Cook.Diego.Cook

A weekend afternoon in the garden

21Jun09

From Memorial Day

Filed under: Growing | Leave a Comment

Summer Tasting Dinner

14Jun09

So the dinner went without too many glitches. I got a good sense of what it takes
to put out eight courses by yourself, and how important organization is. I think
overall everyone had a great time, and so did I. In the future I’m probably going
to plan ahead more and actually practice the dishes. This time I just set up
the prep and let the creativity of the moment dictate the plating. Very nerve
racking but a lot of fun as well. I didn’t get many pictures because I was a bit
frantic about timing but here are a few, and the menu.

From 6.13 menu

Early Summer Tasting
6.13.09

Cauliflower Soup
Parmesan Foam
Lavender

Copper River Salmon Sashimi
Lovage
Pickled Radishes
Delfino Cilantro

Flying Pigs Farm Pork Loin
White Polenta
Leek
Sherry Jus
Sorrel

Potato Gnocchi
Golden Beet
Young Garlic
Tarragon

Dry Aged Strip Steak
Parsnip-Horseradish Puree
Pea
Olive Oil

Fromager D’Affinois Coupe
Strawberry-Rhubarb
Bleu d’Auvergne
Pickled grapes

Jasmine Panna Cotta
Crenshaw melon
Brioche Croustillant

Bourbon Pain Perdu
Milk chocolate pudding
Cherry

Filed under: baking, cooking | Leave a Comment

Not so fast – Heirloom tomatoes

08Jun09

At Whole Foods today I noticed that they had some
locally grown tomatoes. It must be some kind of initiative
that they have in which everything that is grown
reasonably close is labeled as local. The tomatoes
that they had were a mix of slicers, plum and ox heart.

From june 7 09

It’s much too early to see tomatoes, especially around
here. I just planted my tomatoes 3 weeks ago. These must
be started in a greenhouse to get a head start.

From june 7 09

After tasting a couple of them I came to the conclusion that
there is no comparison between these and completely
in season tomatoes. The flavors are subdued and the
sunshine that is evident on a warm fresh picked august
tomato just isn’t there.

From june 7 09

I “enhanced” them with a bit of smoked salt, pepper, Chilean
Asapa olive oil, white balsamic strawberries and a mix of herbs
from the previous post.

From june 7 09

Filed under: cooking | Leave a Comment

A few herbs from the garden

08Jun09

I’m in the process of planning some courses for next weekend’s
dinner so I am taking an inventory of what vegetables, herbs
and fruits are looking good in my gardens. These are just
some of the herbs and micro greens that are ready. It’s
very exciting to taste them one by one and to see what flavors
would complement a dish.

From june 7 09

Filed under: Growing | Leave a Comment

Pickled French Breakfast Radishes

28May09

I love to extend the seasons as much as possible. Growing
and harvesting is great but some veg or fruit come all at once.
In order to savor the season for as long as possible there
are some time honored techniques that are very useful.

From may 27 09

Pickling is one of my favorites. You can take amazing produce
and transform it, keeping the vibrancy of product while imparting
new and exotic flavors.

From may 27 09

These are my first crop of radishes. They are misshapen and
vary in size quite a bit but they are delicious nonetheless. I
Made a pickling brine using rice wine vinegar, Penzey’s Pickling
spice blend (one of my favorites), some extra cardamom, Chives
and their blossoms, sugar and salt. I’m going to try to find a
place for them at the June 13 dinner, maybe as an amuse.

From may 27 09

Filed under: techniques | 2 Comments

Chive Blossoms

28May09

I was in the city today for a stage and took some time before
hand to check out union square market. The market is in
full force right now although much of the best stuff was gone
by the time I got there. I was able to pick up some heirloom
tomato plants (As if I needed more, I have 50 sitting in my
room without homes) and some other fun early summer stuff.

From may 27 09

What really caught my eye was the chive blossoms. These
flowers are very popular recently. They have a wonderful onion
like taste with a hint of floral aromas. The tiny petals are
perfect to lend a delicate onion taste to anything that requires
it. They are also extremely beautiful which is always a plus.

From may 27 09

Filed under: ingredients | 1 Comment

Sepp Moser – Muskat Ottonel 2006

25May09

We’ve all been there. You’re in the mood for a different wine.
Maybe all the over oaked Chards have given you palate
fatigue or super extracted Shiraz has you reaching for
a glass of water.

From sepp moser

During these times of palate exhaustion I usually reach for
something different. My blueprint wine for this situation
must be acidic, interesting, unusual and white.

This time I brought home a bottle of Muskat Ottonel by
Sepp Moser. Muskat Ottonel is a variety of wine
from the Muscat family. They are usually used to make
dessert wines in Austria and Croatia and some dry wines
in other regions. It has the usual muscat characteristics
such as vibrant fruit and up front flavors.

This is a wine that hits my palate pretty well. I get notes of
orange oil and rose petals on the nose plus a hint of dove
soap. There is an intense amount of aroma.The more
I inhaled, the more images of fruits and flowers popped in
my head. On the attack you get a rush of acid – strong but
structured acid. The crispness of the acid transitions perfectly
into an explosion of different and intriguing fruits. This wine
is very ambrosia/fruit salad in that way. The finish is floral
with just a hint of bitterness reminiscent of a well made Negroni.

92/100

Filed under: wine | 2 Comments