Mise en place for the Crumbs:

What are honey granules?

Just dried honey and sucrose in a granular, powder form. The granules are about the size of a pinhead. It’s also called granulated honey. There are other forms too, honey mixed with maltodextrin is called spray-dried honey and honey powder. There is also something called cactus honey powder, which is not honey — but dried blue agave nectar. I use natural agave nectar in teas instead of sugar. It’s also a necessity for really good margaritas! Just make sure to check the ingredients before you buy. Honey granules can be found online here and here, in finer grocery stores, health food stores and some Asian markets (near the teas).

I pulsed several batches of pistachio shortbread, brittle and crispy carrot foam in my mini food processor until finely powdered. Then mixed thoroughly with the pistachio powder and some honey granules.

Ingredients
Pistachio shortbread
Pistachio brittle
Crispy carrot foam
Pistachio powder
Honey granules, from Zion Marketplace

Mise en place:

I covered the dates with hot water and let soak, until their skins would rub off easily. Then I peeled and pitted them. I found it helped if I peeled their skins off under running water.

In a medium saucepan, I combined the pitted dates, water, sugar, Port wine and a touch of salt, and brought to a boil. I simmered them, covered, for half an hour, until they were tender. Then I puréed the dates with some of their liquid in my Oster blender. While it was still running, I slowly drizzled in the grape seed oil. This thickens up the purée, emulsifying as it heats up from the friction of the blender.

I strained the purée, transferred it to a plastic container, and reserved to my prep area.

Ingredients
Medjool dates
Water
Port wine
C&H cane sugar
Morton’s kosher salt, to taste
Grape seed oil

Mise en place for the Glazed Carrot Tops:

First, I trimmed off their tops, then peeled the carrots — leaving their roots. Then I sealed them, the grapseed oil, sugar, honey and a touch of salt in a bag with my FoodSaver vacuum sealer.

Cooked en sous vide for 10 minutes at 185ºF. Then removed, and plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking.

I’m learning more about sous vide from Thomas Keller’s book Under Pressure, more than from the Alinea cookbook. The minimal directions in the latter imply that you to know certain things about cooking in general, and sous vide particularly. Not an exhaustive text, but that’s okay. It’s not meant to be.

For instance, did you know that plunging the sous vide bag into an ice bath has more to do with the health risks than overcooking your food? The quicker you can bring down the temp of the food in the bag, the less likely bacteria will grow. If left warm, it’s a haven for bacterial growth within the sealed bag! I’d recommend Chef Keller’s book to anyone thinking about cooking en sous vide…

Ingredients
Fresh carrots, from Little Italy Mercato farmer’s market
Grape seed oil
Water
C&H cane sugar
Morton’s kosher salt
Honey

To reduce the Fuyu persimmon’s astringency, the recipe calls for Pineau des Charentes, a sweet desert wine from France. I decided to use some Pacific Rim ‘Vin de Glaciére,’ a nice sweet Reisling from the Columbia Valley.

I used the container attachment to my FoodSaver vacuum sealer to compress the wine and persimmons, then refrigerated.

Ingredients
Fresh fuyu persimmons
Pineau des Charentes, or sweet dessert wine