Honeymoon Duck Confit

This could be a dish to serve to a book club if you make it ahead and then shred the duck and use it in a salad or pasta. But it’s also something Meg and Seth might eat on their honeymoon in Seeds of Deception, when they visit some rather nice places (before the dead body complicates things).

This recipe takes three days.

Don’t panic—most of that is just waiting.

In June, when I was in Ireland, I stumbled on Fields Market’s prepared food section. I’ve already raved about Fields, and although in general I’m not a big fan of pre-made entrees, a package of Confit of Duck caught my eye. I will eat almost anything that is made from duck, but it’s hard to find in our area, and when you do, it’s usually frozen and/or tough. But at Fields, a package with two (non-frozen) duck thighs/legs was only 5 euros, so I figured, what the heck? 

I bought it. And a couple of days later I went back and bought another package—it was that good. All I needed to do was to preheat the oven and slide the container in (after tossing the completely unnecessary plastic packet of orange sauce), then drain off the excess duck fat halfway through (yes, duck is fatty—deal with it). The duck was flavorful and tender. I loved it--all four times I ate it.

But three thousand miles from Fields, could I replicate it at home? I’d always heard that a confit involved long cooking and a lot of fat. Both true, but not really a problem (okay, don’t eat confit every day of the week if you’re worried about fat—save it for a treat). The recipe is simple. The only difficulty is coming up with a container of duck fat.

Which I had! A treasured container of the precious stuff, that I’d been saving for a special occasion. The occasion had arrived!

CONFIT OF DUCK

(this recipe is adapted from Ireland: The Taste & the Country, Mike Bunn, 2000 edition. But that one made enough for six people, using only duck legs, so I adapted it and modified some of the proportions of the ingredients)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 leg/thigh portions of duck
1/2 cup duck fat (may substitute pork fat, but not bacon)
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
6 black peppercorns


Instructions:

Day 1:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a deep roasting tray, melt the fat. Add the vegetables, bay leaf and peppercorns.

Add the duck legs. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil.

Cook for 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure the fat is not bubbling (i.e., the oven is not too hot).


Day 2:

Cool overnight, then place in the refrigerator for 2 days (covered). Note: the cooked duck will keep in the fat for up to 10 days.


Day 3:

To serve, remove the duck pieces from the fat. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the duck pieces skin side down in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin is crisp. Serve hot.

While you are savoring the flavorful duck, here are some Book Club Questions to consider:

A lot has been happening in the Orchard Mysteries lately. Meg and Seth got married in A Gala Event, and they’re taking a honeymoon in the latest book, Seeds of Deception. But any time major changes take place in our characters’ lives, we writers wonder how our readers will react.

--Cozies are often closely tied to their small town setting. Is it all right to take them out of town now and then? Or do readers miss the regular cast of familiar characters?

--Marriage is a life-changing event. Does having the long-standing protagonists in a series marry (or at least move in together) change the story significantly? For better or for worse?

--Since this is a mystery, there’s a body—but in this case it turns up in Meg’s parents’ back yard. Should Meg and new husband Seth get involved in trying to solve it, in a place that they barely know and where they have no connections? (Imagine poor Seth getting chummy with his new in-laws while trying to solve a murder.)

--Do you enjoy learning more about Meg’s past? Her parents have appeared more than once in earlier books, but the new book takes place in their territory (in New Jersey), and involves elements from their past that even Meg didn’t know about. What kind of balance do you like to see between getting to know the characters better and solving the crime?

--Are Meg and Seth workaholics? They seem to have forgotten to plan a honeymoon, and then plotted one on the spur of the moment. Is that emotionally believable? What does it tell you about their relationship?

Since Meg and Seth have managed to survive a visit to the inlaws complete with a corpse, I'm giving away copies of A Gala Event (when the wedding takes place) and Seeds of Deception (with its rather unusual honeymoon). Leave a comment by Sunday night and I'll pick one winner for the pair.

Seeds of Deception will be released October 4th. Find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

The Wedding Cake

by Sheila Connolly

Meg Corey and Seth Chapin are getting married in A Gala Event, the next book in the Orchard Mysteries, coming out next week. Some readers might add “finally!” Hey, it’s only taken them nine books to get there. I’m afraid to count how many bodies they came across along the way.

