Mugaritz vs Arzak

Entering these restaurants, my knowledge of either of these was thin. Perhaps aiding my assessment, untainted.
In recent times, the basque have charged at the culinary scene in a manner a kin to their bulls.
The first arena, Mugaritz was impossible to find. At the end of a winding grass framed road winding up behind San Sebastian, sits this barn turned Michelin star dining room.
A little easier to find is Arzak, sitting up the hill minutes from San Sebastian.
The greeting at both establishments is genuine, smiles, questions and information proceed.

Room Temeprature

You see this term a lot in recipes, but what does it mean and why?

There is no specific temp for this it only means it shouold not be cold nor warm.

Have you ever eaten a frozen a chic bar, such as mars or a snickers? Notice when you eat it its not as sweet?

Like cheese when its cold the taste falls short.

It is essential to allow cheese to come to room temperature, why spend $20 on some kick ass manchego if you are going to serve it cold.

When using butter cold or soft makes a huge difference in making pastry.

Allowing a prime steak to come to room temperature before cooking will allow it to cook more evenly as the heat will take less time to reach the middle of the steak.

Even applying this principal to everyday eating out will give your taste buds more joy.

Have you ever bought a pre made roll at a fancy bakery, they take it out the fridge and serve it up. If you have 5 mins to spare let it come to room temperature and taste the difference.

Principles

I believe cook books presume too much for the everyday cook.
It is a strong motivator for me to pulish this blog.
Elizabeth David, the original food publishing queen once said something along these lines
“One must roughly know what the rules are before one can disregard them”
This said, this section of the blog gives you core information to help you become a great home cook. Understanding all the principals in cookery means you can cook without recipes and create your own dishes, creatively and simply.

No messy pots

No one  enjoys scrubbing pots.
I figure if theres anything you can do to lessen the scrub then do it.
And there is, after making that stodgey polenta or risotto that has gunk all up the sides, fill the pot with water and a big pinch of salt or splash of vinegar and put it back over the heat.
Bring it to a simmer and turn off.
If you clean pots while warm you are preventing the gunk caking on.
One kitchen I worked in we were required to wash each pan after each use, normally it would go to the dishwasher but they figured out if it took 2 seconds while hot why let the dishpig scrub for minutes.

Ingredient faux pas

Mastering the contemporary kitchen requires juggling the right ingredients.
Sorry if you have a thing for any of these, this is my personal judgement that leads me to believe I am one step closer to gourmet greatness than all the others who feel as I do.
If any of these come in to your radar I would avoid them;

-semi and sundried tomatoes
they overpower anything they are served with
-cream in pasta (dash on occasion)
-avocado in pasta or served warm in any way
-tubed "fresh herbs", are they serious?
-tasty cheese in any italian dishes, Romans dont use coon.
-dead horse
save it for late night munchies, try stepping up to relishes, pickles and mustards
-sliced white bread
its too sweet and is air
-fish dishes served with cheese
-chicken breast in curries and stews, difficult for it to not become tough and dry
-starch on starch, pumpkin risotto is stodge on stodge.

-pesto, chorizo, tapenade, great ingredients, just dont combine them

there are many more, TBC

Herb substitutes

So often I get to finishing a dish or find a recipe and sure enough I dont have the right fresh herb. Who has a constant supply of all the herbs at their finger tips?
Not me, the balcony can only grow so many. So over the years I have learnt to improvise with whats at hand. Following is a guide to next best options to save you going down to the store.

No Parsley- mint or celery leaf (palest part)
No mint- basil, coriander
No basil- mint, oregano
No rosmary- thyme and opposite
No oregano- parsley, basil or marjoram
No marjoram- parsley, basil or oregano
No coriander- mint, thai basil
No kaffir lime leaf- lime zest
No dill- fennel tops, basil
No lemongrass- lemon zest

Purees aka mash

The puree is the ultimate tool in creating a restaurant style dish in your own home.
Above you can see a typical mash, but make a thinner puree smothered across a plate can make a dish look real sexy.
Particularly useful when you are courting a female or for impressing other folk.
It can be made from a large variety of vegetables, the more appropriate to follow.
What the puree does is act as a vehicle to carry the flavour of meat on the dish.
Its texture also plays an important roll, as it is soft, it should be contrasted by crunchy textures.
The better vegies for purees are; potato, pumpkin, parsnip, beetroot, beans (can), brocoli and cauliflower.
Any of these can be matched with red meat, chicken and seafood.
The how to is simple, cook the vegetable until soft, drain of all liquid and blitz in a blender.
Adding, milk, cream, butter and/or oil will help to give a great texture and spices and herbs can turn the puree in to something else. Get creative and use any of these variations to come up with a dish.
Important note is that when you cook the vegetables it is crucial you allow them to rid themselves of as much moisture as possible.
This will make your puree fluffier and less watery.
Take this example, when you boil your spuds, strain them of water and return them to the still warm pot you cooked them in.
Put over the lowest heat possible and move them around to steam out all moisture for a minute or so.
Im loving white fish on top of cumin spiced and minted cauliflower puree.
For this dish, because the cauliflower takes in a lot of water when boiling, I steam it instead making it less watery.
Come up with your own puree, herb, spice meat combination and let me know how it goes.