What Great French Chefs Eat

June 30, 2010

Spent a few hours at Brooklyn Kitchen yesterday, while Eric Ripert, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Bouley reminisced about restaurants past and peered into the future of food. They all had wonderful stories about the chefs they’ve worked with and the kitchens they’ve been in.

Bouley fed me that amazing sea urchin/caviar/dashi creation – a dish I’ll be dreaming about. The roe was suspended in a barely-jelled broth that seemed held together by little more than a wish. It was as lovely as a Florentine paperweight, and for one crazy moment I felt as if I was inside the terrine, wandering around in a wonderful new world. The flavors pushed each other forward, and if you concentrated, each bite provided a different experience.

Meanwhile, what were the chefs eating? Robust and juicy sausages, lemony kale salad and fat chunks of hearty bread. And what did they drink? Cans of beer.

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Chicken Brine

June 26, 2010

Made Thomas Keller’s brine from the Ad Hoc Cookbook yesterday for my farm chickens. It’s got a LOT of whole lemons in it, which makes it different from any brine I’ve ever used. I was extremely happy with the result; the meat was not only moist and very tender, but it had the sweetest scent.

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