Chocolate Truffle Tasting - Part 1

I was thrilled to be invited by Discover Paris! to a chocolate truffle tasting this past weekend. The people behind Discover Paris are Tom Reeves & Monique Wells, recent publishers of the book, Paris Insights - An Anthology.

They wanted to research different truffle makers for their upcoming February newsletter, just in time for Valentine's Day. I was more than happy to participate in such a difficult assignment!


Here's how it worked:

1) Discover Paris! collected "truffe nature" samples from five different chocolate shops in Paris. These are natural truffles, without any added flavorings such as alcohol, nuts, etc.

2) They assembled a few people around their table, including Pastry Chef Alison Johnson (of 1 Michelin star restaurant Jean), Michel Cloes (President of Chef Culinary Network), and myself.

3) The truffles arrived at the table, one at a time, identified only as Truffle A or Truffle B, C, etc. We privately commented on each truffle and rated it on appearance, touch, smell, taste, and mouth feel. We then compared notes & talked about our impressions. Finally, the scores were tallied up and a winner was announced.

Here are the truffles we tasted:

Truffle A

Truffle B

Truffle C

Truffle D

Truffle E

Unfortunately, I can't disclose the conclusions yet, because in all fairness, it is Discover Paris! who deserves those honors! However, I can share a few thoughts:

1. Side-be-side comparisons have a way of highlighting a flaw that might otherwise be less noticeable. It is perhaps for this reason that a well known chocolatier disappointed me so much. Either that, or they've changed their recipe (admittedly it's been 2 years ago since I last bought from them...).
   
2. No matter how many different people you have tasting something, everyone is going to have their own opinion!! That's the nature of something like cooking or pastry or chocolate making....these are highly subjective professions!
3. Despite these differences, a trend could be found.
4. There was a surprise entry in this tasting....it turned out to be quite the highlight of the event for me!

Well, that's all I can say for the moment. Look for Part 2 of this posting in early February. Until then, I wonder if you have any preliminary conclusions based on the photos alone? If so, please do share.

Thanks again, Discover Paris!, for hosting such an insightful & delicious event!


/ dma

Chips de Banane - Banana Chips

I recently went on a hunt for colombo spice, an exotic-sounding blend used in Caribbean cooking. I was also looking for christophines (commonly referred to as chayottes in Mexico.) This brought me to the 18th arrondissement of Paris where there are a ton of epicerie exotique (literally, this means exotic grocery store). In these stores I found what I was looking for...and then some! Most stores greeted me with an unrecognizable odor until I spotted the open air bins of smoked fish piled high on top of each other or next to each other. I even saw a few bins of whole chickens just sitting there. I didn't get close enough to see if the heads were still there, but I definitely saw some feet....Luckily I saw those chickens at only one store because that kind of scared me. I sure hope they were smoked because they surely were not refrigerated! I also saw several types of vegetables I didn't recognize & other things I had no idea what to do with! I honestly like exploring these kinds of stores. Makes me feel like I'm travelling or something.

Anyway, I digress. It's here that I found plenty of plantain bananas. I brought some home and I made us some banana chips. Mighty good chips, at that. Even my sister-in-law, a doctor specializing in micro nutrition, thought they were good. And she's very picky about what category of food she nourishes her body with. Rightly so. I say, if she likes them, then you might like them, too!

Recipe for 4 people - for an Aperitif or Appetizer

2 plantain bananas (green)
bunch of oil in your fryer
salt & other seasonings of choice (colombo, paprika, pimento, etc)

Basically, peel, cut & fry the bananas. That's really all there is to it. But here are a few photos to further explain...

Use the green plantains for chips. I tried the yellow one, and as you might imagine, it was more ripe (or is it riper...humm...) and therefore it was more difficult to cut & fry.

Peeling these things is the most difficult part. You can see my knife cuts down the length of the banana (they look like black lines). I made the incisions and then removed sections of the peel.


This works pretty well, if I do say so myself.

A raw banana like this is just not edible. Yuk. yuk. You will want to spit it right out. Like someone I know! Very bitter and awful tasting. The texture looks kind of tough & mealy, doesn't it? Well, trust me, it is.

But this is exactly what makes them easy to slice! About 1-2 mm. A mandoline makes this job kids play. Less than 30 seconds to slice a banana. (I love my mandoline!)


Fry at 180°C about 1 minute, or until all of the water is evaporated off & they crisp up.

These are just about done here. After that, just turn out onto a paper towl, season & serve immediately.

They'll be gone in a second...

And for the curious, here's a picture are the "chips" made with the ripe banana (see below). They're actually very, very good. I just wouldn't call them chips because they didn't crisp up like the other one, no matter how long I left it in the hot oil. They turned brown before they wanted to crisp up. Kind of weird. But what happens is this: the sugar from the banana caramelizes & you're left with this really nice, tasty, sweat treat. They might get slightly stuck to your teeth because of all that sugary goodness, but you don't mind because the taste is so sweet & nice! For me, these would be perfect with dessert. Except, despite how enjoyable they are, I'm not inclined to make them again because cutting them was a royal pain. The banana was mush by the time I got 3/4 through. And the slices that I did get through the mandoline stuck together like glue, making them a real pain to get into the fryer. It would be great to find a solution to this problem, but until that happens, I won't be doing these again. Any ideas, anyone?

