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!

Venison Steak with Sherry-Mushroom Sauce (plus dessert)

Alright, deer season may be over but there is still an abundance of deer meat to be eaten. It's good to know people. Trading goose/duck for deer. I call that a good trade.

So in recent weeks there has been venison taco soup, venison lasagna, and now venison steaks. Mmmm. I must say knowing hunters is probably one of the best things in the world. Can't wait to go out and try it myself.

So Mike decided we were going to have venison steaks he had in the freezer for dinner. I was definitely OK with that. I was given the task of finding a suitable recipe for it. So I surfed the web for something that would work with our palates. Well I soon stumbled upon this beauty of a recipe, which when I told Mike what it was he gave a resounding "DONE." So to the store we went to gather the remaining ingredients we needed that aren't kept on hand due to spoilage over a specific length of time.

This is "Venison with Sherry-Mushroom Sauce." How lovely and fancy does that sound? Right?

Of course sherry makes me think of a house wife cooking with it while also drinking it. Why? No clue, probably my watching old TV shows has something to do with it, preconceptions of the 1950's I suppose. Oh well. No we did not drink the cooking sherry while cooking.

First we decided that we were going to add bacon to this recipe, one, because there was bacon to be used, and two because bacon just make everything better. And what tastes better than onions cooked in bacon fat? Butter, as the recipe suggests, doesn't taste nearly as good. So we cooked the bacon until crispy. Chopped it and set aside. We then cooked the onions in the bacon fat until just soft followed by adding in the mushrooms and bacon. Then cooked until mushrooms were soft.

Once that was done we had to flour the steaks with the seasoned flour and then sear on each side for about 7 minutes, more or less depending on the stove top.

Once the steaks were seared, butter and flour were added to the pan, to create a light roux to have the sherry and water added. Then everybody got inn the pool to be simmered until thick and delicious. I must say that the apartment started smelling pretty great at this point.

Sides were chosen to be sliced carrots that Mike added honey and a tad bit of cayenne pepper. We also served this with egg noodles, which were forgotten about until the steaks were done, hence the lack of them in the picture below.

This is a keeper recipe for sure. Of course I'm sure we will try substituting duck for venison at some point as we are still searching for a recipe that makes the duck taste better than previous recipes.

Venison Steak with Sherry-Mushroom Sauce
Prep: 20 min          Cook: 37 min

Ingredients
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms or baby bellas
6 (3 oz) venison tenderloin steaks

1 Tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup water

Directions
Combine 1/2 cup flour, sage, salt, and pepper in a resealable bag, set aside. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large pan over medium heat. Stir in onion and cook until almost soft. Add mushrooms, and continue cooking until soft. Remove from pan and set aside.

Turn heat to medium-high and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in pan. Toss the venison steaks in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Sear venison in butter for 6 to 7 minutes per side and remove.

Reduce heat to medium-low, and melt the remaining tablespoon of butter. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour, followed by the sherry and water. Return the vegetables and meat to the pan. Increase the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with your choice of side, such as egg noodles/rice and veggies.

To say the least this was a hit for all. Sent some off with the roomie to work and she cleaned her plate. Sounds perfect. Will definitely be making this again, much like the goose with sweet chili sauce.

So even if you have a different type of meat, don't be afraid to find new recipes to cook it. Whether it be venison, duck, or goose. Even squirrel or rabbit. Experiment, try new things, go out and cook.

Let hunting and holidays begin!

It's that time of year again where we all get terribly busy. Mike and I haven't been cooking much - if anything we have become lazy and been eating out - even I, the penny pinching queen has come to only want to break out a box of cereal and call it a meal.

So one evening some girl friends and I went out to Noodles & Co. for dinner - got the Med sandwich and a tomato onion salad thingy - quite tasty. My friend Kristy, who is 7 months pregnant, indulged in the most delicious looking bowl of macaroni and cheese I have seen in a while - so jealous LOL. Then went to Michelle's to hang out - we talked wedding since Michelle was getting married in the next week.

Mike and I took off to the wedding and Mike totally photo bombed in the car. I love this picture.

So Nov 10, 2012 my friend Michelle married her best friend Jake. They are cute, aren't they? Mike went with me, the sweetie. Neither of us are big fans of Catholic weddings and neither of us are Catholic - we don't judge though. Was a good wedding. Michelle was gorgeous and it was well done.Got a good workout with standing and sitting too.

So the best part about weddings is the party after the ceremony. Even better is when you go to a Catholic ceremony and then they have an open bar at the reception. God bless the Catholics :)

We enjoyed ourselves, the food was good, great mashed potatoes and veggies, the turkey and gravy to me were good too. Mike had the roast beef. He said it tasted good. They had hors d'oeuvres before the bridal party arrived, those were pretty tasty too. Little mini quesadillas and quiches. Yum, took forever to snatch any of the chicken skewers, but we got some.

He really is sweet...also has a sour side, kind of like a sour patch kid candy. :) I love him all the more.

So that is where Mike and I were that weekend.

We also went and saw the new James Bond movie, "Skyfall." Can I just say, AH-MAZE-ING! You must see this movie if you are any type of Bond fan. Of course I'm a bit fanatical and know too much, but in my opinion, it's better to be Bond obsessed than Twilight obsessed. Sorry ladies.

Then I was at Hyvee and found this magazine. DONE! Bought that and now know even MORE information about the movie than I did before.

So Mike also went hunting last Monday and got some delicious ducks. He does that a lot this time of year so that's another reason we haven't been blogging nearly as much. I should have him blog about hunting and share some of his pictures from the hunts here. Of course he told me one day, I was looking at dogs. LOL, yeah neither of us can afford let alone keep a dog at the moment. But I am all for getting a dog for pet/hunting purposes. We are dog people for sure. We both say, cats are evil. I mean really, think about it. At Halloween  cats are decorations. You don't see dogs being a scary decoration or considered evil. So yeah, dogs are better.

I have an armband for my phone,
this is what happens after 4 miles

While Mike hunts, what do I do? I run, run for what? For fun, health, and training for any and all upcoming 5k/10k/Obstacle races I have and will be signing up for. I'm excited for Warrior Dash in April - hoping I can sign up for Color Run in June, and then in September there is Tough Mudder and in October there is Rugged Maniac again, not sure I want to be that cold again though. Let alone go up that crazy hill at Snow Creek Ski Resort...that's insane!!!

So Mike loaned me his hunting hat one day for a run in the cooler weather. I think he prefers this look to my normal running hat (which can be seen in darker conditions at least ha ha, I'm not trying to hide on runs)

This is my normal hat, yes that's Tigger and it has ears. I love this hat. You can see it at night and it makes me and others smile. :) That's the point.

I finished running one day and this song started as I was walking to cool down, I felt pretty bad ass walking to this song. I love it. Makes you feel like you have accomplished something.

It is also hockey season for the CHL, at least. Since NHL is still in a lock out I have to get hockey somewhere and it's a good thing some friends of Mike and myself have season tickets that they are willing to share on occasion with us. :) I couldn't commit to season tickets this year. Just no. But I do enjoy a good game now and then.

We have cooked, at least a bit, we have to eat ya know. I have been making bread in my bread machine that I finally dusted off. That bread there is homemade, delicious, old school, white bread. Then I made eggs over easy with some spinach and cheese. Simple dinner but delicious and balanced. Then there was the frittata thing that sounded better than it tasted. Not by best attempt at dinner.

So then we have a beautiful sunset happening after work. Mike doesn't see the sun while at work due to working graveyard shift. So here is a beautiful sunset outside the office as I head home for a run.

Mike and I have cooked recently. Since neither he, nor I, will be really participating in Thanksgiving festivities (he has to work and I'm just not really participating) we made turkey breast and sausage stuffing the other night. OMG YUM YUM YUM!!!

Bought a turkey breast and Mike injected it with a jalapeno butter type sauce that kind of oozed out a bit but it definitely did linger in the meat. Then it was seasoned on the outside with seasoned salt. The stuffing was the Pepperidge Farm herb stuffing based with chopped celery, carrot, onion and mushroom and moistened with chicken stock. Then we got some Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage that was flavored with sage. We mixed up the stuffing, placed it on the bottom of the roaster pan, placed the turkey on top and roasted at 325 degrees F for about 2 hours, until the turkey was 165 degrees. Then we placed the stuffing back in for about 20 more minutes to crisp up. This was a delicious hit, totally hit the spot. Much like the sloppy Joe's and mac and cheese we had made Saturday. YUM!!

