Pumpkins and Persimmons....What, You Don't Know About Persimmons?!

Persimmons are not a squash like pumpkins, but are a fruit. The fruit originated in China and was luckily brought to the United States in the 1880's. Now persimmons grown in California and are even available to us here in Utah! Here is a great photo of a Fuyu persimmon:

Week six at the restaurant brought the switch of students from front of the house to the back of the house. This week we are focusing on pumpkin in each of the courses. The first course is one of my favorites, Mediterranean onion soup. Instead of a heavy French onion soup, I like to add roasted tomatoes and chicken stock to lighten up the the traditional beef broth. We also added roasted pumpkin and paired the soup with caramelized onions and pumpkin focaccia as well. We still poured the soup table-side which has become a signature style at the restaurant. Here is a look:

For the second course we created mini-quiches with a creamy custard and a filo crust.

The third course started with pumpkin brioche and finished with Vietnamese pork, pickled vegetables, slaw and sweet potato fries with sweet and sour Siracha glaze.

Dessert was another sampler plate with lots of textures, temperatures and flavors. 

We made a frozen pumpkin mousse, persimmon cider, cocoa nib-nut glass, vanilla panna cotta and tuile!

Don't Fear Beets!

Beet week at the restaurant scared away a few people. Most customers know beets one way, canned.
But, when you are a chef and exposed to fresh beets it can vastly change your culinary perspective. Beets are a thing of beauty. I cannot say how many times I've just starred at beets thinking they are a piece of art. The other extraordinary thing about beets is their versatility to be a sweet or savory ingredient. This makes experimenting with them a lot more exciting.
As you can see with the dessert this week, we took beets to a whole new level!

Enjoy the culinary creations from Week Five~

Beet Gnocchi, Blood Orange and Fennel...added some savory chocolate soil to spice things up!

Slider Duo with Kale Chips and Beet-Siracha

(pretzel Vietnamese slider and pork belly steamed bun slider)

Seared Duck over Beet "Ravioli"

Zucchini Bread with Pistachio Gelato, Frozen Beet Parfait, Beet Brownie, Zabaglione and Soil

Kabocha + Delicata + Spaghetti + Butternut = Squash Week!

Let me translate for those of you who are new to the world of Winter Squash. Kabocha squash smells like cucumber when you split it open! It is bright, refreshing and even sweeter than Butternut squash. Delicata squash is another winter squash variety but less sweet than Kabocha. It has a nutty, creamy smooth texture. Spaghetti squash and Butternut squash are a bit more mainstream so I'll leave that information up to you to research!
This week the students amazed me with a goat cheese-squash terrine, incredible squash tacos and transformed our desserts into some the most beautiful dishes of the quarter...

Here is our pictorial menu from week four at the restaurant!

Delicata Squash

Kabocha and Delicata Getting Ready for the Oven

Course One-View One

Course One-View Two!

House-made buckwheat crackers, coconut-squash jam, pomegranate-cherry coulis and squash terrine with honeyed cream and goat cheese layers.

Curry-Squash Table Side Soup with Yuzu Gremolata and Pomegranate

Squash Tacos with House made Corn Tortilla, Silky Avocado and Verde Salsa

Squash Tagine with Date Couscous and Naan

Cardamon French Toast with Hazelnut Gelato, Candied Squash and Coconut Caramel

Vanilla Braised Pineapple with Rice Pudding, Thai Basil Gelato and Chocolate-Dipped Squash 

Dehydrated Squash + Spice Grinder = Dust!

Squash Dusted Thai Basil Gelato

Mmm, Scraps!

An Apple A Day....

Welcome to Apple Week!
This week I found two new recipes that I've fallen in love with...Apple Juniper Soup and our Dessert Terrine.
I'm beginning to see the beauty in terrines. We started ours with Lemon-Olive Cake, then Italian Meringue followed by Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse and topped with Molasses Gelato. The frozen combination of this dessert was unreal. The other big hit this week was our table side soup. We started the bowl with Parmesan, pomegranates and a vanilla-arugula oil. Then, the server brought a silken Apple Soup and poured it table side...this is the way soup should be done!
I'll get the recipe up in a few days~

Amuse: stuffed date with apples, garlic, shallot, honey and mascarpone

The Beginning of the Apple-Juniper Soup.....

