I have officially fallen in love with Duck! I recently went on my first duck hunt, I learned how to fabricate a whole bird and now I have made tamales… be still my heart.

When I think of tamales I always think of the mexican pork filled, or beef with chili on top. At first I was intimidated to make them from scratch, but after making these I may never go back

I unfortunately thought to post this recipe after I had already done the duck- so the confit process is undocumented, lo siento.

• To prepare a confit, the duck thighs are rubbed with salt, garlic, sugar and thyme, then covered and refrigerated for up to 36 hours. Salt-curing the meat acts as a preservative and keeps the meat moist. Prior to cooking, the spices are rinsed from the meat, which is then patted dry. The meat is placed in a cooking dish deep enough to contain the meat and the rendered fat, and placed in an oven at a low temperature (170 – 275 degrees)The meat is slowly poached until the meat is tender, generally four to ten hours.

Once you have the duck prepared this dish comes together really quickly.

 

The texture of the masa dough reminds me of playdough- a little childhood nostalgia for a Friday afternoon!

 

A little corn, poblano chilies, lime juice and queso fresco pair so well with the salty duck but you can get really adventurous here.

 

While spreading out the masa dough and filling in the corn husks I kept finding myself wanting to sing la cucaracha la cucaracha- ya no puede caminar! These are so fun to make!

Ingredients: 1 duck thigh makes 3 tamales

duck confit thighs, 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1 Tbsp lime juice, 2 pinches of oregano, corn husks- pre soaked in water, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup corn kernels, 1 cup masa harina or cornmeal, 4 Tbsp softened butter, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp finely diced poblano chiles, Tbsp queso fresco

Recipe:

Shred duck confit meat from the bone, then in a bowl combine the duck, lime juice, stock, oregano and queso fresco. In a small sauce pan heat the milk and cook the corn- after about 5 minutes cooking reserve 1/3 of the corn, and puree the rest in a robot coup. Add the corn puree to the masa as needed to form a soft dough- adding the butter, baking powder, and salt. Spread out the masa dough onto the corn husk and then fill the dough with duck mixture. Roll each corn husk and fold bottom under. Steam until done- about an hour and a half. Serve with a little salsa verde and you are good to go!

 

I hope you have a great Friday, happy eating!

Finally it’s winter in Austin! One of the things I loved about living in Nashville was the change of seasons, Fall was beautiful and Winter started right around Thanksgiving and I got to wear sweaters and enjoy warm winter foods. It’s been in the 70’s and 80’s lately in Texas and we finally got some winter weather yesterday in Austin. As the weather gets cold I always whip up a huge batch of white chicken chili, it’s my favorite winter dish! I love to freeze the leftovers in small portions to have whenever I get a hankering for it. My childhood neighbor Lori gave this recipe to my mom and I can honestly say it’s the best white chicken chili I have ever had, thanks Lor!

What you’ll need: 2 poblano peppers- chopped, 1 red bell pepper- chopped, 1 sweet yellow onion- chopped, 3 garlic cloves- minced, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 beer of choice (1 1/2 cup chicken broth can be substituted) 2 14oz cans chili diced tomatoes, 1 can kidney beans- drained, 1 can black beans- rinsed and drained, 2 cups water, 3 cups cooked chicken, and a packet of white chicken chili seasoning of your choice (I used McCormick)

Start by sweating the onion, peppers and garlic in the olive oil

After about 8-10 minutes, until the veggies are tender, add the rest of your ingredients. My favorite addition this year was this local Austin beer, Austin Amber. I have really embraced the local brews since moving back to Texas and I really love this one!

Once everything is incorporated, bring it to a boil, and then turn it down to a slow simmer for about an hour.

This chili is super healthy and has a great “kick” to it! I like to top mine with a little shredded sheddar, but you can add sour cream, tortilla chips, jalapeno peppers or whatever your heart desires.

The leftovers are even better, so grab a spoon and dig in; then grab a tupperware and have some more tomorrow.

Happy eating!

How in the world is it already December 1st? I have done most of my christmas shopping and this afternoon I am listening to Christmas music and decorating my apartment for the holiday. This is the perfect meal to get going when you have stuff to do around the house because it’s simple and takes a bit of time to cook.

I love braising meat. The slow and low cooking method always leaves the chicken moist and delicious. When braising poultry you want to make sure to use darker, more fibrous bone in cuts, such as legs and thighs for better flavor. I decided to do my chicken thighs with parsnips, celery, and leeks.

What you’ll need: 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 pound skinless bone-in chicken thighs, 1 leek- white and pale green parts thinly sliced, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 pound parsnips, 2 celery stalks, 5-8 fresh sage leaves, 1 cup low sodium chicken stock.

