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January 7, 2011 by admin

Seasonal Cocktail Creations from Corton

The goal of the cocktail program at Corton is to introduce guests of the restaurant to some of the diverse, seasonal elements that are the hallmarks of Chef Paul Liebrandt’s cuisine. Specialty cocktails change throughout the year, developing as fruits and vegetables come into their prime and certain tastes and textures become flavors of the season. We have recently featured syrups made from rhubarb, lemon balm, and blueberry as well as infusions of teas and spices.

The Spencer
Named for a particularly regal Chihuahua owned by Chef and Partner Paul Liebrandt, the Spencer is a refreshing beverage for all seasons and one of Corton’s signature cocktails. Its flavors are both citrus and herbal without being dominated by either. While it is recommended served up in a classic cocktail glass, it is equally enjoyed on the rocks.

2 oz Cîroc vodka
Cîroc is a vodka distilled from a grape called mauzac from Gaillac in the southwest corner of France. It is, in essence, more a grappa that has been distilled multiple times than a classic vodka. We use it for its clean, crisp flavor and bright citrus tones.

1 oz grapefruit juice

0.5 oz Lillet
A French aperitif with a base of white Bordeaux wine flavored with citrus oils and sweet and bitter orange.

0.25 oz St. Germain
A liqueur made from Alpine elderflower blossoms, St. Germain has flavors of extra-ripe pear, passion fruit, and red grapefruit. Along with the Lillet, it provides a small amount of sweetness to balance the alcohol of the vodka and the bitterness of the grapefruit.

All ingredients are shaken with ice, served up, and garnished with candied grapefruit zest.

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May 21, 2010 by admin

Kitchen Confidential with Paul Liebrandt

Corton’s Executive Chef shares his perspectives on creating new dishes, his modern approach to classical cuisine, and his view on the globalization of food.

At what point did you start seeing the bigger picture of your own identity as a chef?
We’re all still learning. I’m still discovering myself as a chef and still developing my own style, I would say.

In conceiving a dish, do you feel like you are trying to take that specific dish to the absolute limit of creative cuisine, or do you like to leave room for the dish to evolve?
The dish evolves with time. I am never satisfied with one iteration. We are telling a story with each dish, and every day the story changes—whether it be from our own ideas, guest feedback, or the seasonality of different ingredients.

It is said that you compose dishes that have a built-in harmony. Describe the process that you go through to achieve this, and at what point you know a dish is just right?
We build dishes, like I said, to tell a story. The rhythm of the story is dictated by the characters in play; i.e., the ingredients. The product itself is the foremost thing that I look at—the quality of what I’m putting on the plate. I don’t feel that the dish is ever truly finished. What I do is I give my interpretation of that story with that dish.

You describe your cooking as French technique with global influence—to be classic in a modern way, respecting the past while looking to the future. Can you provide some examples of dishes at Corton that demonstrate this?
One particular dish is the duck that we do here. It is classically cooked, a beautiful piece of duck breast. Looking at it from a classic point of view, we are trying to achieve a crispy skin. It’s always a balancing act when you are cooking duck, because you want to get the skin very crispy without affecting the flesh, without driving out any moisture or the blood from the duck, keeping it perfectly rosé. What we do to look to the future is we freeze the skin à la minute with liquid nitrogen and then render the duck with the frozen skin, therefore creating a perfect balance of crispy skin and perfectly cooked duck.

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