Recipe: Potato glass

Potato glass is a bit of an old school number, but these things have a way of coming back.  The classic trick is to sandwich a herb between two slices of potato so it shows through when cooked - I prefer the glass to be clear and maybe switch it up by using fingerling potatoes or purple potatoes.  We also have the advantage these days of silicone mats so the glass comes out perfectly flat.

You will need:

potatoes
clarified butter or vegetable oil
salt

Method:

 - set the oven to 300F / 149C
 - brush a silicone mat generously with clarified butter or oil
 - slice your potatoes as thin as you can on a mandolin or slicer
 - lay the slices down on the mat
 - if you want to lay a herb down and another slice of potato, do it here
 - brush the tops of the slices of potato with more clarified butter or oil
 - lightly season the glass
 - carefully lay another silicone mat over top the potatoes
 - bake about 40 minutes in the oven
 - if the potatoes need more time, turn off the oven and crack the door, or transfer to a food warmer or dehydrator
 - transfer to paper towel to drain any exess fat
 - store in an airtight container

Recipe: Lemon and black pepper crackers

These crackers work well both on their own or as a nice crispy garnish for a dish.  Maybe you want to part ways with the usual croutons on a salad and break a few shards of cracker on top.  When seasoning the dough, consider using slightly less salt to leave room for some coarse salt on the topside right before baking.  I've written the recipe as a ratio, so you can make as much or as little as you want, just pick how much your "part" is.  With 60ml (1/4C) as a convenient size, I would use the zest of one lemon and about 10ml (2 teaspoons) of cracked pepper, then adjust accordingly if increasing the recipe.  If you have a pasta roller, you can get the dough rolled out very thin and even.  You can even freeze the rolled out dough and bake it off quickly as you need it.

You will need:

3 parts         flour
2 parts         butter
1 part          water
to taste        lemon zest (microplane)
to taste        coarse black pepper
to taste        kosher salt
to garnish    coarse salt

Method:

 - add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl with a dough hook
 - mix until combined, then some more to develop the gluten
 - wrap the dough up and rest it
 - roll the dough out very thin - with a pasta roller if you can
 - dock the dough and sprinkle with coarse salt
 - bake at 325F / 163C until lightly coloured and crispy

Recipe: Carrot orange paint

Plating a dish is often referred to as painting a picture, well we should get some paint into the mix.  Along with the various coulis, purees, gels and foams you might find on a dish, a broad brushstroke of paint can set a nice backdrop as you build the dish up.  Just don't spill anything unintentionally onto the paint because it stays wet and you won't be able to remove it without leaving a mark.  on the other hand, think back to grade school and making potato stamps, maybe you want to use something to leave an impression in the paint - the veined underside of a leaf pressed in and gently lifted off can leave a striking design.

You will need:

500ml / 2C          carrot juice 

500ml / 2C          orange juice (pulp strained out)

2.5ml / 1/2tsp      vegetable oil

5ml / 1tsp            glucose

to taste                kosher salt

Method:

 - put the juices in a small sauce pan and gently reduce down to a syrup - careful not to burn the sugars

 - once syrupy, you should have between 125 - 250ml (1/2 - 1C)

 - with a small hand blender, blend in the glucose and vegetable oil

 - season with salt

 - let cool completely 

 - use just like paint with a pastry brush

Gelatin: Sheet vs powder

Gelatin is invaluable in a kitchen, unfortunately there is a common problem translating professional recipes to the home environment - while sheet gelatin is common in a commercial kitchen, it is harder to find available for household supply outside of specialty shops.  Used properly, there is virtually no difference in the outcome and it's a matter of conversion.  Given the choice, I prefer sheet.

 - the two most common calculations are:  1tsp powder gelatin is equal to 2 sheets

                                                                    1 10g packet of powder gelatin is equal to 6 sheets

 - always keep moisture content in mind when using gelatin.  When "blooming" powder gelatin, use a portion of the recipe's liquid to bloom it.  When soaking sheet gelatin, just moisten it enough to make it soft in order to limit how much water it absorbs, then drain it really well - some chefs will even pat the leaves dry after soaking.

