obstacle 1

currently i am making way too many items without doing anything with them.  previously there was the rhubarb consomme. 

now its strawberry tapioca. 

with a surplus of strawberry jus, i add agar and dropped them into cold oil.  they have a slight chew (like tapioca) with a strawberry perfume. 

i should just pour that consomme over them with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  i am too dumb to do something that simple......

rites of spring

upon returning from france i set a goal on myself to incorporate into new desserts as many recipes from the Valrhona class as possible.  i thought to myself  how much of a shame it would be to go all that way and not utilize anything that was shown to me and the other chef's.  though the finished dishes were nothing like what i would do, the beauty of it all is that the finished product is only part of the process.  it's the journey that takes you there; the techniques, the inspiration, that i sometimes find more rewarding.

one of the recipes was of a sponge scented with lemon verbena.  basically a firm gelee set with gelatin and whipped in a mixer.  there is a lot of gelatin in it but when it becomes aerated, chilled, and cut, the sponge just dissolves on your tongue like a memory. 

it's not a new technique, but one i seemed to have passed up on using in lieu of others.  this one is made of lime juice and infused with lime thyme from my garden.

we are in full swing with spring and there are finally berries at the market.  not quite the best yet but some of the stands have a few winners.

compressed strawberries, lime sponge, strawberry sorbet, white chocolate namelaka, strawberry gel, strawberry croquant, fennel and cilantro

more on the white chocolate namelaka later.....

vacherin

this is a dish that came from two very specific influences. in los angeles, chef alain giraud is well known for his strawberry vacherin. my wife (ironically) says it is one of the best desserts she ever had. his consists of strawberry ice cream, buttercream, lavender, meringue, and raspberry coulis. it is a simple flavor profile and one that works so well at the beginning of summer with the great strawberries i've been getting from the market. as i have been so keen on working with meringues i really wanted to make a vacherin of sorts. looking at other recipes and through books there are not really any specific details about a vacherin except that it includes meringue and ice cream or sorbet. the flavors were there but how to execute the dish was the challenge. part two: in ducasse's pastry book i came across a dish consisting of a sphere of chestnut ice cream coated in whipped cream and rolled in crushed meringue. a vacherin of sorts. great technique. now to make it mine. strawberry sorbet, lavender "crema montada", lavender meringue, strawberry gel, vanilla bean cake, compressed strawberries, various herbs. after all that the finished dish tastes like those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars. i used to love those.

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.