Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Key Lime Tart, Kalamata Olive Bread
Key Lime Tart with Wild Maine Blueberry Sauce
Your Basic Key Lime Tart with lots of lime zest to enhance the flavor. My goal eventually with these is to make them with a lime curd (actually made with key limes), and not use sweetened condensed milk at all. Also, to top it with a meringue instead of whipped cream. Here, the guests expect the more traditional method.
Kalamata Olive Bread
Made with a natural starter and no commercial yeast baked directly on the hearth of the oven. The bread pairs excellent quality kalamata olives along with fresh rosemary to create a crusty, chewy, salty goodness.
Your Basic Key Lime Tart with lots of lime zest to enhance the flavor. My goal eventually with these is to make them with a lime curd (actually made with key limes), and not use sweetened condensed milk at all. Also, to top it with a meringue instead of whipped cream. Here, the guests expect the more traditional method.
Kalamata Olive Bread
Made with a natural starter and no commercial yeast baked directly on the hearth of the oven. The bread pairs excellent quality kalamata olives along with fresh rosemary to create a crusty, chewy, salty goodness.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Caramelized Plum Torte:
The idea here is taken from a classic Bavarian summertime dessert Pflaumenkuchen or German Plum Cake. Instead of baking it as a cake we bake the biscuit (made with cottage cheese) by itself. Then at service we caramelize plums to order. The plums are topped with a French Sabayon (made with a crisp Chardonnay) lightened with some cream and torched for texture and look.
Next we come to Chocolate Blackout Cake as made famous by Ebingger's Bakery in Brooklyn, NY that closed a long time ago. Karen Barker of Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC wrote about it in her baking book and recreated a stellar version which I have borrowed but changed the pudding filling. For effect, we stood up the slice on the plate. While I am not a fan of this type of plating, it a good way to plate a slice of cake and make it look fancy! The cake is nothing like anything I have worked with before. It is so moist and impossible to cut to make layers. It is challenging to work with but the end result is a Chocolate Blackout (cake) :)
The idea here is taken from a classic Bavarian summertime dessert Pflaumenkuchen or German Plum Cake. Instead of baking it as a cake we bake the biscuit (made with cottage cheese) by itself. Then at service we caramelize plums to order. The plums are topped with a French Sabayon (made with a crisp Chardonnay) lightened with some cream and torched for texture and look.
Next we come to Chocolate Blackout Cake as made famous by Ebingger's Bakery in Brooklyn, NY that closed a long time ago. Karen Barker of Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC wrote about it in her baking book and recreated a stellar version which I have borrowed but changed the pudding filling. For effect, we stood up the slice on the plate. While I am not a fan of this type of plating, it a good way to plate a slice of cake and make it look fancy! The cake is nothing like anything I have worked with before. It is so moist and impossible to cut to make layers. It is challenging to work with but the end result is a Chocolate Blackout (cake) :)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Watermelon Granita, Chocolate Mousse Napoleon, Blueberry Pie
Tuesday desserts at the Q: First up we have a watermelon Granita. What fruit symbolizes summer in the states better than watermelon? Watermelon fruit salads, watermelon wedges at a barbecue, juices dripping down your arms and face, but watermelon for dessert? Yes, it can be done. When I was living in Florida people went crazy for Watermelon grilled salads- “Ooh, watermelon with grill marks!” Since we are blessed here at Quisisana with an ice cream machine there is a certain amount of pressure to do a number of homemade sorbets and ice creams but for this dessert I wanted something even lighter and fresher and something that can be served as a lunch dessert. 2 years ago we did Mango Sorbet which is a bit overdone but the guests loved it. 3 years ago we made a lemon sherbet and no one knew what it was. So this year it is time to introduce people to a fun frozen dessert called Granita! Well, you might be asking yourself, what exactly is Granita? Glad you asked- Granita is basically fruit pureed with a simple syrup and mixed by hand periodically until a granular ice mixture forms (think shaved ice with a lot more flavor).
So in this case we seeded and pureed fresh watermelon and mixed it with a mint infused simple syrup and some top shelf vodka and served it in a crunchy tuile cookie basket. The mint garnish is appropriate in this case because the dessert is actually infused with mint.
