This is as exciting as it gets

Yes, I am the stoic type. I get sick and I keep a stiff upper lip and suffer silently... or not. Very little cooking has been going on here. Dr Food came down with the stomach flu and I did everything I could to help him when he wasn't barfing. That is until *I* came down with it. "It" is horrible. "It" makes you feel like you were hit by an Escalade and left for dead. The last few days I have been a bit better and just feel like I have been hit by a Toyota. Ok ok...see what I mean? I am rambling. I will move on now with things that have to do with other stuff.

When Doctor food was sick I made him chicken soup. A big pot of it. We have been eating it for a week. When *I* got sick Dr Food took really good care of me and he made me the above Matzoh balls. That is the best it has been around here for a while. Until last night.



What is that you say? Schmaltz? Yes! It is Duck Schmaltz! (for those of you who don't know what "schmaltz" is it is FAT). Like I haven't been tweeting and blabbing about my Duck Breast and Charcuteapalooza's and all that I just will let you know that this fat is from MY duck that I have hanging in the wine fridge.



Remember these? They are still hanging around because they aren't done. Anyhow, I took the fat and added a few drops of Truffle oil that I got from Habtamu my pretend child for Hanukkah. Habtamu came over every night and gave me a gift each night.



I gave Habtamu an ant farm for Xmas. Every little boy needs an ant farm and since he is my pretend little boy what do *I* care if the ants escape and colonize outside of the green glow in the dark goo?



These are the Potatoes that I made with the schmaltz and truffle oil but I took one bite and even that made me sick. Ew.




{{doing tap dance}} Watch this... it is video of the recent snow storm here. I was in bed being sick and moaning pretending that I was in the old days where the men folk were downstairs smoking cigars and my personal maid had wash cloths on my head to ease my fever. She was saying that she was afraid that the roads were closed and the doctor couldn't get to the house so it was up to us to see this fever through....

Ok, what the hell am I talking about. I think that this stomach bug may have me going a little crazy because I can't cook and all I have been looking at is this:



NO it isn't bourbon and soda! It is Ginger Ale. Ok, one more ploy before I leave you and you are shaking your head and unfriending me and disowning me and well disgusted with me.



Here is Parker and he thinks I am perfect (shut up "Anonymous Poster" if you say something I will post YOUR baby picture from when YOU were his age)

A whole lot of sumthin goin on...

Where do I start? Ok ok... I joined the Charcutepalooza group! Yay... what is it? It is a year of meat. Every month a new meat. Sorry vegetarian pals because once a month it may get a little graphic. If you hold on though there is something for YOU too. A really amazing vegetable stock.



So, it all started with a duck. Charcutepalooza picks something from "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing" by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. We are all making Duck Prosciutto. So the story begins:

I was sitting at work in Westford, Massachusetts and trying to figure out where to get duck breasts. I doubted that any grocery stores around would have them. Fortunately we do have lots of farms around. I started to look into it. Nothing was going my way until I saw that there was the "New Oriental Market" down the street from work. I called. I conquered. I went and picked up that little duck and felt the victory of the hunt. One small setback is that it was frozen. Ok, well it will just have to thaw.


I started to do my research of how to cut up a duck. I have never cut a bird before so I needed to learn. I consulted with Julia and Jacque on this one.



I trusted Julia more than I did Jacque so I studied her techniqe (sorry Jacque if you are reading my blog). One hitch was that I didn't have a boning knife but I did have a sharp knife and a pair of shears and I wasn't afraid to use them. Ok, maybe a little but I braved through the terror.



I went back and watched videos and looked all kinds of stuff up on the internet. I took a deep breath and began.



My tool of the trade. Pretty pathetic no? Ok, I did had scissors too and I might have just done a bit of ripping with my bare hands as well. Fast forward a bit and this is what I ended up with (ok Vegetarians I didn't want to get to graphic because I love you too).



