After spending $19.95 on the Five-Spice Crispy Duck at Typhoon, I decided that there’s got to be a cheaper way to get crispy duck into my mouth.

A few years back I had the bright idea to roast my own Peking duck. I did the whole bit, from steaming it to render the fat, then air drying it in the fridge to crisp the skin, then roasting it to golden perfection. It turned out great but the entire duck ended up serving 1-2 people, when I had intended to serve it as a main course for four. I actually had to order chow-mein from the local Chinese restaurant to serve my guests, while the duck ended up as an expensive and time-consuming garnish for the salad. After that fiasco, I swore I would never cook another duck.

On that note, I headed down to the ID and bought a whole duck at King’s Barbecue House (plus a pound of Cha Shu because it looked so amazing). At Uwajimaya, I picked up the pancake buns, cilantro, jalapeños, plum sauce and an assortment of pickled dishes and seaweed salads. When I got to my friend’s house, I heated the pancakes in the microwave (per the instructions) and set out the meats and condiments. I mixed the plum sauce with a bit of the duck juices and we were ready to eat.

The duck was good but not fantastic, and something weird happened to the pancakes when microwaved: they turned into rock hard biscuits. So my first try of Duck Pancakes at Home didn’t go so well. However, the next day I heated the left-over buns in a steamer and they turned into the pillowy, soft buns I know and love. Plus I found a better source for BBQ duck at Sun Ya. So next time I’m convinced it will be just as good as Typhoon.

A few months ago I met my downstairs neighbors and discovered that they’re into food just as much as I am. We’ve been trying to get together for a while now and finally arranged a dinner date at their place. It’s strange going to a dinner party in your own apartment building; as soon as Zach and I left my apartment we were hit with an amazing smell and all the way down the stairs we were hoping that it was coming from M&K’s place. Sure enough it was.

We didn’t know what was on the menu until we walked in and M informed us it was Cinco De Mayo, which of course called for Mexican food. We started the meal with an amazing, fresh and light jicama salad. M is one of those cooks that I’m envious of; she just whips up dishes off the top of her head. She couldn’t give me an exact recipe, but it was something like this: jicama, roasted tomatoes, cilantro, slivered jalapeno, fresh corn sliced off the cob and minced shallot dressed with key lime juice, a pinch of sugar, olive oil and salt & pepper. It was delicious and I couldn’t stop eating it.

For the main course, M had made pork enchiladas. The pork had been rubbed down with a chili powder, then browned and stewed in 1/2 a can of beer, juice from an orange and a bit of salt. The stewed pork was then encased in corn tortillas and topped with a beautiful, brilliant green sauce. M told us to guess what was in it, but we couldn’t figure it out. The color made me think it was tomatillos and Zach guessed cilantro. Finally she told us it was made from ground up pepitas and coriander—it was delicious.

Dessert was a beautiful Angel Food cake with whipped cream and strawberries. The secret ingredient was a dash of Malibu coconut rum added to the whipped cream; the smell and taste were incredible!

It was a very enjoyable evening of eating, drinking and gossiping about the latest food / restaurant happenings. I just about died when I found out they had been invited to Gypsy, although I was disappointed to hear that it’s mostly patronized by people who like food because they think it makes them hip or interesting, instead of people who simply love food.

I was really excited to hear that M has some potentially large pokers in the fire for her food writing career. The last thing of hers I read was the article she had been published in Alaska Magazine. It’s a hilarious and true story!