A Constant Striving to Better Our Food

Living in Placer County and working in this great local community, I see the deep connection people have to their roots. I too have those roots, to my Family, our customs and traditions and more. My Family in this region have been cattle ranchers since before World War II when they were forced to leave their property by the hands of the US Government. Our Family used to inhabit the current "Beale Air Force Base" property. When relocated they chose Lincoln and bought almost 1,000 acres in Placer County to ranch on.



As cattle ranchers, they were constantly striving to better their land, their soil and the condition of the environment to that best suited to the health and success of great cattle. After all, it was their life source, their income and their pride.



Today not much has changed. Being that I spend a lot of time in the Farmers markets and visit with Farmers and ranchers, I find it very interesting. A great farmer has the sense to know that it requires great skill and hard work to farm successfully. But even more, they know that by being educated and studying the science of their soil, of their strains of crops, that they can produce amazing results.



Modern Chefs are often scrutinized for playing with food additives, creating plates that are deemed "unrecognizable", and breaking the mold of "simple food". Great ingredients should be treated simply to produce amazing results is the theory many people hold. I can agree, but also feel like the Farmer who knows that there is a place for science to produce amazing results in food.



Just like the Farmer who studies his soil and crops in depth, I too study my practice of cooking in great depth. I have found a great balance between the "old" and the "new". It has brought me great reward to create food with precise results and know that is indeed the case.



A few small examples of this theory that the study of the craft of cooking and the introduction of science can produce better results are as follows:



I recently built a wood fired pizza oven. One may find a pizza dough recipe that is good and find it satisfying to make. But to be able to study the science of the dough, the chemical reactions, the mixing and resting process, the precise hydration rates, the amount of yeast, the total rising time; any one of these variable changed in the slightest will produce a different quality in the dough, from texture to taste and more. With the use of basic science, but moreover tedious study and repetitious practice I was able to produce a dough that I find fantastic and am proud to serve. Proud enough to not share the recipe! Ha!

More so, the combination of this study along with the old way of "feeling" the dough is extremely important. It takes more than just study to know how to achieve results, it takes the feel as well.



Another; The addition of a thermal circulator to my tool collection has provided me with the ability to cook meat amazingly well. Again, much study being required, I now know that each type of meat, each cut of meat, each strain of meat requires a very different approach when cooked depending on the result you are desiring.

The addition of a Paco Jet provides extraordinary results when making ice creams and sorbets, something that could not be rivaled by traditional methods.

The addition of these "tools" enables me to provide my clients food that is truly amazing, texturally and taste wise. The introduction of science in the modern kitchen is almost required to push ourselves toward perfection, whatever we each define that as. In economic times like these, we cannot afford one bad meal, and as the saying goes that we live by, we are only as good as our last meal. The use of science helps me to produce food that I deem worthy of praise and practice, and more importantly keeps my clients happy and coming back!

I guess what I am saying is this; in this evolving world we live in, where more tools and information is available than ever before, it is in good practice for all working people, be it any trade, to make use of their surroundings. This is evolution and survival of the "adaptable" in a sense. We can all make great use of the world that surrounds us if we open our eyes to what is there.

A New Website, Finally

So Finally I have a new website. Make sure to check it out ....

www.pajoscatering.com

Pajo's Catering is a unique catering and fine dining service unlike any other. Offices located in Lincoln, Ca 95648 for catering. 916-532-7178


A different "Approach".
Stepping outside of the norm, we offer a completely unique Catering service. Our food is classy, refined, artistic, humorous, thoughtful, delicious and tantalizing! We create the menu differently for every event to meet the clients needs. We provide "What The Customer Wants & Needs!"

Catering for all events.
From weddings to corporate events, we cater all types of events. Let us create a personalized menu and quote to fit your taste and budget.

Playing with food, art & science.
Our Chef is constantly researching the latest trends in food to stay a step ahead of the curve. Our events are an intermingling of amazing taste, beautiful presentations, and spectacular entertainment.

Cooking Classes.
Join the Chef as he will entice you with his most amazing recipes. Classes held once a month followed by a delicious meal. Visit the Cooking Classes page for dates and details.


