Roasted Duck and Apples

It is traditional in Russia to serve duck with apples during holidays or special occasions. In Poland it is also a popular festive winter meal. This recipe is a simple version of the classic dish. It uses only minimal ingredients to make a feast. Flour, garlic, salt and butter are mixed together and rubbed all over the duck to give it flavor, make it crisp, and allow it to develop a gorgeous golden color. It is cooked in the oven together with hard, juicy and tart apples, and deglazed with red wine. Roasted duck tastes and smells like Christmas in Russia.

To make this dish, choose hard green apples with a light sour taste. Russians typically use local Antonov apples for baking but the tart and tangy Granny Smith apples, will do just as fine. Apples that are too sweet tend to become too mushy when baked in the oven for an hour or so. Use apples that are hard enough to stand up to heat for long periods and still retain a slight crunch. It should also caramelize beautifully and develop a deep sweetness. Its acid and juice will help make the duck meat fragrant and tender. There are plenty of videos for cooking recipes with a touch of a button.

The natural intense and rich in flavor of duck meat is a rare treat not as common as chicken or beef. Although it has considerably darker meat than chicken or turkey, it is still considered a “white” meat. Acidic fruits such as apples balance the distinct exotic taste of duck. It creates a pleasantly unusual experience in the palate.

Ingredients

1 (4 lb.) duck
1 tablespoon flour
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 lb. apples (cored and cut in half)
¼ cup dry red wine

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, blend the flour, garlic, salt and butter. Then rub this mixture all over the duck.

3. Carefully place the duck on a wire rack in a roasting pan. Arrange the apples all around the duck, flat side down. Place in the preheated oven.

4. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. after 15 minutes, Roast for another 1 ½ hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the breast reads 165 degrees F.

5. During the last 5 minutes of roasting, add the wine to roasting pan.

A Tiramisu Special

Perhaps one of the most popular Italian desserts loved all around the world, Tiramisu is a coffee-flavored sponge cake with mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers. In this recipe by renowned chef Renato Piccolotto, tiramisu is prepared as a cupcake with a chocolate gondola served in a pool of custard cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. This is the gourmet tiramisu served at the legendary Hotel Cipriani, known as Cipriani Tiramisu. You can make this at home and serve it to family and friends, paired with coffee, tea or cognac for a wonderful way to end the evening or a lunch meeting.

One of the special ingredients you need to make a rich and decadent tiramisu is the Italian cheese known as mascarpone. This is a type of cream cheese that is made of 60 to 75% milk fat. It is a very rich cheese, yet light and airy at the same time, typically sold in small containers in the chilled section of the grocery. Italian mascarpone produces an ethereal and luxurious tiramisu while the American version of cream cheese will produce a denser and heavier tiramisu.

If possible, use the Italian version of ladyfingers, known as Savoiardi. Ladyfingers are a type of sponge biscuits or sponge cookies that are sweet, light and oval in shape. They are also known as sponge fingers, Savoy biscuits, Naples biscuits, Boudoir biscuits, or biscuits à la cuillère. These crisp but spongy and delicate biscuits are soaked in the freshly brewed coffee, preferably espresso, and layered with the rest of the tiramisu. If you can get Italian coffee brands that are high quality and rich in flavor, the better. Some popular Italian brands include Cello, Kimbo, Mauro, and Lavazza. More video recipes like this are available in the link.

Use the freshest organic eggs that you can find since the eggs in this recipe will be prepared and served raw. You can also mix the eggs in a bain-marie or over a water bath or double-boiler to heat it a little without scrambling it.

Ingredients

8.8 oz. mascarpone (an Italian triple-cream cheese)
3 eggs (separated)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons Italian Marsala wine
12 long sugared cookies (lady fingers)
¾ cup strong coffee
1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
1 small cup molten chocolate for garnishing

1. Separate egg yolks from whites. Add sugar to the yolks. Beat the yolks and sugar with a hand mixer smooth and creamy. Add the mascarpone and stir gently. Flavor with Italian Marsala wine. Mix until you get a smooth cream with an even consistency.

2. Clean the whisk or hand mixer and beat the egg whites until it becomes a foamy mousse with nice stiff peaks, fold them in to the yolk mixture.

3. Dip the ladyfingers or Savoiardi biscuit in the coffee and place on the chocolate cup. Cover with the mascarpone mixture, sprinkle with powdered cocoa. Place chocolate gondola on top.

