All posts tagged: duck

duck confit

Making Duck Confit at Home in Gascon Style: Ultimate Slow Food, A Tradition to Preserve

Published by

Yes, I repeat. Duck Confit is the easiest yet the most misunderstood food in the world. Let me explain why in this post and show to how to tackle the most sublime epicurean delight, which some might consider ‘too classic’. But as a devoted listener of A Taste of the Past, I have deep appreciation for traditional foods. This post inevitably made me dig into the album of the best moments in my life. It was supposed to be written before the duck season in February, or even earlier. Despite its delay, I thought I’d post it after tucking away my second batch of duck confit this week at the winery, in the deepest corner of the fridge, not to be tempted and open it up any time soon. It will sit there for at least one month to further develop the true confit flavours. If I can make duck confit with a small convection oven, so can you! Neither slow cooker nor sous- vide is required. Imagine numerous dishes I can make with this …

pumpkin tortellini

Pumpkin Leek Tortellini with Duck Ragu

Published by

Finally comes the duck story… And I’m afraid yet delighted that you’ll hear more duck stories this winter. How come? Well, I’m spreading the duck spirits around me and so many people are eager to eat more of the delicacy. Leading up to the last day of my sejour at the winery, I was thinking hard everyday about the duck: how and when to cook it.  Sensing the accumulated anticipation of almost two months, I decided to get the task over and done with. Originally, it was destined for Duck a l’Orange, but I incorporated a Chinese Peking Duck method by adding more herbs and oriental spices such as star anise and cinnamon, and also by drying out the skin for crispiness. The warm aromas had the effect of stimulating a holiday mood as well. After resting in the fridge overnight, rubbed with salt and spices, it was ready for the oven the next morning. Despite some unexpected events, I managed to cook it for as long as 2.5 hours. The tough parts, the wings …

Slow Food…11 Hour-Cooked Duck and Sweet Potato Sage Gratin Cheat

Published by

It’s been quite a while after the last post about after the Korean event, it’s been full-on but mostly because of me cooking Korean food and socialising offline. I had many people requesting for a Korean dinner and ended up cooking Korean food nonstop for two weeks. I’ve never cooked so much Korean food in such a short period, which was a good exercise to review my Korean palate but also meant that I didn’t have interesting recipes to write about. So after serving the last Korean dinner to Mr.O’s parents, sister and her friend, and cousin, I decided to put a full stop to Korean food for a while and get back to exercising my culinary brain. I’ve had enough of making dumplings and rolling kimbap. Having said that, I’m not sure when the full stop will be removed as I see growing enthusiasm for Korean food after the event so I’m thinking of creating some Korean-inspired recipes occasionally. The downside of Korean food is that it’s very difficult to match it with wines …

peking duck

Crispy Skin Slow Roast Duck / Saffron Carrot Rice / Büyülübağ Wine

Published by

“When a girl tries to treat herself, someone else takes advantage” The reason why this post starts with the phrase is because of what I’ve been wondering about why I cook. Yes, I love eating for sure, but would I cook the way I’ve been doing if it wasn’t for another person who enjoys it more than the person who actually cooks? You wouldn’t definitely go through roasting a whole duck for 4 hours just for yourself, would you? Well, I would have in my early years when I started getting into cooking just for the sake of experiment and excitement. And when you see the person enjoying the food more than you do, that’s the reward for a hard work. Like the slow roasted duck. Mr.O loved it so much that he brought home another whole duck. Sometimes I feel like being an Ottoman chef working for the sultan in Topkapi Palace. That’s why my mum always warned me growing up not to tell a guy I’m a good cook. And the older I …

Magret de Canard in Turkey! Kayra Vintage Shiraz 2009

Published by

Summer holiday came early for me this year. As you noticed, I was away for a week, visiting these beautiful sites and swimming in the sea of incredible colour, which I have no vocabulary to describe it. Turquoise…people usually call it, but to me it is more than just that. The colours of the sea along the Aegean Sea are just mesmerising. You can lose your jaw, staring into the water.

endive filo

Soirée Gastronomique et Cave du Vin / Endive – Duck – Cheese

Published by

Last Sunday I organised a petite soiree with a lovely Scottish couple, two gorgeous kids and my mentor, to whom I feel indebted in many ways. We all have one thing in common: love for food, wine and natural life. I hadn’t decided what to make up until the very day of the soiree. I used to make a big fuss with dinner parties in the days when my culinary obsession was starting, making several big grocery shopping trips and thinking up recipes for days, to impress people . A dinner party was a perfect occasion where I could test new recipes on people. Over 4 years have pasted since then and now I am more relaxed in a way or I don’t care as much as I used to about the success and failure of gastronomic evenings. Now my evening revolves more around wines and chats rather than geeky recipes.