B is for Berries

In an effort to tempt Simona from her pescatarian tendencies, Eli made a succulent braised duck breast with fresh berries. He accompanied the dish with roasted rosemary potatoes and sauteed chard with lemon. A bottle of Acacia Pinot Noir helped it all slide down. We used the leftover berry sauce to top some fresh vanilla ice cream for dessert.

















Braised Duck and Berry Sauce (makes 3 servings)

2 large boneless duck breast fillets, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken or duck stock
3 tablespoons honey
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 cup berries (we used blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
1 tablespoon butter

Score the duck breasts on the fatty side using a sharp knife, cutting about 1/8-inch into the skin in a cross hatch pattern. Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium-low heat. Season the duck breasts evenly on both sides with the salt and pepper, and place, skin side down, in the hot skillet. Cook the breast until the skin is crispy and most of the fat has rendered, about 10 to 12 minutes. Pour off the fat from the pan and reserve 2 tablespoons of it on the side. Turn the breast over, and place in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 3 minutes, and slice each breast into 12 slices. Serve while hot. To make the sauce, add the balsamic vinegar and red wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half. Add the stock and reduce by half again, then add brown sugar, rosemary and berries and cook for 3 minutes. Strain into a bowl and whisk in the butter to finish. Place the duck breast on each plate and drizzle the sauce around.

Rosemary Potatoes (makes 3-4 servings)

12 small red potatoes
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons rendered duck fat, reserved from cooking the duck breasts
2 teaspoons rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool under running cold water. Once cool enough to handle, place the potatoes on a cutting board and slice in half lengthwise. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a 10-inch saute pan with the reserved duck fat over medium high heat. Place the potatoes, cut-side down, in the pan with onion and rosemary and cook the potatoes until browned and crispy, about 3 minutes. Turn over, add garlic, and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and serve with the duck.

Lemon Chard (serves 3)

1 head red chard, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Add chard, garlic, oil, lemone juice, salt and pepper to large sauce pan. Toss until chard is well coated. Sautee for five minutes and serve.

A is for Arroz con pollo

Simona made this arroz con pollo according to the Cuban tradition, and we both agreed that it was a "greatest hit." The dish is very rich in flavor but decidedly mellow, since the ingredients have ample time to fuse druing the cooking. The olives, added at the end, feel a little abrupt and out of place. Next time, we would add the olives earlier or eliminate them altogether. Otherwise, the recipie is perfect. It makes 6-8 servings.

ingredients

For chicken
5 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
About 4 lbs. chicken (we used breasts, thighs and drumsticks)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

For rice
1 lb onions, chopped (2 1/2 cups)
2 green bell peppers, chopped
5 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 California bay leaf
1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes, including juice
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (12 fl oz)
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups long-grain white rice (3/4 lb)
1 cup frozen baby peas (not thawed; 5 oz)
1/2 cup small or medium pimiento-stuffed green olives (2 oz), rinsed
1/4 cup drained chopped bottled pimientos (2 oz), rinsed

Special equipment: a wide 6- to 7-qt heavy pot (about 12 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep)

preparation

Prepare chicken:
Purée garlic, orange juice, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. Put chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour purée over them, turning to coat. Marinate chicken, covered and chilled, turning occasionally, 1 hour.
Transfer chicken, letting excess marinade drip back into bowl, to paper towels, then pat dry. Reserve marinade.
Heat oil and butter in 6- to 7-quart pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate, reserving fat in pot.

Prepare rice and bake arroz con pollo:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.
Sauté onions, bell peppers, and garlic in fat in pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits from chicken, until vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
While vegetables cook, heat saffron in a dry small skillet over low heat, shaking skillet, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.
Add cumin and salt to vegetables and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in saffron mixture, bay leaf, tomatoes (including juice), broth, water, and reserved marinade and bring to a boil.
Add all chicken except breast pieces, skin sides up, and gently simmer, covered, over low heat 10 minutes. Stir in rice, then add breast pieces, skin sides up, and arrange chicken in 1 layer. Return to a simmer.
Cover pot tightly, then transfer to oven and bake until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.
Scatter peas, olives, and pimientos over rice and chicken (do not stir) and let stand, pot covered with a kitchen towel, until peas are heated through and any remaining liquid is absorbed by rice, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Z is for Zinfandel

Last week's dinner was a colorful and creative interpretation of the "z" theme courtesy of Eli: zinfandel-red spaghetti with broccoli. The colors of the dish were magnificent. We decided that next time, we would add cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach.

ingredients
1 3/4 lb broccoli, thick stems discarded
1 lb spaghetti
1 (750-ml) bottle red wine (preferably Zinfandel)
1 teaspoon sugar
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)

preparation
Cut broccoli into 1-inch-wide florets (with 1/2 inch of stem). Blanch in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large colander to drain, reserving broccoli-cooking liquid in pot, then transfer broccoli to a bowl.

Return cooking liquid to a boil and cook spaghetti, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes (pasta will not be fully cooked). Drain in colander and return empty pot to stovetop. Add wine and sugar to pot and boil vigorously 2 minutes. Add spaghetti and shake pot to prevent pasta from sticking. Gently stir with tongs until coated and boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 6 minutes (pasta will be al dente).

Immediately after adding spaghetti to wine mixture, cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, shaking skillet occasionally, until garlic is pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Increase heat to high and pour spaghetti mixture into skillet, tossing with tongs to combine (skillet will be very full). Cook, stirring, until all of wine is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Serve immediately.

Y is for Yeast

This week it was my (Simona's) turn to concoct a recipie starting with the letter "Y" or containing an ingredient that begins with "Y." We've pretty much exhausted the obvious choices - yams, yucca, etc. So I went with yeast and made a delicious pizza bianca with goat cheese and spinach. The dough rose for about 5 1/2 hours, but it was worth the wait for the crunchy, light texture that resulted.

Crust:
3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (from 1 envelope)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (about) unbleached all purpose flour

Seasoned oil:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Topping:
10 oz. fresh spinach, stems removed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
Yellow cornmeal
8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

Preparation

For crust: Pour 3/4 cup water into large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to dissolve yeast. Add oil and salt, then 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir until well blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding just enough flour to prevent dough from sticking, about 5 minutes (dough will be soft). Shape dough into ball; place in large oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel. Let dough rise at cool room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; form into ball. Return to bowl; cover with towel and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare seasoned oil: Mix oil, garlic, and red pepper in small bowl. Let stand 1 hour.

For topping: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add spinach and sautee 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Punch down dough. Form into ball; place on floured work surface. Cover with kitchen towel; let rest 30 minutes.
Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle mozzarella over dough, leaving 1-inch border. Scatter chard over mozzarella. Top with goat cheese. Brush crust edge with some of seasoned oil. Set aside 2 teaspoons seasoned oil; drizzle remaining oil over pizza.
Bake pizza until crust is brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven; brush edge with seasoned oil and serve.