duck, duck, turkey

Survived another Thanksgiving! No travel, no relatives, no turkey, no black friday mall shopping and no college sports!

Yes Miles home from college - with girlfriend Shiori of course, and yes mu-shu duck! I'm sure their blog posts 20 years from now will read pretty much the same, but for the "no mu-shu duck and no scrabble!" But that's their problem. Hopefully they will still appreciate the duck and the day-after duck soup. Don't think they'll ever forget the drying ducks - or the crispy skin for that matter. At least they know what was hanging in the window, unlike what I saw in Shanghai last february. What exactly was hanging out to dry there??? Pork maybe in one picture, but a bear? I think the animal control or the FDA would be on our doorsteps immediately. We did have pumpkin pie. Spiced up with cardamom, heavy on the ginger and a delicious crust made by Gus and assistant Shiori. (Recipe and picture below - sorry no picture of the prepared mu-shu duck due to ravenous customers.)

the mu-shu duck:

1 duck

3 tbsp malt sugar

2 tbsp rice vinegar

11/2 tsp five spice powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 small shallots

8 pieces star anise

2 shallots

Start preparing the night before: 

Wash and dry the duck. Bring a kettle of water to boil. Heat the malt sugar and the vinegar until the sugar has dissolved. 

Pour the bowling water over the duck. This will contract the skin and helps it separate from the flesh for crispy skin. Rub the duck all over with the malt sugar mixture. Stuff with five spice powder mixture and sew up the cavity. Hang duck to dry by it's feet. Be careful, it drips.

Next day:

Preheat oven at 375ºF. Roast duck for 1 hr, or until reddish brown and crispy!

Meanwhile prepare the pancakes:

2 cups plain flour

11/3 cup boiling water

salt

1 tbsp sesame oil plus more

Stir all ingredients rapidly together until you have a pliable ball. Divide dough in 4 equal parts. Roll each out in a log about 2" by 4". Cut into 4 pieces. On a lightly floured surface roll each into a 6" circle. Heat quickly on both sides on a very hot cast iron pan or griddle. Brush thinly with more sesame oil to prevent them from sticking together. Keep warm.

Prepare the stir-fry veggies:

bean-sprouts, washed

napa cabbage or bok choy, shredded

shiitake mushroom, sliced

scallions, white part sliced, greens chopped

cilantro

1 tbsp soy sauce

Heat a wok, add pan dripping from the duck. Quickly stir-fry the scallion white parts with the shiitake mushrooms. When the mushrooms are soft, add the cabbage for a minute, the soy sauce and remove from heat. Remove to serving dish. Just before serving stir in the bean-sprouts, cilantro and green scallion parts.

Time to serve:

duck

pancakes

stir fry

hoisin sauce

Carve the duck and slice thinly. Each guest will spread a tsp of hoisin sauce on a pancake. Add a few slices of duck meat and skin and a spoon full of stir fry. Pick up and eat like a taco.

That night I start the duck soup with the bones and left-overs. While certain other family members await their share of left-overs. (Don't worry, we had plenty - even enough for "duck-pot-pie" on the 3rd night.)

Recipe to follow. First the pumpkin pies!

The Pumpkin Pie:

fresh sugar pumpkins

Roast in a 400ºF oven until soft. Scoop out seeds, peel and reserve meat.

pie dough:

21/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks cold butter, in cubes

1/4 cup ice-cold water

Combine all ingredients except ice water in food processor and pulse until coarse but well blended. While the machine is running, slowly but QUICKLY add ice-water through the feed tube until the dough holds together. Divide dough in 2 pieces. Flatten each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hr.

filling:

4 cups fresh pumpkin meat

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cardamom

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cloves

Mix all in food processor and blend well.

Preheat oven at 425ºF

Roll out dough to line two 9" pie pans. Pour in filling and decorate with dough scraps. Bake for 15 min at 425ºF, then lower temp to 350ºF for an additional 45 min or so. Until a knife comes out clean.

pasta di zucca

That's pasta with pumpkin in Italian. I reserve half of one vegetable bed to grow sugar pumpkins just to be able to eat this and - of course - pumpkin pie. I can't tell which of these two I love more - guess it depends on my mood; savory or sweet. After being engulfed by sugary fumes while canning jellies and applesauce all last week, I was definitely inclined towards savory. On top of that I had a little taste of it while assisting my friend and chef, Greg Atkinson, on a catering job. We catered a fundraiser for the annual "Wintergrass Festival" in Tacoma. Greg put together an Italian feast of hors d'oeuvres - starting with 3 types of crostini, one version topped with roast pumpkin, a fried sage leaf and grated parmesan. I'm glad I managed to sneak one in my mouth before the guests snatched them all of my handmade platters. That was just a little teaser, but probably a timely one. Nothing worse than to go out in the pumpkin patch and find the bottoms of the pumpkins eaten by slugs and hollowed out by mice. Now they're safe and dry on the kitchen counter, awaiting their fate. Spared too from falling prey to Floortje and Bunior, our dogs. Unlike their poor hapless fellow-sufferers: the apples. (We can't find a place to walk or sit down anywhere in the house without smooshing a half chewed apple.) 

Now to the recipe:

pasta di zucca:                                          

1 small sugar pumpkin

olive oil

coarse sea salt, pepper

2 oz pancetta, diced

freshly (!) grated parmigiano reggiano

1/2 stick of butter

handful of sage leaves

1 lb pasta (ie gemelli, fussili)

Cut the pumpkin in segments and remove the seeds. Peel and dice.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Heat a little olive oil in a large casserole over medium high heat. Add the pancetta. When brown on all sides remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the pumpkin to the same casserole, season with salt and pepper and brown on all sides, stirring every so often.

Add a little olive oil and the pasta to the boiling water; cook till al dente. Drain.

Fry the sage leaves in the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. The butter should be brown, but be careful not to burn it. Remove the sage leaves to drain on a paper towel. Season with salt. (And don't eat them all just yet!)

Mix the pumpkin, pancetta and pasta together on a platter. Sprinkle with sage leaves, drizzle with the brown butter and serve with freshly grated parmesan and a fresh salad.

Serves 4 people.

Note: In a more elaborate version I fill handmade ravioli's with the pumpkin, sage and parmigiano, drizzle with the browned butter and top off with more fried sage leaves. No pancetta necessary.