Meal 1: Caesar Salad; Cheeseburgers; Santiago Cake

In the book, it is noted that this is the chefs' and staff's favorite "Family Meal" that is served. Granted, this is over in Spain so getting a good burger is probably more difficult than we might think. Regardless, it was nice to start off with a more simple menu.

Caesar Salad: dressing, romain lettuce, croutons, and cheese. Ever since I had my first freshly made Caesar dressing down in Las Vegas, I've been a fan of the real stuff. And that means anchovies.

Dressing: Garlic, oil, egg, vinegar, anchovies, and cheese.


It all takes a whirl in the Magic Bullet (insert naughty joke here...)


Add some cheese and VOILA! Caesar dressing.


Croutons are pretty simple: stale bread + olive oil + lots of salt & pepper + 15-30 minutes in 300F oven = homemade croutons.


Dress the salad (I always thought that is a funny phrase) and add the croutons and cheese. Do this right before serving so the salad doesn't get soggy.


Cheeseburgers: ground beef, eggs, white bread, milk, salt & pepper. Buns, cheese, and fixings are your choice.

(Disclaimer: this is not the world's greatest cheeseburger recipe. We American's have vastly superior burgers, but these are still pretty good. I like the milky-bread trick for added moisture.)


Add some milk to the white bread; let it soak. Then mix all the ingredients together.


Form into patties. The added indenture in the patty is to help prevent the patty from shrinking in the pan.


While I would normally cook these on the grill, I was trying to stick to the recipe. So I pan-fried them in my cast iron skillet. I was able to get a pretty nice crust on the patties.


Threw on some jack cheese I had in the fridge and plated the burgers.


Santiago Cake: ground almonds, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and lemon zest.

I had never heard of this before. However, it is similar to a French Macaroon but more cake-like. Very tasty (and gluten-free).

The first thing to take care of was making ground almonds. Almond flour would work, but that is rather expensive. So I ground my own with the ole food pro (courtesy of my mom...who lent it to us years ago, and then rather conveniently never asked for it back...)


Later, I learned that you can boil the almonds to get rid of the skin and thus make a more white flour, but I was fine with the skins on. Before and after grindation.


The ingredients.


Pour into a parchment-lined pan and bake at 350 for 11 minutes or until golden browned.


Cut into pieces and dust with powdered sugar.


Plated up.


And the meal is served! I didn't make chips (the book didn't say to...) but they are some tasty kettle chips with some serious crunch.


Notes and thoughts: this was a pretty easy meal. If you don't dig anchovies in the tin, just use the stuff in the squeeze tube, but DO use anchovies.

Secondly, use good ground beef, preferably grass fed with a lower fat content.

Third, this would be a fun one to involve your kids with in making.

I enjoyed making this meal on two levels: for myself and for my family. I guess that's the profound part of this whole experience that I anticipate: dinner with the family. More deep thoughts to follow....

Blog Introduction

Ferran Adria. Never heard of him? Don't worry, you probably aren't alone here. Let me give you a little intro to who this person is: Ferran Adria is a chef. But he is no ordinary chef running the kitchen at your local Applebees. He ran what was probably the highest regarded restaurant in the world called el Bulli.

Never heard of that either? Again, not alone. Outside of the foodie realm, it is just some high-fallootin', ridiculously priced diner that had slow service. Well, some might say that....

But to me, Ferran Adria is a culinary genius. He is a mad scientist of food. He is an artist, like some of his fellow countrymen, who has redefined the world in which he paints.

So what does he have to do with me and this blog? Ferran: a highly trained, successful, and world-renowned chef extraordinaire. Me: untrained, law student, unknown kitchen cook who is highly acclaimed by his wife and 4 year old son. Can't you see the parallels?

Then enters a book: "The Family Meal". This is not a cookbook containing recipes from el Bulli. Well, at least not the recipes that the patrons who paid $500 for a 6 hour meal. No, these are the recipes that the chefs made for themselves and the other staff. This is what the cooks eat. Each meal consists of three courses: first course, entre, and a dessert. Each recipes comes with detailed instructions and pictures.

Now time for the rip-off admission. This is not a new concept, to take a cookbook, attempt every recipe therein, and write a blog about it. Yes, call it a rehash (many times over). I promise you absolutely nothing original or cheeky about this blog; I'm not that clever. However, this is merely documentation of a process that I want to follow through on to completion. What that means is that every Sunday for the next 33 weeks (or 31 as I have already completed the first two meals), I will make the three recipes per meal given in the book. I will go in order and will stick as closely to the recipe as possible. I will probably include some benign insights as I progress through the book, but I will try to keep those to a minimum.

So here goes nothing. Recipes will be followed, food will be eaten, critiques will be given, and blogs will be posted.

Time to get cooking.