Purple Haze

This is a cocktail entry. There is already a cocktail named "Purple Haze", and every other conceivable title using the world "purple" but they all involve blue curacao (aka HFCS [high fructose corn syrup] and blue dye) and either grenadine (aka HFCS and red dye) or cranberry juice. Alternate naming suggestions will be accepted though.

Therefore, for the sake of natural, quality drink making, the type that would be found in a respectable bar, I am hijacking the name and using it for my own. Why the need for purple? Seeing a big bin of cactus pears (also known as prickly pears, being the fruit of any cactus of the genus Opuntia) at H-Mart, I instantly thought of using them in a cocktail. They are bad for eating straight because they have large, hard seeds within which can either be swallowed whole or spit out. They also have a very thick skin. Here they are whole.

To prepare them, slice off both ends, just under 1/4 inch from the edge.
Make a shallow slit down the longitude of the fruit.

Peel away the skin to reveal the fruit within.

Dice and puree the fruit, then strain out the seeds and fibers. The resulting puree is thick, full flavored, and richly colored.


So here it is, the Purple Haze

• 1/2 oz sake or soju (I actually used sake and my galangal infused soju)
• 3/4 oz cactus pear puree
• 1 oz clear rum (as you'll recall, cruzan is my choice of the mainstream brands

• Combine ingredients in a shaker full of (cubed, not disk) ice and shake vigorously until you can barely handle the cold
• Pour into a rocks glass of fresh ice or a chilled cocktail (read: martini for the less-informed) glass

If you felt inclined, and lack any knowledge of mixology, you could call it a -tini, Opuntini, perhaps. But that wouldn't sell well. And it's not a martini, despite its pretty color...

The flavor was quite interesting. Reminiscent of a warmer-climate, chardonnay. It had the tropical fruit flavors such as banana and pineapple from the cactus pear and the butteriness from the sake, aside from other characteristics which are too many to detail. This was paired with the sushi appetizer I made tonight. Prost (or should I say Kampai?)

Popcorn Ice Cream

Having a gigantic sack of popcorn and not a lot on my prep list, I made some popcorn ice cream at work.

You'll need:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 c heavy cream
• 2 c milk
• 2 quarts of prepared buttered popcorn
• (Normally, I add salt to every ice cream recipe to enhance the sweetness and flavors, but the popcorn ought to take care of it)

Method:

• Combine eggs and 1/2 sugar in a large bowl and whisk to Ribbon Stage
• Combine cream, milk, popcorn, and remaining sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove from heat (take care not to boil over)
• Let it sit for about 20 minutes, until the popcorn has thoroughly infused its flavor into the cream. (Using a heavy pan will maintain enough heat so that the eggs are properly cooked by tempering)
  
• Strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer (see: Appendix D)
  
• Whisk a very small amount of the cream mixture into the eggs, continue whisking and adding cream in larger increments until you have a smooth ice cream base.

--This process is called "Tempering". It is done in order to prevent the eggs from curdling. If the eggs do curdle, you could try just straining the mix.
--If you heat this mix on a double boiler until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (nappe), you have "Creme Anglaise", aka pastry cream (though that also involves the addition of vanilla).

• You can use an ice cream machine to produce the final product, or just put it in your freezer (once cooled to 40F) and stir about every half hour to incorporate air and ensure even freezing
  

(Recipe adapted from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book)



Appendix D
The "D" stands for "Delicious"

The strained out popcorn is delicious and creamy, but not quite suitable for snacking and desserting. I'd recommend making a bread pudding out of it. Combine an egg, a splash of milk, a dash of vanilla, and a half pony of bourbon and whisk. Add the reserved popcorn (which hopefully has dried out a bit since being removed from the ice cream base), and more fresh popcorn if needed. Pour into an appropriately sized, greased baking dish and bake at 350F until set and a bit brown and crisp. Now play around with the recipe until you make something even cooler.

Potato Caviar

Disclaimer: This is in no way related to fish eggs or the solidified juices made popular by Ferran Adria.

I could go on an on about the farmer's market. The benefits to health, society, and the environment, are virtually immeasurable. But that's not what this is about. Okay, I can't resist, here's a few.

