Sunday, February 17, 2013

Orange Duck

Well this was a bit of work: five parts - all were easy except the spring rolls which I have never made before:

Roasted Mushrooms
Braised Bok Choy
Pan Roasted Duck
Orange Sauce
Chicken Spring Rolls

I could have left the spring rolls off (as the recipe suggested) and would have still had a satisfying meal. I found it in my Girl and the Goat cookbook and thought that I would just buy the spring rolls but, at the last minute decided to try my hand at making them since it was only the two of us. It was a mess and I had the heat too high so they started to burn and one fell apart in the pan and blah, blah, blah. Now I know better how it should go and look forward to trying them again - with a simple side.

The other mistake, I think, was that the recipe called for a cup of fresh orange juice. I squeezed about 7/8 of a cup and added a bit of lime juice to top it off. I thought that the sauce was too acidulous. Maybe it is anyway. I'll have to try that again too.


Friday, February 15, 2013


My sister was asking about a salad that I made relatively recently. Huh? Who? Me? 

It started me thinking that I like to move on - for better or worse - and that there is some good stuff that I have left behind. And then (as the Rufus song goes): 
"there's those other things
which for several reasons we won't mention
everything about them is a little bit stranger
a little bit harder
a little bit deadly"

All of these dishes I have picked up from some place or another, however, I rarely follow a recipe per se (I'm too lazy and too cheap).

Starters
 Mussels in mayonnaise (Julia Child)
 Figs, prosciutto, balsamic glaze
 Roasted vegetable soup
 Parker's split pea soup

Salads
 Spinach, basil, pine nuts
 Panzanella
 Edamame, mint
 Watermelon, onion
 Avocado, grapefruit

Mains
 Polenta, sausage casserole
 Fennel, shrimp risotto
 Shell, sausage, spinach, beans
 Spaghetti, anchovies, walnuts

Mains
 Chicken thighs stuffed with sausage, tomatoes, fennel, red onion
 Milk braised chicken
 Rocket sauce. salmon
 Four hour ribs
 Roast chicken
 Pork loin, ginger / scallion sauce
 Shrimp, chorizo sauce
 Duck, orange sauce

Pizzas
 Fig, prosciutto, gorgonzola
 Salmon, dill, goat cheese
 Mushrooms, white cheeses, mint
 Spicy shrimp, tomato sauce

Desserts
 Cheeetos brittle
 Chocolate terrine, sea salt, Thai basil ice cream
 Chocolate mousse
 Ina's pecan squares
 Ina's brownies
 Buttermilk lime ice cream
 Lime mousse

If you see something, ask me anything and thank you for 1,154 viewings of this blog!