Ingredients:

4- 8 oz. duck breasts

2 T. olive oil

 Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400^oF.  With a sharp knife, score the skin side of the duck breasts in a crisscross pattern.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet.  Sear the skin side of the duck breasts until golden and crisp.  Remove from skillet and place in baking dish.  Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes or until 140^o internal temperature.  Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.  Serves 4.

Port Wine Cherry Sauce

1 can sour cherries, drained

2 T. honey

½ t. cinnamon

½ c. port

2 ¼ t. cornstarch, dissolved in cold water

 Directions:

Combine first four ingredients in small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to gentle boil.  Add cornstarch and stir until thickened.  Serves 4.

The potatoes are boulangère, which is like a gratin only supposedly healthier as it’s made with stock rather than cream. So we added goose fat.

There was method to this though, as traditionally a bird is roasted above the boulangère potatoes directly on a rack so the fat drips onto the potatoes. As we were just using the breasts though, I felt the potatoes needed an extra whoompf of fat.

We’ve done this duck dish a lot over the years. The duck is just amazing if quantities of peppercorn are adhered to. We once added way too many Szechuan peppercorns and our tongues were numb for the rest of the night and it also meant that the duck tasted of hospitals. Be warned…

The Potatoes – serves 4 (I always like to have leftovers)

6 or 7 medium to large potatoes, we used maris piper

2 onions, thinly sliced

3 sprigs of thyme

500ml chicken stock

1 ½ tblsp goose fat

Pre-heat the oven to 170c, and grease baking dish. Gently soften the onion with the thyme. Remove the leaves and discard the twigs. Layer dish with onion and thyme, then potato, then onion and season and repeat until no more potato. Pour over stock, dot with goose fat, season again, cover with foil and whack in the oven for a good 1 ½ to 2 hours (we cooked ours for longer and they were a bit mushy, but we did have a nice pint with Tom). For the last twenty minutes, remove foil and raise temperature for the duck to 180c.

The Duck – serves 2

2 duck breasts

1 tspn black peppercorns

1 tspn szechuan peppercorns

Pat the duck dry and score the skin in a diamond pattern. Fry the peppercorns in a dry pan until aromatic, then bash with a pestle and mortar with some salt. Rub the mix onto the skin. Render the duck fat in a dry pan, skin side down on the lowest heat until the skin is crispy (should take about 15 minutes). Flip them over on a higher heat to seal, although only for a minute or two. Then transfer pan to oven (about 180c – the potatoes will be on 170c so raise temperature), and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes (8 is pink, 10 is just pink). Leave to rest on a warm plate or the like for 10 minutes.

To Serve

Wilted spinach

Fried leeks – this was one leek, outer skin removed, halved lengthways, then thinly sliced and fried for about five minutes in a knob of butter and splash of water, then seasoned.

Red wine reduction – pour in a good glass worth of wine, reduce by half, then add about 100ml of chicken stock. Reduce again, season and serve. Marvel at the colour.

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The first of these is the issue of fan ovens and the temperatures quoted in recipes. I am entirely prepared to accept that I would be wrong in assuming that most people, these days, use a fan oven, even though these seem to be what is sold by default in appliance stores. However, having learned in a cheffy program that a 20 degree adjustment is required when using a fan oven, I would have thought it worthwhile for recipes to mention this fact. Anyway, this Christmas, I made a particular effort to adjust all my oven temperatures (which are fairly nominal at best, due to the distinctly non-precision nature of the knobs on my oven), with spectacular results. So, if you use a fan oven, and follow recipes, I recommend you try reducing the temperature by 20 degrees. You may benefit by more succulent meat, springier sponges, and golden, rather than brown, pastry.

The second issue, and my apologies to any vegetarians, concerns resting times for roast meat. Partly because of my experiments in reducing the oven temperature, I was paying careful attention to make sure that my turkey was, in fact, edible. About a year ago I invested in a digital probe thermometer for calibrating a new oven (the old one had dramatically exploded, after filling with gas as the result of a failed regulator,following on the extreme cold conditions we experienced last winter. Clearly, although blown across the room and slightly scorched, I survived to tell the tale and be grateful that our winter has, thus far, been frost free). Full of enthusiasm, I looked up  the correct temperature for a succulent duck breast and set the thermometer to alert me when this had been reached. I duly removed the duck breasts from the oven, covered them with foil, and left them to rest, as one is advised to do. I also, as it happened, left the thermometer probe in position. The temperature crept up, and up, and up. When we came to eat the duck breasts (a l’orange) they were no longer pink, but what I would call medium to well done.

This leads me to the obvious question. Surely a cooking time for a fowl, or a roast, should incorporate a resting time? If I know that the turkey will be resting for an hour, how can I possibly calculate at what internal temperature I should remove it from the oven? And yet, all the instructions and advice for roasting chickens and turkeys exhorts you to make sure it is fully cooked when you remove it from the oven. Of course, experience would tell, but I don’t actually roast that many turkeys, or large joints, or even small duck breasts. If anyone can shed any light on this matter, please do comment.