Those of you with eagle eyes and long memories may recognize this recipe, which I posted here two years ago (and it’s the one that appears in the book—but you saw it here first!). It’s so appropriate for these two people—one who raises apples, and one who cherishes historic buildings. It’s an old recipe made with apple cider—how could I improve on that?

But I thought I’d try making cider from my own apples for the occasion. Nice idea, right? I have one tree that has succumbed to fire blight after a year-long struggle, but it made a valiant effort to produce apples this year, and I have picked most of them. Perfect, I say—I will use these apples!

Well, yes and no. This variety—Esopus Spitzenburg, one of Thomas Jefferson’s favorites—produces fairly dry apples under the best of circumstances, although with nice flavor, and this has been a dry year. I took half a bushel of apples (all that one variety!) and stuck them into my tiny but authentic antique hand-crank cider press, and…out of that half bushel I produced less than one cup of cider. Not even enough for this recipe. But it’s the thought that counts, right? It did taste good. I added some organic local cider to make up the full amount.

My cider--I have much more respect for
cider makers now!

And since you’re getting a reprise of this recipe, I’ll throw in a recipe for maple cream cheese frosting to go with it (I’m addicted to the stuff). It’s a wedding cake, isn’t it? There must be frosting!


Apple Cider Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2 pounds flour (about 6 cups)

1 pound sugar (about 2 cups)
1 Tblsp baking powder
1-2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of cloves (or more if you like)
1/2 pound of butter, softened
2 cups cider (fresh and local if you have it)

In a large bowl (the one for a stand mixer works), place the dry ingredients and blend them together. Add the soft butter and mix on medium speed until it’s evenly distributed (mixture will be crumbly).

Add the cider  and mix until you have a stiff batter.

Butter and flour a 9” x 13” baking pan (since this is a wedding cake, I made two round cakes instead). Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth out the top. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the top is lightly browned and the edges begin to pull away from the pan—probably around an hour (but start testing early—if you overcook the cake it gets dry). Cool in the pan.

When fully cool, remove from the pan(s) and frost with…


Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room 

temperature

2 8-oz. pkgs cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup maple syrup (use the good stuff! I may have gone overboard when I used an artisanal, varietal maple syrup I bought in Vermont, but it tastes really good!)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar (more if needed)

Cream together the butter and the cream cheese. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and mix. Add the confectioner’s sugar and blend until smooth. If the mixture is still too soupy to spread, add more sugar, bit by bit, until you reach the consistency you want.

Decorations!

Only one main ingredient: marzipan or fondant (which is harder to find). Roll it out thin and cut it into shapes of your choice (of course I have apple cookie cutters!), or mold them any way you like. To color your decorations, you may either paint them with a brush, using food coloring, or make up a solution of food coloring and dip them in whole. Let them dry before applying to the cake.

And next week you can join Meg and Seth as they get married in front of most of the population of Granford!

A Gala Event, coming October 6th! Yes, that's next week!

In case you haven't seen this before, here's what it's about:

Wedding bells are ringing for Meg and Seth in the latest Orchard Mystery

The fall harvest may be just about over, but orchard owner Meg Corey is busier than ever planning her wedding to Seth Chapin. Who knew picking apples would be less work than picking out rings and a dress? And even though the happy couple has invited most of Granford, Massachusetts, to the ceremony, they might have to make room for one more guest…


Ex-con Aaron Eastman has unexpectedly reappeared in his hometown, searching for answers to the tragic fire in his family’s past that put him behind bars twenty-five years ago. Moved by his sincerity, Meg vows to do everything she can to help him solve the cold case. As she cobbles together the clues, it becomes increasingly clear that Aaron may have been considered the bad seed of the family, but someone else was one bad apple…

Available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and in a whole lot of bookstores (I hope!)

Parmesan Shortbread for #bookclubweek

Okay, shameless plug: it's
coming out on October 6th.
You can preorder it at the
usual places.

by Sheila Connolly

In the real world, we’re in the thick of the apple harvest (which runs from August to November). In fictional Granford, Massachusetts, it’s December, and Meg and Seth are finally getting married. Having your main characters get married is always a tricky decision for a writer, so it’s a great subject for book club discussions.

