I’ve never been genuinely excited about a new cookbook release, but Ad Hoc at Home marks the first time I’ve had a real personal connection to the recipes in a single cookbook. Inuyaki readers know that I’m a fan and regular diner at Thomas Keller’s casual dining restaurant, and the Ad Hoc Menu Archive is one of the most popular features of this site. My wife and I have been to Ad Hoc 30 times in the last 2½ years (it’s our favorite restaurant) and have always come away wishing we knew how to make some of our favorite dishes, desserts, and condiments at home. I’m very happy to report that Ad Hoc at Home delivers the goods.

The cookbook’s arrival coincided with my birthday, and to celebrate, I invited some friends over for dinner last weekend so that my wife and I could cook for them. From the book, we chose the grilled asparagus and marinated skirt steak and supplemented the meal with polenta topped with a mushroom ragout and SavorySweetLife’s chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The grilled asparagus, which includes prosciutto, fried bread, poached egg, and aged balsamic vinegar, is pretty easy to put together. After removing the woody bottoms and peeling the asparagus stalks, simply season a couple bunches of asparagus with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and canola oil and then grill them for a couple minutes per side until tender.

Gratuitous Asparagus Porn

I had some issues poaching the eggs. I know this sounds silly, but they weren’t coming out as pretty as we wanted, so those eggs became snacks. Inspired by our meal at Commis in Oakland a couple nights before, I decided to have some fun and make 63-degree eggs. How is a 63-degree egg different than a regular poached egg or over-easy egg? The answer: texture.

A 63-degree Egg

At 63-degrees Celsius, egg whites are just barely set and the yolks have a pudding-like consistency. To achieve this goal, eggs are cooked in a 63C waterbath for about an hour. The precision is important because at 65C, according Harold McGee, the egg whites become “tender solid” as opposed just barely set at 63C. It’s possible to maintain a consistent temperature using a pot on the stovetop, but I have an immersion circulator, which makes things a lot easier. :)

The immersion circulator in action.

The eggs went on the plate last, so my friends got to see these beautiful eggs emerge from a freshly cracked shell. My wife gets credit for the plating of this dish, which is loosely based on the picture in the book.

The fried bread croutons are awesome, too.

The marinated skirt steak isn’t a difficult preparation either. I substituted the skirt for flap steak, which is similar to skirt steak and a cut of meat I’ve used before in my Bistek Tagalog. It’s marinated for at least four hours in a mixture of olive oil, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic. The meat is seared in a thin layer of oil for about 90 seconds total, adding thyme and butter to the pan and basting the meat after flipping it halfway through. After searing, the meat is placed in a 350 oven on a roasting rack and cooked for 8-10 minutes until the internal temp of the meat is 125F. Rest the meat and slice it vertically against the grain before serving.

That meat looks perfect doesn’t it? There was just one problem. I forgot to season the meat with salt and pepper before I seared it, so it was underseasoned. There was still flavor from the marinade, but the meat was definitely lacking flavor. I was crestfallen. My wife saved the dish by making an impromptu beef/mushroom gravy, but I was so disappointed with myself.

We paired this with some Fra’Mani polenta (sold exclusively at Costco) topped with a trumpet and baby shiitake mushroom ragout. I know polenta is pretty easy to make, but as fans of Paul Bertolli’s Fra’Mani sausages, we had to give his polenta a try and it’s really good. My wife added some strong English cheddar to the polenta for some extra flavor and topped it with the mushrooms.

Aside from the underseasoned steak, which was totally my fault, this meal was a huge success and a testament to Ad Hoc at Home’s accessibility for home cooks. It’s a tribute to Keller and his love for good, homey food, as well as chef de cuisine Dave Cruz, whose influence is present in every meal in the Ad Hoc kitchen. According to Ad Hoc general manager Nick Dedier, Ad Hoc at Home is projected to surpass the 10-year-old French Laundry cookbook’s total sales in just three years. With food like this, it should surprise no one when it actually happens.

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My parents’ wedding anniversary is two days after Christmas, and in the last few years, we’ve started taking them to restaurants that normally aren’t on their radar. Last year, we took them to Osteria Mozza, and this year, after reading my French Laundry post, my mom said she wanted to experience something like that. Granted, it’s impossible to find something comparable to The French Laundry in Southern California, but L.A. is no slouch when it comes to great restaurants. I ended up choosing Providence because of its seafood-centric menu and more affordable five-course tasting option, but two Michelin stars didn’t hurt either.

