What's Cooking (Take Three!)

[Jenise]

Last night we celebrated 34 years together. We started mid afternoon while watching the first golf tournament in months with crispy tempura battered shrimp, 3 each, with champagne. An hour or so later in the dining room, we had another glass of champagne with the best foie gras dish I've ever made. A small composed salad of frisee, sourdough toast point topped with seared foie gras, finely diced rhubarb omeboshi, fresh golden oregano leaves, and a dousing of a sweet-sour vinaigrette made of maple syrup and meyer lemon juice. WOW.

Second course was a re-enactment of our favorite honeymoon meal at a Left Bank bistro called Chez Gregory. We loved it so much we went back the next night and had it again. It was rustic but my god the flavors: one half a roast duck on a pile of super thin waxy potato slices with rosemary, all topped with a ladleful of a delicious brown gravy studded with a handful of just-added fresh blueberries. On that trip we had duck in Michelin starred restaurants but none were as good as this.

When I do duck, I usually follow Julia Child's method. This time, however, having recently revisited the Zuni Cafe's (San Francisco) famous method for flavorful roast chicken, I wondered why not do that on duck. I salted the cavity and filled it with fresh rosemary and thyme. I rubbed salt on the exterior too. This was kind of a last-minute decision so it only sat with this treatment for about 7 hours and it should have been much longer, but it was enough: it was probably the best duck (from frozen) I've ever done. I rinsed all the salt out before roasting, but put the herbs back--and 7 hours had been adequate to give the bird a well-seasoned thru-flavor. I baked it for three hours at 300F.

The salt not only improved the meat flavor, it dried out the skin somewhat. I could see that in the raw bird--baby feathers were exposed for pulling that hadn't been visible before. And it was really there in the crispy finish.

For the gravy, I made a golden roux with some of the drippings and seasoned it with beef flavoring, a dash of vermouth and a pinch of five spice powder. It was outstanding!

With this we had a 34 year old Bordeaux. The dish really cries out for a young pinot noir, but for this occasion other things were more important.

Oh, and I didn't serve full halves of the duck, that's too much. I served breast portions with the drumsticks. The rest got shredded for duck carnitas tacos tonight.

Sounds good, Jeff. I've never had or made Ropa Vieja but I'm aware of the dish and always wanted to. Love those flavors. Did you serve it on rice?

I made it a day ahead, so serving tonight.

Not sure that I want to go rice/beans/plantains. I'm thinking about going to naan or pita for the starch.

Last night we celebrated 34 years together.

Happy Anniversary!

I like that menu. Tempura and champagne. Rhubarb and foie. Zuni duck. All great matches and won't keep you tied to the stove.

So, what does the long cook at 300F do for the duck? I guess it's just enough time to melt all the fat away?

[Jenise]

My hope was tenderer meat and crispier skin. PLUS, I'm a fan of low and slow anyway. A langorous cook gives me a lot of time to shuffle the rest of the menu with lower risk of penalty, especially while being semi-glued to a PGA golf Final I'd been watching for days. The shrimp was a last-minute add-on when I located a few in the freezer while searching for the foie gras. Basically, the only thing I had to buy for the meal was the duck and the blueberries. Everything else was something I had--that rhubarb I'd been working on anyway, and an encounter with the golden oregano when I went out to the garden for chives.

For anyone not familiar with golden oregano (I wasn't when I bought the plant, I just liked the looks of it), it's a little genius of an herb. I never cook it (for cooking I like dried Mexican). It has pretty little round leaves that are yellow, lime green and grass green variously so the plant is really beautiful. They're not fuzzy or as thick as standard Italian oregano or sharp/bitter like Greek. They have a lovely perfume and sweet raw flavor that's mildly citrussy and just fantastic in salads or pestos. I'll use it tonight with fresh mozz. I'm really amazed that I seem to be the only person on the planet who grows it.

Thin-sliced pan-fried pork sirloin over sauteed leftover polenta, a salad, and toasted sourdough garlic bread with parmesan. Naturally, i forgot to garnish the entree with sliced scallion tops and discovered them sitting on my cutting board after I was done eating.

I used a little of my tube of harissa (mentioned earlier in this thread or somewhere else). I noted it was made in France. Who wudda thunk?

Ratatouille tonight.

-Paul W.

Sounds good, Jeff. I've never had or made Ropa Vieja but I'm aware of the dish and always wanted to. Love those flavors. Did you serve it on rice?

I made it a day ahead, so serving tonight.

Not sure that I want to go rice/beans/plantains. I'm thinking about going to naan or pita for the starch.

Pumpkin wanted tacos so we bought some shells, shredded some lettuce, already had shredded cheese... tacos.

I put a teeny bit of chipotle adobo into my serving. That stuff is way too hot for me by itself but it really does play well with others, and helped to fill the cayenne-shaped void in the recipe.

I had a bison ribeye and used some of the french-fried green chile I bought today as a garnish. Edie had curried creamed eggs over fried polenta (we still have a bunch left over). I imagine we'll have polenta for quite a while; I made quite a bit.

Beforehand, a couple of gin & tonics to keep covid away.

Edie had curried creamed eggs over fried polenta (we still have a bunch left over). I imagine we'll have polenta for quite a while; I made quite a bit.

I just made a loaf-pan of mushroom-and-parmesan mush tonight!

[Jenise]

I used the leftover duck from Sunday's roast to make duck carnitas, potato and chile stuffing for some fabulous tacos last night. They were divine with an 8 year old Zinfandel blend from Bedrock.

