After a few days off in good old Sandusky with the fam and a harrowing 5 hour drive home through a blizzard, I'm ready to get back into action! I woke up bright and early and headed off to my one of my favorite shopping grounds; Jungle Jims. Jungle … [Continue reading]
Caramels are one of those things that people believe are difficult to make, but they really aren't. All you really need is a good digital thermometer and a careful eye. Caramels are another great way of experimenting with flavor infusions. … [Continue reading]
Although truffles always seem fancy and difficult, all they are is a mixture of cream and melted chocolate that has set in the refrigerator. You can easily add any 'exotic' flavor by either infusing the cream or mixing something in with the melted … [Continue reading]
This dessert is adapted from Thomas Keller's Pomme Genoise in his book Under Pressure. I've simplified some of the components and scaled back the quantities from 20 to around 4. This recipe is extremely impressive when assembled correctly, but it … [Continue reading]
Per the schedule I'm not even supposed to be cooking today. But per my earlier ingredient and timing mishaps - cooking I am. I need to finish up the lobster sauce and the plated lobster dish to test it out and I need to try the deep fried … [Continue reading]
This recipe is adapted from Modernist Cuisine and works really well as part of a larger dish. I typically serve it as part of an egg variation plate (with Deep Fried Yolks, Pressurized Yolks, and Parmesan Creme Brulee) or as a crunchy element to any … [Continue reading]
This dish is very easy to make look beautiful without much effort and is one of the few recipes in Thomas Keller's Under Pressure a newbie can attempt. It does take a significant amount of time, but if you plan well and do it over several days the … [Continue reading]
Day 2 of NYE extravaganza is here. I had a busy day planned for today with several prep items, a couple tryouts, and 2 plated dishes. Of course not all of that happened, but attempts were made on many fronts. Here's the schedule I'm following. As … [Continue reading]
Because I wanted the New Year's Eve dinner to be a surprise I didn't post any of the blog entries that led to the creation on the dinner. But for those interested I'll post an entry for each day I did cooking related to the feast. And so with a … [Continue reading]
A meal in preparation since December 14...let's hope it was all worth it. Amuse Bouche: Carbonated Cranberries with Orange Zest A light and refreshing way to get the palate going. This recipe was adapted from Modernist Cuisine and paired well … [Continue reading]