Chef "THOMAS KELLER" of The French Laundry, California

"Chesapeake Bay Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich"

This soft-shell crab sandwich is truly delicious! Each flavor  supports and enhances to one another really well. To me, this is a luxurious comfort food: very beautiful, delicious, and comforting.

The recipe is from The French Laundry Cookbook by chef Thomas Keller. He has always inspired and his recipes never fail to impress me. The French Laundry Restaurant has won numerous awards. And this year (2012), he has received the S.Pellegrino lifetime achievement award. Truly one of the world's greatest chefs!

The recipe can be found in the french laundry cookbook. Here is the way I made this dish:

Make tomato confit:

  Blanch tomatoes in salted water and peel the skin.

Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

Then top each piece with a sprig of thyme.

Place in the oven 120 ํC for 2 hours, or until the tomatoes have partially dried but still have some juices.

cut brunoise (2-mm) to be ready for the sauce: 

carrot, turnips, and leek greens.

The sauce

Clean the soft-shell crabs and pat dry with paper towels. Then saute the crabs in clarified butter until nicely brown.

Place the sauce, and carefully arrange brioche croutons, crabs, tomato confit, baby arugula, and fried capers.

Serve immediately!

Chef "DANIEL HUMM" of Eleven Madison Park, New York City

"Strawberry Gazpacho"

BASIL, BLACK PEPPER, OLIVE OIL, AND GUANCIALE

This is an edible art! I was tempted to make this dish by the beautiful and colorful picture I've seen on Eleven Madison Park cookbook by Chef Daniel Humm. He was named this year (2012)  the most outstanding chef in the USA at the James Beard Foundation awards. Moreover, the Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York City was ranked number 10 of the world's 50 best restaurants. 

This strawberry gazpacho is served cold. It is delicious, healthy, and refreshing. The recipe can be found in Eleven Madison Park cookbook. Here is the step-by-step demonstration of how to make it:

Mise en place: strawberries, english cucumber, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, toasted whole grain bread cubes.

Toss gently to combine and marinate with extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomato juice, and salt. leave at room temperature for 6 hours.

Make Strawberry Confit: choose small strawberries and halved lengthwise. Dust with icing sugar and bake at 90 ํC for 1.30 hours. Then flip them over and bake for additional 30 minutes.

After 2 hours, the strawberries should be deep maroon and tender but still hold their shape. 

Make Croutons: cut whole grain bread into 1/4 inches dice. Then toss them with extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and thyme.

After 6 hours, puree the marinate. Strain through a chinois and chill in the refrigerator until very cold. Season with salt and tabasco sauce.

To serve: Put the cold Gazpacho in the chilled bowls. Season with a single grind of pepper, arrange the strawberry confit, crouton, fleur de sel. Garnish with basil and a slice of guanciale. Finish with olive oil.

Chef "GRANT ACHATZ" of Alinea Restaurant, Chicago

"Croquette"

 smoked steelhead roe, endive, radish

This is the cutest little thing I have ever made so far. I am totally in love with it. Not only by its visual appearance, but also a surprise combination of flavor I experience when it bursts in the mouth. It makes me feel surprised, excited, curious, and satisfied. These feelings mostly occur to us when we experience something for the first time. Like this croquette, it is the unusual flavor pairing of the croquette, which incredibly goes very well together. Each flavor gradually pops up and make me feel surprised and curious on which ingredient to make that kind of taste. And at the end of the bite, I feel happily satisfied.

The recipe is from Alinea cookbook by Chef Grant Achatz. His restaurant has been ranked top ten of the world's 50 best restaurants. His artistic creations always make a surprise pleasure to the diners. I admired his devotion, his relentless creativity, which full of surprise and thoughtful details. The recipe is not technically complex. However, it needs to be detail-oriented in each every step to perfect it. I'm so glad I finally did it!

This is how I made the "croquette":

First, use 10-mm parisienne scoop to scoop out balls from a peeled english cucumber. Leave it at room temperature.

Add 7 roe and 1 cucumber ball into each hemispheric mold.

Fill the mold with creme fraiche mixture to creat a ball. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, or until set.

Make candied belgian endive by simmering the unblemished leaves in the syrup for 1 hour, or until very tender. 

After the creme fraiche is set, remove spheres.

Breading with flour, egg, and panko. Double coated each sphere. Refrigerate until ready to fry.

Fry capers in oil (200 ํC) until puffed and crispy.

Mise en place:

 Red onion: cut into  2-mm dice.

 Chive:cut at 45-degree angle,1.3 cm long.

Lime:cut into 3-mm.

Radish:cut into 2 mm.

When ready to serve, fry the croquette in canola oil (245 ํC) for 15-20 seconds.

Then carefully wrap it with 1 candied endive, top with 2 radish strips, 5 steelhead roe on top, red onion, 1 fried caper, and 1 lime dice. Place on top with parsley, sorrel, and chive.

Have an incredibly great bite!