This morning we had brunch: modest little 1.5 egg omelettes topped with a tomato and habanero choka (a Trinidadian preparation) made by a local friend which was paired with sunset papaya halves. The papayas were picked last Tuesday on Molokai, ferried Wed a.m. to Maui, then flown to the U.S. Wed night and delivered Thursday. They are as perfect and sweet as being in the islands themselves. Since we can't get to Hawaii, Hawaii has to come here. Pretty great value at $60 per case--delivered!!! (If you're interested: www.kumufarms.com.)

Tonight we're having grilled chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) which have been marinated overnight in a very excellent Asian style sauce. Will probably serve them with sugar snap peas flash-fried with gin and ginger.

I'm actually going to try a recipe sent to me from my grocery store; that's a first!

I made Shrimp Banh Mi in a Bowl from a grocery store pamphlet, possibly because I had everything except an English cucumber. Turned out okay, but nothing to write home about. At least one ingredient wasn't really authentic, but it did use fish sauce, and I have a good one rated at N45.

What does a N45 rating mean?

-Paul W.

What does a N45 rating mean?

-Paul W.

N is a standard to measure the number of grams of nitrogen per liter of fish sauce, which directly relates to the protein level. According to Red Boat*, “The highest quality fish sauces are greater than 30°N, with the flavor becoming more rich and complex with larger N.

*The above came from a fish sauce taste test. Red Boat is a highly rated fish sauce. I can attest the N does make a difference.

Interesting. The fish sauce that I use is from Thailand: Tra Chang brand premium. I can't find an N rating on the label (or via Google). The ingredients list says it's 70% anchovy fish, 29% salt, and 1% sugar, aged two years. I switched to it from Tiparos several years ago when Tiparos got into a spat with the US FDA and its importation into the US was banned. Tiparos is back, but I find Tra Chang a superior product, and worth the extra cost.

-Paul W.

Tiparos is good, but is generally found around the middle of the pack in taste tests. It has sugar in it. I've heard Tra Chang is good, and Martha Stewart likes it.

What you want is a fish sauce with only two ingredients: anchovies and salt. No sugar, fructose, or hydrolyzed grain protein. I used to use Three Crabs brand (which has sugar and other stuff) and thought it was okay until I tasted what I use now: Golden Shell 45N. Night and day difference.

In most taste tests, Red Boat N40 is number one, and Squid brand is near or at the bottom. Red Door also gets high marks.

Bottom line: read the label and look for high N and only two ingredients. Many also say Vietnamese brands are superior. A premium brand is really tasty. I frequently add a few drops to dishes for extra umami. And it won't taste fishy.

Here's a link to one taste test: https://ourdailybrine.com/fish-sauce-taste-test/

I made pizza tonight with a spent sourdough starter (using my red grape starter) for the dough.

I made Chinese red-cooked chicken last night. The skimmed fat is about 1/3 cup of nice-looking schmaltz.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, sounds great; I am planning a red-cooked duck by the end of the week. Speaking of which, tonight I'm doing seared Thai-marinated duck breast on cabbage-ginger 'napoleons' made by stacking cooked gyoza wrappers. Will garnish with grilled green onions, lacking the bok choy I wish I had.

That Thai-marinated duck sounds wonderful. What's in your Thai marinade?

And what seasonings do you use in the red-cooked duck? Dark soy sauce, ginger, and onions, I presume, but what else? My red-cooked chicken recipe is Shanghai-style and very simple: dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, and onions. I usually throw in a star anise, too. The gravy is thin and soupy and very tasty over lots of rice.

-Paul W.

...on cabbage-ginger 'napoleons' made by stacking cooked gyoza wrappers...

Inventive! I may have to borrow this idea for a deconstructed Peking Duck, or something like that.

[Jenise]

That Thai-marinated duck sounds wonderful. What's in your Thai marinade?

And what seasonings do you use in the red-cooked duck? Dark soy sauce, ginger, and onions, I presume, but what else? My red-cooked chicken recipe is Shanghai-style and very simple: dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, and onions. I usually throw in a star anise, too. The gravy is thin and soupy and very tasty over lots of rice.

-Paul W.

To be honest, Paul, don't know re the duck breasts. Though I am a super-dedicated do-it-yourselfer and close to never buy anything pre-seasoned, these came that way from Hudson Valley Farms from whom I ordered a re-load on foie gras slices early last week. It was just a kind of a lark, to see what that tastes like. I'd never considered taking duck in a Thai direction myself. I'll report back! For the duck, what you describe as Shanghai style plus star anise.

[Jenise]

...on cabbage-ginger 'napoleons' made by stacking cooked gyoza wrappers...

Inventive! I may have to borrow this idea for a deconstructed Peking Duck, or something like that.

The result is very pretty--looks great on the plate. I copied it from a dish I had at Ming Tsai's restaurant. And the noodles are boiled, not fried/crispy.

I made Eggs Benedict again for breakfast. One of the tricks I've learned over the years is to crack each egg into a separate coffee cup. Then, when I have the cup just above the surface of the water, I tip some hot water into the cup before I drop the egg into the simmering water. It slightly precooks the eggs and helps prevent spreading.

And I made pizza again for dinner using the other half of the spent sourdough starter dough. I've made crackers out of spent starter (always looking for other uses--hate to throw it away) and I plan to try making crumpets, but the pizza starter dough worked so well, it's definitely a keeper.

When I make pizza, I move a rack to the top slot to replicate a pizza oven and crank up the oven as high as it goes. On the top rack I have a heavy and thick ceramic kiln shelf that holds heat well. Then I slide the pizza in on one of my wooden or metal peels. I use either cornmeal or rice flour on the peel to prevent sticking.