You can make lighter colored & flavored duck stock using our chicken stock recipe, but since the duck meat will make a darker stock anyway, we thought why not add red wine for more robust flavor?  Remember to follow the Cardinal Rules of Stockmaking for success and safety.

Duck Stock Ingredients:
1 carcass (breasts, legs & wings removed) from a whole muscovy duck
2 cups of pinot noir
1 large yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 celery stalk
¼ bunch fresh thyme, plus any extra fresh herbs you want to add.
1/2 a head of celery’s worth of celery leaves
olive oil

Directions:

1. Trim any extra fat from the duck carcass.  Roughly chop the vegetables into relatively equal pieces.

2. Heat oil in a stock pot, add the duck carcass and sear it on all sides.

3. Deglaze the pan with the pinot noir.

4. Simmer to reduce the wine to a syrup.

5. Add the vegetables, herbs,  and enough water  to cover the bones.

6. Simmer for at least an hour (two hours would be best).

7. Strain out the solids and cook with the duck stock, or chill it immediately and store in the fridge (2-3 days) or freezer (months).

Though everyone is familiar with the large baked russet potato, smaller heirloom potatoes also roast beautifully. In this recipe and photos, we used Austrian Crescent Fingerlings, but you could use just about any heirloom potato variety.

How to Roast Potatoes

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash the potatoes, lightly dry them, and rub them with olive oil, salt & pepper
3.  Put them on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven, turning occasionally, until cooked through (30-45 minutes depending on variety & size)
4.  Serve.

Pictured: Lobster-filled, heart-shaped ravioli with Fennel & Parmesan Sauce

This pasta sauce prominently features the crisp, anise-like flavor of fresh fennel bulb cooked with white wine and parmesan cheese.  This brightly-flavored sauce pairs perfectly with any of our seafood filled ravioli varieties.  If fennel bulb isn’t to your liking, simply substitute fresh leek for a milder sauce.

Fennel Pasta Sauce with Shaved Parmesan (Makes enough for two servings)

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
¾ cup diced fresh fennel bulb or fresh leek (pale green & white parts only)
½ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon fresh basil, cut into slender ribbons (chiffonade)
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Note: to make chiffonade, roll basil leaves lengthwise into tight cylinder. Slice cylinder crosswise into 1/8 inch ribbons.

Directions:
1.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.

2.  Add shallot and sauté 1 minute. Add fennel (or leek) and sauté until translucent, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

3.  Add wine and lemon juice and bring to simmer. Allow liquid to reduce about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley and remove from heat.

4.  Stir in cream, swirling until combined.

5.  Place freshly cooked and drained ravioli in large bowl; toss with sauce. Divide ravioli among plates, spoon remaining sauce over top, and garnish with basil chiffonade and shaved parmesan.

Original recipe by Trina Kaufman.

Fresh wasabi rhizomes (colloquially known as fresh wasabi roots) are a rare and precious culinary commodity prized by high level sushi and fine dining chefs. Fresh grating is key with fresh wasabi rhizomes.  Below are instructions for how to get the best flavor out of fresh wasabi. 

How to Use Fresh Wasabi:

1. Rinse the wasabi rhizome.

2. Trim the tip off of one end. Put this end down, then use a knife to strip the outer peel off the end of the wasabi (try not to expose any more than you plan on using).

3. Using the finest grater you can get your hands on, grate the wasabi root into a fine paste. In the picture below, we used a microplane, but a metal Japanese wasabi grater would be even better, with the best option being the traditional Japanese sharkskin grater (called “oroshi”).  In a pinch, you could also use the finest hole size on a box grater.

4. Form the wasabi paste into a small pile to minimize its exposed surface area.

5. Cover the wasabi paste and wait 10 minutes before consuming it or cooking with it. This will allow it to develop its full flavor.

6. After it has rested, use the fresh wasabi paste in the next 5-10 minutes for optimal flavor.

Reviving wasabi:  About 15-20 minutes after being grated, wasabi starts to lose some of its nuanced flavor, becoming simply hot. Its subtle flavor notes can be easily revived, however. Vigorously mix in 1-2 pinches of granulated sugar (we recommend superfine sugar) per teaspoon of wasabi paste. Reform it into a small pile again, and it’ll be ready to use again.

How to Store Wasabi Rhizomes: Store whole wasabi rhizomes in the fridge, wrapped in a damp towel. Though they are most potent in the first day or two after arrival, they should remain fresh for at least a week.

Here’s how it works:

1) To enter, email justin (at) marxfoods dot com: a) your name; b) your address; c) your website/blog if you have one; and d) some sort of evidence that you can take a halfway decent photograph. We must get your email by November 10th at 9AM PST.

2) We’ll select a handful of participants and send each a dozen vanilla beans (6 Tahitian Vanilla Beans & 6 Madagascar Vanilla Beans) that day via UPS Ground. If you tell someone else about the photo contest and we also select them to participate, we’ll send you 12 Tahitians and 12 Madagascars.

3) There are no real guidelines regarding the photography, except that it must somehow incorporate the vanilla bean. You can photograph the beans whole, cook with them and photograph the dish, or pretty much photograph anything that relates in any way to the vanilla beans that we send you. You must submit your photograph in jpeg format by Saturday, November 21, 2009 at midnight.

4) We’ll select our favorites on Sunday … and put them to a vote here on our blog starting on Monday, November 23, 2009.

5) The winning photograph will be featured on our homepage. And, the winner will receive a $150 credit to MarxFoods.com.

 
Who’s in?

Weighing 2,280 lbs., that’s $438.60 per pound! He has a life insurance policy, a harem, and a guard. (no joke). Just to be clear, I’m talking about the bull on the right, not that urban sissy in the blue jacket.

Does he poop truffles or gold-plated cow pies, you must be asking? Nope. I can actually tell you this authoritatively. Let’s just say that this city slicker didn’t do such a good job avoiding the land mines yesterday. Now I know the real reason why cowboy boots don’t have treads.

Is the meat that good? Actually, yes…but it’s not his meat, per se. It’s the meat that his sperm creates that makes him so valuable. He’s the #4 rated bull in the world in terms of beef genetics. And, the quality of the beef is all about genetics. Excellent genetics = excellent beef.  There are a dozen or so genetic markers for tenderness and marbling.  And, this bull has them all.

Look at the marbling on the grass-fed strip loin below. It looks more like kobe beef than grass-fed beef.  

Anyway, sorry to burst your bubble, but almost all of the meat that we eat is the result of artificial insemination. And, beef sperm is a big market. The bull in the picture above has hundreds of thousands of offspring all over the world.

Here’s how the birds and bees work in the animal agriculture world. Unlike our recipe posts, I’m not going to provide step-by-step photos (but, only because I don’t have them):

Bull sperm is “harvested” using an artificial cow vagina. A single, um, deposit is enough to impregnate 2,000 cows.

The rancher decides when he wants to impregnate the cows. Usually they will time it so that they give birth in the Spring.

The cowboys corral the female cows and insert a estrogen tampon to stop the cows from cycling. (I know…it sounds crazy and gross … but so did the opposite sex the first time your parents told you about the birds and the bees, right?) When they are ready to impregnate the cows, they remove the estrogen tampon.

3 days later, the cows ovulate and the cowboys inject the sperm.

Apparently, this works about 65% of the time. Of course, they don’t know immediately which cows are pregnant. So, when they release the cows back onto the pasture, they also release a group of “range bulls” whose job it is to spend the next few months grazing the mountains and impregnating the rest of the herd.

Now, that big ‘ol $1 Million bad ass bull is a stud, no doubt. But, if I had to be a bull, I’d rather be a range bull any day of the week … roaming the Montana mountains and makin’ natural luv! Wouldn’t you?

 

Porcini Mushrooms A La Plancha

Wine Pairing: Aged Champagne

A large part of this dish’s visual appeal comes from the natural shape of the wild porcini mushroom, so this recipe is designed to be made in small quantities, allowing you to pay very close attention to slicing and cooking each slice of porcini individually.  The citrus, butter, porcini and garlic flavors featured here are big and bold, so only a few bites are needed for a superb amuse bouche or appetizer (though you could also use it to top gourmet ravioli or risotto).

The goal is to develop a browned layer on the outside of the mushroom slices that will accentuate their flavor (almost like searing meat).  To do this, you’ll need to let them sit undisturbed for about 4-5 minutes before flipping so they look like the photo above.  This probably seems like a long time for such thin slices, but trust us, they’ll taste and look amazing, as long as you’re using a well oiled pan or well seasoned skillet.

This recipe could also be adapted for larger quantities … the result will be a mellower (but still fabulous) flavor and a softer texture.  To make larger batches, simply follow the below instructions in terms of ingredients, but increase the quantity of porcinis.  Don’t cook them in a single layer… but do still slice them thin and treat them more like caramelized onions.  Let the porcinis saute undisturbed before flipping (rather than stirring) to develop a couple nice caramelized layers. 

Ingredients:
Fresh King Bolete Mushrooms (aka fresh porcinis), finely sliced (as many as you can fit in a single layer in your pan)
1 tsp garlic, finely diced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
Flor de Sal to taste

1. Melt the butter in a hot pan (either stainless or cast iron is fine).

2. Lay a single layer of finely sliced porcini mushrooms, and cook them at medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until they are browned.

3. When the first side is brown (see photo above for a visual reference), flip the porcinis and brown the other side.

4. Just before the second side is finished, add the garlic & cook for another minute.

5. 10 seconds before they’re done, add lemon juice and reduce to almost dry.

6. Plate the mushrooms, then sprinkle on a little flor de sal to finish. You can garnish with a wedge, half, or thin slice of lemon.

7. Serve.

Wild Matsutake Soup (6 servings)

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc from San Cerre or Albarino from Rias Baixas, Spain or Grunear Veltliner from Austria

This is a comforting soup with a slight pine note provided by the wild matsutake mushroom. Perfect for a cold winter’s day.  This recipe uses most of the fresh matsutake as a topping (preserving its raw texture and flavor) rather than cooking it into the soup.  For a stronger matsutake flavor you could add more to the soup while it’s cooking, or use the soup broth to reconstitute some dried matsutake mushrooms.

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken wings
6 cups chicken stock (either homemade chicken stock or store bought with the lowest salt content possible)
1 cup white wine
¾ cup carrots, finely diced
¾ cup onions, finely diced
¾ cup celery, finely diced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large fresh matsutake mushroom

1. Brown the chicken wings in a sauce pan.

2. Deglaze with white wine.

3. Add the thyme sprigs and chicken stock.

4. Brush off the matsutake mushroom. Slice it as finely as possible (without breaking the slices) using a mandolin or a chef’s knife. Throw any imperfect slices and edible scraps into the stock, but keep the best slices separate.

5. Simmer the soup for 45 minutes to an hour.

6. Sauté the diced onions, carrots, and celery in an oiled frying pan for about 2 minutes (you want them to still be slightly crunchy).

7. Strain the soup, and put it in bowls. Top with some of the sautéed vegetables and the thin slices of raw matsutake.

Seafood boil seasoning is added to the giant pots of boiling water used for traditional seafood boils.  The contents of a seafood boil pot vary depending on where in the US you are, but can include Dungeness crabs, crawfish, shrimp, wild prawns, corn on the cob, new potatoes, onions, smoked sausage (particularly andouille) and/or clams (we recommend live manila clams).  Presentation and silverware are traditionally unimportant with boils, and the finished food is simply dumped out onto a table covered with butcher paper or newspaper.

Because we’ve used dried tepin chilies in this recipe, it is hot at first, but that heat quickly fades into a complex melange of spice.  For a less savory, more spicy seafood boil seasoning, consider using one of our longer-burning or stronger bulk dried chilies (decide using our dried chile heat scale, or just take things to the max with dried ghost chilis).

Ingredients: 
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
1 tbsp celery seeds
1 tbsp onion flakes
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp whole allspice
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp juniper berries
1 tsp mace
1/2tsp dill pollen
3 tbsp + 1 tsp mustard seeds
4 tbsp tellicherry peppercorns
1 tbsp salt
5 dried tepin chilies
1 tbsp ground ginger
8 bay leaves

 Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a coffee grinder, electric spice grinder or a blender and process to a powder.
2. Package in an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place for up to 4 months.
3. Add the entire batch to the water for your next seafood boil and enjoy the results!

Makes about a 1/2 cup.

 

Thai red curry has a flavor that’s a complex blend of spicy, sweet, citrus, creaminess from the coconut milk and a slight musky taste from the fish sauce and coconut palm sugar.  Once you’ve made the thai red curry paste, the final dish is a snap!

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken breasts or chicken tenders
10 oz of canned bamboo shoots (6 oz drained)
½ cup fresh red basil (sweet basil/Italian basil will work in a pinch)
1 ½ tsp coconut sugar
3 tbsp homemade red curry paste
2 cups coconut milk
5-6 heirloom potatoes (we used Mountain Rose Potatoes)
2 tbsp fish sauce (aka nam pla)

How to Make Thai Red Curry:

1. Cut the chicken and potatoes into bite sized pieces.  Drain the bamboo shoots and julienne them (cut them into matchstick thin pieces) if they didn’t come in the can that way.
2. Saute the potatoes for about 15 minutes before adding the chicken.  Saute until the chicken is browned on all sides and the potatoes are tender. 
3. Deglaze the pan with the coconut milk.  Add the red curry paste, fish sauce, and coconut sugar.  Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce to a simmer & cover.  Simmer until the chicken and potatoes are completely cooked through.
4. Salt to taste.
5. Just before serving, tear the basil leaves up into bite sized pieces and mix them into the curry.
6. Serve with jasmine rice, garnished with more red basil, opal basil microgreens or lemon basil microgreens.

Makes 5 hearty servings.