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Category Archives: Sauces

Schnitzel and Spaetzle, Oh My!

Posted on August 23, 2010 by amydeline

We’re home. Time to get cooking!

In my last blog entry, I posted a picture of the Cheese Spaetzle which my husband and I enjoyed during one of our delicious Chicago lunches. This led one of my friends to wonder exactly what spaetzle is. Spaetzle, or Spätzle, is a type of egg noodle often found in German cuisine.

I ♥ spaetzle.

I ♥ German cuisine.

So, inspired by my friend’s question and in order to show you what spaetzle is, I decided I’d cook it for the first time. Though I’ve eaten in many times in German restaurants, I’ve never actually made it myself. I wasn’t even quite sure how it was made. Since I was pretty clueless about the spaetzle-making process, I decided to search for a recipe. I landed upon a Tyler Florence recipe, which appealed to me for its simplicity and for the fact that it didn’t call for any special spaetzle-making equipment. If you’ve got a colander or spoon with large holes, you’re ready to make spaetzle.

Large-holed colander sitting atop boiling water

I picked a colander which rested nicely on one of my saucepans. I filled the pan with water just high enough that it didn’t reach the bottom of the colander. This way, I was able to scoop a bit of the spaetzle batter into the colander and use a spatula to push it through into the boiling water. This worked beautifully. The batter dropped through the colander holes into the boiling water below and formed perfect little noodles. Just be sure to get right to work at pushing the batter through before it begins to cook on the bottom of the colander (which is exactly what happened to me while I paused to catch a picture). Tyler Florence’s recipe, found here, worked out perfectly. Excellent flavor and texture. Very easy to make! A definite winner in my book.

Spaetzle Cooking in Butter

Once I’d settled on making the spaetzle, it didn’t take me long to decide on making schnitzel; Jaegerschnitzel, to be exact. Schnitzel is simply meat, typically veal or pork, coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Jaeger translates to Hunter, which refers to the type of brown mushroom sauce which is served over the schnitzel.  Pork Jaegerschnitzel is, without question, one of my favorite German dishes and it makes a perfect accompaniment to the spaetzle.

As far as my Jaegerschnitzel recipe goes, I can’t speak to its German authenticity. Some references refer to Jaeger Sauce as a creamy mushroom sauce. I did not use any type of cream in my recipe. Feel free to add a bit of heavy cream, sour cream, or creme fraiche if it strikes your fancy. I was led by my Jaeger taste buds and authentic or not, my taste buds were quite pleased. Quite pleased indeed.

Jaegerschnitzel

Ingredients

  • 4 Boneless Pork Chops, about a pound total
  • 1/2 pound Bacon, chopped
  • 2 cups Mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, plus more if necessary
  • 1/2 cup Flour, for dredging
  • 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup Bread Crumbs, plus more if necessary
  • 4 Tbsp Butter
  • 4 Tbsp Flour
  • 3 cups Beef Stock or Beef Broth
  • Salt and Pepper

To prepare the pork, cut each pork chop in half through the middle to create two thinner pieces out of each chop. You should end up with 8 thin-cut pork chops. Place the pork chops in a ziploc and pound, with a mallet or heavy flat-bottomed pan, to flatten to about 1/4 inch thick. Season each piece with a bit of salt. Then dredge the pork in the flour, dip in the lightly beaten eggs, and coat in the bread crumbs. Set the breaded chops aside.

In a large pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until it just begins to get crispy, about 5-7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon, leaving the rendered fat in the pan. Set the bacon aside.

Add the mushrooms to the bacon fat remaining in the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat until the mushrooms are tender and lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the mushrooms and set aside.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bacon fat remaining in the pan, so that you have a very thin, even layer of bacon fat/oil. Add the breaded pork cutlets and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, over medium heat, until lightly browned and cooked through. Cook in batches, adding more oil between each batch, if necessary. Set the cooked pork aside.

**If the pan has any burned bits on the bottom, clean the pan before proceeding or use a new pan for the following steps.

Add butter and flour to the pan over medium heat. Whisk to combine. Cook for a minute or two. Then, gradually begin whisking in the beef stock. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking frequently. The sauce will thicken. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the cooked pork cutlets, mushrooms, bacon, and any juices to the sauce. Gently move the pan to coat the pork in the sauce. Cook for a minute or two to reheat all components. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Serve with warm butter-sautéed spaetzle.

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Chicken with Morels in Chicago

Posted on August 20, 2010 by amydeline

Hello Everyone!

