Summer is in full swing in Portland and Chef Michael is hip deep in local products.  Pictured above is an Oregon dungeness crab salad with avocado coulis, heirloom tomato, frisee salad and toasted brioche.  The fresh picked crab meat is folded together with house made creme fraiche, fine herbs, lemon zest and juice, and shallots.  Perched atop a genourous dollop of silky pureed avocado and topped with thin slices of local tomato, this dish is a showcase of light summery fare.  Another top-selling dish recently is Chef’s compressed melon salad.  Using Ten-01’s vacuum sealer, we compress local watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew into intense little juicy morsels.  The salad is served with  petite mixed greens, boquerones anchovies, and red onion aigre doux.

Sous Chef Colin Stafford worked hard to create this delicacy, this most amazing of sliced meats.  Porchetta is celebrated the world over as a traditional Italian preparation, and this version here uses only the head to create a fatty, succulent salumi which would be at home on any charcuterie plate or artisan sandwich.  Colin, however,  saw something more in this noble process, and served it sliced thin with local corn, pickled red onion, grilled watermelon, lardon, and bacon emulsion.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, lets start at the beginning.

The first thing one needs, is the head of a pig.  In this case, Colin found one through Square Peg farms, and boned it out from the neck up.  The meat was then brined for twelve hours in a mixture of water, salt, sugar, and aromatics.  The face flesh was then rolled up upon itself, which at one point required the help of Chef Michael to achieve an super tight meat roll.  The snout protruded appropriately and into the vacuum bag it went.  The porchetta was then cooked sous vide for 35 hours, during which time the meat obtained a luscious fatty texture, not unlike panchetta, but with more meat.  View the full set of pictures from this time-honored process at Ten-01’s flickr page.

The early evening light was hitting this dish so perfectly as it hit the pass, I had to snap a photo.  The crispy veal sweetbread with carrot butter would stand well enough on its own, but Chef Hanaghan won’t ask it to.  Tender beech mushrooms, perfectly blanched asparagus are both glazed with butter before being topped with a quivering sunny side up quail egg. Nothing says delicious to me more than warm egg yolk oozing all over everything.  Pictured below is one of the most stylish and elegant executions of decadence that I have personally witnessed.   Wild Chinook Salmon tartare mixed with extra virgin olive oil, finely minced shallots and chives  blanket a silky portion of foie gras mousse piped onto a house made lavash cracker.  Sprinkled with Maldon sea salt and micro arugula, this dish is a real testament to Chef’s respect for ingredients and clean, proper technique.

Some new ideas flowing in the pastry kitchen at Ten-01.  Having recently obtained the invaluable tome Frozen Desserts by Francisco Migoya, I have been dying to try out his praline gateau, pictured above.  A praline crust topped with a layer of frangipane, then a rich mascarpone and praline mousse.  It’s finished with a shiny caramel glaze and a sprinkle of Maldon’s sea salt. Served with a creamy strawberry ice cream, this dessert evokes summer without being light, satisfies without being too heavy.  Pictured below is what I believe will be the final incarnation of our chocolate bombe dessert; a milk chocolate mousse with a banana caramel core.  Glazed with tempered chocolate and served with a brown butter creme anglaise, is decadent richness speaks for itself.  As good as these desserts look, I’m anxious to get my hands on some local summer produce; bring on the berries!!

Pictured here is Chef Michael Hanaghan’s special spring risotto, featuring fiddlehead ferns, nettles, and morels.  The creamy mound of carnaroli rice sits atop a thin layer of ginger carrot butter.  Perched on top is  a fresh  Alaskan Yellow Eye Rock Fish, baby carrots fresh shaved grana padano. Hungry yet?   How about something sweet to finish your meal? Take this glazed apple cake with walnut ice cream and sage caramel.  It’s simple, rustic goodness speaks to the comfort food lover in all of us, so c’mon in and enjoy!

