One of my favorite dining experiences in Paris was at L’Atelier off the Rue de Bac. Master chef Robuchon has a small empire now using his name, all around a concept of being able to watch your dinner being prepared, in a type of “workshop”, at the counter. I like the concept, and the ability to find consistent fine dining from among a collection of cities is welcome for the avid traveler.

I recently visited L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York City, located inside the Four Seasons Hotel.

Amuse of parmesan foam, port reduction, and foie gras mousse:

There are basically three menu choices; you can choose small courses which are similar (or the same, in some cases) as those in the tasting menu. There are also larger full plate-sized entrées as well. We chose to choose from among the à la carte offerings, and one in particular that evening was also part of the tasting menu: Le caviar par Joël Robuchon.

This is presented in a caviar tin; below the layer of caviar is a gelée of lobster and below that, crab. Everything was delicious, but I would have wished for more caviar and less crab.

Many dishes have one of two “fats” in them: butter or foie gras. So was the case with the simple salad of haricot verts, cold foie gras played a delicious role in this light and delicious salad.

The best dish of the evening was likely this one, of foie gras hamburger sliders, with the most delicious fries. This was an absolute favorite dish, I must say, likely of all of 2011. Rich, juicy, and more flavor than you could imagine.

Dessert was on the light side, thankfully, a passion fruit soufflé, with a canelle of ice cream. Delicious!

My dining companion chose seafood offerings, all reported as delicious, and quite enjoyed the white chocolate/raspberry sphere dessert:

We knew what was going to happen. In Paris, it was dark chocolate, and the sphere melted before our eyes as hot chocolate sauce was poured over the top. But the pre-melt is more beautiful than the aftermath.

I really like the trend in counter-dining (although traditional seating is available) and doing so at the high-end. It’s great for smaller parties of 2 when you want your emphasis to be on a culinary adventure. It was like a small enclave of Paris in New York.

Highly recommended.

The old setup remains, with the kitchen building separate from the restaurant/bar.

What dominated the experience inside was noise; at least on a weekend evening, the atmosphere was boisterous, with loud conversation bouncing off the ceiling and wood floor. Probably not ideal, taking in the decor and intimate surroundings that glowed with soft light.

The menu was not complicated, offering a number of items any fan of Italian food would find scrumptious. Salads looked fresh, and their special mushroom soup was deliciously satisfying.

An entrée of eggplant was served, as with many dinners, with a side of cabbage and mashed potatoes. The tomato sauce was good, and definitely looked and tasted homemade.

Service wasn’t quick, but this was a busy night. A few things I think could be improved:

• noise level - in a winter season, you want to maximize the number of tables inside, I get that; but something should be done to combat the noise level in a small intimate space like this (baffling on the ceiling, or rugs);
• bread service - every Italian restaurant ought to encourage communing with bread to start the meal. When guests can nosh on bread during service delays, all is well. Sitting at an empty table with an exhausted drink, not so much.
• go gourmet - the beautiful building and surroundings seem slightly mismatched to the level of cuisine. What we ate was delicious, but lacked real gourmet polish. The sophistication level has a ceiling to expand here.

My recommendation at this point is to seek-out Portico when you’re close by, and perhaps on a weeknight. This is a great spot for locals to enjoy an aesthetic food experience in a quasi-magical setting.

The last time I was here, it was my first time at eating soup-y dumplings. I was spoiled. Some consider these the best.

I next had them in Hong Kong, filled with “hairy crab meat,” and while they were clean-tasting and good, I still longed for the version at Joe’s.

We had to wait over an hour outside to get in. You get a number, then wait to be called. The numbers started in the high 40s, and we were number 201. Was it worth the wait for Joe’s?

If you don’t want to try their other dishes, I recommend 3 baskets of dumplings for 2 hungry persons. We were pushing it hard with 4; and having eaten one each of the crab and pork varieties, I’d wager you get 1 of the crab and 2 of the pork. Tea is nice, but I really liked a nice cold soda with this. Helped cut the “fat.”

Eating these is a challenge to westerners; a gelatin “soup” is mixed in with the meat. You don’t want to pierce the wrapper; instead, use the tongs to place the dumpling in a soup spoon that you’ve already blessed with some of their ginger sauce. Place the dumpling on the side; let part of it hang off. Bite into this, and get ready, to suck in the soup into your mouth. This is both adventuresome and potentially painful if you’re not ready—at the start these things are hot.

But the richness of that broth and the meat inside, the ginger sauce, well, yes, it was worth it. These are divine little gifts, each one worth space in our lives to savor.

Unfortunately, you’re seated with strangers, the room in the restaurant was all taken up with the bustle of customers, and it’s not a haven for relaxing.

But the dumplings are exquisite.

After Hong Kong I’ve ordered them many times, including in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Maybe I have more of the world to see; nothing yet has beat Joe’s for me.

I might add that we got a few broken this time; I’d almost prefer a slightly safer (and thicker) wrapper. But the flavor was spot-on delicious.

Located on Pell Street in Chinatown.

You’ll also find they have another (original) location in Flushing, midtown NYC, and now a budding franchise in Japan.

