Cooking | onedadskitchen

A Fez Style Fish For Mother’s Day

We’re going out for Mother’s Day today and I am making the fish portion of the meal for those that don’t eat red meat. I was wondering what to make earlier in the week, when luckily I came across this recipe in the New York Times on Wednesday and it sounded perfect. It’s from a restaurant in Marrakesh at a hotel called La Mamounia and it’s a simple, all in one baked fish. it sounded light enough and easy to make and it will make a great summer dish. I went off the board a little bit with the fish. The recipe calls for sea bass or fluke, but when I went shopping yesterday the halibut looked the best so I am going with that.

Baked Fish, Fez Style

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 pinch saffron threads, crushed

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 1/2 pounds fish fillets (4 fillets): sea bass, fluke, hake or halibut

1 pound large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, in 1/2-inch thick slices

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 red bell pepper, cored and slivered

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Combine the garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika and saffron in a dish big enough for the fish. Mix the vinegar, lemon juice and tomato paste in a small bowl. Add to the dish and mix. Place the fillets in the dish, turning to coat the fillets, cover and set them aside to marinate, 2 hours at room temperature or 3 if refrigerated.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan, add water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain.

Brush a baking dish that can go to the table and will hold the fish in a single layer with a little of the oil. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the potatoes in the dish, season with salt and pepper, and place the fish fillets on top of the potatoes. Scatter the peppers and tomatoes over the fish. Add a little more salt and pepper. Spoon any excess marinade over the fish, strew with the olives, drizzle the remaining oil and bake about 30 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through. Serve.

I think it will be a very nice meal and everything is made and served in one dish, which it makes it even better. I’ll add some pictures later as I put it all together. I hope to actually have some recipes this week to post. It’s been a little crazy around the house the last few weeks. Michelle has been working a lot, I have been working a lot and Sean has been studying for tests so we haven’t had a lot of time to put into meal planning, but hopefully we’ll do that. I know I have the makings for a meat loaf and I bought some chicken breast so we’ll be doing something with it this week. Stay tuned to find out. I hope everyone out there has a wonderful Mother’s Day and all the Moms out there should enjoy their day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 13, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Seafood

Tags: baked fish, baked fish fez style, halibut, yukon gold potatoes

As Easy As (Blueberry) Pie

12 May

As I have said before, I am not much of a baker. I don’t have the kitchen space to do a lot of baking, and there are plenty of people who make better things than I do that can do it. When Sean asked me to make blueberry pie last week, I knew I could handle it. I have made it before and I have really easy recipe to use for it. I’ll state up front, I did not make a crust. I don’t have the space to roll one out and do fun things with dough, so I went with store-bought, refrigerated crust. It turned out just fine, in my opinion. It’s not homemade, but it works for me and it makes this recipe even easier.

Easy Blueberry Pie

2 store-bought refrigerated pie crusts

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup Minute tapioca

4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 lemon

4 tablespoons flour

Salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Remove the pie crusts from the box and, leaving in the plastic wrap, allow them to come to room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unfold the first pie crust and press it into the bottom of a pie dish. Place the blueberries in a strainer and rinse. Drain the berries and add them to a large bowl. Add the sugar and tapioca to the blueberries and lightly mix. Let the berries stand for 15 minutes to allow them to blend with the sugar and tapioca. Add the flour and toss to coat the berries. Add a squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt and lightly blend. Pour the berries into the pie shell. Cover the berries in the pie shell with the second crust and crimp the edges of the crust with a fork. Cut 4 small slits into the center of the top crust to allow the pie to vent while it cooks. Baste the top crust with the beaten egg. Bake the pie in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until bubbly. Serve hot or allow to cool for 1 hour and serve.

