Marc Olson

Here's a picture of the vat of Garbure: Two great dinners, the rest went in the freezer for future enjoyment.

Do you have a kitchen chore that you consistently put off? I tackled one of mine today. We have a Viking island hood with squirrel cage fans (in the hood, not the attic). I will clean the grease traps a couple times a year, but the fans themselves have been growing a layer of, well, you know. No need to be too graphic. Today I took the covers and traps off and put them in the dishwasher (this was an experiment) and while they were washing on 'heavy cycle' with extra detergent, I tackled the fans themselves. A layer of newspaper over the cooktop, a bottle of Simple Green, and a table knife. I thought I might be able to remove the fans, but my socket set was at the hangar instead of in the basement, so I was without my 3/8" extension. Instead, I just used the kitchen knife to scrape each blade of the fan. A disgusting ribbon of gunk came off of each one. An astonishing amount of crud by the time I was finished. It's a wonder the fans could even turn. While I was at it I thoroughly cleaned the interior of the hood, removed and replaced the light covers, and then finished it off with a good polish of lemon oil cleaner. The traps and covers emerged from the dishwasher spotless (I'll do them more often this way). The fan is quieter in addition to cleaner. I'm sure it's pulling more air out as well now that the fan blades look like fans instead of fuzzy caterpillers. Next time I'll remove the fans themselves and run the whole kit through the dishwaher.

The Garbure came out great! The leek halves were a non-issue in the end, everything melted into goodness. I did double the amount of confit based on Elie's recommendation, might add even more the next time (they were muscovy legs, a little on the small side). I also made a double batch, thinking it would be worth having some in the freezer. Wow, lots of garbure!

A little farther south, but not too bad, is Skagit River Brewery in Mt. Vernon. We make the Seattle/San Juans drive regularly (www.stuartisland.com) and it's the best road food we've found. The pizza is the best! Marc

I'll add my voice to the Cote-du-Rhone. I'm partial to the Mon Coeur from J.L. Chave selections. Jean-Louis started a second label in addition to the Domaine wines and it's quite nice and typically under $20.

I used to distain garlic presses until I found one that worked. I'm a fan of the Oxo--comfortable, easy to clean, does the job! All of the other methods are great, too, but I find that the texture of pressed garlic hard to get (quickly) with any other method.

My wife called me this morning at work after I left her to finish the assembly and the final integrating simmer. She was ecstatic about the flavor (I didn't tell her how much duck fat was used to make the dish...). Looking forward to eating it on Sunday!

Thanks for the response Paula. Given the tradition of this dish (back of the stove, add stuff when the pot gets low) I wasn't too worried. I do try to follow a new recipe faithfully (at least the first time :-)). The beans I bought weren't tender after an hour, so we're letting it go at that stage until they are, then blending everything back in before putting it to rest for a couple of days.

The Herbfarm is a single restaurant with a large team in the kitchen. It may be 'corporate' only in the sense that there's an established rythm to the menu and a set of constraints (Northwest Ingredients, in season) that the kitchen works within. The two owners and the executive Chef, Jerry Traunfeld run the show. There's a team of investors backing the restaurant, but they don't play a role in day to day operations (full disclosure, I am one of them). There's a regular rotation of 'externs' through the kitchen ranks, might be worth exploring just to convince yourself that it's not the experience you're looking for.

I'm making Garbure this week and I had a question on the fricasee of leeks. the recipe states to split the leeks in half but not to chop them. All of the other vegetables get chopped. Any feedback on the split but not chopped leeks from those who have made this recipe? I left them split and unchopped but they seem huge compared to the onions (and eventually, the chopped cabbage).

