Duck, Two Ways

Actually one fusion recipe that began as two.

I love duck and every style and cooking method I have tasted has had something to offer. I have tasted it in Vietnam (very fresh) France, Spain, and in Italy the most wonderful duck balsamica (I totally got that recipe, I watched a wonderful Italian lady in Peruga make it step, by step).

I got a Moulard at a Chinatown butcher and had him quarter it for me and had two thighs sitting in my freezer staring at me. Moulard has less fat than Pekin so won't stand up to the long roast but more fat than the Muscovy so it can't be served rare.

I took the two thighs and put them in a marinade of 1 cup dark soy sauce and 1 cup apple cider, and a big handful of star anise and let them sit for a couple of days. By Sunday I was sort of in the mood for German style with potatoes. Would it work with an Asian marinade?

All I could do was try.

2 Duck Thighs
1 Cup Apple Cider
1 Cup Dark Soy Sauce
1 BIG handful of Star Anise

Marinate for two days. The morning of the roast remove duck from marinade and put skin side up in the refrigerator uncovered so the skin will dry and crisp.

3 medium apples peeled and sliced
1 large onion peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Cook the apple and onion in the oil until it is soft and pliable. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Take your duck and a little peanut oil, heat a pan very hot with the oil and place the duck skin side down to sear, I put a cast iron skillet on top to push down and even the skin against the pan for a good browning.

While the duck sears place two mounds of the apple confit in a casserole and surround with new potatoes.Place the seared duck thighs atop the mounds and place in a hot oven (400) for 70 minutes uncovered.

Serve.

I like a lot of different wines with duck. Last night we paired it with a Chateau Petrus 2004, which is not the same as the world famous Petrus, but it is a very good, much more reasonably priced Bordeaux.

Green Beans Franca

Today was one of those amazing days in NY. The weather was warm and sunny so I set out on my rounds on foot. I walked down to the gym and did a decent workout and then proceeded to put in my time at the street fair on Columbus Avenue.

While there I found the spice lady. I can never remember if it is Cumin or Coriander that I am out of so I bought both, along with a few other kitchen essentials.

I hit the Farmer's market and got Ed's most delicious apples, eggplant, etc. At Franca's stand I picked up more gorgeous green beans, some tomatoes and some of her hot peppers. She and Ed have been feeding me for more than 20 years and I love them both. With a back pack full of the best food in the world I headed to a Be-In in Central Park, it was a lovely disorganized event. To change the world we have to change our minds and hearts and a Be-in is a good place to get your spirit together.

You would think that with all this walking I would have been starving, and I was. Yet still I managed to make vegetables my dinner. I lost several pounds after my surgery and as much as I wanted a bowl of creamy pasta with a mushroom sauce, I went for the green beans. No one ever got fat from too many vegetables.

2 lbs green beans
3 medium hot peppers cut into tiny pieces
5 slices of bacon cut into small bits
1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes or 2 Roma tomatoes chopped into bits
A few dashes of soy sauce
A couple of drops of Cider Vinegar

Cut the bacon into bits and lay out in a non stick skillet. Fry until crisp stirring as needed. Take out the bacon and reserve the fat. Toss in your hot pepper and cook until soft and almost creamy. Remove. Warm your tomatoes in the fat, or if you like them more saucy cook for a bit. Remove to a warm plate. Throw in the green beans and cook until they are the way you like them from crisp to soft, your choice. Toss everything back in plus the soy and Vinegar and stir over high heat.

Remove to warm plate and enjoy with a glass of Chianti

For dessert I am going to have an apple...and if you think that's not special then you have not tasted Ed's apples.

Asian Chicken Thighs with Filthy Rice

I got an e mail from a reader in Washington State who has a husband and two growing boys and wanted something 'different' to do with chicken legs and thighs. They go on sale often and are inexpensive and she is incredibly tired of baked and barbecued.

Linda...be bored no more. As far as I am concerned this is the tastiest part of the chicken and I am delighted to share preparation methods. I grew up in a large family and I understand the needs of hearty eaters.


6 chicken thighs
Soy sauce
Ground Anise

2 cups rice
1/2 cup lentils (any color)
1 Italian sausage link
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 and 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Salt
Olive oil

1 head of bok choy
1 lime
Salt


The night before, take your 4 chicken thigh/drum pieces and dredge heavily in ground anise. Place skin side down in a shallow pan filled 1/2 inch with soy sauce. Refrigerate uncovered.

The next morning turn the chicken over so it is skin side up, sprinkle with some more anise and leave until dinner time. You want the skin of the chicken to dry.

