In this picture there is a cabbage dish... its sauerkraut, I never expected that..


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Last night, have friends staying w/ us, I made dinner.

Rabbit in mustard sauce, duck confit, Vichy carrots, mashed potatoes.

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I made the rabbit a little differently from the recipes I've seen, which usually involve baking. You paint the rabbit with Dijon mustard (thinned with a little white wine, as my jar was old). I browned the meat in olive oil and butter, then set it aside. Cooked minced onions (could be shallots) and garlic in the pan, then added white wine, rabbit stock (the torso of the rabbit, boiled in some chicken stock for a few hours), and more Dijon mustard. That got reduced for about 20 minutes, then the meat was added and braised with the pan covered on lowish heat for half an hour. The liquid is slowly bubbling, not boiling. The meat came out, all the solids were strained out of the pan (I wanted a smooth sauce without all the mustard seeds), I mixed heavy cream into the remaining smooth liquid, simmered it another ten minutes. Then the rabbit went back in to coat and warm. Creme fraiche is more authentic, instead of heavy cream.

The duck confit was a little salty but pretty good. I made it a few weeks ago. Carrots slowly cooked in butter and sugar. Then topped with eggs, beaten with duck fat and chives then lightly scrambled, and confetti spinach strips. My mashed potatoes were kind of lumpy.

My friend made dessert. Dried cherries, rehydrated in simmering port wine and sugar, with sliced pears and crumbled Stilton cheese.

In progress.

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We hosted a dinner party this week for some friends. Tried something I found on the internet that was amazing. A sauce of grilled onions, heavy cream and blue cheese. Rave reviews. I used filets vs ribeye as pictured. You really need to give this a try!

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce | The Pioneer Woman Cooks | Ree Drummond

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Bone-in ribeye the other night. had Whole Foods cut one off a rack, at 2lbs, we barely finished it. we only had the steak and a Layer Cake cab. good night.

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missed this in my click up this morning. Absolutely stunning. What was the rabbit like? Taste, texture?

Lean, not dry (braising ensures that), fairly chicken-like texture, light taste. I'll probably use the technique for chicken too.

Stir fry. Marinated chicken, green onions, fried grapes, candied walnuts, sauce of reduced rabbit stock

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Pork belly. Pressure cooked 1 hour submerged in stock, then uncover, drain just enough stock to expose the fat cap, bake 1-2 hours, then remove meat and reduce liquid to sauce, broil (carefully) the meat until the fat is crisp, cut with scissors into bites, sauce.

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Roast duck. Pour boiling mixture of water, honey, and soy sauce over duck. Hang duck to dry, with a fan, for 24-48 hours. I hung it in my basement. Then stick a needle (like for basketball) into the skin and inflate skin with bicycle pump. Skinny duck looks like a blimp. Paint with a mixture of hoisin sauce and mirin, roast about 1 hour, glazing with the hoisin/mirin, until skin is crisp.

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I've heard of inflatable dolls, but I've never heard of an inflatable duck. Learn something new every day.

Peking Duck. A famous recipe from Beijing. Air is pumped under the skin to separate the skin from the fat. The skin ends up crispy and is served separately from the rest of the duck, at least in China.

JR

That is basically the way they do it in the famous roast duck restaurants in Beijing... Any openings in the skin are closed... sometime sewn closed...

The duck is inflated to separate the skin from muscle...In one famous Beijing duck house they use a large straw inserted into the ducks butt to drain the rendered fat. The duck is sometimes steamed, but usually par boiled in an aromatic mixture..

Then roast in a wood fired oven..

Cel phone pics...

My wife told me this restaurant in Beijing is "the most famous"... so many places in China claim that;)

Duck hanging before roasting..

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You can see the straws used to drain the fat..

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Carved table side

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Wifey with roast duck at another restaurant in Wangjing, Chaoyang,Beijing


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I love a good roast duck... I live on Long Island... we have bountiful wild duck, and a bunch of duck farms....


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I'm just really impressed that your wife will let you hang a DEAD DUCK in your basement for 4 days. Looks really amazing.

Here's another Asian recipe. Well . . . actually not but it did originate in a cluster of Asian takeout restaurants in middle Toronto . . . I now duplicate it at home.

Chicken Stick

Raw: Slice narrow pieces of chicken. Wrap with a slice of bacon. Thread on to a wooden skewer.

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Coat well with a batter ( 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp baking powder - let batter rest for 15 minutes after mixing). Deep fry (or a frypan with 3/4 inch of oil & keep turning) until a little past golden brown.

I like to serve with Kikkoman soy sauce (ummm salty) & white rice.

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Always a crowd pleaser.

Ian

why not dip those into poutine and then deep fat fry?

There's a reason poutine never really crossed the Quebec/Ontario border y'know . . .

Ian

well, not under that name anyway...

My low cost gourmet contribution(don't know what I'm doing)
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Beef Shoulder:
It's a tough piece of meat that was on sale 2 for 1(~$6). Poke holes and marinate in soy for a couple days. Impregnated with small pieces of garlic and sear both sides in cast iron. Beef stock, s&p, onion and carrrots into the pan. Spoon liquid every 15 minutes to keep from drying out.

Potatoes gratin:
Slice thin two Idahos, butter, little milk, parsely, chedder. Cover tight with foil to get the starches(potatoes) to cook. Add parmesian last 5 minutes which soaks up excess liquid.

First cook 30min at 375deg. Then ~30min at 325deg with the foil loose over the potatoes to bake it without burning the cheese.
When done, turn off oven and let "relax" while cooking beans.

Frozen beans from garden:
Cooked on medium/high for few minutes with butter.
They were washed, blanched from 1-4min in salty water, dryed, frozen in single layer on plate, then bagged. That was about the only success this year.

The other day, in Boston...
 

The other day, in Boston...
Lobster roll...
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Lobster (traditional)
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Chicken Roullade

Boneless chicken. flattened, stuffed with prosciutto & fresh mozzerella & rolled. A light sauce of 1/2 white wine 1/2 chicken broth & reduced. Brown & finish in the oven.

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Ian

That looks great.

It was . . . but my side - baked penne - was less so. :( You can vary the recipe with any ham & any wine - marsala works well - but it trounces the subtle chicken/ham flavor.

Ian