Cassoulet part II

If I am going to all this work I am not going to whimp out now. We decided to confit the duck legs ourselves. We went with Paula Wolferts sous vide method.

So, we seasoned the legs and sealed them with our Food Saver sealer.



Submerged them in water that was kept at 180 degrees for 5 hours.



Put in an ice bath to cool. Really was very easy if you don't mind becoming best friends with a polder themometer.




Duck Confit Cooked in a Pouch
Recipe by Paula Wolfert

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
6 large Pekin duck legs, untrimmed

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, mix the salt with the crushed peppercorns and the thyme. Put the duck legs in a large, shallow container and sprinkle them all over with the seasoning mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Rinse the legs and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Using a vacuum sealer, package and seal the legs in pairs.
Set a large, enameled cast-iron casserole over a heat diffuser on the stove. Add the pouches and enough hot water to cover generously. Top the pouches with a heatproof plate to keep them submerged. Cover the casserole and bring the water to 180° over moderately low heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook at 180° for 5 hours. The duck legs are ready when they feel very tender and the meat begins to separate from the bone. The joints between the legs and thighs should crack easily when pressed firmly.

Prepare an ice water bath. With tongs, transfer the pouches to the water bath and let soak until the duck legs are cold and the fat has solidified. Dry off the pouches and refrigerate for up to 1 week. If a refrigerated pouch begins to puff up, discard it.
To serve, open the pouches and scrape the fat off the legs. Roast or pan-fry the confit until warmed through and crisp.

What to do if you can't find an ingredient

Dr Food and I went on a mad hunt for an ingredient for the impending cassoulet that we are making for New Years Eve. We had checked out almost every place that we could think of for saucisses de Toulouse which is a French sausage. After a day of hunting we did the sensible thing. We made them ourselves.

It took about an hour and voila! Using the Kitchen Aide made it a snap.





Stay tuned for the duck leg confit episode!

Finding traditions

I celebrated my first real Xmas after I married Dr. Food. We were living in the Bay area near my brother and his family. We would go over there Xmas eve and Xmas day. On Xmas day I would bring breakfast to eat before the gift frenzy started. This strata is what I would bring most of the time.




It is put together the night before and then baked the next morning. It is fantastic. So, this year we are in New England and we had no family around on Xmas morning. I went ahead and put one of these together the night before so that we could have something familiar. It is easy and a fantastic dish for a brunch.

Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Strata
Bon Appétit | December 2003

18 slices firm white bread (such as English muffin bread), crusts removed
6 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 ounces provolone, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

5 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Line bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit. Arrange half of prosciutto evenly over bread. Sprinkle half of goat cheese and half of provolone over. Sprinkle with half of green onions and half of basil. Top with second layer of bread. Layer remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, green onions, and basil atop bread. Cut remaining bread into 1/4-inch cubes. Sprinkle over top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl. Season with pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula. Drizzle melted butter over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake until center is set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Place strata under broiler until top is golden, about 30 seconds. Cut into large squares and serve.

A tradition is born.

Grown Up Kool Aid

It was snowing and snowing and snowing so there wasn't much to do but stay at home and hang out. What better way to spend the afternoon but drinking Swedish Glogg the grown up Kool aide. Sitting by a fire and drinking this makes it much warmer.



Glogg
Ingredients
2 cups water or orange juice
1 (3-inch) piece orange rind
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
5 whole allspice
2 cardamom pods, bruised
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 (750-ml) bottle red wine, such as Burgundy
1/2 cup sugar
Garnishes: blanched almonds, golden raisins

Combine first 9 ingredients in a pot over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer, being careful not to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Strain mixture, and serve immediately, or gently reheat before serving. (If you prefer a stronger flavor, steep spices longer before straining.) Garnish, if desired.

Note: For a nonalcoholic version, use water or orange juice, and substitute 3 cups Concord grape juice for the wine. Omit sugar, and follow glögg procedure.


Then I parked myself in my den and drank. I suggest you do the same. Better than shopping.

Why do I feel compelled to bake?

