Stéphane Jégo - Chez l'Ami Jean

if Johannes Vermeer had been at L'Ami Jean...

Stéphane Jégo by a Flemish master

Philippe Camdeborde's charcuterie still life

Scallop masterpiece

Sweet Diptych

Chez l'ami Jean
27 rue Malar 75007 Paris.
Tel +33 1 47 05 86 89
http://www.lamijean.fr/

A holy lunch

What if you were to invite your French great-uncle, a venerable bishop who devoted his life to the Church without having completely given up on his love for food?

A possible menu for a pious after-mass Sunday lunch could be as follows:

• Sacristains au fromage and Jésus de Lyon
• Saint Jacques pôelées au beurre de Saint-Malo
• Saint Pierre, sauce cardinal aux artichauts de Saint Pol de Léon
• Saint Marcellin, Saint Nectaire, Tête de Moine
• Saint Honoré or a Religieuse au café

... and the perfect wine pairing would be a Saint-Véran with maybe a Chartreuse liquor or a Benedictine as a digestive.

Amen.

Atelier Drome A+D: Famous Museums Recreated in Candy

Atelier Drome A+D: Famous Museums Recreated in Candy

Is Foie Gras a disease?

With the recent California ban on Foie Gras (like the city of Chicago a while ago), it might be worth correcting some misleading accusations which are erroneously spread by uninformed detractors.

Sometimes it is told that fattened ducks and geese suffer from a serious condition, that their liver is that of a sick animal and is akin to a cirrhosis.

Migrating birds which include ducks and geese have this ability to fatten themselves so as to store a lot energy before their migration. Egyptians in their time had already noticed that self-fattened bird livers were much tastier. From this knowledge, Romans had institutionalized the force-feeding of geese with figs to get fat livers outside of migration periods.

Now, one could argue that force-feeding is unkind to animals. But is that so much worse than slaughtering them? Is that so much meaner than to raise turkeys in small cages? or to lock pets in an apartment? That PETA fight against cruelty towards animals why not, but let consumers decide what they want to eat. It can be noticed that livers from animals which were fed too quickly are of bad quality as they do not hold the cooking too well; Those livers are difficult to sear or to cook in a terrine as the fat melts too quickly. So consumers can recognize the difference and select providers who take time to fatten their birds properly.

Hanging Garden of Sèvres-Babylone

Sage, basil, mint, chervil, tarragon, chive, coriander and rosemary. 

Hervé This - Note by Note Cuisine

The chemist Hervé This, well-known for his research in the field of cuisine and molecular gastronomy recently had the opportunity to talk about his current work on the BBC.

His 'Note by Note' cuisine provides interesting thoughts about the future of food and how to assemble pure ingredients 'like a painter mixes primary colors'.

Check http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24825582


You can also dig into the collaborative work between Pierre Gagnaire and Hervé This on the following link. http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/en#/pg/pierre_et_herve

Hugo Desnoyer Pigeon - two ways (Vacuum cooking experiment)

October 26th 2013


For this pigeon, I have asked my butcher (Hugo Desnoyer) to prepare the bird as follows:
- the breasts in one vacuum-sealed bag
- wings and legs in another vacuum-sealed bag
Of course, I also keep the carcass, heart and liver.

One hour for the breasts:
I have slowly cooked the breast in the sealed plastic bag in warm water (about 80°C) for one hour.

Over two hours for the jus, wings and legs:
The wings and legs were cooked in the same condition for over 2 hours. The carcass has been roasted for 15 minutes in a very hot oven and then dropped in a simmering broth for hours. Turnips were cooked in the then thickening broth for 15 minutes.

Just before serving I have seared the pigeon breast on the skin as well as the liver and the heart  for 1 minute. By that time the broth has turned into a thick jus.

Pigeon and turnips

The low temperature cooking maintain a very tender meat while the breast is still pink.
Of course the wings and legs are confit and the meat gets off the bone easily.

Checkerboard cake...actually a plausible idea.

An interesting thought about cake construction...

Reference: Checkerboard cake...actually a plausible idea

Low-temperature veal rib-eye

June 25th 2013


No need for complex and expensive tools to experiment low-temperature cooking. I have rather successfully experimented the following recipe for a veal rib-eye.

I place the rib in a very hot pan for about 2 mins on both sides. The meat should get some color and should somehow stop sticking to the pan (Maillard reaction). Then I take it out, and put it in a oven at 120°C (250°F) for 25-30 minutes.  You can even lower the temperature to as low as 55°C but then you will have to wait for a very long time (about 20 hours according to Mr Blumenthal)!

While the meat is slowly cooking in the oven, I deglaze the cooking juice with cream... and morels of course!

