Ott,A's Iron Chef Challenge-Stuffed Mushrooms

So I've done a few recipes using duck from Maple Leaf Farms for Ott,A's Iron Chef Challenge. I had just a little bit left over, so I figured I'd try out some stuff mushrooms. WOW! The duck and mushroom go so well together. The husband and I inhaled them with our salad tonight!

What you'll need:

1/3 c cooked duck, cut into small pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c chopped spinach
1/3 c monterrey jack cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, well beaten

6 "baby bella" mushroom caps

In a medium bowl, mix duck and garlic

 

Add spinach, cheese and salt and pepper

Add in egg and mix well.
Wash mushrooms well. Scoop out inside of caps. This can be tricky. My secret? Use a grapefruit spoon! Just be careful not to tear through the cap :)

Scoop in 1/8 c of the stuffing into each cap

 

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. 

 

I'm not really a huge fan of mushrooms. Odd that I would make stuffed mushroom, right? It's no secret I have a little OCD. I like the taste of mushrooms. I just don't like the look and feel of the stuff under the cap. I don't know what it's called, or if there is even a name for it. But the great part about stuffed mushrooms is you scoop all that out! 

I've had a blast trying out all these new recipes. I've been experimenting with new foods and found some new favorites. Big thanks to Ott,A and Maple Leaf Farms!

Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge-Appetizer Round

Have you entered Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge yet? These month is sponsored by Maple Leaf Farms in northern Indiana. The theme ingredient is duck. I made my first duck teriyaki style...Ducky-yaki! You can find the recipe here. You can also see my Duck Soup recipe here.

One thing I've always wanted to make is fried wontons. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out.

 

What you'll need:

Wonton wrappers

Cooked duck, cut into pieces- about half a cup to three quarters of a cup, depending on how full you stuff them

One egg, seperated

Bean Sprouts (a few tablespoons)

Splash of Sesame Seed Oil 

Soy Sauce for dipping

Hot oil for frying

In a small bowl, mix egg yolk, duck, bean sprouts and a few drops of sesame seed oil. Lay out wonton wrapper and spoon in just under a teaspoon of the filling.

 

Brush egg white around the edges, fold into a triangle, and seal. Pull the corners up to the top and pinch together. Repeat!

 

This took a few times to really master. I have to say, I had some deformed wontons. 

Heat oil to about 360. Drop in wontons and fry 2-3 minutes on each side.

 

Remove from oil and put on paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil. Serve while still hot with soy sauce to dip.

I honestly don't know if I can eat wontons at the Chinese restaurant any more. These were AWESOME, even if I do say so myself. 

And score one for me-the husband ate tons of bean sprouts and didn't even realize it! Shhh...don't tell him though :) 

As you can see, we ate quite a few of them!

Ott A's Iron Chef Challenge-Soup Round

Have you entered Ott, A's Iron Chef Challenge yet? This month is sponsored by Maple Leaf Farms in northern Indiana. You can check out my first entry, "Ducky-yaki" here.

We had a little left over duck, so I figured I'd go all Iron Chef style and make a few other duck courses. Today's recipe is Duck Soup.

What you'll need:

Cooked duck, cut into pieces - about a cup
Duck stock made from the duck bones - enough to fill a 2 qt sauce pan 1/2 -2/3 full
Diced carrots, green onions, celery, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts - about 2 cups total, adjust according to taste
Sesame Seed Oil - a few splashes
Salt to taste
Rice noodles

Bring stock to a light boil and add diced veggies.

Cover and simmer on low until veggies soften. Add cooked duck, salt, and sesame seed oil. Continue simmering, covered, until heated throughout.

While soup is heating, prepare rice noodles. I love these things! Just place in a glass bowl, cover with hot water and let stand for 10 minutes! Too easy!

When noodles are prepared, chop coarsely and place about 1/3 cup in the bottom of soup bowl. Ladle hot soup on top and serve!

I can't believe it! Not only was the soup amazing, the husband even ate the entire bowl without complaining about the celery!

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What's for Dinner #7

Have you checked out Ott,A's Iron Chef contest?

Maple Leaf Farms is sponsoring this contest and providing some awesome giveaways. Make sure to check it out and join in!

I've never had duck. Maybe I lead a sheltered life, or maybe I'm just a picky eater. It's not that I had anything against duck, it just never occurred to me to cook it. So when Ott,A told me about the recipe contest, I was all over it, ready to experiment. Here's what we had for dinner the first time I made duck:

Ducky-yaki (recipe follows)
Steamed Carrots
Mashed Potatoes (gravy made from duck drippings, not pictured because I don't like gravy)
Stuffing (made on stove top with duck stock) not pictured because I don't like stuffing!

It would have been great to have a shot of the fully cooked duck, but I didn't get to it before the husband started carving!

Ducky-yaki, or Teriducky if you prefer :)

What You'll Need:

1/3 of a large pineapple
1 (10 oz) bottle soy sauce
1/2 t ground ginger
1/3 c dry white wine (I used Huber's)
1 large clove garlic

Core and cut your fresh pineapple

 

You'll only need about a third of it, so go ahead and chop the rest of and give it to the drooling husband and kids. They're standing right outside the kitchen begging for it anyway!Yes, I know I need new cutting boards.

