Similar Creativity

Now motorcycles and chocolates may not have a lot in common but the passion and creativity is very similar.  I love motorcycles, ahem choppers, and my very close friend Leo has mastered the art of chopper building.  He is currently working on my Sportster and he is more dedicated at his art than anyone I know. His passion for creativity is just as inspiring as any painter or artist.  I will soon figure out a dessert that is inspired by raw metal and perfect welds, but in the mean time check out his blog

http://leospeedshop.blogspot.com/

Dondurma (Turkish Ice Cream)

The chefs/owners of Arrows, Mark and Clark came to me and asked me if I could make the famous nougat-like Turkish Ice Cream, Dondurma, for the tasting menu. They had eaten some when they visited Turkey and they loved the pliable ice cream that you can actually cut with a knife and fork. So when they asked me, I immediately thought it would be a daunting task, but I became very enthusiastic on trying to re-create it. I ran into the first problem after doing some extensive research, which was that the main ingredient Salep Flour was illegal to export out of Turkey. Salep flour comes from wild Turkish orchids and it contains a hydrocolloid that produces the stretchy, chewy ice cream. The "ice cream" has to be worked for a while to make it stretchy. It was almost like the way you would to make gluten develop in a bread dough.  Vendors in Turkey beat and pound the hell out of it with long rods to get the consistency right, like below…

So unless I found a Turkish pastry black market, I would have to find a new way to make it. I first tried to use a combination of guar gum and low acyl gellan. I was reading another blog and the chef was trying to make an ice cream that can be "bruleed", similar to Heston Blumenthal's flaming sorbet.  He said the final product was similar to Dondurma so I figured I would give it a shot.  I first made the base by shearing in the gums into the milk and cream mixture. I made the base like any other ice cream base but I made it into a fluid gel. The base looked promising and seemed like it would be some what "stretchy".  I churned the base and piped it into a container and then proceeded to beat the mixture like hell. The ice cream did not become anything like Dondurma, but it was chewy and did not melt quickly. The amount of gums actually kept it from melting for quite a while, almost 20 minutes.  I tried it again after speaking with my friend James (the pastry chef at On20 in Hartford CT), and he said to try another starch. I tried a combination of potato starch and glutinous rice flour and the ice cream was somewhat stretchy but just tasted like starchy mochi. I learned that in pastry, if you do not have a key ingredient, do not try to expect the same results.  I am going with a frozen yogurt now.

Mise-en-place

Gelled Base 

Fluid Gel Base 

Final Product

50 Best

The World's 50 best

I am happy to hear that Eleven Madison Park made the list and is ranked 24!  I was honored to work in that pastry kitchen with Chef Angelina Pinkerton.  She is a creative, reserved yet focused chef whom I find to be a great inspiration to me.  So congrats to her and the entire Eleven Madison Park staff.

New Kitchen

So I just started getting to work in the Arrows pastry kitchen a few weeks ago and it is great for two main reasons.  It is large and it has this awesome ice cream machine....

 I moved in all my containers, molds, and pastry tools and completely organized the entire pastry kitchen.  By the way these containers are from IKEA and they are my personal favorites for keeping additives clean and organized.

Now to get to work and get ready for the opening this weekend..... First experiment was trying to replicate the Turkish, nougat like ice cream called Dondurma..... I will have a post about how that went soon enough..

Micro Greens

I must confess that the best part about my job is being able to go and check out the Arrows Garden. It is inspiring seeing the sprouting garden. The spring season is one of my favorites and I am glad to have joined the arrows staff just as some new vegetables and fruits are coming around. Its an incredible experience being able to go out and talk to the on-staff gardner and watch your product grow before you. You learn a lot and you truly appreciate your product all the more. As lame as it sounds, I felt like a kid on Christmas Day when the gardner showed me the 8 different types of micro greens she has growing. Here are some pictures ...

 Bull's Blood

Misc. sprouts

 Micro Greens

Micro carrot, celery, chervil, etc 

Misc. micro greens

Sugar isn't evil

Very cool article from the huffington post about sugar, not being bad for you....

Sugar Isn't Evil

WD-50

Earlier this year I had the privilege of working with Chef Malcolm Livingston II, the new pastry chef at WD-50 in New York City, and I find his work to be incredible. He creates some amazing dishes and shows immense creativity. So I advise that you go check out his new creations and order the dessert tasting menu at WD-50...

Here is one of his vivid dishes...

I turn to cookies for motivation.....

Who says inspiration can't come from a cookie?