I got Mussels!!!

This is a simple post on a simple idea. We got this amazing new vinegar in at work right before Christmas. It was a fig and chili vinegar. "Hmmm  I don't know" I know that's what you're thinking. But trust me it was sweet! Well spicy actually. And that got me to thinking what could I whip up as a delectable treat to use this new flavor sensation? Well of course being French trained and preferring difficulty and accurate production over ease of use  the first thing to come to mind was an emulsified sauce of some sort.

Now a basic vinaigrette will just not do. Too passe. I mean don't I have better ideas than that like everyday? So maybe I should be looking to what I want the sauce to go with. Seafood seemed a natural choice for me this time. (BBQ recipe coming later). Scallops, mussels, yes shellfish. And what sauce is better with shellfish cooked to perfection than a creamy rich Hollendaise? So with the encouragement of a friend and a little ingenuity I present a sauce fit for any shellfish you find:

Sauce Johanna

2ea egg yolks
1tbl Waldburg Balsam Fig & Chili
1/2cup Clarified Butter
3tbl Chili Oil
1/2tsp Siracha

Whisk together the yolks, fig&chili vinegar, and siracha. Slowly drip in the chili oil while whisking. Make sure your clarified butter is hot/warm ~120f is good. Whisk in the butter a thin drizzle at a time until it is all incorporated.

The sauce was then gentle poured of our melange of fine bivalves as shown below. Please note that the plate also shows Miataki Mushrooms with Quince Glaze, and The shelfish are Mussels with Sorrel and Peppers.

Purple Polenta Eater.....

So here is the deal I get in the car after a hard days work to go and plan out some crazy cooking. Well my craziness is mostly done (see terrine). But anyway here is what I am told “we have some curried chicken fat for you”. Now this might not sound appetizing to some but my this is just the adventuresome thing I like to hear. It fires up the brain and gets you cooking on all gears (which can be a greasy mess but is fun anywhoo) So point being I need to think of what to do with this and well chicken Curry and corn all start with “C” and chicken tamales are good and blue cornmeal is gluten free fun, and I have been dying to play with polenta recently So there for here you go;

Curry Chicken Purple Polenta

1cup blue cornmeal
~3cups chicken stock
3tbl curried chicken fat
1/3 butter
1 dried chili
1/4cup chevre
optional ingredients;
    1/2tsp – 1tbl curry powder
    1/2ea – 1ea minced hot pepper
    2tbl peanut butter

Quick easy and spicy too!!! To start gently roast the cornmeal in a sautee pan until lightly aromatic. Similar smell to popcorn. Add chicken fat and ground dried chili, stir to coat the cornmeal. Slowly add the chicken stock (preferably warmed, but room temp will do). Stir and add, stir and add, repeat ad nausium per risotto. Once you have achieved a cream of wheat looking mush that is faintly purple in color you are almost there. Remove from the heat stir in the chevre in thumbnail size chunks. Spread the polenta into what ever clean dish you have available and refrigerate.

This was served shilled the next day a very fine treat much more tasty than the Epic Fail Terrine. We simple sliced as though it were a pie and enjoyed. A good lemon saffron yogurt sauce would be a fine accompaniment. Now my  thoughts though are always to improve upon what I have made so therefore the adjustments that I would make to this are;

Instead of curried chicken fat use a heavily curried vegetable stock. ( I know this defeats the whole original premise but that as just a starting point as all original premises are)

Add another tablespoon of butter.

Increase the Goat cheese to 1/2cup.

And as for serving, take on the second day cut into one inch cubes wrap with blanched leek leaves and flash fry.

Photo Credit; Lindsay Christians

The First Post

So what is this blog about? Well that is simple it is about food and drink. The enjoyment and creation of both. In general the topics I will cover will be random recipes that I come up with, wine reviews, spirit reviews, restaurant reviews, beer reviews, general food reviews and stories about any fun cooking experiences I have.

I will do my best to update at least once a week when the new year starts. I am very very busy at work right now. Very fortunate / unfortunate. Please check out my links in the side bar. This will be a growing collection of unique food discussions that I personally find interesting. (Yes, and the shameless plug for my work).

Expectations for January or before are a scotch review, and absinthe review, a restaurant review, and a post about tur-duc-hen (my version anyway).

Since this is my very first blog I will be starting things off pretty simple and working from there.