Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Duck Confit
I used this recipe. It looked a little scary when it came out, kind of grey, but once you get the skin off the meat underneath is still pinkish, moist, tender, and delicious. The duck fat is pretty expensive but you can use it again afterwards to saute stuff.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Iron Chef Throwdown!
THE MENU
First Course - Battle Avocado
Beer-battered fried avocados with shrimp, scallop, crab, and snapper ceviche (me)
v.
Seared sea scallop with guacamole salad and jalapeño pesto (Jay)
Second Course - Battle Duck
Coffee-cardamom grilled duck breast in fig-balsamic sauce with pear-onion potato hash and grilled broccolini (me)
v.
Award-winning duck gumbo with fried boudin balls (Jay)
Dessert - Battle Chocolate
Cappuccino fudge cheesecake in chocolate sauce (me)
v.
Duo of bread puddings with sweet cherry sauce and crème anglaise (Jay)
The beer batter needs a little work - it didn't coat as thickly as I'd like. I used 1 cup flour, 1 cup cornmeal, 2 cups Shiner, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of cayenne, set for two hours.
The fig balsamic sauce was a great success. Equal parts fig preserves and balsamic vinegar simmered on low until reduced by half, then an equal amount of duck stock added and simmered until reduced by half again. Chicken stock would probably be fine for other applications, but the duck stock made a significant difference in flavor.
For the duck breasts I used this recipe with the marinade from this one. The spice notes were a lovely enhancement without overpowering either the fig sauce or the flavor of the duck itself.
I should get Jay's recipe/experiment with jalapeño pesto. It had a nice burn without being overpowering and is tasty on all kinds of things. I mixed it with some mayo to eat on the leftover boudin balls, and it's awesome.
First Course - Battle Avocado
Beer-battered fried avocados with shrimp, scallop, crab, and snapper ceviche (me)
v.
Seared sea scallop with guacamole salad and jalapeño pesto (Jay)
Second Course - Battle Duck
Coffee-cardamom grilled duck breast in fig-balsamic sauce with pear-onion potato hash and grilled broccolini (me)
v.
Award-winning duck gumbo with fried boudin balls (Jay)
Dessert - Battle Chocolate
Cappuccino fudge cheesecake in chocolate sauce (me)
v.
Duo of bread puddings with sweet cherry sauce and crème anglaise (Jay)
The beer batter needs a little work - it didn't coat as thickly as I'd like. I used 1 cup flour, 1 cup cornmeal, 2 cups Shiner, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of cayenne, set for two hours.
The fig balsamic sauce was a great success. Equal parts fig preserves and balsamic vinegar simmered on low until reduced by half, then an equal amount of duck stock added and simmered until reduced by half again. Chicken stock would probably be fine for other applications, but the duck stock made a significant difference in flavor.
For the duck breasts I used this recipe with the marinade from this one. The spice notes were a lovely enhancement without overpowering either the fig sauce or the flavor of the duck itself.
I should get Jay's recipe/experiment with jalapeño pesto. It had a nice burn without being overpowering and is tasty on all kinds of things. I mixed it with some mayo to eat on the leftover boudin balls, and it's awesome.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Restaurant Week at Mockingbird Bistro with Mom tonight. First course was a chilled cantaloupe soup with prosciutto and lavender honey drizzled in the bottom of the bowl. The waiter said there were sweet peppers in the soup, which I guess accounts for the lack of overwhelming melon sweetness in the soup itself, so the honey made a nice accent rather than being overpoweringly sweet. I could figure out how to make this.
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