The entrance is not grand; I imagine on a warm summer night they open the garage door opposite the one you pull open on the right.

The menu is an eclectic mix of a lot of small plates with some other larger entrées. Most folks sit at a bar; you can also sit at tables with a larger party. We walked in and just got a seat; it soon became crowded with a few folks needing to wait before being seated.

If readers remember my trip to Montréal, I had the best oysters at Joe’s Beef, and these weren’t bad either at Momofuku.

Sweet apple teased the senses, a new take on a mignonette sauce.

Fruit came to the scene again in my favorite dish, featuring pear with uni (fresh sea urchin).

Foie gras of the sea, I say.

Since I hail from Virginia these days, we also ordered some Edward’s ham. It was really salty (like I didn’t know), and I wished they had a “Surryano” style ham instead of this salty version. You can see it in the background in this close-up of the famous pork buns.

Those buns were good; the sauce sweet, the texture of the “bread” sublime.

In theory I should have liked this next dish, but I have to say it was not a good by itself. Shared with a bigger group, I’d want a taste. Having to eat a lot of it myself, was well, painful.

That’s apple kimchi. I like cabbage kimchi. At first I didn’t mind this, but wow, the spice! The addition of bacon was one part I liked. Bacon, apple, spice. I get the combination. But… in small doses.

Our last dish was spicy sausage with rice balls and some oniony stuff on top (I sadly don’t recall what it was, precisely). This dish made the kimchi taste light on spice. When they say the stuff is spicy, they are not kidding you.

Hot red thai chilies were in the sauce; the sausage, mostly at the bottom, was good; but the main component of spice were those chills, the sauce rich in spicy oil. The rice balls were nice texturally, but they soaked up the spice. I can still “feel” the spice of this dish just thinking about it. Good, but best consumed in small doses via sharing.

I enjoyed the experience. This was not fine dining; it was bar seated dining, which I enjoyed. You don’t get to see the cooking behind the bar (boo!), but they do have a glass wall into the kitchen at the opposite end. They use wood paneling in the dining room which I liked, taken from what I imagine was engineered for the floor and stuck it on the wall.

A great place to go with friends and explore some exotic flavor combinations!

We ate well; the menu was:

• Hamachi, marcona almond, ginger, oolong tea broth
• Everything bagel ice cream, smoked salmon threads, crispy cream cheese
• Foie-lafel sandwich
• Poached egg in the shell; pumpernickel, caesar dressing with lily
• Sweet shrimps, miso noodles, with bitter chicory and yuzu
• Monkfish, smoked barley, beet-mustard, nori
• Qual rounds, chartreuse yogurt, turnip and nutmeg
• Marbled Beef with “red beans and rice”, chayote squash
• Bourbon, cranberry, gingerbread and walnut
• Milk chocolate, black bean, plantain, soy with peanut

The bagel was playful; art since it was really ice cream. We loved the pickled “salmon” on the side.

The little falafel balls were really chickpea-crusted foie gras balls! “Yummo!” I heard Rachel Ray yell from across town (okay, no I didn’t, but I pictured it all, really vividly in my head!). The balls would have been fine on their own, too, with a dipping sauce. At this point in the meal, things were tasty and clean. Each element was focused towards a “taste” for the dish.

The egg was real; but the shell was not. The yolk was runny; the caesar dressing on the plate was so delicious you wanted a small thimble to drink from.

The monkfish with beets was a favorite of many diners that evening, the entire ensemble together forming a nice heavy emulsion in the mouth. Again - very focused flavor profiles. Because of the beets and their rich sweetness, this could have gone with a red wine.

Quail scares me, if it’s presented with those little cute bones. Here, Dufresne offers quail breaded and without the bones (yes!). I liked the little fried turnips and the yogurt was a good match; the perfume of the nutmeg was a little heavy.

No matter what, at around this time you begin to want to slow down. The sizes at wd~50 are really good, but… now we’re getting serious. I am not a fan of lamb, so they thankfully substituted some beef here. It was delicious on its own; I am not sure all the rest of the “beans” were my favorite. A little of that sauce and some crunchy salt on the beef would have been most perfect.

Next? “An intermezzo” course, a sorbet filled with… a surprise! Cranberry, like a mooch all of ice cream.

That red shock of color was so awesome to find:

Our final course was a rich one, a good finish to an evolving, almost Zen-inspired meal.

The little rice puffs were interesting texturally, and chocolate, plantain (banana), and peanut flavors go well together, right?

Nice friendly service, with excited diners all around. Folks were digging the dishes as they came out, and they all looked consistent.

So, wd~50, if you couldn’t tell, is a place to find your molecular gastronomy groove. Each place I visit that does this post modern take on cuisine does it differently, which is a good thing. My journey started out at Cantu’s restaurant in Chicago: moto. Cantu’s take is far more whimsical. His idea of fine dining is total tongue-in-cheek, if not table-inspired laughter. Wd-50 was far more relaxed, and far more focused, and not as “out there” in terms of the flavors of what we could detect of technique. John Shields here in Virginia is still different from them both; from his Alinea heritage, I think maybe he’s the better of the three chefs I’m comparing; his combinations are more classically inspired, say, like Dufresne’s; but the flavor combinations are more exotic, more busy, but less about technique.

