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Spices

by on January 30, 2012 in Spices

If you follow me on Twitter you probably already know which spices I am going to write about.

They are gathered from the best farms around the world and purchased at a fair price from the farmer. And, if this wasn’t enough to be fully conquered, they are brilliantly combined by the talented chef, Olivier Roellinger.

The Parisian store, that I was lucky to visit this past December, gathers numerous condiments, oils, vinegars, pure and mixed spices, cookbooks and tools. They are little jars of exceptional scents, subtleties and promises, they also reflect a lifetime of passion, travels, encounters and culinary excellence. Roellinger’s adventure as a spice maker follows a natural path for a chef who grew up and worked in the land of privateers and advanturers.

His cuisine is rooted in his native Brittany, but, since part of the world’s spice trade once passed through Brittany’s ports, he felt the need to travel extensively, often by boat, to uncover new spices and flavor combinations. His food is an interplay of familiar and exotic.

The boutiques that opened over a year ago are a tribute to the men and women who have contributed to his success. Those are the farmers, men and women who pick the spices.

For more information visit : http://www.epices-roellinger.com/

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NewYearWishes

Happy New Year!

by on January 4, 2012 in Events

Back from France, I would like to wish you a happy, healthy, successful and delightful 2012!

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GourmetMore1

Cheese and more…

by on December 19, 2011 in Cheese

Happy holidays everyone!

When it comes to cheese, I always think of authenticity,  craftsmanship, deep flavors, subtlety and variety. And because the cheeses we serve at Baumé are most likely to be imported, I pay special attention to them being perfectly taken care of, perfectly stored and sold ripe.

I particularly like the selection of cheeses from craftsman Xavier David. He sells a number of French cheeses that he carefully selects from different terroirs. All of the cheeses under this brand (camemberts, goat cheeses, roqueforts, etc.) are made with raw milk – selected according to very strict criteria – before ripening to perfection at the producer’s.  The production process is not only strictly monitored but also done with great respect for the environment.   

Here in the Bay Area, if you are hunting for the finest and most varied cheeses, and are curious to try the brand Xavier David, you are finally in luck. My friend Laurent Recollon, who was importing these cheeses for wholesale and restaurants, just opened a shop in Hayes Valley : “Gourmet and More”. Apart from the cheese selection, you will find breads, cold cuts, condiments, sweets, sausages, duck confit, foie gras, yogurts, and probably some of the finest macarons and marrons glacés in the Bay. And when you explore this place (141 Gough Street, SF), please don’t hesitate to leave your comments down below.

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TasteTribute-4

Tibetan Aid Project

by on December 1, 2011 in Events

For the sixth year in a raw now, I have participated in a charity event called “Taste and Tribute”. It is a culinary gala held at the Four Season’s in San Francisco, featuring more than 20 of the best chefs of the Bay Area, and contributing to the Tibetan Aid Project. This organization will use the proceeds raised to rebuilds, preserves, strengthens, and perpetuates Tibet’s cultural and spiritual heritage. Each year, it is an honor and pleasure to contribute, along with a great community of chefs, to an exceptional evening.

At this sumptuous event, besides participating in a silent auction, diners had the rare opportunity to see world-renowned chefs create exquisite four-course meals tableside. Guests were free to walk up to the chefs and ask them questions.

The inspiration behind the benefit is wonderful chef and friend Laurent Manrique.  He has initiated this event in 2001, and has been coordinating it since 2001.

I invite you to visit this website and make a reservation for next year’s edition.

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BeetColoriageweb-2

About Molecular Gastronomy

by on November 7, 2011 in Modern Cuisine

Molecular gastronomy”. In the past couple of decades this culinary buzzword has affected the image of high-end cuisine in a rather astonishing way. In fact, the disclaimer “I don’t do molecular gastronomy!” has been a much-intoned song for those who dread to be associated with the imaginary mad-scientist/chef in his chemistry laboratory/kitchen.

But what does “molecular gastronomy’ really mean? Is it the name of a cuisine? Is it about culinary tricks, food that foams, bubbles, fizzes? And what about the flavor of the pristine local ingredients that we work with?

That’s what I would love to start addressing on this blog.

What does molecular gastronomy mean and how does it relate to my cuisine at Baumé Restaurant?

