Roast Duck and Kimchi Pizza + A Kuvée Wine System, Le Creuset Giveaway

Happy National Wine Day! I'm currently in Taiwan eating my weight in street food and delicious-ness. I can't believe how cheap food is here. Like a piece of spicy chicken fried steak the size of my face is two bucks!! I'm leaving tomorrow and I'll probably have to be fork-lifted onto the plane :P

But let's talk wine! Especially the new Kuvée wine system I was given to try. It's this super cool, high-tech tube that's shaped like a wine bottle and you can buy their specially packaged wine to slide into the tube. AND THEN IT LIGHTS UP AND CONNECTS TO WIFI. You have to check our their video, because I'm so bad at explaining things.

My mum was pretty ecstatic when she saw it because she loves trying wines and inviting family over for dinner. Their bottle system keeps the wine longer than usual so you can open multiple bottles at a time. You can read about the wine on the touch screen, rate and order another bottle all from the fancy electronic tube. How neat is that? It's such a conversation starter.

I mentioned it to my friend who was really interested in trying it, because she likes to have a glass of wine for dinner, but not necessarily finish the whole bottle. It was interesting reading the pairing notes and for this particular pinot noir, it said it paired well with roast meats. Hence, this roast duck pizza and fried kimchi. It works so well together! As a cook, I found this feature pretty cool and it gave me new ideas for meals and pairings.

I'm giving a chance for you guys to win the Kuvée Wine System along with a Le Creuset Wine Cooler bag and 50% of 4 bottles of wine! Say what! Just head on over to my Instagram or the Instapost for instructions!

Roast Duck and Kimchi Pizza

makes 2 medium pan pizzas

Pizza Dough (adapted from serious eats)
3.5 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1.5 cups water, room temp

Toppings
napa kimchi (fist sized amount)
sesame oil
basil based pesto
roast duck
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more
handful of grated parmesan cheese
dash of ground black pepper
fresh basil

1. For dough: 
• combine flour, salt, yeast and 2 tbsps olive oil in a stand mixer with dough hook attached. Add water to mixer gradually on medium speed until the dough comes together. Increase speed to medium-high for about 5-10 mins until dough is stretchy and smooth
• Gather dough into a ball and allow to rise in a oiled bowl for about an hour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap to avoid dough drying out
• After first rise, separate dough into 2-4 balls, cover with wrap again and allow to rise for another hour
• Gently push and stretch dough to desired size in greased baking sheet
2. Meanwhile, cut kimchi into bite sized pieces and sauté on medium heat until wilted, but not so much that it loses it's crunch. Drizzle in about 2 tsp of sesame oil
3. I used roast duck slices that I bought in the grocery store and lightly fried/roasted them until the fat was rendered on the skin
4. Once everything is prepared, adjust oven rack to middle and preheat oven to 450F
5. Spread pizza with a generous amount of basil pesto leaving an inch of border. Oil border with olive oil
6. Top with mozzarella cheese and then place sautéed kimchi and roast duck on top
7. Bake for about 15-20mins or until cheese has melted and crust looks golden. Once out, top with parmesan cheese and lots of black pepper and basil leaves

This post was sponsored by Kuvée. I'm teaming up with them to create awesome recipes. I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are completely my own and not endorsed. Thank you for supporting products that keep this blog running!

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Heart Beets, Pesto and Feta Pizza

Happy Valentine's day! I know I've taken almost a year hiatus and... and... and... well... I really have no excuse since I'm now in my fourth year of medical school with absolutely nothing to do. Just straight chilling until match day, when we find out about which hospital we end up 😱! *nerve wracking*

I've been meaning to post at new year's for my new year's resolution :/... and then I was going to post for Lunar new year, which also didn't happen hehe. But, since it's the day of love, you guys can forgive me for being so absent, right? 😜

Here's a super cute pizza with a crust naturally colored with beet juice and topped with heart-beets, basil pesto and feta. It'll get your loved one's heart "beeting" in no time! I enjoyed this with my roommate, since the bf is in a different state :D

Heart Beets, Pesto and Feta Pizza

makes 1 large pan pizza

Pizza dough
1 packet active dry yeast
1 can sliced beets (use 1 cup of juice)
2 tsp sugar
2 cup bread flour
1 tbsp oil (plus more for greasing)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika

Topping
Favorite basil and pine nut pesto recipe
Crumbled feta
Sliced beets from can
Green onions
Freshly cracked pepper

1. Drain 1 cup of beet juice from the can into a bowl. Microwave until warm temperature and dissolve sugar and yeast into it. Set aside for 10 minutes or until frothy
2. In a mixer, stir bread flour, salt and paprika together. Add the yeast mix and oil. Using the dough hook, mix until a firm and smooth (and pink!) dough forms (takes about 5-10mins). Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour or double in size. You can also overnight rise in the fridge and then set outside until room temperature before baking. Preheat oven to 500F
3. Punch down dough and shape into a large circle, rectangle or whatever shape you fancy. I like to use my knuckles to spread the dough thin from center out. If using a baking tray (since I have no pizza stone), lightly oil bottom and sprinkle cornmeal before placing rolled out dough over it
4. Top with pesto leaving a 1 inch border. Using a heart cookie cutter, cut out hearts from the sliced beets. Top with beets and feta.  Bake for 7-10mins. Once out of the oven, crack black pepper and toss on some diced green onions

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