PLUM-GLAZED DUCK BREASTS
(from Fine Cooking magazine, October 2011)

2 boneless, skin-on duck breast halves
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup plum preserves
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Heat the oven to 425°F. Trim any excess skin and fat from the duck breast and, using a very sharp knife,  score the skin and fat underneath in a 1-inch diamond pattern. Be careful not to cut all the way through the flesh, you want to just get the layer of fat underneath the skin to be exposed, so the fat renders more efficiently.  Pat the duck dry and season with salt and pepper.

Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Put the duck in the skillet skin side down, reduce the heat to medium low, and render the fat until only a thin, crisp layer of skin remains. It will take 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the preserves, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and red pepper flakes. Remove the duck to a platter, pour most of the fat off the skillet, and return the filets to the pan, skin side up. Brush the preserves mixture over the breasts. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 135°F for medium rare, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the duck to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.  Heat the remaining plum mixture briefly, slice the duck diagonally  and spoon the pan juice over.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

You won’t need much else to round out this meal.  White rice and carrots with an agave nectar glaze were wonderful for us, next to the rich and flavorful duck. But the best part of this meal was the smile on Phil’s face when I said we were having maigret de canard for dinner…  Sweet memories of Paris make any evening a special event!

ONE YEAR AGO: Holiday Double-Decker

TWO YEARS AGO: Tried and Tasty!

Pan-Seared Duck in a Gingered Cherry Glaze with Fried Sage

Ingredients:
2 1lb Duck Breasts, with Fat
Salt and Pepper to taste
8-12 fresh Sage Leaves
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Cherry Juice
3 oz Kirschwasser
1 tsp Ginger Powder
1 Tbsp Butter

Directions:

• Score the fat of each Duck Breast, crisscross.
• Sprinkle liberally with Salt and Pepper
• Heat a skillet on medium heat, and place the Breasts fat-side down in the Skillet.
• Cook for 7-8 minutes, rendering the fat.
• Flip the Breasts, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes or until Medium Rare.
• Remove from the pan.
• In the hot duck fat, place the Sage leaves, and fry for 1-2 minutes, until crisp. Remove to papertowel.
• Remove the excess fat. You can save it for use in other dishes.
• On medium heat, deglaze the Skillet with the Kirschwasser and Balsamic Vinegar.
• Add the Honey, Cherry Juice, and Ginger.
• Cook for 2 minutes until bubbly, then melt the Butter into the Sauce.
• Take the Duck Breasts and return them to the Skillet, turning them over in the Sauce to coat.
• Plate the Duck.
• Slice the Duck then drizzle some Sauce over the Duck.
• Garnish with the fried Sage.

Makes 2-4 Servings…each breast is 16 oz, and would make each a very hearty portion. Depending on serving sizes, you could feed up to four people.

NOTES: Duck is a lost poultry to most people. This is probably one of the simplest meals for Duck and it packs an amazing flavorful taste. The Gingered Cherry Sauce compliments the bold flavor of the Duck Breast. The Sage gives an aromatic crispy edible garnish. I would recommend this dish during Christmas, especially a romantic Christmas dinner for two.

Brunty Farms is known for its pasture-raised chickens, which literally have the run of the farm. But Brunty is also gaining a reputation for its pork, turkeys, heritage poultry, and produce. And, to my great delight, they’ve also begun raising ducks.

I’ve purchased duck eggs from them a few times, and recently was fortunate to get my hands on one of their fresh ducks. Mel e-mailed me a month or so before they were planning to process the ducks to see if I wanted one. Of course I said yes, and last week my duck was finally ready!

The duck was on the smallish side — about 4 pounds — and in retrospect, I probably should have roasted it whole. But I had other plans for it, so as soon as I got it home, I began butchering it.

I’m not an expert when it comes to butchering poultry, but ducks are actually pretty easy to take apart. They’re connected by layers of fat, and it’s easy to follow the fat lines to remove the breasts, legs, and wings. And the bones are light, brittle, and easy to cut through at the joints.

I froze the wings, carcass, and other miscellaneous parts to use for stock. I put the legs in the fridge to use for duck confit. And the breasts became dinner that evening.

In keeping with the quality I’ve come to expect from Brunty Farms, this was the most tender and flavorful duck I’ve ever made. I don’t know whether they will continue raising ducks at the farm, but I sure hope so.

And I can’t wait to get my fresh turkey from them for Thanksgiving!

This was a very simple recipe and was easy to throw together on a weeknight. Some of the other FFwD members had a difficult time finding duck breasts, and some of them paid quite a bit for them (up to $20/lb) once they located them. Fortunately, I have a local farm that was processing ducks this week, so for $4/lb and a bit of butchering, I had duck legs for confit, offal, the neck and carcass for stock, and two beautiful breasts for this recipe.

