I’ve had a hard week (although who amongst has not?) and I have a faculty meeting (via Zoom) today. So last night I decided the weekend was starting early. (I have a feeling I’ll be making that decision a lot this year.) Dinner was from Hello Fresh: surf and turf with shrimp, steak, a yummy pan sauce, potatoes, and green beans. I am not a fan of Hello Fresh’s beef (it tends to be tough and chewy), so I stuck their steak in the freezer to save for the next time I grind my own ground beef. Instead, I pulled some filet mignon medallions from the freezer, which—after thawing—I cooked for 60 minutes at 131 degrees using my sous vide machine. I seared the steak when it was done, pan fried the shrimp, and made the sauce. Meanwhile, my beloved sous chef handled the potatoes and green beans. Yum.
Yes, I got away with only having to have about a half dozen green beans. In the permanent debate between Helen and myself over my vegetable intake, this was a major win. You know my views on vegetables, after all. No? Well, put simply, vegetables are not food. They are what food eats.
We pushed the wine boat out a tad and drank a Ridge Vineyards Pagani Ranch Zinfandel (Sonoma County) 2015. Deep ruby shading to purple. A relatively modest bouquet suggesting plums and black cherries. On the palate, it evokes plums, prunes, and earth. A dash of pepper and anise on the finish. Lovely match for tonight’s surf and turf.
in your 
and fill with warm water to within an inch of the top. Set the Joule temperature to 167° and the time to 8 hours. Remove duck from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve marinade.
and remove the air and seal the bag using your trusty 
. Add bags to water bath (preventing them from touching as much as possible.)
) and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add a little more hoisin and soy sauce.
water
, as it ensures that the salt and sugar dissolves. I put the chicken in a zip-lock gallon bag and pour the brine over. I then put the bag in a large dish, making sure all of the chicken pieces are submerged, and put it in the refrigerator. 
to make homemade bone broths, but that’s another recipe, and Kettle & Fire brand broths are a very acceptable substitute)
. Set the skillet to 350° and, after allowing it to come to temperature, add the olive oil to the skillet. Brown the chicken pieces on all sides, achieving a deep brown but not allowing the skin to burn. Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate. Reduce the heat to 275° and add the onions and carrots. Add a pinch of salt. Sweat the veggies until they are translucent and just starting to brown at the edges, stirring often. Add the mushrooms and crank the heat back up to 350°. Add a pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper. Sauté the mushrooms for about 6 minutes, or until they have softened and are beginning to brown, add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté for another minute. Add the tomatoes, pepper flakes, herbs, and wine. Allow the wine to reduce by half. Add the broth. Reduce heat to a low simmer. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Return chicken pieces to the pan and nestle into the sauce, pour any accumulated juices from the chicken pieces’s resting plate into the sauce, cover the pan, and cook 25-30 minutes, stirring and flipping the chicken pieces occasionally. Adjust heat if necessary to maintain a simmer without either boiling the sauce or letting it just sit in the pan. 
was a great choice. It basically cooked itself while I kept an eye on the chicken. 
to my 
. I had In the freezer 1 pound of chuck, a 12 ounce ribeye steak, a 12 ounce sirloin steak, and about 8 ounces of trimmings left over from butchering a tenderloin roast. I allowed them to partially defrost overnight. This morning I cut the meat into roughly 1-inch pieces and ran the whole batch (alternating cuts) through the coarse grinding plate. I then ran about half of the resulting ground meat through again, but this time using the medium grinding plate. I combined the two batches and then set aside 1 pound for future hamburger patties. 
. (I usually use pancetta, but I was in a mood for a slightly smoky bolognese, so I went domestic.) When the bacon was done, I removed the rashers to a paper towel lined plate to drain. When they had cooled, I snipped three rashers into small pieces using kitchen shears (I ate the other one). Meanwhile, I poured off the bacon fat and reserved it.
and lightly mixed it. The baking soda raises the pH of the meat’s surface, which promotes browning and slightly tenderizes it.
and, using kitchen shears, snipped them into small pieces that I let fall into the pot.
. Set duck breast side up on rack.
). Pour boiling water into pan until it almost touches the duck. Cover. Put roasting pan into oven and drop oven temperature to 325°. Roast for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer duck to a cutting board or platter. Pour water and duck fat from pan into a 
. Be sure to save the fat to use for roasting potatoes or some similarly yummy purpose.
and bring to a simmer over medium heat. When mixture has thickened set half aside to use as a glaze.
.
. (You’ll notice that, as always, I am crediting you with great taste in your cookware selections.)
and made duck breast using a recipe from 
. Worked great.
so I could make it in my 
. Also worked great.
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