Light Summer Fare

It happened again. The gourmet girls met for another amazing meal. We met last night, Tuesday, June 22nd at Bridget's (my) house. We started off the evening with yummy Marinated Feta and Olive Skewers by Lynley. The salad was Jodi's contribution - the Basil Green Goddess Dressing was awesome (Barefoot Contessa at Home)! I skewered up Grilled Herb Shrimp with Mango Salsa (Barefoot Contessa Parties!) and Lara's Black-Eyed Pea Salad was the perfect side (Paula Deen - The Lady and Sons Cookbook), especially with all of the fresh herbs from her garden! LS hit a home-run with her Summer Solstice Bread and just when we thought the night couldn't get any better, Andrea treated us to Liege Waffles with whipped cream. It was the pearl sugar that made it! Apparently the only two stores who carry it are Ikea ($3.95 for a 20 oz bag) and The Old Dutch Store in Sugarhouse (20 oz box for $5.95). As always, we had a great meal and a great time. Coincidentally, three of our dishes had fresh chopped basil! Unfortunately Raquel couldn't join us this time. We're all excited to meet at Miss Jodi's next month for some Indian Cuisine!

Marinated Feta and Olive Skewers

2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp orange zest
3 TBS orange juice
1 tsp cracked black pepper
4 oz feta cheese, cut into 24 (1/2 inch) cubes
24 mint leaves
1/4 large English cucumber, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
12 pitted green olives, halved
24 (6 inch) skewers
In a medium bowl combine the fennel seeds, orange zest, orange juice, and pepper. Gently stir in feta and marinate for 1 hour or more. To make the skewers, place a mint leaf about 2/4 inch up the skewer, then add an olive half, then a chunk of cucumber. Gently place a cube of the marinated feta on the end.

Bibb Salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing

1 cup good mayonnaise
1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
2 tsp chopped garlic (2 cloves)
2 tsp anchovy paste
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
3 heads Bibb lettuce

Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, anchovy paste, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the sour cream and process just until smooth. Add the sour cream and process just until blended. (If not using immediately, refrigerate the dressing until ready to serve.) Cut each head of lettuce into quarters, remove some of the cores, and arrange on 6 salad plates. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and add to the plates. Pour on the dressing and serve.
NOTE: According to Mr Produce Man at Harmons, "Bibb" lettuce and "Butter" lettuce are the same thing.

Summer Solstice Bread

Grilled Herb Shrimp

Mango Salsa

In Barefoot Contessa Parties!, she lists the grilled shrimp and mango salsa together. The link above to the mango salsa is the same recipe, just served with seared tuna.

Black Eyed Pea Salad

3/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped green onions, with tops
1 large tomato, diced
1 TBS fresh minced thyme
1 TBS fresh minced rosemary
4 TBS fresh minced parsley
2 TBS fresh minced oregano
Mix olive oil, vinegar, and sugar together and pour over the rest of ingredients. Mix well and chill. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

Mid-meal shot

And another mid-meal shot . .

Liege Waffles

Update: Andrea asked me to add this insider's tip . . .

This recipe suggests using a Belgian waffle iron with an adjustable temperature gague but my Krups Belgian waffle iron has only two settings...on and off so if your iron is like mine then here is a tip we found for cooking the waffles without burning the sugar. Scoop the dough onto your iron, close the top and unplug the iron. The iron will be hot enough to cook the waffle in about about 3 minutes without burning the sugar outside. Also, I have made these with and without the cinnamon and we think they are better WITH the cinnamon added. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream or creme fraiche and fresh fruit for a yummy dessert!

Laura, Lara, Jodi, Lynley, Andrea & Bridget

Mid-Month Gourmet Update

I guess this isn't exactly a "mid-month" gourmet update since June "Gourmet Night" is at my house tomorrow night, but I feel like I have so many gourmet "updates" that I would like to share!

First off, I made Jodi's "Blueberry Bread Pudding" (from April Gourmet Night at Lara's) on Mother's Day and it was awesome! I cooked mine for about an hour and 15 minutes, so it was very set. I dished up a bowl for my sister-in-law and she said, "this needs vanilla ice-cream". And so it did. Warm bread pudding with vanilla ice-cream. YUM!