 - always use cold water (or liquid) to bloom or soak gelatin.  Powder gelatin is best sprinkled over the liquid to ensure even absorption.

 - try to avoid "cooking" gelatin - it is best to get the liquid hot, then melt the gelatin into it off the stove.

 - some fruits have enzymes called proteases that affect the gelling process when used raw.  Giving these fruits a bit of a cook should make them ok to use, but remember that if the fruit is frozen, the enzyme is still active.  According to About.com, these fruits are: 

     - pineapple

     - kiwi

     - figs

     - papaya

     - pawpaw

     - mango

     - guava

     - ginger

                                                               

                                                            

Recipe: Smoked white chocolate sauce

This is a recipe you can use to take your guests by surprise.  Most people don't expect anything of a smokey nature to hit them during dessert.  This works well because white chocolate tends to be sweeter than dark, so the bitterness of the smoke works to balance the flavour profile.  If you like, you can thicken this with a little more chocolate and get a nice smoked ganache to use in truffles.

You will need:

150g             white chocolate
150g             cream
90g               milk
smoker

Method:

 - mix the milk and the cream
 - place in a pan and cover with cheesecloth (to keep out any particles from the smoker)
 - smoke for an hour and a half
 - chop the chocolate if it is not already in small chips
 - remove the mix and put in a sauce pot
 - bring to a simmer
 - pour over the chocolate
 - stir to emulsify
 - allow to cool before using

Recipe: Red pepper and mirin sheets

These Sheets made from Red bell peppers and mirin really dressed up a tuna tataki dish I made recently.  You could just use red peppers if you like, but the mirin complemented the Asian nature of the dish and also diluted the colour a bit so that the final sheets were almost transparent when done.  You may notice that the gelling proportions are higher than the chorizo sheets I did - the chorizo sheets tend to be thicker, so thinking vertically, you end up with a similar level of binding for the same surface area on the sheets.  You will get the most dramatic effect with these if you can get them as thin as possible, so I put more gelatin in.  Whereas with the chorizo sheets, you could use a stencil to spread the mix out, you will be pouring this one, so I've made the recipe for 500ml of mix to make sure you will have enough to cover the pan (you can make a gel with the rest).  The importance of both a flat pan and a level setting surface is even more important as this mix will follow the gravity until it sets.  Once you get the hang of this recipe, take things a step further and make cannelloni with the sheets - the effect is stunning.

You will need:

2 - 3                  red bell peppers (to make at least 375ml / 1.5C of juice)
125ml / 1/2C    mirin
10 sheets          gelatin
5g / 0.18oz       agar agar
pan spray

Method:

 - stem the peppers and cut out the pale ribs
 - puree the peppers down to a liquid (use a juicer if you have one)
 - "season" the juice with mirin - you may use more or less than the 125ml according to your taste
 - measure out 500ml / 2C
 - soak the gelatin leaves
 - weigh out the agar and mix with the juice
 - pan spray a smooth plastic tray or 1/2 size silicone mat inside a 1/2 size sheet pan
 - bring the mix up to a simmer
 - set the tray on the level surface
 - drain the gelatin and melt it into the mix
 - pour the mix into the pan so you have a thin even layer
 - torch or pop any air bubbles
 - let set at least an hour
 - use the edge of a palette knife to cut your shapes
 - peel off and use

Recipe: Smoked butter

Smoking food often has at least a slight drying effect - an interesting way to incorporate a  smoked flavour into a dish without changing the food's natural properties is to smoke the cooking medium, in this case the butter.  Fat does a great job of carrying flavours, so you can really smoke the butter well, then just use enough to get the smokiness you want, then use regular butter the rest of the way.  If you are like me and don't have a smoker at home, but have a smoking gun, the same effect can be achieved by sealing the butter in a bowl and pipe smoke in several times and mixing the butter up a few times along the way.  The last time I did this was at work, so I got to just throw the butter in the smoker and come back to it later.  Easy.

