pastry cream: can you get any unhealthier?

unhealthier: yes.
more delicious: yes.

how?

i remember back in culinary school always being amazed by making mayonnaise. the ingredients are simple, the technique is simple, the end result is amazing! but what amazed me most was the texture. it was very similar to pastry cream.

so i thought, can we make pastry cream like we would make mayonnaise?

the ingredients are similar too, so in theory it should work.

mayonnaise: egg yolks, vinegar, fat, seasoning.
pastry cream: egg yolks, milk, fat, sugar.

my only concern was the sugar, how would it contribute to the emulsion? will it break it or will it stabilize it? sugar helps the structure of meringue and sabayon, so i assumed it would do likewise here.

initial test recipe.
7 eggs
12 oz brown butter
1 cup milk
2 cups sugar
pinch salt

results:
it was nowhere near like mayonnaise. instead it was more like a thick anglaise. since it had such a fat content, i decided to refrigerate it and hope for the best the next day. the next day the custard set into a beautiful thick custard, pudding.

so it kind of worked, but i'll keep working on the recipe.

future applications?
mayo style custards: bacon, olive oil, foie, nut oils, etc.

goat cheese bavarois

goat cheese bavarois
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt

new dessert at textile as part of our 7 course tasting menu.

goat cheese bavarois, peppered blueberries, basil mint syrup, basil mint crisps, rhubarb compote, candied rhubarb

fried sauerkraut balls

fried sauerkraut balls
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt

had lunch yesterday at wunsche bros cafe, a really nice little cafe in old town spring.

this was our appetizer. fried sauerkraut and sausage balls. and it was amazing!!

i am convinced that any food in ball form is delicious ... think about it, beignets. donut holes. rochers. pb balls. fried ice cream. fritters. takoyaki. cheese balls.

idea: HOUSTON BALLS TOUR!!!
purpose: hit every restaurant in houston that offers food in ball form and rate it on a delicious scale. also, find weird food balls.

or maybe the word balls is just too funny not to say multiple times.

balls balls balls balls

donut jucy lucy burger

donut jucy lucy burger
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt

this was my dinner last night. as you can see, its almost as big as the lone star bottle.

if you have not tried it, i urge you to do so. i was in food coma last night. this was awesome!!

recipe for sucess:
glazed donuts
jalapeno monterey jack stuffed burger (jucy lucy)
bacon
fried egg

if i ever have a heart attack, i know where it started.

cocktail vending machine?

the pisco sour started my fascination with cocktails out of a siphon. i've been joking around with the idea of creating a "serve yourself" cocktail machine. it would work much like the soda machines. convenience or nuisance?

when you think about it, soda used to be made to order by a person. the person was known as a soda jerk. he would take the syrup you liked and added carbonated water. years later the soda machine came and it did the same thing. can we do this with cocktails? would we want to do this with cocktails?

i dont.

i like the idea as a novelty item, but nothing more than that. i like my mixologist making my cocktails. as you all know, i'm a huge fan of anvil. i'm there practically every other night!!

but the idea of a cocktail vending machine still lingers. its doable. its fun.

tonight at textile i served ramos gin fizz from a siphon. it literally takes me 5 seconds to put the whole thing together. 5 seconds!!

the mix is made. orange flower water, gin, st germain, lime juice, lemon juice, simple syrup, cream, egg white. then its put in the siphon. first its charge with a co2 cartridge to make it fizzy. then its charged with no2 cartridge, so that when its dispensed its foamy. the last step is to add a little of the mix (not in the siphon) and give it a stir.

haha! soon i'll just have a row of siphons with different cocktails. serve yourself.

fruit plate

fruit plate
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt

sometimes all you want at the end of a meal is a bowl of fruit. enjoy!

fruits: grapefruit, orange, mango, plum, peach, apple
garnishes: yogurt, micro basil, olive oil

cheese and crackers

i thought this would be a hit at textile. much more so than the bacon fried brownies. maybe i haven't given it time yet (just put it on the a la carte menu). its not a cheese plate, but a play on it. its not a cheesecake, but a play on it. so technically, i still have not done a cheesecake at textile. woo!

crescenza "cheese whiz", graham crackers, farro "smacks", kumquats.

[picture coming soon]