Cooking with Watson: Austrian asparagus and pig’s feet croquettes

‘Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson‘ is a collaboration between IBM and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Once a week, as part of an ongoing series, we’ll be preparing one recipe from the book until we’ve made all of them. Wish us luck.

“Austrian grilled asparagus” that should be simple. Let’s see… Pig’s feet? Sous vide? Croquettes? Mustard “foam”? Damn it Watson!

Well, if the carrot pearls from last week weren’t sufficiently weird for you, fear not. This week’s recipe is the sort of thing that would send most casual cooks running for the hills. And to make matters worse, the title lulls you into a false sense of security. The first two steps in this recipe, that’s theoretically for grilled asparagus, are to brine two pig’s feet overnight, then to cook them in a 162 degree water bath (sous vide) for 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours. Between the eight-plus hour brine and the 24 hour cook, this is already the most time intensive dish I’ve ever made.

Before we get to the pig’s feet croquettes lets talk about the other elements of this dish. The grilled asparagus, is just that: quickly blanched and char-grilled asparagus. Don’t get worried by the “Austrian” part of the title, all you’re doing is dressing the vegetable in a mustard foam once it’s done. And, while the word “foam” may have initially triggered some anxiety, I’ve got to say it proved to be unfounded. The “foam” is basically just a sauce made from milk and Dijon mustard that’s processed with a blender. The spinach coulis, is essentially the same: some spinach, oil, garlic and milk that is pureed within an inch of its life. Now, using the method in the cookbook you won’t get a very stable foam, but it will still be a tasty sauce to pour over your veggies. If you want something that looks little bit more like what you’d find in a fancy-pants restaurant, and won’t run all over the plate on you, try soy lecithin. Also, might I suggest using a regular blender for the coulis. I attempted to use my immersion blender and ended up with a tasty, but still sort of chunky sauce. The end result was more creamed spinach than coulis.

The real surprising part of the dish, however, was the pig’s feet croquettes. For one, I’ve never cooked pigs feet before and the idea of combining the flavors of pigs feet and asparagus seemed like a bit out of left field. Especially when the pigs feet, most commonly associated with southern American food, are seasoned with turmeric and mustard seed, a combination often associated with Indian cuisine. Chef James Briscione was definitely able to take the somewhat bizarre ingredient list served up by Watson and turn in a dish that is pleasing to the human palate. It’s only the second recipe in the book, but it’s already the first that seems to accomplish its goal of pushing chefs creativity through cognitive computing.

Not a single one of my taste testers was excited about this dish. The idea of pig’s feet croquettes did not sit well, but they were all converts after the first bite. The delicate Dijon sauce added considerable life to the asparagus. And the salty, pungent and slightly sweet meat that was rolled up tightly in each panko-crusted potato log added a nice balance to what could have easily been a brick of deep fried starch. The only complaint is that pig’s feet simply don’t deliver enough meat. Especially considering the amount of time needed to brine, cook and disassemble them. This is a collection of flavors that’s going in my permanent kitchen playbook (thanks Watson, sorry about cursing at you earlier), but I’ll definitely be swapping out the pigs feet for ham hocks or pork butt next time.

Update: The original version of this story referred to the recipe as “Australian” instead of “Austrian” asparagus.

AUSTRIAN GRILLED ASPARAGUS

Pig’s Feet Sous Vide

2 cups water
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 ½ tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fenugreek
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 pig’s feet

1. In a bowl, mix the water, whole-grain mustard, garlic, mustard seeds, fenugreek, vinegar, salt and sugar.

2. Place the marinade and the pig’s feet into a sous vide pouch. Seal and refrigerate overnight.

3. Cook the pig’s feet in a 162 degree Fahrenheit water bath for 24 hours.

4. Take the feet out of the pouch. Remove the bones and chop the meat, discarding any bits of tough connective tissue or cartilage. Reserve the strained cooking liquid from the pouch.

Pig’s Feet Croquettes

6 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup pig’s feet meat, minced
½ cup Swiss cheese, grated
All-purpose flour, as needed
1 egg, beaten
Potato flakes or panko bread crumbs, as needed

1. Combine the water, salt and potatoes in a saucepot. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pieces are easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

2. Drain the potatoes, then let rest for 30 minutes.

3. Heat the mustard and fenugreek seeds with the oil in a small saucepan over low heat for 2 minutes.

4. Add the garlic and sauté over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the pig’s feet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Let cool.

5. Rice the potatoes in a bowl and mix in the cheese.

6. Take a quarter of the potatoes and shape into a flat patty. Place some of the meat mixture in the middle, then roll into a log 4 inches long by 1 inch in diameter. Repeat until you have 4 logs.

7. Refrigerate the croquettes for at least one hour. Pass them through a standard breading procedure, rolling the croquette in flour, then dipping it in the egg, and finally coating in bread crumbs/potato flakes. Deep-fry at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown.

Spinach Coulis

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup packed spinach
½ cup low-fat milk
Pinch of salt

1. Sauté the garlic in the oil in a pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

2. Add the milk and salt, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

3. Blend and process until smooth. Reserve, and keep warm.

Mustard Foam

½ cup low-fat milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Heat the milk and mustard in a saucepan for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Reserve.

Grilled Asparagus

12 large spears asparagus, stems trimmed
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and blanch until halfway done.

2. Drain the asparagus, drizzle with the oil and cook on a hot grill until done and nicely charred.

3. Remove from the heat and plate immediately.

To Serve

1. Transfer the mustard foam to a blender and process on high speed until foamy.

2. On each plate, spread a small amount of spinach coulis. Place 3 asparagus spears in the center and 2 croquette halves on the side. Top with the mustard foam.

This recipe and others can be found in Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson.

Filed under: Household

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BitTorrent reportedly laid off dozens of employees

According to Buzzfeed, BitTorrent drastically reduced its US workforce on Thursday. Multiple anonymous sources reportedly confirmed that about 40 of the company’s 150 domestic employees were sacked yesterday morning. BitTorrent has struggled to turn a profit over the last couple of years. Despite its ubiquitous name recognition and multiple profit-sharing partnerships with major musical acts, the company never quite shook the “pirated media” stigma with mainstream consumers. It also offered a string of peer-to-peer based products that never really went anywhere. I mean, do you remember Bleep, BitTorrent’s P2P messaging app? No, of course you don’t. BitTorrent reportedly made the cuts in order to streamline its business and focus on Sync, a cloud storage system based on it’s peer-to-peer file sharing system.

Update: Bittorrent PR has issued a comment on the reported firings.

We’ve recently realigned resources based on a regular evaluation of the business. Regrettably, this did include some employee departures. The business however, remains healthy, profitable and growing.

Filed under: Internet

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Source: Buzzfeed

Formula 1 aerodynamics will make grocery stores more efficient

No, that’s not a typo. It turns out Formula 1 racing technology, specifically aerodynamics, can help rid grocery stores of the so-called “cold aisle” issue. Using aerofoils that are designed to guide the direction of air flow around a race car, Williams F1’s engineering department and UK start-up Aerofoil Engery aim to keep the cool temps inside the open refrigerators at the market. The aerofoils attach to each shelf, guiding the cold air so that not only is that section more comfy for shoppers, but energy use is reduced as well. In fact, Sainsbury’s, the second largest grocery store chain in the UK, is already testing the tech. “This Formula 1 inspired innovation has already shown it can cut carbon produced by major refrigerators,” said John Skelton, the retailer’s head of refrigeration. The project is still in the testing phase, so if could be a while before its ready for widespread installation.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: TechRadar

Source: Williams F1