You will need:

1lb / 454g       unsalted butter (room temperature)

smoker

Method:

 - put the butter in a tray on an upper rack in the smoker (to catch the most smoke and stay cooler)

 - put another tray of ice on a lower rack as a heat shield (optional)

 - smoke for at least 2 - 3 hours

 - remove from smoker

 - if some separation has occurred, put the butter in a bowl in cold water and whisk until it re-emulsifies

 - store in an airtight container until use

Recipe: Chorizo sheets

This is a really fun one to pull on people, and a great way to incorporate the nice spiciness of chorizo into a dish.  Wouldn't you want to tuck into a seared scallop all cozy in its chorizo blanket?  Of course you would!  The flavour will depend on the quality of sausage you use and the density of your puree.  The sausage needs to be cooked ahead, then pureed as smooth as you can get it - you probably won't be able to get it perfectly smooth, but that's ok, you want it to retain something of a meaty texture.  If you keep it thick, you will have more of a pure chorizo flavour, but you may want to make something of a stencil and spread it like a tuille - if you make it thin you sacrifice a little flavour, but you can pour it onto a tray, level it out with a palette knife and cut it once it has set.  I've found that those cafeteria trays with the smooth surface work great with a bit of pan spray - they are usually more consistently flat and they give you the option of a glossy side or a rough side when the sheets are set.  The agar agar will allow you to use the sheets on a hot dish, but be aware that enough heat will eventually begin to melt it.

You will need:

2 - 3                      uncooked chorizo sausage (depending on size)
2.5g / 0.09oz        agar agar
2.5 sheets             gelatin
as needed             tomato juice
pan spray

Method:

 - peel the casing from the chorizo, crumble it up and cook in either a fry pan or by roasting in the oven
 - drain the fat and puree the meat with enough tomato juice to get the texture you want - make sure you get 250ml / 1C
 - measure out the agar agar
 - soak the gelatin
 - apply pan spray to a smooth plastic tray or silicone mat
 - mix the agar with 250ml / 1C of puree
 - bring the mixture to a simmer in a small pan
 - melt in the gelatin
 - either use a tuille stencil or a palette knife to spread the mix on the tray as thin as possible and even
 - let set in the fridge for at least an hour
 - if you spread the mix freestyle, cut your shapes
 - gently peel the sheets from the tray and use warm or cold

Recipe: White soy "caviar" (pearls)

Another product that doesn't follow the usual formula for caviar is soy sauce.  I suspect its the salinity that affects the gelatin because the first time I made it, I used the usual formula, and it looked like it worked when I looked at the caviar through the oil, but when I strained it out, it all passed right through the chinois in a thick oily mess.  The solution was to use more agar agar and less gelatin and everything held together fine.  White soy sauce is a premuim product, so you definitely don't want to waste any on a recipe that won't hold together.  It also has the extra surprise in that you aren't only serving soy sauce as a caviar, but its also not black, rather its almost a light golden colour.  Aside from colour, it has a very refined flavour and is less salty than most other soy sauces.

You will need:

1L / 1qt                    canola or grapeseed oil

200ml / 6.76fl oz     white soy sauce

5g / 0.18oz               agar agar

1sheet                      gelatin

Method:

 - put the oil in a tall, thin cylinder and place in the freezer for a few hours before using

 - mix the agar and the soy sauce cold

 - soak the leaf of gelatin

 - bring the soy sauce and agar up to a simmer

 - drain and melt in the gelatin

 - let cool slightly, then pour into a squeeze bottle

 - pull the oil out of the freezer

 - drop the mixture from the bottle into the oil until it's finished

 - let everything set up for a few minutes

 - strain through a chinois or fine mesh sieve - let all excess oil drain off

 - store in a dry container until use

Recipe: Ponzu sauce

Here's another way to put that dashi you made to good use.  Ponzu is a delicious, light and tangy dip that finds itself more than welcome with dumplings, fish, and grilled meats.  It even works great as a marinade or as a final addition to a stir-fry.  This is definitely something you can play with and find your own special formula.  If you want to spice it up, track town some togarashi, up the ginger, or slice in some bird's eye chilis.