As for the christophines, well, they got dropped from the menu I was planning (too expensive). But I'm still glad to have looked for them. It led me to discover a new part of Paris I hadn't seen before. I would even say it felt like I wasn't even in Paris anymore! And it certainly led me to these banana chips. A good adventure all around. Enjoy!

:/dma

Amouse Bouche - Verrine Méditerranée

I had the chance to try out an amouse bouche (appetizer) idea on a group of very nice people last weekend at a summer get-together. I presented this appetizer in a small glass, called "une verrine" in France....Serving appetizers in this way has been wildly popular here over the past three years, or so. It's been a trend, for sure, and one I still like.

This verrine is a layering of (1) tomate confite (slow roasted tomatoes that become naturally sweet as they roast) & tangy sun dried tomatoes, (2) whipped goat cheese with a hint of lemon & (3) caviar d'aubergine (roasted eggplant purée). These flavors are hugely popular in this part of the world, very Mediterranean, and are natural pairings with each other. Honestly, I never grow tired of them, individually or together.

This is a light- & fresh-tasting appetizer, the way an appetizer should be. It's intended to whet the appetite, not kill it. It should leave you wishing you could have just one more spoonful or two....but you can't, it's gone. So all you can do at that point is simply look forward to what's next! If this is the feeling you leave your guest with, then you have successfully served an amuse bouche the french way. (By the way, amuse bouche literally means to amuse the mouth...tickle it pink!)

It's especially good when you grab all three layers in one spoonful...

I'll be keeping this one in my recipe box -- a "go to" for summer. And spring. And early fall. And probably even in winter....when I want to be transported back to the feeling of sunshine, blue skies, and warm days. Voilà. Verrine Méditerranée was born!

The optional shrimp dipped in pesto sauce is always good

/dma

Sushi on the Seine

Thanks to my friend Ayako, I recently started eating maki-sushi regularly...as in more than once a week. I've always loved sushi & I would eat it from time-to-time....just not as regularly as lately. It has all been for a good cause, though: to practice the new sushi-making skills she had so kindly taught me! As we all know, practice makes perfect. I'm still happily practicing this craft! Those around me are happy, too, with all my practice sessions.

Here are some photos of this latest adventure. I think my favorite pictures are those taken on the Quai (quay) of the Seine River, where the sun was setting slowly, boats were passing by, and we had a nice quiet moment together, eating some freshly-made sushi, sipping a nice glass of champagne...and enjoying a summer evening in Paris.

Mis en place

First sushis made!


Vegetarian maki-sushi (cucumber, carrot); Must be Ayako's...it's perfect!

Salmon egg maki-sushi with roasted red pepper, zucchini and carrot

More salmon egg maki-sushi

These are also very, very good with smoked salmon and avocado. Next on my list to try is raw salmon or tuna, if I find a good quality supply. And why not crab meat or shrimp...? It seems as though the possibilities are endless. And if that's not enough reason to love these treats, they taste great, they are light & healthy to eat, and they make a perfect summer meal when you don't want to be turning on the oven. (Very important here in Paris when most apartments are not equipped with air conditioning!) Thanks again, Ayako, for sharing this technique with me. Your generosity is abundant!

Sushi, anyone? ;)

:/dma

Burrata Anyone?

Burrata cheese is so good that I decided it deserved its own post. From yesterday's recipe, you know that I'm a fan. I hope you are able to find Burrata at your local store because this is one cheese worth trying. And I honestly can't see how anyone would NOT love this cheese... It's seriously good.

Here's a link to a definition, if you like: wikipedia burrata (english)

In short, it's an artisinal fresh cheese having a mozzarella-like outside with bits of mozzarella and crème on the inside. It comes from a region in Italy called Puglia....and originally, it was wrapped in a leaf of a tree coming from that region. And the leaf would actually be bright green, proving to everyone and the world that this cheese is so fresh that the leaf hasn't even started to change colors yet! OK, so today they use plastic....tant pis!


Take it out of its packaging & untie it. The shape is very odd, but just set it on its side. It definitely looks better that way. Consider it a "cheese brioche"!

Burrata is best eaten at room temperature and immediately after it's made. And, it's best shared with a few close family & friends, each having a spoon in hand. Placed in the center of the table, everyone can dig into their own little corner of the cheese pouch. And that's when all its rich, buttery, creamy goodness comes seeping out. Take a look at what's inside:



All you really need is a high quality olive oil to drizzle on top. Add a few ripe tomatoes, some sea salt....and you're practically in heaven! Enjoy!



Address:
There are several specialty Italian stores that sell Burrata. There's also a fromagerie located here that is selling it at the moment:

La Fermette de Chloe et Gabriel
86, rue Montorgeuil
75002 Paris
Tél. 01.42.36.70.96
Cost: 23.80€/kg
One Burrata sac (shown above) will weigh ~ 200 - 300 g.

