Dried Duck Breast with Provence Herbs

I love dried duck breast, I usually use it in salads with foie gras, nut oil, pine nuts ... or simply cut into slices to accompany a good bottle of red wine during the aperitif as you would do with regular dry meat. You don't need any cooking gadgets to prepare it, just a few ingredients and a fridge.

  

I always struggle to find a good quality, good tasting duck that is not overpriced. So the best way to get a good quality-price ratio is ultimately to do it yourself! And that's what I did! It is extremely simple, you just need to be patient .... It takes 3 weeks to dry it properly!

Ingredients

- 1 duck breast

- 500 g coarse salt/sea salt

- Herbs (I prefer Dried Provence Herbs)

- A small towel

Preparation:

1. Remove the nerves of the duck breast if they are visible and put it in a plastic box on a bed of salt, cover it completely with the salt. The salt must tightly wrap the duck breast, if necessary, press lightly on the breast to adhere the salt to the duck. Close the box and leave it in the crisper of your refrigerator between 12 H and 24 H. Not more than 24H or it will be too salty, when I say 12 to 24 hours it means that depending on how salty you want your dry meat to be you can choose the salting time (I salt it for 16 hours). The longer you wait, the saltier your breast will be.

2. After this time, remove your breast from the box, remove the salt by lightly rubbing with a paper towel or cloth. Sprinkle the herbs, pressing lightly to adhere the herbs and pepper. Wrap the duck breast in a clean cloth without odor. Store it in the vegetable drawer of your fridge and leave three weeks without touching it.

That's it!! it's ready and simple isn't it?!

Dinner Recipe Ideas the Veal Head

The Calf's Head (Veal Head) is a traditional dish that is served in Europe (France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy). Some restaurants in France cook it whole with the bone and cut it to portions in front of the customer. Serving it that way is in art not only the cooking but the carving too. However it is better not to present it in that way to sensitive souls. This dish also counts among typical Swiss recipes. This type of authentic Swiss food is mostly found in the Jura region.

Ingredients:

• Calf's head: 1 piece

• Tongue: 1 piece

WHITE:

• 120g flour (20g or 1 tablespoon per liter)

• 10cl of white vinegar or lemon juice (1 tablespoon per liter)

• 20cl of cold water

• 1 onion sticked with 2 cloves

• 4 carrots (each carrot split in 4)

• 2 leeks (the white parts only) slit crosswise

• 1 bouquet garni (1 thyme branch, 1 laurel leaf, 1 small branch of celery, 6 branches of parsley)

• 2-3 peeled garlic cloves

• 1 hand full of sea salt

• 24 peppercorns

• 2 tablespoons of oil

Preparation:

First you need a calf's head, buy it from your butcher. You can buy it with or without the bone depending on your preferences.

STEP 1: BLANCH

Calf's head: It is better to blanch it quickly in order to get rid of all traces of impurity, especially as it also makes the flesh firmer. To do this, immerse the head in a pot of warm water if boneless roll it on itself (see pic1), bring the water to light simmering for about 20mn, skim regularly. Then drain and refresh under cold water. This way, it will not produce too much foam during the cooking which will preserve its white color even more. Drain it well and dry it by dabbing with an absorbent cloth. Then rub its leather with a lemon cut into quarters so it remains white when cooked.

Tongue: In order to ease the trimming process we are going to poach the tongue 10-15mn in a pot of boiling water, when done drain and refresh it with cold water. The rough skin (white part) will be much easier to remove.

STEP 1: Prepare the "WHITE"

Like all foods that tend to darken when cooked, in order to stay white the calf's head is cooked in a "WHITE", which is a court bouillon (broth) with flour.

Boil about 6 liters of water in a pot high and wide enough to receive the head (thick aluminum is the most suitable material).

Mix 120g flour (20g or 1 tablespoon per liter) with 10cl of white vinegar or lemon juice (1 tablespoon per liter) and 20cl of cold water, without making lumps. Then pour it in the boiling water through a strainer, and beat vigorously for 5 good minutes, so that the flour remains suspended in the liquid instead of falling at the bottom of pot.

Add all the traditional spices of a good broth: 1 onion sticked with 2 cloves, 4 carrots (each carrot split in 4), 2 leeks (the white parts only) slit crosswise, bouquet garni (1 sprig of thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of celery, 6 parsley branches with their tails), 2-3 peeled cloves of garlic (optional), and a good handful of sea salt and two dozen peppercorns and 2 tablespoons of oil.

