Fowl - - Page 20

by BS

Don’t Worry, That Duck Bacon Hasn’t Gone Bad Yet

So I have to admit, I’ve been less of a crazy chef since moving back home to New York. When not surrounded by 10 like-minded culinarians living on the same block, I’m a lot less likely to come up with insanity like hot dog sushi. If I’m just cooking for myself, I often end up preparing a non-blog-worthy sandwich, salad or stir-fry. Which kind of sucks, because, you know, I have a food blog.

But this week, I finally got around to watching the Top Chef Holiday Special on DVR. In addition to such scenes as Padma playing Dirty Santa (not nearly as exciting as it sounds), it got me right back into the mood to be running around my kitchen, hastily throwing random ingredients together in attempts to semi-invent something semi-fancy. Remembering I had some awesome leftovers like duck bacon in the freezer, I put together this quickfire dinner.

If I was Rachel Ray, I’d call it a gourmet 30-minute meal. But then I would have to tell you dumbass things like its OK to substitute baloney for prosciutto, so let’s just call it a tortellini explosion.

by BS

The Secret Club of Matzo

Ho-ho-happy Hanukkah boys and girls. During Last J-New Year, gansie had a few problems putting together that iconic dish, matzo ball soup. So for the greater good of the ES society, I have decided to share this stunning family recipe, in the hopes of creating a better holiday season for all.

After, the jump, a matzo ball soup recipe, straight from my Aunt Helene (via my grandmother). The secret: Club soda. Say Wha? My aunt insists that soaking the balls in club soda, NOT cold water, is the only way to get that perfect, fluffy consistency.

Mazel Tov, and good luck finding some chicken fat at your local grocers.

in Fowl 9 comments

by gansie

Thanks-gay-ing

Editors Note: Don’t worry, the Thanksgiving posts will soon be over.
Here’s a review of Britannia’s meal of thanks.

Turkeyday in DC, and as the English dude, I’m the *obvious* host. Irony alright. The following is the outcome of mixing a bunch of gays, food, holiday and alcohol.

Roasted Pumpkin Stew

Roast a bunch of vegetables – leek, fennel, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, garlic, onion. Add the roasted vegetables to a pot of wine, water, and porcini mushrooms, and let stew. Strain the stew to create a stock. Turn the stock into a sauce by making a roux. Roast celeriac, parsnips, fennel, carrots, and shallots. Hollow out the pumpkin, added a bit of the aforementioned sauce, and roast in oven with olive oil and seasonings for an hour. Add roasted vegetables to pot of seitan and forest mushroom/chanterelles. Put vegetable/mush/seitan sauce into pumpkin and let roast until hot. Serve.

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Rutabaga and Carrots Mash

Who said rutabaga can’t be fun and yummy, steam with equal parts carrots, drain, add butter, cream and s&p then mash, mash away. You’ll get this tasty yummy healthy treat. (butter is healthy, damn you)

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Roasted Potatoes

These roasties are a great alternative to the mash or sweet potatoes, peel and boil the spuds for twenty minutes, drain then shake in the pot until the potatoes are all fluffy, throw in the oven with lots of evoo, fresh chives, garlic and the usual seasoning, s&p. Roast until golden brown, about an hour and a half.

More recipes post jump.

in Desserts / Fowl / Holiday / Veggie 3 comments

by BS

You Had Me at Duck Bacon

So my new place in Brooklyn is a stone’s throw from Park Slope, the yummy mummy capital of the world, and the epicenter of vegan cupcakes, organic everything, $12 coffees, etc…the obvious first order of business was whether to join the Park Slope Food Co-op. There’s plenty of info around the internets about how awesome and awful this place is, so I’ll just summarize. Pros: Quality yuppie food at prices lower than Whole Paycheck; Cons: Soviet-style work policy.

After sitting through an indoctrination orientation session, I browsed through the store. While I was somewhat taken with the organic asparagus from Argentina and no-peel Kiwi berries, it wasn’t until I hit the meat section that I knew I was joining. Bison steaks, grass-fed filet mignon, salami, salami, salami, and OMG, WTF is duck bacon?

in Bacon / Endless Bacon / Fowl / Personal 6 comments

by BS

John Mayer is Douchiest Food Blogger Ever

Normally we here at endless simmer like to support our fellow food bloggers – we’d much rather feud with nerdier bloggers and/or stalk pedigreed reporters. But the latest guy to join the food blogging circle is just a little too much to take. “Your Body is a Wonderland” singer John Mayer already covers plenty of pressing topics on his surprisingly addictive blog, including a recent in-depth analysis of O.J.’s watch and a loving note to the 63 PEOPLE ARRESTED AT HIS LAST CONCERT (no, it’s still not illegal to listen to John Mayer, there were just a lot of boozed up 12-year-old girls at his show).

Now, Mayer has begun sharing photos of his meals, and he claims it to be his most successful blogging experiment yet. Apparently, the public is intensely hungry to know what John had for dinner last night and the night before that. He’s not cooking, and he doesn’t even tell us where these tasty treats are from, just shows us what he eats on a daily basis. The best part is, these valuable photos have been watermarked, with rights reserved, to prevent their reproduction. Screw that. If this blog is gonna go down, what better way to do it than because of illicit reproduction of John Mayer’s duck shepherd’s pie?

More celeb eating news on Endless Simmer…

Paris vs. Sofia Champagne in a Can Smackdown

Ryan Gosling Melting Fewer Hearts, More Kraft Singles

Mario Batali Doing Gwyneth?

Who is the Eater of the Year?

in Celebs / Fowl / Photos 11 comments

by BS

National Gluttony Day: T Minus Twenty

Now that ~~Halloween~~ National Slut Day is over, we can start officially planning for the biggest foodie celebration of the year: National Gluttony Day, a.k.a. Thanksgiving. Some news and views to get the ball rolling:

– The hard-hitting investigators over at Cook’s Illustrated have announced that the best-tasting turkey on the market is (gasp!) frozen. [Epi Log]

– Red Alert! Our global gluttony dominance may be under threat from the rising power of South Africa. A group of Pretoria bakers recently smashed the world record for largest pumpkin pie ever, creating a 1.5-ton monstrosity that bested the record set by Ohioan farmers two years ago. [Slashfood]

– Personally, I’ve always been a believer in the “it doesn’t get any better than stovetop” school of stuffing thought. But if you’re more inclined to drop some fancy, BA has some recipes for prosciuttoing, shrooming, and sageing up your stuffing. [Bon Appetite]

Cartoon: Humor Matters

in Desserts / Fowl 3 comments

by gansie

Hallofoodie

Although slutty costumes are currently on the rise for the tween trick-or-treaters, us mature Hween celebrants have chosen to showcase our love for ghosts and pumpkins through food inspired get-ups.

Highlights: