Coffee and Baileys Gelee

For the "Day in Dinner" event, we made a coffee/Baileys gelee. A simple 2 level composition with a drop of cream on top. The trick is to make the gelees separately pour the bottom (in this case the coffee) first before it has started to set. Allow it to set up, and then very gently add the second.
Ingredients - Coffee Gelee
1 pkt gelatine
1/2 cup cold water
3 t plain sugar
2 cups of strong coffee (double strength, carefully filtered)
Method - Coffee Gelee
Bloom the gelatine in the cold water. Brew the coffee - make it double strength. Ad the sugar to the coffee and make sure it is very hot. Add to the bloomed gelatine and stir until combined. Place in an ice/water bath to cool, but not set. Put some of the coffee into a demitasse and refrigerate until set. About 3 hours.
Ingredients - Baileys Gelee
3/4 pkt gelatine
1 oz cold water
5 oz boiling water
8 oz Baileys Irish Cream
Method - Baileys Gelee
Bloom the gelatine in the cold water. Add the boiling water followed by the Baileys Irish Cream. Stir to combine. Chill in an ice/water bath until cold but not set.
Assembly
Once the coffee has set, use a pipette, place a thin layer of the Baileys gelee on top of the coffee. Take care not to disturb the surface of the coffee.

Chill until set and ready to serve. Again, with a pipette place a drop of cream into the center of the Baileys.

Day in Dinner

We thought it would be fun to do a dinner where each course comes from a different meal - with a twist, of course. This was described to the guests as an experiment in tastes, temperatures and textures.
So after some pretty intense menu planning, and testing we decided upon the following:

The event was a great success. The wow factor of the bacon/egg ice cream really got people talking. Thanks to Heston Blumenthal for the inspiration. The recipes for the various dishes are in individual blog postings. The cooking of the oxtails is shown here. However we served it differently, so I will describe that in the appropriate posting.

Plates were cleaned! One guest asked us all to close our eyes so he could lick his plate. 

I had learned some terrific lessons from my very good friend Chef David Gilbert. 

• Keep an area aside for plating/serving - we added a picnic table to the kitchen for this.
• Sous vide cooking can make food incredibly rich, tender, tasty with little risk
• Make everything, using great ingredients
• Don't be afraid 
• Keep the work areas clean

Working alongside him for the dinner theater was an eye opener. So, as is often the case when stretching myself in the kitchen, I like to channel the "Little Fella". Thanks Dave - and thanks for the gear!