Tasting menu 103

We had a huge snowstorm come through Colorado this week. It dropped 2 and 1/2 feet of snow at our house ( this is our air conditioner in the back yard) It reminded me of mountain snow, very light and fluffy. I will spend a little time on making some snow textures with liquid nitrogen this week.

Graham cracker encrusted soft shell crab
Coconut mousse, tropical fruit, soy dippin dots

Grilled goat cheese
House made caper bread, goji berry carpaccio, tomato caviar

Berbere sous-vide pork loin
Grilled banana puree, brown sugar gelee, compressed apple salad

Lavender honey baklava
Roasted pumpkin ice cream made table side with liquid nitrogen

Tasting menu 102

Not a lot to talk about this week, things are pretty quit around here. I am just sitting back and watching the homemade kid driven space balloons fly over the hotel. The world is definitely coming to a end.

Garlic grilled New Zealand mussels
Fried dynamite, pickled vegetables, lemon grass air

Smoked Buffalo sausage
Guinness gelee, porcini, red wine glass

Sous-vide ½ lobster
Yuzu, caramel carrots, fried avocado

Smore spring roll with smoked sea salt ice cream
Served table side with liquid nitrogen

Tatsing menu 101

Thank you to everyone who came in to help us celebrate number 100, the support for our tasting menu has been incredible over the past couple of years. The unbelievable part to me is not how many tasting menus we have done but more so where we are. If I can pull this off in Westminster Colorado, it can be done anywhere, it is all in the approach. My advice, make people comfortable with the food, they will be more open to trying news things. Simple is the best- not to many ingredients or flavors. Use the best tool to come up with the best product. Don't make it about a label, let the food speak for itself

House made pancetta
Green beans, compressed heirloom tomato, honey-dijon jel

Dashi broth
Chinese mushrooms, lump crab, sriracha caviar

Sous-vide duck breast in hoison and orange
Celery root puree, tempura grapes, foie wonton

Sweet potato and maple ice cream with streusel
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting Menu 98

Luck has it that I was selected to sit on a jury last week. It gave me an appreciation for our justice system. The gentleman was found guilty of 3rd and 1st degree assault on a person of risk. Sometimes I wonder if I could have had the patients to be a lawyer or a judge. Instead I chose a profession where I am constantly judged.

Lobster popcorn fritter
Tempura seaweed, yuzu jel, bok choy

Buttermilk fried tarragon chicken
Corn flan, sous-vide ranch potatoes, coconut gravy

Berbere grille New York
Smoked plum puree, compressed portabella, cheddar bacon risotto

Blackberry ice cream with hazelnut cream
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting menu 97

I have jury duty tomorrow, something I am not looking forward to at all. Don't they know that a crazy chef should not make any decisions pertaining to anyone else. I can barley keep my shit together as it is. Here is the menu for the next 2 weeks

Pear, apricot, plum gastrique
Poached shrimp, goat cheese marble, vanilla

Smoked trout Bruschetta
Salt water caviar, frozen tomatoes, chili threads

Sous-vide lamb chops
Peppers from the garden, Colorado corn, chayote chips

Crème brulee ice cream with burnt palm sugar
Made table side with liquid nitrogen

Tasting menu 96

I am getting pretty nervous about my presentation at the museum of art for mixed taste next week. I have to build a keynote presentation which I have never done before. It will be hard to sum up molecular gastronomy in 20 minutes. I will rely on the two speeches I heard from Herve This and Harold McGee to explain the base premise of the movement. I will throw in some of my crazy experiences and highlight some dishes from other chefs. We will end up the evening like always, next to the nitrogen take whipping out batches of creamy sorbet. This tasting menu will run from Wednesday 8/2 through Saturday 8/12

White anchovies
Heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil paper, mozzarella sheets

Chorizo
Dirty rice puree, old bay shrimp, cashew clams

Buffalo short ribs
Pumpkin powder, pineapple gnocchi, hearts of palm

White chocolate mousse ice cream
Chocolate dipped raspberry nougat
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting Menu 95

I am back after a very nice vacation. It will be a very busy couple of weeks for me. We are changing all menus right now including room service. Someday I will have time to get caught up on some post and get some of the pile of recipes I have on the blog. I will have some exciting news coming up pretty soon.

Grilled baby leeks
Chicken cigar, edamame hummus, red pepper pipette

Apple wood bacon powder
Blue cheese-apple-walnut terrine, baby iceberg, smoked grapes

Lemon grass salmon
Tobiko champagne jelly, lump crab fried rice, compressed melon

Bloody marry sorbet
Crystallized celery made table side with LN2

Tatsing menu 94

I am repeating the crepe course for a photo shoot we have for Denver magazine on Friday. We will run this menu for the next 2 weeks, I will be taking next week off. We have a few concerts planned along with some rafting and some quality time with the kids.

