Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Duck with Olives

Recipe Source: Clements, Carole & Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen.  French.  Anness Publishing, 2006 p. 141

So I've been trying for some time to lose weight and that has meant restricting certain parts of my diet.  I've been trying to reduce the amount of meat in my life, for one thing.  When I do eat meat I try to make sure that it's a lean protein - fish or turkey or something along those lines.  Even red meat, such as beef or lamb, can be lean if you play your cards right.  Of course, I've had absolutely no success whatsoever, and this is frustrating to me.  Every once in a while, I admit it, I lose patience, let my frustration boil over and eat something that is firmly on the no list.  I don't do this very often because frankly my system can't handle it all that often, but sometimes you just have to let go and indulge a little.  It makes it easier to be good the rest of the time.  One food that is very firmly on the "no" list is duck.

Duck just isn't healthy.  I've never found a duck that hasn't been just full of fat.  In fact, that's been an ongoing problem in our attempts to cook duck.  Still, if I'm going to indulge I might as well go all the way, right?  I decided a few weeks ago that we were going to enjoy some duck and that was all there was to it.  I found a recipe that worked for me and I went with it.  This one looked simple enough, but it needed a few additions.  I added two small zucchini because I had them left over from some other adventure and I didn't want them to go to waste.  Besides, adding vegetables to a dish is always good, right?  I added some garlic.  Rather, I added quite a lot of garlic.  My bouquet garni was sage, rosemary and thyme.  I'm very much aware that that is not a traditional bouquet garni but that's what I had on hand.  I had it on hand because that's what I like.  I also used vegetable broth because that's what I had on hand.  Finally, I only used one duck.  There are only three of us, and duck is plenty rich without overindulging.

The end result was a pretty tasty dish if I do say so myself.  I certainly enjoyed it.  My husband ate quite a bit of it and the daughter declined to share it with the dog, which is about as much as you can ask of a kid that age.

Duck with Olives (serves 6; approx. $6.02/serving)

1 very large duck, cut into pieces

1/2 pound pearl onions

14 garlic cloves, whole

2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups red wine, plus extra for the cook if so desired

2 cups vegetable broth

2 small zucchini, sliced

about a handful of a combination of sage, rosemary and thyme, tied together with kitchen twine

1 cup green olives with pits

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Large Dutch oven

1. Put the duck pieces, skin side down, in the saute pan.  Cook over medium heat until well browned, turning frequently.  Work in batches if you need to - I did.
2. Pour the fat off the pan and reserve.
3. Return 1 tablespoon of the duck fat to the pan and reserve the rest for another use.  (You'll see what I did with it tomorrow.)
4. Add the onions and garlic.  Cook over medium-low heat until browned.  You should cook this in a covered pan but still stir frequently to prevent burning.  I know it sounds fussy and it probably is but it is definitely worth it in the end.
5. Sprinkle with the flour and cook uncovered another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add the wine.  Bring to a boil.  (Be careful here!)
7. Add the duck pieces, broth and your little bundle of herbs to the pot.  Return to a boil.
8. Reduce heat, cover and simmer VERY gently about 40 minutes.  Stir from time to time.
9. Add the olives and zucchini to the pot.  Continue cooking another 20 minutes.  The duck should be very tender.
10. Transfer the duck pieces, olives, garlic, onions and zucchini to a plate.
11. Discard the bouquet garni, strain the cooking liquid and skim off as much fat as possible.
12. Return the liquid to the pan.  Bring to a boil and reduce by 1/3.
13. Return the duck and accompaniments to the pot and heat through.
14. Serve.

