August 2005
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Month August 2005

Entries 5 Total

Miso Roasted Duck

Aug 24, ’05

I cook duck more than I cook turkey because I can easily buy it fresh from Chinatown. There’s something about roasting your own duck and waiting for its skin to turn into that right shade of golden brown–mahogany, even.

Ingredients:
1 whole fresh duck, excess fat trimmed, giblets removed
1/4 cup miso
1 cup honey
2 cups soy sauce
1 cup cold black coffee
1/4 cup ginger, finely chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 orange, halved
1 lemon, halved
1 lime, halved

1. Wash duck and dry with paper towels. Using a fork, pierce the duck skin all over to allow the flavor of the marinade to penetrate and the fat to drain.
2. Prepare the marinade. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl except for the citrus. Stir well until miso and sugar are dissolved. Squeeze the citrus juice into the marinade then stuff the cavity of the duck with the citrus halves. Marinate the duck on a plate, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
3. When ready to roast the next day, preheat oven to 450º. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting pan. Fold the wings back and tie the legs together. Roast the duck for 20 minutes to caramelize the sugar and set a rich, mahogany color. After 20 minutes, drop the temperature to 325º and roast for another hour.

Related post/s:
Where to buy duck

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Stuffed Flank Steak

Aug 16, ’05

I’ve watched the boy make this stuffed flank steak for me before. When I wanted to try it at home, I called him for the recipe. All I got was, “Stuff it, roll it, fry it.” Simple instructions for a meal that looks like a hundred bucks. I used everything I found in my fridge before I went away for the weekend. If the flank could have talked, it would have begged for me to stop.

Ingredients:
1 flank steak, butterflied and tenderized
small red bell pepper, julienned
small green bell pepper, julienned
1/2 pound of crimini mushrooms, sliced
several slices of prosciutto and soppresatta
4 cloves of garlic, crushed, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
salt, pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a hot skillet, heat olive oil and sauté garlic and onions. Add peppers and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until mushrooms are soft. Add parsley and season with salt and pepper.
2. Lay steak out flat and add a layer of prosciutto and soppresatta. Top with the bell pepper and mushroom mixture. Slowly roll the steak up like a big sushi roll, pulling at the ends so it’s not too thick in the middle. Tie with kitchen string to pack the stuffing in. Brush with oil.
3. In a hot skillet, heat more olive oil and brown all sides of the stuffed flank steak for some color. Do not over fry to avoid hardening the meat. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Brush with more oil and bake until medium-rare. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Cut strings off. Slice into 3/4-inch pieces and serve.

Related post/s:
How about stuffed vegetables?

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Baked Stuffed Peppers

Aug 15, ’05

These baked stuffed peppers were a good start to jerk chicken.

Ingredients:
2 small red bell peppers, halved lengthwise through stem, seeded
1 small box of cherry tomatoes, halved
crumbled feta cheese
10 leaves of basil
a handful of fresh thyme
pepper, olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400º. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes, feta, basil and thyme. Season with pepper.
2. Place bell peppers on a baking dish. Fill each with tomato and feta mixture. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an extra 15 minutes or until tomatoes burst and feta looks a little browned. Serve warm.

Related post/s:
Jerk Chicken

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Jerk Chicken

Aug 15, ’05

I can now truly respect mothers who work full-time and still manage to cook a decent meal for her family at the end of the day. After work yesterday, I ran to Di Palo’s to get my usual cheeses and meats. I was uptown soon after picking last-minute grocery items. I had two hours to cook dinner for Tita Pat and Tito Square who are both in town from Manila. I have never felt so taranta in the kitchen. After a few fuck-ups, I paused and told myself to calm the hell down or nothing will ever come out right. So I poured myself a shot of Glenlivet 12 on the rocks to take the edge off. Then, I was ready. I multi-tasked in the kitchen for the next hour and a half. The bell rang as soon as I started heating up the Le Creuset for the jerk chicken. The dozen or so pieces took a while because I had to brown them before baking them, to get the marinade all sticky and, well, I guess, jerky. But the guest couple of the night brought their nieces and nephews with them, so all seven of us were chit-chatting while the chicken was cooking. I served these with yellow rice spiced with thyme and garlic. It was a lot of work, but expect high spirits while you watch your guests devour everything. Use disposable gloves when chopping the Scotch bonnet chiles and rubbing the chicken pieces because you don’t want to accidentally touch your face while you’re cooking. Trust me on that.

Ingredients:
12 pieces chicken, drumsticks and wings
3 fresh Scotch bonnet chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
8 scallions, coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3 tbsps fresh thyme, finely chopped
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tbsps ground allspice
1 1/4 tsps ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt, pepper

1. Make jerk marinade. Process chiles, scallions, garlic and thyme in food processor until pastey. Add brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, oil. Season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
2. Transfer 1/3 of the marinade in an airtight container and set aside for brushing chicken when ready.
3. Transfer the remaining marinade in a large bowl. Add chicken, coating and rubbing marinade all over chicken pieces and under skin. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Allow chicken to come to room temperature before cooking.
4. When ready, preheat oven to 350º. Heat a large skillet and add oil. When oil is hot, add chicken pieces to brown both sides, about 30 minutes. Do this a few pieces at a time to avoid overcrowding and use fresh oil for every batch. Discard used marinade.
5. Transfer browned chicken to a baking dish. Brush generously with remaining unused marinade and bake until cook through, about 15 minutes.

Related post/s:
Serve baked stuffed peppers beforehand

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Blackberry-Red Wine Gelée

Aug 15, ’05

After my first successful try at making gelée, I decided to try this Martha Stewart Living recipe. I served it as dessert when family friends from Manila visited New York City. It didn’t match the jerk chicken main course but that’s why I think they were tickled to be eating it to end their night.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple juice
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1 cup full-bodied red wine, like Zinfandel
1/4 cup sugar
1 pint blackberries

1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Set aside.
2. Add 1/2 cup water and apple juice in a bowl. Sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften for about 5 minutes.
3. Combine wine and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat while stirring to dissolve sugar. Add blackberries, leaving some for garnish, and simmer in reduced heat. Crush blackberries as you stir.
4. Remove saucepan from heat. Slowly stir in hot wine mixture with the gelatin mixture. Transfer bowl to ice-water bath and stir gently to cool.
5. Pour mixture into a plastic bowl to mold. Chill until firm and ready to use.
6. When ready, unmold gelée and top with a blackberry and a mint leaf.

Related post/s:
Jerk Chicken

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