Easy, easy, easy. The tapioca makes a great thickener and binds everything up nicely so you don’t get runny berries in your pie and the egg wash helps to give you a nicely browned crust. Of course, you can serve this with some ice cream, some homemade whipped cream, or store-bought if you prefer. It’s one of my favorite desserts.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and we’ll be out for the day, but I will be bringing a dish over to my in-laws to serve. It’s a nice fish dish that I saw the recipe for in a recent New York Times article and wanted to give it a try. I’ll post the recipe for that on here tomorrow so you can all take a look. It’s simply called Baked Fish, Fez Style and is from a restaurant in Marrakesh. It sounds great, so we’ll see how it turns out. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 12, 2012 in Cooking, Dessert, Pie

Tags: blueberry pie, easy blueberry pie, instant tapioca as a thickener, minute tapioca

A Family Favorite: German Potato Salad

10 May

Well Wednesday turned out to be much busier than I anticipated so I didn’t get to do much of anything, let alone work on blogs. Anyway, it’s back to it today with a family favorite that I made when I made the pulled pork this past weekend. One of the dishes that I make once in a while, and very often to bring to parties, is German Potato Salad. It seems to be a crowd pleaser and a lot of people like it. I make it every once in a while for just us at home and the recipe makes so much we usually have leftovers for a week to have it with lunches or dinners. If I make when we have people over, there usually isn’t much left for that to happen. I think there is something about the flavor combination of the bacon, onions and potatoes mixed in with the bite of the vinegar that just tastes so good. Give it a try an I think you’ll be pleased with it.

German Potato Salad

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 pound bacon, diced

¾ cup chopped onion

3 teaspoons all-purpose flour

8 teaspoons sugar

Salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

½ cup water

In a large pot, boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 12 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set them aside, allowing them to cool slightly and place in a large serving dish. In a large skillet over medium-high heat. add the bacon and fry until the bacon is just getting crispy, about 7 minutes.Add the chopped onion and continue to cook until the onions brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix the flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper until blended. Stir in the vinegar and water into the mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the vinegar mixture to the bacon and simmer until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes Pour the bacon mixture over the potatoes and gently mix until everything is well blended and serve.

This is great for parties because you can easily make this the night before, cover it and refrigerate it and then warm it up in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes (it can get kind of dense when it’s cold, so make sure it’s heated through) and that’s it. It makes a great side dish for barbecues as well.

My next post tomorrow will be the easy blueberry pie I made on Sunday with the pulled pork. If you would like the recipes for the pulled pork, the guacamole, the cole slaw, the barbecued beans or the ranch dressing, I have posted all of them in the past and you can just click on each to go the links of their pages. Hopefully next week now that I have my computer back, I can back on schedule with everything and get us back on our meal plan so I have some recipes to post. Until tomorrow, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 10, 2012 in Cooking, Potatoes, Salad, Side Dishes

Tags: barbecued beans, cole slaw, german potato salad, guacamole, pulled pork, ranch dressing

Brewing a Bounty of Barbecued Beans

08 May

Well to go along with the pulled pork I made on Sunday, I wanted to make some baked beans. I am not a big fan of the ones in the cans. They aren’t bad, and Michelle likes them and asks for them, but to me they always have a tinny taste to them and they aren’t my favorite. I looked around for a few recipes and found this one and it was perfect since it wouldn’t take up any space on the stove by using the slow cooker. A quick word of warning about this recipe – it makes a large amount of beans, meant to serve 10 to 12 people, so unless you’re having a big group, you might want to cut the recipe in half. I made the whole batch and ended up freezing some of the leftovers for another day.

Slow-Cooker Barbecued Beans

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

3 onions, chopped medium

Salt

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce

2 pounds dried small white beans (I used Navy beans), picked over, rinsed and soaked overnight

8 slices bacon, chopped fine

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

6 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup strong black coffee (optional)

Pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in 1 cup of the barbecue sauce, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer, then pour slowly into the slow cooker.

