The Connoisseurs Amuse Bouche Cookoff
They say history is written by the victors… at least that was the other Connoisseurs excuse for making me do the write-up for The Amuse Bouche cookoff. Actually, I’m happy to, because this is the first “official” cookoff I’ve won, the other “unofficial” one was the Mexican Food Battle of aught-six. I was as surprised as everyone else how well I did in this battle of the Amuse Bouche, as dainty & fancy pants appetizers are not what come to mind when one thinks of Connoisseur Tom. When Connoisseur Michael suggested this idea, we all jumped on board pretty quickly because, while we have had many cook-offs that reward flavor and originality, there haven’t been many that bring technique under consideration. There are so many things that can go wrong in an amuse bouche because one traditionally brings together powerful, expensive, or fussy ingredients in a very small portion that’s purpose is to welcome the diner to the world of the chef. Balance, technique, and originality are very noticeable on such a small and intimate stage.
With all this in mind, the four Connoisseurs as well as a lucky handful of tasters arrived at my place to cook and to, hopefully, wow some palates.
I was the first to present my dish; Pan-Seared Sea Scallop on a Port Wine Reduction with Homemade Parsley and Olive Oil dressing and a Lotus Root Chip. I made the port wine reduction by cooking down a small bottle of 2001 Port to 1/3 of its original volume and adding some butter to it, then letting it cool to room temperature.
The parsley oil dressing was simply a bundle of flat-leaf parsley blended with 2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, some fresh lime juice, and some garlic.
The lotus root chips were a lot of fun to make, I had never worked with this vegetable before, though I’ve seen its visually striking chambered structure used in platings on Iron Chef and other cooking shows.
The chips were thinly sliced roots, fried in oil, and lightly salted. When cooked this way, lotus root tastes very similar to potato, if a little more delicate.
I was nervous about working with scallops as I know they are terrible if overcooked, but at high temperature, a minute and a half per side,
they came out perfectly, living up to their name “The Marshmallows of the Sea”. I immediately assembled the amuse bouche on individual porcelain Chinese soup spoons as soon as the scallops were done cooking and served piping hot to everybody’s delight and honest surprise.
Connoisseur Michael was next to present his amuse bouche; Apricot-Glazed Deep-Fried Sausage Meatballs. Michael has unleashed a true threat to the health and well-being of
Michael used freshly made hot Italian pork sausage from Whole Foods as the basis for his meatballs,
and added eggs, onions, spices,
and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
He then rolled the meatballs in breadcrumbs and arranged them in an inch of olive oil
to bubble happily away until deep brown and delicious.
In the mean time he created a flavorful glaze of apricot preserves and Cointreau. After plating the freshly deep-fried meatballs on a round cutting board, he dipped each one in the glaze and garnished with some parsley and Parmesan cheese. The meatballs were quickly and ferociously devoured by all present, and luckily for us, Connoisseur Michael had made plenty of extras.
Connoisseur Javier was third to present his dish; Fresh Corn and Pork Tamale in Six-Chile and
Javier had prepared the body of this dish beforehand, making these hearty tamales from fresh corn, a task for a true aspiring doña.
On location, he thinly sliced strips of carrot and zucchini
which he boiled with some spices then cooled them down and made a small bed of them on each plate.
He lightly grilled up his pre-made tamales and cut them on the bias and placed them beside the nest of vegetable strips and spooned his warmed chile and orange sauce over each one. The flavor was rich, sweet from the fresh corn and all around warming and delicious.
Last up was Connoisseur Jon, with his White Truffle Custard topped with Crab Meat and Spoonbill Caviar.
By leaps and bounds, Jon spent the most money on his submission, dropping over 30 dollars on the caviar alone.
His delicate cooking process began with preparing and then steaming the decadent and earthy white truffle custards in shot glasses.
While they cooked, Jon prepared the crab meat, mixing it with chopped chives among other spices.
After the custards were done cooking, he let them cool a while then topped them with a generous portion of the crab meat and a spoonful of spoonbill caviar. We all felt lucky to be enjoying such a luxurious dish.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, we all gathered around to be briefed on the new ratings system. We were to rate the dishes from 1 to 4, one being their least favorite and four being their favorite, we would then have three bonus points to give out, one each for presentation, taste, and originality. The winner would be decided by points.
In fourth place, with a total of 14 points, was Connoisseur Javier. The tasters loved the homey sweetness and rich spice of the tamale, and Connoisseur Tom especially enjoyed the blanched vegetable strips. However, Javier lost points in presentation, many felt that rather than being served like dish with a side of vegetables, it would have been more fitting with the theme, as well as more visually appealing, to use smaller portions of the vegetable strips and place a smaller portion of the tamale on top of that, then spoon on the sauce. Some tasters also felt the vegetable strips were served too cold, although this was by no means unanimous. If the drawbacks seem negligible, that’s because there were no big screw-ups this time around, every dish presented was excellent, and I, personally, felt that Connoisseur Javier brought depth to a familiar theme.
In third place, with a total of 21 points, was Connoisseur Jon. Connoisseur Jon would have come in fourth were it not for the copious amount of bonus points, mostly in originality, that he received. The tasters were blown away with the class of Jon’s dish; however, the crab meat was way too powerful to play alongside the delicate white truffle custard. Jon remarked that, were he to make this dish again, he would omit the crab altogether and simply top the custard with the caviar. Connoisseur Jon’s strongest proponent in this battle was Jenny, who couldn’t get enough of the briney crabmeat, salty caviar, and earthy custard.
In second place, with 30 points, was Connoisseur Michael. Michael took the taste category hands-down with six of the eight bonus points from that category rewarded. The tasters felt that what Michael’s dish lacked in subtlety and refinement, it more than made up for in flavor and impact. Out of all the dishes presented at this cookoff, these meatballs seemed the most approachable and replicable by the tasters, truly gourmet food for the common man.
In first place, with 39 points, was Connoisseur Tom. Tom trounced the other Connoisseurs in the presentation field with seven of the possible eight points in the category, along with extra points in both originality and taste. The tasters were genuinely and pleasantly surprised that a dish of such refinement and technical skill could come from a Connoisseur more well-known for boldness, spice, and, let’s face it: cheese. The dish did have a single detractor however, Ben, who found it to be a touch salty for his taste. This sentiment was not shared among the group, so I can only assume he got an over-salted lotus root chip.
With each battle, the skills and gastronomical vocabulary of The Connoisseurs increases exponentially. I am certain the future holds even greater dishes to be prepared on the field of culinary battle!