Warm Duck Salad

This is a Barefoot Contessa take on duck. Like most Barefoot Contessa recipes, it's open to a lot of interpretation. I often prefer strawberries to raspberries whenever strawberries are in season. Getting something flavorful should be the primary concern. There is just a ton of delicious duck and berries and orange and pecan in this recipe. It is filling and delicious as a perfect large lunch, light dinner, or first course.

The dressing I've always thought was a bit bland while making it, but this salad has so much going on, the very light dressing with a slight orange taste is just right. Just make sure you break out the 'good' olive oil as Contessa would say. I am upping the amount of orange zest from the original recipe and changing the mache to baby arugula and frisee, because my local Harris Teeter rarely carries mache, but frequently carries very good baby arugula. And who doesn't like a little frisee once in awhile?

The dressing and the duck will keep (although the "warm" part of warm duck salad won't be there), but salad is salad, so toss when ready to serve. A Barefoot Contessa trick for serving salad later....add the dressing to the bottom before the other ingredients and then toss at the end. Not really sure why this is easier from just storing the dressing in a measuring cup and adding at the end, but there you go.

Warm Duck Salad 

2	boneless duck breasts, skin on (pref. not frozen)
	Kosher salt
1	tablespoon minced shallots
2 1/2	tablespoons sherry vinegar
2	teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2	cup olive oil
3	heads Belgian endive
3	ounces baby arugula, mache or other delicate baby lettuce
	Frisee to taste (optional)
	Navel oranges, peeled, cut in 1/2, and sliced
1/2	pint fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries
1	cup toasted whole pecan halves

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the duck breasts on a sheet pan, skin side up. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a little pepper and roast for about 20 minutes, until medium-rare. 
3. Remove from the oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. 
4. With a knife, remove and discard the fat and skin on top. Careful, the duck is still pretty warm. Slice the duck, and then cut the slices crosswise into julienned pieces.
5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the shallots, sherry vinegar, orange zest, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
6. Whisk in the olive oil and set aside.
7. For the salad, trim the bottom half-inch from the endive and cut them diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Separate the leaves and discard the cores. Place the slices in a large salad bowl. 
8. Add the arugula, frisee if using, oranges, strawberries/raspberries, and toasted pecans. Toss with enough dressing to moisten. Gently toss in the warm duck meat and serve immediately. Pepper to taste.

Short Ribs Braised In Syrah

We adapted this recipe from Michel Richard’s Happy in the Kitchen. Like many of Richard’s recipes, making these short ribs is a long and involved process (it takes two days and requires 20 different ingredients). The techniques employed and the equipment required, however, are both simple and familiar. Just remember to set aside plenty of time, and this recipe can be a lot of fun, and very rewarding.

What really sets this recipe apart from your average short rib is the quality of the sauce. Smooth and rich, with complex flavor, the sauce is a thing of beauty. Syrah, which forms the base of the sauce, has plenty of depth and power to match up against the richness of the short rib. The star anise we include in the bouquet garni helps to highlight the sweet elements in the sauce. Finally, port and honey are added to the sauce at end to temper any harshness in the wine.

Skimming fat off reducing sauce

Just as important as what goes into the sauce, however, is what gets taken out of it – the fat. After refrigerating the short ribs overnight, most of the fat in the sauce will have risen to the surface and formed a hard layer. Make sure to remove as much of the fat from the surface of the sauce at this stage as you can. Be patient. After straining the solids out of the sauce, we bring it to a simmer and then move the saucepan to one side of the burner. Boiling the liquid in only one side of the pan pushes the foam that rises to the top to the opposite side, making it easier to skim off. This is a neat trick to use whenever you need to skim fat off the surface of a sauce as it reduces.

This recipe calls for browning the short ribs in clarified butter. Clarified butter is simply regular butter with the milk solids removed – and is terrific for browning meats. When heated to higher temperatures, the milk solids in whole butter can burn. By browning the meat in clarified butter, we can achieve the same deep brown crust that I associate with meats browned in butter, without all the smoke (good news for those of us with sensitive smoke detectors). I’ve included instructions on how to make clarified butter in the recipe.