I enjoyed my meal at wd~50, and I’m glad I got to visit. But I’d go to Chilhowie again for the fourth time, and then to moto (and certainly Alinea) before I’d return.

During a recent visit to Charlottesville, I had the opportunity to try Peter Chang’s for lunch. We tried three things, and enjoyed each.

• Eggplant and Chicken Lunch Casserole
• Bamboo Fish
• Soupy Dumplings

The eggplant dish was probably the most typical; it had great flavor and was very satisfying. The bamboo fish was fried crispy in a delicious coating; it was coated in spices and salt and had a particular flavor with heat. I can’t put my finger on the exact combination of spices, but it was outstanding. The texture was perfect and the heat added with fried chilies was great.

The soupy dumplings came last, despite being advertised as an appetizer. Thankfully they told us which dishes took longer to prepare. These were large; larger than what we’ve encountered in New York or San Francisco. And while they weren’t the best we’ve had, they were still good and something I’d order again.

I’d heard interesting things about this restaurant, and now I can confirm… quite exciting and delicious treats may be had here! It’s located in the Barracks Rd. Shopping Center, closest to exit 124 if you’re coming west from Richmond.

To those I added a third “course,” a little recipe of my own invention. My dad bought white asparagus at the supermarket. He does not eat any asparagus. So, I had to come up with a way to cook it (not my favorite, as it snaps easily and requires peeling). So first, we had this salad.

On top of herbed greens, I placed cooked, and “pickled” white asparagus. After cooking in salted water, I let them rest (without an ice bath) in a lemony vinegar. It soaks it up, making a quick pickle of the vegetable.

The greens were tossed with a dijon-based dressing made with some bacon fat. Bacon lardons covered everything, along with some sautéed mushrooms. Topped with chives.

The onion soup by Keller takes a long time; you cook down your onions until they are very dark brown, like weak coffee.

I went all out and made the mornay sauce and used the fried egg on top to make a croque madame.

Inside I amped the fat level by using Saint André cheese instead of plain swiss.

The recipes are simpler than those in The French Laundry, and tonight I made

• Butternut Squash Soup and
• Frisée aux Lardons Salad with Egg

Nothing extraordinary, except the little extra touches that make Keller’s recipes sublime.

Vinegary shallots made the salad great; the brown butter swirled into the soup was the right touch, along with the scent and aroma of sage leaves and fresh nutmeg-spiced crème fraïche in the center of the soup.

We tried the mussels in a simple preparation with a wine and Pernod-based broth. Traditional. Delicious.

The heirloom tomato and feta salad was delicious and light; the only thing I didn’t care for were the hand-placed herbs on top.

My partner in most things wasn’t happy about having to open the fish and “fish around” for the meat amid bones in this whole fish preparation. Yet, by the end, he was very happy. Delicious, moist, and flesh that was easily acquired.

I went for the chicken with Parisian-style gnocchi (the kind you squeeze out of a bag into boiling water). If they can’t do chicken right, then… forgetabbouit.

It was delicious. Yum! Good skin, good flavor, and again, nice light cuisine. I love my chicken at home with butter. This lacked the fat but still managed to satisfy. (Not that I will be giving up my Thomas Keller version with butter.)

Since we drove all the way to C’Ville, we had dessert. Profiteroles and a panna cotta.

Having tried both, the panna cotta was the better dessert. The choux-paste shells tasted… maybe a tad stale. The panna cotta was light and giggly, the way it ought to be, with accents of fruit, including an orange foamy sauce.

The restaurant is in a converted service garage. I liked it. I’d be back soon if I lived in C’Ville. Since I don’t, I hope I find myself there again soon.

Cooking a steak is a simple meal preparation, and in this case, I matched it with French green beans and mushrooms. The star ingredient is a sauce, which helped glaze the mushrooms and in a further reduction, mounted with butter, the steak.

Ingredients

• shallots
• garlic
• herb (terragon)
• peppercorns/salt
• cabernet wine
• beef stock
• EVOO, butter
• 2 mushrooms (crimini, porcini)

The sauce starts with 40/60 beef stock and red wine. Reduce! When it’s mid-way through, we add some aromatics, like black peppercorn, some of the rehydrated porcini mushrooms (I only found the dried variety), a garlic clove, mashed, and an herb of choice. Strain this when you reach the desired consistency. From the picture, you can see the almost-stickyness of this sauce, which had been mixed with a little butter at the end.

The green beans get parboiled in salted water before cooking at the end in butter, shallots, and garlic. I added some aged balsamic sea salt. The mushrooms get sautéed with the same shallots and garlic, but are cooked until they burnish with color, and then I added a lighter-mixture of the reduction sauce. I reduced it with the mushrooms until it was sticky, and seasoned the ‘shrooms with pepper and salt.

It was a delicious preparation, without having to buy/make a demi-glace or do much except start the cooking process with making a reduction.