(Optional) Aromatization: According to the recipe or the accompanying sauce planned, the cooking broth can be flavored with a bottle of dry white wine, or even vermouth, white and dry. In one case as in the other, the addition must be done before introducing the head. Now your WHITE is ready.

Warning: Use a container deep and wide enough to accommodate not only the head but also because when boiling, the WHITE rises and overflows like milk!

STEP 2: Cooking in the WHITE

The Veal Head: Bring the white to slightly simmer (It shouldn't boil), put the calf's head in the pot, if boneless wrap it in a cloth by tying the 4 corners together. You can cover the pot with a cloth rather than a cover to avoid the overflowing! A head with the bone's cooking time can take up to 3h30 minutes while a boneless Veal Head takes 2h00 to 2h30. Best is to test the cooking with a fork, it should enter easily. The Subcutaneous meat should be soft, but the skin must remain gelatinous, and especially not become soft as a flaccid calf's head is not beautiful to see, neither good to eat! The Veal Head must always be covered with water, if need be add boiling water during the cooking.

The Tongue: Put the tongue in the WHITE with the Veal Head for 2h00-2h30 (approximately 1h00 for 500g). Take the tongue out and plunge it in a basin of very cold water. Trim the tongue by relieving it of its rough skin and fatty parts of the horn.

STEP 3: Serving and preserving

Serving the boneless Head: Once cooked you can cut it into slices which is the most common way to serve it (see below). Another way is to unfold the head and portion it into cubes, do the same with the tongue, which allows to portion the quantity of tongue and head evenly between the dishes. It is imperative to serve calf's head on hot plates so that it does not freeze and remains gelatinous. For the same reason, it is recommended to keep it warm for a possible second service.

Serving the head on the bone: You can carve it into portions in front of your guests if you fell confident enough, or you can portion it in your kitchen. It is imperative to serve calf's head on hot plates so that it does not freeze and remains gelatinous. For the same reason, it is recommended to keep it warm for a possible second service.

Side Dish: Serve with 3 small potatoes (peeled), a half hard boiled egg, and 1 pickle cut into slices, per person. Heat them up in the same pot you are using to heat up the portions of veal head.

Sauces: Tastes good with Gribiche Sauce or Tartar Sauce served aside

How to preserve it: The best way is to cut the tongue and the head into cubes, and put them in bags separate the tongue and head evenly between the bags (I advise you put 1 to 2 portions per bag). fill each bag with the broth and put in the fridge. The broth will harden in the way of a gelatin. All you need to do when you want to eat is open a bag pour it in a small pot add Serve with 3 small potatoes (peeled), a half hardboiled egg, and 1 pickle cut into slices, per portion and heat it up.

If you live in Geneva this typical dish can be eaten at L'Auberge Communale de Meyrin (address: Avenue de Vaudagne 13bis, 1217 Meyrin)

Recipe Easy Quiche Smoked Salmon

You can make the one big version kind of like a pie or many little ones, which kids will prefer and will also be more suitable to serve as aperitif.

Ingredients for 4 people:

1 short pastry

3 egg yolks

100 ml cream

100 ml of milk

50 to 80g Smoked salmon

50g grated cheese (Gruyere)

1/2 onion

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper

For the short pastry:

300g flour

150g butter

1 pinch of salt

8cl water

Total Time: 50min

Preparation: 10min

Baking time: 40 min

Preparation:

We will first prepare the short pastry:

1. Mix the salt and flower and put it on the work surface. Cut the softened butter into pieces and add it to the flour.

2. Give the mixture a sandy texture by rubbing it between the fingers it should take 2 to 3mn.

3. Add the water little by little until you can make a ball with the pastry.

4. Let it rest 30mn, during that time we will begin the preparation of the mixture that goes in the quiche

5. Preheat oven to 200°C.

6. Cut the smoked salmon into small pieces.

7. Mince the onions and cook with the butter. Reserve it for later and let it cool down.

8. In a bowl mix the egg yolks, with the cheese and cream, season  to your taste with salt and pepper.

9. Flatten the short pastry and lay them in the buttered mold (or molds)

10. First put the onion and smoked salmon on the dough and then delicately pour the preparation on it.

11. Finally cook in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes depending on the oven.

Madeleine the French Butter Cake

Origins

The Madeleine from Commercy gets its name from a young maid named Madeleine Paulmier, servant of Perrotin Marquise of Baumont. In 1755 she manufactured these cakes for "Duke Stanislas Leszczynski". This tradition has survived until nowadays.

