Pistachio Crusted Duck Breast With Pomegranate Reduction

Sorry, no intriguing title this time. This is one of my more visually appealing creations from awhile back. The original recipe was with a raspberry glaze, but I crusted and seared the duck with crushed pistachios and then made a pomegranate reduction to drizzle over the finished breasts after they had been sliced. As you can see this was not a plated dish, but it was made in a batch for the kitchen staff.

Delicious, trust me!

Neglected, Not Forgotten

It's not that i'm ignoring the blog, it's just that I have been so wildly busy that I haven't had time to take any pictures and honestly it would be a tad boring to just read about my food. I shall try to remember t take more pictures from now on, and to keep things interesting I may post some dishes from the past.

However this appetizer is from the present. A white asparagus and endive salad with a slice of salty prosciutto to contrast the flavors was easy to make and created a visual delicacy as well.

Life After Entrees

I know it's not exactly my field, but following my last post i've expanded from breads to practice my desserts. I'll just show a few I was particularly proud of.

 Tarts are surprisingly easy to make, especially in large quantities. I filled these with an almond filling, but if I were to do it again I think I could find something a little easier. Then topped with fresh cherries and almond slices. For the shell I decided to forgo the usual tart shell and go with a cookie dough, it got a lot better color and just crumbles perfectly in your mouth (not on your shirt). So sauce is sour cherry to balance out the sweetness from the rest of it.

 I'm going to be honest.....I hate these things. They take way too much time to make, fall apart if you aren't careful, and in my personal opinion don't even taste that great. However they cost practically nothing and will sell out instantly. A few of these will raise the level of every dessert on the table.

Presentation wise this may be the most interesting dessert, however i'm posting it because it was one of my favorite creations. It's a poached pear and hazelnut doughnut with apple caramel and just a bit of powdered sugar. This was my first time working with this dough, I think if I were to remake it I would have to increase the sugar content. However that's why I made the caramel to balance it out, so ultimately it tasted perfectly.

No, Not A Basketball...Just That Big

It may be a bit hard to tell from this particular picture however these fresh baked artisan breads of mine are a little larger than my head in fact. They rose beautifully and while the interior was soft and moist the crust was very noisy and the perfect consistency.

Croissants are one of my favorite things in the world, but they can take forever to make. However I feel like I definitely learned a few ways to do it a lot faster and easier, with some minor trial and error. I definitely think that my recipe for french style croissants tastes a lot better, but I actually prefer these american styled croissants. I like the light fluffy texture, even if they aren't as flavorful.

The Cure To All Life's Problems

I cured these wonderful pig products last week and boy did they turn out well. The bacon was dry cured and then hot smoked until it became the beautiful, and tasty, masterpiece that you see before you.

And the ham was brined with herbs for eight days and then very slowly hot smoked for sixteen hours. I could barely keep it in one piece when I cared it, it was so tender and juicy.

Sausagefest

These are some lovely Italian sausages, hand made by me of course or they wouldn't be here. I served them with a sweet cranberry relish that made them absolutely sing.

At Long Last, Actual Food

And it happens to be quite appropriate that we will be starting with some hors d'oeuvres.

These are shrimp and rice deep fried wantons with a sweet orange glaze and a tiny sprig of chervil for a nice anise flavor. For this event I played with spoons that had a small amount of fried rice at the bottom to stabilize them and also add a soft texture to balance out the crispy wantons
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I made these wonderful apple/mint gelee oyster shooters with a spicy horseradish mignonette as a garnish. It goes down smooth with a sweet yet salty kick that refreshes your palate, but after a moment you'll receive a very brief moment of spicy from the mignonette and then immediately be returned to the flavors of the cool apple gelee.

Pictures and blog posts should be relatively regular from now on as i'll be producing almost constantly.