DiamanteBlu
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2005
- Messages
- 2,501
I thought it might be interesting to share menu ideas and recipes for Christmas [or holiday]. I''ll start.
Looks like I''m "doing" Christmas Eve dinner. In attendance will be DD, DH, youngest sister, her SO and me, of course. Everybody else is out of town!
I''m thinking of doing the following:
1. Cheese & pate tray [St. Andre, Robiola, Manchego plus a pate or two: smoked trout and/or a meat or fowl pate]
served with either table water crackers or atisan bread [baguette] sparkling wine [have not decided what yet]
2. Duck a l''Orange Emeril''s recipe. It is wery easy and it is wonderful. Figure 1 duck for 2 people. Every time I make it I cook an extra duck or 2 [it is normally DH and myself] since the leftovers are great. I leave out the bitters. You can use squeezed OJ from the store too. Make sure you don''t over cook the duck. Medium rare is parfect.
I''m thinking of doing candied baby carrits [carrots, butter, brown sugar, salr, rum/bourbon or the like and steamed string beans and maybe couscous or garlic mashed red potatoes. I''ll serve a good red wine - not sure what yet.
3. Dessert - who knows!
Duck recipe:
CLASSIC DUCK A L’ORANGE
Ingredients needed:
* 2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 6 oranges
* Zest of 2 oranges
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1 5-pound Pekin duck, cleaned, with innards, wing tips and excess fat removed
* 1 tablespoon Peychaud Bitters
* 2 cups duck or chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons arrowroot dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
* 1 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
Preheat oven to 500ºF.
Roughly chop the orange rinds after juicing and place in the cleaned duck cavity. Place the stuffed duck on a baking rack over a baking sheet with 1/2-inch of water. Bake until skin turns golden brown and lightly crisps, about 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300o and continue cooking until duck reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF. about 1 hour.
In a medium heavy saucepan combine the orange juice, zest and sugar over medium high heat and reduce nearly 3/4 in volume, about 3/4 cup. Add Peychaud Bitters to orange juice gastrique and set aside. Place duck stock in clean saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add hot stock to reduced orange gastrique and continue to simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes to make sauce.
Remove duck from roasting pan and discard drippings in bottom of pan. Return duck to roasting pan and place pan over 2 burners over medium high heat. Add Grand Marnier to pan and cook off the alcohol, scraping the pan continuously with a large wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of the orange sauce to the roasting pan and cook 1 minute. Remove duck from the pan and discard orange rinds in cavity. Place duck on serving platter and let sit 10 minutes before carving. Combine roasting pan juices and orange sauce in a gravy boat and serve with carved duck.
Yield: 2 to 3 servings
Looks like I''m "doing" Christmas Eve dinner. In attendance will be DD, DH, youngest sister, her SO and me, of course. Everybody else is out of town!
I''m thinking of doing the following:
1. Cheese & pate tray [St. Andre, Robiola, Manchego plus a pate or two: smoked trout and/or a meat or fowl pate]
served with either table water crackers or atisan bread [baguette] sparkling wine [have not decided what yet]
2. Duck a l''Orange Emeril''s recipe. It is wery easy and it is wonderful. Figure 1 duck for 2 people. Every time I make it I cook an extra duck or 2 [it is normally DH and myself] since the leftovers are great. I leave out the bitters. You can use squeezed OJ from the store too. Make sure you don''t over cook the duck. Medium rare is parfect.
I''m thinking of doing candied baby carrits [carrots, butter, brown sugar, salr, rum/bourbon or the like and steamed string beans and maybe couscous or garlic mashed red potatoes. I''ll serve a good red wine - not sure what yet.
3. Dessert - who knows!
Duck recipe:
CLASSIC DUCK A L’ORANGE
Ingredients needed:
* 2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 6 oranges
* Zest of 2 oranges
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1 5-pound Pekin duck, cleaned, with innards, wing tips and excess fat removed
* 1 tablespoon Peychaud Bitters
* 2 cups duck or chicken stock
* 2 tablespoons arrowroot dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
* 1 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
Preheat oven to 500ºF.
Roughly chop the orange rinds after juicing and place in the cleaned duck cavity. Place the stuffed duck on a baking rack over a baking sheet with 1/2-inch of water. Bake until skin turns golden brown and lightly crisps, about 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300o and continue cooking until duck reaches an internal temperature of 170ºF. about 1 hour.
In a medium heavy saucepan combine the orange juice, zest and sugar over medium high heat and reduce nearly 3/4 in volume, about 3/4 cup. Add Peychaud Bitters to orange juice gastrique and set aside. Place duck stock in clean saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add hot stock to reduced orange gastrique and continue to simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes to make sauce.
Remove duck from roasting pan and discard drippings in bottom of pan. Return duck to roasting pan and place pan over 2 burners over medium high heat. Add Grand Marnier to pan and cook off the alcohol, scraping the pan continuously with a large wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of the orange sauce to the roasting pan and cook 1 minute. Remove duck from the pan and discard orange rinds in cavity. Place duck on serving platter and let sit 10 minutes before carving. Combine roasting pan juices and orange sauce in a gravy boat and serve with carved duck.
Yield: 2 to 3 servings