Just checking in from Chicago. We had a great first day yesterday. Flight was fast and trouble-free. Not only did our suitcase arrive on the plane with us, but it was all in one piece and third out on the baggage claim. No wait for a taxi which brought us promptly to our friends’ lovely home. After a great bacon, egg, and cheddar bagel, we headed out to catch a train for an adventure. We spent a relaxing afternoon wandering down the main drag in Andersonville and enjoying a few local Chicago-brewed beers. Did a little shopping, bought a fuzzy plant named Sampson, and then returned to our friends’ place, where our gracious hostess was cooking up a fantastic dinner; Ina Garten’s Chicken with Morels.

It started with morels, those adorable honeycomb shaped mushrooms, soaked in steaming hot water until tender.

Then, pieces of chicken breast were dredged in flour and lightly browned in a pan.

The chicken was removed, the shallots and mushrooms cooked until tender, and the wine added.

Add a little creme fraiche, cream, and lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the chicken in a baking dish. Bake for a few minutes.

Voila! A delicious, elegant meal, served over hot egg noodles with a side of farm-fresh summer corn. Doesn’t get much better than this!

Chicken with Morels

We’ll be heading into downtown Chicago today, to see where the day will take us. And later tonight, we’re hitting The Publican for a feast on seafood, pork, and beer. I’m certain it will be a great day!

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Chicken Marsala with Garlic Sauteed Broccolini

Posted on August 18, 2010 by amydeline

I’ve been meaning to make this dish for a while. I rarely order chicken when we go out to eat. It’s not that I don’t like chicken. I enjoy it quite a bit, but there’s just always something else which sounds better to me. There’s always some thick cut of filet mignon smothered in bernaise sauce or duck confit with a cherry-balsamic reduction calling my name. But there is one chicken dish that has the power to distract me from thick cuts of red meat and duck in sweet fruity sauces. That dish is Chicken Marsala. I rarely make it though. It’s not that it’s labor intensive or complicated to prepare. It’s simply that Chicken Marsala requires Marsala wine, which requires me to make a trip to the liquor store, which requires me to escort two extremely active toddler boys into a fun house of glass bottle towers. I avoid that situation like the plague.

But, my hubby stopped by the liquor store to pick up wine for last night’s steak dinner feast and I had him grab a bottle of Marsala. So, it’s Chicken Marsala for dinner tonight!

Marsala sauce is another in a family of wine reduction sauces that bring pure joy to my heart, like my beloved Bordelaise and Madeira sauces. We’ll start with a bit of Marsala wine, then simmer it down until it reduces to a thick, concentrated wine base. To that, we’ll add chicken stock and continue simmering to concentrate the flavors. The flour and oil remaining in the pan from cooking the chicken will act as our roux to help thicken the sauce. Mushrooms and thinly sliced garlic complete the sauce.

Chicken Marsala pairs beautifully with angel hair pasta, garlic mashed potatoes, or sauteed veggies. Tonight, I’m blanching a bunch of crisp broccolini just until slightly tender, then sautéeing it in a bit of olive oil and garlic.

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients

  • 4 Thin-Cut Chicken Breasts
  • 3 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Flour, for dredging the chicken
  • 3/4 cup Marsala Wine
  • 1 can (about 2 cups) Chicken Stock
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

In a large pan, heat about half of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and the mushrooms. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are tender and brown and the garlic is lightly toasted. Remove from the pan and set aside. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour to evenly coat both sides. Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan used for the mushrooms. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through and golden brown. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the marsala to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the tasty brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the marsala to a simmer, allowing the wine to reduce until about 1/4 cup remains. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until about 1 cup of liquid remains. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan. Cook for a few minutes to coat the chicken in sauce.

Garlic Sautéed Broccolini

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Broccolini
  • 2 tsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the broccolini, by placing it in the boiling water and cooking for 5-7 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and gently pat dry. In a pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the blanched broccolini. Toss in the oil and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste

Little Man in Big Shoes, keeping busy while Mommy cooks.

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Posted in Food, Main Course, Poultry, Recipes, Sauces, Side Dishes, Vegetable and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Steak Dinner. Yummy, yummy.

Posted on August 17, 2010 by amydeline

We’re enjoying a visit from my in-laws this week. Tonight I had the pleasure of preparing a tasty steak dinner for our dining enjoyment. I mean, we have to eat something. It might as well be steak!

We started with an appetizer of Warm Goat Cheese Bruschetta with Cherries, Mango, Mint, and Almonds. Simply dice a few cherries and some mango, chiffonade a few mint leaves, and mix. Spread goat cheese on slices of French baguette. Top with a bit of the cherry, mango, mint mixture. Garnish with a sliced almond or two. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 8-10 minutes.

