Saturday 15 September 2012

The perfect breakfast - The Egg and Croissant Foam

The Egg and Croissant Foam is a fantastic molecular breakfast with poached egg, croissant foam, fried potato brunoise, crispy bacon and ristretto syrup. This recipe is from molecular gastronomy Chef Gonzalo Aramburu with step by step instructions adapted by us.

Ingredients (4 servings)

- 4 poached eggs
- 1 large potato
- 4 mini bagels


Egg and Croissant Foam

- 4 tbsp cream cheese
- 4 thin bacon slices
- 50 ml (1.7 oz) ristretto
- 50 g (1.76 oz) sugar
- salt
- micro greens for garnish

Croissant Foam

- 6 croissants- 150 ml (5.1 oz) cream- 150 ml (5.1 oz) milk- salt pinch and pepper

Preparation

Croissant Foam

1- Heat all ingredients in a small pot over low heat.
2- Blend thoroughly with an immersion blender.
3- Season with salt and pepper and blend one more time. Keep in mind that the mix will expand about 3 or 4 times as you expel it from the ISI Whip so you’ll have to add 3 or 4 times more seasoning than you would normally do.
4- Using the ISI funnel and sieve, pour the mixture into an ISI Whip or Culinary Whipper with straight nozzle, screw 1 cream charger (2 if using 1L ISI Whip) and shake 5 times.
5- Place the ISI Whip or Culinary Whipper in a double boiler with water at a temperature of 50 °C (120 °F). Keep it warm until serving time. If you made the preparation well in advance, you can store it in the fridge until you want to warm it in the double boiler.

Ristretto Syrup

1- Place the sugar and ristretto in a pan.
2- Turn the heat to high and bring the ristretto and sugar to the boil without stirring.
3- Remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature.
4- Pour the ristretto syrup into a squeeze bottle and reserve.

Fried Potato Brunoise

1- Peel the potato and cut it brunoise (small dices of about 3 mm (1/8 inch)).
2- Fry the potato brunoise in olive oil until golden brown.

Crispy Bacon

1- Heat oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
2- Cook bacon slices on baking sheet for 10 minutes or until crispy.

Mini Bagels

1- Cut mini bagels in half.
2- Lightly toast the bagels in the oven.
3- Spread the bagels with cream cheese and assemble.

Assemble and Serve

1- Poach the eggs.
2- In a deep plate, pump croissant foam with the ISI Whip on one half of the plate.
3- Place the poached egg on the other half. Season with salt.
4- Place the mini bagel with cream cheese, a spoon of fried potato brunoise and a slice of crispy bacon on the plate.
5- Garnish with a few micro greens.
6- Using the squeeze bottle, arrange a few drops of ristretto syrup on the plate border. Enjoy!

Saturday 11 August 2012

Densities table.. for layered cocktails!!


Layered cocktails

Layered cocktails do not create new textures or flavors but make a beautiful presentation, showcase all the ingredients and could add to the drinking or eating experience as different flavors or temperatures are experienced in turns. Layered drinks have been made for a long time but this technique is still being used today in creative ways by molecular mixologists and chefs to craft fabulous cocktails and dishes.
A layered drink, also called a pousse-café, is a cocktail in which various liqueurs are used to create an array of colored layers. They have been traditionally made by carefully pouring slowly one liqueur at a time over the back of a spoon but this process requires practice, patience and takes a long time