You will need:

250ml / 1C                dashi
60ml / 1/4C               yuzu juice
45ml / 3Tbs               soy sauce
30ml / 2Tbs               mirin
5ml / 1tsp                  brown sugar
1 small knuckle         ginger

Method:

 - peel and grate the ginger on a Japanese-style grater or microplane
 - warm up the soy sauce, mirin and brown sugar so the sugar dissolves (the microwave is fine)
 - once hot, drop in the grated ginger
 - combine the dashi and yuzu
 - add in the warm ginger mixture
 - taste and adjust any seasonings to your preference
 - store in the fridge if not using right away
 - warm slightly when serving

Cookbook review: The Whole Beast

Fergus Henderson's book, The Whole Beast is already a classic.  If you've noticed in recent years a resurgence of respect among chefs for charcuterie, utilizing odd cuts, and butchery skills in general, Chef Henderson is one of the ones leading the charge.  It's often the tough and unusual cuts of an animal that yield the most flavour - sometimes it takes a couple tries to develop an appreciation, but that's life eating food.  At the base of it is a respect for the animal and a desire to appreciate its sacrifice for our dining pleasure.  The least we can do is finish it off.  Fergus Henderson will help you past those moments of "is that edible?" and maybe even take something from left field and place it in your regular rotation.  My recent cooking of a beef knuckle barely scratches the surface, but when the butcher told me it had been years since he'd sold one, it seemed almost a shame for something so delicious to be regularly overlooked.  Challenge yourself, challenge your tastebuds, challenge your friends, try something new.  CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Recipe: Roasted hoshi-shitake dashi / miso soup

Following along the dashi theme a moment, some vegetarians might not be so keen on the bonito in the more common dashi - have no fear, shitake mushrooms to the rescue.  The common way to do this one is to buy dried shitakes and rehydrate them.   The rehydrating process flavours the water, and there's your stock - easy - too easy.  Why not take the wheel in the whole process and dry the shitakes yourself?  If traditionalists will forgive me, I started doing this at work when someone forgot to order the dried shitakes and I was forced to dry them myself and found I liked my way better.  First off, the dried shitakes usually come whole - I sliced mine, and once they were rehydrated, they still looked nice enough to remain in the soup as a garnish.  Second, since I was drying them, I made the executive decision to not just dehydrate them, but turn up the heat and give them a tan.  I found the resulting flavour was delicious and it gave the broth a nice colour as well.  From there, a little miso is all the seasoning it needs - garnish with some firm tofu and scallions and you've got a brilliant vegan soup.

You will need:

15                   shitake mushrooms

1L / 1qt           cold water

to taste            miso paste (1 or 2 Tbs)

1/4 brick         firm tofu

2                     scallions

Method:

 - set the oven to 300F / 149C

 - remove the stems of the mushrooms and slice thin

 - spread the mushrooms on a sheet pan and put in the oven

 - stir occasionally to dry evenly

 - keep drying until mushrooms turn a nice golden brown colour

 - cool

 - combine the mushrooms with the water and rehydrate

 - bring the mushrooms and water up to a simmer

 - turn off the heat and mix in the miso paste

 - drain the tofu and cut into cubes - add in

 - garnish with sliced scallion

Recipe: Dashi stock

I love the texture of ramen noodles, but the MSG overload flavour packs that often accompany the store-bought variety just make the meal seem trashy.  If I'm not going the distance and making the noodles, I'll go out and get a decent brand of dried ones (the kind that don't come with flavour packs) that leaves me to focus on the broth and all the tasty goodies going into it.  A great deal of the final flavour will come from what goes into the broth, but like any soup, the credibility lies in the foundation, the stock.  Dashi often plays such a role, not only in soups, but many Japanese dishes, so it helps to know how to make it.  Once you are comfortable with it, host a shabu-shabu party and pay attention to how the flavour of the broth develops during the meal - but you still need to have that stock to start it off.

