SEARED DUCK BREAST WITH PAN SAUCE

 Recipe adapted from the Field Company instagram page

Ingredients:

1 full duck breast (comprising 2 halves), skin scored with a sharp blade

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Sauce:

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 t dijon mustard

1 t honey

1/2 c dry rosé or white wine 

salt + pepper

2 T butter

Methodology:

Pat the duck breasts dry, season, and place them skin side down in a cool skillet.  Weigh them down with another skilled, if possible.  Place the skillet over low heat and cook the breasts for ~7 minutes, or until they're beautifully golden brown (takes a few more minutes, sometimes, but check often).  Flip and sear for another 2 or 3 minutes, then remove to a plate to rest.

Spoon out all but 1 T of duck fat (reserve for cooking potatoes, etc), and add in the garlic.  Stir for 20 seconds, just until it smells fragrant, and deglaze the pan with the sauce ingredients, as well as any accumulated juices from the resting duck.  Simmer until the sauce has reduced and is glossy.  Remove from heat and swirl in the butter. 

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Note: the original recipe used the sauce ingredients to marinate the duck, and then cooked them into a sauce as well.  I never have time to marinate, so I skip this step.

PLAY-DOUGH

 Recipe adapted from I Heart Naptime

Makes a small amount of dough (follow amounts at end of line for full recipe)

Ingredients:

1/2 C  flour                   (2 C)
3 T      salt                     (3/4 C)
1 t       cream of tartar   (4 t)

1/2 C  water                  (2 C)

1/2 T  coconut oil         (2 T)

Methodology:

Mix dry ingredients in a pan, whisk in wet ingredients (and 5+ drops of color, if making only one color) and heat gently over medium low heat, stirring with a rubber spatula until the dough thickens and forms a ball.  Remove from heat and cool.  Separate and knead in colors now, if making multiple colors.

Wishing for Beard Papa Cream Puffs

These are known as "choux cream" in Japan, where they originated. 

For 8+ puffs:

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry cream:
1 large whole egg
2 large egg yolks
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 c - 1 T granulated white sugar
1/4 c corn starch
2 c whole milk
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, or 1/2 t vanilla paste
4 T cold, unsalted butter, cubed

You will probably have some pastry cream left over after filling the above 8 puffs.


Pâte à choux:
1/2 c water
1 t sugar
4 T unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/2 c flour
3 eggs, at least, beaten in a cup with a spout

1 8.5 oz sheet of store-bought puff pastry, thawed in the fridge

1 c heavy whipping cream, for final assembly

Powdered sugar

PROCESS:

Make the pastry cream first:

Whisk the eggs, salt, sugar and corn starch in a bowl.
Heat the milk, scraped vanilla bean seeds and bean to steaming in a pot.  Remove the bean.
Pour about 1/2 c of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously.
Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the rest of the milk and heat on low, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and add the butter cubes, one by one, mixing constantly until the butter is incorporated.  (whisk in the vanilla bean paste now, if using).
Pour the pastry cream into a bowl, press plastic wrap onto the surface, and chill for at least 2 hours.


In the meantime, make the pâte à choux:

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Heat the water, butter, sugar and salt in a pot until the butter melts.
Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes together to form a ball, pulls away from the sides of the pot, and forms a film on the bottom of the pot (this should happen quite quickly).
Place the dough in a bowl and stir for a minute to cool.
Add the egg, about 1/4 c at a time, chopping and mixing with a rubber spatula until thoroughly blended into the dough.  Continue adding eggs until the mixture forms a triangle off the bottom edge of the spatula, but doesn't immediately drop back into the bowl.  This will take between 2 and 3 eggs.  Set aside for a moment. 

Roll out the sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle 8" x 16".  It will be very thin.  Cut in half lengthwise, and into 4 crosswise, so you have 8 equal squares.  Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and pipe the pâte à choux onto the center of each square, in a mound about 1 3/4" in diameter.  Fold each corner of the puff pastry up over the mound, covering it completely, creating a little package. * 

Pipe any remaining pâte à choux onto the parchment paper as small puffs or eclairs, in 4-5" lengths.

Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for another 20-25 minutes.  Once the time has elapsed, turn off the oven, and leave the puffs inside for 10 minutes.  

***IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DON'T OPEN THE OVEN TO CHECK ON THE PUFFS UNTIL ALL OF THE ABOVE TIME HAS ELAPSED.  OTHERWISE, THEY MAY COLLAPSE!!!!***

Pierce an opening in each puff with a skewer to allow steam to escape, and let them cool inside the propped-open oven.


Fill the puffs:

Enlarge the steam vent in the side of the puff with the tip you'll use to fill it; I use a long "bismark" tip, but any tip that's long enough to reach into the puff will work. 

Beat the whipping cream to soft peaks.  

Briefly whisk the pastry cream to get rid of any lumps, and gently incorporate the whipping cream in 3 steps, taking care not to knock air out of the cream.  Spoon the cream mixture into a pastry bag fitted with the above tip.
Pipe the pastry cream into the puffs, making sure to fill them completely.
Clean up any cream that is protruding from the holes with a butter knife, and cover gently with powdered sugar.


Sources:
Recipe for the pastry cream: Food Wishes

Recipe for the pâte à choux: Food Wishes

Methodology for baking and filling the puffs: Home Cooking Adventure and Matcha and Tofu

A video on youtube:  Poi's Recipe

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* I used egg wash on the puffs I made, but because they expanded so much, there wasn't much left to see of it, so I would omit it in the future.