My wife and I had dinner last night at the new Boat Street location. We arrived a bit past 5:30 with no reservations (didn't know they accepted them for a party of two, but they do!). Very nice space in a bit of an odd street location, but the interior is warm and inviting. We were seated promptly (we were the first ones there), and I'd called in advance about corkage, so while we looked at the menu our waitress got started on the wine we brought. For starters we has the Duck Pate and the Salad Composee. The Pate was fabulous (as mentioned in several other posts). The Salad Comosee advertised Sardines, citrus scented beans and beets. The Sardines were tinned, which I hadn't expected, but hadn't asked for clarification either. The beans had a bit too much orange for my tastes, but overall the salad was great, especially the arugula. For mains we ordered the crab cakes and the oysters gratin. Our waitress raved about them and they looked great on arrival. I tried a taste and detected a blue mold taste (tasted like bread mold). I asked my wife (she'd ordered the crab) and she agreed. We hesitantly asked our waitress over and explained what we notice. Without a fuss she took the plate back to the kitchen, asked the chef for her opinion. The report back was that 'they all think they tasted fine' (meaning the kitchen staff), but they agreed to make up another plate. We felt bad, but we'd only had two bites and it just didn't taste right. Our waitress was great about it, and we received another (single) crab cake a few minutes later. It didn't have the same taste as the other two, so I was glad we sent it back. My oyster dish, on the other hand, was excellent. Six plump Hamma Hamma oysters in a creamy saffron broth with leeks topped with a cornmeal biscuit. The oysters were perfectly cooked, briny and sweet. For dessert we shared a little chocolate pot du creme and a glass of Muscat. Both were lovely. Despite the issues with the crab, we'll be back for sure. I'm looking forward to trying other items on the menu.

In my experience longer time results in a more tender texture, with no loss of flavor. I routinely cook turkey breast at 143 F for 12 hours. One of the benefits of sous vide is that it's much harder to overcook if you cook at the desired 'done' temperature, but eventually you will get texture changes in the food.

I just remembered another star anise recipe that's great with duck. It's simple: In a slow cooker, put down a layer of duck legs (4), sprinkle with salt, brown sugar and star anise. Another layer of duck, salt, brown sugar and anise. Repeat until the crock pot is full. Cook on high for an hour then on low until the duck is falling off the bone tender.

Abra, Thanks for the welcome, and here are the rough proportions for my confit rub: 4 cups Diamond Kosher Salt 1 cup sugar 12 fresh bay leaves, ground coarsely in a blade style grinder 4 TB whole peppercorns, ground coarsely 4 TB star anise, ground medium fine 1 TB Schezuan peppercorns, ground It's not a strict mix for me, but I was inspired by the Bouchon 'green salt' recipe for confit to grind the spices, particularly the bay leaf. When I brine the duck I put a generous layer in the bottom of a large vac pack bag, dust the mixture on the flesh side of the leg, turn over and then rub a fair amount skin side, then place flesh side down in the salt mixture in a single layer. Vacuum pack and then let sit overnight in the fridge. I'll use the whole amount above for 12-16 legs (way more than other recipes would suggest), I like the intensity of flavor.

I use star anise to flavor duck stock for a simple noodle soup with duck. Make the stock normally and then heat the stock with the star anise to serving temperature, ladle over a bowl with pre-cooked noodles, bean sprouts, sliced pre-cooked duck meat, cliantro and fresh jalepenos. Star anise is also a component in the dry brine I use for duck confit. I grind it and mix it with salt/sugar/fresh bay/pepper/juniper berries.

Nathan has a good post on duck breast here.

eGullet's very own 'Fat Guy' chronicled the same experience (experiment?) in his book, so this isn't new ground. A good 'front of the house, back of the house' comparison for someone who's typically at the table instead of serving the table.

Last week I made the Salt-Cured Pork Belly (along with the corollary, Confit of Pork Skin). I bought the belly from Niman ranch and split the 9 lb, skin-on wonder in half. Half went into the freezer for future endeavors. I skinned the other half and prepared it per the recipe(s). I started on a Sunday and cooked the belly Wednesday night. 3/4 of the braised belly went into the roasting pan with the vegetables and wine per the instructions. The last 1/4 I vacuum packed and set to cooking at 82 C for 12 hours in a water bath, sous vide. The 350 degree oven seemed hot to me for a 'braised' dish, but I followed the instructions. I found that I needed 30 minutes per side to get the meat to brown; that could have been the shape of my roasting pan. I removed, vacuum packed, and chilled. The sous-vide portion I took out of the water bath the following morning, decanted off the fat and cooking juices, and then packed and chilled. Friday night we feasted on fresh pork belly, cooked two ways. Both were delicious, but different in texture and flavor, despite having been cured the same way. There was also some conceptual difficulty with eating 'what's with all the fat?!?', which I countered with 'come on, you love bacon, and you eat the whole slice, not just the 'meat' portions'. Not an easy sell... I prepared the portions for serving by pan-roasting (unweighted) with a little duck fat. Perhaps the extra weight would have squoze out a bit more of the delectable fat for the calorie conscious in our house. The sous-vide belly had a stronger 'pork' flavor and had retained a bit more of the juice in the meat. For our first home-cooked pork belly, it was great! The pork skins are in the freezer having been cooked in their own fat, tightly rolled and tied, and then cooled, cut and vac-packed. There are a couple of interesting recipes that call for this condiment, stay tuned...