You will need:

1L / 1qt            cold water

20cm / 8in        kombu (dried kelp)

500ml / 2C       bonito flakes (dried and smoked skipjack tuna)

Method:

 - rinse the kombu under cold water until it is rehydrated and very soft

 - put it in a pot with the water and slowly bring to a simmer

 - once at the simmer, turn off the heat, discard the kombu, and add the bonito

 - cover well with saran wrap and let steep 10 minutes

 - strain through a fine mesh sieve and use as needed

Recipe: Sous-vide chicken

Chicken (and other poultry) is a great way to observe the benefits of utilizing sous-vide as a cooking method.  Even the most experienced cook would be hard pressed to turn out a juicier, more tender product with such consistency and in large numbers when necessary.  Indeed I've even seen some more timid customers ask for their chicken to be cooked more as they find it hard to believe that a cooked chicken breast can be so soft - but fear not, it really is fully cooked.  Thicker cuts (fat free range birds) may need more time, but the same rules apply - check the middle, and if it's all white, it's all good.  Even if you were off a bit, the fact that you used sous-vide most of the way will shine through in your product, in fact, if you are prepping for a hot dish, it's advisable to err on the under side as you will probably want to grill or sear the meat at service, and letting the secondary method finish it off will ensure that you won't overcook it in the rechaud.  If you are cooking for cold sandwiches or chicken salad, then cook fully.  Once you are used to the character of sous-vide chicken, you will be able to feel the meat in the bag and judge the cook as well as you can with traditional methods.

You will want to marinate or brine the chicken in advance (the first stages of my fried chicken recipe would so just fine) and you may want to add some aromatics into the bag as well.  Except in the case of brining, save the salt for just before cooking - if you brined, you shouldn't need any more.  Always line the breasts up in the bag in flat rows - if they are stacked up or overlapping, they won't cook evenly.  Always ice down the bags right after cooking to cool as quickly as possible.  If you finish the breasts off on the grill or in a pan, make sure you pat them dry to get proper caramelization and a crispy surface.

Method:

 - marinate or brine the chicken breasts as you would normally (skin on or off is your choice)

 - set the water bath for:   135F / 57C   (if you will finish with another cooking method)

                                         145F / 63C   (if you want to cook fully)

 - season if necessary, add any aromatics and seal the chicken in the vacuum bag

 - cook in the bath for:     45 - 50 minutes at 135F / 57C

                                         1 hour at 145 / 63C

 - check the firmness of the meat, cook a little more if needed

 - remove from hot bath and cool down completely in an ice bath

 - the chicken will store well in the bag in the fridge until you are ready to use it 

yes, sous-vide can still lead to this

Tempering chocolate

Tempering chocolate has a way of intimidating the best of us the first time we approach it.  The good news is that there are rules to it, and while some chocolates may try to bend them, eventually they toe the line.  The other good news is that as long as you are treating the chocolate with proper care, if it doesn't temper properly the first time, you can melt it and do it again.  If you went and burnt the chocolate over a direct flame however, you just plain burned it.

Basically, what you are doing first when you temper is you are melting the chocolate so the crystalline structure breaks down.  This also breaks down the emulsion between the cocoa butter and the cocoa mass, so then you need to cool it down while keeping it in motion so the crystals reform and the emulsion comes back.  At this point, it is usually too thick to use, so you then need to warm it up slightly while keeping it in motion.  This is when most people will test the temper by dipping a corner of parchment paper in the chocolate and observe how it sets.  If it sets quickly, is shiny and has a snap when you break it, you did it.  Use it as you planned and make sure you store it in a cool, dry place.

The rules change with different chocolates.  The temperatures are slightly different with white, milk and dark chocolate as well some brands will behave differently.  Many commercial companies incorporate soy lecithin into the chocolate to help hold emulsification.  This also makes tempering easier.  Some of the organic brands are 100% pure cocoa, their product is beautiful, some of them hailing from a single farm in a very specific region, but they are brutal to try to temper.  I worked with one for a contest, was advised to raise the initial melting temperature by 5 degrees Celsius, and still slaved over it for hours because the "temper test" never came out right.  I resigned myself to having to coat my molds anyway for the sake of a few hours sleep, came back the next day and the temper was perfect - go figure.