Two Michelin Stars in Los Angeles.

My first exposure to Providence and Chef Michael Cimarusti was on the second season of After Hours with Daniel Boulud, the MOJO HD show where Boulud throws after hours dinners at prominent restaurants. Season two was set in LA, and admittedly, it was hard to keep track of which one-word restaurant was which. As I rewatched the episode on Hulu.com, I instantly remembered Providence while watching the episode where a lobster attacks a piece of Kobe beef. You can watch the episode in its entirety at Hulu.com.

One of the first things we noticed about the tasting menu was that the dessert course featured a kalamansi gelée. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll know that kalamansi is the citrus of choice in the Philippines, especially in one of my favorite dishes, bistek tagalog. My parents were especially excited to see this versatile Filipino citrus featured in a fine-dining setting. For us, it was the second time in a month we’ve seen Filipino ingredients on a high-end tasting menu. (The first was the Ilocano salt and Pili nuts at The French Laundry.) So while the rest of the tasting menu looked fabulous on paper, we already had our eyes on dessert.

We started with an inventive amuse bouche trio.

Amuse Bouche Trio
From left: Gin and Tonic Gelée with Lime Zest and Tonic Powder, Mojito Raviolo,
Celery Root Soup and Black Truffle Syrup

The Gin and Tonic Gelée had a little tonic powder on it that started fizzing once you squeezed the juice from a lime wedge on top so that when you put it in your mouth, it replicated the carbonation of the tonic water, while the gelée supplied the gin. The best way to describe the Mojito Raviolo is that it’s a mojito shot in a bubble. When you put it in your mouth, it bursts with all the flavor of a good mojito. The third amuse was a mug-shaped shot glass filled with celery root soup on top of black truffle syrup. Since the soup was lighter than the syrup, it took up the top half of the mug. You drink this like you would a shot of liquor so that the soup and syrup combine into a tasty mix of temperatures and viscosity.

Before we got to the tasting menu, we ordered another appetizer, just because it sounded good.

Fatty Big Eye Tuna and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin
Soy Créme Fraîche, Crispy Soba, Mache, Black Truffle.

The Fatty Big Eye Tuna and Santa Barbara Sea Urchin was served with soy créme fraîche, crispy soba, mache, black truffle. This dish sounded interesting because of the contrast in textures between the tuna and sea urchin, as well as the addition of the crispy soba. It was delicious.

The first course of the tasting was Japanese Kanpachi with Satsuma tangerines, black olives and Piquillo Peppers. The combination of all the little elements of this dish were excellent together, but the Satsumas were especially impressive on their own.

Japanese Kanpachi
Satsuma Tangerines, Black Olives and Piquillo Peppers.

Nancy’s Day Boat Scallops were perfect and served with a subtle truffle vinaigrette, Juilet tomatoes, and frisée.

Nancy’s Day Boat Scallops
Truffle Vinaigrette, Juilet Tomatoes, Frisée

The Norwegian halibut was the last fish course in the tasting menu and another perfect dish. It was served with fried burdock, which my wife wasn’t a fan of because it’s too woody, but I thought it was pretty good. The lemon butter sauce and shiso foam were great complements to the halibut.

Halibut
Burdock, Shiso, Lemon

My parents and wife enjoyed their Veal Tenderloins served with chanterelle mushrooms, Weiser Farmers torpedo onion, celery root purée.

Tenderloin of Veal
Chanterelle Mushrooms, Weiser Farmers Torpedo Onion, Celery Root Purée

Earlier in the evening, our waiter told me about the $50 Kobe ribeye supplement for the tasting menu, and I jumped at the opportunity. It was served tableside by Providence owner and General Manager Donato Poto.

Kobe ribeye prepared tableside.

The Kobe ribeye was cooked medium rare, had a nice salty crust and literally melted in my mouth. I liked the pieces of veal I got to try, but was even happier that I did upgraded to the Kobe. Plus, I got to share it with the table, so everyone got to try it. It was served with porcini mushrooms, pomme fondante, and spring onions…

Japanese Wagyu Rib-Eye (Kagoshima, Japan)
Porcini Mushrooms, Pomme Fondante, Spring Onions

…and a really nice bacon parmesan risotto.

