Monday, July 20, 2009

molecular gastronomy or not?



a few days ago i was watching a midsummer night's dream on TCM, the 1935 version. it got me thinking about my favorite shakespeare quote (from romeo and juliet).

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

so i started thinking in food terms. what's in a name? that which we call food by any other name would still be delicious.

molecular gastronomy is the study of food. molecular gastronomy explore textures, scents, temperatures and flavors in food. it's a progression of food. so why all the hate? because we dont really understand it? sometimes it's better to vent and hate than to do any research. no?

so i pose a quiz. you tell me: is it molecular gastronomy or not?

frozen aerated butter foam

encapsulated beef and mushrooms

dehydrated meat

encapsulated jalapeno and cheese

encapsulated ganache

sous vide cheese emulsion

explosion of corn

compressed and puffed grains

compressed liver

molded fat and air molecules

aerated sugar cookie

potato paper

slow oil poached flour

hot foam

dehydrated fruit puree

dehydrated ocean water

carbonized sugar crystals

extract of bones

suspended vinegar and oil emulsion


what do you think?

[photo from howstuffworks.com]
[oh, for the record, i hate the term 'molecular gastronomy']

Sunday, July 12, 2009

coconut and avocado


coconut and avocado
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt
part of summer a la carte menu at textile:

coconut pound cake, avocado ice cream, horchata, cilantro, citrus

peach melba vacherin


peach melba vacherin
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt
part of summer a la carte menu at textile:

"peach melba vacherin", peach sorbet, vanilla meringue, white chocolate mousse, raspberry sauce

Friday, July 3, 2009

houston modern luxury magazine


houston magazine cover
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt
the cover photo of the restaurant issue by houston modern luxury is of my goat cheese and rhubarb dessert.

photo by julie soefer

watermelon and feta


watermelon and feta
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt
summer dessert at textile: watermelon and feta

watermelon sorbet, spiced streusel, balsamic compressed watermelon, pickled watermelon rind, feta cheesecake

Friday, June 19, 2009

corndog dessert


corndog dessert
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt
fried corncake, hot dog ketchup, yellow american mustard ice cream.




corndog batter

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 ea egg
1 cup milk

combine dry ingredients. in separate bowl combine egg and milk. add to dry ingredients. refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.


mustard ice cream

1 qt cream
3 cups milk
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
12 oz butter
9 oz yellow american mustard

heat cream, milk, sugar, light corn syrup and butter. once butter is fully melted, remove from heat and chill completely. once chilled, whisk in mustard and immediately run in ice cream machine.


hot dog ketchup

8 oz ketchup
1/4 oz molasses
6 oz light brown sugar
2 ea hot dogs

heat ketchup, molasses and light brown sugar until sugars have melted. chop hot dogs and add to ketchup mix. cook for 3 minutes. remove from heat and run in blender. strain through chinois.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

fried chicken dessert


fried chicken dessert
Originally uploaded by fuzzzycatt
on monday june 8th, houston had its second throwdown. this time the throwdown was fried chicken. i entered the creative category with chicken ice cream and all the fixins'. it was a tough and fun battle. at the end i came in second. first place was a deep fried chicken sausage balantine with watermelon salad and watermelon ice tea.

this was my entry.
chicken ice cream, buttermilk biscuit, guajillo honey, chicken fried chicken skin

what really surprised me was the amount of food fans dying to taste the chicken ice cream. its so awesome to live in the a city with such a diverse food scene, hungry mouths and amazing chef community.

and now, the recipes

chicken ice cream

2 ea whole chickens, bones only
18 oz butter
6 cups heavy cream
4 1/2 cups milk
4 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper, ground

blanch chicken bones for 1 minutes in pot of boiling water.
drain water, reserve bones.
toss bones in small amount of oil, place on sheet pan with roasting rack.
roast chicken bones at 325 for 30 minutes.
remove bones from oven. place in pot.
pour milk and cream over bones.
heat milk and bones mix on low heat for 30 minutes.
remove from heat. pour into container, bones and milk (chicken veloute), and store in cooler over night.
next day, heat chicken veloute until a light simmer for 10 minutes.
remove from heat and strain. discard bones, reserve chicken veloute.
pour chicken veloute back into pot, add butter, sugar, light corn syrup, salt and black pepper.
heat over medium heat for 15 minutes.
remove from heat and let chill.
pour into ice cream machine and run as machine instructs.



buttermilk biscuits

6 cups flour
6 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp spice mix
12 oz butter, cold
1 1/2 cups mozzarela, grated
2 1/4 cups buttermilk

place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spice mix in electric mixer with paddle attachment.
run on low to mix all ingredients.
cut butter into small cubes, add to flour mix.
mix until mixture resembles corn meal
add mozzarela.
once fully mixed, add buttermilk.
mix until dough barely starts coming together.
remove from bowl and knead by hand. knead just until dough forms.
roll to about 1 inch thick. portion.
bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes.



spice mix

1 Tbsp cayenne
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbsp chili powder

mix well.



seasoned flour

4 Tbsp spice mix
2 Tbsp salt
1 cup flour

mix well.



crispy chicken skin


2 ea whole chickens, skin only
1 cup seasoned flour
as needed spice mix

carefully remove chicken skin from chicken. keep whole.
scrape off excess fat with knife; careful not to tear the skin.
season skin with sea salt.
sandwich in between two roasting racks.
roast at 325 for 15 minutes. this will get rid of excess water and fat.
chill, vaccuum pack, store in cooler.
to order, pat skins in seasoned flour. fry at 350 until golden brown.
season with spice mix.



guajillo honey

6 oz guajillos, stem and seeds removed
1/2 oz chile de arbol, stem and seeds removed
2 lbs honey
8 oz water
1 tsp salt


thinly slice guajillos and chile de arbol
heat pan over high heat with no oil.
add chiles into hot pan, toss constantly to prevent burning.
after 2 minutes of tossing, add water and mix.
add honey and salt.
lower heat and let simmer lightly for 20 minutes.
remove from heat and store in container in cooler over night.
next day, heat on low heat for 15 minutes.
strain, discard chiles and reserve honey.
let chill at room temp.

enjoy.