Blanchet Private Chef Blog

Sustaining Interests

2010-08-10T11:06:00.001-04:00

The event was a small group of ladies brought together for a bridal shower. They wanted a real focus on local sources for the food and so the good people at Fair Food Farm Stand gave them my name. It was a lunch affair of causal nature so I decided to make things that were easy to come back and forth to in a buffet type arrangement. Here is the menu:

Local Artisan Cheese selection
Wild Alaskan salmon rillette hors d'oeurves on cucumber
Chilled seasonal vegetable soup
Summer savory tart made with goats cheese, heirloom tomatoes, herb, organic wheat crust
Chicken Salad from whole roasted Canter Hill Farm chickens
Wimer's Organics green beans in pesto
Bread by Wild Flour Bakery

They had me do a little talk about buying local and the importance sustainability in our food choices. Farmers markets, and the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Seafood Watch were mentioned.

The morning after

2010-08-09T10:01:00.006-04:00

After catching up on rest the next morning after a catering event, it's fun going into my kitchen and seeing what I get to eat for breakfast. Generally, with left overs, the client will get everything that was prepared neatly put away and labeled. As for the extra produce and ingredients that require more work before they're comsumable, I split them up between the client (they get things that are special and in good condition) and myself.

Looks like goats cheese omelet and heirloom tomato salad to me.

My breakfast, thanks to the farmers at the Bryn Mawr Farmers Market and my client from Fort Washington. Summer salad and sloppy goats cheese omelet.

Oh yeah, I must also thank Bill our handy man here at the Haverford residence for the beautiful tomatoes he brought me. Those tiny ones in the photo at top are his Sunburst tomatoes which are officially the sweetest tomatoes I have ever tasted. Candy!

2010-07-13T22:08:00.007-04:00

Good food for a picnic... pasta salad.

I really like the way udon noodles fill the pasta role in pasta salad as a change from the old macaroni product. This soft, wheat based Japanese noodle swells up when cooked and then takes on a the flavors of whatever else is around. Balancing the moisture when creating a dish with this noodle can be tricky especially when it needs to hold for a while before eaten.

Peas and Parmesan where my 2 key ingredients which inspired the notion of a pasta salad. The next move was to render some bacon and boil some eggs. I love the way cooked egg yolk breaks up and then dissolves into the sauce. Here, I sauteed onions in butter, added red pepper, then the peas, crispy bacon, chunks of avocado, the cut up pieces of 2 boiled eggs, then the udon noodle and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano . Also, it's good to save a bit of the noodle cooking liquid. You use it to moisten the dish to the right level.

Herbs can really take this dish in many good directions, but sometimes.... when we're in the full on summer season.... it's nice to let the simple flavors of the origianl ingredients shine on there own. I was glad in the end that I didn't have herbs handy today.

Watashi no men wa oishiidesu

2010-06-22T22:33:00.007-04:00

Summertime cooking; dinner on the porch

first course
Soppresata, pears, figs, prosciutto de parma

second course
chilled cucumber soup

third course
Pennsylvanianized Salad Niciose

third course part 2
grilled pesto bread, grilled chicken breast

dessert
baked chocolate and vanilla ice cream
thanks Wendy! (she made it)

9 minute hard boiled egg, just right. Cook, crack, cool in ice water... it helps for peeling.
Thank you David Tanis!

Chicken for the grill, marinade before and after cooking! (see explanation below)
Thank you Larbi Dahrouch!

This was food from a clients birthday dinner. The vegetables on the salad are (in order from egg and to left) boiled Lancaster organic eggs, grilled asparagus, grilled red onions, grilled gold beets (just boil them first...slightly underdone), locally grown green beans, articokes, grape tomatoes, grilled zucchini, nicoise olives and pinenuts. The salad is red oak, arugula and Belgian endive parsley.

The chicken was marinaded with lemon peel, garlic, herbs, olive oil. But more importantly... as soon as it came off the grill, it was covered in a second marinade which also helped to cool it to a nice warm place after the hot grill. A chef I worked with many years ago would have us cook chicken breast at the beginning of lunch service. Then, when any chicken dish was ordered, we would slice it and put caesar dressing all over it.... then stick it under the broiler for just a minute. It yielded great results... so flavorful! I expanded this technique to serve many different dishes and flavor applications....as in this meal.

Served with grilled bread and pesto. The second marinade served as a cool down AND a sauce once combined with the juices of the grilled chicken.