Click here to see my photo guide on How to Dice a Mango. Make the cuts close together for a fine dice.

Click here to see my photo guide on How to Chiffonade Basil. Use the same procedure to chiffonade your mint leaves.

I cooked our dinner as we enjoyed the warm goat cheese hors d’oeuvres. There was broiled flank steak, seasoned with salt and pepper, then broiled for 15 minutes. After allowing it to rest for 5 minutes, I cut thin slices across the grain.

Over the flank steak, we enjoyed a Roasted Garlic Sauce. To make the sauce, melt 2 Tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add 2 Tbsp flour and whisk together. Cook over medium heat for a minute or two. Gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk. Bring to a gentle boil and continue cooking for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with a teaspoon of mustard, some salt, pepper, and a touch of nutmeg. Whisk in roasted garlic paste from one small head of garlic, until smooth.

Click here to see my photo guide on How to Roast Garlic. Once it’s roasted, squeeze out the soft garlic and sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt. Use the side of a knife to press the roasted garlic into a smooth paste.

On the side, we enjoyed Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic. Cut baby red potatoes into fourths or eighths, depending on their size. Toss with a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper. Spread onto a baking sheet and cook in a 350 degrees oven for about an hour, until they are tender, golden brown, and surprisingly sweet.

We also enjoyed  a side of Green Beans Almondine, my absolute favorite way to prepare green beans!

Click here to see my recipe for Green Beans Almondine.

Add a little Chianti and it’s a lovely meal!

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Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

Posted on August 12, 2010 by amydeline

The summer night is quiet. A couple rests peacefully in their comfortable feather-topped bed. The windows are open; the low hum of a fan filling the air as it sends a soothing breeze throughout the room. The couple has drifted off into a tranquil dreamland, never suspecting what lie ahead.

Down the hall, a door swings open; the constant murmur of the fan providing cover to the sound.

Tap.

Tap. Tap.

Tap, Tap, Tap.

Taptaptaptaptaptap.

The sound of small, bare feet on hardwood floors.

She doesn’t feel the breath upon her face. She isn’t aware that she is being watched. Until it yells, Snuggle up!

The Snuggle Monster (post watermelon feast)

Startled and confused, she reaches over and lifts the small, warm person into bed and does as he commands. Snuggle up. And they begin drifting back to sleep; the midnight snuggle attack a roaring success. Until the small person begins talking. Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? At which point the slumbering man awakes and demands that the small noisy person return to his bed.

Don't be deceived by the snuggle monster's cute ploys.

Thus began a mostly sleepless night.

And so it is a great joy to me that today’s post was actually last night’s dinner. Cooking complete. Food taste-tested. Photos taken. Recipe written. Just a matter of a few edits and done for the day. Leftovers for dinner…

Above all else, tasty food starts with tasty ingredients. Fresh ingredients at their prime require minimal fuss to produce outstanding results. When it comes to homemade tomato sauce, most of the year, your best bet may be canned tomatoes. Has lack of sleep made the gourmand mom lose her mind?? But, no. Tomatoes are canned at the peak of their ripeness at the peak of their season, their flavorful prime. You’d be hard-pressed to find fresh tomatoes nearly that tasty mid-winter. When tomatoes are not in season, canned crushed or whole tomatoes will offer you the most flavorful, nutrient-rich option.

But, there is a window of time when the ripe tomatoes, fresh from your garden, the farmer’s market, or your local grocery store are bursting with flavor. And in the Northeast, that time is now.

We’ll start with ripe, fresh tomatoes. (Taste one to ensure that they have vibrant, sweet tomato flavor.) Use a knife to make an ‘x’ at the bottom of each tomato. This will allow the skins to slip off easily.

Drop a few tomatoes at a time into a pot of boiling water. Allow them to sit in the boiling water for about 30 seconds.

Use a slotted spoon the remove the tomatoes.

Immediately place them into an ice bath to cool. The skins should begin slipping off on their own. Use your fingers to peel the tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes have been peeled, they’ll only require a few simple steps and a handful of fresh ingredients to become a flavorful marinara sauce. Make a big batch and freeze a few containers for some fresh tomato sauce, post peak tomato season.

Serve the sauce over pasta as is, or add a few more ingredients to make your own tomato sauce variation. Try olives, ground meat, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, or roasted garlic.

Basic Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 pounds ripe Plum/Roma Tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 4 cloves Garlic, smashed
  • 2 small Onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Basil, chiffonade*
  • Salt (about 1 1/2 tsp)
  • Crushed Red Pepper, to taste

*Click here to see my photo guide on How to Chiffonade Basil.