Drain the beans. Add the beans, bacon, brown sugar and then the boiling water to the slow cooker. Cover and cook, on either low or high, until the beans are quite soft, 9 to 10 hours on low or 7 to 8 hours on high. Before serving, stir in the mustard, coffee (if using) and remaining 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Any store-bought or homemade barbecue sauce will work for this; use what you like best. We used Sweet Baby Ray’s and it turned out great. To me, the beans were even better a couple of days letter after they have had a chance to set and solidify a bit in the fridge. They had absorbed all the flavors by then and tasted better than anything from the can. And I know it says the coffee is optional here, and if you can’t have it by all means don’t add it, but I think it does make a difference in the flavor and the color of the dish.

So tomorrow we get another piece of the meal that is a family favorite around here: German Potato Salad. Check back for that one, because it’s a good one. As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here, at my Facebook page or on Twitter or you can email me at IguanaFlats@msn.com. Until next time, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on May 8, 2012 in Cooking, Slow Cooker Meals

Tags: barbecued beans, barbecued beans in the slow cooker, slow cokker beans

Crashing Computers, a Busy Sunday, And a Week’s Worth of Recipes

07 May

Well my computer up and died on me last week and I haven’t been able to do much until today. I am back on my feet now with a new laptop and can get back to working and blogging. We had a very busy day yesterday that included a very extensive meal. It was busy and I was cooking for hours, but it was very enjoyable and the meal turned out quite well. So well in fact, that it gave me recipes to use for the entire week! This is what we have to look forward to as far as posts:

Monday (today): Smoked Barbecued Pulled Pork

Tuesday: Barbecued Baked Beans in the slow cooker

Wednesday: German Potato Salad

Thursday: Homemade Salsa, Guacamole, Nachos and Ranch Dressing,

Friday: Easy Blueberry Pie

I made a lot of things yesterday when we had some guests over and started cooking at 8 AM so I could get everything done in time. The centerpiece of the meal was pulled pork. I have made pulled pork before, but the weather is getting nicer, so I decided I was going to incorporate the grill into this meal and use it for the pork. This is not a difficult recipe, but I did have to make a few adjustments. Since we live in a condo, here in New York you are not allowed to have a gas or charcoal grill near the structure, so we do have a nice sized electric grill that I use. It does affect the cooking, and I would rather use a gas grill, but the law’s the law and I have to go with it so we use the electric. It’s harder to control the heat since you can’t control heat distribution, so if you have gas or charcoal I think this will work better for you, but I was able to make it work with electric. The recipe itself, from America’s Test Kitchen, is written to use on a gas grill.

Barbecued Pulled Pork

1 (6 to 8 pound) Boston Pork Butt

1/2 cup chili powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

4 cups wood chips, soaked and drained

Vegetable oil

2 cups barbecue sauce

Mix the chili powder, brown sugar, salt black pepper and cayenne pepper until well combined. Massage the pork all over with the rub and let it stand at room temperature, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for 1 hour.

Place the wood chips in a disposable tray and rest the tray directly on top of the primary burner. Turn all the burners to high, close the lid and heat the grill until very hot and the chips are smoking, about 15 minutes. Clean and oil the grill. Turn the primary burner down to medium and turn off the other burners.

Place the pork in an aluminum roasting pan and position the pan over the cooler part of the grill. Barbecue, covered, for 4 hours, flipping and rotating the meat every hour. (The temperature inside the grill should remain between 275 and 300 degrees,)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Remove the pan of pork from the grill, wrap tightly with heavy-duty foil, and transfer to the oven. Continue to cook in the oven until the meat is for tender, 1 to 2 hours. Remove the roast from the oven and let rest (without removing the foil) for 30 minutes.

Transfer the roast to a carving board and, when cool enough to handle, “pull” the pork by tearing the meat into thin shreds with your fingers (I used two forks to shred it myself), Place the shredded meat in a large bowl. Toss with 1 cup of the barbecue sauce, adding more to taste. Serve, passing the remaining sauce separately.

