eG Foodblog: *Deborah* - Power, Convection and Lies

[Chef Metcalf]

Wow Deb, you pulled off quite a feat considering the circumstances.

You're a brave woman and the results look fantastic.

Were you happy with the way the smoked duck recipe turned out prior to adding them to the potatoes?

And did you add any rendered duck fat when mashing? Just for good measure of course.

cm

[*Deborah*]

Well! Daddy-A just sent me a bunch of pics from the luau and the preps.

These are the pork butts that were smoked:

Mmmmmm, pork:

Daddy-A, the mad smoker! (thanks for this pic in particular, Arne, as I didn't happen to take one of you today!)

Chef Fowke with a piggy over his shoulder:

Pig on a spit:

Chef Fowke and Daddy-A applying the glaze:

Pork puller extraordinaire:

Mmmmm, this stuff is the bomb.

Pork belly when I arrived:

And upright:

Ling and hhlodesign (Lorna and Henry) were at the luau:

(So were a lot of other people, but I was seriously remiss in my picture taking. A nice plate of pulled pork will do that to you )

They took the pig off the coals:

Then Chefs Fowke and Wyles started slicing:

I don't remember the joke, but it looks as though it was funny

Matthew, Arne's eldest, and I share a giggle

I'm not sure what happened to my camera at this point, but here's Lorna's Lemon Buttermilk cake with coconut filling and cream cheese icing and mango gelée and brittle:

And here is what's left of Mooshmouse's divine cassava cake. Moosh, don't you ever give me that recipe! way too good.

And that was the luau, for me. It was great to see everyone! and that pulled pork was something else.

Edited May 22, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[*Deborah*]

Wow Deb, you pulled off quite a feat considering the circumstances.

You're a brave woman and the results look fantastic.

Were you happy with the way the smoked duck recipe turned out prior to adding them to the potatoes?

And did you add any rendered duck fat when mashing? Just for good measure of course.

cm

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Well, now that I see it written down, I think DOH! but I haven't rendered the fat yet.

Thanks for the kind words

[sanrensho]

And the fridge itself:

I see you've got your dairy priorities right. Whipping cream container as large as your milk container.

[*Deborah*]

And the fridge itself:

I see you've got your dairy priorities right. Whipping cream container as large as your milk container.

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Somehow, I've been going through quite a bit of cream these days

[Mooshmouse]

What, no photos of the buffet spread? It was a mighty impressive array of eats.

Urgh, that was a helluva lot of food. I'm still full... and, for me, that's saying a lot.

You know, the recipe for cassava cake is frighteningly easy. If I ever give it to you, you'll end up making it weekly. With your eyes closed. I've still got one whole cassava cake left... would you like me to save you seconds?

[Ling]

I had a lot of fun at the luau...the suckling pig and the pulled pork were the highlights, of course, but all of the food was sooo good. I was on my second plate of pulled pork before hhlodesign even took his first bite! I especially liked the coconut shrimp and the crackling. Mmmm...

And wow, I look so tall in that picture!

[peppyre]

Why is it, that if there's pork on a spit, I'm right there. The pig was great in all its incarnations. I really enjoyed the pulled pork with the vinegar. I also really really enjoyed the piggy skin right off the coals. Damn that was good!!

[*Deborah*]

What, no photos of the buffet spread?  It was a mighty impressive array of eats. 

Urgh, that was a helluva lot of food.  I'm still full... and, for me, that's saying a lot.

You know, the recipe for cassava cake is frighteningly easy.  If I ever give it to you, you'll end up making it weekly.  With your eyes closed.  I've still got one whole cassava cake left... would you like me to save you seconds?

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Urgh, I think I'm fat enough already, Moosh!

It's really good though, as good as Josephine's, easy!

[*Deborah*]

Why is it, that if there's pork on a spit, I'm right there.  The pig was great in all its incarnations.  I really enjoyed the pulled pork with the vinegar.  I also really really enjoyed the piggy skin right off the coals.  Damn that was good!!

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It was really tasty meat! this has been a good couple of days for meat.

