Hello everyone! This is my very first post. I have been wanting to create a blog for years and never have been able to get around to it.
A little about me… I have 5 brothers who I love so very much. Being the only girl in the family makes me feel like Wendy from Peter Pan and the lost boys. I am constantly cooking for my older brother Michael (nickname Rufio), his friends whom I call the lost boys and my younger brother Sergio who is 21.
I started cooking at a young age. Those Ramen Noodles can get very old if you eat them every other day. I started experimenting with different spices and suddenly ramen wasn’t boring!
I developed the passion to create art on a plate. I want to be an innovator in the food industry or at least within the confines of my home. I have never gone to school for cooking, but I have taught my self everything I know.
In this blog you will follow me through my journey of creating art or as the title of my blog says: Haute Bites. Haute Couture Fashion on a plate.
So to get this started I was walking through the grocery store, gathering all of my ingredients for my Master Chef auditions when I feasted my eyes on this beauty.
This is called Buddha’s Hand. The fruit is very similar to a lemon, except that it doesn’t have any pulp or juice. I wanted to create a challenge so I threw it into the buggy. (haha yes, I don’t know why, but I like to use this term… Such a nerd)
Right next to the buddha’s hand was my favorite fruit the Cherimoya.
The cherimoya has been described as a custard like bubblegum flavor. ” Mark Twain called the cherimoya “the most delicious fruit known to men.”” Caution: Do not eat the black seeds! Great chilled.
The cherimoya has a very delicate flavor and it is very easy to pair it with something that will over power it’s flavor. I wanted to incorporate something very refreshing and light in flavor. I threw some cucumber in the buggy, along with coconut cream, mint and cilantro. My decision to throw cilantro in the buggy was based off the fact that lemon and cilantro really compliment each other. I envisioned candying the cilantro to help take the flavor down a notch.
Cherimoya Sorbet:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large ripe cherimoyas
- 1/2 tsp. finely grated lime zest
- Sea salt
1. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine 1 cup water with the sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Remove from the heat and let the simple syrup cool completely, about 15 minutes.
While waiting, cut the cherimoyas into quarters, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and discard the seeds. In a food processor, purée the cherimoya flesh until smooth.
Add the lime zest, cooled simple syrup, and a generous pinch of salt and pulse to combine.
Transfer the sorbet mixture to a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours.
Cucumber Florettes
1.) Peel the skin off of the cucumber and slice the cucumber in half.
2.)Use a mandolin slicer to make very thin slices.
3.) When ready to combine all ingredients, roll the cucumber into a cylinder.
Buddha’s Hand Coconut Whipped Cream and Candied Mint with Cilantro Dust
1.)Clean and grate the buddha’s hand, and throw it into a pot of simple syrup simmering on the stove for 7 minutes. Add some mint leaf’s to the simple syrup and strain them after 30 seconds.
4.) I used tweezers to lay them out on some wax paper. (mint leaves are very delicate, using tweezers ensured they didn’t tear.
5) Earlier I mistakenly tried to candy some cilantro. I painted the cilantro with egg whites and dusted on sugar. I grew very impatient after a few hours. For how thin the cilantro was, it was not drying quick enough for me, so I decided to throw them in the oven at 200 degrees.
Well let’s just say I made cilantro meringue accidentally. The sugar caramelized and created a puff over the cilantro leaves. After the meringue cooled, I crushed up the cilantro meringue and used the sugar crumbs to dust the mint after they were dipped in the simple syrup. It made the mint nice and crunchy, with a hint of cilantro. I guess some of the greatest things in the world were made by mistake… take Worcestershire sauce.
(side note: apparently two chemist were asked to create a tangy indian sauce, when the product was done, it was marked as inedible)
6.) I whipped up some extra heavy whipping cream adding the cooled down buddhas hand infused simple syrup. After the whipped cream had peaks, I folded in the chilled coconut cream.
(side note: you can use coconut cream as a healthier alternative to many different sweet sauces. I like to add stevia or honey to the coconut cream to make it sweet. Great for frosting- just add vanilla or cocoa powder)
7.) I placed the candied mint in the oven (after I turned it off and it cooled down a little) and I left the mint in the oven over night to dry.
8.) Stuff the cucumber florette with cherimoya sorbet, top with coconut whipped cream and garnish with mint.
The result is …
So run down of what you see here:
A cucumber florette, stuffed with chilled cherimoya, topped with buddha’s hand whipped coconut cream, garnished with candied mint leaf using cilantro infused sugar. Very refreshing and simply delicious. The cucumber is very subtle and lets the delicate flavor of the cherimoya come out on top.
Haute Bites Food 