Date Night In New Home Style: Liberty Duck Breast with Bread Salad

It's official! The hubs and I are all moved into the farmhouse. We are still getting acquainted with the area but we love love love our house! I'm getting quite comfortable in my new kitchen and to celebrate our new adventure, we enjoyed our first date night in dinner a few weeks ago. You all know my love affair with duck so what better to make for our first farmhouse dinner than a delicious duck recipe from our Cakebread Cellars Cookbook. 

This is a dish I've made once before and it only took that one time to fall head over heels for bread salad. The duck is delicious in this dish because it isn't smothered in sauce. It's merely seasoned with salt and pepper and pan seared. The highlight for me is definitely the bread salad. You get a little sweetness from the apples and dried cranberries, a little crunchiness from the perfectly toasted bread, and just the right amount of savory from the duck fat. Overall, it is the perfect marriage of sweet and savory.

This is a very special meal that is one to impress so get out of your sweats and into something a little more romantic, like this...

and enjoy a beautiful night in with the one you love.

Liberty Duck Breast with Dried Cranberry-Apple Bread Salad

2 (6-8 ounce) duck breasts

2 cups dry red wine

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 cups crust less sweet french bread crumbs

1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme

salt and pepper

1 1/2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

1/2 cup chicken stock

Score the skin on the duck breasts and set aside. 

Combine wine and cranberries in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes until berries are plump and moist. 

While berries are sitting, heat the 1/2 cup olive oil in a large nonstick saucepan over high heat. Add the bread and toss to coat evenly. Cook for 5 minutes until lightly browned on all sides, tossing occasionally to prevent burning. Transfer to a large bowl.

Drain cranberries over a small saucepan to catch the wine. Set berries aside. Return wine to a boil over high heat. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until reduced to about 1/4 cup. 

Add cranberries, pecans, parsley and thyme to bowl with the bread. 

Season duck with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat. Add the duck, skin side down. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until golden brown. Turn and cook on other side for 3 to 4 minutes until firm. Transfer the duck to a plate and drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Return to high heat. Add apples and cook 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Add to the bread mixture. 

Return skillet to high heat and add the stock. Pour any duck juices that collect on the plate into the skillet. Bring to a boil and scrape the sides and bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any bits of duck or apple. Cook on a rapid simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until thick. Add to bread salad and toss to mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut the duck breasts into thin slices. Place a spoonful of the bread salad on the center of the plate. Arrange the sliced duck over the bread salad, spoon a small amount of the reduced wine around the plate and serve.  

Recipe adapted from The Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Cookbook

Rory Beca dress from Shopbop

Date Night In: Crab Cakes with Garlic Roasted Mushrooms

It's been another fab weekend here in Marin. I had a beautiful day today with two of my fave ladies touring around some of the many cute sights, shops, and a one-man's-junk-is-quite-a-few-San Franciscan's-treasures flea market. Look for today's highlights on many daily deliciousness photos to come.

My greatest accomplishment of this weekend though, was the dinner I prepared last night for the hubs and my date night in- Crab Cakes with Garlic Roasted Mushrooms. I've made crab cakes once before and they turned out ok, but this time I tried a new recipe found in our Cakebread Cellars cookbook and they were absolutely delish. These crab cakes are full of what crab cakes should be full of - CRAB! - with just enough of the other goodies to keep them in beautiful cake form.

The side dish of Garlic Roasted Mushrooms was inspired by the meal we were served when tasting with the caterers for our wedding (who were absolutely fab- if you get married in the Sonoma/Napa area you have to check out Grapevine Catering!). The hubs and I didn't like mushrooms until we had these and now we are diehard mushroom lovers.

Crab Cakes

1 pound crabmeat, picked over for shells and squeezed to remove excess liquid
1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 stalk celery, finely minced
1 green onion, finely minced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 eggs, separated
extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Combine crab meant, bread crumbs, celery, green onion, mayo, lemon juice, parsley, mustard, Worcestershire, Tabasco, and egg yolks in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the crab mixture. Shape about 1/3 cup of crab mixture into 2 inch wide patty. Repeat with rest of mixture.

Add enough olive oil to fill a large nonstick skillet 1/4 inch deep. Heat over medium high heat. Add crab cakes in a single layer and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Arrange on a serving platter and serve with lemon wedges.

Garlic Roasted Mushrooms

1/2 pound oyster mushrooms
1 tsp crushed garlic
olive oil, enough to coat mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss mushrooms with garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Roast on baking sheet 15 minutes.

