kit wrote:
I think I should get a GE roaster to try venison sous vide.

My latest quest is cheese making. I can get all sorts of good aged cheeses but there is a serious lack of fresh cheeses here in the great white north. So far, I have a decent mozzarella and ricotta under my belt. Another pursuit for science majors.

How is the coffee roasting coming? My roaster broke and we panicked. Hearthware was quick in sending a new one but for a few days we suffered the oily charcoal that passes for 'gourmet' coffee.

Kit,

The only reason I got the GE was that the it was the only one they had in the warehouse store when I bought it last year. I saw another brand at Sam's Club yesterday for about $30. It might be worth checking out.

Since you were elected President of the LTH Science Club, it is you rduty to explore these and other areas such as cheese. I was heavily into cheese making the past few years, but have discovered the local Whole Foods has done a really nice job of stocking a wide range of fine aged cheeses. I order my fresh cheeses from Alleva Dairy in NYC which does a far better job than I could ever do. I order in bulk and freeze what I'm not going to use right away. Their fresh mozzarella is better frozen than my fresh one is when fresh.

Thanks to you we are addicted to roasting our own coffee. I tried ordering the Brazilian yellow you raved about, but they seem to be out of stock. What else do you like?

Bill/SFNM

I had a long discussion about with a friend/chef last night. I have not done this but what I came up with is that sous vide allows almost all the collagen to solubilize. The temperature is also below where the cells would rupture and lose water and texture. The liquid in the pouch would be very 'silky'- like a reduced stock (not broth) or osso bucco. The meat would be moist and tender.

My first attempt at cheese making was an OK mozz but yielded a marvelous ricotta. I used a 'cheese making for dummies' recipe and ingredients. Round two will be with raw milk and a thermophilic culture.

Kit

I can't believe I was able to squeeze out yet another meal from this batch of ducks. After cooking the carcass and wings down for stock (that, BTW, made an exceptional risotto), I was able to pick off a fairly good quantity of duck meat from the bones. I blended this meat with some of the duck fat and jelly from the confit to make rilletes. Spread on some sliced baguettes - made a great little lunch. Well, these two ducks were the source of great food and fun and education for me. This was such a successful venture that I picked up a batch of 6 fresh ducks this weekend and have started a new round of "Why a duck?".

Bill/SFNM

Battle Duck

A group of duck-loving friends came over last night for a duck-themed dinner. Each guest prepared in my kitchen a dish of their choice, bringing all of the needed ingredients as well as a wine to accompany their dish.

To begin I made some canapes of duck confit and porcini mushrooms in puff pastry with which we drank some champagne:



Next, one of my friends made an amazing seared foie gras served on toasted brioche with different kinds of fruit preserves and oils served with a Sauternes:



He then fried up some confit in the seared foie grease and served it over a bed of dressed greens.



Another friend made some duck ravioli in a brown sage butter sauce. On the same platter were sauteed duck breasts I made with a scallion vinaigrette garnish.



And here are some of the wines:



More duck adventures to come!

Bill/SFNM

Bill/SFNM wrote:More duck adventures to come!

Bill,

Are there any houses for sale in your neighborhood?

Enjoy,
Gary

Any of that wine left over?


Man, those old Morse Codes are just really hard to find... you had to be there to get some.

Geo

G Wiv wrote:

Bill/SFNM wrote:More duck adventures to come!

Bill,

Are there any houses for sale in your neighborhood?

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary,

YES! You would be a most welcome addition to our wild and crazy band of foodies. You start packing, I'll find you a new home with a superior kitchen. You'll be cooking a lot more here because the restaurant scene is, with a few spectacular exceptions, very disappointing in comparison to Chicago.

Come on down!

Bill/SFNM

I'm just speechless. You've done it again and the only thing I can come up with is a Homer Simpson style gutteral sound coming from my duck loving throat!

Can we talk for a moment about duck legs? For the past few months, every leg I could get my hands on - I mean every duck leg I could get my hands on - has been made into confit. Not that I would ever get tired of confit, but I still have a nice supply down in the bomb shelter.

For lunch today we had a new dish, Salmis de Cuisses de Canard - Slow-Cooked Duck Legs in Red Wine. This recipe, from Wolfert's book, The Cooking of Southwest France, is made over several days:

Each day the meat is slowly reheated, simmered, cooled, and degreased. The flavors mellow more each time. The flesh turns meltingly tender. Don't be put off by this small amount of extra work. This recipe is one of the finest renditions of salmis that I have tasted in the Southwest. The flour-based sauce is not to be scoffed at. It holds the wine flavor through all those reheatings and is sensational.... An absolute "must" accompaniment is the fried cornmeal cakes called armottes. The texture and flavors mingle perfectly...

I ran out of time this morning and couldn't make the armottes, so I made some couscous which was just fine. This dish was very easy to make and my restraint (the cooked legs called out to me every time I walked past the refrigerator) was amply rewarded with a sumptuous Sunday feast.



Bill/SFNM

I tried to book a flight for supper but its too late today. I can be there for dinner tomorrow.

More duck tales. Made a batch of confit duck legs. Had plenty of luscious rendered, seasoned, fat left over. What to make? Duck bread!



Focaccia dough brushed with duck fat and topped with:

- onions caramelized in duck fat
- olives
- duck confit and cracklings

Bill/SFNM

That's just WRONG Bill/SFNM!! You and your Evil Ways...

Next thing we know, you'll be curing the olives in gras de canard...

Sigh.

Geo