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We went to the Asian Market last Sunday after church and they had non-frozen ducks available. So Hubs and I decided we’d try preparing it this week. Growing up in the Philippines, I don’t think I ever had duck, but since living here in the States and being with my foodie husband I’ve had it a couple of times in restaurants but never at home. It’s just so intimidating and looks like such a difficult thing to prepare. But with the help of youtube and blogs, I’ve realized that it’s preparation is similar to that of a chicken! I’ve prepared roast chicken countless times already so I was thinking why not try duck. If it will not turn out good,there goes my $16 and I can try it again!  We really enjoyed this and we will definitely be doing duck at least once a month!  The recipe I followed: Duck Recipe.

 

I made Osso Buco last week,and it’s my first time to cook this dish. It turned out good if I say so myself. It’s my favorite to order in restaurant whenever they have it in the menu. It reminds me of short ribs in red wine sauce. They have that similar taste and beefy flavor,so rich and decadent. I decided to use Giada’s Osso Buco recipe because I had all of the ingredients and it looked really simple to follow. I think it’s always better to have it the next day because the flavor really intensifies and gets into the meat. So Good!

Osso Buco (Giada De Laurentii recipe; foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients:

1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 dry bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
3 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small carrot, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 stalk celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.

Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.

Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.

Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.