Crispy Duck

Since I'm in a duck mode these days I might as well give you this duck recipe as well. Takes a lot more time than the last one, you really need to plan ahead with this one but it's worth the time, I promise. You need to start the day before you plan on serving the crispy duck because a whole duck needs at least a day and a night in the refrigerator to defrost. Normally I buy it one day. Put it on a tray (still in the plastic cover) for the liquid when the duck defrosts so not to mess up your refrigerator. Some time in the middle of the next day I take it out and finish the defrosting on the counter to make sure it defrosts completely.

Ingredients;

1 whole duck

1/2 cucumber cut in strips lengthways
6 spring onions cut in strips lengthways
Hoisin sauce
Chinese pancakes

Trim the duck by removing the excess fat from the opening. Take out the giblets (liver, heart and gizzard) and pat dry the duck with kitchen towel (to prepare the crispy duck properly the duck is supposed to dry overnight etc. etc. but we do an easy version, it might not get as crispy but still pretty decent).

Place the duck on a rack over a deep roasting tin (I always line it with foil to ease the clean up). Roast the duck for 4 hours on 340 F. After 4 hours increase the temperature to 425 F for another half hour. Remove the duck from the oven. Transfer to a carving board and shred the duck. I use two forks and just pull at the duck so that the meat falls apart.

Serve with Chinese pancakes, hoisin sauce, spring onion and cucumber shreds. Just fill the pancakes with sauce, duck, onion and cucumber and enjoy. 

"The best way to heat the chinese pancakes is in a steamer. Keep in a damp towel after heating."

Easy Duck

Yeah, I know most of my friends here in Florida they don't like duck..... or rabbit, or moose or deer. Personally I love it all and this recipe is so easy and so good I just have to include it. Perfect for a day when you crave something fancy but really don't have the time or energy to do it. I always make sure I have duck breast in my freezer, that way I don't even need to go shopping. 

Ingredients;

Duck breast (1 per person is what I use but it really depends on the size)
Balsamic vinegar
Salt/pepper

Take the duck breast out of the freezer and put it in a bowl of water to defrost. This should only take 30 minutes. Meanwhile open the read wine, read a book or a magazine.
When the duck is ready put it meat side down in a dish and add a good amount of balsamic vinegar. It should almost cover the meat part. Please don't use expensive vinegar for this exercise, that would be a waste. Leave on the counter for 30 minutes. Take out and pat dry. If you buy frozen duck breast the skin will most likely already be scored (To make shallow cuts,usually in a diamond pattern, in the surface of certain foods, such as meat or fish. This is done for several reasons: as a decoration on some foods (breads and meats); as a means of assisting flavor absorption (as with marinated foods); to tenderize less tender cuts of meat; and to allow excess fat to drain during cooking). so the only thing you need to do is season with salt and pepper. 

Add the duck breast to a in a non stick skillet, over medium heat with the meat side up and sear until skin is golden brown, turn and sear the other side for about 3 minutes. Place the seared duck breasts in a baking dish skin side up and put in the oven. Bake until desired doneness about 10-12 minutes on 400F.Remove from oven and let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile add the balsamic vinegar from the dish to the skillet with the duck fat (from the searing) and place it back on the stovetop over medium heat. Heat, simmer, season and serve with the duck breast. (you can also add orange juice, port wine, orange zest etc. to the sauce for flavor, make sure to use whatever liquids you get from slicing the duck breasts for serving).

Slice the breasts into 1/4-inch slices on a diagonal. Pour the sauce on top. Serve with green salad, green beans, root vegetable puree or whatever you fancy. 

So something happened to my picture. I'll promise to fix that soon. 

Baked pork with pesto, mozzarella and prosciutto

This dish you can either bake in the oven or on the grill (in a baking dish as there will be a lot of liquids).
You can serve it with baked potato boats, rice or as we do most of the time, with a green salad.

Ingredients;


2 pork fillets
Pesto
2 buffalo mozzarella rounds
Basil
Prosciutto (I use Boar's Head Prosciutto but you can of course do it more luxurious and use Prosciutto di Parma!)
Salt/pepper


Trim the fillets and butterfly it. You can take a look at how to do that here (This is a pork loin so it is a little bit thicker than the fillet). Add pieces of mozzarella and spoonfuls of pesto along the middle and top with fresh basil, salt and pepper.

Roll the sides together over the filling and put the prosciutto on top and tuck under to lock the dish. Add to a baking pan for the oven or a grill pan for the grill.
Bake in the oven on 425F for at least 15-20 minutes, until the fillets are cooked all through or on the grill on high heat. The fillets will not become dry due to the filling, at least mine don't!!!

Grrrrrrr!

Mustard dressing

We eat a lot of salads at our house and so as not to get bored I have a lot of different dressings that I use. This is one of them!

