Monday, December 1, 2008

Royal Foodie Joust: Duck Bacon Salad

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RFJ time again. And, I was planning to abstain as work has been crazy. But, last month's winners from [eating club] vancouver are two of my favorite bloggy people so I felt obligated...

My entry was time consuming but easy

Coffee, blackpepper and honey duck bacon served on a salad of arugula, carrot and grapefruit dressed with a siracha, honey and blackpepper viniagrette (the title was a couple characters too long to fit in the title slot of the post.)

Basically, make the duck bacon the day before the party. I followed a recipe from epicurious, but changed it slightly. Then make the dressing just before the party, and dress at the absolute last minute.

Recipes
Duck Bacon
Marinate 1 duck breast in:
3 T Major Greys
3 T Honey
15 black peppercorns crushed
1.5 cups coffee
.5 cups water
.5 cups oil
1/3 cup jaggery
2 1/2 tablespoons Insta Cure No.1

After 15 hrs or so, drain the marinade, pat the breast dry, score the flesh and then smoke.

Slice very, very thin. Serve on salad with shaved carrots and grapefruit (or eat from the fridge.)


Siracha, honey and blackpepper viniagrette
(this is really an approximation)
Mix 1 T sriacha with 1 T honey and microwave for 30 second

Add sea salt and plenty of crushed black pepper

1/2 cup or less grapefruit juice

Drizzle in grapeseed oil while whipping.

Recipes to Rival: Squash Soup

Squash Soup

Squash Soup

Yesterday, I mentioned my obsession with squash and apparently I am not alone. The Recipes to Rival gang will be posting the squash soup that was made on Top Chef. That show is a guilty pleasure of mine (hey, I went out and made vadouvan because of that show), so I definitely supported the choice when I read it. The soup was an interesting blend of flavors including vanilla, miso and red chili. It was a delicious, hearty soup seen with and without bacon. Need to read the recipe? Go to the Recipes to Rival official post.

Great choice host, Meg of Joy Through Cooking.