"Its your special day, choose the food that your guests will remember."


Call us today for a personalized quote for your special event.

Pajo's Catering
661 McBean Park Drive
Lincoln, Ca 95648
(916)532-7178
pajo@pajoscatering.com
pajo.bruich@earthlink.net

"Another Useful Piece of Culinary Equipment"

Finally I can say my arsenal is getting fully loaded. Nearing the brink of losing a further bedroom to space for plates, racks, equipment and more, I must stop soon! Actually I have recently acquired some commercial kitchen space for my catering, so we are set!

I just received my chamber vacuum sealer, a second thermal circulator and this all adds to the anti-griddle. Now we can create an amazing energetic catered event for guests to enjoy. People seem to really love the equipment, having had seen this stuff on "Food Network's Iron Chef". This is what I always here. The chamber vacuum is absolutely amazing and now I can do some amazing things I wasn't able to do before. IE- Infusions, compressions, proper sous vide, creme anglaise, etc etc etc....

We just did the Lincoln Showcase, will I will post about the amazing results soon, and the Anti-Griddle was a show stopper. As was the 12 hour pork cooking on site via - sous vide.

Open House

So we brought the new private entertaining spot into the light with a great open house last Saturday. We hosted some 80+ people to enjoy a sampling of great food and an amazing atmosphere. Here is the link to the photography which was taken by Beth Daane Photography, a truly gifted woman with an artistic eye, and a foodie! Great combo!

http://www.bdpclients.com/pickpic/gallery/splash.php?gallery_id=60 password = pajo

Enjoy the photos!

Menu of the night

· Homemade Pizzas From Our Wood Fired Oven!!!
· Grilled figs, jamon serrano, sherry vinegar reduction, olive oil, arugula, Pine nuts
· Heirloom Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Balsamic Vinaigrette Basil
· Flavors Of Gazpacho, Spicy Tomato Sorbet, Balsamic Pearls, Opal Basil
· Avocado timbale, Summer melon, melon air, mousse d’ piment d’ espelette
· Ceviche, Yuzu, avocado, chile, cilantro, Asian pears
· Cesar salad, parmigiano reggiano, micro greens, garlic crouton
· Pickled Cherry peppers, cream cheese, caramelized onion, galic, thyme
· Pickled tomatoes, Crunchy Garlic Toast, Burrata
· Mini Tacos Adobada, Pineapple, Lime Crème Fraiche, Micro Cilantro
· Olive Oil Panna Cotta, Balsamic Strawberries, Basil

· Summer Berry Consommé, Goat Cheese Sorbet

Cylinder of manchego cheesecake, pineapple, lemon thyme, graham cracker

Chef Roberto Cortez

After a few months of digitally trasmitted conversations via email, I am finally going to Los Angeles to work with Chef Roberto Cortez. Thursday, August 6th, the amazing private chef that trained Le Cordon Bleu, Ecole Lenotre, L'Amadier Ecole de Soleil, Bellouet Conseil, Ritz Escoffier Paris, and Albert Adria in Barcelona to name a few spots, has asked me to give him a hand with his upcoming event.

The event, scheduled at the famed Parisian Baker "Eric Kayser's" Los Angeles outpost, "The Breadbar" is a sampling of Roberto's extremely modern and artistic approach to food and dining. Roberto is offering 8 courses each priced at $8 each. Not bad at all for the Chef that is not public at all, not many get to experience his food. I mean this guy has cooked for the likes of Eddie Murphy, Melanie Griffith, Paul Allen of Microsoft, Antonio Banderas, and even was asked to cook a dinner for President Obama. Amongst many more.

He has ventured into the realm of design and art, science and emotion with his approach to food to redefine what the term "Chef" actually means to people.

He has asked me to "Sous" for the night, controlling the flow in the kitchen while he does the media thing up front. What an amazing opportunity I am looking forward to.

The Menu...

