Found Objects

I've often considered that one of the most interesting contributions to 20th century art was the use of the "found object" as a medium. Perhaps it started with the Dadaists, who simply took discarded everyday objects, or "readymades", with minimal or no alteration, and placed them in a new context, making both ironic, irreverent jokes and political statements. The use of found materials continued with early Cubist exercises- often in a cut-and-paste collage form. The idea of pop culture as high art reached its peak with Warhol, Lichtenstein, et al., and their aptly named Pop Art, reflecting both the graphics of advertising but also the iconic imagery of the increasing media saturation of the 50s and 60s . For the Pop artists, such material was often treated as an homage. In sculpture, too, the found object, for example discarded machinery and scrap metal, makes certain statements about post-industrial society. Sampling in music is yet another form of this idea. In addition to a simple change in context, there is also merit in the mere manipulation of the source material itself.

We're seeing a similar increasing use of the found object in cooking, usually in the form of mass market prepared foods. It's not a new phenomenon; we've all seen the flimsy ring-bound junior league cookbooks that offered cakes made with Coke and mayonnaise, pies made with Ritz crackers, and any number of Jello based nightmares. But in haute cuisine we find the use of such ingredients as playful and ironic, with a healthy dash of nostalgia. Ferran Adria famously used ground cough drops as a soup garnish, and his brother Albert made delicate decor from crushed Oreos. Fellow bloggers Alex and Aki at Ideas in Food seem to be obsessed with Dr. Pepper, among other things. Last year my friend Paul Connors, former pastry chef at Boston's Radius and now working in Minneapolis, prepared a dessert that found Krispy Kreme doughnuts pureed into a pancake batter and served with his signature candy cap mushroom ice cream. Graham Elliot Bowles, on the verge of opening his eponymous restaurant in Chicago, recently wrote a piece in Plate about his foie gras and pop rock dish, describing his fascination with pairing the luxurious with the humble and familiar, while also alluding to a the DIY punk aesthetic of culinary "cut-and-paste". Prankster Michel Richard constructed tiny croquembouches from Cocoa Puffs cereal. There are almost too many examples to mention.

It's also worth noting that presently, a lot of what gets dubbed "molecular" was born from the mining of the processed food industry's mechanization and chemical ingredients. And don't get me wrong, I have a foot in this trend too, but it's important to recognize that ingredients that are now hip once scared people when read from the ingredient label of packaged food. Again, its all about context.

With our last consulting project, Westend Bistro in Washington D.C., up and running, our attention is now firmly fixed on our next, a similar casual concept in Philadelphia's Ritz Carlton. Menu development for all of our various projects begins months in advance; this fluid process takes into account price point, kitchen logistics, staffing, seasonality, and location. Such primary planning of our consulting projects is coordinated by Michelle, a former Le Bernardin sous chef. She recently approached me, quite enthusiastically, about an idea for the new restaurant's dessert menu: the Tastykake. I think my reaction was accompanied by a blank stare. What the hell is a Tastykake?

A Pennsylvania native, Michelle explained that Tastykake is a much adored regional snack, a source of local pride right alongside the cheese steak. I understand such nostalgia; I think every region of the country has similar products that form an association with our childhood and where we grew up. But the Tastykake phenomenon was confirmed by another Philly girl and one of my own assistants, Monica, who dutifully delivered the goods to the pastry kitchen. It turns out there are several varieties, and everyone familiar with them has a personal favorite.

In need of some light-hearted play after an especially busy week- an appearance on the Martha Stewart Show, final photo shoots for our upcoming book, the production of almost 1000 extra pieces of chocolate for Valentine's Day- I finally turned yesterday to the Tastykake challenge. I didn't think that it would be terribly interesting to simply replicate one of these spongy, cream-stuffed treats. Ditto on "deconstructing" its elements into a plated dessert. Instead, I sought to use these snacks as actual ingredients in the spirit of all found object art, to transform them into something new. For these experiments, I chose two different varieties: the Vanilla Cream Kake, and the slightly more "refined" Kandy Kake, a sponge with peanut butter filling and a chocolate coating.

About five years ago, while still chef at Trio outside Chicago, Grant Achatz had invited me to collaborate on a special menu that would challenge our associations of savory and sweet; several ingredients were chosen at random, and we each began to plot dishes with these ingredients in a kind of call-and-response manner. Coconut was one of these ingredients, and for some reason I became fixated on creating a parody of the Twinkie; how that thought progressed from one to the other is now lost to time! In the end, the dinner had to be canceled. But looking at this white frosted, cream-filled yellow cake, I saw a perfect opportunity to revisit this old idea.

To start, these cakes seem to beg for a go in the blender; I added a touch of milk to aid their transformation into a liquid. I was looking to use this base as a flavoring for yet another cream, but its consistency right out of the blender reminded me of a tuile batter. Why not? I added a small amount of egg white to aid in the drying process, and applied this "batter" onto a Silpat for a quick bake. I now had some texture, so I returned to the cream. The puree was added to a sort of creme anglaise base, with the addition of gelatin, more vanilla, and lemon zest, which I would lighten with whipped cream before filling cylinder molds. Frozen, unmolded, and cut into thirds, this cream sits upon my own "yellow cake" base, flavored with citrus. Coconut appears as a sorbet, and it seemed logical to introduce pineapple, in the form of a vanilla and star anise infused juice. "Croutons" cut from the original Tastykake bring the dessert full circle.

In the past, I've had great success with a few "bread" flavored ice creams: cinnamon toast, pain d'epice, even banana bread. The solid material is blended into milk and allowed to infuse, then this milk goes into the base of the ice cream. I decided to use the peanut butter-chocolate Tastykake in this same fashion, accented with milk chocolate, malt powder, and rum. As an element in a simple dessert, two quenelles of the finished ice cream are topped with a plaque of tempered dark chocolate and peanut butter powder- peanut butter, roasted peanut oil, and maltodextrin. I love the way the powder and chocolate combine to evoke another mass market product, the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Maldon salt and lemon confit, as well as simple chocolate and caramel sauces, complete the composed dessert.

Both desserts taste pretty good, and the unique raw materials do add their identity to the finished product. I would definitely argue that they are more pleasing than the original. And given more time, I could probably find a few more ways to manipulate Philly's favorite sweet snack. The question remains: Will Tastykakes find their way onto the menu this summer?

Hmmm.

We'll see what happens.

Download Pineapple Coconut Tastykake Recipe.pdf

Download Malted Peanut Tastykake Recipe.pdf

 

For general notes on the recipes posted here, please read About the Recipes. And for hard to find ingredients or equipment, please refer to Resources.

Comments

[H. Alexander Talbot]

Beautiful shots, beautiful dishes.

and a book? what kind, and when will we see it?

thanks for the mention.

[RuthWells]

As a Philly girl myself, this tickles me to no end. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the Ritz Carlton...
(And I agree, the Kandy Kake is definitely the apex of Tastykake-dom.)

[Graham Elliot Bowles]

Great entry and stunning dishes! I look forward to sampling your creations sometime in the near future, and hope you allow me the pleasure of cooking for you the next time your travels bring you through Chicago.

[Michael Laiskonis]

Thanks to all for the kind words. The book I referred to will be the next Le Bernardin book, hopefully available by the end of this year!

[cory barrett]

4 words...
Better Made Potato Chips. Detroit would be so proud.

[Michael Laiskonis]

Cory, I think you get double points if drink Faygo with Better Made Potato Chips...