Directions

Cut the top off of the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half. Squeeze the seeds from the tomatoes into a strainer. Reserve the strained tomato liquid. Rough chop the tomatoes. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and smashed garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato liquid to the pan. Cook for about 25 minutes over medium heat, until the tomatoes have broken down. For your safety, allow the mixture to cool slightly. Then, use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender to blend the mixture to your desired consistency. Be careful while blending hot liquids. Add the basil and season with salt and crushed red pepper. Continue cooking for about 10 more minutes to allow the flavors to blend and condense.

**You can make this recipe using canned tomatoes too. Look for canned whole or crushed tomatoes with no added salt. If you really want to use fresh tomatoes, but they’re not at their flavorful best, try adding a bit of tomato paste. The concentrated tomato flavor will do wonders for your sauce!

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Pizza Dragon and Chairs of Stock

Posted on August 7, 2010 by amydeline

Childhood can be a confusing time. So many new experiences to take in, so much to learn about the world, the potential for confusion lurking around every corner. As a child, I remember the day our father told my sisters and I about the shares of stock which had been purchased for us. Our youthful minds heard chairs of stock. We continued the discussion with our father, he talking of the shares, we talking about chairs. Imagine our confusion when he tried to explain that our chairs were going to help us to pay for college. How in the world, we asked. Well, we could sell our shares, he explained. People will want to buy our chairs? Yes, he explained, people buy and sell shares all of the time. Hmm… We continued trying to process this whole chair thing. So, where do they keep all of our chairs? My father paused for a moment. We continued, Is there like a room somewhere filled up with our chairs? And, that’s when he realized we weren’t talking about the same thing.

Or take, for example, our first experience at Chuck E. Cheese. My family sat down and ordered some pizza and sodas. On the wall was a giant movie screen, the size of the wall. On it, the movie Pete’s Dragon was playing. Our parents told us the name of the movie. Between bites of our pizza, we heard Pizza Dragon. Eat pizza, watch Pizza Dragon. Made sense at the time. Took us a few years before we realized the movie was not actually Pizza Dragon.

Speaking of pizza, we’re having my signature pizza tonight. My brother in law is visiting and his top food request for the weekend was this very pizza. I’ve taken a Steak Bordelaise dinner; steak in a rich wine sauce with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and gorgonzola cheese; and I’ve turned it into a pizza. It’s the steak dinner you can eat with your hands. I told you I really enjoy handheld meals. You can use either, neither, or both mushrooms and onions on the pizza, depending on your preference. The best part is that all components of the pizza can be prepared ahead of time! This is a very hardy pizza, so it works well with a side of fresh salad.

P.S. There’s skirt steak on this pizza. Have I mentioned how much I love skirt steak??


Steak Bordelaise Pizza

Ingredients

For the Sauce

  • 1 cup Dry Red Wine
  • 1 Shallot, finely diced
  • 1 sprig Thyme
  • 2 cups Beef Stock
  • 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp Water
  • Salt and Pepper

For the Toppings

  • 1 Onion, chopped (optional)
  • 2 cups Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp Butter
  • 1 Skirt Steak (about 1/2 pound)
  • 1/2 cup Gorgonzola Cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 Thick Pizza Crust, homemade or store bought (12 inch diameter)

Directions

For the sauce, combine red wine, shallot, and thyme in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until the sauce reduces by 3/4. There should be about 1/4 cup remaining. Add the beef stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce reduces by half. There should be about a cup remaining. Strain the sauce to remove the shallots and thyme. Return the sauce to the saucepan. In a small dish, combine the cornstarch with the water. Add a spoonful or two of the hot sauce. Stir to combine, then add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce. Simmer for another minute or two until the sauce thickens. Season with a little salt and pepper.

For the onions, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to lightly brown. Turn down the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes until the onions are soft and sweet.

For the mushrooms, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the are soft and lightly browned.

For the steak, preheat an oven to 450 degrees. Place the steak on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the steak into small bite-sized pieces.

To assemble the pizza, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread about 3/4 cup of the sauce over the pizza crust. Evenly distribute the steak over the sauce. Add the onions and/or mushrooms. Sprinkle with gorgonzola and mozzarella cheeses. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let the pizza cool for a few minutes before slicing.

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Duck Breast a l’Orange in Crepes

Posted on August 5, 2010 by amydeline

Happy National Waffle and National Oyster Day! In honor of these special occasions, I’ll be making oyster waffles today!

