A beer for our wonderful men and women of law enforcement, this stout is brewed with coffee beans and real doughnuts. The coffee compliments the roasted aromas of the barley malt. The doughnuts provide a lasting finish that leaves you wanting a whole box of those crispiest and creamiest of glazed doughnuts. Included are select pictures of the production. The grains were mashed with glazed and powdered sugar doughnuts and the beer steeped with freshly ground espresso at the end of the boil. This stout is very bitter with a touch of dough-nutty sweetness to balance and around 6.5% alcohol by volume. Given the high levels of sugar, alcohol, and tanning, this beer can age for quite some time. Vintage doughnuts anyone?

Carefully measuring the doughnut temperature for a proper mash

Glazed and powdered sugar doughnuts are mashed with the barley malt

Roasted coffee beans are added at the end of the boil to infuse

As the coffee & doughnut stout comes to a boil, a nice foam rises to the top, like the crema on a perfect espresso

The ability of food and beverage to transport the diner is truly amazing. A great dish will incorporate and excite all five senses, but insert some context, history, or emotion and a seemingly prosaic dish can become transcendent.

These are a specific regional style of tamale from South America (parts of Chile and Argentina) called humitas. Their hallmark is a husk and filling made from fresh corn, instead of dried husks and masa flour. This creates a very soft, pillowy texture when steamed. A bit of culantro and chile puree add to the authenticity. The humitas are topped with a dollop of whipped lime-sour cream and pepitas, spiced with ground cinnamon, coriander, and cumin, add an exciting texture.

It only fitting to enjoy regional foods with respective regional beverages. After all, the cuisine and the drink usually fueled the others’ evolution. A Chilean Carmenére has powerful fruit to hold up to the spice in the chile and pumpkin seeds. The spice notes add a compliment, and the acid level a nice contrast to the buttery corn puree.

And so with context, a traditional dish, created with precision and thoughtfulness, can transport you from the dinner table to the other side of the world.

These amazing photos are the work of Michael Boehmer.
Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

Stone Soup from Mike Boehmer on Vimeo.

We’ve all heard the story of “Stone Soup.” The European folktale tells of a band of strangers who come into town carrying nothing but a pot. After kindly asking the townsfolk for any spare food they might have, they’re greeted with nothing but reject and humiliation. The strangers start a fire in the middle of the town and begin boiling a stone inside the kettle. Intrigued by what they might be cooking, the townsfolk shuffle over. They all provide a personal contribution in the form of meat, seasonings, spices, herbs, and vegetables. Before too long the stone soup becomes a hearty and flavorful stew incorporating the personalities of everyone in town, and the whole village eats as one.

But stone soup is not simply a folktale. A single restaurant in Oaxaca still makes a dish of pre-Hispanic origin. The restaurant is simply named “Caldo de Piedra” or “Stone Soup.” The soup they serve starts as raw ingredients, usually seafood, vegetables, and herbs, combined with aromatic broth. The items are placed in a dried gourd and burning hot river stones are added to the natural bowl. The stones boil the broth and cook the ingredients perfectly in front of the diner. This video demonstrates a modern, kitchen-ready version of Caldo de Piedra.

As I mentioned above, the traditional cooking vessel is a dried gourde but wood works just as well because both are natural insulators. Gourd or wood will expand and contract gently, without cracking and splitting, unlike glass or ceramic, and the heat from the stones is not quickly transmitted to the outside of the bowl, unlike metal. This technique is ancient. Before the invention of metal cookware, people boiled liquids with white hot stones added to a wooden or other natural vessel. This is the age old method of boiling soup and making wort to ferment beer.

The stones cook all the ingredients perfectly and lend an earthy, mineral character to the broth. The presentation is dramatic, the flavor is incredible. Considering all the current discourse (and my chosen association) with post-modern cuisine, pre-modern dishes like this connect the cook with ancient methods of food preparation, creating a better understanding and appreciation of food and eating.

This amazing video was shot by Mike Boehmer. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

Donuts are amazingly versatile and there are no rules with this sweet American favorite.  This is another transformational recipe: Donut ice cream.  Ice cream is infused with donuts and then frozen into a donut shape.  You can’t have donut ice cream without a thick layer of crunchy rainbow sugar sprinkles.   Espresso shortbread gives textural contrast and, conveniently, looks like coffee grounds.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel.  Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

Introducing the first of a series of mouthwatering homebrews created by myself and my brewing partner Trevor. This is a Belgian witbier with a twist. Belgian wit contains a mash of about half barley and half wheat. Wheat gives the beer its characteristic lemony tang, bolstered by the addition of bitter orange peel and cracked coriander. We’ve added to this brew orange flower honey and a chamomile blossoms. The honey increased the alcohol to 6% by volume and adds body in addition to the enticing honey aroma. The chamomile is subtle but provides another interesting layer of flavor to this wit.  Cheers!

