I promised you on Friday I'd return to the NY Chocolate show for Johnny Iuzzini's demo...
So here's JOHNNY!I don't think I'll ever misspell his name again.
His team of gorgeous assistants. And the guy down in front with the camera?
That's Johnny's dad, who always shows up to documents his shows for posterity. Sweet no?
Johnny's an upfront, funny kind of guy and happily shared all his tricks of the pastry trade. I'll pass on as much of his wisdom as I could scribble down and translate later. Johnny was French-trained and went to CIA.
Tools are important for his superb desserts at Restaurant Jean-Georges
But every home 'chef' can get his/her hands on an isi whipped cream dispenser. Measuring ingredients is another biggie. Grandma may have used her hands to show you how much of this or that to add to a recipe, but that won't work in a pastry kitchen.
Everything has got to be METRIC!
Johnny uses 1.1 grams = 28th of an ounce as his standard measure.
And use a thermometer - monitor your temperatures future pastry chefs out there!
Liquid nitrogen..hmm well
Johnny demonstrates dripping chocolate straight into nitrogen to create chocolate lace, but you can do it in your home kitchen using a bucket of ice cubes.
Regarding chocolate - Johnny loves Valrhona, but other chocolates work well too - Guittard, Cluizel etc. depending on the dessert.
*Buy 5 different (for example all 70%) brands of chocolates. Get to know their flavor profiles
Write down notes on file cards to refer to later.
Chocolate is a lot like wine - it has terroir too
Try & Taste & Smell EVERYTHING! Smell your food first.
And eat your food together, not separately.
That's how it was meant to be eaten.
CONTRASTS!
It's important to have different textures, different flavors, different temperatures in a dessert.
Always think about the textures.
Like think about Mac & Cheese. Then something crunchy to up the ante.
Textures are HUGE with Johnny
His desserts are: a single flavor, single tasting, single season at Jean-Georges.
Et voila - Le dessert!
'Chocolate Curd with crispy Cacao Nib Tuile, White Chocolate-Sesame Clouds'
Quite a delicious mouthful!
So that's your taste of Johnny Iuzzini.
His book, Dessert Foreplay, is written with the home cook in mind.
And I definitely tasted A LOT of chocolate putting together this post.
I hope I did you justice Johnny :)
Later on Johnny was signing books and even talking to book buyer's sons on the phone Ha!
Tell me what his flourished handwriting says, I can't figure it out...
That's Johnny's dad, who always shows up to documents his shows for posterity. Sweet no?
Johnny's an upfront, funny kind of guy and happily shared all his tricks of the pastry trade. I'll pass on as much of his wisdom as I could scribble down and translate later. Johnny was French-trained and went to CIA.
Tools are important for his superb desserts at Restaurant Jean-Georges But every home 'chef' can get his/her hands on an isi whipped cream dispenser. Measuring ingredients is another biggie. Grandma may have used her hands to show you how much of this or that to add to a recipe, but that won't work in a pastry kitchen. Everything has got to be METRIC!
Johnny uses 1.1 grams = 28th of an ounce as his standard measure.
And use a thermometer - monitor your temperatures future pastry chefs out there!
Liquid nitrogen..hmm well
Johnny demonstrates dripping chocolate straight into nitrogen to create chocolate lace, but you can do it in your home kitchen using a bucket of ice cubes.
Regarding chocolate - Johnny loves Valrhona, but other chocolates work well too - Guittard, Cluizel etc. depending on the dessert.*Buy 5 different (for example all 70%) brands of chocolates. Get to know their flavor profiles
Write down notes on file cards to refer to later.
Chocolate is a lot like wine - it has terroir too
Try & Taste & Smell EVERYTHING! Smell your food first.
And eat your food together, not separately.
That's how it was meant to be eaten.
CONTRASTS!
It's important to have different textures, different flavors, different temperatures in a dessert.
Always think about the textures.
Like think about Mac & Cheese. Then something crunchy to up the ante.
Textures are HUGE with Johnny
His desserts are: a single flavor, single tasting, single season at Jean-Georges.
He's not a reader - he likes to touch, smell, blow things up!
"Full blast! Full blast!
Done and done!
Google is my best friend - you can find any ingredient on the internet and where to buy it."
Et voila - Le dessert!'Chocolate Curd with crispy Cacao Nib Tuile, White Chocolate-Sesame Clouds'
Quite a delicious mouthful!
So that's your taste of Johnny Iuzzini.His book, Dessert Foreplay, is written with the home cook in mind.