Don’t worry. I’m totally kidding. We don’t need to celebrate every food holiday.

No, we will not be having oyster waffles today. We’re having crepes. I was watching a show on the Food Network the other night, Best Thing I Ever Ate, where top chefs shared, you guessed it, the best things they’ve ever eaten. Chef Beau Macmillan talked about these crepes filled with Nutella and covered with strawberries and bananas that he ate at a place called FlipHappy in Austin, Texas. Everything about them looked delicious. I set my mind on making crepes sometime this week. Since I’ve already shared a dessert recipe this week, I figured I should make savory crepes. It took me all of about a minute to decide what to make.

I’ve had Duck a l’Orange cued in my draft list for weeks, just waiting for the right opportunity. I’d planned to serve the sliced duck breast a l’orange with rice or potatoes, perhaps pommes dauphinoise. But something about the sweet and savory orange sauce with orange zest and juicy orange supremes is screaming to put in a crepe. I think I’ve found my perfect opportunity to make duck a l’orange.

Don’t be put off by the fancy name and don’t be intimidated if you’ve never made duck before. This meal is really a piece of cake. Make it for a dinner party and impress your guests with your fancy French dish. Really impress them by talking about how you started with a gastrique (which is just the slightly caramelized sugar/vinegar combination that starts the sauce). Bowl them over by mentioning that you reduced the orange juice to concentrate the flavor or comment on the fresh orange supremes. Chat about how you rendered the duck fat or how you mounted the sauce with butter just prior to serving, to give it a nice, rich feel. Then, toss your hair back, giggle, and say, “Really, it was nothing.” Seriously though, this dish is really not too complicated to make and works really well for dinner parties since it can be mostly prepared ahead of time.

For the purpose of this recipe, we’re using duck breasts. No need to deal with a whole duck. My supermarket carries packaged duck breasts right near the poultry section. If you can’t find them at your grocery store, try asking at the butcher counter. They may be able to order them for you. Doesn’t hurt to ask. The packaged duck breasts I purchased came pre-scored, for my convenience. If yours are not, you’ll want to cut a crosshatch pattern in the fat, being careful not to cut into the meat. The crosshatch pattern will help the fat the break down during cooking.

You can prepare the sauce and even cook the duck ahead of time. Zest and supreme your oranges beforehand too. When dinner rolls around, you’ll simply need to cook the crepes, reheat the sauce with the duck and orange supremes. Add the zest and butter and you’ll be in business!

Edited to add: As I discovered last night, the crepes actually reheat well too. Wrap the cooked crepes in foil and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. To reheat, place the stack of crepes between two paper towels and microwave for about 20 seconds or so.

Duck Breast a l’Orange in Crepes

Ingredients

For the Duck

  • 2 Duck Breasts
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1/8 cup White Wine Vinegar
  • 2 Ice Cubes
  • 1 cup Orange Juice
  • 1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
  • 2 tsp Cornstarch
  • 2 tsp Water
  • 1 Tbsp Butter, cold
  • 2 Oranges, supremed*
  • Zest from 1 Orange
  • Salt and Pepper

* Click here to see how to supreme an orange.

For the Crepes

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 1 1/4 cup Milk, plus a bit more if necessary
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar

Directions

For the sauce: Combine sugar and vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to turn a medium amber color. Remove from heat. Add an ice cube or two to stop the cooking, so it does not become too dark or burn. (This is your gastrique.)

Add the orange juice. Whisk to combine and return to the heat. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes until the sauce has reduced to 1/2 cup. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until about 1 cup of sauce remains. Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add a spoonful of the hot sauce to the cornstarch mixture. Then add the mixture to the sauce. Simmer for another minute or two until the sauce is well thickened. Season with a little salt and pepper. Remove from heat. You can prepare the sauce to this point ahead of time.

For the duck: Season the duck breasts with a little salt and pepper. Heat a pan over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles when it touches to pan. Place the duck breasts in the pan, fatty side down. Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Most of the fat will render (melt away) and you’ll be left with a thin crispy layer of fat.

Turn the breasts, cover, and cook on the other side for about 10 minutes. They should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees, as measured by an instant-read meat thermometer. Remove from the pan and allow the duck breasts to rest for about 5 minutes. Remove the remaining layer of fat, if desired. Cut the duck breast into small pieces.

