Rough Draft of Winter Menu

Bubble Tea
Bacon, Waffles, Banana, Maple

Salad Sponge
Goat's milk, sunflower, homegrown

Pierogi
Yukon gold potato, truffle, homemade cheese

Cured Fish Centerpiece and Fresh Cut Sprouts-Literally

Hanging
Salmon, paddle fish roe, bagels, cream cheese, onion

Pumpkin Patch
Lobster, fennel flavors

Encapsulated Soup
Black truffle, semolina, quail egg

Your Hand

Oyster Centerpiece
Chartreuse, pistachio, herbs, foraged juniper

Shrimp Noodle
Scampi

Oatmeal Dashi
Chia seeds

1 Pill Makes You Larger, 1 Pill Makes You Small

Scallop Motoyaki
Lychee caviar, perfect potato, lemongrass lobster consomme

Chicken Thigh, Salmon Skin, Truffle Chicken Liver Ragu, Hay Aroma

Hunted Deer Bresaola
Homemade ricotta, items from where the deer roams

Pork In Two
Chinese, Vietnamese

In House Dry-Aged Ribeye
Smoked buttermilk, broccoli, black garlic, tiny fish

Bacon Ice Cream Cone
Koval whiskey, black pepper

Mirepoix
Red onion, celery, carrot

Dark Lord...

Sometimes I'm just lucky enough to look into my refrigerator and think, "what is that darn bottle," and then to pull it out and discover it is a half bottle of Dark Lord that my guests have left from the weekend.  Today I worked in the kitchen at Leopold.  I have a week off and when I have time I like to go into kitchens and stage or volunteer.  I get so use to my own home kitchen it's nice to be in an actual restaurant kitchen and working in spaces with others.  Before I left for Leopold this afternoon I put a Cornish hen in a spiced brine and pulled it when I got home.  I knew I had potatoes and carrots, but nothing really to make a sauce with, that was until I found the Dark Lord.  I stuffed the Cornish hen with marjoram, garlic, thyme, and sage, seasoned the outside and then browned it on all sides in canola oil.  I roughly chopped carrots and potatoes and threw those into the pan with a touch of salt and once they had a little brown added a healthy cup of dark lord to deglaze the pan and the juice of half a lemon.  I tossed it in the oven at 350 and after about 25 minutes turned the bird and baked it for another 20-25 minutes...I wasn't really watching the time however I did check it frequently and pulled it when I had an inner temp of 165 degrees F.  I pulled the bird from the pan and set it aside and then allowed the juices and Dark Lord reduce a touch until it looked like an unctuous demi.  I cut the bird in half and scooped the potatoes, carrots and sauce over the top and I devoured it before I could even take a picture for you.  It was amazing.  My niece ate the other half when she got home from work.  She loved it too.  I suppose it was that bit of Belgium cuisine today which got me thinking of such a hearty meal.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have Dark Lord floating around in their fridge.  You can substitute for a nice dark beer.

Photos of Mushroom Expedition!

Snapped from the artistic eye of Jen Moran...Photos!

What The Fall Menu Has Become...

One Sister Fall Menu 2011

Bubble Tea

Apple Pie, Bourbon

Salad Sponge

Homegrown, goat milk, sunflower, honeys

Hanging

Salmon roe, melon, smoke

Pierogi

Yukon gold potato, white truffle, homemade cheese

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpernickel, lobster, fennel, cashew

                       

Grilled Cheese Soup

Encapsulated, tomato marmalade, garden items

Your Hand

Oyster Centerpiece

Foraged items    

Shrimp Noodle

Scampi

Oatmeal Dashi  and Chia Seeds

1 Pill Makes You Larger And1 Pill Makes You Small

 

Potatoes , Mussels,  and Lobster Consomme

Chicken Thigh,  Livers, Truffle and Hay

  Lamb Prosciutto

Sassafrass, cherry, smoke

Pig

Cheek, pomegranate, king oyster udon

Dry-Aged Ribeye

Tamarind, sardine, celery root

Sorbet

Honeydew, banana pepper, vanilla salt

Ice Cream Cone

Bacon, Koval Whisky

Chocolate Orbs

Egg yolk, berry, gruyere, quinoa

5th Ave in Brooklyn

Trees and Stevie Nicks, they are one in the same, mystical and enchanting.  I love trees.  I'll always stop to marvel at gnarly bark, touch a smoothed area or grab a leaf.  I'm often looking up at the leaves...and it's just my nature as a forager identify the leaves and trees because of the bounty that I know comes beneath.  Walking down 5th Avenue today I was excited to see so many Oak trees along the sidewalks.  The Oak trees in Brooklyn are like the Maple trees we have in Chicago.  If Chicago wasn't Chicago it'd probably be a forest of Maples.  Well, I spotted a more mature Oak and sure enough there was a lovely lion's mane in a perfect little crook of the tree, plump as a kitten (which one of my friend's actually remarked about the pic I posted on facebook).  Lion's mane is easy to prepare although it may seem intimidating because of it's toothy characteristics.  These are a few of my fall backs for any mushroom which one can be uncertain about.
1) heat butter, add cleaned mushrooms, cook until liquid evaporated, season with salt and pepper.
2) heat butter, add cleaned mushrooms, cook until liquid evaporates, turn down heat, add more butter, touch of flour and cream...put over anything...you can change this up, add red wine in beginning, sherry is always delish.  Salt and pepper to taste.
3) render fat from chopped bacon, add minced onions and cook until translucent, add mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste, turn down heat and mix in sour cream.
Just check your foraged mushrooms for debris and bugs!