art culinarie

for those who dont know what art culinaire is, or are not subscribed to it, do it now.

i was flipping back a few issues and looking at the pictures. food is very visual to me. i first look at the ones that catch my eye. the ones with colors, textures, unique china, chocolate, modern techniques, etc. its where i get inspiration on flavor combinations and how to plate my food.

one night i was looking throught art culinaire #78 fall issue 2005. i was reading a bio on jason carter and flipping through his food. then i came upon a pastry chef who does indian desserts. honestly, his presentations are horrible and i can see why i ignored him for the last 3 years. but this time i trekked on and read his recipe for curry-filled chocolates with saffron mehendi. as i read, his description read very similarly to my torchon! the pastry chef is jehangir mehta and he has been doing my torchon since fall of 2005 (or earlier, the magazine was published then). what i thought as original, is no longer.

my torchon was inspired by the foie gras torchon with beet filling i had at wd50.

i was a bit disappointed, but i got over it. the last time this happened was when i thought i was being original by making pastry cream in the microwave for 10 minutes. a month after i bought happy in the kitchen by michel richard, i read his happy kid pudding. as well as his reconstructed lemon egg (which i did a mango version of it on iron chef).

i was upset to find out i wasnt the first. but jj eased my pain. he said it makes sense. sharp minds think alike ... or something like that.

anyway. the whole point of this entry is to share ideas like the ones my mentors do. so without further ado, here is my torchon recipe:

2 1/2 lbs guanaja chocolate (valrhona 70%)
6 cups heavy cream
1 tsp sea salt
16 ea gelatin sheets (bronze)
20 ea frozen liquid filling (1 oz, any flavor, thickened with xanthan)

bring cream to a scald, pour over chocolate. whisk until chocolate has melted. (ganache)
add salt.
bloom gelatin in cold water. melt in microwave and whisk into ganache.
let cool at room temp for 15 or so minutes.
meanwhile, prepared 2x2" molds.
spray molds with nonstick spray.
line the inside of molds with acetate strip.
pour ganache into mold and fill halfway. freeze for 5 minutes.
remove from freezer. place frozen liquid filling in center and fill with remaining ganache.
freeze overnight.
the next morning place torchons in cooler and let thaw for 3 hours before use.

there you go. ENJOY! or come see me and ill make you one.