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large oven proof pot over medium- high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with S&P and cook until golden brown on all sides, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Cook the leeks until tender- about 4 minutes. Add the apple cider vinegar to deglaze and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add parsnips, celery, sage, and seared chicken to the pan and bring the liquid to a boil.

Cover and transfer the pot to the oven. We are going to braise this chicken for about 50 minutes. Your kitchen is gonna start smelling goooood! After 50 minutes you are going to be left with deliciously moist chicken and tender veggies. You can serve this over some brown rice or as it, either way your gonna love it.

Then grab a plate and dig in. I’m off to finish decorating this ole casa.

Happy eating!

I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving! I spent the holiday with my family in Fredericksburg and it was a blast as always. We had a bowling tournament, watched a lot of football, drank and ate until our hearts were content! Now my mom, dad, sister and I are heading to the YO Ranch for a weekend of relaxation and deer hunting.

After a big day of eating and indulging I’m sure the last thing you want is more turkey, but this root vegetable turkey pot pie is perfect for those turkey leftovers.

What you’ll need: 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, 1 yellow onion- finely chopped, 1 celery rib, 2 carrots, 2 parsnips, 1 turnip, 1-2 cups peas, 2 garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp flour, 1 3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock, 3/4 cup whole milk, 3/4 cup heavy cream, 3 bushes of fresh thyme- picked and minced, 1 pound turkey meat (about 3 1/2 cups) 1 large egg, 1 14-16 oz packaged frozen puff pastry- thawed but chilled.

This recipe is super easy, so after a day full of cooking this will be perfect.

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. In a cast iron skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Then add the onion, celery, carrots, turnip, parsnips, peas, garlic and cook stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle in the flour and stir well for 1 minute to cook the flour but not to brown it, this will act as your thickening agent. Raise the heat to medium high and stir in broth, milk, cream and thyme. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cooked turkey and season with S&P.

 

 

 

In a small bowl, mix the egg with a little splash of milk with a fork to comine. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured counter into a 13 inch square. Brush the egg mixture around the edges of the pastry and lay it over the pan and gently press the edges to the sides of the pan. Brush some of the egg wash over the pastry and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

 

 

 

Let it cool slightly and then serve it up!

This past week at Le Cordon Bleu I started my baking and pastry class. This is quite a change from the protein class, one day I’m braising lamb and the next baking some brioche. We started off baking french baguettes, brioche rolls, and focaccia. With all of the bread that we made I thought, what better use of the leftovers than to bring it home and make some sandwiches, or in this case a panini.

What you’ll need: Focaccia bread, sliced vine ripe tomato, mozzarella, cooked chicken, basil, olive oil.

To assemble your panini: just layer chicken, tomato, basil and mozzarella, drizzle with a little olive oil and some S&P. Simple as that.

Now here’s the kicker: I do not have a panini press, I do however have a grill pan and a secret weapon. I have a heavy candle dish that I wrapped in foil that will act as my “press,” but if you have a brick laying around at your house, just wrap that sucker up and you’ll be good to go.

On a heated grill pan just add your sammy, and your secret weapon. After about five minutes flip the panini over and cook another five minutes.

You will want to press down a little to help the “press” out.

When the panini is all done you will be left with beautiful grill marks on each side, with a crispy edge. This is just delicious!

I hope you’re having a great Saturday! I’m off to watch the Rebels beat the Tigers.

Hotty Toddy and happy eating!

“Bacon is good for me!” If you haven’t seen the video of the little boy talking about bacon on Wife Swap, do yourself a favor and look it up – it’s hilarious. I for one agree with the kid, bacon is good for me, at least for my soul.

I found myself craving a BLT when I woke up this morning so I went scouring my kitchen, but I didn’t have any bread so I improvised. I had some left-over chicken so I decided to make a BLT chicken salad wrap. Let me tell you, these were simple, yet scrumptious!

What you’ll need:  1-2 cups shredded chicken, 1 tomato, bacon, Iceberg lettuce, and some mayo.

 

Start by slicing the bacon strips in half and cook ’em up in a skillet. Once they are good and golden on each side lay them on some paper towels to rest.

Then dice up your tomato.

 

In a mixing bowl add the shredded chicken.

 

Top with the diced tomatoes.

 

Dice up the crispy bacon and add that to the bowl.

 

Then add about 2 tablespoons of mayo.

 

Add some S&P and mix lightly.

 

Now into a piece of iceberg add the salad.

 

and chow down

 

It is a beautiful day in Austin today, so I am headed outside to do some reading. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and as always happy eating!

 

“Hopeless Wanderer” Mumford and Sons

“I Don’t Want To” Ashley Monroe

“Making Circles” Christian Kane

We are in the throws of Dove Season here in Texas. As I have not been very successful in my dove hunting so far, my sister has. So with extra Dove’s on hand, my dad and I decided to have a little dove breast grill off this past Sunday night. For as long as I can remember I have only eaten dove one way, so coming up with a challenging recipe was my task for the weekend and I have to say my friends, this Dove is delicious.