Put the pineapple and the garlic cloves in your food processor and puree. You'll need about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the pineapple puree. If you really want to, you could use canned crushed pineapple. I've made it that way before; it's just not as tasty in my opinion.

Pour into bowl and add remaining ingredients. Stir well.

Pour a cup of the mixture into a container with a lid. Put this in the fridge; you won't need it until it's time to cook the duck.

Pour remaining marinade into a Ziploc bag and put duck in with it. I was able to get the duck inside a gallon size Ziploc bag, but it took some work! Let it sit for 24 hours. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but honestly, I forgot to take pictures of it marinating.

Time to cook!

I cooked this in my table top roaster. I had heard that duck was a bit fatty and I would need to watch it during the cooking process. I also have my reserved teriyaki sauce that I would need to add and I thought this would just be easier.

I prepared the roaster by putting a baking rack covered in aluminum foil, then slit in several places, in the bottom. Then, preheat to 350. I scored the skin in a few places on the breast and sides, as well as the back. When it's ready to go, I put the duck inside and let her cook! Maybe I should have called this Ugly Duckling...it's not very pretty. Good thing it ends up being so tasty!

After about 2 hours, check the temperature in the thickest part of the meat. At this point, my duck was reading 160 degrees. Add the remaining teriyaki sauce and continue cooking. I let it cook until the temperature read 180. After resting on the platter for a few minutes, the husband carved away. I wasn't able to get pictures of this as I was working on the stuffing and potatoes.

The husband and I had never eaten duck, so we invited Audrey from Friday Night Dinner Date over to offer her opinion. She's a big fan of duck, and free food. I have to say, I really like duck! It has such a rich taste that went quite well with my marinade. The meat was so tender and juicy! I wasn't the only one...the husband and Audrey really like it as well. For dessert that night, we had Banana Eclairs. Super yum all the way around! A big thanks to Maple Leaf Farms for sponsoring this contest and making duck fans out of the husband and myself!

Full Plate Thursday

Salad? Yes, I'm posting a Recipe for Salad

First, have you checked out KDBuggie's Boutique?

She spotlighted me! Yay! I feel loved!

Anyway, on to today's post.

 

Doesn't that look amazing? I bet it would go great with some spinach and duck stuffed mushrooms ;)

What you'll need:

Chopped baby spinach

Chopped Romain 

Chopped carrots, celery, green onions, water chestnuts

Bean Sprouts

Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Puffed Snap Peas

Wonton Strips

Poppyseed Dressing

Start with a large bowl of chopped spinach and romain

 

Add other chopped veggies

 

Add cheese, puffed snap peas, wonton strips, and dressing. By the way, have you ever seen these puffed snap peas? I saw them in the produce aisle and Marsh the other day and my curiosity got the best of me. Basically they're snap peas, puffed up in corn oil then tossed in all kinds of yummy seasonings. They kind of lose that snap pea flavor, but take on something even better!

And the wonton strips? I just wanted something other than croutons. This salad was something different, which is what I was after. It made a great flavor and texture combination. 

Hope you enjoyed this salad delight, and maybe a hint of the recipes to come with the theme ingredient--Duck!

Banana Eclairs

**Warning**

If you've made a New Year's resolution to diet, lose weight, cut back, or anything of the sort, TURN BACK NOW! I guarantee these will kill any diet plan! These little bits of heaven pack a whopping 361 calories each.

If you're still with me, get out your pastry bag and be prepared to enter bliss.

The husband wanted dessert tonight.  But he couldn't figure out what sounded good to him, so he said "surprise me". I hate that. Just tell me what to make! So, off to the cookbooks I go. Eh, nothing sounded good. But wait! What's this? Cream Puffs? Hmmm....eclairs are basically long cream puffs with chocolate on top. So, Eclairs it is!

 

What you'll need:

1 c water

1/2 c butter

1/8 t salt

1 c flour

3 eggs

banana pudding

chocolate glaze

In a 2 qt saucepan, combine water, butter and salt. Bring to a boil and add flour, all at once. Stir well until all flour is incorporated and the dough forms a large ball. Set aside and cool for exactly 10 minutes.

 

Add in eggs, one at a time. Stir until fully combined.

 

 

Add dough to pastry bag. Pipe onto lined baking sheet. You'll want each one to be about 1 inch wide, 3/4 inch tall and 4 inches long.

 

Bake at 400 about 32 minutes. Tops will be brown and firm.

 

Cool completely. Cut  length wise, or if you prefer to fill them, cut off the ends. 

 

Fill the pastry bag with banana pudding and use a medium-large round tip. Fill each eclair with banana pudding, then top with chocolate glaze. Refrigerate at least one hour. It's usually best to taste test one before serving to guests :)

I'm pretty sure I just found heaven in my kitchen, eclair form!

I Wish Life Was Like a Football Game

While watching the Colts game this evening, I realized how life could be so much better if we could all throw down a red flag and challenge the last play. We'd need a team of refs around to review the last play, but life would just stand still while we wait for the ruling.

 

I'd also like a bunch of guys standing around ready to put the full force of their body weight into anyone that tries to take me down.

I'd also like a team of trainers in life. I need someone to come rushing out to me when I take a bad fall, literally or metaphorically. Oh, and the injury timeouts would also be great. Sometimes when my pride takes a tumble, I could really use a few minutes to pick myself up. 

Yeah, the multi million dollar salary would be cool too.