Category Archives: Nourishing, Fast, Fresh Recipes

Crispy Duck Breasts with Maple-Bourbon Sauce

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We’ve adapted this tasty maple-bourbon sauce from Hank Shaw’s award-winning blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. This sauce also works nicely with wild turkey, boar or pheasant. The duck breasts will render quite a bit of flavorful fat, which many chefs consider to be the platinum standard of cooking fats. Don’t throw it away! Instead, strain the fat through a fine-mesh sieve and use it in place of other fats (butter, oil) in other recipes. It will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

4 boneless duck breast halves, skin on
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bourbon
1/4 cup chicken stock
1-1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Sage sprigs, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place a foil-lined baking sheet in oven.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Trim any excess fat from edges of duck breast halves; set aside. Score the duck skin and fat in a diamond pattern. Season duck with salt and pepper. Place duck skin-side-down in pan, and cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add reserved trimmings of duck fat to the pan, and continue to cook 15 minutes until the skin crisps and the fat renders out.

Remove the duck to a work surface; dust the skin side of duck with sugar. Place duck skin-side-down on preheated baking sheet. Bake 7 minutes or until meat is medium-rare. Remove from oven, turn duck skin-side-up, and cover with foil. Let stand 10 minutes.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered duck fat (strain and reserve remaining fat for another use).

While duck stands, heat the skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook 5 minutes or until dark golden-brown. Stir often and keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the bourbon, then return it over medium-high heat. It will thicken and sputter. Stir well, and start adding the stock, whisking constantly. When the sauce boils, whisk in the maple syrup and Sririacha. Let this simmer over medium heat for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and let the sauce stop bubbling. Whisk in the cream. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Slice each duck breast half across the grain. Garnish each plate evenly with the sauce. Garnish with sage.

Serves 4

Skillet Corn Bread with Tomatoes and Sage

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When I think of cast-iron skillets, corn bread immediately comes to mind. In the Deep South, many home cooks have a skillet handed down from their mamas that they use just for corn bread. This version is inspired by James Beard Award-nominated Birmingham, Ala., chef Frank Stitt, author of Frank Stitt’s Southern Table (Artisan). He says corn bread should be a savory side dish and dismisses sweetened versions as a “Yankee invention.” Our rendition includes No Work Slow Roasted Tomatoes,* fresh corn and sage for extra flavor and texture. Try it with Kurt’s Iowa City Chili.

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Spiced Pork Roast

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This dish is supremely delish with Roasted Winter Veggies. Choosing heritage pork will mean even more flavor. I love leftovers in a sandwich slathered with mustard and dotted with Spicy-Sweet Pickled Cucumbers.

spice-roast-pork-recipe3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
2-1/2 pound boneless pork loin roast

Pound garlic to a paste in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt and grind of pepper. Add thyme and fennel and continue to pound to a paste. Mix in remaining spices and 1 tablespoon olive oil and rub all over pork. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400. Rub pork with an additional pinch of salt.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear pork on all sides, about 3-5 minutes total, and transfer pan to oven. Roast for 25-35 minutes, until a thermometer poked into the thickest part reads 150.

Remove from oven to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Serves 6

Fair-Trade Chocolate Earthquake Cookies

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I made a version of these addictive chocolate cookies in culinary school. Rolling the dough in two kinds of sugar creates a crackled appearance when the cookies spread as they bake. Since chocolate is the main ingredient, they’re an ideal way to showcase an artisanal product like Fair Trade-Certified chocolate.

