…the amount of time we spent at melisse partaking in the 13 course carte blanche menu. absolutely splendid but way too much food. We ended up eating 13 courses and burped up 7. Will post menu and pix shortly… UPDATE: pix below. UPDATE: menu below also
Category Archives: food
new zealand potatoes (yams!)
they look like pinecones or larvae. i’m not sure these are potatoes. they are sweet. google isn’t helping me figure out what they are:
update: m found them: they are oca (Oxalis tuberosa; new zealand yams). i’m so web retarded…
paella
OMG. this was so good. there are no words that adequately describe how tasty this is/was.
i have a saying: “m can destroy a kitchen in 2 moves: she walks into the kitchen – check. she opens the fridge – checkmate.” tonight was no exception. but the messiest meals are also the tastiest so i’m not complainin’.
ciabatta
after our most excellent ciabatta @ melisse, i thought i’d try making it. SG says 85% hydration ratio for ciabatta. i also researched what daniel leader had to say about ciabatta in local breads. biga = 2g yeast, 65g water, 100g flour. my biga was (35/66/66) – close enough. for the dough, the biga is 167g, 425g water, 10g yeast, 500g flour, 10g salt. these proportions equaled my own calculations for an 85% hydration so i’m on the right track. leaders’ basic instructions read as follows: 9-17 hrs to mix and ferment the biga; 15 minutes to knead, 3-4 hrs to ferment; 30-40 mins to proof; 25-35 minutes to bake. i didn’t really bake it according to leader’s instructions; i kept my own method to reduce the number of variables. the bread came out spongy and sour and nothing like ciabatta. it wasn’t bad, but definitely not typical “bread.” back to the drawing board… will make it leader’s way next time and see what happens.
melisse #16 – the misplaced anniversary
actually, i should check jgold’s list before i go and say it’s our #16…
ok, yup, it’s there. we had our choice of the 4-course tasting menu, the 10-course anniversary menu or the 13-course chef’s choice menu. no fork for us – we opted for middle of the road and we weren’t disappointed. except for a bit too much salt, it was a highly enjoyable evening. let me break it down for you:
- bacon foccacia, basil brioche, and ciabatta
- amuse bouche #1: grapes in pistachio oil
- amuse bouche #2: sea scallop w/ prawn salt
- egg caviar, lemon creme fraiche, American caviar
- tuna + hamachi, white + green pepper, yuzu vinaigrette, mizeria (sp?)
- mandarin tomato soup, tomato tartare, tomato sorbet and brioche chip
- foie gras, spiced bread, 2 murray farm cherries, sorrel, cherry puree
- lobster, sweet corn agnolotti, truffle froth, chicken oyster
- turbot, chanterelles, aioli
- prime sirloin, spinach, potato/beef galette, morel mushrooms, spring onion
- reblochon tart, honey pepper gastrique, petite salad (3 fronds of frisee)
- chocolate hazelnut fondant (one of the best desserts we’ve had)
- strawberry sorbet, strawberry-rhubarb preserves, homemade vanilla yogurt
- petit fours, fresh fruit and creme fraiche
fava beans
(aka “boop” – spelled bób)
m proposed that we make one recipe from one of our many fabulous cookbooks once a week. she says we don’t eat enough good food. by “good” she means gourmet. our first recipe comes from paula wolfert’s mediterranean grains and greens (m is going through a mediterranean cuisine phase). i burned the casserole but we still managed to rescue the dish. unfortunately, the nuances of the spices, harissa, and cumin/coriander got lost in translation. next time…
2.5 TBSP olive oil
2 lbs shoulder lamb chops, trimmed of fat and cut into 3/4″ pieces
1 medium onion
1 1/2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP harissa
2 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed
pinch of ground curry spices (cumin, coriander)
salt and pepper
3 lbs fresh unshelled fava beans (or about 3 cups shelled)
2 bunches swiss chard, washed and stemmed
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
- In a 4-qt heavy casserole, combine the oil, lamb, and onion, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until meat turns light brown, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and harissa and stir until they glisten and coat the meat, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, curry spices, salt, and pepper and 3/4 cup water, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
- Meanwhile, shuck the beans and discard the pods. Peel the favas by dropping into boiling water and cooking for half a minute, then drain. Rinse under cool running water and peel off the skins. Cover with plastic wrap and hold up to one hour.
- Cut the swiss chard as thinly as possible, then cut into 1-inch lengths.
- Add the swiss chard to the casserole and continue cooking 20 minutes. Stir in the favas and parsley and cook 10 minutes longer. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper and present decorated with cilantro leaves. Serve at once.
the finished product
cannellini herb spread
- 1 cup dry cannellini beans
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Soak beans overnight. Drain and rinse the beans and put into a medium-sized saucepan. Add 4 cups water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans with cold water. Add all ingredients to food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Makes 20 servings.
i made 30 servings. eee gad, that’s a lot of spread.
farmers choice
Eating cherries now. Ate lychee this morning. Ate blueberries before that. Had pear and tangerines yesterday. Gonna make soup from lotsa veggies tonight. I’m pretty impressed. Not *everything* is local, but taste, quality, and prices are better than TJ’s Vons and WF. Now I kinda wish I lived @ pico and 34th…
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oatmeal rocks
No, it’s not quaker. No, it’s not steel cut. It’s stone ground oats. And there are tiny rocks in my oatmeal. Sandy, gravely, gritty rocks. Oatmeal rocks! It’s like a mixture of steel cut oats (thick and creamy) and cream of wheat (tiny grains) but tastier. What else are we doing today? We are making mushroom soup, baking bread, and going to RGG+SGG’s house.
mk versus sepia
two restaurants. both focused on locally-grown, sustainable food. the overall winner is mk because of it’s light-filled airy space and food that is brighter and better service. but if it were not for sepia, i wouldn’t know about this ice cube mold and i wouldn’t have had the best duck that i can remember.
- mk
- potato gnocchi, EVO poached artichokes, swan creek farms sunny side egg, parmagiano-reggiano, basil
- house made fettuccine, green asparagus, preserved lemon, chili, goat’s milk butter, mint
- maine lobster, english pea and tarragon, lemon, pea shoots
- baby arugula, shaved fennel, pine nuts, humboldt fog goat cheese, lemon vinaigrette
- swan creek farm roast chicken, asparagus (sweet! m even liked!), ramps, black beluga lentils, ramp vinaigrette
- arctic char, poached artichokes, cippolini onions, kalamata olive tapenade, citrus oil, parsley
- halibut, laughing bird shrimp, white asparagus, purple cauliflower, lemon thyme
- roast leg and seared loin of swan creek farm rabbit, parsley root galette, shallot, fava beans, carrots, rosemary
- italian style ricotta cheesecake, toasted pine nut crumble, meyer lemon pudding confit and granita, blackberry coulis
- banana souffle cake, toasted marshmallow fluff, macadamia nut crumble, dark chocolate sauce, malted banana ice cream
- sepia
- watercress soup, crispy frog’s legs, creme fraiche
- english pea and mascarpone ravioli, pea shoots, thyme butter
- arctic char, sauerkraut, rye gnocchi, pickled mustard seed
- duck breast, _____, _____, rhubarb gastrique (they changed the menu)
- halibut, artichokes, littleneck clams, ramp green cavatelli
- flat iron steak, sunchoke, maitake, coffee, bearnaise
- coconut creme brulee on almond cake with carmelized apricots, apricot sorbet
- ancho chili chocolate mousse on hazelnut cake with orange syrup