Recently we’ve been working with uncured pork belly in the kitchen a little more than usual, with some great results. I start with cutting the pork belly down into several manageable pieces, then carefully remove the skin from the pork belly. I try to leave as much fat as possible on the belly, since that means there will be less to remove later from the … Continue reading Pork Belly: Braised Bacon, Crispy Pork Skins
The word “quiche” refers to an open-faced tartlet that is filled with a custard that is typically garnished with vegetables, meat or fish. Although “quiche” is typically identified with classical French cuisine, the dish originated in Germany and the word is a derivative of the German “Kuchen”, which means cake. When preparing quiche, I use a flaky pie dough that is molded in a pie … Continue reading Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Quiche, Baby Greens with Caramelized Onion Vinaigrette, Crispy Prosciutto, Spun Potato
This is a dish that was served at a Chef’s Table last week and was very well received. It is based on a dish that I enjoyed at 5&10 in Athens, Georgia a couple weeks ago. The bacon was prepared by braising a slab of apple wood smoked bacon in chicken stock for six hours at 250 degrees. After the bacon chilled, it was portioned … Continue reading Braised Bacon, Quail Egg, Red Pepper Grits, Toasted Cashew Powder
For this dish I used the “Twice Cooked Scallop” recipe from the “Ideas in Food” cookbook by Aki Komazawa and Alexander Talbot. The scallops were brined in a .05% salt water solution for ten minutes, then cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for thirty minutes before shocking in an ice bath. The scallops were fired to order in a smoking hot cast iron skillet. The … Continue reading Sea Scallop with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Crispy Mushrooms, Bacon, Butter Poached Radish and Creamer Potatoes
Sometimes a piece of beef is so well marbled that you just don’t want to cook it… That was the case with the CAB Prime beef tenderloin that came in from Southern Foods. Rather than cook it, it was wrapped into a cylinder then frozen over night. The next morning it was unwrapped, then seared quickly in a cast iron skillet in the 1600 degree … Continue reading CAB Prime Beef Carpaccio with Petit Greens, Truffle-Sherry Vinaigrette, Roasted Garlic Aioli, Potato Crisp
This was an interesting dish prepared for a Chefs Table recently, combining the sweet and meaty flavor of sweet breads with a tart salad, peppery radishes and sweet, peeled grapes. I’ve previously covered sweet breads extensively, it’s one of my favorite preparations. The local “Easter Egg” radishes were prepared by vacuum sealing them in a bag with butter, salt, pepper, shallots and thyme, then … Continue reading Veal Sweet Breads with Radishes, Grapes, Local Greens, AppleCider-Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette
