This was the first meal I’ve made in a while that I’ve been somewhat disappointed in. These duck breasts were extremely fatty, a lot more so than the ones I had made in Atlanta. The fat made a lot of the meat hard to chew.  I also only marinated the meat for about 30 minutes, and should have done so for at least a couple hours. The turnips were nice, and the sauce was the best part. I don’t think turnips will be become my new favorite fall veggie though. Here’s the marinade recipe, as well as the turnip recipe from Jamie Oliver:

Serves 4 - or how ever many duck breasts you have.

Combine in a nonreactive bowl:

3 tablespoons fruit-flavored vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons minced onion, shallots, or scallions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon: dried oregano, dried sage, dried thyme, salt, black pepper, ground allspice

1. Add the duck breasts to the marinade. Turn to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 2-2.5 hours. Remove the duck breasts from the marinade, scrape off the solids, and pat dry. If using skin on breasts, score the skin side, making sure not to cut the muscle. Brush both sides of the breasts and a large heavy skillet with olive oil.

2. Heat skillet over medium-high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add duck breasts and cook until the first side is browned, about 2-3 minutes. Turn and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Best served medium, medium-rare.

For Turnips:

Serves 4, or however many turnips you have - we only had about 6 total.

14oz small turnips

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons butter, diced

6 tablespoons herb vinegar (I just used red wine vinegar)

1 wine glass of white wine

small handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked and smashed

1. Parboil the turnips (boil them in water for about 5 minutes) then drain. Put them back in the pan with the oil and half of the butter. cook until the turnips are brown. Pour in the herb vinegar and scrap all the goodness off the bottom of the pan.

2. Add your wine, the rest of the butter and the thyme. Simmer until the wine and butter have reduced into a creamy, emulsified sauce that coats the turnips. This will take just a couple minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

I was again really inspired by what I saw at the Greenmarket this Saturday, and I had my favorite fuzzy friend Paddington to help. I want to continue to keep my meals simple as the season gets busier and busier. I’m also going to experiment a bit and possibly make a dish Rachael Ray would be really proud of. Here’s what’s on the menu for this week:

Monday - Pan-Seared Duck Breasts with Turnips

Tuesday - Butternut Squash Pizza

Wednesday - Mac&Cheese Lasagna

Thursday - Baked Potatoes, or Jacket Potatoes as Jamie Oliver calls them

Friday - Pappardelle with Sweet Tomato Sauce and Baked Ricotta

This was certainly something you’d find at a highway diner, but I think better. I’ve been reading a lot about brining, and on Saturday Sonny Anderson did a brine before deep frying some chicken. I thought this would be great with the duck legs I have! OH man, was it good! Here’s the link to Sonny’s recipe - I didn’t have as much meat so I pretty much cut things in half. I’m not sure if the brining helped only because I have no comparison as far as deep frying goes, but oh was the meat moist and tender, and the outside just crispy enough! You’ll definitely need a deep fry thermometer, I bought one at Sur La Table for $12. When deep frying, it’s so important to keep an eye on the temperature - I noticed halfway through the duck frying that the temp was getting to 350F, so make sure you don’t burn it and regulate the temp all the way through. Once I served the duck, I was surprised it wasn’t super greasy - probably because the oil was fresh and not sitting in a deep fryer - not sure. For the mash potatoes, I quartered about 2 pounds of Yukon and Red Bliss potatoes - boiled for about 10-12 minutes and drained. I then throw them back into the boiling pot and began to mash. I like to let them cool just a bit before adding stuff so milk doesn’t curdle as well as the egg. I slowly start adding half and half, or heavy cream whatever you have, about 4-5 tablespoons. Then I add about 1 tablespoon butter and one egg. Be careful not to add the egg to quickly so it doesn’t scramble - trust me I’ve done it - not so pretty lookin’. The egg will cook, you just don’t want scramble. Then finish with salt and pepper - super basic, super rich potatoes. Sonny put garlic potatoes with her fried chicken, but I didn’t want to over power the duck with a bunch of garlic, just basic potatoes. You can also see I added some greens - key when eating fried foods, makes you feel better. I sautéed kale again, this time with olive oil, about a tablespoon cider vinegar, salt and pepper. It was great with the potatoes. Definitely try this for some comfort food or if you’re from the South, a little bit of home.

This week I was inspired by some pretty shiny magazines. I just got this month’s Food&Wine, and I also got the first issue of Food Network Magazine from the Wine & Food Festival. I also wanted to use the local duck and pork ribs I bought at the farmer’s market last week and wasn’t able to use. Luckily, Food&Wine had a special article/recipe section about butchers and I found a great duck recipe from the chef of our favorite San Francisco restaurant, Nopa. I’m also going to make the pork ribs for the first time without a super sticky BBQ sauce. Johnathan is skeptical of this method, but the butchers said if you’re getting really good, fresh local pork don’t drench it, make it simple. I was also craving some Italian, hence Giada’s Bolognese sauce. I also want to make some big fall salads, so I’ll figure out those dishes when I get to the farmer’s market tomorrow. Here’s how the week will look:

Monday - Cassoulet with Duck

Tuesday - Pork Ribs with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday - Fall Salad w/ Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Thursday - Homemade Pasta with Simple Bolognese

Friday - Fall Veg Pizza/Salad Pizza

This is the first meal from the whole duck that I bought this week. The really nice butcher at Whole Foods Alpharetta (not Union Square) cut the duck up for me, and when I got home, all I had to do was cut the breast meat from the bones. When cutting poultry, make sure you have a sharp, thin knife - it just makes it easier to get all the rich meat off the bones. Save the breast bones, and make a stock, which I’ll be doing this week for a future soup - which my parents will enjoy, not me…. Every part of the bird can be and should be used. The skin gets crispy unlike chicken and it tastes like filet mignon without the price tag. People seem to be hesitant of the duck, or think it’s too expensive or fancy - but it’s a much healthier, cheaper alternative to beef, and for me has more flavor, even with just salt and pepper. It’s really fun to watch the meat plump up and take on a whole different form from when you took it off the bone. Our fitness instructor has instructed us to eat kale for homework this week, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’d never tried it before, and its crunchier (if you don’t over cook it) and holds flavor better than spinach. This is in season - try it! Here’s how I put the dinner together:

Serves 2 (there are only 2 pieces of breast meat on the bird, but you could cook other parts for more ppl)

2 duck breasts

salt and pepper

1 bunch kale

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon, or to taste, white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. With a sharp knife, trim excess fat and sinew from the breasts and score the skin in a crosshatch pattern, being very careful not to cut into the muscle. Pat breasts dry with paper towels - this will make the skin crispier. Season breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Heat a cast-iron skillet (if you have it, if not use a heavy fry pan) over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Lightly coat the pan with canola (or olive) oil. Gently lay the breasts into the pan, skin side down. Let them brown for about 3-4 minutes - don’t move them! With tongs, flip the breasts away from yourself, being careful not to splash the hot oil and fat on yourself. Cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the breasts to a resting rack, or plate and loosely cover with foil. Let them sit for at least 5 minutes and let the juices redistribute through the meat.

3. Meanwhile, wash your whole bunch of kale, and trim off stems - these can be bitter. Heat a couple glugs of oilve oil in a large pan, and add your garlic and shallots. Let them cook for about 2-3 minutes, until the shallots are limp and translucent. Slowly add kale and with tongs work kale around the pan letting all the leaves hit the sauce. They should start to wilt, and should fit in the pan. Add your vinegar, paprika, and cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Don’t over cook them - you still want some crunch. Sauté for about 4 minutes total.

4. Serve breasts with kale and a piece of crusty toasted bread!

Super H Mart in Atlanta, complete with local gas-guzzling SUVs

As I mentioned yesterday, I had to make an emergency trip to my parent’s house in North Atlanta. So I left some of my farmer’s market produce and froze the meat I had bought in Brooklyn. So today I ventured out, in a car….. to collect what I’d needed here in ATL and get the other things my parents had on their list. I don’t have receipts to scan or a scanner this week, so you’ll have to take my word for it. My father has been raving about this new Korean market down the road, Super H Mart (pictured above w/SUVs included) where he finds tons of fresh veggies, great seafood, and lots of Korean food he has no idea what to do with. I found a cool cut of meat I’d never seen - shaved, super thin ribeye. I think I’m going to wrap it around my eggplants, see what happens. I also found my palm sugar which I need for my curried soup on Friday. The Whole Foods here is stunning, so well stocked, and people are super friendly. The prepared food guy asked how my Sunday was, and my initial response was, “Excuse me? I didn’t hear you correctly” - I was taken aback by an actual interest in the customers from the employees. I also had my heart set on having duck this week after I bought it in Union Square and had to freeze it, so I bought a whole duck for only $2.99/lb! And the butcher offered to cut it into pieces for me! I was practically floating through the store. I had to get a couple expensive dairy items, but my parents also have a very well stocked pantry and kitchen so I think things even out. So here’s my rough/combo total for this week’s groceries:

Union Square Greenmarket:

2 Red Bell Peppers, 3 eggplants - $6.30

Green Beans - $2.00

Broccoli Rabe, 2 bunches kale - $5.00

Bread - $4.75

2 Acorn, 1 butternut squash - $5.50

Shallots - $2.50

NY State Apples - $3.00

Super H Mart, Atlanta, Ga

King Oyster Mushrooms - $3.99

Shaved Beef Ribeye - $5.09

Palm Sugar - $1.49

Whole Foods, Atlanta, Ga (not Union Square where I have most of my disappointing grocery experiences)

Bananas - $.57

Turkish Figs - $4.69

Creme Fraiche - $3.89

Fontina - $8.28

Whole Duck - $14.86

Grand Total: $71.91/2ppl/10 meals = $3.60/person/meal - Unfortunately Johnathan won’t be enjoying my food until Thursday or Friday, and has to fend for himself back home, but my mom is helping me eat the other meals this week. Part of being prepared for us is being able to get Johnathan frozen Fresh Direct meals if I’m out of town….an expense we have to factor in occasionally, luckily my food is WAY better than theirs.