MOTO: Corn Chowder, Deconstructed
Sep. 27th, 2006 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quisletThe joint pizza-and-salad soups lead to a brief rest, a few minutes to share bits of love lives (mine, hers, Mom's), a little time to play with our wine.
The next dish is a corn chowder, but as you might expect, it has been redacted in a different direction. A different waiter (still with the boom mike getup) places a rectangular white porcelain plate in front of you. On the left is a thick slice of what might be a sponge cake or souffle, a buttery yellow wedge of foam topped with dry kernels of corn. On the right is a flared porcelain shot-glass with a tiny soup inside.
The wedge is reminiscent of astronaut ice cream, not sweetened, but barely sweet with the flavor of fresh corn. The kernels on top are chewy, with a complex texture. The waiter explains that they were dehydrated and rehydrated to create this almost crouton-like garnish to the corn foam.
The tiny soup is chicken consomme, with four bits of diced potato, a drop of cream, and the tiniest slivers of chive on top.
There you have it, corn chowder with the corn on the left and the rest on the right. A study in ingredients.
The next dish is a corn chowder, but as you might expect, it has been redacted in a different direction. A different waiter (still with the boom mike getup) places a rectangular white porcelain plate in front of you. On the left is a thick slice of what might be a sponge cake or souffle, a buttery yellow wedge of foam topped with dry kernels of corn. On the right is a flared porcelain shot-glass with a tiny soup inside.
The wedge is reminiscent of astronaut ice cream, not sweetened, but barely sweet with the flavor of fresh corn. The kernels on top are chewy, with a complex texture. The waiter explains that they were dehydrated and rehydrated to create this almost crouton-like garnish to the corn foam.
The tiny soup is chicken consomme, with four bits of diced potato, a drop of cream, and the tiniest slivers of chive on top.
There you have it, corn chowder with the corn on the left and the rest on the right. A study in ingredients.
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no subject
Date: 2006-09-29 05:04 am (UTC)(Did you pour the soup over the garnish? Or would that have gotten you kicked out?)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-29 10:05 am (UTC)Frankly, I was so taken by the corn foam and the chewy/crunchy "niblets" that I forgot about the soup until the corn was gone. :-)
I think the reason the corn foam reminds me of astronaut ice cream is because it almost squeaks against the teeth, with an airy but chewy consistency. I suspect that liquid nitrogen was used in its manufacture, a technique that shows up in later dishes, as well. My guess is that sweet corn was pureed, whipped into a foam, and then flash-frozen. While eating, you don't really notice the cold because all of the tiny air pockets insulate your tongue and teeth.