As a follow up to our article on ways to use duck fat, here’s how we use duck bacon.

We love duck bacon. It has a wonderful flavor and is actually much leaner than pork bacon. It also leaves a less pervasive aroma to cling to our apartment’s air.

Treat yourself to some. It also makes a nice gift for people who like to cook and enjoy pork bacon or roast duck.

Duck bacon is sold by D’Artagnan in eight-ounce packages for $14.99, with a price break for a six-pack. Unopened packages can be kept in the fridge for eight weeks, or frozen.

WHAT IS DUCK BACON?

Duck bacon is thinly sliced smoked duck breast, made from Moulard duck breast (called magret de canard on menus and in recipes—see the different types of ducks).

The slices are somewhat smaller than pork bacon strips, but they are thick and meaty with a rich, smoky flavor.

All-natural duck bacon comes from humanely-raised ducks. The product is labeled “uncured” per the USDA, because it has no added nitrates or nitrites.

Duck bacon is delicious in any recipe that calls for regular bacon.

 
Duck Bacon At Breakfast

 
Duck Bacon At Lunch

 
Duck Bacon At Dinner

According to the Food Standards of the USDA, the term “bacon” designates the cured belly of a swine carcass. If meat from another portion of the carcass is used, the product name must be qualified to identify the portion—for example, pork shoulder bacon.

And if another animal is used instead of the swine?

Meat from other animals, such as cattle, chicken, duck, lamb, goat or turkey—and from vegetarian sources like seitan—may also be cut, cured, or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon. It may even be referred to as “bacon.”

But according to the USDA, it isn’t. Unless it’s from a pig, it’s “imitation bacon” and should be labeled as such. Alternatively, it can be called “crispy smoked duck strips” or any word other than bacon.

Another of our favorite products, Schmacon beef bacon, calls itself “uncured smoked beef strips.”

Come on, USDA, change those standards. Your way is much more confusing to the consumers you’re supposed to be protecting.

Don’t want the alcohol? Don’t want a frozen pie? There’s a very creamy lemon cream pie recipe below.

RECIPE: FROZEN LEMON VODKA CREAM PIE*

Ingredients For 1 Pie

 
*A.K.A. New Amsterdam Frozen Lemonade Pie.

1. BLEND the ingredients together thoroughly, and scoop into the pie crust. Freeze.

2. SERVE with whipped cream and a sprinkle of lemon zest. Berries are optional but they provide a nice hit of color.

RECIPE: LUSCIOUS LEMON CREAM PIE

This recipe from Pillsbury gets its creaminess from sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream (whippping cream).

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 450°F. Bake the crust 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

3. BEAT beat 2 cups of the whipping cream and the food color in large bowl, with the electric mixer on high speed, until stiff.

4. FOLD the lemon mixture into the whipped cream until just blended. Spoon it into the crust. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours until set.

5. BEAT the remaining 1 cup of whipping cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, until stiff. Spoon dollops on top of the pie or on slices of pie when serving. Store the pie covered in the refrigerator.
 
 
 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EVAPORATED MILK AND SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

The quickest explanation is in the names: sweetened condensed milk has added sugar and evaporated milk doesn’t. It is also much thicker: Evaporated milk pours like regular milk, but sweetened condensed milk pours like molasses. They are not interchangeable in recipes, but both can be used in coffee.

 
 
 
THE HISTORY OF EVAPORATED MILK & SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK?

Both were invented by Gail Borden, who subsequently formed the dairy company that bears his name. In 1852 he was traveling transatlantic when the cows aboard ship became too seasick to provide milk (and there was no refrigeration in those days to keep milk fresh). He began to experiment, and two years later produced a canned milk that did not go sour at room temperature for three days after the can was opened.

Borden received a patent for sweetened condensed milk in 1856 and began commercial production the following year. Unsweetened condensed milk, now called evaporated milk, took more time to perfect since it didn’t have the sugar to inhibit bacteria growth. It was finally canned successfully in 1885.

In the days before refrigeration, both evaporated and sweetened condensed milk were used more than fresh milk because they were less likely to spoil and harbor harmful bacteria.
  

November 28th is National French Toast Day, so have fun with it.

