper's cave is probably a better choice for those with very specific cravings. In any case, all three seem to be doing quite well early this summer season. I'm not complaining.

Madrid Fusion Day Two - Sicilian Scents

 

From my visit to Noto 2002

My father's grandmother was born in the town of Noto in Southeastern Sicily, so I was excited to visit that town when I traveled to Sicily in 2002. I was also excited to visit Noto, because that is where Corrado Assenza operates the Caffe Sicilia, a pastry shop founded in 1892 (about the time my forebears left Sicily for the U.S.). Assenza has been running the Caffe since 1985, when he took it over from his aunt to avoid the Caffe's closure. Though I didn't get to meet him then, I did visit the shop, where I enjoyed exceptional Sicilian pastries, gelati and confitures. I brought home some wonderful Marmellata from that trip including, Assenza's Marmellata di Cedro (citron).

Over the years, Assenza has developed a reputation as one of the foremost proponents of native Sicilian ingredients used both in traditional and creative ways. One of the trademarks of his art has been his ability to capture the aromas and essences of the Sicilian countryside in his work. This focus on the scents of Sicily, the aromas and perfumes of his homeland, was the subject of his presentation at Madrid Fusión.

Assenza and his assistants prepared two dishes each highlighting the natural produce of Sicily along with flavors and product from other parts of the world. He highlighted specific products in each dish such as the justly famous Sicilian pistachios from Bronte, ricotta, Sicilian "Rosselo" wheat, mandarin leaf syrup, almonds and apricot flowers from Sicily as well as some non-Sicilian ingredients like black Venere rice, green tea and jasmine. The dishes were called Time of a Rest and Sweet Freshness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing "Time of a Rest"

Preparing Sweet Freshness

"Sweet Freshness" is more classically Sicilian as it combines bronte Pistachios, ewe's milk ricotta, Sicilian olive oil, mandarin honey and "Rossello" wheat, which I believe is a Sicilian wheat varietal, though a Google search was unable to turn anything up on it.

 Preparing Time of a Rest

"Time of a Rest" is a contemporary example of the melting pot that has always defined Sicily as it mixes Asian ingredients with those from Sicily as well as other parts of Italy. Fusing green tea and jasmine essences in the forms of jellies with black venere rice, a cross between Chinese "Forbidden" rice and an Italian variety and the very Sicilian products of almond cream, apricot flower syrup and sedro (citron marmelade), the dish is designed to impart an intoxicating blend of sents that perfume Sicily.

Assenza is a master of pastry, but also a master of Sicily, incorporating as he does the products and traditions of that island in his work, while also remaining a man willing to incorporate new approaches and ingredients into that same work much as Sicily has done since the days of the Greeks, the Romans,  the Arabs, the French, the Spanish and the Italians.

Of note, I believe that the recipes and descriptions of the dishes on the Madrid Fusión website are mixed up. Assenza's Citron marmelade and other products from Caffe Sicilia can be purchased here or here.

A Simple Enhancement

I don't know why I am surprised, but I am. I shouldn't be given all the inroads of savory into the world of sweet. Maybe because the underlying recipe is so simple, ordinary and classic. My wife made some Rice Krispie Treats using a standard recipe to send to my sister-in-law, who is serving in Iraq, and made some extra for our family. I generally don't eat them, but I had a small one for dessert. I ate a bite then put it down to start cleaning the kitchen. It happened that I  handled some rosemary and as I ate the next bite of the Treat, a subtle but distinct flavor of rosemary was part of it, much enhancing the final product by giving it a little depth and dimension. With a couple of leaves added on top of a bite it was even better. I had my wife and children try some and they agreed. I wonder how it would be with some rosemary added to the recipe? What other herbs and spices would make ordinary pleasures even better? In addition to Rosemary Krispie Treats, I could envision Toasted Cumin Krispie Treats, Saffron Krispie Treats and so on. Sometimes it is the simplest discoveries that are the most fun.

Le Bernardin 2009 - The Desserts

My friend, John Curtas, the pre-eminent food critic, journalist and attorney from Las Vegas has stated in his superb blog on Las Vegas dining called Eating Las Vegas that "Vegas has the deepest collection of pastry talent in the country." No doubt that Las Vegas has an abundance of top-notch pastry talent, but I still maintain that New York City remains the epicenter of the US restaurant creative pastry renaissance with such incredible talents amongst others as Alex Stupak of WD-50, Pichet Ong of P*Ong (unfortunately closing this weekend, another casualty of the economy), Sam Mason of Tailor, Robert Truitt of Corton, Johnny Iuzzini of Jean-Georges and not least, Michael Laiskonis of Le Bernardin.

Laiskonis, who maintains a fantastic blog chronicling his work in the pastry kitchen of Le Bernardin, has as strong a reputation for creative and delicious desserts as as any restaurant pastry chef in this country. Our dessert experience this past weekend did nothing to dispel that reputation. Since we are acquainted and he knew that we were there, he sent us a few additional desserts to try beyond the two on the tasting menu. Fortunately, we still had time to enjoy them thanks to the early reservation and the late theater curtain.

