DanM

I wonder if you can make a lamb carbonnade to bring together the beer and lamb theme together. Dan

I recently discovered two books by Chef Yotam Ottolenghi though an Amazon suggestion. A brief look at the books show some promise. I was wondering if anyone else on eGullet is familiar with his books or have dined at his restaurants. Plenty Ottolenghi

I used it when I rented to avoid a big clean up later, but now I just find it annoying. Dan

Point Reyes is my favorite blue... But I would not pass up a piece of Stilton or a Spanish Blue if it landed in front of me.

I still stand behind my Taylor scale. It has all of the features you mentioned, except that it measures to 10 lbs, not 11. It comes with an AC plug, which is a nice feature to have if you use it regularly. Taylor Scale

Chef Myhrvold Congrats on the successful launch of your epic tome. Have you considered publishing a version of your book that will appeal to the advanced home cook? I am sure there is more than enough in these five volumes to fill one book showing how modernist techniques can be applied in the average American home with readily available ingredients and commonly found tools. Dan

They emailed me back about this issue. They looked into it and deemed it an isolated incident. They are going to send me a $10 gift cart for my troubles. Nothing like good customer service.

Is it okay to shame others? Shame on Fairway in Stamford. I bought a package of lamb stew meat only to find half of the package was bones. A couple of pieces are okay as they provide flavor to the braise. I have sent an email to their customer service dept, but have not heard back.

My daughter is going through a bad teething spell. We are going though teething biscuits hand over fist. Does anyone have a recipe for home made teething biscuits?

I don't hunt for coupons, but I do use them if they are useful. I find them a great way to stock up on pantry items. For example, I found a $1 off coupon for apple sauce cups that my daughter likes. I used the opportunity to buy 3 packs, which is about a month worth.

I found an interesting new coffee at Trader Joes. It is a blend of Arabica, cocoa powder, and natural fudge flavors. The chocolate adds a nice richness to the coffee.

Simply speechless. How long did the dinner last? Was there one ethereal moment of the night?

Here you go Heidi... A little amateur food porn for ya.

Thanks everyone! We had the duck breasts last night with Thomas Keller's suggested "butter" braised brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, and radishes. I used margarine to keep everything kosher and substituted turnip for the kohlrabi as I could not find it locally. Dinner was accompanied by a bottle of Rodenbach Vintage 2007. I thought about doing a sauce, but then smacked myself in the head... If it needed a sauce, Chef Keller would have said so in his recipe. Everything was delicious, but that is not surprising given the recipes are from Thomas Keller. Later tonight I will stick the legs in the crock pot for a little confit action. I only have 1.5 cups of schmaltz, so I'm going to save that for something else and use olive oil exclusively. Is there a way to separate the schmaltz from the olive oil after it is done cooking? Any suggestions on what to do with the duck stock? Dan

Cheese and quackers. Ha!! Good one!! I am wondering if I should make a sauce for the pan roasted breasts. Any thoughts? I could just make a quick brown duck stock veloute... or is that too easy?? Dan

I rendered out the skin and came up with 2 cups of schmaltz and a handful of grebenes. I roasted the carcass, but the veg got a little dark to crispy. I made the stock, which turned out beautifully rich and a nice dark mahogany brown. I need to find a good soup to make with the stock. It looks like I am using every part but the quack... what can I do with the quack?

Hi, I'm Curtis Stone, I'm not good enough of a chef to compete, so I am going to be your host. I'm not sure if Suvir Saran is being a joker or being a little conceited.

I thought so too, but I trust Peterson (disclosure: I'm working with him on a new edition of his duck book), so I tried it. It makes a great product, assuming you want a roasted stock, of course. I'm not sure what your concern is with the meat; most of what you're losing is water, and since you're making stock, it's doneness isn't really important, is it? And yes, you've almost certainly got a Long Island (Pekin) duck. Thanks for the feedback. After roasting, I will follow Peterson's instructions in Splendid Soups for a chicken stock. Here is the progress so far... Here is the beast in question. Just under 4lbs... Broken down into basic cuts. Hopefully I did a decent job with it. The legs and breasts cleaned up and excess fat removed. Hopefully not too much removed... And finally, the carcass ready for the oven and the skin ready to be made into schmaltz and grebnes. If I don't have enough fat for the confit, can I mix the duck fat with some olive oil?

Give Seventh Generation's baby detergent a try. The product has an extra enzyme to break down protein based stains caused by overloaded diapers. It also seems to work well for food stains on kitchen towels. Dan

So it will be you, Dr Myhrovold, Mr Izzini, Mr, Bilet, Dr Ryan and ??? Who's the last of this group of lucky souls? I can only imagine what the dinner conversation will be like... Have a safe flight and post often! Enjoy the dinner. Dan

Trader Joes is now selling Simply Fat Free Sour Cream. Only two ingredients. Grade A fat free cultured milk and vitamin A palminate. It needed a good stir, but I really liked it. It has a nice, thick and creamy body. Dan

Thanks Dave. The package does not specify species. But it is a mass produced duck, so I'm pretty sure it's a Long Island variety.

500°F?? That's some serious heat! I'd like to save any residual meat on the carcass. I'm afraid that the meat will dry out at that temp. I assume that I would add the roasted carrots and onions to the stock pot as well. I've been wanting to try making a stock in my crock pot, so this will give me a chance. The other side of this discussion is what to serve with the duck breast. Maybe some potatoes roast in a little duck fat? ETA... I just found this wonderful looking duck stock from Paula Wolfert http://www.chow.com/recipes/12478-dark-rich-duck-stock. The only issue is that the recipe calls for 4 duck carcasses. Scaling it down to 1 carcass will not leave me with much stock.

My wife and I made our first trip to Fairway in Stamford, CT this past weekend to see what the hype is about. One of my great finds was a fresh kosher whole duck. This is about as rare as a dog that speaks Norwegian. I have only seen ducks that have been frozen for who knows how long. Now comes the fun part... The plan is to pan roast the breasts and confit the legs and thighs. I will be following Thomas Keller's instructions in Ad Hoc at Home for these two dishes. That leaves me with with the wings and carcass which I want to render for the fat and use the rest or stock. Whats the best way to do this? Should I roast it in a low oven to render the fat, remove the skin, and then stick the rest in a stock pot?

We avoid artificial food colorings in our house. However, I have no problem with natural plant based food dyes that come from beets, turmeric, spinach, etc... We just find it unnecessary in most cases. We do a lot of shopping at Trader Joes and Whole Foods, which do not sell items that use artificial colors, so that makes shopping easier. Food colouring is also a litmus test for me at bakeries. If I see neon green key lime pie or neon colored cookies or cakes, I question the place and might walk away. Dan