Chocolate Mousse Napoleon
Lighter egg white versions of mousse for the summer served with puff pastry cookies and marinated orange segments are served for dinner dessert. High quality des Alpes dark, milk and white chocolate are featured separately in a simple but elegant mousse dessert to showcase the quality and nuances of the chocolate. The oranges are lightly marinated in a fresh orange juice and Grand Marnier reduction.
Blueberry Pie
Saturday tradition at Quisisana is to have Blueberry Pie for dinner dessert. After living in the south for many years, I think I have a good grasp on what pie should be. Pie should not be complicated and should always look and taste like pie. I do not believe in going all pastry chef and turning it into an individual pie. Pie is supposed to be something that anyone can make, just mix all the ingredients in a bowl and dump it into the pie shell. If you don’t have time to mix together fat, flour and water than just buy a pre-made pie shell. It’s that easy and everyone can do it and everyone loves it… Okay, already. I get it… Pie should be pie. But why can’t pie be the most outrageous pie you’ve ever had? One where technique and ingredients are the focus rather than opening up a can of pie filling and dumping it into a pre-made pie crust.
Well, if this is the kind of pie you have been waiting for your whole life than your wish has been granted!
From scratch pie dough, double crusted, butter only- no shortening, no margarine, no lard. The butter is frozen and grated so that it can be distributed evenly in the dough and definitely not over-mixed. This gives the dough that beautiful flakiness with a intoxicating smooth aftertaste that you simply cannot get from warm shortening doughs. Now onto the filling:
Fresh, yes, fresh blueberries are mixed with fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, a little sugar, and some flour and baked off at hot temperatures to ensure a cooked filling and a perfect crust. Notice that the filling did not contain frozen blueberries, cornstarch, cornstarch slurries, or pie fillings… That is done on purpose to create a unique blueberry pie for the peeps of Blueberry eating Maine. Topped with Maine Vanilla Ice Cream.
So in this case we seeded and pureed fresh watermelon and mixed it with a mint infused simple syrup and some top shelf vodka and served it in a crunchy tuile cookie basket. The mint garnish is appropriate in this case because the dessert is actually infused with mint.
Chocolate Mousse Napoleon
Lighter egg white versions of mousse for the summer served with puff pastry cookies and marinated orange segments are served for dinner dessert. High quality des Alpes dark, milk and white chocolate are featured separately in a simple but elegant mousse dessert to showcase the quality and nuances of the chocolate. The oranges are lightly marinated in a fresh orange juice and Grand Marnier reduction.
Blueberry Pie
Saturday tradition at Quisisana is to have Blueberry Pie for dinner dessert. After living in the south for many years, I think I have a good grasp on what pie should be. Pie should not be complicated and should always look and taste like pie. I do not believe in going all pastry chef and turning it into an individual pie. Pie is supposed to be something that anyone can make, just mix all the ingredients in a bowl and dump it into the pie shell. If you don’t have time to mix together fat, flour and water than just buy a pre-made pie shell. It’s that easy and everyone can do it and everyone loves it… Okay, already. I get it… Pie should be pie. But why can’t pie be the most outrageous pie you’ve ever had? One where technique and ingredients are the focus rather than opening up a can of pie filling and dumping it into a pre-made pie crust.
Well, if this is the kind of pie you have been waiting for your whole life than your wish has been granted!
From scratch pie dough, double crusted, butter only- no shortening, no margarine, no lard. The butter is frozen and grated so that it can be distributed evenly in the dough and definitely not over-mixed. This gives the dough that beautiful flakiness with a intoxicating smooth aftertaste that you simply cannot get from warm shortening doughs. Now onto the filling:
Fresh, yes, fresh blueberries are mixed with fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, a little sugar, and some flour and baked off at hot temperatures to ensure a cooked filling and a perfect crust. Notice that the filling did not contain frozen blueberries, cornstarch, cornstarch slurries, or pie fillings… That is done on purpose to create a unique blueberry pie for the peeps of Blueberry eating Maine. Topped with Maine Vanilla Ice Cream.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Organic Peanut Butter Ice Cream Profiteroles
Organic Peanut Butter Ice Cream Profiteroles
Tonight is definitely not time to count calories as it is one of the more decadent desserts on the menu. Classical French pate a choux piped out to profiteroles served with home made organic peanut butter ice cream (just the peanut butter is organic), homemade hot fudge sauce, and some chocolate peanut bark for crunch. The idea here is to showcase the organic peanut butter. If you are a peanut butter eater and are not using organic or homemade natural peanut butter I highly urge you to look at your ingredient label and see exactly what you are eating! Next time buy the organic one and you will be able to distinguish the difference in a blindfold tasting.
