There are always loads of recipes I'd like to try but lose them before I do. This is where I can record recipes I find interesting and keep notes on my experiments with them.

I have a system that I've adopted for working through recipes:

1 - New recipes are saved to the Experimental Mouffette and is labeled : Untested
2 - As I'm working out the changes I'd like to make (if any) it is labeled : Testing
3 - Once I think I've got the correct formula it is labeled : Test 1
4 - IF I am able to reproduce the effect a second time it is labeled : Test 2 - if I am not able to reproduce the effect, it remains Test 1
5 - The same process as step 4 is used to graduate it to Test 3
6 - Once I have been able to reproduce the effect successfully 3 times, it graduates to my main blog, La Mouffette Gourmande

European Union visitors, please visit the following link concerning cookies (the computer kind, not he eating kind) Blogger cookies

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Herbed Duck Pottage with Barley and Potato - Testing


0 - I want to use the recipe in the link as my base but I don't specifically want to alter it to my tastes, I want to adapt it to my cooking, therefore the below comes with some important differences from the original, differences that are as of yet unproven.
1 - It was very good, but the original recipe asked for 2.5cups of broth, I added an extra 4 and it still came out more like a stew! Also, Ben feels that more pepper makes the soup. Since I didn't measure it, I will have to experiment.
2 - I didn't have chard nor corn kernels. I omitted greens, and I substituted peas for the corn. It made for a stodgy meal. With the leftovers I tested a bit, added greens and pan fried mushrooms with white wine and added enough water to make it soupy. This improved it very much.

Olive oil 
1 onion (6oz/170g) chopped
12 oz mushrooms, diced
1/3 cup white wine
6+ cups duck broth
2 bay leaves
2 tsps. Herbes de Provence
¼ tsp celery seed
3 carrots (9oz) sliced
1 cup (200g) pearl barley
½ tsp salt, to taste
½ tsp pepper
Any leftover meat from a roast duck (best if at least 1lb), rough chop
1 lb diced potato
1½ cups corn kernels or garden peas
3 large chard leaves, thin sliced
  1. In a soup pot heat the olive oil and fry the onion and mushroom until browned. Deglaze with the white wine and cook until reduced.
  2. Add the broth, bay leaves, dried herbs, carrots, barley, celery seeds and salt and pepper. Simmer for about an hour.
  3. Add the meat, potato and corn (or peas) and chard and simmer another 15 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
  4. To reheat the soup, add more liquid (broth or water) to desired consistency.

Duck Soup with Barley and Beans - Untested


1 duck carcass and any spare bones from a roast whole duck, all fat pulled off & discarded
Any spare duck meat picked off and reserved
2 small brown onions, split in half
1 bunch parsley stalks
1 small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 head of good garlic split horizontally across the middle
1 small sprig of thyme
2 bay leaves
5 peppercorns
3 medium carrots, peeled & finely diced
2 sticks of celery, de-strung & finely sliced
1 tin of flageolet beans, drained
40g pearl barley, cooked for 45 minutes or until tender & drained 
3 large chard leaves, washed, rolled & shredded
3 tbsps medium sweet sherry
2 tbsps sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sourdough bread
Handful of grated Parmesan (or similar British hard cheese)
Good olive oil, to dress
  1. Break up the duck carcass into 3 pieces and add it to a large pot with any remaining bones. Fill with water until the carcass is covered, then add the onions with their skin, the parsley stalks, porcini mushrooms, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns.
  2. Heat the pan to a very gentle simmer, cover and leave to cook for two hours, occasionally skimming the scum from the top.
  3. Strain the stock carefully through a colander and then through a sieve before adding the stock back into the pan with carrots and celery. Bring up to a mild simmer again and season generously with salt. Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender, then add the beans, pearl barley and chard. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
  4. Add the sherry with any reserved duck meat and cook for 2 more minutes. Divide between serving bowls and serve with sourdough bread, grated Parmesan and olive oil.

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Pommes de Terre à La Boulangère - Test 1


Very slow at : 3h 15 min

Serves 6 

1 - While I still have to try baking the last hour with the casserole uncovered, this was very good. I made it with the brisket which is also a slow cooking meal at the same temperature.

