An Epic tasting at Eleven Madison Park, New York City

You probably think I'm a little spoiled.  That is true.  When in New York City, I had the great fortune to meet up with the talented chef Tim Dornon for dinner at Hanjan, and then a quick happy hour to check out his new establishment, Eleven Madison Park.  EMP is can only be described as grand and epic.  I mean EPIC.  Take a look below to get a full understanding of epic. 

This is a photo of the luggage check tab.  I took a photo of it because I'm partial to the Swiss shield.  I happen to have Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, so I feel partially Swiss.  My house is already decorated with Swiss items. 

This bread looks beautiful on the outside.  You can see the delicate layers from the top, and if you could feel it, the outside is like a fragile faberge egg.  Once you break into the bread, you'll discover that it is like butter meets clouds.  That is the only accurate way to describe it.  The bread was already epic, and it was the first thing I devoured. 

Before we jump into the next dishes, order some cocktails.  They are exceptional.  This one is the Prince of Humbugs. 

Next up was the foie gras with pear and balsamic.  This is one rich, yet incredibly balanced and interesting dish. 

I really don't think that words do this dish or the following dishes any justice. 

Lobster salad, razor clams, kale, sea urchin, and gelee. 

The pristine presentation is a beautiful piece of art. 

The lobster salad inside was sealed in the claw with lobster custard.  If there was anything that might make me feel as spoiled as the characters of Downton Abbey, this would be it. 

Poached lobster and razor clams in sea urchin foam and kale. 

The attention to detail and obvious high level of execution here is mind blowing.  Also, morphing familiar flavors into different textures in both of the seafood dishes was an interesting treat.  This dish was layers of ocean flavors in a variety of mediums - poached with meaty textures and elegant foam.  Yes.  This was epic.  

And here's a view of the inside of Eleven Madison Park.  It is beautiful.

And Grand.  A big thanks to Chef Tim Dornon for making my visit to NYC extra epic!

Qui-pping is real, Qui Austin at the @AustinFoodWine Festival

Our hometown hero, Paul Qui, Top Chef Winner, and overall cool dude, is working hard on opening his new restaurant, Qui Austin.  Punny enough, he gave a presentation at the Austin Food and Wine Festival called Qui Ingredients.  For the presentation, he talked cheese.  And more cheese.  And how to make a fondue with really expensive cheese. 

Items to eat with the fondue.

Chef Tim Dornon is at the stove, starting the fondue made with a mushroom broth base. 

This is an awesome photo.  Chef Tim's glasses are fogged up.

Chef Paul talks about his inspiration for dishes. When asked what he always has in the kitchen, Chef Paul answered: citrus, fats, and vinegars.  With those three ingredients, just throw in some salt and textures and you have the makings of a tasty dish. 

Paul Kiry from Antonelli's Cheese says "Then there was CHEESE!"

The team chilling out at the Taste of Texas event on Friday night. The prepared an amazing kimchi grilled brie sandwich with apples.

Roasted Citrus Edamame - Inspired by the Scraps Dinner at Ramen Tastuya

I had this dish (pictured below) by Chefs Tim Dornon from Uchiko, Tatsu Aikawa of Ramen Tatsuya, and Paul Qui from East Side Kings.  I loved it so much that I decided to make a version of it.   It had a great roastiness/charred flavor and just a kick of spice. There was a great tang in the dish, which I created with meyer lemon.  So put together some ingredients and tried to approximate the flavors.  Here's my version. 
Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen edamame (I used a 16 oz bag)
• 1 swig of sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons of oil.  Canola is best for higher heat.
• Juice of one meyer lemon.
• Spices to taste.  I used red pepper flakes, but you could use togarashi spice.
• Pinch of salt.
• Optional: Chopped onion or garlic

Heat up oil (I actually used extra virgin olive oil because I didn't have canola) in a skillet.  Once piping hot, carefully add the frozen edamame to the skillet.  Stir like crazy.  You want to make sure that you toss the edamame every 30 seconds or so they don't burn.  You do want them to get a little roasty, but not burned.  Add in chopped onion or garlic if you like.  Cook until the the onions are start to become translucent.  Add the spices and the lemon juice.  Drizzle with the swig of sesame oil.  Give the edamame a quick stir, and it is ready to serve!

Scraps Dinner @Ramen_Tatsuya! @pqui @tastu512

Scraps. Yes.  What do you do with them?  I usually eat them, feed them to the dogs, or compost them.  What do rockin' chefs do?  They turn them into the deliciousness that you see before you.  Chefs Tim Dornon from Uchiko, Tatsu Aikawa of Ramen Tatsuya, and Paul Qui from East Side Kings created this amazing meal for friends.  Thanks to the chefs for inviting us for great food and great company.  This was our opening snack.  I loved this so much that I'm going to make it at home.  Edamame and green beans roasted to a charred smoky goodness and coated with tangy dressing.  Mushroom on a stick?  Mushroom pop?  Here we go!  Duck pops!  Next up is the jamon kimchi and the duck tartare.  This dish combination was absolutely amazing.  The savory, rich duck meat combined with the saltiness of the dressing, aromatic bite of the green onions, and toasty pine nuts was pretty much out of this world.  This was another dimension of tartare.  That tartare deserved another photo. This is the snapper ramen served with bamboo and egg yolk.  This was being served right as the cold front came in.  There's nothing like a hot bowl of goodness when it is freezing outside.  The flavor of the broth came from six weeks worth of fish head scraps.  It was like tasting the ocean.  Chef Tim takes a minute to get in a bite as a small crowd watches.  Crowd of friends that is.  Cheers to a fabulous night of scraps!