Quack!! Marinated Duck Breast Wrapped in Bacon

So it's August and that means kids are back in school and the summer is closing as we approach Labor Day faster and faster.

This also means that hunting season is upon us, or at least approaching (to Mike at a snails pace).

So since duck season is coming Mike has been preparing his decoys, gear, and calls. I will be joining him at least a couple times this season to go hunting. Starting with dove as it's a bit warmer and my personal dislike of severely cold conditions is evident in my hands losing color and feeling, Mike thinks that dove will be a good start. We will see how I do on a duck hunt later to see if I can 1. handle the cold and 2. like it.

So recently we have not really been cooking a crazy amount. We just moved to a new apartment and together so we have cooked more at home but nothing we haven't already cooked or is really not something we think we need to blog about.

However, on Monday - Mike's day off - he decided that we would have duck. We have plenty of game protein in the freezer from last years hunting season. So he pulled some duck breast out and marinated it and wrapped it in bacon. Was absolutely delicious. He has cooked duck for me before and the new recipes and techniques he had tried prior to Monday were iffy if tasty at all to me. If the meat is gamey I tend to not care for it as much and it was either gamey or tough from being overcooked.

Wild duck is different than duck you may order at a restaurant or with your Chinese takeout. Wild duck, in this case mallard, cannot be cooked through. You treat it like a good cut of steak. That is precisely what Mike did and it was like having a redneck filet minon. It was fabulous!!! And for me to say that, that means it was good.

He paired it with mushroom risotto and some bacon wrapped asparagus. What a meal!! Best meal we have had in the new place. Hope to have many more.

See the recipe here at his blog "Fowl Mouthed Therapy."

Now go out and cook!

Smothered Pork Chops a la Mike & Sarah

So the folks were in town this weekend. They had some things that needed to be done at the house and so between Mike and I we helped make that a bit easier for them. Help that we don't mind giving at all.

It's always fun to see Mike's folks. I always get a good laugh and have a great time.

So for dinner the other night Mike decided he wanted to make dinner rather than go out. That was fine, but then he remembered the roomie was sleeping. Well poo poopie doo. Then we found out around 5 that the roomie was awake and moving around. It was Mexican Monday and so she goes out on a double date gathering thing with friends and her boyfriend. Ok, sweet, we can now dominate the kitchen!

So Mike called his folks and let them know we could do dinner at the apartment now and then he and I rushed out to Walmart to collect ingredients and hurry back home to cook before the arrival at 6:30. (we left shortly after 5:00) So we have a list and are running through the store like we are on an episode of Bobby's Dinner Battle. Running to find the ingredients needed and figuring up a side dish and then having little time to make dinner in.

We finally figured out a side dish, we could do crostini (which have been done before - see here) but we changed it up and bought some Philadelphia dinner creations Italian herb flavored and then bought mini ciabatta breads and planned to cut them into quarters.

So we rush back home and begin prep work. Turning the oven broiler on and starting the veggie work. I pull out a pan and start arranging the peppers on them to place under the broiler. We bought the mini peppers rather than full bell peppers. They taste great too.

Then I began prepping the ciabatta bread, cutting the little squares into quarter triangles.

Drizzled with olive oil.

Then oiled the pan and popped under the broiler. However, I did burn the first set and had to start over with the other half of the bag. :( Oopsie!

While I was working on toasting my ciabatta bread triangles Mike seasoned the pork chops and seared them in the cast iron.

He then cut up the remaining mini yellow and red peppers, sliced up some onion, garlic, and popped open a small can of peas. After he seared the pork he took the meat out of the pan, placed on a plate and set aside while he sauteed up the onion and peppers. Then made a roux and added everything back into the pan and made gravy. Adding the peas last so not to mush them up any more. So we ended up with delicious and tender smothered pork chops (sadly I forgot to photograph my plate or even the pan! What kind of blogger are we? It was my job this time to take pictures, I failed. But I did get a picture of the finished crostini.