One of our orders was for the soup of the day. When it came out, it was different than what we were originally told. They offered to replace it if we didn’t like it. Why? This is a service mistake. Don’t serve what the person wasn’t expecting.

The entrées were both served with plump, vibrant green beans. They were slightly under-cooked. The flavors for each were good, but they could have used a pinch more salt. I had the bison and mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes. I am not sure what kind of thing this is… it was like a meat sauce over potatoes. Okay, but it was tasty. But I love mushrooms, and there were too few.

The focus here seems to be on local/sustainable/in-season. I think if the food takes a long time to come out, then there ought to be munchables on the table-bread at the least.

I feel bad - I know this place has touched the hearts of other food bloggers here in Richmond. It didn’t strike a chord on my food guitar this past week. I applaud the concept; and I also applaud the lack of huge portions (and likewise prices).

An experience the week before at Six Burner on Main Street was very different - loved the ambiance - but the food was punchy in flavor and the service and speed was more attentive than what we experienced at Empress.

There’s two sides to waiting a long time for orders…

1) everything is being made by scratch and requires time, and people are sometimes willing to wait. By in large, from what I could tell, they were consistent - everyone’s order came after a an equally long stretch of time. 2) the kitchen isn’t efficient enough to put out orders fast enough.

I think a lot about my one experience here would be helped by addressing the efficiency. Having skipped lunch this day and being very hungry didn’t help… I think either we hit them on a slow night, or else there’s just one thing keeping them back… if I’m in the area, I wouldn’t mind trying them again for brunch or lunch.

He makes the layers using real-butter puff pastry, baked for almost 50 minutes between two sheet pans (use parchment or silpats).

For the last 5-7 minutes, you cover the layer with corn syrup to create an impenetrable barrier.

This is the first time I made it, but in all actuality, it wasn’t hard. Assembly was okay. The most challenging part was making the pastry cream (a custard with cornstarch).

You let the pastry cool, and then get ready to cut your three slices.

Use a serrated knife; and start piping-on the pastry cream.

The pastry looks dark, but that’s the color it was in the cookbook, too.

By the time it’s served, you’ve got raspberries in the top layer, and you can garnish with powdered sugar or even chocolate sauce. I did both.

Before serving, here’s a shot of the side-view. It was great.

Find Bouchon in a 2-cookbook set on Amazon.

Me: “Why does something not taste good?”

He said, “No… it’s absolutely perfect…”

And from across the table, “This is the best chicken I’ve ever eaten… whoa.”

So, this is the secret of my chicken success. And this doesn’t mean there’s only one way to do this, but it’s my way. And it is good.

1. Use a good quality bird. I chose a free-range, Kosher bird. Kosher means it has been brined, which si a step I’d rather not have to mess with.
2. Keep it simple. Put aromatics in the cavity (in my case, thyme and lemon), and salt and pepper the bird liberally.
3. Tie it up. A trussing needle is not required.
4. Roast at a high temperature (475 or 500 degrees F) for roughly an hour. You want to get a temperature of about 155 degrees before taking it out to rest.
5. Wait.
6. Carve the bird in serving pieces.
7. Ladle-over the secret sauce.

Each time I do variations on the “sauce,” but there are always a few common ingredients. Shallot, garlic, lemon juice, fresh thyme, and butter. This time I also added a wine-stock reduction. Dijon mustard. Pour this over the carved meat, and serve. Sop-up the sauce with baguette. Don’t bother with potatoes or starchy vegetables. Go French.

The evening I visited they featured a tasting menu:

• Himachi with Rhubarb and Sea Beans
• Strawberry Gazpacho
• Halibut with Morels
• Foie Gras with Heirloom Tomatoes
• A Berry Soda with Cinnamon
• Lamb
• Taleggio Cheese, served warm with Jamón Serrano
• Sacher Torte

Wow! If I had to choose the weakest dish, it would have been the dessert… it was good, but the other dishes were on a whole other level higher… and one of my favorites was the first (pictured left, above), the most clean tasting fish, with briny sea beans, watermelon skin that had been pickled, plus soft rhubarb. Absolutely delicious and fresh. I could have eaten a bowl of that, piled high.

That’s how the next dish read, too, a berry-infused gazpacho with all kinds of interesting things to throw into your bowl, including flowers. “Yummo!” we might hear from Rachel Ray. The MC also said Yummo!

Mushrooms are a special treat for me, and this menu featured both morels with a butter-poached halibut, but also porcini later on with the lamb. Foie is always a hit, no? Luxurious, yes, but also so well-paired with the flavors. Each course seemed an ideal size. Just enough to whet the appetite for more, then soon newer, if not richer flavors, were to follow.

The cheese was an extra course, and they will let you split it to share with a dining partner. This is wise, both because you do start to get full around dessert time, and plus, you ought to taste their quality ham and warm cheese combination. Taleggio isn’t Spanish, but it is a favorite stinky (Italian) cheese of mine. Having it served warm and crispy on the outside was a real treat.

Lacroix does offer in-kitchen table dining for those who just want to turn it up a notch on the foodie dial.

