Lemon Herb Duck Breast

With the second couple of Ducks that we harvested I wanted to try an encrusted breast, so I looked around and found a recipe that I could work with. I found one called Lemon Herb Duck Breast online that I changed to meet my personal preferences, the recipe originally called for Rosemary, but since I don't car for that taste I left it out. The way I prepared it is as follows.
1 cup fresh chopped Parsley
2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
2 Tablespoons Grated Lemon Zest
4 Tablespoons Crushed Black Peppercorns
4 Tablespoons Dried Thyme
2 Whole Duck Breasts Split and Skinned
Salt

Combine parsley, garlic, lemon zest, pepper, and thyme in a bowl. Roll duck pieces in herb mixture to coat all over. Put oil in a large sauté pan, and turn heat to medium-high. When oil shimmers add duck, and reduce heat to medium. Cook, turning once, until coating browns and duck is medium-rare to medium, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Season meat with salt, and let it rest for a few minutes. Slice and serve.
I was asked why do I slice it before serving and the best answer I could come up with is for dental safety, trust me it hurts biting into a piece of steel shot. That and it looks nice I think.
I went out again this morning and have a couple more ducks to try a different recipe on, so I will be talking to you all again soon.

Pan Seared Duck Breast Salad with Feta

Hello again all, well since my last post I have been trying to learn how to hunt for waterfowl, last weekend Rex took me out for my first Duck Hunt and I had a great time. I think I may have found a new favorite pass time for late Autumn and early winter, heck I even went out a bought a brand new shot gun so I don't have to keep borrowing a gun. So after my first hunt I wanted to try a Pan Seared Duck Breast recipe, after I seared them they looked a little lonely on the plate, to fix that I added a small green salad topped off with some Feta Cheese. The recipe is really quick and easy to get the Duck Breast done, you will need:
1 stick of butter
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 sprig of Rosemary
A pinch of salt
I started the butter melting in a regular frying pan then added the garlic to the butter and let saute for just a moment, be careful when sauteing garlic if it burns it gets really bitter and is just not edible. After the butter is completely melted, sprinkle a little salt on the breast and add to the pan. Then add the Rosemary.
You can cook the duck two ways either all the way through or to medium rare, I prefer the medium rare way, I tried both and the well done piece was not only not as nice looking as the medium rare, but was a bit dry and chewy. That reminds me of a joke: A waiter asks a Stormtrooper how his Wookie Steak is and he replies, Chewie. Anyway I will keep posting new duck recipes as I get more chances to make them, Rex says he will show me how to make jerky out of Duck, and I also think we may be going Goose hunting as well.

Irish Stew

So as I was trying to find something to make for dinner yesterday, I was thinking about some of the foods that I really like and have not had for a long time. I remembered the Irish Stew from the Ha' Penny Irish Pub when I worked at the Knitting Factory, one of my best friends Justine and I used to get a couple bowls and enjoy before the night of drunken douche-bagery that was about to crash down on us. So I had two options, first drive to Boise and pay a whole lot of money to get seven servings of stew, or second learn to make it myself, and well I am a cheap son of a gun so make it myself it is. The recipe I used goes like this:

• 1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced bacon, diced
• 6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces(I could not find this, so I used Lamb shoulder chops and removed the bones)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups beef stock
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 4 cups diced carrots
• 2 large onions, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 potatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup white wine

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
3. Place meat into stock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
4. Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Now this was not the same as the one I used to eat but t was good, the Ha' Penny's stew is thicker, and that could be just a result of sitting in a pot longer and the potatoes breaking down, and mine had a little bit of the wine flavor on the back end of each bite, I might change this to add a rue to it to thicken it up depending on if it changes the taste I will let you know. Well Tanya has class tonight and usually I go with quick and easy but who knows I really have been enjoying cooking the last couple nights. Oh yeah date night last night Tanya brought home a move called "The Music Never Stopped" highly recommend watching this movie it was great.

Crab Nachos

Hey all I know its been a long time since my last post, but I have been busy with work really not that much time to cook. The other night Tanya wanted some Crab Nachos like they make at Joe's Crab Shack, so I tried my best to make them. According to their menu its chips with cheese, warm crab dip and black beans. I found a recipe online and while those of you who know me well know this is killing me I took a recipe from Paula Deen and modified it. To be honest I did not even see who the recipe was from until after I had finished preparing it, and there is not a stick of butter in the recipe so I had no clue it was hers. But any way I had to change the recipe because Tanya does not like cilantro and she does not like spicy food so I left out the Jalapenos. Her recipe is as follows:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper, plus slices for garnish, optional
• 1/2 cup light beer
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (8-ounce) block pasteurized prepared cheese product
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and picked for shells
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, (about 2 limes)
• 1/4 cup minced green onion
  
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

In a 4-quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, and garlic and cook stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Stir in the beer and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the cream, cream cheese, and processed cheese, whisking until melted and smooth.

Stir in crabmeat, lime juice, green onion, cilantro, and chili powder and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the salt, black pepper, cayenne, and cumin. The jalapeno can be used as a garnish if desired.

I then took a layer of tortilla chips and spread a layer of shredded cheese over the top, then put a layer of the warm crab dip over that, that will melt the cheese making a great plate of nachos. Sprinkle with black beans and diced tomatoes.

