Boursin Duck Strudel

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
8 ounces (about 3 cups) assorted wild mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, morel, etc.), cleaned and sliced 1/8-inch thick
1/4 cup peeled and minced shallots
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 cups fresh baby spinach, lightly sprinkled with water
4 ounces duck confit, shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions
1 container Bourin cheese spread, cold
1  1/2 cups finely shredded Fontina cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of the butter in large sauté pan. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, rosemary and thyme; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until mushrooms render their liquid; transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, sauté spinach until wilted. (It always amazes me how the spinach goes from something to nearly nothing once it is sautéed.) Transfer to a strainer and drain.  When cool enough to handle, squeeze spinach dry and then place on a cutting board and chop.

Combine with the mushrooms and set aside.

Place the remaining stick of butter in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave. Cover phyllo dough with a towel to prevent it from drying.  Remove two sheets of phyllo and place side-by-side on a work surface.

Brush each sheet with melted butter then top each with another sheet of phyllo and brush each with butter. The pretty little brush pictured above is a goose-feather brush made especially for working with phyllo.  You can purchase one at any high end kitchen store or HERE {scroll to the very bottom of the page}…. or just use a regular pastry brush. :-)

Season each with pepper and then crumble and sprinkle with about 1/3 of the boursin cheese, dividing between the two stacks. Next, sprinkle each stack with about 3 tablespoons the Fontina cheese. Repeat layers twice; end with a layer of phyllo dough and brush that top sheet with melted butter.

Add the remaining Fontina cheese and the shredded duck confit to the mushroom mixture and stir well to combine.

Place the filling along the long edge of the dough that is closest to you. Roll each into a log shape.  Place on baking sheet and brush with butter.

Note: At this time the strudels make be frozen. Transfer baking sheet to freezer for 2 hours. Carefully remove each strudel from baking sheet and wrap first in plastic wrap and then in foil. Return to freezer for up to one month.  When ready to bake, unwrap and transfer to baking sheet. Proceed with recipe, adding about 5 minutes to baking time or until golden brown.

Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and then use a serrated knife to slice each roll into 8 sections.

Make 16 slices

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3 tablespoons salt
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
6 sprigs thyme
Coarsely ground black pepper
4 duck legs with thighs
4 duck wings, trimmed
About 4 cups rendered duck fat

Happy 24th Birthday to my gorgeous, talented, loving, conscientious, kind, beautiful, wonderful daughter, Marissa!

I’m hoping you won’t mind all these pictures I’m going to post here. From this top one taken during the last months of your senior year at the University of Arizona… to this one when you were the only ballerina in black tights – when you were just over four years old.

Then there is this next picture, taken on your fourth birthday. You were obviously NOT happy that there was snow on the saguaros on December 1st in Arizona! Some things don’t change – you’re still always saying it’s too cold.

Look how pretty you and your girls are for your 2006 High School Senior Prom – (Marissa’s the second one from the right – just in case some of you readers can’t tell one beauty from the other!)

I can not begin to tell you how much I LOVE this picture of you in your Belle – Beauty and the Beast dress that our neighbor, Kathy, made especially for you…. along with the, always present, naked Barbie next to you on the couch.  Oh, how I despised dressing Barbies!  At the time, I thought those days would never end, and here they are, so long gone!  But now… I can honestly say… I don’t miss even one minute of dressing Barbies!!!  Some mom’s just aren’t cut out for that stuff… but I do miss playing Barbies with you!

And now you live in beautiful and exciting San Francisco. A city you first visited when you were only 8 months old and then again along with your brother and us back in…. I can’t remember what year this was, but there you two are, posing in front of  the bridge. Funny – you look cold, as usual.

I will end this “Happy Birthday” pictorial with one of my more recent favorites – one of the many photos with you and your senior-year college roommates, taken for your Christmas cards that year. There were prettier ones, but somehow, this one, is my favorite – too cute of each and every one of you beautiful university girls! (hopefully, sweet Paige will miss this post – even though I love her face in it!)

And by telling you … in the immortal words of one Miss Kelly Clarkson – “My Life Would Suck Without You“!!!

xoxoxoxoox  I love you, Marissa Lynn Hopkins!

I had flown in a day early to prepare the food. Dave’s brother, Tom, picked me up at O’Hare and took me to my usual haunts - Costco, Trader Joe’s, and a grocery store. Then he took me back to his house to “get cooking”.  Tom retreated to the basement to work while I set up my own work station in his kitchen.  About halfway through the day he came up to find me struggling with about 3 dozen hard boiled eggs.  I had forgotten to ask someone to buy the eggs at least a few days ahead of time… fresh eggs are nearly impossible to peel! Poor Tom and I spent a good hour at it, it was awful!  Otherwise, the party was a wonderful success, and not one soul mentioned the seriously beat up looking deviled eggs.

