Dec 1, 2014
Roasted until the skin is golden and crispy, and the meat is moist and juicy, duck is an excellent and traditional alternative to turkey. If you’ve never attempted to cook duck before, fear not. Preparing and roasting duck takes just a few hours and it is easy to do.
Easy Crispy Roasted Duck
Prep time: 10 minutes • Cook time: 2 1/4 hours
Place oven rack in middle position to accommodate the bird.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Ducks have an insulating layer of fat just beneath their skin to keep them warm and to provide buoyancy while they are in water. However, this layer of fat is not very appetizing, and ideally should be melted away during the cooking process. A perfectly roasted duck will have very little fat remaining and a golden, crispy skin.
To prepare the duck for roasting:
- Remove all packaging from the duck and take the bag of giblets (if included) out of the body cavity. Discard, or reserve for making stock or gravy.
- Using shears or a sharp knife, remove any excess fat from the body cavity and neck. Discard.
- Rinse the duck in water, including the cavities. Gently pat dry with paper towels.
- To allow excess fat to drain off the duck while cooking, gently prick the skin of the duck with a fork, being careful not to pierce through to the meat.
- To truss, fold the neck skin under the body.
- Place the duck breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan and pour the boiling water over the duck. NOTE: Pouring boiling water over the duck before placing it in the oven, allows some of the fat layer under the skin to melt a little prior to roasting and also tightens the skin.
- Allow duck to cool. Remove from roasting pan, drain any water from body cavity and pat dry with a towel. Leave remaining water in the roasting pan.
- Season duck with ground pepper and salt. Return to roasting pan.
Did you know? The popular Chinese dish of Peking Duck is prepared by boiling duck in water, hanging to dry, coating the skin with a maltose syrup and then roasting until the skin is crisp and reddish brown.
Cooking Directions:
Place pan on middle rack in oven and cook duck, breast side up for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. With oven mitts, turn duck over (breast side down), and return to oven to cook for another 45 minutes. Again, remove from oven and drain any excess fat from cavity. Position duck to breast side up and return to oven to cook for a further 45 minutes, or until skin is golden brown and internal temperature has reached 165°F (check with a meat thermometer placed in thickest part of thigh or breast). Remove from oven and drain any fat from cavity. Transfer duck to a cutting board or platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving/disjointing.
Nov 21, 2014
‘Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
These fun snowmen are all decked out for the holiday season. Start the festivities by making these easy to make treats with your kids. They’ll love making them, and eating them!
Ingredients & Supplies:
- wooden sticks or straws
- Regular sized and miniature white jet-puffed marshmallows
- Christmas-themed ribbon or Twizzlers licorice
- Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate squares
- piping gel icing – red & yellow
Instructions:
- Place squares of chocolate in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stirring after every 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
- Push a straw or wooden stick through one marshmallow at a time starting with the miniature marshmallow followed by two large marshmallows until you have three stacked on top of each other.
- Tie a ribbon or a couple of Twizzlers around as a scarf and trim.
- Dip the end of a skewer and/or toothpick into the melted bakers chocolate and create the eyes, mouth, and arms.
- Use red piping gel for buttons and yellow piping gel for nose.
TIP: Use for garnishing hot cocoa!
Nov 21, 2014
It’s beginning to taste a lot like Christmas! This classic holiday candy combines the refreshing taste of peppermint with smooth white chocolate layered over semi-sweet chocolate. A perfect holiday treat for packaging in pretty gift boxes for giving to friends, co-workers and family!
Ingredients
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 12 oz white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 8 drops red food colouring
- 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies, sifted to remove fine dust
Instructions
- Microwave semi-sweet chocolate chips in large microwave safe bowl on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until almost melted; stirring after one minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Spread on a large foil-lined baking sheet to about a 1/4-inch thickness, and allow to cool in refrigerator for about half an hour.
- When semi-sweet chocolate has hardened, microwave white chocolate chips in large microwave safe bowl on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until almost melted; stirring after one minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Stir in peppermint extract.
- Remove semi-sweet chocolate from the refrigerator. Spread the white chocolate mixture over semi-sweet chocolate layer to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Add food colour, one drop at a time, over the white chocolate layer. Using a toothpick, swirl the colour through the white chocolate. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over the top, gently pressing into chocolate with the back of a spoon.
- Storing: Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in a covered container in a cool place or in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Nov 10, 2014
If there’s one thing you can be sure of it’s the fact that carrots found at our farmer’s market stands and in produce aisles in supermarkets across the Island, are fresh and locally grown.
For those of you who may not know, carrots are one of the few vegetables on a permanent embargo list banning their importation into Bermuda due to fear of introducing a dreaded disease called Carrot Blight.
Grown almost year round, except for the hottest summer months, local carrots are always delicious and in demand, especially around the holiday season.
Our recipe for honey-glazed carrots is an easy side dish for weeknight meals, or elegant enough for holiday entertaining.
Honey Glazed Carrots
Ingredients
- 1 lb carrots, cleaned and sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons honey (local if you can find it)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
Directions
- In a shallow pan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and carrots and continue to boil until tender, about 6 minutes.
- Drain carrots in colander. Return to pan, adding butter, honey and lemon juice.
- Cook over medium-high heat until the carrots are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour glazed carrots into a serving dish and garnish with chopped parsley.
Nov 10, 2014
Tender pork tenderloins rubbed with Chinese Five-Spice brings warm, spicy-sweet flavours to this dish. Sauteed Granny Smith apples combine with pan drippings to make a rich, delicious sauce. Serve with roasted potatoes for a comforting fall meal.
CHINESE FIVE-SPICE POWDER – A blend of five spices – Anise, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cloves, Ginger, used extensively used in Chinese cuisine, brings warm, spicy-sweet flavors to stir-fries and roasted meats, as well as spice cakes and cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 (1 lb.) pork tenderloins
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Chinese Five-Spice Powder
- 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
- 2 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and cut into 16 wedges
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2/3 cup apple cider
- ½ teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F degrees.
- Pat the tenderloins dry and season with salt, pepper and Chinese 5 spice. Heat oil in a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking. Brown the tenderloins on all sides about 5 minutes total. Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted diagonally into center of meat registers 155°F. Transfer pork tenderloins to a platter and tent with foil, 10 minutes before slicing.
To make Sauteed Apples and Sauce:
- In the same skillet pork was roasted in, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add apple wedges and sauté until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally, approx. 5 to 7 minutes. Remove apples from skillet with a slotted spoon.
- In a small bowl add flour and enough chicken stock to make a thin rue. Whisk until combined. To the skillet, add remaining chicken stock and cider. Bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk flour mixture in sauce and boil until thickened and reduced to about 1 cup (approximately 5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar, and any of the juices from the standing pork.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut meat into ½ inch thick slices and serve topped with apples and sauce and oven-roasted potatoes.
Nov 2, 2014
Simple ingredients. Simple to make. Simply delicious! Seriously, if you try only one apple crisp recipe, this should be the one! Scrumptious!
Prep time: 30 mins • Cook Time: 45 mins • Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
What are the best apples for baking? Good baking apples have an excellent balance of sweet-tart flavor and won’t turn mushy when subjected to high levels of heat. Use tried and true Granny Smith, or newer varieties like Honeycrisp and Mutsu (Crispin), Golden Delicious, Pink Lady (Cripps Pink) or Rome Beauty.
Ingredients
10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Layer the sliced apples in a 9×13 inch pan.
- In a bowl, mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together. Sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over apple layer.
- In a bowl, mix the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together until combined. Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the apple mixture.
- Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes.
- Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
