Gingery Hot Duck Salad

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson 2007

1 duck breast 2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla) 1/2 lime, juiced 1/2 orange, juiced 1 small red chile, finely diced 1/2 piece fresh ginger, grated Sesame oil, few drops 2 ounces (1/4 cup) baby spinach Orange zest, for garnish Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Cook duck breast, fat side down, if not removed, for 10 to 12 minutes flipping with tongs, until it is lightly pink inside. Remove from skillet or griddle and place on cutting board, allowing meat to rest. While the duck is resting, begin the dressing. In a medium bowl, mix fish sauce, lime juice, orange juice, red chile, grated ginger, and sesame oil. Stir using a spoon. Take baby spinach and lay across a decorative plate. Slice duck breast on a diagonal into thin slices. Place the juice from the cutting board and the duck slices into the dressing. Toss the duck slices in the dressing using your hands or tongs. Place the duck and dressing on top of spinach. Top with orange zest and serve immediately.

Irish Soda Bread

3-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped (or raisins or dried currants)
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375o F.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dried cranberries and mix well.

In another bowl, stir together the buttermilk and the egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, and stir well until everything is blended. The dough will be pretty soft - that’s ok. Sprinkle some additional flour onto the counter or table (or wherever you like to work) and turn the dough out onto this floured surface. Knead the dough about 10 times - just to make it smooth-ish and pliable. Gently form it into one large, round loaf and place it on a well-greased baking sheet. With a very sharp knife, cut a shallow X into the top of the loaf. This will allow the loaf to expand in a tasteful and attractive manner in the oven, rather than splitting weirdly.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf is nicely browned, and a toothpick poked into the middle of it comes out clean.

Makes one large round loaf.

Spice rub for pork or fish

From Mark Bittman

Just mix together:
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. chili powder (I use cayenne or ground chilies)
2 tbsp. paprika (I use smoked)

This is a double recipe from the original.

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2 1/4 pounds center-cut salmon fillet (1 1/2 inches thick)
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon toasted (dark) sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste
1/2 cup sliced scallions (2 scallions)
2 tablespoons minced garlic (8 large cloves)
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs) Line an 8 by 12-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Place the salmon in the pan.

In a mixing cup, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, scallions, garlic, and ginger. Pour 1/3 of soy sauce mixture over the salmon fillet. Sprinkle the panko evenly over the fillet. Pour the rest of the soy sauce mixture evenly over the panko. Be sure to soak the panko completely and if any runs off, spoon back onto the salmon. Set aside for 15 minutes, leaving all the sauce in the pan.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Roast the salmon for 18 to 20 minutes, or for about 12 minutes per inch at the thickest part of the salmon. The internal temperature will be 120 degrees F on a meat thermometer when it's done. Remove from the oven, wrap tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Pan-Fried Pizza

Time: About 2 hours

2 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more as needed

3/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 teaspoon coarse salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for cooking

About 2 cups any light, fresh tomato sauce, warmed

Sliced mozzarella to taste

Salt and black pepper

Prosciutto slices and basil leaves for topping (optional).

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a food processor. Turn machine on and add 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons oil through feed tube. Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a tablespoon or so at a time, until mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. (If mixture becomes too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time.)

2. Put one tablespoon olive oil in a bowl and turn dough ball in it. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. When dough is ready, re-form into a ball and divide it into 4 pieces; roll each piece into a ball. Place each piece on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rest until each puffs slightly, about 20 minutes.

3. When ready to cook, press one ball into about a 10-inch round. Use a little flour, if needed, to prevent sticking and a rolling pin, if desired. Film a 10-inch skillet with olive oil and turn heat to medium. When oil shimmers, put dough in pan and adjust heat so it browns evenly without burning. (If dough puffs up unevenly in spots, push bubbles down.)

4. Turn dough, then top browned side with tomato sauce, cheese, a bit of salt and pepper, and, if you like, prosciutto and/or basil leaves. If top is now heavily laden, cover pan and continue cooking, or run it under broiler, just until toppings become hot. With only a couple of toppings, just cook until bottom browns. Repeat with remaining dough; serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Yield: At least 4 servings.

