Savory Cook

Garde Manger Platters

2009-05-21T09:25:00.001-07:00

Pressed sushi cubes with Ahi and avocado .

Monterey squid, stuffed with a farce of squid, leeks, bacon, garlic, panko and eggs, with a pickled red pearl onion and aioli.

Buckwheat blini's with cream fraiche, fine diced red onion, and American sturgeon caviar.

Platter of Kumamoto and Malpeque Oysters with modified hogwash Mignonette.

Foie gras mousse canape, served on top of toasted brioche with apple mostarda

Platter with the pressed sushi, stuffed squid and a smoked salmon terrine

The foie gras canape served on top of my favorite platter, a redwood plank picked up for $5 at a Oregon truckstop.....

Farmers Market Lunch

2009-05-03T20:59:00.001-07:00

Found some beautiful carrots, sugar snap peas and free range chicken eggs at the Walnut Creek farmer’s marker today. Couldn't resist to do a healthy yet delicious lunch with them. The carrots and sugar snaps are first par-cooked individually and then quickly sautéed in a little butter finished with a squeeze of Meyer lemon juice. The Egg is sous vide at 147F for one hour until the yolk become like custard.

Sauteed Black Seabass

2009-01-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

Black sea bass is one of my favorite seafood’s, medium firm, delicious tasting and a wonderful skin that crisps up when sautéed. I purchased my Sea bass whole and fresh from Monterey Fish Market. I prefer buying a whole fish as it’s a better way to judge freshness. Look for bulging clear eyes, bright red gills, firm flesh, intact scales and a smell of the sea when you buy fish.

The dish I developed above is a pan sautéed Black Sea Bass on a truffle potato puree. The bass is placed on sautéed spinach and the sauce is a short rib sauce. The foam is orange leak foam and on top of bass is a orange leek Gremolata. I will post the recipe here shortly.

Our 2008 Garden Harvest

2008-10-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

As the harvest season is nearing its end in our garden I thought of showing some of bounty we enjoyed during this year:

October Bounty: Lemons, Black Mission Figs, San Marzano's, Zuccini, Japanese Eggplant, Habaneros etc

More Pictures of the harvest and garden in the slideshow below:

Crabby Chef Competition Concepts

2008-10-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

As Chen and I was entering the Crabby Chef competition in Berkeley representing DVC Culinary School and number of concept dishes was delivered the day before. The final dish for the competition was mix between two of the concepts.

Savorycook cooks at BALT fundraiser in Byron

2008-09-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

When BALT (Brentwood Agriculture Land Trust, http://www.brentwoodaglandtrust.org, asked us to participate in the 2008 Harvest Festival at the charming Taylor Ranch in Byron we immediately said yes. BALT was founded to protect agriculture land in East Contra Costa from being developed for housing. East Contra Costa agriculture area around Brentwood is the closest farmland we have in the San Francisco Bay area. For the event we made a refreshing appetizer: Heirloom tomato tartar, with cucumber dill sorbet. The Heirloom tomatoes were donated to us by Smiths Family Farms, the Cucumbers by Dwelley Farms, Olive Oil by Ron Nunn Farms and the Eggs by Shelley's Garden. Please enjoy some of the pictures below:

Savorycook at Urban Wine Experience

2008-08-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

In August we were invited to be the food partner for Eno Winery for the yearly Urban Wine Experience at Jack London Square. The event was arranged by East Bay Vintners Association, http://eastbayvintners.com. We made over 400 freshly baked Gourgeres filled with slow braised pork and topped with a peach-mint salsa. Please find some pics in the slide show below:

Pebble Beach Food and Wine 2008

2008-05-19T11:30:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer at the First Annual Food and Wine Event at Pebble Beach representing DVC Culinary Program. Our team consisting of 3 student chefs and Head Instructor. During 3 days, +50 hours of work we got to work with excellent chefs as Michael Ginor (Hudson Valley Foie Gras), Richard Reddington (Redd’s), Josia Citrin (Melisse), Michael Mina, David Kinch (Manresa) and more. The experience was incredible and very inspiring. Please enjoy some of the photo's from the event in the slideshow below!

