First shots from the Oakroom…

Pardon the photo quality…
I haven’t gotten off my ass and replaced my camera, so my phone is the standby for now.

Chocolate Panna Cotta, Saffron Froth, Coconut Praline Soil

…All I was told was ‘chocolate panna cotta for 20 on Tuesday’.
The rest i pulled together at the last minute.

New menu launches on Tues, March 6th.
I think my first menu launches hopefully early next week.

‘Chocolate Duets’
Bergamot + Dark Chocolate Parfait
Passionfruit + Milk Chocolate ‘Truffle’
Orange + White Chocolate, Two Ways – Emulsion & Shooter

‘Carrot Cake’
Peanut Butter Ice Cream,
Raisin Paper, Maple, Fennel

‘Chestnut Panna Cotta’
Tarragon Sabayon, Blood Orange Tuile,
Pomegrante Seeds

‘Roasted Pineapple Carpaccio’
Ancho + Cilantro Ice Cream,
Key Lime Shortbread, Coconut Caramel

I’ve been starting to test the recipes this week…
Played with the carrot cake components last week… all tastes great, cake is a little dense and dry, gonna try my old stand by cake recipe and sub in carrot puree.

Threw the Bergamot + Dark Chocolate Parfait in the freezer as i walked out the door tonight… but it tastes great.

The rest i should be able to pull together pretty quick.
Mostly modified old recipes, new flavors, etc.

I’m infusing vodka with tarragon, which i’m gonna cut simple syrup into to make a tarragon liqueur for the sabayon.
there’s a half pound of tarragon infusing with the booze, and probably gonna steep the other half pound with the syrup when i cook it…. get as much flavor extraction as possible.

Really the only hurdles i think i may have to fight with are figure out how to do the ‘truffle’… we have a truffle cart as check amenities, so i need to rethink the form.
maybe molded with some funky transfer sheet… i really want the texture of the ganache on the plate… It’s pretty much a straight up Pierre Herme recipe… modded slightly, and probably more as i test it further.
I originally was gonna do the coconut caramel as a sauce, but i think i want to go with a vertical 3 part plate up…
Thinking i may try adding gelatin or agar to it… i want it kinda gelatinous and able to cut it into squares, but i don’t want sticky caramel candies.

hopefully making the sabayon all the time won’t become too much of a headache.

Right now i’m having to deal with this home-model Cuisinart ice cream machine…
It’s getting the job done, but i can only really freeze one quart at a time before the shell has to go back in the freezer for several hours.
Keeping up with sorbet production for intermezzo’s is kinda tough… since everyone gets it.

Supposedly the Paco Jet should be here in 3 weeks or so…
Then life will be a lot easier… and i get to play in an entirely new realm.

Any input that anyone would wish to throw out would be appreciated and considered.
Thanks in advance.

~ by theironicchef on February 13, 2007.