Category: Cheese

Nueske’s DALT (Duck, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato) Sandwich

Dax Phillips 1 Comment

One of my favorite things to do on any given weekend is cooking for my family. It is something I look forward to, and as soon as my kids wake up and say good morning, I immediately question them with ‘what can I make you for breakfast?’. I await a challenge, hoping that someone might say ‘how about eggs benedict?‘ or ‘toad in a hole?‘. Nope. I get things like scrambled or sunny side up eggs with toast, or pancakes. Heck, I will even get excited if someone says waffles! I then make another attempt at lunch time. That’s when I got a sell from my wife. After we tried the Nueskes’s smoked duck breast the other week, I knew it would be perfect on a sandwich, and as I had that to use up along with a tomato and an avocado, well I knew exactly what I was going to propose to my wife for lunch. A loaded Duck, Avocado, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich!

Nueske's Smoked Duck Sandwich Recipe
Nueske’s Smoked Duck Sandwich Recipe

Let’s get started.

  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • 6 slices of Nueske’s Smoked Duck Breast, thinly sliced
  • 3 leaves of green leaf lettuce
  • 1 roma tomato (or whatever you have handy), sliced
  • 1 small avocado, sliced or scooped out
  • 1 butter bun, lightly toasted
  • 1 slice of provolone cheese, optional
  • salt and pepper to taste

Start by having everything ready to layer in your sandwich. Heat a skillet on medium heat, and add in the canola oil.  Add the slices of smoked duck breast, moving them around the skillet, and sear for a couple of minutes on each side.

Take the bottom bun of your lightly toasted bun and layer on, or smear on the avocado. Season with a pinch of salt.

Nueske's Smoked Duck Sandwich Ingredients
Nueske’s Smoked Duck Sandwich Ingredients

Next layer on the slightly crispy Nueske’s smoked duck breast, provolone cheese, tomatoes (season with a bit of salt and pepper), then the stack of lettuce. Place on the top bun, and feel free to smash it slightly into shape.  You want mayo (I love it, my wife does not), feel free to slather it on the bun(s).

Now I knew this was going to be a phenomenal sandwich. How? Well in my book, nothing really beats a BLT, especially when you have great produce, but then I was introduced to the Nueske’s smoked duck breast and it was a total game changer. My wife who did not speak much during her lunch… well that is always a great indicator how awesome that sandwich was. Search for Nueske’s and stock up. I have never, ever been disappointed. Hope you enjoy!

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Nueske's DALT (Duck, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato) Sandwich
Author: 
Recipe type: Sandwich
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1
 
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • 6 slices of Nueske’s Smoked Duck Breast, thinly sliced
  • 3 leaves of green leaf lettuce
  • 1 roma tomato (or whatever you have handy), sliced
  • 1 small avocado, sliced or scooped out
  • 1 butter bun, lightly toasted
  • 1 slice of provolone cheese, optional
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Start by having everything ready to layer in your sandwich. Heat a skillet on medium heat, and add in the canola oil. Add the slices of smoked duck breast, moving them around the skillet, and sear for a couple of minutes on each side.
  2. Take the bottom bun of your lightly toasted bun and layer on, or smear on the avocado. Season with a pinch of salt.
  3. Next layer on the slightly crispy Nueske’s smoked duck breast, provolone cheese, tomatoes (season with a bit of salt and pepper), then the stack of lettuce. Place on the top bun, and feel free to smash it slightly into shape. You want mayo (I love it, my wife does not), feel free to slather it on the bun(s).

 

Loaded Baked Potato Skin Nachos

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

The Super Bowl has passed, and to be honest I do not think that any one of us in my family actually cared. Sure, the boys said ‘I want the Patriots to go down!’ a few times that day, but the only thing I really cared about was what we were going to snack on. I am done asking, for the most part, what everyone would like to eat, and just lay things out. My menu was simple. Slow baked ribs that would be later fried and glazed, and loaded potato skins that would also be fried.

One of my top recipes is the loaded potato skins, and as I have made so many awesome variations of potato skins, there is one thing I have never done and that is to actually fry the skins. It’s a total game changer. Why? Well because you get a whole shell of that awesome crispy and crunchy texture, not just on the edges, but the entire shell. It’s almost chip like in texture, but with a bit, and just a bit of that creaminess from the potato.