Review of Metro Lafayette

2008-05-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Author: Anders Bengtsson, Savory Cook
Review Date: Friday, 4/18/08
Food: 23 (30)
Service: 20 (30)
Ambiance: 24 (30)
Price: $35-$55
*DVC Culinary Menu Planning Class Assignment

We were a little surprised to find this new restaurant in Lafayette, as we hadn’t heard anything about it. Metro Lafayette opened its door in June 2007 and is located in a slightly hidden location nestled in between a liquor store and a bank that’s is part of a Lafayette strip mall. Even more surprising was that Metro has a Sheahan + Quandt designed interior that is very chic, with a fitting eclectic menu created by Chefs Paul Liao and Jason Low. Owner and sommelier Jack Moore has also created a well balanced if not extensive, wine list to go with the refined dishes. The food is California French with a great deal of Asian influences.

The menu is divided into 3 parts, Raw-Bar, Salads/Small Plates and Entrees. Loving raw sea food, we ordered the “Hamishi Sashimi & Tartare”. The dish was definitely one of the highlights of the evening. The two preparations of Hamishi were elegantly plated on the same dish and very well executed. The Sashimi of Hamishi was very fresh and mild tasting, and a green miso sauce gave a nice accent to the Hamsihi. The Tartare was equally understated with a fairly light ponzu dressed cubed Hamishi which let the fish shine but still preserve the integrity of the dish. An unusual, but very complementing garnish to the Tartare was the fried crispy shallots which made me think about Vietnamese food. As whole the complete dish was a success and it felt like they stepped out of the box and provided something original. Additionally in the Raw-bar part of the menu Metro has both west and east-coast oysters on the half shell, as well as the signature dish, Spicy Raw Tuna Poke.

Going into the Salad /Small Plate part of the menu, we ordered the “Terinne de foie gras” which sounded delicious on paper. The foie gras was beautifully served over truffled frisee with fleur de sel sprinkled on top. The terrine was accompanied with balsamic figs and toasted pan de mie. What first hit me with this dish was the overpowering aroma and taste of the black truffled frisee which took away from the foie gras. Secondly the terrine was slightly oxidized in the edges which affected the presentation of the dish if not so much its taste. The balsamic figs were a very good complement of sweetness to the foie gras but I felt the dish could have some kind of acidity to complement its richness. Overall I would conclude that the dish was good in concept but it failed in execution and for a $18 small plate it should have been perfect.

Moving into the main part of our meal, we shared a couple of entrées, the first is another of Metro’s signature dishes, “Misoyaki Black Cod”. A good amount of miso glazed cod is served in a deep plate, together with scallion sticky rice cakes and mizuna greens tossed in ponzu. The flavors are nicely balanced in this dish, and the cod is cooked perfectly. As it’s a very balanced dish nothing really stands out and since the portion size is large I personally got tired of the taste after a while. Needless to say I would like to see the dish in a smaller version or with some more contrasting flavor element to make it even more interesting.

The second entrée we tried was the “Pork Chop”. Metro uses Kurobata pork in this dish, and the spice crusted pork chop was nicely cooked, moist, and very flavorful. A braised really delicious red cabbage with apple and bacon accompanied the pork chop as did a very well made potato puree. The chop was lightly sauced with a small amount of what I think was whole grain mustard creme fraise sauce, which was an unusual and healthy touch. Overall the pork chop was a very successful dish in my book, which I would gladly come back for.

Metro also has an assortment of appealing sounding desserts as well as a good selection of after dinner beverages to finish up the night. We went for the Metro Sundae, which was a Chocolate-hazelnut, triple espresso and Tahitian vanilla gelati with Valhrona hot fudge sauce, bananas and roasted hazelnut. The dessert was good, but I don’t think it lived up to its expectation in taste or plating. It was more like a banana split on steroids. Our meal at Metro was as a whole, a success, and we would definitely come back for the raw bar, the pork chop and to try some of the other dishes on the menu, but I might skip dessert next time. Additionally, Metro has a very nice outside heated patio facing Mount Diablo Blvd which looks like tempting hangout on a warm summer evening.

