Recipe Contest on Marxfood.com

Hey all, please check out the contest on Marxfoods. Would appreciate your vote for the Aji Limo Rojo Chile & Cola Sous Vide Carnitas from Gastronomic Guesswork. Thanks! And also, please check out Marxfoods.com for great foodie finds!

Chile Tasting from Marx Foods

If you are a serious foodie, you simply must bookmark Marx Foods - the vast array of great ingredients to be had is mind boggling. Recently, Justin Marx provide me with the opportunity to sample what seemed like a bushel of varied chiles, many of which I had never even heard of before - a feat really given my propensity for cooking with diverse types of chiles. While excited by the prospect of sampling all these chiles, I was met with the fundamental difficulty of finding a way to systematical make my way through tasting each of these without scorching my palate beyond sensation.

I decided a chile tasting was in order, but how the heck to conduct one would prove challenging. After consulting various foodies on Twitter and through email, I was provided with ideas like sour cream as a palate cleanser - a start, but deeper consideration of the problem was needed. The chiles ran the gamut from mild to EXTREMELY hot, including what might prove to be my nemesis - the Bhut Jolokia; how could we sample the Bhut Jolokia, weighing in at 1 million+ scoville units? In researching the scoville system for measuring chile heat, I discovered that the numeric system was based upon perceptability of heat with different levels of dilution. More precisely, 1 million scoville means that it takes 1 million drops of water to render the heat of the chile unperceptable. I was struck that dilution in chicken broth might be a good way to deal with the high end heat monsters, while still allowing the flavor of the chile to come through. After a little more thought, and grabbing a chile-head friend to help me sample, I had settle upon a format.

For the chile tasting we would sample from mild to extremely hot in ascending scoville order, or at least that was the plan. I put together a spreadsheet of foodstuffs which might work for developing flavor pairings from the chile tasting, as well as target cleansers for varying scoville heat levels. You are welcome to share / edit this spreadsheet for your own chile tastings, let me know what you discover in your trials.

Here is a view on the ingredients we used to taste with these excellent chiles from Marx Foods..


Here are the tasting notes from the first, and hopefully not the last, Gastronomic Guesswork Chile Tasting...

Chile: Aji Limo Rojo
Flavors: Apple, Green Onion, Pear
Heat: moderate
Desirability: 4.5 of 5 (amazing)
Pairing Ideas: Carnitas (see here)

Chile: Tepin
Flavors: Bitter, Sour, Zesty, Astringent, Like Zest
Heat: On tip and back of tongue, late attack
Desirability: 3 of 5 (very good)

Chile: Aji Panca
Flavors: Cherrie, Raisin, Dusty
Heat: mild, easily overwhelmed by fat
Desirability: 4.5 of 5 (amazing)
Pairing Ideas: Lamb, Chicken

Chile: Puya
Flavors: Orange, Sage, Sunflower Seeds
Heat: mild to medium
Desirability: 3 (very good)
Pairing Ideas: Moraccan, Greek, Dumplings, Preserved Lemon, Olives

Chile: Smoked Serrano
Flavors: Smoke, Green Herbs, Extremely nice nose
Heat: nasty, not habanero, but very assertive and fairly persistent
Desirability: 2 (good, the nose was a 4)
Pairing Ideas: Soups, Carrot Soup (see here)

Chile: Chipotle
Flavors: Caramel, Smoke
Heat: healthy, not fierce
Desirability: 4 (excellent)

Chile: Aji Amarillo
Flavors: Sweet, Tropical Fruit, Guava, Lemon
Heat: Assertive, not persistent
Desirability: 4-4.5 (excellent - amazing)

Chile: Aji Cereza
Flavors: Fig, Pepper, Cassis
Heat: Ouch
Desirability: 4.5 (excellent)
Pairing Ideas: tomatillo, salsa, braised pork belly, quail

Chile: Bhut Jolokia
Flavors: sweetness against salt, makes meat sweeter
Heat: only tasted diluted broth with a dropper, incredibly hot
Desirability: 2-2.5 (good)
Pairing Ideas: providing base heat in a meat dish in combination with another chile; hospital visit possible if eaten whole

My chile compatriot Chris and I concluded the evenings festivites by making dinner ...

