IDEAS IN FOOD

Ribeye at Stir

It will probably surprise no one that three services became five. Here's the menu from the July 2, rib eye class at Stir.

Thyme Roasted Ribs

Steak and Cheese Tartare
porcini mushrooms, parmigiano-reggiano, celery leaves

Slow Poached Center Cut Salad
stone fruit, watercress, jalapeno

Tea Smoked Center Cut
rutabaga puree, roasted porcinis

Roasted Rib Eye Cap
pak choy, shrimp and mascarpone ravioli, fermented black bean barbecue sauce

Figs and Strawberries
sweet corn sauce

For those who need visual stimulation, there was a photographer present. Justin Ide already has a slide show, with music, up on his site.

Stir

We are headed back to Boston.  Funny, we had not returned to the Boston area for about seven years and now we'll be back twice in two months.  We are still talking about the incredible experience we had working with Tony and his team.  The exposure to new, different, and better techniques, approaches to food, ingredients and ideas is always inspirational.

This time we are headed back to spend a day in the kitchen with  The no9 Park team and then an evening at Stir.  What is stir?  One would almost call it exactly the kind of space Aki and I have been looking for.  It is small and cozy, 300 square feet, with a cooking suite surrounded by 10 seats.  There are tall windows looking out onto the street and the walls are lined with cookbooks to be read or bought.  This tiny space certainly caught our attention and when we were given the opportunity to do a dinner class we simply had to say yes.

The class we have planned is rib eye in three services.  We have adjusted and tweaked our approach to serving three meat courses over the years and this will be its most recent incarnation.  The class starts a shade earlier than the usual Stir classes since we are going to do the whole presentation live, from start to finish.  It will be an evening of food and conversation.  Guests will get their hands dirty and their bellies filled.

The class/dinner is being held at Stir at 6:00 PM on July 2nd.  In order to make a reservation please call 617-423-Stir.  As we said there are only ten spots available so you'll have to move quickly if you want one. We look forward to this hands on event and to meeting some of you in Boston.

Classes in San Francisco, June 14-15, 2008

We will be doing four classes over one weekend at Le Sanctuaire in San Francisco. Each class will be two and a half hours long, including a Q&A session at the end of each demonstration.

The classes are:

Exploring Methocel
Methocel is an extremely versatile hydrocolloid that comes in many different varieties. It is most notable for the characteristic of being liquid at cooler temperatures and gelling at higher temperatures. This class will explore some of our favorite types of Methocel and demonstrate a myriad range of applications from reheat-able hollandaise to warm custards and hot sabayons.

Pectin
Many people are familiar with high methoxyl pectin, which is often used in home canning to create jams and jellies. In this workshop we will be discussing low-methoxyl pectin and amidated low methoxyl pectin and their various innovative culinary applications.

Activa
Activa is a proprietary brand of transglutaminase, an enzyme which allows for the cross linking of proteins. We will be discussing and demonstrating the use of Activa RM and Activa YG and how they can improve texture and flavor while increasing efficiency in a restaurant setting.

Carageenan
Carageenan is derived from red seaweed and is very useful as a vegetarian hydrocolloid. It comes in three varieties, iota, kappa, and lambda, which can be used in different combinations to achieve a variety of sols and gels. We will be focusing on iota and kappa and utilizing their different characteristics in various culinary preparations.

The classes are $125 per session for one, $100/session to attend two or more classes. The exact time slots for each class will be available shortly, there will be two classes each day, one at 10am and one at 1:30pm. For more information or to make a reservation, please contact Le Sanctuaire directly at (415)986-4216.

May and June Classes

The schedule for classes for the end of May and June is now up in the side bar.  Private workshops may also be arranged.  You'll notice that we've added a few more weekdays because our weekends are filling up with other projects.  Our journey to find another space is taking longer than we'd planned on, fortunately we're enjoying the array of new opportunities that have opened up for us.

By the way, this picture was taken in Maruyama Park in Kyoto yesterday. The weather has been absolutely beautiful and the landscaping nothing short of amazing.  More to follow when we get to the ship.

A Brief Reminder

If you're still looking for something to do this weekend, we have room in our classes. More Hydrocolloids at Home on Saturday, March 29 at 10am and an Introduction to Activa on Monday, March 31 at 10am.  What could more fun than learning some new techniques and tasting some of our creations? You know you want to join us...

