Duck Breasts w/ Ginger Gastrique

Could have rested just a tad bit longer to prevent those excess juices from escaping, but still delicious =)

Duck has gotta be on the top of my list when I think of my favorite proteins.  Something about it just makes me salivate every time.  A crisp and tasty skin just really does it for me!

I've been trying to get rid of some items on our bar shelf so that we can make room for newer and tastier things.  There's been a bottle of ginger liqueur sitting there for quite some time.  I just haven't had the opportunity to do anything with it... until now.  A quick and easy gastrique was just the thing to pair with our duck breasts!

Ingredients:

2 large duck breasts
salt and pepper, to taste

Gastrique:

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ginger liqueur
1/2 cup veal or beef stock
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter.

Roasted Carrots & Turnips, diced (optional)

In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar on medium low heat.  Cook until sugar caramelizes and turns into a syrupy liquid... like you're going to make caramel.  When the sugar is dissolved and has a nice amber color, deglaze the pan with the vinegar and ginger liqueur.  Whisk constantly to remove any clumps.  Reduce by about 3/4 and then add veal stock, star anise, cinnamon, juniper berries, and salt.  Continue to reduce until mixture is at a syrupy, sauce consistency.  Keep warm until needed.

Heat a large saute pan under medium heat.  Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.  Add the duck breasts to the dry pan, skin-side down.  Slowly render the fat from the skin until it is nice and crispy, about 7-9 minutes.  You don't want to rush this if you want to get the perfect duck skin!

Flip breast over and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until duck is at a nice medium rare-medium.  Let rest for about 4-5 minutes before slicing.

Reheat sauce and mount with 1 tablespoon of butter.  Spread a nice bit of sauce on the plate.  Top with desired vegetable or starch (I had roasted from carrots and turnips for this).  Slice duck breasts into thin strips and arrange over top of the vegetables.  Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Another simple, but elegant meal. Take the time to splurge on some duck breasts once in a while - you won't be sorry!

Steamed Salmon w/ Greens, Corn, & Pickled Vegetables

Happy Friday guys!

We've got a big Labor Day weekend planned, too!  Our great friends Ike & Becca are getting married tomorrow - so congrats to the future Lehrs! 

Sunday, we'll probably head out to World Fest - which showcases the cultural diversity of Louisville by food, music, and shops!  We went last year and had a great time, so looking forward to that one! 

Still don't have any Labor Day plans, but if all else fails, I know we'll be lounging around - which is good enough for me!  Anyway, let's get to today's dish!

We haven't been eating a lot of red meat around these parts.  I don't know why, we've just been opting for lighter meals.  Salmon is always a favorite of ours, and when I saw this simple dish over at Joanne's Eats Well With Others, I knew I had to try it out!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Eats Well With Others' Recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-inch thick slice of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 cup kale, chopped
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup mizuna greens
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus extra for drizzling
2 6 oz. salmon fillets
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups fresh corn
pickled vegetables

In a large skillet under medium high heat, add both oils.  Add the ginger and garlic powder.  Stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add kale, spinach, mizuna, soy sauce, and 3 tablespoons of water.  Saute until the greens start to wilt, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Spread the greens in an even layer in the skillet.  Season the salmon with salt and pepper and place the fillets on top of the greens in the skillet.  Cover pan and lower heat to medium.  Steam fish for about 5-7 minutes, or until just cooked through. 

You can choose to cook your corn if you'd like, but I'm weird and I like the taste of raw corn.  Divide corn among two plates and top with salmon fillets.  Serve alongside the greens and pickled vegetables.  Drizzle additional sesame oil, soy sauce, and/or remaining steam liquid in pan (it was infused with the garlic and ginger, so it's tasty!).

This was a great meal.  Andy and I both had our plates cleaned on this one.  That's a sure sign of a winner there!

Hope you guys have a great holiday weekend and I'll be back Monday!

Sweet Chili Green Beans

 

Happy Friday everybody!

I'm so ready for the weekend (I've got to work Saturday morning, but it ain't no thang!).  We've got a couples bridal shower to go to, so that should be fun.  And then some major relaxation is in the works for Sunday and Monday!

Now I used to think I had a favorite green bean recipe.  I mean, it's all the rage on Food52, too.  But my friends, I think there's a new contender in town.  This was so good I ate it with my hands.  Yeah... that good.  So good, if I ever do open up my own restaurant - this will be an appetizer for sure.

Ingredients:

1 lb. green beans, trimmed
4 strips of bacon, chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
3 thai chiles, minced
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 c. water
sesame oil, optional
toasted black sesame seeds, optional

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add green beans and cook for about 3 minutes, or until beans are a bright green.  Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Drain on paper towel-lined plate and set aside.  Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pan and add onion.  Cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the ginger, Thai chiles, sweet chili sauce, fish sauce, and water.  Add green beans and toss to coat. Saute for 5-10 minutes, until water evaporates, the sauce thickens, and the beans become tender.

Stir in bacon and sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Seriously, I couldn't stop eating this.  I'd walk by and grab a bean.  Then come back 2 seconds later and grab another couple.  Be prepared to have an addiction to these!

