If my mom's favorite weeknight meal was the white meal, than Paul's mom's was boiled dinner. In Paul's recollection it was cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and possibly celery, all boiled with a ham bone (or a piece of ham? I'm not really up on my pig parts). According to him once his mom made it she would serve it for weeks, although I have a feeling he might be exaggerating. I would sometimes tease him about making him boiled dinner, but had never actually done it because I don't eat pork. It didn't occur to me when I read the recipe, but as soon as I smelled the cabbage boiling I realized, Garbure is a fancy, French version of boiled dinner! It has more ingredients, and the optional duck confit certainly fancies things up a bit, but at it's heart it's a bunch of inexpensive winter vegetables cooked with a small amount of meat to add some flavor. As soon as Paul walked in on Friday night, he said it smelled like boiled dinner. He was amazed by how distinct the smell is--I think it's the cabbage. I was worried he'd complain, but he actually really enjoyed the Garbure. He said it was better than his mom's boiled dinner. (Although he's a smart man and knows which one of us he has to live with, so he definitely might have said that just to make me happy.)
I made a couple of changes to the recipe, based on what I like to eat and what I had around. First, I substituted smoked turkey wings for the ham/pork shoulder. I have no clue what ham tastes like, but I thought the smoked turkey gave the soup an excellent flavor. Second, I coincidentally had some leftover duck fat that I needed to use, so I used that to cook the vegetables. Last, I bought one package of duck confit legs (it had two legs for $5.99) at the supermarket, and added those at the end as Dorie instructs. Served with a freshly baked Challah and salad, this was a dinner that we both enjoyed. I'm not sure what we're going to do with all of the leftovers (I froze some as an experiment), but this is definitely something I'd make again.
Ah, memories of childhood meals. Some so sweet and others, well, your husband does indeed sound like a smart man. I also have a well stocked freezer after this week's recipe. It was darn tasty but we would have needed to have invited over an army of friends to finish it off.
ReplyDeleteLucky you with the duck fat and confit! And glad your hubby enjoyed, too!
ReplyDeleteYum, cooking the vegetables in duck fat sounds fabulous. The smoked wings sound like they added a extra burst of flavor. I loved this. We have tons of leftovers but I would make it again when it's gone. The homemade challah looks great too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you husband enjoyed this…It was a winner in my house, too! I like the idea of smoked turkey wings! Sounds good! Your challah looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI have never met anything cooked in duck fat that I didn't like :-)
ReplyDeletePaul is a very smart man - I get the opposite reaction - "You don't make it like my momma made it." It's tough work trying to live up to a Sicilian momma's cooking (especially since I don't have a drop of Italian blood in my veins)
Smoked turkey sounds like an excellent sub for the pork. This was good, wasn't it. So filling. So comforting on a cold lnight.
ReplyDeleteAnother Dorista commented that this reminded her of a boiled dinner also. I once made a corned beef and cabbage boiled dinner on St. Patrick's Day and it was awful. Absolutely no flavor. And, everyone around my dinner table (7 other adults) said the same thing. So this was wayyyy better than any boiled dinner I've ever had. I have made classic garbures for years without the meat and I prefer Dorie's version. I think your substitutions sound delicious as well. Using your leftover duck fat was very, very smart. And, probably added flavor as well. The Challah bread reminds me of Friday night at Chez Hirsch with Michael. Glad you both enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that these meal brought back such good memories for your husband.
ReplyDeleteI froze some of mine too, it was a bit much for just two of us. I love the photo with
ReplyDeletethe delicious loaf of bread, makes me want some now.
Loved the story of your husband's boiled dinner memories. Too funny and sweet. And I imagine my own sons will be telling stories of what feels like weeks of leftovers depending on what item I have knocked out. If I didn't stick the garbure leftovers in the freezer it probably would have been a contender. And duck legs for $5.99 - great job. Love the challah bread- looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteOh my, smoked turkey wings sound like they'd be excellent for soup, especially when you've cooked the vegetables in duck fat. Hope the experiment with freezing this goes well, because it sounds too good to waste!
ReplyDeleteGreat work on the substitutions. This was a delicious boiled dinner!
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