Strawberry Shortcake
Orange Chiffon Cake, Strawberry Mint Salsa, Chantilly
Light, simple but elegant. This dessert is featured on All American lobster night.
It is always on the menu here at Quisisana but changes year to year depending on the style of the Pastry Chef. Here is my take:
Tonight is definitely not time to count calories as it is one of the more decadent desserts on the menu. Classical French pate a choux piped out to profiteroles served with home made organic peanut butter ice cream (just the peanut butter is organic), homemade hot fudge sauce, and some chocolate peanut bark for crunch. The idea here is to showcase the organic peanut butter. If you are a peanut butter eater and are not using organic or homemade natural peanut butter I highly urge you to look at your ingredient label and see exactly what you are eating! Next time buy the organic one and you will be able to distinguish the difference in a blindfold tasting.
Strawberry Shortcake
Orange Chiffon Cake, Strawberry Mint Salsa, Chantilly
Light, simple but elegant. This dessert is featured on All American lobster night.
It is always on the menu here at Quisisana but changes year to year depending on the style of the Pastry Chef. Here is my take:
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Passion (Fruit)
Passion Fruit, Bread and Wine:
Another day, more desserts, more commentary, yada yada yada…
Monday, 2 days to go before my first day off in 2 and a half weeks. Haven’t minded though as it’s been a pleasure working in the bakery and at Quisisana. Summer has finally arrived in Maine and while the bakery is already a scorcher, I’ve been running on so much adrenaline and excitement that it has not seemed to bother me. (besides, all my excess sweat is the secret ingredient in all the desserts ☺.
Today’s lunch dessert brings us to Passion Fruit. Ahh, yes, Passion Fruit. My first experience with Passion Fruit was a mere 3 years ago in New Zealand and it was instant love. Unfortunately, Passion Fruit is very difficult to find in the states at least on the East Coast and when you do find it the quality is iffy and the price is through the roof. A few months ago I went to Chinatown in NYC searching for Passion Fruit and was offered everything but the one ingredient that I came to buy. NYC Chinatown is incredible- all the best and worst of New York City in one beautiful, rotten, dirty area. I was able to find Durian, Dragon Fruit, Mangosteen, Jackfruit, almost any creature swimming in a tank, hell a Chinese man even tried to pimp out one of his lady friends on me, but no Passion Fruit.
So, here I am in Maine and I find that Passion Fruit is available! Not only is it available but it is grown in the states- Florida to be more specific. This is good because while Florida is certainly not local for Maine, it is more local than California which is where most of the rest of the produce comes from early on in the summer season. So, how do I incorporate fresh Passion Fruit into a dessert? Well, the answer is simple- fresh Passion Fruit is so lovely that absolutely nothing has to be done to it. With that said, serving just a passion fruit on a plate would not exactly cut it for a resort hotel…
The parfait is served cold and partially frozen. Accompanying the main attraction is a passion fruit/mango sauce, raspberry sauce, a small cookie for crunch, and a generous scoop of fresh passion fruit.
Onto bread and wine… I almost forgot to mention that I drove up from North Carolina and brought with me a friend. At the time this “friend” did not have a name but after a couple of days in Maine has been affectionately known as Spanky. Spanky is a sourdough starter, chef, or levain, that will help me over the summer to create unique, naturally risen artisan breads. The story behind Spanky dates back to the South Pole where Francie and I worked in the kitchen with a guy named Will. Now Chef Will had spent a large portion of his youth drinking, drugging and DUIing. To say that Will was burnt out on life would be an understatement. When it came to pronouncing seemingly easy culinary words and phrases Chef Will just could not do it and had to create a language of his own. Words like Puttanesca Sauce became Puta something sauce and Spanikopita became Spanky. Hence, he earned the nickname Spanky.
