Friday, June 19, 2009

Episode 2, links, and other musings

Frequent reader Scott had been anticipating the demise of Wylie Dufresne on Top Chef Masters, and all I can say is, “sometimes dreams do come true.” Wylie wowed use with a load of foul language filled grilled cheese amuse. Proceeding to top this effort by not completing the judges dishes with all it’s components. Ok, one dish, but it was the protein. And if to insult a broken man the judges seemed to convey an overwhelming lack of enthusiasm for his molecular knowledge, while bandaging that wound with what has become a common judgment on the Masters of, “but it taste good at least.” Cheers Scott as the mighty have fallen. Poor Wylie as the producers took to him hard handing out a drubbing in one episode most Top Chef contestants would streach out over a few weeks.

Graham Elliot Bowles was in my opinion the big winner of this episode, even if he isn’t moving on. He brought a charisma, energy, and style combined with hands on cooking skill that will win over a ton of viewers. If we don’t see more of this guy on TV, it’s because he doesn’t want to do it.

I came across this blog of antique recipes, with photos of hand written classics. Check it out here at Recipecurio.

The new blog, and then we eat, caught my eye due to a unique mix of home cooking, restaurant styling, and increasingly good photos.

It occurred to me after reading the most recant Food Arts magazine that if every single new restaurant is touting local products then why aren’t the big boy mass distributers posting losses, losing customers and/or crying for help?

Even the local strawberries this year seem to be very uniform in size, flavor and texture adding up to something not nearly as appetizing as years past. Time to pass the torch on to ‘heirloom strawberries’ sounds like a reason to raise the price!

The Black River Café just got two Curly Tail Organic pigs delivered. These where some massive hogs. The loin itself has to be a solid 4 feet long. Great tasting too!

Of all the recent menu changes the pesto gnocchi and the lamb salad are hits, while the daily risotto and rabbit ragout sales have fallen off as of late.

This week-end I’ll be working on duck confit perogies, seared scallops over marinated carrots, rainbow trout on bacon and horseradish fingerlings in a herb coulis, and pork tenderloin with snap peas, sweet potatoes, soy roasted pineapple.

9 comments:

Michael Walsh said...

Come on Scott, at least he isn't claiming every obscure, abstract, food anomolie to be 'local'..... local methol-cellulose or local zanthem gum!

Salty said...

I haven't seen the show. (Quite frankly I don't think I'd be able.) So I don't know the format but a chef who relies so heavily on "gimmicks" yes, I said, "gimmicks" is likely to be weaker when it comes to technical skills and depth of knowledge in a "traditional" sense.

Michael Walsh said...

I'm sure Wylie has a good grasp on traditional techniques, but he choses to go down a different path. While alot of what he does is very interesting to cooks and foodies, the end product just isn't appreciated as a decant meal by most people.

There is a time and place for everything is what I say.

Salty said...

Bottom line, he's doing a helluva better than me!

Rachel said...

First -- I'm still hitting up WD50 whilst in NYC. Dusfrane has a creativity that I find a lot of fun in a meal. Second -- I'm head over heels for Graham Elliot Bowles and can't wait to go to his place in early August. Wahoo! Third -- the strawberries out here in CA this year are the best I've had in 10 years. I wonder why such a regional difference?

Dave said...

The menu items for this week sound awesome and I am so jealous of the pigs. We've got to find our way out there soon. How baby friendly is the restaurant? She's been to many of our favorites around the area already (Momocho, Lolita, Fat Heads, Beer Engine...)

Michael Walsh said...

The BRC is quite baby friendly now that you bring it up. There are not tvs, and the music is quite low, there is no bar or holligans, the lights are low, and the place is a bit quiet right now.

Dave said...

Good to know.

I'm curious where you source your strawberries from? We picked 12 quarts tonight from Fitch's Farm Market in Avon. They are amazing! and definitely not uniform in size.

Michael Walsh said...

One pint from the lakewood farmers market and the other from Kamms. I didn't pick out either, different people brought to me.

they were nice berries, just not the sweet, fragile, small, soft, dirty ones like i've had in the past.