Duck for Dinner

Canard ala Frank & Olivier

March 2008- Olivier and Meaghan return to Duluth for a visit. After a day of maple sugaring Chuck, Judyth, Berdi and Mick join us for dinner.

Appetizer served:
Cheese plate( Irish Blue Cheese, Lincet Delice Bougourne, Saint Andre Triple Cream) served with wild rice bread and a chilled bottle of Minervois Muscat . The blue cheese and the Muscat were beautiful together. The cheese cut into the sweetness of the wine and melded the flavors into an almost honey like taste. The wine had lovely floral scents and flavors, but was a bit too sweet by itself.

4 large Duck Breasts-

Marinate duck breast in following way:

Score fatty side of breast
Salt & pepper each side of duck breast
Finely chop & then rub duck with -
2 TB of Fresh Rosemary
1 TB dried Tyme
Brush duck with a mixture of
1TB olive Oil
1TB champagne vinegar

Breasts can be marinated a minimum 20 minutes(we did it for 2 hours)
While duck breasts are marinating prepare Coulis

Berry Coulis Could be made ahead of time- earlier in day if you would prefer an then warmed up right before you serve

Place in sauce pan and heat until fruit is fully cooked( approx 15 minutes) :

2 cups of frozen raspberries (thawed and mashed)
1 cup frozen blackberries (thawed and mashed)
¾ cup of water
1TB lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

Put thru sieve to remove seeds and then return to saucepan and reduce ( approx 30 minutes). Continue to stir while reducing.

Pepper sauce Can be made ahead of time if you have only one cook. If you have 2 cooks, one can be making sauce while the other is grilling- though note that the peppercorns have to be marinated for 2 hours- an alternative is to buy green peppercorns in brine.

Soak for minimum of 2 hours:
3TB dried green pepper corns in
2TB champagne vinegar
4TB water
1 teas of salt

Sauté over low heat
4 shallots in 1TB butter until they are browned (just shy of being caramelized)

Add
1 TB cognac
Increase heat and add
1 cup chardonnay
Bring to boil and then add
1/3 cup of heavy cream

Reduce to the consistency that you would like and then add drained and slightly mashed peppercorns (could be added before you reduce if you like)

Grill duck on hot set of coals, cooked on fat side first. Grill on each side approx 7 minutes- fatty side a bit longer. Watch breasts closely- do not overcook- they will be a bit red in middle when ready. If you overcook they will turn very tough.

Place duck (on warmed plates) on bed of the Coulis( we used baggie with small hole in it to decorate plate with the Coulis) and then pour peppercorn sauce over the duck

Served with :

1) Roasted Celery root, parsnips, and carrots. Vegetable were tossed in olive oil and salt and then roasted in loosely covered pan( with alum foil) in 350 degree oven for approx 2 hours. Remove foil for last 30 minutes.
2) Steamed Green Beans which with fresh summer savory. Fresh summer savory was finely chopped and added to water and beans as they were steamed )
3) 1996 Teledshi Red Zinfandel ( A lovely pairing with the duck. The wine’s subtle fruit flavors blended beautifully with the Coulis and stood up to the Duck and Peppercorn Sauce)

Dessert: Macaroons( recipe on blog) with chocolate ganache filling and vanilla ice cream

Duck was purchased from Au Bon Canard. Au Bon Canard is a small farm in Caledonia, MN run by Christian Gasset. Christian, who is a friend of Olivier’s, raises free range duck and produces Foie Gras in the most humane way possible. His Foie Gras is sold to restaurants and can also be purchased directly from him. Directions and contact information can be found at www.AubonCanard.com