June 23, 2009
Je voudrais simplement vous donner une idée du progrès des essais pour le 5 juillet, et donc voici le 5 plat, la queue de boeuf et sa purée de pommes de terre de Noirmoutier à l’huile de truffe. Je ne vais pas vous tout expliquer puisque je suis fatigué et pas besoin de tout dévoiler. Une chose à garder en tête - j’ai déjà réalisé plusieurs fois ma recette de queue de boeuf, donc ceci était un essai “technique” pour trouver une façon de créer des “bouchons” de viande fondante.
Les produits phares - queue de boeuf race Charolais (magnifique, 13€/kilo), bière bretonne Coreff (7€/Litre) une bière ambrée que j’ai dégusté avant pour vérifier qu’elle n’avait pas trop d’amertume (qui risquait de rester présent dans la sauce à la fin), feuilles de nori bio
avant les photos, c’était comment ? Au niveau de goût et texture (fondant, moelleux) une réussite, et la sauce à la bière (une fois réduite et dégraissée) était très bonne. Combinaison de nori et queue de boeuf marche pour moi. Une remarque de notre invité du soir, Vincent (qui sera peut-être notre responsable de salle pour le 5 juillet) - bière / queue de boeuf / truffe = combinaison des goûts un peu étrange…..à mon avis non, mais vous allez pouvoir décider vous mêmes dans 2 semaines !
….et maintenant, les photos (n’oubliez pas, ce n’est pas censé être beau !!)
J’ai 80+ réservations, j’ai testé presque tous les plats (il reste certaines parties à tester - notamment le far Breton) et maintenant il faut passer aux fournisseurs et la commande…..pheww, je suis crevé.
Bonne nuit 
June 17, 2009
Encore une soirée devant l’ordinateur, mettant à jour pour le “x-ième” fois la même présentation pour un client….et je me sens fatigué….mes yeux plus que d’autre chose.
Je rame pour avancer au boulot…je dépense bcp d’énergie tout simplement pour réussir à faire mon job….un boulot “correct” et “respectable”. Si cette énergie était en cuisine, je sais que les résultats seraient bcp plus intéressants.
Enfin, bon…..une journée difficile où la cuisine s’est éloignée un peu plus encore - Mais, heureusement il me reste cette belle soirée chez Zoé Bouillon !!! Les dernières nouvelles…..
32 réservations, avec au minimum 8 à venir, donc “hurry, hurry, hurry!!!”
le porc risque d’être remplacé par du queue de boeuf
je vais voir Frédéric jeudi à la fin de la journée pour parler fournisseurs et prix, et aussi pour voir de plus près la cuisine avec Monique.
Je vais au lit…je suis crevé.
June 15, 2009
Just a quick update on how things are going with the reservations, preparations, the menu and the stress !!
20 reservations so far - my little Google Docs booking form is working a treat (give it a go if ever you need a quick and simple way of getting people to give you feed back, and so on). Almost all of you are going for the 6 course option - shame because you’re going to miss out either on the dessert or the cheeky cheese number.
Speaking of the cheese course, I have to admit that there’s probably a good reason why people aren’t being tempted - I haven’t yet told you what I am doing for this course. I was thinking about this coming home tonight from work - at the moment I’m working on 3 different styles of cheese with 3 different accompanyments (crikes…do we say that in English ??!!), but all around the theme of the famous British dish, the “Ploughman’s Lunch”. I won’t say any more on this for the moment.
This week I have to check with Frédéric (the owner of Zoé Bouillon) how much this is all going to cost - I’ve pretty much got the “shopping list” sorted, I just need to check what prices he has with his suppliers. I am going to be able to get most of the stuff from his suppliers, I hope. I’ll only go elsewhere for certain specialist products - for certain veg I am planning to go to Joël Thibault at the Alma market in the 16th arrondissement in Paris, for the pork…..well, it’s either Brittany or I change the meat that I use, for the truffles…..we’ll see.
I’ve got to go to see my wine merchant as well to decide what wine I’ll be choosing to accompany the menu. A new offer, by the way, will be 3 glasses of wine (a different one each time) for 5€…this I will work on with the caviste.
Stress ? Personally I’m really looking forward to the 5th. I’ve got Monique in the kitchen with me, and several people are going to help with the prep before hand. So, I’m feeling good. The main thing left to sort out on the menu is the pork dish which could well be replaced by a cheeky Oxtail (”queue de boeuf” in French) dish….very British !
I’ll keep you up to date as things progress.
Cheers, Dom
June 14, 2009
Je sais que c’est partout pareil, même en période de “crise”…..les enfants grandissent, ça pousse….ça va de soi.
Mais il y a des moments quand même nous, les parents (tu vois….quand on voit qqn tous les jours, parfois les petites évolutions passent inaperçues), remarquent qu’un fossé a été franchit…..et ça, ça mérite d’être noté quelque part.
Ca sert à ça un blog, non ?