The atmosphere was more formal than I had imagined, but since it’s located in a hotel, not all guests were formally dressed.

This meal was offered at a very competitive price, considering the quality of flavors and ingredients. Warmly recommended.

The tapas concept works well with many different cuisines, including this primarily Mediterranean-style menu. Many of the flavors were new to me. In fact, several pickled vegetables and exotic spices came to the table. None were too piquant or strong in flavor, but each was savory enough to contribute to a new flavor palette that I found both refreshing and inviting.

The dish pictured above features some of flavorful condiments, and the featured dish was a combination beef/lamb meatball. Each of our choices from an populated list of dishes was delicious, from cheese, to the buttery hummus, and the meat dishes like those meatballs.

Almost everything came with a touch of flavor on the side, like preserved lemon, which made each tapas the more deep.

Service was very kind, so much so our waiter almost every time left the table walking backwards, saying “Thank you kindly…” I remember it so, that I wrote it down in my notes from the trip.

If you’re a fan of small plate meals, with variety and out of the ordinary flavors, I couldn’t recommend Zahav more.

Yet, I’m a fan of tomatoes and with our own easy access to our Hanover tomatoes, this soup can be a treat. You may also decide to make your gazpacho from a single heirloom variety, and of course, you can adopt tomatoes that are not typically red.

I featured a gazpacho recently here on the site, one inspired by some more tame flavors — a soup we might even call more French than Spanish. I’ve had gazpacho laced with cilantro and chunky, almost like a salsa. But my inspiration is leaning to a more complex, subtle flavor profile. This only works when you’re using really good produce.

The other aspect is texture. I like a gazpacho with a smooth flavor, but thick, too. It should be creamy, yet cold. How is this done?

Gazpacho, Take 2

• variety of ripe heirloom tomatoes
• red and yellow bell peppers
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Salt/Pepper
• cucumber, seeded
• herbs (parsley, basil)
• crustless-bread
• red onion
• garlic cloves, smashed
• vegetable stock or filtered water
• mustard ice cream (optional)
• sherry vinegar

So, here’s the thing… I didn’t measure much of anything to make this recipe. But I like tomato to be the dominant flavor, so I obviously used more of those. Peel your peppers with a vegetable peeler; you won’t remove 100%, but the peel is more difficult to digest. Core your tomatoes, peel the cucumber before de-seeding. (A spoon works wonders here, after the cucumber is split into two halves.)

I want my soup smooth. So I processed it in batches in a food processor. With each volley of tomato, pepper, salt and cucumber, I added some bread and some of the onion. Buzz… buzz… buzz… make it smooth! Through the feed tube, pour in some of the broth or water, then the EVOO. This soup is as much about the bread and the EVOO as it is the other things… you’ll give he soup a velvety texture and help to emulsify the soup, too.

I found the texture a little lumpy, and some stuff didn’t get well-chopped. Time for step 2.

Filter the gazpacho through a sieve. You’ll get the watery part to pass through, and taste this for seasoning. Then, re-process the chunky stuff. Re-integrate the two parts, and taste again for seasoning. If anything, I go light on the salt here because I plan to garnish each bowl or mug with salt and pepper.

It’s best to refrigerate the soup for 12-24 hours. Stir before serving, and you have a few choices for garnish.

I used the left-over mustard ice cream described by Patricia Wells in her Paris, the Cookbook. It’s a nice cold, creamy addition to the bowl. The cream has no seasoning, so it tends to wash out the salty-component. I garnished the top with Maldon salt and a lot of fresh-cracked pepper (my only addition this time for heat). I have found in the past if you want to use heat, try some hot sauce while making the soup.

Bon appétit!

While gazpacho is a cold soup, I don’t like to serve it “cold cold.” Leave it out of the refrigerator for an hour before service.

This recipe is published because I think it’s not about exact proportions (you can’t record in a recipe how flavorful the tomatoes are, or how big they are, or how much liquid they give off). My hunch is that gazpachos are not precise in origin, it’s a quick mixture of various vegetables in a savory/sour/salty mixture that’s fresh and rustic. But this is an excellent type of recipe for discovering your own palate and taste preferences. If you want to change the texture, you can use bread croutons instead of using bread as a thickener. Or, if you like cilantro and spice, you can do that. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice at the end instead of the sherry vinegar. Add coarsely chopped tomatoes for texture. Add chive oil. The possibilities are endless, really.

The recipes are not simple, but there is much to learn about making excellent cuisine.

I chose three recipes. Let’s go in reverse order.

Sorbet

The recipe takes 2 lbs of fruit, 1.25 cups of sugar, and a little acid. I mixed half strawberries and blueberries.

While some recipes call for corn syrup, or even a sugar syrup, Keller’s is simple. Mix everything up in the blender. If you have a Vitamix or Blen-Tec, no need to strain. I have a Cuisinart, so I strained.

Then put the mixture in your ice cream machine.

I used lemon, but lime would have equally been well. I cut back on the sugar, and added a squirt of honey for the flavor.

The color and flavor were superb.

