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Tapping into the ChefSteps braintrust to crowd-source a menu!

andrea.feldman

Hi there everyone. I'm new here (waves).

I'm having a dinner party in a few weeks and realized that I ALWAYS make the same things! I totally want to change it up bit — but I also don't want to go SO crazy overboard that I'm stressed out.

So: I throw it out there to all of you — I'm looking for ways to twist simple dishes to add that extra bit of sophistication. I should add that I don't have a fancy setup at home (no circulator) but I'm happy to play with other techniques and/or ingredients, like Nzorbit, to add wow factor.

My thoughts so far:

STARTERS
+ prosecco with splash of Suze and candied Yuzu
+ bluefish toasts; hummus

DINNER
+ pork belly with mustard seed sauce (via Momofuku Ssäm)
+ roasted corn (off the cob) with cotija, sriracha aioli and cilantro
+ roasted romesco cauliflower with pickled red onion + toasted black sesame

My friend Susan is handling dessert so I'm all set there.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Andrea

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andrea.feldman

Hmm, not sure why my photo didn't load. Of possible interest here were the absolutely fantastic wines brought by a guest to complement the Asian flavors of the dinner. They were as follows:

Clisson 2009 Muscadet
Atlantis 2009 Santorini
Pecorino Valori Abruzzo (no year listed)
Domaine de Beudon 2010 Dôle
Clos Saron 2012 Tempranillo (a light rosé)

The Atlantis Santorini and Tempranillo would be especially good summer wines!

andrea.feldman

So, dinner party happened. Eloté didn't happen, just b/c it was a little too complicated for this go-round, but SOON. & Of course I was paying more attention to dinner party-ing it up than taking pictures of the actual food. Next time! And thanks for all your help, everyone!!

A_L_Esterling_35269

@Andrea_Feldman,

LOL!

andrea.feldman

I've got the secret decoder ring!

Pictures soon (ish).

grant

1184;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt">

0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt"> @Andrea I know the format is crazy but I bet you can decode it;) Corn Elote
height:15.0pt">	height:15.0pt">	height:15.0pt">
border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:16.0pt"> Ingredient	solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:16.0pt"> Quantity	border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:16.0pt"> Procedure
height:15.0pt"> Brown butter	height:15.0pt"> 60 g	height:15.0pt"> 1. Whisk brown butter with salt and N-Zorbit and reserve
height:15.0pt"> N-Zorbit (National Starch)	height:15.0pt"> 50 g	height:15.0pt">
border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt"> Salt, fine-grained	solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt"> 2 g	border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt">
height:15.0pt"> N-Zorbit	height:15.0pt"> 25 g	height:15.0pt"> 2. Whisk ingredients together and reserve
height:15.0pt"> Salt	height:15.0pt"> 3 g	height:15.0pt">
height:15.0pt"> Citric acid	height:15.0pt"> 3.5 g	height:15.0pt">
border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt"> Type B Lime Oil	solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt"> 0.8 g	border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:15.0pt">
height:30.0pt"> Mayonnaise	height:30.0pt"> 25 g	3. Combine mayonnaise with paprika to taste. It should be spicy.
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:15.0pt"> Hot paprika	mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:15.0pt"> a/n	mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; height:15.0pt">
height:15.0pt"> Coquita cheese, crumbled	height:15.0pt"> 25 g	4. Place a small dollop of spicy mayo on a spoon.
height:30.0pt"> Cilantro	height:30.0pt"> a/n	5. Place 1 g each of brown butter, ground freeze dried corn, and lime powder onto spoon
height:15.0pt"> Freeze dried corn, ground	height:15.0pt"> 25 g	6. Garnish with 1 g of cheese
height:30.0pt"> Freeze dried corn kernels, whole	height:30.0pt"> a/n	7. Garnish with whole freeze dried corn kernels, cilantro leaves, and vegetable ash
padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:16.0pt"> Vegetable ash	padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:16.0pt"> a/n	border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:16.0pt">

andrea.feldman

Thanks Chris — happy travels! And thanks Grant — I'm on it!

grant

Almost all all Whole Foods stores carry the freeze dried products. You can also get them from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Tomatoes-8-Ounce-Large-Pouch/dp/B001E5E03S/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1366227579&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=freeze+dried+corn

Cheers

Chris_Young_80640

Hi @Andrea, I'm getting on an airplane right now, but I'll see if @Grant can fill in some of the details.

andrea.feldman

That *cough* was a bait for Chris, actually — although I think I can recreate this one from my notes and your comment. Just need some freeze-dried corn kernels, brown butter, queso fresco and Nzorbit, woo...