[transfattyacid]

Nice Blog *Deborah* .

That piggy looks right tasty. Respec` .

[prasantrin]

Then Chefs Fowke and Wyles started slicing:

Did they wear the same shirt on purpose?

And here is what's left of Mooshmouse's divine cassava cake. Moosh, don't you ever give me that recipe! way too good.

Mmmmm. I love cassave cake! If you like cassava cake, you might try bibingka, too, if you haven't already. It's one of my other weaknesses.

Looks like a great time with great food! I'm so jealous!

[Susan in FL]

It's great fun following this blog, and with the excitement of a new kitchen and all the good food and drink, it's an added bonus to see eGullet friends enjoying it with you. Thanks to all of you for your contributions, as well!

[Zucchini Mama]

Congratulations on your amazing dinner party, *Deborah*. I was particularly wowed by the cake and the tea-smoked duck. The luau also looked like a lot of fun--loved that shirt, Arne. I think Neil and Brian need to go shopping with you some day. They looked much too conservative and serious, like they were playing a piano duet, instead of slicin' up a hawg!

I woke up to the sound of rain on the roof, but hope it clears up for our afternoon adventure. See you soon.

Edited May 22, 2006 by Zucchini Mama (log)

[*Deborah*]

Another good night's sleep! I, like Zucchini Mama, was awakened by the sound of the rain--on my vent hood exhaust pipe, rather than the roof itself --but the rain seems to have let up, and the birds are chirping! My fingers are crossed that it turns out to be a nice Victoria Day.

My wandering cats are both home at the same time, and *Ziggy Palffy*'s brother, *Ilya Kovalchuk*, is nestled v close to Mummy right now.

I have pictures of small black cats to down- and upload, see you soon!

Edited May 22, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[nwyles]

Then Chefs Fowke and Wyles started slicing:

Did they wear the same shirt on purpose?

And here is what's left of Mooshmouse's divine cassava cake. Moosh, don't you ever give me that recipe! way too good.

Mmmmm. I love cassave cake! If you like cassava cake, you might try bibingka, too, if you haven't already. It's one of my other weaknesses.

Looks like a great time with great food! I'm so jealous!

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No, we did not wear the same shirts on purpose, but when I saw him, I could not help but think what a sharp dresser he was. I think the thing to remember here is that our wives buy our clothes, and quite often choose them. We are merely pawns in their dress up games.

[*Deborah*]

I forgot to include the pig's head with the luau pics! Sorry!

[*Deborah*]

On the weekend, I tend to clean up the kitchen before I make my coffee. My kitchen is now fairly clean, the dishwasher has been run for the 8th or 9th time, I think it is, since it came online on Thursday night (wow, when you barbecuers/smokers were complaining about running the dishwasher last week, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry--two and a half months of breaking my back washing dishes in my utility sink later!), and here is the current state of the kitchen:

(I think I may have gotten some pork on my lens yesterday! I need to clean it)

Here is this morning's coffee:

Overcast again, but fairly bright.

And here are my two little Manxes. Actually, they're not little at all: *Ziggy* weighs in around 9 kg/20 lbs., and even *Ilya*, who is smaller, was about 7 kg last time he was weighed. Here they are coming into the kitchen. They don't photograph all that well against the dark floor, I'm afraid.

[Safran]

Which dishwasher did you get?

[Smithy]

Oh, my goodness, what a weekend! I loove the way your kitchen is coming out, and I applaud you and your friends for the excellent food and photos. (I think the pork smear on that last photo gives it a rather sentimental glow to your Wolf. That was on purpose, wasn't it? ) Now I understand about the S-grates. What a terrific innovation.

More about the duck, please. How finely did you have to chop that, or pull it, to get it into the potatoes? I had to reread several times, and then look very closely, to believe that the potatoes had duck in them. It sounds wonderful.