Granola
A couple of weeks ago I got the bug to make granola. I haven't made it in several years (some of you may have been the recipients of my granola Christmas gifts a few years back) but decided to whip up a batch on a Saturday afternoon. I got the recipe from a former "piano mom", Kaye Dunn. Kaye is a fabulous cook and was actually the first person to introduce me to Barefoot Contessa. Here is the recipe and a picture. I've just about eaten my way through the enormous batch. Next time I'm going to try it with Almond Butter, just to try something different. I love it on top of vanilla yogurt with fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries or strawberries) in the morning. I also like it with my new favorite find "'Almond Milk". Although it does have some brown sugar, it's nice to know you're not eating a ton of preservatives.
8 cups extra thick oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups wheat or oat bran
8 oz almonds, coarsely chopped
8 oz cashews
8 oz unsweetened ribbon coconut
3 oz sunflower seeds
Mix all together in a very large bowl.

In a saucepan, bring to a boil:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
Remove from heat, mix in 2 tsp vanilla. Pour over oats, mix thoroughly. Spread over 3 cookie sheets. Bake at 200 degrees for about 2 hours. Store in air tight container. It really does make quite a lot. I put two cookie sheets on top of one another in my oven and rotated them after an hour, then did the 3rd tray in my neighbor's oven. Someday I have to have double ovens!

"Cafe Rio" Pork

A couple of weeks ago I hosted a dinner at my house where we made "Cafe Rio Pork Salads". I volunteered to be in charge of the pork, even though I'd never made it. Boy did I stumble onto something great! My friend Jody Marsden printed off the recipe for me from a blog she had discovered, www.heidikins.com (which I happen to think is darling). It's super easy and super yummy! Jody made the Tomatillo Dressing; I just did the pork. Here is a picture after 18 hours, just after taking off the lid to the crockpot.

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly as posted on heidikins.com, but I left out the cayenne pepper.

• Rob and I are trying a month of "no spending". So, in a desperate moment when I needed a "treat", instead of running out for a shake, I decided to try Lynley's "Lemon Pineapple Sherbet" from last month and it was delicious! The recipe definitely makes a lot, so if you have a small ice-cream maker, you'll have to divide it into two batches.

Salmon, Shrimp & Cheesecake

On Sunday, June 13 my family had a BBQ for my mom's and my birthdays. I brought the main dish and the desert. I did the "Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with a Maple Glaze" which Andrea made in June of 2008 (see previous post). It's always a hit! I did however, have my first plank catch on fire. I think it's important to soak the planks in water for plenty of time (like longer than 10 minutes)! I also made a marinade which Lara Dixon gave me the recipe for a few years ago. I brought it over to my brother's the day before. They marinated shrimp and halibut in it overnight. Both were delicious!

Marinated Shrimp
2 lbs shrimp, de-shelled
3 cloves crushed garlic
garlic slat to taste (I didn't add this)
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
juice from one lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Marinate overnight. Remove shrimp from marinade and grill until pink.

The cheesecake I made is the Barefoot Contessa Cheesecake I made for gourmet night at Andrea's in March of this year. It was good all over again. My favorite comments of the night were, "You MADE this?" and "This is better than Cheesecake Factory"! What cook doesn't feel happy with comments like that!? I'm telling you; it's a great recipe! Pictured are my mom and I holding our "Birthday Cake".

Roasted Corn and Avocado Salsa
The ladies threw me a fabulous birthday party last week with tons of yummy food (including Bleu Cheese Burgers by LS)! One of the new recipes everyone went crazy over was Lara's "Roasted Corn and Avocado Salsa", so I thought I'd better post the recipe!

2 ears of corn, kernels cut off the ear
2 garlic cloves
6 T red onions
2 t cumin
1 T oil
1 avocado, chopped
juice of one lime
2 T apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

Mix corn, garlic, onions, cumin and oil. Broil until toasted for about 5 min. Add and mix the avocado, lime juice, and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

You might be able to see a little salsa on one of our plates, but more importantly you can see we're all having a fabulous time!

Well, now that the malware is cleaned off of my computer (thanks to my brilliantly technical husband) I can finally put this post up and get to my marinade for tonight!

Oooh one more thing . . . I made the "Go To Chocolate Cake" from Keeping Up for Father's Day desert with Rob's family and it was amazing! So moist and flavorful. I've been searching for a good chocolate cake recipe and I do believe I have found what I was looking for!