Providence is also the home of cutting-edge desserts, and pastry chef Adrian Vasquez is one of the best in the business. In fact, you can go to Providence strictly for their dessert tasting menu, which we are planning on trying on a future visit. The kalamansi gelée was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The kalamansi flavor was instantly recognizable and the texture was a perfect complement to the litchi-shiso sorbet and the tapioca balls in the white chocolate coconut soy milk soup.

Kalamansi Gelée
White Chocolate Coconut Soy Milk Soup, Litchi-Shiso Sorbet

Our tasting service had ended, but the kalamansi gelée was so good that my wife and I looked at each other and knew we wanted to try some more desserts. She ordered the pumpkin “pie” and I ordered the “cheesecake.” Both of these desserts were “deconstructed” and while they tasted really good, the platings were a bit fussy.

Pumpkin “Pie”
Curry Ice Cream, Pecan Streusel

The beignets in the “cheesecake” were really good.

“Cheesecake”
Passion Fruit, Guava Sorbet, Beignets.

Providence is regarded as one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles, and it’s hard to argue with that assertion. My parents had a good time, and my mom was glad to have had the experience. It’s definitely a place I want to return, but I think our next visit will be for the dessert tasting menu. If you’re looking for a world-class restaurant with fresh, modern cuisine, Providence should be at or near the top of your list.

INFORMATION
Providence
5955 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038 map
323.460.4170
Web site

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I’ve raved about Alexander’s Steakhouse before and have been trying to manufacture excuses to go back. My birthday was as good a reason as any to make my return. My previous post has all the background info on Alexander’s, so let’s cut to the chase.

We were greeted with a nice amuse of cold sunchoke soup with crouton.

My wife ordered the pan-roasted halibut with beurre noisette of porcini, butternut squash, chestnuts, and brussels sprouts. Alexander’s might be a steakhouse, but their seafood is also excellent.

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So we went back to Ad Hoc so that my sister in law could try their brunch. As luck would have it, Prime Ribeye with Poached Eggs was the main entree, but check out the Smoked Pork Bruschetta. Here’s the menu and pics:

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My friend Maria was in town on business, which gave us another excuse to go to Ad Hoc. I learned there were some issues with the menu on this night. Originally, the main course was supposed to be veal osso buco, but by the time we arrived for our 9pm reservation, the main course was prime New York steak. Apparently the osso buco wasn’t up to standard and they made some changes on the fly. A coworker who had been there earlier in the evening said he was served pork belly and that they made the menu change after the first table had received their osso buco.

Can’t wait to go back in August when my sister-in-law comes to town.

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I love grilled meat, but I love it even more in the summertime. This past 4th of July, we had a mini family reunion, and as usual, I was asked to grill some meat. I wanted to keep it simple, so I grilled some New York Strips and did an easy BBQ chicken recipe that I’ve been using for years.

Steaks are pretty easy to make, and I don’t see why people are so amazed when I grill them. I had five steaks to work with, so I decided to do two different preparations. Three steaks were rubbed with olive oil to coat and then seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on both sides. On the other two steaks, I used Emeril’s Southwest Essence as a rub. I don’t normally use Emeril’s products, but we had the bottle buried in our pantry, so I thought I’d use it. It worked out really nicely.

Classic Grilled New York Steaks

INGREDIENTS
New York Steaks
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Olive Oil (approx 1 tbsp. per steak)

1. One hour before grillling, remove steaks from the refrigerator so they can get up to room temperature.
2. Rub each steak with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle each side of steak with kosher salt

Southwest New York Strips

INGREDIENTS
Emeril’s Southwest Essence (or use your favorite rub)
New York Steaks

1. The night before you grill, pat the steaks dry with a paper towel.
2. Sprinkle rub mixture on steaks so that there’s an even coating on all sides.
3. One hour before grilling, remove steaks from refrigerator so they can get up to room temperature.

COOKING TIMES

For medium rare, I generally cook the steaks for 4 minutes per side. Add or subtract a minute depending on your desired doneness. If you want to make cross-hatched grill marks on the meat, turn the steaks 90 degrees after 2 minutes.

To check for doneness more accurately, use a digital instant-read thermometer to monitor the temperature of the meat (med. rare is somewhere between 130-135 degrees)

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