Ingredients;


3 tbsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard (or more, I not to exact when making dressing)
salt/pepper
white vinegar (white wine, white balsamic, apple vinegar or whatever white vinegar you fancy)
olive oil (I don't use expensive oil when I make a dressing like this)


First I add the honey, dijon, salt/pepper and vinegar to a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste the mix to make sure it has the right balance of sweet and sour and enough salt/pepper.

When that is done add the olive oil a little bit at a time while whisking continuously. After a while the dressing will thicken and get a more dressing like texture. Thats when you start to taste to see when you have added enough oil. This is all about preference, some use a little bit more, some less. The important thing to remember is that the dressing is not done, and it is not enough oil until it thickens. This might sound strange but you will notice....

You can also use this recipe to make a balsamic dressing, just use balsamic vinegar instead of white. You can also add garlic, herbs etc. to make it even more interesting.

Yumm!

Creole Coleslaw

As you might have discovered my family likes our food a little bit on the spicy side. This means that a lot of the traditional dishes had gotten a more fiery version around here, so also with the coleslaw. Sine our youngest member of the family can't eat either carrots or apply this coleslaw has just the shredded cabbage. (that I most of the time by already shredded for convenience)

Ingredients;


2 cups shredded cabbage (I buy the fine shredded one, angel hair)

Dressing;
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbs dijon mustard
A handful parsley, chopped (can also be added to the shredded cabbage directly)
Creole seasoning (as little or as much as you like)

Add sugar to the vinegar and whisk until combined. Add the remaining dressing ingredients except the creole seasoning. Blend until combined. Season with the creole seasoning until the dressing is spicy enough.

Add the dressing to the shredded cabbage, blend until well combined. You will need a big bowl for this to make sure it doesn't spill.

This is a great side dish for meat or fish or can be used as a starter salad!

Enjoy!

Morrocan Spiced Beans

This is a Moroccan version of the american/mexican/cuban baked beans although I would be surprised if it is a traditional Moroccan dish, it seems to me a bit more like some cross over type of dish. Anyway it tastes extremely good.

Ingredients;

2 cans white beans like kidney beans (or you could use dry ones and soke them overnight...my planning is most of the time not good enough for that version)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 carrots finely diced
3 stalks of celery finely dices
1 leek finely diced
2 oranges
4 tomatoes, finely diced but not as small as the other vegetables
Olive oil for the casserole
1 oz bacon, diced
1 tbs tomato paste
1 bunch thyme
2 tbsp Ras el Hanout
1 can (14 oz) chicken stock (or more or less, this  depends on how liquified you want your beans)
Salt

Peel and dice onions and garlic. Wash, peel and dice the rest of the vegetables (I did not peel the tomatoes). Peel the orange, remove the white skin, half and slice.

Heat olive oil in a casserole, brown onions and bacon (diced). Add the vegetables (not the tomatoes) and garlic and brown at medium heat. Add tomato paste, drained beans, oranges, tomatoes and thyme and season with the Ras el Hanout, salt and pepper. Simmer until the spices has blended well and the liquid has reduced to your liking. Taste and season more if needed. Remove orange slices.

This bean casserole works well with all kinds of meat but I especially like it with lamb or chicken!

Apple Bran Muffins

This recipe is from another favorite cook-book of mine, "Power Foods" by the boss her selves (Martha Stewart)

I make it when we crave something different and a little bit on the sweet side for breakfast but still not to unhealthy and filling enough to keep us going until lunchtime.

Ingredients;


2 cups unsweetened applesauce
About 1/2 cup pitted and chopped dates
1 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

Vegetable oil cooking spray if you're not using muffin baking cups like I did.

Cook applesauce and dates in a saucepan at medium heat until mixture is reduced to 1 1/4 cup. Make sure you stir frequently to make sure it doesn't burn. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

When the applesauce mix has cooled completely add bran, buttermilk, egg, honey, ginger and vanilla and stir to combine. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes.

In another bowl whisk together flour, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, allspice and oats then add to the applesauce mixture and blend.

Either coat two muffin pans with the cooking spray or use the baking cups. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling each to the brim.

Bake at 375F, rotating the tins halfway through, until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Let cool completely in the tins on wire rack.

Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days but they are most likely gone before that!!!

Low Carb Bread

I have tried several recipes for low carb bread and this is the best I have tried so far. I keep it in the refrigerator, that way it stays fresh for several days. Tastes sooooo good with Norwegian goat cheese (geitost) that you can by in the cheese section at Whole foods.

Ingredients;

4 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup butter milk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
60 gram bran
40 gram flax seeds
50 gram sesame seeds
50 gram sunflower seeds

Whisk the eggs, sunflower oil and buttermilk together in a bowl.
Mix all the dry ingredients in another bowl and then add to the liquid. Mix with a ladle until combined. You should have a rather wet dough by now. Add the dough to a nonstick loaf pan (I spray with no-stick cooking spray even though it's supposed to be nonstick) and bake in the oven on 350F until a cake tester comes out clean.

This takes approx. 30 minutes depending on your oven.
Place on a rack until cool.

Cut in hearty slices and enjoy with your favorite topping!

Mmmmmm!