Favorite "Go-to" Chocolate Cake
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups boiling water
2 eggs
Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix in boiling water, then add eggs and mix well. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Frost cake while slightly warm (this made it awesome) with vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
Cream butter in a mixer, then beat in 3 cups powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla. Continue adding powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Seven Courses for Seven Ladies

The gourmet girls have met again! Lucky for all of us LS has returned to the Beehive State and more importantly, to the gourmet girls! We had a wonderful evening of food and fun on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 over Raquel's beautiful table. We started off the evening with two appetizers; Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta by LS and Barbeque Bri Quesadillas (Keeping Up Cookbook) by Jodi. Andrea spoiled us with Amazing No-Knead Sourdough (Keeping Up Cookbook) and Bridget made a spring salad with Nana Katie's Caesar Dressing (also from Keeping Up Cookbook)! Raquel favored us with delicious Holiday Leg of Lamb (yes, even though it is May). Our side was Smashed Peas with Mint Butter by Lara and Lynley favored us with not one, but two desserts; Bananas Foster and Lemon Pineapple Sherbet in fancy to-go containers! It was once again a fabulous evening!

"The Gourmet Girls"
Bridget, Lynley, Lara, Jodi, Raquel, Andrea &LS

Bridget, Raquel &Jodi

LS, Lynley, Andrea & Lara

Barbeque Bri Quesadillas

1 pound rotisserie or cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2/4 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce
1 pound brie, thinly sliced
1 large mango, finely diced
1 bunch green onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
12 small flour tortillas
butter for frying

Spread a thin layer of barbeque sauce on one tortilla. Top with desired amount of meat, brie, mango, green onions and cilantro. Top with another tortilla. Repeat for remaining tortillas.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little butter to the pan and cook quesadillas until each side is browned and cheese is melted, about 1 minute per side. Cut in wedges and serve hot, then watch them disappear!

Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Amazing No-Knead Sourdough

Bridget's Spring Salad with "Nana Katie's Caesar Dressing"

Bunch of spring mix lettuce
8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled (I use pre-cooked and do it in the microwave)
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted in a pan with 1 TBS butter and 3 TBS sugar just until golden brown
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Handful of grape tomatoes (love those big ones from Costco)
Handful of croutons
(Coincidentally I bought the same ones Grace recommends in her cookbook: "Old London Round Toastettes") Dressing:
1 tsp lemon zest (I used a Tablespoon, which makes it very "lemony")
3 TBS lemon juice
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp white wine vinegar (I used a Tablespoon, gives it a zing)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
I made the dressing ahead and put it in a bottle with a lid. Just before serving, I shook it well, tossed it throughout the salad, then added the croutons.

Holiday Leg of Lamb

Smashed Peas with Mint Butter

The "Foster" of the Bananas Foster in the Making!

Bananas Foster all dished up

6 TBS unsalted butter

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
finely julienned zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 ripe bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 pint best-quality vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup banana-flavored liqueur
1/3 cup light or dark rum
2 TBS fresh lemon juice

In a chafing dish or a frying pan over medium heat, melt together the butter and brown sugar. Add the lemon zest and cook, stirring to blend the butter and sugar thoroughly, for 2 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon. Reduce the heat to low, add the bananas and cook, frequently spooning the hot sauce over them, until tender, 5-7 minutes; the timing depends upon how ripe the bananas are. Just before serving, divide the ice cream among 4-6 bowls. Pour the liqueur, rum and lemon juice into a small saucepan and place over medium heat until warm. Alternatively, pour into a small nonmetal bowl and heat in a microwave oven set on high power until warm, about 40 seconds. Bring the pan holding the bananas, the pan or dish of warmed spirits and the bowls of ice cream to the table. Pour the liqueur over the bananas and ignite with a long kitchen match. When the flames die out, spoon the bananas over the ice cream and serve.

Lemon Pineapple Sherbet (not pictured)
2 quarts whole milk
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice
2 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6 lemons)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring until well blended. When you add the lemon juice, the sherbet will appear to curdle, but that is not a problem. Pour into an electric ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer's instructions . Transfer sherbet to a freezer-safe container & freeze for 1 hour to firm up before serving.

An Evening of Onions!

