New Years Eve 2021

Previously, on tastingmenu.wordpress.com –* https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/nobu-steak-with-baked-eringi-mushrooms/* https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2021/11/11/planning-the-new-years-eve-2021-menu/ …Normally, I would have been going out to dinner for New Years Eve (aka “NYE”)…. -Curating the 2020 New Year’s Eve Dinner Happy New Year’s Eve, all. Another year, another virus; and as par for the course, another unexpected surprise popped up. So guess what the surprise was? The […]

Christmas 2021

French Laundry Lasagna With Bolognese

Previously, on tastingmenu.wordpress.com – * https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2020/12/07/beef-roasted-a-la-matignon/* https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2021/12/08/making-bolognese/ …Staff meal was first about fundamentals of cooking and how to work with by products, using scraps to make something tasty, eye appealing and satisfying. But the message underlying that was, “Can you be passionate about cooking at this level”. Staff meal. Only the staff sees it. If […]

Marisa Iocco’s Red Wine Poached Pear Dessert

I’d been thinking of doing another fruit dessert recently and came across Chef Iocco’s Montepulciano Poached Pears in her cookbook Every Menu Is a Love Story (p. 134). This poached pear could be used for a salad or a dessert, depending on the garnish. In this instance, I wanted to make the dessert variant and […]

Nobu West: Baked Squid And Ginger Salsa, A Variation

Previously, on tastingmenu.wordpress.com – * https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/hamachi-with-nobu-ginger-salsa/ …I was in a panic. I had used up all my secret recipes in the first (simulation) battle..what was I to do now? -Iron Chef Morimoto, Iron Chef: The Official Book (p. 170) So like Iron Chef Morimoto, I was stuck in a situation about what to make for […]

Technical Note: Matsuhisa/Nobu Sushi Vinegar

Previously, on tastingmenu.wordpress.com –* https://tastingmenu.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/making-sushi-rice/ As some of you may know, I’ve been making Matsuhisa-sama’s sushi vinegar with the Lakanto monkfruit sweetener, much as they do at the Matsuhisa and Nobu restaurants. I’ve periodically had consistency issues with the sweetener coming out of solution. The problem manifests itself by crystallizing at the bottom of the […]

Making Bolognese

It had been years since I had a bolognese with pasta. I used to have fettucine with bolognese when I was growing up and I remember having that at that wonderful Middletown, CT Italian restaurant where I went to school. Never having made it before, I decided to turn to a recipe from Chef Marisa […]