The what, when, how much stuff used for each dish
They spoke to me at the marche. I thought they needed to be stuffed. Stuffed with
Ground pork
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Toms
Zuch innards
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Oregano
A dash of chook stock
Some white wine
Salt
Pep
And baked in a typical oven with a little zucchini hat.
Stuffed zucchini, it’s what’s for dinner.
One time, after lunch, we needed some dessert. Sometimes, you need dessert and you didn’t plan for this need ahead of time. It was then we realized that you melt chocolate in a pan and dip darn near anything in it. Voila! Dessert. Not just any chocolate will do the job. “Chocolat Dessert” is what the marches in France call it ( duh, I should have figured this out long ago ). In America, I think it’s called baker’s chocolate. Or you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips. I always have melting chocolate on hand because it lasts in the pantry and has the added bonus of dessert potential at any moment. With the shops closed through the two hour lunch and finish the day at seven, you need to plan sweet cravings ahead of time.
Usually we do a slow melt with a spot of cream and a dash of salt. Tonight, I added two new friends
Sweetened condensed milk
Vanilla extract
Then, magic happened.
I didn’t take notes on the ratio, but I think this chocolate sauce is something you feel. You can serve it over a cottage cake ( not very sweet, heavy on the butter )
Or if cake isn’t your thing, spoon it.
Or if you’re six, eat what’s on your plate and save some for later.
E.O.M.
I think this is a Bibb lettuce in America. It’s not bitter in the slightest and does justice to the guacamole I made. I’ve never taken to the chip- guacamole dip extravaganza. I was more interested in the guac over the chip. When you make a quick lunch based on the guacamole you made last night, it must involve bacon and cream. Had I not eaten all the salsa last night, that would have trifecta-ed the dish. But the salsa was not hugely missed as the green goob of yum was the star ingredient.
Should you cook too much bacon and your partner in cured flesh eating crime has taken a nap, you can skip the fancy greens and load your fried, poitrine fumee with Mr. Green. It’s all good.
Guacamole:
Ripe avocados
Lemon
Garlic
Salt
Pep
Cilantro ( only a dash because my husband is one of those “cilantro tastes like soap” people. )
I feel bad, sometimes, that I have a surplus of duck fat. I have friends in America who finally find a duck fat source and they buy two little pots ( were I there, I would do the same ). I’m guessing they ration it as I can imagine duck fat being an effort to purchase. I’ll bet it’s expensive too. I have duck fat everywhere at the moment. Leftover from confit. Leftover from duck breasts that Brent cooked. Bags and Ikea bags full in my freezer. I have a jar of duck fat by my stove. I tossed some duck fat out for the birds. Our friend is a duck farmer, can you tell?
So when it comes to leftover mash, nothing ties a dish together like duck fat. Potatoes and duck fat are a match made in culinary heaven ( or whatever ethereal culinary nirvana you believe in ).
In these cakes:
Leftover mash:
Pots
Butter
Creme fraiche
Cream
Salt
Pepper
Next Day Cakes:
One farm fresh egg
Dash o’ salt
Duck fat in hot pan
Medium heat to get a little puff, then turn it up a bit to brown and get it all cakey-like.
Potatoes are not a frequent side on our family table, but when the root veg does a service clinging cream and fat together, I have no issue serving.
This dish was made with the doors wide open. The sun is shining. The retriever is opportunistically positioned.
I suppose we’ve opportunistically positioned our farm in duck country.
Have you hugged your local duck farmer today?
That’s not beef, it’s pork. Black Gascon pork. Bigorre Noir. A lovely, tasty beast that was pastured and culled for our table. We also have a jambon seche in the cellar working magic before it’s ready to fold into our menu.
This pork roast got all roasty roasty last night and will appear as dinner when it does some time with my quick sauce.
Served with simple broccoli and some dauphin pots, bellies will be filled.
Sunny, warm with a gentle breeze. Kids are home for another week of vacation. I have a pile of duck legs to process as well as some ground pork. My lunch hours will be spent cooking chili and tending to my confit. The weather is telling us more sun and more warm. Our future looks bright. Here, I yam.
I love deveining foie gras. It means that we will be having foie gras for dinner.
Brent did the cooking this evening. He kept it simple with with a hot pan for a sizzle on each side. He peppered. He salted, but he used big salt which really gave it that something.
Served with a Pat original chutney involving green and red tomatoes. Some left over potato purée, just a wee bit, allowed you to do a foie gras, chutney, potato purée layering on your fork for a bite beyond bites. So good. Wish you were here. With foie gras, you need to perfect the balance of salt, sweet and spice. I thought the chutney version did the trick without all the work of fancy sauces. Okay, four more livers to go and we may get our consistency on.
There is a song – “Burgers and Beans” – Minty will sing it for you. To the same tune you can also appreciate “pork and peas” as well as “spicy beef and chutney that I won’t eat because I’m holding out for the fish sticks.” Classic Curtis hits available for download soon.
We’re not serving beans with these burgers. Our family friends in the villa next door are leaving so we prepared a few other fixens to go with the burgers.
The burgers will be lovely just the same.
I fry my burgers in lard. So should you. Don’t be frightened. Lard, you see, is good for you.
Burgers Stuffed With:
3 eggs
Garlic
Onions
Dried green onion
Basil
Oregano
Parm
Salt
Pep
Made into burgers, fried in lard
Okay boys, dinner time!
… They can’t hear me because their Internet is off. Ug. I suppose I’ll need to, like, knock.
He said, “simmer sauce” when asked about curry. I felt that if I had fur that would rise when threatened, it would have been locked and loaded. Unaware of my sensitivity to curry, I think I’ve moved beyond M. Patek and his simmer sauce companions. Cheap turmeric with cumin buddies and preservatives are no match for curry made with freshly roasted or ground, or roasted and ground spices. So simple, so available yet passed by, pushed aside by stomaches in search of ready-meals. Look, if you want to sizzle up sex in a pan, it will involve onions, garlic and ginger. Throw this melange at any protein be it beef, pork, tofu or chickpeas, you will arrive at yum. An amazing yum. A yum so strong you might feel like staying a bit longer. Add ground cumin and a bit of ground coriander. Don’t forget the salt. And whoops, there go the panties. Follow up with some cardamom ice cream and you have, well I don’t know what you have, but you’re on your way.
I don’t care if I’ve said this before, but please, friends, don’t let friends use “simmer sauce.” They’ll say they don’t have the time. They’ll say they don’t have the recipe. This is shit. Pull it together, pick up your life and make curry from scratch. Make curry with love. Make curry with the spices they are ready for. This sex is on fire. All you need to do is start with onions, garlic and ginger.
This pork is Delectable Pork in a Mustard Spice Mix. I didn’t even have the mustard seed and it worky so goody.
Girl On Grill Action 