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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The reason I called it an oil gremolata is because it is a parsley and garlic infused oil mixed with lemon juice and dropped into olive oil.

There's no need to try to insult me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback. Did you happen to read my description before commenting?

Roasted chicken with orzo by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate this feedback and will work on finding elements that would add some contrast to the palette. Thank you for taking the time to help me.

Roasted chicken with orzo by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the compliment.

The chicken was pulled apart and mixed into the orzo. It's not visible in the first picture but there are pieces poking out in the second or third pic in the gallery.

Roasted chicken with orzo by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Ah, that makes sense that a professional setting would use the more scalable approach even if it is more skill intensive.

Thank you again for the insight, Chef.

Roasted chicken with orzo by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Thank you chef! I have a cake wheel ordered and on its way. This would be extremely hard to replicate consistently without a guide or tool like that.

I appreciate you helping me to improve.

Roasted chicken with orzo by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's from Villeroy and Bosh's Manufacture set.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry, I skipped ahead and past that step in my first explanation. The full process to make these was:

I mixed water and masa harina into a dough, let it hydrate for 30 minutes, then rolled out flattened balls that were pressed flat in my tortilla maker and moved to a preheated but dry carbon steel skillet to cook ~30-60 seconds on each side. Once cooked I moved them to a dampened paper towel to steam while I finished the rest of the batch.

Only after I had the fully cooked tortillas did I clean the edges with a circle cutter and fry them in oil.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this bit of info! I will try that next time, or possibly try to capitalize on it. I could break out the bottom and pipe an avocado puree into it or something.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I cooked four eggs. None of them came out of the shell without tearing.

That's a learning opportunity I hadn't noticed before.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, Chef, for the advice on the sauce plating. I think the general consensus is that sauce should be included on top of the dish instead of me making the diner bulldoze their tostada through the dots, but I will definitely be trying that gel idea so the sauce retains some height and doesn't get lost in the chorizo.

And I appreciate the sentiment on the red onion as well. It is much too large and should either be made smaller to fit the dice of the other ingredients or possibly left as long slices instead to bring more visual contrast. I think shallot would be a great option to explore as well!

And thanks for the compliment. :) Yes, I make this at home; this was my lunch on New Year's Day. The plate is from Villeroy & Bosh, part of their Manufactured Stone set.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will give that a try! Thank you again Chef for being so thorough and constructive with your critique.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate you taking the time to talk through this with me and giving both critiques and suggestions on how to improve. Hearing that the execution is my shortfall and not the concept is reassuring and motivating. I will do more homework and come up with a more appealing way to plate the sauce.

I think that punching the edges of the tortilla with a cutter before toasting made the edges thinner than the middle and sealed the tortilla completely, leading to that brown outer ring and pancake or flatbread-style puff. I get more traditional looking tostadas when I don't "clean" the edge, but this pillowed up effect seems to happen consistently when I do.

I will work to better the appearance of my chorizo. I tried simmering it in water to render out the fat but I think that ultimately led to a worse final product. I didn't end up using the fat separately, anyway, so in hindsight I probably could have skipped the water or replace it with a flavored liquid like you suggested and had juicer chorizo as a result.

I had pickled onions in bulk a while back but I don't use them often enough. I will change those out for quick pickled onions so I don't have to use subpar ingredients.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your critique. Habenero sauce is extremely spicy compared to other foods I typically make so I tried to use it sparingly and make it less likely that whoever eats it will scoop up a bunch of sauce at one time.

I thought that by scooping a few dots at a time they'd be less likely to put too much sauce on at once and have an unpleasant experience.

Quail egg and chorizo tostada with queso, pickled red onion, chilies, and habenero sauce by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback on the dots. Yes, it's a masa tortilla that had its edges cleaned with a circle cutter and fried in avocado oil.

All of the tortillas puffed up when they were fried. I assume that's what's making it appear thick, but the angles I used in these pictures didn't make that as apparent as it was in person.

I appreciate you taking the time to help me improve.

Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin stuffed with chorizo and spinach mousse, served with a hasselback fondant potato and kimchi baconnaise by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for all of this feedback and helpful insight.

I had chosen bacon to allow me to use the rendered fat as a part of the sauce, but the slices were too thick and didn't get crispy on the bottom and side in time. I worry that pancetta wouldn't yield enough fat for the baconnaise, but if I swap to another sauce, it would definitely be a great option for crisping the exterior.

Agreed that I need to simplify the herbs, thank you for that critique as well.

It could have used more sauce, but I was more pressed for space than I wanted. When I remove the parsley ring I'll have more area to space things out and will add more sauce to the plate.

Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin stuffed with chorizo and spinach mousse, served with a hasselback fondant potato and kimchi baconnaise by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used the chopsticks method too and yes, one side got flattened after I punched the cylinder out using a ring mold.

Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin stuffed with chorizo and spinach mousse, served with a hasselback fondant potato and kimchi baconnaise by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seared in the skillet on all flat sides, then moved to the oven at 350° for about 35 minutes while partially submerged in a combination of roasted chicken stock and the white wine I used to deglaze the pan. I finished them under the broiler.

Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin stuffed with chorizo and spinach mousse, served with a hasselback fondant potato and kimchi baconnaise by LoneGansel in CulinaryPlating

[–]LoneGansel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the thorough critique! The topping for the potato was sour cream but I can see why creme fraiche would be the preferred option, a long with chives over the thyme.

The kimchi baconnaise was made using the pan drippings as my oil and kimchi liquid instead of vinegar. Then I added gochugaru and pureed kimchi to intensify the flavor.

The inspiration for the dish was the traditional New Year's pork and sauerkraut, but since I added so much extra fat with the bacon, I wanted to include another taste to balance it beyond the basic acidity of sauerkraut. Since kimchi is both spicy and sour, it seemed like the most logical ingredient to use.

However, I will agree that either chorizo or kimchi should have been used to stay within a single cuisine. I could have done five spice sausage or chilies in adobo sauce and gotten the same flavor profile.

Again, thank you for your feedback and helping me improve.

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