Thomas Keller Weekend - Salmon tartare "Cornets" with sweet red onion creme fraiche

Prize: I will make this recipe for anyone who buys me 5+ cornet molds. It's a win-win, right?

These are difficult. They were annoying and fickle. But they were some of the best bites of food I've made at home in the past year. You don't plan on making a Thomas Keller dish because it's convenient. You make it because you want to be wowed - He doesn't fail to deliver here. The other three Keller dishes from this past weekend were good, but these cornets took the cake. If you're sadistic and overindulgent like me, you'll need the recipe:

Cornets
1/4c + 3T AP flour
1 T + 1t sugar
1t kosher salt
8T unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 T black sesame seeds

These are a pain to make. I’m not sure if I have fingerprints after making only 8 of them. The cornets must be formed while the dough is still hot i.e. while you can still see the butter bubbling and still smell your skin roasting. Fun, right?

They also take extremely specialized cookware, which is less than preferable in my cramped kitchen. In the end (the very end, unfortunately) aluminum was discovered. You can crumple and form aluminum foil into cones instead of rushing out to sur la table to pay $4 for each cornet cone. They should look something like this.

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until completely smooth and mayonnaise like in texture. Beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and w/o any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container as it will be easier to work with.

Preheat oven to 400F

Make 4 inch hollow circular stencil (can be done with a compass, cardboard, and a steady hand). Place on a silpat or parchment on the counter first b/c it’s easier to work with. Use the stencil to spread 4in, thin rounds of dough on the silpat. After you bake the first batch you’ll get a feel for how thick it should be. Repeat as necessary. Sprinkle each with black sesame seeds. Put the silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4-6m or until batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. You don’t want to see much color on them at this point, lest they become unrollable.

Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door so the cornets stay warm as you roll them. Flip the cornet over on the sheet pan, and place a 4 ½ inch cornet mold (size #35 if you decide to buy them) at the bottom of the round. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge of the edge of the cornet. Fold the bottom of the cornet up and around the mold and roll the cornet tightly around the mold. This is not as easy as it sounds, and when I read it, it sounded really difficult. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds, leaving them seam side down on the baking sheet. Return them to the oven and bake for an additional 3-4 minutes until browned. Allow to cool slightly after removing from the oven before removing from the molds. Put on paper towels to cool. Allow the baking sheet and silpat to cool before repeating. Store the cornets for up to 2 days in an airtight container.

Salmon tartare
4oz salmon filet, finely minced
¾ t extra virgin olive oil
¾ t lemon oil (or extra olive oil and some lemon zest)
1 ½ t finely minced chives
1 ½ t finely minced shallot
½ t kosher salt
a little pepper (white preferable)

Finally something I know how to do. Cut the salmon carefully, and try not to handle it too much – your hands are hot and can ruin the texture.

With a sharp knife, finely mince the salmon fillet (NO food processors) and place in a small bowl with all the other ingredients. Taste for seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30m.

Sweet red onion crème fraiche
1 T finely minced red onion
1/2 c crème fraiche
¼ t kosher salt
a little pepper (white)

Place the red onions in a small strainer and rinse them under cold water for several seconds. Dry them and put in a small bowl with the crème fraiche. Whisk it together until the crème fraiche is fluffy. Add the other ingredients and mix. Put into a piping bag or Ziploc bag and refrigerate – this will make it easier to pipe later.

To finish:
Fill the cornets up to ½ in of the top with the onion cream leaving the bottom of the cone empty (but you don’t have to, the crème is so good). Spoon the tartare on the top and fashion into a ice cream cone like shape. Keller recommends putting a chive tip on the top, but I like the look of finely minced chives better. Your choice.

Also, if you don’t care about cornets/don’t want to mess with it, then just bake them flat and pile the stuff on top. Alternatively, you can mold them into mini muffin cups so they’re like mini tartlets. Tartlets of JOY.

Really though. Just get them in your mouth.

Still to come: "Coffee and Doughnuts" and Slow roasted veal shank + garlic potatoes, all compliments of Sir Keller himself.

Recipe: A+. Can't argue with it.
My Grade: A-. Wish I had some cornets.
Diagnosis: Beware your fingertips and waist line.

Back in action - Gordon Ramsay.

After a harrowing end of semester push and extravagant multi-city, worldwide romp: I'm BACK. That's right, friends, and I have goodies for you. My dear friend, Tom, took me to Gordon Ramsay in London for my first ever 3-Michelin star tasting menu experience. (Un)fortunately, it was an utter surprise so I was the most under dressed person there and didn't bring a camera. I mean, how could he?