As a fan of savory, slow cooked foods, I love cassoulet. I must admit that I've only made it once myself, consumed a memorable version in Paris at a restaurant near the Louvre at lunch (we took the balance with us--it was too much, but made for a great breakfast the next day). Last year a friend and I teamed up to make it for the main dinner at an annual 'Dad's and Kids' weekend ski trip (guess where the Moms were?). He used Julia's multi-part recipe that's very much in your style of 'make each part great' and then combine. I contributed the duck confit, he did the rest. Your tradition brought that weekend back, and reminded me that it's time for a cassoulet, right here, right now. Once, that is, I've managed to acquire the appropriate tapered cassoulet vessel... Happy birthday, and I will look forward to next year's celebration. Marc

The three roasts came out of the water bath this morning and I sampled each of them for breakfast. The Flatiron roast ended up with a texture very similar to a perfectly cooked filet, with a nice pink color and excellent flavor and texture. This was the winner. I've only made flatiron once before in a traditional daube and that version turned out dry and stringy. The Tri-tip was nice, a little drier than the flatiron but still tender and juicy. The brisket was more similar in texture to a strip steak than the 'falling apart' normal brisket experience. I think I'll try the brisket again at 65C and keep the flatiron at 55 C. All three roasts gave off about a cup of liquid which I saved and will turn into a sauce (probably a wine reduction) when we eat this for dinner later this week.

Bringing the thread back on topic... No pictures, unfortunately, but here are some things I've tried over the last month: Split Turkey Breast: salt/pepper/Old Bay and some bay leaves top and bottom. Cooked at 143 F for 12 hours, chilled, and then refrigerated for a day. Boned the breast and split it into smaller portions which were vacuum packed. The turkey retained a nice pink color, but it was tender and very juicy. The kids loved it in their lunches cold and I seared slices for a couple of breakfasts. Duck Confit: Moulard legs for 12 hours came out a little on the tough side compared to the 'control' test of Moulards in the crock pot. Next time I'll try 18 hours. Muscovy legs for 12 hours came out blissfully tender, they are still aging in the cooking bag. Short Ribs: Bone-in with a reduced wine glaze for 24 hours at 55. Came out a little tough, I'll let them go longer next time. Pork Belly: Done using Paula Wolfert's recipe from her new book. Brined per the recipe, then half the belly went in the oven at 350 for 2.5 hours, half in the water bath at 82C for 12 hours. The sous vide version came out with more 'pork' flavor and was juicy and tender, though with a bit more residual fat. Everyone preferred it to the oven method, and the brining added a very nice flavor to both versions. Recommended! In addition to my immersion circulator I bought a Lauda MT heating/cooling unit (Ebay) that I can keep in the basement. I just started an experiment with brisket, Tri-Tip and a Flatiron roast. 55C for 36 hours is the plan. Each roast went into the bag with salt/pepper and a sprinkle of chunks of dried Aleppo pepper from Turkey (my latest purchase from Penzey's).

In my experience most loaf bread recipes want to get you from start to finish in a small number of hours. You can get the yeast to leaven the dough in that time if you use lots. By reducing the amount of yeast and increasing the time, you let the other byproducts of the fermentation take hold without the yeast over-fermenting the dough. If you use a small amount of yeast the night before and let it rise for 1-3 hours at room temperature, you give the yeast a head start. Putting it in the fridge slows down the remaining fermentation. If you just knead and stick in the fridge, the yeast will be largely dormant overnight. My experience has been with pizza and rustic Italian hearth bread, rather than loaf pans intended for sandwiches, so the overnight rise may work against you in that you probably want a finer grained bread.

Jumping in a bit late on the thread, but I thought I'd share my duck breast experiment to go with Bryan's. Similar approach--skin the breast (Moulard from Preferred Meats), bagged at 62 C for 5 hours. I also bagged the duck skin and put it in the bath with short ribs for 18 hours, then crisped the skin in the oven at 400 after salting the 'inside'. I served the breasts seared and sliced, slices of the 'duck bacon' as I called the now crispy skin and a spoon of lingonberries.

Bryan, The Lauda pump that I purchased works just fine with direct immersion. It does have a provision for attaching a hose for an external tank but it's not required. Marc

My best friend in high school's dad kept a dairy cow and we frequently made butter using a churn something like this one.