:/dma

Recent Production

Things have been just a bit hectic lately and I haven't had time to post as many things as I'd like. At least I can share a few photos from the kitchen activities:

Ravioli production: squid ink & egg pasta with tomato filling

Cod filet, gros langoustines, ravioli, ginger froth & fennel -- before & after addition of bouillibase broth

Mini muffins: lemon poppy seed

An "everything" bagel...hits the spot every time!

Tarte au chocolat

Spring's Bounty Salad

Strawberry Gaspacho (sweet-savory)

Bon Appétit!
:/dma

Les Amandes Fraîches - Fresh Almonds

Today I was out & about, hitting the pavement, checking out parts of the 15th arrondissement (district) as a potential location for setting up shop. Along the way I came across a little store, an "Epicerie Libanaise" (Lebanese grocery store). It was an inviting store front that lured me in to see what new items it might have to discover. Many of its products I could not understand because of packaging written in arabic. Then there was a display case of prepared foods that I could understand, with my eyes at least, but it was much too early for lunch.

As I was leaving, however, I noticed a box just sitting there. A small crate actually. I asked the shop owner, "How much are those fresh almonds?" I wasn't sure if they were actually for sale, or just part of the store's inventory. He was really pleased with my question, which surprised me. He started talking about how these were the very first almonds of the season. I asked where they were from. He said "Lebanon", and then he continued talking about how fresh these were. (Having walked into a Lebanese grocery store, I kind of assumed they were from Lebanon....and I was hoping for a more specific answer....!) However, he was so caught up in talking about these almonds that I eventually dropped my intended follow-up question, "but where?"!

He quickly explained that these are at the highest price point they will ever be because, simply, they are at their freshest. They were 8€/kg, in case you're wondering (~$5.50/lb). After this, the almonds are less good because they are less fresh, and the price will go down, he explained.

Then, he asked me, "do you know how to eat these?" I said no. I've already worked with fresh almonds in the past, but I wasn't sure where he was going with this. Then he simply took a bite of one, green skin (or should I say fur), and all! It sounded all crispy- crunchy. My knee-jerk reaction was "pas possible!" (no way, I can't believe it!). It really did take me by surprise. He said, "si, si" (yes, yes). And he added, "What's really good is to eat these with a cold beer. But only when they're this fresh. Otherwise, you have to get the nut out." And with that, he ran away & quickly returned, putting me a handful of whole almonds (peeled) in my palm. "Here, take this. You seem to like almonds!"

There was a girl in the middle of paying for something while all this transpired, and without blinking, she reached into the crate, grabbed one & popped it into her mouth. I was a little shocked by her brashness, but I curiously watched her reaction at the same time. She said with a smile, "a little bitter....but yes, a beer would be great with these". And out the door she went.

It was my turn to try one, at the shop owner's insistance. It was surprisingly fresh tasting. Not as "almondy" as I was expecting. Definitely "wet" & moist & slightly bitter. I still couldn't get over eating that green casing. In fact, it's a strange concept to not only eat the green casing, but also, the shell itself. Today, it's all moist, but this is the same shell that eventually dries out & becomes light golden brown, as I had been accustomed to seeing back in the states.


I bought a small sac full to bring home. I wanted to share this almond taste test with Eric. We tried them, as recommended, with a beer. But not just any beer. It was a Belgian specialty brought from Brussels last week by some dear friends..... It was unanimous. Fresh almonds are a unique treat and they make for a very unique aperitif (before-dinner drink and appetizer). We couldn't eat them every day, but we're still glad to have made this discovery.


:/dma

Random Food Photos- Best of 2008

These are just a few of my favorite photos (or favorite tastes!) from last year - all from our home kitchen. Doing these things helps me "train" or fine-tune cooking techniques, create new dishes, or allows me to simply work with natural products. Bon appétit!


Filet de sole, feneuil, betterave, pomme de terre "Ratte" à la sauce orange.

Sole, sautéed fennel, beets, fingerling potatoes and orange sauce.








Les Cèpes en saison (environ Novembre).

Porcini mushrooms, in season (around November).








Rôti de boeuf sur un lit de girolles et des épinards, potiron et jus de boeuf.

Filet of beef on a bed of sautéed chanterelle mushrooms and spinach, with baked pumpkin and a light beef sauce.






Pâte de tomate, farci de chèvre et ciboulette.

Tomato pasta ravioli with goat cheese and chive filling.










Tagliatelles aux épinards à la maison.

Home made spinach linguine.









Recette de Yannick Alleno, Le Meurice (3 étoiles): Timbale de langoustines et èpinards, avec coques à la sauce nantua, cappucino de langoustine et truffe noire.

Yannick Alleno recipe (3-star chef of Hotel Meurice): Norwegian lobster in a macaroni & spinach tower, with cockle in two lobster sauces and black truffle.






Truffes de chocolate

Chocolate truffles












Croquettes de pomme de terre.

Potato Croquettes (elegant "tator tots" if you will - mashed potatoes rolled in a cylinder shape & fried in olive oil).











Macarons aux vanilles et ganache chocolat.

French almond cookie (vanilla-flavored) with chocolate filling. Not to be confused with the American version called macaroons (based on dried coconut)!