December 2019 – Cooking the Books

December 28, 2019

Just ducky end to Dutch oven year

With my final Dutch oven post, there could be really only one option. A recipe perfect for the season, for doing something special while also simple, and for something a little different.

I’ve wanted to make this duck rice recipe ever since returning from Portugal. There were, however, a couple of hangups. Mostly, that duck isn’t super easy to find in the US.

The delay also helped me get a preferred recipe from one of our guides and also recoup from the trip, which in hindsight took a lot longer than expected.

Duck rice, I don’t think, was supposed to be one of our best meals, just given its simplicity but it thrilled our family. Only the seafood outshined it. It is, as its name suggests, duck in rice. It also has some Spanish chorizo, ham, port, a couple veggies, but really it’s very much rice and duck forward.

The duck I ordered from D’artagnan. If you really can’t find it or don’t want to spend the money, I think chicken thighs would do in a pinch. (Don’t tell the traditional version I said so!)

Everything turned out dandy and the work wasn’t too bad. My only regret is that I dared to make it a one-pot meal. I think the first two steps work well in one pot but to get the required crispy crunch on the edges, it needs a new and newly coated casserole dish. If you’ve got two Dutch ovens, that’s just ducky. For everyone else, I’d revise this one to cook the duck and rice separately in the Dutch oven and bring it all together in a duck fat or butter coated 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Here’s what I did, following a translated recipe as best I could:

Ingredients

For meats and broth

4 duck breasts (or ½ duck cut into pieces, or 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 bay leaf
12 oz. Spanish chorizo, sliced
1 ham steak (about 100 g), cubed
½ c. port wine
Pepper, to taste

For rice

2 c. dry rice
1 onion, chopped
4 c. duck broth (from the cooking above, with some additional water or broth, as needed)
Duck fat, to taste (or butter)
Salt, to taste

Directions

For meats and broth

In a large Dutch oven, add the duck meat, chorizo, and ham. Add carrots, onions, garlic, and bay leaf. Over medium heat, slightly brown the duck. Add the port, and water to cover the meats (I added about 2 c. total and then used homemade broth for the rest in the rice, but if you prefer, add about 3 ½ c. to get the amount you need for broth for the rice.). Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the meats in liquids, covered, for about 45 minutes until the duck is cooked through.

Once the meat is finished, remove the Dutch oven from heat, and then use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the duck, chorizo, and ham (along with any vegetables). Reserve the broth in a separate bowl or large measuring cup.

Once the duck is cool enough to handle, shred it or cut it into cubes, removing any fat or skin as appropriate.

For the rice

In the same Dutch oven, or separately, heat the duck fat over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the rice in and fry slightly. Add in the broth, seasoning with salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat, and cover. Cook to package instructions, or between 15 to 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.

To finish

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Once rice is finished, you can stir the meats back into the rice, cover the Dutch oven, and bake the mixture for about 20 minutes uncovered to let the flavors combine.

Or, for more crunch, (but dirtying another dish), you can (and dare I say, should) coat a large casserole dish or second Dutch oven in additional duck fat and then pour in about half the rice, mix in the duck, top with the remaining rice, and then top with chorizo and ham pieces, before baking for about 20 to 25 minutes uncovered.

Either way, I do hope you enjoy this treat, and have a Happy New Year! I’ll be back in 2020 with something completely different.

December 20, 2019

Chicken soup for the solstice

As we wind down the year, I have to admit 2019 has not been the best. There have been some highs for sure but, man, the daily slog of life has taken its toll this year.

But as we approach the shortest day of the year, and then the day after when the sun shines a little more each day, I’m reminded to be grateful for all the little things that add up to big stuff.

This week that meant taking a mental break from the news. My podcasts were mostly pop culture and holiday themed. My television viewing mostly consisted of Rifftrax and MST3K. The little bit of news that did seep through included the fact that we finally impeached the motherfucker.

One other thing that helped keep my mind off of it all was the days-long process to make the most epic of comfort foods, chicken noodle soup.

Don’t let the “days-long” scare you. The first day was making a broth, which was about 5 minutes of effort and an hour of down time, and can be done in advance (I often make it and freeze for future use). The second day was baking a whole chicken, which was about 10 minutes of effort (including deglazing) and 1 ½ hours of down time, which can also be done in advance.