This stunning photograph was taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel.  Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

This dish is a forest feast: Venison, blueberries, wild rice, chestnuts, huckleberries, and matsutake mushrooms. At first glance this might seem like a strange combination of flavors but a good culinary proverb is “what grows together goes together.” These are all ingredients you can find in many of the forests of the United States and, when put together in a dish, they create something that’s more than just delicious.

Venison loin is one of the leanest meats available. When prepared medium rare it’s impossibly tender. This venison comes from Michigan and is first cooked sous vide with garlic, thyme, and butter to 145° F at which point I quickly seared the outside of the loin with browned butter and more butter, garlic, and thyme. I rolled the seared loin in a powder made from puffed wild rice and freeze dried blueberries. The puffed rice adds a nice textural surprise. Underneath the venison loin is a mushroom demi-glace flavored with shiitake and matsutake mushrooms.

To compliment the venison is a puree of chestnuts. I braised whole chestnuts in white wine then reduced the wine and added butter to make a rich glaze. Meaty, seared matsutake mushrooms have a pungent aroma and flavor that holds up to the strong venison flavor. Finally, fresh huckleberries add little refreshing bursts of sweet acidity.

Both the huckleberries and the matsutake mushrooms I ordered from Oregon Mushrooms LLC which I highly recommend. They have a great selection of cultivated and wild mushrooms at great prices. Shipping can be expensive but you can arrange in advance when you want your package to arrive and delivery is smooth and punctual.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel.  Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

Often called “Japanese truffles,” matsutake mushrooms are the ultimate prize for many of the world’s mushroom hunters. Matsutake are also known as pine mushrooms (“matsu” means pine and “take” means mushroom in Japanese), because they often grow at the base of fir trees in the pine forests of Japan, Korea, the American Pacific northwest, and even parts of Scandanavia. Perfect specimens can fetch prices of well over $500/lb. Luckily, very nice matsutake are available at fairer prices from suppliers like Oregon Mushrooms.

Matsutake mushrooms have a pungent aroma of coriander, clove, and peppercorn as well as a funky note of dirt and smelly socks. The flesh is incredibly firm and when properly cooked the texture is meaty and slightly toothsome. Matsutake can hold up to rich, powerful ingredients like game, miso, and spices but have a delicate side that is excellent with more subtle Japanese flavors. I suggest pouring hot dashi over thinly shaved raw matsutake to make a mushroom shabu shabu.

Come back to Garrett’s Table tomorrow for a mouthwatering matsutake dish featuring other flavors from the forest.

For more information about matsutake mushrooms and how to look for them while foraging, visit mushroomexpert.com

Blueberries and granola, flaxseed and low fat yogurt. Sounds disgusting doesn’t it? Only because we’re used to eating healthy foods compressed into a cardboard tasting granola-bar or equally heinois creations. There is no reason, however, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

The star of this dish is a blueberry semifreddo. The semifreddo is made from a puree of fresh blueberries fortified with freeze dried blueberries and flavored with vanilla bean. A dusting of yogurt powder adds some acidity to cut through the richness of the semfreddo. Underneath is a flax seed and cinnamon shortbread. Flax seed and oat granola provides an intense crunchy texture. The light pink sauce is a smear of hibiscus infused honey.

On the side there are blueberries of top of yogurt and yogurt on top of blueberries. A vanilla-yogurt powder is topped with stewed blueberries and a blueberry puree is topped with yogurt “berries.” The “berries” are made from a very liquid low fat yogurt seasoned with lemon juice and zest. They’re encapsulated in a paper thin gel skin using sodium alginate . Put one in your mouth and the skin breaks open, releasing a gush of refreshing lemony yogurt.

Good food doesn’t have to be loaded with butter and cream. A balance of flavor and technique can result in something extraordinary from ingredients many consider mundane or uninspiring.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel.  Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

Eating doesn’t get more local than walking out your front door and foraging ingredients for dinner.