Pork Rillette with House-Made Crackers, Herbed Goat-Cheese and Apple Chutney

Brioche Bacon Roasted Tomato Melt with Grilled Apple Salad and Parsnip Chips

Dessert Terrine with Apple Caramel, Cocoa Soil and Cinnamon Apple Chips

Mini Milkshakes with Apple Zeppole

(apple doughnuts dunked in Calvados syrup) 

Fig Week At The Restaurant~

This week we celebrated Figs for our seasonal item. I decided to do another set-menu since it worked so well the previous week. When the customer doesn't have options, it's usually a good thing. This reasoning has to do with "forcing" new ingredients and ideas upon the public. Most times customers get stuck in an eating rut and never venture in a new direction.
This menu is dedicated to those who think they dislike figs or just haven't had them.
Don't worry all diners were rewarded with Bacon Ice Cream...yep I said and we did it!

Let The Prep Begin!

Amuse: Baby Artichoke in Yuzu Beurre Blanc

Beginnings of the Free-Form Tart

The Finished Tart!

Three Elements for Success: Cream Cheese, Figs, Wonton Wrappers

Second Course

House-Made Meatballs: Braised Pistachio, Mozzarella, and Pork!

Entree Was Zucchini Corn Bread with Mushroom-Fig Ragu and House-Made Sausage

Brioche with Figs, Butterscotch, Pepita Glass and Bacon Ice Cream, Oh My!

Have You Had "Fresh" Water Chestnuts?!

Water chestnuts are one of those ingredients that creates a spark of excitement. When you first taste a fresh one, you say to yourself, "wow, I have been missing out." The explanation for this discovery has to do with most people only knowing canned water chestnuts. Chestnuts out of a can taste like...a can!
Fresh ones taste like a combination of jicama, Asian pears and orchard apples.
Take a field-trip, find an Asian market and look for these beauties!

Yep, Not a Nut at All!

Water Chestnuts and Thai Eggplant~

Opening Week at the Restaurant~

Although you've seen the menu from the first week of the restaurant, here are some photos of what we prepared. The flat bread was a fan-favorite. Everyone was surprised that peaches and buffalo mozzarella would work together...but they did!  Below each photo are the simple innovations the students came up with that made this menu even better than I could have planned.....it's a treat to have bright, talented and respectful students!

Course One: Late Harvest Peaches with Arugula, Crispy Prosciutto and Candied Lemon (baked Prosciutto "chip" instead of fried adds nice crunch)

Grilled Flat-Bread with Peaches, Buffalo Mozzarella, Pasilla Pesto and Blackberries

Creamy Mascarpone Polenta with Pulled Pork, Peach Salsa and Grape Reduction (the grape reduction was bright and floral, a mixture of grapes and plum wine)

Pink-Peppercorn Meringue with Lime Curd, Peaches, Cocoa Nib Glass and Blueberry Froth (we froze the peaches after they were sauteed which added a nice "cool" element to the crunchy meringue) 

Table Decorations of Black Beans and Sage

Ode To Heirloom Farmers~

Today my class had the pleasure of having two wonderful Heirloom Farmers come in as guest speakers.
Patricia and Heidi from Late Bloomin' brought in a bounty of amazing vegetables, seeds and herbs. The only thing better than the Autumn harvest was Patricia and Heidi's words of wisdom toward respecting the food we cook and always giving more then we take from our customers. Their passion for what they do is yet another reason I continue to put my heart and soul into teaching~
Here are a few of the wondrous culinary samples we saw today:

Scarlet Runner Beans

Shallots

Aji Chilies and a Few Others

Purple Tomatillo

Carrots

Nasturtiums

Heirloom Beans

A Mix of the Bounty!