First Post!

In the movie, Ratatouille, Chef Gusteau is quoted "Anyone can cook!" Whether this is true or not is up to debate. I've been told on numerous occasions that I cook really well (it's really because of a love for my wife) and that I should share my talent with others. So, here's my first attempt at blogging about my food and eating experiences!

Thursday July 21, 2011 was my 6th wedding anniversary and we follow the traditional wedding gift guidelines. For 6 years, the traditional gift is iron or sugar. Being that I love to cook, why not get a nice set of pans made out of metal, not necessarily iron. I've been wanting a stainless steel pans for a while due to their great de-glazing capability and the ability to sear the flavors of meat. We went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought  10" and 8" Calphalon stainless steel pans today (we learned that these pans have a lifetime warranty and you can exchange a damaged pan for a new one, which we did with 2 of our older non-stick pans).

For my first cooking experience with stainless steel pans, I decided to do a duck-themed dinner. Appetizer consisted of pan fried polenta with a green chili hash and topped with seared duck breast.

Appetizer

The main entree was pappardelle pasta with sauteed duck breast, red bell peppers, garlic, vidalia onions and finished with an anchovy chicken broth sauce.

Dinner

Appetizer:

• 1 packaged polenta
• 1 duck breast
• 1 cup chopped NM green chili
• 1/4 cup diced white/yellow onion
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Cook polenta in olive oil until slightly browned on one side
2. To make green chili hash, sautee onions and green chili with a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder. Add chicken broth to green chili.
3. Take one duck breast from below, slice and place on top of polenta cake

Dinner:

• 2 duck breasts
• Pappardelle egg pasta (Trader Joe's)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup diced vidalia onion
• Salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup dried anchovies
• Dried basil 

1. Cook pappardelle in salted boiling water for 12 minutes (al dente)
2. Sautee duck breast (skin side down) until medium rare
3. Add red pepper, onion, garlic, and dried basil into pan with duck and cover for 5 minutes, reducing heat to medium
4. Remove duck and vegetables from pan when duck is medium or medium-well
5. Place anchovies into pan and de-glaze pan with chicken broth, season with salt and pepper