For the crepes:

Lightly beat the eggs with the salt. Combine the eggs with the flour, milk, oil, and sugar. Add additional milk, if necessary. The batter should move very easily, but not be overly liquidy. Spray a flat-bottom, nonstick skillet with cooking spray, then heat the skillet over medium heat. Hold the pan off the heat and use a measuring cup to pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. Quickly, turn the pan to spread the batter across the entire bottom. Place the pan over the heat and cook for less than a minute. Use a spatula to loosen one of the edges. Then, use your hands to flip the crepe. Cook for a few seconds more on the other side. Make 8 crepes.

To assemble the dish:

When you’re ready to serve, reheat the sauce in a saucepan. Add the orange segments, about half of the orange zest and the pieces of duck. Toss to gently combine. Simmer gently for a few minutes until the duck and sauce are heated. Remove from the heat. Add the butter and gently swirl the mixture until it melts and blends with the sauce. Place a spoonful of the mixture onto one quarter of the crepe.

Fold the crepe in half over the mixture, then in half again to form a triangle shape.

Repeat for all crepes. Serve each person 2 prepared crepes. Drizzle with a little extra sauce, if desired. Garnish with the remaining orange zest.

Makes 4 Servings

**If you wish to make this duck a l’orange to serve in a way other than with crepes, you can follow the same procedure, but slice the duck, rather than cutting it into small pieces. Also, you can omit the cornstarch in the sauce. I added cornstarch to thicken the sauce to prevent the crepes from getting soggy, but if you’re not serving the dish with crepes, this is not a concern.

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White Garlic Lasagna

Posted on August 4, 2010 by amydeline

For as much as I love food and all things food-related, there are whole worlds of food content that I’m entirely clueless about. Take, for example, the presence of a food blogging community. Prior to beginning my own blog, I had no idea that such a community of like-minded individuals existed. I emphasize the word, community, because it truly describes the support and camaraderie which exists amongst this group of food-lovin’, food-writing, food-photo-taking people.

And it’s through this group of food-focused people, that a whole other world of food knowledge has been opened for me. I’m talking about the world of food holidays; national days of observance devoted to food. Take, for example, September 26, which is National Corned Beef Hash Day or October 8 which is National Fluffernutter Day. And you can bet your bippy I’ll be celebrating National Bagels and Lox Day when February 9 rolls around. I found out, only after reading another food blogger’s blog, that yesterday was National Watermelon Day. I did an inner dance of joy for the accidental appropriateness of yesterday’s Watermelon Roll post. Then I started probing around for more information about food holidays, cause I’m all over the idea of celebrating food. And I found this link, with a comprehensive list of food holidays.

Turns out that today is Nationa Lasagna Day. How in the world is a girl supposed to let a special day like this go by without a little celebration? So, tonight I’m making a lasagna inspired by my favorite kind of pizza in the whole world; white garlic. My husband and I clash heads on this topic almost every time we order pizza. He asks what kind of pizza I want. I say White Garlic. He says Bleh. Occasionally he’ll agree to a garlic pizza, as long as we add some crumbled sausage on top. But I could eat white garlic pizza every time and never miss the tomato sauce.

You won’t miss the tomato sauce in this lasagna either. For the sauce, I made a basic white sauce, with the addition of minced garlic and a bit of asiago cheese. I could eat bowls full of this garlicky sauce as if it were soup. It would be seriously fantastic over pasta. Then, I threw a bit more garlic in the spinach mixture so the lasagna is absolutely oozing with garlic. For my hubby, I added some spicy Italian sausage to the lasagna, but it would totally work without it. I truly love how this lasagna came out. It’s like having a slice of garlic pizza, between noodles of lasagna.

Happy National Lasagna Day!

White Garlic Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 3 Hot Italian Sausages
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 box No-Boil Lasagna Noodles
  • 1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded*
  • 1/2 cup Fontina Cheese, shredded

    • For the Spinach Mixture

    • 1 16 oz package Frozen Chopped Spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
    • 1 15 oz container Ricotta Cheese”
    • 2 tsp Garlic, minced
    • 1/4 tsp Salt
    • 1 egg, lightly beaten

    For the Garlic Sauce

    • 3 Tbsp Butter
    • 1 Tbsp Garlic, minced
    • 3 Tbsp Flour
    • 2 cups Milk”
    • 1/2 cup Asiago Cheese, shredded
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 1/8 tsp Cayenne
    • Pinch of Nutmeg

    *Reduced fat cheeses and milk would work fine with this recipe.

    Directions

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. Remove the sausage meat from the casings. Add the sausage meat to the hot skillet and cook until fully-cooked, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Set the cooked sausage aside.

    Combine the spinach with the ricotta cheese, minced garlic, and salt. Stir in the lightly beaten egg. The egg will help to bind the spinach-ricotta mixture.

