Pan con Tomate y Jamon
Spanish Mangalitsa Ham / Estrella Beer
Pan con Tomate y Jamon
Squid Ink Risotto / Ricci
Cioppino
green lip mussels / manila clams / calamari / shrimp / scallops / cod / spicy tomato broth
Dessert
pizzelle / truffles / ruby cake
NY Strip
potatoes two ways (confit & pickled) / fried bone marrow /
chanterelles / creamed spinach / smoked steak sauce
I finally received my copy of Modernist Cuisine a few weeks ago. I actually pre ordered it in March through Barnes & Noble but they are the worst when it comes to pre orders. They had no way of telling when it was going to ship. They ultimately ended up losing my order. Luckily they are no longer on back order and I had a 25% off coupon so I ended up saving over $100 on it and getting it within two days off reordering. I’ll stick with Amazon for future orders.
We all know the book is massive, it is after all 50lbs but the size comparison to other books is crazy. I thought the ‘Grand Livre de Cuisine’ was big until it sits next to MC.
My first recipe I had to try was from Wylie Dufresne. It was his sous vide egg yolks in tube form. You blend the egg yolks put them in a sealable bag that is in 1 in x 10 in and cook them at 70c for one hour. The result is a sliceable yolk with a texture similar to a slightly firm custard.
Bacon, Egg & Cheese
braised bacon / sous vide egg yolk / ricotta salata
Next up was the caramelized carrot soup. I’ve heard a lot on this technique from the MC website and from Nathan’s lecture at Harvard ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcnW49luEGQ&feature=youtube_gdata ). First you peel and core carrots, I guess the carrot core is significantly more bitter than the rest of the carrot and removing it results in a much sweeter carrot flavor. You then cook the carrots in a pressure cooker with butter, salt, and baking soda for 20 minutes. The addition of baking soda and cooking it in a pressure cooker helps caramelize the carrots and they are not just caramelized on the outside, it is all the way through. Puree that and add carrot juice and a little butter and you have one of the most flavorful soups in under a half hour. You can see the full recipe here ( http://
Caramelized Carrot Soup
63 degree egg / pickled carrot / fennel / bacon
Eggs “en surprise”
Fresh Spaghetti / Porchetta / Egg Yolk / Smoked Onion Soup
Surprise!
Here is a nice & easy breakfast dish.
Fresh Tomato Sauce / 63 Degree Egg / Toasted Ciabatta
Chanterelles sauteed in porchetta fat topped with a 63 degree egg
Back in May I received a gift from Mr. Robuchon the amazing cookbook ‘Grand Livre de Cuisine de Joel Robuchon’. This is one of the most amazing books I have ever seen and especially owned. The only problem is everything is in French and I don’t speak one word of it. Luckily there are step by step pictures and with a little help of Google translate I was able to get a rough idea of how the recipes went. I had been eyeing a particular recipe from this book called ‘Turban de Langoustines en spaghetti’. It’s obvious I love pasta but this was such an interesting way of presenting it that I had to give it a shot and after a recent trip to L’atelier I was finally inspired to go for it.
Fresh Spaghetti / Prawn / La Quercia Speck / Shellfish Cream Sauce
I had to make a few minor adjustments to mine. One is that I used prawns in place of the langoustine since I have never seen langoustine available in San Diego. Second is that Mr. Robuchon uses truffles where I used the speck. Minor changes but I was extremely happy with the results. It is a time consuming dish to make but worth it in the end. Recreating his dishes makes me realize even more how talented Mr. Robuchon and his team really are. Hopefully I did it justice.
Since I had bought a few more prawns than were needed I decided to do one other recipe from this book called ‘Fricassee tiede de langoustines aux courgettes’. Basically langoustines wrapped in zucchini. A very simple dish but very tasty.
Fresh Garganelli
Tagliatelle Verdi al Ragu Bolognese
Garganelli w/ Ragu Bolognese
The pastas and sauce will be available at Ariccia Market for you to take home and enjoy.
So last week we finally broke ground and started construction. Although the property manager did not make it easy asking for things out of nowhere and not allowing us to start with out certain things. In the end they didn’t even need what they were asking for. It’s amazing how careless they are with a tenants time and money. They employ people that are clueless on running projects and like to abuse their power. Anyway, we are looking at about a 2 month build out if all goes well. Below is the lay out and a few construction photos of the progress so far. Stay tuned for future updates and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the top right of the page.
Layout
Installing HVAC
In the trenches. Neighbors behind us were not happy about the noise. They will be happy when we open though!
The light at the end of the tunnel.