Upcoming Classes

Cooking Classes
*Each class is a single session running from 10am-1pm unless otherwise noted and costs $125 per person. Classes take place in Forest Hills (Queens), NY.

Introduction to Activa

Transglutaminase in the kitchen. Transglutaminases are a family of enzymes that are used for cross linking proteins in culinary preparations essentially working as a natural glue. They can be used to create flourless gnocchi, chicken skin crusted fish, mozzarella noodles and a variety of other delicious and unusual creations.

Sunday, March 23, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008

Exploring Methocel

An in depth look at the family of Methocel products which are used to create thermoreversible gels, foams, and a variety of sweet and savory crisps.

Saturday April 5, 2008

Gelatin and Pectin

These are two commonly found and often overlooked hydrocolloids with uses ranging from gelatin clarification to pectin encapsulation. Sometimes the easiest answers are right in front of you.

Sunday, April 6, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008

We will be traveling for the second half of April/beginning of May so the next round of classes will begin in mid-May. Schedule will be posted in the second half of April. Private lessons may be arranged by individual appointment. Please email us for more information.

March Classes

Since March has already begun we are clearly a bit behind this month. We're juggling a few different things and so it's not always easy to plan ahead. Here are our offerings and we hope you can join us for one of the classes.

Hydrocolloids at Home

Monday, March 10, 2008 10am-1pm
Saturday, March 15, 2008 10am-1pm
$125 per person

This course is designed to give cooks and chefs an understanding of what they are and how to work with them. We will be working with xanthan gum, agar agar, carageenan, locust bean gum, Methocel A15C & F50, and gellan.

Getting to Know Activa

Saturday March 8, 2008 1pm-4pm
Sunday, March 29, 2008 10am-1pm
$125 per person

The endless possibilities of working with tranglutaminase from chicken skin crusted fish to flourless potato gnocchi.

More Hydrocolloids at Home

Saturday, March 22, 2008 10am-1pm
Monday, March 24, 2008 10am-1pm
$125 per person

This class will be designed for people already comfortable using hydrocolloids and will focus on complete dishes and recipes utilizing items like the false egg or the pectin encased soup.

*As always, the classes take place in Forest Hills, NY. Please email us for more information or to make a reservation. Private classes are available by request.

A Glimpse at Hydrocolloids at Home

For anyone interested in the view from the student's seat, here's a link to a brief synopsis of one of our recent hydrocolloid classes by Ratha over at Food and Wine.

Evening Classes: Cheese

Our dinner series of cooking classes has finally taken flight.  It seems cooking and eating in the evening is a tougher sell than we thought.  Last night we had an incredible group who openly facilitated our improvisational cooking.  We had initially planned a four course menu.  Four turned to six quite easily and did not include the hors d' oeuvre of chicken liver and gizzard pate with Brie de Meaux which helped tame the hungry appetites upon arrival.

The dishes came together, as did a plethora of ideas.  One dish which we served was a variation on the classic Waldorf salad.  The chicken was poached in blue cheese buttermilk.  We used leaves of mache, Berbere spiced walnuts, compressed celery batons and Chermoula  spiced grapes.  A final grating of frozen Smokey Blue  from Rogue River completed the dish.  Last night the dish looked a bit different.  After sleeping on the dish, we looked at the ingredients and were able to focus its aesthetic for this shot.

We were very fortunate that Tyler was able to drop by and join us. He came with a bounty of black truffles, white spring truffles, and black trumpet mushrooms to share with the class. It's always a pleasure to hang out with him and the various goodies were just (rather decadent) icing on the cake.

And for Barbara and others, who couldn't join us and wanted to know, here is last evenings menu:

Brie de Meaux and Chicken Liver Crostini

Apple and Dakin Farm’s Cheddar Soup
apple sabayon, black truffle, cheddar cubes, apple-onion pickles

Pumpernickel Crusted Scallop
radish ribbons, bitters, lime pickle goat cheese

Mozzarella Noodles
black trumpet mushrooms, jalapeno, Benton’s country ham

Crispy Veal Breast
smoked mozzarella polenta, cabbage leaves, white spring truffles

Gorgonzola Poached Chicken
Waldorf Salad, Smokey Blue

Piccoli Piaceri di Montagna Pantaleone
Dr. Pepper

Cooking Classes February 2008

At the moment this is a partial schedule, please bear with us and we'll fill in the blanks over the next day or two...If you have any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.