I believe that the one and only reason no one said a thing was because my recipe for Spinach Deviled Eggs is one of the best deviled egg recipes around. That may sound like bragging, but I’m just telling you the truth! They would be perfect for the upcoming holidays… so check them out by CLICKING HERE.

Happy Birthday, Mom! xoxo

This final photo was added after this post was posted. This is almost the entire family at Mom’s 85th birthday dinner. Missing are newlyweds, Katie and Eddie and my two kids, Marissa and Connor. Great-grandson Greyson (great-nephew to me) is up front, looking as cute as he can be, he was the life of the party!

This picture is of Laura and I visiting my Aunt Beverly in Del Mar, CA back in the summer of ’78 or ’79. Laura and I were just high school girls standing there all awkward – while Bev poses all sexy… too funny! Bev’s birthday is Sunday, so I’ll take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday, Aunt Bev, I love you too!

I shared with you yesterday that my mom is the oldest of 8 kids, well Bev is the second youngest and is only 9 years older than me (and of Laura too, for that matter), so we’ve always been close. Kisses and Hugs to you both! xoox

Weekly Tip #3

Don’t waste those little bits of condiments left clinging to the sides of jars and bottles.

• Pour hot water into the empty bottles of honey, syrup, or molasses, shake vigorously , then use the liquid when making yeast, quick breads, or dressings.
• Pour a little vinegar into those empty bottles of ketchup or mustard, shake vigorously and use in your homemade vinaigrette and salad dressings.

It’s no secret, I love my birthday. You know that person who complains that they are another year older? Yeah, I am the complete opposite of that person. Birthdays are a gift unto themselves.

I love October, I love the 27th, I love that I was born in a year ending with zero, what can I say, I just love my birthday. In fact, when I schedule posts in advance on this very blog, I set them up to post at 10:27 AM. So there you go, now you know.

I was going through old photos of my childhood birthdays and came across these pictures. Isn’t it funny how my dresses are both black and white patterned? Actually, my mom never liked black on little girls, so they’re probably navy and white. The first photo is of my 4th birthday with me proudly standing beside a stack of gifts (Score!). That is my 12 year old Aunt Patty beside me. My mom is the oldest of 8 and Patty is the youngest, so Patty and I are only eight years apart.

I think I was turning 11 or 12 in this second photo. It’s hard to be sure, but that’s what I’m guessing, by looking at my siblings, and trying to figure out their ages. That is Sloane, standing on the far left, and Andy is sitting to the right, between the two girls.

The funny thing I distinctly remember about this particular birthday party, is that my friend, Jayne, was not in that group photo. Once my mom realized it, she was sure to take a picture of the two of us after everyone else had gone home. I guess I remember because back then, it was a big deal to take photos, you didn’t want to waste (and have to pay for) the film and developing of bad pictures. So strange to think of that now we are digital and can take as many photos as we wish without worrying about waste or cost.

Anyhow… I’m off to read my birthday horoscope, it’s sure to be a good day! :-)

Have fun golfing today! If there was ever a person who deserved a day off to relax and do the thing he most loves to do… it is you!

You claim you don’t want anything for your birthday, now what am I going to do about that?!?

One gift was delivered a day early… the Diamondbacks winning two games in a row to tie the National League Division Series! Now they need to deliver the rest of that gift tomorrow!

I love that we share the same birthday month… because….

Just kidding, kind of. Have a great day and I’ve got a wonderful night planned for you too.

Your loving wife,
Linda
xoxoxo

Last night’s birthday party dinner for Terrie was a blast. Anytime the Murriettas gets together, nothing less is expected. Please indulge me and I shall share my history with this fantastic family.

Terrie and I have known each other since our grade school days at Navajo Elementary, right here in Scottsdale. We are both native Arizonans. We lived on the border between two high schools, Scottsdale High and Saguaro High. Terrie and her younger sister, Peggy, went to Scottsdale High. Terrie’s three older brothers, Vince, Mark, and John, went to Saguaro, as did I. After Navajo, Terrie and I lost touch and I only knew of her brothers as the “big men – the jocks” on campus.