    In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the 1 Tablespoon minced garlic to the butter. Cook for about two minutes. Add the flour to the mixture and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, until the milk begins to thicken. Turn down the heat. Add the asiago cheese, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.

    Spread a very thin layer of the sauce into the prepared baking dish. Lay 3 no-boil lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread half of the spinach mixture on top of the noodles. Sprinkle with half of the sausage. Drizzle with about a third of the sauce. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top. Spread the other half of spinach mixture. Sprinkle the other half of sausage. Drizzle another third of the sauce. Lay 3 more lasagna noodles on top. Drizzle with the remaining third of sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and fontina cheeses. Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil. Bake for 10-15 more minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove from the oven and wait 5 minutes before cutting.

    White Garlic Lasagna

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    Posted in Cheese, Food, Main Course, Pork, Recipes, Sauces and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

    Chicken and Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

    Posted on July 30, 2010 by amydeline

    This post almost didn’t happen. This post was almost a picture of a salad from Panera or burger from Five Guys. I’d begun gathering what I needed for dinner, my mise en place, if you will. It wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to prepare. But 15 minutes was apparently way too long for my littlest guy. As I moved about the kitchen, he was on my heels, quick as a cheetah and loud as lion. Hold my hand. I’m ready to snuggle up. He roared. He screeched. He howled. And I surrendered to my little master. The kids’ dinner became a quick PB&J and microwaveable mac and cheese. The screaming stopped. I packed away the ingredients for tonight’s intended dinner. I’m not proud. But hey, I never claimed to be supermom.

    Once everyone had their fill of snuggle and food, I had the chance to prepare the dinner I’d planned; breaded chicken with a spicy peanut sauce. Honestly, this is all about the peanut sauce. The chicken is merely a vehicle to transport the sauce to my belly. It’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s salty. This sauce is also magic with skewered, grilled chicken and shrimp.


    Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
    • 1/4 cup Brown Sugar, loosely packed
    • 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
    • 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
    • 1 tsp Minced Garlic
    • 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (plus more, if desired)
    • 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
    • Chopped Peanuts and Sliced Scallions, for garnish

    Directions

    Place the peanut butter in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave for a few seconds to soften the peanut butter. Add other ingredients and stir to combine. Add small amounts of warm water and stir until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. Taste and add more cayenne, if desired. Top with the chopped peanuts and/or scallions.

    Delicious served with chicken or shrimp!

    For the chicken:

    Season chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut into strips with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. In a small bowl, beat a couple eggs. Dip the chicken in the eggs. Then roll the chicken in seasoned bread crumbs until well-coated. In a pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned and cooked through.

    6 Comments

    Posted in Food, Main Course, Poultry, Recipes, Sauces and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

    Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

    Posted on July 26, 2010 by amydeline

    Today’s a very special day! Right now, at this very moment, you are reading my 100th blog post! Wow! One hundred posts! Where in the world did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that I was spending all of my free time tending to my imaginary mafia.

    Change a diaper. Beg for untraceable cell phones and illegal transaction records. Play legos. Save up enough Thai Baht to buy a Nguhea Sniper Rifle. Clean up the play-doh that’s been rubbed into the carpet. Try to collect the last faberge egg for my Moscow collection. Console a crying baby. Spend 24 million rubles on a musk ox. All in a day’s work.

    Then, I abandoned my mafia and entered the blogosphere. Now I alternate between toys, cooking, temper tantrums, food photography, snuggling, recipe writing, laundry, editing, bath time, and menu-planning. I suppose that being The Gourmand Mom is a much more productive role than Mafia Wars Mom.

    So, you may be wondering what else has changed during these past 100 posts.

    Well…

    Writing recipes feels a whole lot easier than the first few posts that I fumbled through. I hope they’ve become easier for you to follow.

    I’ve baked more bread products than I ever did in my pre-blog life. In fact, I had to buy a new cover for my dining room table, since the old cover seemed to be harvesting yeast which my three year old so kindly scattered across the table.

    I’ve gained back a couple of the pounds I worked so hard to lose. Going to have to fix that. But it’s been for a good cause and I had fun doing it. Perhaps I can file for some sort of blogger’s compensation for my troubles?

    My love of cooking has been completely reinvigorated.  Having a forum for sharing recipes and stories about food has been truly fulfilling for me. Thank you for being my audience.

    Having an audience has forced me to add even more variety to my cooking. Since I’m guessing you don’t want to read about the same recipes every week.

    My children have become the most skilled toddler sous chefs. I think I need to find little aprons and chef’s hats for them.

