Duck....Two Ways

So as you may have heard, or may not have heard, Becky and I enjoyed an incredible dinner at Barbacoa last week.  The cornerstone of this meal was my main entree, "Duck Two Ways".  This was my first real experience with fine dining, and it impacted me so much I had to write about it.  On the menu, it's described as...

Duck Two Ways

Duck Two Ways: Crispy honey roast duck fanned breast and confit of leg and thigh served with cranberry sherry and sweet potato risotto.

What attracted me to this dish was the risotto; a dish I've never had.  I've had duck twice before. Once when my brother-in-law was successful in his hunt, and second at a little place called Va de Vi, ironically WITH my brother.  Both times it was good, however the Va de Vi experience was better because the dish was called "Duck confit (con-feet)" which is basically a duck poached in duck fat.  (I would like to say, there are several great things in this world when it comes to culinary gold, it's duck fat.)  So seeing 'duck' and 'confit' in the same sentence ignited my salivary glands.  Strangely, the confit wasn't the best part of this dish.

About ducks:  Duck meat is considered to be a "white" meat, like chicken, even though the meat is considerably darker than it's poultry counter-parts.  This is because ducks are more active than chickens who spend more time sitting and walking.  Ducks get up and fly around, avoiding my brother-in-law during hunting season, using up more oxygen.  The extra oxygen in the body of the duck gives their meat a darker red color.  This darker color gives their meat a stronger richer flavor.  This distinct flavor and taste allows the duck meat to be cooked with fruits or other sweet and spicy ingredients to get a delicious and exotic tasting meal.

Risotto, a type of rice dish I see cooks screw up all the time on Hell's Kitchen.  Under-cooked, over-cooked, not enough salt, too much salt, it seems like a really difficult dish to make.  Wikipedia defines it simply as "rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency".  The risotto in this dish was more firm than creamy.  However, the addition of small cubes of sweet potato added a mild sweetness that made it a delicious foundation for the duck to sit upon.  Additional cubes of sweet potato were scattered on the plate for presentation purposes.


A cranberry sherry was drizzled over the whole plate.  How this was made and what was in it is a big mystery to me, and I don't care because it brought the whole thing together.  Each bite was required to have a little bit of everything on it.  


These flavors all worked together so well that each bite caused your eyes to roll to the back of your head while your body just slumps and all your senses focus on that fantastic collaboration of flavors playing the anvil chorus in your mouth. At a price of $25, I would say each bite is well worth it.  As the flavor matches the presentation, this is a dish I would definitely order again.  I can't wait to go back to Barbacoa and try another creation.


www.barbacoa-boise.com/

-Brian

Note: I'm not a food critic, and I'm not a writer, I just love food

What a Summer

Flourless Belgium Chocolate Cake (I did not make this)

 
Summer is finally just about over and so much has happened in the past few months...it's all so scattered, I don't know where to begin.

We took a trip to Tahoe and stayed in a friend's cabin, I got to play several shows with my band before they decided to move on without me, we're going camping next weekend, Isaac lost his first pair of teeth, we made our annual trek to the fair, I haven't blogged once the entire time...so lets get to it!

Last setup with my cousin Ryan

Last time I blogged it was all about the band, so let's start there.  First of all, bands and band members are a finicky bunch.  Especially you are trying to integrate yourself into a group that has played together for so long, and are roughly 10+ years older than you, it's a different generation all together.  With that in mind, we played a few good shows, I got some good experience, and made a little money.  But in the end, my playing style wasn't exactly what they were looking for, and our personalities didn't mesh the way we hoped.  So once again, I'm drummer without a band.  But that's ok since I was diagnosed with tendinitis in both hands, I can use the rest.  (If by chance you became a fan of the retreads because you knew the drummer, you can (un-like) them now. I did!)

We took a trip to Tahoe with the family.  When I say family, I mean my parents, and my brother's family.  This was our camping alternative, which turned out to be a whole lot more fun than we imagined.  First of all, it only took us around 8 hours to get there.  Coming all the way from Idaho,  it was much nicer, not to mention there was no campsite to setup once we arrived.  Instead it was welcoming hugs from our family whom we haven't seen in a while.

Early morning fishing trip, it was COLD!

So what sets cabin life different than tent life?  It can all be summed up in two words, "Hot Water".  Having the ability to take a hot shower everyday without having to heat up gallons ahead of time, not just for you, but for your family at well is such a blessing.  Yes, there is something to be said about roughing it, but right now, I could not tell you what that is.  We spent a lot of time just sitting around on the deck talking, while the kids played.  Had some awesome meals that my mom made ahead of time.  Can't beat momma's cooking!

We also had a private beach, and a private dock for almost the whole trip.  All but one day at the lake, we were the only ones there, and the 2 minute walk to get there wasn't to shabby either.  I will say the dock was a lot of fun, as we would jump off the end and swim back to shore.  Even Isaac did this several times, despite the frigid temperatures of the water.  It was on the last day that we finally got Becky to take the plunge.  An early morning fishing excursion was a nice though, but not well planned out as it was too cold to stay our very long, even with hot cocoa.   But the sunrise, was beautiful and provided a nice backdrop to fishing from the pier.

The only thing really missing was the campfire.  We hope to make up for that next weekend.  In all, it was a great time!  Maybe we'll do it again.

Speaking of great times, we had a hallmark event this summer.  My wife turned the big 35.  For such an occasion, we celebrated like never before.  OK, it wasn't completely original, but I convinced her to try a 'new' place.  After years of watching shows like Hell's Kitchen, or Next Food Network Star, we've seen all this "fine dining" stuff, but never experienced it.  Living in Idaho, the selection isn't too great, so I picked a place to try, Barbacoa's.  The menu looked very expensive, but I convinced her to go anyways, and OMG!  The food was incredible, far surpassing anything we may have tasted before.  I'm not saying there is no other good food around, it is just that this meal was on a whole new level.  Without going into great detail, here is a brief description of our adventure into fine dining...

• Trio of Ceviche
• Crab Mojito
• coco rum infused crab with sugar cane and mint
• Tuna Tartare
• with avocado, capers, red onion, and mango sorbet
• Ceviche of the day
• Red Snapper ceviche
• Grilled Ceasar Salad
• Grilled Ceasar Salad wedges with smoked polenta croutons
• Sweet Corn & Crab Bisque
• Dungenous crab with jalapeno pancake
• Mixed Seafood Grill
• marinated shrimp, scallops, fin fish, with coconut rice
• Duck Two Ways

• crispy honey roast duck fanned breast and confit of leg and thigh served with cranberry sherry and sweet potato risotto

I won't even get into the deserts, needless to say they were "FABULOUS!"  One of the best things about this place, was the water.  The serve all their water was filtered chilled water, sparkling or plain, in glass bottles.  Their water is not, I repeat, not from tap.

There is so much more to say and talk about, but no sense in putting it all here, right?  Keep an eye open for more blogging from yours truly.  I imagine it will involve food in some way.  I think I may devote a blog specifically for that duck dinner I had...yes, I want more.

Peace out, and God bless

-Brian