And I definitely tasted A LOT of chocolate putting together this post.I hope I did you justice Johnny :)
Later on Johnny was signing books and even talking to book buyer's sons on the phone Ha!
Tell me what his flourished handwriting says, I can't figure it out... An watch Bravo's Just Desserts for the finale this week! 
Sunday was the last show day and the last chance for some more tastes...
Somehow or other I ended up buying a lot of pre-Xmas gifts...
My 'booty' - all GIFTS!!!
You can get that T-shirt on the website.
On the back it says, Paddled, Whipped, Beaten...and left to rest.
Sunday was the last show day and the last chance for some more tastes...
Somehow or other I ended up buying a lot of pre-Xmas gifts...
My 'booty' - all GIFTS!!!
This dog in a shop nearby was giving me dirty looks as I left...
"Where's my chocolate 'chicken drumstick' milk bone?"
WOW what a treat!
ReplyDeletemerci beaucoup!!
I'm a fan of the show.
Now to get baking!!
No cable, no show. But it looks like fun. The flourishes show an outgoing personality, one would think. Also, as a sister of a (now mostly retired from that frankly insane world) pastry chef, there is the artist in it.
ReplyDeleteMainly I laughed at the funny dog's cranky puss. Wonderful.
Love all the secret insider pastry details
ReplyDeleteEvidently your handwriting IS legible but does it have flourishes, artiste that you are?
Annie
I think I might like a pastry chef sister to the one I was assigned.
ReplyDeleteInterested in trading
wonderful crazy looking dessert, that chocolate combo thing!
ReplyDeleteWhat did it taste like?
Certainment plenty of texture.
Do tell!
That looked like fun. I love baking and cooking--and chocolate is always fun to play with. He sounds like a good guy! Great post, Carol!
ReplyDeleteAs a French friend of mine once said: "French people love chocolate more than sex!" I was surprised to hear that!
ReplyDeleteWhat great demo!!! Love his dad recording - my favorite local chocolatier had his mom helping out when he first opened a shop.....now that he's branched out to San Francisco, I never see her. Maybe she's living it up in the city on the hill! Also LOVE your loot!
ReplyDeleteyou got "Johnny" right but you got the title of the book wrong - it's "Dessert fourplay" not "foreplay"!!
ReplyDeleteChocolate dessert is all the "fourplay" a girl needs!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll play, Carol! I think his inscription says:
ReplyDelete"Dear Jason, Desserts are last, but don't let them be least! Johnny Iuzzini"
Do I win something sweet if I'm right? ;)
Carol, the pic of the dog is priceless!
ReplyDeleteAs to Johnnnny - it looks like the pastries must taste good :)
Thank you Carol, I am now officially craving chocolate :) x
ReplyDeleteEeek!
ReplyDeleteSO embarrassing that I got the title wrong
I'm dyslexic!
So was Da Vinci
That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!!
I thought his inscription said, Desserts are the best, don't save them for last.
I can't read either it appears :(
c'est la vie
To dogs, chocolate may be delicious, but is toxic and potentially lethal! Most people don't know or just don't care about it. So please no kidding about "chocolate milk bone"! And NO chocolate for dogs, if you love them.
ReplyDeleteLe dessert est très beau !
ReplyDeletec'est TA prononciation qui était "différente"
you said : Z à la place de SSSSSS like a snake
A+C++++++
I read Johnny's inscription thus:
ReplyDelete"Dear Jason, Desserts are hot but don't let them be cool"
Did anyone else have this interpretation of his handwriting?
As always a great blog, thank you.
Cheers,
Elwyn
Why is it, does one suppose, that if anyone has a criticism or opinion (or even information) to deliver, one must be sniffy & haughty & possibly pedantic, & anonymous. Hmmm?
ReplyDeleteGroan.
That's all I'm sayin' Have a good evening, Carol.
Good job!
ReplyDeleteLoved the second Johnny post.
Hope you didn't mind me correcting you.
Noticed the spelling when I was sending in a request to our library to order the book.
Ginger
My God, that shot of the dog is amazing :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not too crazy about that guy. He pushes all that chocolate, and then doesn't carry any of his t-shirts for fat people.
ReplyDeleteHi Carol!
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to have another picture of Johnny with his assistants up onstage? I wasnt in that picture you had on the site, and I was up on stage (to the far right of the pic). Just wondering... thats all!
Thanks,
Abby
It's definitely "desserts are last but don't let them be least"...
ReplyDeletecg