Leslie Bartosh, CEC, AAC, FMP

 Back to basics. Chicharrones aka fried pork rinds. For some reason making of this item has never quite worked out for me until this year. They have been too dense, or tough, or did not puff right. Part of the issue has been that I only have one shot at these each year. Making these, revolves around when I make ham or in some cases bacon. This always happens when it is cold enough for cold smoking. A relatively narrow window of time where I live. The process is simple. Boil the pork skin until it is tender. Dehydrate the pork skin. Deep fry the fried pork skin. I just never got the combination right. Finally! This year success!  Now, to see if I can replicate the process next year! As always your comments or questions are welcome. Until next time, Bon Appetit Y'all! Chef Leslie Bartosh #Chicharrones #FriedPorkRinds #NoseToTail

  Mahi-mahi, Coconut, Kale and Porcini. Seared, Riverence ,wild caught, Ecuadorian mahi-mahi on braised kale, coconut milk with onion, ginger, fish sauce, lime, porcini mushroom and Thai basil. Chili oil and Thai basil flower garnish. Yes please!  As always, your questions or comments are welcome. Until next time, Bon Appetit Y'all Chef Leslie Bartosh #MahiMahi , #WildCaught , #Kale , #CoconutMilk , #ThaiBasil , #Porcini , #ChiliOil , #Riverence , 

Sausage and French Fries in the style of Birdie’s in Austin. House made bratwurst, crispy French-fried potatoes, roast pork glace. The delightfully, simplistic, nature of this dish belies its great flavor and savoriness. WOW!  Thank you Birdie’s for the inspiration!  As always, your questions or comments are welcome. Until next time, Bon Appetit Y'all. Chef Leslie Bartosh #Bratwurst , #FrenchFriedPotatoes , #Glace , #Birdie’s

  Fish tacos with slaw and pickled onion. Blackened, Riverence steelhead trout, spicy gochujang slaw; house pickled onions; and cilantro. A symphony of flavors!   All of the players (flavors) played very well together to achieve an amazing crescendo of flavors! Thank you Riverence for the great fish to work with.   Thank you OFood for the great gochujang to use with this dish.  As always your questions or comments are welcome. Until next time, Bon Appetit Y'all! Chef Leslie Bartosh #Fishtaco, #spicyslaw, #gochujang, #blackenedfish, #pickledonion, #Riverence, #OFoods,

Pumpkin.   In the USA, pumpkin is somewhat synonymous with Thanksgiving.   It is like two peas in a pod!   Thanksgiving and pumpkin go together! This pumpkin custard with Chantilly cream, tuile and Sterling Valley Maple maple syrup has become one our favorites for Thanksgiving.   It's lighter in flavor and texture than pumpkin pie.   Which, of course, means we can eat more! This pumpkin custard was made with Sterling Valley Maple maple sugar.   The recipe is below.  Also pictured is a pumpkin custard that was left in the mold and treated as creme brûlée. The SVM maple sugar on top formed a nice crispy crust.  Here is the recipe:   Sterling Valley Maple Pumpkin Custard with Tuile Yield:   approximately 10 - 5 oz servings Pumpkin Custard  Ingredients: 1/3 cup SVM maple sugar                             1 t ground cinnamon                                                  1/2 t ground nutmeg                                     1/2 t ground ginger