Sunday February 10, 2008
Skirt Steak: This is one of our favorite cuts, prized for its richness and incredible flavor.  We will clean and butcher the steaks, leaving some as is and using transglutaminase to glue some together for double thickness. After butchering we will create several different dishes such as classically grilled with watercress salad and béarnaise sauce, steak and “eggs”, Gaucho style with chimichurri sauce, and

Monday February 11, 2008
Hydrocolloids at Home

Sunday February 17, 2008
What’s Possible Under Pressure: Pressure cookers are amazingly useful and adaptive pieces of equipment for both the professional and home kitchens. In this class we will use them to prepare sunflower seed risotto, turnip and Comte cheese soup, braised pork shanks with Dr. Pepper and lime pickle, warm beet salad, and creamy Indian pudding for dessert.
 
Monday February 18, 2008
A Passion for Potatoes

Sunday February 24, 2008


Monday February 25, 2008

Classes run from 10am-1pm and cost $125.00 per person. All classes take place in Forest Hills, NY (Queens).  For more information on any of these classes or to make a reservation, please email us at:
akiandalex(at)ideasinfood(dot)com.

Two Spots...

Still available for tomorrow's hydrocolloid class at 10am. So if anyone else would like to join us, drop us a line this afternoon.

Dinner Series Update

We just wanted to mention that we have moved two of our Wednesday classes to Friday evenings to make it a bit easier for people to attend. The Pasta class has been moved to Friday, January 18 at 7pm and the Almost Down Home Class will now be on January 25 at 7pm. Cheese remains on Wednesday, January 30 because I can't think of a better way to end the month. There is a link in the sidebar on the right side of the page for more information or you can email us with questions or to make a reservation.

January Classes

Wednesday Dinner Series

This January we decided to try something different for the new year. We are going to offer a series of Wednesday evening classes that revolve around a set menu.  These sessions are designed to be less hands on the stove and more fork in the mouth, if you know what we mean.  The menus published are guidelines, they may grow in length and be altered by inspirations, though their base content will be as written.  These evenings will be limited to eight participants, prices include canapes and wine with dinner and yes, you can BYOB if you wish.

Wednesday January 9, 2008
Not So Classic Dishes 7:00pm $125.00
Seared Scallop with Reuben Ravioli
Broccoli and Cheese Tapioca
Skate Frites with Lime Pickle Ketchup
Dried Cherry Tartlets with Violet Ice Cream

Wednesday January 16, 2007
Pasta 7:00pm $125.oo per person
Hand Cut Miso Noodles with Razor Clam Sauce
Ricotta Gnocchi Gratin with King Oyster Mushrooms
Pekin Duck Two Ways: Sous Vide and Sausage Stuffed Tortelloni with Celery Root Vinaigrette
Afogato: espresso and vanilla ice cream

Wednesday January 23, 2008
Almost Down Home 7:00pm $125
Mussels with Hazelnuts and Chartreuse
Beets with Beaufort and Eel Sauce
Pressure Cooked Pork Belly with Dr. Pepper, Persimmons and Smoked Barley
Brownie Sundae with Malted Ice Cream

Wednesday January 30, 2008 7:00pm
Cheese 7:00pm $125.00
Aged Cheddar and Apple Soup
Mozzarella Noodles with Crabmeat and Chili
Blue Cheese Braised Chicken with Waldorf Salad
The Runniest, Stinkiest Cheese we can find with market accompaniments

Hydrocolloids at Home

This is undeniably our most popular class. It is an introduction to what you can do with textures in cooking. It is more of a demonstration class, with lots of tasting, so that cooks can become familiar with a range of hydrocolloids and how to use them.

Monday January 7, 2008 10am-1pm $125.00
Monday January 14, 2008 10am-1pm $125.00
Saturday January 19, 2008 10am- 1pm $125.00

Valrhona Chocolate, Sweet and Savory

This class will begin with a tasting of different Valrhona chocolates from white to dark. The we will utilize the different types of chocolate in a range of sweet and savory dishes intended to highlight the different flavor profiles of the various chocolates.