First off, molecular gastronomy is a science, not a cooking style. It is the science that gives us, cooks, the chemical or physical explanation behind principles passed down from chef to chef, and from parents to children. Or the secret behind the way we experience aromas. And many other significant elements of the sort.

 In Molecular Gastronomy, Exploring the Science of Flavor, Hervé This simply explains that ” chemistry and physics, judiciously applied, can tell us how to preserve the tenderness of meats, how to master the chemical reactions that give the crust of roasted meat its wonderful flavor, and how to avoid the failures that are commonly encountered in making various sauces…”. In other words, molecular gastronomy is the sciences that can help us, cooks, become better ones.

In this sense, yes I do use tools and techniques that allow me to bring out the best flavors and aromas in ingredients. Even more so since I strive to select the best ones available. Does that mean that we, at Baumé, ignore French traditional recipes to focus strictly on innovation? Certainly not. Along with new creations, we look at tradition as a base we build upon creatively for more flavor, a better design and more generally an enhanced dining experience. We think about taste, aromas, shape, textures, colors, senses. As such, French “cuisine moderne” learns from scientific research but exists apart.

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Jonathan-2

Introducing Sous-Chef Jonathan Pace

by on October 21, 2011 in Main

Jonathan :”I was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio. Although my passion for fine fare started early at my grand mother’s table – her strawberry rhubarb pie or beef pot pie are some of my earliest and fondest food memories – I didn’t really start cooking until college. My interest grew so  much  during those years, that I decided to attend culinary school right after I graduated.  I was interested in all types of cuisines but tended to gravitate towards ones using asian ingredients.  I decided to work in Hawaii hoping that there, I would be exposed to various asian cuisines and would have access to some of the best and hard to obtain tropical ingredients. This first experience allowed me to grow a lot as a young cook. I even started to create new dishes. As my learning appetite wasn’t yet satisfied, I decided for my next culinary adventure to be completely different and to happen in Europe. So I moved to Copenhagen, Danemark, where I had the great opportunity to work at Noma – winner of the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2011.  There I learned about high standarts and creativity around unique ingredients (the restaurant’s crew was exploring the Nordic regions discovering outstanding foods and bringing them back to Denmark for us to cook).

At Baume I am contributing to creating and executing the menu while expanding my technique and repertoire.  Creating new dishes and experiencing food in new ways is what drives me every day.”

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Fallen-leaves

Salade d’Automne

by on October 14, 2011 in Appetizer

Fallen leaves, earthy and bright colors, fruity and mellow flavors are all around this month. Those are the sources of inspiration for the color palate, the scents and textures of my new fall-inspired salad. It will take your senses on a stroll through the nostalgic and sweet feeling that this season often leaves us with. Crunchy and juicy asian pears are complemented by sweet, lightly cooked butternut squash, carrots, parsnips and purple brussels sprouts. The red shiso  leaves balance the softness of the salad adding a nice minty flavor to the plate. The seasoning is an unusually soft aioli made with caramelized apple puree.

If you were to guess what the wafers are representing, I am pretty sure that you would guess right – dry leaves. Now, the noteworthy element about the wafers is the ingredient that allowed me to achieve their toasty, light chestnut flavor and and mimic the crunchiness of a dried leaf. We used acorn flour.

Acorns are mainly known as wildlife food in areas where oak trees occur. It has not been immediately appealing to cooks because it contains large amounts of tannins that are very bitter, astringent and potentially irritant in their raw form. This is why it was first added in meals during difficult times to overcome a food crisis by Native American or Korean cooks – during World War II. Today though, thanks to different steeping and soaking processes acorn flour is much more subtle and pleasing to the palate and it adds a nice nutty twist to a dish.

 

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StuffedTomato-2

Tomate Farcies – stuffed tomatoes

by on October 1, 2011 in Accents, Fish

Of all the produce that taste best in season, none are more inspiring than ripe, soft, juicy and sweet summer tomatoes.  With their silky skin, meaty flesh, soft pink juice, and the generous array of colors and shapes they offer, summer tomatoes are nothing like their winter counterparts. Now is the time to take advantage of their delectability, to be creative and incorporate them in as many dishes as possible.


