Oven-Dried Tomatoes (Like Sun-Dried with no sun)

An awesome way to hold onto that last taste of summer, oven-dried instead of sun-dried tomatoes. You can use unripened tomatoes, since we're past the true tomato season now.

Take some tomatoes, slice them up and place them on a baking pan with olive oil and salt.

Make sure the slices aren't touching each other. Put them in a 275 degree oven and bake for about an hour. Keep an eye on them, you don't want them to burn, you want them to dry out.

The results are sweet and tangy. I've served these tomatoes with fried eggs, over pasta and on sandwiches. You'll find some great things to pair these tomatoes with as well. Leave me a note with how you've served them.

Duck Breast with Figs

My daughter loves roasted duck breast. She gave me a wonderful cookbook, Stéphane Raynaud’s 365 good reasons to sit down and eat, which has a great duck recipe in it.

I made this dish four times in a week and a half. I'd say it turned out well three of those times. The first three times I made this dish I was at my sister's house.  My sister has a meat thermometer, but I didn't, so the fourth batch was slightly over cooked. I highly recommend investing in a meat thermometer, it made all the difference.

The funniest part of me making duck not only once but four times, is that my mother, Gran Fran, had us all convinced that cooking duck was a sure way to burn your house down. I remember when we were kids, she called the fire department before she put the duck in the oven, because she was sure all that duck fat would catch fire in the oven. Of course, it didn't. Maybe I'm remembering this wrong. Even if I am, it has become a story that I love to recall, and it always makes me giggle when I plan on making duck.

This dish will be served on Thanksgiving as a turkey alternative because I'm pretty sure it'll pair perfectly well with stuffing and sweet potatoes. I figure if I keep making this, I'll be an expert at it soon, and it'll just taste that much better!

Duck Breast with Figs

Serves 6

from Stéphane Raynaud’s 365 good reasons to sit down and eat

Ingredients:

• 1 French shallot
• 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 12 green figs
• 3 duck breasts
• 5 fl oz ruby or tawny Port
• 2 tablespoons creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
• 1 3/4 oz butter
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Peel and slice the shallot, chop the parsley and halve the figs.
2. Slash the duck breasts in a criss-cross pattern.
3. Cook them skin side down in a frying pan for 7 minutes, drain the fat, turn the duck over for 2 minutes then remove to a plate.
4. Deglaze the pan with the Port and the creme de cassis, add the figs, cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the figs, cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add the butter, then season with the salt and pepper.
7. Reheat the duck in the sauce with the figs, garnish with the shallot and chopped parsley.

Lentil Butternut Squash Walnut and Ham Stew

It's amazing how little it takes to make lentil butternut squash and ham stew.

My Saturday walk brought me to my local produce market. I picked up a butternut squash, it being Fall and all, and grabbed a few other things. On my way back home, I stopped off at the butcher shop where I spotted this lovely ham hock (see above). As I walked home, I wondered what I might make with the squash, when I recalled the lentils in my cupboard.

I'm not generally a fan of lentils, but I had a big bag of them in the cupboard waiting to be made into something, anything actually, since  in general, I'm not a huge lentil fan. I do really like lentils in Indian food, but had yet to find a way that I enjoyed eating them in a home cooked meal.

When I opened the cabinet to get the lentils out, a bag of curry powder fell onto the countertop. I figured this was a sign of some sort and so, I proceeded to build a dish around the lentils, curry powder and ham hock. The ham hock and beans made me think of my favorite soup, split pea with ham, so I also grabbed some nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to round out the spices for the recipe.

Roasting the squash with the shallots for awhile, before adding the par-boiled lentils and ham hock, softened it just enough to allow some caramelization to begin, before the stewing began.

I've always wanted to try walnuts with squash, so figured it being a time of experimentation, why not do it now? The walnuts kept their crunch and the flavor combination was great.

A combination of slow and low cooking time, and the blend of warm, earthy spices make this stew perfect for the shorter and cooler days that are upon us.

Lentil Butternut Squash Walnut and Ham Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
• 2 shallots, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup lentils, cooked until soft, 20 minutes in water
• 1 ham hock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, or 10 whole cloves

Method:

1. Place the butternut squash, shallots, curry powder and olive oil in a heavy ovenproof pan and mix to coat all the squash pieces with oil and spices.
2. Cook in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes, until the squash begins to soften.
3. While the squash cooks, heat a pot on high heat, add the ham hock and brown on all sides.
4. Add the cooked lentils to the ham hock, with enough water to cover halfway up the hock.
5. Remove the squash from the oven, add the squash to the lentils and ham hock and stir in the walnuts.
6. Add enough water to cover the mixture in the pot and place in the oven, covering the pot halfway with a lid.
7. Cook for 20 minutes, stir, return to the oven and cook another 20 minutes.
8. The stew is done when there is a slight film over the top of the beans, showing some glossiness, but with a  bit of liquid left in the pot.