I say “finally,” but that’s a question for book clubs: should protagonists get married? When? Is there a “too soon,” or a “too late?” Does it change the dynamic of the relationship? Or is it just a natural evolution for a couple who are good together?

These days it seem like more and more people aren’t even bothering about official ceremonies, even when the kids come along. No, nothing happening on that front with Meg and Seth, but I never say never—and there’s another question: do children belong in a story where one or both parents are busy chasing criminals around, thereby putting themselves and their children at risk? It certainly adds a level of complication, if you have young children to think about. It’s bad enough with pets, because you have to remember in the book to feed and walk them. You can’t just go off sleuthing for a day or two without making arrangements.

People say that planning a wedding is a major challenge. There’s even an entire industry built around it. No surprise, Meg and Seth are having trouble getting anything set up. First they’re too busy with their respective professions (growing apples and renovating houses), and then there’s this pesky crime to solve. The professions they can’t exactly walk away from, but the crime-solving is optional. Why should a character choose to solve a crime rather than deal with his/her own tasks? Aren’t there law-enforcement officials around somewhere? Not all officers of the law are arrogant idiots, are they?

Some brides-to-be (or their mothers) fantasize about a fancy church event with hundreds of people watching, and six or ten attendants in tacky dresses, and a five-foot-tall cake, and a bill that’s enough for a down payment on a modest house. Meg and Seth just want something simple with all their friends and family around them, and some good food (since there’s a nice restaurant in Granford, that one’s not a problem). Are they wrong? Will they look back and regret passing up the Big Do later?

The “case” they’re looking at is something that happened in Granford twenty-five years earlier. Seth was a child, and Meg wasn’t even in Granford then. Why should they get involved in solving it? Why do they think there’s any information available now that might not have been considered back then? (Remember, those were the days before CSI.)

Sometimes when a case is solved, there may be a resolution, but not always a pleasing one. Do readers want a “happy” ending? A “just” one?
Is a wedding a “happy” ending?

I’m pretty sure that book club members like to snack while they talk (as long as they aren’t leaving crumbs and greasy fingerprints in the books!). Some of you may recognize this recipe from earlier this year, as Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies. I fell in love with the recipe because it's so easy. Since then I’ve been experimenting with alternatives using different flavorings and mini-chips, and they’ve all been good. (They may come back at Christmas—chocolate cookies, with white chocolate chips or mint chips, plain cookies with toffee chips or butterscotch chips…the list goes on.)

But for Book Club Week, I thought I’d give you something savory (what? No chocolate?), with a bit of cheese. If you look online you’ll find a variety of parmesan sticks, but none with this kind of buttery dough. So here’s the cookie recipe minus the sugar, but plus parmesan, and a little red pepper for kick.


Parmesan Shortbread

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, 

   at room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (not the stuff in a jar!)
A dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Warning: the batter has to chill for at least two hours before you cut out the cookies, so either allow plenty of time, or chill overnight.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium for about 3 minutes or until smooth.

Sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture until it just disappears into the butter mixture (do not overbeat, or the bars will be tough!).

Add the Parmesan cheese and mix just enough to combine (if you use the mixer, keep it on low).

(I love this part!) Put the dough into a one-gallon ziploc bag (that zips!). On a flat surface, roll the dough out until it reaches all the edges and corners of the bag (this was the fun part! No muss, no fuss, and you know exactly what size you’re getting). It should be about 1/4 inch thick.

Chill the dough until firm (I put it on a cookie sheet in the fridge), at least 2 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. (Depending on what size and shape cookies you’re making, you may not need both. They don't spread while cooking.)

Take the dough out of the fridge and cut the bag away. You may cut the nice, neat squares of dough with a knife or use cookie cutters (don’t choose really complicated ones, because the dough can be a little fragile). 

Ready to bake...

Place the cut shapes on the parchment paper. If you like, sprinkle some more grated cheese on top. Bake in the preheated oven about 18-20 minutes, turning the cookie sheets once to make sure they cook evenly. You don’t want them to get brown, so watch them carefully toward the end.