Voila! Duck breast. Now I was on a roll. I didn't want to waste anything so I rendered the fat for a future use.





I then was ready to salt and leave overnight, but I must have blacked out because there are no pictures of this. Once again I feel like Carlton the doorman (if you are too young for the reference look it up on the internet) and I forgot to take pictures of the salting process. Although sometimes I am a bit "forgetful" I do have my lucid moments and I came up with a brilliant idea for these duck breasts. I have a smoking gun and I thought it would be cool to smoke the salt with it. I used applewood to do this.



I also thought that Bourbon and Maple would taste good with this (well, I thought about it for a while I didn't just COME UP with it). So, I decided to soak the cheesecloth overnight in Jim Beam and Maple syrup (which I got locally of course).



After the duck breasts came out of the salt (I keep saying DUCK breasts instead of just BREASTS because I don't want to embarass anyone) it was time to wrap them in cheesecloth.



There is just one problem with these breasts (duck). They are REALLY small. Ok, no jokes here because we are all grownups and it is unnecessary . I think this may be a problem in the overall process but we will see.



They are weighed before hanging because the way to tell if they are ready is when they weigh 30% less than when you started.



This is the part that Dr Food wasn't really too happy about. I went to the basement and hijacked his wine refrig. Ok, nevermind the fact that since moving from California the damn thing is pretty empty. No more wine clubs that brought us at least 4 bottles a month. This stupid state doesn't allow wine to be shipped to my house. Ok, back on the subject of duck (breasts).




The temp was perfect for this procedure so Dr. Food lost the battle.



This is where they remain for 3 more days. Stay tuned and you can see how it all turns out and what I do with the end product. That is if I don't die from being poisoned.

So onto the Vegetarian section of this blog post. I found a recipe for a vegetable stock that intrigued me. So this weekend Dr. Food and I went to a place that all the locals kept telling me that I would love. The place is called Rousso's and it is amazing. It has a huge selection of produce and other great stuff. I was a happy women shopping in there.



How pretty is that? I chopped up all the stuff that was called for in the recipe which I got from In Jennie's Kitchen I loved the fact that the vegetables remain raw. You need to check out this recipe and make some. I have to warn you that it IS salty because you use 7 oz of salt as a curing agent. When you reconstitute it all will be fine.



Oh and one more thing (yes, I am chatty today because Dr. Food had the stomach flu and he didn't talk much. Just sat there and groaned and so I am a bit um...ya know...what is the word for it? )



I was chosen to be a "Recipe Tester" for Leites Culinaria and although I am not really allowed to talk about the recipes I can just say that I had fun cooking this weekend.

Short ribs and other New Years Eve kitchen fun

I really had a hard time deciding what to make for New Years Eve. Last year we made Cassoulet from a Paula Wolfert recipe. This year we didn't feel like putting that much work into it. The cassoulet took us a week and we made the sausage and duck leg confit ourselves. So, after wading through cookbooks we decided on another Paula Wolfert recipe from her book The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook. Can't go wrong with her stuff. She is amazing.



So we decided on Beef Short Ribs Simmered in Red Wine with Fennel, Black Olives, and Anchovies. It did not disappoint this. Along with that we made a fennel salad and some saffron rice. Perfect. We scored some great short ribs at our favorite Brazillian market "Silva's".



The beauty of this dish is that most the work is done the day before. That means the day of the party we could clean house and make the other stuff.



I got my party hat on early (yes, I borrowed it from the dog that was wearing it in my previous post) so that I could get in the mood.



Dr. Food made lemon sorbet and I made lemon marscapone whoopie pies for dessert.



Here is what our table looked like.



Oh and this is the fennel salad that I didn't really get a picture of.




The next morning looked something like this



That is load number 2 of dishes.

Ok so my favorite thing was the salad. That doesn't mean that I didn't like the short ribs it means I am more of a vegetable type person that a meat type person. Shut up! I know you don't believe me because of the stuff I post on this blog but that is all because of the bad influence of Dr. Meat....I mean Dr. Food. He is a Texan for cryin out loud. It isn't MY fault.

