Floyd Cardoz on Non-Oxidizing Avocados, Bacon Dust and More

Floyd Cardoz, executive chef of North End Grill and winner of Top Chef Masters Season 3, brought a wealth of culinary knowledge to De Gustibus Cooking School last week. Chef Cardoz kept the audience captivated by both the smells from his creations up on stage and with the interesting tips and stories from his years of experience in the kitchen.

De Gustibus service and ambiance was on par, as usual. But more importantly, Floyd's food was incredible. Among the highlights of the demonstration was the Albacore Tuna Melt. On top of this Tuna Confit with mayonnaise and chili sauce was bacon dust. This dust is an amazing concept used to incorporate bacon flavor in a new way. To make bacon dust, you just render the fat out of a good chunk of bacon and then grind it up.

Albacore Tuna Melt

The Crab Cocktail with Pumelo and Avocado was another delicious dish. I believe the number one cooking tip from this demonstration was related to avocados. When making guacamole or just slicing up some avocado for a salad, have you ever worried about it oxidizing and turning brown? Most cooks have run into this problem, but Floyd shared his solution that has yet to fail him. By taking an avocado and rubbing off the outer green layer until you see yellow, an avocado will not turn brown for hours. He learned it by watching one of his cooks use this method, and no one knows how or why the avocado does not oxidize.

Crab Cocktail with Pumelo and Avocado

And now enjoy some mouth watering photos of this awesome meal!

Kale Salad with Spelt and Apple

Slow Cooked Halibut

Roasted Chicken with Warm Bread Panzanella

 

Roasted Chicken with Warm Bread Panzanella

 

Butterscotch Pot de Crème with Chocolate Streusel and "Single Marshmallow"

 

 

Most of these dishes are either served at North End Grill now, or will be featured in Floyd's next cookbook. Also, if you find yourself at North End Grill soon be sure to ask to go up top to their roof top garden, with a great view of 1 World Trade Center as well as The Statue of Liberty.

Happy Holidays!

- Mike

Hiroko Shimbo and Chikara Sono's De Gustibus Cooking Class

Welcome foodies! Less than a week ago, I experienced a Japanese Kaiseki meal, thanks to the culinary duo of Hiroko Shimbo and Chikara Sono. Hiroko -- who shares a striking resemblance in appearance and in spunky personality to Edna Mode from Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles -- is a cookbook author whose most recent book is Hiroko's American Kitchen. Chef Sono works at Michelin starred restaurant Kyo Ya.
So what exactly is a Japanese Kaiseki meal? Best compared to a tasting menu, it is a meal with a series of small portions. Traditionally, it is prepared in the order of an appetizer, a sushi roll, a soup, a grilled fish, a simmered dish, a dish with rice, and a dessert. For the purpose of this cooking class, the meal was shortened to a meal of a sushi roll, a grilled fish, a simmered dish, a dish with rice, and a dessert.

The sushi course was made by Chef Sono. He prepared Salt Cured Tasmanian Salmon Trout Sushi in a Bamboo Leaf (Tasumania Samon no Sasamaki-zushi). The star of this dish was the unique and exotic rice in the sushi. It was seasoned with a vinegar mixture, pickled ginger, white sesame seeds, and shiso leaves. To bring this dish to the next level, he wrapped the sushi up in a banana leaf -- a perfectly packaged present for the taste buds.

Next, chef Sono cooked a Miso Marinated Black Cod (Gindara no Saikyo-yaki). It was garnished with sauteed mushrooms and celery, a mountain berry, and chestnuts boiled in a simple syrup. The chestnuts provided a spectacular nutty nuance to this earthy dish.

The simmered course was prepared by Hiroko Shimbo. Her delicious Sake Braised Short Ribs with Winter Vegetables included cipollini onions, prunes, swiss chard, and fried sweet potatoes that were cut into the shapes of autumn leaves.

For the rice course, Hiroko also prepared Chorizo and Shrimp rice. For such an easy recipe, the dish was remarkably complex and sophisticated.  

For dessert, Chef Sono demonstrated how to make a Sesame Paste-Milk Kuzu Jelly with Strawberry Sauce (Mineoka Tofu no Ichigo Sosu). It was an interesting dessert, for the pudding itself was not too sweet, but it was offset by a pool simple syrup and an outstanding strawberry sauce. On the very top was a sake cream that added a refreshing punch to the dessert.

