oh, Anthony Bourdain....

Last night was an epic night for my kitchen. I didn't take any pictures--I couldn't tear myself away from the intense cooking experiment that was taking place.
Calder and I roasted a duck. We made duck a l'orange, actually. We used Calder's Anthony Bourdain cookbook and it turned out marvelously, though it was pretty time-intensive. I just want to say that Anthony Bourdain's style of cookbook writing is full of amazing and I really want this cookbook for myself, if only so I can read through it and chuckle at his instructions, notably on one page "fuck the health department! leave the steak out of the refridgertor until it is room temperature". This, and other colorful descriptions are peppered liberally throughout the cookbook, which provided plenty of amusement between chopping, pouring, stirring, etc.
Anyway, not only did we roast a duck, but we made duck stock which turned out quite well, and which I happily have leftovers of to cook something else with. It was suggested that I made risotto with this duck stock, which sounds like an excellent idea to me.
The orange sauce for the duck was perfect and delightful--not too sweet, but a pleasing, slightly tangy, rich without being overpowering, and again, delightful compliment to the roasted duck. As a side dish we had mashed turnips and yukon gold potatoes which were mashed with butter and a few tablespoons of duck fat, and served with roasted pear puree. It was very tasty, and I learned (from the internet!) that in France, turnips are traditionally paired with duck. I'm so authentic! Who knew?
Heather brought a tasty baguette and a bottle of pinot noir, which was excellent. My relationship with pinot noir is bordering on being a religious experience, and I take it kind of seriously. Heather knows this, and never fails to get tasty bottles of wine at our favorite wine shop at Pike Place Market--Pike & Western.
And then I spent the rest of the night in a food coma.