Trash Talk and Other Indulgences

My First (and most loved) Fantasy Football League Frenemies

I'm in three Fantasy Football leagues. That is clearly too many I know, and yet being in a Fantasy Football league is like getting a tattoo, you get one and then you just have to have another. I have five tattoos. Lord, please don't let me sign up for any more Fantasy Football leagues.

What is so great about FF? It's more than the hope of winning some cash (though that is nice) and it's more than furthering your overall football knowledge by being absorbed in all of the games (though that is cool). The best part is the people you share this passion with, your league-mates. The only people who understand the obsession and why you're so pissed at Shayne Graham. (He's a kicker, his job is to kick, can't he just do his job?) These are people who on a weekly basis, relate to you entirely but that you are also competing against. So the inevitable trash talk comes in to play. You can say some really unpleasant things to someone one week, then have them over for dinner the following week. It's all rather indulgent - gambling, shooting your mouth of to your friends, having drinks, eating food that will clog your arteries in record time. It's one of my favorite times of year.

This month I would like to share with you a couple of indulgent recipes I made in the past few weeks while I was sassing my league-mates. These recipes are over the top and a little brash (just like my trash talk) and they are cozy, like pulling on a cashmere sweater. Winter is coming - time to prep your cold weather layers and live indulgently. Who needs long-underwear when you have duck confit in your life?

Roasted Beet Salad with Duck Confit and Chive Vinaigrette
Serves 2
*For this recipe I really wanted to take something healthy (salad) and make it super indulgent. Enter duck confit and creamy Cambozola cheese, mission accomplished.

Ingredients
1 bunch beets, rainbow preferably
1 small apple (any tart, firm variety)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 oz. Triple Cream Cambozola
1 leg Duck confit
1/4 cup roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
Mixed baby greens (as much or as little as you like)
Fresh cracked black pepper

Chive Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 small shallot, chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Prep
1. Make Chive Vinaigrette: Add all ingredients through white wine vinegar into a small food processor or blender. Blend, adding oil in a slow stream until emulsified. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.

2. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Trim tops off beets. Roast in a foil packet with a drizzle of olive oil for 1 hour or until tender. Let beets rest until cool enough to handle. Using a paper towel, rub the skins off of the beets. They should slip off easily.

3. Meanwhile, cut apple into matchsticks and mix in some water with the lemon juice to retain their color. Take Cambozola out of the fridge and let it warm to room temp on the counter.

4. Quarter larger beets, leave small beets whole or halved. Put in a bowl with 1 Tablespoon of the Chive Vinaigrette. Toss together gently and set aside while you prep the other ingredients.

5. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add confit duck let and let it heat through, flipping every so often. When warmed through and soft, remove from skillet and shred meat off the bone with a fork. Drain apples and pat dry. Slice cheese into wedges.

6. Arrange salad: start with a bed of mixed baby greens, arrange marinated beets, duck, apple and Cambozola on top, drizzle with vinaigrette, top with pistachios, finish with a crack of black pepper. You shouldn't need to add salt as the duck and cheese are salty.

Wild Mushroom and Tuscan Kale Lasagnette
Adapted from Bon Apetit: October 2015
Serves 2 very generously, or 4 normal people

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
1 pound mixed mushrooms (such as oyster, crimini, and shitake), cut into bite-size pieces
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 large shallot, finely chopped
⅓ cup dry white wine

½ bunch Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn
1 cup ricotta
¼ cup heavy cream
4 fresh pasta sheets (about 7x5 inches) or 8 dried lasagna noodles
8 ounces burrata or fresh mozzarella, torn into large pieces
1½ ounces Parmesan, finely grated
4 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Heat 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add half of mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and starting to crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with 1 Tbsp. butter, 1 Tbsp. oil, and remaining mushrooms. Return all mushrooms to skillet (reserve bowl) and add shallot, wine, kale, and remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is soft and wine is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Return mushrooms and kale to bowl. 


2. Combine ricotta and cream in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. 


3. Working in batches, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 30 seconds. (If using dried noodles, cook until al dente.) Transfer noodles to a large rimmed baking sheet as you go, brushing with oil and overlapping as needed.
 Spread a thin layer of ricotta mixture in a small baking dish and top with a pasta sheet (if using dried, use 2 noodles side by side). Spread a large spoonful of ricotta mixture over pasta, scatter some mushrooms and kale over, then a few pieces of burrata. Top evenly with some Parmesan and 1 tsp. thyme leaves. Repeat layering process (starting with noodles and ending with thyme) 3 more times; finish with the last of the Parmesan and a grind or two of pepper.


4. Cover lasagnette with foil and bake until warmed through, 10–15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden brown, 15–20 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes.