jlee 
I won dinner for two at moto restaurant and guest chef for a day at iNG restaurant in Chicago as part of the Scorcese Menu contest. There are many reasons why you should dine at iNG. The cuisine is delightfully imaginative. Flavor tripping with the miracle berry is sui generis. The service is excellent. And as … Read more
Fruit glue is an interesting technique that melds different fruits together using low methoxyl pectin and calcium. Fruits are infused with a calcium solution, brushed with a pectin solution, and then compressed together in a vacuum sealer. Low methoxyl pectin gels in the presence of calcium ions, gluing the fruit together. Melons used in today’s … Read more
Ice Cream Bar in San Francisco serves old-fashioned soda fountain drinks. I never order off the menu because I prefer to experiment and create my own sodas using the many essential oils, tinctures, and syrups they have on hand. Try one of my creations if you’re in town: a phosphate soda with pineapple syrup, fresh … Read more
Vietnamese compressed watermelon sashimi. That’s watermelon, not tuna! Compressed watermelon is made using a chamber vacuum sealer. Under vacuum, the vacuoles in the watermelon cells expand like a balloon and eventually burst. After the watermelon is sealed and the vacuum is released, the liquid in the bag fills the ruptured vacuoles, transforming the texture, color, … Read more
Centrifuged Banana Juice Sorbet with Nutella Powder and Whipped Cream Jet City Gastrophysics recently photographed his 30 course dinner at the Modernist Cuisine Cooking Lab. Looking over the menu, I was curious about the centrifuged banana juice sorbet. How do you juice a banana? Unlike pea butter and caramelized carrot soup (both of which were … Read more
Caramelized carrot soup. Coconut foam sprinkled with dried tarragon, thyme, and ground ginger. I bought a new pressure cooker and the first thing I made with it was Modernist Cuisine’s caramelized carrot soup. They suggest pairing the soup with a coconut chutney foam, but instead of using their recipe I went with the coconut foam … Read more
Ron Swanson’s Modernist Birthday Dinner: sous-vide filet mignon vacuum marinated in Lagavulin 16 scotch, topped with bacon bits and whipped truffle butter Parks and Recreation is currently my favorite TV show. In season 3, episode 12, Leslie throws Ron a surprise birthday party. It’s a solo dinner consisting of an enormous porterhouse steak, a plate … Read more
The Peaness Mightier: Pea butter spread on pea flour crackers, topped with pea water caviar. This dish is named after the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy sketch. I deconstructed a pea and put it back together to mimic the way caviar is served with crackers and lightly buttered toast points. I used every part of the pea … Read more