Sometimes as a cook you hit a home-run with a dish that you create. For me, this particular dish was just that. It had the perfect balance of tender black bass with a crispy skin, lemon-mustard leek veloute sauce with chervil, perfectly cooked wax beans that snapped when you ate them, and heartly smashed potatoes with chives. This is something I would proudly serve on my menu any day, with a cold glass of Gavi de Gavi.

For dessert, homemade cream puffs filled with whipped cream and glazed in chocolate

Black Sea Bass Filets, lightly floured and sauteed.

Steamed wax beans

Fish Fumet with Gavi white wine, then reduced and turned into a leek, mustard veloute

Smashed multicolored potatoes, with butter and chives

Cream puffs waiting for the chocolate to set

The other day, I had this craving for a risotto while I was working. We don't actually serve risotto at work, but oddly enough the smell of garlic emanating from someones order of steak tartar (the garlic is smeared on the bread for flavor) made me have this craving.

At home, the process was simple enough. Sauteed Cremini and Shitake mushrooms with thyme and rosemary were cooked and cooled. These were then added to the risotto which was cooked with chicken stock, Prosecco,  & white truffle oil. Once the rice was done, it was finished with black truffle salt and parsley.

I spotted the wine on the top shelf at our local wine store with some of the french wines, Aloxe-Corton. I knew this wine would be amazing (thanks to some past talks with my sommelier friend Vanessa) with a rich mushroom-y dish. It was a meal made in heaven.

The finished dish

White truffle and shitake risotto

A very nice wine indeed......

Summer Pavlova

Summer Fruit Pavlova with vanilla whipped cream

Mango Nectarines

Mango Nectarines....

What exactly is a mango nectarine? Well, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure myself until a few hours ago. After a few beers in Soho, I was walking home thinking about what I was going to make for dinner. I knew that I had a 2008 Standing Stone Vidal Icewine in my freezer for a very long time, and that I should try to come up with a dessert that would pair nicely with this particular wine. As I was walking towards the train, I stopped into Dean & Deluca just to see if there was anything interesting available.

The first steps into Dean & Deluca are always a bit overwhelming...lots of people and lots of produce. As I surveyed the selection of fruits, exotic mushrooms, and mundane potatoes I spotted something unusual. A bunch of nectarines, with a peculiar color of green and iridescent orange, much like the common mango. As I checked the sign and picked one up, I read "Mango Nectarines". Now, I've never heard of such a thing, but at $7 a .lb theses guys weren't exactly cheap. However, the smell of the nectarines was truly amazing...they were perfectly ripe, with a hint of mango to them. I put them down, on principal of price and walked around the store. Ten minutes later I was back with 4 of them in a bag.

On the long ride on the train home, I pondered: What exactly do I do with these things? My solution was to eat one, and see where the flavor took me. They have a surprising taste of nectarine, with the usual balance of sweetness and tart flavor, but then you really taste the mango. How they make these fruits I don't know.

After a long decision, I wanted a dessert that would showcase the fruit for what it was, but would also accent the flavor of the mango in it. I came up with a dish I am truly proud of.

The mango nectarines are simply cut in half and cored, the pit removed and hollowed out very slightly. In its place, I filled it with a mousse made of ripe nectarines cooked in a little bit of butter and simple syrup, then blended and strained. I added gelatin to this warm mixture, and allowed it to cool. Once cooled, it was mixed with whipped cream to create a flavorful mousse which was piped into the centers. To give the dish another dimension, I made a fromage blanc ice cream with lime zest, and set it over chocolate shavings. The whole thing works amazingly well together.

I don't know the next time I will see mango nectarines, but I will always remember this dessert that really showed off the fruits for what they were.

Whipped cream

Strained apricot puree with gelatin

Apricot Puree

Mango Nectarines filled with apricot mousse, shaved chocolate and lime fromage blanc ice cream

Bark Dog! Brooklyn

After watching an episode of Eat Out! NYC the other day, I was inspired to take a trip to Bark Dog in Park Slop Brooklyn to check out their claim of best NYC hotdog. I have to say, it was a pleasant surprise how good it really was.

The hotdog itself was the BEST hotdog I have ever had. Made by a sausage maker in upstate new york (rochester, woo!) the dog itself is very well made. Theres a distinct "snap" when you bite into the dog, and then the resulting filling is smooth and flavorful, very similar to a bratwurst. The toppings of the hotdogs vary, and I thought that the chili dog was one of the best. The sweet/sour relish topping was also very good, and it added a nice variation to the hotdog mixup.

I was however, very disappointed by their baked beans. These beans are supposed to be slow cooked for 18 hours, but to be honest they were kind of bland and in need of some more brown sugar or vinegar to kick up the flavor.

Bark is an eco-friendly restaurant, and I loved the solid wood tables that they had, and the clever use of their small space. Their signature beers brewed by a local brewery were crisp and hoppy, and complimented the hot dogs well.

Overall, I think bark has a good thing going for them, and if I ever have a hot dog craving...i'll be taking the long trek over to Park Slope.

My friend and fellow chef Jeong Woo Kim helps taste test at Bark Dog

A perfect burger

The other day I was craving a burger...not just any burger mind you, but a juicy, meaty, cheese and onion laden burger on a soft brioche bun. And so I set about making the simple, well; simply delicious.