A couple of notes about the recipe. I was still able to use the wood chips, putting some in a cast iron smoker box I have and laying that under the heating element of the grill. It did create enough smoke to do the job. I also tried to keep the pork in the pan toward the outer edge of the grill surface since the electrical element of the grill is right in the center. I think this helped keep it on the cooler part of the grill. I think you could easily do the whole recipe on the grill, leaving it on the grill for the extra 1 to 2 hours instead of transferring to the oven, if that’s what you wanted to do, and it will turn out fine. The recipe recommends that you serve the pork with plain white bread, but I went with small rolls instead. I’m not a big fan of white bread, but use what you like best. Of course, I did serve it with pickle chips and the pickles do add a nice flavor to the sandwich if that’s the way you want to eat it. I also dressed the pork with a little less barbecue sauce and let people add their own to it if they wanted it. To me, this way if you would rather taste the smoke and the flavor of the rub over the sauce you could.

I wish I had taken pictures of the whole meal, but with my computer not working and all the time in the kitchen, by the time I thought of it, it was too late. Everyone took some leftovers home with them and we have enough left here for another meal for Michelle, Sean and myself. Tomorrow I will provide the recipe for one of the side dishes we had, which was barbecued baked beans done in the slow cooker. Until then, enjoy your day and enjoy your meal!

4 Comments

Posted by MikeG on May 7, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Grilling, Pork

Tags: barbecued pulled pork, dry rub for pulled pork, german potato salad, grilling, pulled pork, wood chips

Here Chicken, Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak!

01 May

I haven’t had chicken fried steak in a long time, and I have never tried to make it myself, so this will be a good experiment. I looked at a bunch of different recipes and this one from America’s Test Kitchen seemed to be the easiest and best one to try, so here we go.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Steak

3 cups all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 cube steaks (5 ounces each) pounded 1/4 inch thick

4 to 5 cups vegetable oil

Cream Gravy

1 onion, minced

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

For the steak: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Toss the flour, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and the cayenne together in a shallow dish. In a second dish, beat the buttermilk, egg, baking powder and baking soda together (it will get foamy).

Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge the steaks through the flour, then coat with the buttermilk mixture, then coat again with the flour. Lay the battered steaks on a wire rack.

Pour the oil into a large Dutch oven until it measures one inch. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Fry 3 of the steaks until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining steaks. Transfer the steaks to a clean wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.

For the gravy: Carefully strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer into a medium pot. Return any browned bits from the strainer along with 2 tablespoons of the frying oil to the Dutch oven. Return the Dutch oven to medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion and thyme and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper and cayenne and simmer until the gravy has thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon the gravy over the steaks before serving.

Try to maintain a consistent oil temperature while cooking. Give the oil a chance to get back up to temperature before starting the second batch of steaks so they don’t become greasy and they cook all the way through. I making mashed potatoes with this, that seems like the side dish we should have to go with the steak and the gravy. You can find my recipe for mashed potatoes here. I’ll also just be steaming some green beans as our side dish.

I had planned to cook this last night, but I just started a new pain medication for my feet and it really knocked me for a loop, so everything got pushed back a bit. I’ll add some pictures so you can see how the steak turned out. Tomorrow, Sean would like breakfast for dinner, so we’ll be making pancakes, but I am going to post a recipe that I use for some homemade turkey sausage patties that turn out quite delicious. Check back tomorrow for that one. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

Last minute substitution with the peas for the green beans, but other than that, I think they turned out really well. The steak was nice and crispy and the gravy came out good as well.

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Posted by MikeG on May 1, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Potatoes

Tags: chicken fried steak, cream gravy, green beans

Who Wants Chicken and Rice?

26 Apr

Well that’s what I decided to make tonight for dinner. I have a pack of chicken thighs to use and I am going for a version of arroz con pollo that I got from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything.” It’s a very straightforward recipe, cooks all in one pot, and promises to taste delicious. Add a little vegetable or a salad, and you are all set for dinner tonight.