The number one rule is NO WATER.  Make sure all your surfaces, equipment, hands or anything else that might come in contact with the chocolate are dry.  Ironically, we then often melt it over a bain marie - make sure you have an absorbent towel to dry the bottom of the bowl, and keep it far away the rest of the time.

Two techniques seem to dominate tempering.  The classic "marbling" method involves pouring out some of the chocolate at the second stage (about 1/3 - 1/2) and using a large scraper to keep it in motion while cooling down, before returning it to the rest of the chocolate.  After stirring together, the temperature is checked and the process is repeated if it's still too hot.  The other method is the "microwave method" where 2/3 of the chocolate is melted in the microwave to the first stage while the remaining third is chopped small and melted in after as part of the cooling process.  Both ways work, so use the one that appeals to you.

After a while, even the best tempers lose it.  If you ever notice an older batch of chocolate looking "frosty", it has bloomed, and the cocoa butter has started to separate.  Close your eyes and taste it, if it still tastes good, it just needs to be melted and re-tempered.  Nothing stays fresh forever, so use your judgement.

Once you feel comfortable with tempering, use the knowledge you've gained whenever you use chocolate.  A ganache can be tempered, it's hard to test other than using your experience and judgement, but the end result is another level of silk.

The most common temperatures for tempering are:

                         Stage 1                              Stage 2                              Stage 3

Dark              45C / 113F                         29C / 85F                           32C / 90F

Milk              45C / 113F                         28C / 83F                           30C / 86F

White            45C / 113F                         27C / 81F                           29C / 85F

Recipe: Braised beef knuckle - sous-vide and traditional

Got beef?  How'd you like a big fat knuckle sandwich?  I always wanted to say that, and at the moment at our house we're dishing out knuckle sandwiches like Burt Reynolds at a cowboy bar.  When I set my mind to doing it the other day, I didn't anticipate the difficulty in getting the knuckle itself with the meat on it - most butcher shops cut the meat for stew and save the bone for stock.  I had to take my car to the shop, so I was on foot, no matter since I was close to downtown and it would be easier to hit multiple butchers than if I was driving.  I gave three of the major supermarkets a try just because they were right there - nothing.  I tried two of the "trendy" butchers - best suggestion was buy an oxtail and some stew meat.  I then hit the T&T Asian supermarket and about five butchers in Chinatown - that was a shocker, I thought one of them would hook me up for sure - no.  I made my way back to our neighborhood where we've got a couple old school butchers - I thought if I have to order it special, it might as well be close by.  

I got to the very last shop just in time - he had just split a knuckle on the bandsaw and was about to strip it for stew meat and stock bones.  Of course I saved him the work.  He was pretty excited to see me buy it as he hadn't sold one in about five years and was interested in my plans for it.  He was expecting a traditional English style roast, but was intrigued by the thought of Latin inspired pulled meat.  Butcher shops have to be one of the only places you can get a good laugh saying that your wife is in for a knuckle sandwich.  Moral of the story - order the knuckle from your butcher, but you can rest assured you are serving something your guests haven't had in a while, maybe never.  You don't need to make sandwiches (this would make a lovely terrine or presse) but if you do, I recommend getting as close to a Latin torta bun as you can - Portugese buns are closest, ciabattas are nice - I went to our local Latin bakery and got the buns they make.

smoking gun at work

Getting down to it, I made this recipe special for the occasion, and it's best done with a couple days to prepare.  I wanted something aggressive, so it's a bit spicy.  Considering what usually fuels a knuckle sandwich, it's also got coffee, whiskey and smoke in it.  I don't have a smoker, but I do have a "smoking gun", so I filled the sealed marinating bowl with smoke a bunch of times to replicate it.  A quality liquid smoke can also be added to the broth if you like.  I decided to do a traditional braise because I wanted to get a good amount of broth out of it and used my slow cooker (it can hold a nice sub 200F temperature) but I've included the methods if you choose to use the oven or sous-vide.  The knuckle has a lot of cartilage in it - it's delicious.  If you aren't used to cartilage, give it a try, you may want to eat it on it's own - I chopped it up and put it back in the mix with the meat once it was pulled.

