Welcome back!  Today, we have a new type of meat: duck! Even though duck and chicken are both poultry meat, there's quite a difference between the two, especially the layer of fat between the skin and meat that exists because duck is a waterfowl. Duck is very popular in Chinese cuisine (think Peking duck), but it's still consumed quite a bit in the US too, particularly in higher-class restaurants. Roasted Duck Breast Ingredients: Duck breasts Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Score the skin of the duck. You can either do this in a cross pattern or in close parallel lines, as shown below. Make sure you don't cut into the meat. Season the duck with salt and pepper. Sear it in a pan with the fat side facing down for 6 minutes. Flip it around and sear for 1 minute. Remove the fat oil from the pan. Put the duck into the oven and bake at 400°F for 7 to 10 minutes. If you were using a cast iron pan, you can just put the whole pan into the oven. Before the oven Once done, take i...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for a delicious pecan pie! This pie is very popular is the Southern US, as pecans are native to the region, but it is eaten widely across the country during holiday season. Traditionally, pecan pies don’t necessarily have chocolate; the filling is actually just eggs, butter, and sugar. We decided to make the filling a little more like a brownie, so we included several other flavorings. It's also less gooey than traditional pecan pies because we used honey instead of corn syrup, and there's less than there is traditionally. Chocolate Pecan Pie Makes a 9-10" pie Ingredients: 1 Basic Pie Crust 1 - 1 1/2 cup pecans 4 ounces chocolate 4 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 teaspoon espresso powder 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons bourbon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Directions: In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter. Take the pot with the chocolate and butter off and mix in the co...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a great galette recipe! Galette is just a general term for various round, freeform pies with this type of crust that folds inwards, creating an interesting container for the filling. This is not to be confused with Breton galettes, which have the same idea shape-wise, but are more like pancakes or crepes and are often savory unlike other galettes which are usually sweet. Overall, they're meant to look a little messy in terms of appearance, but that's part of the dish, and it still tastes great! Pluot Galette Makes a 9" galette Ingredients: One Pie Crust Filling: 1 cup (95 grams) almond flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten (portion out 25 grams for the first step) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 large pluots/6-8 plums (about 1 1/4 pounds of fruit) 1/4 cup sugar Juice from 1/2 lemon Zest from 1 lemon 1 tablespoon flour A little turbinado sugar Directions: Mix together almond flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and 25 grams of the egg. The rest of the egg will be us...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a quick basic recipe for a pie crust that you can use in a lot of different contexts. For example, we used this crust for our Pluot Galette , and it makes for a great, crispy base.  Basic Pie Crust Makes one 9" pie crust Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup (150 grams) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, diced 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3-4 tablespoons ice cold water Directions: Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together. Put in the diced butter and use a pastry blender/fork to mix the butter with the dry ingredients. It can be a little chunky. Move quickly so it doesn't melt; if it feels soft, then you can put it back into the fridge. Add the vanilla extract. Then add the water and mix.* Form into a ball of dough and wrap with plastic wrap. Put this in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, and take it out when you need to use it. To prepare it, take it out of the fridge and roll it flat. Put it in the p...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another delicious soup! Seeing that it's Thanksgiving season and thus pumpkin season, we decided to make this. This is actually a good way to get people who don't really like pumpkin to eat some (along with pumpkin pie, of course) because it's mixed in so well with the other parts of the soup, though it still is the main ingredient. So, it's a nice, accessible dish that's also pretty easy to prepare! Pumpkin Soup Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 600 grams pumpkin, cut, skinned, and seeded (we used kabocha pumpkin) 1 shallot, chopped 3 cups chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Steam the pumpkin (make sure you've cut, skinned, and seeded it first!). Saute the shallot.  Mix the pumpkin, shallots, and chicken broth. Put this in a blender and blend. Put it back in a pot and on the stove. Add the heavy cream (you can substitute with milk or just chicken broth to make it lighter). Stir occasionally until it is ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an interesting but very fancy recipe: Chicken Oscar. Traditionally, made with veal, this dish combines a meat like chicken with crab, asparagus, and Béarnaise Sauce (sometimes Hollandaise). It is supposedly named after the Swedish King Oscar II, who enjoyed the combination of ingredients. It does feature many different components, so the process is rather long and involves lots of ingredients. Chicken Oscar Makes 4 servings Ingredients: Asparagus: 1/2 pound asparagus spears Crab: 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon shallot, chopped 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1/2 pound crab meat 2 tablespoons white wine 1 tablespoon lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Chicken: 2 chicken breasts Clarified butter (or olive oil) A little flour Salt and pepper to taste Béarnaise Sauce Directions: Prepare the asparagus: Trim off the tough ends. Blanch the asparagus in salted water for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or cook in a lightly oiled pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Prepare the c...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for a sauce that is not actually from Béarn but is still related to the French province. It is similar to Hollandaise sauce and is considered to be a "child sauce" of it, as they both use emulsified butter and egg yolks. The difference is in the flavor, as this sauce uses shallots, peppercorn, and tarragon. Fun fact: tarragon is in the sunflower family! Béarnaise Sauce Makes about one cup Ingredients: 4 tablespoons white wine 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon peppercorn 1-2 tablespoons shallots, chopped 2 sprigs tarragon 1 sprig parsley 2 egg yolks 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) clarified butter 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon leaves, chopped Salt and cayenne to taste Heavy cream (optional to make it less thick) Directions In a small sauce pot, add the first six ingredients (white wine, white wine vinegar, peppercorn, shallots, tarragon, and parsley). Cook this until the liquid is reduced to about half. Strain it and cool the sauce. Add the...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious pork dish! This one is really interesting because it combines both the sweet flavors of the apple and prunes with the savory of the tenderloin and prosciutto, which is not something that we often do (though it's not anything super unique). It's also really tender, hence the name tenderloin, so it's even satisfying to eat. Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Makes about 4 servings Ingredients: 1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound) Salt and pepper to taste Stuffing 1 small apple, chopped (about 1/2 cup) 10 pitted prunes, chopped 3 to 4 slices prosciutto, chopped 1 shallot, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar/red wine vinegar All the stuffing stuff Directions: Prepare the meat: Take the pork and butterfly cut it along the long end. Basically, you want to make it thin and flat. Pound the pork into even thickness. Prepare the filling: In an oiled pan, saute the shallot and garlic. Add the pros...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a tex-mex favorite: queso! Literally meaning "cheese", this dip lets cheese-lovers enjoy their beloved cheese in a warm, creamy dip. Not only is this recipe good for just dipping, you can also add it in your favorite tex-mex dishes, like in a burrito , which will add another level of deliciousness to a burrito that's already great. Queso Makes quite a bit! Ingredients: 1/2 tablespoon butter 1 shallot, chopped (about 3 tablespoons) 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 jalapeno (about 3 tablespoons), chopped 1 small tomato, chopped 1 1/2 cup half & half or evaporated milk 10 ounces cheddar cheese block, shredded (we used some smoked, some normal sharp) 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder Directions: In a pan on medium heat, use the butter and saute the shallot and garlic. Add the jalapeno and mix. Then add the tomato and mix. Add the half & half/evaporated milk and stir. Once the liquid bubbles, turn the h...