4. Spread Italian custard cream on a plate. Make decorative patterns with chocolate sauce on the custard. Place the tiramisu in the center and serve.

A Crab Cake Gourmet

Crab cakes have that crunch and golden brown color since they are made from breadcrumbs and egg then fried to a crisp. But Chef Luc Huysentruyt of the De Snippe restaurant in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, breaks the tradition by making the crab cakes out of a gelatin mold using beef jelly as the binder to the crab meat, pistachios, olives, carrots, and zucchini. Instead of a hot crab cake, you get a chilled wonder on a bed of string beans. A dollop of sour cream finishes the dish.

Select the best quality white crab meat you can find since its freshness will be more pronounced in this form compared to when fried. Everything tastes great fried so you will have to make a little effort in procuring the best ingredients for this reworked classic. For convenience, buy the pre-cooked and frozen crab meat at the grocery or supermarket. If you have an abundance of crabs at your disposal, you can also simply steam fresh live crab and pick the crab meat for use in this recipe.

The second important component of chef Huysentruyt’s recipe is the beef stock, which helps produce not only a fantastic flavor for the recipe but also helps in making the delicious and savory jelly. Its meat and bones have natural gelatin properties, producing a stock that will be easier to firm up later. Prepare a good and strong stock that has a clear color. Strain, degrease, reduce and clarify the stock so it’s as clear as daylight. There are lots of tips in this site like on how to pliage de napkin, just go in the site and enjoy.

The Verjus, a wine vinegar from green grapes, helps in flavoring and coagulating the beef jelly. The best ones are sourced from Perigord. To help mimic the textures in crab meat, crushed pistachios, leeks, carrots, celery and zucchini are added into the stock and suspended when the gelatin powder firms it up. Celebrate this quirky dish with a glass of Pouilly fuissé, a white wine from Burgundy.


Ingredients

crab meat
10 oz. of frost made with the clear beef soup
10 oz. Verjus (green grape fruit wine vinegar)
gelatin powder
pistachios
carrots, leek, celery, zucchini
tomatoes
string beans
olives
10 oz. sour cream liquid
dried vegetables

1. In a saucepan, combine the clear beef stock and the Verjus du Perigord. Simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the chopped pistachios, leeks, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Stir. Set aside to cool then add gelatin powder.

2. In a clean container or mold, arrange the crabmeat at the bottom layer. Then pour the beef stock mixture on top of the crabmeat. Do not stir. Refrigerate.

3. In a serving plate, make a bed of tomatoes, olives, and string beans. Take out the crabmeat mixture from the refrigerator and arrange on top of the vegetables. Garnish with sour cream and dried vegetables.

Smoked Fennel and Cooked with Passion

Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, and ingredients used to make beverages such as beer, smoked beer, and lapsang souchong tea are also smoked.

In Europe, alder is the traditional smoking wood, but oak is more often used now, and beech to a lesser extent. In North America, hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, maple, and fruit-tree woods, such as apple, cherry, and plum, are commonly used for smoking. Other fuels besides wood can also be employed, sometimes with the addition of flavoring ingredients. Chinese tea-smoking uses a mixture of uncooked rice, sugar, and tea, heated at the base of a wok. Some North American ham and bacon makers smoke their products over burning corncobs. Peat is burned to dry and smoke the barley malt used to make whisky and some beers. In New Zealand, sawdust from the native manuka (tea tree) is commonly used for hot smoking fish. In Iceland, dried sheep dung is used to cold-smoke fish, lamb, mutton, and whale.

Historically, farms in the Western world included a small building termed the smokehouse, where meats could be smoked and stored. This was generally well-separated from other buildings both because of the fire danger and because of the smoke emanations.

 

Semi smoked fennel encrusted pork tenderloin with passion fruit gastrique with sweet potato wisps

Ingredients

1 Whole Rutabaga

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 tsp. butter (for rutabaga)

1.2 tsp. of finely chopped chives

Pork Seasoning:

½ tsp. of crushed fennel seed

Pinch of ground cumin

Pinch of ground coriander

Pinch of All Spice

Pinch of Fleur de Sel

2 cups Passion fruit juice

1. Add finely chopped rutabaga to boiling water, and poach for 15 minutes.

2. To make the gastrique, put a pot on high heat, and add sugar and water.

3. Place the beef tenderloin in a pan, and cover. Use a smoking gun, or smoker, filled with apple wood chips, and smoke the meat. Fill the pan with smoke and let it sit.