• The food comes from people, not companies
• There is no middleman unnecessarily stealing money from you
• You get the best, peak seasonal produce improving flavor, freshness, and healthfulness
• The environment is protected from unnecessary travel times transporting grapes from Chile to Vermont (google it, that's pretty far)
• The environment is protected from the very destructive practices of factory farms, be they chemical, physical, or social

Again, I could go on, but here's the reason that is important to this post: you can get stuff that you won't find anywhere else. Let's start with the why. National grocery store chains such as the Jewel, Dominick's, Wal-Mart, Price Chopper, and Stop & Shop require the same products in all of their stores. This is because of perceived demand. What's all this then? It's not simply that apples must be available at every store, year round, but that red delicious apples must be available at every store, year round. Red delicous apples are cheap and easy to grow, and have a long shelf life, but they lack the flavor and nutrients of, say, Honeycrisp apples, available only in certain areas at certain times of the year. The corporate growth strategy of most large corporations such as these is to provide an absolutely consistent product year-round, with the same selection available nationwide. This is a strategy based upon the premise of an infinite supply of cheap fossil fuels (think gasoline). Though we are currently in the midst of a major paradigm shift, these stores are resistant to embrace local varieties, seasonal produce, and quality ingredients.

So when you shop for potatoes at a grocery store, you have few options. Red and white (tiny), yellow (medium) and russet (large), are pretty much all you're limited to. But around this time, in the farmer's market, a single farmer can have as many as 20 varieties of potato, with a broad range of shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and flavors. Furthermore, among each variety, many size options are possible. Seeing these potatoes, I was instantly drawn to what most people would usually reject, the teeny tiny potatoes. These guys were all narrower than the width of a dime (though some were oblong), and I spent close to ten minutes picking out a pound and a half of them from among the baskets of potatoes. There were four varieties, two purple, one pink, and one yellow. Together, they looked almost like an assortment of olives, though the purple ones resembled blueberries when set alone.



Though there would surely be many cool and fun options for these potatoes, I went with a simple potato salad. The standard first step (after a thorough washing) is to boil and cool the potatoes. Start them in cold, salted water, and then heat until soft and tender, but not so much so that the skins split. I don't like the heaviness of mayo, so I use Greek yogurt as a base, with an equal amount of dijon mustard. A bit of lemon juice adds kick. Some chives and lemon thyme (picked in my garden) add nice flavor depth. A bit of grated garlic will give you a bit of a punch in the face, in the good way. And salt. Always salt. Here it is. Just so you understand the tininess of the potatoes, those green rings are thinly sliced chives, not scallions, as would be proportionate with regular potatoes.



What I'd do differently:

• Use an emulsified-vinaigrette-based dressing, rather than yogurt-based, so that it's translucent and the color of the potatoes shines through better
• I guess that's it right now. Have a nice day.
  

Coming soon: garlic scapes/blossoms

On Kitchens and HR; On Food, Philosophy and Passion

I haven't worked in a kitchen for a while now. I had that one job for a month, but that hardly counts as a kitchen, more a factory. Sure, there was Advanced Cooking, but the last time I genuinely produced (quality) food for paying guests was in the Escoffier Restaurant... two years ago. That is not to say I haven't been cooking. Even at culinary school, I often cooked my own food in the dorm rather than be subjected to the passionless schlock often served out of the production kitchens. Since commencement, I've seldom gone two days without cooking dinner. My first meal post-graduation? It was a joint effort between two fellow graduates and myself. Venison guinness stew with curried barley pilaf. I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Other than that I'm deeply passionate about food and cooking, whether completely immersed in it, recently escaped from it, or just kinda doing it.

Unfortunately, a series of experiences in professional kitchens, ranging from mildly unpleasant to absolutely miserable, have forced me to shy away from professional kitchens. I applied for many many jobs in the past four months, ranging from wine retail to FOH management to bartending to serving to CoffeeBucks. We appear to be in the midst of an HR crisis in this nation. I don't know why employers no longer have the consideration to call potential employees following an interview, once they've made their decision. I've been forced to call and call and e-mail and e-mail and occasionally even stop in and stalk them in order to get a straight answer.

