Friday, October 16, 2009

"BEER vs WINE"

Third Annual Beer vs Wine. Tonight.

Ocean Trout , Compressed Apple, Creme Fraiche, Spiced Bread

Lola Duck Croquette, Port Shallot Puree, Turnip Fondant

Scallop, Kabocha Squash Risotto, Chicken Liver Parfait, Basil Cress, Veal Reduction

Pork Belly, Artichoke Barigoule, Smoked Carrots, Fennel Tomato Jam

Butternut Squash, Bitter chocolate Consomme, Malt foam, Puffed Rice

BEER WON!!!

It all comes down to This


Can't say that I've spent a whole lot of time slaving over a hot stove. I just spent the better half of two days costing out menus. My brain is fried. It truly is the least favorite part of my job.

Friday, October 2, 2009

ZAA

I love pizza. coming from the east coast I wasn't going to be a Chef of a restaurant that doesn't have a damn good pie. Don't get me wrong there are some places that have good pizza but I think we hold are own. Scampi pizza with white clam sauce. (Veranda Restaurant)


Saturday, September 19, 2009



For your information – El Bizcocho has a new honor. Wine Spectator’s 2009 Dining Guide has awarded us Best of Award of Excellence.


Best of Award of Excellence (816 winners) created to give special recognition to restaurants that clearly exceed the requirements of the Award of Excellence. These lists typically offer 400 or more selections along with superior presentation and display either vintage depth with several vertical offerings of top wines or excellent breadth across several wine regions

Thursday, September 17, 2009

TREE STRAWBERRY

You would be surprised what you can find if you know what your looking for, these are tree strawberry's found right on property. They will make a interesting garnish for El Bizcochos dessert. In Some countries they are used to make jam and liqueurs (such as the Portuguese medronho, a kind of strong brandy). The Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the heather family, Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe north to western France and Ireland. Due to its presence in South West Ireland, it is also known as Irish strawberry tree, and Killarney strawberry tree (called 'Caithne' in Irish and Scots Gaelic). Despite its name, the strawberry tree does not produce strawberries.




Friday, September 11, 2009

BRASE YOURSELF, Rough Seas Ahead


Fine dining or what we think is fine dining is "dead" as far as some are concerned. The age of food exploration has relented to the tried and true faith in solid made by the hand cuisine. Get ready dinners. El Bizcocho is going under the knife. What comes out the other end may be a larger bust lines a tighter face and a rounder butt. We are no longer hold the thrown of creative freedom but have relented to the prospect of riches in casual cuisine. So brake out your Polo shirts and slacks your jacket is no good here. Perhaps we should start cutting off ties and hanging them on the wall. Mr. Schnook will no doubt be over thrown and Vlad the impaler will no longer reside in the rafters. What history El Bizcocho has had over the many years. I'm glad that I will have seen both sides. No question the time has come for this war ship to face the scrap yard. Economic uncertainty and a slow a painful decline in our customer base has warranted bring in the "big "guns". Don't get it twisted we're no cowboy's that don't have what it takes to make a great meal but a new prospective is defiantly welcome. We will continue to prepare the freshest, highest quality product we can.....at a new reduced $$. My wish is your command. One question remains will El biz still be El Bizcocho? Time will tell.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

BEYOND THE BORDER

Nothing better than doing something no one has ever eaten before at a charity event. Makes people stop and think. We say Whole Rabbit terrine and they give you a strange look like you’re not telling them the truth. This dish is a spinoff of an idea from "Hare of the Rabbit", a post from last month. Maple sugar, smoked salt and "food glue". This dish is pushing us to look for new seasonal ideas. It comes out looking and feeling like a ham so we are calling it rabbit ham. This has real potential; we'll have to see what comes of it. I love the way it looks like Head Cheese. Rabbit Hamm

Wills Pumpernickel bread


Pickled Apple



Mustard Foam





Tuesday, September 1, 2009

FIGGY


Don't let the figs go to your head. I love these babies, there so good right now. I've got to come up with some crazy ideas with them this season. Some of you may not know that San Diego is the perfect climate for figs to grow. If you’re not careful you'll find me dashing across your lawn snatching figs off your tree. I found a beautiful fig tree in Pacific Beach one day and asked the elderly woman that owned the property if it would be alright if I picked a few figs. She didn't even know that the fig tree was in her yard...."what". We picked a few and enjoyed them right there in the yard. She is a customer of mine to this day because of it.