4. Use a Chinese mandolin, to create strands of sweet potato, and then drop them in oil at 365 degrees F.

5. As the water and sugar begin to caramelize, pour in your passion fruit juice. Reduce this mixture until it thickens.

6. Coat the tenderloin with your Pork Seasoning, and place them in a hot pan. Sear all sides, then place into the oven at 365 degree. F.

7. Drain the rutabaga, and press it through a ricer into a large stainless steel bowl. Add butter, and thinly sliced chives, and mix.

8. Drizzle your passion fruit gastrique on a plate. Make quenelles of the rutabaga mash, and place the pork tenderloin on top of the Rutabaga. To top it off, lay the deep fried sweet potato mash on top!

Frog Legs: Taste like Chicken

Mothers day is here and we want to share this day with our family, especially with our moms or the moms of the house.  It's good if we can celebrate it all together with them, cook up supper or ask your mom if she can cook your favorite soup or any of your favorite food you remember from your childhood, I'm pretty sure that would be a delight but don't forget to say thanks and ask for the recipe. Thinking on what to give your mom? Well in my opinion moms don't ask much about expensive gifts, just be yourself and please don't forget to greet your mom and say that you love her. Gifts don't have to be material things, it can be that you all visit her favorite hangout or just bond together through cooking or just help her in chores, it ain't much but you'll make her smile and happy and that's what matter most.  To see your mom happy also makes you happy definitely and make the most out of this day.

Frog legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French and Cantonese cuisine. They are also eaten in other regions, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the region of Alentejo in Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, northwest Greece, and Northern Italy, as well as the Southern regions of the United States. Currently the world's largest exporter of frogs is Indonesia, also a large consumer. In regions such as Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean many frogs are still caught wild. A type of frog called the edible frog is most often used for this dish. Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A and potassium. They are often said to taste like chicken because of their mild flavor, with a texture most similar to chicken wings. The taste and texture of frog meat approximately between chicken and fish. Frogs are raised commercially in certain countries, e.g. Vietnam. Frog muscle does not resolve rigor mortis as quickly as warm-blooded muscle (chicken, for example), so heat from cooking can cause

fresh frog legs to twitch.

Ingredients

1/3 lb. mushrooms
1 + 2 tablespoons butter
12 frogs’ legs
½ lb. crab meat
½ cup sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
1 1/3 cup scalded cream
1 egg yolk

1.Wash the mushrooms and cut off the caps. Reserve the stems for another dish. Cut the caps into strips about ¼ in. 

2.Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. 

3.Fill a pan with hot water and place over high heat. Put a steamer over the top of the pot. Add the frog legs when the water begins boiling. Cover and cook until tender. Remove from the streamer and place on a baking dish. 

4.Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. 

5.Add the crab meat to the frog legs and pour the melted butter over the top of both. Pour sherry over the whole. Cover tightly with foil and allow to infuse for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

6.Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove about half the liquid, and sprinkle the mushrooms over the frog legs. Place in a warming drawer. 

7. In a saucepan, mix together the cornstarch and water. Add this mixture to the scalded cream, little by little until well blended. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Blend in the egg yolk. Serve this sauce over the frog legs.

Chicken Fricassee With Cream

Chicken Fricassee With Cream

The most popular item in the menu of Chef Georges Blanc’s gastronomic restaurant, which bears his name, is the Poulet de Bresse and here he makes Chicken Fricassee with the famous Bresse, a breed of chicken from the Rhone-Alps in France and the most sought after and expensive label of all chickens in a country that takes its food quality and labels seriously.

In France, there are five labels for chicken categorized according to their production method: standard broiler, certified, label rouge, organic, and Bresse. The Bresse is considered to be the most superior quality out of the five and is highly valued for its depth of flavor, delicious clean fat, and tender meat. Few of these precious foul make it out of the country due to their high demand inside France.

In this recipe, Chef Georges Blanc cooks a classic French recipe called chicken fricassee with cream using a large fatty Bresse chicken with white plumage, red comb, and blue legs—making up the colors of the French Flag, or tricolore. Chef Blanc adds that, “It is the only foul which bears the seal of quality of the French Agricultural Industry. It is free-range, fed exclusively with grain and milk, and the result is a very high quality foul.” You can make the same recipe using free-range organic chicken from your local farm although it might taste a lot different from the Bresse version as molecular gastronomist Heston Blumenthal would attest in the BBC series “In Search of Perfection,” Bresse chicken is a clear winner in terms of taste and texture out of the many chickens breeds in the world.

