Middle Eastern Lamb Chilli

sumac wontons , za'htar creme fraisce, braised pistachio, chick pea, Greek spice, lamb loin...

o' what a night!!

These are the 6 wines we paired last night.the key key speaker and Mike did a great job pairing the wine with my food, i got a chance to taste these wines after the event and was floored by how harmonious they went with the food elevating all the flavor profiles of the dishes. This is one third of the main dining room just before the event the amount of people in different parties made it impossible to seat individual parties..people were reluctant at first to the idea of communal tables, but after the first two courses everybody in the room were laughing and joking with everybody.Now my camera was basically out of commission so these pictures don't exactly give the food the justice it deserves..

Alligator,king prawn,and red cabbage egg roll/smoked eel wakame/Vegemite,sweet chilli sauce

White chocolate pavlovas/tarragon gelee/Melba sauce/cream and berries

Roasted New Zealand lamb loin /bush berry risotto/crispy leeks/pistachio mint pesto

Aussie bouillabaisse/numerous domestic shellfish/fennel tomato broth/smoked anchovy aioli

pork tenderloin/puree yam/curried chicory/red onion chutney/ port coffee sauce

Elk carpacio/shaved cheddar/macadamia/apricot syrup/Cyprus salt/pink peppercorn/micro

Thank you for everyone that came out tonight..it was a truly remarkable event..I was proud of the kitchen crew and mike did a fantastic job with every one... at the end of the day i was left speechless.. me with crew en toe approached the 60 plus crowd right after dessert to an ovation that I've never received in a restaurant before it made me feel good but most of all it made the crew feel proud of what there capable of doing... I cant wait to go again...

Jacoby Elijah Santos

Born Monday January 26, 2009 @10:14 am 8lbs 7oz 20.5 inches long ...I cried my eyes out !!! he started to nurse with in minutes of coming out ! i was so happy to see him..to meet him....to hold him.... I feel complete and more focused..

Citristequilachickenhuitlacolchechorizohash..yum

This is organic chicken breast That has been marinated in a little Quervo with fresh lime juice & zest. Its flash seared then finished in the oven with a slice of tequila soaked lime on top to roast
It was served with a re fried black bean puree,lime scented arugula topped with ancho chili dusted crisps, and a hash i made from grilled Chirico 2 potatoes and corn smut (huitlacolche) witch lends a amazingly sweet note to a smokey hash.the dish was finished with a cool avocado lime crema'.

One Fish ,Two Fish, I Cook BLUE FISH !!

Blue Fish also known as shad or elf fish is a very delicate fish that east coast restaurants at times push away from due to its very short shelf life (only a few days , iced after caught) because of this it is usually smoked or cured . its a very Territorial fish that has a reputation for being confrontational in shallow New England waters..Its diet consists mainly on sardines , jack fish , and cuttlefish. Which gives the fish a high oil content in its flesh similar to tooth fish or sea bass making almost impossible to overcook. The skin rich in omega 3 , and is pretty tasty too. In the above preparation I tried to stay super light with real bold flavors of the Mediterranean.

blue fish:

4 ounces blue fish fillet skin on and scored

1 tsp. Meyer lemon zest

1/3 tsp. kosher salt

1/3 tsp fresh cracked black peppercorn

1 pinch Cayenne

1 tbsp canola oil

season fish on skin side with salt and pepper , season the flesh side with Cayenne. in a hot skillet or saute pan add oil until smoking place fish skin side down for 2-3 minutes until the edge of the flesh side start to curl flip the fish and place the lemon zest on the skin side cook for 2 minutes the remove to a plate to cool.

I served it with Israeli cous cous with a little kalamata olive,grape tomato,and Meyer lemon...roasted garlic spinach...and its topped with a relish of roasted garlic,roasted lemon and Greek olive oil.

Sugar teeth..

This morning i awoke is a some what nostalgic, yet goofy mood. One of those days where nothing would upset you. On the ride in to work i started thinking , or should i say obsessing about either whole milk ice cream, or milk chocolate ice cream.. no super fancy forward thinking (although in the back of my mind hydrocollid infested brain waves scatter for the methods of perfection) .. Ice cream lead to "what to put on it, or put IT on!"... Now , a very simple dessert that I'm planning on using in the upcoming future features a marvelous interpretation of a "BLONDIE' .. so there you have it. I was thinking ice cream and had brownies on the back burner..the ice cream tasted like a cold glass of milk..the brownie served warm was moist , decadent,with the most familiar and unfamiliar taste I've experienced for some time. The streak is bitter chocolate ganache and a little sprig of mint to counter.

milk ice cream:

1 vanilla pod

1qt raw or whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pinch salt

in medium sauce pan put cream, milk,and vanilla pod that has been split and scraped over a medium low heat

add sugar and pinch of salt and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the scent of fresh vanilla has bloomed into the mix, take off the stove and transfer to a bowl or container until cool..when the mix is cool remove vanilla pod and pour mixture into a counter top 4qt ice cream maker and let churn for 20 minutes. remove the the semi soft mixture and place in a container with a airtight seal . allow it to freeze at least 2 hours before you serve it...

milk chocolate /macadamia brownies:

10 oz. milk chocolate plus 4 oz. more

1 3/4 cup a.p. flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 pinch salt

1 vanilla pod or one teaspoon of van.extract

1 tbsp. all natural peanut butter

3/4 cup unsalted butter

4 whole eggs plus 1 egg white

1 cup toasted macadamia nuts

Pre heat your oven to 350 .Put the chocolate ,butter ,peanut butter, and vanilla in a non reactive bowl over a pot of boiling water. mix ever couple minutes until melted and fully Incorporated remove from the heat , remove vanilla , and let cool. put macadamia nuts on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take chilled chocolate mix and whisk in sugar, salt , add eggs one at a time until smooth ,then with a spatula gently fold in flour until fully incorporated.take the batter and pour it into a well greased baking pan put the nuts on top pushing the down a bit into the batter stud the batter with bite size chunks of milk chocolate and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until you can put a tooth pick in and pull it out with no residue. enjoy.

GAVIN ALEXANDER.

Here is my oldest son he just turned 3 and he is one the nicest little boys you will ever meet! he makes me a better person and a stronger man....Because all i want to do is give him the life that i wasn't allowed ...with the birth of my third son any day there is an exciting nervousness in my life... I cant wait to meet him , and to welcome him into our ever growing family!

beyond cold..

Today was one of the coldest days i remember for a long long time...like bone chilling.. even in the warmth of my kitchen i couldn't shake the bone chill from my morning commute...prep was a breeze so i started putting together my valentines day menu..which will be a post in itself and me and Chester started to work on our still untitled cookbook.. he currently has about 12 original recipes to my 0.... i 'll Catch up I'm sure. We busted one of them out today...even though its a bit off season i think with a little refinement it will be an amazing dish, it consisted of jumbo sea scallops sous vied with vodka,strawberries,lemongrass,and ginger and banana peppers. the scallops are shocked then caramelized on one side leaving the other cooked through but with the tenderness of a raw scallop i didn't see what else went into it (busy trying to warm up) .but i did get to taste it and i thought it was brilliant.lite refreshing something perfect for summer...its kinda funny on the coldest day of the year making a dish that can be described as "summer in a glass"......

Lamb...Lobster

Maine lobster & Cognac bisque, butter poached tail ,old bay cream , chive oil ........

Organic lamb loin encrusted in garlic parsley crumble. served on a creamy spinach orzo.Parisian squash saute.pistachio mint pesto,charred yellow tomato coulis , port cranberry paint.

Aussie Wine Dinner 1/29/09

On Thursday Jan 29th We will be having our first ever Australian Wine dinner, It will consist of six courses all with a twist on Australian cuisine. Studying for this menu was a ton a fun, being that Australia a fairly new culture in the overall scheme of things has a pretty diverse cuisine with influences from Europe and Asia as well as some of the best ingredients known to man. there will be twists on dishes using Aussie ingredients , and Aussie dishes using local farm fresh produce . At only $49.95 per ticket i don't know how anyone could go wrong ..i will post pictures of the event.The wine dinner was solely put together by our bar manager Michael walker and I'm sure this will be the first of many that he will showcase.

Cn2

Did you know? rock salt is 99.8% calcium chloride and .2% sodium nitrate the next time you make "spheres" or caviar you got your calcium bath on your porch..

BREAKING POINT...

The way December picked up and left leaving us all with a false sense of hope thinking we were finally going to start putting up the numbers that were more than worthy of, has got me and my anxiety in a world wind ...i know this a blog about food but its also a blog about the behind the scene structure of a restaurant...we had 0 covers for dinner tonight 0 that's unheard of we did 4 yesterday between the 2 days we probably made $500. that's a number that makes me want to cry. it costs the restaurant between $400 -$600 a day just to open with mortgage, utilities and payroll. In other years my owner has been able to sit back and take the blunt draught of winter off his chin , and never had to make any vast decisions or changes...This year is very scary..we as a whole are down 300k from last year and although its still descent numbers the expenses are just piling...So i have been finding myself wondering when will we reach the inevitable BREAKING POINT? With my third son just under 3 weeks away this is a very scary time.