Tasty Bytes

Some folks don’t like turkey…so how about the traditional

Chinese Style Roast Duck

Duck Prep:
The night before the hot bath, season the duck with salt and pepper inside and out. Refrigerate until ready to proceed with the next steps.

Make Glaze:
0.5 c cider vinegar
3 c water
0.5 tub maltose (rice malt syrup, found in Chinese grocers)
zest from 1 orange (use vegetable peeler to get wide strips)
2 – 3” cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
2 in” fresh ginger, slice into thin slices
1 t whole cloves

Simmer all together.
Thicken with 1 T water chestnut flour/starch (found in Chinese grocers) dissolved in 2 T cold water. With the glaze simmering and while stirring the glaze, pour in the chestnut flour slurry.
Bring back to a simmer, strain & cool
This can be done many days ahead of time. You can use this glaze for many ducks.

Hot Bath:
2 gal water
1T baking powder

Bring water to boil and scald duck for 2-3 minutes. The fat skin should feel soften and loosened from the body. If the fat does not feel loose you can dunk for a few more minutes. You can use this bath for many ducks.

Preparing & Drying Duck:

Dip duck in glaze. Salt & pepper inside of duck. Hang in a cool dry place with a fan blowing for at least 6 hours*. Put a tray under to catch any drippings. Roast in a preheated 350 oven on a rack for 1 hour. Turn over once to brown evenly.

Hanging – I used a wire coat hanger, hanging the duck under it’s wings. You can use some butcher’s twine to secure it if needed.

*Note and disclaimer: this method of hanging a scalded raw duck at room temperature goes against all food safety rules

The temperature danger zone is the temperature at which bacteria multiply rapidly. The temperature is from 40 degree Fahrenheit to 140 degree Fahrenheit. Foods should not be allowed to stay in this temperature zone for more than 2 hours (1 hour on a very hot day).

In other words, hanging the duck at room temperature for 6 hours can cause food poisoning so prepare using this recipe at your discretion!

It’s the week before T-day - what? you haven’t pre-ordered your turkey!
Confused about what kind?
Heritage, Free-Range, Organic, Kosher, those band of wild turkeys roaming the hood, any ol’ cheap big bird at the super?

In all my turkey eating days, I have tried cheapo supermarket branded birds, Butterball and Foster Farms…
Then I became a food snob and tried Willie Bird, Diestel, Trader Joe’s Kosher, Trader Joe’s natural and a Heritage.

Hands down, I love my free range Diestel. Moist and full of good rich turkey flavor.

Willie Birds come in a very close 2nd.
Heritage - not as meaty, meat is dark and while tasty - quite pricey (boy did I hear it from Mom last year…and still).
TJ’s turkey’s are a great buy but it wasn’t as moist as the Diestel and flavor wise - I’d call it turkey lite.

Since I have to make about a gallon of gravy this year I bought a whole TJ turkey, boned out the breast and saved the thighs. The remaining carcass went into the oven until golden brown and made into a rich brown turkey stock.

On my list to try is Mary’s Free Range(they sure raise some tasty chickens) - maybe after T-day or next year.
As for the merry band of turkey’s roaming the hood…no worries guys - you’re safe from me!

Ever wonder what to do with lots of zucchini? Check out Planet Veggie Garden for some zucchini recipes:

• Zucchini Crisp…say what?

• Zucchini in Filo

• Zucchini Florentine and

• Zucchini Lasagna

Enjoy!

Sometimes a nice cool dessert hits the spot after a long hard day digging in the garden. I enjoy frozen yogurt and wanted to make a batch so through trial and error developed this simple way to make this frozen treat.

My first problem was not having a ice cream maker. Well I do have one but it is mainly a novelty item though I have read it is possible to make decent ice cream with it. It’s basically a metal bowl with a battery operated paddle - you simply pour in your mix, turn it on and put the whole thing in the freezer.

Simple enough but the paddle didn’t seem to spin enough and once the mix started to freeze the motor wasn’t strong enough to move the paddle any longer. Result was very icy hard creamed ice.

So, I decided to use a plastic food storage container to hold the well chilled mix. I put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then took it out and used a stick blender to mix the parts starting to freeze with the rest of the mix. Do this every few hours and you will end up with a decent frozen dessert. A bit icy but scoopable after setting out in the frig for 10 to 15 minutes. It’s definitely not the creamy goodness you can get from places like Sketch but for me - satisfying enough.