SALT

LIQUID ONION RING

rye crispsesame gribiche

WHITE ASPARAGUS CAPPUCCINO

grapefruit, mint, ginger ravioli, set of two

HERB STAINED SALMON

whipped jasmine rice pickled cucumber paste, passionfruit chili noodles

SMOKED SHITAKE TERRINE

white corn veloute, Indonesian cinnamon butter arugula

LEMON LAQUERED CHICKEN

hot aerated potato soy gelee almond corianders oatmeal

VEAL SHORT RIB

cauliflower cocoa butter vadouvan grape edamame shallot confiture

SUGAR

8C MANJARI CHOCOLATE CREAM

thai spice cherries frozen malt guiness pearls

SPARKLING LEMONCURD MOUSSE

strawberry water caramel mint oil crepe crunch

http://www.foodiefetish.com/

http://www.robertocortez.com/

http://www.breadbar.net/

http://www.pajoscatering.wordpress.com/

www.pajoscatering.wordpress.com

So I have finally launched my new "business only" site this week formally. Here you can find my business contact info, photos and more. Check it out for my complete services.

http://www.pajoscatering.wordpress.com/

Pajo's Fine Dining & Catering

For those of you that are interested in obtaining my services, please view the following address for further information. http://www.pajoscatering.wordpress.com

Here you will find my services offered, contact information and a photographic portfolio.

Bon Appetit!

Transglutaminase, Applying a bit of Science for Technique

Now I have spoken about Transglutaminase in prior blogs, even given photo examples of dishes where I put this to good use. But I wanted to elaborate a bit more, especially for the guests of the last dinner and cooking class. The last dinner featured Activa in a few dishes; Chicken Rouelles; Shrimp Chorizo; Filet Mignon. We did a great demonstration and explained the stuff and how it works. The class members all got 2 100g bags of the RM and GS to play with at home. None of this would have been possible if for the amazing customer support of Ajinomoto.


I contacted them a few months back to inquire about their products directly. I mean the stuff is a whopping $82 + for a 2 lb bag online. I thought I would start buying in bulk at a cheaper rate. They were kind enough to send me some samples to play around with to see which I liked best. My first experiment was pretty basic, playing with scraps and trying to form a bond.


When I decided that the next cooking class would venture outside of some peoples comfort zone and feature cooking sous vide with the immersion circulator, I decided to bring in some additional techniques as well. I added a few dishes to exhibit the Activa, some NZorbit, Agar and more. When Gary Boell of Ajinomoto heard about my class, he contacted me directly.


Gary was asking to meet me personally and work on a few techniques. I happily obliged and he arrived to my house one afternoon with 20 lbs of terres major, a lab jacket, arm length gloves, a power drill, a 2 feet extension with a fan blade, a few rubber totes and many packages of Activa RM, GS, TM and YG. We had a blast. He demonstrated some of the possibilities of the stuff. He brought along some great plastic molds in the form of perforated plastic casings that we used to stuff the meat into perfect rounds. I had previously used the old standby of plastic wrap!



We spent the better part of 3 hours playing around with the stuff and discussing the possibilities. I immediately wanted to try a seafood application and was thinking lobster. However, after examining "Ideas In Food" I found they successfully made a shrimp chorizo. That would be perfect for my next dish. So I used their idea and created my own formula and recipe for spicing the chorizo. Angie's Mother, being such an amazing Mexican cook inspires me to use chiles and spices that are not known by many.


Anyhow, we used all the terres major, and we discussed bonding seafood, chicken, and even dairy or dessert applications. Gary was kind enough to get Alex Talbot and I in contact on the phone. We discussed some options for activa YG in dessert and cheese applications. It is amazing stuff as well.


After this was all said and done, a few days later 2 boxes arrived. One box was full of samples of all the activa products, enough for all the class members. The other box was full of detailed folders on the use of their products. What an amazing company. The care and consideration they put into their product is something else. With all the huge accounts they have, the meat packers, world known chefs and more, they took the time to advise me on their product personally. Amazing. Special thanks to Gary Boell and Alex Talbot for taking the time to speak with me regarding the Activa products.


