FoodMan

That looks and sounds great! Can I ask you for ALL the details - what did you stuff it with, where did you get enough duck fat to confit it in, where did you get the duck neck, where did you get the inspiration - all those things?? Thanks!!! I am glad you liked it. It was fabulous. The recipe is Paula Wolfert’s from her “Cooking of South West France” book. The filling was made from duck thigh/leg meat, pork, good liver pate, shallots, and some spices. I render my own duck fat. I save all scraps and skin pieces from any duck I buy and simply render it down and freeze it. As for the duck neck, my local Asian market sells whole ducks with neck, head and feet intact. So I buy a whole one and butcher it myself. The neck skin is very easy to remove in one piece from the neck and used like a sausage casing. I also stuffed the thigh/leg skin pieces. Actually if you look at the picture carefully, you’ll notice the slices on the right side are more perfect, these are from the actual duck neck skin, the ones to the left of the screen look a little more rugged, these are from the leg/thigh skin pieces. Elie

ok, this was dinner a few days ago but I never got to downloading the picture: Stuffed duck neck, cooked just like duck confit, then seared, crisped and sliced. Served with sauteed potatoes and peppers. So so good, it is worth all the work. Leftovers made a wonderful lunch cold with crusty homemade bread and Dijon mustard. Yesterday: Trying out my new Char-griller charcaol grill for the first time. -Shish Tawook. Marinated Lebanese chicken kebabs on the grill -Grilled chicken legs and thighs marinated with Adobo -Grilled eggplant salad with mushrooms and fresh basil -Hummus -Dessert: Grilled nectarines with caramelized turbinado sugar and vanilla ice cream. (the stupid camera was out of batteries so no pics.) Elie

Mario- A while back we had a very lengthy discussion on e –gullet concerning a certain celebrity chef, namely Rick Bayless, endorsing a fast food joint sandwich. It was a very heated debate with varying points of view both for and against the idea of a well respected chef endorsing such a product. You can check it out HERE if you wish The only product I have seen you endorse has been the "press n’ seal" wrap. Would you even consider endorsing a fast food sandwich? Where do you draw the line? Thanks again, Elie

Thanks for the report. No Tahini at all? Yogurt with eggplant is very good as well though. And with the smokey flavor I bet it even tasted better. I really want some homemade Baba Ghanooj now. Instead we will probably have Fatteh for dinner . Elie

Mario (a.k.a St. Mario on egullet)- It’s a pleasure having you as a guest on e-gullet. I’ve been a big fan of yours ever since I picked up “Simple Italian Cooking” from a book store while looking for an "Italian-cookbook-with-a-lasagna-recipe-in-it". The book of course did not have a traditional Lasagna and I had no idea who you were, but I was fascinated by the wealth of information it had and I really liked the cover photo of this guy with orange clogs. He just looked like an Italian cook who knew what he was doing. So, I bought it and enjoyed the Asparagus Lasagna very much along with many other recipes. Since then I had to buy another copy because my original one was getting too worn out and stained. Ok, so needless to say I owe most of my Italian food knowledge to your books and shows. I’m always fascinated by your cooking skills and teaching at the same time. However, all of us have kitchen weaknesses. Do you have one? You know, that one thing you never seem to get quiet right in the kitchen. Thanks for your time and best of luck to you, Elie

Houston Chronicle: Dining Guide Alison Cook raves about Playa De Loro, a Galveston Tex-Mexish restaurant and sabotages a customer’s attempt to steal a sugar caddy. Read all about it here. Andrew Guy Jr. reports about “Florida’s Kitchen”, a tiny hole-in-the-wall in Livingston serving the best ribs. It might just be worth the drive and you have to read what the employee of the year gets at “Florida’s Kitchen”. Click here. Ken Hoffman tries the new C2 from Coca Cola, and concludes that it just doesn’t add up. If you are a Hoffman fan click here Houston Press: Dining A few days ago I had no idea what Injera is. Today Robb Walsh reviews Addisaba where they serve very good Injera. Read about it here Elie

Ok, I don't know about you, but I am tired of this tipping BS and hope this is the last W&D that has anything about it. However, I have to quote this comment about tipping: "Dining in a nice restaurant with my date and/or some friends where the food is good and the service is pleasant, efficient and transparent can be a delightful experience. Please do not mess up the effect by expecting me to be aware of having to figure and pay a tip." Elie

Cafe Piquet on Bissonet is one of my favorite lunch spots near my work. They have great Cuban food. My favorite is the Pirnil with yuca and mojo. I would stay away from their sandwiches though, not very good . This past week we tried a new place on the South west freeway feeder going south past hilcroft. It's called London Sizzler, they serve pretty good Indian/English food. Elie

No, it's without the box. I need to buy the box seperatly (maybe another $35-$40). Still not bad at all. Anyways we should probably get back to talking about Webers. Thanks for the help. Elie

Thanks Dave and Fifi- I will purchase one in the next week or so. Hopefully. Unfortunatly the only store that carries them in Houston is Lowes (for $119 I think), and I do not like shopping there but I guess I might have to this time . Elie