That’s right, house made andouille sausage, creamy polenta, sauteed savoy cabbage and sunny side up egg.  The perfect snack to enjoy with a frosty beer on a rainy afternoon.  Chef grinds, stuffs, and smokes this sausage all in house; the whole restaurant is blanketed in a rich effluent smoke, and heads turn yearning.  Pictured below is a little taste of what Chef can do for a special event, in this case a during a dinner to benefit Morrison Children’s  Hospital,  held in our private dining room.  A citrus fennel salad with braised baby fennel, dungeness crab salad, piquillo pepper bavaroise and pickled red onions.  As I helped plate this course, I was really excited to see all the components come together, a delicate and crisp balance of bright flavors.

Pictured above is Chef Michael Hannaghan’s glazed Carlton Farms pork shoulder with toasted farro, pickled vegetables, pork tongue pastrami and red wine vinegar pan sauce.  I love the presentation here.  Pork shoulder is typically served shredded because of  its falling-apart tender texture, but Chef Mike creates a much cleaner look through the use of caul fat. The shoulder is cooked sous vide, chilled thoroughly, then portioned into perfect cubes.  The meat is then wrapped in the caul fat so that it will hold together when warmed and glazed at the pick up.  This dish is amazingly good, a great showcase of local pork.  Below is one of my latest dessert creations, the chocolate bomb.  I use a flour-less chocolate cake which has been cored, filled with salted caramel and then glazed with tempered milk chocolate.  Served with blood orange ice cream, it’s decadent richness speaks for itself.

In a continued exploration of Chef Mike Hanaghan’s ever rotating seasonal menu, we have crispy veal sweetbreads with glazed butternut squash agnolotti with aged black garlic, ginger, and meyer lemon vinaigrette.  This great starter features pasta created by chefs at our sister restaurant, Tabla.  Our new herb roasted chicken dish includes a  puff pastry tart filled with caramelized onions, celery root, mizuna greens, emmental cheese, and is sauced with french onion soup jus.   This dish is feature in our monthly newsletter; which you can sign up for on our main page, just follow the “join our mailing list” link.

This grilled sturgeon dish is so bright and vibrant, it’s visual aspects eclipsed only by its wafting smell, it’s balanced savory essence.  I caught the fish once, smoking away on the grill; flame kissed and juices spattering it spoke to me.  Forgive  the romantic overtures, but when I’m around grilled fish, it reminds me of summer; warm afternoons and breezy evenings.  This preparation of sturgeon is paired with roasted golden beets, broccoli raab, mizzuna, pistachio and a horseradish vinaigrette.  On the same night Chef Michael offered a veal and chicken liver pate, and our pantry cook was almost buried with orders all night.  Between that and the new braised romaine salad with prosciutto and poached egg we all were jumping in and shucking oysters and helping him plate up.

Chef Michael Hanaghan and Sous  Eric Suniga are in the house, and with over fifteen years combined  cooking for Thomas Keller, our kitchen is putting out some truly world class  food.  Over the past month I’ve seen some once in a lifetime dishes, but its the food we serve everyday.  Chef Mike brings some serious experience to the table; his rock-like presence in the kitchen inspires us all to be stronger, to cook better.  With Sous Eric as his right hand and a crew of seasoned cooks, our kitchen hums.  It steams along on a rail of solid technique and utmost respect for ingredients and the craft of cooking.  Heads are down and plates are up, the floor staff literally running to keep up, blurs of black-clad bodies bussing and marking the next course.  The floor buzzes, the servers and guests are busily chatting over butter poached lobster, fine wine and caramelized blue cheese.  This 09 holiday season Ten-01 rocked. Patrons pounced; the place was packed, holiday shoppers and bar-hoppers feeding on show-stopper fresh food and laughing.  The kitchen is killing it.  The bar draws you in.  The room is jaw drop beautiful.  The knowledgeable staff is pouring the perfect wine or selected spirit.  All the pieces are in place.  2010 is going to be a good year.