Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Improving my cooking skills (2003)


MatthewB

Recommended Posts

I'm such a happy camper. This dinner was GREAT!

Made the fish (thin local petrale sole) and sauce exactly as directed. Made my usual pilaf recipe (Pierre Franey's recipe, the only difference is that it's baked at 400 for 17 minutes) because fortunately the repairman got the fridge going before ALL my stock thawed, so I didn't have to spend the day making soup and more more soup. DH made a Sauteed Brussels Sprouts & Pancetta dish, using up some of the pancetta that got a little warmer than I'd like and... more chicken stock. The brussels sprouts, and especially the pancetta, went well w/ the meal. I was skeptical, especially because the salty pancetta mirrors the salty capers, but somehow it worked. Echo champagne-a little sweet on its own but great w/ food.

PS While thumbing through J&J I spotted a recipe we MUST all try some week-Chocolate Pots de Creme. My usual recipe is slightly different, but it is the genesis of the chocolate pudding of our youth-made w/ real cream and real chocolate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mrs. Varmint will be off to Georgia with the L'il-est L'il Varmint (Savannah) this weekend, so I'll be cooking only for the children. Not sure they'll be into duck (nor do I want to waste it on them), so I'll likely take a pass this week.

Dean McCord

VarmintBites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mrs. Varmint will be off to Georgia with the L'il-est L'il Varmint (Savannah) this weekend, so I'll be cooking only for the children.  Not sure they'll be into duck (nor do I want to waste it on them), so I'll likely take a pass this week.

You don't have to take a total pass-I bet they'd like making, and eating, the cream puffs.

The nice thing about the fish dinner, besides how good it tasted, was that it was a really quick dinner to make. It's handy to have menus for those times you want an elegant dinner but have no time to make anything.

I'm not sure when I'm going to get to the duck, but I'm trying it somethime very soon. Hopefully this weekend. I've invited friends over Saturday; I'll have to call & check if they like duck. Who (Suzanne, perhaps) on what thread gave me such great advice about cooking duck so that it doesn't come out greasy? Does anyone remember? It seems to me it had a poaching/blanching step, but other wise was similar to Jacques.

Edited to say, I found the the duck discussion: here

Edited by marie-louise (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Woohoo, cheapo version of J&J on the way! $10.50 on eBay with $3.50 media mail shipping (which means I'll get it about the time y'all are reading the index :rolleyes:).

Chad

I did the same thing for $11.48, but it's coming from Durham (only 20 miles from here). I'll have it this week!!!!

Dean McCord

VarmintBites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MatthewB, I hope I didn't give you insufficient lead time for the duck! I've reserved a fresh one myself for Friday at a local market, so I will be making it this weekend. I haven't decided yet on the profiteroles.

I saw a Martha Stewart dessert show* a couple weeks ago, during which she made this frozen lemon mousse that looked so amazing, I just might make it this weekend. It involves three different preparations, some of which have to be completed at least a day in advance, but it really looked spectacular when she put a plate together for service.

* Don't know how you guys feel about Martha, legal problems aside, but after ridiculing her for years I've suddenly started to grow very fond of her, perhaps out of sympathy. I've never cooked from any of her recipes, though.

Edit: Heather, how'd your fish come out?

Edited by SethG (log)

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It didn't happen. I'm saving the fish for this weekend. No one seems to be into the duck, so maybe that should wait.

I like Martha, always have, and subscribe to MS Living and MS Kids. She's smart, and her recipes and crafts work. They aren't always the easiest to make, but I get tired of women's magazines that dumb down everything - the "dinner in 20 minutes!" "make your kids a halloween costume out of paper bags!" sort of thing.

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm into duck! I've done Julia's recipe in J&J; I'd like to try Jacques' Skillet Duck.

And while I'm not an unabashed fan of Martha, I'm tired of her taking hits from people who would rather trash her than understand what she tries to do (yes, I used to be one of those people, too).

Edit: thanks to Maggie, for helping me see the real Martha.

Edited by Dave the Cook (log)

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MatthewB, I hope I didn't give you insufficient lead time for the duck!

No problem. Just busy here & getting a duck ordered on Monday didn't happen.

Soon enough.

(Let's hope this is the last Saturday that I spend most of the day dealing with leaves!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could wait-- I bet it wouldn't be a problem for me to cancel my duck order. But if Dave and possibly marie-louise are still into it, I'd like to try it this weekend. And I can obviously keep mum about the results, even for a week.

I don't want to pressure anybody. I know when we talked about doing this joint enterprise, we all seemed to think every two weeks was ideal. So I'm down with whatever.

I do confess that I've moonlighted a bit. I was very excited when I finally got the book and did a couple recipes from it right away.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could wait-- I bet it wouldn't be a problem for me to cancel my duck order. But if Dave and possibly marie-louise are still into it, I'd like to try it this weekend. And I can obviously keep mum about the results, even for a week.