Recipe: Roasted Squash and Potatoes

Recipe Source: Holuigue, Diane.  Savoring Provence.   Oxmoor House, Menlo Park 2002 p. 189

Potatoes get a kind of a bad reputation, and I don't think that it's really deserved.  They're often seen, particularly by those who portray themselves as nutritional authorities, as nothing but empty carbohydrates looking for a place on the hips and bellies of the unwary.  It is true that potatoes are a very starch vegetable.  It is also true that potatoes can grow in environments considered otherwise pretty marginal without much tending.  This makes them a valuable source of nutrition in certain environments.  There is a very good reason that the population of early industrial Ireland, for example, became so very dependent on the potato (leading to the disastrous potato famine of the 1840s, the Irish Diaspora and ultimately to the growth of both the country and the urban area in which I currently reside.)  Furthermore, the skin of the potato contains a great deal of valuable nutrients and fiber.  So don't write the potato off as a source of future fat just yet.

I found this dish while considering food for a Sunday open house.  Being a huge fan of potatoes I decided to make it, but I wanted to make it a little healthier.  I left the skins on the potatoes to retain those nutrients I mentioned earlier.  I also added some Golden Nugget Squash.  I'd love to tell you that I bought the squash just for this recipe but I'd be lying.  I bought it because it was bright and shiny and I thought it looked good in the cart.  I knew I'd think of something to do with it.  I had some tarragon left over from another recipe so I added it here, and I increased the garlic because garlic is good.

This dish turned out pretty well.  My husband hogged all the roasted garlic, but everyone forgave him because they enjoyed the squash and potatoes.

Roasted Squash and Potatoes (serves 8; approx. $0.67/serving)

3/4 pound waxy small potatoes, sliced thin

1 nugget squash, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 bunch fresh rosemary, leaves only

1 bunch fresh tarragon, roughly chopped

16 garlic cloves, unpeeled

Equipment:

• Large roasting pan

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Arrange the potato slices and squash slices in alternating rows in your roasting pan.
3. Stick the garlic in between slices of potato and squash, scattered throughout the pan.  Repeat for the rosemary and tarragon.
4. Pour the oil over the ingredients.
5. Bake 35 - 40 minutes, until the potatoes are beginning to become crisp.
6. Serve.

Recipe: Quince and Almond Cream Tart

Recipe Source: Ferber, Christine.  Mes Tartes.  Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, 2003 pp. 27 - 8 and 175 - 6

So the Sunday after Thanksgiving we still held our usual Sunday open house.  On the one hand this seems like a poor idea.  We'd just hosted the family for the holiday, the house (and especially the kitchen) was in a shambles and my back, knees and feet were loudly insisting that more cooking was simply not going to happen.  On the other hand, I was actually pretty excited.  I wanted to make one particular recipe: this one.  We've been trying to avoid using nuts since Fearless Baby started eating solid food.  She's not necessarily allergic, but they tell me that a tendency toward food allergies runs in families.  Since I have not one, not two but three food allergies, the doctors want us to avoid exposing her to common allergens like tree nuts until she's at least two.  The thing is, I love almonds.  They're one of my favorite flavors.  Heck, almond is one of my favorite scents.  Using almond-scented moisturizers always makes me feel good.  Anyway, we were expecting quite a crowd for this edition of Sunday dinner so I figured I'd use it as an opportunity to purge this almond craving.

We got a good sized crowd for the open house, but not everyone stayed for dinner.  Even if they had I think three pies may have been a little much.  I sent lots and lots home with people who at least pretended to be happy to take it, and I actually kept some for myself which is unusual because I try not to keep non-chocolate desserts around.

I did make a few changes.  I used a whole-wheat version of my family's traditional pie crust instead of the "rich flaky pastry with praline paste and hazelnuts" called for in the original.  I did this because a) the ingredients for the recommended crust were prohibitively expensive and prohibitively rare and b) because the family recipe is a known evil.  I've figured out how to make this pastry work, relatively consistently, in a way that suits my needs.  When I'm cooking for a crowd that's paramount.  I tripled the recipe.  I omitted the spices because I just plain forgot about them.  Instead of creme fraiche I used a rosewater whipped cream left over from the garnish for the Thanksgiving dessert and I added a little more rosewater to the filling.

