for the love of duck fat

I admit it. I’ve spent some of my post call days feverishly rendering duck fat from a fresh bird purchased from Chinatown so that I could enjoy the crispiest mini potatoes for dinner. Creating and then reaping the benefits of my food lab creation is my R&R after a 26 hour work day.

When the mind goes on strike, one depends on the familiar muscle memory to dice, chop, sear, sauté, plate, and hopefully in the process come to a new appreciation to the familiar ingredients.

I get inspired by recipes, hate following them, and love cutting corners whenever possible. No doubt this has led to horrible disasters which include but are not limited to: pouring scorching duck fat into a plastic container and melting the bottom right off. There is something magical about taking something foreign and postulating how it can become edible in its best form based on its texture, taste, composition and finding out the results of these food experiments. Each ingredient and tool in my hand is a note to a harmony – here’s to finding out if it would be a pleasant one.