I live in an apartment building with a large courtyard.  Flanking the front gate are two very fragrant pine trees.  Now, while pine needles aren’t too pleasant to eat, they can add a beautifully sharp and cleansing flavor to a dish when used with restraint.  The best way to use pine is simply infusing a hot liquid with some freshly bruised pine branches.  After harvesting about 10 small branches from my pines I steeped them in hot water with clover honey and a few juniper berries, making a very fragrant and slightly sweet pine tea.  This pine tea I made into a gel.  Suspended in the gel is a red-wine poached apple filled with carraway cream and topped with fresh thyme.  Here’s a recipe for 15 servings:

Pine Gel:

• 10 small pine branches
• 10 juniper berries
• 1 liter filtered water
• 100 g honey
• kosher salt, to taste
• 12 sheets gelatin

Rinse the pine branches thoroughly. With a rolling pin or with the back of a knife, bruise the pine branches. Toast the juniper berries until aromatic and glistening. Bring the water to a boil. Add the pine branches and juniper berries, remove from the heat, and cover. Steep for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid, add honey, and season to taste.
Bloom the gelatin in cold water. Add to the pine liquid and stir to dissolve. Pour about 1/3 of the liquid into a quarter sheet pan. Refrigerate the pan until the liquid sets into a solid gel.

Poached Apples:

• 150 g dry red wine
• 150 g water
• 150 g sugar
• pinch salt
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 star anise pod
• 4 cloves
• 2 golden delicious apples

Begin by making the poaching liquid. Combine the wine, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer. Toast the spices in a dry pan until aromatic. Add to the wine mixture and cool to room temperature.
Slice a small slivers of skin from the apples, leaving a total of 8 flat, exposed areas of flesh on each apple. Using a small parisienne scoop, cut a small hole in the center of each exposed area. Using a larger scoop, cut around the small hole, resulting in an apple “cup.” Keep the apple “cups” submerged in the poaching liquid to prevent them from oxidizing. Heat the poaching liquid and apples to between 150-165° F. Try not to exceed 170° F or the apples will begin to deteriorate. Poach for 1 hour, then cool the apples in the poaching liquid.

Caraway Cream:

• 120 g whole milk
• 20 g caraway seeds
• 0.5 g agar agar
• kosher salt, to taste

Toast the caraway seed until aromatic. Grind very course in a spice grinder. Scald the milk and pour over the toasted caraway seeds. Steep for 30 minutes then strain through cheesecloth. Add the agar to the milk and bring to a boil. Allow the milk to set into a firm gel. Blend the gel into a pudding-like consistency, adding a touch more milk if necessary. Season to taste. The caraway cream should be very strongly flavored since very little will fill each apple.

To Assemble and Serve:

• Apple “cups”
• Caraway cream
• Pine gel and remaining pine liquid.
• Fresh thyme, for garnish

Fill each apple cavity with caraway cream. Place the poached apple scoops filled side down on top of the first layer of pine gel. If the remaining pine gel has set, heat just until liquid again. Carefully pour the remaining pine liquid over the arranged apples and on top of the first layer of gel. Allow the second layer of pine liquid to set. Once set, cut the gel around each apple scoop using a circular cutter. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Maybe this year you’ll save some of your Christmas tree.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel.  Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!

Brisket might just be the perfect cut of beef. It’s lean but flavorful and lends itself well to almost any cooking method. In NY style delis brisket is cured with spices and either simmered (corned beef) or smoked (pastrami). In Texas, brisket defines barbeque. Unlike so many coveted cuts of cow, brisket won’t break the bank.

This brisket is braised with carrots, onions, celery root, thyme, sage, and plenty of garlic. A whole bottle of wine and about a quart and a half of veal stock provide the liquid. After it’s fork tender, the brisket is removed, the aromaticss strained from the juice, and the liquid is reduced to a little less than a cup. All that wine and stock create a rich demi-glace that fills your mouth with rich umami.

Umami is what some people call the fifth flavor beyond salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. Umami is that unctuous richness most often associated with protein rich foods, especially meat. It’s undeniably savory and is one of the few ways to richen any dish without adding gobs of fat. Many non-meat foods have a prominent umami flavor including eggs (especially yolks), soy sauce, beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

The braised brisket is sitting on top of tomato jam. Tomatoes cooked with ginger, black pepper, salt, and brown sugar create a sweet but distinctly savory jam. Dehydrated slices of red and green heirloom tomatoes seasoned heavily with salt and pepper add a brittle texture and concentrates the sweet umami-richness of the tomatoes. Celeriac puree and poached baby beets make this a complete dish.

These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel.  Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!