Launch of Savory Cook Special Event Catering

2008-04-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we launched Savory Cook Special Event Catering with a presentation of wine paired small plates at Eno Winery in Berkeley, http://www.enowines.com/. Winemaker and proprietor Sasha Verhag at Eno Wines makes handcrafted boutique style Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache and Zinfandel from premier California Vineyards. Eno Winery offered tastings of the following wines:

2005 Los Madres Syrah, Carneros
2005 Fairview Pinot Noir, SLH
2006 Cummings Pinot Noir, RRV
2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Granache

The menu especially designed for this event is shown below:

LEFT: Syrah Braised Beef Short Ribs served over Green Pea Puree, topped with julienne crisps of Parsnip, and Syrah a’Jus. Paired with 2005 Los Madres Syrah.

MIDDLE: Vegeterian alternative: Mushroom and Spring Onion Frittata with herbs, served with Micro Greens and Parsley Oil. Paired with 2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Granache.

RIGHT: Duck Confit Ravioli with spring Fava beans and a Pinot Noir Reduction Sauce. Paired with 2005 Fairview Pinot Noir and 2006 Cummings Pinot Noir.

Cheese Selection:
* Piave Cons (Italy)
* Petit Pyrenees Sheep/Cow
* Tomme Crayeus

The team for this event consisted of:

Anders Bengtsson
Kecia Leonard
Chen Tang

About Savory Cook

Our philosophy is no compromise in cooking, always use the best ingredients and prepare them with respect. We do everything from scratch and use local sustainable sources in season whenever possible. We also make our own artisinal products that we bring to our special events. We never use pre-made food items in our cooking. We focus on private dinners with wine pairing, from 2 to 20 people. We can prepare a 3 course dinner or a multi-course tasting dinner with 10-12 dishes. Our team's combined skill set and experience allows us to offer a variety of different cuisines and put together a unique, customized menu designed to the occasion.

Special thanks to Kecia and Chen that helped plan, prepare and execute this launch of Savory Cook Special Event Catering. Savory cook couldn't have a better team

For more information on booking an event please contact me via Email:

Sincerely,
Anders Bengtsson
anders@savorycook.com

Dinner Time: Pan seared scallops, potatoes terrine and champagne orange buerre blanc

2008-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

Quite a few days a week I cook dinner at home. My motto is good fresh ingredients (if possible local), cooked from scratch using no processed substitutes. This time of year I make a lot of soups made with seasonal vegetables or slow braises made of inexpensive but flavorful cuts of pork, lamb, beef or fowl. This evening however my wife requested scallops.....

I like coming up with my own dishes and use what I have home (or leftover). This dish, Pan seared scallops, potatoes terrine and champagne orange buerre blanc came out pretty nice.

Recipe: 2 People

Potatoes Terrine
5 Medium Yukon potatoes
1/2 C of cream
2Tbs Sweet butter
S+P

Peel potatoes and slice very fin with a mandolin. Pack potatoes slices into 2 buttered soufflé ramkins (6oz) and salt and pepper every second layer. Top with butter pieces and pore 1/4 cup of cream in each dish. Bake in 400F oven for approx 30 min or when tender. When cooled slightly turn ramkins upside down to get terrines out (you might need to cut around with a knife to loosen). Place on plate.

Scallops:
8 Medium size Scallops (3/4lb-1lb)
Olive Oil
S+P
Season scallops with salt and pepper. Sauté in olive oil in hit pan for 2min, flip scallops and sauté another minute, place in 350F oven until done (~5min).

Orange Champagne Buerre Blanc
3TBS finely chopped shallots
1/4 c of cream
1/2 Champagne (or white wine)
1/2 of fresh pressed orange juice
1/2 stick (2oz) sweet butter
S+P

Reduce Shallots, wine and orange in sauce pot until creamy. Add cream reduce by half, mount butter and whisk, add water to adjust thickness. Season with S+P.