According to other uncertain sources, the Madeleine goes back to the origin of the "Saint Jacques de Compostelle" pilgrimage. During that time, it is said a girl named "Madeleine" offered cakes with eggs to the pilgrims, molded in a "Saint-Jacques shell (scallop shell)". The emblem of the pilgrimage is a scallop shell.

Ingredients for 6 people (20 Madeleines):

125g of sugar

125g flour

125g softened butter

2 eggs

Vanilla extract

Total Time: 25min

Preparation: 10min

Baking time: 15min

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. In a bowl, mix the sugar and eggs. Add flour, vanilla extract and mix. Finally, add the softened butter (not melted) and mix well.

2. Butter and lightly flour the Madeleine molds. Fill 2/3 with the help of teaspoons. Bake 10 to 15 minutes in the oven.

Cold Rosbeef with Tartar Sauce for Summer

Material:

Oven baking tray, Oven rack, Pan, Syringe (optional)

Ingredients:

1.2 kg of rosbeef

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven (200°C)
2. Coat the rosbeef with oil
3. Sear all sides in a pan until brown
4. Transfer in the baking tray and cook in the oven for 30mn. Cooking time depends on the size of your meat, there are 2 methods to keep track of the cooking time, by referring to the cooking time chart or by using a thermometer. You will find detailed explanations for both methods below.
5. When the meat is done transfer on to an oven rack and put a recipient under it to recuperate the cooking juices.
6. Cover the meet with a foil paper and let it rest for 25mn.
7. This step is optional and you will find its details below. While resting the meat will lose cooking juices, use the syringe to inject them in the middle of the meat. You can also take this opportunity to season the juices with salt, pepper, and/or additional flavor (ex: you can add truffle oil or juice to it to flavor your meat from within, or any other kind of flavor you like). Below is the explanation of this step.
8. Serve it cold with French fries and tartar sauce on the side.

  

Cooking time chart:

Weigh your piece of roast beef and refer to the following cooking times according to the weight. Temperature the oven must be between 200 and 220°C (thermostat 7).

500g

Rosbeef medium-rare	15 min
Rosbeef medium	20 min
Rosbeef well done	25 min

750g

Rosbeef medium-rare	20 min
Rosbeef medium	30 min
Rosbeef well done	40 min

1 kg

Rosbeef medium-rare	30 min
Rosbeef medium	40 min
Rosbeef well done	50 min

Using a thermometer:

Insert the thermometer center and along the length of the roast (it must be resistant to heat). the (the stem should be barely visible) and insert the meat with the thermometer in the oven. This will let you know at what temperature the heart of your rosbeef is during all the cooking process.

Your meat is done when the temperature at heart reaches:

145°F (63°C) for Medium-rare

160°F (71°C) for Medium

170°F (77°C) for Well Done

Why inject the cooking juices with a syringe back in the rosbeef:

To explain this step we need to understand what happens during the resting time. Letting the meat rest after the cooking allows the juices to redistribute themselves from the heart to the extremities that are at that time already drier then the heart (for they have been exposed to a much higher heat). This process  irrigates the extremities allowing them to regain in tenderness. It is during this process that the heart loses most of its juices and not during the cooking time which is a common mistake.

Knowing that, by injecting the juice back in to the heart, you will allow the rosbeef to gain a maximum tenderness from the heart to the extremities, as it will have enough juice to irrigate every part optimally. Plus you get the chances to season it from within giving it a taste it would have never had without this step.

Cauliflower in the Oven

Preparation time: 15mn
Cooking time: 1h30

Ingredients for 6 persons:

1 small cauliflower

50g softened butter

4 cloves of garlic

3cm of fresh ginger

1 tsp paprika powder

1,5 tsp pepper

1,5 tsp Salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Remove the leaves from the cauliflower
3. Make a cross on the foot, with a large knife.
4. In a bowl, mix the butter, the crushed garlic, the grated ginger, the paprika, the salt and the pepper.
5. Place the cauliflower in a cast iron cocotte.
6. Coat the cauliflower with the flavored butter you just prepared.
7. Pour a glass of water in the cocotte.
8. Cover the cabbage with parchment paper and bake for 1h15.
9. Remove the parchment paper and sprinkle the cauliflower with the cooking juices.
10. Return to oven for 15 minutes.
11. Serve immediately.