Month: November 2011

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress

Embarcadero November 17, 2011, a guilty pleasure, film in the afternoon.


Renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adrià is widely considered the best, most innovative and craziest chef in the world. In his kitchen, that which was once familiar disintegrates. Each year his restaurant El Bulli closes for half a year—time for Adrià and his team to retire to his Barcelona cooking laboratory to create the new menu for the coming season. Filmmaker Gereon Wetzel closely observes their quest—from initial experimentation to the premiere of the finished dish. In the course of that process, however, many an ingredient is examined in a totally new way. Taste and texture are systematically analyzed: by boiling, roasting, frying, steaming—vacuumizing, spherifying, freeze-drying—and then, tasting. Ideas emerge, are discussed and, finally, all the results, whether good or bad, are thoroughly documented—on a laptop beside the cooking spoon. Anything goes—except copying oneself. An elegant, detailed study of food as avant-garde art, El Bulli: Cooking In Progress is a tasty peek at some of the world’s most innovative and exciting cooking; as Adrià himself puts it, “the more bewilderment, the better!” (Fully subtitled)
Director: Gereon Wetzel
Cast: Ferran Adrià, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, Eugeni de Diego, Aitor Lozano


ABOUT THE RESTAURANT

Revolutionary Spanish eatery El Bulli is a Michelin three-star restaurant in Roses, Spain (two hours northeast of Barcelona); each night, it serves a tasting menu of 30+ courses, prepared by over 40 chefs, to a single seating of up to 50 guests. For the current season, its last before transforming into a culinary academy, over two million requests were received for the 8,000 available seats. Head chef Ferran Adrià, who took over the restaurant in 1987 and instituted the tradition of yearly developmental sabbaticals, has become the leading inspiration for avant-garde cuisine worldwide, alternately referred to as a mad scientist or Salvador Dali of the kitchen.

ravioli

MY TAKE – This was good and engaging and very well presented; but to me, this wasn’t about El Bulli or about food, it was about research, development and presentation of a product… it happens to be food in this case. But the product doesn’t look like food, one doesn’t lick ones chops at the preparation or presentation of the food… the only reason I was hungry when I left – it was almost dinnertime. There is plenty of Ferran Adria and his top chefs tasting things and words like “brilliant” “exciting” “magic” “bewilderment” and Ferran once admonishes a chef, “This doesn’t taste good. Never bring me anything that doesn’t taste good.”
As for El Bulli, there are gorgeous pictures of the restaurant and the setting, but never the dining room, never patrons enjoying their meal. I was interested in how “china” is selected/created for each dish, but not a word about that. At the end, the camera focused on Adria as he was served each dish in the sequence it will be (is being?) served to the diners.
Would that we could have experienced touch (since many of the courses are eaten with one’s fingers) and taste and smell.
It’s like a long and critical and loving study of a woman’s face and makeup and skin care, but at the end, you know nothing about the woman, except that her face is quite beautiful and she lives in a fabulous house on the Mediterranean.

“For a foodie, the new film about Spain’s renowned El Bulli restaurant is a bit like an Angelina Jolie movie for a teenage boy… Food lovers can now salivate via celluloid. El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, a meticulous exploration of how this famously avant-garde eatery comes up with its insanely inventive creations…for those passionate about the artistry and indeed the science of cooking, it’s dangerously close to porn. There are some unintentionally very funny moments, like when two chefs go to the local market and ask for five single grapes for their testing – and three beans”

– Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars

Masha just made these for our Thanksgiving dessert.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich

Crust
14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/2 cup (3.5 oz) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (9 oz) all-purpose flour

Filling
1/2 cup caramel sauce (recipe below) (or use store bought)
1 1/2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (1.75 oz) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Line a 13×9 baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang so you can lift the bars out after they’ve baked.  Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir in the flour until just incorporated – the mixture will be soft, that’s fine.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Let cool completely.  Turn the oven down to 325 F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl in between.  Transfer 2 tablespoons of this batter to the 1/2 cup of caramel sauce and stir to incorporate.  Pour the remaining cheesecake batter over the cooled crust and spread evenly.

Dollop the caramel sauce mixture over the filling (I didn’t end up using all of the caramel).  Use a toothpick to gently marble the caramel – be careful not to scrape the crust while you are doing it.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are puffed and the center is just barely set.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let come to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably 24.  Use the foil sling to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into squares with a long sharp knife.  The bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Salted Caramel Sauce
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 teaspoon grey sea salt

Add 1 cup of water to a 2-qt saucepan.  Gently add the sugar to the center of the pot – it will mound, that’s fine.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, uncover the pot and insert a candy thermometer.  Continue cooking until the mixture registers 300 F and is just starting to develop some color, about 15 minutes.  Reduce heat under the pot to medium and cook until the syrup is amber and registers 350 F on the thermometer, about another 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.  If it simmers before the syrup is ready, just take it off the heat and set aside.