You will need:

1                       beef knuckle (2-2.5kg / 5lbs)

4                       medium onions

2                       carrots

2                       stalks of celery

4                       cloves of garlic

2L / 8qt            beef stock

796ml / 28oz    canned tomatoes (1 can)

45g / 1.6oz       Oaxacan chocolate (it's spicier)

1                       pack Starbucks "Via" instant coffee

60ml / 4Tbs      whiskey

2                       bay leaves

to taste             kosher salt

as needed         olive oil

spice rub: (feel free to be generous, all measurements are "at least")

5ml / 1tsp          cumin

5ml / 1tsp          smoked paprika

2.5ml / 1/2tsp    cayenne

5ml / 1tsp          ground black pepper

5ml / 1tsp          garlic power

10ml / 2tsp        brown sugar

you will also need a smoker, smoking gun, or liquid smoke

Method:

 - rub the meat with a bit of olive oil

 - apply the spices evenly to all sides - massage them in

 - if you have a smoker - smoke two hours

 - julienne two of the onions

 - place the meat in the bowl with the onions and toss around for coverage

 - if you didn't have a smoker, but have a smoking gun - seal the bowl with plastic wrap and pipe smoke in  and re-seal - repeat process a few times over a few hours

 - let the meat marinate overnight

 - clean the onions off the meat (save them) and season well with salt

 - sear the meat well in a hot pan and set aside

 - unless the pan is excessively burnt, julienne the other two onions and caramelize along with the originals in the same pan

 - peel and chop the carrots and celery, mince the fresh garlic

 - when the onions are browned, set aside and caramelize the carrots and celery, adding the garlic at the end

 - return the onions to the pan

 - deglaze with whiskey

 - puree the can tomatoes and strain the seeds out

 - add the tomato puree to the pan

 - add the chocolate and coffee and dissolve both

 - add the bay leaves

Note if cooking sous-vide:  at this point, turn off the heat, cool, then add the cold stock and mix well.  Set the water bath for 183F / 84C for a six hour cook (or 172F / 78C for a 12 hour cook).  If you are pulling the meat, you can even go longer for a softer product.  Put the meat in a bag and surround it with all the vegetables and some of the broth (the rest of the broth can be reduced for sauce) and seal on a looser setting to prevent blowout.  Set the bag in the bath, cook for the prescribed time, then ice down to cool and rest one day.  Pick up the rest of the procedure after the days rest in the traditional method.

 - set the oven to 250F / 121C

 - bring the broth to a simmer

 - return the meat to the broth

 - cover and place in the oven and cook for 5 -6 hours (slow cooker was about the same)

 - check the meat - it shouldn't feel tight and the fibers should separate when squeezed

 - remove from the oven and cool on a rack in the liquid

 - rest in the liquid overnight in the fridge

 - remove from fridge and remove fat cap from the broth

 - gently warm up the broth - this helps pulling the meat apart

 - remove the meat from the broth

 - strain the vegetables out of the broth and set it to reduce to a sauce

 - separate the meat from the bone, remove the fat and set aside the cartilage

 - put the bone in some water and make a remouillage stock - there's still flavour in it

 - pull the meat apart with your fingers

 - chop the cartilage and add to the meat

 - put the meat in a pan and keep warm

 - moisten with the reduced sauce to taste and desired juiciness

 - dish out some knuckle sandwiches!

the knockout punch

note:  the final sandwich was dressed with our pickled red onions, candied poblanos, cheddar cheese and some of the adobo from Abuela's chipotles - pure goodness!