I scored the breasts to allow the fat to render as they cooked.

After preheating the oven to 250°F and heating a dutch oven on the stovetop, I put the breasts, skin side down, in the pan. I cooked them for 8 minutes, then turned them over and cooked an additional 2 minutes.

I realized when I turned them over that I should have cooked them slightly less time than the recipe called for, as the duck breasts were on the small side.

I wrapped the duck breasts in foil and put them in the oven while I made the sauce, which consisted of duck fat, balsamic vinegar, honey, and lime juice. I cooked the sauce for a minute or two, then put the breasts in the pan and heated them on each side for about 30 seconds.

I sliced the breasts on a cutting board, then drizzled some of the sauce on top.

The duck breasts were slightly overcooked for my liking, but were still juicy, tender, and delicious. I tried a piece before plating, and ended up eating both duck breasts (with the help of A, who had already had dinner) directly from the cutting board. The meat was savory and not at all greasy, and the sauce was sweet, tangy, and slightly sour.

I could eat these duck breasts any night of the week. And since this is such a simple recipe, I’m sure I’ll be making them again soon.

With due cause…tea is a cultural icon, a ritual, even the stuff of ceremony and likely the most beloved libation on earth for centuries—sating rich and poor alike.

Tea is made from processed and cured leaves and buds harvested from various cultivars of an evergreen bush, Camellia sinensis. The plant usually grows on plantations in tropical and sub-tropical regions at varying elevations. The cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for easy access, and only the 1-2″ tops of the mature plant, known as flushes, are plucked.

The leaves of Camellia sinensis soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried promptly after picking. Leaf size and post-harvest processing, particularly fermentation, determines the type of tea. The word “fermentation” in tea speak refers to how much the leaves are allowed to undergo enzymatic oxidation during the drying process. The oxidation may be stopped by heat via pan frying or steaming before the leaves are completely dried.

The more ubiquitous tea types on the market are green, white, oolong and black. Green tea is withered with little oxidation and then heated to impart its unique flavor. A rather scarce commodity, white tea is made from silver fuzzed buds that are barely unfurled. It is unprocessed meaning that very little is done to the harvested leaf. Oolong is plucked and then laid out on withering racks in the sun which causes evaporation. The dried leaves are then tossed so the edges are bruised to allow partial oxidization. The leaves are fired to halt the oxidization process. Black teas are heavily oxidized and fully fermented making them deeply fragrant.

The Chinese character for tea is 茶, but pronounciations vary by region. One is tê, which derives from the Min Nan dialect while the other is chá, used by the Cantonese and Mandarin dialects.

Tea-smoking has a long culinary history in China. Originally, it was a means of preserving food, but later was strictly used to impart scents and flavors. This dish calls for a more robust black tea, Lapsang Souchong, whose fermented leaves are pressed into bamboo baskets and hung over smoky pine fires to infuse the tea with its notorious flavor. But, feel free to substitute another black, oolong or even green variety.

TEA-SMOKED DUCK BREASTS

2 (3/4 to 1 lb each) duck breasts, whole and boned, with skin on
1 T Sichuan peppercorns
Sea salt

Marinade
2 T Chinese rice wine (preferably Shaoxing)
1 t fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 T nước mắm Phú Quốc (fish sauce)
1 T nước măn chay pha sản (chilied soy sauce)
1 t sesame oil
1/2 T honey
2 scallions, trimmed and cut into strips lengthwise

Peanut oil

Smoking Mixture
1/2 C dry Lapsang Souchong tea leaves
1/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C packed raw sugar (turbinado)
1/2 C dry rice
1 T Sichuan peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
3 star anise

Toast peppercorns in a dry small heavy skillet over moderately low heat, shaking occasionally, until peppercorns are just fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Allow to cool some, then coarsely grind in mortar and pestle or grinder.

Gently mix all of the tea smoking ingredients in a small bowl.

Pat the duck dry. Shallowly score the breasts in a diagonal pattern about 1/2″ apart, taking care to cut only into the fat and not into the meat. Season with the roasted, ground peppers and salt, massaging the mixture into the skin. Allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, whisk together the rice wine, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey. Add the scallions to this mixture and stir.

Place the duck either in a ziploc bag or tightly covered glass baking pan and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight and then transfer duck to a platter and bring to room temperature before proceeding. Discard marinade.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet or wok over medium high until nearly smoking. Sear the duck breasts on the skin side only until golden brown about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.

To smoke the duck breasts, line a Dutch oven or wok by lining it with two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Wrap the top in foil as well for easy cleaning. Spread the smoking ingredients in the bottom of the Dutch oven or wok and place a steaming rack about one inch above the smoking mixture.