Saturday January 26, 2008 10 am-1pm $125.00

All classes take place in Forest Hills, NY (Queens). For more information on any of these classes or to make a reservation, please email us at:
akiandalex(at)ideasinfood(dot)com.

Hydrocolloid Class

I think we forgot to mention that although the class on Saturday, December 15 is closed, we have added a class on Sunday December 16. It's an opportunity for interested cooks to familiarize themselves with some new techniques before the holidays.  Email us using the button on the sidebar if you'd like to make a reservation.  We have had a couple of no-shows and as a result we do require a phone number in order to hold a spot in the class. Each class has been a little different, dictated by the personalities attending on that particular day.  If your curious about what can be done with hydrocolloids and how good it can taste, please join us.

Upcoming/December Classes

In case you were wondering what the plan is for this Saturday's Pasta class, we will be making smoked tagliatelle, new-style  bacon and egg yolk ravioli, blue cheese cavatelli, Chinese egg noodles, pumpernickel farfalle, and miso orecchiette. It's a fun combination of flavors and doughs to play with and we're looking forward to seeing what new twists our companions come up with.

Personality has been a definite factor in these cooking classes. The students have been varied and we've truly enjoyed getting to know some new people and being exposed to different perspectives and ideas.  Challenging questions stretch our boundaries and we have a plethora of new ideas to work with at the end of every session.

The Hydrocolloids class has been popular and we are adding a couple to the schedule for December. This class is really an exploration of texture. The goal is to familiarize student with various hydrocolloids and show them what they are capable of achieving with them. This way people can take that information into their own kitchens and extrapolate to express their own inspirations and ideas. We'll be very curious to hear or read about what everyone comes up with over the coming weeks and months. It's a familiarization process because sometimes you just need to see and taste something for yourself in order to really understand and reproduce the effects. In this beginning class, Hydrocolloids at Home, we will walk you through examples of what can be achieved with xanthan gum, carageenan, agar agar, Methocel A15C, Gellan (high and low acyl), and Versa Whip.

Construction caused us to cancel the Benton's Ham class last month. We are re-scheduling it for December 1, 2007. It is celebration of great country ham and what you can do with it. County Ham is one of the original significant food treasures of the United States. Clearly smoking and hanging meats is an apreciable form of preservation and it also does amazing things for the flavor of the meat. We will have a smoked ham, an aged country ham and some beautiful slab bacon to work with and we will be creating dishes that allow the pork to shine, such as shaved country ham paired with home made garganelli, "ham cured" fish, oatmeal carbonara, and a compressed ham and apple terrine.

Pasta
10am-1pm Saturday, November 17, 2007

Hydrocolloids At Home
10am-1pm Saturday, November 24, 2007
10am-1pm Saturday, December 15, 2007

Benton's Ham
10am-1pm Saturday, December 1, 2007

Steak and Eggs, darn near edible

The steak and eggs cooking class proved to be quite inspiring.  With ingredients like pork porterhouse, cod steak, zucchini steak, rib eye in multiple parts, chicken eggs, quail eggs, and fish eggs; and cooking methods from sous vide to oven roasting to a controlled evaporation (C-Vap) to simply raw and uncooked we proved that improvisation in the kitchen produces stellar and often times unexplored or unexpected results.

We made:  Rib eye in four parts--basil-soy infused, truffle scented, tartare with tequila roe and a pan roasted cap; cod steak larded with jalapeno and galangal; pork porterhouse with butter roasted apples and dill; fillet mignon carpaccio with egg yolk-walnut sheets, jalapeno and Parmesan; Onsen eggs with squash blossoms and smoked roe; fluffy scrambled eggs and custard eggs (both with minced onions); smoked cheddar cheese omelet souffle: compressed zucchini steak with basil, tequila roe and butter steamed quail eggs.

While we left steak and egg sauces for another day, we were able to flesh out numerous techniques during the class and expand upon what is possible with ingredients that are often considered ordinary. Our students learned that it takes just a small adjustment to make the leap from ho-hum every day preparations to extraordinary ones.

Hydrocolloids at Home

Due to popular demand, we have added a second hydrocolloid class on Sunday, November 11, 2007.  The Saturday class is now full, although if you are unable to attend on Sunday we can put you on a waiting list for the Saturday class.