JUST DESSERTS

Rocky Road

Nitro chocolate mousse, chocolate sponge, marshmallow, coco bubbles, chocolate rocks, coco dirt
toasted marshmallow ice cream

Souffle
Sous vide pineapple, coconut sorbet, carmel, banana glee, dehydrated pineapple,




THE BIZ

Pan roasted salmon, bottle pouched lentils, apple-onion soubise, porcini confit, fava beans

Sweet garlic puree, charterelle mushroom, fresh chickpeas, wilted gem lettuce, meyer lemon




FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Chicken liver parfait, Cherries, Coffee Powder, Mazuna, Purple mustard
Elysian Fields Lamb, zucchini puree, black olive sponge, fried semolina, Sicilian pistachio.


Friday, August 28, 2009

LOBSTER

EL BIZCOCHO RESTAURANT

Lots to talk about on this dish. It all started out with trying to prefect a Chinese shrimp and lobster chip. The same kind you can find in the Asian markets. "Why" you ask, "why not", we have had these kinds of snacks for years but have you ever made them. It pretty easy and the end results make you feel a little more connected. The shrimp and lobster roe paste is combined with the tapioca starch, rolled into a sticky dough ball and wrapped in cheese cloth, then steamed. It’s removed from the steamer and removed from the cheese cloth. Let the reddish pink log dry in a refrigerated environment for a few days. Once hardened it can be cut and dehydrated to a clear chip. Or you can cut it into strips and dehydrate. Once dehydrated it is fried in 400 degree oil until it puffs.
Stone fruit was coming in beautiful when this idea was born so I decided to slow pouch a peach in Pernod, white balsamic and lemon oil. What resulted was a liquorish, tart but sweet peach with vibrant red and white flesh. It was a match made in heaven with the Pernod slow poached lobster tail, but one question remained, "what was the sauce base for the dish going to be"? Then it hit me "CURRY", spicy, sweet, aromatic blend of spices. Lobster, peach, curry....yes!
We added sweet corn blanks, finger potatoes, zucchini, zucchini flowers, pistachio crumbs, caviar and tapioca lobster crispy.

SHRIMP CHIP:
1 lb Net weight of shelled-shrimp, prawns or lobster , 1 lb Tapioca flour, 1 oz Salt , 1 ts , White pepper powder, 1 c Water, I think there is one step left out of the process. If I were making this I would pound the shrimp to a paste before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. This book is quite interesting, but the translation leaves a bit to be desired. The recipe intrigues me, but I've never actually gotten around to trying it out. You can make your own home made shrimp chips with which no one can compare. Here is the recipe for non-commercial shrimp chips. Bring water to a boil and dissolve salt and pepper powder. Pour boiling water onto the tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl and stir quickly with a cooking spoon. Add in the shrimp and knead as dough. As the water content of the shrimp is unpredictable, you may adjust it by adding more boiling water. The dough should be on the hard side. Now shape into a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. If you do not have the proper steamer for this process, a bamboo rack or cake cooling rack will do. Lay cheesecloth underneath and on top of the dough and place it on the rack. Make sure the cylinders of dough are far enough apart (at least 1 1/2 inch if space permits) to prevent them from sticking together. Steam at a high temperature for 45 minutes. Make sure there is plenty of water in the steamer to avoid having to open it to add more water. After steaming, bring out, remove the cheesecloth, and cool the dough on another rack. Keep in a cool place to dry. The time varies from 1 day to 2 or 3 days. If you can cut it with a very sharp knife, then start to cut it in thin slices (about the thickness of a penny). Now lay the slices on a piece of cardboard and dry in the sun until brittle. Don't hurry the drying before you cut them. You can store them indefinitely in a can. When you want to use them, calculate 2 or 3 chips per person. Deep fry in oil at 400F temperature. If the process has been done correctly, the chips will be done in a matter of seconds. They will increase their size several times. Drain and serve.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

ABALONE

Abalone, chorizo, razor clams, octopus, hama hama oyster, charred ramps, NZ cockles, agar sherry vinegar, sea beans, preserved lemon, romesco sauce.

