Owen’s Tip Corner – #3

Just because two or more separate food items are delicious on their own DOES NOT mean that when combined create something even more delicious than the sum of its parts.  I’m looking at you, Hawaiian pizza lovers.  Shame on you…

Duck Prosciutto: A Ham That Fits the Bill

I recently went to a restaurant in the South End of Boston called Coppa, which is one of Ken Oringer’s growing group of top notch restaurants within Boston’s city limits.  I dined on numerous dishes that most patrons would shy away from, like calves brain ravioli, braised pig tail, and charred octopus salad.  However, the dish that really got me excited was duck prosciutto, one of the many items available on the charcuterie menu.  It was fatty, gamy, nutty, tender, and pleasantly salty.  Most importantly, it was something that I knew I could make with just a little guidance from a charcuterie master.  Two days later, I began the prosciutto-ization of some prime duck breasts.

Are You Daffy About Daffy?, Part One – A Stock Worth Investing In

 

Almost all home cooks, including yours truly, are guilty of paying no mind to one of the most delicious meats readily available in all supermarkets…DUCK!  When I go out to eat and see duck on the menu, I almost always jump at it, which makes sense since I never prepare it myself.  Every time I go to the store I end up cycling through the following steps when perusing the butcher section:

 

1. Look at the whole ducks
2. Think about all the various dishes I could make with duck
3. Slowly reach for the plumpest, tastiest looking bird
4. PANIC
5. Start psyching myself out and convincing myself that I actually want to cook chicken
6. Look back and forth at the ducks and chickens
7. Buy chicken

 

Well this week I did not allow myself to panic.  I reached for a duck and actually ended up getting one.  I promptly brought it home and broke it down into its various parts, knowing full well what I was going to do with each and every one.  Today’s post will focus on what to do with the carcass of the bird after having removed all the delicious meat and fat.

 

I’m Looking at You, Broccoli

 

Broccoli soup…I know, it sounds terrible.  I’m sure any kids that have stumbled upon this post have asked their parents to block our site to ensure that they will never have to read something so ghastly again.  I think broccoli soup gets a bad rap because it typically takes one of two forms: liquid salt from a can or frozen broccoli boiled in unflavored, under-seasoned water and pureed.  Well, I say that broccoli soup can not only be good, but it can be sublime!  How are we going to go about deliciousizing (take that, Shakespeare) broccoli soup?  Two words, caramelization and shallots.

This is Calamari Calling…

Don’t chop that squid into little rings – fry ‘er up whole! On a recent majestic afternoon at a secretive boat-side konoba in Herceg Novi, Montenegro I sampled the most delicious fried calamari of my life. No they were not fancily prepared. And no they were not an exotic variety of squid. The only significant difference between this calamari and every other calamari that I’ve eaten is that these squid were left whole!