November Classes

Benton's Ham
Saturday November 3, 2007
10am-1pm $125 per person

Old fashioned cured hams and bacon from Benton's Smokehouse in Tennessee. These products are the real deal, incredibly rich and flavorful, and a wonderful addition to any kitchen. We'll be using them in a variety of ways from simply sliced to crispy, from salads to grits. If you love smoky, salty hams, this is the class for you.

Hydrocolloids at Home
Saturday November 10, 2007
10am-1pm $125 per person

There's been a lot of talk about food science and hydrocolloids in the food world. This class will act as a primer for people interested in using commonly available hydrocolloids in their home kitchens.

Pasta
Saturday November 17, 2007
10am-1pm $125 per person

This will be a hands on class exploring a variety of pastas such as cavatelli, ravioli, and pappardelle. We will make the different pasta doughs using both traditional and modern recipes. In addition we will create seasonal accompaniments for each pasta using a variety of different cooking mediums.

Classes are limited  to six students. Private lessons for groups of 4-6 may also be arranged. Please email us at akiandalex(at)ideasinfood(dot)com if you would like more information or to make a reservation.

October Classes 2007

We're pretty excited about these upcoming explorations and want to remind everyone that these classes are really just about having fun with food. Given that premise, we wanted to expand a bit on what we will actually be doing in the individual classes.  The concepts are still somewhat fluid and will be defined more clearly by what's available at the markets the day before class begins and the people in each session and their individual tastes. Presently we still have spaces available in each class, we will remove them from the side bar as they fill up. Please email akiandalex@ideasinfood.com  to register.

Pork and Apples
10am October 6, 2007
$125/per person

We will begin this class with a tasting of apples. By October there should be a wide variety of apples available in our local green markets and the best way to learn how to use them is by tasting. For the pork portion of this event we are going to get in a small pig to work with. This will probably be supplemented with  a few cured pork products to really accent the contrast of porkiness of it all.  We'll have an assortment of produce, grains, legumes and spices  available to accent the main ingredients and use a variety of techniques to help round out the dishes and accent the contrast between the crisp, juicy apples and rich melting pig.

Steak and Eggs
10am October 13, 2007
$125/per person

What is a steak? Is is a beef steak, salmon steak, ham steak or a watermelon steak? By our definition a steak is something that is at least 1/2-inch thick, with a texture that you can sink your teeth into and an intense flavor that requires a very simple pairing to accent all that mouth watering goodness. Eggs can be of many varieties from chicken to fish and showcased using an array of techniques from coddling to custards, from hollandiase to sabayon. We're going to mix and match these versatile components to create unusual and delcious dishes that can easily be recreated at home.

Scallops
10am October 20, 2007
$125/per person

This class will be a celebration of this bivalve mollusk with the beautiful fan shaped shell.  The meaty and sweet texture of the scallop is not only a standout on its own, it is an incredible vehicle for textures and tastes. From small to large, from raw to cooked, our plan is to enhance the scallop's inherent velvety sweetness and pair it with a variety of late fall ingredients to highlight it's versatile nature.

Cooking Classes

Now that we're finally settling in, we are ready to start playing with our food. Over the years we have taught cooking classes in a variety of venues and have evolved our own style for getting the most out of each session.  Our method of choice is to highlight a single ingredient or combination of ingredients and extrapolate ideas for that particular item into a three course menu, i.e. mushrooms in three services. We provide basic recipes and we then allow the season, pantry and participants to fill in the blanks. That way we can tailor each class to the individual participants. Each class is small, no more than eight people, and hands on.  There will be some demonstration of techniques, although we feel that people learn by doing. So be prepared to get your hands dirty and come ready to taste. No prior experience is necessary, this is a learning environment and we adapt to many different skill levels.

Saturday morning classes take place from 10am to 1pm at our home in Queens.  We will spend the majority of the class creating dishes and exploring ingredients and techniques, then everyone will sit down to dine on the fruits of their labor.  Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided for the morning classes.

Current class schedules will be listed in the side bar. You can email us for more information or to register for a class.

 

October Class Schedule

Saturday, October 6, 2007 :     Pork and Apples    $125.00 per person

Saturday, October 13, 2007:   Steak and Eggs    $125.00 per person

Saturday, October 20, 2007:   Scallops    $125.00 per person