Modern Housewife Tips:
1. Serves 4-6
2. Panko can be substitued for the fresh breadcrumbs which is a big time saver since the breadcrumbs should cook on very low heat in the oven for many hours, up to overnight.
3. Olive oil is kinda pricey so I used less oil and just made the patties thinner- 1 inch wide. I coated a large pan with 1/8 inch of oil, which equals about 1 cup.

recipe from The Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Cookbook

Delish Date Night In: Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

The hubs and I had an absolutely delish date night in this weekend. We've made lamb chops quite a few times before which are very yummy, but being that we are now in "saving for a home" mode, leg of lamb is a bit more economical. I've also really been wanting to try making it and I have to say, it was a success!

The garlic and rosemary herb paste was super easy and gave the lamb just the hint more flavor it needed. Leg of lamb is a fairly inexpensive, very tasty protein. We paid about $15 for 2-3 pounds of meat which fed the hubs and I with a little left over for the pups to try. This is cheaper than many cuts of beef and is guaranteed almost always more tender. This recipe serves 6-8- makes a great dish for a dinner party- but I purchased about half the size of lamb that it called for since it was just for the two of us. I did make the entire amount of herb paste though, just to make sure I had plenty to rub the lamb. I ended up with about a quarter of the mixture left.

Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

1/4 cup minced fresh rosemary
8 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp sweet paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 leg of lamb, 4-5 pounds, bone removed and butterflied (get a boneless leg of lamb from the butcher counter and it should be good to go)

In a food processor, combine rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, 1tbsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper with just enough oil to make a coarse paste. Rub herb paste generously allover the lamb. Put lamb in a baking dish or zippered plastic bag and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour (or overnight in fridge- I just did 1 hour at room temperature). Preheat grill to medium high heat. Once hot, keep one burner on medium high and turn off other burners.

Grill lamb directly over medium high heat until well browned, turning once, 5-7 minutes each side. Transfer lamb, skin side down, to unheated part of grill. Cover grill and cook 30 minutes. Check lamb by cutting into thickest part of meat or insert an instant read thermometer. Lamb should be about medium rare, still pink inside. Instant read thermometer should register 130 degrees. If needed, continue cooking up to 20 minutes longer.

Transfer lamb to platter, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Slice lamb on diagonal, across the grain, about 1/2-3/4 inch thick slices, and serve.

recipe courtesy of The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook
photo courtesy of Ben Fink Photo Inc.

Date Night In: Grilled Quail

About a year and a half ago, the hubs and I decided that as much as we love each other, the tiny confines of a one bedroom apartment for us and our two fairly large hounds was starting to feel a bit cramped. Thus, we decided to move out of the beautiful city of San Francisco and into the adorable town of Mill Valley just 15 minutes north of the city, across the Golden Gate Bridge. My absolute favorite thing about our new abode is the time we spend at home- just us, the dogs, a crackling fire and a delish dinner which makes for the perfect date night in. The more date nights in we have, the more ambitious we get with dinner, which led us to our most delicious date night meal to date... Five Spice Grilled Quail with Truffle Yaki Sauce.

Now, the name sounds a little daunting, I know. But if I can do it... you definitely can! Think of quail as tiny little chickens but much more delicious and totally easy. Just season with salt and pepper, grill 2-3 minutes per side and voila!

The piece de resistance of this dish was by far the sauce. Don't get me wrong, the quail was fabulous, but the sauce... I could eat the sauce on anything and everything and I'd live a very happy life! I think it'd be great on chicken or salmon as well as quail... but really, just give the quail a shot, I promise you won't be disappointed.

To make the Truffle Yaki Sauce:

3 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. grapeseed oil

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tbsp. mirin (japanese cooking wine)

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. sesame oil

1 clove garlic, smashed

3 (1/4 inch thick) slices peeled fresh ginger

2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. white truffle oil

Whisk together 2 tablespoons of the water, soy sauce, grapeseed oil, vinegar, lime juice and mirin in a bowl. Stir in sugar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Transfer soy sauce mixture to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir remaining 1 tbsp water and cornstarch together in a small bowl and whisk into soy sauce mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until thick. Gradually whisk in cream and remove from heat. Whisk in truffle oil. Arrange grilled quail on serving platter and spoon sauce over the quail.

Finally, have your hunny pop a bottle of Pinot Noir or your fave Chardonnay, light some candles, turn on a little Coltrane and enjoy!

And the best part about a date night at home... there is no one to impress but your hunny so you can gladly enjoy in your most comfy chic attire. I'd choose this because I just can't help but love a onesie and especially one by Marc by Marc Jacobs!

Thank you to Cakebread Cellars for publishing a fab cookbook and inspiring us to have romantic evenings at home.

recipe courtesy of The Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Cookbook

Marc by Marc Jacobs Terry Jumpsuit from Shopbop