2 - I baked it uncovered for the last hour. Something is wrong. It delicious, don't get me wrong, but all the liquid was still there, and in the instructions it's supposed to cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. I need to Frankenstein this baby to understand it better!

2+1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 onions, sliced (24oz/680g)
2 lbs. potatoes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 to 2 Tbsp. thyme, minced
2 cup beef stock
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 300°F/150°C. 
  2. Melt the first part of the butter with the olive oil in a sauté pan and gently fry the onions until soft and lightly golden, about 15 minutes. 
  3. Spread half of the onions in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. 
  4. Layer half the sliced potatoes on top, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Scatter with all the thyme. 
  5. Add the rest of the onions as the next layer, then finish with the last of the potatoes.
  6. Pour over the stock, sprinkle with salt and pepper and dot with the remaining butter. 
  7. Cover with foil and bake until all the liquid has been absorbed, 2 to 3 hours, removing the foil for the last hour if you like a crisp top.

Monday, December 25, 2023

Christmas Duck - Test 1


1 - The recipe link containing the quince has a very different and interesting way of cooking the duck. To try? However, the way written below worked very well indeed. I put the duck up on a rack over the roasting pan which was a very good idea because the amount of fat rendered just from roasting was phenomenal. For the quince paste, I slathered it into the cut marks in the skin, which were already crisping and pulling away. Most of the fat has rendered away and the skin was very crispy and flavorful from the spices and quince paste.
2 - I had a 5lb duck, I wish I'd recorded the weight of the first one, because this one took much, much longer to finish cooking to reach that all important 165F temperature. It took at least 30 minutes more, if not 45 (I didn't record it). It also took that long to get the quince paste to caramelize. Truth be told, I also forgot to increase the temp, in following the recipe, for the last 15 minutes. Otherwise the flavor was good, the quince paste and spice mix is a very nice complement. I do wonder about adding some sugar to the rub, though, given that only the breast gets the sweet paste. Oh, and also, what am I looking for in a done bird? With chicken, it isn't only that the 'juices run clear', but it's also that the joints are loose.

TIMING: uncertain. Recipe: 

1 duck, 5-6 lbs
1 small onion
1 small apple
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsps? salt and 1/4 tsp? pepper
1 tsp sugar?
3 Tbsp quince jam or preserves (plum or apricot would work nicely, too)
  1. Completely defrost the duck in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, if using frozen. Once defrosted, rinse and pat dry. For best results, let the duck sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This will help to dry and crisp the skin.
  2. Use a sharp knife to score the skin on the duck's breast in a diamond pattern, trying to cut only the skin without reaching the breast meat below. Cut off excess fat (save all of this).
  3. Poke the bird all over with a knife. Only prick the skin, don't hit the meat.
  4. Season the duck all over with salt, including the cavity. Stuff the cavity with garlic, onion, apple. Use 2-3 toothpicks to sew the skin around the cavity opening tightly together, to keep the inside moist during roasting. Cross the legs and tie them together with a cooking twine. Fold the wings under the duck.
  5. Mix together 2 tsps. salt, sugar, pepper and the spices and season all over the skin with it.
  6. Place the bird on the rack inside the roasting pan and cook at 350 F for 1 hour, breast side up.
  7. Remove the bird and prick the skin all over for a second time. 
  8. Flip the duck breast side down and roast for 30 minutes more.
  9. Pull the duck out of the oven briefly and spread the quince jam over the breast side of the duck. Baste it a bit with the fat in the pan, then slide it back into the oven to finish roasting. Cook another 15 minutes. 
  10. Take out of the oven again, increase the temperature to 400F. 
  11. Poke again, for a third time, all over, before reintroducing in the oven and baking it for 15 minutes, breast side up. The meat is cooked when internal temperature of the breast is 165F.
NOTE: Do not let anyone throw away the duck bones or skin. After everyone is done eating, take all the scraps, plus whatever's left in the roasting pan, and put it all in a pot of water, to cover, in which the duck was boiled. Bring the pot back up to a simmer and let it go an hour or more. You will end up with a rich broth, which you'll strain and cool overnight uncovered. The duck fat will rise to the top. Use the broth for soup or cooking rice. Save the duck fat and use it for frying potatoes. You'll thank me.