Set the uncovered Dutch oven or wok over high heat and cook until wisps of smoke emit from the smoking mixture. Place the duck breasts, skin side down, on the rack. Tightly cover and smoke duck breasts, about 8 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, and additional 8 minutes for medium rare. Carefully uncover as smoke and steam will billow out. Remove breasts to a cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes. Carve breasts across the grain in thin diagonal slices and serve.

Pourboire: with minor variations, this same technique of (1) marinading, (2) searing or steaming and (3) smoking can be used for a whole host of fin and feather, even swine.

Last weekend, armed with my copy of Ottolenghi and some beautiful wines that my long weekend buddy brought along, I cooked exclusively from his cookbook. Below are the three dishes out of the six that I cooked that really were above and beyond either of our expectations. And made our Sunday afternoon and evening a very flavoursome memory! It wasn’t that the others weren’t enjoyable at all, I’ll tell you about them at a later date though.

I need to preface this also by saying that you really must follow the order and quantities of his recipes, don’t try and get clever – it will end in tears!

Etti’s Herb Salad

This was my dish of the day. I love herb salads and the simultaneous complexity and elegance of this dish was second to none. This does require you though to focus and coordinate your timing so as it gets to the table, perfectly.

35g coriander leaves

40g flat leaf parsley leaves

20g dill leaves

35g tarragon leaves

30g basil leaves

40g rocket leaves

50g unsalted butter

150g unskinned almonds

1/2 tsp course sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

Gently immerse the herbs leaves in cold water, being careful not to bruise them. Drain in a colander and then in a salad spinner (or by spreading them over a dry cloth)

Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the almonds, salt and pepper. Saute for 5-6 minutes over a low to moderate heat until the almonds are golden. Transfer to a colander to drain – making sure that you keep the butter that’s left in the pan. Leave it somewhere warm so as it doesn’t set. Once the almonds are cool enough to touch, chop them roughly.

To assemble the salad, place the herbs in a large bowl. Add the almonds, cooking butter, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss together gently and season to taste before serving.

Seared duck breasts with blood orange and star anise

This was a stunning dish. If you can’t get your hands on blood oranges as they are only in season for a short time, use mandarins instead.

Serves 4

4 ducks breasts, weighing 180-200g each. If you can get either Muscovy or Pekin Aylesbury duck breasts, these are ideal.

2 tbsp fennel seeds

pinch dried chilli flakes

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp coarse sea salt

240ml blood orange juice (from about 4 oranges) plus 4 extra oranges

180ml red wine

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

16 star anise

6 dried chillies

Score the skin of each duck breast in three or four parallel incisions, without cutting into the meat. Repeat this process at a 90° angle to the other cuts to get square shaped incisions. Mix the fennel seeds, chilli flakes, cumin, black pepper and salt together then rub them into the duck breasts with your hands. Place on a plate, cover and put them in the fridge for at least four hours, but better if it’s overnight.

To prepare the oranges, use a small sharp knife to cut the top and bottom off each orange. Stand them up on your board and neatly (and slowly) follow the natural curves of each orange. Cut each orange horizontally into 6 slices. Remove the pips and put all the pieces into a bowl and set aside.

It’s now time to sear the duck. Thoroughly heat a large heavy based frying pan (make sure it has a lid). Place the duck breasts, skin side down, and cook for three minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Turn over and cook the other side for three minutes. Remove the breasts from the pan and let them rest in warm place. Discard most of the duck fat from the pan and add the wine, orange juice, vinegar and star anise. Bring to the boil and simmer 5-6 minutes until reduced by half. Taste and season if necessary. Return the duck breasts to the pan and cost with the sauce. Cover with the lid and simmer gently for 7 minutes

Take the dried chillies, orange slices and any additional juice and place closely to the breasts in the pan, continue simmering for 3 minutes. At this stage, the breasts will be medium rare. Remove the duck breasts and place on a board and allow to rest 3-4 minutes. Check the sauce again and season again if necessary. Slice each breast at an angle into pieces that are 1cm thick and place on serving plates. Pick some of the orange segments from the pan and place on the plate next to the sliced breast. Gently spoon over the top of the breasts and serve the rest on the side.

We loved this dish! Etti’s Herb Salad was a great accompaniment, as was the fennel salad below.

Fennel and feta with pomegranate seeds and sumac

In its purest form, this salad is just a festival of colour and flavour. It’s crisp, aromatic and over delivers in all its sensory pleasures, especially the heady fragrance of tarragon and fennel together.

1/2  pomegranate

2 medium fennel bulbs

1.5 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp sumac, plus extra to garnish

juice of half lemon

4 tbsp tarragon leaves

2 tbsp roughly chopped flat leaf parsely

70g of good quality Greek feta cheese, sliced

salt and pepper

Start by releasing the pomegranate seeds, The best way to do this is the halve the fruit along it’s belly then hold one half with the seeds facing your palm and start hitting the back of the fruit with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to hit too hard so as you don’t bruise the fruit.

