Honey & Whiskey Glazed Roast Duck

I have made a discovery. It's not like I discovered  new prehistoric remains in my basement walls or anything, but I did discover that roasting a whole duck is amazing. No more complex than roasting a chicken, roasting a whole duck leaves you with tender, juicy duck meat that is completely unbeatable! I also have a thing for crispy skin, and this recipe will deliver lots of crispy skin, with a sweet, salty, spicy glaze. I joke about making sandwiches with crispy skin and mayo, but seriously, that would be totally awesome with the duck skin. just saying.

This roasting a duck recipe starts things off low and slow. After a few hours of slow roasting and rendering, you crank up the oven to a reasonable 425 degrees and crisp up that skin. You get about a cup of rendered  duck fat and crispy skin!! What more could a girl ask for? What to do with duck fat? I use it in the same way I use bacon fat. It is also excellent to rub all over a chicken before you roast it. Don't buy duck very often? Most of us are cooking up whole chickens not ducks, so I do save duck for special occasions like....I think the snow is melting, for real this time!.....or Mother's Day,.....or we need to castrate a pig so please come over friends and help us with that! Whatever the occasion, duck is the answer.

First make the glaze. You'll need:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon tamari
3 Tablespoon whiskey
1 Tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce

Combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly until thick and syrupy. It should be able to coat the back of a spoon. Set this aside for later glazing the duck.

 Prep your duck by removing the innards conveniently placed inside the carcass by your butcher. I set these and the neck aside for making stock. Do a rinse with cold water and pat the duck dry.  Place your duck on a rack, in a roasting pan. By placing it on a rack, the fat can render off of the duck and collect in your pan without the duck sitting in a pool of fat. That isn't a terrible thing, but it can affect the outcome of crispy skin. With a sharp knife, score the skin on the duck's breast. Be careful not to cut too deep. Just cut the fat, not the flesh. Now take your knife and poke your duck all over the place, penetrating only the skin. This will help the fat to render out and produce crispy skin. Are you catching onto my LOVE of crispy skin?. I give my ducks a good sprinkling of smoked sea salt at this point. I like the added flavor of the smoked sea salt, but regular salt is just as well. Now it's time to roast!!

score the skin on the duck's breast 

Place the duck in a 325 degree oven, breast side down, for 1 hour.
Flip the duck over, so it is breast side up and roast for another 1 hour.
Flip the duck over, so it is breast side down, and roast for another 45 minutes.
Crank the oven up to 425 degrees, flip the duck so it is breast side up, and roast for about 10-15 minutes.
Slather the glaze all over the duck and roast another 5-10 minutes.

At this point, you should be able to wiggle the duck thigh and have movement, and you should have crispy skin. If your skin isn't crispy, bake in 5 minute increments until crispy skin is achieved.

Rest, carve, and enjoy!!

Spring Roll Salad

I don't know if it's because I am craving spring, or if it's because I am craving rolls, but I definitely can't get enough spring rolls. They are so simple, so versatile, and so tasty. Whenever my husband leaves town, I insist his return include spring rolls. He doesn't mind. We talked about this phenomenon at length, while I shoveled spring rolls into my mouth of coarse, and peanut sauce dripped down my chin.  He doesn't understand. They are so simple he says. Why of all things, do you love spring rolls? It's just rice noodles and some herbs, and a few veggies. That's it. It's like a salad. He is brilliant! If you deconstruct a spring roll, it IS like a salad....with rice noodles, and some herbs, and a few veggies.....brilliant I say!

So the whole construction of a spring roll is inevitably the reason why I don't make them at home. They become fussy. I'm not a huge fan of fussy right now. Maybe when I have more free time, like in 40 years. Anyway, my brilliant husband had me thinking about deconstructed spring rolls for quite some time. Way more versatile. I had to make one for lunch. One giant spring roll salad. It brought me so much joy and sunshine, words cannot describe. My daughter thought it needed ranch dressing.

I made a simple peanut sauce/dressing to dress the bowl of spring roll salad goodness. What are spring rolls without peanut dipping sauce? The sauce whirled up quickly in the food processor, and the salad can be assembled as fast as you can chop veggies! All and all, it was a great day with spring roll salad! Use the freshest produce you can get your hands on. I had on hand a slew of mixed greens, cilantro, avocado, sweet peppers, carrots and beets. BEETS! Yes, I love beets. They were tasty, grated raw, into the salad. Try it, I dare you.


SPRING ROLL SALAD

1 package rice noodles ( I used Annie Chun's brown rice pad thai noodles. They are the sturdiest when it comes to tossing the noodles around in a salad. Thin rice noodles would work too.)