Quince and Almond Cream Tarts (serves 24; approx. $0.64/serving)

3 single-crust pie crusts - I used a family recipe as noted above, but you can use whatever works for you.  Even store bought is probably fine.

12 quinces, washed, peeled and quartered

Zest of 3 lemons, slivered

Zest of 3 oranges, slivered

3 1/2 cups raw sugar

3 cups water

10 1/2 tablespoons rosewater-flavored whipped cream

4 sticks plus 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted

3 cups confectioners' sugar

4 cups toasted almonds, finely ground

180 grams whole wheat flour

5 extra-large eggs

2 tablespoons rosewater

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Skimmer
• 3 tart pans
• Large mixing bowl

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the raw sugar and water in the saucepan.  Stir until the sugar is all dissolved.
3. Add the quince quarters.  Simmer until soft, stirring periodically.  Be careful not to splash simmering syrup onto your skin.  It hurts.
4. When the quinces are soft, use the skimmer to evacuate them to a plate and set aside.  Add the citrus zests and simmer five minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the almond cream.  Combine the melted butter and confectioners' sugar in the mixing bowl.  Stir until the mixture is smooth and all the butter has been incorporated.
6. Add the eggs and stir until thoroughly incorporated.
7. Add the almonds, flour and rosewater.  Mix until smooth.
8. Add the whipped cream and the citrus zests to the bowl.  Mix well.
9. Line the tart pans with your pastry.
10. Pour a layer of the cream into the bottom of each tart.
11. Arrange the quinces on top of the tart.  There should be about 12 quarters per tart.  If you're counting on the picture yes, I know I lost track.
12. Bake about 45 minutes.
13. Serve.

Recipe: Braised Endives

Recipe Source: Wolfert, Paula. The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, 2003 pp. 248 – 9.

This recipe dates all the way back to Memorial Day weekend, when I had to make significant menu changes at the last minute. This was a last-minute addition to our Monday cookout. I basically felt that I needed to have more vegetables on the table than I had, but my guests had some pretty significant dietary restrictions and believe it or not celiac was the easiest to accommodate! Some of our guests had a strong preference for very mild, very mellow flavors. By that I mean that they think black pepper is too spicy for them. This leaves out most of my influences (and resulted in wasting a number of hot chilies.) I racked my brain trying to think of something I could serve that would be mild and mellow but not at all insipid. This is what I came up with.

I didn't make a lot of changes to the recipe because there weren't a lot to make. I used olive oil for the butter on general principles. I used a white wine vinegar instead of whatever it was that the original recommended. It was a specialty vinegar that would have had to be special ordered and I just didn't have that kind of time at the moment. I used grains of paradise for the black pepper for the reasons discussed above. I omitted the sugar, also on general principles.

I wasn't overly enthusiastic about this dish, but I really had Indian food in my head and this bears no resemblance whatsoever to any Indian food I've ever encountered. My guests all seemed to enjoy it, though. It's a very simple dish that you can very easily make at home.

Braised Endives (serves 8; approx. cost per serving not available)

8 Belgian endives

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch kosher salt

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Fresh ground grains of paradise to taste

Equipment:

• Very sharp knife
• Large sauté pan with lid
• Spatula

1. Use the sharp knife to shave the root ends of the endives. Hollow out the hard center, drilling up by about ¼ inch. (The original suggested that you could use a vegetable peeler for this purpose. I did not find that to be a successful alternative.)
2. Rinse the endives under running water and pat dry.
3. Line the bottom of the sauté pan with the oil.
4. Arrange the endives in the sauté pan. They should almost, but not quite, fit in a single layer.
5. Sprinkle the endives with salt.
6. Cover and cook over very low heat 15 minutes. The endives will shrink to one layer.
7. Rearrange the endives, cover and cook another 30 minutes.
8. Turn each endive over very carefully. Cover and cook another 30 minutes, covered. It is perfectly acceptable to add a little water to prevent burning if need be.
9. Sprinkle with the vinegar. Increase the heat if necessary to reduce the pan juices to a syrup.
10. Arrange the endives on a serving platter. Pour the sauce over the endives and sprinkle with grains of paradise.
11. Serve.