5 Hour Roast Duck

This is one of those breakthrough recipes everyone needs to know. You can now disregard received wisdom about how to roast a duck and produce a gorgeous one with very little effort. Bonus: you won't be appearing at the dinner table as a grease-stained wench. Your duck slow-roasts all afternoon, releasing its fat into the roasting pan, while the flesh stays moist and succulent under a crisp, mahogany brown skin.

Don't forget to save the duck fat, which is wonderful for cooking potatoes or livening up a winter soup with just a spoonful.

• 1 Pekin (Long Island) duck, wing tips cut off
  (not necessary, but more elegant)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 small handful of thyme sprigs

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and set a rack in the middle level.

Remove the giblets from the duck; save the giblets and wing tips for stock, if you like. Dry the duck well with paper towels. Remove any loose globs of yellow fat from the two cavities. Rub the large cavity with salt and pepper and the garlic and put the thyme in it. With a small sharp paring knife, make dozens of slits all over the duck, piercing the skin and fat but being careful not to pierce the flesh. The easiest way to do this is to insert the knife on the diagonal, not straight in.

Put the duck breast side up on a rack (a cake cooling rack is fine) set on a jelly-roll pan and put it in the oven. Every hour for 4 hours, take the pan out of the oven, pierce the duck all over with the knife, and turn it over. Each time, pour off the fat in the pan.

After 4 hours, increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees (see note). Sprinkle the duck with salt and pepper and cook for about 1 hour longer, or until the skin is crisp and browned. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Instead of carving the duck in the usual way, try sectioning it with heavy kitchen shears: cut it in half along the backbone and then cut each half into 2 pieces. Or use a cleaver and hack it into small pieces, bones and all, to serve Chinese style.

Notes From Our Test Kitchen

• You can serve the duck after it has cooked for 4 hours. It will be juicier than the 5-hour duck, but not as tender.
• Leftovers (probably not possible) are delicious, of course, in stir-fries and duck salads.

Variation

Mindy Heiferling suggests taking the duck in a couple of Asian directions. For a Chinese duck, put peeled, chopped fresh ginger, scallions, and garlic in the cavity and brush the duck during the last hour of cooking with a mixture ofhoisin sauce, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and a little honey. For a Thai duck, put chopped fresh lemongrass, fresh cilantro, and garlic in the cavity and brush during the last hour with a mix of Thai curry paste, unsweetened coconut milk, and lime juice.

Kimchi Jjigae

Ingredients

1 to 1.5 cups kimchi (old kimchi works best - tastes slightly sour)
kimchi juice
1 pack tofu
2 stalks green onions/scallions
1 jalepeno/chili pepper
1/2 of large onion
2 -3 cloves of garlic
oil
2 cups water
approximately 1/4 cup gochujang (red pepper paste)
2 - 3 tbsp gochugaru (red pepper flakes)
pork belly chunks (or any pork with fat)*
1 hobak (use zuccini, if you cannot find korean hobak)
dashida - optional

Directions

Prior to cooking, prepare the following.

Roughly chop kimchi into smaller chunks
Cube tofu into bite sized pieces
Slice scallions on a bias (on an angle) into 1-inch long slices
Chop onion into smaller slices
Mince garlic (use pre-minced if possible)
Slice chili pepper on a bias
Slice zuccini (hobak) into 1/4 inch slices, then cube them into bite sized pieces

In pot, add a little bit of oil (just a little - pork already has a lot of fat, so you wont need much). Add minced garlic to flavor the oil. Then add in pork belly chunks and cook until meat turns white. Then add in kimchi chunks and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes (this will help the soup cook faster). Add in water (approximately 2 cups serves 4 individual servings). Bring heat up to high and boil for a few minutes. Add one scoop (a little less than 1/4 cup) of gochujang (red pepper paste) and stir until dissolved. Add a couple tablespoons of gochugaru (red pepper flakes). Let it cook on medium heat for approximately 5 to 7 minutes (this will allow for the kimchi to cook through). Stir occassionally. Taste and if needed, reseason with kimchi juice and dashida. Then add in zuccini cubes, tofu, onion, and chili pepper slices. Let it cook for another 4 minutes or so before adding in the scallions. (add in scallions last because you dont want them to wilt completely).

Serve with Rice