Ryan Zimmer

Yuanyang Affogato

evaporated milk panna cotta - black tea jely - walnut biscotti - tea LN2 meringue - espresso

 

 

I will let wikipedia sum it up first.

Yuanyang or Coffee with tea (often spelled according to the Cantonese pronunciationYuenyeung,^[1] Yinyong^[2] or Yingyong^[3]) is a popular beverage in Hong Kong, made of a mixture ofcoffee and Hong Kong-style milk tea. It was originally served at dai pai dongs (open air food vendors) and cha chaan tengs (cafe), but is now available in various types of restaurants. It can be served hot or cold.^[4] The name yuanyang, which refers to Mandarin Ducks, is a symbol of conjugal love in Chinese culture, as the birds usually appear in pairs and the male and female look very different.^[5] This same connotation of a "pair" of two unlike items is used to name this drink.

I especially like the last sentence about a pair of two unlike items that go together.

The beloved hong kong style milk tea is transformed into a evaporated milk panna cotta, black tea jelly, and  black tea LN2 meringue. Still using liptons as the fancy stuff just doesnt taste the same. 

The guest pours the espresso (should actually be instant coffee but we are a fancy restaurant after all) themselves over the frozen meringue and there it is, yuenyang affogato.

Very simple and always fun to break out the LN2!

Prost

In the spirit of our annual German Bierfestival which is kicking off today, here is a german inspired dessert

 

vanilla bavarian - guiness gelatin - kettle corn - german rye chips - coffee sponge - chocolate mint

 

 

Limone 2010

 

Lemon Sorbet - Fantastic sorbet taste and texture. Recipe was based from a el bulli recipe that includes dextrose, gelatin and pro-crema. I now put pro-crema in a lot of sorbet recipes as it makes a great creamy textured sorbet.

The most important part however, is the hand squeezed Sicilian lemons. No press, no juicer, only hands. By doing things the hard way we are getting the sweetest and most flavorful parts of the lemon. By hand squeezing you are releasing more of the oil from the skin and you are not getting into and scraping the bitter parts of the pith. Well worth it if you ask me. As for the poor guy squeezing a few KG's of lemons I am not sure he thinks the same ;)

Olive oil sponge - Using liqurian olive oil from Belazu. Great fruity olive oil perfect for pastry applications. The olive oil goes into the microwave sponge as well as a textured olive oil using glice, another el bulli recipe rip off.

Yuzu, mango and mascarpone curd - basic lemon curd recipe but instead using yuzu and mango juice instead of lemon juice and then using mascarpone instead of butter. 

Phyllo chips - I think the dessert started off as millefoglie inspiration and thats where the phyllo chips came in. They are brushed and layered with syrup instead of butter.

Thai bubbles - some of my favorite flavors ever bubbled up with sucro and egg white powder. Young coconut, thai basil, candied ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf and thai palm sugar.

Others - dehydrated lemon zest and lemon balm

Ask the Foodie

 

It is kind of strange and a little nerve racking to see your face in the newspaper!

But it is also pretty cool to get into a well published newspaper such as the South China Morning Post!

I am really happy with the article but just have to clear a few things as some information during the interview got a tiny bit mixed up which is understandable as I blabbed about for quite some time while Mischa frantically tried to write down the facts and details.

-I am from Washington State, not Oregon

-At the moment we do not make exactly traditional Italian desserts, they are Italian influenced modern desserts, however we are looking at taking them to be more traditional in the near future.

- I took a course with Albert Adria at the French Pastry School in Chicago, he did not teach french pastry ;)

- Four basic ingredients of bread, I think I did say sugar but meant to say salt! But of course a little sugar speeds up the fermentation process and is used in different bread types. I guess a little sugar never hurts anything! Anyway, I am not known for my bread baking skills, they should talk to the master and buy his new book!

- Although the name of the article is ask the foodie, I am not a foodie, what is a foodie? Everyone likes food right?? The term foodie gives non professionals a title to make them known as knowing more about food than the average person although majority of people have strong opinions and knowledge on food.

- I am humbled at being called an "avant-garde pastry chef". The defintion of avant garde is pretty simple and does define my goals and passion.

Thank you Mishca and SCMP for the awesome write up!

 

Black Forest Fondant - May 2010

 

1. Chocolate fondant- plain and simple. This was our last version of the chocolate fondant as it was always the best seller and we were tired of looking at even though we made seasonal versions.

2. Vanilla panna cotta - my first panna cotta with iota carageenan. It was actually a mix of iota, gelatin and xanthan. Love the texture, keeps soft but slightly pliable and forgiving to cut and plate freeform due to the properties of iota.

3. Cherry sorbet - I think this was one of the first recipes I used dextrose in. A little goes a long way and really can make for a great textured sorbet.

4. Kirsch air - first alcoholic air using sucro. Vanilla syrup, kirsch, citric acid and sucro for the bubbles

5. Black sesame powder - Japanese sesame paste and malto, melts in your mouth and not in your hands!

6. Cherries poached in white wine - not in picture as cherries were a week or two away from being in season when the picture was taken. Cherry halves were cooked sous vide in a white wine syrup