Activa is a protein binder or glue if you will. It contains salts, carbohydrates and enzymes that catalyze the bonds between proteins. Once the meat has absorbed the activa, it is undetectable in any trace. It is a natural product, some contain gelatin and others do not. It is a product that is helping Chefs to achieve results before impossible. It needs credit for its place in the advancing science of food industry. I like the possibilities that it brings to the table. It enables me to think outside of that standard box, to create and manipulate form and shape, and to combine ingredients not commonly combined. For instance, Filet Oscar, or a scallop molded into the center of a steak, just for instance. Also the ability of the YG allows us to transform common ingredients into uncommon forms, such as a warm mousse that holds shape, or a hot panna cotta.


Shrimp Chorizo
Adapted from Ideas in Food

2 lbs raw shrimp cleaned
5 grams cumin
10 grams smoked paprika
10 grams chile de arbol
10 grams guajillo chile
5 grams sweet paprika
2 grams oregano
20 grams pressed garlic
10 grams salt
Olive Oil
7 grams activa rm


Roughly chop about 1/2 of the shrimp. Puree the remaining shrimp with all ingredients except the activa. Puree to a paste. Remove paste to a bowl and combine with chopped shrimp. Add the activa in 2 sessions, folding each into the batter.


Pipe the mixture into perforated bags forming sausage shape. Cook sous vide at 58* Celsius for 20 minutes then cool in ice bath immediately.

Slice the chorizo and sear briefly in olive oil and serve.


The above recipe was my own creation based on the existing one that Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa had previously created. I added quite a few more ingredients and this chorizo had a nice bold and smoky flavor. Perfect compliment to my dish. (Pictured Below in previous post.)



I have also used the activa to form the chicken logs if you will. Cooked sous vide makes for a perfect shape and the chicken turns out moist and tender, like nothing you would imagine for a traditional breast. Here are a few photos! Enjoy!

Activa RM & Sous Vide

In my upcoming class and dinner I will introducing some new ingredients and techniques to our guests. Over the weekend I played with them to test their abilities and results. I must say I was pretty amazed at well the two components can work together.

Being my first time working with activa, I wanted something a bit easy if you will. I cooked dinner for my family who came to visit the little one. We grew up eating chicken cordon bleu so I decided I would throw my twist on our family's dish.

I used the activa to bond thinly sliced and pounded organic chicken breasts. I layed out two long sheets of plastic wrap side by side and formed a rectangle shape with the meat. I put prosciutto and a beautiful raw milk cheese, in the center and rolled the breast meats into rouelles, or logs.

I let them bond overnight in the fridge, the next morning taking them out, cutting them in half as the original logs were about 24" long, then wrapped them with bacon, secured the ends of the bacon with more activa and cryo-vacked them with a few pieces of garlic and some lemon thyme.

I let sit in fridge about 8 more hours. I cooked sous vide at 62 degrees for about 45 minutes, took them out and seared the bacon crisp. The result was great. The shape remained beautifully in tact. The flavor and texture was amazing. I paired with a 12 hour sous vide pork belly which I cured and served with a honey whole grain mustard emulsion and a salad of crisp apple and celery tossed with lemon and olive oil.

In the center there is a great potato mille-feuille, layers of potato brushed with clarified butter and salted, I seared them off and basted them with lemon thyme and garlic. It sits on a bed of sweet carmelized onions. Then the chicken, applewood bacon wrapped, served with a broken bacon vinaigrette, meyer lemon supremes and a caper relish with garlic, parsley and shallot.

The dish was really good! For dessert I molded chocolate mousse in my new molds, unfortunately the mousse was too set up already when I piped it into the molds, therefore all the air was not released, causing pockets. Next time I will pour the batter in when still fluid and give them a few good bangs on the counter. Served with a salted chocolate shortbread, a vanilla bean and olive oil powder, raspberry coulis, fresh raspberry and fleur de sel which really made the chocolate pop.

Overall I am impressed at how well the two components, activa and sous vide can be used together to achieve a particular shape. I have many ideas in mind now, and will try and bring them into the light. JP from preferred recommended Chicken skin on Tuna, "tuna of the sea"; I am thinking wrapping a whole piece of Halibut or Sea Bass with Chicken Skin to appear as a Thigh, sear it and call it chicken surprise! Ha! So many possibilities.