This is going to be a specialty of Ariccia Market and is going to be tough to keep up with demand. I can not wait to get this market up and running. The city and LL have not made things easy but it seems we have worked through all major issues. I will be updating a lot more on the progress of the market so stay tuned.
Porchetta di Ariccia
Look at all the fat on the bottom. That fat is tossed with roasted potatoes. So good!
Porchetta Sandwich
Porchetta/Balsamic Onion/Arugula/Ciabatta
Bali Hai Restaurant
2230 Shelter Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 222-1181
www.balihairestaurant.com
Dined here on July 7, 2011
I had been looking forward to trying Bali Hai for sometime now but was somewhat hesitant because it was a restaurant with a view. Which usually in San Diego means the food is an after thought and they capitalize on tourists. After talking and getting to know Chef Chris Powel and following his blog (www.chrispowell.typepad.com) where he displays his new dishes I knew that wasn’t the case for Bali Hai.
‘The Bali Hai was the first Tiki temple erected on Shelter Island and was originally called “The Hut”, a subsidiary of Christian’s Hut in Newport Beach, California. Only two years after it’s opening in 1953, the Hut’s manager, Tom Ham, took over the ailing business, gave it a new name (after the movie Bali Hai was released) and transformed it into the most happening place in San Diego.
Over the years, some aspects of the Bali Hai Restaurant’s original Tiki thematics have either been replaced or renovated away or removed all together. Today, however, with Tiki enthusiasm on the rise, the Bali Hai is making changes to accomodate a new generation of Tiki lovers, and to provide people with a great restaurant / meeting place / watering hole wherein they can reminisce about the bygone Tiki era and discuss the future of Tiki things to come!’*
I had Chef Chris put together a special tasting for us that would showcase what Bali Hai was about. The only thing I asked was that foie make an appearance on the tasting, which it did twice.
Mai Tai (no fruit juice) Bali Hai is known for strong cocktails and they definitely live up to that name. This was one of the strongest drinks I’ve had in a long time. There is no fruit juice added just straight rum. If it is too strong for you they will bring a side of juice to help tone it down a bit. If you have more than two you better call a cab for a ride home.
King Crab Truffle
Clear Tomato Gazpacho,Chive Flower
Perfect start to the dinner. Light and refreshing.
Ahi Poke
Mac Nut Seaweed Crust, Tamari Sesame Pipette
Super fresh ahi was prefect on it’s own but the addition of the pipette added a nice playfulness to the dish and and great flavor to each bite.
Point Loma Purple Sea Urchin
Maki Style
Sea Diego uni is home to some of the best in the world and this was no exception.
Local Albacore
Chili Garlic Marinade, Maple Smoke, Calamansi Honey
My favorite dish of the night. You could smell the maple smoke as the dish arrived to the table. The smoke flavor was perfectly balanced and didn’t overwhelm the delicate albacore. I love how simple of a dish this was but everything worked together perfectly. So good!
“Prosciutto & Melon”
Pimento Cured Pork Loin, Balsamic Honey Rum Gelee, Cantaloupe Sorbet
Foie Gras #1
In Mousse Form With Coco Mac Nut Dust, Smoked Sea Salt, Eel Sauce
Of the two foie dishes we had I enjoyed this one slightly more. The silky smooth foie mousse with the combination of eel sauce reminded me of a savory sundae. Eel and foie is one of my favorite combination and this made me love it even more.
Foie Gras #2
Pan Seared Over Cherry S&S, Amarena Cherries
Pork Belly
Miso Butterscotch, Green Apple Mustard, Shaved Apples & Bacon Croutons
Fork tender pork belly glazed in the miso butterscotch was balanced nicely with the acidic bite of the green apple mustard. Extremely rich dish but it’s what you expect from pork belly.
Duck
Sous Vide in Char Siu
Lup Cheong Sausage, Snap Peas, Cauliflower Puree
I love duck especially sous vide and this was one of the best duck dishes I’ve had in a long time. The char siu added a very familiar flavor that I’m used to having on chinese pork dishes. I would love to have this in a steamed bun with some pickled veggies.
Malasada Portugese Doughnuts
I’m usually not one for dessert but these won me over and I kept looking for more.
PB & J Ice Cream Sandwiches
Overall I was impressed with the food that Chef Chris Powell put forward. The albacore was exceptional and would go back for that dish alone. I would have liked a few more fish courses added to this tasting because I feel that those were the real high points of the meal. I look forward to my next dinner at Bali Hai and if you have yet to go I highly suggest you give it a try.
*Credit to Bali Hai website.
