Cassoulet

A completely worthwhile dish. This is great for gatherings or special events. Gathering the ingredients can be a chore, but subsequent preparations are much easier once sourced. I was able to get all the meats needed from St Paul Meat Shop. They have Tarbais beans there, but are less at Rancho Gordo.

Active time is not egregious, perhaps 2.5 hours total all in. I started this for Thanksgiving at 8:30 am (having soaked the beans overnight) and it was ready around 1:00 pm. 

Ingredients

For the Beans and Liquid

1 pound Tarbais beans
3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
4 oz pancetta (SPMS) 1/4 inch dice
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme tied into a bundle
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence 
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
6 unpeeled garlic cloves cut in half
bones from duck confit

Meats

12 oz fatty pork chop (SPMS) cut into 1.5  inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1.5 pound Toulouse Sausage (Polish from SPMS)
2 duck leg confit

Vegetables

1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup white wine

Bread Crumb Topping

2 cups plain bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons fat from the cooked meat pan 
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup bean cooking liquid 

Step 1

Rinse and soak beans overnight. I started mine about 9 or 10 pm. Drain them after soaking about 5 hours before you want the dish to be ready. So for 1 pm dine time, drain at 8 am. 

Step 2

To a large pot or Dutch oven add the broth, diced pancetta, bones from duck confit, and the drained beans. Tie garlic and peppercorns in cheese cloth for bouquet garni and add to pot. Add bay leaves and thyme bundle. Stir and bring to a simmer over high heat (watch not to boil) Skim the foam as it forms and reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer, 30-45 minutes. Taste beans for almost doneness. 

Step 3

While beans are cooking, sprinkle pork pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil in skillet or fry pan over medium-high heat. Brown the pork until fat is rendered, 3-5 minutes. Transfer pork to large bowl.

Add sausages to the pan and brown well on all sides, 4-5 minutes. Transfer sausages to same large bowl.

Step 4

Lower pan heat to medium. Remove fat and skin (cut into small pieces) from duck confit and add to pan. Cook till rendered and pieces are browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer all of rendered fat, crisped duck skin, and melted butter to a mixing bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs and chopped parsley till well combined. Mix in 1/4 to 1/2 of the bean cooking liquid until crumbs are moist but not wet. 

Step 5

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

Step 6

Add onions, carrots, and celery to skillet used for browning meats. Add a pinch of salt. Cook and stir over medium heat till onions are softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until paste starts to caramelize and stick to bottom of pan, 3-4 minutes. Pour in white wine and and stir until most of the wine evaporates, 5-6 min. 

Step 7

Drain beans over large bowl to reserve the cooking liquid. Remove bouquet garni, bay leaves, and thyme bundle. 

Step 8

Place drained beans in shallow baking dish or 12" cast iron skillet. Stir in cooked vegetables and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid. Add pork pieces and sausages pushing down into beans. Top with shredded duck confit. 

Step 9

Ladle reserved cooking liquid into beans until beans are nearly submerged. Spread crumbs over the top. Do not press down. Make indentations with your four fingers to aid in browning. 

Step 10

Bake in preheated oven for about 2 hours (most of the liquid will have been absorbed). Remove from oven and make a small hole in the center through the crumbs. Use a funnel to direct about 1/2 cup of reserved cooking liquid into the beans.  Gently tilt the pan until you see some liquid approach the edge in four directions: N, S, E, W. 

Step 11

Return pan to oven and continue baking for 30-45 minutes. Test beans through hole made in crust. 

Step 12

Serve in bowls with a some of the cooking liquid and make sure to have the crumb pieces on top. Ensure one of the 1/2 sausages is in each serving. 

  

 

 

 

Tumbleweed Cocktail

"The Dude abides... I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that."

Musical Accompaniment: Tumbling Tumbleweeds by Sons of the Pioneers

*You will need to make (or purchase) at least the Ancho Chile Liqueur in advance. The rimming sugar is probably worth it. I liked it. You can certainly use blanco tequila. I tried making this with more lime juice and learned ancho does not like too much citrus. 

Ancho Chile Liqueur

This makes a goodly volume. Share or cut in half depending on your needs.

24 oz blanco tequila

1 or 1/2 oz dried ancho chile seeded and torn into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cinnamon stick

8 oz simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a glass jar. Seal and let sit for about a week shaking once or twice a day. 

Strain the jar's contents through a strainer lined with 3x cheese cloth into a large bowl.

Add the 8 oz of simple syrup and stir. 

Funnel into suitable bottles and stopper. 