Recipe: Strawberry Tart with Spiced Meringue

Recipe Source: Ferber, Christine. Mes Tartes. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, 2003 p. 85

I know I've spoken here about our strawberry crop. Every time I see the price of fresh strawberries in the market I get kind of annoyed. We started in 2007 with I think six strawberry plants. We now have a full quarter of our garden space formally dedicated to strawberries, as well as the whole flowerbed by the side of the driveway. Furthermore, the things have taken over so much of the garden that we couldn't get our seedlings in the ground this year. They are everywhere. And I simply cannot keep up with the crop. Don't think I'm complaining, though. Strawberries, like most berries, are incredibly healthy. And with such an abundance I've got no shortage of berries to make jams and jellies for Christmas, sweet treats for our Sunday open houses and just eat out of hand. (I could use more refrigerator space to keep them in, however.

This was originally supposed to be a rhubarb tart. I wanted it to be a rhubarb tart. Unfortunately I couldn't get rhubarb that week to save my life, I don't know why. I decided to make it with some of our incredibly abundant strawberries instead. That wasn't the only change I made. I used my family's pie crust recipe, which being from an unknown source I can't share here. I did make the crust from whole wheat flour though. I used raw sugar when sugar was called for and I don't think it had a negative effect even on the meringue. I just like the flavor of raw sugar better in most cases. I used honey in the meringue because I love honey. I figured that the liquid state of the honey wouldn't be too much of a problem, since some meringues are made with syrup. I used grains of paradise for the pepper (because it was on the counter in front of me) and allspice for the nutmeg. I'm out of nutmeg. Somehow I keep forgetting to pick some up whenever I go to the store. I also omitted the confectioner's sugar decoration at the end because I didn't think it needed even more sugar.

The results were… well, they were mixed as far as I'm concerned, although my husband and guests all raved about it. Strawberries have a lot of liquid. They have a lot more liquid than, say, rhubarb, and I didn't account for it when making the changes. That made this tart a real mess to make, serve and eat. It also made the tart ugly. I covered the ugly with the meringue instead of dotting it with delicately piped rosettes of meringue. While that covered the ugliness – and saved me from having to go digging for a pastry bag I haven't used in something like a year – it did look significantly less elegant. I will say this, however. I loved the meringue and found myself wanting even more of it.

Strawberry Tart with Spiced Meringue (serves 8; approx. $0.86/serving)

1 pie crust – you can use whatever recipe you prefer, or even store-bought if you must.

1 egg yolk

2 pounds (net) strawberries, hulled and quartered

2 ounces ladyfingers

5 ounces whipping cream

3 ½ ounces whole milk

6 eggs

½ cup raw sugar

7 egg whites

1 1/3 cups honey

Pinch cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

Equipment:

• Standard sized pie plate
• 2 medium-sized mixing bowls
• Hand mixer or immersion blender with the whisk attachment

1. Preheat your oven to 350 ̊.
2. Line the pie plate with your crust. Poke some holes in the bottom and brush with the egg yolk.
3. Bake blind 15 minutes and allow to cool.
4. Meanwhile, combine the cream, milk, eggs and sugar. Mix until thoroughly blended.
5. Crumble the ladyfingers and line the bottom of the crust with them.
6. Spread the strawberries on top of the ladyfingers and pour the milk mixture over the top.
7. I would highly recommend using a baking sheet under your pie plate here, because this will get messy. It's your choice, though.
8. Bake 45 minutes or until the flan cream is set.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool.
10. Combine the egg whites with the honey, spices and cream of tartar in the second mixing bowl. Use the hand mixer to whip to stiff peaks.
11. Spread the meringue over the top of the pie.
12. Decrease oven temperature to 325 ̊.
13. Bake 15 minutes.
14. Let cool and serve.

