lamb stew

This is my first attempt at posting from a blackberry. I've been at home on this very rainy day looking through my recipies and finally I have come across my lamb stew recipe that I will post. Even though its a preety secretive thing, without knowing where and when to use this, its somehwhat useless on its own:
25lb diced seared, seasoned lamb
8 onions fine dice
20plum tomatoes,seeded and chopped
2tsp mince garlic
1 cup white wine
1 gallon fresh veal stock
Bake. Covered, 275 degrees for 4 to 6 hours until all is very tender. Let cool together and skim off fat after a day.

Adjustments

All kitchen adjustments are being done by Ernesto our general contractor until I take over officially in the kitchen in a week or so. Even though we were able to score a awesome Wolf Range our "American Range" salamander would not fit, until we make a few cuts and welds here and there. Now, we have a awesome piece of equipment that is exactly what I had wanted...

Kitchen Progress

Notice the difference a couple of days makes! Two post's down from this is where our kitchen was at the beginning of the week. In just two days we've made a lot of progress.
We are moving along in Kitchen "World". Our broiler has been attached with our salamander and after a bit of adjusting, things have came together. Looks like the convect's got to live under/on the line, this thing is huge, there's really no other place for it. The plumbers, "plumbers" were supposed to be here today, but never showed up, so we are back to the waiting game. My favorite. I'm going to order one 7ft by 20" table to work as the pass. Originally I had planned on having the refrigeration be the "pass" but after some consideration we've decided against that. We think we'd be better off having the refrigerators on the salad and dessert stations and using ice, LOTS of ICE for misen place during dinner service.
Tomorrow I begin planning my dry storage shelving. Instead of using metro works we are going to do a custom job and use "Ernesto's" talented crew to make me something permanent. More photos to come as we move forward. Also, a quick note, the guys for the hood were back at it again, I hope they were able to finish up the vent system, but I'm not holding my breath...

Wed, January 13th

Heading down to the space now. Yesterday my 36" grill with OVEN came in! Finally! We are installing the salamander on top today, along with the plumbers are doing their finall instalation on the sinks and appliances. I think that I will probably get some pictures posted of progress tonight or tomorrow, depending. The heat lamps should be going up soon, a lot is restinng on when the electrician gets into finish up the wiring of my lights.
Also today I'm going to try and figure out the best way to utilize my dry storage space...

Kitchen Construction

I am hoping to be finished in here and cooking by the 20th. Little less then two weeks. Today we finish the ceiling, tomorrow we find out if we get the other equipment for the hot line we want... Once we figure that out, the guys will come in and plumb everything together. The ceiling is lower then we had hoped but since we had to install a couple of the units for a.c. above in there, the space was very limited. Tomorrow I will be in there moving things around and trying to do a basic clean up, hopefully the place will start to look like home soon.

Warm Brulee Filling for Almond Cake

2 egg yolk
1.5 ounces of sugar
1/4 vanilla pod
1 cup plus 1TB Cream
preheat oven to 250.
Make just like a creme brulee recipe, bake until set, let cool, then freeze.
Un mold, cut into squares and freeze again.

5 ounces Almond Flour
1/2 cup AP Flour
1 Vanilla Bean
16TB Butter
7 egg whites
1 cup powder sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Cut the vanilla bean in half, add to pan with butter and brown lightly. Remove vanilla bean and let cool to room temperature. Place a bowl over water bath and dissolve the 2 sugars with the egg whites until very warm.
Remove from the heat and fold in dry ingredients.
Gradually add in brown butter.
Bake at 350. Pipe in batter to mold half way, place one piece of frozen brulee and pipe more batter on top. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Center should be runny, not broken or curdled in any way.

Dessert Menu

Dessert Menu (Winter 2010)

Vanilla, Brown Butter and Almond Cake
Meyer Lemon Tart
Goat Cheese Cake with Hazelnut
Chocolate Bread Pudding with Truffled Honey
Creme Brulee with Pink Peppercorns and Vanilla Bean

I think this is what I'm going to start with. After having a really good bread pudding at Union Square Cafe the other day, I had forgotten how satisfying the classic could be. Meyer Lemon Tart is a classic of ours, as is the Creme Brulee infused with Vanilla and Peppercorns. Currently I am thinking of maybe scratching the creme brulee and filling the Almond Cake with the custard instead, depending on how things go.

January 30th

The 30th of January is our "target" date to open the Rabbit. As for the kitchen, I am waiting on one more piece of equipment, a french rings range and possibly 4 more burners, depending on what's available. Currently we have a 48inch broiler which is huge and unneccesary.
Once those two pieces are in, we will finish the pipe, get the fire prevention installed and install the refrigerators. Hopfully all of this will happen in the next week and a half!
To do this week:
Contact all purveyors (Baldor, SidWainer, Lafrieda, Westcon, Dairyland, Wild Edibles, Gotham, Down East Seafood, and Seacrest Linens, c.o. Tom.)
Find range and install all.
Finish the tentative opening menu.
Budget for kitchen staff for first couple of weeks (friends and family).
The space is comming along well, I would post pictures, but not until after we've oppened for business. Bloggers would have them as soon as they were posted. All I can say is the bottom bar is almost complete, and the floor should be layed by the weekend.
In my free time I will be looking through books and more books to see if theres anything new I'd like to try, though most of everything on the menu will be classic recipes that we have done before. As for the flow of service, it will be interesting, because I have opened restaurants before, but not of this size or potential. Currently the idea is to run or "flow" as we did at Luxembourg, except I have not decided wether or not the desserts will come off gardemanger or their own seperate place.

January 3rd, 2010 (Goat Cheesecake)

Planning for new restaurant. Kitchen should be done this week (if all the equipment arrives) and we should be cooking next week! It's been a long time since the Mott, I'm excited to start working again. One idea is for a Goat Cheese "Cheese" Cake for dessert. Kind of a savory dish rather than sweet. SInce the rest of the deserts will be loaded with sugar, I think it will be nice to do something on the other side. Recipe:x8 small ramekins
Filling: 8 ounce Cream Cheese (soft), 8 ounces soft goat cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 2LG eggs, 3TB Lemon Juice, 2tsp Salt, 3 cup Sour Cream, 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese(soft) and black pepper to taiste.
Whip cream cheese and goat cheese together, 4 minutes with paddle, add sugar and egg. Add lemon, salt, sour cream, fold in goat cheese.
For Crust: 1 cup almond, toasted and ground, 1/4 cup sun dried tomato, chopped, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2tsp salt, 2TB melted butter.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. process almond, tomato, cornmeal, pepper, salt and butter in processor till combined. Butter the insides of the ramekins. Bake in water bath for 30-50 minutes till just set. cool completly.