Duck Season! Rubik Season!
Day 21 → A recipe
Okay, so this entry was really difficult. See, the thing is that while I love to cook, I don't actually use a whole lot of recipes. As I said yesterday, I only have two cook books, James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking and Beard's American Cookery. And the T&P book isn't even a normal "cook book" with recipes. It's more a text book - my dad had me read it for the first time when I was about 11/12, and I got my own copy when they finally reissued it around 10 years ago. So, I've grown up just learning to cook by cooking (BTW, it's a fucking FANTASTIC book, I've read it cover to cover multiple times, and whenever someone who's new to cooking wants me to recommend a book, THAT'S always the book. It's out of print AGAIN, but you can maybe find a used one). Whenever I eat something new that I like, I can normally distinguish the ingredients on my own and I just ask a few questions about the techniques, and then I just make it, you know? And once I make it, then I know how and remember. For special occasions I might browse through epicurious to get some ideas, but I normally just make something based on a few things that look good rather than using a precise recipe.
So, for this post, I picked something that I make that I figured I could explain relatively easily, something with only a few ingredients, since I don't know exact measurements. So I picked duck a l'orange. Mainly because I ADORE duck. I love the flavor and the fat which when properly rendered - please for the love of God, do NOT overcook duck - makes it a true pleasure to eat. I'm sure there are fancier and way more authentic recipes out there, but for just a convenient, easy preparation that captures the overall flavors of the dish, I'll stand by this. You don't even need a bunch of special ingredients. Except for the duck itself, it's made from stuff that's probably already in your pantry. But like I said, I don't really measure. I just kind of eyeball and taste as I go. I tried to explain what I do as best I could, but it's a little goofy, so feel free to adapt it for yourself! :)
Duck a l'Orange
(serves 4; total time ~45 minutes)
White sugar
Sherry (or red wine) vinegar
Sherry (or port)
8 oranges - juice 6 of them, segment the rest.
A minced shallot (or just the white of some green onions or scallions, whatever's easiest)
Chicken stock
About 2 pounds of duck breast
Unsalted butter
Cointreau (or Grand Mariner or plain triple sec)
Stir a few spoonfuls of sugar into about double the amount of vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. You're going to have to actually pick the pan up off the heat occasionally and swirl it until all the sugar is incorporated. Once all the sugar's melted, turn the heat up until it looks caramelized. Be careful to not burn the mixture. Remove from heat.
Carefully stir in a little of the orange juice at a time, basically dissolving the caramel. Add the rest of the juice and onions. Reduce by about half.
While that's reducing, grate the left-over oranges to get some zest - a couple tablespoons is plenty, you don't want it too bitter (If you're really worried about bitterness, you can boil the skin first for about 10 minutes before grating it). Remember to NOT grate any white, just the orange. Then, using a knife, cut out the segments. Don't just peel it, because you don't want any of the membranes or seeds. Besides, cutting them out looks prettier. Refrigerate the segments for later.
The sauce will probably still be reducing when you're done with the oranges. While it's still cooking down, score the skin of the duck breasts (like crosshatches). Just the skin - cut all the way through the fat but don't cut into the meat. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the breasts. Cook the breasts skin-side down in a pan (use a little butter or whatever oil you need) on medium to high heat. Cook until the fat of the skin is rendered and it looks brown and deliciously crisp. Cook the other side for about 10 minutes more. Remove them from the pan and let rest for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on the sauce while you're cooking the duck. Once the sauce has reduced (probably while you were cooking the first side of the breasts), add a little over a cup of chicken stock (if you use cans, I think one can of broth would be okay) and a generous few glugs (what? that's a cooking term!) of sherry or port. Reduce to about half (to the consistency you like, basically) and then set it aside. Don't add any other seasonings at this point.
The sauce was probably done reducing sometime while you were cooking the other side of the duck. While the duck is resting, bring the sauce to a simmer and toss some generous splashes of Cointreau to the (hopefully, still-hot) pan you cooked the duck in and scrape up all the yummy bits, just like you do when you make gravy. Add that and most of the zest to the sauce and mix it in while it simmers. Reduce it further if you think it's necessary. Be sure to taste it at this point - if you still think it needs extra seasonings, add them now. Just before serving, whisk in some butter (like a few tablespoons) a little bit at a time until it melts. Add the orange segments at the very last minute (just the segments, don't add any of the juice that may have drained off of them) and then set the sauce aside.
Now that the breasts have rested, slice them crosswise (I like maybe about 1/4 inch thick). Arrange the duck on the plate and spoon the orange segments and sauce over and alongside. Then garnish with a very light sprinkling the leftover zest.
Serve it with some crispy roasted or fried potatoes and a fluffy green salad (just whisk some sherry vinegar, olive oil, and a bit of the orange juice with some salt and pepper until it emulsifies, and toss with the greens)
ENJOY! :)
I just realized that this could have been a LOT easier if I had just said: make the sauce, then make the duck, rather than go through the whole process like I did. lol, lame.
Day 23 → A YouTube video
I've posted this before, and I'm not even a big fan of this song, but for some reason this HYPNOTIZES me. I could watch it over and over.