Short Ribs Braised in Syrah

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

4 beef short ribs, about 7 inches long and 2 inches wide

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 ounces slab bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 cup diced leeks (white and light green parts)

2 cups diced yellow onions

1 cups diced carrots

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1 bottle Syrah

2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

2 star anise

2 6-inch pieces leek green

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

1 cup ruby port

1/8 cup honey

½ cup tomato paste

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, without stirring. Once the butter has completely melted, skim off the foam that has risen to the surface and discard. Carefully pour off the clear yellow liquid underneath. This is the clarified butter. Discard the white milky layer left in the bottom of the pan.
2. Position oven rack in lower middle position, and preheat oven to 275°F. Dry the short ribs with paper towels, season on all sides with Kosher salt, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange as many short ribs as can fit in the skillet without touching and cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove browned short ribs from skillet and repeat with remaining short ribs, adding additional butter to the pan as necessary.
4. Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the bacon and stir for about 10 minutes or until it has rendered its fat. Stir in the leeks, onions, carrots, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are wilted and lightly caramelized.
5. Add about 1 cup of the wine and, using wooden spoon, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Arrange the short ribs over the vegetables, layering them as necessary. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add the remaining red wine and chicken stock.
6. Place the peppercorns and star anise in a small piece of cheesecloth or a small coffee filter, and tie with twine to form a bundle. Lay a piece of leek green flat on the work surface. Place the bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary in the center and cover with the remaining piece of leek. Tie together with twine. (See photos.)
7. Bring the liquid to a boil, skimming off any fat and scum that rises to the surface. Cover the pot and place in the oven for about 3 hours. When the meat is done, it should be fork-tender and should separate easily from the bone.
8. Remove the pot from the oven and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight in the pot.
9. The next day, remove the pot from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 325°F. Remove and discard all the hardened fat that has risen to the surface. If the liquid has gelled and the meat cannot be removed easily, heat the pot over medium meat. As the liquid heats, remove the meat and bones from the pot before the meat softens. Then continue to heat he liquid until simmering.
10. Meanwhile, place the meat on a cutting board. Cut away and discard the bones and any fat and sinew. Place the meat in a baking dish or small roasting pan.
11. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a large saucepan and discard the solids. Place over medium heat, add the port, honey and tomato paste, and bring to a boil. Move the pan to one side of the burner and reduce the liquid to about 4 cups, skimming off the foam that rises to the top. When reduced, season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and pour the sauce over the meat. At this point, the meat can be covered and refrigerated for up to a day.
12. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. If the sauce does not cover the meat, baste the meat every 5 minutes.
13. Place the meat on serving plates and spoon the sauce over the top.

Braided Egg Bread (Non-Kosher Challah)

This is the bread recipe that made me fall in love with bread-making when I was 10. Ironically, I was a fearless child baker, but now yeast dough seems incredibly intimidating. Well, this is about as easy a yeast dough as one can make, with the bonus of being very beautiful. The thing to remember with bread is that while the idea of taking 3 or 5 hours to make something sounds like a huge hassle, in reality, you knead out all your stress for ten minutes, then you wait an hour, etc. etc. etc. This is not to say that bread can't break your heart. Anything can break your heart. I think my biggest food meltdown ever was making Michel Richard's Once a Year Mashed Potatoes. Mashed potatoes. The point is that bread is not any more likely to break your heart than the braise you mess up at the last minute when reducing the liquid, and may in fact be easier.

As with most of my prepubescent baking recipes, this is from the Better Homes and Garden cookbook, which comes in binder format. Each edition seems to vary up the recipe for their basic challah or at least the breast cancer edition does, but this recipe is the real childhood deal. I recommend if you have extra to use it in French toast, because nothing really beats fresh challah in French toast. Or you could just eat it with Nutella on top. I am not going to say I have never done this.

