Buy some strawberries from West Seattle produce. Make a puree, have your sister strain the puree.
Combine it with a meyer lemon fructose base. Put it in the ice cream maker then wait. Drizzle glass with reduced balsamic then spoon some sorbet in, do back flips, be awesome, move onto the next dish.
Eric
Hmmmm, I work on Sundays. I love going to the farmers market but by the time I get there it’s closed. Mindy goes sometimes for me but it’s just not the same. I love being able to walk around and pick my own items that I am going to cook. Solution? WEST SEATTLE PRODUCE!!!
The people at Corner Produce at Pike Place Market have opened a new produce stand in West Seattle. When did it open? Today! My sister gave me the heads up and told me that I needed to go so on we went for a visit to the new West Seattle Produce!
I am very excited to have this place as an option to buy produce. I’m not a huge fan of grocery stores so anything that lets me be outside and gives me great quality produce is pretty awesome for me.
I can’t wait to see what this place will turn into when most of the great fruits and vegetables are in season. That doesn’t mean there aren’t great things available now.
Check them out for yourself.
Eric
Welcome to flavor country.
If I opened a restaurant this would be a “special” item. Something for those rainy, gloomy, and cold days. Seattle, this dish is for you!
I took some of that pulled pork that I made the other day that was already cooked in veal stock then added more and proceeded to reduce it slowly. I added some tomatoes and then added the orzo and cooked it like a risotto. Stirring, stirring, stirring, then a ton of Fontina cheese then a little bit of veal demi-glace to finish it off. EPIC!
Eric
Negative feedback received for not posting recipes…..hilarious.
Remember my last episode of “Will…..it…pickle?!!?!?!”???? Well, I decided to make a little relish to serve along with some seared scallops. The relish is then topped with a saffron buerre blanc just to make the dish even more over the top. Keep it simple Eric, not today!
Eric
Crazy looking right? I needed a break from being so symmetrical with my plating so I just went a little overboard with the balsamic. Every once in a while it’s good to just say, “F it, let’s see what this will look like”. Acid trip salad…..
Eric
Hallie the co-founder of this TEDxCLE talk sent me over this video to share with you. Michael Ruhlman, in my opinion, is one of the best if not the best food writers out there. He has written some of my favorite cookbooks (Ad Hoc, A Return to Cooking, French Laundry, The Soul of a Chef, and the amazing list goes on) and books having to deal with the world of cooking (you have seen a few on here and there are a lot more on the way, just need to focus and read!).
When Michael Ruhlman writes, I read. When he speaks, I listen. When he’s in a video, I watch. His message is simple, you need to cook more….we all do, as a society. No more excuses for not having time or being too busy. Just cook something, get the aroma of food flowing through your home, be proud of your meal, your family, and the time you spend together. If it doesn’t turn out then order some pizza or kill it with a bunch of hot sauce, the fact is that cooking does amazing things for anyone who is willing to take the time to do it. I believe it, I live it, and it’s nice to have someone like Michael Ruhlman to put it into to better words than I can. Cook more!
Thanks again to Hallie F. Bram and Eric Kogelschatz for founding this TED talk in Cleveland. Mr. Ruhlman,if you’re out there, thanks for being an inspiration while I cook a lot!
Visit the TEDxCLE homepage for more talks (click)
Eric
Made a whole bunch of salads and sandwiches this week in class. I found a square molding in the plate room so I ran back to my table and used it on this Cobb salad with a honey creole mustard vinaigrette. Cobb salads are pretty awesome but I get tired with classic presentations so this square molding was pretty bad ass to work with.
Here is one of my favorite sandwiches out there, The Muffuletta. I used to eat this sandwich twice a week when I lived in Louisiana. I could probably bump that up to three times a week now but I’ll save it for special occasions.