Heirloom tomato carpaccio
Fizzy capers, crispy silver fish, basil gelee

Lobster crepe
Black truffle caviar, mornay, salt water bubbles

Berbere and beer braised pork belly
Israeli cous cous carbonara, 148 degree egg

Flur de sel ice cream with frozen pretzel dust
Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting menu 93

I sure needed the last couple of days off. You really don't know what you are capable of doing until you are right in the middle of it. We have a lot of people out the last couple of weeks. I found myself running a omelet station in a banquet room at 6 am one morning. I have not worked omelets for awhile, my first couple really sucked. I will have to schedule my self for a few more breakfast shift to get the skills back.

Chicken and apple sausage
Compressed peppers, grilled onion jel, tomato bubbles

Bone marrow
Garlic Bruschetta, crimini


Sous-vide tiger shrimp in olive oil and herbs
Crab roll, dashi tempura, peach salad


Watermelon brulee
Watermelon textures made table side with LN

Tatsing Menu 92

It has been a very hectic week at the hotel. We have been sold for rooms the past 8 days with another 7 ahead. The groups do not have many banquet functions so the restaurant is getting hit hard. I am feeling a lot more comfortable running the kitchen after my crash course the last 3 weeks. The chef is back so I can finally get some work done in the restaurant.

Curried grilled eggplant
Fennel foam, fried artichoke and fennel, coconut

Sweat pea and rosemary cream
Carrot caviar, grilled mussels

Basil and lemon Popsicle

Roasted leg of lamb
Mint, flexible potato, roasted garlic and onions

Peach cobbler with brown sugar ice cream
Made tableside with LN

Tasting Menu 91

My wife and I had a amazing meal at 1515 market last night. Gene the owner invited us in for some food and wine. The best plate by far was the seared scallop with huitlacoche puree. I have not seen the corn mushroom since I worked at the Rattlesnake grill about 1o years ago. It is a underutilized ingredient. Basically they leave sweet corn out in a warm environment. Eventually a mold or mushroom will grow on the outside. It has a deep sweet flavor to it that complimented the scallop dish perfectly. I would say it was one of the better meals I have had in a while.

Coconut Grouper
Watermelon pop rocks, mint from the garden, dashi gelee

Compressed heirloom tomatoes
Garlic, dandelion leaves, Tasmanian pepper caviar

Chorizo
Brioche, plantain, fried quail eggs

Tiramisu ice cream with frozen lady finger dust

Made tableside with liquid nitrogen

Tasting Menu 90

What a difference a few days off makes. I had a great weekend celebrating some friends birthdays along with my daughter and I. People often ask why I live in Denver and why I don't move to more of a culinary city. My answer is quality of life. I have visited many places and lived in a few but Colorado is the place where I want to raise my kids. The quality of life here is amazing. For example we have the best concert venue in the world at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. We saw OAR along with Brett Dennon on Friday night. I feel much more creative when I am rested. We are back to our regular tasting menu rotations.

Ginger soy marinated pineapple k-bob
Chili squid, cilantro from the garden, fried yogurt

Green pea powder
Sous-vide carrots, curry jel, pita

Achiote grilled arctic char
Tomatillo, pepper crisps, pico de gallo noodles

Carbonated strawberry shortcake
Made tableside with LN

Tasting Menu 89

We will run the same tasting menu as last week except for the desert course. I am going to take the weekened off to celebrate my daughters birthday and mine on June 4th. The restaurant is in good hands, we just promoted Camilio to roundsman. He is an amazing chef that will help both the restaurant and banquets. Camilio and Mike will put the menu out this weekened. It has been a hard couple of weeks for me at the hotel. Change is good, it just takes a little while to get used to it. My blogging has suffered, learning something new takes twice as long. The cooking has always come easy, it is the financial side of the business that I need to work on.

Grilled scallops

Compressed apple chutney, pumpkin powder, pineapple sage

Lobster crepe

Mornay, black truffle caviar, salt water bubbles

Grilled Kobe beef

Smoke pudding, herb potato, red pepper

Creamy goat cheese cheesecake
Peach ice cream made tableside with LN

Tasting Menu 87

As you can tell by the lack of any post the past week I am very busy. We have a new chef and with his presence comes a whole new way of running this hotel. Every chef has a different way of running a operation, I am the quit type that manages through my actions. I expect my cooks to work as hard as I do in the kitchen. My new chef has the same outlook, far different from what I am used to. He will hold us all to a different level, making us better everyday. Our menu this week has some French influences sprinkled through out. We have some members of the French consultant coming in on Friday. We are also starting a promotion on our patio this week called fajitas and ritas on Friday nights. Cheap food and cold drinks, it will be packed.