Say hi to my little sister Katherine, and let’s all thank her for her Dove shooting skills.

What you’ll need for Dad’s birds: A few Dove breasts, cheddar cheese block, onion, jalapeno, peppered bacon.

What you’ll need for Liz’s birds: A few Dove breasts, dates, feta cheese, thyme, and bacon. 

First you want to clean your birds up: this job had dad written all over it. Right after you shoot them you want to pluck the feathers, clip the wings, and split the breast bones to reveal the breasts. Before you cook with them, remove the remaining bones inside the meat. Once you do that, you will be left with 2 small breasts.

First up were my birds. I used two breasts for each wrap. To prep, you’ll need a few dates sliced in half, one date for each wrap, feta cheese, thyme picked and chopped and bacon.

Mix together your thyme and feta cheese (you could also use Gorgonzola or Goat cheese but my mom had a pig tub of feta so I went with that.)

Now let’s assemble the breasts; start by taking one breast in your hand. Place 1/2 of a date on top, fill with the cheese thyme mixture.

Then take another breast on top

And wrap it up with bacon and stick with a toothpick to hold it all in place.

Once I had wrapped all of my breasts it was time to let my dad step in and fix up his doves.

Dad used one breast for each wrap, topped with about 1/3 of a jalapeno de-seeded and sliced, a slice of onion and a chunk of cheddar cheese, wrapped with peppered bacon. This is how I have always eaten dove and still love them prepared this way as well.

Hi Dad!!

My sister supervising dad… remember her contribution was the birds, that and consuming wine while everyone else cooked.

Mom was cooking up twice baked potatoes, some fresh made dinner rolls and a big salad.

Hi Mom!

Even the dog’s were in on all the action!

Hi Lilly and Katie!

Once dad was done fixin’ up his birds we were ready to put them on the grill.

These birds just need to sit on a charcoal grill for about 10-12 minutes. You could also bake them at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. If you have the charcoal option, go with that to get the added smoke flavor.

Once the birdies were done we all sat down to dinner and I immediately was curious to know what everyone thought of the two birds, or mainly whose recipe won.

Drumroll please…

I won! Mainly because dad didn’t even vote for his own birds. Really it was all in good fun, the four of us always have a good time and it was a blast getting together this past Sunday. If you are a dove hunter or know someone who is, these are definitely some good recipes to try out. Let me know what you think!

*A family that plays together, stays together!

This past Monday, I started my 3rd class at Le Cordon Bleu. The main focus of this class is protein. We will learn all about Chicken, Duck, Lamb, Fish, Sausage, Pork and on and on.

On day 1 of this class we learned how to roast and break down a chicken. I have always been intrigued by roasted chickens and I am a sucker for the grocery store rotisserie chicken. After today, I will now be a sucker for THIS chicken. Mainly for 2 reasons: 1. It’s delicious and 2. My apartment smells amazing!

So here we go…

What you’ll need: 1 whole chicken (Most grocery stores will already have them tied up for you) 1 lemon, a few sprigs of thyme, 2 garlic cloves, and butta! 

There are so many different ingredient mixtures you could do; you can use an apple instead of lemon, rosemary, oranges; really anything you like. I personally love the lemon and garlic flavor this chicken takes on.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Unwrap your birdie, and wash him under some cold water and pat him dry.

I prefer organic chicken purely for their habitat conditions and treatment. That is a topic for another day, so let’s move on shall we…

Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon, thyme and garlic cloves.

Peek-a-boo!

Then with two fingers separate the skin from the chicken breasts. You may have to use a little bit of force but I promise the skin won’t tear.

Now take a good heaping tablespoon of butter in your fingers and coat the inside of the skin. This will make the skin nice and crispy while keeping the breasts moist… and butta is delicious, right? Right!

Now, I have a roasting pan like shown above with crevices that allow the juices to drip. You can also use a baking sheet and a cookie cooling tray. You just want to make sure that the juice drippings have a place to go so the bottom of your birdie isn’t sitting in it’s own funk.

Season the outside of the chicken with some S&P and put in the oven.

We are going to let him go for about an hour and a half, so sit back and take in the beautiful aromas that are about to fill your kitchen.

After an hour and a half has passed or your chicken has reached 165 degrees (chicken safe zone) remove the bird and let it rest for about 20-30 minutes. This will allow the juices that have expanded to set inside the meat. Trust me on this one.

If your like me, you’ve already started picking at it and eating, so have at it!

I tried to take pictures of the break down process, but my fingers were greasy, the camera was slipping all over, and frankly the pictures looked like poo. So I will show you how to break down a chicken another day when someone else can take the pictures.

So for now just enjoy!

* Today is a perfect day for a perfect day!