Okay, so this entry was really difficult. See, the thing is that while I love to cook, I don't actually use a whole lot of recipes. As I said yesterday, I only have two cook books, James Beard's Theory and Practice of Good Cooking and Beard's American Cookery. And the T&P book isn't even a normal "cook book" with recipes. It's more a text book - my dad had me read it for the first time when I was about 11/12, and I got my own copy when they finally reissued it around 10 years ago. So, I've grown up just learning to cook by cooking (BTW, it's a fucking FANTASTIC book, I've read it cover to cover multiple times, and whenever someone who's new to cooking wants me to recommend a book, THAT'S always the book. It's out of print AGAIN, but you can maybe find a used one). Whenever I eat something new that I like, I can normally distinguish the ingredients on my own and I just ask a few questions about the techniques, and then I just make it, you know? And once I make it, then I know how and remember. For special occasions I might browse through epicurious to get some ideas, but I normally just make something based on a few things that look good rather than using a precise recipe.
So, for this post, I picked something that I make that I figured I could explain relatively easily, something with only a few ingredients, since I don't know exact measurements. So I picked duck a l'orange. Mainly because I ADORE duck. I love the flavor and the fat which when properly rendered - please for the love of God, do NOT overcook duck - makes it a true pleasure to eat. I'm sure there are fancier and way more authentic recipes out there, but for just a convenient, easy preparation that captures the overall flavors of the dish, I'll stand by this. You don't even need a bunch of special ingredients. Except for the duck itself, it's made from stuff that's probably already in your pantry. But like I said, I don't really measure. I just kind of eyeball and taste as I go. I tried to explain what I do as best I could, but it's a little goofy, so feel free to adapt it for yourself! :)
Duck a l'Orange
(serves 4; total time ~45 minutes)
White sugar
Sherry (or red wine) vinegar
Sherry (or port)
8 oranges - juice 6 of them, segment the rest.
A minced shallot (or just the white of some green onions or scallions, whatever's easiest)
Chicken stock
About 2 pounds of duck breast
Unsalted butter
Cointreau (or Grand Mariner or plain triple sec)
Stir a few spoonfuls of sugar into about double the amount of vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. You're going to have to actually pick the pan up off the heat occasionally and swirl it until all the sugar is incorporated. Once all the sugar's melted, turn the heat up until it looks caramelized. Be careful to not burn the mixture. Remove from heat.
Carefully stir in a little of the orange juice at a time, basically dissolving the caramel. Add the rest of the juice and onions. Reduce by about half.
While that's reducing, grate the left-over oranges to get some zest - a couple tablespoons is plenty, you don't want it too bitter (If you're really worried about bitterness, you can boil the skin first for about 10 minutes before grating it). Remember to NOT grate any white, just the orange. Then, using a knife, cut out the segments. Don't just peel it, because you don't want any of the membranes or seeds. Besides, cutting them out looks prettier. Refrigerate the segments for later.
The sauce will probably still be reducing when you're done with the oranges. While it's still cooking down, score the skin of the duck breasts (like crosshatches). Just the skin - cut all the way through the fat but don't cut into the meat. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the breasts. Cook the breasts skin-side down in a pan (use a little butter or whatever oil you need) on medium to high heat. Cook until the fat of the skin is rendered and it looks brown and deliciously crisp. Cook the other side for about 10 minutes more. Remove them from the pan and let rest for about 10 minutes.
Keep an eye on the sauce while you're cooking the duck. Once the sauce has reduced (probably while you were cooking the first side of the breasts), add a little over a cup of chicken stock (if you use cans, I think one can of broth would be okay) and a generous few glugs (what? that's a cooking term!) of sherry or port. Reduce to about half (to the consistency you like, basically) and then set it aside. Don't add any other seasonings at this point.
The sauce was probably done reducing sometime while you were cooking the other side of the duck. While the duck is resting, bring the sauce to a simmer and toss some generous splashes of Cointreau to the (hopefully, still-hot) pan you cooked the duck in and scrape up all the yummy bits, just like you do when you make gravy. Add that and most of the zest to the sauce and mix it in while it simmers. Reduce it further if you think it's necessary. Be sure to taste it at this point - if you still think it needs extra seasonings, add them now. Just before serving, whisk in some butter (like a few tablespoons) a little bit at a time until it melts. Add the orange segments at the very last minute (just the segments, don't add any of the juice that may have drained off of them) and then set the sauce aside.
Now that the breasts have rested, slice them crosswise (I like maybe about 1/4 inch thick). Arrange the duck on the plate and spoon the orange segments and sauce over and alongside. Then garnish with a very light sprinkling the leftover zest.
Serve it with some crispy roasted or fried potatoes and a fluffy green salad (just whisk some sherry vinegar, olive oil, and a bit of the orange juice with some salt and pepper until it emulsifies, and toss with the greens)
ENJOY! :)
I just realized that this could have been a LOT easier if I had just said: make the sauce, then make the duck, rather than go through the whole process like I did. lol, lame.
Day 23 → A YouTube video
I've posted this before, and I'm not even a big fan of this song, but for some reason this HYPNOTIZES me. I could watch it over and over.
Click to view