For the cuccumber soup, just peel em, blend em, add lemon juice, jalapeno, greek yogurt, olive oil, salt and pepper. Chill.

Happy Birthday Linda!

2010-04-26T21:16:00.003-04:00

Taste

When things taste good to you, it is because of so many reasons. Just as we acquire a taste for something we did not like as a child, we move through and gain a taste for things that make sense to us. It is the unending adaptation of our senses.
Making sense of our health and why we want to consume certain things for our better wellness will actually make them taste better. And/Or... making sense of cheap crappy foods will make processed flavors more palatable. The point is the relevance of association to what taste good to you. What is important to you in life as you consume something and perceive it. Do you really enjoy it? Be open and be mindful... someone once said.

2010-04-25T18:31:00.004-04:00

Ground Elder, seen here consuming the lower branches of a Rhododendron, is the most difficult weed in my yard. I've fought it out of the garden for the most part, but the struggle is unending.

One day recently while madly ripping at the stuff, I noticed that the smell of it was somewhat appetizing. I wondered is it was safe to eat and headed to the world wide internets. I learned that not only is it safe to eat, it's a member of the carrot family! If you compare the leaves from carrot tops to ground elder, then you'll see a the kinship.

Fantastic, I thought, now... I just need to make it taste good. A free and abundant leafy green veg (the best food type for your health)!
First try : Fava beans , ground elder, and ham cooked with butter on crusty baguette. Pretty good, but the elder wasn't really standing out. So I started thinking about giving it more of the spot light.

Since it does taste kinda like carrot greens (though less harsh and more sweet) it needs something to smooth it out and yet highlight it's pleasant zing. I've read that most people don't like it's taste on the first try. Another important point is to avoid it once it flowers. Unless you need a strong laxative.

Here is my second try:

Ground elder and avocado soup, braised artichoke, escarole, fried quail egg.

I was lucky with what I had around the house because this turned out good. I'm backin it. I should be making my own creme fraiche then I'd have a better garnish to the soup then just the barigoule oil.

2010-04-18T13:43:00.002-04:00

These are images from a private chef event last weekend. The menu was 6 courses and mostly spring oriented with a few winter projects of mine respresented. Here's how it read:

vegetable bisque with coconut, red curry, brown butter shrimp

mache and arrugula salad with parmesan terrine, gold beet sauce

olive oil poached tuna with mint, red quinoa, and black hummus

NY strip cooked "parlet", spring vegetables, sunchoke puree, thyme shallot sauce

beet halwa, vanilla legere, crispy cashew cookie

chocolate hazelnut panna cotta with steamed hazelnut milk, espresso chocolate brownie, chocolate crunch bar and whipped cream

A few thoughts from the process:
When we had that stint of very warm weather, the soup course changed from miso based to Thai curry based. There's an element of drama when eating this soup as it turns from off-white in color to red (and gets more flavorful) gradually. The small spheres of potent red curry sauce melt into the hot soup as the eater stirs and siawdawdps.

Bagna Cauda is a dipping sauce made from mostly olive oil with anchovies, garlic, chile, herbs, etc. I wanted the flavors to bring more dynamic to the salad course... and in honor of the great Italian Parmesano Reggiano, why not use a classic Italian sauce. However, in a not so classic fashion, I emulsified it into salt roasted gold beet puree. This gave it a texture better suited for the dish, smooth and sweet instead of just oily. So in the end, it can not really be called Bagna Cauda, though that was the origin of my thinking.

I was really really happy with the tuna course. Why pair quinoa with hummus and tuna you ask? Well, I worked out a simple way to gently poach (or confit) the tuna in olive oil....without having sous vide equipment... while I was working at Marigold Kitchen in Philadelphia. The chef, Israeli influenced, made amazing hummus and used it in fine dish composition. I must have tried the too together cause it clicked. The red quinoa fit in because I thought it had a nutty-buttery taste.... like tahini... so.... add some small diced cuccumber for a fresh/crisp bite and there it is.

And I must mention the wines! Really great pairings! Thanks to Zach for his help. Here they are in relative order:

Soup course: Kunde Estate 2007 Viognier Sonoma valley

Salad course: August Cellars 2007 Pinot Gris Oregon

Tuna course: Jean Boillot 1998 Volnay 1er cru Les Chevrets

Steak course: 1986 Leoville Barton

First Dessert: Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 1993

Chocolate: Coume Del Mas 200, "Quintessence" Banyuls

2010-03-24T19:51:00.005-04:00

A selection of photos form the very exciting holiday party at 03world. Hazelnut hot cocoa, Goldrush apple tarts, braised pork and pickled red onion sliders, chestnut soup with pumpkin emulsion and cocoa. Photos by Andrea Monzo.

