Experiment

Smoked Almond-Chicken Breast

Beef Tendon

Watermelon Rind Kimchee

Fish sauce Caramel

Yuzu

-Marinated the breast in a smoked almond & buttermilk brine, steamed it, sliced it thin.

-Braised beef tendon in broth and spices, semi-froze, sliced paper thin

-Marinated watermelon rind in salt, sugar, chilies & fish sauce for 2 weeks (so far...)

-Equal parts fish sauce and sugar, reduced and cooled to a loose caramel.

-A few dots of yuzu over the top.

I really enjoy how the beef tendon looks almost like pancetta draped over the chicken breast, which, after a 3 day brine, infused a great deal of smoked almond in the breast without losing the essential chicken flavor. The rind kimchee I can't get enough of, I always reach in the fridge and snack on them, tasting the transformation of a Korean-inspired southern s(e)oul food time lapse. The caramel needs some work, but I know I want to go somewhere in the direction of "Umami caramel". This was not only an experiment, but an improvisation. I didn't harbor over notes, jots and doodles for weeks, doubting myself and then reassuring. I just had an open fridge and an open mind which will, hopefully, lead to an open heart {purgarey}

Experiment.
Make it your motto day and night.
Experiment and it will lead you to the light.
The apple on the top of the tree is never too high to achieve,
So take an example from Eve, experiment.
Be curious, though interfering friends may frown,
Get furious at each attempt to hold you down.
If this advice you always employ, the future can offer you infinite joy
And merriment.
Experiment and you'll see.

-Cole Porter

Smoked Almond Roux

Not Milk?

After observing a freshly strained Thom Kha Gai broth, you wonder what whimsical interpretations could be made between a bowl of broth vs a bowl of milk. Could cereal be the next soup? That film of fat that forms atop a pot of warm milk, could that be recreated with something else? Another fat, perhaps. What's going to be hiding underneath?

Charred Citrus

A blowtorch is, ironically, a delicate way to sear and caramelize citrus and fruits without it turning to mush. Cooked fruits could be easily horrible, but cooking with fruits is truly an amazing way to add freshness to any dish. I usually don't do much to the fruit. Imagine watermelons, mangos, blueberries, cantaloupe and the perfect orange or apple. Notice how distinct and different they are from each other. How indescribable and uniquely delicious their flavor is. No need to tamper with too often.Texture is a fun way to tamper, if you must. Juice selected fruit and set to a gel, make alginate spheres, foam it up. Staying true to its raw flavor while giving it a surprising new mouthfeel and appearance.

Here, I've torched some raw grapefruit segments and paired it with a fennel salad (thinly sliced and dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper). Tarragon would be a nice addition, though I didn't have any at the moment.

Pig's Tongue Confit

Crispy Lentils

Peach

Ginger Salt

Mauby-Balsamic Reduction

Pickled Leeks

Sage

Another late night snack.

Maduros

Bleu Cheese

Basil

Pumpkin Seeds

Watermelon Rind

I love to leave a sliver of flesh on the rind, for a touch of sweetness and the beautiful gradient. The gradient that won't matter once ground into a delicious chutney. Yes, there is much to do with the remainder of fruit. The outer layers. The same way I'll dehydrate potato skins and grind them for a crust or powder; I'll kimchee, pickle, preserve, ferment and chutney a watermelon rind. It's a fun way to take apart an ingredient and reincorporate it, sort of deconstructed, in a dish. Imagine how much more fun watermelons would be to eat if they were bite size and eaten whole.

Preventing waste is something I grew up on, and finding creative ways to do it excites me even further. The chutney I made is inspired by my grandmother. Simply:

-Saute lemon slices (rind on) in a bit of olive oil; medium heat

-Add minced serrano chilies and ginger

-Add chopped watermelon rind (green and white)

-Cook for a couple minutes, until the lemon flesh has melted into the pan

-Add salt, sugar & white vinegar. Cook for 1 more minute

-Remove from heat. Blend all the ingredients in a blender or grind finely in mortar and pestle.

-Refrigerate. It's best served cold with just about any hearty dish. Preferably curries.

Coffee & Potato Skin Crusted NY Strip

Bleu Cheese Panna Cotta

Strawberries Three Ways

Fresh

Macerated in Gin

Oven Dried

Basil Powder

Celery Strips

Editing:

-Needs a starch and a sauce.

Where are the confit potatoes?! In the fridge, of course, as my fork arrived at the plate it's face turned strawberry-red (if it had a face; a cute little fork face) embarrassed by the fact that it didn't have any fat-soaked confit potatoes to sink its' claws into.

The sauce didn't turn red, but probably grey as I left the strawberry and celery leaves in their respective china waiting to be blended into a vibrant green emulsion, only to better accent the already plated flavors. Now the only green left is of envy. Also a balsamic-mauby reduction was supposed to be in the works.

-Don't plate the panna cotta too soon.

I've never made panna cotta before. For some reason, I decide a savory bleu cheese one would be a great place to start off. Don't get me wrong, the flavor was on point. I wanted to plate it ahead of time to see how it came out, because I didn't want to make the dish if the panna cotta didn't hold up. It held up, but started to melt as I was setting up everything else to be plated. I felt I needed to rush which also attributed to the loss of sauce and starch.

-Don't get caught macerating....the wrong way

An hour ahead I sliced strawberries and marinated them in sugar, salt and Plymouth gin. The raw flavor of the gin was very unpleasant. Here's what I can do: 1. Remove the idea from this dish 2. Cook the gin to remove the raw flavor 3. Macerate with another spirit: red wine or tequila perhaps.

In conclusion:

I am happy with this dish, but it is definitely a rough draft. It's actually an idea (flavor combination) from 3 or 4 years ago that I've always been excited about and finally felt ready to give the flavors the proper treatment. Food editor sounds like an interesting job to make up.

Late Night Simplicity

Thyme Infused Potato

Bleu Cheese

Kalamata Olive Oil

Celery

Basil

Scallion

Truffle Oil

Fig White Balsamic

Black Pepper

I don't know what the verb for confit is, but that's what I was doing to some potatoes I had squared off into planks for a sooner than later ribeye dish I'm working on. I had a lot of leftover, irregularly shaped tater ends and could not waste them. So I boiled them ever so easily in salted water with thyme sprigs and a bay leaf. Planning to fry them the next morning, I was ready to pack them up when I realized that midnight wasn't the only thing that had struck. Hunger calls and what better way to tame it then the beautiful and starchly simple tubers that drain before me. I donned my superhero persona as the Refrigeraider and improvised my way to a late night snack. It's about 2:30 in the A.M. and I am not about to reduce, simmer, fry, poach, steep, marinate, macerate or saute anything else. A warm and somewhat elegant potato salad suited fairly and I must say was quite tasty and not too filling. This would be a delicious bar snack. Maybe for a sports bar that only has medium-width screen TV's showing cricket and badminton during the off season. Oh, a pretentious sports bar. I think I'll call it: Miami Prime II: The Squeakquel

Pork Belly

Watermelon

Watermelon Rind Kimchee

Tomato Seeds

Reduction of Braising Liquid & Coconut Milk

Supporting Herbs: Thyme, Celery, Basil