Densities Table

Cocktailmaster Density PrincipleThe following table has the densities of popular beverages to help you create your own layered cocktail. The table is from Miss-Charming.com.
NAMECOLORFLAVORWEIGHT
CreamWhiteMilkyvery light
151 RumLight AmberFirelight
Maker’s Mark BourbonDark AmberBourbon0.941
Hiram Walker KirschwasserClearCherry0.941
Dekuyper KirschwasserClearCherry0.941
Sauza Silver TequilaClearTequila0.945
Jameson’s Irish WhiskeyAmberIrish Whiskey0.948
RainClearVodka0.9498
Sauza Gold TequilaGoldTequila0.95
Skyy Citrus VodkaClearLemon Vodka0.9555
PernodClearAnise/Licorice0.985
OuzoClearAnise/Licorice0.984
Southern ComfortDark AmberPeach Apricot0.99337
Hiram Walker Ginger BrandyLight AmberGinger Brandy0.995
TuacaAmberVanilla Orange Caramel Brandy1.0157
B&BAmberSweet Herbal Cognac1.0245
Dekuyper Sloe GinDark RedSloe Berries1.0261
Hiram Walker Peppermint SchnappsClearPeppermint1.027
Grand MarnierAmberOrange Cognac1.03
MalibuClearCoconut Rum1.03
Hiram Walker Root Beer SchnappsBrownRoot Beer1.037
CointreauClearOrange1.0385
Dekuyper Apricot BrandyDark OrangeApricot1.0437
Dekuyper Triple SecClearOrange1.05
ChambordMaroonBlack Raspberry1.05
Lady Godiva White Chocolate LiqueurWhiteWhite Chocolate1.05
Baileys Irish CreamTanCreamy Spiced Irish Whiskey1.05
Irish MistDark AmberHoney Herb Whiskey1.05
Dekuyper Blackberry BrandyDark PurpleBlackberry1.0552
CampariRedBitter1.06
BenedictineLight AmberHerbal1.07
Dekuyper Blue CuracaoBlueOrange1.0704
Dekuyper Root Beer SchnappsBrownRoot Beer1.0705
DrambuieLight AmberHeather Honey Scotch1.08
Amaretto Di SaronnoDark AmberAlmond1.08
SambucaClearAnise/Licorice1.08
FrangelicoClearHazelnut1.08
Tia MariaBrownCoffee1.09
Dekuyper AnisetteClearAnise1.0921
Dekuyper Melon LiqueurBright GreenHoneydew Melon1.0924
Dekuyper Wildberry SchnappsClearBerry1.0894
Dekuyper Green MentheDark GreenMint1.0885
Dekuyper BluesberryClearBlueberry1.0863
Dekuyper Grape PuckerPurpleGrape1.0864
Dekuyper BananaYellowBanana1.0822
Marie Brizard Blue CuracaoBlueOrange1.0999
Dekuyper Coffee LiqueurBrownCoffee1.189
Hiram Walker Crème de NoyauxRedAlmond1.148
Marie Brizard Coffee LiqueurBrownCoffee1.142
Hiram Walker Crème de BananaYellowBanana1.142
MidoriBright GreenHoneydew Melon1.15
KahluaBrownCoffee1.152
Marie Brizard White Crème de CacaoClearChocolate1.1602
Marie Brizard Dark Crème de CacaoBrownChocolate1.1602
Hiram Walker Crème de CassisDark RedBlack Currant1.179
DeKuyper RazzmatazzRedRaspberry1.139
Marie Brizard AnisetteClearAnise1.1371
Hiram Walker Dark Crème de CacaoBrownChocolate1.136
Dekuyper Buttershots SchnappsAmberButterscotch1.1225
Dekuyper White CocoaClearChocolate1.1204
Marie Brizard Green Crème de MentheDark GreenMint1.1204
Marie Brizard White Crème de MentheClearMint1.1204
Dekuyper CassisDark RedBlack Currant1.1211
Hiram Walker Butterscotch SchnappsAmberButterscotch1.126
GallianoYellowVanilla Licorice1.11
Dekuyper Thrilla VanillaClearFrench Vanilla1.1193
Dekuyper Hot DamnRedCinnamon1.1191
JägermeisterBlack/GreenHerbal Bitter
Marie Brizard Parfait AmourPurpleVanilla Orange Almond1.1163

GoldschlagerClear w/ Gold FlakesCinnamon1.1111
Dekuyper Strawberry LiqueurRedStrawberry1.1005
Dekuyper Watermelon PuckerRedWatermelon1.1051
Dekuyper PeachtreeClearPeach1.1037
Dekuyper Mad MelonRedWatermelon1.0971
Dekuyper Island BlueLight BlueFruity1.095
Dekuyper Apple PuckerLime GreenSour Apple1.0944
Dekuyper Cheri Beri PuckerRedCherry1.0937
Dekuyper Coconut AmarettoClearCoconut Almond1.0925
GrenadineRedCherry/PomegranateHeavy

Monday 18 June 2012

TFG- Think food group by José Andrés

José Ramón Andrés Puerta is a spanish chef who has worked and trained under chef Adria of el bulli, he is the guy you see translating for chef Adria. He has a lot of restaurants to his credit like the famous minibar at Washington D.C. ,cafe Atlantico, Jaleo, china pablano etc. the Magical mojito earlier discussed in this post also comes from his team. His company TFG -think food group is involved in many charity events and developing new recipes. here are some videos where his team demonstrates some of the best recipes.

Spanish Clementines, pumpkin seed oil and basil



Chihuly, garden and glass salad




Almond cup and spanish blue cheese salad



Idiazabal cheese egg



Five spice figs