Really though, it was one of the best, most surprising surprises of my life. Tom and I met while backpacking in Thailand and traveled together for some time. We were both on rather tight budgets, but by the end of my 5-week tenure in SE Asia, I was ready for a lavish meal. In Bangkok, that meant a large air-conditioned room with functioning western toilets in the restrooms. Oh, and unlimited foie gras, lobster, and wine pairings. It was delicious and extravagant, but definitely nothing near the refinement Tom later treated me to.

I recently finished my first year of law school and decided to treat myself to a European vacation (I'm a lucky one, I know). Tom met me in London and showed me around his lovely hometown. I've been to London several times before, but he was able to take me away from tourist destinations and into locals only spots - best tour guide ever. On our last night there, He told me he wanted to take me on a nice meal. Tom's a tricksy one though. He tried to keep my aspirations for the dinner low thoughout the day; constantly telling me not to get my hopes up and that I shouldn't dress up too much. Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant is very small and discrete, holding only 45 diners per seating. It's easy to pass over thinking it nothing more than an unmarked shop window.

 But decadent delights lie within. Gordon Ramsay is not the most likable figure, in fact his PR team hopes you hate him, but secretly and begrudgingly respect him. He's an amazing chef. He comes in third place for the most Michelin stars held by a single chef in the history of the guide - with 9, to be exact. Three belong to his crown jewel: Gordon Ramsay Restaurant. It's doubtful that I'll ever have the opportunity to enjoy such a feast again, but I'll savor this one for a lifetime. A three Michelin star tasting menu topped my bucket list, so now I can rest easy knowing I have now eaten multiple sticks of artisanal butter crafted by a worldclass chef in a single night. Love.

So let's start with the butter: There was a goat's butter with flaked sea salt and some other delicious hand churned butter with a smoked salt gracing the table. A server comes around with an enormous jewelry box full of fresh baked breads for diners to choose from. I believe there was a honey butter, olive, raisin/nut, and baguette. I was still stunned into silence at this point so I can't remember exactly.

(Sorry about the iPhone photos, it was all I had at the time)

Tom spared no expense and insisted on the menu prestige + wine pairings for the both of us. I got a few seasonal items so we wouldn't have exactly the same meal. The multiple amuse bouches were left largely unphotographed, but let me assure you the crab cornell with avocado creme won the prize. The others included a potato crisp filled with some sort of parm mixture and sage and a fried, lollipopped frog's leg in a garlic scape soup. That's right, anything can become a verb with the judicious use of "ed".

Gordon's most famous dishes are featured on his prestige menu. It's perfectly balanced - you leave full and happy but not groning and in physical pain. Yes, I will eat until the point of pain. See this clip from Louis C.K for more details (start at 0:50 and end around minute 4; restart around 6:15 for his epic treaties on the cinnabun demographic): Louis C.K. on eating (not for the faint of heart).

I had some items off of the seasonal menu and specials as well:

Tom and I both had Pressed Foie Gras with Maderia jelly, smoked duck, rhubarb and walnut crumble served alongside a lightly toasted Texas sized slice of Brioche. Brought back memories of our inflated bellies and painful last meal in Bangkok.

Ravioli of Lobster, Langoustine, and Salmon with tomato chutney, vinagrette.

Fillet of turbot with braised baby gem lettuce and cep sauce. So good, and the tiny lettuce leaf was surprisingly the most memorable and integral component.

cannon of cornish lamb with confit shoulder, ratatouille and thyme jus

Roasted pigeon from Bresse with grilled polenta, smoked pork belly and date sauce - best dish of the meal, though it closely competes with the Scallop dish.

Roasted loin of monkfish with chorizo cous cous, baby squid, artichoke and spiced tomato jus

Pan fried sea scallops from the Isle of Skye with leek and pancetta ballottine sage gnocchi and caper buerre noisette - I still think about this dish at least once a day and it's been almost a month.

CHEESE TROLLEY - need I say more.

That's right. You pick five (5!) of these cheeses - obviously I went for the runny one that has to be dammed up with bricks in the front. Served with house made crackers and fruit accouterments. I'm a little obsessed.

See that in the upper left? That's a creme brulee with fresh granny smith apple juice.

pineapple soup with toasted coconut and rum. I usually hate coconut but this made me change my mind.

bitter chocolate and hazelnut cylinder with ginger mousse and black currant granite

Dark chocolate truffles gilded with edible silver and jasmine tea.

Strawberry bon-bon like ice cream spheres kept cold by dry ice. Served alongside house made turkish delights. Terrible photo quality, epic flavor.

Needless to say. This was a very happy time in my life. If I were ever motivated by money, it would purely be to repeat this experience. 18 Different dishes. One night. I hope to bring this to all of you too someday. Soon to come: Thomas Keller weekend. An entire weekend of dishes made from the Ad Hoc and French Laundry cookbooks.