pumpernickel and duck confit stuffing with braeburn apples and hazelnuts

pumpernickel and duck confit stuffing with braeburn apples and hazelnuts, originally uploaded by aarn! +21st November, 2010+.

dry cured two duck legs (~1.5lbs total) from sherman market with one finely diced shallot, 1 sprig worth of thyme, a bay leaf, 1/2t. savory, 1/2t. lavender, and 1/8c. salt, overnight in a non-reactive container. rinsed off the legs and seasonings and then patted the legs dry. placed the legs in a vacuum bag with 1/2-pint of rendered duck fat (bella bella birds), a sprig of fresh thyme, the rinsed spices from the dry cure, and one diced small onion. stuck the vacuum bag in a 165-degree thermocirculator (water bath) for 13-hrs. let cool for an hour, then removed the legs from the bag, strained out the spices and aromatics, ladled the fat back into a container in the refrigerator, and set aside the confit jelly. pulled the meat and fat off of the two legs and separated into thin strands (like pulled pork). broke down the skin and fat into similarly sized pieces. placed all of the fat, skin and meat in a container and ladled the still-liquid confit jelly over the top until totally covered. set aside for later in the process.


put 1T. rendered duck fat and 1T. olive oil to a 10-in saute pan over medium heat. added 2 diced small onions and 2 diced ribs of celery, and cooked until soft. seasoned with salt, pepper, 3 finely chopped fresh leaves of sage, 2 sprigs worth of finely chopped fresh thyme, 1 sprig worth of finely chopped fresh rosemary, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, and two bay leaves. reduced 1/2c. of white wine into the mixture along with a big scoop of confit jelly. mixed in 2 peeled, cored, and diced braeburn apples, 1c. of chopped hazelnuts, the pulled duck leg confit, and 2c. chicken stock. stirred around until friendly. mixed the contents of the saute pan into a bowl containing 8-slices of pumpernickel bread and 8-slices of wheat bread, which had been chopped into stuffing sized cubes. tossed well and then poured into a 3Qt. rectangular pyrex baking pan. placed the pan in a 350-degree oven for 30-minutes, then broiled the top until browned.

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rich acorn squash layered souffle-cheesecake

rich acorn squash layered souffle-cheesecake, originally uploaded by aarn! +15th November, 2010+.

came up with this one over the summer. it's a cream and cheese based batter, gently folded into stiff-peaked egg whites...so a combination of a cheesecake and a souffle. avoided using cream cheese also, because really, who knows what that is? the version of this from over the summer had fresh blueberries instead of the squash filling. fall provisions called for a more seasonal iteration, and it turned out really great.

cut the yolk from one egg, the seed from 1/4 of a vanilla bean, 2T. heavy cream, 1t. salt, 8T. butter (probably would have been fine with 4T., 8T. was overkill) and 3/4c. granulated sugar into 1c. of all-purpose flour, until the fat/liquid were broken up pretty small (a food processor would have worked also, pulsed a few times). lightly mixed the ingredients, then poured into a 9-in springform pan and packed by hand into the bottom. threw the springform with the dough into a 350-degree oven until lightly browned on top, about 15-minutes.

roasted an acorn squash by cutting it in half, removing the seeds, and placing it cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. pulled and let cool when a cake tester could easily pass through the flesh of the squash. scooped the insides of the squash into a mixing bowl. added 1/8c. granulated sugar, 1T. heavy cream, 1 egg, and 1/2t. salt to the squash and mixed until smooth. poured this filling into the still-hot springform pan, lined with the already cooked crust, and returned to the oven for about 7-minutes, until the thin layer of squash had set. pulled the springform, let cool and then placed into the freezer until ready to put in the oven again.

mixed together 7-oz of heavy cream, the seed from 1/2 of a stick of vanilla, 1/4c. sugar, a pinch of salt, 7-oz whole milk ricotta cheese, 4-oz creme fraiche, and 1/4c. all-purpose flour. whipped the whites from four eggs with 1/8t. of cream of tartar until stiff peaks. lightly folded the whites into the cheese batter mixture, making sure to not destroy the bubbles. gently transferred the souffle mixture to the chilled springform pan and immediately placed into the 350-degree oven. baked for about 45-minutes, moving from the top rack down to a rack closer to the bottom based on the browning of the souffle top. the cake is done when there is no longer a jiggle of liquid under the souffle crust. it should have about one and a half times the height and be cooked throughout.

linguica and bitter green quiche with a stuffed double-bacon-fat-tortilla crust

linguica and bitter green quiche with a stuffed double-bacon-fat-tortilla crust, originally uploaded by aarn! +7th November, 2010+.

this here quiche has a stuffed crust. made some tortilla dough by cutting 4-5T. of bacon fat (no lard around and didn't want to use shortening), and some pepper and salt into 1c. of all-purpose flour, then cut in water until workable. refrigerated the dough for 30-minutes or so, and then gently rolled the dough into two large pieces (being careful to not incorporate too much of the fat - to keep it flaky), each big enough to cover a 8-in round cake pan. buttered the cake pan, placed a round of parchment paper in the bottom, then buttered the parchment. placed one of the tortilla shapes into the paper-lined pan, then sprinkled 1/8-lb of sharp cheddar onto the bottom tortilla, and covered with the second tortilla dough. trimmed the dough to the size of the pan.

sauteed 1/2-lb of diced linguica in some olive oil until browned, then added five large leaves of collard greens (de-ribbed), and two small onions sliced into thin strips. seasoned with some salt and pepper and added 1/2c. white wine. cooked until the wine had reduced around the meat and greens, and the greens appeared to be wilting.

beat eight eggs using a stand mixer, until foamy. used a spatula to gently mix into the eggs salt, pepper, 1T. fresh chopped thyme, the sauteed meat and greens, and 1/8-lb of shredded white cheddar cheese. poured the filling over the tortilla dough in the cake pan, and then used the spatula to make sure that everything was evenly distributed. put it into a 350-degree oven for about 35-min or until a cake tester came out clean (not sure how long it took). allowed to cool for a few minutes and served.

heavy cream collard green and sweet potato masala

heavy cream collard green and sweet potato masala, originally uploaded by aarn! +3rd November, 2010+.

sauteed two finely diced small yellow onions in 3T. butter. added four cloves of thinly sliced garlic to the onions, allowed to cook until soft then added 1.5T curry powder (coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chili pepper, mustard, etc.), and an additional 1/2t. of ground coriander, 1/2t. ground black cumin seed, 1/2t. ground ginger, salt, a pinch of ground cloves, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. stirred in 1c. of chicken stock, and simmered on medium heat until almost fully reduced. poured in 1.5c. of heavy cream. lightly simmered until reduced by half. mixed in two large peeled and diced sweet potatoes, and one head (about 10 large leaves) of de-ribbed and julienned collard greens. continued to reduce until thick, lowering the heat accordingly. seasoned to taste and served.