Here is just a collection of food pornography from our pig roast collected by a good friend Tim Ireland, dangerous drummer and all around good dancer. I will try to be witty and explicit as I make mention of the situation in which the dark and devilish images were captured in, and when they are light and beautiful I will try not to let that same wit over power the beauty of the image.

Photo – Tim Ireland ©2008 www.irelandscaped.com

When cooking Collard Greens you are unknowingly producing two separate and equally delightful dishes; the collards themselves and the pot lickies. Now you might think that something called pot lickies is mildly off putting in name alone please try to remember that this viscous liquid that remains after the cooked greens have been served is based with bacon, sautéed onions and an assortment of chilies. It is then thickened with the hours of steeping green and cider vinegar; not to mention the smoky delight of the ham hocks that splinter and dissolve, adding a certain gelatinous delight to the broth. Eat your greens and then reserve this for making out with whenever you get a pork hangering. Some old creole friends of mine used to say that it was medicinal and would give it to the sick, I completely believe them.

Pickling is my new favorite thing. Think about it and get back to me. No I mean really think about it.

I will show you some of the more unexpected delights that I have endeavored into recently that will shock you with a repulsive drive to say, “you are wrong my friend. That is disgusting and I refuse your pressures.” You might be right to say such things when you hear about strawberries, peaches, pasta, laser beams, but that prejudice should be completely put aside when I tell you that right now, this very second you should go pickle five head of garlic. After quietly snacking on them while watching TV or with cheese and dried meats in bed with your naked friend, or on your salads with dieters and healthiers, over the next two weeks and then you decide to pickle ten heads for the second round say thank you to me and come back for the expanding list of things you should pickle and add to the collection in your cupboard.

This pile was the one of the hardest thing for people to deal with. To say that there was some anticipation in the crowd waiting for the food to be served would underestimate the skill of the team of people involved in seasoning, cutting and slapping pig around all morning. These ribs needed to rest before being portioned and there was a palatable anger emanating from the people who were standing right next to the butcher table just wanting to grab one rib, one quick bit, just one snack before the meal was served. Good things come to those who wait, better things come to those who wait patiently, the best of releases come after hours of teasing and flagrant tantalization.

I am not sure that this means anything to you, but this was 12” across and 36” long. It was 60C (140F), it seared the gloves onto your hands, it steamed in your face, it splattered on your shirt (and vest if you are named Jonathan). It was spiced, its spice burned your eyes, whetted your palate, flaked apart under your hand. It wait and drove tens of people to the point of furious desire, it was covered in sauces; dirty and sweet, bitter and pungent, homemade and delightful (thank you Hunter).

This is just gratuitous and I know that. You are also welcome; even you vegetarians. I know you secretly covet this. I have seen your reaction to it on my table, in restaurants next to me, in the backs of cabs as you hover over my lips after a meal as we head over bridges and under tunnels. It is ok, it is really that good and we all happily will keep enticing you until you come back into the fold.

This is the start of so many of the things we eat it is almost impossible to separate from our diets. If only the government could figure out a way to grow onions with corn; direct oil injections, corn oil fertilizer I am sure our c4 ratios would be near complete. Until then we can sit back and delight in the sweetness of onions in and on everything.

Getting it done

Roasted pig skin, glazed with apple cider vinegar mop that had just a touch of pepper sauce and a schmear of ketchup to allow for a slight caramelizing. Undoubtedly at some point it will rupture and spill the delicious fat back out on to the hot coals, but just pray that you are close by when this happens so you can enjoy the fuliginous haze that will settle over the campfire and coat your skin with a fine glaze.

Sunday June 22^nd, 2008

This adventure into displaced products came together in very little time thanks to the amazing amount of traffic that day. Most of this meal was and exploration of infusing flavors into water and condensing that flavor into the service.

Menu

Savory Coconut Fritters

Housemade Tortellini in Brodo

Cauliflower Steak, Sweet Pea Puree

Smoked Lamb and Tagliatelle Salad

Meringues

This menu was written & executed with Mark Low and we were very excited and blessed to have the amazing Betsy Balog from Osteria La Spiga working with us and captaining the pastry duties for the evening. Special thanks would also like to be paid Sunny Bang, the new executive chef at The Williamsburg Café and good friend, who was one of the inspirations for the Cauliflower Steak that we cooked this night. Please try his version of this dish when the restaurant opens on July 4^th.

These beautiful photos were taken by Cassidy DuHon

Savory Coconut Fritters

The rice fritters were made risotto style, softened with a lemongrass and ginger stock and folded with diced shrimp. They were rolled into balls and coated with panko and coconut before being fried. The whole shrimp were dusted with a Thai spice blend and served with rocket. The rocket was dressed with a yuzu and sriracha and was thickened a little and left for people to dip the balls in.

Housemade Tortellini in Brodo

Saying house made is a little unnecessary and redundant, but everyone in the house chipped in a helped with this.

This was my attempt at try to recreate a classic Italian dish with a different flavor structure.