Recipe: Beef Stew with Onions and Herbs

Recipe Source: Child, Julia and Simone Beck. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume Two. Alfred A. Knopf, 1983 pp. 149 – 152

Every year we traditionally get together with our friends and make a holiday out of baseball's Opening Day. We try to watch at least half an inning of every televised game. This year was a little weird. Major League Baseball only scheduled a handful of games for the first day of baseball. While this made it easier for us to watch those games, only one of our friends was willing to join us. This is because Terry is a New York expat like we are, and a Yankee fan like we are. The Red Sox, our local team, opened the next day. Our fried Ruth was willing enough to come over and watch the Sox open, and I served dinner afterward for her and her husband (who is less interested in baseball than I am in mechanical engineering.)

Beef stew probably doesn't seem like baseball food to you, but it worked. You see, even though it was now baseball season, it was damp and it was cold and it had snowed only the day before. Besides, Ruth and Troy like stews. They like hearty foods. We certainly have no objection to stews or to hearty foods either, and it had been a while since I'd used this cookbook.

I made a few changes, as I usually do. Instead of parsley in the herb bouquet I used marjoram, because I dislike parsley and I like marjoram. I added a little fresh rosemary too. In making the sauce, I used some reserved beef fat and a little olive oil instead of butter. I did this because, well, I'd rendered out the fat anyway, why waste it? I increased the garlic, and for the herbs in the pistou I used oregano and marjoram instead of basil. (It's hard to get decent basil this time of year.) I threw some olives into the pistou just because I thought they would improve the texture and flavor. Finally, I had to substitute beef bacon for the lardons because of my food allergy.

The result was delicious, if I do say so myself.

Beef Stew with Onions and Herbs (serves 6; approx. $6.15/serving)

1 package beef bacon, cut into small strips about 1" long

4 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 ½" by 1" chunks

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

4 onions, sliced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 cups beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 sprig rosemary

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs marjoram

7 ounces diced tomatoes

2 cups red wine

4 tablespoons flour

7 cloves garlic (yes, more)

5 sprigs marjoram, leaves only

5 springs oregano, leaves only

1 handful pitted kalamata olives

2 ounces grated fresh pecorino romano cheese

Equipment:

• Large non-stick frying pan
• Lots of paper towels
• Slotted spoon or spatula
• Small heat-proof bowl
• Kitchen twine and cheesecloth
• Plates
• Dutch oven
• Strainer
• Large bowl
• Small saucepan
• Mini-prep miniature food processor

1. Brown the bacon in the frying pan. Work in batches, evacuating the browned bits to a plate to drain on paper towels. As you finish each batch, pour the rendered fat into the small heat-proof bowl and reserve it.
2. When you finish the final batch of bacon, do not drain off the fat. Instead, use it to brown the beef. Again, work in batches. As the beef finishes browning, evacuate it (using the slotted spoon) to the Dutch oven. Season with salt and pepper. Pour a little bit of the reserved bacon fat into the frying pan. Add the onions and sauté gently until softened. Pour them into the Dutch oven.
3. Combine the bay leaf, rosemary and the first sprigs of marjoram in the cheesecloth. Wrap well and tie up with kitchen twine. Add it to the Dutch oven along with the crushed garlic, beef broth and tomato.
4. Deglaze the frying pan with the wine and bring to a boil. When the wine has done its job (i.e., all the little bits at the bottom of the pan have been dislodged), pour the contents of the pan into the Dutch oven.
5. Bring the Dutch oven to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer very slowly until the meat is tender. This took me about 3 – 3 ½ hours and will entirely depend on the cut of meat that went into your "stew beef."
6. Strain the liquid into the large bowl. Return the solids to the Dutch oven and set aside, discarding the herb bouquet.
7. Combine the remaining beef fat and the flour over medium-high heat in the saucepan, stirring constantly until the flour begins to change color.
8. Add about 3 cups of the liquid from the stew to the pan and bring to a boil. If there is any liquid left over you can return it to the Dutch oven.
9. Cook the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring constantly. Pour the sauce back into the Dutch oven.
10. Combine the remaining ingredients in the mini-prep. Process to a paste.
11. Pour the paste into the Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes to let the flavors marry.
12. Serve.

