Arroz con Pato Chiclayano - Peruvian Rice with Duck

In Peru they use the native Muscovy ducks, but since I could only get my hands on a Pekin duck here in the states, I used that instead. With the Muscovy, throw in all the duck pieces along with the braising liquid when you get to that step. I held back the breasts in the fridge, since the ones on a Pekin don’t need all that long to cook (especially after being browned). Also, if you are buying a whole duck, I highly recommend you trim the excess skin and render some delicious duck fat in a pan. And make some duck stock with the carcass, because why not.

Rice with Duck: (serves 4; cooking time: about 1 hour 15 minutes all together)

1 large duck, ideally a Muscovy

2 dried aji panca peppers (or guajillo)

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

6 large garlic cloves, diced

1 medium red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

¼ cup white wine

1 quart water

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup long grain rice

Remove the stems and seeds from the aji panca peppers, and place in a small pot with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add to a blender and puree.

Cut the legs and breasts off the duck. Brown in a dutch oven over medium heat – I did this in two batches. Pour off excess fat and reserve, but leave some in the pan. Add the onions and pepper, and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Add in the ¼ cup of wine, and cook for a minute, until reduced by half. Add in the aji panca puree, and cook for 2 more minutes.  Add the 1 quart of water, the legs of the duck, the red wine vinegar, and the salt/pepper/cumin. Bring to a boil, the simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Reserve the duck breasts in the fridge.

Rinse the rice under cold water. Add the reserved duck fat into a large pan over medium heat. Add the rice and toast for 3 to 4 minutes.

Chop the cilantro, then ladle 1 cup of the broth from the duck pot into a blender, along with the cilantro. Puree. Add back to the pot along with the rice and the duck breasts. Cook for 15 minutes, until the rice is finished. Turn off the heat and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

An extremely rich mashup of two recipes:

http://www.marthastewart.com/314726/fudgy-chocolate-brownies

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peanut-Butter-and-Chocolate-Cheesecake-Brownies-351049

Brownie Layer:

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1.5 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Layer:

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Brownie Layer:

Make a double broiler by filling a medium pot halfway up with water and placing a large bowl on top. Turn the heat on to medium, and add in the chocolate and butter. Stir until both have melted, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Stir in the sugar, then whisk in the eggs one by one. Add in the vanilla. Fold in the flour and salt.

Prepare an 8”x8” baking pan by placing a piece of parchment paper into it with about 1” overhang on all sides. Pour in the brownie mixture.

Cheesecake Layer:

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Add in the sugar, beating until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time. Add the cream, then the flour. Pour 2/3 of the mixture over the brownie mixture, and spread even with a rubber spatula.

Place the 2 oz. of chocolate into a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave on low for 10 second intervals until melted. Stir the melted chocolate into the remaining cheesecake mixture. Add the chocolate batter on top of the other cheesecake batter, and swirl with a butter knife.

Bake at 325°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the edges are puffed and the center is set. Let cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Beef Stroganoff

This one's a throwback to the cuisine of the 1980's. My mom always used to make beef stroganoff with ground beef, but I haven't had it in years. This is my take on a recipe from the 1987 Philadelphia Rotary Club Cookbook.

This can be served over any noodles or rice - I used some homemade pappardelle.

Serves 4:

2 pounds beef (chuck), cut into cubes

5 tablespoons bacon grease, divided

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup chopped onion (about ½ large white onion)

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 six oz. can tomato paste

12 oz. beef stock

1 bay leaf

1 cup dry red wine

½ cup sour cream

Curley parsley

Salt and pepper

Heat a dutch oven up over medium high heat, toss in a tablespoon or so of bacon fat and brown the beef in two batches. Remove the beef from the pot, turn down the heat to medium, add in another tablespoon of bacon fat if you need it and add the mushrooms and onions. Cook for about 4 minutes then add your garlic and cook for another two minutes. Remove the mushrooms, onions and garlic from the pot and set aside.

Add 3 tablespoons bacon grease to the pot. Add in 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk to form a roux. Cook for 1 minute. Add in the stock and the wine and stir to combine. Add in the meat, the mushroom mixture, the tomato paste and the bay leaf.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours until tender. If you want to make this ahead (or have leftovers), you’re finished at this point.

When you’re ready to eat, reheat the stroganoff and add in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over noodles.

Zucchini 'Pappardelle' with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

This meal is basically ‘how to eat a meal of nothing but vegetables and still make it taste great.’ Spoiler alert: the answer is to add a good bit of extra virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese. This is also really quick to cook, since everything can be done in one pan at the same time.

For 1 serving:

~ 2 zucchinis, peeled

Handful of asparagus

Handful of cherry tomatoes

½ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Lemon Juice

Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Basil

Cut off the rounded ends of the zucchini and using a mandolin (or a knife if you want to be Mr./Mrs. Precision McKnifework) slice into 1/8” thick ribbons. Cut the ribbons in half down the middle. Lay out the slices of zucchini in one layer on a tray (or anything that will hold them) and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim the asparagus by removing the woody stem ends. Then, take a paring knife and peel off layers of the remaining stem, from the head on downward. Your asparagus stalks should look like shaved poodles when you’re finished.