"Sous Vide"

According to wikipedia - "Sous-vide (pronounced /su ˈvid/),[1] French for "under vacuum",[1] is a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Food is cooked for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F)."

Sous vide is a well known technique to many. It is something I have played with lots in my crockpot and on my stovetop. However, the immersion circulator required to truly cook sous vide properly is very pricey. It was also my latest investment.

Christmas was good to me. I chipped in on my own present and received the long awaited immersion circulator. Through work I was able to purchase wholesale direct through manufacturer at wholesale rate. Unlike most commercial equipment, this is a short discount item unfortunately. I have been playing with it since it arrived with excellent results. I am amazed at the accuracy of the equipment.

My next dinner will feature several ingredients cooked sous vide & the cooking class portion will focus on the advantages and amazing results of "Sous Vide" cooking. We will be working hands on with the highly acclaimed and technologically advanced equipment, which is a very rare and special opportunity. Sous vide utilizes thermal heat to cook meats and foods to a very specific desired internal temperature. The benefit is that the entire piece of meat or ingredient is cooked perfectly throughout at the exact desired temperature. The result is ultra low, ultra slow cooked food that does not lose any of its natural flavors or vitamins & minerals.

Here is a pork tenderloin cooked to 60.5 celsius for about 45 minutes. I then seared it, basted with butter and garlic and some thyme. I served with a bacon emulsion and a whole grain honey mustard sauce, topped with a fresh crisp apple and celery salad. It was spectacular! As you will notice I did not take the time to trim the tenderloin properly. It was my first time using the circulator and I got a little excited and must have been sleeping still.

Differance in Quality

Choosing a caterer in Sacramento for some people is a challenging task. First of all you are subjecting yourself and your home to a stranger. Then you must find common ground with your culinary likes and dislikes. Often times most caterers have a menu to choose from. This menu has been calculated for cost and expense, has a fixed price per item and is easily quoted. They do not bend the rules.

What I find is that most caterers in Sacramento will use sub par ingredients, take short cuts, or sacrifice quality for the sake of profit. Last night for instance we attended an event at an undisclosed location. It is an absolutely amazing place. My point however is they had it catered. The food was very basic, a ham croissant sandwich, a veggie platter consisting of previously frozen veggies, oxidized carrots, dried up ingredients. They finished off the line with some boxed desserts, well they were not in a box, I mean they were purchased frozen, and placed on pretty little trays to appear to the untrained eye as if some care went into their production on the caterers end.

Reality is that the food was not good. It did not look good and did not taste good. The quality of ingredients was very poor. This is what a lot of caterers specialize in. I suggest that someone looking for a caterer in Sacramento consider their goals and what they are trying to accomplish from an event they are hosting.

If it is important to you to have good food with nice presentation, or if you want your guests to be in awe, or really treat your guests to a treat. Perhaps you just want to have that casual sub par quality because no one will notice. Last night there were people lining up for the food, more than likely because it was free. Happens all the time, and people love something to snack on.

My suggestion is to find a caterer that will coach you through your journey to reach your destinations or goals for your event. I cater each event specially, individually. I do not have a fixed menu and certainly do not jeopardize my food or myself as a chef by using sub par ingredients to decrease the price of an event.

The old saying pays true, "you get what you pay for". I offer a service unlike most in the area. Actually my service is very, very unique. I offer a personalized, truly personalized opportunity to experience extremely high end food, that tastes amazing, with the highest quality ingredients from local suppliers, that are true to our seasons.

This all does not come without a price however. Again, you get what you pay for. I expect my clients to require and expect a lot from me. I expect to wow them and surpass their expectations, and I strive to do so using the best quality ingredients and using all the skills in my arsenal. I do not cut corners or become lazy to make money. I truly enjoy what I do and it is reflected in my food.

I have had to turn many clients away because they have asked me to jeopardize my core beliefs, my code as a Chef that I follow. I do not go against my style and against what I believe should be when it comes to serving clients. I will not serve something if it will not be better than you can expect. The people I have refused to work with have asked to me dumb it down, go against my style, be simple, be plain. I can cook like that every day of the week. We often eat like that ourselves. If I am charging a client for my services I will not do that. I expect to be paid well for what I do and I do not expect to be lazy and offer food that I do not feel like their money is worth. I want to give them their moneys worth every time.

