A Foodie Weekend

Why, yes, I’m a foodie. How could you tell? Was it my ever-widening girth or the duck fat dribbling down my chin? Unfortunately I’m married to a foodie. I say “unfortunately” because our love affair with food has done nothing for our health or our waistlines. We’ve tried to scale back a bit, but every now and then we get carried away. Take for instance, this weekend.

 

I lucked upon fresh duck breasts. (They’re really hard to find in these parts.) So Saturday we started our foodie adventure with a divine luncheon of pan seared duck breast (medium-rare of course) placed atop a bed of spring mix lettuces; duck and lettuces drizzled with a blackberry reduction.

Our inspiration didn’t end with duck however. We had a late dinner of grilled chicken breast with an overflowing spoonful of homemade pineapple mango salsa on top and paired with pan roasted banana Russian fingerling potatoes (drizzled with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and duck fat as they roasted). Rounding out the meal was oven roasted spring asparagus spears, again drizzled with a mixture of EVOO and (my new best friend) duck fat.

 

My belly still hard from all the food I shoved in my gullet yesterday, this morning we made country bacon obtained from a country meat market we found in the wilds of Alabama and “Toad in the hole.” For those not in the know, toad in the hole is comprised of a thick slice of sourdough bread with a hole cut out of the center with a biscuit cutter. You dump butter and a small amount of bacon fat (what? You were expecting duck fat?) in an iron skillet, add the bread and gently place a raw egg in the center of the hole. Fry over a low heat until the bread is crispy, buttery and the egg yoke is slightly jiggley. To. Die. For! I would have taken a picture but it didn’t last that long.

 

 

And as if those massive amounts of food weren’t enough to make you go into a food coma, we ended the weekend with homemade apple wood smoked baby back ribs, four cheese macaroni and cheese and flat green beans, also known around these parts as half runners. Elevating the green beans, I slow cooked them with a slice of country bacon, small amount of diced onion and garlic, salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper just because I can.

Now I’m stuck on the couch, unable to move. (Until it’s time to plate up the strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream!)