asparagus scallop black sesame

Asparagus has always been my herald to spring. Once they poke their pointed heads out from the still earth, they signal to the rhubarb and fraises de bois that it is safe to come out.
At the restaurant, part of my morning routine is to blanch asparagus. Standing at the stove, going through the ballet of blanching– dropping handfuls of loose spears into a pot of briny, violently boiling water, scooping them out at the critical moment, and quickly plunging them into a bowl of icy water to halt the cooking process and set the color and texture–it is tempting to try to fit in other tasks, but asparagus demands your full attention. Variables such as soil mineral content, growing medium, fertilization, and harvest stage will all effect cell density within each box, each bundle, and even each stalk, requiring careful monitoring in the cooking stage, as it can quickly cross the line from al dente to baby food.
This is basic cooking; a menial task in the scope of the days’ preparations, but a crucial technique to master.

ginger honey glazed scallops
blanched asparagus whips
black sesame ice cream

Food photography lesson #1: This was my first attempt at photographing a dish that is intended to be served with widely contrasting temperatures. It took 3 rounds of reassembling this dish before getting a shot that did not look like a poster for "What Not To Eat". In a moment of brilliant clarity, it occurred to me that there was no reason that, for the sake of photography, the components could not all be at the same temperature. Sometimes, it is the glaringly obvious things that press my stupid button.