The Fruit Company

The Perfect Valentine’s Day Gift!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Our Heart to Heart Tower is the perfect way to show that special someone how much you love them!  They will love this tower filled with all these delicious goodies:

• 1 Milk Choc Covered Almonds – 4 oz.
• 1 Chocolate Covered Cherries – 4 oz.
• 3 Milk Chocolate Truffle Creams
• 1 Mini Red Heart 3 pc
• 6 Pink Lady Apple(s)
• 2 Red D’Anjou Pear(s)

Order your Heart to Hear Tower here today!

Duck is perhaps one of the most under used poultry and also perhaps one of the most intimidating if you’ve never cooked it before. It’s just not something that we eat a lot of here in the U.S. People think it’s too fatty, or are afraid to eat it a little pink with all of the preconceptions we have about chicken, but this recipe, a twist on the French classic, Duck a l’orange, is deliciously rich and yet exotically familiar.

Using blood oranges instead of a traditional navel orange here adds an interesting twist and a beautiful color to the finish sauce. Blood oranges, also being slightly tarter than some oranges also help to counter balance the richness of the duck breast.

I deviated from the traditional recipe slightly by using white balsamic vinegar in my version of the orange sauce. I liked pairing the sweetness of the balsamic, but used white as to preserve the beautiful deep red color of the blood orange juice. Any light and fruity vinegar would work though. I’ve used sherry vinegar here and even a good quality apple cider vinegar would be excellent. During the reduction the vinegar really mellows out and you get hints of acidity without all of the acrid quality that raw vinegar sometimes has.

Even against the wow factor that duck has, the sauce is really the star of this dish. It elevates a special occasion meal even further with ease. Make a larger batch and use the leftovers to top steamed vegetables or roasted squash. The sauce is subtle enough to pair with poached chicken, but bold enough to stand up to a grilled steak.

Finally, the supremed orange wedges and toasted pistachios add little jewels of color and bursts of flavor to every bite.

Crispy Duck Breast “A L’orange” with Blood Oranges and Toasted Pistachios

(serves 4)

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c white balsamic vinegar

2 T orange zest

1 lg. shallot, minced

2 c blood orange juice

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

4 duck breasts, 10 oz. ea.

4 T butter, cold

2 oranges, supremed

1/2 c toasted pistachios

Salt & Pepper to taste

- In a medium dry sauce pan brown sugar until it liquefies and turns a light amber color. This will happen quickly at the end, so be careful not to burn it.

- Into caramelized sugar mix in vinegar, shallots, orange zest, orange juice, and broth. Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium high. Continue to simmer until sauce   thickens to the consistency of maple syrup, about 25-30 minutes. You will have approximately a cup of liquid left in the pot.

- Meanwhile, score the skin of your duck breasts, creating a cross hatch pattern with a knife, going as deep as you can into the skin without cutting the meat of the breast. This will help the duck fat to render and also assist in creating a crispy breast. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

- In a large preheated on high, place the duck breast skin side down into the dry pan. Sear on this side for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until the skin has crisped and browned. Before flipping your breasts, remove and drain excess oil from the pan. Flip and return duck breasts to pan cooking for an additional 6 to 8 minutes to desired doneness, 125 degrees for medium rare, and 130 for medium, allowing duck to rest on a warm platter for 10 minutes before slicing.

- Slice breast on a slight diagonal and return to warmed platter, mixing any run off juices into your reducing sauce.

- To finish the sauce, remove the reduced mixture from the heat and slowly stir in your cold butter in 1 T increments. This will further thicken your sauce and add richness and sheen.

- Spoon warm sauce over sliced duck and garnish with reserved orange supremes and toasted pistachios.

About the Author
A former baker, chef, caterer, and a forever foodie, John is now a writer and essayist, who has written for newspapers and magazines across the country, and enjoys spending his spare time traveling and collecting bow ties.

Thai is one of my favorite cuisines to eat, and one reason it’s so awesome is that the flavors of a Thai curry are so easy to achieve at home.  It’s simple enough to throw together midweek, but feels special enough to make when you have guests coming over.

This recipe for pineapple curry is particularly fun with the unexpected addition of the pineapple, which robust sweetness pairs perfectly with the robust curry spices. Using tofu makes it a great option for vegetarians and the roasted tofu adds a whole new dimension of texture and flavor to the tofu that even meat lovers will appreciate.

Still, one of the great things about a curry is its versatility. You could just as easily make it a chicken (or turkey) curry with leftovers you may have laying around the house or substitute any or all of the vegetables for your favorites. I sometimes like to use kale, broccoli, or fresh green beans in my curry for added color and nutrients, but you could also use whatever you might happen to have around the house.

In my recipe, I used a mixture of trumpet and shitake mushrooms, but button mushrooms still add lots of flavor and canned straw mushrooms are an excellent option to add authenticity.

The galangal root in this recipe also adds to the authenticity and is becoming more widely available in larger grocery stores. If you’ve never worked with it before, it really brings that “Thai restaurant” flavor to your home curries. However, it should be noted that galangal is simply a flavor enhancer and is not meant to be eaten. Cut it thinly to maximize flavor extraction, but large enough that the pieces are easy to fish out. Some places have dried galangal root. If this is the case, use about ½ c of it and steep it for 10-15 minutes in one of the cans of coconut milk that you’ve heated in a microwave safe bowl or in a small saucepan. When stepped, strain out the galangal, leaving you with a flavor infused coconut milk.

The addition of fish sauce is another great flavor boost of authenticity, but if you wanted to make this completely vegetarian or just don’t have any fish sauce available. Soy sauce or salt to taste could be substituted.

Pineapple Curry with Roasted Tofu (serves 6-8)

Roasted Tofu

1, 14 oz. package extra firm tofu

2 T vegetable oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450°F
2. Cut tofu into 1 ½ in cubes. I usually cut the tofu block in half horizontally and then 4×5, making a total of 40 little cubes.
3. Place tofu on a parchment lined (or well greased) cookie sheet.
4. Drizzle on oil and salt and pepper to taste and toss lightly to evenly coat
5. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown on all sides, about 15-20 minutes, stirring once midway through roasting.

Pineapple Curry

2 T vegetable oil

4 large shallots, sliced thinly

4 cloves garlic, minced or grated

2 in. piece of ginger root, grated

3-4 in. piece of galagal root (sometimes called thai ginger) cut thinly crosswise into large “coins”

¼ c red curry paste

2 medium carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal

2 tomatoes cut into a large dice

2, 8 oz. cans bamboo shoots

1 lb. wild mushrooms

1 baby pineapple diced (about 3 cups)

3, 13 oz. cans coconut milk

14 oz. roasted tofu

1 lg. red pepper, sliced

3 T fish sauce (optional-salt or soy sauce may be substituted)

½ c cilantro roughly chopped

1        c basil roughly chopped

-In a large pot in a small amount of vegetable oil sauté shallots, garlic, ginger, and galangal on medium high heat until lightly browned and aromatic.

-Stir in curry paste continuing to cook the mixture while coating the other aromatics, about 3-4 minutes, being careful not to burn.

-Stir carrots, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, pineapple, coconut milk, and fish sauce, and bring just to the boil.

-Once achieved, partially cover the pot, reduce heat to a slight simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-Add in roasted tofu, and red peppers and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

-Just before serving, stir in cilantro and basil and serve on steamed rice.

About the Author
A former baker, chef, caterer, and a forever foodie, John is now a writer and essayist, who has written for newspapers and magazines across the country, and enjoys spending his spare time traveling and collecting bow ties.