White Asparagus and Ham Double Baked Potato

After a lengthy trip to the grocery store, we returned home with three bags filled with virtue... well, aside from (virtuously) supporting the Calgary Zoo with (not-so-virtuous) limited edition gelato from Fiasco Gelato. (You can read more about this limited edition gelato here.)

Tonight, we'll be salivating over White Asparagus and Ham Double Baked Potatoes. Perfect for dinner tonight and, even better, I'll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 

Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

Today's post is brought to you by duck fat. Need I say more??

Duck fat is amazing. And tasty. And amazing. And a healthy fat. And amazing. And inexpensive. And amazing. Another thing on my top 2359235273 list. hahah.

In planning our Easter dinner, we decided to go completely different from our usual turkey or ham proteins and opted to concoct an entirely different menu featuring duck. In preparation for Easter dinner, I sourced some beautiful duck breasts through the wonder of twitter. To the rescue was Ocean Odyssey Inland (Edmonton), Jessie Radies of the Blue Pear (Edmonton), and Kingsland Farmers Market (Calgary) all enthusiastically recommending Greens Eggs and Ham. The funny part is that they would have been my go-to stop for duck (amongst other fantastic sustainable grown produce and protein) in Edmonton but I had no idea that I could find them in Calgary. Enter: The corner booth in the Kingsland Farmers Market... at 5 minutes to close... Mary Ellen of Green Eggs and Ham.

Mary Ellen was a happy market-goer's dream. She was welcoming and enthusiastic, despite it being moments to closing. She stopped closing up shop for the day to not only help us purchase our duck breast but provide us many product recommendations, cooking tips, and overwhelming enthusiasm for her product. While we came for duck breast, we also left with duck fat (why not?) and some pretty little white almond potatoes. We probably could have bought up half the store but restrained ourselves with plans of returning on Thursday or Friday for a few more Easter dinner party items... and maybe some more cooking tips.

Kendall at City and Dale (a great Edmonton... I want to say blog but it really has become so much more than that... site that promotes all things in and about the city that she and several other contributing writers love so much) seemed to get a similar recommendation on these potato gems (see her post on City and Dale here).

My Roasted Chicken

Every person... well, every meat eating person... NEEDS to have a go-to roast chicken under their belt. It really is a necessity in my mind.

It is the crowd-pleasing dinner party item. It is the feels-like-home meal. It is comfort. It's leftovers can become soup when you need the warmth or a cure. A pot pie, if you're so inclined. Sandwich filler. Or warmed with the veg and gravy of its first meal, to make leftovers something to be celebrated. I could and really want to go completely over the top on this one (if I haven't already). Any day when I need a meal that is going to warm me, bring me comfort, make me feel like home, and break bread with people... I think of a beautiful roast chicken. 

It is the simplest thing to add to your culinary repetoire and you'll never regret it. 

Family Dinner

I love family dinners. When everyone has such busy and hectic lives, it is nice to slow things down every now and again with a nice meal, some nice vino, and share some stories. Obviously, the holidays lend themselves to family time and, as such, family dinners. I was already looking forward to that bit. But we tried to take things a bit further this time and we collaborated to create a family dinner that really became a family feast, with everyone taking on a bit of the responsibility for the menu and creating something that was truly special.

After a brainstorming session, we shirked the traditional ham or turkey. While we all loved the thought of either, we wanted to push ourselves outside of tradition and really challenge ourselves... thus landing on duck as our protein. Needing some sort of unifying flavour or attribute, we thought to link our various courses and components through the orange, as it would lend well to sweet or savoury application. 

Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of those things that I have wanted to attempt for a very long time but never ever have... for some unknown reason. I certainly try my hand at a great many other complicated things and, despite many failings, try again... (read: macarons). And I wouldn't even think to put gnocchi in the same category as the oh-so-challenging macaron. Yet... I have not made gnocchi.

Well. I have now! And I've even made it again. It's so easy. Like making a big batch of pizza dough, portioning, and freezing it. Once you freeze these little potato presents, you can have a great dinner at the ready in a few effortless minutes.

Poutine... (or gravy on the fly)

There are days when I feel completely less than virtuous as far as it comes to cooking... and certainly when it comes to eating. Oh yeah, these are the days where you just want to eat your stress. Or, eat your feelings as I joked to Amanda earlier today.

Ok ok... this is probably not how I should preface this little bit of tasty goodness. The truth is that eating broccoli doesn't always cut it. There are times when you need something unapologetically fatty or salty or sweet to satisfy that craving in your belly.

That said, I think that this is a slightly more virtuous version of one of my favourite stress-day indulgences... the glorious poutine. The fries are the baked fries from a few months ago... you can find those wonderfully squeeky cheese curds in any decent cheese market or deli section... and the gravy, while not laboured over while cooking a meaty chunk of something, is a step above a powdered version. Considering all of that, I will sit proudly, fork in hand, and enjoy every morsel of this satisfying treat.

Fries!!

Ummm... lots of potatoes around my house. And I'm addicted to fries.

Fries are awesome. But I can never bring myself to deep fry them in my house... that whole process is fussy and temperature specific and can be smelly and I can justify eating fries more often when if they are baked and not fried. (I probably just jinxed myself and will be writing something about deep frying in a few months... we shall see.)

BUT! They must be crispy! It is NOT worth eating a fry if it is a soggy mess... and these are not soggy messes of fries.

Super Duper Louise Potatoes

Look at that cutie. Yep, I am blatantly putting the most adorable, coyly smiling child in front of you in order to soften my absence. I'm not above that... not one bit. hahaha.

Really, I am sorry for being so AWOL. August was what August typically is - lots of drinks on the patio with friends (when we had nice evenings), movie nights, travel, dinners, walks, some bike rides after I bought my new bike (super functional with it's flower appliqués and white basket). With September came welcome house guests followed by overstay guests (a bathroom renovation gone long and a move to my mother's house), a wedding in Vancouver (big love to K&I), a fantastic holiday and celebration of my birthday and Rhi's (momma bear to this adorable little girl) in San Francisco and Las Vegas (big love to Dean, Jay and Rhi!), a move back to my house and an attempt to get back to my normal. And, all of a sudden, I found myself two months (+) later than the last time that I sat before you.

Ahhhh.... life..... how it gets in the way sometimes. And how I wouldn't change that one bit.

So, with the summer and the garden has come the abundance of potatoes and with that comes an abundance of potato eating... And the reason for the cute child at the beginning of this post. She was the Chef and we made "Super Duper Louise Potatoes."

#yyc bbq and #yeg dnr

Though the last few weeks have been filled with food and I haven't found myself in my kitchen as much as I would like, I wouldn't change a moment of it. There have been many great meals with many great people. I think this post is as much a homage to those great people as it is about some wonderful meals.
  

Vodka-Marinated Steak

This past weekend, I had two girlfriends over for a long overdue dinner and wiine dance party. Given that I had invited them over on the Friday, I needed to be able to get home from work (I work until 6pm) and turn something around relatively quickly for their arrival at 7pm. While time wasn’t necessarily on my side in terms of prep, I really didn’t want to just throw something together or, an even worse sin since starting this blog, order something in! They were so looking forward to something homemade.

So, this is what I came up with… Easy, fast and impressive enough for Friday night with the girls!