2010-03-04T21:17:00.008-05:00

The first day of terrarium building in Haverford.

First specimen tray:gravel in bottom, large rock/cement slabs, bark, and oak leaf compost.

Second specimen tray: wet oak leaves in bottom, scattered dirt piles, old dead moss and roots, a few textured rocks, and twigs.

Moss patches pulled from a shingled garage roof, an old rock wall, and an old bench (which I think if formed concrete or something...very old, you can see under the trays) and layered in a random fashion.

Click on picture to see larger.

I love moss! The inspiration for these came from my friend who made these for a company he work with. I've got Oak Moss in there, I need to get some Spanish Moss (from down south right?) and Reindeer Moss, then I'll have a good set of the edible types to grow and maybe use in a dish.... we'll see. A nod to the "Dude Ranchers".

2010-02-16T19:36:00.004-05:00

Impromptu cooking at a Korean friends house.

Seared bass with kim chi and tobiko, rice with broccoli, stone crab and basil.

Soy glazed chicken pulled into cous cous salad.

She had an interesting array of items in the pantry. The rice was soaked in bamboo juice!! explains the green tint. Lots of fun.

2010-02-16T18:32:00.004-05:00

I now live in Haverford. After a nice walk in the snow, I found myself in Brynmawr and inside FoodSource. Lots and lots of fun products in here. Some of the prices seemed high but the fish looked real good. I bought a small piece of yellow fin tuna and a small piece of Scottish salmon. I crave sushi often and always prefer making it when I have the time.

Long grain brown rice is not recommended for rolling maki of any type of sushi really. Especially if you expect it to hold nice shapes. I pulled it of for the most part (pictured), but lost a couple pieces (in the aesthetic sense, still yummy of course). The dressing of the rice helps, and is an essential part of making sushi. It consists of sugar, vinegar, and a touch of salt. The dressing is added after the rice is cooked but still hot so it absorbs well.

Sushi after a snopocolyps !!

That is a tasty burger

2009-12-24T19:00:00.005-05:00

After a tough day I crave more rich foods. Hamburger is a winner for the meal after a Pedal Co-op day after a snow storm.

I had a few brioche slider buns left after a Blanchet event (it was O3worlds holiday party...pictures soon to come!) and some ground beef. Roasted zucchini over rough-chopped hazelnuts(this keeps them up and allows moisture to escape through bottom. It's what you'd not call a nut rack.

Made one long patty, and split it in two for the sake of "more toasted brioche please" . Spread with olive oil mayo and had pickled red onions on the side.

Most who know what there talking about would say a burger should drip down your hands and elbows. I agree, that is part of a delicious experience... however, this burger was a med-rare with a strong sear... it was formed wider/flatter than the soft balls you see at pubs, and it was sooo good but it wasn't a sloppy mess. The lesson here is how much good bread is important to a good sandwich. A big thanks to Modi! (Georges' in Wayne) The toasted brioche was not overwhelmed with beefy runoff, it was still toasty and structurally sound. If you have mediocre bread, then yes, enjoy the improved and resulting burger pudding with which your fingers will sink into. But... with really good bread... don't. As you can see, my burger was juicy enough to drip just a bit. Just right.

Subject on the table: amaranth

2009-12-02T12:59:00.005-05:00

I was making myself dinner the other night and had plenty of time to play around. I had some pork braising in the oven already, so it was a simple question of what to have with it. Keeping different grains on hand in the pantry is something I try to maintain, and on this day I saw amaranth. Instantly, in my head, I heard a quote about amaranth that came from a chef somewhere in my past. "That stuff taste like bird seed!"

Now while some may agree with this, I know that amaranth can be delicious and I wanted to try a new way of preparing it that might change the opinion of those quick to dismiss the grain. I went through a thought process that included alternate ways of coking grains and polenta came to mind. Probably because amaranth can be popped like dry corn...so corn just "popped" up in my head.

I decided to go for a result that was like creamy polenta. I used my rice cooker first, with just water and a pinch of salt, I wanted the amaranth expanded and tender before I started playing around with it. Cooked amaranth is not delicate like cooked rice, so over-cooking or beating it to mush is not an issue. With the braised pork now out of the oven, I spooned in some of the cooking liquid oven the amaranth, added a touch of butter and simmered while stirring. The dense nature of the amaranth softened in the broth and butter and became smooth and creamy just like I hoped. I finished it with a good amount of Paresanno Regianno grated with a micro plane, it melted right in and highlighted the creaminess with more dynamic flavor. Had that chef tasted this, I'm sure he'd concede that amaranth doesn't always taste like birdseed.