To close, if you are looking for catering, consider your goals. Think about the service you will get. What I do is all homemade. My desserts are made by hand, with heart. They are not from Costco out of a box. I make my stocks from scratch using true bones and aromatics. My sauces are true reductions. Often I will brine my meat to ensure a better end result, a process that takes an extra day to accomplish. Point is that I take many extra steps to ensure that the food is better than just being traditionaly and quickly cooked. It is a process that I follow to make each ingredient better than normal. To enhance the ingredient. Nothing comes from a box!

My cuisine is specialized in that it is refined and extremely laborious in nature. I look for inspiration from the best Chefs in the world; Thomas Keller, Corey Lee of The French Laundry; Jonathan Benno of Per Se; Grant Achatz of Alinea; Local Chefs like Douglas Keene of Cyrus, Chef Kris Kostow of Meadowood, Chef David Kinch of Manressa and many more. Chefs Courtney & Eric of Carpe Vino have played a huge role in my inspiration as what they do is amazing with their restrictions and limitations. All of these Chefs are cutting edge people doing amazing cuisine and people I strive to follow. Passionate and devoted people to a craft they love. I pride myself in that!

I look forward to catering your next event. I cater to the Sacramento region, greater Sacramento area including, Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Auburn and much more. Please call for a personalized menu.

A Cocktail Party

Friday night marked the execution of the Hansen cocktail party. As mentioned previously I developed their menu and executed the food as planned. Everything turned out great.

The Hansens are truly kind people. Not only were they extremely welcoming, they were kind and gracious as well. They own a beautiful home with an amazing kitchen! It was a pleasure, more like a pleasant dream to get to cook in such an equipped kitchen.

Throughout dinner people raved about the food. The butternut and apple soup was a huge hit, as were many others!

I prepped extremely long and hard for this event. I wanted everything to be my best work, and really wanted to exceed what the Hansens expected from me. Being that I have not made a name for myself yet, I am always striving to demonstrate my talents to my clients. That will hopefully ensure word of mouth advertising and repeat customers. What better advertising could you do then be at your very best? This is a picture of Irma, Myself and Jessica plating. Irma is a great friend of mine and a passionate cook. She always lends a helping hand when I do an event. Jessica is a culinary student of the Institute of Tech, so it was great to show and inspire such a young cook.

Brenda, standing gaurd next to the beautiful cheese plates.

Plating the course. I did the first and everyone then followed one job each to finish the remaining.
These above were olive oil shortbread, olive oil jam, nicoise olive puree, dried cherries and saffron. Absolutely amazing, salty up front and left a lingering sweet flavor of cherries on the end.

Pumpkin Consomme, Roasted Dates, Creme Fraiche

Brie Mousse, Beet Reduction, Baby Beets Sous Vide, Red Beets sous vide, Candied Apples Sous Vide, Garlic Crostini, apple fennel compote, arugula pudding, micro arugula, olive oil.

They look a little busy but I was happy with the execution and flavors of this dish. I found that each individual component eaten with the cheese alone was very good. All of them together a little bit much, so advised to each one bite at a time individually.

Chilean Sea Bass, Artichokes sous vide, pearl onions sous vide, agnolotti, barigoule, basil, lemon-Parmesan foam, Parmesan tuile.

Not my favorite plating execution. Could have been much cleaner and tighter, but we were rushed at this stage for this dish. There were a lot of components, too many in my opinion. Next time I will simplify. This is pan seared and roasted poussin that had been brined, chantrelle mushrooms, sous vide baby carrots, sous vide cippolini, pomegranate reduction, bordelaise, vanilla potato essence, candied glazed garlic. Carrot oil and powder. Whew... too many things. Sometimes a dish sounds good until you go to execute. Everyone loved this course however, so I believe it was liked. The bird came back with barely even any bones left on the plates! A good sign!

One of my favorite dishes of the night. A true pineapple consomme, infused with saffron, black peppercorns and lemon thyme. Coconut sorbet, caramelized bananas. Delicious!