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Need more Valentine’s Day inspiration? Check out these recipes from our friends at Food Bloggers Los Angeles:

FBLA Chocolate Party 2014 Recipe and Resource Links

Desserts

Savory Dishes

Champagne/Sparkling Wine Recommendations

  • Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava ($7 “but tastes like $20+”) — Andrew Wilder of Eating Rules
  • NV Presto Prosecco Brut ($10-$12), a “price performer” — Alison Ashton of NOURISH Evolution
  • Brut Roederer Estate Mixed Vintage ($20) — Jennifer Daskevich of A Little Gourmet Everyday
  • Colbert Eco Brut (sugar-free organic sparkling wine; $25) — Caren Magill of The Fit Habit
  • Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée ($10.99). “When serving mimosas there is no need to buy expensive bubbly, but naturally you don’t want to serve your guests headache-inducing sparkling wines or champagne either. The Brut Cuvée is Barefoot’s most traditional bubbly and tastes of green apple and jasmine with hints of kiwi and peach flavors which bubble up for a crisp finish and, in my opinion, make a delightful Mimosa,” said Priscilla Willis of She’s Cookin’.

 

Roasted Beet Wedges with Champagne Vinegar

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This roasted beet recipe is the real deal. “Roasting” beets often calls for wrapping them in foil, baking them until tender and then peeling them. That’s a fine method, but it really steams the beets rather than roasts them. In this recipe, you’ll peel them  first, toss them with oil and vinegar, and roast them at high heat so they caramelize. Serve them warm as a side dish (they’re delicious with salmon or Arctic char) or cold to augment a tossed green salad. We call for baby beets, but any size or variety will work beautifully in this recipe.

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Love beets? Try these recipes:

 

Short Rib and Cremini Ragu

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If you love fork-tender ragu, add short ribs to your repertoire. Back home in Missoula, Montana, on the search for local meat, I met Scott Barger of Mannix Brothers’ Grass Finished Beef, a fifth-generation cattle rancher in the Blackfoot Valley. He said that cuts like short ribs often end up going into their ground beef, simply because folks don’t know how to use them. Like many tougher cuts, short ribs require a longer cooking time for the connective tissues to melt. When they do, the meat becomes fall-apart tender, infusing the sauce with an incredible richness. This ragu can be served two ways: with the rib portions intact over our Creamy Corn Polenta, or you can remove the ribs from the sauce, and once cool enough to handle, shred the meat, discarding bones and excess fat. Toss the meat sauce with a long pasta noodle like fettuccine or tagliatelle.

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Spicy Sauteed Rainbow Chard with Golden Raisins

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Rainbow chard’s vibrant orange, red and magenta stems are too pretty to toss into the compost. They have a crunchy texture similar to celery and add a colorful confetti-like cheer to this speedy saute. Serve as a side dish with, well, just about anything (it’s especially tasty with our Spiced Pork Roast) or toss with hot pasta and goat cheese for meatless entree.

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Tiny Cherry Tomato Sauce

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This is the perfect tomato sauce recipe to make with that extra pint of cherry tomatoes in your CSA box that’s sitting on your counter. Use it to dress a simple pasta or spoon it over a crispy chicken paillard.

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Baked Penne and Cheese with Mushrooms

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I love homemade macaroni and cheese  (or, in this case, penne and cheese) and wasn’t about to let a sprained wrist get in the way. Pre-chopped onions and mushrooms, pre-shredded cheese, and a garlic press meant I could make this without picking up a knife. A speedy sprinkling of toasted wheat germ takes the place of bread crumbs. You can use any vegetables and any blend of cheese you like–experiment to change up the flavor!

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Veggie-Laden Drunken Noodles

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I consulted Asian cooking author and expert Nancie McDermott on how best to cook rice noodles for this recipe. She gave me two paradigm-shifting tips to keep them from sticking: 1) lower the heat and 2) add water to the pan. “Rice noodles in particular are prone to stick and burn,” Nancie says, “so they can use the coddling-along heat level rather than the fiery furnace.” Adding a bit of water if they start to stick also helps them soften and cook. Thanks, Nancie … my drunken noodles have never looked better! You can find Nancie’s Quick & Easy Thai in our Amazon Market here (also check out her Quick & Easy Vietnamese, and Quick & Easy Chinese … in all three books the recipes are true to their word—quick and easy—but Nancie knows her stuff, too. She’s spent extensive time living in and studying all three countries, so the flavors are true to the cuisine).

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