Recipe: Mushroom and Pea Tart

Recipe Source: Roux, Michel. Pastry. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, 2008 p. 33

I intended to serve this for our dinner on New Year's Day. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. I wound up not having the opportunity to make it, or at least the components, beforehand. Then I found when I went to make the crust that I had perhaps overcelebrated on New Year's Eve and was emphatically not feeling up to pastry. I made it anyway, which showed in the finished product. (Note to self: no one needs that last glass of champagne.) I did eventually make it, but the dinner got postponed… twice… to enjoy the company of friends. This is a perfectly good reason to postpone a dinner, especially when our daughter gets to enjoy the company of a little friend near her own age.

So we eventually ate the tart. The flavor wasn't affected by the delay. If anything it was enhanced! The crust, on the other hand, did not benefit from sitting for several days. This is why you don't have a picture of a slice of pie, like you see in the book. Once we dug into the tart, though, we ceased to care much about the appearance of the dish. I planned to eat only one piece. I ate a lot more than that. I will say this, though: I expected the tart to be a lot heavier and more filling, but it wasn't. Quite the opposite.

I made a few changes to the recipe, which is normal. I always intended to use our family's pie crust recipe, since I'm more comfortable with it and how it behaves. I'm sure that M. Roux' is better, because he is a professional and has been doing this for decades, but I had a lot going on and really wanted something I was used to. I did make it with whole-wheat bread flour, though. I used a combination of baby bella mushrooms and shiitakes (at a 2:1 ratio) for the mushrooms and used more peas than called for in the original. I reduced the amount of fat in which the mushrooms were cooked and substituted olive oil for the butter. I also substituted sage for the mint in the original because my husband is allergic to mint.

Mushroom and Pea Tart (serves 8; approx. $1.42/serving)

1 pie crust

2 packages baby bella mushrooms, trimmed, wiped and quartered

1 package shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound frozen peas

1 cup heavy cream

1 ounce sage leaves, chopped

1 egg

3 egg yolks

Equipment:

• Pie plate
• Large bowl
• Sauté pan
• Fine strainer
• Small saucepan
• Pastry brush
• Medium saucepan
• Colander

1. Preheat your oven to 375 ̊.
2. Line your pie plate with the pie crust and prick it all over with a fork. Brush with one of the egg yolks and bake blind 10 minutes.
3. Set the crust aside. Increase the heat of your oven to 400 ̊.
4. Put half the cream into the small saucepan. Add the sage and bring just to a boil.
5. Remove from heat, cover, and let the sage infuse the cream.
6. When the cream is almost cold, strain into the large bowl.
7. Heat the oil in the sauté pan.
8. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of kosher salt. Sauté until the mushrooms are tender and beginning to give up their juices.
9. Set the mushrooms aside.
10. Fill the medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
11. Add the peas. Cook until bright green and thoroughly thawed, about 3 – 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.
12. Add the remaining cream, egg and two remaining egg yolks to the large bowl. Whisk to thoroughly combine.
13. Fold in the mushrooms and peas.
14. Spread the filling into the tart crust. Bake 15 minutes.
15. Lower the heat to 350 ̊. Bake another 15 minutes.
16. Serve.