From gastronomic guesswork

We used the Bhut Jolokia in some chicken broth to braised a pork loin. The Aji Cereza was used in a tomatillo salsa with orange juice and roasted garlic. Pictured above is two versions of tacos: the foreground has the tomatillo and Aji Cereza salsa, the background has cointreu romesco (just add 2 oz of cointreu to the original romesco sauce during reduction). Thanks again to Justin at Marx Foods, sensational chiles, here is the complete list of their chile selection.

Cola, Coriander & Lampong Sous Vide Carnitas with Aji Limo Rojo

What this dish lacks in finesse of presentation it makes up for in flavor. Wow - is this one ever an instant personal classic. The concept was to use sous vide as a technique for carefully controlling the slow cooking required of carnitas while imparting deep seasoned taste. The sous vide medium was 4 cans of 365 cola (cane sugar not HFCS), 2 tablespoons coriander seeds (toasted & put through the mortar & pestle), 1 teaspoon toasted cumen (ground), 2 tablespoons Lampong Peppercorns (ground), 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 6 stalks celery (chopped), 2 yellow onions (chopped), and 4 Aji Limo Rojo chiles from Marx Foods. After sealing the pork butt and the braising elements in a vacuum sealed bag, the bag was placed into a large pot of 145F water for 5 hours.

From gastronomic guesswork

Next, the braising liquid was separated from the roast, reduced by half, blitzed with a stick blender, then strained through a chinois. The roast was coated in duck fat and caramelized briefly in a 450F oven (~10-15 minutes), rotating to brown each side. The roast was then returned to the reduced braising liquid and allowed to steep at 200F for 40 minutes longer.

From gastronomic guesswork

The carnitas topped some grilled ciabatta, were doused with some of the braising liquid to form an open faced sandwich, and accompanied by some thinly sliced avocado. Total creature comfort food here, the flavor of the cola melded well with the toasted coriander. the Lampong pepper left a little heat in the back of the mouth, the fruitiness of the Aji Limo Rojo rounded out the coriander and cumin - addictive. Thanks to Marx Foods for the sample chiles, truly a great ingredient, one of the most complex and interesting chiles I've ever tasted.

Slow Grilled Ribeye with Scallions, Great Divide Hoss Rye Lager

Perfection is the enemy of done, and while I can be very particular about food and cooking techniques, sometimes a little minimalism is in order. After a very hectic week, steak, opening night hockey, and a great beer provided a bit of venial indulgence.

The ribeye was topped with organic butter, sea salt, and mortared tellicherry peppercorns, then grilled at 400F for 15 minutes. The steak was removed from the heat, the grilled raised to 550F and I finished the steak for 3 minutes a side. This preparation made the steak increadibly moist and just really beefy, made me think about how they grill steak in Italy as seen in an episode of Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie about an eminent butcher and griller named Dario.

From gastronomic guesswork

The beer was Hoss Rye Lager from Great Divide, the bronze medal winner from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). It's an assertive, earthy & crisp beer that is not heavy, but stands up to strong flavors. Perfect with a steak - 92 pts.

Ciao for now summer fare, fall air and hockey are upon us ... and the harvest again yields the best season for cooking.

140F Manzanillo Sous Vide Halibut with Salsa Verde

Sous Vide is a great technique to employ with proteins when you're serving guests, as it allows you to attain consistent results and is forgiving when you're juggling to get the side dishes out and carry on a conversation.

For this preparation, I obtained 1/2 lb of bulk organic manzanillo olive oil from whole foods and 1 lemon. Using vacuum bags, I added 2 thawed Alaskan halibut portions with half the oil along with the zest of one lemon to each bag. This was sealed using the "wet" setting on the vacuum sealer, then into a large pot of water which had stabilized to 140F over low heat. In this case a gas burner might be more precise, but I used one of the electric glass top burners and just added water to a large pot until it settled at 140F for a few minutes. The halibut was left at this temperature for 1 hour. The results were very delicious, but I must say I'd advise against attempting to sear the halibut afterward as the texture is such that it will fall apart. The guests were please in spite of my grilling misadventure. The halibut was accompanied by a lemon juice salsa verde, which was as epically good with seafood as the red wine vinegar version is with steak.

