I had to write about the adventure the Fiance and I undertook by attempting duck for dinner for the third time a couple weeks ago.  The first two times I made duck, I overcooked it to the point of well, death.  It was entirely inedible.  I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to get this meal right - after all, I roast chicken on a regular basis!  As a result of the wasted meals, I’ve been afraid to go to all the effort to pay for, prep and serve duck. What’s the point if it’s something I just can’t do? With the support of my lovely partner though, we tried it once again.  This time served with an orange, honey and kumquat sauce.  It was unbelievable!!! I wanted to post about the amazing duck experience as a lesson to a) not give up on an entire food source out of fear and b) to remember that practice clearly makes perfect.  Doesn’t that duck look scrumptious?

Now, I still think duck is really fatty and quite heavy, so it won’t be a regular protein in this household.  It is a special treat, and one that made us both step back and say - whoa, maybe we can cook.  It also was a good lesson about cooking together as a team.  We carefully prepped the whole duck, worked slowly on the sauce and discussed our approach to the sides.  Another tip, we saved all (and there was a lot) of the leftover duck fat, and made duck fat french fries to accompany the leftover peach chutney duck sandwiches on rye. The leftovers were almost more amazing then the original meal.  Duck was affordable, local, and a fun way to revisit something I vowed never to make again.

Just a little post to say duck isn’t a mystery after all…  it just takes a little effort, and the right attitude.

Who knew?

Uncategorized Add new tag, Foodie, Sunday night cooking

In my latest food trend project, I have been making an effort to cook one amazing meal on the weekend, but include strategic ingredients to facilitate yummy leftovers throughout the week and reduce the amount of cooking I need to do. Now, don’t get me wrong - I LOVE to cook, but my new busy lifestyle makes it a little difficult to make fantastic meals every night of the week.

So, I’ve been approaching weekend cooking in a large-batch-transition-cooking style.  So this doesn’t just mean cook enough food that you’re eating the same thing for 5 days, as that route inevitably gets tiring, boring, and leads to takeout*.  I’ve found success with thinking through the week, buying some extra groceries, but doing the bulk of the quality, preparatory cooking on the weekend.  I have found success making large roasted chicken meals.  Keep in mind that I intentionally bought a bigger chicken that the two of us need for one or two meals (I have also in the past bought two chickens and took the time to roast them together, knowing I’d do something creative with roasted chicken); same goes with the amount of veggies bought / cooked. My transition week looked like this:

• Sunday: Roasted chicken with cranberry red wine glaze, roasted sweet potatoes, arugula salad with pancetta (alternate: with sides of asparagus and Quinoa)
• Monday - Chicken soup with homemade broth (Nonna’s recipe - must include LOTS of parm-reggiano!).  If you make the broth the night before, the soup is as simple as boiling water and adding small noodles and cheese to the broth!
• Tuesday - Cranberry Chicken Salad sandwiches (topped with arugula) and served with leftover sweet potato puree or cous cous.  Basically, I chop up small pieces of leftover chicken, mix with sour cream, Dijon, cumin powder and cranberries.  Serve with whatever bread on hand, or on top of a salad.
• Wednesday - Basil chicken and asparagus penne in a cremini mushroom cream sauce.  You don’t need a ton of leftover chicken, just enough to mix with veggies and add to a cream sauce.  This 30-minute meal will taste like you cooked it for hours (and technically, you did!)
• Thursday: Leftover basil chicken penne (make enough the day before).

What are your large-batch meals?  Is large batch cooking really a trend or is it common practise and something the busy professional in me just figured out?

*note: There are some meals so well made that you’re completely willing to eat the same thing for 5 days straight.  These meals look like contenders for that category - I plan to try them out and report back soon:

Lasagna by Kevin

5 Second Rule’s Ragu

Foodie at Fifteen’s Beer braised Short Ribs

Foodie Foodie, Sunday night cooking