Take 1/2 cup dry lentils and one cup water and bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and set the time for 20 minutes. When done, drain.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place thighs skin side down in a wok or pan with some hot peanut oil and sear for about 5 minutes on each side. Place in hot oven.

Remove the sausage from the casing (If you don't have Italian use an equivalent amount of Jimmy Dean or some other type), Brown in the pan you will be using for your rice and set aside. Remove the browned sausage and add a touch of olive oil and saute the chopped onion. When the onion is beginning to brown throw in the garlic, a minute the later the rice, followed by the chicken stock and the lentils. While it is coming to a boil finely chop your now cooled sausage to tiny bits. When boiling add sausage, turmeric, red pepper and a little salt if your stock was not well salted. Cover and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Wash and chop your bok choy into one inch pieces.

When the rice is done check the chicken, about 40 minutes should have passed and the juices should run clear, when chicken is done turn off the oven and set your plates in to warm.

Toss the bok choy in a hot wok or skilled with a little olive oil and salt. When it is hot, but not mushy turn off the heat and toss with the lime juice.

Arrange the food on warm plates and serve.

This is an ample meal for 4 ( I am assuming two pieces of chicken per growing boy) and the lentils up the nutrition and fiber content significantly. If you make it for two (as I did) all the leftovers make a great fried rice the following day.

A meal that is budget conscious enough to qualify as a food for the New Depression.

Meat and Potatoes...Romain Fruge'

As we move toward the Tony's we salute those who are not always celebrated. I choose Romain Fruge' because he represents the backbone of the theatre, known, but not a big star, he represents the staple, the meat and potatoes of the theatre.

I hope he's not a vegan.

I have seen him in many shows and while he is best known to audiences for The Full Monty, the two that most impressed me were Floyd Collins, and Love, Valour, Compassion; both seen by pure chance.

After sitting through 'Dream True' one of the absolute worst things ever produced in the theatre from top to bottom I found the name Tina Landau a bit frightening.

I was in Chicago teaching a seminar on the weekend and at loose ends for the evening hours. I did as I always do and looked to see what was playing in the area. Floyd Collins was at a theatre close by and had tickets available, but when I saw that Tina Landau was the author, I almost passed; but I thought it could not be worse than 'Dream True' nothing could be; and I could always leave.

As Tina revealed her talents so did Mr. Fruge' his plaintive isolated performance was deeply moving and he sang the score beautifully.

More recently I had gotten on my bike for an excruciatingly long trip and biked from Manhattan to the Berkshires. After a long nap and a visit to the Normal Rockwell Museum I went looking for something to do and what else...went to the theatre. Again Mr. Fruge' was in the cast, playing Gregory Mitchell and really blew me away. When I got on my bike to ride back to the B&B I had emotional power moving my legs.

The next morning I must admit to loading the bike onto a bus to get back to Manhattan.

Meat and Potatoes Fruge' aka Dinner Hash

1 lb of cube steak (You know the stuff that is scored because it can be so tough, antibiotic, hormone free, free range grass fed preferred.)
1 lb onion
1/4 pound butter
1/2 pound potatoes
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Paprika
A few dashes of Cayenne Pepper
Olive oil as needed
Sour Cream to garnish

Get a pair of sharp kitchen scissors and cut the beef into slivers just a little bit wider than fettucine. Place in a bowl and using roughly equal parts, toss it with several good shakes of Paprika then soak it in Soy sauce and Worcestershire. Put in the refrigerator for at least an hour so it soaks in. Have a glass of wine while you wait.

After a glass of really good wine and a few olives it's time to cut your onions and potatoes. I like to slice the onions thinly and the potatoes like a frite approximately the same size as the meat strips.

Put half the butter in a wok or a heavy bottom skillet and saute' those onions until they are soft and beginning to carmelize. Set aside. Now put in the rest of the butter with a touch of olive oil, turn up the heat a notch and push those potatoes around til they are creamy crisp, like a good home fry. Salt 'em a little bit while you stir. A little pepper wouldn't hurt at this point.

Hungry yet?

Add a little more oil and get that pan steaming hot. Lift the beef out of the marinade and drop, stand back, it will splatter a bit. Resist the urge to mess with it. You want it to crisp and brown a bit before you move it around.

When the beef is fully cooked toss in your potatoes and onions.

Open a bottle of kick ass Cab and toss it around a little before putting on warm plates and topping with a good dollop of sour cream.

Serve 4 hungry working actors and will power them through a 3 hour performance.