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.