A few large handfuls of mixed greens, about 6 oz., chopped (romaine and cabbage add a nice crunch, while spring mixes or baby kale add more flavor)

A variety of veggies, peeled, chopped, or grated

Cook the noodles according to the package. It is usually something like...bring water to a boil, add noodles, turn off heat, and drain after 5 minutes. Easy. Rinse the rice noodles under cold water immediately. Drain very thoroughly. Toss with a few splashes of rice vinegar.

In a large bowl, toss the noodles and the greens. Divide among 4 bowls. Garnish each bowl with a variety of prepped veggies. 

Douse with as much or as little peanut dressing as your heart desires.



PEANUT DRESSING

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
1/4 cup water
2 Tbls Tamari
2 Tbls Rice Vinegar
1 Tbls Lime juice
1 Tbls Maple Syrup
1 Tbls Fresh Ginger, grated
Chili Flakes to taste

Whirl the above ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Apply liberally to your spring roll salad.
Enjoy! Belly Up!!

MY FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CAKE!

My daughter turned 6 last month. SIX! I think of all of the adventures we've had....and she's 6! This year to celebrate, my daughter requested ponies and chocolate cake. Luckily, my awesome neighbors supplied the ponies. I just had to make chocolate cake.

Chocolate cake? You might be thinking that there are about one thousand chocolate cake recipes out there, and it's true, there are a whole bunch. Some are fudgy, some are dry, and some may contain peculiar ingredients that leave you wondering. I love to try new recipes, but this is my go to chocolate cake recipe. It turns out perfect every time! It's moist, chocolaty, and bakes well in any form, be it cupcakes, cake layers, or a big ol' pan of cake.


MY FAVORITE CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp white vinegar
2 cups cold water, or cold coffee

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, shift together the dry ingredients.

In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the oil, water or coffee, vanilla and vinegar.

Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry, being careful not to over mix. The mixture will be wet, but that's ok. That's how it's supposed to be!

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups until about 2/3 full. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve with little girls and ponies, or family and friends. Belly up!!

Homemade Cream Cheese

I have always wanted to be an artisan of cheese. Maybe it's my Wisconsin roots, or the fact that cheese is my favorite food group, or that I can't go a day without cheese consumption. I always have a stock of cheeses in our house. Today I have pesto gouda, honey goat cheese, smoked string cheese, herby cotswald, and a very small chuck of gorgonzola. I get nervous if supplies run low! What I don't have on hand is cream cheese. I heard a rumor that it is easy to make cream cheese. Maybe cream cheese will be my gateway cheese into creating some artisan cheddars down the road. But to get things started, cream cheese is today's challenge.

If you Google cream cheese recipes, you will be overwhelmed by the assortment of guides, ranging from very complicated to very easy. I am interested in easy. Basically if you add an acidity; be it vinegar, lemon juice, or tartaric acid to heated cream,  you will separate the curds from the whey. Add some salt for seasoning, and you've got an amazing cream cheese.  From here, who knows what you'll be inspired to mix into your fresh cheese. I'm opting for Ames Farm single source honey and some dried lavender flowers. Does that suggest spring? Yes please!

Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift had the best recipe that I found, of coarse! The ingredient list is short, the recipe easy to follow, and the ingredient list is made of basic things anyone can purchase anywhere. Perfect! Tools you will need before you start include a pot that can hold at least a gallon of liquid, a colander, and cheesecloth. I have all of these things on hand in my kitchen at the Co-op, except cheesecloth. I used giant coffee filters which worked wonderfully. Improvising is good!


Homemade Cream Cheese

2 quarts heavy cream
1 quart 1/2 & 1/2
1 quart whole milk
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice


Line a large colander with a layer of cheesecloth and place in the sink or over a bowl if you want to save the whey. *The whey can be saved and used in soup, stews, curries, or to cook pasta and rice!

Over medium heat, bring the cream, 1/2 & 1/2, milk, and slat to a gentle simmer in a heavy large pot. Stir in the lemon juice and continue to simmer gently until curds begin to form and float to the top, 1 to 2 minutes. They will first look like spatters of white, then gather into soft, cloud-like clumps. When you see the liquid begin to clear of cloudiness and the curds are firming up but not hard, scoop them out with a slotted spoon or sieve.

the curds separating form the whey in a giant coffee filter lined sieve

 

Let the curds drain thoroughly in the lined colander. If very soft, press gently to extract a little moisture, but take care not to dry out the cheese. Turn into a bowl, cover and chill. I allowed the curds to drain for about 3 hours. As you drain the cheese it goes from creamy to firmer. Just decide how you want yours to go. Go home, make cheese, consume with bagels, and have a nice day!! Belly up!!

