experiment #55 - Floor 65 with Chef Aaron Brooks

Another experiment concluded, this one in high altitude conditions. For Cobaya Experiment #55, Chef Aaron Brooks (who  did Experiment #25 with us three years ago) didn't serve dinner in his restaurant, Edge Steak and Bar. Instead, he took us up to a 65th floor unit in the Four Seasons Residences, with floor to ceiling windows on two sides looking out on Biscayne Bay and down Brickell Avenue. You can see tweets and pictures from the evening in this Cobaya #55 @ FS65 Storify page and in this Cobaya #55 @ F65 flickr set, and we'll update soon with links to recaps read recaps here at FFT and The Chowfather.

After a round of snacks and champagne in the hotel's lobby, here's the menu Chef Brooks served up high in the tower:

Chef Aaron Brooks' Selection of Charcuterie

Cold

Chicken, Eel and Peanut Terrine en Croute

Duck Heart and Sicilian Pistachio Terrine

Foie Gras, Chicken Liver and Truffle Pate

Smoked Hock and Head Cheese

Truffle Stuffed Trotter

Soy Cured Pig Face

Hot

Chorizo Verde Flautas

Warm Tasso Ham

Aussie Lamb Ham

Cheesy Kielbasa

Kangaroo Tartare

Olives, Preserved Lemon and Za'atar

Roasted Rabbit

Thai Sausage, Green Curry

Drunken Watermelon

Cilantro, Serrano, Tajin

Carpetbag Steak

Cape Grim Grass Fed Pasture Raised Beef

Celery Root cooked with Australian Truffles

East Coast Oysters

Black Sesame Pavlova

Thai Basil, Local Fruits

This was something of a preview for a series of pop-up "Undercover Dinners" Four Seasons will be doing around the country, so pay attention, as there may be more like this. A big thank you to Chef Brooks, to Edge executive sous chef Jose Gamez, and to all of the team at Edge and the Four Seasons, to the owner of the loft condo unit who allowed us to use his space for this event, and as always most of all, to the guinea pigs whose interest and support make these events possible.

experiment #54 - Quality Cobaya with Chef Patrick Rebholz

Experiment #54 is in the books! This time around, we spent some time with Chef Patrick Rebholz of Quality Meats on Miami Beach. In a long, second-story room over the restaurant, Chef Rebholz served forty guinea pigs a knock-out meal. Here's a "Quality Cobaya" Storify page with everyone's tweets and pictures; you can also see pictures in this Quality Cobaya flickr set. We'll update when recaps are posted. And here are recaps at Food For Thought and The Chowfather.

Here's the menu from Tuesday's experiment:

Butcher's Roll Charcuterie

(coppa with aerated mozzarella, smoked soppressata with corn bread cream, cured foie gras torchon with malted barley and mint mango gastrique, duck bacon, pork jowl corn dogs, calf liver mousse with pickled ramps, suckling pig coppa di testa, merguez "prosciutto" with preserved lemon, dry-aged beef popcorn)

Salad

(with tomato granita and corn custard)

Reuben Cobia Crudo

(with crispy parsnip, fennel sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing, swiss cheese mousse)

Counterbalance

(watermelon with jalapeño jelly and mint)

"Guinea-Pig"

(guinea hen stuffed with suckling pig and foie gras)

General Tso's Pig Brains

Cleanse

(mango lime sorbet with crispy chicken skin)

Long Bone Short Rib Steak

(with bordelaise sauce and pommes purée)

Stimulate

(peaches poached in juniper shrub with labne panna cotta)

QM Crispy Treats Sundae

A big thank you to Chef Rebholz, who really knocked it out of the park, to all of his crew at QM who did a great job all night, and as always most of all, to the guinea pigs whose interest and support make these events possible.