Remove the leaves from the fennel, keeping a few to garnish the salad later. Trim the base, making sure that you leave enough of it still attached to hold the slices together. Slive very thinly (a mandolin is very handy to do this).

In a bowl, mix the olive oil, sumac, lemon juice, herbs and some salt and pepper. Add the fennel and toss well. Taste for seasoning remembering that the feta will add saltiness.

Layer the fennel, then the feta and the pomegranate seeds into your serving dish. Garnish with fennel leaves, sprinkle over some sumac and serve.

I’m typing in pain, during the making of this delicious dish I was a complete eejit and managed to burn myself with boiling hot duck fat.  Lets just say when draining hot fat out of a pan do not attempt to hold the dish you are pouring into in your hand, particularly if it is glass, as said glass dish could break in your hands sending boiling hot fat everywhere.  Lesson learnt. Hand burnt.

I bought duck breasts because I saw them reduced in the local supermarket and thought I might be able to knock up something oriental inspired to make up for the lack of Chinese takeaway deliveries to this flat lately.  My finger is still burning and typing seems to be aggravating this so I keep it short.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, sliced into fine julienne
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 inch of ginger, chopped
• 1 fat clove of garlic, chopped
• zest of 1 orange
• juice of orange
• good slosh or two of soy sauce ( I used Tamari, gf)
• 2 dessert spoonfuls of agave syrup, or sugar
• 2 duck breasts

Method:

Prepare all your veg and set to one side.  Score the duck skin in a criss cross pattern, and salt.  Heat a frying pan.  Place duck breasts skin side down in hot, dry pan.  Fry for about 5 min on skin side and 3 on other side, depending on size, this should ensure a crispy skin and a pink middle.

Take the breasts out of the pan and rest on a board.  Drain off fat bar about a teaspoonful (you can use this for frying potatoes in at another time).  See cautionary tale above for tips on how to be a complete butter fingers and burn yourself.  Add ginger and garlic to the pan, stir fry for a minute.  Add the carrots, spring onions, soy, orange juice and zest.  Stir fry for a couple of minutes.  Add syrup or sugar and stir letting it bubble up into a sticky coating.  Pile a heap of carrots onto each plate, slice duck diagonally and place on top.  Serve.

I am aware of how ducks are raised and force fed to get them and their liver plumped but I am sorry, I just don’t think about it… and if I do, I end up craving instead.

Duck Breasts with port and Cherry Sauce
Foie Gras Side Dish

Duck Breast Ingredients: Fresh duck breasts (skins on), 1 chopped shallot, handful of pitted cherries, half a can of chicken stock, and port.

Foie Gras Ingredients: foie gras, pitted prunes, port.

Picked up the meat from Armando's in Granville Island. Four duck breasts for less than $40 and a piece of foie gras for $10.

Soak the prunes (take out the pit) and pitted cherries in port for about an hour.

Season the duck breast skin with salt and pepper, then place on a dry frying pan, skin down. Do not add oil.

Turn on low heat for about 10 minutes until the fat has been rendered. Then turn up the heat a bit so the skin is slightly crisp and golden brown.

Flip the breasts and cook the other for about 3 minutes until it feels slightly springy. Then remove to a plate. Keep the fat. Duck should be medium rare, any more cooked you may as well get a bucket of fried chicken and watch me eat.

Stir in the shallot, port and pitted cherries (it's prunes above, but it's the same step for the sauce for both dishes) on medium heat. Pour the sauce aside. Add cornflour if you want thicker sauce.

Pat the foie gras dry. Heat the frying pan (or cast iron) on medium heat. Do not add oil.

Place the foie gras on the pan and sear until it is brown.

Turn, and sear the other side. Cook for a few minutes, keep a close eye on it because the longer you cook it, the smaller it gets! Place the foie gras on a plate.

Use the same steps for the cherry sauce with prunes instead.  As you can tell, the prune sauce is an experiment that worked out quite well.  Although I do not like cherries, the cherry sauce did not have any cherry taste because of the port.  Since the sauce is cooked with duck oil, you will need to eat it while it’s hot, or it will solidify.  Microwaving the sauce is okay.

If you have more duck oil (no duck goes to waste in our kitchen), pan fry potatoes in them which was what Patch for his plate (since he won’t be eating the shellfish).

We needed some veggies on the plate so we stir fried the bok choy in butter.

This is my dish, trying to practice my plating skills.

Patch cares about making room for his potato cakes (Season potato squares with salt and pepper and fry in leftover duck oil).

Medium rare duck breast.

Finally, my duck on duck pic... foie gras slathered on duck breast. That was a taste of heaven! This was why I married Patch.