The tortellini were made with smoked flour and eggs and stuffed with a black eyed pea and sheep’s milk cheese puree. The broth was a sweetened Serrano ham stock and it was topped with sautéed chiffonade of collard greens that had been spiced with hot sauce. I think that the bent flavor structure was very successful and it remind some of the people at dinner and I that black eyed peas are fantastic.

Cauliflower Steak, Sweet Pea Puree

I believe this dish was originated with Charlie Trotter, but that is just hersay because I have never seen his recipe or really know anything about how he prepared, or served dish other to say that peas were originally broccoli.

That being said the dish was further filtered through the mind of my friend Sunny Bang as accompaniment for Brook Trout at The Williamsburg Café. To me though the idea of having the cauliflower be the center of attention and main purpose of the dish really was missing from both preparations.

To give the cauliflower a soft center texture it was  sous vided in with some seasoning and then give it a crisp outer texture it was finished in a pan with clarified oregano butter. The Pea puree was made with frozen (their density and flavor is perfect for pureeing and reducing) and fresh sugar snap peas, onion and cooked in a sweet basil stock. The little bit of red pepper was give as color contrast and to give  fresh crisp taste and texture to the dish.

Smoked Lamb and Tagliatelle Salad

This although it doesn’t seem like with the lamb chop was not the entrée, it was a salad course for after the cauliflower.

The lamb was smoked with apple wood and oregano and then sous vided with butter and herbs to 52C. It was then finished with the same Oregano butted to lightly caramelize the outside.

The Tagliatelle was not pasta but actually long strips of cucumber, daikon and omelet noodles cut into thin strips. I unpeeled the vegetables in the Japanese style of Katsuramuki and then cut them into long noodles. The omelets were made with a touch of cream and smoked salt and cooked super thin and then chilled. The salad was dressed with a cherry tomato and oregano vinaigrette.

Meringues

Here Betsy presents her hazelnut and chocolate meringue topped with fresh whip cream and strawberries. It was light, fluffy and amazingly simple to make but difficult to eat without getting at least a little messy. Thank you again for coming buy on your vacation to cook in my kitchen.

Dinner on Sunday June 15^th, 2008

This was the first attempt at proper service here in the lab and it seemed to work out spectacularly.

Menu:

Savory Pasty

Bouef Roulade de canard et de champignons

Fennel Smoked Sole

Cheese Puff

Cheese

Coffee and Cigarettes

This menu was written & executed with Mark Low and would have not been possible without help from The Genus and Tom

Photos By Missy Sue http://forkthis.blogspot.com

To be honest when we thought of this dish we were going to make doughnuts and it would have been amazing, then we forgot that doughnut dough has to sit overnight and it was already 3pm on Sunday so we embraced my Italian roots and made some zeppoli. If we are still on this honesty tip then you should also know that when I made the powdered salt, I used MSG coated salt. I am not sorry.

“You can’t sit at the table if you aren’t going to bring nothing to it.”

Blackberry Beret

Bouef Roulade de canard et de champignons – We unpeeled this beef tenderloin and stuffed it up with braised duck and softened wild mushrooms. It was then confitted in duck fat and finished in the deep fryer to give it that tasty browning. Served with Curried Sweet mashed Potatoes and Crisp Kale, and some of the delightful duck, cabernet and blackberry demi-glace

We originally had planned on wrapping it in duck skin but we ended up not having enough to wrap up the 3 of them so instead of leaving some people envious we scrapped the whole idea and ate the skin after everyone left while cleaning up.

Todd normally is in charge of protecting the meat products that are left out on the counter during prep from the straying fingers of the cooks. He might not look it but is super vicious.

Fennel Smoked Sole Filet w/Raw Mustard Greens, Tomato Caviar topped with Wasabi Tobiko, Chive Flowers (they actually taste great and last for a least a week in the fridge) dressed with Lemon and Olive Oil. This is a part of the ever evolving green menu and was extremely well balanced.

Someone with two X chromosomes said it was the best thing she had ever eaten, I told her I thought that was just her being hyperbolic and she told me to go to hell because it was good, take that interaction for what you will.

Fennel Pollen Dust

Unexplainable, but know this. It was lost and then found in michele’s bedroom which was the last place any of would have thought to look.

Cheese Course (Instrumentally orchastrated with Julie at Formaggio South End) – Pierre Robert a Triple Cream Delight with an aged goat cheese Leonora, which is named after a friend of mine, or at least i am pretty postive it is, with a soft vegetable ash. Strawberries are cheap and tasty; candied walnuts are a total pain in the ass to make, buy them other people are better at making them then you, well most likely, unless you are one of those people who are really good at making them, but then I would assume you would have to be deficient in some other area like non-sticky fingers.

Coffee Granita with Whipped Cream – This was thought about while reminiscing with Cortney about Sicily and was built by Danielle. Thank you both for your inspiration and construction.

Cigarettes were in bowls and were smoke after in proper fashion