Christmas Mad Mac Series: Duck Penne w/ Duck Fat Cream & 4 Cheese Sauce

Sometimes, the best meals are created by accident. Other times, it comes from necessity (which is true in this case). I had made this dish before and because of a November #FoodieChat session, this came to life once again. It all began with a question. 

Q4 #Foodiechats What was your first home cooked meal you made, and how have you perfected it over the years? #HomeCooking

7:20 PM - 6 Nov 2017

 So the fuse was lit. And one response started it all. My reply follows. 

lillian lake‏ @llake

Replying to @Foodiechats

Macaroni/cheese - I use 5 different cheeses - dairy products & don't overcook the pasta. Also, I add lobster time to time. #FoodieChats

John Duncan‏ @emptyplateadv

John Duncan Retweeted lillian lake

You really want to kill the crowd, substitute lobster w/ duck. #FoodieChats

Gloria Piantek‏ @GGoodtaste even added some encouragement. 

I shared why I had to substitute duck for lobster (I'm allergic). Maple Leaf Farms came to the rescue. Through a chain of events, Maple Leaf Farms provided a duck and some duck fat for me to work with. I had some fun but was unsure what angle I would take to make this happen? As I thought about this, it’s really not hard to do. For all practical purposes, use your normal, go-to mac & cheese recipe and then add duck to it. Really. It’s that simple. If you never cooked a duck before, there are a few things I suggest before doing so. First, treat it like chicken- thaw it and then rinse and pat dry (some debate doing this but I feel better doing so). Next, before you cook it, pierce or score (which is best to do) the skin of the duck on all sides. I also suggest placing a bowl underneath the duck. Commit 20-30 minutes per pound at 350 degrees F (about 175 celcius). Mine took about 4 ½ hours (it was about 5 pounds). You can see the end result below. Once it cools, shred the meat off the duck and reserve it (or in plain English, put it aside).  What you see is the result. 

Above, you see the finished duck. I used an electric roaster for a few of reasons. The main reason was it would be easier to clean. As you can see, I used a rack to cook and cool the duck. You could also use a chicken roaster (or an upright roasting rack like you see on the bottom right, 2) or a rack. Duck fat & duck meat seen below. You can see all the fat I collected (conservatively, about 3-4 cups). I chopped some onions and garlic as well since I am using the fat. As for the rack, hint hint William Sonoma!!!!

Now if the name of this blog doesn’t fit a post past, present or future, this one will do just that. I spend the following weeks deciding on the pasta and the cheese. I wanted to use a more elbow or ear/shell-shaped pasta. So I get ready to boil the pasta and thinking I had some “conchiglie” pasta (which is Italian for “shells” or “seashells”) but went into the pantry……. and NONE on hand! I hope for elbow pasta but all I had was penne. I figured it would work since that sauce hold sauce well. All you need is about 1- 1 ½ pound of your favorite pasta. Follow the instructions and once done, drain pasta water into a bowl in reserve. The starch still remains and can help thicken the sauce if needed. I like to season the pasta with salt, pepper, a little oregano, garlic (granulated or fresh works), and some red pepper flakes. You can add whatever other seasoning you desire to use.

THAT was the easy part. So I was thinking of making a white sauce (or Bechamel) similar to the once you see below (1). Pretty simple to do.

1-1/2 tbls (25 grams) of butter & flour each. Melt the butter, then add the flour until it becomes a paste. Keep the fire low to medium (cook slowly) Then once the paste is formed, add 1 ½ cups (or 300 ml) of cold milk, added in equal dosages of three.   

The problem? NO MILK!!! So the pasta water came in handy. The butter- flour mix basically became a roux. I then added sour cream & American cheese to the penne with some of the remaining pasta water on low heat. The result was the pasta water cooked down, mixed with the sour cream and the pasta water. Again, on a simmer/LOW heat. If I had the pasta on anything but a simmer, I promise it will burn. I added sour cream to the consistency I wanted (about 1/3/-1/2 cup of sour cream added and stirred frequently. Of course, I added some of the duck fat reserve (from the bowl shown about) to this as well. I used only a few spoonful’s as I went along.

So now, once I got my pasta where I wanted it (with the sour cream and pasta water), I then added the shredded cheese. So what should you use? Whatever cheese you would eat alone but if you use multiple cheeses, make sure at least one melts well. I was debating should I used a form of gouda or a goat’s milk cheese of some sort? I was in my local Mariano’s market and they had a cheese called Lamb Chopper (sheep’s milk, which was VERY smooth). They served some up to me and from that moment, I was hooked. Cheese #2 is in. I went to a local Whole Foods and they had some 12 Month Aged Manchego, which has some modest “heat” (e.g., spice) to it. But still good enough and Cheese #3 was found. I shredded both cheeses and stirred them in the penne.   

Here's the result of this adventure. My parents also enjoyed this as much as I did. I can tell you this with no hesitation. This dish was MUCH better the next day, which happened to be Christmas day. As you can see, this penne was a nice compliment to the rest of an already heavy meal. What could I have done to top this? I think some vegetables, like mushroom, peas, tomato, roasted or grilled bell peppers may have added a different dimension to this dish. Still, I'm please with how it came out. 

So what began with a vision, fell into borderline megadeth panic, only to save the day with victory. As I already said, you can basically take your own favorite macaroni and cheese recipe or whatever you make lobster mac and cheese with and add duck. This is a win for someone like me, who is allergic to fish and seafood. I was six when I found out I was allergic after eating red snapper, which led to a FULL prophylaxis attack (the only serious one I had). entire  You'll be amazed what you might create when part of the food chain is excluded from your diet. I can't really miss what I could never eat to begin with. So if I didn't have allergy, I may never have thought to create this dish. There's a trade off for everything. 

And in case you doubt me, it also travels well for lunch. Both dishes you see here have trace of duck fat. In the case of the non duck penne, I added some of the duck fat when I heated it up. Yes, it worked like a charm!!!! The post-Christmas penne with the Christmas Eve meat pasta. I wish lunches were always this good.. Step out and experiment. That's where all the fun is found!!! Again, THANK YOU AGAIN to the good people Maple Leaf Farms for their help with this project. They asked how they could be of help and they were. They can be found here: https://twitter.com/MapleLeafFarms  and  http://www.mapleleaffarms.com.

Last thing. This is only the START of sorts. A new start and life this blog in 2018 (which I hope to post at least 3-5 time in a month about something). The start of an old food experiment of mine (Mad Mac Experiment) as well as at least one new one (Fabulous Fat or Eat Wilder). And guess what? There are MORE things I did with this duck fat I will share soon. 

Works Cited: 

1. Gordon Ramsay- “How to make a classic white sauce with cheese” video. Gordon Ramsay YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOPb95Wo3H4            

2. Vertical chicken rack photo taken from William Sonoma’s Internet site (https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/the-ultimate-chicken-roaster/).  

Muffa-burger, Part One: Burger Beast Experiment

So here's a new, on-going experiment. Burger Beasts!!! I have various condiments at home. Labor Day had plenty of BBQ (thanks, Dad)!!! This idea came into my head a few month back. What did I do? I took a burger and kicked it up a bit. You want some flavor and desire to try something different, you may consider trying what I'm about to share.

Now what you see is a bottle. This product was the inspiration for this project. I had some of Marconi Food's Muffuletta Mix (1) for some time but never had a chance to really use it. One of the most popular sandwiches in NoLa is the muffuletta. New Orleans has a wide variety of people and culture mixing together in one big symphony. While many know about the Creoles and the Cajuns (those who migrated from French Acadia after not signing allegiance to Great Britain.  While many know of the French influences of New Orleans, there are others nationalities that are pretty well represented are well. The muffuletta sandwich was born in this city sometime around 1906 by Salvatore Lupo, owner of Central Grocery company. You can see the obvious Italian influence in the type of bread (Sicilian round bread but focaccia or the like is seen more today), Italian meats and cheeses. It also has a sauce. To me, the muffuletta olive sauce is like giardineria (celery, cauliflower, carrots), only a bit more olive and carrot intensive.


So what did I do? I took some of the hamburger Dad did on the grill, melted some cheese and then added some of this sauce. The result was a very different take on a burger. I was quite pleased!!! I called this part one because I want to take it further. I will post some of my "experiments" I have done over the last year. For those who follow me on my InstaGram account                                       (https://www.instagram.com/emptyplateadv/) or Twitter (@emptyplateadv), you may have seen some of the crazy things (at least I'll concede as unusual) that I have posted there. There are no style points for this picture so let it speak for itself. Make sure that the mix is cold. It will provide a nice contrast to the hot burger and cheese (the same way as a pickle or raw onion). I'm going to take this further soon but for now, this will have to do. Step out of your comfort zone. Try something new. I liked this very much and think may of you will as well.  Enjoy!!!

Gut essen..... mangia bene...... comer bien!!!!!! It was nice to FINALLY get something back in writing and hope to do more as time permits. If you're not familiar with Marconi Foods, give them a chance. They a great product line and I doubt you'll be disappointed!!! If you're bored, tell them the Empty Plate Adventures sent you. No deals as of yet.


Worked Cited/Reference:

1. Photo taken from the Marconi Foods Internet site at https://marconi-foods.com/

Dressingus Maximus: Southern Cornbread Dressing

So if you follow me or participate in different Twitter food chats, the discussion of side dishes often came up. Of course holidays have some specialties and some more specific than others. One of which was the "debate" between "dressing" and "stuffing" side dishes. What made this interesting is that we had many people from other parts of the world- Canada, United Kingdom, and India among many other places. If you a member of any of these chats I mentioned, you probably noticed how I mentioned cornbread dressing is the way to go. It was funny how some didn't know the difference or even tried to argue there was a difference between stuffing and dressing.

Well, is there a difference? Yes and no. The differences are just as the names imply. Stuffing is what is actually stuffed inside a bird. Dressing is the same thing (in concept) but served on as a side dish (in a casserole dish or large foil pan, depending on who is making it). From a recent #fdbloggers chat, Hannah Webster (Twitter handle @Hannahwebs, from the UK) and I had this exchange, which inspired this post (in part anyway). It went like this:

1. Hannah Webster ‏@hannahwebs  Nov 20

   Q2 What festive food could you not have Christmas without? #fdbloggers

   0 replies1 retweet0 favorites
   
2. John Duncan ‏@emptyplateadv  Nov 20

   @hannahwebs A2. I know it sounds a bit lame but for me, cornbread dressing & mac & cheese or au gratin potatoes are mine. #fdbloggers

   0 replies0 retweets2 favorites
   
3. Hannah Webster ‏@hannahwebs  Nov 20

   @emptyplateadv I've never cornbread dressing or au gratin potatoes so I can't comment! #fdbloggers

   0 replies0 retweets0 favorites
   

John Duncan‏@emptyplateadv

@hannahwebs Cornbread dressing/stuffing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdI_OqpkCxI … (1); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEsg_93a9K4 … (2)

‏@hannahwebs  

@emptyplateadv oooh I'm not sure about that! haha.

At least she had a sense of humor. Here's another brief exchange from the #Foodiechats exchange with the host. The version I shared is similar to the one my Mom makes.

1. #Foodiechats ‏@FoodiechatsCHI  Nov 17

   Q2 #Foodiechats via @NinjaKitchen What is the best way to prep stuffing ahead of time?

   0 replies6 retweets2 favorites
   

John Duncan‏@emptyplateadv

@FoodiechatsCHI @NinjaKitchen A2b. Like my Mom makes hers (minus stove top;chicken stock,no cream of..) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcXTWvNRFng … #Foodiechats (3)

OK. While I touched upon the difference between stuffing and dressing, there are differences between HOW each is made. Some call for some form of bread (e.g., white, baguette, sour dough, TOAST which seems odd to me, etc). For me, most of my family on both sides have Southern roots. My parents and various extended family lived (and many still do) throughout central and southern Illinois. Those before them can be traced to Indiana and Tennessee. For those with those roots, cornbread is the bread of choice. 100% cornbread, not a mix with another. This style of dressing is MUCH more dense and filling. Depending on how it's made, it can be a meal onto itself.

I had an interesting discussion with my friends from my health club. What's more ironic is that we had this discussion in the club's sauna of all places. So when asking about what we (my family) would be having, the stuffing-dressing discussion came up. She is from Poland (but her husband is American) and she had never had cornbread dressing. After explaining there was no difference between stuffing and dressing, there are different types. She had the typical dried breads. She had never thought about cornbread dressing until I had mentioned we have that exclusively as a side. Another member basically confirmed what I had said about cornbread dressing. I provided 3 different recipes to make this (properly cited) as a reference.

So right about now, you're probably expecting an step by step recipe for how to do this. I already posted references that are similar to my Mom's dressing. My friend, Jola (from my health club) asked me if she had to do anything different from what she already did. I said there were 2 key differences. The first is the cornbread itself. The first thing you do is bake one pan of cornbread as if you were making a cake or a side dish. Some say cover and some say not for a day after baking. After a day or so, begin to break the whole cornbread cake into smaller pieces and then follow your regular recipe for stuffing. Some don't believe in letting the cornbread sit for a day. That's a debate for another day. For the sake of this exercise, let it rest a day. Whatever seasoning you use in your stuffing will work with this as well (as you'll later read). The second key differences is that cornbread tends to absorb more liquid. So the one thing you'll need to be aware of is that you may need more stock for this. Break the pieces of bread and add stock as you normally have. You may have different texture, but consistency should be similar (somewhere between mashed potatoes and a casserole). Expect to use between 24 to 36 oz of liquid (stock or your choice is best). If you use a 9" X 12" pan to cook the cornbread dressing, cooks at the normal temperature you uses for about 45-60 minutes.

The above is the payoff. You want to talk about tasting better the following days ahead (if there is any left), put this on the list. Now this is how I enjoy my family dressing each holiday season. My goal is to learn my Mom's cornbread dressing. I had two dinners for Thanksgiving. I also at with my extended family as well. My Aunt's cornbread dressing is a bit heavier on celery than my Mom's is but still very good. Due to the liquid content of this, you really don't need gravy but if you wish to have it, go for it. Add your choice of flavor to the gravy, such as oyster, pepper, sage or whatever you choose to have. Below is the cornbread dressing I had for Christmas dinner. Trust me that this recipe doesn't get old at all. I will share some of the highlights of my Christmas dinner a a couple of days or so. As for my friend Jola and her husband, they became believers as well. Once you try it, you'll believe it as well. If you try this, feel free to share how it turned out and what, if anything, you did differently. 

Works Cited:
1. Down Home with the Neely's: Neely's Cornbread Stuffing, taken from the Food Network via YouTube, uploaded on October 26, 2010.

2. Kimberly In The Kitchen (YouTube channel), "Southern Cornbread Dressing" recipe, YouTube Original Channel, uploaded on October 25, 2012.

3. "How to Make the Best Cornbread Dressing Ever", TeeTee Online original YouTube video, uploaded on November 12, 2010.