At an impasse..

As often happens I sat at work today thinking about food and what to cook this evening. I know my darling girlfriend is looking for a bit of comfort and something other than dirty nappies and feeding to do as well so I figured I'd go for something a bit rich and extravagant.

Slow cooked duck breast with potato dauphinoise and chilli peas seems to hit every nail right on the head.

Off to the shop I popped and got a whole Gressingham duck. I've got into the habit of buying whole birds and so should you. I only need the breasts for this dinner but I've already got the legs in the fridge brining ready to make some beautiful confit tomorrow. I've also got a stock pan going which is using up the carcass, neck, heart, liver and neck in order to make some lovely stock which I can use on many more dinners before it runs out.

I also bought three jars of duck fat and at £3.00 a pop that is quite expensive but after I've used it to confit the duck legs all I need to do is pour it back into a container and allow to cool then I'll have a pretty nice supply of cooking fat for those perfect roast potatoes and more.

Potato dauphinoise is always a favourite, it's a meal on it's own and I've made far too much for two.....I always do. It's like an unwritten rule. Is around 550ml of double cream too much for a meal for two? NO IT'S BLOOMIN NOT :-D

Chilli peas are one of my own creations and I've posted on here how I make them. I usually use smoked bacon in them but today I have Proscuito crudo, nice little cubes which I hope are going to crisp up and add another texture.

However everything is cooking away. The stock pot is simmering, the duck breasts are in the water bath, the dolphins are looking pretty tidy in the oven and the washing up has been done so what should I do in teh meantime? Write a blog post I reckon....and tuck into a glass of that wonderful Loire valley chenin blanc...or perhaps the award winning Bordeaux ?!!? Such a tough life I have :-)