Cod with Pipérade

Keller calls for oil-poaching some cod fish, at 6 oz. per serving. You flavor some EVOO in thyme and garlic for 30 minutes at 150 degrees. I found my thermal/laser thermometer was excellent for grading the temperature.

Meanwhile, the complicated part is to create a pepper dish which acts as a base, called pipérade. It’s a mixture of an onion/tomato base (long cooking time), roasted red and yellow peppers, and a little spice. This mixture gets further cooked-down with vegetable stock.

The fish gets poached in oil for about 14-15 minutes. Take out the aromatics first, and regulate the temperature between 120-140 degrees F. I thought it was a mistake, but it really works.

The pepper part took a long time; I am sure there is a shortcut method, but the depth of flavors was outstanding. I brought me back to my lunch at Au Bascou in Paris where I enjoyed pipérade over eggs.

Salad with Asparagus

I roasted the pencil-thin asparagus with EVOO, salt and pepper for about 7 minutes at 450 degrees. Then I immediately put them in a mustard-vinaigrette to sit, then refrigerated them.

I used the left-over dressing to dress some greens, put the asparagus on top, and then shaved parmesan cheese over the top. Delicious. The warm asparagus soak-up some dressing and give them real flavor.

Bad bacon? Perhaps.

But I had so many interesting dishes I wanted to make after making a run to the library for some cookbooks.

For a salad, I wanted something light. I thought about making scallops on a bed of lettuce, but we took a more Italian direction, with my garlicky croutons, salami, and more. I dressed it lightly, but used mustard as a base.

The real star was a gazpacho. I had watched Laura Calder make one this Saturday, and she did the crouton thing on top. But then Patricia Wells, in her The Paris Cookbook, talks about gazpacho, too, and using a special touch she discovered one hot July afternoon. Her soup was adorned with a canelle of Dijon mustard ice cream. She even includes the recipe.

I liked the coolness, but would have preferred more Dijon. Note for next time.

Some fool on TV told us not to cut our basil, but instead tear it into our food. Yuck, big chunks of basil in a cold soup is nasty. Chiffonade it up, my friends.

The recipe takes into account adjustments for a more pungent ice cream.

Gazpacho Soup MessyChef Style

(Don’t make a mess in your kitchen like I did, bumping a side-shelf of sticky Asian condiments onto the floor from inside the refrigerator, with broken glass.)

Ice Cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 Tbsp. sharp Dijon mustard

Warm the milk to around 160 degrees, then mix into the yolks. Add the yolks back into the saucepan, and stir, heating to around 170 degrees. I use a thermal/laser thermometer which makes this process easier to do.

Strain yolks mixture into a clean and cool bowl, add in cream and mustard, stir to cool. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Make into ice cream following your manufacturers instructions. Makes about enough ice cream for 4-5 bowls of soup.

Soup

• variety of 6 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, de-seeded
• 1 red pepper, peeled and cut into large wedges
• 4 Tbsp. EVOO
• salt, to taste
• basil
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 4 cloves garlic (2 for croutons)
• 1/2 cup tomato juice or veggie stock
• EVOO and garlic croutons (red pepper flakes)

Chop ingredients in a food processor, and strain through a sieve. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Once ready to eat, take the soup out to take the chill off, taste for seasoning.

Garnish with homemmade croutons, made by toasting torn Italian bread in EVOO in a hot pan with salt, 2 split garlic cloves, and red pepper flakes.

I would put the basil in with the soup instead of using it as a garnish; alternatively, you can chop it in little ribbons and use it as a garnish.

Put a dollop of the ice cream in the center of each bowel. The ice cream really keeps the soup cool, and I know would work well in hot weather.

Despite the Spanish nature of this dish, I felt the simpler recipe here, gilded with Dijon ice cream, was a French “translation.”

My own creativity finds many outlets, from writing in blogs like this one, to making new sounds on the piano, and yes, my creativity has more recently flowered in the kitchen. A dream of mine would to take on Julia’s early profession, and host cooking classes. Think about what folks like Patricia Wells is doing now, between her home in Provence (using Julia Child’s own oven), and in Paris. She of course has far more skill and culinary experience than I have - which is why she can command 4-figure fees for students who come from the US and beyond to cook with her.

But it isn’t too soon to start thinking about what you’d like to do in retirement, is it? Or if you lose your job?

Tonight’s dinner was one such example, a compromise even.

“You like steak. I am not hungry, I only want a salad.”

Steak salad.

The big flavor profiles were from the dressing, crumbled blue cheese, and red onions. A really delicious heirloom tomato was in the mix too, with baby salad greens and herbs.

I seared a filet mignon in a frying pan in bacon grease (to use up two last strips of Applewood-smoked bacon, and use them in the salad), until about 115 degrees in the center. It later rested, before being carved into thin strips.

The dressing was made by reducing 2 parts beef stock to 1 part balsamic vinegar with thyme in a saucepan. When it gained some body and thickness, I let it cool, then whisked in a little grainy Dijon-style mustard and EVOO. It emulsified great, and had a great depth of flavor, including a savory sweetness. Dress the greens with this, and reserve some to anoint the pieces of steak on the salad.

