Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[jpalbny]

In case we hadn't eaten enough this past weekend... I decided to make duck ragu for dinner. The real version, not the quick version with ground meat that they serve in LT these days!

 

In preparation, we ate a light breakfast and skipped lunch.

 

It's not a difficult recipe but it takes time. Skinned duck legs get seared in olive oil. Then sautée some shallots, carrots, garlic, prosciutto, thyme, and rosemary in a bit of the leftover fat. The recipe calls for celery too, but Chris won't allow that in the house. 😉 

 

Once softened, add wine and porcini mushroom powder. Reduce, then add broth. I used homemade duck broth which I make in the instant pot after I cook a duck, and keep in the freezer for just such an occasion. 

 

Plop the seared legs into the mixture and braise in the oven as long as you can tolerate. We left the house for an hour to walk around the block so the smell wouldn't tempt us to eat it too soon!

 

Remove the legs and let cool while the sauce cooks down a bit more.

 

 

 

Then shred the meat with forks and fingers, and add to the sauce, along with Pecorino Romano. 

 

 

Here I deviated from the recipe, and also added some gremolata. Chopped parsley, lemon zest, freshly grated garlic, and a bit of anchovy paste. As if it wasn't rich enough...

 

 

I didn't have pappardelle, but tagliatelle was an OK substitute. Mix the pasta into the sauce, with the gremolata, and toss with some pasta water until the texture is just right before serving with a tasty red.

 

Before the final finish of more grated Pecorino.

 

 

It was worth the relatively minor effort. It did help that I have homemade broth available in the freezer. And the gremolata paid dividends. It really brightened the dish up considerably. 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by jpalbny

[broker1217]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

 

Yes ridiculous! I saw a piece of nondescript flank steak in the supermarket today as a markdown, sell by date today, for $9.99/#. Regular price was $13.99. For flank steak? Nuts.

We bought our last batch of hanger steak for ~$7/# untrimmed. Still less than $10/# after we trimmed. But that was last year before inflation really ramped up. We bought 35# I think and trimmed, then used vacuum sealer to freeze.

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

The recipe calls for celery too, but Chris won't allow that in the house. 

Lather those bad boys up in this and she’ll love that stalky parsley stuff.

[Stumblefoot]

Seeing all these beef comments and what many of you are paying per pound, I’m so fortunate that our family raises our own cattle (black and red angus), much like @RachelG’s family does.  

[rojaan19]

JP  if you lived closer  we would be around for dinner  !!  Y U M 💗

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

Seeing all these beef comments and what many of you are paying per pound, I’m so fortunate that our family raises our own cattle (black and red angus), much like @RachelG’s family does.  

I hope your home-grown Angus cattle is better than what we find in the supermarkets.  They seem to think that 'Angus' is a USDA rating all by itself, although occasionally I have seen it marked Choice.  Never Prime.  And IME it has never compared to real Prime.

[Daveywavey70]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

Lather those bad boys up in this and she’ll love that stalky parsley stuff.

What on earth is that?

[Stumblefoot]

49 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

What on earth is that?

You haven’t truly lived, have you? 😉

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I hope your home-grown Angus cattle is better than what we find in the supermarkets.  They seem to think that 'Angus' is a USDA rating all by itself, although occasionally I have seen it marked Choice.  Never Prime.  And IME it has never compared to real Prime.

Don’t write in riddles, Jazz. Say what you mean. Be clear.

[Daveywavey70]

8 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

You haven’t truly lived, have you? 😉

Obviously not. I Have heard legends from old sailors that in far off lands you may encounter cheese in a tin but I suppose I’d filed it alongside “here be dragons” and never expected to be confronted with the true horror of such atrocities. 

[Stumblefoot]

1 minute ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Obviously not. I Have heard legends from old sailors that in far off lands you may encounter cheese in a tin but I suppose I’d filed it alongside “here be dragons” and never expected to be confronted with the true horror of such atrocities. 

😆😆😆

What’ll truly horrify you is the fact it isn’t merely in a tin, but under pressure as well.  

[Daveywavey70]

1 minute ago, Stumblefoot said:

😆😆😆

What’ll truly horrify you is the fact it isn’t merely in a tin, but under pressure as well.  

Good grief! Is it like silly string? Well I suppose if I was stranded on a desert Island with a tin it could come in handy as a sunblock. Here’s a pic of my favourite local cheesemonger’s counter. The only pressure there is from the queue behind you as you work your way through the counter with a face like a miser in a goldmine. 

[Stumblefoot]

6 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Here’s a pic of my favourite local cheesemonger’s counter.

Now THAT is proper! But, I guarantee you, Chris isn’t eating celery with those fine specimens of pure dairy genius.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Stumblefoot

[Daveywavey70]

4 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Not THAT is proper! But, I guarantee you, Chris isn’t eating celery with those fine specimens of pure dairy genius.

I’m 100% with Chrys on that one. Celery is the work of the Devil. Those masterpieces of finely fermented and coagulated dairy deserve nothing less than a fresh loaf, a few good grapes, a sliver of home made quince jelly and a tot of Blandys. Crudités are as offensive as the name would suggest. 

[lincslady]

What comes out of that squeezy cheesy thing looks a bit as if someone is rather ill; utterly ghastly.  I bet jp uses it all the time in his refined dishes, though.

 

Lola

[SteveH2508]

3 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Obviously not. I Have heard legends from old sailors that in far off lands you may encounter cheese in a tin but I suppose I’d filed it alongside “here be dragons” and never expected to be confronted with the true horror of such atrocities. 

Anyone of a certain age who served in the British Army will remember this stuff.

 

[spinnaker2]

6 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

Lather those bad boys up in this and she’ll love that stalky parsley stuff.

Stumbles,  there’s an alternative to the above in case you cant find the can, there is the pricey stuff below, an import from Canada:

[drron29]

3 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

I’m 100% with Chrys on that one. Celery is the work of the Devil. Those masterpieces of finely fermented and coagulated dairy deserve nothing less than a fresh loaf, a few good grapes, a sliver of home made quince jelly and a tot of Blandys. Crudités are as offensive as the name would suggest. 

Our son wins prizes for his quince jelly. Was described once as the Prince of Quince.

[jpalbny]

The cheese-wiz comments were very funny to wake up to this morning! I don't use that stuff either. If anyone's interested, here's the duck ragu recipe:

 

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pappardelle-with-duck-ragu-curtis-stone

 

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[lincslady]

Or in my case - and lots of others, I know - two more hours.

 

Lola

[mysty]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Stumbles,  there’s an alternative to the above in case you cant find the can, there is the pricey stuff below, an import from Canada:

 

My kids used to love this stuff.  It was part of one of their favourite treats...ants on a log.

 

[Port Power]

2 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Stumbles,  there’s an alternative to the above in case you cant find the can, there is the pricey stuff below, an import from Canada:

Melt it with a touch of milk as sauce for macaroni cheese.  Yummm! We have the same “cheese spread” here in Australia.

[zqtchas]

Isn’t that the stuff they put on nachos?

[mysty]

29 minutes ago, zqtchas said:

Isn’t that the stuff they put on nachos?

 

Oh I sure hope not!