Sam Adams Utopias 2009

The Bugatti Veyron of beer, totally impractical, hyper-indulgent, made my legs tingle, surreal, a fifteen flavor doppleganger of brewery convention that demands your undivided attention, more depth and nuance than anything else brewed, as interesting as the most eminent wines and spirits, verging on the absurd, but sheer joy to the beer aficionado. Sure you can say it's overdone, but what the hell else comes in at 27% alcohol and still is identifiable as beer? Simply NOTHING ... and I'm only guessing, but in true Veyron fashion I bet the crew at Boston Brewing hardly makes a dime on the stuff. This beer cannot be dismissed, it's the product of one of the most magnanimous craft beer groups in the world, and to ignore the amazing art here only connotes of our utter ignorance of to how to judge such a bespoke juggernaut amongst the artisanate.

Utopias is a velvet covered mallet on the fore-palate, sweet, brandy-like, caramel with acid like a gastrique, voluminously nutty, persistent, unrelenting, it just dances to different tunes in your mouth for several minutes afterward. The next taste brings something completely different, floral, herbal, beguiling you to reexamine the beast, it lingers gracefully, then finishes with a new layer of cocoa and figs, tar, vanillin, even slate. This beer is simply uncategorizable, truly the most interesting brew, maybe not the one you knowingly covet, but one you can barely even imagine in your dreams. The 2007 goes on eBay for $375-450, now I know why ... 100 pts

Duo Restuarant in Denver

A couple months ago, a couple fellow food bloggers and I met up at Duo to just geek out about food. Walking in I instantly thought the place had an uptown urban vibe, and was serious about substance as I saw them pouring Oskar Blue's Pale Ale at the bar. After enjoying a cocktail and yammering about food geekery, we set about on some serious culinary gustation. Starting with some spring radishes with homemade butter, fluer de sel, on warm bread, we were struck by the simple elegance and precise flavor craft these chefs have. This was followed with the blood orange and fennel salad, an essential Italian flavor pairing. On to the duck confit, classic and perfect. For the main I had the gnocchi, after hearing the team at Duo just always nails the gnocchi - total satisfaction, perfect texture and mouthfeel. For New American dining, I'd put Duo at the top in Denver.

Thanks to Rebecca (From Argentina with Love) and Chelly (Rolling in Dough) for a great night of foodie indulgence. And special thanks to Foodbuzz for picking up the tab!

Park Burger in Denver

So my wife came home from a night out with some gal pals just raving about this place. We recently made our way back there with kiddos in tow and I must say I'm impressed. I had the Frenchy Park Burger with ham and brie, my wife the Park Burger with sauteed onions and swiss, and everyone shared "the works" fries with cheese, bacon, scallions and some sour cream. The kiddos split a Mini Park Burger and some sweet potato fries. The beer selection was also impressive, with Avery IPA and Ska Brewing True Blond on tap! This south of South Pearl district eatery is one we shall put on The List, as this is definitely among the best burgers on the Front Range. Service was attentive, friendly, and toddler-friendly, comfort food with a big C. For my wife it has surpassed Cherry Cricket as her #1, I'll need to do a little more research before making a judgement, but man does that draught Avery make the total experience hard to beat.

Pasta Genevieve

In case you missed it, here is the repost of the first daughter-inspired pasta dish. I've made this only for family and close friends, and consider it not only a personal classic, but a dish worthy of bearing her name. It is earthy, but delicate and fragrant with luscious textures. The original recipe fed 12, so you'll have to scale it down for smaller groups, but don't skimp on the wine, soave classico or orvieto classico are highly preferred, or the olive oil (Giachi Primolio is the best I've found anywhere, even all over Italy). The picture below is from a recent preparation, we jazzed it up with some crispy shallots which added an anise note.

From gastronomic guesswork

Pasta Genevieve
Linguine with Portobello Mushrooms
steeped in Soave Classico, Shallots & Fine Herbes
finished with Toasted Walnuts, Rosemary
& Artisan Olive Oil

– hollow, clean & dry 2-3 lbs portobello mushrooms
– chop mushrooms (1/2 - 3/4" cubes)
– peal & chop shallots (8)
– boil salted water (HUGE pot with pasta insert)
– toast walnuts
– finish walnuts with freshly chopped (finely) rosemary & olive oil, prefer young / non-woody rosemary stems
– sweat Butter + chopped shallots (10)
– slightly reduce wine (1 bottle) & small amount of champagne vinegar
– steep mushrooms
– add fine herbes & salt
– remove mushrooms & remove sauce from heat
– optionally, toss the mushrooms with a small amount of rosemary-infused olive oil, and a little gray sea salt
– cook pasta (3+ packages)
– slightly thicken sauce with butter & adjust seasoning
– combine pasta, mushrooms & sauce (warm everything)
– portion pasta & mushrooms
– finish with walnuts & artisan olive oil

This dish is my interpretation of what a Provencale & provincial French pasta might taste like, if pasta was their thing. It is a somewhat intricate play on pasta en brodo. Why French pasta? Well my daughter Genevieve is, after all, named for the patron saint of Paris.

