Paris, France: La Quinta, California: A very busy day around Taylor Manor. I figured-out exactly where I wanted everything placed on the shelves above my desk, had DT hang a few pictures, and then used Museum Gel to secure everything (ya know, earthquakes). Now, I feel settled, with my favorite cookbooks just above my head, along with the stack of books I am currently using/reading, my Judaic study books, a favorite photo of Shirley and I on Capri, sweet little ducks Dustin gave us years ago, and a shrine to My Mom. Dave placed Leo and Lucy's framed birth announcements just to the right of the shelves. My new Happy Place. (I will try to remember to place an "after" photo on this blog tomorrow.)
We had an offer from our bank (random) to get fresh NW salmon shipped from Pure Foods Fish Market in the Pike Street Market. Free overnight shipping, and $30 off the order. It wasn't exactly cheap, but what a wonderful opportunity. We received a 2+ pound King salmon fillet, and a 2+ pound halibut fillet... and a huge chunk of dry-smoked salmon. It arrived - ice cold - this morning around 10a, and I spent a bit of time preparing the fish for the freezer. I can't describe the fantastic quality of this fish. We will definitely order again... if we get this deal again.
Then, I bake a focaccia for lunch/dinner Friday (you will learn about this Friday), packaged up a bunch of returns that didn't work out (krappy bed linens!), and was on the phone with a friend, when suddenly two guys showed up at the door with a massive box. I mean a box the size of a bathtub.
Had not ordered a bathtub, so just motioned for the guys to leave it in the courtyard. They wanted a signature, but I motioned the "I'm not wearing a mask" signal from inside my house, and they just left the paper work by the front door and left.
How they gained access through the crack security in this country club is beyond me, but later, we discovered they had delivered the chair to match the ottoman in our family room! What? It wasn't even supposed to ship until August 31st! No cracks. No damages. Perfect chair.
The Goddess has her throne!
So comfortable, and the color of the leather just pops with the rusty-brown color in the carpet. Tomorrow, the coffee table is due to be delivered. Another room complete? We will see. We closed on this house exactly two months ago today, and moved in almost a month ago.
We had some of that smoked salmon with our cocktails this evening:
I can't even describe how moist and juicy and smoky and crispy-crusted the smoked salmon was from Pure Food Fish Market in the Pike Street Market in Seattle. I have written about his place many times on this blog. Though not as famous as the place in Pike Street Market that throws fish, we believe the quality of the fish from Pure Food is superior! Love their smoked fish so much. A fun treat from the NW in 118° SoCal.
Tonight would have been our last night in Paris (for a while). We were just going to stay for a few days to get over jet-lag. Tomorrow, we would have been pointed east on a train. We probably would have visited a few of my favorite Parisian shops today - like Louis Vuitton, and Jean Charles Rochoux chocolates in Saint Germain. No doubt, it was time for a crispy duck confit as well?
Since Saturday, I have been preparing our meal for tonight - Duck Confit. Again, I used the instructions from Food 52. It is super easy and never fails. (If you can't find duck fat, use chicken fat. If you can't find chicken fat, use olive oil.) My only advice is to not use a cast iron skillet for the final browning step. Every time I use cast iron (mine are well-seasoned), the legs stick to the pan. I now only use a non-stick skillet. The final step is a grease-bomb in the kitchen, but totally worth the clean-up time. DT swears this version was the best-ever.
What was better? The duck confit, or the individual portion of potato gratin with Gruyere? A tie!
Tomorrow's meal with be quite a bit simpler: French Onion Soup - made in the slow cooker. I did this before going to bed tonight:
Experiment!
Until my next update, I remain, your fatty correspondent.
You should be well-pleased with your slow cooker onions. I have used this ATK process for years. So much easier than standing at the stove browning onions!
It did work well!