Autism Speaks Chef Gala 2012

These are just some photos from an awesome event in NYC, Autism Speaks. I was so honored to be invited by chef Neal Fraser from LA and it was amazing to part of the event. There were many incredible chefs and it was a just an overall great experience!

 Chef Neal Fraser 

My friend and very talented pastry chef Malcolm Livingston from wd-50

Plating the "Buttermilk Cheesecake"

 Johnny Iuzzini plating and I was honored to watch him work

on20's Evan Small came to help out!

All the chefs!

Service

Just some shots of pastry during service.....

 herbs

 buttermilk dish waiting for quenelle

 chocolate and the pass

 intermezzo

Celery Sorbet

absinth / lemon / granny smith apple

mignardises

Apples "Benedict"

 Macoun Apple

warm spice cake / thyme / quinoa / brown butter ice cream

So I love New England. I love my home state of Connecticut and all its amazing produce as well as traditions. Apples are just such a staple of CT and I have been going apple picking every fall for as long as I can remember. I love the McIntosh and Macoun apple varieties more than any other and they are the most popular in New England. So I have been trying to create a new dessert that showcases these apples but a dessert that is also classic in flavors as well as presentation. Apple crisp is the perfect example of a truly New England dessert. It has become such a familiar dessert that you will see it on almost every restaurant's menu around fall. I decided one day on a whim to make it for staff meal at ON20 and it just came to me that I had to make a warm apple dessert that was traditional in flavors and familiar in presentation. A modern take on a classic dessert.

I decided to make the apple dessert look like a dish that was just as traditional and approachable as apple crisp... Eggs Benedict. The dish starts of with a muscovado sugar-spice cake that is baked in cast iron egg coddlers. The cake is the base of the dish and is spiced with typical seasonal spices, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove. The cake serves as the toast component. I then decided to cook slices of Macoun apples and sous-vide them in an apple cider caramel. It is very easy to cook the apples to "mush" when baked in an apple pie or apple crisp, so the sous-vided of the apples ensures that they still have a nice soft, but crisp texture. The apples are also infused with the strong flavor of the buttery, apple cider caramel. The apples taste like they have been cooked for a very long time but feel like they have been barely cooked. They make up the "canadian bacon" portion of the dish. The "poached egg" is actually a brown butter ice cream that is filled with the apple cider caramel. Due to a high ratio of glucose, the caramel "oozes" out of the completely frozen brown butter ice cream. The ice cream looks like it has been poached and this is because it has been... "poached" in liquid nitrogen. The cake is served warm with the cold ice cream on top. These differentiating temperatures of hot apples and cold ice cream, have the same nostalgic impact of that of an apple crisp. It is also served with a thyme creme anglasie that is poured table-side. This is the "hollandaise" component. Visually, it looks like breakfast but stylistically, it is a traditional dessert.

 Staff Apple Crisp

Buttermilk Cheesecake

So this is my newest dessert being served at ON20.

 Buttermilk Cheesecake
concord grape | St. George gin | wood sorrel | yuzu ice cream

This dish showcases all the flavors and aromas of ingredients that grow wild in my home state of Connecticut. The main flavor components are buttermilk, concord grape, wood sorrel, pine, and juniper. Fall is my favorite season and there is nothing better than fall in New England. I love concord grapes and no other fruit represents fall better to me. My wife and I were looking at a house in CT and I wanted to move there immediately because of the yard. It was somewhat secluded in the woods and there were concord grapes growing wild all over the property. I was eating them right off of the tree and tasting them with the aromas of the pine, the huge juniper bush, and the smell of the woods and it was incredible. That inspired this dish. To compliment these flavor notes I use yuzu (which is very pine-y) and buttermilk which is naturally sour. The sour, sweet, and rich cheesecake is made with buttermilk, cream cheese, and cream and is very smooth. I bring the juniper and Douglas fir into the dish by utilizing the St George Gin. It is a truly incredible product made right here in the U S of A. It is very intense and also has notes of sage and citrus. It makes a mean Negroni as well.  I cook the alcohol out and with it make a sweetened foam that is super aromatic and tastes like a "walk in the woods". The concord grape is transformed into a bright purple cake and a puree that sets instantly when placed on the plate. Many pastry chefs use concord grape in desserts and it ends up tasting like welches jam. I wanted to avoid this so the underwhelming sweet cake and the puree bring out the natural musky, sour notes of the amazingly aromatic grape. The wild wood sorrel grows wild in CT and is by far my favorite herb. It's sourness brings the dish to a new level. Buckwheat, which is also in the sorrel family, is utilized in a streusel.  The streusel is intensified by the use of dehydrated concord grape skins that are pulverized and incorporated into the streusel recipe. The dish is finally rounded out by the sweet, sour and creamy yuzu ice cream. The concord grapes are a stunning color so I tried to replicate that in the plating. Enjoy!

I will post the recipe of the cheesecake shortly!

Zagat Photo Shoot

We had a photo shoot for Zagat/Google today at ON20 and this is one of my dishes for the shoot.... It is the Pear Mousse with lychee / acacia honey / elderflower sorbet. I must say the natural lighting in the restaurant is in incredible. We are on the 20th floor and the dining room is surrounded by windows over looking the Connecticut River and Downtown Hartford. I am very excited to to see the actual photos!

ON20

I am pleased to announce that I am now the pastry chef at ON20 in Hartford CT. I am more than honored to be part of the team and excited to be working with chef Jeffrey Lizotte. Chef Jeff is competing nationally in Paris in October and has competed in the US Bocuse D'Or!

This picture is of the stunning view of the Connecticut River from our prep kitchen. The food is just as outstanding as the view! Come check it out!

Brioche (with recipe)

I have been working diligently on developing my brioche. I have been obsessing over getting the perfect brioche (in my mind of course). I love having a brioche dessert on the menu. Right now its, Brioche doughnuts / yuzu curd / wild blueberries / bee pollen / buttermilk ice cream. I am lucky enough to get to work with bread guru and author, Charlie Van Over. I have taken various recipes, Charlie's advice and the advice of my good friend Matt (the baker at Arrows) to develop this recipe I have posted below.  After much experimentation, I am very happy with this recipe. It is great for baking, but it is amazing for doughnuts.


Yield: 2000 g approximately

1078 g all purpose flour
36 g salt
162 g sugar
13 g dry-active yeast

250 g milk (room temperature)
405 g whole eggs (room temperature)
540 g diced butter (room temperature)

- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the milk and eggs. Place the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt on top.
- Mix on speed 1 until the dough comes together. Mix for another 4 minutes.
- Turn machine up to speed two and add one third of the butter
- Continue mixing while adding the diced butter a few pieces at a time.
- Once all the butter is added, mix until full gluten development - about 20 minutes
- Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover, and bulk ferment the dough in a warm place for an hour
- When the dough has doubled in size, relax the dough in the fridge for another hour or two
- Roll the dough, cut, proof and cook accordingly!


Enjoy!