Remove the caramel from the heat and add about 1/4 of the warm cream to the pot.  It will bubble furiously so be careful.  Once the bubbling subsides, add the remaining cream.  When it stops bubbling, whisk gently to incorporate fully.  Add the butter and the salt and whisk to combine.

Set aside 1/2 cup of the salted caramel sauce for the cheesecake bars.  The remainder can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Makes about 2 cups

I’ll let you know how they taste (but they look awesome!)

http://traceysculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2011/05/salted-caramel-cheesecake-bars.html

NEW ITALIAN CINEMA 2011

San Francisco Film Society Fall Season 2011
A wide ranging lineup of specialty film festivals

Autumn marks one of the busiest times of the year for film festivals, and the Film Society is doing its part to bring the best films from around the world to the Bay Area. The Fall Season—comprised of a growing roster of small, focused festivals—gives adventurous and inquisitive Bay Area audiences the opportunity to delve deep into carefully chosen film series and engage with bold filmmakers.
Hong Kong Cinema
Taiwan Film Days
International Children’s Film Festival
French Cinema Now
Cinema by the Bay
SF International Animation Festival
New Italian Cinema.

I’ve sampled all over the years, but the only one that consistently gets my attention is

NEW ITALIAN CINEMA

Presented in conjunction with New Italian Cinema Events (NICE)
This is my favorite of the sffs Fall Series of films and here’s what I (we) saw. [I give you the SFFS blurb followed by My Take. Sometimes the NICE blurb is included, as well.]

Ginger and Cinnamon
Daniele Luchetti


Continue reading “NEW ITALIAN CINEMA 2011” →

The Skin I Live In

I have been a fan of Pedro Almodóvar’s work since I went to see Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown at an art theatre near Boston Commons with Marc & Carol in 1988. I have since seen that film at least six times. Its art is exotic, and its comedy is oh so Spanish.

I have seen every one of his films since the 80’s. Among my personal favorites are Talk to Her, Volver, and Broken Embraces.

His newest is The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito). And it will stand out in my mind as his best.  A totally mesmerizing suspense/horror film, with stunning cinematography and art direction, and a totally unique plotline that will keep you riveted to the screen for the entire 123 minutes.
Continue reading “The Skin I Live In” →

Melancholia, a commentary

Melancholia
sffs directed by Lars von Trier November 2011
SFFS members are invited to a free member-only preview screening of Melancholia starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Keifer Sutherland. Melancholia is a psychological disaster film from director Lars von Trier.

Lars von Trier’s work that I have seen:
In 2000, von Trier premiered a musical featuring Icelandic musician Björk, Dancer in the Dark. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
He then directed two films in his announced ‘U.S. trilogy’: Dogville (2003), starring Nicole Kidman
In 2006, von Trier released a Danish-language comedy film, The Boss of it All.
Von Trier’s latest work is Melancholia, a psychological disaster drama;[26] shot between 22 July and 8 September 2010 at Film i Väst’s studios in Trollhättan, Sweden,[27] and with exteriors in the area surrounding the Tjolöholm Castle

About the film: In this beautiful movie about the end of the world, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth…

MY TAKE – When we left the theater Carol and I remarked to one another how excruciatingly long and slow that film was… seemingly hours of Claire dragging around that child and Justine wandering around that golf course. And yet we both thought that parts were beautiful and the acting of the main characters was brilliant.
Mick LaSalle’s review was in the Chronicle the next day. He had the little man sitting straight up, expressionless, which means GOOD.
(Full reviews at the end of this)

He starts —

If only Lars von Trier took into account that audiences might actually want to enjoy “Melancholia,” rather than endure it, or sift through it, or submit to the director’s will, he might have made something extraordinary. The film’s arresting concept, its deeply felt understanding of depression, and its glossy and surreal cinematography — like a Magritte painting — could have been the ingredients of a masterpiece.

and concludes with —

At this point, you might be wondering why, in a middling review, I’ve concentrated only on the good. (In fact, I haven’t the space to talk about all the strengths of “Melancholia”; for example, Kiefer Sutherland as Gainsbourg’s sardonic husband or Charlotte Rampling as Dunst’s and Gainsbourg’s vicious mother.) The reason is that all the virtues of “Melancholia” are original and interesting.?Meanwhile, its flaws are so typical and pedestrian that it’s difficult to sound intelligent mentioning them.?But it must be said: “Melancholia” is grindingly slow and endless, with scenes that go nowhere and long, long stretches of directorial indulgence. There is almost no tension and barely enough story to carry it to feature length, much less 2¼ hours.

Carol and I totally agreed. But then, I went and found Roger Ebert’s review, on line. He gave it 3 1/2 stars (out of 4). What’s up with that? Continue reading “Melancholia, a commentary” →

Working The Autumn Harvest

Alison and I are bringing the remainder of our garden into the house for either instant processing (mmmm, Leek and Potato soup!), canning and processing for later consumption (pickled beets, pickled jalepeno peppers and carrots, kimchi), or putting things straight into storage (onions, garlic, carrots, beets, potatoes, cabbage).