Quand je suis rentré de ma journée de travail mercredi passé, ma femme m’a annocé avec fierté que Jade, notre plus grande, avait préparé un gateau chocolat toute seule…du début jusqu’à la fin….lecture de recette, utilisation de la balance, mise en route du four, et tout, et tout, et tout…..
Dis-donc, je n’en revenais pas.
Mon histoire d’autonomie dans la cuisine a commencé quand j’avais 10 ans, je pense. Mais à 7 ans (et demi…..c’est imortant à cet âge-là)….chapeau ma belle !!
Et, est-ce qu’elle était contente ? Je vous laisse décider……
June 13, 2009
…that is (for those who don’t already know), the Millefeuille of Crab and the thyme-butter poached lobster.
Let’s start with the result -
the crab : a resounding success, but given that this was a second attempt (see Apple Millefeuille with Creamy Crab) I was really just trying a different creamy mix….and it was better this time
the lobster : bloody marvellous….at least, the dish is a good one with the different aspects coming together well and making sense, if you know what I mean. As ever, things evolved as I was in the thick of preparing the dish - the initial idea was to place the lobster on a gazpacho inspired sauce, but with each element kept separate and with only one part being chilled (I had in mind yellow pepper, tomato and parlsey, with only the tomato and parsley being in ice cube form, contrasting with the hot yellow pepper sauce)….the parsley oil became thyme infused oil, the tomato became a lobster jus (with tomato in it, though) in ice cube form….at least the pepper sauce remained as expected (well, except for the addition of the “crab cream”)
So, now for the photos…..
Crab : today wasn’t about sexy presentation, it was about seeing if fresh, hand picked crab was worth the bother (and it is !!!), and getting the flavour right by having something interesting in the cream which makes a link with SE Asia, whilst remaining subtle enough to let the crab do the talking. I reckon that on this front it was a great success….but on the “sexy” front, better look at the photos from the crab recipie from a few weeks ago.
Lobster : when I do a dish for the first time I try to get the flavour and the presentation as good as I can - even though it never comes out as expected, I push myself as far as I can so that I can see what I need to work on. So, I had all of the elements that I plan to have on the 5th July - lobster poached in thyme butter, lobster ravioli, yellow pepper sauce (yellow pepper purée with the left over cream infusion from the crab), thyme infused oil and lobster jus ice cube. I dressed the plates as I have imagined them several times whilst travelling in the Paris metro, and all in all, not bad. Flavour was great, presentation will improve, the ice cube idea is good but I need to make it more “workable”. Anyway, I’ll let you make up your own mind…..
Poaching the lobster in “beurre monté” with thyme, à la Thomas Keller…a good technique, and easy to manage
I’m going to have to be careful with the portion sizes - lobster is damn expensive (as I guess you all know) and thus everyone is going to have approx. 50g of lobster meat, plus the 10g in the raviloi - perfectly fine for a tasting menu, but not necessarily easy to make each portion look pretty
What did I learn and what will change, if anything ?
Crab : I’ve got the good creamy “liaison” for the crab - an infusion of cream, lemongrass, corainder and thai fish sauce. The apple “chips” need to be thicker. The final dish needs a little something else, but I’ve already got that sussed….at least, in my head. Just need to do a little test ;-). One negative point is the time it takes to get the flesh out…..I bought a fantastic 1.3kg crab (tourteau, in French) which gave me 350g of flesh (brown and white) in the end, and it took a fair while to get at it ! This amount of crab is probably good for about 7 or 8 portions (approx. 50g per person) which means roughly 7 or 8 crabs to be picked the night before the meal……still, Marianne popped over for coffee and reckons that a good friend of hers is an expert crab picker, and given that she lives just next door to hte restaurant, I reckon that I’ve got at least a couple of helpers for prepping the crab…..ooofff. However, I might have to cancel the idea of using Spider crab because it’s just too much work for little return…..a shame because it’s Brittany through and through.
Lobster : other than what I’ve already mentioned, the main thing to sort out is the presentation. The flavours are good, though I over-cooked the lobster a wee bit and that simply won’t do on the 5th.
If you haven’t already booked, and you fancy trying out the above (and more), then get yourself onto my reservation page - Dom “For One Night Only” 5th July
Cheers, Dom
May 22, 2009
As per usual, let’s start with the photo….
Whilst noting down ideas for my up coming “Dom for One Night Only” tasting menu at “Zoé Bouillon” in the 19th, I hit upon the idea of using wafer-thin apple slices, dried out in the oven (100°C for 1 hour after having left them soaking in a syrup over night), as a basis for a “millefeuille” with some kind of crab filling.
So, here you have the first attempt. So, how was it ?…..ok…..I still like the idea, and the little salad decoration, but overall it was a “taste” disappointment. Poor quality products (I just fancied trying it out, and so didn’t wait to buy good, fresh crab, and instead used tinned stuff from Vietnam !!!!) = poor flavour = have a bit more patience next time and buy some decent fresh crab.