Smokey Rimming Sugar

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Combine the ingredients into a shallow tupperware container, seal and shake. Gets better as it sits a while. 

El Presidente

This drink is well balanced, and it requires no fresh ingredients. For more on this drink, visit David Lebovitz' site. 

Musical accompaniment: Another Saturday Night by Sam Cooke or Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte.

Black-Eyed Peas with Collard Greens

Perfect for New Year's Day good luck and prosperity for the coming year. You can omit the bacon, substitute vegetable stock, and add some liquid smoke + brown sugar to make it fairly vegetarian. 

NOTE: If you cook a whole package of bacon in the oven, you can reserve the bacon grease and use 2 tbsp in this recipe with 6 of the cooked slices. Put remaining slices in ziplock bag in freezer and refrigerate the leftover bacon fat for cornbread.
Musical accompaniment: I'm Shakin by The Blasters or by Little Willie John

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, Farmland thick cut if you've got it
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper 
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, canned, with juice
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 pound collard greens, stemmed, rolled, cut into 3/4 inch ribbons
31 ounces blackeyed peas, canned, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

1. Cook the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined palte and set aside.
    
2. Remove all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from pot. Add onion and salt and cook stiring frequently until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
    
3. Add garlic, cumin, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds.
4. Add tomatoes and their juice. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add greens, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until green are just tender, about 15 minutes
    
5. Add black-eyed peas to pot and cook covered stirring gently occasionally until greens are silky and tender, about 15 more minutes. Remove lid, increase heat to medium high, and cook until liquid is reduced by one-fourth, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and sugar. Serve topping with reserved bacon.

Celery Gimlet

This was surprisingly delicious. If you like celery this will not disappoint. If doing several I'd suggest using a juicer or maybe a blender to get a batch of celery juice. 

Musical Accompaniment: Celery Stalks at Midnight - Doris Day with Les Brown

Sausage Rolls

This is another Chef John recipe and it was well received on New Year's Eve 2020. I will be making this again.

Tips: Don't remove the puff pastry from freezer till just about ready to use. I think overlapping a full inch might leave you a bit short to make a good seam when you are rolling it up around the sausage. I used a ruler to score before cutting the rolls. about 3 cm each. 

Musical Accompaniment: Roll With It by Steve Winwood (turn this one up to 11)

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1 clove crushed garlic (use a press or finely chop and press with flat side of blade till paste forms)

1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon minced fresh sage

1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs

1 sheet prepared puff pastry dough (Pepperidge Farm’s)

1 large egg beaten with a teaspoon of water

Everything but the Bagel to garnish

1. Place ground pork, onions, garlic, sage, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, coriander, thyme, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Mix with a fork until ingredients are evenly distributed, 2 to 3 minute. Divide mixture in half (scale comes in handy here) and place each half on a length of plastic wrap. Use your damp fingers to shape each half into a cylinder, approximately the same length as the puff pastry. Roll up in the plastic and form into a round roll. Refrigerate until ready to use.
    
2. Whisk egg with 1 teaspoon water to make the egg wash.
    
3. Separate the semi-frozen puff pastry dough into thirds. Halve one of the thirds lengthwise. Bring pastry to room temperature. Brush a 2-inch strip of egg wash along 1 long edge of the 2 larger pastry pieces. Place the narrower pieces on the egg wash strip, overlapping about 1 inch, to make a wider piece of pastry dough. Press lightly to form 2 wide lengths of pastry dough.
    
4. Transfer 2 sheets of dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment paper; dust tops lightly with flour. Cover with another sheet of parchment. Roll gently to achieve an even thickness. Remove top sheet of parchment. Flatten the longs edges of the dough slightly about 1 inch wide so that when the roll-up is completed, the seam side won't be thicker than the rest of the dough. Place a sausage log at the end of a pastry sheet. Begin to roll the sausage log in the pastry, brushing the far edge with egg wash before sealing the edges together. Place seam side down on parchment and place on a dish. Repeat with 2nd sausage roll. Freeze until dough firms up, about 10 minutes.
    
5. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
    
6. Place rolls on a lightly floured surface. Lightly brush top and sides with egg wash. Cut each roll into 8 pieces. Sprinkle with Everything but the Bagel mix. Place on prepared baking sheet seam side down (standing up). Lightly press each roll to flatten it slightly so they don't fall over when baking. (This last flattening is very important.)
    
7. Place in preheated oven; bake until nicely browned, pastry is cooked through, and bottoms are browned, about 30 minutes. Cook till internal temp is about 160 or so.