Back to my original theme here… it’s simply a lot of fun to share your creativity with others. I find that in everything I do.

We’ve yet to see Chef Richard there in the kitchen, but this was a second trip; our first is quite memorable and well-regarded. This time around, there were some signature repeats, and many new touches.

We opted for the tasting menu, called Le Promenade Gourmande, since we sat down at 6 PM. We had the time.

• Amuse of seafood, oyster shooter and salmon tartare
• Split Pea Soup, Coteccino
• Virtual Calamari Risotto with Lobster and Crab
• Halibut in Lobster Broth
• Lobster Burger with Chips fried in Clarified Butter
• Lamb chop, in jalapeño-cumin sauce
• Short Rib, braised 60 hours
• Cheese course with Shiraz
• Egg-ceptional Lemon Meringue
• Pear Vacherin with Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2007
• Petit Fours

The amuse arrived at the table, lit dramatically with a special plate embedded with LEDs. My beloved companion thought it was tacky, I liked it. This was an outstanding dish, the shooter included a cucumber water that was bright green and ever refreshing.

The pea soup had thin slices of an Italian pork sausage, and it perfumed the dish. Salty and scrumptious.

The Calamari risotto reminded me of the dish done at Town House in Chilhowie, but this was so much better. Other seafood added texture, and the “sauce” that made up the risotto was deeper in flavor.

The halibut was disappointing; the sauce was to die for, but the fish, as the first time, comes across a little too dry. At this point, the portions are getting larger, and in retrospect, I could have skipped this course. But give me that sauce in a thermos anytime.

The lamb was so succulent, so well-cooked. The sauce was intriguing. Again, the portion was generous. Getting… full.

The short rib is cooked sous vide for anywhere between 40-70 hours (each time, you’ll hear different lengths, I think it depends on the day). This is a delicious piece of meat.

The cheese course was nice, but again, with a full stomach, I could have saved this for another day. Their bleu was the star, reminiscent of chocolate!

The star dessert was the lemon meringue which was stuffed into a white-chocolate shell, to look like an egg. Whimsical, delicious. White chocolate and lemon curd = a good match!

The pear was another meringue creation, this time dried out, and painted with food dye powders. It was really beautiful, and I loved cracking the shell to see what was inside. This was visually stunning.

Petits fours = eh, I could have skipped this. I was over-stuffed.

Kathryn Morgan did an excellent job with wine pairings, although nothing compared to the Turley Zinfandel they served the last time I was there. The most outstanding was the 2004 Margaux, from Chateau Rauzan-Gassies.

Both times we’ve compared this to The French Laundry. Keller’s restaurant beats Citronelle on service, I think, which isn’t to say we weren’t served well at Citronelle. But everything at the FL had less personality, I have to say. The food was outstanding, but it lacked rough edges or punches. The flavors offered from Chef Deshaies menu at Citronelle simply seemed amplified. Flavors are more robust, more extrovert.

And the FL doesn’t offer wine pairings.

This is serious eating with serious prices - but for a special occasion, it’s still in top form, I think. Take two courses out (the halibut and cheese), and package to-go those little sweet snacks at the end, and I think you’d shore up a long promenade into even more perfect meal.

If sitting for 3.5 hours through 10 courses seems like torture, the other entrées which come in larger portions looked very appetizing.

Citronelle is located in the basement of the Latham Hotel in Georgetown, at 3000 M Street NW. Recommended!

You start the process by cooking bacon in water to render the fat, for almost 30 minutes, until it is fully cooked. Once removed, you cook almost equal parts of leek and onion for about 7 minutes over moderate heat, add garlic, and then add a can of Italian tomatoes.

This “sauce” gets half-puréed in the food processor, then you return the chopped and chunky mixture to heat, adding back the bacon, cooking for up to 45 minutes to reduce.

Keller says this is killer over asparagus that’s been steamed in stock. He also mentions that it’s great as a topping for fish, so I combined the two.

Halibut, pan seared in butter with tarragon, is plated on top of a helping of this delicious sauce.

The sauce was delectable, both sweet, sour, and smokey. The richness of the fish was well-matched with this sauce.

I followed the recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s sweet crepes, which includes a little rum and the zests from lemon and orange. I tried first using 50/50 buckwheat and A/P flour, but those didn’t turn out, so I made the recipe again.

The key towards using my crepe pan successfully is to get it hot. Those little brown marks on the crepes give them character and the right texture!

I smeared a little Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread inside each one, before folding them into triangles. The strawberries were macerated in a sugar-Cointreau mixture for 5 hours in the refrigerator before cooking the mixture down, with a little extra sugar and a tab of butter. I added a little lemon juice, which helped balance the richness of the chocolate with the berries.

And great food!

This evening’s menu featured two choices for each of the first two courses, and we split things up and got one of each. Leek/beef soup was flavorful but light and satisfying. The goat cheese salad with pickled red onions was sublime. The pickling process adds quite a bit of depth to something simple like an onion.

The cioppino entrée was a delicious medley in tomato broth of mussels, shrimp, scallop, and sausage. Bread, focaccia style, served to add some carbs to the meal.

