The Versatility of Banana Bread!

As I shared in a previous post, I enjoy adding pineapple to the recipe and making French toast.  This is my pineapple banana bread French toast with banana flambé ice cream which has found its way onto the dessert.  The pairing of these two items just blew my mind and is such a great flavor bomb for the palate.

When making the banana bread, there are a couple mistakes I need to address that I regularly see done that result in a subpar banana bread.  The first thing is to use ripe bananas. If you cannot find soft bananas, or are in a hurry, you can bake them in the oven until they are softened enough that you can mash them easily.   I actually prefer to do this for the flavor.  The second thing is to not over mix the batter.  When you add the dry ingredients you should just mix until it is completely incorporated.

 

The New Parmentier!

The newest creations in the kitchen have been some changes to classics. What better dish to start with than my favorite!  With the late fall and winter here, I decided to work with one of my favorite vegetables for the season which is the beautiful sunchoke (topinambour in  French).  This vegetable pureed and fried into chips have equally flavorful results.  Here I have combined this puree with a mix of sautéed mushroom and duck confit with a little teriyaki and jus.  One of my favorite spices right now is the togarashi spice, which works very well with the combination of all these flavors.  Give it a try, it is a pretty simple dish and will be a pleasant surprise. 

 

Pistachio Banana Bread

I love banana bread, many flavor additions complement this bread, this time i am adding pistachios.

ripe bananas (smashed)	6	each
unsalted butter (room temp)	2/3	cup
sugar	2	cups
whole eggs	2	each
vanilla extract	2	tsp.
baking soda	2	tsp.
kosher salt	1/2	tsp.
cake flour	3	cups
pistachios-chopped	1	cup
honey	2	tsp.

In a kitchen aid mixer; cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, smashed bananas, vanilla extract, banana extract, pistachio nuts and mix until incorporated. Sift in the cake flour, baking soda, salt and mix well. Pour mixture into a buttered loaf pan and bake @ 350°F on low fan for one hour then check with a toothpick and cook until it is removed clean, remove from oven and cool on a rack

Another thing I really enjoy doing with this recipe is adding pineapple and making french toast for breakfast.  In the restaurant I toast the bread in the fat of the foie gras after i sear it.  It is delicious!

 

 

 

Blue Cheese Pear Gastrique

This sauce started with a simple gastrique sauce, simply caramelized sugar deglazed with vinegar.  For me, I prefer to use honey rather than sugar to make my caramel, it is much healthier and most important, more flavorful.  For a lot of my cooking I prefer to use cider vinegar, I feel it has the best flavor that pairs with most ingredients.

Begin the recipe with by peeling and removing the core and cutting it into large pieces.  Cook the pears in a pot on medium heat until the water comes out and the sugars start to caramelize.  Deglaze with a little water to remove the sugars beginning to caramelize on the bottom of the pot.  Once it is fully cooked, add the bleu cheese and stir until it is melted then puree.

Begin to cook the honey with the fennel seeds until it begins to smell a bit burnt and deglaze with the cider vinegar. Remove from the heat and carefully add the pear puree and stir until it is completely mixed.  Heat again and simmer for a few minutes to make sure the caramel has completely melted into the sauce.

You can base the recipe on your own tastes, whether you love the taste of blue cheese or pear more.

 

Surf & Turf

     

The concept of meat and fish together has always fascinated me, especially now.  At Frame I am having much more fun with it and getting a bit more creative. This dish is an Asian fusion surf & turf.

For the sauce I have mixed wasabi, lime juice and creme fraiche,. braised the pork and finished with an orange teriyaki glaze.
The dish is finished with a seared scallop, wakame, pickled ginger and a salad of mustard greens.

I love the garnish for this plate, crushed wasabi peas.

What is your favorite Asian Fusion dish you make?

 

Orange Chocolate Ganache

Taking an old recipe you used before and reinventing it is sometimes more difficult than you would expect.  However, when you do manage to complete this task, you look at your new product and think, “Well, that wasn’t so hard.”

I upgraded my chocolate ganache from grilled ciabatta bread to spiced pain perdu with baked meringue, pistachio and sea salt.  I also really enjoy the fresh orange zest in the chocolate.

