Cassoulet and other cooking

I have been sinking altogether too much creative energy into cooking lately.  The past week featured pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, a re-heated lasagne, a not-very-good aloo gobi, and finally a "Shortcut Pork Cassoulet" which we brought up to my mother-in-law's for dinner on Friday night.

Cassoulet is a big project, even the shortcut version.  I would really like to do a full old-fashioned version, but I wasn't sure where to get duck confit and I wasn't ready to make it without being assured of a very appreciative audience at the end of the process. I would make it again, but only in cold weather, with a lot of guests, and using a slightly bigger casserole dish.  It didn't make me homesick, exactly, but it did make me wish for a better-equipped kitchen.  

Last night I made Irish Beef Stew and One Hour Shrimp Paella.  The paella was a bit of a disappointment.  I used basmati rice instead of arborio, which didn't do the texture any favors, and got the cooking time of the "shrimp" a bit wrong, because I was using a frozen seafood mix and didn't adjust the cooking time correctly.  Still, I'll give it credit for being a quick and easy recipe and will probably try again. 

The beef stew is for tonight, so I don't have to try to cook before rushing off to my creative writing class.  It's the third time I've made it, and I'm pretty sure it will be up to scratch, and it's the kind of thing that should sit on the back of the stove for a day or so anyway.

Comments

Clay Coyote Pottery and Gallery said…
We've done the Paula Wolfert version of classic cassoulet 2x now. http://www.claycoyoteblog.com/2008/01/happy-new-yearthe-big-day.html
In the book "cooking of SW France, she describes a method of homemade duck confit using a seal-a-meal. Has worked like a charm. We use the whole duck (bought frozen at the grocery) and it's fine.
Tom Wirt
Clay coyote pottery
March 3, 2009 at 7:36 PM
Amelia said…
Thanks for the tip!
March 6, 2009 at 3:45 PM
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