frozen, seared, and roasted at 170 degree

8-06-2013 Tue. mild, light rain.  


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with ratatouille 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea | nectarine  
DINNER ---  new potatoes sauteed with tomato and onion | seared frozen rib steak  with mushroom sauce | sauteed zucchini and banana pepper | avocado salad | wine

• the steak went through a lot in this modernist cuisine journey

all over the food map, searing steak with a torch

02-04-2011 Sat. chilly, cloudy and rain



WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- ( at A&J) dim sum | fried twist bread | congee | Shanghai style wonton soup
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- Thai hot & sour seafood soup (Tom Yum Talay ) | simmered napa cabbage and radicchio with dashi | crispy scalloped potato | seared frozen steak with mushroom sauce | Italian bread | wine || Chinese sweet rice dumplings

dim sum


delicious wonton soup


simmered cabbage



Tom Yum Talay


searing with a torch

seared frozen steak

• there are no boundaries for good food, dim sum, tom yum, and modernist seared frozen steak.
• an alternative searing method: used the torch to sear the frozen steak instead of cast-iron pan on stove. the local temperature of the torch flame is much higher than that in a pan. the oven cooking time is about a hour and 15 minutes at 180 F. it could have been shorter for a bit more rare and tender result.
  

home-kitchen sous vide salmon

01-28-2011 Sat. chilly, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | homemade Swedish limpa bead with jam and butter | Chinese sweet rice dumplings | grapefruit
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- steamed manila calms | sauteed young kale with garlic | black quinoa seasoned with sumac and nutmeg | yuzukisho and ginger scallion spiced sous-vide salmon | wine || basamic panna cotta | espresso

sealed in a bag, submerged in warm water (115 degree)

out of the bag and water after 30 minutes


pan- seared about 20 seconds


served with yuzukisho ginger scallion sauce


as happy as clams


basamic panna cotta, espresso

• continue to try out the recipes from NYT demonstration of "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking".
• Sous Vide Salmon, basically a warm water poaching approach applied to the tender and fatty Icelandic salmon. the result is quite good, fish has very tender and silky texture, but not raw. the spiced butter searing part is substituted by very brief searing with olive oil and yuzukisho,ginger and scallion sauce.
  
• Basamic Panna Cotta, the key thing is to use citrus acid instead of gelatin or egg to set the cream. the result is a mixture of success and failure, the texture is no bounce alright, but way too dense and not soft. need to work on the proportions.
  

seared frozen steaks: The Science of Cooking

01-21-2011 Sat. cold, snow dust.



WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | Italian bread | cheese | grapefruit | scrambled saffron eggs AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- okra tempura with dashi dipping sauce | seared frozen rib eye steaks with wine mushroom sauce | baby potatoes with caramelized onion with porcini juice | wine

cast-iron pan searing the frozen steak

seared, ready to go in the oven


one hour later, out of low-temperature oven (200)


tender and flavorful, with mushroom sauce

okra tempura

• followed the Seared Frozen Rib Steaks recipe from NYT this week, which made from the giant book "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking". It was a rather successful first try, the steak turned out to be juicy, tender, and flavorful.
  

Adapted from “Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking,” by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet, with my notes from the experiment

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus freezing time

2 bone-in rib steaks (about 1 1/2- inch thick and 1 1/2 pounds each) ( used New York rib eye steak, 1 inch thick, no bone )

Safflower oil (used canola oil )

Coarse sea salt and black pepper.

1. Place the steaks on a baking sheet and freeze them for 1 hour.( solid frozen)

2. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Season the steaks all over generously with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a cast iron skillet until very hot, at least 10 minutes; add a thin layer of safflower oil. Sear the steaks, one at a time, on one side, until they form a golden crust. Transfer, seared side up, to a rimmed baking sheet. Alternatively, arrange steak on a rimmed baking sheet. Holding a propane torch six inches from the meat, run a flame back and forth across the surface of the meat, giving it an even crust. Make sure to sear the fatty edges and the bones. (You need to sear only one side and the edges.) (heavy cast iron skillet essential, pre-heated over medium heat for 15 minutes, very thin oil layer, meat seared nicely with some smoke, 10 minutes )

4. Cook steaks until they reach a core temperature of 122 degrees for rare, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Or leave it in the oven until it’s done to taste.) Let stand 10 minutes before thinly slicing. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve immediately. ( cooked for an hour, most evenly medium rare, bottom slightly well done. the oven temperature could have been a bit lower to 180 )

Bar Agrecole

12-06-2011 Tue. mild, sunny.


BREAKFAST --- green tea
LUNCH --- ( at K. T. restaurant in SF) Vietnamese spring rolls | sauteed pea leaves with garlic sauce | clay pot of seafood stew | squid in scallion and ginger sauce | rice
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- ( at fisherman's wharf ) cappuccino
DINNER --- ( at Bar Agricole in SF) cocktails: sleepyhead | oysters | cicciocli tempura with mustard | dandelion with dungeness crab, radish, fennel and creamy dill vinaigrette | spaghetti with braised rabbit, shiitake, nettles and parmesan | buttermilk panna cotta with brandied huckleberries

a beautiful day hike in SF

ciccioli tempura


weeds and crab


rabbit and weeds on pasta


huckleberries on panna cotta

• Bar Agrecole in SOMA, modern in every way, the building and the food.
• Fatted Calf Charcuterie in Heyes Valley carries interesting varieties of hand crafted meat products.
  

tuna and duck across Larimer street

11-09-2011 Wed. chilly, sunny.

BREAKFAST --- coffee |croissant
LUNCH --- Syrian bread | green tea
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- black teaBEFORE-DINNER-DRINK --- ( at Roija, Denver ) Spanish cava | tuna sashimi and tuna tartare, marinated apple and fennel, anise vinaigrette, crispy apple chips | orange and herb breadDINNER --- ( at Bistro Vendôme , Denver) Confit de Canard, wild mushroom risotto, gruyere, truffle beurre blanc, baby spinach salad | Moules, with white wine sauce | red wine

• Roija and Bistro Vendome are "sister" restaurants across street from each other, one goes with fusion style modern Mediterranean , the other classic french bistro, owned and operated by women chef. food in the french bistro is solid, food at Roija is creative and better executed.

will science reinvent cooking?

7-20-2011 Wed. very hot, steamy.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- new potato stew with chorizo and chard
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- cherries
DINNER --- sauteed shrimp with Thai basil and spring onion | stir-fry of young mustard green, orange pepper and smoked tofu | salad of marinated jellyfish and radish | rice | wine

• a 40-pound box came from Amazon today, it contains the massive 6 volume set: Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. a random flip lands on a page: science on why you need to stir the liquid when you poach an egg. just what I needed to know