Fennel Salad
adapted from "Fish Without a Doubt"

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced on mandoline
1/2 red onion
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbl olive oil (use good stuff)
salt and pepper
a glug of white truffle oil (about 1 1/2 tsp)
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan

Slice fennel and red onion on mandoline. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together olive oil, truffle oil and lemon juice. Poor on fennel and then sprinkle on parmesan. Toss and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Ahi Tuna Parfait - Lets talk what I made last weekend

I was thinking when I downloaded these pictures that I am a crappy picture taker. I was then analyzing why that may be. I am artistic so that wasn't it. I have a good eye so that wasn't it. My camera is decent...yup. I came to the conclusion that my lighting is bad. HOWEVER, and I mean HOWEVER... I am not inclined to get a lighting set up to photograph my food. That would mean I had a passion for photography, which I don't. I hate taking pictures. I love cooking. I love writing. I am not sure if I will ever make it as a REAL food blogger. So you know what that makes me? A fake food blogger that loves cooking and loves my readers because they read my stuff even though I have crappy pictures.

Oh yes, my family sometimes read my blog too. Sorta. They never mention it because A) They probably think I am eating poorly because what I post up here and B) I think they may be a little embarassed of me. "Oh that Janis, you know she always says silly things". Youngest child syndrome.... Ya know. Uh oh, I may have shared too much here just because I wanted you to see this picture:



Now see the dish was amazing. We have made it before. It is from my Crush's cookbook "Blue Ginger". There is a problem here though. Evidence One: Blue towel sitting in picture. Not a good thing but I am too busy cooking to really stage what we are making. I don't think you can really cook for company AND take awesome pictures unless your guests really don't mind you playing with their food. Evidence Two: Stick of butter sitting there. What the hell is up with that? Evidence Three: Goo on the cutting board that subject is sitting on. Oh well... Lets move on. I will never be on anyones "top 10" list. That doesn't matter though because my eaters think I am tops.



We went to Whole Foods to get this Sushi grade tuna. It was a good piece of fish.



It was diced up and kept on ice until ready to use (like in the next 5 minutes).



Layers of tabiko and caviar and ahi are tamped down in a mold. After unmolding, cream is put on the top with the garnish of chive. I can not tell you how much I love this dish. Almost as much as I love Ming.



Ahi Tuna Parfait
Blue Ginger Cookbook - Ming Tsai
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon wasabi tobiko
Salt and fresly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound #1 grade ahi tuna, cut into very small dice
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, plus 8 whole chives
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces wasabi tobiko
2 ounces osetra caviar

Directions

1. To make the vinaigrette, combine the mustard, vinegar, oil, and tobiko in a small bowl. Season with the salt and pepper and whisk lightly.

2. In a small chilled bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Reserve.

3. Fill a large bowl with ice. Place a medium bowl in the ice and add the tuna, Tabasco sauce, chopped chives, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix lightly.

4. Spray the insides of four 1- to 1 1/2-inch ring molds, or tuna cans with tops and bottoms removed, with nonstick cooking spray. Layer the tuna mixture and caviars in the molds as follows: one-eighth of the tuna, one-fourth of the tobiko, one-eighth of the tuna, one-fourth of the osetra. Press down lightly on the parfaits after each layer with the bottom of a Tabasco bottle (it's the perfect size) or the butt end of a whisk. Top the layers with a thin layer of the cream, smooth to cover, and unmold cream side up onto white serving plates. Or use the Tabasco bottle to push the parfaits from the bottom, then carefully lift them onto a plate.

5. Garnish each portion with 2 chives. Drizzle the vinaigrette around and serve with demitasse spoons.

I will get to New Years but I have to tell you about this first.

