October 23, 2021 Brunch - BLT Sandwich Snack - Cream Herring on Rye and BBQ Spare ribs, baked Mac and Cheese and green tomato chutney Dinner - Artichoke

 October 23, 2021 Brunch - BLT Sandwich   Snack - Cream Herring on Rye and BBQ Spare ribs, baked Mac and Cheese and green tomato chutney Dinner - Artichoke 

In the morning I watched a late goal by Leeds to tie Wolverhampton and then we walked to the farmers market and back home, 1.3 miles, my longest walk in the last two years.

When we returned home we fried six strips of thick cut bacon I bought at Smith’s on Wednesday.  Suzette sliced some tomatoes from our garden that we ripened in the kitchen window and I fetched the basil mayonnaise and green leaf lettuce.  Suzette sliced pieces of French Baguette and toasted them.  I then spread Mayo on them and then we garnished the bread with bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

I added some pickled leeks and dill pickles to mine.  Suzette drank a beer and I drank V-8 juice with juice of 1/2 lime. We enjoyed the beautiful warm morning as we ate our sandwiches in the garden.

After brunch we put the cover over the fish pond and then I lay down for a couple of hours.

When I got up at 4:00 I toasted two slices of rye bread and spread sour cream on them and then put fillets of pickled creamed herring on them.  I fetched an Oktoberfest beer and poured a shot glass of Aalborg aquavit.

Suzette came to the kitchen looking for something to snack on and reheated several ribs and some Mac and cheese from last night’s dinner at the Bistro.

I finished the ribs, and Mac and cheese leftovers from dinner after I ate the herring snack.

We got dressed and went to the symphony, arriving at 6:00 just a minute or two before it began playing.  There was a gentleman sitting in one of our seats in a group with four others, who had to move over one seat each which was quite funny.  The program included a lovely Sibelius violin concerto played by the great violinist, Rachel Barton Pine, and Dvorak’s energetic 8th symphony. Dvorak’s 9th “New World Symphony” is one of my favorites, which was written just after the 8th.  Unfortunately, his 8th is dominated by a Bohemian folk song theme and a sort of bird song theme that does not express the powerful theme of the 9th, in my opinion.

After the symphony we met Nancy and Cliff for dinner at Artichoke.

None of us was hungry.  They had eaten a late lunch at the Territorial House restaurant.  

So we decided on separate checks for each couple. They split a 1/2 roasted chicken served on polenta and a Mixed greens salad and Nancy ordered a glass of Chardonnay.  Suzette ordered the buttera appetizer and I ordered the Duck Rillette served in a small 4 oz. jar on a plate with a small pile of seeded Dijon mustard, cornichons, and pickled ginger.

Duck rillette

Chicken with Polenta

                                                  Ssuzette’s Buttera

Here is the recipe for duck rillette: Oc

aromatic duck rillettes recipe

These rillettes are perfect for appetizers with a cocktail or for hostess gifts during the holidays (or both!)

Course Appetizer

Cuisine French

Keyword duck, pate

Prep Time 1 hour 30 min

Cook Time 7 hours

Servings 16

ingredients

• 1 whole duck about 6 pounds

for spice rub

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 generous teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 heaping teaspoons dried thyme

for the aromatics

• 12 cloves garlic crushed and peeled
• 3- inch knob of fresh ginger don't worry about peeling, sliced into quarter inch pieces
• 3-4 bay leaves
• peel from an orange no white pith
• 1 large bunch of fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

to assemble rillettes

• cold duck meat
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cognac or brandy
• 2 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
• 2-3 tablespoons warm duck fat from the duck you've roasted
• 2 tablespoons warm duck stock from the duck you've roasted
• 2 teaspoons parsley chopped
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustarad
• dash of cayenne pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

for (optional) garnish

• additional orange zest
• black pepper
• parsley leaves

special equipment

• 4-6 ramekins canning jars or other half-pint sized crocks

instructions

• Heat oven to 250 degrees.
• In a small bowl mix together the kosher salt, black pepper and dried thyme. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine the garlic, ginger, bay leaves, orange peel, thyme and peppercorns. Toss to combine with your hands. Set aside.
• Place the duck in a roasting pan. Sprinkle the inside of the duck cavity with 1/3 of the spice rub. Sprinkle 1/3 on the back of the duck. With your hands, insert the potpourri fully into the duck cavity. Sprinkle duck breast with the remaining 1/3 of the spice rub. 
  
• Place the duck in the oven and cook for 7 hours, or until the duck meat is easy to pull away from the bones. Note: this low, slow method of cooking will render copious amounts of duck fat and jellied stock and may fill 1/3 of the baking dish. That's what you want.
• Lift the duck and drain any fluids from it. Transfer to a cutting board. Place a sieve over a quart sized jar or other storage container and pour the drippings and stock through the strainer. Seal with a lid and refrigerate.
  
• Remove the skin from the duck. Remove the flesh from the duck and transfer it to a sealed storage container and refrigerate overnight. You can discard the skin and bones from the duck (or keep them and make a really good duck stock).
  
• Remove the stock/fat jar from the refrigerator. They will have separated into two distinct layers. The top is duck fat and the bottom layer is duck stock. Use a spoon to scoop out the top layer of duck fat and transfer to another container. You'll use a little bit of each for this recipe -- the rest can be saved for other uses (plenty of duck fat/stock recipes here).
  

if using a stand mixer:

• Transfer the duck meat to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cognac, softened butter, parsley, orange zest, dijon mustard and cayenne pepper.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of duck fat and 2 tablespoons of the broth to the duck meat.
  
• Attach the paddle attachment on the stand mixer and mix on a low speed until meat breaks apart and is incorporated with the other ingredients. 2-3 minutes.
  

if mixing by hand:

• Use a wooden spoon and work the meat mixture into the other ingredients, until it's a fairly smooth consistency and all the ingredients are well combined.
  
• Fill half-cup ramekins or canning jars with the duck mixture. Smooth the tops with the back of a spoon.
• Top the aromatic duck rillettes with optional garnish and seal the rillettes with 1-2 tablespoons of additional duck fat. Cover and refrigerate for several days and up to a week for the flavors to marry.
  
• Serve with crackers or crostini and a cocktail!

notes

Crazy as it sounds -- my duck yielded 4 half-pint crocks. 

Suzette ordered a glass of German Riesling and I ordered a glass of Elk Cove Pinot Gris.  I am afraid I made a scene about the wine. It did not taste like Elk Cove Pinot Gris. It tasted like a Chardonnay. So I tasted Suzette’s glass of wine and it tasted like a German Riesling.  So I rejected the first glass that the waiter brought because I had tasted malolactic fermentation in the first glass where there should not have been any.  So, I asked him to bring the bottle of Elk Cove and pour me a sip.  When I tasted the sip he poured from the bottle it tasted like Elk Cove Pinot Gris, so I asked him to pour a glass from the bottle. I thoroughly enjoyed the second glass.  I guess after our experience at Scalo I don’t trust anyone.

After dinner we said goodnight and drove home, arriving at 10:00.

I took the venison out of the fridge and the container of pistachio ice cream and ate a bowl of ice cream for dessert.  

Suzette went to bed soon after we returned home.

I watched Saturday Night Live and the Texas Tech v. Kansas State football game for a while and then went to bed after midnight.  They re-broadcast the most competitive college football game on late night TV every Saturday night. In this game Kansas State beat Texas Tech 25 to 24.

Bon Appetit

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