Here’s the approximate recipe I used for the mix:

1 quart of Strauss Whole Milk Yogurt

1 can of Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk

enough sugar to taste sweet (the more sugar the less icy but I’d rather have less sugar. Also remember that when frozen the yogurt will taste less sweet)

pinch of sea salt

Whisk this all together and refrigerate for an hour or two. Starting with a very cold mix before setting in the freezer can reduce the iciness. You can skip this part if you are in a hurry. Now just follow the method above using your stick blender.

…in the garden.

Check out the all new Planet Veggie Garden site. A place where four gardeners share their adventures in learning to grow nearly all their plant food. We’ll have gardening tips as well as recipes for enjoying now and preserving for later eating.

Hope to see you there!

Sandy

My all time favorite holiday next to Chinese New Years is Thanksgiving - both holidays that revolve around traditional foods.

A few members of the family aren’t too fond of pumpkin pie and those that are seem to leave most of the crust on their plate. So I experimented last month for a cooking demo I did at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland and came up with a Sweet Potato Flan. Not quite pumpkin I know but close enough in my book.

Here is a revised version of the recipe I demo’ed last month:

Sweet Potato Flan

1 -2 red-skinned sweet potato/ yam; about 12 ounces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ cup half and half
4 large eggs
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg, grate fresh from a seed for best flavor
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
maple syrup to taste (about ¼ cup)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pierce sweet potatos with fork; roast until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on width of potato. Cool. The skin should be very loose - peel potato by hand and press into a measuring cup - measure out 1 1/2 cup.

Stir 1/2 cup sugar and the tablespoon of water in small saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 5 minutes. Immediately pour caramel into 8-inch-diameter metal cake pan. Using pot holders, swirl cake pan, allowing caramel to coat bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides. If the caramel solidifies before you can coat the entire bottom of the pan then warm it up a bit in the oven. Be careful, the hot caramelized sugar will stick to you like molten lava and leave a nasty burn!

Use a blender (or a deep bowl and stick blender) to puree up the eggs, half and half, sea salt, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Stir in maple syrup to taste (about ¼ cup). Pour flan mixture into prepared cake pan.

Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Put pan on the middle rack of the oven. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake until just set in center, about 1 hour. Remove flan from water. Chill until cold, about 5 hours. You can make this up to a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Run a sharp pointed knife along the inside edge of the cake pan to loosen the flan. Invert onto rimmed plate, scraping caramel in pan over flan.

If your heart is set on pumpkin go ahead and use pumpkin - either fresh roasted or canned is fine. Other winter squash would be wonderful too - try butternut, hubbard, or kabocha.

Enjoy!

It’s Mom’s 71st Birthday today! It will be a big party at her house with about 30 people - mostly friends. She is one popular lady because she is kind and fun and thoughtful and smart and wise and can dance a mean tango! Oh, and don’t give up that karaoke mic as she will hog it all night. So while she hosts her friends for this 71st birthday celebration her kids are cooking up a storm. True to any Chinese party there will be more food than even Mochi can imagine Here is the menu:

Snacks after a few hours of Mah Jong:

Grilled Niman Sausages with Fruit Mustard

Carrot Pineapple Cake

Watermelon

Tangy Thai Dip with Crackers

Dinner (cooked up by Cathy, sis Patty and myself):

Korean Cucumber and Glass Noodle Salad with Surimi (C)

Japchae (C)

Korean Beef Shortribs (C)

Orzo & Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts and Cranberries (P)

BBQ Baby Back Ribs (P)

Tamarind Glazed Salmon Grilled on a Cedar Plank with Santa Rosa Plum Chutney (S)

Old Fashion Potato Salad (S)

Grilled Vegetables (S)

Mom’s Favorite BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Strawberry Whipped Cream Birthday Cake (R)

Wow, guess I’d better bring along some digestive enzymes.

Have a fun day Mom!

Sister P really knows how to cook. Yesterday’s BBQ’d baby back ribs and chicken along with apple cherry pie were out of this world! The recipes will have to wait another day but here is a recipe for another of P’s gems. This pesto is my all time favorite - the addition of the lemon and capers really add zing. Pesto’s in general are great to add variety to weekday meals. Just make a big batch and freeze in cubes using an ice cube tray. Once frozen the cubes can then be transfered to a labeled freezer bag. The cubes will defrost quickly to make weeknight dinners a tasty snap.

