Did tot-ka’s tonight (tater tots thawed then pressed and cooked in a waffle iron - my husband came up with the name, yet another reason to love him : ) with homemade applesauce and sour cream.
Tomorrow? Need to carve up the last of my “week after Thanksgiving turkey” to make turkey carcass soup, one of my childhood - and adult - favs.
I GOTTA make those “tot-ka”!!!
I bet they’re nice & crispy. Happy Hanukkah!
They are beautifully crispy on the outside, with fluff on the inside. My one drat is that they are a tad salty. But once you add the sour cream or applesauce (or both!) they are pretty darn perfect.
Before the holiday is over I might try another version of tot-kas by smushing three at a time in a pan, and cooking them. It will lesson the fluff but increase the crunch factor!
We get our tots at TJs and they don’t seem salty.
Roast Muskovy duck with grapes, red baby onions, and port.
Served with blueberry sauce.
Roast baby potatoes and yellow baby beets.
Red cabbage with apples.
Fresh horseradish + sour cream + many herbs.
The photos aren’t so great. But dinner was. Top Chef battle! 
Then you win!
I used ore-ida, hence maybe the saltiness : )
I just realized that you used fresh horseradish. I’m impressed. What I’ve seen is $100/#.
Horseradish =/= wasabi
Oops - mental crash.
Joes Special an old school SF dish. Served over rice or some crusty sourdough. Be sure to add some hot sauce. Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce is the correct one btw
Fantastic! I like that you cook outside of the box (to me anyway) I’ve been wanting to cook a duck. Is Muscovy less fatty? I remember my mom doing à l’orange once when I was a kid. It seemed like a fatty affair - racks, draining, more draining…
My father-in-law loves a good Joe’s Special.
Looks comforting!
I grew up eating duck, so it is fairly normal winter meal in our family. The trick is finding a Muscovy duck, which is actually very fatty, but that is the beauty of it. I made duck-fat roasted potatoes yesterday, plus had enough fat leftover to fill two little jars, one for my elderly Europen neighbor.
Duck fat is excellent when spread on fresh rye bread with a sprinkle of coarse salt. Maybe a few green pepper strips…
It’s not difficult, simply place in a roasting pan with aromatics and a little wine or broth, and roast. (A dry brine and air drying is highly recommended if you have the time.) Like a chicken.
Slurp… I’m doing it.
That looks a lot better than what I’ve seen over the decades in SF.
Nope, fresh applesauce.
But? I have made fresh horseradish. Got a horseradish root from Elat market and grated it into vinegar. Amazing flavor, way less than $100 - but wow! My eyes watered!
Would be fab mixed into whipped cream be served with a meat or fish…
Frugal Gourmet’s lamb with orzo pasta
This is hands-down one of my favorite things; I’ve been making it for years and years. That second measure of oo is IMO way too much but other than that I do it as written. SO highly recommend.
It JUST occurred to me after probably 20+ years cooking this that I could also make it with pork (shoulder) or beef (chuck?) which is easier for me to get and cost a lot less. Duh 