Dark Chocolate Nut Butter

I've been eating a lot of Nutella lately. True confessions. My entire family is hooked. It is so good slathered on waffles, baguette ends, and every kind of fruit....we've tried apples, bananas, strawberries, blackberries, and pineapple to date. It has been my winter warmer. My seasonal affect cure all. A heaping spoonful with my morning coffee is such a great start to my day. With this chocolate nut butter becoming more and more of a kitchen staple, and less like a luxury item, I decided that I needed to make my own. Of coarse.

Making your own dark chocolate nut butter is not only one of the easiest tasks that I have conquered today, but also makes for a healthier alternative to Nutella. Don't get me wrong, calling chocolate nut butter healthy may seem conflicting, however this version is lower in sugar and doesn't contain any of the fillers common in store bought nut butters. With just a handful of ingredients, you will be blown away by the simplicity and the flavor. Have a jar on hand, it keeps for 4 to 6 weeks in the fridge! Belly up!!



DARK CHOCOLATE NUT BUTTER

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and cooled*
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 Tablespoons sunflower oil

In a food processor, process the hazelnuts until they become a smooth butter, about 3 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, making sure to grind the hazelnuts uniformly.

Add the cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, salt, and oil and continue processing until creamy, 1 minute or so. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerated, it will keep for 4 to 6 weeks.

* To toast the hazelnuts: Place the hazelnuts on a sheet pan and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, until they are fragrant and the skins loosen. Remove from the oven and immediately cover with a clean kitchen towel. Rub the hazelnuts in the towel, between your hands, to remove the skins. Don't worry if you don't remove all of the skins- getting the majority of the skins removed is fine.

 

 

THE ALTERNATIVE

So, I also did a variation using almonds. Actually I used almond butter. I wanted to see what would happen if a person was feeling lazy, and just wanted to fancy up a jar of almond butter. Plus it was a slow day at work. The results were great. Being lazy here still makes a fine dark chocolate nut butter! I substituted 3/4 cup toasted almond butter for the hazelnuts. Everything else remains the same. My coworkers were thankful. Enjoy!!



 

'Get rid of your cold', Beet Juice Cocktail

I need a rebound. A vacation. A little pick me up. Everyone I know, and their children, are sick with the flu, cold, scarlet fever, or strep throat. Seriously. It's gross. Instead of succumbing to the inevitable fate of becoming sick myself, I've launched a battle against the germs. I am winning! But not in the beginning....

At first I thought that consuming enough caffeine and sugar would  help get me through. Constant pick me ups. It seemed to be working for a little while. Then I crashed. One can only consume so much dark roast before it seems to reverse its affects. It's puzzling to me how that works, but that is exactly what happened. Not even the best made latte could snap me out of that 'I have a head cold and my head is really fuzzy feeling'. It's the worst.

Then I made juice. No, like I really juiced some fruits and veggies to make a delicious juice cocktail that helped ward off evil doers and the cold. I did some research on beet juice, and it is what Superman survived on, I'm pretty sure. It has been shown to help the body respond better to exercise, by balancing oxygen use and increasing stamina. Beet root juice is one of the richest sources of antioxidants and naturally occurring nitrates. These naturally occurring nitrates improve blood flow throughout the body, which in turn helps lower blood pressure.  Woo-hoo!! The juice was great! I used a blend of fruits and veggies that I had on hand. Carrots, beets, apples, lemon, ginger, and kale is the ingredient list. I am very partial to beets, and besides their amazing health benefits, they lend a sweet and earthy flavor. While ginger makes everything better, the lemon rounds out the flavors and adds a dash of refreshing citrus. The juice isn't overly sweet, so if you prefer a sweeter tasting juice, add another apple or two to the blend.

I use the word 'cocktail' leading you to believe that this beverage could contain alcohol. I think it would be really great if you used this juice as a base for cocktails. Cocktails are not what they used to be. Beet juice has its place in say a whisky and ginger with extra lemon muddled in. Or maybe blended with grapefruit in a salty dog with a rim of smoked sea salt. Or what about a wonderful Bloody Mary with tomato and beet juice and extra horseradish? Fresh juices are not only super great for you, but they are fascinating, and they lend another venue for culinary deliciousness.


'Get rid of your head cold', Beet Juice Cocktail
makes 4 servings

4 medium sized beets, scrubbed and cut into manageable chunks
2 large carrots, scrubbed and chopped
2 apples, chopped
2 inch nub of fresh ginger, sliced
1/2 bunch of kale, chopped
1 lemon, quartered

Organic fruits and veggies seem to carry the most flavor. If you have a stash of root veggies from your garden, use those. Fresh from the garden is best, but this is a juice made up of storage veggies, and it's winter in Minnesota. Do your best to source the best produce you can find. It can be tricky this time of year!