I don't want to pressure anybody. I know when we talked about doing this joint enterprise, we all seemed to think every two weeks was ideal. So I'm down with whatever.

I do confess that I've moonlighted a bit. I was very excited when I finally got the book and did a couple recipes from it right away.

Seth, just keep going.

Don't wait for me, please. And don't be concerned about holding back the results.

I'm just more busy than usual but I'm committed to this project & I'll catch up.

:smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could wait-- I bet it wouldn't be a problem for me to cancel my duck order.  But if Dave and possibly marie-louise are still into it, I'd like to try it this weekend.  And I can obviously keep mum about the results, even for a week.

I don't want to pressure anybody.  I know when we talked about doing this joint enterprise, we all seemed to think every two weeks was ideal.  So I'm down with whatever.

I do confess that I've moonlighted a bit.  I was very excited when I finally got the book and did a couple recipes from it right away.

i'm in for the duck too, but someone will have to "explain" the procedure to me.

Edited by guajolote (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

is the duck anything like this?

It's similar, except in the J&J recipe, the breasts are boned and the filets are separated from the carcass. The wing tips are used for stock, and the remaining two joints are separated. In other words, you've got 12 pieces.

But as I recall, the cooking is pretty much the same, though the veggies are added for the braising portion.

Duh. Someone with the book handy can probably be more helpful.

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could wait-- I bet it wouldn't be a problem for me to cancel my duck order.  But if Dave and possibly marie-louise are still into it, I'd like to try it this weekend.  And I can obviously keep mum about the results, even for a week.

I don't want to pressure anybody.  I know when we talked about doing this joint enterprise, we all seemed to think every two weeks was ideal.  So I'm down with whatever.

I do confess that I've moonlighted a bit.  I was very excited when I finally got the book and did a couple recipes from it right away.

I'm going to wait until next weekend to do the duck. I took a close look at the recipe, it requires a fair amount of last minute attention. We're cooking for some friends, and can't start cooking until right before they get there, so I think I'll do something else for them. I'm one of those people who'd rather hang out w/ their friends than cook when I invite people over for dinner (and I don't like people loitering in my little kitchen, either.) So I tend to serve things that either can be made ahead and popped into the oven before they arrive, or just require a few minutes of missed conversation, like grilled fish.)

Next weekend my husband is working both days. I'll make the duck then; I can putter around in the kitchen to my heart's content and then he can come home to [hopefully] a great dinner. Maybe I'll make duck for both dinners-I still want to try that method Suzanne suggested-and since I've never cooked duck, I want to practice.

Seth, if you do it this weekend, please post your results. That way I can learn from your mistakes, uh.. experiences. :smile: And tell us what else you've made from the book so far.

Edited by marie-louise (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seth, every two weeks might be a more realistic goal given the we have new babies, moving plans and the holidays going on. :smile:

:blink:

Did someone else around here just have a baby?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will do the duck early next week; this weekend is full (including our first Twin Cities eGullet get-together!).

Some questions:

1. I hate sweet potatoes. Should I substitute something else or just eliminate? Or go with Julia's recipe?

2. My local Asian market has "culver ducks." Whole ones (including head and feet). What is a culver duck? They also sell packages of duck heads, feet and wings (packaged separately). What would one do with the heads and feet? The wings are super cheap -- would they be a good source for fat for confit?

3. I also have a source for "wild" duck -- a friend has a freezer full of them and has offered me a couple (he had a good hunt this fall). I have never cooked a wild duck, and the ones that have been served have been roasted to death with apples in the cavity in the midwestern style of "cook it longer." Would a wild duck be a good choice for this? I can only assume that they are much leaner and more muscular than a farm-raised duck.

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seth, if you do it this weekend, please post your results. That way I can learn from your mistakes, uh.. experiences. :smile: And tell us what else you've made from the book so far.

I never got around to cancelling my duck reservation, so I think I will be making the duck on Saturday or Sunday. I'll let y'all know what I've messed up, and save any big philosophical questions for when more people have tried the dish.

And I won't push for any other dishes until after turkey day, I promise!

I don't know the answer to any of snowangel's questions.

What else I've made:

Julia's salmon en papillote, which I made with snapper instead. It did not work very well and I would love to try this again with all of you.

One of the roast chicken recipes, which is hardly worth talking about. It was great, but we all knew that about roast chicken already.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will do the duck early next week; this weekend is full (including our first Twin Cities eGullet get-together!).

Some questions:

1. I hate sweet potatoes. Should I substitute something else or just eliminate? Or go with Julia's recipe?

Do you mean you hate parsnips? There aren't any sweet potatoes in the recipe I thought we were making. I would think just about any winter root vegetable that tastes goes with shallots, garlic and duck would work-either in the braise or served on the side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...