The last day was a little more labor intensive (I watched most of the Grumpy Cat Christmas movie while I cooked), but that included some cleaning, my required blogging pictures, and some dawdling. Still, picking apart a whole chicken takes time and so does chopping the extra vegetables that make my ideal chicken noodle soup.

The recipe is based off of a very fancy Saveur recipe that I’ve made before but I added some things to make it fit my ideal of the dish. Including the fact that it is mostly a chicken noodle stew by the time I’m finished. I still kept their parts, just also added some of my own.

There’s a little bit of broth poking through. Right?

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 3-4 lbs.
2 T. olive oil, plus more for sauteing
Salt and pepper, to taste
12 c. chicken stock, divided
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 c. frozen corn kernels
1 t. crushed saffron threads
12 oz. egg noodles (I had a 14 oz. package and threw in the whole thing plus an additional cup of broth)
Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9 x 13 inch dish (a Dutch oven would probably work, but a casserole dish is what I used), rub the chicken with the olive oil and then season well with salt and pepper. Bake the chicken until golden brown and tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Carefully transfer the chicken to a cutting board and reserve the oil, etc, in the baking dish.

Once dish is slightly cooled, pour 2 c. of the stock into the baking dish and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom. (I waited until both broth and dish were pretty cool, and still had no problems, and then poured it into a separate container than the rest of the broth before bringing the whole dish together the next day.)

Once chicken is cool enough to handle or the next day, pick meat from the chicken and tear or chop into bite-sized pieces. You can discard the skin and bones, or freeze them, like I do, for a future chicken stock.

When ready to complete the soup, saute the onions, celery, and carrots in a little bit of oil for about 5 minutes in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Then, pour in the remaining 10 cups of stock and add in the 2 c. from the deglaze (which will look like gravy if you’ve refrigerated it overnight, like I did) as well as the chicken pieces. Add the corn and saffron to the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and continue to cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until the stock is slightly reduced.

Add the egg noodles and cook for an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until cooked through. Season the soup with more salt and pepper, if desired. Enjoy, and happy holidays, dear readers!

December 14, 2019

She’s got to have gumbo

With this post, I have only two more weeks with the Dutch oven, and I’ve had those last two recipes planned for a little while now.

The only question was what to do for my third to last post of the year. And as I searched through my list, and knowing that I had a recent shipment of Cajun meats, there really could only be one answer: Gumbo.

Ever since I first tried this stew/soup, this Midwestern gal has loved every bit of it. The meat, the vegetables, the fat, the roux, the way the flavors combine, and the way it all comes together in a beautiful presentation.

I’ve made it several different ways over the years, one time cheekily making it vegetarian by using fake chicken meat and sausage. My typical method, though, involves actual chicken and andouille sausage.

But this time I’d ordered some tasso ham (and, of course, some andouille sausage) from my favorite D’artagnan along with some other meat I need for my last Dutch oven meal of the year. And I happened to have about a pound of shrimp in my freezer. I’d never made it with seafood or ham but gumbo is nothing if not adaptable.

Readers, I think it was my finest attempt yet. Of course, I probably say that every time (OK, the vegetarian one was not the best). It’s just amazing.

It doesn’t look delicious, but trust me, this is some of the best tasting food in the world. And I have leftovers.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

½ c. oil/fat (lard or butter are my preferences)
½ c. flour
1 onion, chopped
1 ½ bell pepper, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
10 oz. okra, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 quarts chicken stock (preferably homemade, and most stocks would work … maybe not beef)
½ T. paprika (I like a combo of smoked and hot)
Cayenne pepper, to taste
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. oregano
1 t. celery seeds (optional)
1 t. dried thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced
~1 lb. tasso ham, chopped (or other ham)
1 bunch scallions, sliced, for serving
Chopped parsley, to taste, for serving
Cooked white rice, for about 6 servings

Note: The spices can be substituted with creole seasoning if preferred.

Directions

Brown the sausage and ham in your Dutch oven. Then remove the meat but keep as much schmutz as possible.

