BLT "salad"

Over the Valentines Holiday Weekend, which seemed to last for 2 weeks, we tested an idea for a salad/appetizer that would utilize Snake River Farms Berkshire Pork Belly.  I decided to go for a play on the BLT sandwich.  This is what we ended up with...

"BLT Salad"

fresh berkshire bacon

tomato marmalade, baby lettuces, sourdough toast

maple-pepper aioli & dijon vinaigrette

The "T" in BLT was the most difficult to properly present due to time of year.  It's near impossible to find a proper tomato in Glastonbury, CT in the middle of February.  I chose to go with a tomato marmalade as a way to coax the most tomato flavor possible out of fresh tomatoes.  The marmalade takes us 12 - 16 hours per batch to cook, but only consists of tomato, shallot, onion, vinegar & sugar.  The end result is well worth it and gives us a very nice natural tomato flavor in February...the acidity and mild sweetness work perfectly with pork belly.





we'll see what happens, this item sold really well I just haven't finalized all the recipe work due to a business trip in Philadelphia right after Valentines Day.  This may end up on the menu for a couple of months...but no promises.





The "Perfect Scrambled Egg"

I've been obsessed with scrambled eggs ever since I realized their true potential about 3 years ago, at Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas.  I had planned this dinner for months once my wife informed me that we were going to Vegas.  This was to be my pilgrimage.  Once we arrived I checked out the menu and saw that scrambled eggs & toast with asparagus was on the menu, and quite honestly I was puzzled.  I assumed that what I'd be served would be some play on scrambled eggs and toast, surely I didn't come all the way to Las Vegas, to Joel Robuchon to be served scrambled eggs, right?  WRONG...My mind was blown.  It really re-affirmed the importance of technique and simplicity.  A perfectly cooked scrambled egg is, for me, as good as it gets...

Every so often I get an "itch" for some "Perfect Scrambled Eggs", that's what we (the kitchen crew & I) call them...because we don't want scrambled eggs, we want PERFECT Scrambled Eggs...HUGE difference.  Only a very small (even minute) percentage of the population has ever even seen a perfectly scrambled egg or heard of the concept for that matter.  To the vast majority of people, scrambled eggs means that crap that their mother used to overcook on weekends, and that is what they equate eggs to...What a shame, they may never know the perfection that is the lowly egg.

Since that dinner at Joel Robuchon a few years back, I've been working on perfecting scrambled egg cookery.  It is so incredibly simple, that it's incredibly difficult.  Each time I get a step closer to perfection...but absolute perfection always seems to elude me.  Here are photos of the last "go of it"...9.75 stars out of 10.

the simplest of ingredients:  Eggs, cream, salt & pepper.

A bit of Fleur de Sel, butter and asparagus to finish the dish

Near Perfection on a plate

You've not lived until you've had Perfect Scrambled Eggs, once you've experienced it, it becomes an obsession.  Sort of like pork belly, but that's another rant...soon to come!

Orange-Chipotle Gastrique

As promised, an exercise in sauce making 101, documented production of the orange-chipotle gastrique from the bacon ice cream tests.  I've been a bit slow to post this only because I've had issues crashing the internet access at the restaurant while loading the photos into the blog.  Hopefully we'll have this problem worked out soon.  Classically there is no definition for gastrique, but it has come to be defined as a reduction of caramelized sugar & vinegar.  Often a wine is added to the reduction but is not necessary.  The final product ought be quite acidic while balanced with sweetness.

Here's a simplified photographic progression of the process for this particular gastrique...

Start with sugar & spices (such as mustard seed, star anise & carraway) in a cool dry pan.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and allow the sugar to begin to caramelize, the spices will also toast lightly during this time.

Vinegar is then added (in this case rice wine vinegar) and brought to a simmer.

Herbs (tarragon & thyme) & chipotle pepper puree are added.

All of this is cooked down to a syrup (until almost dry).

Fresh orange juice is then added to the mix.

The mixture is brought to simmer.

The liquid simmers until reduced by two thirds.

The liquid is then strained into a smaller pot.

This will then be reduced again.

After reduced again (this time by half) the sauce is strained again and ready for use.

Below is the the finished product.



The finished gastrique has a nice viscosity and sheen.  The sauce tastes of orange with a hit of smokey spice from the chipotle.