Fast forward 12 years to 1991. Dave and I are in our second house and have just had our second child, Connor. We live in a cul-de-sac and our backyard fence curves around and backs up to 5 different neighbors. One day, I meet one of those neighbors, Peggy DeBolske. She also has two little ones of her own at the time, Joey and Samantha (Natalie and Steven come along 2 and 4 years later). We become fast friends and soon learn that we are both Arizona natives. Then we discover that we both went to Navajo. I ask her maiden name… Murrietta. “Oh my gosh, is Terrie your sister? And are Mark and John your brothers?” (Her oldest brother, Vince, was long gone from Saguaro by the time I arrived.) Yes!  Small World! We, of course, have been best friends ever since and it gave me the opportunity to re-connect with Terrie.

Peggy and Terrie attended my Blog 2nd Anniversary Party earlier this month and Terrie told me that all of the recipes for her birthday party were coming from this site and that Peggy was hosting the dinner party. I glared poor Peggy down and gave her hell for not asking me to help her. She relented and that is how I wiggled “my way in.”

Terrie’s 50th Birthday Menu for 30

Avocado-Mandarin Orange Salad (x4)
Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish-Brandy Sauce (x3) and Brandied Mushrooms  (x6)
Parmesan Roasted Asparagus (x5)
Balsamic Roasted Red Onions (x6)
Green Onion Parmesan Mashed Potatoes (x6)

Lemon “Nothing Bundt Cakes” birthday cake

We plated the salads and served everything else family-style, on large platters and in bowls filled with the main course and the sides, for each table.

Happy Birthday, Terrie and thank you Peggy, for the opportunity to spend time with you and that great family of yours! Love you both! xoxo

I’ve been prepping for a sit-down birthday party dinner for 30 that I am helping my friend, Peggy, throw for her sister, Terrie.  More on the party and the sisters later…

All I have time to post today are pictures of what prepping for a sit-down dinner for 30 kinda looks like.  It looks like a lot of food!

So many red onions, shallots, and green onions to peel and cut.  Thankfully I have onion goggles.

The last time they were used was during kids’ classes in June… I guess they weren’t cleaned before they were put away… disgusting…. actually, now that I think about it, this is how my sunglasses usually look!

Then there are the 6 pounds of asparagus to trim…

And all this thyme that needs to be stripped from the stems. 

But look at all these great trimmings for the compost bin!

It is going to be a wonderful party… OK, enough talking about it – back to work.

Tonight is the big Cookbook Happy Hour. In the next week, I’ll post recipes for the drinks and appetizers we enjoyed; including drink recipes for those infused vodkas I made at the end of July.  Now a little rundown of the blog birthday official numbers…

2 years
730 days
668 posts
577 recipes
1,508 comments (Thank YOU!)
11,876 spam (what the heck?!?)

Enough reflection – time for a recipe #578.

Another place that Kathy took me out to eat while in Florida was to Rocco’s Tacos in West Palm Beach.  Cute name, nice place, with a huge menu.. but really, we had to order tacos for lunch.  With that name, it wasn’t really much of a decision. The tacos were satisfactory, the sangria and guacamole yummy, but what intrigued me was the special salad of the day. I dissected it and made it for dinner last night… it is a winner.  Especially the chipotle vinaigrette I created. It would be awesome on a potato salad or coleslaw too. Check it out and see if you agree.

Romaine Salad with Chili Crusted Chicken and Sweet Chipotle Vinaigrette

Sweet Chipotle Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 small canned chipotle chile in adobo plus 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons peeled and finely diced red onion
Freshly ground black pepper

Chili Crusted Chicken
1 large lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 tablespoon peeled and minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Salad
2 hearts of romaine; washed, spun dry, and torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup thin red onion slices
1 cup roasted red pepper slices
1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed

Sweet Chipotle Vinaigrette: Place all ingredients, except the red onion, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the red onion.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.

Chili Crusted Chicken:  Zest and juice the lemon into a small bowl.  Stir in the oregano and chili powder to make a paste. Stir in the garlic.

Brush 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the top side of the breasts and then coat with the chili paste.  Leave the bottom side of breasts uncoated.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add remaining olive oil and sear the chicken, uncoated-side down.  Cook for about 6 to 7 minutes. 

Turn chicken over onto the top coated-side and cook for 5 or 6 additional minutes, or until chicken is cooked completely through.  Set aside until cool enough to handle, then slice on a diagonal.

Salad:  Place the romaine in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Divide evenly between 4 large dinner plates. In the same bowl, add the onion, pepper, avocado, and corn and toss with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette. Divide evenly between the dinner plates, topping the lettuce.  Finally, place the sliced chicken in the same bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon vinaigrette. Lay the chicken slices atop the salad, along the outside edge.  Serve, passing the remaining vinaigrette.