I did a whole New Years thing and I have to tell you about the dinner but not right now. I don't feel like talking about it right now because I am tired. I want to talk about this other thing though. French Onion Soup Dumplings...YUM! They were amazingly good and you have to try them. *I* am pretty lazy but these were still worth the work to me.


I really thought that my feeble attempt at making them would turn into a disaster. I had my sis on the phone seconding this sentiment. "You are going to be sorry" she said. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that she was right.



I marched ahead like the brave little soldier that I am. I made the soup part of the recipe. After making the soup you freeze it in a loaf pan (um we were drinking mulled wine while making these and I am not sure what happened to these pictures. They must have gotten "lost"). I have to say that I got too lazy to make these for the Xmas party we had, so the soup stayed in the freezer a while longer. One day Dr Food and I were sitting around and decided to give them a test try.



We got out the wontons and cut the soup that was frozen into little cubes (insert "lost picture here"). Then we wrapped them up nice and tight in the won ton wrapper.



Meantime we made croutons.



Here are the adorable little morsels waiting to get FRIED. Yes you can NOT bake these.



(READERS: look away for a second or talk amongst yourselves. I have to talk to my mom for a second) Hey, mom! Do you recognize that pot that I am frying in? It is as old as *I* am (and that is pretty old admit it). Mom? do you ever log on and read your daughters blog or am I talking to myself again like the time I said I wished you were Korean? .



Here they are all golden and ready for the next step.



Because everything is better with cheese these little guys got covered with it. French onion soup isn't french onion soup without the gooey cheese.



Here they are ready to eat. I must warn you that you must eat them very carefully or you will be wearing them on your cocktail attire (since my cocktail is usually the same as my gardening attire I wasn't too worried).

French Onion Soup Dumplings
adapted from Chris Santos - Fine Cooking

Printable Version

Makes about 40 dumplings

For the "soup"
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup thinly sliced yellow or red onion (or a combination)
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot (2 medium)
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup lower-salt beef broth
1 cup lower-salt chicken broth
2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
1 Tbs. aged balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the croutons
1/2 lb. dense, chewy bread, crust removed, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (1 medium clove)
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dumplings
40 square wonton wrappers
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 cups vegetable oil
1-3/4 cups grated Gruyère
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper



Make the "soup"
1. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium low heat. Add the onions and shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until they’re a deep caramel color, 25 to 35 minutes.

2. Raise the heat to medium, add the wine, and cook until it has completely evaporated, 5 to 9 minutes. Add the beef and chicken broths and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the thyme and vinegar, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and let cool. Line a 4 1/2 x 8 1/2-inch loaf pan with foil and pour the “soup” mixture into the pan. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Make the croutons
3. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the bread with the olive oil, garlic, thyme, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Spread the croutons on a small baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool and then skewer 40 of the best-looking croutons with toothpicks (save the leftovers for another use).

Make the dumplings
4. Working with about 10 wonton wrappers at a time, arrange them on a flat surface and brush the edges with the egg. Unmold the “soup” mixture from the loaf pan. Using a chef’s knife, cut the frozen soup lengthwise into 4 long, even strips, and then cut each strip crosswise into 10 even pieces, to make 40 pieces total, each about 3/4 inch square. Put one square in the center of each wrapper and fold up the edges, pressing to create a purse-like dumpling. Repeat to make 40 dumplings. Put the dumplings on a small baking sheet or tray and freeze until ready to fry.

5. Heat the vegetable oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until the temperature on a candy thermometer reads 365°F or until the oil begins to ripple and bubbles immediately when the edge of one dumpling is dipped into it. Have ready a tray or plate lined with paper towels. Add as many dumplings as will fit in the pan without crowding and fry until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to the paper towels. Continue frying the remaining dumplings.

6. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. Divide the dumplings among 8 to 10 small, shallow ovenproof gratin dishes and top with the Gruyère. Bake until the cheese is melted, 5 to 6 minutes. Stick a crouton skewer in each dumpling, sprinkle with a little salt and