Mustard Green Salad
Mustard Greens
1TBS Red Wine vinegar
2-3TBS olive Oil
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
2tsp Honey
S+P

Plate as above or to liking. Bonne appetite!

Panatone Time!

2007-12-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

One of the legends about this holiday bread is that it was a poor Italian baker with the name Tony. Tony wanted to impress his fiancés rich father. As he was a baker he came up with the idea of doing a very special bread filled with all kind of luxury ingredients such as fruits, egg, spirits etc. The wealthy father got so impressed and loved the bread so much that he not only gave his daughters hand to the baker but also helped him financially to expand his business and focus on making Tony's Bread –“Pan a Tone”. Truth or not, it is a delicious bread with a long shelf time.

I decided to try it my self as it is the Holidays. I used my sourdough as a starter, and used dried apricots, cranberries; golden raisons and apple all soaked over night in Cognac, Triple Sec and a little vanilla. I decided to try it my self as it is the Holidays.

The bread is a slow riser and next time I will use gold yeast that better handles the sweetness and the acidity of the dough. The picture above is just after primary fermentation before proofing.

Above is the Pantones is just out of the oven, its as always with bread important to let them rest to finish baking and not be tempted to carve into them... Oh well I see one is missing, wonder who took that one?? I was pleased with the result but I will change a few things to next time so get them a little fluffier. Merry Christmas!

Finally, Coppa Tasting time...

2007-12-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

I broke down today and finally dared to cut the coppa to see if it was ready. I am heading down to LA on Friday for Christmas celebration and wanted to have some with me to the relatives. Luckily for me it was ready (maybe I could have taken it out earlier?). After losing nearly 30% of its weight ( I wish I could do that in 50 days..) the texture is nice and firm.

The color is a deep burgundy red with very nice marbling and it smells wonderful. The taste great with a distinct saltyness but not overwhelming, and a good heat from the pepper. I like this better then the smaller one I did a few months ago.

Tomorrow I will cut and test my Duck Prosciutto, to see if it too is ready for the holidays. I will do some posts on the duck as well as it is a really good way to start if your want to cure your own meats.

What's up with that Coppa?

2007-12-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

For a couple of months ago I started with one of my meat curing projects. I thought of posting updates on its progress on this blog. I started cutting up fresh Niman Ranch pork shoulder in 3 by 3 inch large pieces, cutting away excessive fat and sinews. The total weight became about 8 lb of pork, now to be cured in the fridge for about 19 days. I used the direction from Ruhlman-Polcyn’s "Charcuterie" book, which I really like.

Being away on vacation in Santa Fe the coppa spent a few days longer in the fridge then planned but I don't think this will matter. This is my second coppa, but his one is much larger then the first I made 6 months ago. The cured meat was then rinsed and Spanish paprika and a little cayenne was added as seasoning. The meat was stuffed by hand into a large beef bung, all air bubbles was pricked and then the whole coppa was tied thoroughly. I then hang the coppa out in room temperature over night to dry the casing. I hanged it on a beam in our living room whitin full few of our front door. As it was Halloween, my wife thought it was a good idea to move it away from line of sight from the door so we don't scare the children trick or treating (I followed her wise advice).
For the dry curing stage I use my small wine cellar which I keep at about 58F and 65% humidity. At the time the picture above was taken the coppa was just placed in the wine cellar.

After 44 days in the cellar the coppa has dried significantly but still have some spots that are a little soft. I am looking for firm texture but not hard and about 30% loss of water before its ready.

I will check back in week or so to see how the coppa matures, hopefully it will be ready for Christmas....

From Scratch

2007-12-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

My passion in food has lead be down the path of making everything from scratch and respecting the ingredients. I truly value the reward in transforming a pork shoulder to delicious earthy salami, left of over duck bones to a flavorful stock or turn flour and water into beautifully smelling hearth baked bread with help of a sourdough starter. This is my first food blog and I hope to inspire others to discover the satisfaction I find in food preparation.

Anders