Refined Palate will be on the road so there won’t be any new posts until next week. But what will be forthcoming should make you salivate:
Manresa
2 meals at French Laundry
Redd
Bouchon Yountville
Bistro Jeanty
Stayed tuned!
Archive for the 'General' Category
This is the egg cutter I use. Michel Richard discovered it and it is by far the best that I have found.
I find that if I hold the device this way, I can gently crack the egg.
Gently push on the egg where the cutter made the crack.
To remove the white clinging to the shell, let the cracked egg simmer in water. Then carefully with your thumb peel the white clinging to the shell.
A perfectly cleaned egg.
Now you can fill the egg with softly scrambled eggs and top with caviar or you can make the Arpege egg.
A word of advice – you can make the shells a day ahead and just let them sit in the refrigerator covered. Normally I will use the eggs for either scrambled eggs or if I am doing the Arpege egg use another batch of eggs. The key is to have the eggs shells ready to use ahead of time.
See here for soft scrambled eggs:
http://lizziee.wordpress.com/category/recipe/scrambled-eggs-soft/
Arpege Eggs with Maple Syrup
At the restaurant Arpege, Wells says, “one dish that won me over immediately was this adorable palate pleaser that appeared out of nowhere at the beginning of a meal: a surprising mixture of egg, cream, maple syrup, and sherry vinegar all served in the shell – an appetizer that properly awakens your palate with a jolt of surprise and a clap of acclamation.”
4 tablespoons heavy cream (I increased the amount of heavy cream to a 1/2 cup and used 3/4 teaspoon of sherry vinegar. The recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of heavy cream which is too little and 3/4 teaspoon of sherry vinegar for that amount of heavy cream is way too acidic.)
About 3/4 teaspoon sherry vinegar, or to taste
Sea salt to taste
6 very fresh eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh chives
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
About 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Equipment:
An egg cutter or a very sharp knife, 6 porcelain egg cups
1. Place a bowl in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. In the chilled bowl, whisk the cream until soft peaks form. Season with the sherry vinegar and sea salt. Set aside.
2. Place an egg in your hand, tapered end up. Using an egg cutter or a very sharp knife, carefully slice off about the top third of the eggshell. (See above for cutting the eggs). Carefully pour the egg white out of the shell into a small bowl, holding back the yolk with the flat side of a knife. (Instead, I separated the white from the yolk out of the shell after I cut off the top third and then returned the yolk to the shell.)
With a damp paper towel, wipe the bottom of the shell. (See above for cleaning the shell). Place the shell in a porcelain egg cup. (If you return the eggs to the egg carton, they are likely to stick and will be impossible to remove later.) Repeat with the remaining eggs. (I’ve never had a problem returning the eggs to the carton)
3. Select a large, shallow skillet that is large enough to hold the eggshells in a single layer. Add water to about 2 inches in depth. Bring just to a simmer. You want the water temperature to be between 165 to 175. I use a thermometer to hold the temperature steady.
4. Carefully lift the eggshells from the egg cups and place them in the simmering water (the eggshells should just bob on top of the water). Cook just until the yolk begins to set around the edges, about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Using your fingertips, carefully remove the eggshells from the water and return them to the egg cups.
5. Sprinkle each cooked egg yolk with minced chives. Season with sea salt and pepper. Then carefully spoon the whipped cream over the yolk up to the rim of each egg cup. Drizzle with maple syrup, and serve immediately.
6 servings
The Arpege Egg done by Chef David Kinch at Manresa
Michael’s – Long Beach
Published October 30, 2011 General , Michael's - Long Beach , Southern California Leave a CommentRoving Reporter Report
Michael’s on Naples for Long Beach residents is a great local place. I’ve been taken to Michael’s a few times and it is a very good. The restaurant is well worth a short detour. Recently, I sent a bored, frustrated Swedish visitor to Michael’s from Anaheim where he was attending a convention. He wrote that it was the only good food he had in 5 days.
Wild Boar Sausage with Lentils. The Sausage was a little over cooked and dry for my taste. But over-all it was a very nice dish with good flavor.
My friend ordered the arugula salad – fresh and delicious
Beef with gnocchi…My friend said that this was superb
Lasagna Verde Alla Bolognese–home made lasagna spinach pasta layered with meat sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and tomato guanciale sauce. Terrific!
