The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern_ Knockout Dishes With Down-Home Flavor - Matt Lee [63]
3 Heat the oven to 450°F.
4 Place a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in the skillet, add the duck breasts, skin side down, taking care not to crowd them, and sear until the surface is golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn the duck breasts over and spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Scatter the marinated berries among them, transfer the skillet to the oven, and roast for 6 minutes for rare, 8 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer the duck to a cutting board and loosely tent it with aluminum foil.
5 Add the wine and sugar to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the berries have collapsed and the wine has reduced to a thick syrup, about 2 minutes. Strain the sauce through a medium-fine strainer to remove the seeds. Slice the duck breasts on the bias and serve them bathed in the berry sauce. Garnish with the reserved fresh raspberries.
GRILLADES AND GRAVY
serves 4 • TIME: 20 minutes preparation, 45 minutes cooking
City folk from Charleston and Atlanta to Houston have adopted this stellar veal dish, which has its roots in Cajun country. Like eggs benedict, grillades suit the laid-back, rib-sticking comfort-food spirit of brunch particularly well; both dishes combine simple pleasures (the eggs, the gravy) with indulgences (the hollandaise, the veal). But don’t let that suggestion dissuade you from preparing grillades for any meal. The astonishingly good gravy, deeply seasoned with the veal juices and onion, is piquant from some multiplatform pepper action (pepper vinegar and crushed dried red chile flakes) and nearly steals the show. The visual perkiness of red bell pepper and the sliced scallion garnish livens up the brown playing field. Pork or beef round may be substituted, but veal is the favored meat. Serve grillades on top of grits or rice, and pair with a juicy pinot noir. If there are leftovers, serve them reheated, with a fried egg on top.
1½ pounds veal round, thinly sliced and pounded (as for scallopini)
¼ cup sifted all-purpose flour (1 ounce)
2 tablespoons white or yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1½ teaspoons iodized salt or fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons canola oil, peanut oil, or bacon fat
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
6 scallions (about 1 bunch): 3 finely chopped halfway into the green; 3 thinly sliced, just an inch into the green, for garnish
3 tablespoons pepper vinegar, or 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
4 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon crushed dried red chile flakes
1 If the veal slices are unpounded, or are thicker than a stack of three nickels, then pound on them with glancing blows from the back of a clean heavy skillet, mallet, or rolling pin until they thin out some. Cut the larger pieces into strips approximately the size of an unfolded matchbook, 1½ to 2 inches wide by 3 to 3½ inches long.
2 Toss the flour, cornmeal, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl, and spread the mixture out on a large dinner plate. Coat each veal slice with the mixture, shaking off the excess.
3 Pour the oil into a 12-inch skillet and set it over medium-high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in the oil, cover the bottom of the skillet with veal slices. Fry for 2 minutes, until the slices have begun to lightly brown; then flip them over and fry for another minute. Lift the veal from the pan with a slotted spatula, and reserve in a bowl (to catch the juices and drippings). Repeat until all the veal is browned (it will be fully cooked later).
4 Add the butter to the drippings in the skillet, and once the butter foams, add the onions, bell pepper, and finely chopped scallions. Sauté, stirring occasionally with