iTunes & Eat Life: Eclectic Playlist

Introducing dinner party iMixes by Eat Life, available on iTunes. Each playlist has custom menus that were inspired by the songs. Enjoy a complete dining experience with music, creative food and friends.  

Read more!

FeedBack to F.C.I from Y.O.U

Do you love your chef? Are your books beneficial? Is there something missing from the curriculum? Tell us what you love about F.C.I and what can be improved on.

This is a survey to aid in the efficiency of the French Culinary Institute, and your suggestions can be anonymous. But don’t get carried away, vulgar suggestions will not be posted. 

Read more!

Project 5: Understanding the Potato

Potatoes are a wonderful product that chefs in restaurants and cooks at home get to use in everyday meals. There are a vast variety of potatoes that are all distinguished between one another. Color, taste, nutritional value, and texture of potatoes are only a few of the characteristics, but despite their differences they all share a common history. Regardless of the common idea that potatoes came from the Irish, extensiveresearch has shown that the potatoes true origin is from Peru, South America. Potatoes originated in the high Andes of Peru some 8,000 years ago, because of this the U.N. announced in December of 2005, that the year 2008 was the International Year of Potatoes.

Peruvian gastronomy is one of my favorite types of cuisine. The different dishes from coast to
highlands show an extraordinary way to express the many different ingredients, techniques, and Peruvian history in each dish. Peruvians are well known for the their seafood, corn, and of course potatoes among many other wonderful ingredients. Peru has the largest variety of these three ingredients over anywhere else in the world. Peru has over 1,000 different species of seafood, 35 different varieties of corn, and over 3,000 native potatoes. Due to the climates and soils that they need to be cultivated in, many of these can only be grown in Peru.

I decided to make a menu using five varieties of potatoes, all cooked in different ways and used in six dishes. Moving from the Pacific coast to the Incan highlands, I created a menu to showcase the differences in Peruvian cuisine. I believe that Peruvian cuisine will be the next cuisine fad for the world over, and that there are still many things to be revealed in the culinary environment. Through the printing on my menu and the photos I have taken you’ll be able to appreciate the influence of Peru in my style of cooking. Although Peru has a plethora of potato products their geographical location in South America has rendered them unable to produce wine very well. For that reason, I wrote a wine menu from different countries around the world. From old world to new world wines, I believe I put together a menu striving

towards perfection of matching my menu in the best ways. A nice sweet Riesling from Alsace France became a beautiful way to start off, the balance between the two acids and a nice accent of mineral that blended with the fish. For the Causa, I stayed in France because of this one wine that I think is brilliant with this dish, a 2004 Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux witch married this dish, its acidity is more round but enough to match the grapefruit, it has a nice salinity for the brine as well as mineral, unlike a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, this wine says old world. Heading south to Rioja Spain, to match the scallop with a White Rioja, its cream
finish fits the scallop and the sauce very well, it has a nice taste of apricot and lemon zest, great for giving the dish freshness, this wine has a great deal of earthiness for the potato and provides great balance for all the ingredients. Crossing the Atlantic to California into Monterey, I selected a Pinot Noir. It has a hint of sea like flavor from the wind blowing off the sea into the vineyard; witch goes very well with the soy flavor in the onions. It’s very crisp and has a nice salinity. This dish is very light and I wanted a light wine to match it, through this wine I found a good feel of earthy to combine the onions and the rest of the dish. Choosing a
wine for the pork belly was not easy, because of the pomegranate witch gives a lot of wines a weird taste to them, I had to pick wisely. Back to the old world I chose a Piedmont from Italy, witch contained a full tannin feel to it with the richness of the pork belly, it has a lot of earthiness witch bines the potatoes and the pork as well as it being very tart to cut the fat and match the salsa criolla. For the final pairing I chose a more balanced wine, but still off dry for desert. A Sauvignon Blanc from Aconcagua Valley, Chile, its sweetness and acid really balances out the entire dish from the corn sauce and the cream and lime, to the earthy background of
the potato and saffron, this wine really finishes off the meal of a great pairing.

Read more!