Serves 4

Les Petites Gourmettes Blog 2-Year Celebration
Cookbook Happy Hour
Tuesday, August 16
4:30 – 7:00 PM

RSVP: leave a comment here or email me at lpgourmett@aol.com to let me know you are coming – and I will email you back with directions.

Of course, there will be fabulous food and drink. Each attendee will receive 1 free cookbook at the door from a grab bag and have an opportunity to buy as many additional cookbooks as they wish (until they are all gone) for no more than $5.00 Doesn’t matter is the book retailed for $45 or more – it won’t cost more than $5.00!  Prices will be from .25 cents to $5.00. Over 200 cookbooks must go!

I hope to see you a week from today!

… is the 2nd birthday of Les Petites Gourmettes’ blog. And we are going to celebrate!

… celebrate with a Cookbook Happy Hour. Each attendee will receive 1 free cookbook at the door from a grab bag and have an opportunity to buy as many additional cookbooks as the wish (until they are all gone) for no more than $5.00 Doesn’t matter is the book retailed for $45 or more – it won’t cost more than $5.00!  Prices will be from .25 cents to $5.00.

Of course, there will be fabulous food and drink.  As I said a few days ago, I am in a purging mood and over 200 cookbooks must go!  Mark your calendars now… consider this is your save the date… more details in the coming days.

Les Petites Gourmettes’ Blog 2 Year Celebration
Cookbook Happy Hour
Tuesday, August 16
4:30 – 7:00 PM

Oh, one last note -This Friday, August 29th will be the last airing of Valley Dish. You may have heard that the show is being replaced with EVB Live on NBC Channel 12 beginning Monday, August 1st.  Friday’s Valley Dish is a rerun of the last live show, on which I was privileged to be the guest chef.  It was a my honor and a total joy each and every one of the 21 times I appeared during the 1  1/2 year run… from the first show, the 1 year anniversary show, to the very last live (and rerun for that matter) show.  Thank you Tram, Matt, Cassie, Chencho, Richard, Sonia, and Company, you are all amazing, generous, and loving people!  Best of luck on your new exciting venture! xoxo

Instead of a traditional birthday cake, I made Connor cupcakes this year. Since we were going out to dinner instead of eating at home, it seemed easier to pack up a few cupcake to have at the restaurant rather than an entire cake. Connor’s favorite ice cream is Cookies ‘n Cream, so that was the inspiration for the cupcakes. It is unanimous – these are winners!  It takes about 1 1/3 package of Oreo cookies to make 2 dozen cupcakes.  If your family is like mine, no one will complain about the 2/3 package of extra Oreos hanging around.

Cookies ‘n Cream Cupcakes

Cupcakes
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached (save other halves for frosting)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 whole Oreo cookies, quartered
Frosting
8-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Oreo cookie crumbs (from the other half of the cookies used in the paper liners)
12 whole Oreo cookies, cut in half

Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with 24 paper liners.  Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir together with a whisk to blend and set aside these dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the butter and sugar  on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, stir in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.

Gently fold in the quartered Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an standing mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Blend in the vanilla paste.  Beat in the powdered sugar until  smooth, about 2 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Fold the Oreo crumbs into the frosting.

Frost the cooled cupcakes using a pastry bag without a tip.  Insert Oreo halves in the center.

Makes 24

Yesterday it was red velvet waffles, today we have banana waffles. The red velvet just about hopped out of the waffle iron themselves, the banana waffles stick a little bit because of the fresh banana in the batter, so be patient while getting them out of the iron. Just pry them a bit with a fork and they will come out in one piece. And if you waffle iron doesn’t have a light to indicate that the waffle is cooked through and ready to remove, just wait until the steam stops, that is another way (the old fashioned way) to let you know it is ready.

Banana Waffles

1 cup flour
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, separated
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup mashed banana (about 1 1/2 bananas)
1/3 cup melted butter, cooled

Topping
Banana slices
Chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
Warm maple syrup

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine egg yolk, milk, bananas, and melted butter in a mixing bowl.  Gently stir in the dry ingredients, do not overmix.

Using an electric hand mixer in a small bowl, beat the egg white until stiff  but not dry.  Use a rubber spatula to gently fold egg white into the batter until just combined.

Pour a heaping 1/3 cup of the batter evenly onto the waffle iron, close and cook until steam no longer is rising from the iron or the indicator light goes off and the waffle is cooked through.

Transfer to a baking sheet and place in a low oven to keep warm until all waffles are cooked.

Serve waffles topped with banana slices, nuts, and warm maple syrup.

Makes about eight 6-inch diameter waffles