Duck Pizza with Hoisin Sauce, Herb Goat Cheese, Portabellas, and Caramelized Onions

This dish is inspired by an old restaurant favorite. When I was fairly young, we used to travel to Atlanta to visit my Uncle Dirk a few times a year. Our favorite trip was for back to school shopping. We'd spend our days hitting outlet malls, clearance racks, and, of course, eating foods that I never could have dreamed of finding in sweet, little Halifax County. One of our favorite places to go was California Pizza Kitchen in the Lenox Mall.

Photo Courtesy of http://foodnearsnellville.files.wordpress.com

The restaurant actually sits in the very center of the mall as shown in the picture to the left. Among our favorite specialty pizzas was the Peking Duck Pizza. A delicious creation of roasted duck breast, mozzarella cheese, soy-glazed shitake mushrooms, crispy wontons, green onions, and ginger hoisin sauce. Sadly, CPK revised their menu years ago and this delicacy no longer graces its pages. However, the saga does not end here! Years ago, my family decided that rather than the standard holiday fare, we would make duck for Christmas. This is a tradition that, I'm happy to say, has stuck. After duck Christmas, we had plenty of leftovers and my uncle concocted the perfect plan to make duck pizza. I have since taken my many hours of duck pizza recipe research and promptly thrown it out the window with the decision to trust my gut. Its pizza, not rocket science! So with some beautiful leftover duck from Bistro 1888, I created my masterpiece.

First of all, hoisin is a main component in this pizza. It can be bought it grocery stores in the Asian food section. I make my own just because it is cheaper and I'm usually making it for my sister to consume. She is gluten-free and all the store brands contain it. To make your own hoisin, combine 4 T soy sauce, 2 T peanut butter (black bean paste if you want to be super traditional), 1 T honey, 2 T vinegar (I've always used apple cider), 1/8 t garlic powder (I definitely crank this amount up!), 2 teaspoons sesame oil (Asian food section), 20 drops chinese hot sauce ( I generally use texas pete/ tabasco because I have it around),  and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. I would definitely recommend making a larger batch because you will about a cup for the pizza. It stays good in the fridge for awhile if stored in a jar and is a great way to spice up steamed veggies, chicken, and makes a delicious stir fry!

Alright, moving along. Another component on this pizza is caramelized onions. These turned out to be one of my favorite kinds of food to cook- sounds hard/fancy, actually really freaking easy! Lots of recipes that I look through called for scallions and I almost opted to go this route. I'm so glad that I chose to take the extra time because this absolutely makes the whole dish! Start off by chopping one sweet onion. I did a course chop since I was using this as a pizza topping. Saute in pan over medium heat in about a tablespoon of olive oil until that become translucent, but do not brown. At this point, add 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar. You can also use honey, molasses, white sugar, or really any type of sweetening agent like this.

It will start off looking like this. Just continue to cook on medium, stirring constantly until the sugar and onions bind together and become fragrant. I was concerned when I first googled how to do this about the "become fragrant" part but, honestly, as vague as it sounds, once you actually cook it, this will all make so much sense!

At this point, they will look like the above photo and smell absolutely delicious! Remove your pan from the heat and let your gorgeous caramelized onions hang out until its time to put them on your equally gorgeous pizza.

Now, its finally pizza time!

I started with a store bought wheat pizza crust just to save on time. I used one by Boboli that can be found at Kroger with the pizza making stuff. 

Next, I spread a thin layer of hoisin sauce on the crust. I probably used around a cup of sauce. Leave a little space around the edges so you have a nice crust.

Then, take your herb goat cheese and place it in chunks on top of your crust like the above picture making sure to space them out well.

I used this beautiful goat cheese found at the Blacksburg Kroger. Silver Goat not only makes a wonderful product, but it is also made from sustainable sources, contains no additives or preservatives, and is kosher. I used 4 oz of the herb and garlic. Goat cheese is a great healthy choice with a tangy flavor and that delicious creamy texture without as many calories, less fat and cholesterol, and more calcium and protein.

I spread my cheese out to cover the pizza. In retrospect, I would skip this step. There is really no purpose and it just makes it ugly! Anywho, next add your duck on top of your pizza, distributing evenly. I used 1- 1 1/2 cups of leftover duck chopped into course pieces. If you don't want to bother with cooking duck/finding duck, you could definitely use another poultry protein like chicken or turkey with almost as delicious results.

Next, top with your mushrooms. I personally love baby portabellas and they were also on sale when I was grocery shopping! Bi-winning! You could use any kind of mushroom, but I think the hearty, earthy flavor of the portabello pairs nicely with the rustic, gamey flavor of duck.

Now, take your beautiful caramelized onions and top your pizza with them. I added an extra drizzle of balsamic to the top just for an added touch. Take you beautiful creation and put it in an oven preheated to 450 degrees. Cook until cheese is bubbly and crust is crispy. I used a perforated pan (aka it has little holes in it) for a crispier crust. This type of pan is great not just for making your own pizza, but awesome for reheating frozen pizzas. I left mine in for about 15-20 minutes.

The finished product! It is not the most beautiful pizza in the world, but once you take a bite, you certainly won't care. While it has a great earthy quality to it, this pizza is elevated and luxurious. I think it would be great topped with some fresh herbs and chopped peanuts or crispy wontons for texture.

My first cocktail blog is currently in the works! My best friend's birthday is this weekend so a great drink is certainly a must! Perhaps some tequila is in order? Stay hungry my friends!

Veggie Breakfast Scramble

First off, let me apologize for my extended hiatus from blogging my culinary adventures. Unfortunately, school work has to take priority and I also came down with a nasty stomach virus that left me vowing to never eat anything but Cheez-its again. By Cheez-its, I mean the plain ole boring kind. Even the white cheddar variety was a bit too adventurous for a few days.

One of my favorite, underutilized meals is breakfast. While I love breakfast foods, I never feel like eating when I first get up and I'm usually running late for class and just grab a granola bar after hitting the snooze button a few too many times. This leaves "real" breakfast a sacred meal for weekends. After vowing to be healthier, while still eating delicious food, this year, I began to analyze my weekend breakfast habits. Jacob is truly a breakfast snob after being spoiled by his parents with eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, french toast, and more on a regular basis. Meals like this were more reserved for snow days at my house. Hey, we just don't do mornings and french toast, while awesome, is simply not enough motivation to get us up and moving in time to eat it. As a result of Jacob's snobbery, our breakfast feasts were definitely packing on the pounds so I decided to come up with a delicious breakfast scramble that would pack lots of delicious flavor without all the calories.

First of all, let me note that his recipe was made for 2 people so if you're just cooking for yourself, half all these quantities. To start out, I warmed a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat (more towards the medium side). Then, I added 1 small sweet onion chopped and about a tablespoon of pre-minced garlic.

I sauteed the onions until they began to become translucent and fragrant and then added 1 red bell pepper chopped. This would also be great with a variety of other bell pepper colors. On a side note for my fellow penny pinchers, grocery stores (i.e. Kroger) often put red, orange, and yellow bell peppers on sale 10 for $10. You can buy them and bulk and freeze already chopped (use that handy dandy food processor!) in already portioned baggies. They can even be frozen whole!

Continue to saute being careful not to brown to onions until the pepper become soft. If they begin to become brown, just turn the heat down a bit. I, once again, used my awesome Willams-Sonoma Professional Multi-Chopper for chopping my peppers and onions. Look at those gorgeous, uniform peppers!

Next, add in a few handfuls of leaf spinach chopped. I hate using such a vague measurement but, honestly, the amount of spinach really depends on your personal taste. Add a little if you're feeling apprehensive about eggs and spinach or a lot for a great serving of leafy greens. I removed the stems before chopping just because I personally hate their texture and find them a little bitter. Allow the chopped spinach to wilt stirring occasionally. I think this recipe would also be great with other veggies added like some fire roasted tomatoes (just $0.99/ can, try Hunt's fire roasted tomatoes with garlic) or fresh mushrooms.

Then, add I used the equivalent of 6 eggs in store-bought egg whites. You could, of course, use real eggs. Just make sure to thoroughly whisk these with a fork before adding them to pan. I also threw in about a 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Sharp cheddar is a great way to impart that great taste without having to use as much cheese because of its bold flavor. Cook the eggs slowly moving them around the pan constantly. I use a stiff silicone spatula so I can get all the nooks and crannies without worrying about scratching my precious Teflon. When eggs are soft but still have some moisture to them, plate. KEY NOTE- eggs, kind of like cookies, continue to cook after they are out of the pan. The biggest mistake people make with scrambles is too overcook their eggs!

Enjoy your delicious breakfast, brunch, late night study snack, or whatever meal! I paired mine with some fresh strawberries and banana bread from my tequila-swigging gal Kaley. She makes all of her banana bread with all natural sugar (think sugar in the raw), whole wheat flour, and, of course, bittersweet chocolate chips! Hmmmmm sounds like I may need her to do a guest blog spot on her specialty.

Coming soon!- Duck Pizza!- re-purposing duck leftovers by making a pizza on whole wheat crust with homemade hoison sauce, herbed goat cheese, baby bellas, and caramelized onions

Also Coming Soon!- Carrot Souffle with Brown Sugar- the low cal version- an amazing, elegant, and impressive way to enjoy this beta-carotene packed veggie

Stay tuned and stay hungry my friends!