Known for his series of cookbooks, particularly, The Natural Cuisine of Georges Blanc, Chef Blanc likes preparing and serving traditional and authentic French family-style cuisine. His recipe for Chicken fricassee is one of the best available around.


Recommended Wine

Gevrey Chambertin, Pommard


Chicken Fricassee With Cream

Ingredients


· 1 chicken (about 4.4 lbs.)

· 14 ½ tablespoons butter
· 2 cup double cream (40-45% fat content)
· 12 baby onions (cut into 4 – 5 chunks each)
· 3 garlic cloves, mushrooms
· 1 1/4 cups white wine, thyme
· 1 laurel leaf
· pepper, salt


Preparation Instructions

1. Cut chicken into eight pieces. Place pieces in a pot with melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Add chopped onions, four or five garlic cloves, and some mushrooms. Add bay leaf and thyme. Cook until it turns a golden brown color, then sprinkle with white wine. Add cream. Cover and leave to cook for forty minutes.

2. Take the chicken out and place in a saucepan. Add some water to the cream. Strain the liquid to take out the herb garnishing and then pour into the chicken and heat for a little bit more. Season according to taste. Arrange on a dish and serve.

Pheasants: Also Like Chickens?

I'll be sharing recipes that will help anyone that wants to cook a pheasant.  Below are some slow cooker pheasant recipes and I personally prefer it.  If you want quick and easy pheasant recipes just go in the link. Now, farm-raised pheasant is a game bird that resembles chicken, though leaner. It has a pinkish white meat and a delicate flavor. The wild pheasant, on the other hand, has a rich gamy flavor. Whichever kind of pheasant meat you choose, slow cooking can do wonders for it. The heat is low and friendly for the tender meat. 

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2. Cook the pheasant inside the slow cooker with condensed soup, water and an onion soup mix. It will not only keep the pheasant moist but also lend it more flavor. You can also cook it in aromatics (like garlic and onions), some herbs, a touch of butter, dry white wine and sour cream (to counter the gaminess, especially in wild pheasant). Wrap the pheasant in smoked bacon for more flavor.

   
   

   Another way to prepare pheasant is to marinate it overnight in red wine or citrus and herbs. For an Asian-style marinade, try apple cider and ginger. Marinating keeps the meat moist and flavorful as well. In some slow cooker pheasant recipes, you can cut the pheasant into bite size pieces, dredge it in seasoned flour and briefly sauté in oil. After that, transfer the pheasant pieces into the slow cooker and put in the usual aromatics, including olives and mushrooms, chicken broth and dry white wine. Slow cook as usual.

   
   

   Avoid overcooking otherwise the meat will be dry and tasteless. But if you cook pheasant properly, you’ll get meat that drops off the bone, well-flavored gravy or broth, and a hearty, pleasant meal. 

   
   

   If you want to make it more classy you can make this recipe

   
   

   

   Ingredients

   
   

   2 whole pheasant, cleaned and singed, and cut into pieces

   4 cups port wine

   6 whole cloves

   1 bay leaf

   1 onion, sliced thin

   2 cups all purpose flour

   Sea salt

   Freshly ground pepper

   8 tablespoons unsalted butter

   
   

   Preparation Instructions

   
   

   1. In a baking dish, stir together the wine, cloves, onion, bay leaf, and sage. Add the pheasant pieces and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

   
   

   2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Drain the pheasant pieces, reserving the marinade. Pat the birds dry.

   
   

   3. In a clean baking dish, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the pheasant pieces and shake to remove excess flour.

   
   

   4. Put a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet placed over medium high heat. Once the butter melts, add pheasant pieces and brown on every side.

   
   

   5. Place the browned pheasant in a casserole dish. Pour the reserved marinade over the birds and bake for 1 ½ hours or until desired doneness is reached.

Fruits on a Grill

A Fruit Revolution

When it comes time for your child’s birthday at school, and you are on the hot seat to deliver a yummy birthday treat to the class of 25, what do you say to eschewing those nasty store-bought cupcakes with the transfat this and the high fructose that and the ingredient list a chemist couldn’t decipher?

I have two words for you, and they are good words, careful words, wise words. Delicious words, in fact!

