Friday Night, Duck

Deep Fried Camembert with Granny Smith Apple slices and Walnuts

After watching an episode of "Follow that Food" on Camembert Cheese I decided to make one of the recipes featured on the show. It ended up being a combination of two recipes. Both recipes were basically the same... breaded in egg, flour and breadcrumbs and cooked, one was baked in the oven and the other was deep fried. I planned of the deep fry but when the time came, I ended up baking the breaded cheese in the oven. I think it couldn't have been any better deep fried, just more of a mess to clean.

What's up Duck? Duck

The name of this duck dish is named by Alton Brown, it's his recipe. I gave Tony Alton's new cookbook for Christmas and I didn't realize how much he really likes Alton. He looked like me when I get a cookbook I really like, reading it from cover to cover and taking it all in. I thought I'd surprise him with an Alton recipe and it's something I never made before and actually I had never eaten before. I was good, similar but different than chicken. It's brined in an orange and pineapple juice among other things and I decided to take those two juices and reduce them down and I served it with the duck. I'm glad I did that, it gave it some nice sweetness, and who doesn't like a good sauce.

Rosemary Red Potatoes

Baby fingerling red potatoes some left whole and some cut so they all have a similar size. Toss with olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper. Onto a sheet pan and into a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or so, tossing a couple times for even cooking.

Brussels Sprout Chips

This idea came from "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" (food network show). It was a show on Best Fried Foods. Brussels Sprouts leaves are separated and when you can't separate the leaves anymore the centers are cut into small 1/4 inch slices. They showed them just cooking them in a deep fryer until crispy and seasoned with salt and pepper so I did that. I was very careful to clean them ahead and make sure they were dry because I didn't want the oil to splatter everywhere. Well the oil splattered everywhere! I guess because the Brussels sprouts have alot of moisture in them naturally it's bound to happen. After dropping in the first handful I decided to just cook the rest of them in a small amount of oil in a saute pan and it splattered much less and they tasted just as good as the deep fried ones.

Profiteroles with Homemade Fudge Ripple Ice Cream

Choux paste is pretty easy to make and I make it once in a while... I've made chocolate eclair's, cream puffs and these profiteroles. You can also do savory ones, I remember doing a blue cheese one with a bit of kick from cayenne as an appetizer we brought to friend's houses. Basically when they cook up in the oven they become hollow and that's a perfect place to put homemade fudge ripple ice cream for these profiteroles. I garnished the plate and the top of the profiteroles with chocolate sauce and a few raspberries are always welcome with chocolate.