Well it is my weekend maybe I can come up with some thing to night, i have the All Recipes app on my phone now, so lets see what is for dinner, well the app came up with pineapple bacon burgers, not sure that will go over here so I guess i will go to the grocery store and see what they have.

Frog Legs

We were walking through the grocery store getting stuff to make spaghetti for Garrett's birthday dinner when I noticed that the meat department had a package of frog legs. The butcher said that he did not order them but they just showed up on the delivery truck, I had to buy them even though I don't know how to make them I figured that it could not be that hard. When I got home I looked up how to make them, the simplest way seems to be to fry them up like chicken legs. I found a recipe on cooks.com
6 Frog Legs
Salt and Pepper
Lemon Juice
1 Egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp paprika
Skin legs if necessary, wash and split in half then pat dry. Soak in lemon juice for a few minutes then put on a plat and season with Salt and Pepper. In a large bowl mix flour and other dry seasonings, and in smaller bowl beat egg. Dip legs in egg then roll in flour mixture, then put in deep fryer for 2-3 minutes.
I was a little cautious at first, I have heard that it tastes like chicken, but then again doesn't every thing,but guess what, the texture and taste is just like chicken. If you want to try it i guess it is okay, but at $6.00 a pound I think we will stick to chicken legs.

Chicken Enchiladas

Hello all, today I am going to share one of my favorite recipes, Chicken Enchiladas. I found this recipe about ten years ago in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It does take a little bit of time to make, but trust me it is well worth it. For this you will need:
8 Tortillas six inch flour or corn
1/2 cup Chopped onion
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
2 tablespoons Margarine or butter
3 tablespoons All-purpose flour
1 8-ounce Carton dairy sour cream
2 cups Chicken broth
1 Or 2 canned jalapeno chili peppers, rinsed, seeded, and
Chopped; or one 4-ounce can diced
Green chili peppers, drained
1 cup Shredded Monterey Jack
Cheese
2 cups Chopped cooked chicken
Sliced pitted ripe olives (optional)
Chopped tomatoes (optional)
Sliced green onions
I usually double the recipe just because of the size of our family.
First thing you need to do is cut your chicken and cook that through, a couple of ways you can do this, i like to use skinless boneless breasts and cook in a little olive oil til the pieces are no longer pink in the middle. Another way I have done it when money is an issue, and honestly when is it not is to buy a package of chicken legs and they are usually about half the price of breasts. Then boil the legs with some spices to get a little flavor, then pick the meat off the bone to make shredded chicken. After the chicken is cooked you can follow the rest of the recipe.

Wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes or till softened.

For sauce, in a saucepan cook onion, garlic, coriander, and pepper in margarine or butter till onion is tender. Stir flour into sour cream; add to onion mixture. Stir in broth and chili peppers all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.

For filling, stir 1/2 cup of the sauce into chicken. Place about 1/4 cup filling atop each tortilla; roll up. Arrange rolls, seam side down, in a lightly greased 12x71/2x2-inch baking dish. Top with remaining sauce. Bake, covered, in a 350° oven about 35 minutes or till heated through.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or till cheese melts. If desired, sprinkle with olives, tomatoes, and green onions. Let stand 10 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Another way to do this if you don't want to roll the tortillas is to make it like a lasagna style, put a layer of tortillas on the bottom of the pan then a layer of the chicken mixture and repeat until the pan is full.
Well once again I am out of words, but I will continue to try new recipes and post the results, until next time.

Mmmmm... Dessert

So in my never ending quest to find the best tasting food, I didn't think that I could out do a Twinkie, but like my supervisor tells me at work... there is always room for improvement. Just a little history, the Twinkie was invented around 1930 by a genius named James A. Dewar in Schiller Park, Ill. He realized that machines made that were making cream filled strawberry shortcakes did nothing while strawberries were out of season, so he came up with snack cake filled with banana cream. During World War 2 bananas were rationed and the Hostess company was forced to switch to vanilla cream, some say a switch so popular they never went back. I say a concession the people of that era made and tragedy that we have to live with. So imagine my surprise when I found out that a few blocks from my new workplace is a bread store that sells banana cream Twinkies, and not only that, they sell them for around 75 cents for a box of 10, that is 7.5 pennies a piece. As the great 70's actor John Travolta once said "Oh My God".

So Scott and I leave for work about 10 minutes early, and take the detour to the bread store, I am not going to lie, we were a little giddy on this particular day, not much could take the smile off of our faces. As we walk into the tiny store our heads were on a swivel, where were they, they had to be near, then we saw them. Oh My God Banana Cream Twinkies at our 10 o'clock, we each grabbed two boxes and proceeded to the check out. Much like the fast bastard I am as soon as I got out to the car I opened the box and ate one, why oh why Hostess, why do you make them so tasty. Then I said something so profound, so mind bending, yet so simple..."oh if only I could dip this in chocolate." Then the wheels started turning. Hmmmm I know there is that product out there that makes a chocolate shell on your Ice Cream.
I took the Twinkies and skewered them so I could roll them in the Magic Shell, then put them in the freezer for about an hour just to get the out side cold so the shell would harden quicker. Then I poured a bottle of Magic Shell on to a plate and rolled the Twinkies in it. Back to the freezer for about 2 minutes and I had done it, Chocolate Covered Banana Cream Twinkies. No w during the writing of this post I did a little research, and I know there are Choco-Diles but its just not the same. Well off to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner tonight.