candy apple grey

here is the latest macaron...green apple and celery leaf.

instantly one of my favorites.

infused cream with celery leaves, blend.  make ganache with white chocolate and celery leaf cream, add freeze dried apple.

freeze dried apple is also in the meringue base, along with some malic acid to give some acidity.

hopefully i'll make some again another time.

salad days

had a couple of diners tonight enjoying the tasting menu.  they both had dairy allergies, which makes it difficult for dessert, but even more so where the cheese course should be.  are there any dairy less cheeses?  didn't think so.
i jumped at the chance to make a transitional "salad" between the meat and dessert courses.
thought about the components and was really happy with the color scheme of greens and yellows.
it just looks light and fresh.
candied fennel with vanilla, compressed granny smith apples, celery ribbons, wood leaves and flowers, celery leaves, fennel fronds, and olive oil.
i did make them a vegan chocolate mousse using Herve This' technique that came out pretty good but forgot to take a picture.
maybe next time

spring vegetable dinner

tonight we had a dinner celebrating spring vegetables. the cool thing was that there was no protein involved. not quite vegetarian. just letting the spring vegetables take center stage. i do enjoy this way of thinking. for most savory chefs i think it throws them for a loop. in my experiences, chefs tend to organize their menus/dishes around what meat/fish/poultry they have. probably the fault of the diner thinking they are going to eat either steak, veal, duck, tuna, etc. instead of all the other elements that make up a wonderful dish. do you start the dish with radishes or beef, asparagus or chicken, frisee or lobster. i guess these questions hold importance to me being the pastry chef because i face this question everyday. the strawberries or the cake, the apples or the tart. rarely has the cake or tart or other pastry product been made without first consulting the fruit or vegetable and seeing what they want to accompany them. maybe it's because i have always cooked in areas where great produce prevails.

so in the tradition of our dinner tonight i made a "strawberry and rhubarb salad" with a celery sorbet. i really just wanted to put as many things on the plate as i could.

compressed strawberries, strawberry gel, poached green rhubarb, rhubarb gelee, vanilla pudding, celery sorbet, celery ribbons, basil puree, basil seeds, dried black olives, olive oil powder, celery leaves and basil leaves, strawberry croquant, warm olive oil cake.