Highland Farms lamb Sliders, Roasted Garlic Aioli, 4 hours caramelized onions, goat cheese, hand cut fries and Spicy Ketchup.

Milk chocolate creme brulee, chocolate truffles, brioche doughnuts, salted caramel, port poached figs, dark chocolate sorbet. MMmmmmm... good! Perfect doughnuts!

6 lbs of chilean sea bass, extremely fresh!

My next venue

I recently was offered a job for a client to do a dinner party for 24 people. It is a cocktail party that they wanted to serve food with. Well I cannot help myself whenever I cook for clients so I try to create a menu that will help the food to shine. I tried to develop a menu that would pair well with their choice of cocktails as well. I do not drink a lot of martinis, flavored or not, but have a good idea and a great source in Mom. The martini expert.

Canapes

~Olive Oil Shortbread, Olive Jam, Nicoise Puree, Cherry, Saffron
~Butternut Squash, Apple & Vanilla Shooters
~Bread, Lucero Olive Oil, Balsamic Reduction
~Spiced Pumpkin Consommé, Roasted Medjool Dates


Brie Mousse
Candied Apples, Arugula Pudding, Apple-Fennel Compote,
Garlic Crostini, Red Beet Reduction, Micro Arugula
"French 75"

Chilean Sea Bass
Artichoke "Agnolotti al Plin", Barigoule Reduction, Basil Oil,
Parmesan Tuile, Pearl Onion, Lemon Essence
"Lemon Drop "

Roasted Poussin
Pomegranate Gastrique, Cippolini, Candied Carrots, Carrot Oil,
Caramelized Garlic, Pomegranate Pearls, Vanilla-Potato Essence
"Pomegranate Martini"

Intermezzo
Coconut Sorbet, Caramelized Banana, Pineapple Consommé
“Siberian Princess”

Lamb Sliders
Highland Farms Local Lamb, Caramelized Onions,
Goat Cheese, Roasted Garlic Aioli, Pommes Frites, Spicy Ketchup
"Cabernet Sauvignon"

Dessert Trio
Milk Chocolate Crème Brulée, Brioche Doughnuts & Salted Caramel, strawberry oil,
Dark Chocolate Sorbet & Port Poached Figs
"Port"


Mignardises

Chocolate Truffles, Blackberry Tobacco

These will be all small plates. The clients chose what they wanted and I think they did excellent. This is sure to be a fabulous event. I will keep the pictures posted after this Friday.

My biggest challenge with this event was finding a chef to assist me. Considering this is such a large event for myself to handle alone, I decided it a good idea to ask for some help. But where? To who? Ughh,,, I found a girl still in culinary school to assist with plating and prep and whatnot, but I need some good back up. Something I need to take care of if I keep getting gigs like this.

For this dinner I am introducing quite a few sous vide techinques, and a few other interesting ones. I am using Methocel F50 to create a vanilla or vadouvan flavored marshallow that will be dehydrated and become crispy and floated in the butternut squash soup shooter atop an apple brunoise.

Sous vide will be applied to baby artichokes, carrots, pearl onions, cippolini, all veggies basically. I will be able to cook them ahead at a very controlled temperature to achieve the perfect texture. Then I will glaze them to finish at service. I am also using my vac machine to infuse certain flavors, like marinated olives with garlic, citrus, coriander and herbs.

I am playing with dried ingredients as well, such as carrot and beet powder, marshmallows, cherries, and some others. This should be a lot of fun to get some new practice on techniques. Let you all know how it turns out! I am taking pics along the way......

Carpe Vino Gets 4 stars From Mike Dunne

This past weekend Mike Dunne finally released his review of Carpe Vino in Old Town Auburn. I was waiting to read this because not only are Courtney, Eric and Drew good friends of mine, I have also had the great opportunity to cook their under their direction. They are amazing Chefs, and I have stated before on this blog, in my opinion the best in all of Placer County.

Take a look at the review and don't forget to give them a try before Courtney leaves and the format changes in the dining room....

http://www.sacbee.com/117/story/1358788.html