1 Ordinary Cook, 35 Impossible Recipes: Outtakes from a week in the culinary trenches

My article about cooking incredibly difficult food from the most insane cookbooks of the year is running over at Cooking Light.

1 Ordinary Cook, 35 Impossible Recipes (“Can a home cook learn anything from the supercompmlicated cookbooks of the world’s most celebrated chefs? We asked Timothy Taylor to dive into the deep end and throw some dinner parties for friends.”) Marina Dodis shot the pictures for the magazine. Here are some outtakes I shot myself. Random preparations and plates.

11 Madison Park Radicchio and Mango Salad with Basil Gel

Blanched basil leaves

 

Juiced basil

 

 

Set up with agar-agar

 

Assembly, note re-pureed basil to make gel

A pretty plate. Basil gel necessary? YMMV

 

NOMA Dinner with Heston Blumenthal dessert, by far the most massive undertaking I’ve ever attemped in any kitchen, anywhere.

Obsessive planning paid off, in the end. Couldn’t have done it by memory.

 

Beets and blood oranges for the jellie

Parsley Oil

Apple gel for discs

Shallots marinating in blueberry juice

24 hour oxtail reduction

Improvised “dirt” for the NOMA vegetable field

Shocking veggies

Plating the app: Blueberries and Onions

Spectacular dish. Amazing flavours.

Plating the vegetable field: mashed potatoes, shocked veggies, top with dirt and carrot greens.

Et voila. Oh man. Goo-ood.

A hit.

Apple discs for the main

Apple *gel* discs

Oxtail, oxtail reduction with verbana leaves, apple garnish

Oxtail with reduction, apple, sunchokes and crisp verbana leaves

Blumenthalian Jelly.