Halve the cherry tomatoes, cut up the garlic and onions and your prep work is done.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add in a good lug of extra virgin olive oil and toss in the zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Cook over medium for about 7 minutes, then sprinkle on some lemon juice. Season with a pepper and a little salt if you think you need it.

Chiffonade your basil by stacking a few leaves on top of each other, rolling them up like a cigarette and cutting into thin strips.  Serve the veggies with the basil, parmesan cheese, and an extra squirt of olive oil.

Moules-Frites (Mussels and Sweet Potato Fries)

This week’s theme was Belgian food, so how could I not cook mussels? They’re cheap, simple to prepare and delicious. I served them with sweet potato fries made in the oven, which I left in there for about a minute or two too long. Save for a few which didn't make it to my plate they didn't end up too burnt.

If you’re not familiar with mussels, make sure that when you buy them you use them the same day. Ideally you should cook them right when you get home from the store, but if you need to keep them, remove them from the sack the came in and place in a large bowl covered with a damp towel, then place in the fridge. Also, check for any dead mussels when you do so – If a mussel is open, run it under a bit of cold water and give it a few taps; if it closes back up it’s fine, if it stays open it’s dead, and should not be eaten.

  

Mussels:

2 lb. mussels

1 large shallot, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

½ cup white wine

2/3 cup heavy cream

Parsley

Lemon slices

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Bread for dipping

Fries: follow this previous post

For the mussels:

Soak the mussels in cold water for 10 minutes. Scrub the mussels one by one with a brush, moving them to a clean bowl. If any are open, give them a tap – if they close up they’re fine, but if they stay open they are dead and should be discarded.

Preheat a pot over medium. Add in olive oil, then the diced shallot and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until softened. Add the white wine and heavy cream and bring to a boil.

Dump in the mussels, reduce the heat to low and put a lid on the pot. Steam for 5 minutes, or until the mussels have opened up.

Serve in a bowl topped with parsley, lemon slices, and plenty of bread to soak up that delicious cooking liquid.

Sweet Potato and Tomatillo Soup

I didn’t know there was such a thing as white sweet potatoes until I saw them at the market this weekend, and I’m a sucker for novel vegetables. This can easily be made vegetarian/vegan by using vegetable stock, however since I made chicken stock this weekend that’s what I went with.

Recipe:

2 large white sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

½ large white onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

2 poblano peppers, diced

4 cups chicken stock

6 tomatillos, husks removed, halved

3 tomatoes, stems removed and halved

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

For garnish:

Cilantro

Jalapeno slices

Diced shallots

Preheat your oven to 450°F.

In a dutch oven or other decent sized pot, heat over medium and add some oil. Add the onion, garlic and poblano peppers and sweat for about 5 minutes. Add the stock and the sweet potatoes, then add the salt and spices and taste to adjust. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer, cooking for 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes have softened.

Meanwhile, place the halved tomatoes and tomatillos on a baking sheet (cut side down) lined with foil and sprayed with cooking oil. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. The tomatillos will have some color on them. Remove from the oven, take the skins off the tomatoes, and add to a blender.

When the potatoes have softened add them to the blender as well. Blend smooth and adjust seasoning. Garnish with cilantro, jalapeno pepper slices and shallots.

Shrimp Po Boys

Seafood po boys are just ridiculously delicious, so I decided I had to make one. The bread typically used has a slightly softer crust than the baguette I used, but being far away from Louisiana I had to make do with what I had (and with a seriously good baguette from a local bakery, I can’t complain too much). Remoulade adapted from: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/remoulade_sauce/

Shrimp: (for 1 sandwich)

6-8 jumbo shrimp

1 cup water

3 tbsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

Flour

1 egg + 1 tbsp water

Panko Bread Crumbs

Canola/Vegetable Oil

I bought my shrimp whole, so the first step was to devein and deshell: hold the shrimp in your hand, belly side up with the tails facing your fingers and take a paring knife underneath the tail section and run it down the center of the shrimp. Peel back the shell, and remove the blue vein from the center of the shrimp.

Once your shrimp is prepped, mix 1 cup of water, 3 tbsp salt, and 1 tbsp of sugar in a bowl and add the shrimp. Brine for 20 minutes.

Set up a dredging station: 1 container with flour, 1 with a beaten egg + 1 tbsp of water, and 1 container with panko breadcrumbs.

Remove the shrimp from the brine and bread them by dredging first in the flour, then the egg wash, and then the panko. Repeat for remaining shrimp.

In a medium pan add enough canola oil to cover the shrimp. Heat the oil to 350°F. Add the shrimp and fry for 4 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.

Remoulade:

1 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tbsp paprika

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

2 teaspoons pickle juice

1 tablespoon chopped pickes

2 teaspoons hot sauce

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Mix everything in a bowl. Makes approximately 1 ¼ cup.

To Finish:

Baguette

Butter Lettuce

Tomato slices

Fried Shrimp

Remoulade

Lemon slices (optional)

Cut the baguette in half and smear some remoulade on the bottom. Add lettuce, tomato and shrimp. Serve with lemon slices (optional).