The folks liked it. Though Mike went a little crazy on the seasoning. He used Tony Chachare's Cajun seasoning, which in small doses is great. He seasoned the pork separately from the gravy and so combined it created quite a bite. More than planned but still delicious.

The recipes are simple.

Pork Chops - thin cut - boneless (however many you want to use, I think we had 6 or 8)
1/2 bag of mini peppers sliced and seeded
1 small onion
1 small can of peas
Cajun seasoning of choice
water or some stock to create gravy
and a roux to thicken which is just flour and oil or butter seared in a pan until desired darkness of roux (we usually do a blond roux - even though I prefer slurry's - corn starch and cold water).

-Season meat, sear on both sides in hot skillet.
-Set meat aside.
-Saute onion and peppers together and some chopped garlic
-Set veggies aside when just tender
-create blond roux, add some stock/water
-everybody back in the pan, add peas and cook until warm

Serve with delicious crostini and mashed potatoes.

We bought Betty Crocker Loaded Mashed for a side and it was pretty darn good.

For the crostini

1 small loaf French Baguette (the thin rod kind for bite size pieces)
2 Tbsp ish of extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cream cheese creations by Philadelphia (Italian herb blend)
1/2 bag mini peppers

Roast peppers either on a gas stove top over the fire or under your oven broiler until the skin is charred. Place in zip lock bag or in a bowl covered with plastic to let the skin steam off.

Cut your bread and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and oil the top side of your bread with a drizzle of olive oil. Pop in the oven under the broiler until golden on each side, careful to watch them as they will burn FAST.

Once your bread is done pull out of the oven and take a garlic clove cut in half and rub on each toast (only on one side). Then top with cream cheese.

Now, get your peppers, the skin should just flake right off when rubbed gently. Slice up into strips and top your crostini.

And serve. These will go fast, they are delicious.

Mike and I have a lot of fun figuring out new things and new ways of doing things. He suggested using the ciabatta bread since the store didn't have a small baguette to use. Then we decided last minute to use the mini peppers rather than the big bell peppers just because. Also, initially Mike had suggested using cream cheese and just mixing it with Italian herbs. Well I went to get some and found that new recipe creations and was all over it.

Just get creative  how can you change a dish? Can you make it better? Can you change the flavor profile from Italian to Mexican, or just tweak to your taste? You can do just about anything with the right seasonings and a little thought. And don't be afraid to high five in Walmart, make life fun. :)


Also while at Walmart this week I found this. Gooey Butter Cake - in Kansas! That doesn't happen often if at all. It's by Paula Deen. Since we have this slight obsession with gooey butter cake I bought it to try it out.

The gooey part was good but I can't say the "yellow cake crust" was great. To me it was too salty. But on a scale of 1 to 10. I give it a 7 because when in a pinch and not feeling like making it, this would suffice. Just definitely is NOT St. Louis traditional. But not bad.

 Now go out and cook!

Honoring the Way of Cast Iron

Honoring the Way of Cast Iron

Hello there fellow foodies on a mission.  Well it is Mike again instead of Sarah for this installment.  Well I have been fascinated by cast iron lately.  I bought a 12 in pan a few weeks back and got a 8 in pan from my late grandmother.  I never saw her use it but it got me thinking about how cast iron was such an amazing way to cook that everyone used it.  Now days few people cook with them.  I have attempted once or twice to cook with cast iron but was not drooling over it.  The cleaning is a pain and you have to take great care of them or they will not be that great.  So this time I cleared my mind of all previous thoughts.  I searched the web for a chicken recipe using cast iron.  What do you think I found?  Fried chicken, fried steak, what ever it was it was fried.  Not the healthiest choices for Sarah and I.  We are trying to eat better, well she already does but MY food choices had been very poor and unhealthy.  On the good side though I have been eating healthier so I had to think how to cook healthier.  So I thought smothered chicken.  