Arroz Con Pollo

3 cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups white rice

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 chopped bell pepper (your choice of color)

1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

Pinch of ground allspice

1 bay leaf

Pinch of saffron threads (optional)

1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 8 pieces, or any combination of parts (I am using just thighs, since that is what I have)

1 cup frozen peas

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Warm the stock while you cook the onions. put the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened and become translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the rice to the onions and stir until its coated with oil, a minute or two; add garlic, pepper, tomato, allspice, bay leaf and sprinkle with the saffron, if using, and stir again. Nestle the chicken pieces in the rice, add a little more salt and pepper, and pour in the warmed stock. Bring the mixture to a boil; adjust the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently but steadily. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, then add the peas. Cook for another 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the chicken is cooked through; the chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155-165 degrees. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Just a couple of quick notes on this recipe. I am using the saffron because I have some on hand. it’s not something most people have around, and it’s super expensive as far as spices go. If you just want the yellow coloring that saffron will give to the dish, you can use turmeric instead, which is much cheaper and will give you the color you want. Secondly, I am using homemade stock (I always do if I have it) but you could also just use water here if you don’t have any stock to use. The stock works with the chicken to give a really nice flavor to the dish that you might miss out on if you just use water. Finally, all the extras, like the garlic, pepper, tomato and the seasonings aren’t essential to the dish You can just make a stripped down version and use the onion, chicken and rice and it would be great. You can’t go wrong with this one either way.

That’s today’s meal. Tomorrow is Friday and we haven’t done a pizza Friday in a while, so I think we’ll do that and then I’ll go shopping this weekend for next week’s meals. I know Sean wants to do a breakfast for dinner this weekend, so we’ll be doing that one day, and probably a roasted chicken recipe as well since I could stand to make some more stock. The rest of the week I am not too sure about yet. Any suggestions? I’d be happy to try something out. Let me know! Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 26, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: arroz con pollo, chicken and rice, saffron

Orange You Glad I Did Two Posts Today?

25 Apr

Okay, that was a bad pun, but I was trying to think of something funny to start out about the dinner I made last night. I wanted to make something simple and use what I already had in the house, and I came across this recipe from Bon Appetit for Orange Broccoli, Beef and Mushrooms. It was quite a simple stir fry with a nice refreshing flavor. The orange taste didn’t overpower anything (as a matter of fact, Sean didn’t even know it was in the recipe) and gave the stir fry a different twist to it.

Orange Broccoli, Beef, and Mushrooms

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

5 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated, peeled ginger plus 2 1/2-inch pieces peeled ginger, julienned

4 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil, divided

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into small florets

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 pound flank steak

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large shallot, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 ounces shiitake or other mushrooms, stems removed, caps quartered

Steamed white or brown rice

Stir the orange juice, soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of the grated ginger in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Place a large plate or platter on the work surface near the skillet. Stir the julienned ginger into the oil; add the broccoli and cook, tossing to coat, for 1 minute. Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and the sugar; add 1/4 cup of water and cover. Steam, lifting the cover and stirring once, until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the broccoli mixture to the plate and set aside.

Wipe out the skillet, then heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Season the flank steak with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes; turn and cook for 1 1/2 minutes longer. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 3 minutes. Slice the steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices.

Wipe out the skillet, then heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt; cook stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes. Add the reserved broccoli and the orange juice mixture; increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pan is almost dry, about 1 minute. Add the flank steak slices and remove the skillet from the heat. Season with additional soy sauce, if desired, and serve with steamed rice.

I used the leftover rice we had from Sunday’s duck dinner, but you can easily make a fresh pot of rice to go with the dinner. I think you’ll really enjoy the flavor of this one and it takes almost no time at all to cook, which is perfect for a weeknight meal.

