The Secret Recipe Blog

Serves/Makes: 4
Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:
4 skinless White Pekin duckling breasts
4 navel oranges
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings
1 small bunch green seedless grapes, stemmed
1 head escarole, cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces
6 ounces baby red romaine leaves
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Juice three of the oranges.
Combine orange juice with the sesame oil, soy sauce, minced mint, sugar and red onion. Mix well together, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Marinade the duck breasts in this mixture for about 30 minutes. Remove duck and save the marinade.
In a small saucepan, boil leftover marinade for 1 minute. Add more seasoning if necessary.
Let cool; this will be the dressing for the finished dish.

Segment the remaining orange by slicing off the top and bottom. Set orange on flat side, and carefully cut away skin and all of pith.
Then, slide theknife between each membrane to remove just the fruit.
Add grapes to oranges, and set aside.

Preheat your grill. You know the grill is ready when it is too hot to hold your hand 6 inches above grill for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
Pat duck breasts dry, and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Place duck breasts on the grill and cook for about 8 minutes for medium or cook slightly longer if you prefer well-done meat.
Remove from grill, and keep warm while you finish the salad.

In a large bowl, lightly toss escarole and romaine with half of the reserved marinade-dressing.
Divide greens equally among 4 plates.
Slice duck breasts on an angle, and place on top of salad.
Scatter citrus segments and grapes over each plateful.
In a bowl, mix grapeseed oil into remaining dressing.
Drizzle remaining dressing over the top of each serving.
Yum!

(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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Serves/Makes: 2
Ready In: Less than 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Vidalia onions
2 cups flour
2 cups fine cracker crumbs
2 cups white corn meal
2 cups Buttermilk
1 cup Water
4 cups Crisco oil (enough for your deep fryer)
Directions:
Slice onions 1/2 inch thick, only use the larger rings.
In a large bowl combine buttermilk and water.
In another bowl combine the corn meal and cracker crumbs.
One at a time, take the rings and coat them with flour then with buttermilk, and then coat with corn meal mixture.
Drop into hot oil and fry until golden.
Drain on paper towels.

(11 votes, average: 2.64 out of 5)

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Servings: 4

6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick-cooking grits
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Tabasco sauce, to taste
12 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
2 pounds large uncooked shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 cups sliced green onions
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Bring 6 cups water and salt to boil in a heavy large saucepan.
Whisk in grits. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until mixture is thick and grits are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Whisk in 1 cup cheese and nutmeg. Season to taste with hot pepper sauce. Cover and set aside.

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until brown but not crisp. Transfer bacon to small bowl, using slotted spoon. Pour off half of drippings from skillet.

Add shrimp to same skillet and cook until just pink, about 2 minutes per side.

Transfer shrimp to plate, using slotted spoon.

Add mushrooms to same skillet and saute until tender, about 4 minutes.

Add green onions and garlic and saute 3 minutes.

Return shrimp and bacon to skillet. Mix in lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce (I use a lot of tabasco!).

Bring grits to a simmer. Add water by tablespoons if grits are too thick.

Spoon grits onto plates. Spoon shrimp mixture over. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Serves/Makes: 8

Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:
1 package puff pastry sheets (thawed if frozen)
4 large apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Peel, core then slice the apples.
Over low heat, in a medium saucepan, cook the apples with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice. Stir often, until apples are tender.
Once tender, refrigerate until cool.

Preheat oven to 400.
Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll each sheet into a 12-inch square then cut into four 6-inch squares.
Place 1/4 cup of the apple mixture in the center of each square.
Brush the edges with water, then fold to form triangles. Be sure to seal the edges firmly with a fork.
Place on baking sheets. Bake 25 minutes or until golden.
Cool on wire rack.

Serving Suggestion: In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon water. With a spoon, drizzle over the turnover, allow it to set before serving.

(8 votes, average: 4.13 out of 5)

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