Food by Bear: Germany Menu
Manifesto of Futurist Cuisine
The perfect meal requires:
1. Originality and harmony in the table setting (crystal, china, décor) extending to the flavors and colors of the foods.
2. Absolute originality in the food.
3. The invention of appetizing food sculptures, whose original harmony of form and color feeds the eyes and excites the imagination before it tempts the lips.
4. The abolition of the knife and fork for eating food sculptures, which can give prelabial tactile pleasure.
5. The use of the art of perfumes to enhance tasting. Every dish must be preceded by a perfume which will be driven from the table with the help of electric fans.
6. The use of music limited to the intervals between courses so as not to distract the sensitivity of the tongue and palate but to help annul the last taste enjoyed by re-establishing gustatory virginity.
7. The abolition of speech-making and politics at the table.
8. The use in prescribed doses of poetry and music as surprise ingredients to accentuate the flavors of a given dish with their sensual intensity.
9. The rapid presentation, between courses, under the eyes and nostrils of the guests, of some dishes they will eat and other they will not, to increase their curiosity, surprise and imagination.
10. The creation of simultaneous and changing canapés which contain ten, twenty flavors to be tasted in a few seconds. In Futurist cooking these canapés have by analogy the same amplifying function that images have in literature. A given taste of something can sum up an entire area of life, the history of an amorous passion or an entire voyage to the Far East.
11. A battery of scientific instruments in the kitchen: ozonizers to give liquids and foods the perfume of ozone, ultra-violet ray lamps(since many foods when irradiated with ultra-violet rays acquire active properties, become more assimilable, preventing rickets in young children,etc.), electrolyzers to decompose juices and extracts, etc. in such a way as to obtain from a known product a new product with new properties, colloidal mills to pulverize flours, dried fruits, drugs, etc.; atmospheric and vacuum stills, centrifugal autoclaves, dialyzers. The use of these appliances will have to be scientific, avoiding the typical error of cooking foods under steam pressure, which provokes the destruction of active substances (vitamins, etc.) because of the high temperatures. Chemical indicators will take into account the acidity and alkalinity of these sauces and serve to correct possible errors: too little salt, too much vinegar, too much pepper or too much sugar.
Hemingway
Hemingway was bored in the summer of ‘29. He had a nasty case of writer’s block and spent his days making odd bets with friends. One of these bets was that a grizzly bear could take on an African lion. Seeing I was the only grizzly he knew, he liquored me up and lured me into a cage with the unsuspecting lion. The poor cat never stood a chance. I knew to hang too closely with Hemingway was dangerous, and this was the wakeup call I needed. I was on the next train out of Paris and never saw dear Ernest again.
Salt & Pepper
Use only kosher salt unless a finishing salt is required. Always grind your own pepper fresh from the mill with the best whole peppercorns you can find.
Cow (Stock) by Bear
There’s nothing like a great homemade beef stock, so I recommend you use your own rather than store bought if at all possible. I’m lucky enough to have remaining bones and trimmings from the 50-day dry aged ribeye we serve which gives the stock a deep and certainly more unique flavor. You’ll need a roasting pan and stockpot large enough to house the bones and veggies, along with a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth.
Ingredients:
6 lb. beef bones and trimmings
2 medium onions, peeled & quartered
2 sticks of celery, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 large carrots, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 large bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
water
Heat the oven to 400 F.
Place the bones and beef trimmings in a large roasting pan. Add the onions, celery and carrots, and toss with olive oil.
Roast the concoction for 45 minutes, making sure to turn the pan a few times to brown evenly.
Remove the beef and veggies to a stockpot and set aside. Place the roasting pan over medium heat, and add the tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add two cups of water and bring to a simmer.
Add the tomato paste concoction to the stockpot containing the beef and veggies, along with three quarts of water. Make sure the water covers the bones completely. Add the bay leaf, parsley, thyme and peppercorn.
Put the stockpot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat the lowest possible and simmer for four hours.
Strain through a cheesecloth lined strainer into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Once chilled, remove any solid fat from the top and discard. Ladle into glass jars and refrigerate. Use within five days, or freeze stock for up to three months. Stock will expand if frozen, so be sure to leave head room at the top of jar.
Peter Panda's Slow Negroni
My dear friend Peter Panda Bear has been visiting and we've had a jolly ol' time whipping up some cocktails together. He's one of the best darned bartenders I've ever known and I hope you all have a chance to meet him. We've been serving a white negroni at dinners in San Diego, but the Suze component is really tough to find these days so we wanted to offer up something that is a little easier to obtain all the ingredients. So here is our take on the negroni, using a sloe gin in combination with regular gin for this classic cocktail. It's a sipper, but nothing tastes better on a sunny evening.
1 oz. sloe gin
1 oz. gin
1 oz. sweet vermouth
1 oz. campari
grapefruit twist
Combine the gin, sloe gin, vermouth and campari in a rocks glass. Stir 10 times.
Add ice, preferable one large piece, and stir 10 more times.
You're My Boy, Blue!
Osa's blue cheese panna cotta is a real showstopper currently on the menu in San Diego. There's a lot going on, so do yourself a favor and prep it in parts rather than all at once. The panna cotta component needs to chill overnight so prep that first along with the bacon fat shortbread, which will stay for two days.
feeds 6
3 ripe heirloom tomatoes
3-4 c frisee, washed & rough chopped
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb bacon, cooked crisp, fat reserved/chilled
*bacon fat rosemary shortbread
*blue cheese panna cotta
*onion marmalade
*for the bacon fat shortbread
3.5 oz rendered bacon fat, room temp
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp rosemary, chopped
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
*for the onion marmalade
3 yellow onions, julienned
1/2 c champagne vinegar
1 c sugar
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
salt and pepper (to taste)
*for the panna cotta
1.5 c buttermilk
4 oz blue cheese
1 c cream
2-3/4 tsp gelatin
1 clove roasted garlic
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 sprig rosemary
pinch of celery seed
For the Blue Cheese Panna Cotta:
Heat cream, blue cheese, herbs and garlic in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Let cheese melt, then steep.
Bloom the gelatin in 1 tbsp cold water.
Remove herbs, add gelatin and stir to melt gelatin completely.
Add cold buttermilk and mix well. Pour in container suitable for panna cotta and chill overnight.
For the Bacon Fat Shortbread:
Mix bacon fat, sugar, pepper and rosemary with a paddle in a stand mixer on high for approximately two minutes.
Switch speed to low and slowly add flour just until incorporated. Remove dough, wrap in plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes (can be made up to two days ahead of time if needed).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into similar shaped pieces to ensure even baking. Note: shortbreads will be crumbled to serve.
Bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies start to show a bit of browning. Shortbread will continue to cook on the hot pan once removed from the oven.
For the Onion Marmalade:
Put all ingredients in a heavy bottom pot. Cook on medium/high for a few minutes to bring to a simmer, then reduce to low for approximately one hour until liquid has reduced to nearly dry and sugar has caramelized the onions. Chill before serving.
To Plate:
Slice tomatoes into wedges and arrange 1/2 tomato into a circle on the plate. Be sure to season tomatoes
Toss frisee with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and arrange in the center of tomatoes on the plate.
Slice panna cotta into six pieces and place between tomatoes and frisee.
Place onion marmalade on the slice of panna cotta.
Sprinkle bacon bits and shortbread over everything, and enjoy!