Add the oil/butter/lard to the Dutch oven and melt or warm (I’m partial to a mix of bacon fat and butter). Slowly add the flour and whisk to form a roux.

Cook the mixture until it’s somewhere between golden brown to coffee brown, depending on desired thickness and flavor profile. (This link provides a good explainer on how to make a roux and the pros and cons of cooking shorter or longer.)

Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery, and cook for about 5 minutes until slightly softened, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, continuing to stir.

Add the okra, herbs, spices, salt and pepper, and then slowly add the stock, stirring frequently. Add back in the sausage and ham. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer for about an hour.

Prepare the rice while the soup cooks. Just before serving, add the shrimp, and cook for about another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the scallions and chop the parsley. Spoon rice into a bowl and then ladle on the soup. Top with scallions and parsley and enjoy!

December 7, 2019

Lose the canned soup, keep the potato chips

A week later and I’m still stuffed from a long Thanksgiving weekend with my family.

Mom made all of my must-haves, and added a wonderful appetizer spread a little before dinnertime. Throughout the weekend, Mom also offered leftover potato dumplings (a family favorite) and we ate take-out when we were tired of leftovers.

It’s enough that I’m not sure how I’ve continued to eat so much after getting home.

And yet, there’s blogs to write.

I was trying to find something simple and also different from traditional Thanksgiving fare for this week’s recipe, and also something different. Instead, as I was talking about my next recipe with Mom and Grandma, I came up with something that met the first two requirements but was one of my favorites. After talking about it, though, I had a hankering.

I first made this Epicurious tuna noodle casserole during my year of casseroles, and loved it so much I’ve been making it–even without writing about it–for years now. It tastes a lot like the classic casserole (with potato chips on top!!), but instead of canned cream-of-something soup, there’s a wonderful homemade leek sauce that makes it even better.

While I more or less followed my previous recipe, which altered the original slightly, it was interesting to see how it turned out in a Dutch oven versus a casserole dish.

The original recipe calls for mixing the sauce on top of noodles, and it calls for buttering a separate casserole dish after the mixture is prepared, but that sounded like a lot of dishes when the Dutch oven could do it all. (Full disclosure: In the interest of saving time, I did cook the noodles in a separate pot while I prepared the sauce, but they can be made in the same Dutch oven or prepared in it in advance.)

I wasn’t sure if not being able to butter a separate dish would make the casserole stick, so I upped the butter (even though I’m sure there’s more than enough fat). Some of the edges did end up sticking a bit but I liked the browning that the Dutch oven gave to the casserole. So, all in all, I’d say the Dutch oven works great, and tuna noodle casserole is even more amazing now that I know it tastes great and is adaptable.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

6 T. butter
2-3 leeks, sliced
1 t. celery seeds
¼ c. all-purpose flour
2 c. whole milk
½ c. half and half
1 t. lemon juice
12 oz. egg noodles
1 c. Gruyere cheese, grated
2 T. fresh dill, chopped (I used more, but adjust for your love of dill)
2 cans (5 to 6 oz.) tuna, drained, broken into chunks
2 c. potato chips, coarsely crushed (my sweetie and I prefer Ruffles)
Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook the egg noodles according to package instructions. This can be done in the Dutch oven, separately, or in advance. Once ready, drain the noodles BUT reserve about ¾ c. of the cooking liquid.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, on the stove top, melt the butter in the Dutch oven, and then add the leeks and celery seeds, seasoning with salt if desired. Cover the Dutch oven and saute the leeks until tender, about 8 minutes, stirring often.

Gradually add the flour, and stir for 1 minute.

Gradually add the milk and half and half. Simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

Once the noodles are ready, add them to the leek sauce in the Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Add in the cheese and dill, and stir to combine. Add the reserved noodle liquid by tablespoons until the mixture is creamy (you likely won’t use it all, but it’s better to have more than less; I added about ¼ c. in total but add to your desired creaminess).

Finally, fold in the tuna.

Cover the Dutch oven and bake for about 20 minutes until heated through. Remove from oven, remove lid, and add the crushed potato chips on top of the casserole. Bake uncovered another 10 to 15 minutes until the chips are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool slightly and enjoy!