We made a lot of sandwiches and salads but they were mostly classic renditions. It’s cool knowing how to make some of them but I don’t really see the point of bringing them into a future restaurant of Eric…. If I open a Denny’s then maybe. Yikes. Then again, it’s not about the recipes, it’s about the methodology or something like that.
Eric
Week 4 of my wine class took me to discovering the world of fuller-bodied white wines. So far I have experienced three different types of white wines and I can distinguish a difference between the three types…..wine, you’re so……interesting.
These fuller-bodied whites have thick bodies and lots of finish. The first one I tried is a 2007 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett from Germany. Long name? Not really when you can break it down. Wehlener Sonnenuhr is the name of the winery. Kabinett describes the sugar content of the wine. So Kabinett is on the bottom then Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiwswein, and finally Trockenbeerenauslese.
The quality levels for German wines are Tafelwein, Landwein, Qualitatswein Bestimmter Anbaugbiete (QbA), and QmP being the highest. Most of the German wines you will see here in the US will be of QbA and QmP quality.
The characteristic of the two German wines we have tried are that they have a diesel smell….kind of weird but I think it will accompany some strong foods well. Sauerkraut or lots of crazy awesome sausage to start.
This wine was nice. It had a sweet taste but with a slightly acidic finish. Nicely balanced and was kind of like eating a meyer lemon. I would pair a chanterelle mushroom stew with this.
2008 L’Ecole No. 41. Semmillon Fries Vineyard (Washington). What’s up with the fancy name???? You’re from Washington!! Le Blog Culinaria du Eric Rivera (or something like that).
This was my favorite wine of the night. Nice, heavy, smoky, and slightly oily finish. This would go great with any type of stew but maybe try a seafood jambalaya and you’re starting the party off in the right direction!
Oh, it has an alcohol content of 14.4% so it leaves you with a nice warm feeling…..drink the whole bottle, you’ll have no problem making up your own fake French names.
Speaking of French things. Here’s a French wine and once again I was not impressed. This is the second highest quality French wine behind a Grand Cru. The wine itself was fine but when you consider the price of $40 per bottle this definitely goes into my “whine time” category.
It has a mineral taste to it which is quite nice from a nice cheese pairing or even a little foie gras. Personally, I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy this wine especially for $40.
Oh Private Reserve….sounds fancy! It really doesn’t mean anything other than the winery trying to tell you that they believe it’s their “best” wine. I’ve seen Beringer wines before and have always been curious to try them. If this is their private reserve of wines then I suggest they spend a little more time drinking and less time thinking about marketing names.
It has a nice smoke and oak flavor to it but it didn’t really do anything for me. “Eric, you’re not really making any friends in the wine world.” Well, it’s my opinion.
Want to know why I have always been so frustrated with the world of wine? The price difference between a “good” wine and just another bottle of wine. Isn’t the French one supposed to be the best? Well at $40 per bottle it should be but it’s not. The least expensive one is $20 and is from Washington. Fine, just call me a fan of my home state but try all four together and you’ll agree with me and if you don’t then just go to a wine blog that will support your thoughts. This is a cooking blog. GO WASHINGTON!!!!!
Eric 
Mindy went to a plant sale this weekend and purchased a few more things for me to cook with. Butterhead lettuce, rosemary, endive, a jalapeno plant, and one of these:
Hungarian paprika! I love paprika! Hungarian isn’t sweet like the Spanish version but it’s still a favorite of mine. Oh, she also bought a more functional bay leaf tree for me since Bailey is going to take a while….. Crazy Mindy, always thinking logically…..
BONUS PLANT BONUS PLANT BONUS PLANT!!!!!
My sister bought me a basil plant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I have to start thinking of ways to cook with this stuff….. I’m up for the challenge!!!
Eric
Grow micro greens…….use them on everything!
I’m experimenting with making my own pasta noodles. I’ve done it before but I’m using different flours in order to achieve different pastas that will work with specific types of sauces. I know, that’s a little particular but that’s what this is all about.