Cookbook review: Paco Torreblanca

Paco Torreblanca's book is an undertaking.  Brace yourself to be blown away by some of his techniques.  When I was reading about how he gets a liquid filling of pear brandy inside a chocolate mousse, I couldn't help but think "how does someone develop this technique?"  Luckily, you don't have to - he's already figured it out, so you can just follow the instructions.  As you might guess, this book is a little more advanced than some other pastry books, but if you take your time and follow the procedures, they are pretty straightforward.  His style is modern, yet classy, and absolutely polished (some of the sponge cakes are cut on a meat slicer).  Your eyes will pop out of your head when you get to the section on showpieces, so put some goggles on for heaven's sake.  Definitely a must have book for pastry cooks looking to move up a level - CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Recipe: Poached apples

This recipe for poached apples isn't intended as the kind normally seen served as a dessert, rather it's a nice way to quickly add some extra character to apples destined for a salad or appetizer.  It also conveniently gives enough of a cook to the surface of the apple so you don't need to worry about it browning on you.  I usually cook them very quickly so the apple retains a good crunch on the interior, but if you'd like them softer, just leave them in the cooking liquid a bit longer. 

You will need:

4                            granny smith apples

250ml / 1C            apple cider

250ml / 1C            water

125ml / 1/2C         white sugar

4 sprigs                 thyme

1 sprig                   rosemary

pinch                     salt

Method:

 - in a pot, combine the cider, water, sugar and salt and bring to a simmer

 - turn off the heat and drop in the herbs - let infuse for 15 minutes

 - peel and core the apples and cut into serving size wedges (or any other shape)

 - bring the poaching liquid back up to a simmer

 - drop in the apples

 - cook a couple minutes just until the outside surface starts to soften

 - strain the apples out and cool on a plate - save the liquid and cool it separately

 - once both the apples and liquid are cool again, you can return the apples to the liquid

 - store in the fridge until serving

Recipe: Candied poblano peppers

As happy as I was with the corn flan, it needed a garnish.  I wanted something Latin, considering its source, but also something equally versatile as a dessert or for other occasions.  Poblanos are always nice with corn, but a tad spicy for some people's "dessert" preconceptions, so they needed to be sweetened up a bit.  I thought of a pepper jelly, but there's a reason its usually done with red peppers - between the cooking and the vinegar, the chlorophyll of the poblanos would be lost.  Luckily, I made that invert sugar a while back - it turned into a nice glaze with almost the same effect of a jelly without cooking the peppers.  By using the microwave method of peeling the peppers, I kept a purer flavour and cooked them just as much as needed to soften up a bit.  I was very careful in the use of vinegar to avoid a negative effect on the chlorophyll, and used rice vinegar since it has a lower acidity to start with.  The result was sweet and tangy with a nice bit of zip from the poblanos.  Since I wouldn't classify this as a preserve (like a pepper jelly), I would recommend making it as close to when you need it as possible, but it will store nicely in the fridge short term.

 You will need:


2                           poblano peppers
15ml / 1Tbs          invert sugar
1.25ml / 1/4tsp     rice vinegar
pinch                    salt



Method:


 - cook and peel the poblano peppers using the microwave method
 - trim up any rough edges and cut the peppers into strips
 - warm up the invert sugar slightly to soften it
 - add the rice vinegar
 - gently mix in the strips of poblano
 - season with salt
 - let cool so the glaze thickens up again
 - use as desired

Peeling peppers - microwave method

I'm not usually one for microwave cookery, the microwave in our kitchen is more of an oversized digital clock than a crucial piece of equipment, but I recently used this method for peeling the skins off poblano peppers.  Normally I would have roasted the peppers in the oven or have burned them over a flame, but for this application, I didn't necessarily want the roasted flavour or any charring of the pepper's meat in the final product.  For the sake of peeling peppers, the microwave method takes a little more care when peeling than the traditional way, but to the end of detouring around the "roasted" character in the final product, it did the job just fine.  The cook on the peppers also went just as far as I wanted it and the colour was still a nice dark green.  I only needed to peel two peppers, so if you are doing more, you will need to cook longer in the microwave or pace the peppers though by twos.

Method:

 - wash the peppers and trim the stem

 - place them in a strong plastic bag or covered microwave container

 - microwave on high for 5 - 8 minutes depending on the power of the oven

 - remove and let cool sealed in the bag or container - watch out for the hot steam

 - once cooled, split in half, remove the seeds and lay flesh down on a cutting board

- gently peel the skin away, using the back of a paring knife to scrape any spots sticking to the flesh