Sorry if I'm a little off subject, but since we are on the grills subject. I'm thinking about picking up one of those very soon: chargriller I want the one with a smoke box. I've heard very good things about them and they have all the features I'm looking for. Anyone tried them? Elie

Houston Chronicle Food section: Picnic? Outdoors? In Houston’s summer? Janice Schindeler explains how to have a successful and enjoyable picnic with several good recipes. Picnic Paradise A Taste of Portugal. The only Portuguese restaurant in Houston. RJ Middleton writes a short report about this place. check out at A Portuguese Paradise I'm thinking the word paradise was required in any article title this week. Michael Lansford Describes an interesting wine pairing at a Pappas Bros Steakhouse "California Cult Wine Dinner". read about it in Playing Matchmaker note to self: check when the next wine dinner is, these sound like fun. Please note that starting a few minutes ago, registration is required to read the chronicle online. It is free though. Elie

The name slips my mind now. I will check when I get back home from work and let you know. Elie Ok, he mentiones several Parisian Tex-Mex places: Cafe Pacifico where he had one of the best cheese enchiladas ever. Indiana Cafe Del Rio Cafe Mexi and CO I do not believe he mentiones any proprietors. Fifi and Frank- The history was amazing, I would never have known all these facts had I not read this book. I was also intrigued by the North African influence that he mentiones. Elie

Very interesting, it looks like the Indian Dosa. Honestly, I have never had Ethiopian food. I think we have a restaurant in Houston, so I might check it out. Thanks Elie

The name slips my mind now. I will check when I get back home from work and let you know. Elie

I tried Wolfert's recipe over the weekend and I have to say they were absolutely wonderful. Crunchy chewy crust with a very soft and custardy center. Here is a picture I took : Elie

No, it's actually "100% Taquito". I've been meaning to try Gorditas Aguascalientes for a while though. Elie

Ok, what is Injera? Please educate me. Elie

Lucky you, I still had the picture tucked away in one of my e-mails. Elie

SO I decided to give those tin canelle molds and canelles a try based on this thread (I have never had them before) and bought a set of four tin molds from WS. I used Paula Wolfert's recipe and baked four canelles a few hours ago. To lube the molds I used a butter-oil combination and followed the recipe exactly. During baking the canelles came out of the molds like nightscotsman's did, but following Paula's advice I left them alone and sure enough they slid back in. After two hours of baking the little cakes were vaery dark. I took them out and immediatly banged on the counter and turned them on the cooling rack with no sticking at all. I could not wait more than one hour to taste those things and once I did I ate three of them and my wife had one. They were amazing, crunchy, chewy, bitter-sweet on the outside and soft custardy on the inside. I will head over to WS and buy another set of those molds before they run out. I still have about half the batter in the fridge and I am planning on baking another four tomorrow to see how it compares to the ones from today. Here are a couple of pics I took (they look a little darker in the picture than they really are), you can see the canelle and the tin molds. The molds are light but very sturdy and hard. Thanks for everyone's advice and experimentation, I am hooked on those things. Elie

You are more than welcome, I'm very glad it worked for you. Next time try some stewed eggplant instead of the chickpeas for a nice change and different texture. Elie

Williams Sonoma is selling their French made tin canelle molds for 10 for 4 of them (normally they are $23). are they worth it? Or should I just get the Silicon Flex ones? Elie

Houston Chronicle: Dining Guide Alison Cook reviews Osaka, the friendly montrose sushi place. Read about it here A Houston favorite is -finally- expanding it's space. Dai Huynh gives us the details about Niko Niko's long awaited renovation. A Vietnamese couple make their mark on Clearlake with their ice cream shop. The 49+ flavors include anything from Durian to orange chocolate. Dai Huynh reports. Houston Press: Dining Brian McManus reviews Cafe Annie. His review is a little strange, he claims to love his mom as much as the quail and proclaims Robert Del Grande God. Elie

Dignan - not at all, thanks for the link and here are some highlights, especially the tipper lady who bugged me the most, and yes people really do that: - Vic and Anthony’s takes top marks for outstanding service - A diner decides to live Joe’s Crab Shack because among other reasons it was too noisy!! Then they head over to another one of Landry’s restaurants - A disagreement with Cook’s review of Bank. - My favorite, a diner at Café Rabelais (a fine bistro) decides to stiff the waiter his or her tip because the bill (from the computer) was not detailed enough. We all know that it is always the waiter’s fault how the bill should look like, right? She then believes it is all a big conspiracy to make her tip more since, “Its obviously programmed into the computer” Elie

I've read that "authentic" pita doesn't actually have a pocket - is this not the case? I accidentally made pocket-less pita a few weeks ago. They could have doubled as frisbees. My guess is that either my oven wasn't hot enough or I didn't roll the dough thin enough. Anyone else have an idea? Pita in Lebanon (simply called Arabic bread) ALWAYS has a pocket. link to Pita bread recipe FatGuy- Are you trying to make pita and it is not working out or you simply want to know the science behind the process?