Spanky (the starter) came to me from the bread bakery that I owe most of my experience with artisan bread and a big shout out goes to a good friend Brian for helping me borrow some Spanky for the greater cause of the folks in Maine. Spanky will be used in 3-4 breads this summer. Here is a bread not made from Spanky:
Lemon Rosemary Bread
Next, we come to wine- another true passion of mine. I spent the last two years working exclusively in the wine industry in NYC. Good wine is a necessity to life! (at least in my opinion.) I brought with me about a case of wine from NYC (thank you Steve for your generosity on pricing and everything else that you did for me) and also that Tuscan Olive Oil that you gave me is amazing and I have being used daily with the bread! So after a lifetime of drinking wine and 2 straight years of doing nothing but everything wine related from 9am to bedtime, I think I'm ready to be buy some wine for the resort.
The guests here are not very familiar with wine and feel a little off put by a non-American wine list so for now the menu will mostly consist of American wine specifically California wine. I will mention a white and a red and then I need to get back to the kitchen for dinner service. The white is the Kali Hart Chardonnay from Talbott. An affordable Chardonnay that is young and vibrant with some oak and butter but not overblown. There is surprising minerality for an inexpensive California Chard and balanced acidity. The red is the Heitz Napa Valley Cabernet 2005. There current release, a wine that certainly can be aged but while young is drinking nice and soft with integrated fruit and as the top wine on the list at $64 a bottle, it is a steal.
Another day, more desserts, more commentary, yada yada yada…
Monday, 2 days to go before my first day off in 2 and a half weeks. Haven’t minded though as it’s been a pleasure working in the bakery and at Quisisana. Summer has finally arrived in Maine and while the bakery is already a scorcher, I’ve been running on so much adrenaline and excitement that it has not seemed to bother me. (besides, all my excess sweat is the secret ingredient in all the desserts ☺.
Today’s lunch dessert brings us to Passion Fruit. Ahh, yes, Passion Fruit. My first experience with Passion Fruit was a mere 3 years ago in New Zealand and it was instant love. Unfortunately, Passion Fruit is very difficult to find in the states at least on the East Coast and when you do find it the quality is iffy and the price is through the roof. A few months ago I went to Chinatown in NYC searching for Passion Fruit and was offered everything but the one ingredient that I came to buy. NYC Chinatown is incredible- all the best and worst of New York City in one beautiful, rotten, dirty area. I was able to find Durian, Dragon Fruit, Mangosteen, Jackfruit, almost any creature swimming in a tank, hell a Chinese man even tried to pimp out one of his lady friends on me, but no Passion Fruit.
So, here I am in Maine and I find that Passion Fruit is available! Not only is it available but it is grown in the states- Florida to be more specific. This is good because while Florida is certainly not local for Maine, it is more local than California which is where most of the rest of the produce comes from early on in the summer season. So, how do I incorporate fresh Passion Fruit into a dessert? Well, the answer is simple- fresh Passion Fruit is so lovely that absolutely nothing has to be done to it. With that said, serving just a passion fruit on a plate would not exactly cut it for a resort hotel…
The parfait is served cold and partially frozen. Accompanying the main attraction is a passion fruit/mango sauce, raspberry sauce, a small cookie for crunch, and a generous scoop of fresh passion fruit.
Onto bread and wine… I almost forgot to mention that I drove up from North Carolina and brought with me a friend. At the time this “friend” did not have a name but after a couple of days in Maine has been affectionately known as Spanky. Spanky is a sourdough starter, chef, or levain, that will help me over the summer to create unique, naturally risen artisan breads. The story behind Spanky dates back to the South Pole where Francie and I worked in the kitchen with a guy named Will. Now Chef Will had spent a large portion of his youth drinking, drugging and DUIing. To say that Will was burnt out on life would be an understatement. When it came to pronouncing seemingly easy culinary words and phrases Chef Will just could not do it and had to create a language of his own. Words like Puttanesca Sauce became Puta something sauce and Spanikopita became Spanky. Hence, he earned the nickname Spanky.
Spanky (the starter) came to me from the bread bakery that I owe most of my experience with artisan bread and a big shout out goes to a good friend Brian for helping me borrow some Spanky for the greater cause of the folks in Maine. Spanky will be used in 3-4 breads this summer. Here is a bread not made from Spanky:
Lemon Rosemary Bread
Next, we come to wine- another true passion of mine. I spent the last two years working exclusively in the wine industry in NYC. Good wine is a necessity to life! (at least in my opinion.) I brought with me about a case of wine from NYC (thank you Steve for your generosity on pricing and everything else that you did for me) and also that Tuscan Olive Oil that you gave me is amazing and I have being used daily with the bread! So after a lifetime of drinking wine and 2 straight years of doing nothing but everything wine related from 9am to bedtime, I think I'm ready to be buy some wine for the resort.
