DUCK VARIATIONS - Your Holiday Table

 

 

 

DUCK VARIATIONS

Your Holiday Table

 

By:

Ilona Saari

 

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening...  In the lane snow is glistening…

Well, maybe in northern climes from Maine to Oregon, but here in Ojai “sweater weather” is a highly variable concept. Instead, you might find Ojaians sunbathing in our backyards, sunning in Libbey Park or swimming in an outdoor pool while folks in other parts of the country are ice skating on frozen ponds or shoveling snow.  But Ojai, nevertheless, decks its halls – or in our case the “Arcade “- with boughs of holly, and steeps itself in the holiday spirit. (Heck, you ain’t seen anything until you see a palm tree lit up like a Christmas tree.)  And, just like Americans all across the country, Ojaians gather family and friends close.  Celebrating and breaking bread with those we love is especially important this holiday season whether you cook together, or cook and share a meal around a virtual table on Zoom.  Food can comfort us in times of joy and sorrow and unify us in times of stress. 

Because we were deprived from gathering in large groups for so long, I asked two well-regarded local chefs for ideas for a special home holiday meal.

For appetizers, who better than Chef Robin Goldstein, caterer, cooking instructor, cookbook writer extraordinaire?  Her Red Pepper and Walnut Spread (roasted red peppers, walnuts, pomegranate glaze flavored with cumin, coriander and smoked paprika) is from her first cookbook, “A Taste of Ojai – A Collection of Small Plates.” Based on the Middle Eastern spread, “muhammara,” this “sweet and piquant dip” is perfect for this time of year.

A winter holiday meal always glows with a palate pleasing hearty soup course.  There’s no better choice than Robin’s roasted carrot and onion soup with her recipe for a savory spicy granola to sprinkle on top. This marvelous soup recipe is from her cookbook, “A Taste of Ojai, Flavors of the Valley.”

All of Robin’s cookbooks can be found in our very own Pixie General Store, Carolina Gramm’s olive oil Ojai Tasting Room, Caravan Outpost, and Ojai Valley Inn & Spa’s Libbey Market, or on her website where you can also learn more about Robin’s culinary creativity.  Any one of her cookbooks would make a fabulous holiday gift.  privatechefrobin.com   

My next “kitchen” call, this time for a holiday entrée, was to world-class chef Claud Mann.  Many of us know Claud from TBS’ long running program, “Dinner & A Movie,” a television show he co-created and hosted. But Claud was more than just a pretty television face, he was also a chef with a healthful mission.  He began his gastronomical career as a chef at a San Francisco fine dining restaurant, but soon left to join “Project Open Hand,” which cooked and delivered healthful meals to homebound AIDS patients.  He’s also written recipes and essays for the NY and LA Times, as well as other newspapers around the country, not to mention for magazines such as “Cooking Light.”

After moving to Ojai, Claud became co-publisher of the James Beard Award winning “Edible Ojai & Ventura County Magazine;” worked closely with The Orfalea Foundation’s School Food Initiative in Santa Barbara County; and was a founding Board member of “Food For Thought - The Ojai Healthy Schools” here in Ojai… programs that work with public schools to help students learn how to eat more healthfully by bringing fresh ingredients and scratch cooking into the schools’ cafeterias.

Never resting on his “laurels,” while severely injured with a broken ankle, Claud wheeled a stool around his kitchen and taught himself the art of bread making.  He now supplies the fruits of that labor to some of our best local eating establishments, including Rotie, a restaurant he co-founded a few years ago.  He also donates loaves to those in need.

His recipe for a sumptuous holiday entrée?  Duck confit!

“Some people avoid duck because they believe it’s too fatty. Counterintuitively, by submerging salted and seasoned duck legs in rendered duck fat and then cooking at a very low heat, the final product is lean and fall-apart tender. Confit is a preparation (comparable to fermentation, smoking and pickling) all of which arose as methods of preservation prior to the advent of refrigeration. As the duck cooks, the intoxicating scents of ginger, clove, cinnamon, (and of course, roast duck) fill the kitchen.” CM

“Duck Confit is superbly versatile.  Use in a cassoulet, risotto, salads, potpie, pasta, tacos, or my favorite, on a bed of Puy lentils alongside a simple green salad with a glass of Pinot Noir or Grenache.”  CM

Duck Confit Salad

Duck Confit Casserole 

 

Check out Claud’s confit recipe below. The versatility of this dish leaves you with a wealth of choices for your holiday table.

Duck Confit

OK, it’s time for dessert, because holidays are legally bound to feature mouth-watering confections, right?  Never mind that a rich, sweet delight will end the meal with a five-pound weight gain… you can always keto after the New Year.

The first is the richest, chocolatiest cake I’ve ever had: Mark Miller’s Ibarra Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Glaze from his Coyote Café cookbook.  You can find the recipe at my blog link: https://mydinnerswithrichard.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-last-hurrah-2013-ibarra-chocolate.html

 If chocolate’s not your guilty pleasure, try food writer Molly Wizenberg’s twist on a Citrus-Almond Cake.  It’s not angel food, but definitely heaven-sent and heaven-scented.  You can find the recipe at the link below.  https://mydinnerswithrichard.blogspot.com/2013/07/let-me-eat-cake-citrus-almond-cake.html

 As we wind down this very challenging year, I wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season.  Bon Appetit!!! 

Ojai Holiday Duck Confit

 Ingredients:

·         4 tablespoons kosher salt

·         1 tablespoon granulated sugar

·         1 teaspoon culinary lavender (Available from Rivendell Aromatics at the Ojai Farmers’ Market, or on Rivendell’s website)

·         1 teaspoon coarse ground black peppercorns

·         4 tablespoons grated Ojai lemon or tangerine peel, or a mixture

·         About 4-cups duck fat (Westridge carries it at the meat counter, or you can order from dartagnan.com)

·         4 large duck leg quarters

·         I knob unpeeled fresh ginger, cut into coins

·         1 teaspoon whole cloves

·         1 or 2 Saigon cinnamon sticks, broken in pieces

·         6 bay leaves

·         12 sprigs fresh thyme

·         8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

*Note on Spices: If your herbs and spices have been in sitting around for more than 6-months, splurge and invest in some fresh ones. I like The Spice House, Burlap and Barrel, Diaspora and Penzy’s. (All available online. ~CM)

Procedure:

·         In a small mixing bowl, combine salt, sugar, lavender, peppercorns and citrus zest.

·         Using a paring knife, prick the duck skin all over to allow fat to render more easily. Try not to cut into the meat.

·         One-by-one, rub each leg well with the seasoning mixture. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate overnight.

·         Rinse off excess salt, and then arrange the legs skin-side down in a Dutch oven or baking dish just large enough to accommodate the duck in a single layer, with sides high enough for the fat to cover the meat without overflowing.

·         Preheat the oven to 200-225F, the lower the better. In a medium saucepan, combine the duck fat with the ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, thyme and garlic. Place over low heat until the fat is melted and the mixture becomes fragrant.

·         Arrange duck in a single layer in the dish; pour the warm, seasoned duck fat with all the spices over the top. (The duck should be completely submerged in the fat. If it is not, you may need to add more fat or use a smaller baking dish.)

·         Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake 4 hours, or until the meat falls easily from the bone.

·         Unless using immediately, allow the duck to remain in the fat until used, up to 10 days, refrigerated.