 

Farro Pasta en Olio, Roasted Figs, Quick Pickled Rhubarb, La Querica Prosciutto Americano

The Autumn air greeted me this morning, so decided a hearty lunch was in order. Figs and rhubarb are at seasonal peaks, so an idea for a pasta with some amazing Abruzzo farro was born.

From gastronomic guesswork

Only took 20 minutes to throw this together, the figs were halved and broiled for 8 minutes. The diced rhubarb was quick pickled in a cup of water, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of sugar, boiling for 2 minutes, drained and dusted with sea salt. The pasta was cooked in salted water, tossed with olive oil and salt. The flavors married well, the sweetness of the figs, nuttiness of the farro pasta, sourness of the rhubarb and rich saltiness of the La Quercia prosciutto resulted in great balance; it was filling but not heavy. Really liked the contrast between the pickled rhubarb and caramelized figs.

The Code

Long time readers or serious foodie geeks might know what this is, any guesses who came up with it?

From gastronomic guesswork

Here's what it is not ...

From gastronomic guesswork

Opah Crusted with Hazelnut, Hatch Chile, Milk Poached Garlic, and Brown Sugar

The flavor pairing idea herein was about achieving a balance of crunchy earthiness, gentle heat, tames bitterness, and a sweet finish on this medium bodied Hawaiian fish, the Opah.

From gastronomic guesswork

This fish was coated in a mixture of 1 part fresh hatch chile, 1 part milk poached garlic (poached on low heat for an hour), 2 parts hazelnut flour (also called hazelnut meal), and 1 part brown sugar. It was then sauteed crust side down for 8 minutes starting on high heat and reducing to medium after 2 minutes, then finishing the other side for 4 minutes on medium. The fish was good, the crust was great.

Billy's Chiles by Twisted Pine Brewing

If you really like chiles, don't cry when you chop down a raw jalepeno, and you like beer with your chiles, well maybe you'll like this craft beer. There are 5 chiles used in this beverage, with pointed notes of serrano and roasted jalepeno, smoky, hot, but finishes nicely. Although a little contrived in concept, I get this one, it works. 89 pts

From gastronomic guesswork

El Bulli's Estrella Damm Inedit

What do you get when you cook at the best restaurant in the world, have one of the most esteemed wine cellars in existance, and you know wine doesn't pair with asparagus? Simple, make your own beer that does.

From gastronomic guesswork

Finally available in Denver, Estrella Damm Inedit is a very refined craft beer made in Barcelona, Spain in cooperation with the Sommeliers of El Bulli and the indefatigable master chef himself, Ferran Adria. The little book attached to the bottle purports the flavor profile includes coriander, orange peel in a slightly wheat-y format. Never tasted a beer like it, serve in a wine glass at 55F.

From gastronomic guesswork

Oh, and it does pair very well with asparagus. Available in the bomber room at Lucas Liquors near Park Meadows Mall, South of Denver - haven't found it anywhere else, so big Kudos to the guys at Lucas for making this very rare beer available in Denver.

Heirloom Tomato, Pomegranate, Urfa Chile Flake, and Balsamic Tamari Reduction

Total experiment building upon past success with the tomato and pomegranate flavor pairing [1] [2]. The flavor thoughts I had were, peak summer flavor of the tomato, texture and slight sweetness from a pomegranate not quite in season, take balsamic and infuse a little umami a la tamari to play with umami in the tomato, finish with the raisin-y heat of urfa and a little olive oil for richness.

From gastronomic guesswork

Using a 4:1 ration of balsamic to tamari, I reduced this by half over low heat, then cooled. An instant personal classic - the flavor ideas were realized even better than expected, very fresh clean, complex chords struck on this one, just made our mouths dance.