Leftover Duck Concoction

I posted in my Christmastime entry that I made Duck with Orange Sauce for my family, using the recipe you find if you click on the link. My husband and I bought a frozen duck for $18 at the same butcher where we found the ox tails and, after thawing it for a few days, I made it again last night. The duck itself is quite easy, but the sauce in that recipe is to die for! Anyway, there was still meat left on the carcass so we stuck it in a ziploc bag in the fridge and I decided to make something with the rest of the meat today. Do not underestimate the usefulness and tastiness of duck fat. This would be best served with a side or on top of mashed potatoes, or perhaps some wild rice.

Ingredients:

Leftover duck meat, trimmed off the carcass, including skin
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 tsp white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
leftover orange sauce

Start off by dropping the butter and olive oil into a frying pan on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, swirl it around in the pan, then add the onions. Sprinkle salt and sugar on top of that, and mix the onions to coat them in everything. Let them cook on low-medium heat until they begin to turn brown, or caramelize.

Cut all the meat you can off the duck carcass, making sure everything is in bite-sized pieces.

Pick the orange rind out of the orange sauce and throw away. Then add the duck and at least half of the leftover orange sauce (about 1/2 cup or so) to the onions, stirring everything around to mix well. Allow to cook on medium heat another 5-10 minutes.

Serves 2-4 people, depending on whether you put it over rice/potatoes or not.

Stewed Oxtail in Red Wine

Do NOT underestimate the incredible tastiness of ox tail. You would think that, like the tongue or hoof, ox tail would be categorized in that "unusable" category of really cheap cuts of meat. However, given that the entire Asian culture considers the tail a delicacy, ox tails are in short supply and the cost has risen considerably in recent years. We found a nearby butcher who sold them, and my husband was dying for me to make ox tail stew again. But I wanted to try something different, and so found a recipe online and made it a little more my own. It takes a long time to cook, but dear god is it ever worth it.

Ingredients:

About 2 to 2 1/2 pounds ox tails
1/2 large onion, cut into large chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup plain flour
2 Tbsp tomato paste
a little less than 1 cup of red wine (200mL)
1 can beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt

If the oxtail isn't already cut into sections (splitting the vertebrae), do so now. Rinse meat under water. Dump flour onto a plate and heat the butter up in a large, deep skillet. When butter is melted, drop the oxtails into the pan and brown on all sides (takes 10-15 minutes). Set aside.

In the same pan (add a little more butter if you wish), sauté onion, carrot, celery and garlic for 10 minutes. Pour in red wine, tomato paste, bay leaf and beef stock; cook and mix until it comes to a boil.

Toss in ox tails, turning over once to coat in sauce, then cover the pan and cook over low heat for 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove bay leaf and add salt and pepper and mix well. Serve with/over mashed potatoes.
Feeds 4 people, very rich broth.

Garlic Broiled Chicken and Two-Color Mashed Potatoes

I got the chicken recipe off allrecipes.com and it came out quite good. It's easier to cook dinner when there's someone home to watch the baby, but barring that, a well-stocked play yard is always helpful. This dinner serves 6, if you add a microwave vegetable, and only takes about 30 minutes to make.

Chicken Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
3 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp dried parsley
6 chicken drumsticks

Preheat broiler on high. Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a microwave safe bowl, mix the butter, garlic, soy sauce, pepper and parsley. Cook 1-2 minutes on high, or til butter melts. Arrange chicken in baking dish and cover with the spice mixture. Broil chicken for 20 minutes, or until chicken is firm and juices run clear.


Potato Ingredients:

2 white/russet potatoes, baked (I use a microwave since it's faster, just poke with a fork and cook 7-8 minutes on high and turned over once)
1 yam/sweet potato, baked
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk

Bake the potatoes then scoop the insides out of the skins and into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mash all together with a potato masher. Make sure all is mixed well. Simple, but tasty! Add more butter if you wish.

Pea Salad (Side Dish)

It's been a long week or so of cleaning out the fridge, and the next few times I cook I'll actually be referring back to my own blog to find the recipes I need, so posting will be sparse til next week. However, last night I was able to try a new dish. I found a recipe online then tweaked it to my liking, and the results were very tasty. This only serves 4-6 people, though, so if you make it for a party you may want to double the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 slices thick-cut bacon
1 12oz package frozen peas, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions
2/3 cup light sour cream
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Fry bacon in a large skillet until crispy, then allow to drain and cool on a paper towel. Crumble and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine peas, celery, scallions, eggs, sour cream, mayo, and salt and pepper. Toss to mix well. Can be placed in the refrigerator for awhile until it's time to eat.

Just before serving, add the bacon pieces and mix well. Takes just a few minutes to throw together, but you should add at least 20 minutes to cooking time to account for boiling the eggs and frying the bacon. Very tasty!

Simple Blueberry Crisp

Like I said before, I've had an empty frozen pie crust hanging out in the freezer for a few days now. There isn't a whole lot of room on the counter where I'm currently living, so I didn't really want to clear myself a space just to roll out one half of pie crust dough for a full blueberry pie. I've never had a blueberry crumble or anything before, so I pooled my memories of making an apple brown betty along with flavors that would fit a blueberry pie, and threw this little masterpiece together.

Ingredients:

1 frozen deep-dish pie crust shell
6 cups blueberries (thawed under warm water if using frozen)
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of ground allspice

Set the pie crust on a pizza baking pan (for support) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour in the rinsed blueberries.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then add the butter and mix until crumbles form.

Sprinkle all over the top of the blueberries, then bake for 35-40 minutes.

Finally, an Update! Easy Quick Quiche

I apologize for the long lack of posting. I have spent the last three weeks moving to California with my family and getting things organized, and trying to relax a little. My in-laws did most of the cooking the first week or so, but I finally got a chance to use my skills this past weekend. It's so much easier having my husband at home to watch the baby while I cook!
I got this recipe from the Food Network, so I can't take credit for it, but I wanted to share it with you anyway since it turned out so well. And since frozen pie shells come in packs of two, I thought up my own version of a blueberry crisp to make as well (next post).

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup minced onions
Salt and garlic powder
8 ounces shredded Swiss or sharp cheddar cheese
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Hand whip eggs, half-and-half, mayonnaise, and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into an unbaked 9-inch, deep dish pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the top is golden brown.