Have a great weekend guys!

Ginger Honey Chicken

Well, it's officially summer... in my book anyway. After a whole WEEK AND A HALF with just gray and rainy skies, the sun finally showed it's face again this past weekend. And you know what? I worked ALL WEEKEND long. But I know I'll get other chances to enjoy the nice weather we're currently having (hopefully). One thing that does scream summer to me is grilling. Summer = grilling. I know more people are grilling all year round more often, but there's just something about the sun shining, the weather being hot, and a grilling, that just screams summer to me.

Something I wish I'd just go out and buy already, a grill basket. They're just easy to cook practically anything from vegetables to fish in. Definitely would help with the problem of fragile fish on the grill, that's for sure! If you wanna check out a great grill basket, Foodbuzz.com's Daily Special today happen to be just that!

A great grilled chicken recipe comin' right up!


Ingredients:

1 cup honey
3/4 cup soy sauce
5-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 in. piece ginger root, peeled and minced
1 jalapeno, minced
3-4 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

In a small saucepan, combine honey, soy sauce, garlic, shallot, ginger, and jalapeno under medium high heat. Stir until honey is just melted and ingredients are well combined.

Place chicken thighs in shallow dish and pour honey soy mixture on top of chicken. Let marinate in fridge for at least 1 hour (I let mine sit for about 2 & 1/2 and it was PERFECT!).

Light a charcoal grill under medium high heat. Grill chicken for about 5 minutes per side (depending on thickness of thighs) or until cooked throughout. Let rest for about 10 minutes and slice into strips. I served this with white rice and carmelized carrots!

This was absolutely exceptional. The honey, soy sauce, and ginger were prevalent in the chicken, but didn't overpower one another. The chicken was succulent and juicy! Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup w/ an Asian Twist

It's been quite cold here in Louisville lately, and today is not exception. There's a few inches of snow on the ground and I'm sure the city is in mass hysteria... especially the thousands that can not drive in the snow. I don't know what it is, but this city is NEVER prepared for snow. The snow trucks never come prepared, or salt the night before a known snow is coming. People drive just like they normally would on a sunny day, which is not the right way to drive in the snow. That's how you end up in a ditch or a median. But best of all... on the seemingly coldest and most snow filled day of the year so far... I am intending to test drive and purchase a new car. Am I crazy? Yes. But more importantly, I'm in need of a new vehicle... and why not today. When the salesman don't want to spend hours outside and more time inside signing paperwork and getting the deal done. That's my viewpoint anyway, I'll keep you updated on whether this plan actually worked or not.


Ingredients:
Adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles' blog

3 chicken breasts, sliced into medallions
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 to 1 box of spaghetti noodles
5 large shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thin
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 scallions, sliced thin

This is definitely a crockpot soup. Or I made it that way anyway. Turn your crockpot onto the high setting to get it warmed up.

In a large skillet, heat up oil under medium high heat and cook the chicken medallions until no longer pink. Transfer chicken to crockpot and cover.

In same skillet used for chicken, saute the onions, garlic, and ginger for about 5 minutes, when onions are soft and translucent. Add mixture to crockpot over chicken.

Deglaze skillet of brown bits by adding 1 cup of water to pan and scraping of the sucs. Then dump that water into the crockpot. Add remaining 3 cups of water and 4 cups of chicken broth into crockpot as well. Let simmer in crockpot until almost ready to serve, stirring occasionally. Mine was in there for about 45 minutes.

About 15 minutes before you're ready to dig in, add in noodles and mushrooms. When noodles are soft, stir in rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili flakes, sesame oil, and scallions.

Ladle into bowls and serve hot!


The only problem I had with this dish was that I used too many noodles. But besides that, the flavors were all there and it definitely warms you up on a cold and frigid day. Just a different take on a classic. Enjoy!

Ginger Soy Grilled Chicken

This past weekend I made Andy come with me to watch the Julie & Julia film. Let's just say he felt a little emasculated after it was all said and done. Me, on the other hand, can totally relate to the movie and I thought it was rather cute. Kind of made me think of one day publishing an Asian-Fusion cookbook for Americans. Really, I think there's a market for it. How many people pack into Asian/Chinese buffets every single day? Tons! And that's not even the best part of Asian-inspired cuisine! There's such a range and such a flavor in Asian dishes that I don't think it gets enough credit.

That's exactly why I'm posting this dish. This is by far, the best way to cook chicken, in my opinion. The ginger, the soy, they mix to make just a delicate and delicious balance of flavors.


Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken thighs (about 10)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup mirin or 1/4 cup sake (I put in both)
2 cloves chopped garlic
4 tablespoons grated/minced garlic
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (you can buy them that way or you can quickly saute them in a pan to get them hot and voila! they're toasted!)
freshly ground black pepper

This recipe is absolutely fool-proof! If you like a different part of the chicken, be my guest, but for those of you that are always scared of drying out chicken or cooking it for too long, chicken thighs are ALWAYS your best bet! It's practically impossible to dry them out so they're perfect!

