6 October 2009 by pat.

While purchasing ingredients for the ill-fated cassoulet, I went in search of a confit of duck legs (yes, I could have confitted them myself, but thought I’d save some time).Whitehouse Meats at the St. Lawrence Market has some cute little packages (alas, not transparent) of confit of duck. When I asked one of the butchers what the package contains, I was told it held two duck legs. For $12.99, I thought that seemed fair.As I was preparing to add it to the pot of beans, I discovered that there was only one leg in the vacuum-sealed pouch. Beware of buying food you can’t see!

Posted in Food - farmers' market, Food | 1 Comment »

6 October 2009 by pat.

The bean-counters have been in at Condé Nast for the last few months, and people have been tiptoeing around nervously. Even the editor of The New Yorker was spotted eating in the cafeteria — whether that was to be seen or to be seen not expensing expensive epicurean delights is up to him to say.Alas, they decided that Gourmet Magazine has to go. People have to clean out their desks immediately, and November’s issue will be the last (it’s probably already been printed, or is at the printers).Gourmet is gone: the companion website, Epicurious, is slated to remain open, and the magazine Bon Appetît will continue to publish.RIP: it was good to know you.

Posted in Food | 1 Comment »

6 October 2009 by pat.

I call myself blind because I haven’t attempted a cassoulet before.Do not, I implore you, follow that recipe I linked. The results are so bland I’ve had difficulties forcing myself to eat it. Actually, I ate it two and a half times, and put the rest in the city compost container.The recipe on Epicurious seems much better. As does practically any recipe that calls for reasonable amounts of herbs and spices. I should have worried when it only had 4 cloves of garlic, sliced in half, and one bouquet garni for enough cassoulet for 8 people.Even the recipe on The French Food and Cook seems a bit bland, but at least has bacon and 10 cloves of garlic.I’m going to have to try again. But right now, I’m just glad I didn’t serve it to my friends!

Posted in Food, recipes, Food | No Comments »

4 October 2009 by pat.

So many variations!It’s strange: some recipes are standard. Everyone knows them, knows the ingredients, knows the unchanging way to prepare them.Do a search on cassoulet recipes, and discover quite the opposite!It is definitely a Provençal meal over which writers wax poetic.I decided to test-drive a cassoulet recipe before doing it for company. I settled upon a fairly simple version, cut it in half, and, once it was mostly cooking (still have to add the sausages, which are browning in the oven, and the confit of duck legs in an hour) I started browsing other recipes.A mistake, perhaps?Doubts assail me.Oh no — I used a bouquet garni and this recipe calls for fresh thyme! And this one over here — it calls for more than twice as much garlic! Did I use enough salt? Pepper? I looked up the ingredients of Toulouse sausage, and it seems to be pretty standard breakfast sausages, so I used them. Was I wrong? Oh no! This recipe for Toulouse sausage has a lot more herbs! This recipe calls for goose fat, that one, olive oil.I have duck confit, and it’s hunting season, so I really should have used partridge! (I will when I do it for my friends).So I will cook, and taste, and then consider the variants and which way to take it next time, for my friends, on a blustery fall day.

Posted in Food, recipes, Food | No Comments »