Another gourmet success! The gourmet girls met on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at Miss Lara's home. (I know, that was just last night - miracles still happen). We arrived to what felt like a French bakery with Lara's "assistant" hard at work on the tourte crust! (The one we ate was already in the oven, but he was making extras). Once the bakery was swept away, we sat down to the beautiful table above! Several of us were excited about our recent purchases of Grace & Amy's "Keeping Up Cookbook" - the sequel to "Favorites" (see our new link to the side). Bridget's appetizer, Avocado Feta Salsa was from "Keeping Up Cookbook" as well as Andrea's side dish of Allison's Fantastic French Onion. Raquel favored us with a delicious Orange Walnut Salad with Sweet-and-Sour Dressing (a Paula Deen recipe). Lynley's sourdough starter did not quite materialize when she realized yesterday morning that not only did she need to let the dough rise two more times, but then it had to chill for 12 more hours! (Lynley always puts literally DAYS into her gourmet dishes)! So, she doctored up some Rhodes rolls, which were yummy! Lara's main was a Spinach Tourte (very french and very good) and our desert by Jodi was ridiculous - Blueberry Bread Pudding! I can taste it just thinking about it!

Several people have recently mentioned to me that our recipes often seem intimidating, so we discussed the difficulty level of our dishes over dinner, and decided to start including a "difficulty rating" on each recipe. Amazingly enough, everyone concluded that tonight's recipes were all easy! (Good thing the sourdough didn't work out). We did conclude at the end of the meal however, that 4 out of the 6 recipes included onions!

This was our view of the kitchen upon arrival.
Lara's assistant is working his magic with the tourte!

Bridget, Lara & Raquel

Bridget, Senorita Jodi & Andrea

The Group!
Bridget, Jodi, Lara, Lynley, Raquel & Andrea

Avocado Feta Salsa
Difficult Rating = Easy

1 avocado, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
4 ounces crumbled feta
Stir together all ingredients. Gently fold the feta in last. Serve with tortilla chips.

Allison's Fantastic French Onion
Difficulty Rating = Easy

1/4 cup butter
2 jumbo yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
2 (14 oz) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 3/4 (14 oz) cans reduced-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup red wine (or add remaining 1/4 can beef broth)
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
6-8 slices French bread
6-8 slices Swiss or Gruyere cheese (or more)

In a large stock pot, saute onions in butter over medium-high heat. Stir in salt. Continue cooking, stirring often, until onions are golden brown and glistening, about 30 minutes or so. Add broths, wine, Worcestershire, thyme and bay leaf ans simmer uncovered an additional 20 minutes. Discard herbs. Reduce heat and stir in vinegar. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Broil or toast bread slices on both sides. When ready to serve, place toasted bread on a baking sheet, top with cheese and broil until cheese is brown and bubbly. Ladle soup into bowls, place cheese bread on top and serve. For a more dramatic effect, ladle soup into bowls, add slice of toasted bread, then top each bowl with slices (s) of cheese. Place bowls on a baking sheet and broil in the oven until cheese begins to brown and cascades over the sides of the bowls. Your guests will surely be impressed! (This is what Andrea did). Side note on recipe says this soup gets better with age, so f eel free to make a day or two ahead of time.

Orange Walnut Salad with Sweet-and-Sour Dressing

Raquel followed Paula Deen's recipe, found on the link above, with the exception of using pecans instead of walnuts and mandarin oranges instead of navel oranges. Difficulty rating = Easy

Spinach Tourte
Lara said the filling is easy; the crust is the hardest part. (Not sure how she knows this since she had an assistant working up the crust).

Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cube butter
1 tsp salt
3 eggs, unbeaten
1 glass of water
1 TBS milk

Mix flour with butter and salt, mash together. Make a volcano. Position 2 of the eggs in the middle. SLOWLY mix the dough with the eggs adding water. The dough needs to be very soft. Split in two and set aside (3/5 for the bottom and 2/5 for the top).