Just mix all ingredients in a big enough tub to cover the chicken and let sit in refrigerator for about 6 to 8 hours, or leave in overnight so the chicken and the marinade can become one! Osmosis is your friend!

When chicken is ready, heat a grill to medium heat and cook until cooked through. Like I said, it's practically impossible to dry out chicken thighs, so really all you're worried about now is burning the chicken, so watch the grill with a keen eye!


Enjoy!

Steamed Lime-Ginger Basil Tilapia W/ Cranberry Bacon Fried Rice

I think for the first time ever, I actually went to Whole Foods and couldn't find what I really wanted. I wanted a whole trout. No trout whatsoever. I wanted a whole fish, but they only had Red Snapper or Mackerel and neither tickled my fancy (especially because we we're on a really tight budget) while I was at the counter. So hmm... I go in with a game plan and have to improvise I guess. I know a lot of people give Tilapia a lot of slack, because it's not worthy or whatnot. But I believe in giving every fish a chance, so I chose Tilapia.



Ingredients for Trout:

2 Tilapia fillets (or any white fish)
1 Lime
1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger
3 fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lay out 2 pieces of aluminum foil, big enough to wrap the tilapia in. Place tilapia on foil and drizzle olive oil on both sides. This helps to keep the fish moist and not let it stick to the foil. Grate some ginger over top side of tilapia, squeeze lime juice over fillets, and stick 3 basil leaves under tilapia.


Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I cut the lime into slices and placed it over the tilapia before wrapping, but I would suggest not doing this. Although it looks very beautiful, when cooking in the oven, the rind from the lime overpowers the taste of the tilapia. So definitely save slices for an ending garnish, rather than a cooked in flavor.

Wrap tilapia in foil, but not tight, kind of allow for a tent-like wrapping.

Cook in oven for about 10-15 minutes. Tilapia is a very light fish so it shouldn't take very long at all. Unwrap and serve over cranberry fried rice.



But how do you make the cranberry fried rice you ask? I was getting to that...

Ingredients for Cranberry Bacon Fried Rice:

1 cup long grain brown rice
2 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cranberries, soaked in white wine
1 small shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices chopped bacon
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used parsley and basil, with a dash of dried oregano)
salt and pepper to taste

I really like this fried rice recipe mostly because it's a Filipino-style fried rice. What the difference from Chinese fried rice and Filipino fried rice you ask? Well, if you notice, when you go to a Chinese buffet, the rice usually has bits of eggs in it, along with a brown color, from soy sauce, and it's not very "fried". It has somewhat of a soft texture to it.

Well, Filipino fried rice, is actually crispy, but still soft enough to know it's rice. No eggs, no soy sauce. Not in the ones my mom used to make anyway. And this definitely is an upgraded version of my mom's version.

Start by bringing a pot of chicken stock to a boil. Add rice. Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes, when all of rice has soaked up the majority of the stock. Then set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, heat up wok or skillet over medium to high heat and add bacon. Fry bacon for about 2 to 3 minutes, until almost done. Then add shallots and garlic. Saute for about a minute or two.


Add rice. Drain cranberries and reserve some of the wine. Add cranberries to rice and stir thoroughly. If rice seems a bit dry or not to your liking, add some of the wine in, otherwise you can drink it (it's quite tasty!).

Stir in fresh herbs and serve with tilapia!



This was a great meal. The fried rice exceeded all of my expectations and I might have to challenge my mother to a fried rice-off in the near future. The tilapia, like I said, could have been better if I had just left the lime slices off of it until after I plated, but still a good meal!

Chili-Ginger Chicken w/ Shiitake Mushrooms & Napa Cabbage

I never knew what a good light kit would do for the appeal of my food. I came home this past Sunday after working until 10:30 to a kitchen that looked like something of a t.v. show set. I called Andy while I was on my way home to have him prep the ingredients for that nights dish, and instead he prepped the kitchen for a show... and I can't say that I'm upset, because the pictures turned out amazing, and so did the dish.


Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon asian sesame oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 & 1/4 lb. chicken thighs, cut into 1 & 1/2 inch strips
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut into pieces
2 tablespoons minced ginger
3/4 lb. napa cabbage, chopped (4 cups)
3 ounces daikon radish, thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced

The original recipe I found had miso paste in it, and after searching all over Louisville (not really, I only stopped at Kroger and Whole Foods), with no luck, I decided to substitute the chili paste and black bean sauce to give it more of a subtle spicy flavor.

In a small bowl, mix together chili paste, black bean sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and 1/2 cup of the stock.



Heat vegetable oil in wok and add chicken thighs. Salt and pepper to taste and cook until done, about 5 minutes or so.


Remove from wok with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add mushrooms, ginger (instead of mincing my ginger, I had it in the freezer and grated it instead. The freezing of the ginger root keeps it fresh longer, and it just easily grates so I like it better that way), and remaining chicken stock to wok. Cook until mushrooms are tender.


Add the cabbage and chicken back in. Stir fry for a quick minute and add the savory sauce to the wok.


Allow to simmer and finally add in daikon and scallions.


Mix together and serve! Enjoy!