Amazing how much I can accomplish on a Sunday if the Jets played already on Thursday …

Like a restaurant, I’m trying to use everything that’s left from other cooking forays – here it’s the duck carcass from Thanksgiving dinner, leftover shredded carrots from a soffrito, celery ends, and some onions that were getting ready to go south. Oh, and some beef broth leftover from another recipe. All of it goes into the stockpot with water and gets cooked down to make duck stock.

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IRAQI REFUGEES WHO RETURNED NOW LEAVING AGAIN. “(NEWSER) – Nearly 100,000 refugees have returned to Iraq since 2008, but many are leaving again—and for some, this may be the last time. “I was near a female suicide bomber a couple months ago. Then I was in my brother’s truck when insurgents opened fire on a bridge. My friend was killed in front of me with a knife,” one tells the New York Times, highlighting the fact that despite the improvements that induced so many to return, the nation remains far from secure.”

Me and flippin’ eck about 3 beers in at my favorite watering hole:

Donald (the duck) is in the oven for the first bit of roasting.  This was the view of my front door yesterday morning,  to remind me to defrost the duckling:

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Don’t try this at home … or anywhere:

Thanksgiving on the Upper West Side means being jarred awake by the sound of helicopters covering the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, it also means Julia Child’s Duck Stuffed With Apples and Sausage.

And yes – I could totally pull off that dress.

Consider this an open thread for your cooking adventures.  I’ll post my duck saga as it happens, and you should send me photos to post as well.

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But justice at last: AUSTIN – A Texas jury Wednesday found Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader and Texas political powerhouse, guilty in a money-laundering trial involving contributions to political campaigns…. Mr. DeLay faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge. [NYT]