Valentine’s Dinner Part 1 – Italian Style Turnip Soup
Valentine’s Dinner Part 2 – Panchetta is the New Bacon
Valentine’s Dinner Part 3 – Shellfish Party

• Little Gem Lettuce Salad with Citrus, Pomegranate and Honey Vinaigrette
• Pan Roasted Duck Breasts
• Butter Braised Radishes, Kohlrabi and Brussel Sprouts
• Leek Bread Pudding
• Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Champagne Cocktails + Sauvignon Blanc + Pinot Noir + Cabernet Sauvignon

Other Necessaries:

• Chicken Stock
• Brioche

Treasure Hunt: Finding Little Gem Lettuce was impossible. In fact, Alex and I spent a good deal of time at Byerly’s trying to figure out what Satsuma oranges were, what qualified as “Spanish” onions, and what exactly makes “Little Gem Lettuces” such a treasure. Turns out, its the fact that you can’t find them…anywhere. Luckily we have iPhones; so we Googled and substituted. Small Artisan lettuces for Little Gems. Clementines for Satsumas. Yellow onions for Spanish ones. And it seems to have worked out just fine. Additionally, I had to order the proper duck breast from D’Artagnan because in Minnesota I couldn’t find Pekin duck breast. I could find the entire duck, but not just the breast. I could also find several other varieties of duck, but not Pekin or Long Island. First lesson of the weekend: I don’t know how much any of this matters! Think I’ll make the duck again with Muscovy and let you know the verdict.

Prep work and the Dirty 30: Today is my birthday! Which meant, of course, I was cooking. The plan was to cook for Alex and for my two lovely friends who flew in from LA to celebrate with me. Due to the high cost of the duck breast, I didn’t invite anyone else (D’Artagnan cost $67 for 4 duck breasts shipped overnight). This also meant starting cooking on Thursday because this was a serious birthday extravaganza. Thursday I made the cookie dough. Friday, the brioche dough and the duck arrived. Saturday I roasted the tomatoes, baked the brioche, and made the chicken stock. When Sunday started I felt way ahead of the game. And then…

The Birthday Miracle: I opened the duck breast packages, (which claimed to be 2 per package), only to find FOUR per package. Suddenly, we needed more guests. I had eight duck breasts instead of four! Happy Birthday to me. So, we called a few others and wound up with my parents, my sister’s family and another friend to join us. Amazing.

The Rundown:

Prep the Leek Bread Pudding: It felt like a shame baking beautiful brioche loaves just to leave them out all day to dry. However, this bread pudding was hands down the smash hit of the evening. I realize a savory bread pudding that qualified as “light” is unimaginable…but take my word for it. It was fantastic.

Prep the Veggies: You can definitely blanch in advance…

Make the Salad and Vinaigrette: This salad is not only beautiful but is also easy to make and refreshing. I burnt the walnuts on the first round, but other than that, no problem. The pomegranate adds a nice bitter element that is offset by the citrus. Lovely.

Rapidly Make Everything at Once and Eat: This dinner was wonderful and very light. The tomatoes added a great acidity to the creamy bread pudding. The duck was lovely (I was pleased with the skin’s texture even if the meat was medium rather than rare) and the veggies were crunchy, colorful and sweet.

Great Food, Even Better Friends: This was an amazing birthday, shared with wonderful friends (who flew to Minnesota in January to celebrate!), delightful family and one spectacular husband.  Still not over the surprise balloons and decorations he pulled off.  Thank you all for a truly, happy, birthday.

Next time: Warm the tomatoes just slightly and hire a staff. I’ve realized the reason I can’t get everything out on time is because Thomas Keller has eight people to my one. Something is bound to be luke warm with only two hands in the kitchen.

Make again: EVERYTHING

1 duck breast per person, skin on
Coarse sea salt
2 cloves of garlic
Pepper

Damson sauce

Mallard Duck

Back in the early 90s it seemed like every upscale restaurants couldn’t get enough of duck! Much like all hot food trends, fads come and go. I for one am bringing the Canard back!

Today we are going to talk about the does and don’ts of duck cookery. Yes, there is an art to cooking duck and you are going to learn it. Lets get started shall we?

Ok, some things to start off: ducks are like Olympic athletes, migrating from pond to pond all the time. All the exercise ducks get is the reason that their meat is that dark red color, from all the blood being circulated. Also, from being in such cold climates ducks have developed a thick layer of fat to keep them warm. Below this husky little blanket of pudge, the duck is very lean (I am sure some of you have used this line before ). Also from being so active, the ducks thighs and legs are very lean, making them very tough and stringy for us fellow cooks. However, duck legs are a story for another time, so don’t throw them out! Keep them wrapped tight in your freezer till next time.