’08 Barbera d’Alba Pio Cesare…his wines don’t disappoint…under $40.00…a bargain with great flavor.
One of the things that distinguishes Chinois is its consistency, stability and reliability. Chinois has been in operation for 28 years (a small miracle in Los Angeles) and you can always count on quality food with gracious service. One thing we have learned is that we order one dish at a time and our waiters are kind enough to divide the main dish and serve us individual portions.
BYO Champagne
Japanese Yellowtail Sashimi with Yuzu Sesame Vinaigrette – sushi grade quality fish
BYO White Wine
Tuna seared in a hot dry wok with garlic and ginger, reduced soy based sauce, mixed green salad with seaweed topped with crispy onions – the tuna was top-notch quality and seared perfectly while still rare.
Moo Shu Shell with Pork Belly and Julienne Vegetables in a Hoisin Oolong Tea Sauce – this is a must order – delicious
BYO Red Wine
Crispy Glazed Quail with Grilled Pineapple – another favorite
Grilled Lamb Chops with Cilantro Vinaigrette, Warm Potato Salad – this is a classic Chinois dish and it deserves to be.
Chinois deserves to be in business another 28 years.
Vin Bar/Valentino again – this really is a perfect restaurant for us. I won’t go into as much detail re the wine as I normally do, but just let me state that I highly recommend this restaurant.
First wine
Fritto Misto of calamari, shrimp, scallops and artichokes and zucchini – not one hint of grease – just top-rate fritto misto
The fritto was served with 3 sauces – an aioli of mayonnaise and garlic, taleggio cheese and an arrabiata sauce
Pappa al Pomodoro soup topped with burrata cheese – traditional, executed perfectly – lousy photo. Pappa al pomodoro is “a bread and tomato “minestra“, that is, a thick soup, and one of the oldest and most typical dishes of the Siena area. It is definitely one of the most representative dishes of the Tuscan cucina povera, the poor people’s culinary tradition.”
Tuna Carpaccio, Blood orange, blood orange sauce dressing paired with
Blood Orange Salad, Shaved Fennel, Arugula, Blood Orange sauce, topped with Botarga – Piero mentioned that it is typical of Sicilian cuisine to pair tuna with citrus.
Second Wine
This is an old-fashioned Sicilian dish that Piero named Tortino Ragusano. Piero grew up in the province of Ragusa, the smallest and the youngest of the Sicilian provinces that covers an area of roughly 1600 square kilometres in the south-western side of the Island. This dish consisted of zucchini slices, sliced mushrooms, Caciocavallo cheese, Ragusano cheese, Swiss Chard Sauce and Olive Oil – absolutely delicious.
Third Wine
Mezze Maniche pasta with parmesan, pecorino and black and red pepper. Mezzemaniche or mezze maniche is a cut similar to shortened rigatoni – a stout cylinder with raised edges to help hold sauce. The name of this cut of pasta comes from the Italian word maniche meaning sleeves. This was a dish with just 4 ingredients that added up to a spectacular dish.
Fourth Wine
John’s favorite pasta and what Piero calls peasant spaghetti. This is a family guarded recipe that has been an old Valentino favorite for years – ingredients include fresh tomato, proscuitto, pecorino cheese, garlic, olive oil, parsley.
For me – Egg in Truffle – Pasta ravioli was on the bottom – when you cut through the dish there was spinach, ricotta, parmesan, a coddled egg with a lovely runny yolk and shaved white truffles on top – John can be a peasant while I will go for the luxurious!
Chicken Valentino – This is another classic Valentino dish - circa 1973. Piero said he has served this about 5 times in the last 10 years. My thought – serve it more often and classic doesn’t mean “out of date.” Piero described this as the quintessential American-Italian dish. It consisted of grilled chicken, Italian sausage, olives and bell peppers – mama never cooked so good!
Cheese Plate – I didn’t write down the names.
As far as I am concerned this is THE Italian restaurant in Los Angeles. As a side note, we happened to have a guest in town who wanted to go to Valentino the night before this meal. We went two nights in a row and didn’t have one duplication – two nights – two completely different experiences – two wonderful meals. By the way you don’t have to be a regular to get the best of Valentino – Piero does it every night for every guest. Of course, you could always mention that you might like a Refined Palate experience.
