Braised Duck Legs with Shallots and Parsnips

Thanksgiving 2017 post #5: the main dish!  Oh mmmmmm, I can taste this just remembering it.  It is extremely good--10+ for sure!  If it weren't for the price of duck legs being on the high side, I'd make this on a regular basis.

Link to original recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/braised-duck-legs-with-shallots-and-parsnips-109109

Ingredients (1/4 of original recipe amounts):

3 duck legs
1/2 lb. shallots, peeled and, if very large, halved
1 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut diagonally into 1" thick slices
1/2 T. minced garlic
1/2 T. chopped fresh thyme
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
1/2 Turkish bay leaf
1/16 tsp. (pinch) ground allspice
1/2 c. dry white wine
1 1/2 to 2 c. homemade chicken stock

Ingredients:

1. Put oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven.  Heat to 450°F.

2. Trim fat and skin from the sides of the duck legs--leave a covering of skin on the top part of legs.  Reserve 2 T. of fat for cooking.  Chop the fat coarsely.

3. Score skin on the legs in a 1/2" crosshatch pattern (cut through the fat, not the meat).

4. Heat a 10" skillet over moderate heat and add chopped fat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered all its liquid.  Remove from heat and discard remaining solids using a slotted spoon.

5. Place shallots, parsnips, and garlic in a 9" x 9" baking pan.  Sprinkle with thyme, half of the salt and pepper, and add the bay leaf piece to the mixture.

6. Add half of the rendered duck fat to the pan, reserving the rest in the skillet.  Toss/stir to coat vegetables, then roast in oven until vegetables are browned in patches (around 20-30 min. total), switching rack position halfway through (I started with top).

7. Meanwhile, pat the duck legs dry.  In a small bowl, combine allspice and remaining salt and pepper.  Rub mixture all over duck legs.

8. Heat remaining duck fat in skillet over moderate heat and add the duck legs, skin side down.  Sauté for around 3-5 min (until well browned), then turn legs over and sauté for additional 2 min.

9. Transfer duck legs (using tongs) to paper towels to drain.

10. Once vegetables have finished roasting, reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

11. Add the duck legs to the pan, nestling them in among the vegetables, skin side up.

12. Add wine and just enough stock to mostly submerge the legs--do not add enough to submerge the skins.

13. Transfer to oven to braise, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours total, switching rack position halfway through (again, I started with the top).

14. Serve up and enjoy!

Cheesy Baked Green Beans

Thanksgiving 2017 post #4.  Now this is the way to have green beans!  These were easy and yummy--9 out of 10 on this one.  As I was the only one going to eat them, I made only 1/4 of original recipe and baked in my toaster oven.

Link to original recipe: http://www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/thanksgiving/recipes/a56552/cheesy-baked-green-beans-recipe/

Ingredients (quartered from original):

1/2 lb. green beans, cleaned with ends removed
2 T. heavy cream
1/2 garlic clove, thinly sliced
kosher salt
small pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese
1/6 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish if desired

Instructions:

1. Heat oven (or toaster oven) to 400°F.

2. Place green beans in a shallow baking dish (or in my case, I covered the toaster oven baking tray with foil and used that).

3. Pour cream over the beans and scatter the garlic over them.

4. Season with salt and red pepper flakes.

5. Cover beans with mozzarella and Parmesan.  Bake until beans are tender and cheese has melted, about 25-30 min.  (I think they could have gone less time--didn't think to check them while I was cooking everything else...)

6. Garnish with more Parmesan if desired and serve.  Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Thanksgiving 2017 post #3.  This was our prelude to the big meal, but it could have nearly been its own meal.  Very tasty and filling (as one might expect of a creamy soup)--9 of 10 for this one.  It makes quite a bit; I have some in the freezer and am hoping it will thaw well :)

https://www.cookingclassy.com/creamy-chicken-wild-rice-soup/

Ingredients:

3/4 c. uncooked wild rice blend (used the original recipe recommendation of Lundberg Wild Rice blend, found at Target)
1 c. chopped yellow onion
1 c. chopped carrots (I cut mine in circles to look nicer in the soup)
1 c. diced celery
7 T. butter, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
4 1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp. each: dried thyme, marjoram, sage, and rosemary
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. lemon zest

Instructions:

1. Prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Halfway through rice cooking, melt 1 T. of the butter over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly tender (around 4 min.)

3. Add garlic and cook for additional 30 sec.

4. Stir in chicken broth, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. 

5. Increase heat to medium-high.  Add chicken and bring to a boil.

6. Cover pot and cook for 12-15 minutes.

7. Remove chicken from mixture and set aside on cutting board to cool for 5 min.

8. Meanwhile, reduce heat to low and stir in the cooked rice.

9. Cut/shred chicken and stir in to soup mixture.

10.  In a separate medium saucepan, melt the remaining 6 T. of butter over medium heat.

11. Whisk in flour and cook 1 1/2 min, whisking constantly.

12. Continue whisking vigorously and slowly pour milk into butter/flour mixture as you whisk (much easier if you have someone to help here!)

13. Cook mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens (this does not take long).

14. Pour milk mixture into soup mixture and stir to combine.  Cook for 5 min.

15. Stir in heavy cream and lemon zest.  Let cook for 1 more minute.

16. Serve up and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

Post #2 from Thanksgiving 2017--these, unlike the last post, were more my style by far.  They were very good and rather easy.  It was nice to have a dish that I could just put on and let cook while I did everything else, so I definitely recommend it for when you have lots of other dishes/prep for a bigger dinner.  Or if you just want cheesy potatoes that you don't have to fuss to make!  I will give this a 9/10, only because I have sooooo many other cheesy potato recipes and I know these aren't quite as good as the 10's. (Again, this is the only pic I have with the "finished product".)

