Tour of Fifty States: Arkansas' meal ... the LAST one!

Menu: Roast duck, Baked Risotto, Buttermilk Pecan Pie with Glazed Pecans

Outcome:  The duck was magnificent.  Glorious.  Heavenly.  Yep, we loved it!  The glaze that is added at the end of the cooking time really made it spectacular.  

Instead of making plain risotto, I got some wild mushrooms and sautéed them, chopped, and added them at the end of the cooking time along with a little white wine and a cup of real Parmesan cheese.  It had a good flavor, but the consistency was off. I've made risotto in the past, which is quite time consuming -- I found the baked risotto recipe and gave it a try, but the rice seemed to go from too al dente to quite soft in a very short time.  It was almost like mushroom-cheese oatmeal ... ah well, lessons learned.  When we make risotto again, it will be the good old 45 minutes of stir, stir, stir, stir at the stove! 

The pie.  Oh, the pie.  It was lusciously creamy, custardy, tangy yet sweet due to the real buttermilk, and oh, so good.  The glazed pecans that were scattered on the top didn't sink to the bottom as I thought they would, they just made a crunchy topping to the velvety filling.  VERY tasty and I plan to make it again!  Do you see a picture?  No!  I forgot to take one!  There are two slices left in the fridge and I'll try to take a picture before we polish them off, LOL.

Next up: Paula’s turn! She chose... oh, wait!  There's no more states left!!  Whatever shall we do?  Stay tuned ...

Roast Duck with Wild Mushroom Baked Risotto

 

Roast Duck 

 

A significant portion of Arkansas's population participates in hunting duck in the Mississippi flyway and deer across the state. Millions of acres of public land are available for both bow and modern gun hunters.

 

Prep time: 24 hr . Cook time: 3 hr. 30 min.

 

Ingredients 

• 1 domestic duckling, about 5 lb.
• 6 strips orange zest, about 1 inch by 3 inches
• 1 small onion, halved
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ Tbsp. molasses
• 1 ½ Tbsp. honey
• ¼ tsp. coriander seeds, lightly crushed
• 8 whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
• 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 large garlic cloves, crushed and peeled 

Directions 

1. A day before roasting, remove the giblets and neck from the cavity of the bird and discard. If necessary pluck any stray pinfeathers off the duck with tweezers. Trim the neck flap and excess fat from around the cavity. Rinse and dry the bird well. Set the duck on a rack on a baking sheet, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours.
2. Heat the oven to 300 º F. Pierce the duck's skin all over (including the back), every 1/2-inch, with a skewer or small knife. Season the cavity with salt and pepper and stuff with 3 strips of the orange zest and the onion. Set the duck on a rack in a roasting pan, and pour a cup of water in the pan. Roast the bird for 3 hours, removing the duck from the oven every hour to prick the skin again.
3. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Combine the remaining orange zest, molasses, honey, coriander, pepper, orange juice, vinegar, and garlic in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, over medium-high heat until warm. Remove glaze from the heat and set it aside at room temperature while the duck cooks.
4. Remove the duck from the oven and carefully, pour off the excess fat from the pan. (If desired reserve this fat for frying potatoes or wilting greens.) Raise the oven temperature to 450º F. Return the duck to the oven and roast until crisp and brown, about 30 minutes more.
5. Let the duck rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving. Brush the duck's skin with glaze 4 to 5 five times during the resting period. Carve the duck and transfer pieces to warm serving platter. Serve the remaining glaze at the table to drizzle over the duck, if desired.

Serves: 3 to 4

Duckies!  This is NOT the duckies that Ben asked for!

Baked Risotto

Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 50 min.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
• 4 cups warm chicken broth, divided
• 1 cups dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
• 2 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
• 1 cup grated cheese of your choice (parmesan, sharp cheddar, etc.)
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 º.
2. Warm the chicken broth, and combine 3 cups of it, along with the rice in a Dutch oven. Bake for 45 minutes or until the rice is just done and the liquid is mainly absorbed.
3. Remove it from the oven, and stir in the remaining cup of chicken broth and all of the other remaining ingredients.

Serves 4.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 1 hr.

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 refrigerated Pie Crust
• Glazed Pecans (recipe follows)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Combine all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl, and pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Scatter the glazed pecans evenly on top of the pie filling.
3. Bake for 50 min. to 1 hour, or until set. Let the pie cool on a wire rack before serving at room temperature.

Serves 8.

Glazed Pecans

Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 12 min.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pecan halves
• ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup dark corn syrup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil, and lightly grease the foil.
2. Stir the pecan halves, light brown sugar, and dark corn syrup together in a small bowl. Spread the mixture out on a jelly-roll pan, and bake, stirring every 4 minutes, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the glaze thickens.
3. Remove the pan from the oven and spread the pecans in a single layer on wax paper. CAUTION!  HOT!!!
4. Let the pecans cool completely, separating them with a spoon as they cool. Store the glazed pecans indefinitely in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes about 1 ¼ cups.