First off, the bread was one huge success. Not only was it beautiful but it tasted just as good as it looked. My new favorite recipe.

So, when Dr. Food asked if I was going to make peppermint bark I knew he meant "Please please make xmas crack".



Now mind you, this is one simple recipe. However, be warned that taking the cellophane off of all those damn candy canes is not so simple. As I sat there undoing each one (24 of them) I was wondering what I was thinking when I gave in to make the stuff.



When it came time to smash the suckers in a plastic bag I had no problem getting out my frustration on them.



So then you spread the molten white chocolate with the candy mixed in on a cookie sheet and shove it into the freezer.

Voila!



It doesn't take a ton of cooking magic to make this stuff. So in case you want to know

Smash up 24 candy canes
Melt 2 bags of white or any kind of chocolate chips
Mix candy canes into the chocolate. Spread out on cookie sheet and put in freezer for about an hour. Break into pieces and there ya have it.



I then moved onto ginger cookie sandwiches which I found on FoodBuzz from Multiply Delicious



Mine didn't look as pretty as hers but I am seeing this as a theme in my baking adventures. I should probably stick to meat dishes and such.



They tasted great and I guess that is what counts.

I found the perfect bread recipe for my lifestyle

I can't tell you how excited I am to be smelling fresh bread. Not only did it come out but it looks perfect. Ok, I haven't tasted it yet but I will keep you posted.

First off the recipe is from the article in the New York Times and is No Knead Bread I saw a post about it on Rocket Bread and also on Steamy Kitchen. I have been looking for a bread to make that would be something like I made in San Francisco. I haven't been able to do that since I moved here but this looks like a winner. I will let you know in fact if it is after tasting it but it looks so darn pretty.

I started off by hunting for a warm place to keep it while it sat for 18 to 20 hours. This was no easy feat because between 2 cats and a Saint Bernard it wasn't too safe anywhere. I took my chances and left it in the den where I keep the heat on to 70 degrees (right now it is 34 degrees outside and suppose to get down to 14 degrees). So I put it in the warmest room so I could keep an eye on it from my perch. My perch:



The waiting dough



After Dr Food suggested keeping it in the oven with the oven light on (he is a scientist and knows these things) I moved it to there.

So the rest was so easy that I can not even believe that the bread came out looking like this



Lets just hope that it taste as good as it looks. Believe me, if it doesn't you will hear me whining about it no matter where you are.

Hanukkah and Xmas and stuff

It is holiday time and I just haven't really gotten into it. Sure we are going through the motions but I haven't been feeling my old spunky self. So, this is what I have done so far:

1. Dressed the dog in reindeer ears and put up a tree (as I mentioned before that didn't go as planned)

Our neighbors invited us for a Hanukkah party. They made the party for me me me. Kim had every imaginable Jewish food including gefilte fish and horseradish, borscht, matzoh, smoked salmon, and a brisket and potato pancakes. It was the best Hanukkah party I have ever been to. My "pretend that they are mine" babies were all dressed up and beautiful. There was even a Hanukkah cake with a big ole menorah on it in blue icing. Very cool.

I made the chicken soup and matzoh balls.





So, last night I felt that I needed to make a Hanukkah dinner and we invited other neighbors. I made brisket and potato pancakes. Me being me I forgot to take pictures so I recreated the dinner out of leftovers for a reenactment.



And just because I love you all... You know love you in that "mwah mwah" way here is the recipe for the best brisket ever. It comes from a friend from years passed. It was her aunt Irenes recipe:


Aunt Irene's Brisket

1 4-pound beef brisket
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup prepared chile sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 12-ounce bottle beer

Salt and pepper both sides of the meat. Place beef in a roasting pan.
Cover with onion. Combine ketchup, chile sauce, brown sugar, garlic,
and beer. Pour mixture over meat. Cover securely with foil. Bake at
300 degrees F for 3 to 4 hours. When the meat is tender, remove foil
and bake uncovered for an additional 35 to 40 minutes. Chill the
brisket separately from the gravy. Puree the gravy while hot.

Happy Hanukkah. I will keep you posted about Xmas.