Recipe: Venison au Poivre

Recipe Source: Worthington, Diane Rossen. Williams-Sonoma French. Simon & Schuster Source, New York, 2003 p. 14

I've had very few opportunities to enjoy venison in my life. I tried it in the form of a stew when I was in high school once. It was at a friend's house, and a friend of that friend's family hunted and provided them with some meat. The stew was tasty and I definitely enjoyed the meat. It would probably have been better had we waited for the stew to finish cooking, but we were sneaking samples for our own edification and didn't want to get caught. I also tried it not long after graduating college, in the form of homemade sausages brought to a camping event. They (and the party at which I tried them) were the only bright spots in an otherwise miserable week. I never had another opportunity – at least until this past October, when I found these venison medallions at the Wegmans' grocery near my in-laws' home in New Jersey. I was not going to waste the opportunity. I bought them, froze them, brought them back to Boston and started trying to think of things to do with them. They didn't look like good stew meat. I certainly didn't want to get into the sausage-making thing: I lacked the ingredients and equipment. Grinding them up for meatballs seemed like a waste.

Then fate intervened. We had a problem with our refrigerator and the meat I'd intended to use for dinner the next night went very, very bad. I had no car and was stuck at home with a sick baby. The nearest grocery store is pathetic, to be used in emergencies only, and I didn't want to drag a sick baby (or a sick me, since I'd caught the same crud she had) out in the cold to buy meat that would likely already be half-gone anyway. The next nearest store is not within walking distance unless you're feeling exceptionally ambitious (our suburb isn't pedestrian-friendly in the first place.) I did notice that I had the venison in the freezer. I thawed it out and tried to think of things to do with it.

As it turned out there was a pepper steak recipe on the back of the package, but I didn't notice until after I'd settled on this one. I made a few changes. First of all, I used pre-ground black pepper. I don't have a spice mill. I don't have a functional mortar and pestle. I had a lot of black pepper. I used Lemony Vegetable Broth in place of the beef stock in the original, because I had it on hand. I increased the mustard. Oh, the venison was a change too – the original called for New York Strip Steaks. I skipped the part where you set the brandy on fire: as I've already mentioned, I was feeling quite sick and didn't think I could be trusted with such a task.

I was hesitant about the results, but I shouldn't have been. This was amazing. The recipe made quite a bit more sauce than you see in the picture. I served it on the side and ate it, not only with the venison, but with salt potatoes instead of butter.  I also saved the leftover sauce and put it on pasta for lunch one day. 

My mother will be upset when she reads this. She loves the movie Bambi and really hates the thought of eating anything that appeared in the movie. (Or that she thinks appeared in the movie, such as lamb.) Sorry, Mom. I ate Bambi. And it was good.

Venison au Poivre (serves 4; approx. $4.45/serving)

4 venison medallions

½ cup ground black pepper

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 shallots, minced

3 tablespoons brandy

½ cup red wine, plus more for the cook as needed

1 cup Lemony Vegetable Broth

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Very large sauté pan. A lid will add to your safety but is not necessary for the recipe itself.
• Whisk
• Instant-read digital thermometer

1. Roll the medallions in the pepper so that all sides are coated. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil and the butter together in the sauté pan.
3. Add the medallions. Sear on all sides, until the internal temperature reaches 135 – 140 ̊ (this depends on your tastes.)
4. Transfer the medallions to the serving platter as they are done. Cover with foil. The medallions will continue to cook under the foil, so keep that in mind when removing from the pan.
5. Add the shallots to the pan. Sauté until softened.
6. Remove the pan from heat. Add the brandy. Return to the heat and cook 2 minutes or so.
7. Add the wine. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened.
8. Add the broth. Boil until reduced by half.
9. Add the cream and mustard. Whisk until well combined. Cook another minute or so, then season to taste and transfer to the sauce bowl.
10. Spoon a little sauce over the medallions and serve, with the remaining sauce being passed alongside.

Recipe: Vegetable-Stuffed Turkey Breast

Recipe Source: Dominé, André. Culinaria France. H. F. Ullmann, 2007 p. 218

Well, I have to say that this didn't work out quite like I'd intended. I expected to have a lot more room to play with in terms of the little pockets, but it didn't work out that way. For that reason, while I intended to add some broccoli to the vegetable stuffing, I had to content myself with merely using garlic. Even so, I had leftover vegetables. That was okay. I heated them up – necessary since they came in contact with the spoon I used to stuff the turkey pockets – and used them as a garnish. I also used a different type of wine than originally called for and added some salt. I'd also like to point out that I used turkey breast instead of chicken, which was very much a substitution based on my own tastes.

