Monday, March 23, 2009

Duck Fried Rice

Crabby Quiz:  What's white, more or less 50 years old, wears glasses and weighs an average of 250 pounds?

Give up?  Why, it's everyone in Section F at last Saturday's Eagles concert.

If you are "of an age", the Eagles wrote the soundtrack of your youth. Love 'em or hate' em, you can at least hum along to everything from "Desperado" and "Take It Easy" to "Tequila Sunrise" and "Hotel California". Going to a concert now is both a pleasant stroll down memory lane and a stark reminder that time waits for no fan or band.

Saturday night brought their "Long Road Out of Eden" tour to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Given that the average age of the group is 61, it seems that the road out of Eden might be considered going in the wrong direction.  Especially unnerving was the resemblance between Timothy B. Schmit and the Cryptkeeper.  Schmit wasn't alone.  Don Henley, either setting or following the lead of his fans, hadn't missed too many meals.  It had me thinking that "Heart of The Matter" referred to a chat with his cardiologist.  

There were other changes.  I understand that Time is a merciless force, so I wasn't too surprised by the occasional cane or wheelchair.  What did set me off though was the handful of scooters.  Here's a bit of Crabby advice, if you need a scooter to get around at an Eagles concert, stop eating for a while, your heart and joints will thank you.

Speaking of joints, there was no smoking at the concert.  Beer and mixed drinks were being sold in comically large plastic glasses, but I saw no grass or cocaine.  But that doesn't mean the show was drug-free; there was a guy in the Mens room making a killing dealing Cialis and Flomax.

But no one cared.  The show lasted 2 1/2 hours with a brief break.  We heard all the old songs and only had to suffer through a handful of the new ones. Recognizing that we hadn't come to learn new lyrics, the Eagles turned into one big sing-a-long. 

Leftovers.  Some of the best meals are leftovers.  In that vein, today we're going to make that Chinese restaurant stalwart, fried rice.   This meal really exists to clean out the fridge. This can be made with any leftover meat or tofu, but in honor of the richness of the Eagles legacy, I'm making it with some extra duck breast, enjoy...



Duck Fried Rice
by Crabby

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP Peanut Oil

8 ounces mushrooms, chopped into large dice
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 red or orange pepper, small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger 
Pinch of red pepper flakes
8 ounces (or so) of leftover duck (or other meat)
1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
3 cups cooked white rice

3 TBSP Soy sauce
1 TBSP Sesame Oil


In a non-stick pan, melt 1/2 TBSP of butter over medium-high heat.  When foaming add the lightly beaten eggs and a pinch of salt.  Lift the edges of the pan to help the uncooked egg run to the sides.  

Once set, transfer the egg to a cutting board and allow to cool.

In a large saute pan or wok, heat 2 TBSP of peanut oil over high heat.  When hot add the scallions and diced peppers, cook for 2 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger  and red pepper flakes. Saute 1 minute.

Add the duck and thawed peas, saute 1 minute.

Add the rice, soy and sesame oil.  Saute for an additional 2 minutes.


Serve.


This is great comfort food.  The spiced up leftovers not only remind you of previous meals but also inspire you to think of new ways of looking at ingredients.  It's ridiculously easy and tasty.  CrabCake2 sees to it that fried rice never lasts more than one meal.

Well crablings,  I'm outta here for now, got to try and get the ringing out my ears.  Probably should have bought those official Eagles earplugs before the show.  Joe Walsh can still bring it.










2 comments:

WineWizardBob said...

Hey Man
First time I saw the Eagles, they were the warm-up group for the Allman Brothers in the old acoustically challenged Boston Garden.

Serve American Pinot Noir. I am not too happy with the 2007 from Oregon. I do like the 2006. Recently tried the Martin Rey Santa Barbara 2006 and thought it was a steal for under $20.

Take it easy.

tamilyn said...

LOL-dealing cialis in the john, that cracks me up.