Peking Duck part 1

Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting in forever (only two posts in the past four years ... how sad)! I will try to get better at that, especially now that we're trying to cook more and healthier since my wife is pregnant.

However, this next meal is not very healthy ... but it is delicious!

Since Chinese New Year is coming up soon and we're getting together with some friends, I decided it was time to try out making Peking duck!

This is not a sight you see every day! The upper two are completely frozen, so they'll need some time to thaw and then dry. The one below is drying and will be cooked soon as my initial testing duck.

Quick Dinner and the 5 Hour Egg

So one day I got home and had approximately 20 minutes to make and eat dinner before I had to leave again.  What was I to do??

I opened the fridge and surveyed the contents ... pulling out the things that looked tasty to me:
- 1 bag of spinach
- 1 kielbasa
- 1 block white cheddar cheese
- 1 container teriyaki sauce

Then I set about combining the ingredients in a delicious manner:

1. Slice the kielbasa - easy enough, right?
2. Toss into a pan with a little oil over medium heat
3. Rinse the spinach and put into a bowl
4. Add the sauteed keilbasa
5. Shred some cheese on top
6. Drizzle some teriyaki sauce over the mixture

Total hardware used: 1 pan, 1 knife, 1 cutting board, 1 grater.
Total time used: ~5 minutes
Taste: amazingly delicious!

To me, this dish works because of all the contrasts.  The cool crisp greens and the warm tender kielbasa, the sweet tanginess of the teriyaki sauce and the creamy goodness of the slightly melted cheddar cheese.


Some Saturday after that, when I had more time, I decided I would try another extreme experiment, this time with eggs!  I had come across this post earlier and so I thought I'd try it.

It's pretty easy!

Oven -> 200 degrees or so.
Eggs -> into oven.

Wait 5 hours!

Very interesting flavors.  I could definitely taste the "nuttiness" and "browned flavors" that were talked about, but I'd say it's not worth 5 hours except as a novelty thing.

I'll have to try this again, except in more controlled temperature conditions - sous vide, perhaps?  =]

Maybe like this.  4 hours at 154 deg F, here I come!