A few weeks ago my mom and step-father were in town for a visit to see our new house and help get some stuff in order (my step-father’s an awesome carpenter) and while they were here I roasted a duck for dinner, but this isn’t about the delicious roast duck dinner I made. It’s about the realization I had when I noticed I could purchase a whole duck for the price of one boneless duck breast. As I do more and more home-curing I’m inclined to pay attention to being more efficient and economical. I wanted to make some duck prosciutto for Christmas but instead of taking the quick way and buying one breast to make it I’d get a whole duck and fillet the breasts off. As a bonus I’d also make some duck confit, get some duck fat, and make some awesome stock. A real tip to tail operation!Continue reading “Duck Confit – And a Few Other Things You Can Do With a Whole Duck”
Creamed Onions, or if you want to be fancy, Blanquette d’Oignon!
So last week was Thanksgiving here in the USA and every year there are always new recipes intending to “update” or “modernize” old classics. That’s all fine and well but after last week’s dinner it has occurred to me most people really like the old school dishes which they grew up with and nothing will ever replace them. This creamed onion recipe from my mom’s recipe book is just one of those dishes.Continue reading “Creamed Onions, or if you want to be fancy, Blanquette d’Oignon!”
Pecan Toffee Crumble – A Simple Topper for Your Sweet Potatoes
On Monday nights I usually participate in a Twitter-chat called Foodiechats* which runs for about 2 hours where the moderator asks questions based on the night’s theme. This past Monday’s chat was, of course, Thanksgiving themed and one of the questions asked if you try new recipes or stick with tried and true. I feel I stick with the tried and true but after going over my to-do list for this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner I realized there’s one side dish I do experiment with; the sweet potatoes. After trying out a few different ways to jazz them up over the past couple years I returned to the one I knew worked best and was the simplest: a pecan toffee crumble. Continue reading “Pecan Toffee Crumble – A Simple Topper for Your Sweet Potatoes”
A Twist on a Classic Sandwich – BLT Salad
Last weekend I was in between showings with some clients and decided to stop home for a quick lunch. While driving I was making a mental check of what we had and realized all the ingredients for that classic of classic sandwiches, the BLT, were sitting in the fridge. The only kink in my plan was the tomatoes were the small grape ones. Then, inspiration reared her beautiful head. I’d dice up everything, mix them all together and make BLT salad.Continue reading “A Twist on a Classic Sandwich – BLT Salad”
The Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Ever!
This was one of my first posts when I started this blog a year ago and seeing as how Thanksgiving is just two weeks away I’m re-posting it, and I’ve added some pics I took when I made it last year to go along with the “recipe.”
Every Thanksgiving the one thing I look forward to most is the stuffing. I really could care less about the turkey. For me that is the vessel by which you cook the stuffing.
This is the stuffing my Grandmother (on my father’s side) made and we used to have it every year. It was one of the first recipes of hers I took from my mother. As with many grandmothers, the things she cooked were normally not written down in recipe form, it was all a pinch of this, a couple of these, etc. (as you’ll see). Thankfully, my mother recorded them as best she could when she was learning them. I had a pretty special bond with my Grandmother, we had the same birthday, and I remember her a lot around this time of year when I make this recipe and her special Hungarian Christmas “cookies” in December.Continue reading “The Best Thanksgiving Stuffing Ever!”
Getting Colder Outside, Make a Hearty Vegetable Garbure!
Your first question is what the heck is a vegetable garbure? Short answer: a ham and vegetable French peasantry stew. Long answer: a French stew I found in Ruhlman’s Twenty which enabled me to use up the bacon rind I’ve been saving in the freezer from the last time I made bacon. Doesn’t it always seem like the peasant dishes you find turn out to be intensely hearty and sustaining? This is what makes them really good for fall and winter. They’re typically dishes which use scraps and leftovers, are simmered for hours, and develop intense flavors. Vegetable garbure is one of those peasant dishes I’m adding to the rotation whenever I cure some bacon.Continue reading “Getting Colder Outside, Make a Hearty Vegetable Garbure!”
48 hours in Amsterdam
After the big wedding in Edinburgh a couple weekends ago Cheryl and I decided to do some relaxing in Amsterdam. Neither one of us had been to the Dutch city so we were pretty excited. We weren’t going to be there very long, just a couple of days, before taking an overnight ferry to Newcastle for a Europa league match, but long enough to do some leisurely exploring. Continue reading “48 hours in Amsterdam”
Oink Edinburgh! Awesome Pork Sandwich in Edinburgh, Scotland
Postcard from abroad: There is one place Cheryl and I always stop in at whenever we travel to Edinburgh, Scotland. Oink. It’s a little shop on Victoria Street close to the Royal Mile and the Castle which serves up great roast pork sandwiches. Once you get to Victoria Street just look for the big roast pig sitting in the window. That’s how you’ll know you’ve found Oink.Continue reading “Oink Edinburgh! Awesome Pork Sandwich in Edinburgh, Scotland”
Homemade Garlic Sausage – No Turning Back Now!
I did it. I made some sausage. The old saying goes something like: “you never want to watch laws or sausages being made.” Having lived and worked in our nation’s capital for over a decade before moving to Chicago I can honestly say making sausage is much easier than making laws and absolutely tastier. If you’ve been following me (you haven’t? why not?) you know I’ve been trying to teach myself some advanced kitchen skills lately and my new subject is the art/craft of charcuterie. As with every adventure you start off by putting one foot in front of the other so I began slowly with some home-cured bacon and duck prosciutto which both turned out well and encouraged me to continue through the looking-glass to my real goal: sausage. This next step became inevitable with the arrival of a meat grinder last month for my birthday from my in-laws. Giddy-up.Continue reading “Homemade Garlic Sausage – No Turning Back Now!”
Pumpkin Risotto – Another Flavor of Fall
It sure has gotten cold recently here in Chicago. Time for a hearty warm dish which reflects the autumn season upon us: pumpkin risotto. Yes, pumpkin risotto. The great pumpkin’s time is now (just ask Linus). My unofficial pumpkin season starts in late September and ends at Thanksgiving. That Thanksgiving pumpkin pie is usually the last pumpkin dish I’ll make for almost a year. Right now we’ve got pumpkin beer, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin bread, etc., so get your fill during this brief fall window! Continue reading “Pumpkin Risotto – Another Flavor of Fall”
The Roaming GastroGnome 