Filling
1 lbs ground beef
1 lb spinach, frozen
1/2 red onion
1 cove garlic, crushed
1 cup sour cream
Pre-heat oven to 340 degrees. Saute onions in olive oil in a large pan until cooked. Add garlic and ground beef and saute until cooked and drain the meat. Add spinach, salt, and pepper until heated through. Remove from the heat and add sour cream.
Roll dough with a rolling pin on floured surface. (See above picture). Roll in a circle to about 1/8 of an inch. Butter deep pie dish. Place dough in the dish, and keep some over the edge of the plate. Prick with fork. Roll out the top in the same way and prick with fork before placing on platter. Add the filling. Then place the top layer over it. Turn up the edges and squeeze closed. Make a chimney in the middle of the top dough.
In one bowl add 1 egg yolk with one TBS milk and mix. Brush over the top and edges of the tourte to seal the dough. Cook for 35 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Blueberry Bread Pudding
Difficulty rating = Easy

8 large bakery croissants
16 oz bag frozen blueberries
5 cups half and half
12 eggs
3 cups white sugar
3 TBS vanilla extract
3 pinches ground cinnamon
1 pinch of nutmeg

Rinse and drain blueberries and put aside. Beat eggs with vanilla in a very large mixing bowl. Tear croissants into bite-size pieces and add to the mixture. Stir in half and half and sugar. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour into a large baking dish, 9x13 or larger. (Jodi says she used a larger baking dish and it barely fit). Sprinkle with spices. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (Jodi baked for 1 hour and 10 minutes and she thought she could have baked it a little longer, but we thought it was PERFECT!) Remove from oven and cool. Tastes decadent served hot with a bit of half and half poured over the top or is even great cold. NOTE: (One of the gourmet girls might have eaten this for breakfast the next day).

Duck to Die For!

The gourmet girls hit another home run on the evening of Tuesday, February 24, 2010 with once again, an amazing meal! We started out with delicious Artichoke and Spinach Swirls by Raquel. Lara's Orange Fennel Salad had some fun new flavors (Ina Garten). Jodi brought delicious Apple Cheddar Muffins (Williams-Sonoma "Baking"); Lynley provided yummy Blue Potatoes au Gratin (Paula Deen), and the Duck Breast with Blackberry Sauce by Andrea was absolutely fabulous! We finished the evening off with not only our two deserts by Bridget (Coconut Macaroons and Raspberry Cheesecake (both from Barefoot Contessa Family Style) but a visit from two special guests - Loic and Todd! We all enjoyed great food and great company at the Clarke's with a darling table and darling children!

The Group
Self-timer in action once again!

Lara & Jodi

The Clarke Children in their jammies, all ready for bed!

The Group Sans Jodi

Just about to eat!

Lara & Loic

Lynley & Todd

Artichoke and Spinach Swirls

1 (17.3 ounce) package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained - (I recommend pressing the spinach between two paper towels to ensure as much of the moisture as possible is removed)
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 block cream cheese at room temperature

Thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes or until they're easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the mayonnaise, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, spinach, cream cheese and artichokes in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed.
Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. With the short side facing you, spread half of the spinach mixture on the pastry to within 1-inch of the edges. Starting at the short sides, roll up like a jelly roll. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet and spinach mixture. Cut each roll into 20 (1/2-inch) slices. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the baking sheet and cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 40 pastries.

Orange Fennel Salad

Duck Breast With Blackberry Sauce

4 large boneless duck breast fillets, skin on

Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup port wine
1 cup chicken or duck stock
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cups - blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries ( I used blackberries)

Sauce:
Combine the balsamic vinegar and port wine in a sauce pan and cook until reduced by half. Add the sotck and reduce by half again. Then add brown sugar, rosemary and berries and cook until berries are cooked and beginning to fall apart. If sauce does not thicken, add a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Remove the rosemary sprigs just before serving.

Duck:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place the duck breasts on a work surface, skin side up. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a grid pattern, going through half the thickness of the skin but not through to the meat.
Heat a large ovenproof skillet (such as a cast iron pan) over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the breasts and add the duck breasts, skin side down, and cook until the skin is golden brown; about 6-8 minutes. Turn the duck breasts over and cook for just a few minutes on the second side over medium-high heat. Next, transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook until the duck breasts are medium-rare, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven and remove the duck from the pan. Cover it with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice the duck breasts and top with the warm sauce.

Apple-Cheddar Muffins

1 large Golden Delicious apple
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 TBS sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted better, melted, plus extra for greasing
3/4 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan
Peel, halve, and core the apple, Cut into 1/8 inch dice; set aside.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter until smooth. Stir in the apple and cheese. Add to the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes, then remove.

Blue Potatoes au Gratin

Coconut Macaroons

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whits into the coconut mixture.
Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4 inch diameter ice cream scoop, or two teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve.

Raspberry Cheesecake