Hiroko Shimbo and Chikara Sono taught a wonderful De Gustibus Cooking Class. Both of them created an awesome meal, using each plate as a canvas for their culinary and artistic expression. 

Find more mouthwatering pictures on Foodie Finders NYC's Facebook and Twitter pages and be sure to leave a comment if you want any of these great recipes.

-Mike

De Gustibus Cooking Class with Gabrielle Hamilton

Hello foodies! It is always a joy to be at De Gustibus Cooking School. Each culinary adventure is unique, but one constant from all classes is wonderful feeling of being immersed by true food lovers. Every chef brings a wealth of knowledge and their own perspective on food. Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune brought her witty, down to earth personality to garnish her worldly preparation of food.

Gabrielle's menu was stunning, inspired by a few distinct regions that she has visited in her many travels.The amuse bouche was called Bagna Cauda. This preparation included oil and anchovies simmered with raw garlic added at the very end, to give the amuse bouche a sharp punch. Bathing in this oil was red cabbage, whole scallions, radish and endive. The Bagna Cauda was a great way to start this "Pruney" meal, as Gabrielle would say.

The next dish is among the best things things I have ever eaten. Black Fideos Sopa with Sepia and Sepia Ink. The Fideos Sopa was a beautiful balance of smokey and tangy flavors. This Spanish dish included fideos noodles in a smoked tomato mixture, topped with an aioli. Next to it was tender sepia (cuttlefish) in its own ink.The fideos noodles come in a variety of sizes. For this dish, Gabrielle used the smallest available option, #1. Other chefs and recipes say that if you cannot find these noodles, broken up vermicelli pasta is a suitable substitute. Gabrielle disagrees and feels that you should not replace the fideos noodles because there is a big difference between the fideos noodles and the broken up makeshift noodles.In making the sauce, she smoked the tomatoes. Being indoors with no smoker, she made her own smoker by putting wood chips in a pot and then covered it with foil. Next she placed her whole peeled tomato inside followed by the lid. This is such a great option for those who have no other way to smoke their foods.

The following course was The Warm Greek Salad. This dish was a step above a typical Greek salad. The dressing was blended feta cheese with a little water and oil. Mixed with the dressing was gently warmed green pepper rings, cucumbers, onions and tomatoes.

The main course was Pigeon with a Parsley Vinaigrette. This delicious pigeon was served along side of the roasted mixed onions and charred okra with onion butter. These veggies were awesome thanks to the onion butter. Prepared with ease, Gabrielle boiled the layers of red onion in water creating onion water, then added butter and reduced it. Yum!

As if the meal could not get better, Gabrielle Hamilton made Breton Cake. This slice of heaven was crunchy on top with a fluffy, moist inside. It was a long process of folding layers of sugar in this buttery dough. The love in between each layer was complimented with a subtle sweetness. I now know what I will be making for the holidays.

Gabrielle taught an amazing class and now I can't wait for my first visit to Prune soon!

Moreover, among the many interesting topics Gabrielle touched upon was food T.V. It was asked why she does not appear on television more often and she explained that she does not like the impact of these shows. Many people do not know difference between the job of a celebrity chef entertaining on television and the job of a restaurant chef cooking in a hot kitchen with horrible hours. There is a new food generation rising that will be will be very distinct from the former with new goals of being celebrity chefs. Do you agree? Is food TV sending the food industry into the wrong direction or is it sparking more food lovers with new potential and innovation? Voice your opinion in the poll on the right side bar of this page and tell us more in the comment section below this post. Vote now before the poll closes on December 14th!

For more pictures check out Foodie Finders NYC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

-Mike

November 2012 Calendar Update

Hello foodies. I hope to my readers all is well and I wish all those who have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy the very best of luck.

In other news, I have added some new events to the Foodie Finders NYC calendar. These events include book signings being held by many different food famed figures such as Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and Tom Coloicchio. Also there are some delicious cooking classes taking place at Eataly's new La Scuola Grande. Some notable guest instructors are Sandra Lotti from The Toscana Saporita Cooking School, Mona Talbott from The Rome Sustainable Food Project, and Adam Roberts from The Amateur Gourmet.