Egg Bread (non-Kosher Challah)

4 3/4 to 5 1/4	cups all-purpose flour
1	package active dry yeast
1 1/3	cups milk
3	tablespoons sugar
3	tablespoons butter
1/2	teaspoon salt
2	eggs

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. 
2. In a medium saucepan heat and stir water, sugar, margarine, and salt just until warm (120 to 130 degrees) and margarine almost melts. Use a thermometer on this, as yeast is a fickle thing. 
3. Add water mixture to dry mixture along with the eggs. 
4. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. This can test the limits of your mixer pretty quickly. If it's threatening to clog up your mixer and is stiff and difficult to move, switch to a spoon or even your hands. Bread is not a clean endeavor. Get your hands dirty. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
5. Now for the fun part! Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape the dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl (use the wrapper from a stick of butter), turning once to grease surface of the dough. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).Warm place does not mean in an oven, but is a pretty freaking vague term. I've always just put it next to the oven on the counter or in a sunny room (but not in direct sunlight).
6. Punch dough down; divide in thirds. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. 
7. Roll each third into an 18-inch rope. Place each rope on a large baking sheet 1 inch apart and braid. Cover; let rise 30 minutes or until nearly double. You can either brush the braid with an egg yolk to brown the tops or wait until the end and brush a couple times with melted butter. I've had trouble with egg yolks burning the tops of the bread, so I stick with butter, but really, I feel this is my own insecurity. An egg wash is an egg wash, and can create a delightful crust if done correctly.
8. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when you tap the top (if necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking, hint, hint, egg wash folk). The inner parts of the braid may still look underdone. Cool on wire rack. Makes 1 braid (32 servings).

Cooking Time; 2 1/2 hours (prep 30 minutes, bake 30 minutes, rise 1 1/2 hours)

Super Bowl Chili

Chili is one of my favorite things in the world, and this is not just because you can serve it in a bread bowl. Anything that is beloved to the point of having a ring of competitive contests surrounding it is my type of food, because anything worth doing right is worth sparking unsolvable arguments about the best way to go about doing it.

This chili is from Cooks Illustrated, with slight variation. It's goal is to be the type of chili you expect at a Super Bowl party. That is, not crazy fancy competition chili where the presence of tomatoes is heavily debated, but what you think of when you order chili at a ski area during playoff season.

The best part of the chili is serving it with limes at the end. This was something of a revelation for me as you don't look at a bowl of chili and think "let me cut some limes and squirt them over the sour cream and cheddar". But you SHOULD think that, because it really brightens the flavors and evens out the heartiness. Other toppings include all your chili basics: cheddar, sour cream, scallions, avocados, tomatoes, jalepenos, tabasco, onions, anything you want.

The recipe can easily be cut in half, and a full batch fills our larger dutch oven to the brim. That being said, chili makes awesome leftovers. It might even be better the next day as the flavors marry, another reason this is a winner for guests.

So, without further ado...


Super Bowl Chili:

8	strips thick-cut bacon
2	medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups)
1	red bell pepper , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6	med. cloves garlic , minced or pressed (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4	cup chili powder
1	tablespoon ground cumin
2	teaspoons ground coriander
1	teaspoon red pepper flakes
1	teaspoon dried oregano
1/2	teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 to 1/2	teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (optional-- instead of tabasco)
2	lbs 85% lean ground beef (or 1 lb. 80% and 1 lb. 90%)
1 1	15-ounce can red kidney beans , drained and rinsed 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1	28 ounce can diced tomatoes , with juice
1	28 ounce can tomato puree
	Table salt Tabasco
2	limes , cut into wedges

1. Fry bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned, about 8 minutes. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat, leaving bacon in pot.
2. Add onions, red bell pepper (did I mention it had to be red?), garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne, and chipotle (if using, use moderation, adds a lot of heat); cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. There will be a fond on the bottom of the pot. This is good. You are not burning anything, just make sure to de-glaze later.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and add half the beef; cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add remaining beef and cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 4 minutes. The 85% beef is a good medium between over fatty (80%) and over meaty 90%) according to Cooks Illustrated, but if I had to choose one of the two, I'd go healthy and maybe add an extra strip or two of bacon for some more fat to mellow the beef taste.
4. Add rinsed beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
5. Remove cover and continue to simmer at least 1 hour longer, stirring occasionally (if chili begins to stick to bottom of pot, stir in 1/2 cup water and continue to simmer), until beef is tender and chili is dark, rich, and slightly thickened. If needed, skim any pools of fat off.
6. Add 3-4 dashes tabasco sauce. Adjust seasoning as desired. Serve with lime wedges.

Total cook time: about 3 hours (2 1/2 hours cook time, 1/2 hour prep)