The table received seven different desserts. For each of the two principle dessert courses, the ladies were each served one dessert and the men another with yet another placed in the center of the table to share. Between the two courses, each diner was served Laiskonis' signature EGG. Our sommelier, Rocky, paired beverages with the desserts. Descriptions of the  desserts are from Chef Laiskonis. obtained via email after I returned home.

For the first round, the gentlemen received:

PANNA COTTA

 

"The cylinder of panna cotta is comprised of Greek yogurt and heavy cream, with vanilla and a touch of citrus. It's topped with pomegranate pearls (pomegranate juice, with a bit of raspberry as well, cooked with agar agar and dropped into cold oil), candied orange peel, and mint. Alongside are a pomegranate sorbet, lemon cream, and a simple broken-up streusel."

This dessert was totally satisfying. I love Greek yogurt and the balance of flavors was superb. The pomegranate added nice color balance while the flavor remained suitably muted. This was paired with Castelnau de Suduiraut, Sauternes 2001. This is the second label of Ch. Suduiraut. It possessed good flavor and botrytised depth, though it lacked some of the acid structure of its big brother.

While the ladies had:
 
YUZU

"The yuzu parfait begins as a conventional yuzu 'curd' which is then lightened with whipped cream and set with gelatin, followed by a spray of white chocolate. A green tea biscuit serves as a base for green tea ice cream, and a 'false' meringue made up of yuzu, water, sugar, and versawhip (a soy protein that emulates the whipping characteristics of egg white). A thin conventional meringue and a ginger caramel finish the plate."

Yuzu and green tea were the predominant flavors of this spectacularly delicious Asian inspired dessert. While these are no longer novel flavors to most NY palates, they were handled deftly. This was my second favorite of the desserts and ironically as it was not served to me, but to my wife in the first round, I unfortunately neglected to photograph it. This was paired with Torrontez Sparkling -Deseado Familia Schroeder, Patagonia. The wine, reminiscent of an Italian Spumante worked nicely.

The table received:
 
CHESTNUT

 

"A frozen chestnut parfait set upon a rum soaked chestnut biscuit, alongside a chestnut wafer and coconut sorbet, offset by a touch of lemon and mandarin."

Though I liked it, this was perhaps my least favorite of the desserts, perhaps because I enjoyed the other two sent alongside it more or more likely because I could not attack it with abandon. Our friends, however, found it to be one of their favorites. In comparison to the other two desserts, the flavors were more muted with a greater balance towards the sweet.

In between the two rounds, we each received an:

EGG

  
"I began doing the Egg back at Tribute in Detroit some 8 years ago now. It started with the purchase of the egg topper, an impulse buy that I didn't really have an intended use for. I hit upon the combination of flavors and textures that make up the Egg almost immediately; it's the one dish I don't think I've ever found necessary to change or tweak.
 
Starting with the whole, raw egg: the top is removed, the egg emptied out (used, of course, in other preparations), and the inner membrane carefully removed. The shells are then returned to the cardboard container and filled half-way with a milk chocolate custard. The eggs are then placed in a water bath, covered, and then baked (or rather, steamed) until set. Upon firing, the eggs get a layer of liquid caramel, a caramel foam (caramel creme anglaise in a nitrous canister), then a touch of maple and a pinch of Maldon salt.
 
Here's a link to my first ever blog post, which on one hand introduced the Egg to many, yet on the other, was a way to put it aside and 'move on':
 
http://michaellaiskonis.typepad.com/main/2008/01/the-egg.html"

Elegant, complex, yet visually simple, this dessert was a true stunner, winning on every level. It was one of the best variations on an Arpege egg that I have ever had.  I was afraid as the waiter described it, that it might be too sweet, but It was just right! Here the pairing was a beer, Westmawe Dubbel Trappist Ale, an inspired choice that helped round out the dessert's sweetness without fighting it.

For the next round, everyone was served Late Harvest Tokaji, Oremus, 2001. Not as unctuous as the luscious tokaijis of multiple puttonyos or eszencias, it was nonetheless delicious and a nice addition to the chocolate based desserts. To which, the gentlemen received:

HAZELNUT

 
"This is one of my favorites on the menu, not just for the flavors presented, but also because it demonstrates how a bit of re-engineering through 'science-based' cooking can simply make things better (as opposed to merely making something 'avant-garde'!).
 
The gianduja parfait itself is based on a traditional pate a bombe method, where a whole lot of sugar is cooked and poured into whipped eggs to provide structure and volume. We've altered the base by using a method that reduces the sugar to a fraction of the original, which produces the same mousse, but allows us to actually taste the chocolate and hazelnut.
 