So, lets talk about the breasts (keep giggling to a minimum please). The first thing you must remember is RENDER,  RENDER, RENDER. The trick to a pefectly cooked duck breast is all in the rendering  of the fat  from the breast. Too many times I have been at a restaurant and fat is almost burnt, still raw and thick on the breast, shame. The trick to rendering  is to score the breast in a cross hatch pattern.  This allows the fat to cook out quickly without cooking the breast and keeps the fat from tightening and curling up. This is easy, just make sure you have a SHARP knife. Run the knife lightly over the skin in parallel lines about 1/4 ” apart. You want to just break the thin skin but not cut deep into the flesh. Rotate the breast and repeat process on the other end creating a cross hatch pattern. Season that breast generously with salt and pepper and maybe some Chinese 5 spice.

Next, lay the breast, skin side down, into a cold pan and turn heat on to medium-low. A cold pan you say? Why yes, you want to slowly cook the fat out and not overcook the bird. This is the first mistake a lot of people make because they are used to using a hot pan to get  a good sear and crust for a chicken breast, for instance.

Within the first 3-4 minutes, you will start to see the fat starting to melt from the bosom. Occasionally push down on the breast to help coax out that tasty blubber. Depending on the thickness of the fat, this could take around 8-10 minutes. Peek at the skin around 6 -8 minutes, if it’s starting to look a little tan, crank the heat up and brown the skin till it’s golden and crisp. Now, carefully turn over the breast and continue to cook until the other side is browned, about 2-3 minutes, but no longer. By this time you should have a small lake of duck fat in the pan. Carefully remove the breast onto warm plate and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes.

That’s a lot of oil you got there, you aren’t thinking of throwing it away, are you? That’s delicious stuff right there, sautéed potatoes, omelets and roast veggies; all would be so happy to take a swim with the duck. Also, Duck fat is quite healthy…

Duck fat contains 35.7% saturates, 50.5% monounsaturates (high in linoleic acid) and 13.7% polyunsaturated fats (which contains Omega-6 and Omega-3 essential oils). Compare this to olive oil, which is 75% monounsaturated fat (mostly oleic acid) 13% saturated fat and 10% Omega-6 linoleic acid and 2% Omega-3 linoleic acid. Just so you know!

So please strain it, freeze it, moisture your hands or throw it back in a shot glass, but just don’t throw it out!

After you have let it rest, slice the breast. You want to see the color of a medium rare steak, nice, pink and juicy. If for some reason you fell asleep reading this or the power went out and the duck is brown or grayish… There is a solution! Simply take the duck over to the trash and drop it in. Nothing is worse than overcooked duck breast. You might as well eat a shoe you found on the street corner. If you dress it with the duck fat you hopefully kept, it should be more tolerable.

So there you have it, now you know how to cook a duck a breast like a professional. Now, to pair duck with things…Duck likes things that are sweet or aromatic to help balance their gamey flavor. Cherries, Currants and ginger, honey and soy, quince and orange. You can even make a prosciutto from duck, again that’s a story for another time.

Vive le canard!

P.S. I will be at Guido’s Fresh Marketplace this weekend ( November 5th and 6th )doing a duck tasting and showing how to cook the ol’ chap. Stop in and see me!

Duck Prosciutto

Here are some of our new menu dishes; this is foie pate, cranberry, apple and hazel nuts.

This is a new chicken dish we are doing. I took the skin off the leg and thigh and made kinda like a mousse out of the meat, glued the chicken skin back on then cooked it low in the oven. We picked it up for service by searing the skin and just getting it warm in the oven. It was finished with black truffles and roasted cauliflower.

This was one of my favorite dishes that I did at the hotel last year; duck breast, cranberry’s, sweet potato and brussels.

Preparation:
Pound the duck breasts to about 1/4 inch thick

Cover with Italian dressing and let them marinate over night in the refrigerator.

Fill the Jalapeno halves with cream cheese
Wrap the pepper with the duck
Wrap the duck with a slice of bacon and skewer it so it will stay together.
Place on a hot grill until the duck breast is done. Temperature should be 350 degrees and no pink in the meat.

If you don’t have duck, chicken breasts will work but you will need to quarter the breasts so they are the right size. Boneless chicken thighs work nicely as well.

These grilled poppers are a wonderful addition to any party and they will go fast.

Mock Surf and Turf

Duck with Molasses Brine

• 3 split duck breasts
• 2 cups of water
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp ketchup

Mix the brine ingredients until well blended and the sugar dissolves fully.  In a plastic freezer bag, add the duck breasts and brine.  Marinate for 4 hours in the fridge.  Discard the marinate and grill the duck, fat side down at first, for 3 to 4 minutes per side at 400°-450°.  Beware of grill flareups when the fat starts to drip.  I frequently shift the duck to the other side of the grill to prevent burning.  Once the duck breasts have a nice caramelization, move them to the top grill rack for a few minutes to finish off the insides.  The fat should keep it nice and juice, so there is little worry about drying them out.

