Heirloom tomatoes are a special crop that I look forward to every year. Unlike other common supermarket tomatoes that have had their flavor bred out of them (not to mention they're usually picked green and forced ripened using ethylene gas), heirlooms are true, unique strains of tomatoes that haven't been messed with. Each variety of heirloom tomato has it's own unique color, flavor and shape, just like nature intended. And did I mention that they're absolutely delicious and about to hit their peak?
In this video I'll demonstrate how to make a simple steak tartare using the head and tail trimmings of a fabricated beef tenderloin.
This video will take you through the process that we use to sous vide a rack of lamb at Stella. The nice thing about this process is we cook the lamb rack a second time in a reduced pan sauce which infuses both the lamb and the sauce with an amazing flavor.
This video demonstrates how we prepare and cook our sous vide chicken breast that we're currently serving with sauted spring vegetables and a reduced shallot jus.
The chicken breast is first brined for 24 hours in a 5% brine and then rinsed. Next, the chicken breast is vacuum packed individually and cooked sous vide in 60ºC/140ºF water bath for 4 hours. On "the pickup," the chicken breast is cut out of the sous vide package and the skin is pressed into rice flour and then pan fried in chicken fat.
What makes this sous vide chicken breast great ...
In this video we discuss how to garnish food and some concepts to take into consideration when planing a completed dish. This video was inspired by a question posted by a YouTube viewer regarding our "Composed Cauliflower Soup" video.
YouTube User nvj944 asks: "When doing this 'pour in presentation' what's the trick to the garnishes? Are there some that work better than others. Also, the sliced cauliflower doesn't float right? So, you need to use a wide, shallow bowl otherwise the soup would cover up your beautiful presentation."
I'm really proud to present this video because it's a long time in the making; not necessarily the completed dish itself, but all the fundamental cooking techniques required to actually execute this dish properly. When the thought struck to start a cooking "blog" (back before I even created FCS), I originally intended to chronicle advanced cooking techniques from a working chef's perspective.
In this video I will be demonstrating how to make fresh pasta from scratch. Once this technique is mastered, there is literally no end to the infinite variations you create upon this simple theme.
Although restaurants love to tempt you with some of their more creative appetizers, sometimes you just want to start your meal with a good, green salad. When I want a great salad, this is the one I crave above all others.
This video demonstrates one technique for finishing our sous vide chicken roulade that we made in a previous video.
The video above will take you through the process of creating and plating our ahi sashimi dish that we are currently serving at Stella. If you've already watched the video and just need a quick refresher, you can refer to the step by step pictures below. For more information on acquiring specific ingredients or supporting recipes, please see the notes section at the bottom of this post.