The guests here are not very familiar with wine and feel a little off put by a non-American wine list so for now the menu will mostly consist of American wine specifically California wine. I will mention a white and a red and then I need to get back to the kitchen for dinner service. The white is the Kali Hart Chardonnay from Talbott. An affordable Chardonnay that is young and vibrant with some oak and butter but not overblown. There is surprising minerality for an inexpensive California Chard and balanced acidity. The red is the Heitz Napa Valley Cabernet 2005. There current release, a wine that certainly can be aged but while young is drinking nice and soft with integrated fruit and as the top wine on the list at $64 a bottle, it is a steal.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
First Entry!
Unbelievably enough, 2 weeks have flew by here at Quisisana in Maine and now guests have arrived and the resort is officially opened. A couple of weeks of excitement, new desserts, lots of samples, a new member to the bakery team and things have leveled off and now it’s time to put up or shut up.
My old friend from my days at the South Pole, Francie is the new member that I was referring to and after months of gentle coersion and a little water-boarding, she decided to torture herself and hopefully benefit herself too by joining me for 3 months.
So, just a little more background and then straight to the desserts! This is my 3rd season here at Quisisana., but first as the Pastry Chef. The resort is out in the middle of nowhere in Center Lovell, Maine away from most civilization unless you count moose. For 3 months out of the year, people young and old, musical performers, cooks, opera singers, chipmunks and all, venture to a tiny relatively unknown, uninhabited part of the country to create magic. I will attempt to work my unique wizardry…
Francie and Jake January 2007:
Francie and Jake June 2010:
Here are some of the desserts on the menu for the season. More pictures and notes to follow as the season progresses.
Fig Mascarpone Crostata with Balsamic Reduction:
This fave of ours unfortunately had to be cut due to a surplus of desserts. Rich, creamy, local Vermont artisan mascarpone gently mixed with vanilla bean, lemon zest, sugar and fresh figs wrapped up in a whole wheat, almond crostata dough. Served with a naturally sweet balsamic vinegar reduction.
Chocolate Blackberry Linzertorte, blackberry cabernet and chocolate sorbet:
The idea behind this dessert is to feature chocolate and blackberry three different ways aka trio. Chocolate linzer dough baked with blackberry jam served with a chocolate sauce, blackberry cassis sauce, and chocolate sorbert as well a blackberry cabernet sauce.
Unbelievably enough, 2 weeks have flew by here at Quisisana in Maine and now guests have arrived and the resort is officially opened. A couple of weeks of excitement, new desserts, lots of samples, a new member to the bakery team and things have leveled off and now it’s time to put up or shut up.
My old friend from my days at the South Pole, Francie is the new member that I was referring to and after months of gentle coersion and a little water-boarding, she decided to torture herself and hopefully benefit herself too by joining me for 3 months.
So, just a little more background and then straight to the desserts! This is my 3rd season here at Quisisana., but first as the Pastry Chef. The resort is out in the middle of nowhere in Center Lovell, Maine away from most civilization unless you count moose. For 3 months out of the year, people young and old, musical performers, cooks, opera singers, chipmunks and all, venture to a tiny relatively unknown, uninhabited part of the country to create magic. I will attempt to work my unique wizardry…
Francie and Jake January 2007:
Francie and Jake June 2010:
Here are some of the desserts on the menu for the season. More pictures and notes to follow as the season progresses.
Fig Mascarpone Crostata with Balsamic Reduction:
This fave of ours unfortunately had to be cut due to a surplus of desserts. Rich, creamy, local Vermont artisan mascarpone gently mixed with vanilla bean, lemon zest, sugar and fresh figs wrapped up in a whole wheat, almond crostata dough. Served with a naturally sweet balsamic vinegar reduction.
Chocolate Blackberry Linzertorte, blackberry cabernet and chocolate sorbet:
The idea behind this dessert is to feature chocolate and blackberry three different ways aka trio. Chocolate linzer dough baked with blackberry jam served with a chocolate sauce, blackberry cassis sauce, and chocolate sorbert as well a blackberry cabernet sauce.
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