Matthew Levin's FAHRENHEIT825:

The Bo Bo

Please bare with me I haven't posted in a few days because i've been super busy this week and now my dog Arthur a.k.a. the Bo Bo hurt his leg and has been laid up the past few days but we got him to the vet tonight and he is doing much better. Looks like a pulled muscle or ligament thank god. He's the man he was in the photo with me for style mags cover story a few months ago. I'm planning new posts starting this weekend with some tight new things we've got going on at Lacroix.

My Menu

Tasting Menu – Your Choice of Any

3 Plates  ____________________________                                                                   69

4 Plates  ____________________________                                                                    78

5 Plates ____________________________                                                                     85

Desserts are a Gift from Chef Levin

RAW

Maine Sweet Shrimp – White Soy, Apples, Menthol

Kobe Beef Sashimi – Shiitake, Cashew, Blis Maple, Mushroom Soy

($6 Supplemental)

Japanese Hamachi – Red Peppers, Marcona Almonds, Chicory

Vegetable

                        Warm Mozzarella – Hearts of Palm, Ginger, Kimchee Consommé

Celery Root Cubes – Pistachio, Smoked Caviar, Root Beer, Hot Powder

Banana – Mastic, Truffle, Majorero Cheese, Shortbread   

Shellfish

           Snails – Bone Marrow, Mushrooms, Coca Cola

Cold Water Lobster – Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Passion Fruit, Chai Flavors

Wild Red Lipped Abalone – Frozen Pink Grapefruit, Wasabi, Charcoal

($6 Supplemental)

fish

Spanish Mackerel – Beet Pearls, Green Olive, Sherry- Miso, Hazelnut

Black Sea Bass – Milk Poached Endive, Tater Tots, Thai Pepper

Spanish Octopus – Butternut Squash, Guinness, BBQ

Poultry / Game

           White Chocolate Chicken Wings – Smoked Paprika, Nori, Maldon Salt

                       Sika Venison Saddle – Avocado-gin Soup, Kohlrabi, Salmon Skin

Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras “Bacon” – Cornbread, Ranch Dressing

($6 Supplemental)

Meat

Veal Sweetbreads – Artichoke, Sesame, Kumquat

Veal Cheeks In Glass – Pears, Brussels Sprouts, Soft Egg

Elysian Fields Lamb Belly – Cucumber, Garoxta- Mustard Puree, Clams

* Vegetarian Options

2/3/2008

CHEESE SELECTION FROM AROUND THE WORLD

3 Cheeses $12 Additional – 6 Cheeses $18 Additional      

Please Refrain From Cellular Phone Use In The Dining Room, Thank You

Black Truffle Dinner

Hamachi Collar, Char Sui

Black Truffles, Kaffir Lime

Crémant, Marquis de la Tour Rosé, Brut

Loire Valley, NV

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Torchon of Foie Gras

With “White Chocolate Truffle Truffle”

Gewurztraminer, Clos Gaensbronnel

Grand Cru Kirchberg de Barr, Alsace, 2002

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Black Truffle Scallop Pie

Sous Couverture

Mercurey Rouge, Premier Cru, « Les Champs Martin »

Domaine Menand Père & Fils, Burgundy, 2000

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Whole Roasted Suckling Pig Table Side

“Pluie de Truffes”

Château du Courlat

Lussac Saint- Emilion, Bordeaux,  2000

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Fig and Chocolate Pavé

Black Truffle Ice Cream

Mas Amiel, Cuvée Spéciale « 10 ans d’âge>

Maury, Languedoc-Roussillon

Wing Bowl 16

Well I'm exhausted! Last night was the 1st of many future wing bowl all night tailgates.  Lee, Bernie, Adams, Jessie (Wally pussed out) and I spent the night cooking up sides of Hamachi, beer can chicken, burgers, dogs, rib-eyes and the most insane clams and chorizo that even made the frozen bread taste good.  The drinks and there were many included, Red Stripe,  shots of Patron, hot cider with spiced rum and of course Mexican coffee that Jessie made.  We got to the lot around 11pm Thursday night and partied till 5:30 am when we walked into the Wachovia center.   Highlights of the night included the huge bon-fire we had on Lawrence street, stupid amounts of food, Jessie and Bernie's "dirty white guy dance", the self guided tour of the Philadelphia fish market before we were escorted off by security and of course the rib eye Frisbee toss from my truck to Bernie’s window, followed by the burger beaming provided by Lee Majors.  Once we got inside it was crazy all my boys from WIP were there, Glen Macnow, Hugh Douglas, and all the morning crew. Hugh was texting me talking about this girls "under carriage" that girls "under carriage".  If I think about I can cry it was that funny... It’s 6am we’ve been up for 22 hours now and the alcohol is wearing off, sweet Adam says 1 hour till BEER! They were not selling beer until 7am so what better way to kill and hour than watching the parade of exploitment around the Wachovia center, from midgets in hockey helmets to beat up stripers.  Wow what a morning, stripers, midgets, balloons and beer, what more could anyone ever ask for?  Joey Chestnuts took the prize with a ridiculous 241 wings in 30 minutes; Adams owes Majors $5… Thank you to Glen, Hugh and everyone at WIP for the VIP passes.