I looked at Mike at one point in the kitchen and said "holiday meals are going to be a big deal at our house aren't they?" He just kept cooking and said "Yes."

Man we rock at cooking. :)

I will end on an even warmer and fuzzier note. Mike and I are quirky, to say the least, and sometimes he does things that make me giggle uncontrollably in the car. Like this:

I am a bit nerdy, in comparison I guess. :) But it's the little things in life to be happy about and be thankful for.

So I know you all will go out and cook this week. Share what you will be having for Thanksgiving.

Are you trying any new dishes? Is this your first Thanksgiving cooking? Are you traveling? Share, we want to know.

Great minds think of Chicken Fajitas

Tonight Mike and I made dinner at our respective apartments. Although, by chance we both had chicken fajitas on the brain - in a sense. He was more direct about his fajita desire than I was. I had polenta at home and chicken, then what do do with it....

So he asked what he should use for his fajitas. I suggested the usual suspects of toppings: bell peppers, onion, garlic, add some mushroom for fun. Of course seasoning is just a packet of fajita seasoning as it's easier than experimenting with seasonings randomly - though that is a fun thing to do sometimes, can get tricky but is fun to find new and fun flavor combinations.

I just needed to find something to go with polenta and chicken. He suggested I pick up shrimp, but being the cheapskate I am I chose not to get shrimp. Though I did pick up red onion, mushrooms and a green bell pepper for the mix. Then I said cheddar cheese would be good too - he suggested to mix it in the polenta or even just sprinkle on top. I did more of a sandwich in the middle. He ended up forgetting cheese with his altogether.

Being the foodies we are we talk about these things back and forth via text and pictures. Of course prior to his shopping spree he tells me he doesn't like doing legs then cardio at the gym. I of course giggle to myself at work when I see that and the picture because I have been there. (This is why I do cardio first).

Handsome man getting his sweat on.

 So after getting this handsome picture I was finally off work and off to the store to pick up the needed ingredients for my fresh and unprocessed dinner. (polenta was homemade folks).

I whisked myself off to Whole Foods, rarely do I shop there, since I only had a few things to grab and it ultimately would cost the same in gas to get to Hyvee and such. So, WF it was. I then snapped a cute pic of myself while heading back to my car with my small sack of veggies.(The little boy helping the bagger was cute in that he wanted more groceries to bag but I didn't have a lot - his reaction was funny and the employee said "She's a no nonsense lady today - knew exactly what she wanted" then smiled at me as I left. - another reason I like WF - friendly and happy employees).

So as I get in my car and head home I receive "flowers" from Mike.

"Flowers to brighten your day." - Mike

He's a sweetie if you couldn't tell.

So home I go and unload my veggies onto the counter and prepare them. Chicken in the skillet browning up with some garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper (basic). Then I get the veggies started and get the onions opaque and the mushrooms browned while the peppers still have a slight crunch to them.

The polenta was made last night in a crock-pot - pretty basic. 4 cups water (boiling) then add 1 cup yellow (or white) cornmeal until desired thickness. It will thicken as it sits - also make sure to stir or it will get lumpy and chunky.

I also found a delicious looking peach while at the store. I had to have it and eat something sweet so I sliced that up and added it to my dinner. Yes I am using a compartmentalized "tray" of sorts. My inner child came out and my peaches weren't touching my hot food. 

Chicken and Vegetable Cheddar Polenta a la Sarah

He also used bell pepper (red), red onion, chicken and mushrooms. He also used a poblano pepper, black bean corn salsa and fajita seasoning. 


He's really good at chopping up veggies with his "ninja knives." as you can see he has some mad skills. Uniform and pretty.

He browned up the chicken with the seasoning and some lime juice for added flavor and depth. (Yumm!)

Looks like he cooked up the corn salsa in a pot and made it that way, corn and black beans and spices. Then he added the chicken and veggies together. Beautiful! Makes your mouth water doesn't it? It's making mine water and I'm still full from dinner.

