Spicy Pulled Pork

Pork shoulder braised in chicken stock, harissa and jalapenos.

Pork shoulder is almost always delicious, but the spicy component just takes this to the next level giving your tongue another taste to tangle with.

Alright sorry for the minimal writing, but I gotta go write an essay about James Madison and Thomas Jefferson- who by the way, was a lover of all things French, especially the food.

Ideas in Food Dinner

Last Monday was great. I had no school the next day (staff development day?), the Phillies won their game, and I dined at Blackfish for the Ideas in Food Dinner. Though I love no school as much as the next guy, and I am an ardent Phillies phan, the dinner was undoubtedly the highlight of my marvelous Monday. It was a deliciously whimsical meal, and though I do have a few critiques, the meal was overall exciting and evoked new taste sensations.
Smoked Pumpkin Ice Cream with Wild Char Roe, Cranberry, Brittle Walnuts.
- I was really excited when I heard that they would be making pumpkin ice cream. Unfortunately however, the ice cream didn't really taste much like pumpkin. The flavor was overwhelmed by the smoke and by the char. The cranberry however, did a good job of cutting through the smoke and the salty roe to make it overall a good tasting dish.
Potato Chip Soup, Crab, Tartar Sauce.
- This may have been my favorite course, and though I'm not really sure I got the "potato chip" sensation, I couldn't just have one [spoonful]. It was luscious and creamy and the soft crab just melded with the soup very well.
Apple-Cheddar risotto with bacon.
-I thought the flavors in this risotto were spot on--the apples, which were slightly cooked were a porkfect foil to the bacon and there's really no other way to describe the risotto than cheesylicious--however the rice was slightly undercooked and I thought the risotto wasn't as creamy and emulsified as I'm accustomed to. But then again, it was cheesylicious, and that by itself made the dish delicious.
Scallop with chestnut fettuccine, kale (I think) and buttermilk biscuit broth.
- Scallop was perfectly cooked and the chestnut fettuccine were my favorite component of the whole dinner. The buttermilk biscuit broth didn't really taste like anything, and it really didn't add to nor take away from this dish.
Beef Cheek Bourguignon, "onion soup," mashed potatoes.
--This dish was very solid and tasted delicious, however at an Ideas in Food dinner, I expect something new and exciting. I've had these flavors together plenty of times and while they will probably never get old to me, they weren't what I wanted when I signed up for Ideas in Food. Also, some of my carrots were al dente.
Powdered Pierre Robert, pistachio gremolata, white chocolate sheets, bourbon cherries
-- I talked to a bunch of chefs at Lacroix who also had this dish and this was their favorite. They thought it was definitely the most well-balanced dish. I disagreed. I thought the cheese was awesome by itself, and I thought everything tasted awesome together, yet with everything else, I couldn't really taste the cheese.
Fluffernutter
This was my least favorite dish. I really got no sense of a fluffernutter. The foam tasted like air and the peanut custard was unsubstantial and didn't have a real strong flavor either.

Perhaps I complain too much, but as a chef at Lacroix pointed out to me, these really aren't complaints, they're critiques of some minor flaws in an overall outstanding meal. And indeed, it was great, largely because of its ingenuity. When I go out to eat, I want something that either I couldn't do or wouldn't think of at home. The majority of this meal satisfied both. My economics teacher would disagree, but I definitely consider this meal a wise investment.

Chorizo Sauce

Maybe you recall, back in September I wrote about a dinner I planned to cook for a couple describing their likes and dislikes, and asking you all for suggestions. Well I cooked their meal not this past Sunday, but the one before that and in my opinion and I think in the opinion of the diners it was a success. I would definitely go as far as to say that this was the best meal I've ever cooked. The thought, the work and the technique I applied to this dinner far surpassed anything I've done before.

Unfortunately, I can't post about it right now, because the pictures of the dishes are on the couple's camera, and they haven't sent me a cd with the photos yet. Instead, I'll talk about my chorizo sauce, my favorite part of the whole dinner not only because of it's taste, but because of the process involved in creating it.

There it was, a huge pot of chorizo and liquid in a massive pot just sitting in the kitchen. I'm actually surprised that I remember it this clearly, but then again, how could I forget. I was walking back into the kitchen from the dish room, and then I saw it, just sitting there, unattended. I grabbed a few pieces of spicy, delicious chorizo, before the creator of the sauce, Billy came over and said "no try the sauce." I spooned some out and it was incredible complex. It had some many layers of flavor. It was garlicky and slightly sweet- carrots and onions were definitely in there, and spicy from the chorizo. A touch of cream balanced all the flavors. I asked him how he made it while I scribbled instructions in my "chef's journal," where it lay dormant until just recently when it erupted with flavor on a plate with roasted broccoli and scallops.