Lobster crepe
Truffle caviar, mornay, salt water

Razor shaved snails
Garlic noodles, spring onions, warm mayo

Hoison braised buffalo short ribs
Pot roast vegetables, ricotta gnocchi, tarragon

Warm brandy cherries
Vanilla lavender ice cream made table side with LN

Tatsing Menu 86

Sesame monkfish
Green tea noodles, carbonated tobiko, white soy

Curry hibiscious vinaigrette sheet
First herbs from the garden, baby vegetables, fried asadaro

Blackened Ribeye
BBQ gelee, malted potatoes, black vinegar

Pineapple raisin carrot cake
Cream cheese ice cream made tableside with LN

Tasting Menu 85

The tasting menu has been selling like hot cakes lately. 80% of the reservations last Thursday, Friday and Saturday were here for the menu.

Sweet green pea flan
Carrot cardamom caviar, pea shoots, smoked trout

Chipotle angel food cake
King crab, tequila mosaic, cilantro

San Francisco sourdough space foam

Snapper Veracruz
Flexible avocado, apricot rice taquitto, tomato
]
Hot chocolate ice cream
Shattered whip cream made table side with LN

Tasting menu 84

My wife and I did a demo at Mckinley-Thatcher elementary school yesterday. There is no doubt that I would rather cook for kids then adults. I have so much fun showing them how everyday products they buy at the store can be made at home using a little imagination. We are getting ready for Mother's day brunch next weekend. We should do around 800 for brunch and another 150 that night for early dinner. We have hired a new Executive chef for our hotel, I cannot wait for him to start. I need to learn a lot more before I become a hotel chef and he is the guy that will bring me to the next level.

Compressed Mexican papaya
Jerk shrimp, avocado pudding, parsnip

Spring ramps
Foie, tempura berries, coco nibs

Acidic yogurt space foam

Smoke bubbles
New York, jalapeno jelly, tamale pie

Pecan waffle with maple ice cream
Made table side with LN

Tasting menu 83

This is Jacob Williams. He is working with us for his day on the job project through Stanley Lake High School. What do I tell these young culinarians about my business. Don't do it unless you really love it. The hours are horrible, the stress levels are sometimes unbearable and if your looking to get rich, look somewhere else. I have a school demo coming up this week. The kids at Mckinley-Thatcher have challenged me with homemade root beer, should be fun to learn how to make it.

Sage derby cheese
Roasted cauliflower, pear jel, shaved bread

Hamachi carpaccio
Togarashi aioli, fennel, “fried rice”

Mustard braised pork belly
Israeli cous cous carbonara, black truffle sheet, spinach

Pineapple crème brulee tart
Coconut ice cream made table side with LN

Tatsing Menu 81

If you have children or will in the near future you will get my take on fruit salad. A friend brought a Wiggles tape in for me and my wife after we had our first girl Taylor. She would play this video over and over. Anyway one of the songs is called Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy. Unfortunately the song has been burned into my psyche and now I cannot say the word without singing the song. We have this little Mexican taco fast food place by our house that serves a horchata drink on ice. I am having a few of the cooks help me with making the recipe but apparently you soak rice for a day, not cooking it at all. You take the remaining liquid and add sugar and vanilla. Some variations also have nuts in it. We will make the ice cream and then roll it in croquant, a puffed sweet rice.

Fruit salad “yummy yummy”
Lavender legos, yogurt crisps, mint

Southern grit French fries
Buttermilk aioli, greens, fried chicken

Pina Colada space foam

Smoked corn powder encrusted halibut
Lobster gnocchi, papaya pipette, coconut blanket

Horchata ice cream
Croquant, agave
Made tableside with LN

Tasting Menu 80

I should have kept my big mouth shut about not getting any snow. Last Thursday we had a good size storm that dropped around 20 inches. The hotel was slammed, we did around 600 covers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That is the main difference from working in a independent. If I was in my own restaurant, I wouldn't have made it off the couch that morning. I would have called it a snow day but here at the hotel we have customers that are here everyday and when it gets really cold out we get slammed. I will have a small news segment on Wednesday on channel 2 in the 9 o'clock hour promoting the cookstreet class

Grilled butter shrimp
Old bay popcorn, mint tabbouleh, rainbow caviar

Berbere rubbed pork carnitas

Sopapia, smoked grapes, fried sour cream

Ice wine sorbet

Sous-vide duck with honey and clove
Cranberry beans, warm root vegetable brulee, soy sugar

Mexican vanilla ice cream

Cinnamon tortilla, frozen caramel powder