At Fabrick, a fine restaurant restaurant in New York City, part of the culinary journey is food fun. Almost everything on the menu offers a new take on the traditional.

For French Toast, it’s nuggets.

The French Toast is cooked and cut into squares, which are:

 
How would you turn French Toast into fun?
 
MORE FOR NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY

Sure: We toss them right on top of plain Greek yogurt.

Or atop a green salad.

Or on top of mac and cheese or casseroles.

We never let those little pieces chips die heedlessly. We use them as croutons.

We use any chip pieces, plus cracker and pretzel pieces—anything crunchy. You can store all the crumbs in an airtight jar. A mix of crumbs will taste even better!

If you have enough, pulse them to an even consistency and use them as breading for chicken and fish.
 
TYPES OF CHIPS: CAN YOU ADD TO THIS LIST?

Here’s the list of chips we’ve had. Can you add to it?

Sweetgreen garnishes a green salad with tortilla chips. We use the broken chip pieces at the bottom of the bag. Photo courtesy Sweetgreen.

 
*The main difference between the two types of chip is that a tortilla chip is cut from a whole tortilla, and a corn chip is made from corn meal.

TOP PHOTO: Maya Kaimal Naan Chips.
BOTTOM PHOTO: Tandoori-cooked naan from
Stonefire.

A NEW KIND OF CHIP FROM MAYA KAIMAL

The latest addition to our roster of chips are Naan Chips from Maya Kaimal Fine Indian Foods. Joining the company’s line of Chickpea Chips, they’re available nin Sea Salt, Rosemary and Almost Everything (onion, poppy and anise). You can find a store locator as well as e-tailers at MayaKaimal.com.

One of the delectable family of Indian breads, naan (pronounced like the female name Nan) is a light, leavened bread, traditionally in a teardrop shape and cooked in a clay oven (see photo).

The chips are baked in a proprietary flame-baked process meant to emulate a wood-fired tandoor oven. The process creates the signature blisters and bubbles of authentic naan flatbread (it took more than 40 tries to get it right).

The toasty triangles are lighter and flakier than pita chips, and the seasonings are incorporated into the dough, not dusted on the surface.

Enjoy them with guacamole, hummus or other dips; with cheese or soup; or simply crunch away.

We love these Thanksgiving leftovers recipes from Reynolds Kitchens.

They created recipes for three popular American foods—waffles, tacos and pizza—to use up your leftovers at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

FOR MORE RECIPES, see Part 1 of this article.
 
 
RECIPE #1: THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS WAFFLE

For breakfast, start with a Thanksgiving Leftovers Waffle. Your stuffing becomes the waffle!

If you don’t have enough leftover stuffing, you can make regular waffles (don’t add sugar) or toaster waffles and use the stuffing as a topping.

Ingredients Per Waffle

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the stuffing onto a waffle maker and bake until slightly crispy on the outside. While the waffle cooks…

2. WARM the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.

3. ASSEMBLE: Place the stuffing waffle on a plate and top with mashed potatoes and turkey. Drizzle with gravy, or pass the gravy in a pitcher.
 
 
RECIPE #2: THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS TACO

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. WARM the leftovers, such as sweet potatoes, turkey and cranberries.

2. WARM the tortillas in the microwave or on the stove top.

3. ASSEMBLE the tortillas, topping off with cranberry sauce, gravy and/or salsa.
 
 
RECIPE #3: THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS PIZZA

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F.

[2] Tacos filled with leftovers.

[3] A pizza topped with leftovers.

3. TOP with additional leftovers, such as turkey, stuffing and fresh herbs.

4. HEAT until the crust is baked and the toppings are warmed through.

[3] Just place the ingredients in an Oven Bag, bake, cook and eat. There’s no pan to wash!

[5] Use Slow Cooker Liners to have steel-cut oatmeal waiting for you in the morning. Just toss the liner.

PRODUCTS FROM REYNOLDS

In case you think of Reynolds only as a manufacturer or aluminum foil, the company makes numerous other useful products for cooking, baking and roasting. All of them make clean-up so much easier.

You can use the foil pans just once, or be economical and wash them for re-use (we throw ours in the dishwasher).

 
See the full line.