Wagyu Flat Iron Au Poivre, Braised Bottom Mushrooms, Arugula basted Potatoes

So this is a cool little dish i did for a special the other night. The restaurant got in these sample wagyu flat iron steaks that were nothing short of amazing. I did one steak au poivre which means, (crusted on one side in green pepper). The other i just seared. I have been wanted to do this potato gratinwith manchego cheese and fresh arugula. The mushrooms that I was able to work with were pretty amazing too. We were able to get these organic tan button mushrooms that are locally grown right out side of Denver. They were so small and had a good intense mushroom flavor. I decided to braise them in a black pepper gastrique and a little veal stock. This braising liquid also turned out to be my sauce. This is such a rustic dish and it had really good flavors I think that’s why I enjoy it so much. I could work on the plating though.

Seared Foie Gras, Scallop Crema, House Made English Muffin & Quince Compote

This is an amuse that I did a while back but though that it was pretty cool. I will start with the scallop crema. This is a scallop infused cream soup that is made by pretty much boiling scallops in cream with a few herbs and some cloves. This is one of my all time favorite soups. I served it with the house made honey English muffin that I made and a small piece of seared foie. The compote is a cranberry compote that I pureed and then strained. Then I added a little bit a micro brunoised quince to it. I served the crema in a shot glass with a little sage oil. I really think that the scallop and the foie go well together. The sage also gives the crema a little burst of flavor as well. I really like this amuse.

Snake River Farms Veal Cheeks and Polenta

So my chef asked me the other day if I had ever worked with veal cheeks before. I said no I haven’t, but I would like to. So I did a special with them for a pretty busy Wednesday. I was trying to think how exactly how i wanted to cook them. I was thinking about braising them and then dredging them in flour and crisping them up. But I decided aginst that and braised them in demiglace compound sauce bordelaise. i braised them along with pearl onions, carrots that I cut into balls, and fresh herbs. I then use the carrots and onions for my vegetables on the plate. I strain the sauce and then fortify it. I had some beautiful laramer farms yellow polenta that had been lying around so I decided I would make a friend polenta cake to go along with cheeks. I hollowed out the cake before i fried it so that I could plate the vegetables inside it. I then add a little wilted spinach to the vegetables and sauce with my fortified bordelaise. It’s a very rustic and so rich but it believe there was 9 sold that night so I can’t complain.

Seared Yellow Fin Tuna, White Bean Puree, Arugula Pesto & Grilled Frisee

Thursday night I was asked to make a special with some beautifu sushi grade yellow fin tuna that we got in as a sample. So I looked through the walk in to see if there was anything that was not getting utilized. I came across a lot of arugula, and a huge amount of white beans. So i decided to make an arugula pesto. I made it with pecorino cheese, walnuts, lemon infused olive oil that I made my self about a month earlier & some of the white beans too. Next I roasted some red peppers and grilled the frisee. The white bean puree is a standard puree with a few whole beans tossed in with it. Finally I marinated the tuna in manni olive oil, fresh herbs, and a little Cayenne pepper. Then seared it on all sides. I really am pround of this dish because i utilized food from the walk in and becuase the flavors all work well with each other.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras (The Ultimate)

As many of you know Foie Gras is probably my favorite food in the world. I love it in any way shape or form. Moulard Duck foie gras would be my choice opposed to goose but they are both amazing. I got a lobe of it from a local artisan cheese store called the Truffle. So all i did was experiment. I had an idea around new years back in Kansas City at the American that I told my buddy Brad and Alex about, A Foie Gras milk shake! I know weird huh? This is my favorite foie besides seared of course. I also made foie gras spaetzle, gnocchi, roast foie gras pate a choux rolls, and I had just enough left to roll one torcheon. It was the best ingredient to experiment because there is so much you can do with it. Look out for my new dish trio of foie gras. Here is a picture of my grade “A” lobe, and my new t-shirt that says, “stop tofu abuse, eat foir gras”

Not So Ordinary Oysters

So one day last week I was thinking about this oyster chowder that The American Restaurant has on their menu. I was thinking of a way that oysters and potatoes could be on the same plate only not in a soup or chowder. I remembered these oysters that I had Nantucket a few years back that sat on top of a potato chip. I figured that I might try to recreate this dish. So instead of setting the oyster on top of the chip I wrapped the oyster inside the potato and deep fried it. I then added this Parmesan leek emulsion, wilted spinach that I hit with a little sherry vinegar and some house made bacon lardoons. Not the most appealing dish but defiantly a lot of flavor. Good color as well.