This place is described as “European,” and I’d agree. So nice to go to a place with flavorful food and not gigantic portions that stuff you into feeling sorry.

The vegetarian entrée was also delicious, oregano-riced-stuffed zucchini in a flavorful tomato broth.

A small panna cotta with 4-berry sauce completed the menu, and it’s my only complaint of the evening. I’d rather have paid $20 and gotten a bigger portion. It was that tasty.

I’ll certainly have to return for the full menu… located on Main Street between 5th and 3rd.

Crèpes Suzette again it would be.

I used a crepe recipe which called for:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• flavorings (in this case, it asked for spirits and lemon zest)

While David Rosengarten suggests letting your batter sit for 30 minutes, the more re-knowned baker Dorie Greenspan suggests hours if not a full 8! So, I made this batter in the morning in the blender, and let it sit in the refrigerator. I buzzed it again before making my crepes in the evening.

I like buckwheat, so I actually pulled back just a few Tbsp. on the flour and replaced the wheat with buckwheat.

I made the crepes in advance, separating them with sugar, as per Greenspan’s suggestion. It worked.

This new pan is not “non-stick,” which means they don’t stick, but they also don’t slide.

You try and cover an even layer. About medium heat was good for this small pan.

Once the first side browns and it begins to dry, I used an offset spatula to flip them over. Be prepared to use your fingers.

I don’t use a recipe for the sauce, as it’s been in my repertoire since the 1990s. I start with making a caramel with white, vanilla-infused sugar.

Next, break the caramel with your favorite orange juice, and when reduced, add your favorite orange spirit of choice. Crank it.

Mount in butter like a mad man until you get your consistency… then add in the folded crepes to sauce and warm.

Garnish as you like; the sweet sauce is well-offset with the tartness of fresh raspberries.

Bon appétit!

Folks like Gael Greene will say with great drama “simply a delight, 4 stars…” and then they go to another judge, who might award the dish “5 stars, I can’t imagine anything better…” and while these are being announced, the stars and the addition takes place magically on our screens. When I have our friends over, I usually do a 3-course meal, an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Last night I decided to step things up, as I wanted to challenge myself. One of the challenges was offering a fourth course.

And after each one, I asked them for their ratings. With your friends, it’s more difficult, because I think they don’t want to hurt your feelings. But if you take a 5-star system, 4 raters (including myself), and an “80” as a perfect score, I earned a “68.” Incidentally, I was the most harsh of the critics, offering “3s” where others were giving away “4.5”s.

Menu

• 1^er: Asperges à la hollandaise et tomates rôties
• 2^ième: Oeufs à l’italienne
• 3^ième: Cuisses de poulet Marengo
• 4^ième: Gâteau mousse au chocolat à Roustang

Aspereges

I used a typical recipe here, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce (lemon, egg yolk, and butter with parsley), but the sourness of the lemon juice was counterbalanced here by using oven-roasted tomatoes. The tomatoes were mixed with EVOO, some balsamic vinegar, and a paste of 4 cloves of garlic with salt. This went over very well, and received 4- and 5-star ratings.

Ouefs

This dish was the least successful of the bunch, and I blame it on my own cooking methodology; I followed no recipe, but tried something based on a luncheon dish I had in Paris.

The idea is, you cook eggs in a tomato sauce, and earlier in the day I made tomato sauce using Italian-style whole tomatoes with onion and garlic. Once cooled, I added fresh basil, and then put the sauce in the bottom of ramekins. This part was fine, but I only used the broiler. I should have cooked them at around 350 for 8 minutes, then pulled them out to add the panko/cheese topping. Then, use the broiler to set the cheese.

The crisp texture was there, and the runny egg yolk, but in some ramekins uncooked white remained. It won’t kill you, but it’s not so appetizing. I also might employ a less-tall vessel, a wider oven-proof dish might be better, without the depth. But the flavors were spot on. Have work to do here.

Cuisses de Poulet

In her From Around my French Table cookbook, Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for something we love, Veal Marengo. We took this stewed veal dish elsewhere, using instead chicken thighs. We think it’s a superior dish with chicken!

Wine and onions make the basis of a sauce that’s perfumed with a bouquet garni of herbs. Mushrooms and pearl onions complete the stew, colored and flavored with tomatoes. The chicken gets browned first, then is braised in the oven for only 30 minutes. This is a quick stew-type dish, and although Greenspan uses a large sauté pan for hers, I used my new Staub casserole.

Gâteau de Chocolat

This is another Greenspan recipe, borrowed from the French chef Michel Roustag. She offers three methods for making it, as it must be double-baked using two layers. Her method, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

She suggests using a springform pan on top of a Silpat. Well, honey, the batter leaks out. I would recommend you do her recipe with the bottom in (she says take it out), and line the bottom with parchment. Then, it’d be perfect.

This can be served warm or cold, but we served it warm, and it was delightful with freshly-whipped cream, a contrast in texture and temperature.

This one earned 4- and 5-stars as well. I loved getting feedback on the meal, and it’s always fun to take your French food skills further.