Despite its appearance, the meat will be fully cooked and will get extremely tender.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-temperature_cooking
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction

Don't get sick, hospital food is rough

July 2010.

Beware of too much good food. 

Don't forget to manage some breaks, to exercise and to drink a lot (of water!). Otherwise you might end up with some complication.

Three years ago in Frankfurt I had to rush to a hospital where I was diagnosed with a kidney stone. After over 48 hours of fasting, I reluctantly had to surrender to this :

No comment.

Asafumi Yamashita - The vegetable whisperer

May 19 2013

Asafumi Yamashita is said to talk to his vegetables. When asked about it he doesn't explicitly deny it. And it is not so surprising anyway. When you listen to him talking about his daikon, his sweet potatoes or his cabbage flowers, you would think he talks about his daughters. Mr Yamashita grows his own vegetables and raise a few chickens in his garden 40 minutes away from Paris. He selects carefully his very few clients to whom he sells his production in quantity, price and time that he decides. Who are the happy few chefs that he deems worthy of his noble and confidential production? Their names are Pascal Barbot (L'Astrance), William Ledeuil (Ze Kitchen Gallery), Pierre Gagnaire, Sylvain Sendra (to whom I very thankfully owe this discovery) (Itinéraires), Michel and Sébastien Bras, Eric Briffard (George V), Laurent Delarbre (La Tour d'Argent) and recently Anne-Sophie Pic.

Knowing how selective is Asafumi Yamashita, being hosted at his place feels like a privilege, yet guests are welcome with no ceremony in his simple house. His wife Naomi carefully assembles the garden's offsprings in delicious dishes that Asafumi brings to the table.

Tofu, Carrot, Carrot-top, Konyac and Komatsuna

Kabu, Cabbage flower

Chicken sashimi

Daikon, miso pork

Brocoli, brocoli hearts, sweet miso

Nile perch, taro flower

Wasabina, misuna, turnip, carrot

Home 'almost Bresse' chicken 

Udon, onion tempura

Red bean and apricot mochi

Where the miracle grows

Sylvain Sendra and Asafumi Yamashita exchanging philosophical thoughts on the world of vegetables.   

Further reading:

http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/teaser/fiche.php?isbn=9782732450674


La Ferme Yamashita

Chemin des Trois-Poiriers,

78130 Chapet.

Tel. : +33 1 30 91 98 75.

Edible Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona day bed

 When art meets food: an edible Barcelona day bed, after Mies van der Rohe's design.

Source Leandro Erlich

Lionel Levy - Revisited Bouillabaisse

The original Bouillabaisse is basically a fragrant rockfish stew with distinctive perfumes and flavors of garlic, saffron, and other spices. It is accompanied with boiled potatoes and rouille, a kind of garlic-mayonnaise.

It is commonly admitted that he name Bouillabaisse comes from the two verbs 'to boil' and 'to lower' (the heat). Most of Bouillabaisses are thus left to boil or simmer until you get a thick broth.

In my opinion, this way of overcooking the fish is an heresy and ruins the fish. Many chefs in the last few decades have fortunately adapted the original recipe to accomodate with a more modern and more respectful way of cooking the fish.

See here for pictures of traditional Bouillabaisses.

May 2011 Lionel Levy was then still owning 'Une Table au Sud', over looking the vieux-port in Marseille. In his restaurant he reinterpreted the emblematic Bouillabaisse from Marseille.

Lionel Levy's Bouillabaisse

In his recipe of course the fish (Vive, Rascasse and John-Dory) is seared to perfection  The soup with a thick foam is rich and flavorful. The bottle is left onto the table should you need a refill.  The potatoes are carved and stuffed with the rouille and then sealed with the croutons toasts and cheese crisps.

Further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouillabaisse

Arnaud Daguin - How to bone a pigeon

Chef Arnaud Daguin shares with us his impressive technique to bone a pigeon in a few minutes. After the pigeon is left with no bone, it is ready to be stuffed and cooked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcXwgiZPNNQ

Morchella Esculenta, the morel mushroom

Morels: Succulent mushrooms. Much more than just edible, they are one of the finest delicacies that you find in the fungus world. Nothing to shy away from truffles (I am talking of the noble Tuber Melanosporum of course).


How often have I heard that mushrooms are to be found during Autumn? Wrong!
Let it be known: morels (and many other mushrooms) sprout during Spring time.


They thus just make an admirable combination with another noble spring vegetable: the asparagus.
Now picture yourself a gently butter-roasted veal sweetbread with green asparagus and morels in a subtle "vin jaune" sauce.
Isn't that a depiction of a divine dish?

Further readings:

See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morchella_esculenta

Credits:
Pictures were stolen from http://gulae.fr/ and http://www.theparisienne.fr/