Tag Archives: Holidays

Earl Grey Duck Legs

Three and a half weeks ’till Christmas!!!! Are you as excited as I am?

This recipe is a life saver for the Holidays, because you can’t mess it up. It works, always. Duck legs are very forgiving. You can even make it a day in advance and heat it up the next day if that were more convenient for you.
You can easily double the recipe, also any leftovers heat up great, or eat wrapped in a tortilla with spring onions, cucumber sticks and Hoisin Sauce. Absolute Heaven!!!!
But I’m getting off track here. Make it for Christmas or any other night of the year, it’s sure to please at any moment.
It’s put together fairly easy, just put the marinade in a zip lock bag, marinade, bake and you’re done.

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⏰ Prep time : 15 minutes
🍴 Serves : 4
🍗 Cooking time : 2 hours
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INGREDIENTS:
• Four Duck legs
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups of Earl Grey tea, cooled
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 rosemary sprigs
• 1 bouillon tub or 1 tbsp paste *see Note
• black pepper
• 1/2 orange in slices
• 1/2 orange, juiced
• 1 sliced red onion
• handful of cranberries
• 2 bay leafs
• 2 tbsp. honey * see Note
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
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• 1 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup orange jam
• 1 tbsp. honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the marinade in a zip lock bag and add the duck legs.
Refrigerator, turning over the meat once about halfway through.
Pre heat the oven to 160° C / 320° F
Take the duck legs out of the marinade and pat dry on kitchen paper.
Sieve the marinade.
Place the solids in the roasting tin and put the duck legs on top.
Cover loosely with aluminium foil and bake for one hour.
After one hour, remove the foil and pour off the fat.
In a sauce pan , over medium heat. Mix the wine, orange jam and honey, until the jam is melted. Pour over the duck legs and return to the oven, without the foil.
Roast for another hour.
Serve straight away, with the sauce.

Enjoy!
Myra XO

NOTE 1 : When I make the earl grey tea, I add the bouillon cube and the honey so it melts and mixes in as the tea cools.
NOTE 2 : I like to put on little aluminium foil “socks” on the legs during cooking to prevent burning.

Buttermilk Turkey cutlets in Nacho Crumb coating

12 Replies

Delicious juicy tender turkey cutlets, marinated in buttermilk and spices then breaded in a mixture of breadcrumbs and crushed Nachos. It was a huge hit!

This is what happens if you when you run out of breadcrumbs.

It was a bit of a shocker because I normally make my own breadcrumbs and always collect old bread, cut it in cubes, let it dry and then I blitz it in the food processor with some fresh herbs and garlic. I never ever run out, at least that’s what I thought.

This is a habit I have had for a long time because there is always left over bread. Anyway, when I decided to make this dish, I marinated the turkey, which makes it super tender and juicy, and got everything out to start breading the cutlets, but then I realized I didn’t have enough breadcrumbs. So I had to come up with a quick solution, I didn’t have Corn Flakes so I went for the bag of Nachos I knew we still had left over from movie night. You need about 2 cups of nachos for this.

I put them in a plastic zip lock bag and crushed them with a rolling pin.

I ended up with a delicious smelling crumbly mixture with about half bread and half nacho crumbs.

Serves 4

Ingredients;

4 Turkey cutlets, or 1 large breast cut into thin slices

1 C. Buttermilk

1/4 tsp. each of ground Coriander, Smoked Paprika, Black Pepper, ground Ginger, Cardamom, ground Nutmeg, ground Cumin, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder.

Generous seasoning of salt

1 egg beaten

1/2 C. flour

1 1/2 C. nacho-bread crumb mixture

2 tbsp. Canola Oil for frying.

Method;

In a large dish, add the buttermilk and the seasoning and salt. Place the turkey cutlets in the marinade and turn them over to cover them completely. Cover with cling film and marinate for at least eight hours or preferably overnight.

When ready to cook. Get out three dishes, one for the beaten egg, one for the flour and one for the bread crumbs.

Cover the cutlets first with flour, shaking off any excess, then dip them in the egg, let the excess drip off, then cover them in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing a little on both sides to cover them well. Place on a cutting board until ready to fry. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of canola oil, and cook the cutlets for about 5 minutes on each side. Until golden brown and cooked thru. Drain on kitchen paper before serving.

This is an easy Thanksgiving alternative that you can cook on the stove if you don’t want to get a whole turkey, maybe can’t afford one or don’t have an oven. Serve it with Holiday Cranberry and Pear Sauce with Star Anise. and maybe a side of Jerusalem Artichoke au jus with Pancetta, Garlic and Thyme and you have yourself a little feast fit for a king.

Note: Left overs a great on sandwiches!!!

Holiday Cranberry and Pear Sauce with Star Anise.

11 Replies

I am so excited that the holiday season is coming up.
I like to have plenty of sauces and condiments on hand for not only the turkey, but for Pâtés, sandwiches and cheeses too.
Here’s my favorite sauce, the star anise gives it such a depth of flavour that I am sure you will love. It’s made in a jiffy and easily keeps over the holiday season. The preserving sugar I am using is one that only requires a short cooking time, so check which sugar is available to you and cook according to directions on the sugar package.
Makes 2 medium Jars.

INGREDIENTS:

12.5 oz bag of fresh Cranberries
2 medium pears
1/2 C. orange juice
2 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
12 oz. Preserving Sugar

METHOD:

In a pan, place the cranberries, the peeled, cored and chopped pears, the orange juice and the spices and sugar.
Leave to macerate for about two hours. Stirring occasionally.
Turn the heat on high and bring it to a boil, reduce heat but is must still bubble slightly. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and place them upside down on a clean kitchen towel for about an hour. Turn upright and cool completely. Label and store.

If you try this recipe let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #thecookingspoon on instagram! You’ll make my day.

Zombie Brain Meatloaf

29 Replies

This is such a fun Halloween dinner, I know it’s a bit creepy, but isn’t that the point? Kids love it, especially the lucky one who get’s to stick the knife in the brain.

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy to make, it’s basically just a shaped meatloaf and everyone will love it.

Serves 6 – 8

Needed:

Rectangular Dish, 7 by 5-Inch,

Wilton 12-Inch Featherweight Decorating Bag

Wilton Tip No. 6

INGREDIENTS BRAIN:

2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 C. Panko Bread Crumbs
2 eggs
1 tbsp. Ketchup
2 tsp. prepared Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped very fine
1 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt, Fine
freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

INGREDIENTS BASTING::

2 tbsp. Ketchup
2 tbsp. Conimex Ketjap Manis, (Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce)

DECORATING:

1/4 C. Ketchup

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine ground beef, and the remaining ingredients for the brain in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using your hand, incorporate everything into the meat. This only takes 30 seconds or so, you do not want to over mix.

Transfer meat into a large baking tray lined with parchment paper, press it down and shape into a brain. With the handle of a spoon go alongside the entire brain to make a ridge in the middle, then make indentations with your fingers tips all over the brain to create an uneven surface.

Mix ketjap manis with ketchup and baste brain with half the basting sauce. Baste again after an hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes

Remove from oven and drain off excess grease. Let stand for 5 minutes, put 1/4 cup of Ketchup in a pastry bag fitted with the No. 6 tip, and pipe the motive (see picture) onto the brain.

Enjoy!