The result, while frustrating in that I couldn't make the changes I wanted to, was decidedly delicious. I served it as an appetizer, but this could easily serve a smaller party as a main dish. You could also just spoon the vegetables into a boneless turkey breast and tie it up with butcher twine, but your cooking time will increase. The important thing is not to omit this sauce. It is delicious.

Vegetable-Stuffed Turkey Breast with Red Wine Sauce (serves 8; approx. $3.15/serving)

2 leeks, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 stick butter, halved

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into pieces

3 cups red wine

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Sauté pan
• Small saucepan or sauté pan
• Bowl

1. Melt half of the butter in the sauté pan.
2. Add the vegetables and garlic. Sauté until soft. Evacuate to a bowl and set aside.
3. Make small pockets in each of the slices of turkey breast. Stuff with the vegetable mixture. Set any remaining vegetable mixture aside.
4. Melt the remaining butter in the sauté pan.
5. Add the turkey pouches and brown well on all sides.
6. When the turkey is fully cooked, evacuate it to the serving platter.
7. Pour the wine into the saucepan and deglaze the pan. Boil until the wine is reduced by about half.
8. Pour the sauce over the turkey.
9. If there are any remaining vegetables, re-heat them fully. Garnish the turkey with the vegetables.
10. Serve.

Recipe: Celery Root Remoulade

Recipe Source: Brennan, Georgeannne. Williams-Sonoma Salad. Simon & Schuster Source, New York, 2001 p. 18

If you had told me even four years ago that I would be cooking with celery root I'd have called you insane. If you'd shown me a celery root I'd probably have thrown it at you. Back then, I looked at celery itself as basically a garnish for chicken wings, purchased only when making stock. I'm still not a huge fan of celery stalks, although I'm trying. I am, however, becoming a huge fan of celery root and celery leaves. (Would you believe that I used to throw them out?) They have this incredible smell to them, one I can't even really describe. The closest thing would be kind of peppery and kind of sharp, but they aren't perfect descriptors either. There was a smell that I used to associate with my mom's spice drawer back when I was very, very small. (I'll assume now that it was celery salt, although I can't recall having seen it there.) THAT is what I smell when I smell celery root, filtered as it is through decades of other scents.

Anyway, this dish is extremely easy to make. I made a few changes, as usual. I added about a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the dish. If you're concerned about heat, remember that there's a lot of dairy in this, and dairy tends to neutralize the searing effects of capsaicin. I left the celery root raw, because the instructions presented two different ways to prepare it and it was a little unclear if the second one was supposed to be cooked or not. Anyway, leaving it raw gave the dish a nice crisp texture. I used an actual lemon for the lemon juice, and I didn't bother to measure out the amount of juice. I used 2% Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise because I just don't like mayonnaise. Finally, I substituted spicy brown mustard for the Dijon mustard called for in the original. We were toward the end of the bottle, I prefer spicy brown anyway, and it just seemed like a good idea.

I enjoyed this dish. My husband, on the other hand, ADORED this dish and ate all the leftovers. This is good; he should get more vegetables in his life. We served it with venison au poivre (to be posted at a later date), but you could serve it as a side dish with any kind of roasted or grilled meat.

Celery Root Remoulade (serves 4; approx. $2.21/serving)

2 medium celery roots, peeled and quartered

Kosher salt to taste

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup 2% Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Equipment:

• Food processor with grater attachment (you can use a box grater or mandolin if you need to)
• Storage bowl with lid
• Bowl
• Whisk

1. Shred the celery root in the food processor.
2. Transfer the contents to the storage bowl with the lid.
3. Combine the remaining ingredients in the other bowl. Whisk to mix well.
4. Pour the contents over the vegetable in the storage bowl. Put the lid on and shake very well.
5. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.