SWEET ONION, GOLDEN EGG




Sweet onion soup, golden slow egg, manchego cheese, chive. Best onion soup I've ever had. The recipe is my Sous Chef Alaun's. people go nuts over it.

RAVIOLO

Pyramid ravioli with Italian fontina cheese, black truffles, truffle butter.

Friday, August 21, 2009

ASPARAGUS

This is the scallop dish that was replaced with a more seasonal rabbit and scallop dish. Asparagus are on their way out of season, but we wanted to show it to you anyway. The dish consisted of fresh scallops, shaved asparagus, hen of the woods mushrooms, toasted sesame seed powder, asparagus consume.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO

Heirloom tomatoes, balsamic onion jam, tomato gelee, tomato cells, burrata mozzarella, melon, lemon dew, nasturtium, basil, corn pudding.


SPOT PRAWN


Santa Barbra spot prawns, avocado, uni, yuzu fluid gel, preserved lemon, micro cilantro, tapioca,

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE

http://www.bertrandatmisteras.com/pdf/Chefs_Hall_O_Fame2.pdf




Team at the Time: (From the left) Justin Woodward, Edgar Beas, Thomas Shibley, Judd Canepari, William Geiger, James Ricker.
Its no secret that staff comes and goes and some of these cooks are on their way to continue their careers. The time they spend at El Bizcocho will be one of many mile-stones. We look forward to new talent and say good luck to seasoned veterans of our kitchen. "All that pass are welcome back". JC

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

"HARE" OF THE RABBIT part II




Remember the earlier post we were working on a rabbit dish. Something that would bring land and sea together and have a little pre -autumn feel to it. We brought in some wild smoked trout roe from Oregon. Devils Gulch Ranch whole rabbits from Nacasio California, live scallops from the PNW, and New Zealand green lip cockles. We added some beautiful chanterelle mushrooms and nasturtium. We use transgultaminase “food glue" to wrap the rabbit belly around the tenderloins. Add some compressed fennel and cured rabbit belly bacon and you have a perfectly balanced plate. It went on the menu last night. This idea was an inspiration from a dish that I was doing in Connecticut with rabbit and cockles which at the time was a combination that not many had attempted.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Ahi Melon

Frozen watermelon or Ahi?? Lots of possibilities with this. Take it the next few steps. Freeze it, thaw it, freeze it, and thaw it. You'll have a hard time telling the difference between your melon and Ahi sashimi. Texture, appearance and plate presentation. The liquid that drains off the watermelon, save it and use in reverse specification.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

PAPARAZZI

Paparazzi......... "I live in uniform". Their isn't an occasion that I haven't shown up in uniform. I'm always coming from or going to work. I'm sure you all can relate. I have a distant relative by marriage from Hungary visiting the United States, he asked this question the other night. "Why don't you go and try out for a T.V. show and become famous". I told him that "I love food not fame" and if food gives me fame than that would be great; I'm just going to keep cooking and if the fame comes to find me I'll be ready. I think people just assume because of reality television that you’re going to be rich and famous if you’re a Chef and have a personality. What I can say I haven't meet to many chefs without a personality. The reality of his suggestion is far from the  reality of our culinary stage.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

BETTER BUTTER

Butter Tasting, with our house made breads
House made butter below and signature butters above