Loaded Potato Skin Nachos
Loaded Potato Skin Nachos

As with any nacho, you load this as you darn well please, but for me, there was one ingredient that made this shine and that was crispy, Nueske’s smoked duck breast lardons.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 4 lbs of russet potatos, cleaned
  • 4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
  • Nueske’s smoked duck breast, cubed (or substitute bacon), and fried until slightly crisp
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 2 oz can of black olives, drained
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • sour cream, optional
  • avocado, sliced, optional
  • Your favorite hot sauce
  • cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 1 serrano chili, thinly sliced, optional
  • shredded lettuce, optional
  • salt, to taste
  • 3 cups of canola oil, 350 degrees

Again, you can build your nachos however you want. Add beans and tomatoes if you desire. Load these suckers up!

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Add the whole potatoes to a baking sheet. Use a fork and poke a few holes into each potato to allow steam to release while baking. Bake the potatoes for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven, and let them completely cool.

Once the potatoes have cooled, sliced them in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon and gently scoop out all of the potato into a bowl. I use all of the potato, add a bit of butter, salt, and milk and whip them up to mashed potatoes for another meal.

Once you have all of your skins ready, heat up a pot with the canola oil. Get the oil to 350 degrees on medium-high heat, and once you have your temperature, drop in about 7-8, or whatever can easily fit into the pot without crowding, and cook the skins for about 5-10 minutes or until you begin to see the interior of the skins get golden and nicely crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove the potato skins and place them on a paper towel lined plate to release any excess oil. Immediately season by showering the skins with salt. Taters need salt.

Ingredients for making Loaded Potato Skin Nachos
Ingredients for making Loaded Potato Skin Nachos

Repeat with the potato skins.

Add the skins to a oven safe baking pan, and begin adding cheese into each skin.

When all of the skins have finished cooking and the excess oil is removed and they are nicely salted, layer the potato skins onto the baking pan and continue to add cheese into each shell.

Keep the oil on the stove, and take the cubed Nueske’s smoked duck breast and add them to the oil. Get them lightly crisp, then the same process with the slotted spoon and place onto the paper lined plate.

Take those Nueske duck lardons and place a couple into each shell. If you are using bacon, cook until slightly crisp, then crumble and add that into each shell. Add the shallots into each shell, then place back into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted.

Remove the potato skins from the oven (do not devour), then decorate them with green onions, avocado, cilantro, serrano chilies, olives, hot sauce, and sour cream (or whatever you desire).

Loaded Potato Skin Nachos Recipe
Loaded Potato Skin Nachos Recipe

Plate and serve. You want to talk about an ultimate game day snack, this is the one! As much as we all love nachos, this loaded potato skin nacho recipe is really, really hard to beat. It’s everything you love about a nacho but in a crispy potato skin boat! Hope you enjoy!

Cheese Fondue

Dax Phillips 2 Comments

I start by saying I feel blessed by knowing my wife. We met moons ago but to this day my feelings for her have never changed. On a recent anniversary, porcelain was the deal. I think I was laid up sick (not unusual nowadays), but she delivered a couple of things that she knew I would love. Porcelain.  There was a lasagna dish, and a fondue item. I LOVE FONDUE. Many years ago, probably on the start of our marriage, my wife’s friend brought over a fondue kit and that is when it started. Granted I had fondue in prior to that, but the communal experience is one that I totally love(d). So when my wife showed my that love and thought, I was all in and really excited.

Cheese Fondue Recipe
Cheese Fondue Recipe

My kids have never had fondue, or if they did it was at a very young age.

Fondue is special. It’s fun and it is simple once you have everything in place. I believe it is derived from the Swiss, but being in Wisconsin and having great cheese, wine, and everything else, well it does add up to a great cold winter appetizer or dinner.

There are different kinds of fondues. Cheese, chocolate, or oil based pots for communal dipping. This is a simple cheese fondue and I’m certain there are so many different takes on it. Mine was simple. Bread and cheese on a cold winter day.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb bag of fondue cheese, or grate your own Swiss and Gruyere cheese
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 cup of dry white wine
  • rustic bread, cubed or torn
  • Any vegetables you want (optional)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • pinch of cracked black pepper

I know there is probably a more traditional way to fondue using Kirsch, but to be honest who has Kirsch sitting around? I did once and it was consumed immediately. Wisconsin loves its brandy. This is stuff that is easy to get a hold of, and once you start mixing the cheese and keeping it warm, well it is so hard to not hit it every 10 minutes.

