Bring you back to childhood

My signature dessert at Recette is the S'mores. I created this dessert because it reminds me of the great snowboard trips I've taken. For most people I think it brings them back to childhood.

"S'mores" Toasted Marshmallow Fluff, "Hot" Chocolate Sauce, Cocoa Nibs, Graham Cracker Ice Cream, Cocoa Nib Tuile

No food, just shameless self promotion

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Check out the press updates!

Eater

Grubstreet

NYTimes

Manhattan Magazine (my sorbets look pretty hot in the picture)

Thrillist

Blackbook

Daily Candy

NBC blog

Metromix (contains some bad info)

More to come I'm sure... or I hope...

Recette Sneak Peek

Its been a crazy week getting the dishes down for the restaurant menu. Here are a few dishes we will be featuring on the menu.

Pork Belly
Poussin
Foie Gras
Sweetbreads

(sorry the lighting for the photos weren't great)

Creamy Christmas Cabbage

This is dish I only make once a year for Christmas because its so good but so bad for you. It of course involves pork fat. The smoky salty bacon perfectly flavors the bland but sweet cabbage.

Bacon Creamed Chinese Cabbage

1 large chinese cabbage (3-4lbs)

1/2pkg bacon

4Tbsp AP flour

3 cups milk

1/2 cup cream

salt

white pepper

Wash cabbage and cut into 2inch chunks. Cook all the stem portions first till softened. Add the leafy parts and cook till wilted. Remove from pan and drain the liquid. Cut bacon into chunks and render the fat and cook till crispy. Remove bacon from pan and add the flour to the rendered fat (2-3Tbsp) to make a roux. Cook flour and fat paste for 3-4 min to cook out raw flour taste. Add milk slowly and whisk to combine and prevent lumps. Add cream, salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil for 2 min while whisking. Stir in cabbage and 3/4 of the bacon. Combine well. Pour into oven safe dish and bake at 350F until bubbly. Sprinkle remaining bacon on top and serve hot.

Aloha! I'll Shoyu Chicken!

Its so cold and miserable in the city right now I thought it might be good to think warm thoughts so I thought of the time I went to Hawaii. My best friend in college grew up in Hawaii and he always made this dish for holiday potlucks.

Shoyu (Soy Sauce) Chicken

1 cup soy sauce

2 cups water

1.5 cup coke

2inch ginger

1 head garlic

1 lemon

3 stalks scallions

1T whole peppercorns

6 pieces chicken thighs or drums (skinless)

Cut ginger into large chunks and smash. Cut head of garlic in half . Cut lemons in half and squeeze juice and put skins in to the pot (or crock pot). Cut scallions into large chunks. Put everything in a pot and cook on a low simmer until the chicken is tender. Serve over rice or noodles. It is even better the next day.

Shoyu chicken over sesame noodles.

The Hawaiians probably eat this with nasty fermented Poi but you don't want to go near that stuff if you're from the mainland (I don't mean China).

Spicy Chuck

Chuck is what some of the kids in my neighborhood use to call my brother (Charles) when we were in elementary school. If you tried to call him that now he will probably pound you down into ground chuck which makes for some decent burgers. Chuck is a large section of the cow's shoulder and depending on which portion you get your roast will be juicy or a bit dry and stringy so you must cook it low and slow. Try to get a portion that doesn't look like a huge block of meat but one that is tied together and has some fat.

Spicy Caramelized Onion Roast Chuck

3lb Chuck (trimmed & tied)

1lrg onion (sliced)

1tsp crushed red pepper

1tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp paprika

1 tsp dry herb mix ( no rosemary)

3T sherry vinegar

1 bottle dark beer

5 cloves garlic

1 cup carrots (large chunks)

1/2cup celery (small chunks)

5 plum tomatoes (peeled & diced)

Preheat oven to 300F. Season meat well with salt and pepper. On high heat, sear meat on all sides in a little veg oil. Remove meat from pan and add onions. Reduce heat slightly and cook until onions start to caramelize. Add crushed red pepper, cayenne, paprika, herbs, vinegar and cook till well caramelized. Remove onions and de-glaze pan with 1/4 of the beer.

Add carrots, celery and garlic. Sweat veggies then add plum tomatoes and rest of the beer. Place the meat and onions back into the pot. Meat should only be 1/3 submerged in liquid.

Place pot into oven with lid on and roast for 4hrs basting periodically. Once done take meat out and slice. Skim fat off liquids at the bottom, strain out the liquids and reduce to make a sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes and some of the carrots.

Time to start spicing it up.

My favorite cookie of all time is this ginger cookie. I've been trying to perfect it for years and I think I've almost got it to where I want it to be but its still not perfect. I'm a perfectionist so it may never be perfect, but its still darn good. Its crispy around the edges but still chewy in the center and its not too sweet (and if you use splenda you can reduce the calories and not feel as guilty).

Ginger Cookies

2.75 cups AP

2.5tsp Baking Soda

0.5tsp salt

1T ground ginger

0.5tsp all spice

1tsp ground black/mixed pepper

3T fresh ginger,microplaned

1.5 sticks butter (soft)

0.5 cup light brn sugar

0.5cup splenda (for baking) or granulated sugar

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

1 lrg egg

Cream your butter and sugars together. Add eggs and cream till very light. Add molasses, salt, gingers and spices and continue to paddle the mixture to fully incorporate the spices. Add flour, baking soda mix till combined. Scoop batter and refrigerate until firm enough to roll into balls and coat with granulated sugar. Bake at 350F until they puff and start to crack. Do not over bake.