CoffeeBucks was surely the most egregious. I went in to an open job fair and interviewed for almost an hour. It seemed to go well. I'd hear back within a week. I was pleased to hear back after four days, but displeased to hear that i'd be considered for a barista position rather than shift supervisor, certainly reasonable given my education, training, and experience. What really ground my gears, however, was that I'd have to wait THREE WEEKS to even have my second interview! Three weeks passed and I interviewed with two different managers. It definitely went well. We had good chemistry and it seemed I'd be offered the position. Boy was I excited when, after the interview, I was offered the supervisory position! Before agreeing, I wanted to go in, meet the manager of that store, and chat briefly; after doing so, I gladly accepted the position. I'd hear back from her within forty eight hours when I'd begin my training. There was evening and there was morning. There was evening and there was morning. There was no call. Giving them some wiggle room, I held off calling them for another two days. Once I did call, I was informed that they decided to "go in a different direction with [my] application". I understand CoffeeBucks just announced the closing of 600 stores, but they knew that would happen before offering me a position. Oh well, I guess. But find yourself a good coffee shop that roasts their own beans and is very happy. CoffeeBucks doesn't cut it. Intelligentsia doesn't cut it. If you're around New Paltz, New York, go to Mudd Puddle. It's by far the best coffee shop I've ever been to this side of the Greenwich Meridian. I miss it.

The point of all this ranting atopical to the theme of the blog? I'm once again almost in a restaurant kitchen. Technically, a wine bar. But why? Why, given my past experiences would I put myself back into that situation? I truly dig this place. They believe in what I believe in. Their plan is to implement a constantly changing, seasonally inspired, locally sourced menu. It's exactly what Carlo Petrini describes as Good, Clean, and Fair (read Slow Food Nation or the Slow Food Manifesto for more details). I didn't get the job; I was surely beaten out by a more qualified and more experienced chef.

Edit: Got the job, been working for two months and a week now as of September 20th.

But this is, after all, a food blog. So here's the menu that I wrote as part of the interview process. Note, no specific season was intended, just a broad overview of my style. Also included are some beverage pairings, some specific, some general.

Green Zebra Tomato Gazpacho
With Basil Oil and Roasted Garlic Blossom

Gruet Blanc de Noirs
Warm Fresh Mozzarella
Filled With Tomato Pesto

Balsamic, Crostini, Pink Sea Salt

Burgundian or rich Italian White

Trio of Autumn Squash

Buttercup Latke

Red Kuri Puree

Caramelized Butternut

Maple Cream and Hazelnut

Nut Brown Ale or Wheat Beer

Salmon & Beets

Golden Beets wrapped around pieces of salmon, stuffed with braised beet greens

Pinot Noir Reduction

Arugula Salad

Sancerre Rouge or Cote de Beaune Villages

Braised Shortrib Ravioli in Spinach Pasta

Mustard Greens

Nebbiolo sauce

Nebbiolo, Barolo, or Barbaresco

Cassoulet

Flageolet beans, Lamb Bacon, Venison Sausage, Duck Confit

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA or Claret

MoShiso Granita

Sake, Fresh Lime Juice, Muddled Shiso Leaves

Warm Chocolate Brownie

Raspberry Zinfandel Coulis, Mascarpone Zinfandel Cream
Late Harvest Zinfandel

I tested two of the recipes. Here's the granita:

• 4 parts (by volume) dry Sake
• 3 parts lime juice
• 2 parts water
• 1/2 part sugar
• several shiso leaves, very finely minced

Combine the ingredients thoroughly and place in the freezer. Mix with a fork occasionally. Ice crystal size is inversely proportional to frequency of stirring. Act accordingly. It can range from snow cone to slushee, depending on treatment. It was quite delicious, if i do say so myself. Here's what it looked like. Garnish with Black Sesame Glass for added fun.



I also made the brownie dish. The brownies came out so-so, but that's easily remedied. Take a bottle of inexpensive (not cheap, learn the difference) Zinfandel, put it in a saute pan on low heat and reduce until slightly syrupy. Zinfandel, especially good ones, presents strong chocolate and berry flavors, an ideal pairing for chocolate desserts. For the sauce, just puree and strain raspberries (frozen please, fresh fruit in season shouldn't be tampered with like that), and mix with a bisl of the Zin syrup. There's your sauce. It should taste like fruity chocolate sauce with a smooth mouthfeel and bright acidity. For the cream, I tried whipped cream, zin, sugar, and mascarpone, but it resembled sour criscocream more than anything else. An appropriate substitute would be the type of sabayon cream used in making tiramisu, substituting the zin syrup for marsala wine.