To serve he wrapped it all up in a jalapeno cheddar flour tortilla - he forgot to add cheese to his burrito but from the sounds of it it didn't' really need it.

Lime Chicken Fajita Burrito a la Mike

Great minds right? He had his twist on fajita style chicken and I had mine. We both had delicious dinners that hit the spot and filled us up to the top. I felt like rolling around my living room because of how full I was. I'm not sure if he felt the same way. He said the heat in his burrito snuck up on him a bit but was delicious. He called it "very good" and when I said "yumm" in response to the photo he said "very." That is what we call a successful dinner. When Mike says very, very good. Then it's a good dinner.

I can't wait to see what this weekend brings for food...guess we will just have to wait and see what our minds conceive this time for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Let us know if there is something we should try out or if you just want to know a recipe.

Whiskey Tango Steak Night!!!

Ok so maybe just Whiskey in the steak marinade, but YUMMMMM! When Mike and I are high fiving each other over such a great dinner you know we have a hit on our hands.

Again, another creation from the "big book of food." The Roomie decided steak over lamb and boy it was a good choice. So the menu for the night was:

Sirloin steak
Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Veggies
and a Mushroom Gravy

But let's embellish a little. That menu sounds like a pretty basic mid-western meal. Well you may be right but damn meat and potatoes is just a good way to go.

So here is the revised menu so you can start drooling like we did.

Sirloin steak marinated in a whiskey brown sugar marinade served with a baby red potato mashed into a heavenly smash with garlic and butter with a side of grilled California mixed vegetables with olive oil and garlic herb seasoning with a great side of mushroom gravy to serve on top of the steak and potatoes.

So now then you ask, what does this look like???? Well I am guessing you are salivating. Too bad these pictures aren't scratch and sniff, oh man you should have smelled this. The steaks only needed an added salt and pepper (light) to spice up the marinade for grilling.

So to start we marinaded the steaks in this fabulous whiskey marinade (we even bought cheap whiskey - McCormick's for $5 - tasted great! You are welcome to use Jack if you prefer). Here is the recipe:

1/4 cup whiskey (your choice to go expensive or go cheap - we couldn't tell the difference)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 Dijon mustard
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
ground black pepper to taste

Stir together whiskey, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, green onion, brown sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Add to chosen meat - sirloin steak in our case. Marinate over night or at least a couple hours. (We marinated over night)

Marinated Steak - just started grilling

From there we started making the mushroom sauce/gravy.

The mushroom gravy we cheated a little bit and used pre-made beef gravy and added some ingredients.

So we took this "savory beef" gravy. The gravy on its own is not that tasty. So we checked out the recipe for mushroom sauce from the "big book of food" and added white cooking wine (instead of white wine as stated in the book). We then cooked down mushrooms and browned them with some green onion.

freshly cut white mushrooms: courtesy of
Mike the ninja knife master

DON'T CROWD THE MUSHROOMS ;)
or they won't brown

So now we add the mushrooms and onions to the gravy.

Thickening process

Started cooking after browning mushrooms

We ended up having to make a roux (Mike made - I do not have the patience, when I thicken gravy I use cornstarch. He says that doesn't taste quite as good. I am sure he's right.)

Here is the gravy after adding the blonde roux.

YUMMY!

Of course we also added salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic powder and the white wine. Roomie didn't care for the rosemary and, therefore, didn't care much for the sauce/gravy. But Roomie liked the steak, taters and veg.

We cheated on the taters since neither of us wanted to boil and mash (even though that's probably my favorite way to eat taters).

Can I just say though, these didn't even need butter added. It's an "add boiling water" and wait 5 minutes potato mix. Just yum!! I was shocked for a potato flake mix. Definitely recommended.

So by this point food is starting to come in from the grill.

Steaks ready to come in - veggies in the foil

Can we eat now?

Steaks smelled AMAZING when they came in. Was so ready to eat at that point. So Mike got plates out and we dug in.

The veggies came in and looked great.

Now to eat and show off the skills of cooking.

My steak was done more medium rare/medium while the rest were closer to medium/medium well. Still so so so delicious.

We will definitely make this again. Maybe next time we will mash our own potatoes and make our own gravy but in the mean time this did a great job of satisfying our hunger.