...and baked!

Cool completely—and enjoy!

Enjoy!

www.sheilaconnolly.com

Apple Jelly

by Sheila Connolly

When I first started writing the Orchard Mysteries, I decided I should get some experience with what I was writing about—growing apples—so I toured a number of commercial orchards, talked to a lot of people (including the director of the experimental orchard at UMass Amherst), and planted my own tiny orchard. That was in 2007.

Meet Nathan, the Northern Spy

My first tree was a Northern Spy (which I call Nathan Hale, now and then), that I found in western Massachusetts, where the books are set. Probably not the best choice for a beginning, because they are slow to mature and produce apples, and the fruit doesn’t usually ripen until November. But Nathan has survived fairly well and has put out a decent crop this year. So have most of the other trees—even the Esopus Spitzenburg, a variety that was Thomas Jefferson’s favorite. It’s not very happy with our climate at the moment, and has a serious case of fire blight, but it does have apples.

Having a very small orchard (a total of eight trees), I worry about each and every apple, and when one drops too early it breaks my heart. So I started casting about for something to do with very unripe tiny apples—I couldn’t let them go to waste. (And I have no pigs or goats to feed them to.)

I went hunting online and came upon the world’s simplest recipe for apple jelly. Actually unripe apples are great for this—they have lots of natural pectin, but plenty of flavor. The recipe has all of four ingredients: apples, water, a bit of lemon juice, and sugar. You don’t even have to peel or core the apples—just chop them up and away you go.

You don’t need a fancy canning set-up, although I was thrilled that I finally got to use my vintage canning funnel (see? I knew it would be useful someday!). I didn’t jump through hoops to sterilize all my jars (recycled from other jellies), but I’m planning to keep the jelly in the fridge anyway. If you make jelly and want to give it to friends as gifts, you might want to be a little more careful, unless you’re a big fan of mold.

You do, however, need a candy thermometer, because the exact temperature at which you cook your jelly is important.


Green Apple Jelly
4 lbs green (unripe) apples 

Four pounds of apples

3 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
Sugar

Do not peel or core the fruit, just wash and cut it into pieces. Seeds and skin contain most pectin so they should be cooked along with the pulp. This will make a firm jelly.

Cover the fruit with the water and add more if needed. Add the lemon juice and boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash. 

Strain the fruit through a large strainer lined with two layers of clean cheesecloth. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUSH THE JUICE BY SQUEEZING THE BAG OR MASHING THE FRUIT DOWN. THIS WILL MAKE THE JELLY CLOUDY. Be patient! Let the fruit stand in the strainer 4 to 6 hours or overnight if you have the space available. 

The following morning, measure the juice. Add sugar, in the ratio of 1 cup sugar to 1 cup juice. Boil until a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees F.

Note: Your pan must be big enough so jelly can raise up in a rolling boil. This is a boil that cannot be stirred down. Jelly must boil at a rolling boil until it reaches the 220 degree stage or it will not set. It kind of wants to stop at 218 degrees for a while, but you have to wait. You can see when it starts to thicken.

Now this is boiling!

Turn off the heat and skim off any froth. Fill and cap the jars.

And now stand back and admire your results! And think of all those farm women who spent days canning and preserving their crops in the heat of summer, so they could eat over the winter. For your information, that four pounds of apples, covered with water, produced four cups of apple liquid, which after boiling it down, yielded five eight-ounce jars of jelly. Imagine what making enough to last the winter would require!

What do you do with apple jelly? The usual—put it on toast or muffins. It’s also good for glazing pie crusts—under the fruit so the crust doesn’t get soggy quite so fast, and over the fruit to give your open-faced pie a nice finish. You’ll find something!

A Gala Event is only weeks from release! (And don't ask me what the apples are doing in the snow--I don't design the covers.)

There's a wedding! And alpacas! (Yes, they are in the book.) 

You can preorder it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

On 9/11, a recipe for making "new" memories

From Daryl aka Avery:

9/11 will never evoke good memories for most of America. It was a time of tragedy for our country. Now, twelve years later, it serves as a day of reflection. 

My heart goes out to those who suffered and those that lost loved ones. To all the heroes. To all those that heroes left behind.

