Salad of Ecopia Farms Products

 

Chinese Style Squab (Master Stock)

 

In every kitchen I have ever worked, it has been a given that the proper way to cook duck and squab is med-rare to medium. We are always told that if the breast is cooked any more the meat gets gamey and tough. This is why it is so challenging to cook whole ducks as the legs require a long slow cooking process.

 

Chinese BBQ joints completely ignore this axiom of western gastronomy...................................

 

The secret is the master stock.

 

White Asparagus, Caviar, Egg Salad

 

Asparagus and caviar are a classic combination.

 

Caviar is classically served with chopped egg, some sort of chopped onion product, whipped creme fraiche, and lemon zest.

 

 If you take these traditional accoutrements and mix them together...................Egg Salad. Then all you need is toast.



 

I plated this on a mirror so that Allen could play with his camera a little. The goal was to recreate the dramatic feel of some of the pictures in my food porn books. For me the onion petals before are absolutely beautiful.

Boone County Country Ham Broth, Seared Oyster, Snap Pea

 

I grew up in Boone County, MO about 20 miles away from Rocheport were Steve Baumgartner makes these amazing hams. It brings me great pleasure to be using them at the restaurant.

Recently, I have begun buying his older vintage hams. Because they are much more dried out and intense, they yield less meat that is sliceable, but a simple broth made from all the trim, bones and a little yellow onion is stunning.

 

 

For Spring, I paired the broth with BBQ sized oysters from Washington that have been quickly seared directly on the flat top, a slice of the ham, and a couple snap pea pods. 

 

English Pea and Fresh Curd Tart

 

One of Guy Savoy's classic dishes is "Peas all Around". When I was the CDP of garde manger I would have to shuck 2 to 3 cases of peas on a daily basis in order to make it. This is my version of the dish. I use a soft curd we make from St. Benoit Dairy milk instead of a poached egg. The pate brisee shell gives a great textural note as well as visually clean lines.

 

 

 

 

 

Freshly Dug Potato Salad, Clams, Fennel, Onion, Baby Romaine

Carrot Salad, Burrata, Almond, Black Carraway

Local Sable Fish with Burnt Vegetables

The fish is Rolled in Vegetable ash and roasted in a wood fired oven.

The garnish is blanched and bruleed on the flat top

The broth is made from smoke cured halibut bones, bruleed vegetables, mushroom stock, and yeast extract. It is then balanced by steeping fresh aromatics and lemon juice

Broken Arrow Ranch Antelope Tart "Spring Style"

      I'd never considered antelope until Perrin from Broken Arrow Ranch asked me if I was interested in it. I brought a 30lb leg in just to see what it was about and was very impressed. When cooked to medium rare it has a light gameyness with a dense, tender texture that's seems to be a cross of beef and duck breast. However, since it is extremely lean, it becomes dry and chewy if cooked past medium.

        I broke down the leg by following the seams of the muscle. I then cleaned the silver skin from the appropriate pieces and cut them into nice even logs. I soaked the logs in a salt and poly phosphate brine them cryovaced them. Cooked them at 56 C for 90 minutes. Next I cut them into portions and seared them quickly and slice into medallions. (got around 23 portions)

This left me with about 40% of tougher muscles and meat trim which I used to make tarts.



New Dish

Sole w/ turnip, cabbage, orange, and pinenuts

White Asparagus

Spring is here and we have put a Belgian white aspargus salad on the menu to celebrate.

"Flavors of Gumbo" a non-Southerner's interpertation

A quick saute of rock shrimp, bay scallops, Boone County country ham, the vegetable trinity (onion, pepper, and celery). All over dirty rice made with red rice, braised bacon, and duck livers.

The dish is finished with a rich broth made from roasted shrimp shells, fish and ham bones, and vegetables. A large variety of spices are toasted then file powder is stirred in. Next it is deglazed with brandy and red bell pepper juice and wet with a vegetable stock. It is simmered for several hours then steeped with herbs and lemon zest. To finish we pass it through a chinoise and thicken it lightly.



Local Sablefish inspired by Michel Bras

   Its been 11 years since The Essential Cuisine of Michel Bras was first published. I still remember the amazement I felt the first time I had the opportunity to explore its pages, and it is still one of the books I look at the most often. At the time I was just starting to learn that there was so much more to food then what I was exposed to in Mid-Missouri.

 Paging through the book my eyes were open to a whole new world. A place where a plate went beyond being a large pile of edible matter that had to consist of a starch, a vegetable, a protein, and a thick, heavy sauce.

This dish reflects my respect for his aesthetic. A glistening piece of white fish that contrasts with the dark,briny niciose olive oil it was cooked in. Lots of negative space broken by flowing lines of sauces and a variety of lightly cooked onions. Then garnished with tiny radishes and local sea vegetables.

Chokes

I love this simple little vegetable salad because it tastes good and is menu option suitable for vegans. The baby artichoke hearts are lightly poached then roasted in the woodfire oven. The sunchoke is peeled with a pairing knife and poached in salted water. The puree is a sunflower seed butter. The crumble is made from toasted bread, mustard seed , fennel seed, and fresh oregano. A raisen plumped in verjus adds a spike of acidity, and it is finished with a few sunflower sprouts.

Komochi Konbu

     Every year there is a herring run in the San Fransisco Bay. One local guy will attach konbu to some wooden pallets and float them out in the water. The fish then lay their millions of eggs on the seaweed and it is harvested. The majority of the production is shipped immediately to Japan where it is considered a delicacy, but this year a little was diverted and I got my hands on some.

Alan took some beautiful close up shots of one of the leaves with 2 different levels of lighting. I like the darker more dramatic look.



Octopus and Romesco

Its fascinating to look back and see how your own cuisine has evolved due to experience and exposure to other people. This is a flavor profile I have done many times in many variations, but it was Richard that came up with bean puree. This is hands down my favorite octopus dish so far. Best part, I didn't even plate it. One of the cooks did.

Brand New Canale Molds

I am now making traditional canales using beeswax to coat the molds and keep them from sticking. The beeswax also imparts an incredible aroma and crispness to the end product

Celebrating a Moment in Time

I grew up in mid Missouri and one of my favorite things about Northern California  is how nice the weather is in the middle of winter. In January the farmer's market is full of beautiful root vegetables and herbs. This salad is a celebration of that and a way to share my appreciation for my adopted home

 

One of the trends I have noticed with Allen is that while I am more interested in pictures of the food and the plate as a whole, he loves very tight close ups. For him its about the textures and visual contrasts of light and color. Its always interesting to note how different people view the same thing differently through the lens of their profession. I am grateful to him for his continued teaching me what to look for in pictures and how to define the characteristics that I like and dislike.

Duck, Cabbage, Beet, Potato, and Apple