Tomorrow night, I am thinking chicken. i have some boneless chicken thighs and haven’t decided what to do with them yet, but I will come up with something (and hopefully it will be delicious!). Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 25, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner

Tags: beef stir fry, orange broccoli beef and mushrooms

Feeling Ducky This Weekend

22 Apr

Every once in a while, I like to go overboard and cook a really elaborate meal. While this meal wasn’t really elaborate, it was very tasty. I wish I had taken pictures of it, because everything turned out perfectly and tasted great. I had decided early in the week that I wanted to make a roast duck for dinner this weekend and began gathering recipes early in the week and reading them over. When I finally settled on one, then I needed to add some side dishes. Through the world of Twitter, I asked some renowned chefs what they would recommend to make with the duck. Geoffrey Zakarian replied back with what they make at his restaurant, The Lamb’s Club, in NYC:

RT @IguanaFlats: “@gzchef Roast duck this weekend. Suggestions for side dishes?” Served at @thelambsclub w/French Prune, Pistachio, Madeira

Well I looked up his menu online and it was little more work than I wanted to get into, so I waited to see if anyone else would reply. Christopher Kimball, founder of America’s Test Kitchen, came back with this answer:

@IguanaFlats The French love lentils with duck — we have a few very good lentil salads at Cook’s.

So I looked up the recipes at Cook’s Illustrated and found one that I really liked and went with it. I was glad I even got a few responses as I wasn’t sure I would hear back from anyone at all. I then found a roast duck recipe I liked through the New York Times and I had my meal. First, I had to make some appetizers and I had been promising Sean I would make homemade mozzarella sticks for a while, so I knew I had to make them. I am not a cheese eater, but these actually turned out pretty good and they weren’t hard to make. This recipe, from Giada De Laurentiis, makes a lot of mozzarella sticks, so I cut it in half.

Mozzarella Sticks

1 1/2 cups dried breadcrumbs ( I used homemade and added a little bit of Italian seasoning; I think homemade makes a big difference here.)

1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon salt

2 (16-ounce) blocks of pasteurized mozzarella cut into 4 by 1/2-inch sticks

4 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Stir the bread crumbs, 1 cup of Parmesan and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl to blend. Dip the cheese in the eggs to coat them completely and allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Coat the cheese in the breadcrumb mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely. Repeat dipping the cheese sticks in the egg and breadcrumb mixture to coat a second time. Place the cheese sticks on a baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and freeze until frozen, about 2 hours and up to 2 days. (I did it for about 4 hours and they were well frozen)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, fry the cheese until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the fried cheese to plates. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve with marinara sauce.

I served the mozzarella sticks and some calamari as appetizers (I have made the calamari before, and you can get the recipe here). Then it was on to making the main course. I can tell you, I was cooking most of the day, so it was some work, but it was worth it for the dinner.

Roast Duck With Blueberry Sauce

1 Granny Smith apple

1/2 onion, peeled

2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 whole star anise or 1/2 teaspoon ground star anise

Grated zest of 1 lime

Grated zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 whole ducks, trimmed of excess fat, giblets removed

Prepare the blueberry sauce: Peel, quarter and core the apple. Place the apple in a food processor with the onion and finely chop. Place in a saucepan with the blueberries, sugars, star anise, zests and vinegar. Place the mixture over high heat to bring it to a boil, then simmer until pulpy and beginning to thicken, about 30 minutes. (The mixture will be quite liquid after about 20 minutes, but begins to thicken up by 30 minutes, and will thicken even more once cold.) If whole star anise was used, remove and discard them. Transfer the sauce to a container, cover and allow to cool. For the best flavor, allow it to rest one day before serving (I just served it and it tasted fine to me).

Prepare the ducks: Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Score the duck skin all over to help fat drain off while cooking. Place the ducks on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours, periodically draining off the fat. Raise the heat to 400 degrees and roast an additional 30 minutes to crisp the skin. Remove the ducks from the oven and place on a carving board. Cut each duck into 4 pieces. Cut away the meat from the rib cage, discarding the rib bones. Arrange on a serving platter, crispy skin side up. Serve with the blueberry sauce.

I made three side dishes with the meal: some jasmine rice, the lentil salad and sautéed carrots and parsnips. Here’s the recipe for the lentil salad recommended by Christopher Kimball.

