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Alinea...

Shivam_Daryanani_92859

Last month I was extremely lucky to have gotten to eaten at Alinea 2.0, that too at their chefs table thanks to some amazing friends. I had insanely high expectations and those were surpassed. Hands down the best meal I've ever had.!!

I acquired their cookbook last month, and finally took a stab at one of their recipes.

BBQ sugar.

Sous vide paprika cured pork belly, pickled carrots, cucumber, red pepper, enrobbed in a spicy BBQ candy. Sitting on a bed of creamy polenta which was finished with mascarpone.

Delicious!

Pictures of the process...

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Comments

tshewman

Nice! My Alinea book is quite beat up and it is a great book. I suspect you will find many things to use and allot of great ideas. Sometimes it's hard to see how they come up with their ideas (like with many cookbooks) and I find myself looking at the chef's history and personality. I consider Chef Achatz is like an abstract painter searching for that perfect meal/experience but without a culinary history (e.g. american culinary history). America is such a young country, there's little to draw from (compared to the EU, UK, asia and such), so it seems he's decided his boundary of experience doesn't reside here, so there are a plethora of other cuisines from which he draws. Ones with more history (hence the melting pot of north america). This makes the dishes seem almost abstract but the more I look at them they begin to make sense. But it took quite some time for me to view them that way (and who knows if I'm accurate). Alinea set the bench mark for me (2ce) with respect to the dining experience and only recently has that been approached since (at Minibar). I'm glad to see others and curious to hear what people think. Thank you for sharing.

Shivam_Daryanani_92859

Yes indeed his dishes are abstract. At Alinea i was served a various range of flavors pulling in from many different cuisines.

Yeah I would have really liked if he explained his thought process for each dish.

I did see the pictures you posted of minibar, and looks really good.

What recipes have you tried from his book that you recommend are a must do?

tshewman

the elements of root beer is among my favorites and the goose stuffing is a big hit during the holidays. Here's what I've done w/ brief descriptions of mods I did/do. I may need an intervention:

BISON, Beets, Blueberries, Burning Cinnamon (cinnamon sticks were small and served as center piece)

CRAB, Passion Fruit, Coconut, Sprouts (minus Coconut)

HEART OF PALM, In Five Sections (ran with this when I saw it using diffreent purees for the spine of a skeleton)

KUROGE WAGYU, Cucumber, Honeydew, Lime Sugar (used different wagyu)

LAMB, Akudjura, Olive, Eucalyptus Veil (see lamb in cubism)

RASPBERRY, Goat’s Milk, Red Pepper Taffy, Pistachio (also did the taffy with a gojuchang and pine nuts which was awsome)

SOUR CREAM, Sorrel, Smoked Salmon, Pink Pepper (only smoked salmon portion)

SPONGE CAKE, Tonka Bean, Dried Cherry, Vanilla Fragrance (sponge cake recipe as part of a different desert)

YOLK DROPS, Asparagus, Meyer Lemon, Black Pepper (surprisingly simple and hits all the boxes)

BEEF, Elements of A1

CHICKEN SKIN, Black Truffle, Thyme, Corn (parts of this for Thanksgiving-skin+truffle)

LAMB, In Cubism (went off the deep end with this and ended up creating their "lamb" dish with ~20-30 accompaniments)

PROSCIUTTO, Passion Fruit, Zuta Levana (the passion fruit and prosc is a great starter)

TOMATO, Balloon of Mozzarella, Many Complementary Flavors (one of the first things I tried after getting a siphon)

BISON, Braised Pistachios, Potato, Sweet Spices

BLACK TRUFFLE Explosion, Romaine, Parmesan (have some of these in the freezer-keeps well)

COFFEE, Passion Fruit, Buckwheat, Mint

CRANBERRY, Frozen and Chewy

DRY CARAMEL, Salt (Used this as a base and adjusted accordingly-like my caramel REALLY dark)

PORK, Grapefruit, Sage, Honeycomb (pork and sage portions)

VENISON, Encased in Savory Granola (modified more times than I can count-very flexible with granola- also do it with oxtail)

BEEF, Elements of Root Beer (another I do/modify a few times a year, though usually use a 72 hr cook post cure)

BISON, Cranberry, Persimmon, Juniper Branch Aroma (portions)

CHOCOLATE, Brioche, Yolks, Pomelo (only once and was fun to fold the chocolate :-)..)

CRAB, Cashew, Parsnip, Young Coconut (portions)

GOOSE, Blood Orange, Sage, Roasting Goose Aromas (Once close to recipe, others many times almost a merger of this and heston's)

HAZELNUT, Carrot, Raisin, Melted Butter (hazelnut)

HOT POTATO, Cold Potato, Black Truffle, Parmesan (Done a few times and is easy, freezes "ok" but truffle soup base is very flexible and can be base for many other dishes, using dehydrated mushrooms and even almond cream instead of dairy was successful-nice warm or cold, or as a pasta sauce)

LAMB, Mastic, Date, Rosemary Fragrance (all in the 20-30 mentioned above)

LOBSTER, Tropical Fruits, Meyer Lemon, Hearts of Palm (this was surprisingly fresh!)

MONKFISH, Lime, Banana, Monkfish Liver

PORK BELLY, Pickled Vegetables, BBQ Sugar, Polenta (enjoyable and not difficult)

PUSHED FOIE GRAS, Sauternes, Pear, Chervil

SWEET POTATO, Brown Sugar, Bourbon, Smoking Cinnamon (and many modifications)

fisher23

You had to ask. That is one of his favorite restaurants, lol! It would of been easier to ask what haven't you made, lol!

fisher23

Gorgeous plating

Shivam_Daryanani_92859

Thanks!

Shivam_Daryanani_92859

Oh wow! Impressive. Can't wait to try more and that will definitely be happening.

Shivam_Daryanani_92859

Hahah yup

tshewman

oops, I didn't do the Monkfish, sorry.