Top Chef

[mamadeb]

Hot dogs. Oh, I can do hot dogs. :)

Apparently, one of the main things was to make your own sausage. I've never done that, but - those are a very fine emulsion of meat, fat and water, plus spices and other additives. So, good. Beef. Beef fat. Water. Paprika (for color). Garlic. Cumin seed. Minced onion added after it's all ground. Steamed and then grilled. Toasted roll. Mustard. Coleslaw with more cumin seed. Not very imaginative, but still, I think, different.

As for New American Cuisine - that's fresh, high quality, seasonal ingredients. That corn soup was iconic, I think. Different presentation, but everything was there for a reason and was, well, itself.

App: a stir-fried beef salad with orange segments and scallions on fresh greens that lean to the sharp (mustard, watercress, arugula) in a light ginger/sesame oil/rice wine vinegar vinaigrette, with a topping of deep fried wanton skin strips for crunch.

Entree: Sarah's Pasta. One of my best dishes - cubes of salmon sautéd with garlic and tossed with pasta, balsamic vinegar and peas. For this, I'd make it fresh and servie it warm.

Desserts: I hate desserts. This was summer. Summer is peaches and apricots. Peach cobbler, then, with garum masala for some extra spice, with a topping of crushed salted pistachios for color and contrast.

Comments

[museclio]

I don't think I'd ever thought of garam masala on fruit... I'll have to play with it.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

It's very good on pears.

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

it's wonderful with fruit, if you have the right garam masala. (if you don't make your own, that is -- for example, the bulk garam masala I found at Whole Foods is HORRID with fruit, while the Penzey's brand stuff is great with fruit.)

I put garam masala into pancakes, apple pie, and fruit cobblers all the time.

[museclio]

I use Penzey's. I'll have to try it...

[devildoll.livejournal.com]

I actually thought at first that the corn soup was a very safe and boring choice and wondered if she'd get slammed for it, but it turned out to be a wise decision!