basic chicken stock recipe

2 Chicken carcasses quartered

6 chicken wings (this will give your stock body)

1 1/2 gallons of water

2 medium Spanish onions peeled

1 carrot peeled

2 stalks of celery washed root and leaves removed

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp black peppercorns

3 cloves of garlic

4 sprigs of thyme

Method:

            Remove as much fat as possible from the chicken and place in colander into e sink allow cold water to run over it for 4-5 minutes to clean any excess blood, this will keep the stock from getting cloudy and prevent it from becoming bitter. After your bones are clean, put them in a large heavy bottom pot; make sure their will be enough room to completely cover with water by about two inches. Add the water and start to cook on medium high heat. While the water is heating, Dice your onions carrots and celery all to the same size and set aside with your other aromatics (the herbs, garlic, and spices). When the water comes up to a boil, turn the heat down and with a spoon start to skim the grayish froth that has formed on the surface along with any fat. These impurities are just coagulated proteins that will cloud your stock and mask the clean chicken flavor. At this point you are ready to add your vegetable and aromatics. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 4 hours, occasionally skimming anything that may float to the surface. After four hours carefully remove the hot stock from the stove and drain through a fine mesh sieve. The golden fragrant liquid you are left with is your chicken stock, ready to use for just about anything. Whatever you don’t intend to use immediately can be stored frozen in containers for later use.

Tonight we had our lobster dinner at Lacroix.  The night went very smooth, which is good since we had a few food writers in the restaurant.  I was pretty happy with all of the courses.  The amuse bouche was fun and tasted amazing, it was a lobster doughnut that we rolled in lobster fat after frying and then dusted it with lobster roe.  My play on the glazed “Munchkin” with sprinkles, only if Noah J would have eaten it… Probably not, it wasn’t chocolate!

Lobster Dinner

Lobster tartare

Root Beer, Miso, Meyer Lemon Consommé

Torrontes, Familia Zuccardi

Mendoza, Argentina, 2006

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Poached Lobster

Rosemary, Nori, Truffle

Chenin Blanc, Robertson Winery South Africa, 2005

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Lobster and Foie Gras Curry

Gewürztraminer, Presque Isle Wine Cellars ,Lake Erie, 2006

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Beef Short Ribs

Hand-Rolled Pasta, Celery Root, Lobster Egg Sauce

Châteauneuf du Pape, Domaine du Grand Tinel,

Rhone Valley, 2000

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Banana, Lime & Lobster

in Caramel Gelée, Citrus Granité

Monbazillac, « Petit Paris »

Bénédicte & Patrick Geneste, Southwestern France, 2005

Plates

Plates can make average food look amazing.  I’ve worked with some really nice china in the past and when working out a dish that I was thought was ok but not overwhelmed with, plating them on really intricate plates made all the difference.  To me Bernadaud is by far some of the nicest out there, but also the most money. A friend of mine Jeff Michaud at Osteria, www.osteriaphilly.com, puts his pasta dishes in hand made terra cotta bowls that make can simple noodles look like real art. Another friend and chef at my old restaurant David Felton is now the recipient of my plate shopping at the Pluckemin Inn, www.pluckemininn.com, and if you haven’t noticed I’m jealous, I miss those plates. Im looking for someone that is into ceramics to bring some of my plate ideas to life, so if you know anyone ask them to drop me a line.  This picture of an old signature dish “hamachi in textures” was a perfect example of simple food on cool plates made to look amazing. 

Squash

This dish was on the menu at Lacroix for a while. We have since taken it off, but I really like where it ended up. We had tried cooking the squash sous vide in many different liquids and at different temperatures, from kaffir lime juice and gin to apple juice and lemon, to thyme and ascorbic acid. We wound up with a combination of Hendricks gin, Kaffir lime zest and black truffle oil and butter. Cooking it in citrus juice caused the liquid to take on a strong, bitter taste that is common when cooking citrus, but we thought that since we were controlling the temperature we could control the bitterness as well. We were wrong! We cooked the squash at 42 degrees Celsius for five hours, which left us with a silky, almost butter like consistency that held its shape. The contrast of the sharp, floral acidity of the fresh kaffir lime and the earthiness of the truffle was awesome. Adding the caramel cotton candy gave the squash back the sweetness it had before we bathed it in citrus. Now the only thing left was to give it some heat, so I made a harissa paste with golden raisins, lemongrass and Thai long peppercorn to brush on the plate. For texture I took the harissa paste and turned that into a "paper."  The dish sold great.                                                                                                                              

Harissa Recipe

Here is the recipe for the harissa paste and the "paper"

• 1 cup Israeli harissa paste
• 1 stalk lemongrass, smashed
• 2 ounces golden raisins, hydrated
• 1 small nub of ginger, grated on a microplane
• 2 Tbsp Bliss maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp ground Thai long peppercorn

Combine all these ingredients and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.  Puree the mixture and pass through a sieve.  Allow the mixture to cool overnight covered.

For the paper-

• 1 cup pureed harissa mixture
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 Tbsp ground Thai long peppercorn

Combine the eggs with the harissa mixture and spread thinly on a silt-pat.  Then lightly dust the top with the peppercorn.  Place in a dehydrator at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 3-4 hours.