fifi

Coquille: don't let Sam make you feel guilty about not having bacon fat in your freezer. I'd bet he's got friggin' pigeon fat in his freezer. The guy collects fat the way most people collect belly button lint (which by the way doesn't go in the freezer, but in a Tupperware container in your pantry, lest it dehydrate in the low temperatures). *slowly rising from the floor* OK... thank you, Dave, for supplying my daily eGullet total incapacitation event.

Why do I feel like buying duck fat is cheating? That flies in the face of the whole reason for a "project" like confit. After all, isn't the point here to make the project as complex as possible, preferrably stretching over several days' effort, using the maximum number of pots and pans? Now, if you are making confit, cranking up to do a cassoulet... Now THAT is a project. Reminds me of my tamale adventure that started with chunks of pig fat. Some of us are just plain wacked.

Thanks, GG Mora. What you did with the fat in the skillet in the oven is about what I do to render lard. I just didn't know if any browning was a good thing or not. It is with lard if you aren't going to use it in sweet pastry. UUUMM... Duck cracklin's. Your approach makes more sense than my odd ramblings.

I totally agree with your family. Please register everything you can think of. When I am faced with buying a wedding present, I really hate it if the couple has not done that. As a gift giver, I really want my money to go for something that the couple really wants and I am not a mind reader, nor do I usually have any inkling of their individual taste. Most places now have on-line registeries and that really makes my day. I second the Le Creuset. My favorite pieces are the dutch (oops, I mean French) ovens and the gratin pans (cast iron, not pottery). In the absence of a relative's heirloom, a Lodge cast iron skillet wouldn't hurt. The preseasoned ones got rave reviews here. Microplane graters. Those heavy bottomed stainless steel Chefsmate stock pots from Target. The combo pot that has the pasta and steamer insert is terrific. And the glass lids have a steam hole so the lid doesn't bump up and down. A nice and heavy Boos cutting board. For a couple of pricier appliances that I cannot live without, I recommend a DeLonghi convection toaster oven and a fuzzy logic rice cooker. The toaster oven is fabulous for cooking for one or two. That highly rated pepper grinder. I think it is a Magnum. (I don't have one ... YET.) Don't dismiss the lowly crockpot. There are actually some out there now that aren't disgustingly ugly. Check this one out. That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Congratulations! edit to add: How could I have forgotten these. and they can get the $7 toaster while they are at Target getting the stockpots.

I don't know about suzilightning, but my dad used to call that generic orange hunk of cheese in the grocery store, possibly posing as a cheddar(?), "rat cheese".

I, too, am on the hunt for duck fat for confit. I am about to decide to get some ducks and have the meat as a bonus, soooo... If someone could answer the "How many ducks?" question, I would be most grateful. On average, how much fat do you get out of a duck? What is the best way to render it out? Here is my current thinking: Take off the breasts for another use another time. Take off the legs for the confit. Put all the rest in a stock pot and go for the slow simmer. Mirepoix or no? (Could add that later to finish the stock.) Put the stock and fat in the fridge to chill. Take the fat off and proceed with the confit. Critique please... I am making this up as I go along. I don't know a lot about ducks.

Yep... that is ceritfiably strange. Damn... Now I want one.

I don't loan them out. If asked, I just say... "Sorry, but I consider my books my personal companions so I have a policy of not loaning them out." If they don't like that, tough. Well... I do make an exception with one friend that has a history of returning them promptly and in original condition. We usually share a new book so that the other can decide whether or not to purchase a copy. One thing that I don't do as consistently as I should is to put my name and the date of acquisition on the front page or inside on the cover. I keep meaning to get some of those sticker thingys but I never get around to it. The thought is that if the miscreant continues to see that, they will remember that the book is NOT theirs. Well... maybe not.

That is an amazing accomplishment... Combining just about all of the DON'Ts, I mean. Thanks for sharing that experience. Real life examples really do help to get folks' attention. Welcome, and thanks for the post.

My sister has this book that she has used for years... Better Than Store Bought authors Witty & Colchie Harper Roe Publishers ISBN 0-06-014693-1 It has all kinds of stuff, yogurt, crystallized mint leaves, condiments, etc. etc. etc. It is her Bible for all of the weird shit she comes up with. It may be out of print. I will see what I can find. (BTW... I have 8 mustards. Beat ya! Yes... That is nuts.) edit to add: Amazon has it. Also, I didn't spell the authors right.