Hey.... how's he know what birdseed taste like anyway?

The occasion... truffles!

2009-11-30T18:32:00.005-05:00

It was a private event at the attractive little byob in queen village named Sautee. A special menu was designed by chef Nick Cassidy featuring truffles in each course. The dinning room was set for just one seating of one large party of guest, who were friends and regulars of Sautee. The manager, Zachary Firestien, who also works with me for Blanchet Private Chef, asked if I'd like to come and partake in the special occasion night of cooking. Being very familiar with truffles, I was happy to contribute and work along side Chef Nick Cassidy.

Beautiful dishes of food and fantastic wines were enjoyed by the guests and by us as well, once the work was complete. What a fun night, I helped with some knife work and some sauces while Nick cut some amazing grass fed veal which would become a tartar for the second course. Fresh pasta was rolled with truffle slices in the dough! It's a technique that can be done with herbs too and yields beautiful presentation. I may include this technique in my workshop at the Wallingford Community Arts Center later this winter.

I was able to get a few photos with my little cannon which are what you're looking at, but we also had a professional photographer there and he took many more pictures through the night. I'll see if I can get some of them for the photo album of this website.

2009-11-15T17:49:00.003-05:00

These are some images from Nicole and Rob's Dinner party celebrating Rob's Birthday.

2009-08-30T12:20:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all who attended the Demo at Foster!

Here is a review of the class and some recipes for you to work with.

Utilizing local food is good on many levels. I find myself getting
more out of locally grown fruits and vegetables than just the
personal health benefits(which abound). Better quality yields tastier
food for sure, but it also keeps you interested in cooking and food in general. It's so
great to cook and eat something that was grown from a farmer you just
talked to. Try something new the grower/farmer recommends and see what
happens! Fruits and vegetables from our local providers here in
greater Philadelphia area are in abundance this time of year, so it's
easier to leave the market with some delicious options.

Recipes:
Pan Roasted Summer Squash
yields enough for a side for 4 people

2 large or 3 medium sized green and/or yellow Zucchini
(most any squash can be used in this recipe)
extra virgin olive oil
salt
about 1 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed (standard or black)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (leaves picked from stem)
small handful of chopped scallion (green part)

Method:
Wash then cut the Zucchini into 4 length wise pieces. Carefully cut
out a bit of the seedy center. Then cut strips on a slight bias into
small bites size pieces.
Begin Heating a very large saute pan on high. (If you only have a
smaller sized pan, no problem, you'll just cook in smaller batches;
about a handful of cut zucchini [other ingredients too] at a time for a 8 or 9 inch pan. This
insures the moisture in the veg doesn't over-power the heat of the
pan.)
Add a good coating of the olive oil and carefully add the Zucchini.
season lightly with salt.
DON"T stir too much! You want to develop some browning on the sides
so a lot of stirring only slows this down.
Once browning is going (after about 2 minutes depending on heat level)
add the mustard seed and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Near the
end(once tender), add the thyme and scallion. Season further with salt and pepper
to taste and serve.
This dish holds well in the fridge for a couple of days, just try to
cool the leftovers quickly by spreading it out on a plate or tray.
Then contain, cover and store in fridge.

At our Fosters Demo, I served this over Quinoa topped with a poached egg
and garnished with sungold cherry tomatoes and purslane. As seen in
Picture above.

Peaches in Brown Butter and Honey
yields enough for 4 desserts

4 to 6 peaches peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tb unsalted butter (if you have salted, that's fine, just adjust
your seasoning in the end)
1 Tb honey
a splash (a couple teaspoons) Brandy or Whiskey for deglazing (optional)

Method:
Get a large, wide pan (heavy bottom) good and hot then add butter to brown.
Add peaches as soon as dark brown color develop, then cook without
stirring to much.
Add honey once peaches start to soften and (hopefully) get a bit brown
themselves.
*You can then add a splash of brandy or whiskey, but watch out for the
"flambe" since alcohol is flammable! Don't worry, a little flare up is
good and should burn off very quickly. Just pour the "splash" from the
bottle into a safe pouring vessel before going to the heat.

