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Brunch at Elements

  • Posted on July 27, 2009 at 7:11 am

It is one of the nicer feelings for a foodie to be led to the Chef’s table by the chef himself. Furthermore, also being told that the table has already been set for us in anticipation of our arrival – with NO reservations!

We love it there – the Chef’s table is in a spacious alcove adjoining the kitchen. From there one can watch all the hustle and bustle as the amazing staff at Element’s prepares the finest, freshest foods.

Because of my perfume allergies, it is SO cool of the staff to allow to sit there as often as we do. Otherwise there is a good chance that our meal will be ruined by some person who has just poured a bottle of stink over their heads instead of settling for the clean smell of soap.

Oh, and a very big thank you to Chef Scott Anderson for making me a Perfect-10 breakfast – a simple dish of 3 poached eggs, crispy house-cured bacon and buttered toast points. My hat is off to the man who understands the joys of the basic bacon-and-egg breakfast!

visiting vegans and elements

  • Posted on July 12, 2009 at 8:54 pm

I love my vegan friends and wish they would visit more often.

Saturday started at the farmer’s market, where I ran into one of the waitresses from the Plucky. Then to the Amish which was remarkably uncrowded. Finally to the supermarket then home. All sorts of good stuff piled in the fridge.

After all I ended up worrying and fussing, we didn’t eat a damn thing in the house! We ended up going to dinner at elements. The kitchen table was available and accommodating the two vegans was not a problem for them. It was a fabulous meal, and we plan on going back the next time they come visit for a five course tasting menu. The Husband and I started with Kindai tuna. They have a kindai tuna tataki (five slices of tuna served warm over soba noodles and kimchi, topped with sesame seeds, as well as a kindai tuna tartare, served with white soy, scallions and ginger. I’m not sure which I liked more, probably the tartare, but only because the tataki had sesame seeds in it. The Husband had the filet and I had the scallop. This was at least as good as any scallops I have had any place else, if not better. They were served with the most remarkable fried broccoli and carrots.

For a change, we had dessert. The Husband had sicilian pistachio ice cream and Bailey’s ice cream. I had the blueberry dessert which was a phenomenal blueberry cobbler, blueberry sorbet and the most remarkable blueberry mousse, made with mascarpone cheese. Just delicious.

Our guests had a wonderful time was well. We also got to see a friend who works in the kitchen who we haven’t seen since she doesn’t do brunch which is usually when we are there. We also had cocktails for a change, too. The Husband tried two of their sake’s. The first one I liked very much. The second packed way too much of a punch for me. I had a “puesta de sol- mount gay eclipse rum, espiritu, blueberry, lime.” That’s how they describe it on the menu, but that doesn’t tell you that it’s really a fresh blueberry foam that they use and when it settles it darkens the color of the drink. It was quite tasty and definitely not overwhelming.

Speaking of brunch, we were back at elements for brunch today. We both had the french toast, and the Husband had poached eggs to go with his. I had a mimosa, too, a nice treat! The french toast was outrageous; that BLiS maple syrup is just incredible.

Tomorrow we get to host some of them here for a BBQ. I’m trying not to be too neurotic about the food. I have fillet mignons, chicken breasts, hamburgers, turkey burgers all from the Amish and hot dogs if we decide to go really low-brow. Macaroni and potato salad from the Amish, and I keep contemplating making a horseradish potato salad as well. I have the marinated mushrooms. Chips and salsas, veggies, humus and pita. Fruit. Lots of sorbets and ice creams. I’ve got a cherry vanilla chilling now to be frozen and then a malted milk that I’m going to make the base for today and freeze tomorrow. That’s in addition to the four (maybe five?) I already have in the freezer.  I think I’m going to make blondies too. I should’ve made the flourless chocolate cake but I didn’t think of it in time. Oh, well.

Anniversary Weekend recap

  • Posted on June 28, 2009 at 10:22 pm

It has been suggested to me that I write up the food extravaganza that was our anniversary weekend this year, even though it was more than three months ago. We’re foodies. We love to eat, and eat well. We didn’t intend for it to be a weekend-long celebration, but I don’t think either of us were complaining when all was said and done.

