mustard

Curried Egg Salad Sandwiches

/ Ren

Red onion, lemon juice, mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, curry powder, eggs, celery and cilantro.

Place eggs into pan and cover with cold water.  Turn heat on high.  As soon as the water begins to boil, cover the pan and remove from the heat.  Allow to sit precisely 10 minutes (f you want to see a perfect soft-boiled egg, pull one out at 6 minutes. Top it and season with S & P).

Pour off the hot water and transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water. Allow to sit until thoroughly cooled, at least 10 minutes.  Tap egg on counter and roll back-and-forth.  Beginning from the large end, peel the shell away in a near-continuous strip.  Yeah, right.

Dice eggs and add the rest of the ingredients and toss with a fork until just combined.  Adjust seasoning with S & P if needed.

Serve with field greens on toasted pumpernickel.  The egg salad isn’t actually green, by the way- that’s just a photo/lighting anomaly.

Because I’m weird, though, I eat my egg salad sandwiches with lots of Mexican hot sauce.

Pan Seared Duck in Port Reduction with Agave Mustard Glazed Carrots

/ Ren

Garlic, shallot, caraway, butter, agave nectar, double strength lemon juice, baby carrots, port wine, peppercorns, duck glacé, sea salt and duck breasts

Cut a criss-cross pattern into the fat on the back of the duck breasts.  Try not to cut into the meat.

Place breasts into heavy skillet over medium heat and cook until the fat stops rendering and the skin is crisp, about 20 minutes. Pour the fat off 3-4 times during this process.

Begin cooking the carrots and caraway in butter and a scant amount of water.

Season the duck with salt and pepper and turn breast side down.  Continue to saute until medium rare*, about 5-7 minutes.

Add shallots and garlic, saute 1 minute.  Deglaze pan with port wine.  Swirl the duck in the wine for a few moments, then transfer to a cutting board.

Add agave, mustard, chopped greens and S & P to the carrots, and cook over medium heat until glazed, about 3 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Add glacé to pan with port and whisk over medium high heat until reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes. Use to dress the thinly sliced duck.

Rating  ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

* This is against USDA guidelines which say that poultry must be cooked to 165 degrees.