Grilled Scampies

• 2 pounds of 4-5 count scampies
• 12 cloves of garlic, pressed and minced
• 4 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• oil for grill grate

Mix the marinate ingredients all together.  In a plastic freezer bag, combine the scampies and marinade (everything above minus the salt and pepper) and set in fridge for 30 minutes.  You never want to marinate seafood for over 30 minutes as you will end up with a seviche as the acids will actually fully cook the delicate meat.  On a hot 400° grill, cook the scampies until they just begin to curl.  Scampies this side should stay nice and juicy in the middle.  If you would like, boil the reserved marinade for a nice buttery dipping sauce.  As always, make sure that the sauce is completely boiled as you run the risk of food-borne illness if it is not fully cooked.  Toss on the scampies and get to the grubbin’.

Poppit – For my cooking night this week, I wanted to make something completely new that I have never tried before.  Considering I had only ever tasted duck meat once before when we were out at a very nice restaurant, I thought I would give it a go!  I went to a wonderful local butcher who stocks all kinds of meats and found duck breasts.  Be warned, the price does look a little pricey, mine was $19.95, but when considering how much you can spend on other meats and seafood, I figured this was pretty good (especially when tasting the final product!).
This was such an easy meal to make but the overall flavours were just amazing.  Puppet agreed that it tasted like something we would choose at one of our favourite fancy restaurants.

Main Course

Duck Breasts with Fig Sauce and Cracked Pepper Pasta

Ingredients:
- 2 duck breast fillets
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- Pasta (I used gluten-free cracked pepper pasta found at my local speciality deli)
- 20g butter
- 100g baby spinach leaves
- 1 small brown onion (chopped finely)
- 3 dried figs, quartered (I used ‘turkish figs’ found at my local deli – I believe they were dried and salted)
- 1 cup port
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 20g butter
- Asparagus (steamed either in pot or microwave)

Method:
1.  Pre-heat oven to 210°C (less for fan-forced) 
2.  Make a pocket between the duck meat and the skin, insert one sprig of rosemary and one bay leaf into each. 
3.  Score the skin side of the duck and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Heat frypan and when hot, place duck breasts skin side down on pan and cook for 3 mins (or until browning), turn over and cook for another minute or so.  Beware of the fat from the duck – it spits everywhere!
5.  Remove from pan and place in oven tray.  Cook for 10 mins in oven (or until as prefered).
6.  Meanwhile, cook pasta and sauce.
7.  Cook onion in same frypan and stir until soft.
8.  Add figs, port and stock – bring to the boil.
9.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes then add extra butter and stir until thickened. (Optional – I added some cornflour that I had already mixed with 1 tbs of water for extra thickness)
10.  Remove duck breasts from oven tray and rest for 5 mins.
11.  When pasta is cooking, mix with spinach leaves and butter.
12.  Serve with asparagus and with fig sauce poured over the top.

We prepared a 5 course dinner for them which included several dishes from my upcoming winter menu. It was a good opportunity to test out my new menu items.


Starting off – an allium (the onion family) bisque. A nest of braised leeks, garlic chips and an onion bisque. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the completed dish because it was finished table side.

The next course was a Foie pate with apple puree, walnut powder, buttermilk pancakes and maple syrup. I think that’s all I need to say about this one.

This was a request from our hotel concierge; Shrimp ‘n Grits. One of my favorite things on my fall menu. Shrimp on a bed of stone ground grits, confit onions and peppers, and chorizo cream.

This was the last savory dish we did. I almost forgot to photograph this one but caught it just as it was leaving the kitchen. A duck breast with cranberries, sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. This one came out really nice.

Our final course – an apple cobbler with cinnamon roll ice cream. That was one of my favorite things that the pastry chef at McCradys made; cinnamon roll ice cream. It’s pretty awesome.

• 100 ml red wine
• 1 tbspn red wine vinegar
• 2 tspns caster sugar
• 2 tbspn dried cranberries
• 1 star anise
• 1 piece of blade mace
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• Salt & Pepper to season

The two duck breasts (with skin left on) were marinated in this concotion for several hours, with an occasional turn of the breasts to ensure adequate coating.

Cooking: The duck was removed from the marinade and put skin side down into a hot griddle pan. One the skin is brown, the duck needs to be turned over to seal all sides. With the breasts skin side up, I added the retained marinade to the pan, and brought it slowly to the boil. I then added 100 ml of vegetable stock, again bringing it to the boil. I left it to simmer gently for around 10 minutes before adding the chopped strawberries (around 2 handfuls in this case). I left the sauce to simmer gently, and it started to thicken. Cooking time will vary depending on how well done you enjoy your duck – for pink duck, just as the sauce thickens should be adequate. If the duck needs more time, you can always add a drop more wine to the sauce. And of course, you can always increase the amounts of the original marinade for larger servings.

I served this with roast potatoes, but mashed potato or potato puree would have worked better in order to soak up the sauce. Vegetables can be whatever you fancy.