Lentil Salad with Olives and Mint

1 cup lentils, rinsed

8 cups water

5 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed and peeled

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 cup (roughly 10) coarsely chopped, pitted Kalamata olives

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped 1 ounce feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

In a bowl, place the lentils and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover with 4 cups of warm water and soak for 1 hour. Drain.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the lentils in a heavy pan with water to cover by about 2 inches, garlic, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover and bake for 40 to 60 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils. Whisk the oil and vinegar together in a large bowl. Add the drained lentils, olives, mint and feta (if using) and toss. Serve, topping with salt and pepper to taste.

These lentils turned out delicious. They were tender and had great flavor, and complimented the duck very nicely. Now for the carrots and parsnips.

Sautéed Parsnips and Carrots with Honey

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled and cut into sticks

1 pound parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored and cut into sticks

Salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables are beginning to brown at the edges, about 12 minutes. Add the butter, honey and rosemary, if using. Toss over medium heat until heated through and the vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.

It was a lot of cooking but it was very good. Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal and we were all full afterwards. However, I did make dessert too! I know, I am not a baker, and not a dessert person, but I did make a couple of things yesterday. I promise to post the desserts I made a little later on today since this post already is quite long. I will say they are both quick and easy desserts and only one of them involved actually baking. I will be back later to tell you about them, so until then, enjoy your day!

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Posted by MikeG on April 22, 2012 in Appetizers, Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Rice, Vegetables

Tags: lentil salad, mozzarella sticks, roast duck, roast duck recipe, roast duck with blueberry sauce, sauteed carrots and parsnips

Face to (Open) Face With Leftovers

19 Apr

So I have some leftover turkey from a few nights ago and some leftover roast beef from the other night, so what to do with them? Well we decided a good option would be to make open-faced sandwiches for dinner tonight. We can use the turkey, use the roast beef, use the gravy, the stuffing and the mashed potatoes and get rid of all the leftovers in the fridge. There’s not much to these recipes so they are pretty easy to follow, but I think you could pretty much wing them if you wanted to.

Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, sliced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups leftover au jus

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 slices bread (your choice as to what you like best)

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (optional)

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (optional)

Leftover roast beef, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until slightly brown. Gradually whisk in the au jus until smooth. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and simmer until thick, about 3 minutes.

Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Spread the mustard and horseradish, if using, on the toasts; place each on a plate. Pour some gravy over the toast; top with the roast beef and then more gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the sandwiches with the leftover mashed potatoes.

Some people like to melt some cheese over their sandwich; it’s not my thing, but hey, if you like it, go for it. put the cheese on top and place the sandwich under the broiler for a minute, and you’re all set.The open-faced turkey sandwiches are just as easy:

Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches

Leftover turkey meat, sliced

Leftover turkey gravy (if you don’t have any, you can make this quick gravy recipe)

Leftover stuffing (I have some leftover Stove Top I’ll be using; you can always make Stove Top quickly, or use your own recipe for stuffing if you have one. I haven’t posted one, but I will soon 🙂 )

Slices of bread (again, use what you like)

Salt and pepper

Heat the gravy in a large skillet until bubbly (if the gravy is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with some stock or water). Add pieces of sliced turkey to the gravy and heat through, about 1 minute. Re-heat the leftover stuffing in either a small saucepan or the microwave (I did it in the microwave for 1 minute). Toast the bread under the broiler, about 1 minute. Remove the toast from the oven, place on a plate, and cover the toast with gravy. Place some turkey slices on top of the gravy. Scoop some stuffing on top of the turkey slices; cover on top with some more gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

With the sandwiches and the leftover mashed potatoes, you’re just about all set. If you have any leftover veggies (and we do, so I am using them) add them to the meal, or make some fresh veggies as a side dish, or make a small salad and you are all set. You’ll have used up the leftovers for the week, which is a beautiful thing.

I’m not sure what I am making for dinner tomorrow. I am heading over to Adams Farms in Newburgh to shop tomorrow, and to pick up a $50.00 gift card I won from them (it pays to follow places on Facebook and Twitter!), so I hope to find something there to make for dinner tomorrow night in the seafood department. Tune in tomorrow to see what I was able to get. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!