The success for me were the apple “chips”. Very easy to do (as long as you’ve got a mandolin), and a nice effect. With the creamy filling, each crispy apple slice softens slightly, but in fact this makes it easier to eat.
For info, the crab was mixed with shallot, chervil, garlic, mayo, cream, chilli, lemon and tarragon.
I’ll let you know how it turns out when I get some decent crab.
May 18, 2009
Pas grande chose à dire, mais une petite recette…non, “combinaison”….à partager avec vous…..mais d’abord la photo !
Je suis rentré vers 21hrs ce soir après une journée de consultant assez lourde, et j’avais envie d’un peu de fraîcheur (pour accompagner des lentilles verts et un oeuf poché, en l’occurrence).
J’ai cherché toutes les jolies feuilles que j’avais dans le frigo - oseille rouge, persil plat, estragon, cerfeuil - et puis j’y ai ajouté 2 fleurs - de ciboulette et de bourrache (que j’ai rencontré pour la 1ère fois chez Potel et Chabot), et un peu d’assaisonnement (huile de noisette, huile d’olive, vinaigre balsamique, sel, poivre).
Bon, et joli…ça fait plaisir.
A la prochaine !
May 10, 2009
2 weeks now into my return to the role of a senior consultant, and so far it’s been difficult and weird. In my first week I prepared a proposition for a potential client, selling my skills as a technical expert and as a project director. During this time I was pretty absorbed by my new found consultant role, but since then, I’ve not had anything concrete to get my teeth into. As a result I’ve been boosting my energy, and my morale, by thinking about food and trying out various recipies.
This week I’ve had lots of energy and desire in the kitchen upon returning home after a day’s work - as you’ll have noticed, maybe, with my various recipies and photos. In the metro I put together an imaginary menu for my friend’s wedding in a few months time (even though I don’t know if I’ll be cooking for them or not!), and in general, food and various cookery/food books are helping me get through these initial difficult weeks back.
So, it’s difficult at the moment.
However, I’ve always been someone who gives 100% to whatever he does, and so pretty quickly I’m going to have to really get stuck into something “solid” at work. To support this process, I think that I’ll also need to forget about cooking for a week or 2. It ain’t going to be easy, but I want to get back to where I was before so that I can really judge whether I stay, or whether I return to the kitchen.
By the way, my kids (or rather my daughter) say that they prefer me as a consultant because they see more of me, though my son has already asked me who is going to be serving in our restaurant whilst he and I are cooking in the kitchen…”will Maman and my sister be serving ?”…..so, I think that the restaurant project lives on strongly in my kids.
As for my wife, she knows where I’m happiest, and I know that I have her full suport for whatever I decide to do…..this is absolutely essential for anyone hoping to create a restaurant.
I’ll keep you informed, as per usual !
May 8, 2009
Depuis qqs semaines j’ai en tête une recette de foie de volaille avec du porto, des raisins secs et des pignons de pin. Enfin aujourd’hui j’ai pu la réaliser, même si j’ai dû remplacer les pignons par des pistaches.
Le résultat final était bon - pas magnifique, mais bon.
Cuisson des foies - rosé.
Sauce - poêle déglacée avec du porto (dans lequel j’ai fait tremper les raisins secs pendant l’après-midi), louche de fond de volaille et raisins secs + pistaches, réduit et puis montée au beurre. La sauce était un peu trop sucrée pour mon goût, mais facile à régler la prochaine fois.
Huile de Truffe Blanche - un cadeau de Suzanna et Dak pour mon 40ème anniv d’il y a qqs semaines. Une huile avec un arôme subtil de truffe (de chez Fauchon, en l’occurrence) que j’ai utilisé pour arroser les foies de volaille avant de les laisser au frigo pendant qqs heures. Cette association m’a bien plu au moment de la dégustation.
OK, now that I’ve got your attention, time to tell you what’s in this fine concoction….quite simply, aubergine, pecorino cheese and my own arrabiata sauce (good quality Italian tinned tomatoes, onion, anchovy, garlic, 1 red chilli….all cooked slowly to get the right consistency and depth of flavour).
This is a simple starter, accompanied by a mixed leaf salad, with bags of flavour. Me and Antonella ate this on the balcony in the sun this afternoon….marvellous !!
Only comments to note :
Cheese : I liked the “chewiness” and saltiness of the pecorino, but Antonella wants me to make a version with Ricotta - smoother, more neutral. We’ll see.
Aubergines : sliced very finely, 2-3mm, coated in flour/salt/crushed green pepper and then sautéed for a few minutes to colour and soften each slice
Tomatoes : I can’t stress enough that all tinned tomatoes aren’t the same….may seem obvious, but take the time to try different brands, generally concentrating on Italian brands if possible. I think that I’ve finally found my good brand from an Italian cooperative in Paris, but wherever you are in the world, take the time….because without decent tomatoes, your sauce just won’t cut the mustard. The anchovies are there just to give the sauce more depth, without making it strictly “fishy”.
Enjoy…..;-)