I wanted something other than chicken breasts so I went with Tyson boneless skinless chicken thighs, onions,  green pepper, garlic, mushrooms and mixed tomatoes.  I heated the cast iron skillet up and seared the chicken thighs on the front and back.

So while the chicken seared I sliced up the onion and green peppers.  I asked Sarah to mince up some garlic.  Onions and garlic go together like bacon and eggs or a BLT sandwich.  I just love the smells of onions and garlic, so fragrant and aromatic.  Focus Mike, sorry folks my mouth was watering and distracted me.  So I started cooking the green peppers and onions  since I knew they would take longer.  I asked Sarah to bottom off the mushrooms, which she did.  Once she bottomed the mushrooms, I sliced up the mushrooms and added them to the black pool.

Once the mushrooms were added, I love how they absorb flavors,  I think of them as my flavor sponges.  So to have them soak up some flavor on top of the garlic and onions  I poured a little Marsala wine in the pot and let them soak up the flavor.  I am no wine expert and not even a wine enthusiast but I do love cooking with it to add depth to the flavor profile.  Once everyone was in the pool and had started to catch the rays and tan a little and get a little loose from the wine.  Everyone knows how alcohol makes people loose and relaxed.  Wait a second this is food not people, oh well you know what I have rambled on about.  I added some Italian seasoned diced tomatoes from a can and Rotel tomato sauce for that little bit of kick.

So once that all the flavors had blended and socialized they enjoyed the steady steam and heat from the cast iron.  I was impressed at how well I was able to regulate and keep the cooking temperature where I wanted it.  I was always afraid that it was going to burn and stick but it did not.  During the whole time I was cooking the main dish, Sarah was trying her own side dish.  Sarah was making goat cheese and roasted pepper crostini.  Well I can not do her cooking justice so now is her time to write.  I know you enjoy her writing style better anyways.

Hey all, psshhhaw, we love reading your portions too. The recipe caught my eye online. Looked delicious and tasty. Of course I also love goat cheese, well I do love cheese in general, just in moderation due to fat and calories. Everything in moderation.

So it required a french baguette, I picked up a small one at my local whole foods and then grabbed a small pkg of goat cheese, 4 oz I believe. Of course while I was perusing the goat cheese shelf at Whole Foods I was thinking about the herbs and everything they required for this recipe. That is when I saw the Mediterranean and garlic herb goat cheese. Ooooo yes!! PERFECT! So I figured I would use that instead of having to buy fresh basil, which I hate doing because they charge sooo much for it, I should just start growing that in my kitchen on the window sill. Hmm, ideas brewing here.

    

So I began by roasting the peppers in the oven for about 10 min right under the broiler, at 500 degrees, and turned them halfway through roasting. After they were blackened on the skin and toasty I tossed them in a zip top bag playing hot potato with them as I picked them up.

While the peppers were roasting and steaming, to make the skin easy to peel off, I sliced up the bread into nice two bite pieces and spread with olive oil on both sides and then popped in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 min, until toasted. While they were still warm I took a halved garlic clove and rubbed it on one side of the toasts. From there I peeled the peppers and cut into nice slices for topping. I took about a teaspoon of cheese per toast, we had 12 crostini. I then topped with a slice of red and yellow pepper and placed on a plate to serve.

Aren't they pretty? Mike, Roomie, and I definitely liked them, we each had 4. Delicious, simple, and so tasty. I definitely recommend this for anyone that wants a super easy appetizer that looks like you took forever to make. They are pretty and finger food. Perfect for parties or even just to jazz up dinner a little. You could top with a little drizzle of olive oil or even some herbs if you want, a slice of basil leaf or even some chopped tomato if you want to get fancy or creative. Have fun and make something new. Back to you Mike!