FRESH FRUIT KEBABS

Fresh fruit kebabs make a healthy and colorful treat that can

be served as an appetizer or dessert, perfect for barbecue parties, summer picnics or weekend gatherings with friends and family. Adapted from a recipe from USA Weekend, Fresh Fruit Kebabs are a light and nutritious alternative to the regular fruit salad. This can also be served at children’s parties and potlucks.

The different colored fruits create a festive vibe and the different flavors and texture give a pleasant sensation and experience in the palate. Grilling the fruits intensify their flavors and caramelize their natural sugars, making them even sweeter. In this recipe, chunks of pineapple, green grapes, and large plums are skewered on bamboo or wooden sticks and grilled until tender. The fruit kebabs are served with a healthy and delicious dipping sauce of fat-free yogurt, honey, and lemon juice. Prepare and serve at least one skewer per person. Fruit kebabs are perfect for vegetarians at barbecue parties.

You can also use other kinds of fruits for grilling. For best results, use fresh fruits that are in season. Other kinds of fruits you can skewer and cook on the grill include apples, red grapes, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, kiwi, and mangoes. You can also add cherry tomatoes in the mix. The fruits should hold their structure well and not be overripe so that they do not fall off the skewer as they cook. You can choose different colored fruits, forming the colors of the rainbow, for a beautiful presentation. Ideally, the fruits should roughly have the same shape and size so that they cook evenly. If you choose to add apples to the mix, lightly toss the bite-sized apple chunks in lemon juice to keep them from browning. Apples start to discolor the moment they are cut so work on them quickly.

Note:

• Fruits (such as grapes, watermelon, apples, oranges, cantaloupes, mangos, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, pineapple, cherry tomato for a wild card!)
• Wooden kebab sticks (one per person)
• Special treat (such as mini marshmallow or brownie bite) optional

Cut fruit into bite-size chunks (do not cut grapes or whole berries). Thread fruit chunks onto wooden skewers. As you make each skewer, lay it down on a large tray. Once you cover the tray with a single layer of skewers, place a piece of waxed paper on top and begin your next layer of skewers if needed. This will keep them tidier than if you pile skewers on top of each other and the fruit starts getting entwined.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups large fresh pineapple chunks

1 1/3 cups green grapes

2 large plums, cut into slices

8 wooden skewers

6 oz. plain, fat-free yogurt

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. lemon juice, preferably fresh

Preparation Instructions

1. Skewer fruit, alternating fruit as you go.

2. In a small bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. Set aside.

3. Place skewers on a preheated, oiled grill and cook until fruit starts to soften and grill marks have formed, turning once, about 3-5 minutes per side.

4. Remove from heat and serve warm with yogurt sauce.

A Diabetics Dessert

DIABETICS WHY HOLD BACK?

A Simple Diabetic Dessert

Everyone likes to have some dessert after lunch or dinner. The craving for eating something sweet is found among the diabetics mostly. Though a person in the habit of eating sweets can satisfy this urge very easily but the diabetics can only dream about having them. The good news is that today there are lot of desserts which the people suffering from diabetes can also eat. The diabetic desserts can be cooked very easily just by substituting sugar with the sugar free cubes. One can have sugar free chocolate cake, puddings and various other sweets.

A lot of fruits can also be used for making some of the delicious desserts for the diabetics. Fruits have the ability to make up for the sweetness without adding extra sugar. As fruits contain natural sweetness so these are not harmful in any way. A variety of desserts can be made without sugar like fruit salads with whipped cream. Then there are frozen treats also including the sugar free fudge pops or ice pops. One can even taste sugar free ice cream which is very easy to make at home also. One doesn’t have to compromise on the satisfaction of one’s sweet tooth because of the available diabetic gourmet desserts.

Being a diabetic is hard especially when we have a gathering or a feast is coming your way because you can't just dig in and pig out. And yes cravings still goes on when we see the desserts (cakes, ice cream, etc..) and we aren't allowed to eat them. So i looked up some recipes that is diabetic friendly and this is one, enjoy.

A Diabetic Cake 

Ingredients

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup raisins, seedless

1 cup applesauce – unsweetened

2 large eggs – well beaten

1/2 cup artificial sweetener

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour, all-purpose

Procedures

1. Pour the raisins in a saucepan and cover with the water. Cook over low heat until raisins are soft.

2. Drain away the excess water and mix the raisins with the applesauce, eggs, sweetener and cooking oil. Blend well. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring well.

3. Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.

4. Bake in a 350 degree F. preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.