Our actual anniversary was on a Friday, and we started it at the Pluckemin Inn with the chef’s tasting menu. That’s all we had originally intended to do. Below are my notes from that night:

  • ahi, mussels in spicy, fois gras bon bon, balsamic and brioche
  • fish with spicy pineapple sauce in shell. cilantro, salt, spicy sauce
  • Noodles with hard boiled egg and stuff
  • first of the season halibut, buttered morels, pea puree
  • scallops, pork belly, beet sauce
  • venison. black trumpet mushrooms. kale. cippollini onions.
  • Japanese kobe, super titi garlic chips. pad thai flavors
  • sous vide rhubarb and rhubarb foam
  • lemon creme fraiche
  • chocolate caramel brownie
  • salted caramels

Some recollections: the halibut, morels and peas were just fabulous, though I’m not sure how you can go wrong with anything with morels. the “super titi” garlic chips were pretty phenomenal. The Husband loved the noodles and egg. I’m pretty certain we had cocktails. I believe they also gifted us with a glass of champagne. If this was all we had done or eaten, it would have been a fantastic weekend.

I’m pretty sure we were back at the Plucky for lunch on Saturday and then Saturday night we got sushi to go.

For Sunday brunch, we decided to finally try elements for the first time. The Husband had pheasant hash, I think I had the french toast. We were impressed with the food, and they had the chef’s table in the kitchen available for that night, so we decided to end our anniversary weekend in much the same format we started it. At the mercy of a chef. Once again we were not disappointed.

  • Terhune tamago. Crispy bacon sweetbread frisee. Citrus lauging bird shrimp.
  • Kindai o-toro
  • Kampachi crudo four ways
  • Popcorn. Coarse ground corn meal. Mushrooms, black truffles.
  • diver sea scallops. spring pea leaves. truffles. mussel broth.
  • Kindai tuna loin wrapped in rye
  • fois gras torchon. kumquats
  • guinea hen. yogurt spatzle.
  • 48 hour short ribs
  • Bacon and eggs. Mille feulle.

Some thoughts on the above: by the time we got to the guinea hen, I was starting to get full. The popcorn and cornmeal dish was OUTRAGEOUS. Really unique taste profile. We loved that there was so much seafood here. The only thing I didn’t really like was the tuna in rye and that’s because I don’t like rye. The tuna was incredible.  I think there was another dessert as well (either carrot cake or bananas foster, I can’t remember). They sent out the bacon and eggs when we were there for brunch. I’ll have to get Joe to give me the details again (brioche, maple custard, candied bacon, I don’t know), but from someone who doesn’t like bacon, it was pretty good. The Husband loved it so much they served it to him again at dinner (originally they weren’t going to but he asked for it). No cocktails tonight, but I believe they gifted us with a glass of rose cava.

It’s hard to believe we’ve only been going to elements for less than four months! It did get off to a rather auspicious start.

And that is the tale of gluttony that was our anniversary weekend. It was good food and a whole lot of fun! Just as the four years of our marriage have been…

tasty Sunday

  • Posted on June 28, 2009 at 4:22 pm

We went out to our favorite brunch spot, elements, in Princeton, NJ this morning. They are kind enough to seat us in the kitchen at the chef’s table whenever we come in. It makes things easier so we don’t have to worry about moving with the Husband’s allergies to perfume, should someone come in with a “waft”. It’s also SO much more fun for us to be able to sit and hang out in the kitchen and get fed! Way cool.

They had corned beef hash back on the menu so the Husband was thrilled. They make it with poached eggs and fois gras. I had pancakes with fresh berry compote (yum!!!!!). Joe the sous chef introduced us to BLiS maple syrup. Good Goddess is that tasty stuff! Probably the best maple syrup I have ever had. So I now need to go order a bottle of that as well as some of thier vanilla fleur de sel, which will go incredibly in some ice cream, I think.

I have another batch of banana ice cream in the freezer now. I made it with more butter and brown sugar this time. I may need to start making it with 4 bananas instead of the three it calls for. I’m not quite sure yet, but I think it’s missing something. So now I have this, yesterday’s peach sorbet and the chocolate sorbet all in the freezer right now. I’m SO glad we got this big fridge last year! Our old one could never have held it all. Part of the reason I hadn’t used the ice cream maker till now was the space it took up in the old freezer was enormous.

I still don’t know what I’m doing with the sour cherries. I pitted them all (by hand, no gadget) and added 2 teaspoons of sugar and am letting them sit right now and give up some juice while I ponder this.  I really do need to do something with them by tomorrow, though.