walking in my shoes

i found these stones outside the restaurant, stacked as they were.  most likely, everyone walked by them. i saw something inspiring.  a natural beauty, organic in nature though something man-made.  almost as if they were meant to be stacked...irregular in shape, various sizes and cuts, yet similar enough to compliment each other.  various shades of the same color. within the still life there was texture and movement.
i saw inspiration...and beauty....and it made me think...

chocolate cremeux, chocolate parfait, violet meringue, blackberry cremeux, feuillatine, violet croquant, blackberry sauce and drupes

the science of imaginary solutions

in between seasons, in between thoughts and actions. it's difficult for me to bring up new dishes when there is no new product. summer fruits haven't really shown up yet, and winter is long gone. so let's keep things simple and straightforward...while having a little fun.
at the base is namelaka made with Abinao, some raspberry gelee, rosewater sauce, Abinao mousse, brownie, and simple yet complimentary vanilla bean ice cream. topped with two versions of chocolate croquant. traditional sugar method and a newer crisp made with kuzu and cocoa. like fallen leaves from a dying tree...

(straight down to the ) bitter end

chocolate pudding truffle, peanut butter, passion fruit meringue, milk sherbet, rosemary blossoms.
last course on the current tasting menu.

lines in the suit

piping out lines of sauce is a fun practice.  it gives a sense of fluidity to a plated dish.  some movement.
i started with a great base recipe from Valrhona for a praline cremeux.  this dish is pure chocolate and praline. chocolate ganache is poured over praline fuillatine and left to crystallize at room temp for a few hours.  the feuillatine is never refrigerated so it remains creamy and crunchy which melds with the ganache wonderfully.  almost like a fluid tart base.
milk sherbet, bitter cocoa pudding, Maldon salt, and stevia leaves. 
i have probably done this dish before, but just by piping out the praline cremeux makes it feel different and new to me.

cake

last week was busy with the US Open happening next door in Pebble Beach.  knowing our cover count was going to be tripled, i decided to "simplify" some things..or at least make them easier for me production-wise.
taking from Ducasse's Dessert book...a simple chocolate cake with apricot. 
in this case, devil's food cake, creamy chocolate ganache, chocolate glaze.
amaretto gelee, apricot dice, bitter almond pudding, apricot ice cream, apricot tuile

a cool down

i have been trying the ice water tempering method for chocolate.  been wanting to do it for a while now. 

essentially you fill a container with ice water, not too much ice, just really cold.  when the chocolate hits about 40C, pipe it in.  this shocks the chocolate into setting up, but there is a window of seconds where the chocolate is firm but maleable.

after shaping the chocolate, you let it sit in the water for a few minutes (that time is what i am playing with) until the cocoa butter crystalizes and it holds the shapes you made.

you then remove it from the water and keep it cold (or frozen maybe).

what i like about this technique is that it offers you the ability to create 3 dimensional shapes with an organic twist.

the longer you leave it in the water the more it loses color, which is kinda cool, it really gives it a "rotten wood" look

if anyone has any ideas, tips, or suggestions with this technique than please speak up, i'd love to hear what others are doing with this

adaption

i have been eating a lot of twix candy bars lately.  why? because they are good.  what i really like about them is how in one bite you get three contrasting textures:  creamy chocolate, gooey caramel, and crisp butter cookie.  as most desserts go, you can find some kind of similarity between that of a plated dessert and that of a candy bar.  those confectionary geniuses at the large candy manufacturing companies can sure teach us restaurant pastry kids a thing or two. 
adaptating those components is an easy tool in coming up with something familiar and unique at the same time.  i wanted to give the same sensation as eating my twix but with a new aesthetic. 

a rich buttery sable cookie, creamy 72% chocolate ganache, and inside is a runny passon fruit gel, not quite the thick caramel of the candy bar...something lighter on the palate and more acidic to cut through the richness. 

some dehydrated passion fruit curd chips, coconut cream, basil seeds (a slight mimic of passion fruit seeds), and cilantro to make it more confusing.  if i ran a candy Mars Co.  i would make candy bars like this...and eat all day.

bowl full of goodness

within savory cuisine there are many dishes whereupon an assortment of ingredients are prepared and gathered together in a bowl to be consumed. wonderful boulliabase, pot a feu, other such great "stews" of sorts. i wanted to compose a dish for pastry with that mentality in mind. giving myself only a two flavor profile required many different textures and temperatures to make it exciting. it's not very elegant but sort of natural, which has a beauty in itself. i wish for people to just dig in and enjoy.
braised boysenberries, chocolate 30 second cake, hot chocolate espuma, boysenberry meringue, bitter chocolate ice cream, chocolate "twigs", micro arugula.

revised

sometimes you get something in your head and it doesn't leave. you make a dish not because it's the one you wanted but because it becomes a type of catharsis. i feel like these damn raspberries have been running around with chocolate and olive oil in my head for too long. maybe this is the 3rd or 4th incarnation. soft chocolate ganache, raspberry sorbet, "toast" ice cream, olive oil powder, raspberry gel, raspberry croquan, mint.

just give it time

i love the technique of compression. i really don't understand how anyone who puts a raw piece of fruit or vegetable on a plate doesn't put it in the cryovac machine first. there are always exceptions depending on what fruit or vegetable and if you have the machine at all. but the difference in the outlook and texture are amazing. i wanted a dish with bananas, chocolate, and peanut butter. something mostly everyone finds pleasing...even elvis. giving the compressed bananas some time...about 3 hours gives them such a vibrant glow. for the pick up they are warmed in syrup. chocolate cremeux, peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter feuillatine, peanut nougatine, candied meyer lemon peel, and chocolate sauce round the dish off. but it started with a compressed banana and some time.

nature

one of my main grudges with pastry is that because 90% of what goes on the plate is something manufactured or manipulated there seems to be a lack of nature in the finished dish. i have never really liked using molds or cutting things in perfect cubes. nature doesn't make perfect cubes or triangles. Albert Adria has a new wonderful book where he mimics scenes in nature with his dishes. unlike sugar or chocolate work where these items are molded into shapes and forms and used primarely for garnish, Albert makes use of only integral components of the dish to trick the eye into seeing something of natures' making. there are no garnishes, no inedible flourishes. the rule of function over form. in thinking that way, how can dessert no longer be distracted by what form it is to take and only by the flavors and textures presented.

here is a chocolate-praline mousse, scooped and rolled into a chocolate-praline crumble made using maltodextrin, passion fruit ice cream and gel give an acidic note while roasted pear gives an earthy tone. microwave chocolate cake adds some texture and fresh torn mint leaves give a cleansing finish.

bergamot truffles

last week the chef instructed a cooking class in the kitchen. he chose the topic to be citrus as we are in the middle of our winter fruit season. we had a dozen different citrus fruits in the house and I couldn't keep my hands off them. bergamot is the foundation of earl grey tea, which is a classic pairing with chocolate. now I just need to keep them away from the chef so I can serve them to the guests.