[*Deborah*]

Today is Victoria Day, celebrating the birth of that fecund, diminutive Imperialist, Queen Victoria. Her birthday is May 24th, and is often known, in Canada, as May 2-4 (a 2-4 being common slang for a case of beer (24 bottles, natch). Leave it to the Canadians to reduce the birth of Empire to a tasty beverage). Today is, for us, like Memorial Day is for our neighbours to the south: the kick-off of summer, time to open up the cottage (if you're lucky enough to have one. I don't have a cottage or country house; I have a Wolf range ).

Compared to the rest of Canada, the Province of British Columbia has a particularly high proportion of citizens (we used to be subjects, eh?) whose bloodlines go back to the UK. Our Provincial capital is called Victoria. I live four blocks from Victoria Drive. It's just Victoria everywhere you turn!

This afternoon, I will bring the camera along on a bit of a tour of Stanley Park.

Stanley Park was dedicated in 1888--during the reign of Queen Victoria--and named after Lord Stanley, Governor General of Canada at the time. According to the City of Vancouver's website, it is the third largest urban park in North America at 1000 acres (larger than Central Park; smaller (by 17 acres) than Golden Gate Park). (This fact seems to be in dispute: the wikipedia entry has Stanley Park around 13th, behind several state parks in places like El Paso and San Diego. I speculate that the City of Vancouver list includes Fairmont Park in Philadelphia and Golden Gate Park ahead of us, and disregards the others.)

It's a lovely place! you can walk or bike or rollerblade your way around the Seawall, and see the Vancouver trifecta of forest, mountains, and ocean.

But that's for later. I should unpack some more of my kitchen now, and perhaps do some even more mundane chores, like laundry.

See you all later!

Edited May 22, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[*Deborah*]

Which dishwasher did you get?

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Frigidaire, seems to be this one. I like it because it's sturdy in spite of having a few bells and whistles. It shows you how many minutes are left (wow! I love that!) and has some real overkill wash options, but so far the "speed cycle" is working well.

Oh, my goodness, what a weekend!    I loove the way your kitchen is coming out, and I applaud you and your friends for the excellent food and photos.  (I think the pork smear on that last photo gives it a rather sentimental glow to your Wolf.  That was on purpose, wasn't it?  )  Now I understand about the S-grates.  What a terrific innovation.

More about the duck, please.  How finely did you have to chop that, or pull it, to get it into the potatoes?  I had to reread several times, and then look very closely, to believe that the potatoes had duck in them.  It sounds wonderful.

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truly, the smear isn't on purpose, and I thought OH NO! I BROKE MY CAMERA TOO! until I realized it was probably just dirty.

HKDave did the duck, semi-pulled, semi-chopped, to around julienne circumference but in short bits, about an inch or shorter. It's pretty tasty! I think it would be better if I had used blacker tea: my instinct was to use Gunpowder Tea, so smokier to begin with, but I couldn't get my hands on any that day. It worked well with the Oolong too, and Chef Tony in my cooking class used Jasmine tea, which gives a nice perfume also. You can also do this with chicken.

[peppyre]

Deb, I am so happy that Ilya finally came home. If that was my Pepper I would have been frantic. Kudos for keeping cool.

Good luck getting the pork fat off the camera lens. Last time I got pork fat on a camera (a pig roast at a family reunion), the camera broke. Go figure. I guess the goodness of the pork fat was just too much for it to take.

[*Deborah*]

Deb, I am so happy that Ilya finally came home.  If that was my Pepper I would have been frantic.  Kudos for keeping cool.

Two nights straight! I hate it. It's not like he has a little kitty cell phone I can use to make sure he's OK.

Good luck getting the pork fat off the camera lens.  Last time I got pork fat on a camera (a pig roast at a family reunion), the camera broke.  Go figure.  I guess the goodness of the pork fat was just too much for it to take.

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Oh dear.

[Daddy-A]

I forgot to include the pig's head with the luau pics! Sorry!

Chef Fowke is coming over this week to help me make some head cheese with Wilbur there.

Of course, the turn in the weather here is all our fault. For three years running, the Luau has brought on rain after at least 2 or 3 days of scorching sunshine. For that we apologize and we try to make it up with the hospitality and the food.

Glad to have been a part of your week Deb!

A.