Thursday, January 28, 2016

Thoughtful

It is the difference between good and great.  Especially when it comes to food presentation.  Watching a chef sweat over the appropriate placement of an ingredient, and wiping the rim free of a piece of sauce shrapnel ... it is impressive to see such thought and care go into a piece of temporary art perfection.  Those guys are looking for new ways to express themselves on a regular basis.  So if you see a guy with the eye of the tiger, tweezing a micro-green into place this is the chef we want to be talking to…


If this is you, we want to send you some of our creations to play with.  Any thoughtful request will be granted. 


Ruby's Homeplate



Taking the time to pose with young Ruby for our own staff version of Annie Leibowitz, Chef Giancarlo Macchiarella took us behind the scenes of his culinary homage, Cafe Mercato,  to his Kitchen Heroes (Keller, Robuchon, Puck, Fieri).  His plates are his canvases.  A smear here like Per Se, a sauce like Spago in Beverly Hills.  The thoughtful placement of an herb like Joel dans Paris.  Chef Macchiarella is melding all those little kernels he shaved off the Food Scene cobb and made his own personal relish from.  His gift for flavor pairing is rare.  Cannot be taught.  Relishable and Performing nightly at Cafe Mercato. 


(Chef Giancarlo Macchiarella.  You rock.  Thanks for the time)

Top Three: Kitchen Toys


  



14" S/S chopsticks. If you know how to use chopsticks, then you should try cooking with them instead of just using them to eat. Indispensable for the use of a finger like extension, (that is easily cleaned) for plating food, mixing, stirring and tasting.  Imagine them as old school tongs ... like 5,000 year old school.   Sushi masters use bamboo handled versions that are forged and sharpened to needle points (made by families that have been making Samurai swords before Columbus was standing on the bridge of the Santa Maria) for carefully arranging Sashimi - and they cost more than most kitchen knives.

 
Mandolin.  Like the slicer and the deep fryer, this is one of the most feared tools in a kitchen and for good reason, it is not very forgiving if you accidentally try to julienne a knuckle.  Once mastered though, it can take a mountain of produce and reduce it to strips, chips and waffles in no time.  Braun is the standard, but Matfer makes the best one. Use the guard.  Make stock or compost out of the scraps.  Did I mention to use the guard?  Your humble food therapist demo'd Mandolins for 4 years, never got cut, until years later when I was home - and using it without the guard as I had told people not to do about 98,347 times - Use the guard.

 
Microplane Zester.  Originally used by construction guys to shape sheet rock, this tool shaves all sorts of things into sparks of flavor.  Ginger and hard cheeses are great examples.  It is easy to stop at citrus zest before getting to the bitter pith since this little guy is so sharp and precise.  They have evolved into multiple textures of availability.  If something is hard and dry, use smaller holes, if something is goeey or more vegtal, use bigger holes.  And clean this too right after use, if not you can mangle the thing trying to clean out something that has turned to concrete.

Ten Top with Steve Abourisk

What if, you could be guarantee that an invitation would be accepted to a party you were throwing?  Who would you invite?. 

Here are the Rules:
  1. Guest may be alive or dead. (As in life)
  2. Fictional characters are allowed.
  3. You count, so invite 9 others.
  4. The more personal and genuine you make the guest list, the more it reveals about the host!
  5. We are going to do something nice for the person who comes up with the best list as voted on by our staff of judges.  Not sure what yet, but something.  You know.  Something nice.  Something cool and memorable but not too expensive. (OK ZZ?)
Steve Abourisk, Carolina Rep

We had a chance to sit down with Steve Abourisk, here, in his words, is his latest and constantly evolving list of dinner guests:
Princess Diana

 Charlie Rose

Walt Disney


 Former President Bill Clinton

 Ralph Lauren

 Robert Frost

Tiger Woods


 Elon Musk
Oprah Winfrey




Road Warrior: Izabel Does LA

No matter where we went or who we were seeing in the city of the angels, there were fans everywhere of our rock star designer in residence.  Pastry Chefs in Beverly Hills treated her like a visiting dignitary, and were eager to share stories of dishes they did on her dishes when Cabbage Patch kids were cool.  

The highlight was Chef Kriss at SLS who is as close to a real life Willy Wonka as you are ever going to meet. (This is a guy who buys 80 lbs of rare Japanese Citrus just to make a chocolate that pairs it with Lemon Verbena that will blow your mind … it did mine) He was so eager to share his flavors with Izabel- he was as excited as the French when Lindberg landed.  And could not have been a more gracious host.