Marian Burross Onion Confit Recipes

Steps:

• Cut onions in half from top to bottom (not crosswise). With a paring knife, peel each onion half. Lay each onion half flat side down. Holding the knife at a slight angle, cut away and discard the hard root end. Using a sharp knife, cut into 1/4-inch half-moons.
• Put a large heavy-bottomed pot, preferably enameled cast iron, over medium-high heat. Melt butter, then add all the sliced onions and stir to coat. Sprinkle with sugar and season generously with salt and pepper. Continue stirring until onions begin to wilt and soften, without browning, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add bay leaves, thyme, cayenne, vinegar and wine. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onion mixture is quite soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove and discard bay leaves and thyme. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Set the duck breast-side up on a cutting board. Using a boning knife, cut along one side of the breastbone; keep the back of your knife flush against that bone and follow the curve, cutting with the tip of your knife and pulling the meat back as you go. (It's actually a kind of natural movement; trust yourself.) When you meet up with the skin from the legs, cut through the skin and detach the breast. Repeat with the second breast. The legs are now easy to see.
• One leg at a time, cut through the skin, pulling the leg back as you go. Bend the leg backward to crack the joint, then cut through the joint (it's easy to see once you've cracked it); detach the leg. Repeat with the second leg. Remove the skin from the legs with your fingers, loosening it with your knife as necessary; reserve. Remove and reserve any fat you encounter.
• Lightly score the skin of the duck breasts to make a diamond pattern; be careful not to cut all the way through to the meat. Sprinkle with salt, cover and refrigerate until ready to use in the cassoulet.
• Toss the duck legs with the garlic (use more if your cloves are small), thyme, shallot and a few pinches of salt. Refrigerate and marinate the duck legs overnight.
• Heat the oven to 350. Put the duck carcass, onion, carrot and celery in a roasting pan. Roast, turning every now and then until quite well browned. Take your time; it'll take at least an hour.
• Transfer the contents of the roasting pan to a large pot; pour off the rendered fat and reserve it. Add the bay leaf, parsley and about 10 cups of water to the pot, and turn the heat to high.
• Bring just to a boil, then lower the heat so the mixture sends up a few bubbles at a time. Cook, skimming and discarding any foam that accumulates, for at least 60 minutes and up to 2 hours. Cool slightly, then strain. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate the stock overnight. The next day, take the stock out of the refrigerator and remove the duck fat from the top; it will have solidified, and you'll be able to scoop it right off.
• Put the fat in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the fat melts and reaches about 190 degrees, add the duck legs along with the garlic and as much olive oil (or duck fat) as necessary to submerge the legs. Discard the thyme and shallot.
• Cook, never letting the heat exceed 200 degrees, until the meat is tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 1.5 hours. Let cool, then store the duck in the fat in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it in the cassoulet.

Steps:

• Rub beef with peanut oil, salt and pepper.
• Add about 2 tablespoons oil to a pot large enough to hold the beef, stock and vegetables. Brown beef on all sides. Add stock to cover; bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer. Eye round should simmer 2 to 2 1/2 hours; brisket must cook longer.
• While beef is cooking, prepare vegetables. Scrub potatoes; trim and scrub carrots; cut celery and trim and scrub turnips. Cut green part from leeks. Trim the root, leaving just a little so leek will hold together. Rinse thoroughly.
• Turn on broiler; rinse and stem tomatoes and arrange on broiler pan.
• Prepare beurre manie by blending butter or margarine with flour to a paste.
• Twenty minutes before beef is ready, add potatoes, carrots, celery, turnips and leeks. Raise heat to return liquid to simmer; cover and finish cooking.
• Remove beef and set aside. Remove 8 cups of stock and bring to boil in separate pot. Keep vegetables warm in remaining stock.
• Gradually beat beurre manie into boiling stock until it has thickened to gravy consistency.
• Broil tomatoes 3 to 5 minutes. Do not let them burst.
• Slice beef. Spoon thin layer of gravy on a platter and top with sliced beef. Arrange vegetables around the meat, using tomatoes to provide spots of color. Place spoonfuls of onion confit down center of meat and pass additional gravy.

Steps:

• Put the oil in a shallow dish and add the chicken pieces; coat evenly with oil.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a heavy 6-quart casserole, combine the celery, onions, parsley and tarragon. Lay the oiled chicken pieces on top. Pour on the vermouth. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Tuck the garlic cloves in and around the chicken pieces. Cover the casserole tightly with aluminum foil, then the lid. Bake 90 minutes without removing the lid.
• Serve chicken, pan juices and garlic cloves with French bread. Diners should squeeze the buds of garlic from their husks onto the bread, then spread the garlic like butter.

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add shallots, garlic, thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Saute until shallots are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add clams and wine, raise heat to high, and cover. Boil until all of the clams have opened, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer clams to a bowl, then cover.
• Add clam juice to the saucepan, and boil over high heat until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Remove and discard bay leaf, parsley and thyme sprigs. Transfer contents of pan to a blender, and add garlic confit and lemon juice. With blender running, add remaining 1/2 cup olive oil in a slow steady stream until sauce is smooth and emulsified. For extra garlic flavor, add some of the oil from garlic confit if desired.
• Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust thickness of sauce with more clam juice, if desired. Toss with linguine, and top with clams. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Pat meat dry. Stir together allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and rub all over meat.
• Spread half of onions and half of garlic in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan and arrange meat on top. Spread remaining onions and garlic over meat. Tightly cover pan with foil and roast, turning meat over after 1 hour, until meat is very tender, about 2 1/2 hours total.
• Skim fat from pan juices. Slice meat across the grain and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with onions and pan juices.

Steps:

• Cut lime, orange, lemon and grapefruit into thin slices. Then cut each slice of the lime, orange and lemon into 4 quarters. Cut the grapefruit slices into eighths.
• Make a syrup by boiling sugar, water and lime zest for 15 minutes. Strain. Cool, then steep citrus fruits overnight in the syrup.

Steps:

• Peel onions, and slice into thin strips.
• Heat peanut oil in a large heavy skillet and saute onions over medium heat, stirring often. After about 30 minutes of cooking it might be necessary to add a little water to prevent them from sticking.
• After 1 hour add the sage leaves and vinegar and continue cooking, stirring often, 30 minutes more. Set aside until beef is done.