Duck Egg and Parano Cheese Souffle (adapted from Alton Brown)

Butter, room temperature, for greasing the souffle
2 tablespoons grated Parano Cheese
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/3 cups milk, hot
4 large duck egg yolks
6 ounces Parano, grated
5 Duck egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat your oven to 375.  Grease the souffle dish and dust greased dish with 2 Tbs grated Parano Cheese.  In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Meanwhile, combine the flour, mustard, and garlic powder.  Add to the butter, and stir to cook.  Slowly add the hot milk and turn off heat.

Separate the eggs into two separate bowls.  Beat the yolks until thoroughly mixed.  Temper the eggs into the hot milk mixture (add a little bit of the egg yolk to the hot milk while vigorously stirring continue to do this until the egg yolks are incorporated into the milk mixture.  make sure to keep on mixing so the eggs do not scramble).  Add the grated cheese.  Using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tarter until stiff.  In thirds, fold the egg whites into the yolks, and pour into the casserole.

Bake for 35 minutes until light and puffy.  SERVE IMMEDIATELY (the souffle won't wait)!

 Recipe Notes: Alton Brown's original recipe calls for cheddar cheese, rather than parano, chicken eggs (I don't think that there are actually any recipes that call for duck eggs but they were fun to try) and 1/8 tsp of salt.  I omitted the salt because parano is a saltier cheese as compared to cheddar, but I would have added it if I used cheddar.  The duck eggs were a novelty, but the flavor was similar to chicken eggs.  The most noticeable difference was the yolks are much bigger than chicken egg yolks.

Chicken Under a Brick

1 young chickenIt's even jucier then it looks in the picture!

1 tsp each chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbs olive oil, plus more for coating the pan

zest and juice from one lemon

Recipe Instructions:

The night before you want to eat the chicken, brine the chicken in the basic brine. 

Thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlicThe next day, up to two hours before you wish to cook the bird, combine the rosemary, thyme, age, garlic, salt, pepper, 1 Tbs olive oil, and lemon zest and juice.  Remove the bird from the brine, and pat dry.  Cut out the backboneCut the backbone out of the chicken to butterfly the bird.  (it's easy, and somewhat cathartic.  I promise.  If you are uncomfortable with this step, ask your butcher to do it for you).  Loosen the skin (you will need a knife to loosen some of the membrane), and apply spices evenly under the skin.  Allow it to marinate for up to two hours.

When you are ready to cook the bird, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place your chicken press or two bricks wrapped iloosening the chicken skinn silver foil into the oven.  Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Butterflied chicken with herbs under its skinAdd enough oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan.  Remove the bricks from the oven.  When the oil shimmers, place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, and immediately place the hot bricks on the bird.  Cook on the pan for about 8 minutes until the skin turns golden brown.  Your house should start smelling delicious!

Place the Chicken Press (or bricks) on the chickenRemove the bricks, and flip the chicken over.  Place it in the hot oven and roast until chicken is cooked through, between 25 and 30 minutes (the internal temperature of the meatiest part of the thigh should register 165 degrees).The chicken skin should be golden brown

Allow the chicken to rest for ten minutes.  This is really important to allow the juices to permeate the meat.  The chicken will actually cook a bit on its own during this time.   Set the table, play with the cats, wash your hair; whatever it takes avoid all urges to cut the chicken before it has rested. 

After the bird rests, slice and enjoy!  You could make a simple gravy by deglazing the bottom of the roasting pan with 1 cup of white wine or chicken broth and 2 tsp tapioca flour (or potato starch or regular flour) suspended in 1 tbs water.  Stir to remove all of the bits off of the bottom of the pan and then simmer until the gravy is slightly think.  I promise you, however, that this chicken is so juicy you won't need a gravy!

Basic Brine for Chicken

1/3 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 quarts of water

1 Chicken

Combine the sugar salt and water in a large bowl.  Add the chicken, breast side down, and submerge in brine.  Allow to brine for at least 8 but no more than 24 hours.  Follow your favorite recipe to cook the chicken!

Some Variations:

Use Maple Syrup instead of Sugar

Add rosemary, thyme, and sage

Add a 1 inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced, 1 Tbs Five Spice Powder, and a few star anise, and replace salt with 1 cup soy sauce

Add 1 apple, the peal of 1 orange, and the peal of 1 lemon (just be careful that the solution doesn't become too acidic or else the brine will become a marinade and the protein in the chicken will turn into mush.  If you use this variation, I recommend only brining the bird for 8 hours)

The possibilities are endless!

Herb Grilled Trout

2 Whole Trout, butterflied

1/4 cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh thyme, finely choppedrub herb mixture into trout

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Tbs unsalted butter

2 cedar planks

Heat grill.  Soak the cedar planks in water for at least two hours until thoroughly Grill Fish on Cedar Plankssaturated. Combine Rosemary, Thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.  Divide herb mixture between the fish and rub trout is done when it is opaqueinto meat.  Thinly slice butter and add one Tbs to each fish. Place each fish on a plank and place on hot grill.  Cover the grill and cook until fish is opaque in the middle, about 12 minutes.  Serve with fresh lemon slices.

Strawberry Basil Martinis

5 Fresh Strawberries

2 Basil Leaves

1 oz vodka

2 tsp sugar

muddle the strawberries, 1 basil leaf and sugar in the bottom of a shaker.  Allow to sit for at least five minutes so that the strawberries release their juices.  Add vodka and ice and shake.  Pour into a martini glass and garnish with the remaining basil leaf.

Recipe notes: Basil and strawberries may seem like an unusual combination, but it is actually quite delicious.  The basil imparts a fresh, yet subtle flavor.