We haven't only stuck to the cheese making. We've ventured into a "better butter" as well. I must say though there is an amazing selection of butter from all over the world that can have you busy tasting for days. We bring in butter from Italy "Parmigiano Reggiano" Maotanari & Gruzza, the Czech Republic 82+ and cultured butter from Vermont. We of course blend and add our own special touches to the butter to make them significant to El Biz. That doesn't stop us from make our own from scratch.
1-2 cups heavy whipping cream, or double cream (1/3 liter) (preferably without carrageenan or other stabilizers)
Fit food processor with plastic blade, whisk, or normal chopping blade. Fill food processor about 1/4 - 1/2 full. Blend. The cream will go through the following stages: Slushy, frothy, soft whipped cream, firm whipped cream, coarse whipped cream. Then, suddenly, the cream will seize, its smooth shape will collapse, and the whirring will change to sloshing. The butter is now fine grained bits of butter in buttermilk, and a few seconds later, a glob of yellowish butter will separate from milky buttermilk. Drain the buttermilk.
You can eat the butter now -- it has a light taste -- though it will store better if you wash and work it. Add 1/2 cup (100 mL) of ice-cold water, and blend further. Discard wash water and repeat until the wash water is clear. Now, work butter to remove suspended water. Either place damp butter into a cool bowl and knead with a potato masher or two forks; or put in large covered jar and shake or tumble. Continue working, pouring out the water occasionally, until most of the water is removed. The butter is now ready. Put butter in a butter crock, ramekins, or roll in waxy freezer paper
Culture the cream before churning. Add a few tablespoons (50 mL) store-bought cultured yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, clabbered cream, or crème fraiche, and let sit about 12 hours at warm room temperature (75°F/24°C is ideal) to thicken and ferment before churning. It should taste delicious, slightly sour, with no aftertaste. If it is bubbly, or smells yeasty or gassy, discard.
Use some butter making tools, such as a churn, paddle for working, or molds for forming the finished butter.

Friday, August 14, 2009

BRIE





It all started out with making Farm House Cheddar. This was a bit intense because I didn't have the press to get the cheese curds pressed properly. A homemade tourniquet press with pots pans and towels was all I could come up with. This cheese was a  smelly mess and short lived endeavor. I then really started to dive into the whole science of cheese making to see which cheese would work best. Something that doesn't need pressing, doesn't need a cheese cave to age in. "Brie", although a harder cheese to make than most, this was the cheese of choice; besides the fact that I was embarking on a journey of making the "Holy Grail" of French cheese. I was paying homage to the masters of French cuisine. Let’s just say that it was no joke and if you think by looking at a recipe on the Internet and you’re going to make great cheese is laughable. I left work many a nights smelling like day old milk and covered with curd bits. I would work into the night to find the perfect balance of calcium lactate, rennet and a magical blend of yeast cultures. Heat, no heat move the curds, don't move the curds, cut the curds don't cut the curds!!!....Oh MY GOD. Like all things, if your love for the exploration of food is greater than the desire to throw in the oven mitt than you will reach the promised land. Cheesy Success!! "Brie", the cloud like appearance as the cultures take hold, a sweet smell of ripening curds and the final smooth creamy texture that can only be achieved with hard work and patience. I am now looking on what we can do to add the extra wow factor. Maybe brandy grape leafs or apple wood ash, perhaps adding a bleu culture vain, I have yet to open the creative treasure chest. I have also been successful making Feta, Queso Fresco, and Bleu Cheese.







Rennet, Calcium, Cultures



Heat cream, milk to 89 degrees




Remove from heat and add the calcium and culture, stir. Add rennet, stir and let set one hour




Check for a clean break. Shouldn't stick to your fingers.





Cut the curd and let the whey drain off. 15 to 20 minutes





Strain curd in cheese cloth and have cheese basket ready.






Place curd in cheese basket lined with cheese cloth and let drain over night at room temp. Keep covered



Once they drain half their original size place on plastic or bamboo mat to activate the culture around 52-65 degree, clean, dry area. Keep covered.




I keep them in a pizza proof box with a metal drying rack underneath. I found a bamboo place mat work fantastic



Allow them to set for 24 hours before placing them in controlled 42 degree dry refrigeration. I place a cup of water in the box top give the moisture needed. Let culture do its thing for 4 to 6 weeks. You should see that very distinct white fuzz growing on top, after a few days. It's like watching your babies grow. We have many variations of this process that can make all kinds of house made brie.