Project 5: Potato Menu

Menu by Cameron Slaugh

click the menu item to view the recipes

Red Snapper Ceviche (below).    Pan Seared Quail.    White Shrimp “Causa” of Yellow Potato.    Purple Potato in Cast Iron.    Vanilla Butter Poached Yukon Potato.      Sweet Potato Cake

Red Snapper Ceviche

Tiger’s Milk Macerated Sweet Potato, Frozen “Pisco Sour”, Corn “Tuile”

Ceviche

2 16 ounces fillets of red snapper

20 limes

salt

1 red onion

1 cup pure olive oil

1 bunch cilantro

2 large sweet potatoes

Corn Tuile

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3 egg whites

3/4 cup corn meal

1 hand full chopped cilantro

Pisco Sour

6 ounces pisco

4 ounces simple syrup

2 ounces lime juice

1 big hand full ice

1 egg white

Ceviche: Cut snapper into about 1/2 inch cubes. Juice all limes and slice red onion as thin as possible. Cook sweet potatoes in simmering water so they don’t break.

Once cooked, peel them and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, set aside. Take all ingredients, except cilantro and potatoes, and marinade for 5 minutes. Then, take juice from

marinade and pour over sweet potatoes for 5 minutes. This marinade is called leche de tigre by Peruvians, witch means tiger’s milk. After marinated mix all

ingredients and place in bowl.

Corn Tuile: Mix butter with sugar and salt, add one egg at a time and stir in corn meal just until incorporated. Add cilantro and chill batter until cold. Spread a

thin amount on a silicone mat in circle shapes. Bake 350ºF until golden brown. Take out and let cool for about 30 seconds, then roll around a wooden spoon or a

wooden dowel to get tubular shape.

Pisco Sour: Place all ingredients in blender and blend until cool and foamy.

Read more!

Pan Seared Quail

by cameron slaugh

click the menu item to view the recipes

Red Snapper Ceviche.    Pan Seared Quail.    White Shrimp “Causa” of Yellow Potato.    Purple Potato in Cast Iron.    Vanilla Butter Poached Yukon Potato.      Sweet Potato Cake

Cipollini Onions in Soy,Tomato Compote, “Papas Fritas”

Seared Quail

8 quail

1 bunch cilantro, hacher

1 bunch parsley, hacher

vegetable oil (to coat)

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons minced garlic

Cipollini Onions in Soy

24-32 cipollini onions

1 10 ounces bottle soy sauce

Tomato Compote

10 roma tomatoes, emonded

1/2 bunch cilantro, whole

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 red onion, ciseler

salt and pepper

2 smashed garlic cloves

Papas Fritas

3 Idaho potatoes

1/2 gallon vegetable oil

salt

Seared Quail: Cut quail length wise in half and clean, if not already done. Mix quail with cilantro, parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper for 6 hours.

Cipollini Onions in Soy : Clean skin off onions and keep whole. Mix with soy sauce and garlic, marinade until needed.

Tomato Compote : Concasser tomatoes, sweat onions and garlic. Add tomatoes and cilantro and cover with cartouche. Simmer until cooked and keep warm.

Papas Fritas: Cut potatoes into frites size and blanch immediately in oil. Pan sear quail until mid rare, sauté onions straight off marinade and fry potatoes until golden brown and season with salt. Serve with tomato compote.

Read more!

White Shrimp “Causa” of Yellow Potato

by cameron slaugh

click the menu item to view the recipes

Red Snapper Ceviche .    Pan Seared Quail.    White Shrimp “Causa” of Yellow Potato.    Purple Potato in Cast Iron.    Vanilla Butter Poached Yukon Potato.      Sweet Potato Cake

Grapefruit-Olive Tapenade, Avocado Emulsion

Potato mix

8 yellow potatoes peeled

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter pommade

salt and pepper

parchment paper

Shrimp

2 pounds 28 to 30 white shrimp

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup butter

salt and pepper

Mayonnaise

4 egg yolks

21/2 cups neutral oil

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

salt and pepper

Tapenade

1 pint mix olives

2 grapefruits in segments, juice and zest

1/4 cup brunoise of red onion

1/4 cup brunoise of red pepper

Avocado Emulsion

2 ripe avocados

1 cup mayonnaise

salt and pepper

Potato Mix: Boil potatoes until cooked through and cool. Take cooled potatoes and mash with milk and butter, season to taste. It should be thick and not runny,

if runny add more potatoes or it won’t hold up in rolling process. Once mixed and cooled, take a piece of parchment paper and make a rectangle of potatoes 1/2

inch thick.

