In planning my dinner party menu, I knew I needed a sauce to accompany the duck. I was trying to stick with a late summer-early fall theme and thought figs, since they are a favorite of mine.
I'm not a huge fan of fruits being used in savory dishes, so adding wine and stock help balance this without making it a sweet sauce.
1 carrot 1/2 small onion 1 stalk celery olive oil salt and pepper 1/2 bottle red wine 3-4 cups vegetable stock 2 cups figs, quartered (fresh or dried) 2 Tbsp butter
Begin by mincing the carrot, onion, and celery to make a mirpoux. Cook in olive oil with salt and pepper until soft. Add the red wine and reduce. Add the stock and figs, continuing to reduce, stirring in more stock as needed.
A few minutes before serving, whisk in the butter to finish the sauce and give it a nice sheen.
After searching for another way to find the winner and re-checking random.org a billion times it finally spit out a winner!!
Congratulations Sophia! If you get your tea set, I expect an invitation to a tea party! I'll pass your information along to CSN and they will email your $75 code over! Thanks for participating everybody!
I had originally wanted to serve duck breasts for my dinner party, but after visiting Orland Meat Market & Deli, I learned there's quite a price difference between the breasts ($14.99/lb.) and the whole duck ($2.99/lb.) so I changed plans.
The owners Spyros and Helen talked me through it and gave me the confidence I needed to tackle a whole duck. I have never cooked duck, much less a whole one, so I was nervous.
I found some simple instructions online and talked it over with my brother to tackle it low-and-slow for the best results. Ducks are water fowl, so they have an extra layer of fat between their skin and the meat. This fat needs to be rendered off, so it's best to cook for a long period of time at a low temperature.
2 ducks, approximate 5 lbs. each Kosher salt black pepper fresh garlic
Begin by removing the neck and giblets from the duck's cavity. Using kitchen shears, cut off the wing tips and any large gobs of fat around the cavity openings. You can save all of these things to make stock later.
Rinse the duck in water, and then pat thoroughly dry using paper towels. The trick to crispy duck skin is starting with a dry bird. Using a very sharp paring knife, make diagonal slits all over the bird. Take special care across the breasts and thigh areas. Do not pierce the meat or it will become dried out during cooking. (I'm sorry I did not get a picture of this step!) Rub the cavity liberally with salt and pepper, and stuff with several minced cloves of garlic.
Edited to add: Video below of the process to slit the duck's skin to help render the fat.
Put the duck breast side up on a rack over a roasting pan. Place in a 300° oven for 4 hours. Every hour, remove the pan and flip the ducks over. Using a turkey baster, remove the duck fat from the pan each hour, reserving for later use. Removing the fat will help with splattering and smoking in the oven.
I opted to carve the duck traditionally, as one would with a chicken. Breasts, wings, legs, and thighs were portioned with each guest getting a piece on their place. It was phenominally juicy and tender, with a crispy, roasted skin.
I'm pretty sure this was my first time eating duck (besides stealing a bite off of Johnny or my dad's plates) and it was definitely my first time cooking it.
I have to say it was another success. It turned out better than I anticipated and most of my guests had never had duck either. Everybody seemed to like it, and one guest even named it as their favorite dish of the evening!
Happy Friday everybody! If this is your first time here please click the icon above or on my sidebar for more information.
It's hard to believe just a week ago I was just finishing up cooking for my huge Challenge #3 dinner party. Sadly, I didn't make it to round 3, but the party was still a success.
Not only was the party itself a first, but each of the dishes I cooked for the party were firsts as well!
I'm still working my way through posting all of the individual recipes for you, but so far I've shared the appetizer, the soup, and the polenta. Check back in the upcoming week for the rest of the fare!
Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section!Any and all participation is welcome!
If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:
If you haven't already, click here to enter for a gift code to spend $75 at any of CSN's 200+ online stores! Giveaway ends this Sunday, so hurry!
This was the very first time I've made polenta from scratch and I neglected to read about the whole "gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking" thing so it was lumpy. No worries, one of my dinner party guests, Goran, stood there lovingly whisking and smoothing the lumps out for a good 10 minutes. Thanks again Goran!!
~2 Tbsp olive oil small onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 quart (4 cups) vegetable stock 1 cup coarse cornmeal 3 Tbsp butter 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/4 tsp black pepper ~1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan ~2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
In a medium pot, heat the oil and add the onion and a little salt to sweat until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. (This is not just a suggestion, it's important!)
Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent lumps. When the mixture is cooked and creamy, add the butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese, stirring until everything is mixed and warmed through. Last, stir in the parsley.
Serve immediately, or spread onto a cake pan and let cool to serve in slices.
I opted to serve immediately, as a delicious bed under my roasted duck. It was the perfect compliment! Now that I know how to make this, polenta is going to make more appearances with our dinners. It's so easy to switch it up each time with different mix ins.
If you think you've had butternut squash soup, you need to throw that recipe out the window and try this version. I slightly altered an Alton Brown recipe, with great success!
At the end of the dinner party, we all talked about which course was our favorite and this soup was mentioned a few times. It was so creamy and flavorful, I will definitely be making it again and again.
2 large or 3 medium butternut squash ~3 Tbsp olive oil Kosher salt white pepper ~5 cups vegetable stock 3 Tbsp honey 1 Tbsp real maple syrup 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cumin 1/4 cup real maple syrup toasted pine nuts
Begin by mixing the cumin and maple syrup in a small jar and shaking vigorously. Continue shaking throughout the day to help the cumin dissolve and flavor the syrup. Toast pine nuts slowly in a dry pan over medium heat until aromatic and tanned.
Cut the butternut squash into 8ths, removing the seeds and guts. Toss in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt and white pepper. Spread out onto a baking sheet and roast in a 425° oven for 45-60 minutes, until the pieces are tender and starting to brown in parts. Remove and let cool until easy to handle, then remove the skin.
Add the squash pieces and vegetable stock to a large pot and puree with a stick blender. Add the honey, maple syrup, and ginger. Continue cooking until hot and adjust seasonings to taste preference. A few minutes before serving, stir in the cream until incorporated.
Ladle into a bowl and top with a drizzle of the cumin-scented maple syrup and a healthy pinch of toasted pine nuts.
I can't take credit for this dish, it was my brother's idea.
However, I do believe I pulled it off and it was arguably my favorite dish of the dinner party.
Either that, or it was the first bite of food I'd had all day so it tasted extra decadent.
I headed to my local butcher, Orland Meat Market & Deli because I wanted a great steak. The owners, Spyros and Helen are so sweet, I knew they'd help me make a great decision.
After talking about the contest, the dinner party, and what I was hoping to pull off, they suggested a beef filet. Spyros went in the back and grabbed a beautiful, whole tenderloin and cut me off about a 2-3" piece. He then trimmed it of all silver skin and fat and wrapped it like a little present in waxed white paper.
Begin by taking the bleu cheese and the meat out of the fridge to take the chill off of them.
In a small skillet, place a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. Let reduce by half over low heat until the balsamic is syrupy.
Slice a medium onion and place in a small skillet with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Work over medium heat for several minutes until the onions are carmalized.
Slice the bread on a diagonal, brush with olive oil and place in a toaster oven set to 250°.
Meanwhile, coat the beef liberally in Kosher salt and black pepper. Add to a pre-heated skillet and cook on high for about 5 minutes per side. Then rotate along the edge of the filet, searing each edge. Remove to the cutting board and let rest, and slice thin.
To plate, place the bread, then a forkful of the carmalized onions. Add a slice of the rare beef, a large crumble of bleu cheese, and top with a fresh parsley leaf. Finish with a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.