As the Chocolate Show is just a day away, New Yorkers may be able to smell the cocoa wafting through the streets. 150 participants will be saturating the event space with chocolates and pastry delights from around the globe. This year is the 15th anniversary of the New York Chocolate Show and it shall not disappoint. Besides sampling chocolate, there are also cooking demonstrations and book signings taking place. The schedule includes some exciting pastry stars, such as Cooking Channel's Unique Sweets personalty, Paulette Goto, Top Chef Just Desserts head judge, Johnny Iuzzini, and Host of the internet series Cooking in Manhattan, Serena Palumbo. To buy tickets to The 15th Annual New York Chocolate click here.

Whether your weekend involves stuffing your face with chocolate or not, bon appetit!

-Mike

NYC Restaurant Review - The National

Welcome foodies! I had a spectacular meal at Geoffrey Zakarian's restaurant The National. Read about my experience below.

The National      557 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022

(Dinner - Summer Restaurant Week 2012)

First impressions are always crucial. The National showed its simple, rustic and vibrant character with a delicious bread basket of olive bread, white bread, and bread with oats. For the first course, the Shrimp Salad was cooked perfectly and seasoned with a lot of flavor. The grilled peaches that accompanied the shrimp was the star of this appetizer. In addition, the Gazpacho with avocado and croutons was refreshing and flavorful. For the main course, the Roast Chicken had an amazing crispy skin that rested in an herbaceous barley risotto. The Grilled Branzino was a great dish with a tasty corn chowder. The Ricotta Cheesecake for dessert was amazing with a unique balsamic ice cream that beautifully paired with the cheesecake and figs. The Yogurt Panna Cotta was scrumptious, as was the passion fruit sauce that it sat in. As a bonus to my meal, I had the opportunity to meet the very gracious and friendly Geoffrey Zakarian. I had a wonderful meal at The National that I hope to repeat soon.

Shrimp Salad

Grilled Branzino

Yogurt Panna Cotta

Ricotta Cheesecake

I really enjoyed my meal at The National. It was such an honor to meet Geoffrey Zakarian. Come check out Foodie Finders NYC on Facebook and Twitter for more food pictures from The National and other great restaurants.

-Mike

NYC Restaurant Review - The Harrison

Hello foodies! A few days ago I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at The Harrison during New York City Restaurant Week.

The Harrison      355 Greenwich St. & Harrison St.  New York, NY 10013

(Dinner - Summer Restaurant Week 2012)

At The Harrison, everything is done right. The Chilled Corn Soup was a fresh and flavorful dish with a pleasant smokiness courtesy of the smoked trout. The Crispy Pork Belly was a surprisingly cold dish that was absolutely unique. The scrumptious pork belly was served with pieces of watermelon and cilantro. For the second course, the Almond Crusted Bluefish was a buttery masterpiece. The perfectly cooked fish sat on top of an amazing leek puree and string beans. In addition, The Pulled Pork was great with crumbly and yummy cornbread and corn and black bean salad. Lastly, The Sunday Sauce was a beautiful dish of pasta, sausage, and creamy mascarpone that rounded everything out. Both dessert selections were scrumptious. The Chocolate Tart with caramel and maldon sea salt was made even better by the sweetness that counteracted the tartness of the crème fraiche. The Peach Melba was an awesome interpretation of a classic. This almond semi freddo was accompanied by peaches and raspberries. Overall, the service was very inviting, which always adds to the experience, making my meal at The Harrison incredible.

Chilled Corn Soup

Sunday Sauce

Peach Melba

The Harrison is one restaurant among many restaurants participating in the 20th anniversary of NYC Summer Restaurant Week. Take advantage of Restaurant Week until August 10. For more information on NYC Restaurant Week go here. Also The Harrison is participating in Restaurant Week for lunch as well, offering their full menu. For more pictures go to Foodie Finders NYC on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

-Mike

NYC Summer Restaurant Week 2012

Hi foodies! NYC Summer Restaurant Week is starting July 16 and running through August 10. A  limited amount of restaurants in New York City will be offering a three course pre fixe menu for dinner and some menus for lunch. The price of the lunch pre fixe is $24.07 and the price of the dinner pre fixe is $35.00. For a list of the participating restaurants go the NYC Restaurant Week page.

-Mike