Sauce making is involved. It takes skill and technique and experience. I remember before I had spent much time at Lacroix, I tried to make a bordelaise sauce from the French Laundry Cookbook--I failed. Another time I tried to make a chicken jus to accompany some roast chicken, and found myself virtually dipping my chicken into water. On an even simpler level, I remember a time at Lacroix when I was put in charge of the vinaigrette for the salad of the day, and I couldn't get it to emulsify. I just stayed broken and had to be scrapped. Average Joe off the street could easily sous vide a chicken breast, but it's much less likely that he would be able to create a thick, rich demi-glace.

Once you get a feel for it though (and I'm really no authority on sauce making) and get a hold of some basics, it's much easier to achieve your desired results. One other thing--using good chicken stock is very important. If you have a good gelatinous stock, your sauce will have nice body and will reduce down to a nice consistency. Store bought stock just won't give you the same body but if it's your only option, use it.

To make this chorizo sauce, render some fresh chorizo in a large pot (I used my beloved Dutch oven). I actually just took the chorizo out of the casing and got it really nice and brown. I then added some onion, garlic, and carrot and just sweated those veggies in the chorizo fat. I then roasted that at 450 for about 20 minutes. Then I deglazed with a little red wine, scraping up all the browned bits at the bottom and adding homemade chicken stock and some sage to cover the chorizo. I cooked it down until it coated the back of a spoon.

In the end I decided not to add any cream, I thought it was perfect as it was. I also decided to leave the chorizo in the sauce, because it was just so tasty. Once you understand the process, it's really all about you, the saucier.

Ideas in Food Dinner

Tonight I go to the Ideas in food dinner armed with my camera and my appetite

More Lunch

It's been a rough week. I feel overloaded with school assignments. My week was improved today however, when I made a curious discovery in the cafeteria. Today, nudged up next to the choco tacos and chipwiches were little styrofoam containers of pumpkin ice cream. I got one and it was actually delicious! I'll just pray there's more tomorrow. Here are some more shots from the caf. I think I'll do posts like this every once in a while throughout the year. It's interesting no?




This is sarah with her lunch of peanut butter and fluff on soft white, a brownie, goldfish, gushers, and that coveted honeycrisp apple. Her "favorite." One of her close friends once told me that she subsists largely on a cheese and ice cream: an enviable diet if you ask me. Sarah also reads my blog, so she will probably ask me who said that in the near future.

This is Jake, one of the pickiest eaters I know. I'm actually really surprised that his peanut butter and nutella is on wheat bread. He's such the person to only eat white. His mom makes him his lunch every day, and every day it's the same thing. His lunch may be the most widely stolen in the cafeteria. People are constantly trying to get his peeled and sliced apples every day.

Here's Matt. The picture makes him look like a big tough guy but he's actually a softie. He's a soccer player and his lunch almost always consists of 2 Uncrustables. Today however, he went to Wawa and got this spicy chicken sandwich with lettuce, peppers, honey mustard, and oregano and some barbecue potato chips and some sour patch kids: a "guy" lunch.

This is Jesse. He's a goofball, all the girls think he's good looking and if they saw his lunch, they'd probably think it was cute too. I mean look at it. Peanut butter and grape jelly (his preference), an apple and some carrots. No he's not a vegan, but he is my boy.

This is Justin. He's just an overall real friendly kid who everyone gets along with. He also often has awesome sandwiches that he lets me taste. Today he's just got some turkey-- I caught him on a bad day.

And that's all for now. More from around the cafeteria in the future.

Can't update today-- loaded with homework and meeting with an SAT tutor and all.

Instead, check out this cool post on sous vide today from serious eats

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Nutmeg, at least for this part of the year, is my favorite spice. I mean seriously, just look at it. It looks like it's got cave paintings inside it.

Appearance aside, nutmeg's aroma is tantalizing. I even prefer it to cinnamon which I believe too often overpowers fall foods. When nutmeg and cinnamon work together with the correct amounts, the results can be masterful.

Such is the case with these pumpkin whoopie pies. While nutmeg is my favorite fall spice, pumpkin is my favorite ingredient. This recipe is from Martha Stewart's website who got it from Matt Lewis of Baked Bakery.

• FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350, and line 2 (recipe says 2, but I halved the recipe and I needed 2 so see what works for you).

2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients except the sugar.

3. Whisk together all wet ingredients.

4. Fold dry into wet.

5. Using a small ice cream scoop, or just two spoons, drop the cookies onto the parchment paper and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean (I actually left mine slightly underbaked, and they were delicious.

For Icing

1. Beat butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer.

2. Add vanilla and sugar.

3. When the cookies are cooled, spread a dollop on the flat side of 1/2 of the cookies, then cover with another cookie. Enjoy

Keep for 3 days in the fridge.

My Comments

Cookies tasted good--I could eat them on their own no problem-- but I'm not sure they were the correct texture for a whoopie pie. I like my whoopie cookies dense and kind of chewy, to contrast the soft cream.

These were really soft and delicate and therefore made eating them with the icing a "uni-textural" experience.

That not to say these weren't absolutely delicious- they were- but there's some room for improvement.