I made extra peas, and as of right now, the extra peas are in the liquid. I did toss the veg, which seemed spent. I believe the smoked turkey is supposed to be added back, but I was using the tails, and kept them aside for the cook. I don’t think they would have been well received by the rest of the fam.
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Correct. Have you ever purchased skin-on duck breast from Wegmans? Because I might try that sometime.
The duck breast I got was frozen, vacuum sealed product purchased from one of our area farms. (I’d rather not name them as everything else we’ve bought has been impeccably processed.)
Their website discloses that the ducks are raised by another farm up in Maine, and that some feathers will likely be encountered due to the challenge of removing duck feathers. I guess the bigger purveyors have access to specialized equipment?
After the holidays, I am planning to mention this to the farm team. I have a hunch that the duck breast I purchased was extra feathery.
A good result though much more fiddly than I bargained for.
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I wound up braising in water because I wanted to taste the Swiss chard. Olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar to finish because I think lentils are happier with a lift of brightness from balsamic or lemon juice.
I do want to try red wine braised lentils—maybe these?—but had extra work with that duck.
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Thanks. Agree about the tails - I have not a whole lot of use for them except to add some flavor. But hereabouts I fairly often see smoked turkey thighs/wings/neckbones and those are a great addition to hambone type soups. Especially the thighs when I can get them (sporadically; not sure why they’re not there more often).
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Thanks. Growing up, our family Sunday dinner was always served on this, “the good china”, so I have many happy memories tied to it.
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Yes, they have the D’Artagnan brand. At most, I’ve found 1 or 2 pin feathers on the edge of the skin which are easily pulled out. I’ll be going there tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll check their duck breasts, but I’ve had very good luck with the D’Artagnan brand. There was a short period of time that they were only stocking Maple Leaf Farms’ brand, which doesn’t have as good a flavor. Thankfully they brought back D’Artagnan.
Makes sense that larger brands are using equipment that get most of the feathers pulled out.
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Classic PR Coquito. Much prefer this over eggnog, TBH.
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For what I pay for duck around here (frozen, of course) it had better not have any feathers!
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There’s a coconut milk eggnog in a tetrapak available in the health food aisle.
, which might be closer to Coquito. Have not tried it. (It’s on sale right now 
)
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Duck is often on sale for really cheap, especially frozen ducks near the frozen turkeys, right after Xmas and NYD around here.
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The whole ducks at Costco range from 23 to 28 dollars per duck. They’re less expensive than the whole organic chickens. If you butcher them yourself, they’re a good deal.
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I don’t shop at Costco anymore.
I’m just mentioning the ducks are cheap this time of year, at least in Ontario, in case anyone finds duck typically too expensive.
I buy most of my duck at Farm Boy, year-round, where the duck legs from Brome Lake cost $5-$7 each, and are sometimes on sale for less. I have also found duck legs at Sobeys for around $5-$7 a leg.
When I buy a whole duck, I occasionally buy them at Farm Boy when they have them (mostly around Thanksgiving) for around $20. I have also bought frozen or fresh ducks at Loblaws for $15-$20, and fresh ducks at Sanagan’s Meat Locker in Toronto for $25-$30.
Next time with turkey roasting I will do initial 475° then 300° for the rest.
Anyone doing NYE’s dinner?
I’ve had to travel for holidays the past few years, and it’s left me wanting to do something for NYE as I’ll be home. I’ve always wanted to go with tapas style.
I saw a recipe for blue cheese and date croquettes in The New Spanish Table and I wanted to try them just because it’s been so long since I’ve had blue cheese anything. I’m not much of a fan, but in the right context blue cheese can be delicious, and these sounded enticing.
Unfortunately I’m not sure how I feel about them. I have liked all recipes from Anya von Bremzen, so I went with the four ounces she called for and I think it’s just a bit too much. I think they’re not bad and sort of like them, but they are strong and not likely to be loved by many. I will be making ham and cheese croquettes to cover .
Also on the menu:
Pumpkin arancini
Fried calamari with marinara
Crostini with a zucchini and bell pepper jam
Deviled eggs with shrimp salad
Possibly stuffed mushrooms
Maybe pepperoni garlic knots
I have to confirm I can get certain ingredients or might want to switch certain items, so I can’t be certain just yet.
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Duck breast with a tangy blackberry sauce. Not sure of the sides and/or dessert yet.
And blue cheese is one of those cheeses that, for me, has to be a very mild blue. Or used in a minimal quantity in a recipe.
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I’ve never made the blue cheese and date croquettes. I used to stuff medjool dates with blue cheese, white cheddar or brie. I’d wrap some with bacon for meat eaters. Bake until the bacon is done on the bacon wrapped ones, or bake until the cheese melts on the plainer stuffed date.
That was a standard hors d’ouevres at my Christmas Open House party for around 5 years. I remember I also brought them to a NYE party in 2018. I haven’t been to a big NYE house party since that one, so it’s memorable.
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I’m not a fan of blue cheese on its own, but combined with port it’s a match made in heaven!
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We’re hosting foodie friends and their picky mini-mes for NYE. We’ll be grazing from about 4:00 pm on with staggered arrivals. Current menu:
Local goat Brie
Homemade blackberry jam
Italian croccantini crackers
Mezze tray
Cacio e pepe popcorn
Cabot aged cheddar and ww Ritz crackers
Dried figs/dates
Cincinnati chili in crock pot
Buttered spaghetti in IP on warm
Hot dogs in mini crock pot
Marinara sauce w/frozen meatballs (for kids)
Sour cream
Shredded colby cheese
Chopped onion
Kidney/pink beans
Hot sauce
Oyster crackers
Fritos
Hot dog buns
Mustard
Ketchup
Salad - friend is bringing a platter with sweet crunchy lettuce and blue cheese or ranch dressing
Chocolate and sea salt caramel mini cookies
Pistachio olive oil Bundt cake
Tinned Danish butter cookies
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Sounds amazing!
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I wanted to order take-out lamb from a nicer upscale restaurant tonight, since I will make Beef Wellington for NYE, and we had halibut last night. I am feeling burnt out from cooking a lot. I’d often order duck as a fancy take-out meal. We ate goose on Xmas, Boxing Day and the 28th, so I don’t want to order duck. I ordered take-out sushi and pork katsu on the 27th, so I don’t want to order pork or seafood.
Two of us don’t eat venison or bison.
So, it’s lamb.
Well. The nicer restaurants that I like don’t have lamb on the menu, or it’s made in a way I don’t want for a special anniversary dinner.
I think I’ll probably buy some lamb and roast it myself.
These are 3 of the nicer menus in London, Ontario. I’m getting to the point that I like my own cooking for special occasions better than what the nicest upscale continental restaurants in my 483 000 person Canadian ciy are serving. We have lots of good non-continental restaurants that are low-mid range, but they are not at the quality level ingredient-wise that I would like for a special occasion.
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