Mayonnaise: Add yolks, vinegar and mustard into a mixing bowl, with whisk mix ingredients and slowly drizzle in oil while mixing. Once emulsified, season to

taste and cool.

Shrimp: Clean and cut shrimp lengthwise. Cook in butter, season and cool. Once cooled, mix in mayonnaise and keep cool.

Tapenade: In a food processor, blend olives into little pieces. Put in mixing bowl and add zest of 1 grapefruit and 4 tablespoons of juice after supremed, leavegrapefruit segments in the remainder juice. Add onions and peppers and mix by hand, season to taste.

Avocado Emulsion : Take avocado and blend in food processor with mayonnaise, season to taste and keep cool.

Lay shrimp mixture lengthwise on the potato. Then, slowly and very carefully, start to roll it tight. Chill the rolls until ready to serve. When ready, unroll theparchment paper and cut to desired sizes, serve with tapenade and avocado emulsion.

Read more!

Purple Potato in Cast Iron

by cameron slaugh

click the menu item to view the recipes

Red Snapper Ceviche .    Pan Seared Quail.    White Shrimp “Causa” of Yellow Potato.    Purple Potato in Cast Iron.    Vanilla Butter Poached Yukon Potato.      Sweet Potato Cake

Pomegranate Braised Pork Belly, “Salsa Criolla” Belgian Endive, Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

Pork Belly

24 ounces pork belly

24 ounces pomegranate juice

Salsa Criolla

1 red onion

2 jalapeño peppers

3 limes

salt and pepper

Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

6 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 small clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 cup grape seed oil

Purple Potato

8 purple potatoes

vegetable oil

Garnish

1 pomegranate, seeded

2 heads of endive

Pork Belly: Cut pork belly into 4 inch rectangles and sear all sides. In sauce pot, add pork belly and pomegranate juice, cover and braise for a minimum of 5

hours on a low simmer or until tender.

Salsa Criolla: Finely emincer the onions and jalapeños. Juice limes and marinade in lime juice and seasoning until needed.

Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette: Mix mustard, vinegar and garlic and whisk in by drizzling the oil, season to taste.

Purple Potato: Slice potatoes very thinly on a mandoline while cast iron gets very hot with oil. Lay cut potatoes in hot cast iron very carefully off the flame. Fill to

top of potatoes with oil and cook until brown. Once cooked dump out oil, holding the potatoes with a fork.

Mix endives with vinaigrette and sauce with salsa criolla, pomegranate seeds, pork belly and the potatoes.

Read more!

Vanilla Butter Poached Yukon Potato with Seared Scallop

by cameron slaugh

click the menu item to view the recipes

Red Snapper Ceviche.    Pan Seared Quail.    White Shrimp “Causa” of Yellow Potato.    Purple Potato in Cast Iron.    Vanilla Butter Poached Yukon Potato.      Sweet Potato Cake

Poached Potato

4 pounds whole unsalted butter

3 tablespoons vanilla paste

2 handfuls ice

8 baby yukon potatoes

salt and pepper

Seared Scallop

8 U10 clean scallops

vegetable oil

“Aji” Sauce

2 yellow peppers

1 yellow habanero pepper

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Poached Potato : In a saucepot melt cubed butter and add ice while whisking, making a beurre fondue, add vanilla paste and set heat on very low simmer. Add potatoes and cooked 5 to 6 hours, or until done.

Aji Sauce: Combine yellow pepper, habanero pepper and evaporated milk into blender and puree. Drizzle in oil while blending and season to taste. Chill until use.

Seared Scallop: To serve, sear seasoned

Read more!