This month’s challenge was to make a mousseline. I chose a heavily modified version of the Maryland Crab, Scallop and Saffron Terrine from Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. While I’m sure the original version is pretty and all, I wanted something that would look just like a scallop when sliced, with enough interest to make you wonder what exactly it is.

Procurement

Fairly easy this month. I went to Whole Foods and everything was in stock.

Mousseline-ing

Also really easy. The whole process only took about an hour, hour and a half, excluding the overnight chill.

The Debut

This month, I went a little overboard with my debut dish. I had a potluck to attend, the theme of which was “avant garde” food. After fretting about what constitutes the definition of “avant garde” as the concept relates to food, I settled on making something I was craving: enter noodles with broth. Luckily the inaugural issue of Lucky Peach hit my mailbox right about then. The focus of issue 1? Ramen. David Chang’s recipe for Momofuku Ramen Broth 2.0 looked like just the thing to fit the bill, and the perfect vehicle for something Charcute-y. And what’s more avant garde than an ingredient whose texture and properties has been turned on its head?

The Verdict

I’m happy to report that my dish was a smash success, and I will be making the broth many many times in years to come. I plan to serve the leftover mousseline perched atop a nice bowl of coconut green curry with rice.

Ramen with Kickass Broth, Fresh Bacon and Mousseline “Scallop”