What is an emulsion?

Science plays a huge part in any cooking process. Think about it...boiling water, baking cupcakes, growing veggies - all of these things bring science into play. We don't think about it that way most of the time, but there are certain techniques in the culinary world that make it difficult to ignore the scientific aspect of the field.

from Flickr - by steve watson photos

An emulsion is defined by Wikipedia as a mixture of two or more unblendable liquids. In an emulsion, one liquid is dispersed into another. The most common example of this would be a vinaigrette. As you all know, I tend to lean towards making my own salad dressings, so we've talked about this before. When you only use an oil and a vinegar, you have an unstable emulsion. This would mean shaking your salad dressing, and watching it separate before your eyes.

Egg yolks, mustard and honey can all act as emulsifiers...pulling together the two liquids that you are trying to blend. Many dressings, for instance, call for dijon mustard as an emulsifier. As you whisk in the olive oil, the dressing takes on a thick, opaque consistency...it's emulsified!

from Flickr - by www.drweil.com

Hollandaise sauce is also an emulsion - and I know we've talked about that before - it's one of my favorite (albeit, unhealthy) sauces! To make homemade mayonnaise, you also need to use an emulsion technique. Whisking vegetable oil into vinegar or lemon juice, and then adding an egg yolk as an emulsifier pulls the substance together, creating the creamy texture we are used to in a store-bought jar of mayonnaise. This technique is also similar to what is done when making an aioli.

The interaction of ingredients is very important when attempting an emulsion. It requires the right balance of measurements, and some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to whisk it all together. Don't give up when your arm gets tired, because most likely, you aren't at the right point yet!

from Flickr - by FotoosVanRobin

If you have questions about a specific emulsion, leave a comment and I'll be happy to elaborate. Maybe we'll even have a little emulsion series, if there's a large interest! It's a very interesting subject and it's very cool to watch your ingredients take on a totally different consistency before your eyes...heat not necessarily required!

Murphy's on the Green

This weekend, we took another trip up to the ol' V-T to celebrate a few birthdays, among them, my father-in-law's special day! We decided to take him out to lunch to celebrate, before heading to a special little lady's fourth birthday bowling party! We decided on Murphy's On The Green, in Hanover, NH. This pub-like establishment is located on the main drag of Dartmouth's little college town, and it sure is delicious! They were doing a helluva business on a Saturday afternoon at 2pm, but they were able to find us a table for four rather quickly.

A few minutes passed, and the waitress came over to take our drink order and recite the specials, which consisted of Salmon Chowder and a Red-Pepper Fettuccine entree (mmm, more on that later because that's what I decided to order!) Since a toast was in order, we all ordered drinks, and I opted for a glass of white wine, the Glass Mountain Chardonnay, out of a vineyard in California. I found it to be crisp, and reminiscent of apples. The description also described notes of butterscotch, which I think I tasted when I concentrated on it.

When we had all made our decisions, we placed our order. I decided to start with the Grilled Heart of Romaine Caesar. I don't see this on a menu all that often but when I do, I tend to lean towards ordering it. I know you are thinking, grilled lettuce? But yes sir, GRILLED LETTUCE. It's delicious. The grill pulls a smokiness from the lettuce that you wouldn't expect, and the heat wilts the leaves slightly, giving it what I can only describe as a heartier consistency. The romaine heart was drizzled with a fresh Caesar dressing, as well as parmesan flakes and garlicky croutons. The plate was decorated with a lovely red pepper aioli as well as an accompaniment of kalamata olives. I don't normally think of olives as a garnish for a Caesar salad, but in this case, the saltiness of the olives went really well with the smokiness of the grilled lettuce.

For my entree, as I mentioned earlier, I decided to go with the special of the day. The base for this delicious meal was a plate of red-pepper fettuccine from Vermont Fresh Pasta (and you know how I feel about fresh pasta). Check them out at their website, and if you can find their products in a store near you, I highly recommend giving them a try. They are seriously delicious. On with the dish, right? :) This delicious, fresh fettuccine was topped with a bacon and cream sauce, as well as grilled littleneck clams. The clams were a great size (I was expecting much smaller), they were perfectly cooked and fantastically sweet! There was a lovely bacon flavor to the sauce, and the bits of bacon throughout added a great little crunch to each bite. The whole plate was really very well seasoned and totally delicious.

We've visited this restaurant before, and I'm always thrilled with my meal, but this was an especially delicious visit! I think I chose a nice pairing between the wine, the salad and the entree, and I was so satisfied when we walked out that door. If you are ever in the area, definitely check out Murphy's On The Green, located at 11 S. Main Street in Hanover, NH. You won't be disappointed!