    Through practice, my photography has become more purposeful. Now, rather than taking a hundred pics to get five that are post-worthy, I take about fifty. Though I’m still quite the novice photographer, I’m getting better at judging lighting and approximating camera settings.

    It’s been a fun hundred posts. I’m looking forward to writing a hundred more!

    In honor of such a momentous occasion, I’ve been saving something special for you. My favorite food in the whole world is macaroni and cheese (or ‘Ronis and Cheese, as my little guy calls it). And I don’t discriminate. I love ALL macaroni and cheese, whether it’s frozen, from a box, or made fresh from the finest cheeses. I like it baked or creamy. I like it smothered with cheese and bread crumbs or not. Just give me any macaroni and some form of cheese and I’m a very happy girl.

    Today is a special day though, so a special macaroni and cheese is in order. And I’ve got just the thing to turn something sort of pedestrian into something elegant and worthy of a celebratory meal. That’s right… Lobster!! Lobster makes everything fancy. Now, once we throw lobster into the mix, we need to pay special attention to the cheese selection. Now would NOT be the time for American cheese or Velveeta. They’ve certainly got their place in the world of mac and cheese, but it’s definitely not here. Now’s the time for smooth cheese with grown-up flavor. I’m using three of my all time favorite cheeses; Gruyere, Fontina, and Brie. You can substitute other cheeses, if desired. Try gouda, chevre, provolone, asiago, or sharp cheddar.

    Our sauce starts as a basic Bechamel Sauce, which is simply a white sauce, made with milk that is thickened with a roux. (Check out my roux guide by clicking here.) The thickened milk is then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Bechamel is one of the five French mother sauces, meaning that many other sauces can be made with a base of bechamel. To our bechamel, we’ll melt in the delicious cheeses. Finally, we’ll toss the macaroni with the sauce and warm lobster meat. If you feel like racing lobsters, go ahead and buy some live lobsters, steam them, and collect the meat. Or, do as I did and buy a container of frozen lobster meat. You grocery store may also sell lobster tails, which can be steamed.

    Before we get to the recipe, I want to let you in on a little secret. I made the macaroni and cheese on Saturday when we had people over. And I actually sort of botched it. Not a complete botch, but a definite error of convenience. My prime focus at the time, was on the burgers. My intention was to submit the burger recipe for a contest. So, I wanted to be able to devote all of my attention towards working out the timing and flavor balance of the burger components. Then the storm came, which totally turned the burger plan upside down. Anyway, I prepared the macaroni and cheese earlier in the afternoon and stuck it in a baking dish, figuring that I’d bake it in the oven to reheat with a little extra cheese melted on top. As I should have anticipated, the pasta drank up most of the sauce during the baking. It was still very flavorful, but not the creamy mac and cheese I’d intended.

    Never fear though. The recipe I’m writing for you does not include a baking step. So, your macaroni and cheese will be creamy and delicious. If you do want to prepare it ahead of time, I’d recommend tossing the pasta with just a bit of sauce. Then, refrigerate the bulk of the sauce and the pasta separately. You can reheat both and combine, along with the lobster, when you’re ready to eat.

    This is good, good stuff. If there were a way to send food through the world wide web, I’d send you each a taste and a glass of celebratory champagne. But since that’s not possible yet, I’ll share my recipe instead. Then you can whip yourself up a batch of fancy ‘Ronis and Cheese.

    Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

    Ingredients

    • 1 box Pasta, such as Campanelle
    • 1/2 cup Gruyere
    • 1 cup Fontina
    • 1/2 cup Brie
    • 3 cups Milk
    • 3 Tbsp Butter
    • 3 Tbsp Flour
    • 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
    • 1/8 tsp Cayenne
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 1 pound Lobster Meat

    Directions

    Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside. In the same pot that you cooked the pasta, whisk the butter and flour together over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. This is your roux for thickening the milk. It should have a pasty consistency. Remove the roux with a spatula and set aside. Add the milk to the pot. Bring the milk to a simmer. Then, begin to whisk in the roux, whisking until smooth. Allow the milk to simmer with the roux for a few minutes until it begins to thicken. Whisk constantly. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, and salt. Turn down the heat to low. Add the cheese and stir until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired. Add the lobster meat and the cooked pasta to the hot sauce. Stir for a minute or so until it’s well combined and hot.

    I hope you’ve been enjoying this blog during these first one hundred posts. Let me know how you’ve liked it so far and if there’s any way I can serve you better! Thanks for reading!

    12 Comments

    Posted in Cheese, Food, General Rambling and Such, Main Course, Sauces, Seafood, Things I Love and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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