You are almost correct there. BTW... Brining does... well, the brining thing to make it juicier. (see eGCI for all of the reasons this is true.) Injecting adds flavor of whatever kind you want, cajun seasoning, herbs, whatever. Yes, brining and injecting, then putting it in a cooking bag would be better than just plain turkey. But, someone mentioned it up-thread... Fried turkey is an entirely diferent thing. It is almost pork like. ANYTHING that makes a turkey not like a turkey is a good thing. ( I am mad at turkey. Two years in a row I tried fancy spiced brining, the citrus and coconut treatment and the damn things still tasted like turkey. UGH.)

My mother used to make the salmon patties when I was a kid. I haven't thought of that in years. Must make some soon. This place in Bellingham WA makes some dynamite hot smoked fish. I don't get to Bellingham as often as I used to so I have mail ordered from them several times. They have never let me down. The halibut blows me away.

Tourist. The apartment maintenance guys are here working on the refrigerator. I overheard one of them say... "Why does one lady need so many kinds of mustard?"

Yeah... Disgusting isn't it. Not necessarily typical of the rest of the US. Farmer's market deprived Texan in the nation's fourth largest city.

uuummm... Italian sausage with fennel. Love that stuff. I made a pot of white beans a couple of weeks ago. I had some smoked Italian sausage that I needed to use up so I sliced that up and put it in the beans. The fennel was so good with the beans, I added some more seeds. Best white beans I ever made.

I don't know if I said this before, but we don't put rub on our turkeys. Mucks up the oil. We brine and then inject.

I hear you about the condiments. This apartment refrigerator is sounding strange this morning. I looked in to see what was at risk... mostly condiments! Do I really need 5 kinds of mustard and 3 kinds of horseradish? And that is just scratching the surface.

I am sniffing a recipe for insanity... depending upon how far you go with this. Chocolate chip cookies... Are you going to grow your own wheat and mill your own flour? Do you have a cow so you can milk her and make your own butter? And those chocolate chips... do you have a cocoa tree? How about a pecan or a walnut tree if you like nuts in your cookies. (Well, actually, I DO have a pecan tree.) Mustard... Do you grow mustard plants and gather their seeds? Do you grow grapes, make white wine for Dijon mustard? Do you make your own vinegar from your wine? I can see where you might draw the line at mustard. Do you grow peanuts for your peanut butter? Uummm... I can think of other things that are best left to the experts or imported from more reasonable parts of the world... oatmeal, dates, citrus fruit, scallops, BACON, cheeses, wine... how many kinds of bread are you willing to bake? You get my drift.

I liked smoked turkey, too. But not as much as fried. If you are going to fry... fry a bunch.

Yeah... I get it. But there is somethng perverse about serving a French classic to the 1812. I love perverse.

All of my hunter friends and family are sensitive. We are very aware of the loss of life to sustain our life and celibrate that. I think that this has a lot more honor than that plastic wrapped steak in the supermarket.

No there is not. I think it would be divine justice. edit to add: beating the snot out of the French is a fun thing, perpetuated in the 1812 Overture.

Thanks, snowangel... You provided the details much better than I could have. All I know is that if all of that is done properly, you have some excellent meat.

At least you are not having corndogs. I can't believe this thread popped up again. edit to add: Is this an unusual craving? Like something that you never want to eat?

We have a rotating restaurant on top of the Hyatt in downtown Houston. Predictably, the food is good but not spectacular. Amazingly, the view has survived the sprouting skyscrapers around it and you can get some really good views of tree infested vistas and the lights of the ship channel. My most memorable memory of this restaurant is the "Great Lobster Caper". A dear friend of mine picked me up from work in his big, honkin' BMW. Istak Perleman was on the stereo... uh oh... trouble. We went to the Hyatt. After a few drinks and snacks, we had to go to the restroom. The restrooms were down a stairway in the core of the building, and the route passed by the live lobster tank. Well, this fool grabbed a lobster! We went down the stairs, he went into the men's room, came out of the men's room and passed the lobster to me since an emplyee was entering the men's room. I went into the ladie's room and deposited it into one of the toilets. We went back to our table. As our table went rotating past the entrance to the stairs to the restrooms, we heard these screams emanating from up those stairs. Since his suit coat had a conspicuous wet mark, we thought it best to leave, he with my wrap over his damp arm. We kept trying, not too successfully, to keep from giggling, but got out without being busted. I can't go to that restaurant today without remembering the "Night of the Lobster".