Serve warm with crushed up short bread cookies or (cooked) cobbler topping and
some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Cobbler Topping
5 oz. butter
5 oz. sugar
8 oz. cake flour
pinch salt
dash cinnamon

Method:
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and just bring together.
crumble apart evenly onto lined tray and bake at 350 till golden brown.

2009-05-09T15:47:00.003-04:00

Restaurants seem to be heading in a good direction as far as food quality and food sustainability. I recently dined at Noble, a new restaurant on Samson St., and was pleased to see local food being a primary focus in Chef Steve Cameron's menu. A roof top garden above Noble is also in the works! The more green on roofs the better, obviously. At Fork Restaurant in Old City, where I once worked, the vast majority of produce comes from the local farms of the greater Philadelphia area. For years, Fork has been a standard setter for food quality. And now with Chef Terence Feury, it's going to a new level. The best stuff I've ever seen has been rolling in to both Fork and Fair Foods Farm Stand(where I volunteer on Saturdays) thanks to LFF, Green Meadow Farm, and many others. I hope that we'll see more and more improvement in the restaurant industry on issues of sustainability, cause we have a long way to go. Our (Michele and I) meal at Noble was spectacular by the way.

Milky Way Tastes Like Raspberries

2009-04-26T14:35:00.004-04:00

In my garden we have a golden raspberry bush. These are a high anticipated item with big time sensuality. If I had to pick a favorite food...one stand-out edible thing above all else....it would be berries. Memories of climbing Mulberry trees and stuffing myself while hanging, sneaking into a neighbors raspberry patch and sampling, and going to orchards for blueberries and gorging certainly influence my opinion and enhance my love of them.

So raspberries have a signature flavor that comes from ethyl formate. As it turns out or Galaxy has a large surrounding cloud of this same chemical. It is therefore safe to say that our galaxy, the Milky Way, tastes like Raspberries.

Goose Egg Frittata

2009-04-13T21:44:00.001-04:00

Goose eggs became available recently at FFFS. They have more richness than chicken eggs, mainly from the fact that the yolk is larger both in size and in proportion to the whites. They make a great scramble and the yolk is amazing if cooked just barely, as in the lacquered yolk technique. These are from Geese at Pecan Meadow Farm in Newburg, PA.

This is a frittata I made with morels, Gold Ball turnips, and Landisdale organic kale. It was for a clients brunch party and seemed to be a real crowd pleaser. Green Meadow baby mesclun, roasted beets, crispy shitakes and good olive oil are also in this dish.

Garden Teacher

2009-04-01T13:56:00.001-04:00

Garden season is here. Having a garden, no matter how small, is an excellent way to encourage a practical sustainable mindset. It's easy enough to talk up being "green" and how high your standards are in buying local and organic, but living in this world is more than talking. Our effect on this world as a consumer is always a compromise. A compromise to ideals and the fantasy of perfect balance.

This fennel which grows with determination in my small backyard garden is a great choice of food ingredient. The reasons why are not because I was psyched by a fennel dish in an issue of Art Culinaire, or because some Celebrity Chef on TV used fennel, it's because this fennel is what grew in the harsh yet organic paradigm of my garden. In the words of Matthew Rodin "it works!". Sustainability is about being in tune with our environment and with what's working moment to moment, season to season.

Seeking the "high end" of dining experience means setting high standards and striving to maintain them. The result can be deeply satisfying and it's why we chefs do what we do. Maintaining high standards in cooking to me has become more and more about quality of ingredient. It is for this reason that choosing local foods (for obvious reasons), sustainable fish (and everything thing else for that matter), and minimizing waste (less plastic bags!) are just as important to the food as the cooking technique.

Our ability to enjoy food is at risk when the environment is at risk.

Fair Food Farms

2009-03-29T23:38:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of me in the kitchen at Fair Food Farmstand.

Summer Dish

2009-03-29T19:49:00.000-04:00

If you've seen the back of the Blanchet flyer, then you've seen 3 dishes that relate to each other. This image is also part of that series. Mussels being a major part of all four dishes, this dish is a good example of something I'd serve in a private dinning event. The green sauce on the plate is arugula pesto, olive oil is also dressed over the dish. Red lentils, tomato, seedling arugula, and crisp rice paper are also part of the dish. Summer is the appropriate season for theese ingredients.

First Post

2009-03-25T20:39:00.000-04:00

Food Blog will follow food occurrences as they happen in the Blanchet world. Issues of food excellence, sustainability, and reflections of a consumer.