There is a very traditional and rustic French dish called tomates farcies (stuffed tomatoes) that inspired me a few weeks ago. In the original recipe, firm red tomatoes are cut, cored and stuffed with meat, bread crumbs, onions, garlic, aromatic herbs.  My new recipe, Tomates Farcies, takes a playful and unexpected twist on the stuffing. When served, the tomato looks like it has only been boiled and peeled. Only when our guests cut it do they discover “la farce”. In French this word has two meanings- stuffing and joke- which both apply here.
As for the stuffing itself, it is a lightly salted fish mousse. Its light texture and medium firmness make each bite smooth and subtle.

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62degreeEgg-2

62 degrees

by on September 12, 2011 in Accents, Main

A couple of weeks ago at Baumé Restaurant we installed a new Menu box that is located to the left of the entrance door. In that box we display the tasting menu options and the list of ingredients being currently used, a list that changes constantly with the farmer’s market’s offerings. If you read the list, you might be surprised to see a 62-degree egg. Why 62 degrees? Is it a cold or a warm dish? Which temperature scale are we talking about? Those are the questions that most of our clients ask, and that I am past due answering in this blog.

62 degrees (Celsius) is known as the temperature at which the egg white is cooked. The egg yolk does not start the cooking process until it reaches 68 degrees. So, by cooking the egg at 62 degrees, we keep the egg yolk liquid, nice and warm, and cook the egg white to a creamy, soft texture that melts in your mouth.

If you think that this recipe is only available to us thanks to modern cuisine and the tinkering of  foodies/chemists, you may be surprised to learn that this cooking technique has been used for more 1500 years in Japan and is called “onsen tamago”. Onsen tamago are eggs, slow cooked in hot springs, that were and still are served with local condiments. Sometimes natural resources are a great source for cooking inspiration!

We use the silky and smooth egg as a base for multiple variations such as an artichoke cream and prosciutto, ratatouille, etc. Bon appétit!

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Ratatouille-1

Ratatouille

by on September 1, 2011 in Main, Uncategorized, Vegetarian

I am sure you have heard of this traditional dish from Provence at least once. You might have found it on the menu of a French restaurant here in the Bay Area, tried it during a trip to South East France, or just seen it on screen – even prepared by a mouse!

Ratatouille comes from Nice -the full name of the dish is “Ratatouille Niçoise”.  It is an Occitan dish and is traditionally prepared with eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. The vegetables are combined either at the end or the beginning of the recipe as its name lets us predict – tatouiller in old French means toss together. Now, there is still a debate as to which vegetables are included in the traditional recipe and how to combine them. Some add bell pepper, some others are even more daring with carrots or even mushrooms. Some dice the vegetables, others cut them in thin slices. As for the cooking process, there is still a fiery debate between advocates of separate cooking of each vegetable then mixing and those who like cooking all the vegetables at once. Even the cooking method (pan frying, baking etc.) is left to individual interpretation.

My personal preference goes to simplicity. In all the different versions we favor at Baumé, I limit the number of ingredients to the most traditional ones and play with cooking techniques. In the one seen below, I only use tomatoes, zucchinis and eggplants, and I complement the charbroiled baby vegetables with a candied tomatoes sauce.

At home, using a flameproof casserole,  you can pan fry (separately) coarsely chopped onions, eggplants, zucchinis then toss them together with herbs and add peeled tomatoes as in the recipe below :

Ingredients :

1 large yellow onion

3 mediumItalian eggplants

4 medium green zucchinis

2 medium yellow zucchini squash

2 bell peppers

6 medium sized tomatoes (peeled)

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley

4 sprigs of fresh thyme,

4 garlic cloves (chopped)

4 bay leaves

olive oil, salt pepper.

Steps :

1. Slice the onion,

2. Chop the rest of the vegetables into 1/2 inch dice.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a flameproof casserole over medium heat and start with frying the onions with the garlic. Stir them for about 5 minutes then remove them from the casserole and reserve.

4. Repeat the same process with the eggplants, the zucchinis and the bell pepper.

5. Toss all the vegetables together, then add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, salt pepper and let them simmer for 45 minutes to one hour.

This recipe can be reheated a few times, it gets better and better each time. Enjoy!

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