Not just for pasta - Use the pesto as a coating on fish or prawns or chicken or turkey before broiling or roasting in the oven. We like a generous layer on top of fish or chicken or turkey - about 1/8″. Another idea - throw a tablespoon or so in your next tuna salad. How about a few tablespoons in a chick pea dip like hummus (minus the tahini and cumin)? Or sauteed with your favorite vegetables. Maybe as a base on pizza instead of tomato sauce. So many ideas - be creative!

Macadamia Nut Pesto

2 tablespoons macadamia nuts

2 tablespoons basil, fresh

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon lemon zest

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon sea salt

3 teaspoons capers

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pulse nuts a few times in a food processor. Add basil, pulse a few times again. Add the garlic, lemon zest, pepper, salt and capers pulse a few times. Add lemon juice and water. With the food processor turned on, slowly add the olive oil in a slow steady stream. As needed, stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Adjust seasoning with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Makes ½ cup.

Variation - substitute basil leaves with fresh dill or Italian parsley or spinach

I’ve been a tad busy these days so am thankful for quick recipes and my stocked freezer. Like the lentil soup I had posted on previously I like to make a big batch of this turkey chili and freeze in two portion containers. During the week I’ll make a big pot of brown rice to have at the ready as a side or to make fried rice. This chili with some brown rice and a big salad rounds out the meal in less than 15 minutes! So you see, we can still eat a nutritious meal if we plan ahead.

When shopping for ingredients try to get low sodium and organic brands. This recipe is really economical if you buy the groceries at Trader Joe’s.

Three Bean Turkey Chili

3/4 lb. ground turkey (more or less if you like)
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced or crushed tomatoes, undrained - fire roasted is nice
1 jar (16 oz.) Chunky Salsa or other favorite salsa - low sodium and no sugar added!
1 cans (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (15 oz.) great Northern beans or white beans, drained, rinsed
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
sea salt to taste
Hot Sauce to taste
Optional: Shredded Cheddar Cheese, sliced green onions, diced fresh tomatoes

COOK ground turkey in large saucepan on medium-high heat until cooked through, stirring occasionally.

ADD tomatoes, salsa, beans and seasonings; mix well. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To complete the meal, serve chili with a salad and steamed vegetables.

Variations:

Use ground chicken or grass-fed beef or lamb or vegetarian with no meat and an extra can of beans

Any combination of beans work well - try garbanzos

Add ground chipotle chile to taste to give the chili a spicy smokiness

Add a bag of frozen corn

Enjoy!

Busy busy.

Here is a very tasty and quick thai dish I made tonight. The recipe is based on this after googling in search of a recipe for a dish we had Sunday night at a Thai restaurant in Milpitas. The dish we had was minced pork with eggplant and Thai basil. We all agreed it was the best of everything we ordered.

Since I had nearly a bunch of extra Thai basil and some ground turkey I thought I’d try to recreate the basic taste I enjoyed Sunday. No eggplant but some peppers in the crisper so I adjusted.

Enjoy!

Minced Turkey with Thai Basil

Serving Size : 4 to 6

Preparation Time :0:15

Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
2 tablespoons oil
4 cloves garlic — minced
2/3 cup red and green bell pepper — 1/2″ cubes
1/4 cup onion — diced
1 pound turkey, ground
2 tablespoons chili paste — or use a few or a lot of minced fresh red thai chilis
2 tablespoons oyster sauce — I like Dragonfly brand (no added MSG)
3 tablespoons fish sauce — I’ve been using Squid Brand
2 teaspoons brown sugar — or sucanat or palm sugar
1 cup thai basil — roughly chopped

Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and saute until golden. Add peppers and onions. Saute a few more minutes.

Turn up heat and add ground turkey. Add a bit of water if contents start to get too dry. When nearly cooked through add the chili paste, oyster sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir in the sauces and reduce down until it coats the turkey. Add the chopped thai basil and cook a few more minutes.

Serve with jasmine rice and a side of stir-fried or steamed veggies

Variations:
Use pork, beef, lamb, chicken or duck
For fun, serve in lettuce cups