The brown butter ice cream, too, used to be made with massive quantities of whole browned butter. It tasted fine, but it always walked a textural tightrope, in that such a high fat content quickly turns disastrous in an ice cream machine. I was shown a technique some time ago that utilizes the milk solids in heavy cream rather butter (pound per pound, cream has twice the amount of solids- the stuff that tastes good when browned); the cream is slowly reduced until the solids precipitate out of the fat and brown, thus leaving clarified butter and the extracted browned milk solids. These solids can then be introduced into the ice cream without the extra fat, maintaining more textural integrity.
 
Without a true 'molecular' approach (which I see as simply having an understanding of your ingredients and what happens to them when you cook, rather than describing a cooking 'style'), I don't think we would have stumbled upon these and other improvements!
 
Anyway, the remainder of the dish includes a praline cream, roasted hazelnuts in honey, and caramelized banana."

Simply put, the dish worked. I don't believe that I can add anything more to what Chef Laiskonis wrote.

The ladies received:

CHOCOLATE SWEET POTATO

 
"We're phasing this one out as we head into Spring. Built around a dark chocolate cream (set with small amounts of agar agar and gelatin), the sweet potato enters in the form of a sorbet, pearls (produced in the same manner as the pomegranate), and a fried garnish. We also incorporate a pistachio powder (pistachio paste and maltodextrin), grated jaggery, and vanilla-infused salt."

Another fine dessert, I appreciate its seasonality.

The shared dessert:

 
CHOCOLATE PEANUT

 
"This is my chicken- the dessert that kind of has to stay put on the menu while I'm free to explore other ideas with the remaining dishes.
 
A chocolate tart shell is filled with chopped salted peanuts and a layer of caramel, followed by a dark chocolate ganache. It's accented with a lemon puree (what all the kids refer to as a 'fluid gel' these days), candied lemon, peel, a peanut butter powder, and a praline citrus sorbet: hazelnut and almond praline paste lightened with orange and lemon. And as a friend and fellow chef-blogger mentioned recently, peanuts need a little love these days!"

This dessert had a strong comfort level to it. Chocolate and peanuts have become such a classic combination and deservedly so.

Lastly, we finished with an espresso and mignardises.

They were from 7 O'clock going clockwise:

BEIGNET
 
"This is a simple fried pate a choux that's filled with a vanilla cream, then dusted with a bit of sugar and Saigon cinnamon."

CARAMELIZED WHITE CHOCOLATE
 
"A dark chocolate shell is filled with a caramelized white chocolate cream; essentially, we roast the white chocolate in order to brown the sugars and milk solids. The result flavor is reminiscent of dulce de leche. We finish this with some chopped pistachio and a few flakes of Maldon salt."

PAIN DE GENES
 
"This is a pistachio version of the traditional French pain de genes. It's soaked in a Pernod syrup, set on to a rectangle of white chocolate, then topped with a lemon cream, candied orange peel, and a piece of caramelized almond."
 
CACAO TRUFFLE
 
"This is a dark chocolate ganache that also contains a special Ecuadorian cacao liqueur that a friend brings me every so often."

We were quite satisfied, sated but not bloated. I looked forward to the walk back to my hotel and then on to the theater.

Though it had been some time since I last visited Le Bernardin, that time has treated the restaurant kindly. Ripert and his staff have not rested on their laurels. If anything, I found the restaurant to be even better than it was in the 90's and it was wonderful then. One thing that did not go un-noticed was that with the possible exception of cod (I don't know if the cod on the menu was the endangered Atlantic or the more abundant Pacific), the seafood was all rated as sustainable. Even had the food been only half as wonderful, the meal would have been laudable just for this.  As with Rick Moonen in Las Vegas, it is heartening to see such high quality, well prepared food coming from a sustainable larder. It shows that few, if any sacrifices in degustation need to be made even at the highest levels.

Yes, Mr. Curtas, Las Vegas has great pastry chefs and perhaps for its overall population, it may even have the greatest concentration of top-notch pastry chefs anywhere, but I still believe, offering Michael Laiskonis as evidence, that NYC remains the capitol of restaurant pastry in the U.S.

Taste of the Week - March 1-7, 2009

March has come in with a number of tasty treats including some great comfort food items like perfect chicken cutlets and some nice dishes from a dinner with friends that we hosted including a Spanish influenced velouté of broccoli and cauliflower with pimentón, Sicilian tomato paste, olive oil, grated Manchego and aged sherry vinegar served with an oven-crisped slice of Joselito Jamón Iberico de Bellota. On the beverage side, a refreshing blood orange mimosa made with I.O. (Italian Organics) Organic Sicilian Blood Orange Juice and two 1990 vintage Rhone wines, the Chateau des Tours Vacqueyras Réserve and the Domaine La Bouissiere Gigondas were all delightful. Many weeks any of these would have been my taste of the week, but this week they were up against something truly special and not often found (at least not by me) in the U.S. A good friend recently gave us a whole Panbriacone from the Tuscan bakery Bonci. This vin santo soaked cake is simply divine. We served it plain, but it would also be nice with a simple ice cream, a soft goat cheese or even foie gras.