First up was this tempranillo puttanesca sauce with a thicker noodle to soak up a medium-thick sauce…..not a cream sauce but something that has a nice texture by itself. This pasta holds the sauce nicely but there are a few adjustments that can be made, obviously.
The sauce, killer. It’s my third version of a puttanesca and this one will be the standard. Lots of ingredients but they all push and pull each other harmoniously.
Olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper, celery, onions, tempranillo, tomatoes, rosemary, lechon, oregano, kalamata olives, anchovy, salt, pepper, basil, veal-demi, black olives, micro greens
Is it really a puttanesca? Who knows. Does it taste like one? Yes. Is it awesome? Yes.
Eric
Wait a second. Is that a nicely plated salad by Mr. Self-Conscious Salad Plater? You bet your ass it is. I even have a secret vinaigrette on the thing and it makes the entire thing dazzle and shine.
Avocados, purple lettuce (I have the name written down with a “buy again” written next to it), micro greens, grape tomato, pickled mango, secret vinaigrette!
Eric
Read something, get inspired, make something your own. I am obsessed with David Chang’s Momofuku book. It’s given me a great jump start into the crazy world of pickling and he has taught me to never look back at the food I made a month ago, yesterday, or right now. He talks about how people question his motives for putting out his secrets in a cookbook and he simply responds by saying he’s going to move forward….good stuff.
Well, he has a recipe in his book for Bo Ssam which takes the same cut of meat I used (I went for smaller weight though…..only 2 people here). I loved the lettuce wraps idea so I stole that then went a different way with the dish.
Season the meat, then torch it, then braise it in veal stock.
It falls apart, it’s done. Simple as that. Make some cilantro lime rice then add a couple of other things to the mix like those pickled delights and you have yourself some serious food coma action.
Eric
My assault on the world of pickling continues. The other day I was reading the ingredients to a Thai sweet chili sauce that I really like and I noticed something amazing…….. “pickled red chili”. TO THE PICKLING CAVE!!!
I made a little base then pickled them there red chili’s. Day 2 and they are starting to get sweeter than the hot fire they were before….I spit hot fire. Anyway, so yes! It pickles!
Such is mango.
I was at Fresh Bistro the other the night and the waiter explained how the mangoes were pickled….well, not the steps but he said enough for me to GO TO THE PICKLING CAVE!!!
30 minutes in and they were all sorts of amazing. Day 2, even better! Ladies and gentlemen, IT PICKLES!
At work I do pickling with red onions, you’ve probably seen that combination a million times. I thought, “how about doing some white pearl onions in a red vinegar sweet pickling base”. TO THE PICKLING CAVE!!!!
30 minutes and the edgyness of the onion was gone and a slight sweet taste was evident. Day 2, the red wine vinegar plays well with the sweet onion taste better….coloring should change after a week.
I-T P-I-C-K-L-E-S!!!
I had some carrots lying around, a chipotle pepper, that new pickled crushed red pepper, and access to a pickling cave so I was off TO THE PICKLING CAVE!!
My goal with this one is to have the sweet chili taste infused with the carrots sweetness then bring back a little smokey chipotle flavor into the mix. I’m on fire……IT PICKLES!!!!
Having a pickling cave is awesome.
Eric
It’s a combination of this (click) and this (click) but taken to the next level. I refined the broth to be a little more clear. I’m not done with this dish yet. You can see a little about what I’m talking about in the top right of the picture. It’s part of my never ending fascination with hot & cold dishes.
Next!
Eric
Small bites…..this time featuring smoked oysters. I’ll be doing a lot of stuff like this over the next quarter so I needed to get a jump on it at home. Next step, invite sister and her husband over and find out what they think….
The small bite above is a water cracker with gournay cheese, diced cerignola, smoked oyster, sherry pickled shallot, and mini-sprout. Good….next!
Same cracker, different story. Pesto, oyster, caramelized onion, shredded Beecher’s smoked then torched…… This one wins!
Eric