Well now that Sarah has finished her portion of this installment we can wrap this meal up and assemble the troops for an assault on the taste buds of the mouth.  I try to think my taste buds are season and grizzly troops eager for the next battle.  Like a bunch of Marines that have been on a boat with a bunch of Navy guys.  They get off the boat and are looking for that excitement and ass kicking.  So to combat the veteran taste buds I found a Birds Eye frozen mushroom and green bean risotto for a side.  Chicken, rice and crostini sounds like a formidable foe for the taste buds.   If you noticed a normally have red plates for my dishes but I wanted a little better pop from the white plate and colors from the orange and red colors of the crostini, the green from the risotto and the red from the chicken.

Well that is it, no more of me rambling.  Hope you enjoyed today's blog.  So go out and cook and enjoy life.

"From the fire in to the pan" Wild duck

"From the fire in to the pan"

Hello there Mike here again time for a brief plug before this post starts.  First off animals were harmed for the making of this post, but there usually is.  Second if you are offended by the death of the animals go to ducks unlimited, this is a conservation group that buys and rehabilitates wetlands and nesting grounds for waterfowl.  Third if you were not offended by the death of the animals then please go to ducks unlimited.  This is a great conservation group that does so much for waterfowl from habitat to migration from beginning to end and in between.  So please donate or even join the organization and do what you can to help such a beautiful animals.

Now that everyone is asleep or run off time for the food post.  Well I was digging in my freezer yesterday trying to figure out what to cook when I came across a package of wild duck breasts.  The ducks came from a wonderful father son bonding hunting trip.  My father lives on the other side of the state so it is always nice to spend time with him in the marsh.  Then to make it even better it was just us for the hunting party.  We made our daily limit of ducks each with just our knowledge and experience.  Well and a lot of good luck on our side.  After the breasts thawed we put them in the Jack Daniels Steakhouse marinade bag and marinade for a day.  Sarah and I decided to pair the duck breasts with a salad and Quinoa.

Since the quinoa is a plain no flavor grain Sarah sauteed red peppers, onions and garlic in a brand new cast iron pan that I bought.  Of course I played with my knives and cut everything up for Sarah.  She knows that I    will always find a way to cut the vegetables before she will.

Now that the vegetables are finished Sarah started cooking the quinoa.  She brought a can of beef stock and quinoa to a boil.  She added the vegetables and began the waiting game that comes with cooking any grain.  Steam means it is hot right?  I had to warn Sarah that steam is hot.

Now for the main part of ingredient of the meal, the beautiful wild duck that died in a game of wits.  Now to honor the great foe with treating him right and enjoying them thoroughly.  We marinaded the breasts like we said before in an attempt to help remove some of the gamier taste of the meat.  I seasoned the meat with Montreal steak seasoning.  I thought I had the new cast iron pan hot enough to sear the sides of the meat.  I was wrong but it was the first cooking attempt with the pan.

Well once I got the breasts seared on one side it took longer than I wanted so the other side did not get the sear I wanted before it was at a medium rare temperature.  Sarah finished up with the quinoa while I let the duck breasts rest on the cutting board.  You have to let the meat rest.  "If you don't eat your meat you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat."  Sorry for that little blurb from Pink Floyd.  I sliced the breasts against the grain.  After slicing the meat I found out that the duck was closer to medium instead of medium rare.  Well since I did have problems with the searing the breasts so I cooked them longer than I wanted.

Well how are my plating skills folks?  I know they are pretty bad with this dish.  The duck was gamier that I wanted but was very good.  Sarah ate all of her meat.  I started with the duck that was standing alone, big mistake.  Well not a big mistake but I missed out on the great combination of the quinoa and the duck.  The duck meat when combined with the quinoa was a great blend of flavors and balanced the plain flavor of the grain and the gaminess of the duck.  We did not take any pictures of the salad because it was very sad looking.  It was a day old and well looking pathetic.  So instead insert your own mental image of your favorite salad, either homemade or restaurant.

I try to have a tip or useless fact in my post.  This post that has eluded me so I will ask you, the reader, a question.  Why is wild duck breast, dark meat instead of being white meat like a farm raised chicken?

We welcome you to comment about the post, tips, critiques, what ever works for us.  Feel free to share with your friends also.