Scrub the carrots and beets. There is nutrition to be found in the peels, so I leave the skin on. Just be sure to scrub them up  a bit. The other prep is just to make sure to chop the fruits and veggies into manageable chunks for your juicer.

Run the above ingredients through your juicer. You'll be amazed at the amount of juice extracted from the beets! Your end product will be a crimson juice full of everything nice, with hints of ginger and lemon. Give it a taste. If you want to adjust the flavors do so by adding more apples, ginger, or lemons to the mix. A glass to start your day makes the colds go away! Belly up!!

the right amount of rural/ the right amount of urban and smoked lake trout pasta

it's a balancing act really. life, i mean. we struggle through the work day only to be left juggling the rest. life happens, hopefully for most of us, and i can barely keep it all contained. which is a good thing. i get bored easy, have a short attention span, and find multi- tasking thrilling. with that insight, you can possibly understand how i worry about getting in the right amounts of rural and urban. what i mean is that i love rural life. i love running into my friends while snowshoeing up a frozen river, only to take a moment to chat about raising pigs and ice climbing. i can't get enough of this life. wide open spaces with room to roam. then there's the pleasures of urban life. i love when we visit friends in the city and we eat beef tongue tacos from the 'Taco Taxi' food truck, look for buried treasures at architectural antique stores, eat lobster poutine and drink local brews during happy hour, all the while soaking up art and culture. i love them both. a whole bunch!

living in an slightly isolated harbor town can be challenging. finding my bliss in sub- zero temperatures while struggling with the rigorous chores of rural life can be one of the days biggest challenges. i've learned to improvise. a lot. it makes your mind more creative and your hands more callused. and bliss can be found. weather it's in fire wood stacking, creative snow removal, or finding the chicken eggs before they freeze- bliss is there. there is also bliss in travel which is a must for us. the lure of the unknown and the never before tasted. getting away. it's a much quicker and more satisfying way to a good bliss buzz. a way to break up the day to day. it's how i incorporate the right amount of urban.

right now i'm surfing airlines for tickets to key west. after a phone conversation with a friend who makes his living fishing the beautiful blue sea, it took little convincing that i needed to retreat to stone crab season and sun on my skin. stone crabs are amazing! they are also a sustainable resource. the fishermen who catch the stone crabs are only harvesting the claws, which then the crabs regenerate within a year. i like that story. it makes me feels good about covering a table with newspaper, getting out a mallet, and going to town on fresh stone crab! but as our friends in the keys will tell us, even they come down with cabin fever, or island fever as they say. it turns out that when you're living in extreme climates in isolated areas, it gets the best of you. when our friends joined us in grand marais for a visit this summer, during the peak heat of the keys, they were thrilled with our local fare as well. they loved the locally caught lake trout we dined on! it made me  realize that everywhere you go, there is good food to be had. and some of the best is right under my nose, or in my freezer- like smoked lake trout.

 lake trout are found in lake superior as well as deeper, colder inland lakes. they are a thrill to catch, but even more thrilling to eat. the pink flesh of the lake trout always reminds me of salmon, and i often cook them the same. smoked lake trout is my favorite. i like a sweet and salty brine and a slow cool smoke. it makes for great smoked lake trout, and the flesh of the lake trout is hearty and can hold up to bold flavors. once smoked, fish stores well in the ice box. it's a treat to find in the dead of winter, when all one can think of is being somewhere else. there's a multitude of things you can do with smoked fish, but one of my favorites is a simple smoked lake trout pasta. this is what our friends from the keys enjoyed, and as i may not be able to be there right now, i can still eat this dish in front of the wood stove and dream.

Smoked Lake Trout Pasta

1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2/3 cup dry white wine
1- 8 oz package cream cheese, cubed
1/2- 1 cup heavy cream
8-10 oz smoked lake trout, flaked
salt to taste
1 pound dried pasta- something hearty like penne, tagliatelle, or paparadelle
garnishes: zest of 1 meyer lemon, fresh chopped herbs like lemon thyme, basil, chives, italian parsley, grated parmesan

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onion until golden and it starts to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cherry tomatoes and saute for about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the cream cheese whisking until melted. Whisk in the cream and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat slightly and add the smoked lake trout. Cook ,stirring frequently, until the sauce is quite thick, about 5 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed.

Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water until just al dente. Drain the pasta reserving a little bit of the pasta water. In a large bowl, or the empty pasta pot, toss the pasta with the sauce, adding some of the pasta water as needed to help the sauce coat the noodles evenly.

Serve immediately, with the garnishes. This sauce doesn't reheat very well, which is a great excuse not to have any leftovers. Belly up!!