May we continue to move forward and continue to heal.

Here's a link to the National 9/11 memorial site

 I visited the memorial site, soon after the attack. I will never forget all the letters posted to walls around the devastation. I have experienced much loss in my life, but I have never felt anything so massively poignant as seeing this kind of devastation. I visited the site again, with the reflecting pools in place. It is a truly beautiful and awesome tribute.  

FYI: [from the website] The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.

However, on a good note for me and my family, 9/11 is also a day of joyous memories. My son, Jack, and his wife, Rebecca, decided to make a "new" memory on a tragic day. They married on 9/11 four years ago at Walt Disney World in Orlando. They didn't want to spend the rest of their lives thinking horrible things on this date. They live in New York.

With Rebecca in our lives, we are learning new lessons about mixing cultures. She is Cuban. The culture of her food is spectacular! 

Whenever Jack and Rebecca come to visit in Los Angeles, we taste new flavors, most of the recipes passed down from her family.

Most recently, we had a roast pork, beans (frijoles), and rice dinner that was delicious. Jack has always been a cook. A month or so ago, I showed you pictures of him making Easter eggs at the age of 3. His love of cooking started then; it never stopped. He is fearless in the kitchen. At one point when he was 14, he considered becoming a chef. We went to a number of restaurant cooking courses. Fun!  Of course, after those experiences, Jack wanted to become an Iron Chef (instant notoriety). Life intervened; possibly a little reality, too. 

 

He is now pursuing patent law. Rebecca is pursing a career in preserving film.

I hope you’ll enjoy the meal Jack and Rebecca made for us. It was full of flavor and lots of fun to put together. [I was a sous chef.]

Remember, whatever the trauma in your life, make new memories. Do your best to move beyond. Believe in the future. Change is possible.

CUBAN RICE

Ingredients:

2 cups long grain rice

4-5 cups water

3-4 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Place the rice, water, garlic, and olive oil into a saucepan.

Bring to a boil and keep on high until craters form and the water looks to be mostly evaporated. (10-15 minutes)

Cover and turn the heat to the lowest setting for 8-10 minutes.

Serve soon.

Note: Frijoles negros is a signature dish of Cuban cuisine. It's black beans cooked to perfection in a thick aromatic stew.
 We served this over the Cuban rice.

CUBAN FRIJOLES

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups black beans, dried

9 cups water

1 1/2 cups onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 tablespoons olive oil for sautéing

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin, ground

1 bay leaf

3 tablepoons vinegar

3/4 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil (to drizzle over beans in final step)

Directions:

Cover dry beans with water and let stand covered overnight. [You may do a quick soak by bringing beans to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rainse. Then soak for an hour.]

Drain and discard water.

Place the cleaned black beans in a large 6-quart saucepan. Add 9 cups of water and olive oil. Adding the oil helps prevent the beans from foaming.

Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour to 1 ½ hours.

Do not add salt yet. Salt can make beans tough.

Whichever method you use, do not drain the water from the cooked beans…yet.

Meanwhile, chop onion. Mash the garlic with salt and peppercorns.

Sauté the onions in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add mashed garlic and sauté another minute.

Add the cooked beans, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, vinegar, and wine to the beans. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. And drain the water off the beans.

Now, take about 1-2 cups of the cooked beans and mash them to make a paste. Add the mashed beans back to the pot.

Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the sugar; then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Immediately cover the pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Serve over white Cuban rice.

* * * * * * * * *

The first book in A Cookbook Nook Mystery series is out!!

FINAL SENTENCE

You can order the book HERE.

It's set in the fictional coastal town of Crystal Cove, California and features Jenna Hart, a former advertising exec who returns home to help her aunt open a culinary bookshop and café.

The 4th in A Cheese Shop Mystery series is out, too! 

TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE
Click here to order the book.  

Next up: DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT, coming Feb 2013. Click here to preorder. INHERIT THE WORD, coming March 2013. Click here to preorder.

You can learn more about Daryl by clicking this LINK. "Like" my page on Facebook and "follow" me on Twitter. And if you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests! You can also follow and "like" Avery Aames the same way:  Facebook and Twitter.