Link to original recipe: http://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a52475/slow-cooker-scalloped-potatoes-recipe/

Ingredients:

1 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth

1 pinch paprika

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 T. fresh thyme leaves

2 T. fresh rosemary leaves, freshly chopped

2 tsp. garlic powder

3 lb. russet potatoes, sliced 1/4" thick

1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan

2 1/2 c. shredded Gruyère

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Whisk together heavy cream, chicken broth, paprika, nutmeg, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder in a large bowl.

2. Line bottom of slow cooker with a layer of potatoes (use about 1/3 of the potatoes), then top with around 1/3 of the cream mixture, 1/3 of the Parmesan, and 1/3 of the Gruyère.

3. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used up.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.  

4. Remove lid and let set for 30 minutes prior to serving.  Enjoy!

Whiskey-Glazed Carrots

Now, onto another holiday meal! We'll now rewind to my Thanksgiving dinner at home this year.  It was just the 4 of us, as we were in the middle of selling the house still yet and had to be around in case of showings.  Anyway, I'm starting with my least favorite of the recipes, these carrots.  They weren't terrible, just far too sweet for me.  And I'm a sweets person--this blog is a testament to that lol. So, if you like really, really sweet carrots, this will be excellent for you.  For me, it's only getting a 5/10.  There are no pictures of the sides in their individual serving dishes, so here is the whole meal plated, carrots hanging out over on the right hand side...

Link to original recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/whiskey-glazed-carrots-major-league-yum/

Ingredients (amounts I used):

4 T. butter, divided
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut in thick rounds
1/4 c. whiskey (I used Jack Daniels)
4 T. brown sugar (**original recipe suggests 6 to 8 T.!)
1/4 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet (I used cast iron) over high heat, melt 1 T. of the butter.  Add carrots and cook for around 90 seconds.  Transfer from skillet to a plate.

2. (Very carefully!) Add the whiskey to the pan and let cook down for 30 seconds. 

3. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 3 T. of butter.  Once it has melted, sprinkle the brown sugar over it and stir to form a glaze.

4. Add carrots back to skillet and cover.  Cook for 5 min.

5. Remove lid and add salt and pepper.  Leave lid off and cook for 5 additional min, or until carrots are done and glaze has thickened.

6. Serve immediately while hot.

Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies (with video link)

If you like Andes mints, but don't want to do go overboard with it (like the recipe for the Decadent Andes Cookies I posted somewhat recently), this might be the one for you.  Be warned, though--these are quite addictive!  If you can't find the Andes mint baking chips, you can just chop up regular Andes mints :)
 

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/uFOS0_bKa9A

Link to original recipe: https://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-andes-mint-cookies-327669

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. butter-flavored Crisco
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 pkg. (10 oz.) Andes mint baking chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment.

2. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar.

4. Beat in vanilla extract and eggs.

5. Either switch to dough hook for stand mixer or stir in by hand, gradually, the flour mixture.

6. Stir in mint chips by hand. Dough will be rather stiff.

7. Drop well-rounded teaspoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets (space cookies about 1 1/2 to 2" apart).

8. Bake for 10 min, or until centers are set.

9. Transfer to wire cooling racks immediately.  Enjoy!

Carrots, Green Beans, and Pearl Onions with Chardonnay Sauce and Truffled Bread Crumbs

(See explanation for lack of pictures a couple of posts back...)
Mmmm these were ever so nice!  I was looking for a recipe that included carrots that was not overly sweet and this hit the target, spot on.  I would give this a 9 out 10, only due to the fact that it does take quite a bit of prep--very glad I did this one with my mom :)

Link to original recipe: http://www.finecooking.com/recipe/carrots-green-beans-and-pearl-onions-with-chardonnay-sauce-and-truffled-breadcrumbs

Ingredients:

5 T. unsalted butter, divided
2 c. coarse fresh breadcrumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
14 oz. pearl onions (**original recipe asks for frozen; we could not find, so we used fresh and they worked just fine--just need to remove the skins (we used boil in water method to remove easily))
4 c. water
1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks about 1/4" thick and 4" long
2 c. Chardonnay, preferably unoaked (we used Château Ste. Michelle brand)
1 T. honey
3 T. white or black truffle oil (we used white), divided
1/4 c. flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

1. In a 12" skillet over medium heat, melt 3 T. of the butter, then add breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and chewy-crisp (about 7-9 min.)  Cool completely.

2. In a 5-6 qt. heavy pot (we used dutch oven) over medium-high heat, melt remaining 2 T. of butter.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned in spots.  Transfer onions to a large bowl, but do not wipe/clean pot.

3. Add 4 c. water to the pot, along with 1/2 tsp. salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the green beans and cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar.  Boil until just tender/slightly limp, around 4-6 min.  Transfer the green beans out of the water, to same bowl as the onions.

4. Repeat the same process (as #3) with the carrots, using the same water.

5. Boil the water/remaining liquid, uncovered, until reduced to 1/2 c. (around 25-30 min.)

6. Add the wine and honey to the reduced liquid.  Boil until reduced to 1/2 c. (about 20 min.)

7. Add 2 T. of the truffle oil, stir to combine.

8. Pour the onions/green beans/carrots mixture into the liquid and cook, tossing gently, until heated through and coated with the liquid.  Season with salt and pepper.

9. Mix the parsley in with the prepared breadcrumbs.

10. Pour the vegetables into a serving dish, then top with breadcrumbs.  Drizzle with remaining 1 T. truffle oil and enjoy!