Cheese Fondue Ingredients
Cheese Fondue Ingredients

Start by rubbing your fondue pot with the clove of garlic. Don’t be shy. Rub that sucker. Then warm your fondue pot. You can buy the sternos at the store or online. Or if your fondue pot is electric, even better.

Once the pot is warmed, add in the cheese(s), wine, and lemon juice. Stir well. Toss in the pepper and stir some more. Once this begins to melt, keep stirring, and get ready to use your poker. The pokers are color coded. If you have a sicko around, no poker.

If your fondue starts to thicken, add a bit more wine, stir and loosen it up. Keep the heat on low and when eating, poke the break and stir that cheesey awesomeness up.

Dip and go. My wife and I love cheese fondue. The strength of the cheese kind of freaked out my kids, who love cheese, which was just fine because that meant more goodness for us. Go fondue! Hope you enjoy, and hope your new year is off to a great start.

 

Loaded Steakhouse Potato Soup

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

There is something about this time of year I love, and no it is not all the hustle and bustle at work or trying to get everything completed before the holidays. It’s actually a bowl of soup. Yep, pretty dang simple over here. I will have to admit however that my appetite or at least the ‘crave’ component is not what it was in the past. I blame cancer for that, but it is what it is. When I do get that urge though, I could not be more happy than with a bowl of soup. This is one of those recipes, the loaded steakhouse potato soup. Why steakhouse? When I think steak house, or supper club for those of us in Wisconsin, I think of not only a great steak, but that baked potato, those mushrooms, bacon wrapped whatever, and so I decided to make this style of soup for my daughter, only because she loves mushrooms and I wanted to bring that meatiness to the soup without the meat. Well, there’s bacon, but c’mon….

Loaded Steakhouse Potato Soup Recipe
Loaded Steakhouse Potato Soup Recipe

This has everything I love about a visit to a supper club, plus a great use of kale from my last harvest.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 6 russet potatoes, cleaned
  • 16 oz fresh cremini mushrooms, cleaned, and quartered
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 12 slices of your favorite bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup of kale, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 7 cups of milk
  • salt, to taste
  • cracked black pepper to taste
  • water
  • 1 cup stock, optional

Now the only two choices you have at this time is do I leave the skin on, or remove the skin from the potatoes or do I boil or roast them? I’ll leave that to you. Me, I’m skin on and boil. The rest of the family is skin off. I’m out numbered so I leave one with the skin on.

Start by adding the potatoes to large pot filled with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook just until slightly tender, about 12-18 minutes. Once cooked, strain, cool, then cut into bite sized pieces. The potato will break down a bit to thicken the soup when you are ready to rock and roll.

During this time, cook the bacon. If you know me, I’m a fan of Nueske’s. Best stuff out there in my opinion. Once cooked, reserve the bacon fat, but remove the bacon and coarsely chop it.

Loaded Steakhouse Potato Soup Recipe Ingredients
Loaded Steakhouse Potato Soup Recipe Ingredients

If that was not enough for you, get another pan on the stove on medium heat, add a bit of that bacon fat, then toss in the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and get them nice and caramelized. There’s something about caramelized mushrooms if you know what I’m saying. Once those begin to caramelize, toss in the garlic, and kale. Give that a good toss, and remove from the heat.

SOUP ON!

Get your stock or soup pot on the stove on medium heat. Add all that bacon fat, then stir in the flour. Cook the flour and continue to stir for about 3-5 minutes, if that. You just want to cook the rawness from that flour.

Pour in the milk, continue to stir so that you break up the clumps of flour. This is your base for the soup. This will take about 10-12 minutes or so. You will see it get to a thickening state. If you want it thinner, add a bit of stock (optional).

Now add in your potatoes, and stir. Next add in the mushroom and kale mixture and give another good stir. Reduce to a simmer.

Now you are ready to serve. Ladle the soup into your bowls. garnish with cheese and bacon and dig in! This soup screams everything. Actually everyone who ate it was quiet (which is always a good thing)! You get everything comforting from the creaminess and the potato, then the crisp bacon pieces and awesome cheese note. Then what? KALE? Heck yeah, kale brings this over the top, and makes your feel good about yourself after that bowl (or two) of soup.

It’s a winning soup. It is the Loaded Steakhouse Potato Soup. Stay warm my friends.