Brendan_Lee_56950

proportion is typically 60% nzorbit to 40% fat i think. just stir in a mixing bowl with a whisk or do it in a food pro.

andrea.feldman

Brendan, just reading through your recipe now — something I'll have to try for sure! And I've also GOT to get some Nzorbit — I'd love to recreate MC/Chris Young's brown butter corn elote at home! Wish I had the recipe... *cough*

Brendan_Lee_56950

haha no, it's just the name modernist pantry uses to resell the product in smaller batches. The real name is transglutaminase or as it is known in most circles Activa

andrea.feldman

Just followed that link. It's not really called MOO GLOO is it?! (Wylie Dufresne, so much to answer for.)

andrea.feldman

That looks fantastic. I'm probably going to stick with stuff I've made before, but I'd LOVE to try this one — looks absolutely beautiful.

And I'll go in search of that pickled mustard seed recipe posted by the chef steps crew. (The existing recipe I have is from the Momofuku cookbook, which is pretty much a Bible in this house.)

Thanks for the great ideas!

prince_of_porcelain

I'd second Brendan's meat glue shrimp noodle idea. I made those the first time without a circulator and it worked great. Brendan's recipe is pretty close to what I did, but here's my process and some pics:

http://magnificentlardon.blogspot.com/2012/09/kitchen-chemistry-101-meat-glue-and.html

Also, for a simple dish that was delicious and easy to prep:
Roasted Marrow on Toast, Parsley-Shallot Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette and Crispy Beef Strands. It's incredibly indulgent with the marrow, and the beef marinated in soy and fish sauce, cooked until it can be pulled into shreds, then fried crispy right before plating. Plating here was simple and uninspired, but the dish was great. (Both of these dishes were before I found this forum. I like to think that my skills have improved in that area, if only slightly.)

Both of those could easily be prepped ahead and finished off quickly for guests. That's important when you are cooking and hosting.

Also, if you are doing the pork belly with mustard seed (sounds great to me!), I'd highly recommend considering the pickled mustard seeds that the chefsteps crew posted in one of the weekly challenges as a component.

Good Luck!!!

andrea.feldman

Fun!! (re: noodle salad and shrimp cakes)

Lots of good food (ha) for thought...

Thanks, all!!

Brendan_Lee_56950

If your going vietnamese you could do some garden rolls with shrimp and that will open you up to some dipping sauce possibilities for the table to experiment with too!

Here is my nuoc cham dipping sauce recipe:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoEYdSEr-kKudFMycU5EbmhMTmkxY1JObF93UW8zNkE&usp=sharing

And here is a variant on a vietnamese noodle salad if you want to get all crazy with meat glue! It can be done in a pot of simmering water as opposed to a water bath.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoEYdSEr-kKudEF5S2VaS3EtcVRfRkRGY0o0ZlRIemc&usp=sharing

seijoed

@Andrea, here they are https://plus.google.com/u/0/112827635720941213700/posts/j4KoZB2VVUx?partnerid=gplp0

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Brendan & @Johan, same thing for me, I never saw this ...

@Andrea, welcome to an awesome community! I'll think about your question.

andrea.feldman

I'm limited by fact I don't have a chamber sealer OR sous-vide (I know, I know —I'll get there eventually). Mushrooms are a great idea — as is melon and ham. (Easy, beautiful and super-tasty — love it!)

We have some beautiful local bluefish as well — I might do bluefish toasts.

Would love to hear how you use tortillas for yr shrimp cakes!!

seijoed

I just saw this too - I like those ideas.

For appetizers I'd throw out blini, roe, gravlax, toast skagen (swedish toast with roe and shrimp)

If you have access to a chamber - you can have a lot of fun with tomato.

Stuffed mushrooms - I like that with sofrito and parmesan.

Melon and ham of course.

Tortilla goes well as a different way of making shrimp cakes

andrea.feldman

Hmm, not sure what happened there either! Anyway, now I'm thinking of a kind of izakaya-inspired menu with a number of small dishes that can be mixed and matched.

+ pork belly w/mustard seed sauce

+ grilled zucchini and cauliflower

+ spicy cold noodles with scallions

+ cold salad of pickled veggies

+ something piscene, —maybe Vietnamese-style shrimp cakes w/avocado

Brendan_Lee_56950

this topic never showed up as unread in my list and judging by the lack of views i'm guessing not anyone else's either. Might be a bug.