Red Curry with Seared Duck Breast

Red Curry with Seared Duck Breast

In Denmark we often had curries, but I have never had fresh bamboo shoots before moving to the States. Knowing how good fresh poached bamboo shoot tastes, I will never go back to the ones you can buy canned in the stores. They don't have the soft texture and sweet taste.

This is my take on a red duck curry.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 duck breast, seared and roasted
• 1 red or yellow pepper
• ½ fresh poached bamboo shoot, thinly sliced (can be substituted with canned bamboo shoot)
• 1 can baby corn (or fresh), cut bite sized 
• 150 g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 handful sweet basil leaves
• 8 lychee fruits
• 1 jalapeño, sliced thinly for topping
• vegetables oil for cooking

Curry Paste:

• 2 dried red chili peppers
• 1 fresh red chili pepper
• ¼ red onion
• 3 teaspoons lemongrass (minced or paste)
• 1-inch (3 cm) ginger, peeled and sliced
• 4 garlic gloves
• 7 black peppercorns 
• 3 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

Make the curry paste, by blending all the ingredients in a mini blender until you have a smooth paste. 

Chop all the vegetables in bite sized pieces, and set them aside. 

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Add vegetables, a little at a time, so the wok don't cool down. 

Add sugar, coconut milk and fish sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit while simmering. Season the sauce with fish sauce, pepper and sugar.

Just before serving, add the lychee fruits and basil leaves.

Serve the curry over rice and thinly sliced duck breast.

Enjoy!

Seared Duck Breast

Duck Breasts

In Denmark we have roasted duck for holidays like Christmas, but duck breasts is a great cut of meat, that works great in a lot of dishes. I love seared duck breast on a nice salad with blue cheese, berries or with a bunch of steamed vegetables. The possibilities are almost endless.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 duck breasts
• salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Using a sharp knife, score skin in ¾-inch diamond pattern (do not cut into flesh). Sprinkle with a good amount of salt.

Place the duck breasts skind-side down in a cold skillet. Place the skillet over medium heat. The duck fat starts to render and will add enough fat to cook the breasts. This process will add to the crispiness of the skin. Cook the breasts like this for about 5 minutes. Turn duck breasts over and put the skillet in the preheated oven until to desired doneness, about 6-12 minutes depending on size and desired doneness.

Transfer to work surface, cover with foil to keep warm, and let rest 7-10 minutes. Thinly slice duck, and serve on a salad, curry or with all the christmas trimmings as Caramelized potatoes, pickled red cabbage.

Egg Salad

Egg Salad

Egg salad is one of the easiest things to make. When the eggs are boiled and cooled, it will only take 5 minutes to make. And it still packs great flavor. I might not be the healthiest but add a good salad and some vegetables on the side, suddenly you have a great meal.

Everybody has their way to boil eggs. I put the eggs in a small saucepan and just covered with cold water. Over high heat bring the water to a boil, let the eggs cook in the boiling water for 7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain the water and stop the cooking with cold water.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 75 g mayonnaise
• ¼ teaspoon mustard
• 2 dash curry powder
• 3 eggs, hardboiled, cooled, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. 

Serve the egg salad on your favorite bread.

Enjoy!

Stout Ice Cream

Stout Ice Cream

Happy Father's Day, in advance for the US, or belated if you are in Denmark.

My dad didn't drink much alcohol, after becoming a family man. I honestly don't think he shied away from alcohol in his younger days, but that's a whole different story. When we had family gatherings my dad would drink one stout mixed with a sweet lemon soda. It actually tasted quite good, the sweetness went great with the bitterness of the dark beer. 

To celebrate Father's Day, and remembering my own dad, I'm making Stout Ice cream. This sweet creamy ice cream has a lot of caramel flavors with a bitter note in the end. It pairs perfectly with fresh summer berries. I know it sounds weird to have beer and ice cream, but it really works.

Makes about a pint - Somehow some of the ice cream always disappear on the way from the machine to the freezer. 

Ingredients:

• 1 (ml) stout, I used a Guinness Extra Stout
• 5 egg yolks
• 125 g sugar, less if you use a sweet stout
• 400 ml heavy whipping cream
• 200 ml whole milk

Directions:

Bring the stout to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer until you have a syrup. Let the syrup cool completely. 

Pour  half of the cream into a metal bowl placed in a larger bowl of ice, set aside. 

Warm milk, and 100 g sugar in a medium saucepan until scalding. Make sure the sugar is dissolved completely.

In another bowl, whisk egg yolks with 25 g sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, while whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan, and heat the mixture over medium heat, until it thickens, about 1-2 minutes. Stir constantly in this process and make sure to scrape the bottom of the saucepan, DON'T LET IT COME TO A BOIL. 

Pour the egg/milk mixture into the cold cream through a sift. 

Cool the custard in refrigerator. 

Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and freeze it according to manufacturers instructions. 

Freeze the ice cream in the freezer a couple of hours before serving. Serve the stout ice cream with fresh fruit.

Enjoy!

Birkes - a Breakfast Roll (Pastry)

Birkes - a Breakfast Roll

Birkes is a great pastry but without the sweetness. Birkes taste great warm with a slice of Havarti  or fontina cheese.

How to get warm birkes for your breakfat or brunch: Make the dough a day in advance and freeze the birkes when they are ready to put in the oven. Next morning, place the still frozen birkes on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes in a preheated oven. 

Makes 12-15

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 100 g butter, cold
• 500 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 50 g fresh compressed yeast (or 4 teaspoons dry yeast)
• 300 ml milk

Filling: 

• 100-125 g butter

Sprinkles:

• egg wash (1 egg +2 tablespoons milk)
• poppy seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl mix the cold butter with the flour, sugar and salt until the butter is fully incorporated. 

Heat the milk until finger warm and dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the warm milk to the flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes on the stand mixer, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise covered for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Gently ease the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle, the size is not important. Place thin slices of butter on ⅔ of the dough, leaving ⅓ bare. Fold the part without butter over half of the buttered dough, and fold the last ⅓ over like you are folding a letter. Like as in a puff pastry dough.

Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator, before rolling the dough to a thin rectangle again, and making another letter fold. 

Preheat the oven to 435℉ (225℃).

Roll the now laminated dough a little longer, so you are able to get 12-15, 2-inch (5 cm) wide pieces. Gently place the birkes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the birkes rest 10 minutes covered.   

Brush the birkes with egg wash, and sprinkle with white poppy seeds, and bake them for 15-18 minutes. Cool the birkes for a little while, and serve them warm.

Enjoy!