 

Beet Versatility

Beets are very versatile and are in season year round.  Two of my favorite preparations for them are roasting and pickling.

This “salad” featured above is seasoned with a confit lemon olive oil, fourme d’ambert blue cheese espuma, candied walnuts and grapefruit segments.  To finish, I drizzle a syrup of grapefruit and chili and a little fleur de sel and fresh black pepper.

I also really enjoy making chocolate beet brownies.  The chocolate works great with the beets, as well as pureed with creme fraiche for a dessert sauce.

 

Parmentier

I have fallen in love with a lot of classic French dishes.  I really enjoy putting my California twist on them.

Today my post is of a very simple comforting dish called Parmentier.  The classic dish is made up of leftover beef stew and mashed potatoes.  It is also sometimes made with duck.

I decided to add orange zest to the potatoes for a fresh flavor.  After I put the potatoes it in a bowl (spread even throughout), I topped with breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter.  I gratined it until the breadcrumbs were toasted.

Next I mixed the confit duck with tomato, a little honey and sweet chili sauce and simmered it with a little broth until it reduced to a ragout.

For the garniture, I roasted some root vegetables, sprinkled them with sesame seeds and a little rocket arugula.

It really is an easy and delicious dinner idea for anytime of the year.

Enjoy!

 

Smoked Haddock Carbonara

 

At FRAME, we change our formula menu every week.  This gives me the chance to try out new ideas and even use new products.  Sometimes it is a learning process, especially when ordering and receiving something you were not expecting.  Last week I ordered haddock, which for me is a species of fish from the North Atlantic, but in France it always refers to the product of smoked aiglefin fish.  It proved to be a very nice surprise though.

For this dish I used fresh tagliatella pasta.  You may use whatever size and shape you wish, sometimes I prefer papardelli.  Start the dish by cooking your pasta in salted water to al dente (firm to the bite).  It is best to under cook the pasta  as it will continue cooking when you add it to the sauce.

For the sauce, start by sautéing chopped onions and garlic.  After the onions are soft, add part of the fish and deglaze with white wine. Reduce the wine by half and add cream and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  You can also add vegetables.  I prefer adding roasted tomatoes because it goes well with the cream, smoke and fish.

To finish, toss the pasta with the sauce and stir in a raw egg yolk.  The raw egg yolk will add a glorious texture to the dish.  Top with a cabbage slaw dressed simply with olive oil then thinly sliced haddock with olive oil and black pepper.

 

Didn’t I tell you? I moved to Paris!

It has been awhile since my last post in February.  I wanted to fill you in on what I’ve been doing.  Last February, I accepted a position as Head Chef of FR/AME restaurant in Paris, France.  I somehow convinced my wife to make the big move and we made the journey across the world to our new home in Paris.  I moved there in March and she joined me later in May.

When I arrived in late March, I had a lot of work ahead of me.  There were numerous tastings, the kitchen and restaurant were still in the process of renovation, there were interviews to conduct, etc.

  

The restaurant opened on April 10, 2014.

FR/AME’s concept is California cuisine with a French twist.  The very name of the restaurant itself is a combination of France and America.  The restaurant is located within the Hotel Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel which, as you can guess by the name, is very close to the Eiffel Tower.  The following picture was taken from the 10^th floor banquet space we have in the hotel.

Our restaurant is very unique because we have our own garden on the rooftop next to the restaurant and while the garden doesn’t supply all of our produce, we do use items from there to garnish and create special dishes.  The following pictures show the garden at the beginning and as it has grown.  We also have six chickens and bees!

 

 

Here are a few pictures of dishes that are on the menu as of today.  I recently changed the menu to reflect our fall flavors.

I feel so lucky and am excited to be in this new role.  If you find yourself in Paris, please pay us a visit and let us know how you like the food.

You can check out FR/AME’s Facebook page and their website for more details.

https://www.facebook.com/framebrasserie

http://www.framebrasserie.fr/

The restaurant was also recently featured in Marie Claire Maison:

http://www.marieclairemaison.com/,frame-la-brasserie-californienne,515353.asp