all duck, all night

[sabg]

i am haveing an all duck dinner...sauteed foie gras (first time cooking) confit (first time cooking) crispy skin skin breasts. need some suggestions for sides or should i just have a bucket of schmaltz nearby?

[MobyP]

Some Gordon Ramsey ideas, ...

buttery savoy cabbage with pancetta

individual chicory / endive tarte tatins with balsamic caramel

small roesti to balance the meat on

orange braised fennel or baby fennel

All of the above....

[zora]

You'll want something sort of bitter and/or acidic, I think, to cut the grease--some greens, or last week I made some brussels sprouts just with a teensy bit of butter and some lemon to go with my confit. Good combo.

Be verrrry careful to keep the heat super-low on the confit, otherwise it will seize up--I've had this happen a couple of times (but only with duck, not with chicken--maybe duck is less forgiving?). Check your oven temp with a thermometer if you're doing it in the oven.

[zora]

Oh yeah--and something a little spicy helps cut the fat too. Sichuan long beans?

[suzilightning]

oh my god - i was just reading laurie colwin's "more home cooking" at lunch and it includes a chapter called "the duck dilemma". she suggests something plain or acidic: steamed veg with a drop of lemon juice or pureed butternut squash,. other ideas are cornbread, spoon bread or polenta but not too much of them.

some steamed asparagus with a ragout of squash, white turnip and parsnips might be nice.

[sabg]

oh my god - i was just reading laurie colwin's "more home cooking" at lunch and it includes a chapter called "the duck dilemma". she suggests something plain or acidic: steamed veg with a drop of lemon juice or pureed butternut squash,. other ideas are cornbread, spoon bread or polenta but not too much of them.

some steamed asparagus with a ragout of squash, white turnip and parsnips might be nice.

now that you mentioned it i remember having polenta with duck and it was de-lish, great idea a some kind of green somein...i really do hate to take away from the fat but it is probably best, thanks

[Tracy K.]

I've always enjoyed wild rice with duck.

What wine(s) will you be serving? We had a fabulous Tokay with fois gras at La Pinsonniere in La Malbaie, Quebec. I wish I had remembered to ask (again) for the name of the wine--it was served by the glass at the recommendation of the sommelier--just divine with the fois gras.

[Marco_Polo]

In for a penny, in for a pound, so they say.

Forget trying to cut the fat, and just go for it: the de rigueur accompaniment (in my book) has got to be potatoes sautéed in, what else, duck fat. Sprinkled with lots and lots of coarse sea salt.

An all-duck meal is close to my idea of heaven (though at the moment, I'm waddling about rather uncomfortably like a fatted duck myself, having just consumed WAY too much pasta for dinner...)

[Squeat Mungry]

I really like beets with duck. I'll often make a red and yellow beet salad with some minced shallots and toasted walnuts tossed with some watercress and blue cheese in an orange vinaigrette and serve that with the crispy-skinned breast.

Cheers,

Squeat

[GG Mora]

I love the earthiness of lentils with duck. Maybe you could make a braise of lentils with bitter greens?

[markk]

i am haveing an all duck dinner...sauteed foie gras (first time cooking) confit (first time cooking) crispy skin skin breasts.  need some suggestions for sides or should i just have a bucket of schmaltz nearby?

It's not hard at all. Just remember to have the pan really hot, and remember not to overcook.

For health reasons I eat and cook a lot of duck. Remember that the publication in 1991 of the"French Paradox" studies in Europe concluded that it was the mono-unsaturated nature of the duck and goose fat that was lowering the rate of heart disease - unbelievably lowering it- of the people in the Southwest of France; only in America was it said that the conclusion was that red wine had an effect - in Europe, where wine drinking is a given, nobody thought of that as a factor. But they did want to know why the death rate from heart disease in that region was so incredibly low as to pull the entire French rate to the rank of lowest on earth, and that's how they discovered the nature of the fat. The "paradox" is that it's saturated fat, yet it lowers bad cholesterol and raises the good.

You can see my most recent all-duck dinner here:

My own all-duck dinner

For sides, I like something dark and leafy green. I find it goes well with the fatiness of the fattiness of the duck. I like one of those salad mixtures (the organic ones at Whole Foods are superb and nicely bitter) with lots of strong flavors, and make a dressing with shallots, walnut oil, mustard, sherry vinegar, and a touch of something sweet like the teeniest hint of apricot preserves - it's a nice counterpoint to the greens and the duck. And I also like a baked yam with this meal - nothing candied, just a nice organic yam or sweet potato, simply baked in the oven. Of course, the traditional side is potatoes cooked in the duck fat, but with so many duck parts in the meal, I like things that offset them.

Hope this helps.

Edited March 3, 2004 by markk (log)

[tsquare]

I've recently enjoyed corona beans with duck two ways - confit and crispy, and braised greens with crispy duck hindquarter and duck confit ravioli.

[ned]

An all-duck dinner. Sounds like fun. Might have to do that myself before the weather warms up too much.

I like sweet things with duck.

Maybe a slow saute (no caramelization) of fennel, vidalia or walla walla sweet onions, a fine diced shallot, julienned lemon zest, and reduction of sweet wine. Could add a small spoonful of orange marmalade. S&p. This for the foie gras.

Haven't ever confitted anything myself. Can't offer anything.

For the breasts, I might roast some turnips or celeriac. Maybe even a pan roasted with them prepared like large french fries. Of course they could also be quartered. Could use duck fat but I'd be inclined to use not much of whatever fat is chosen to keep the veg more dry. Also, I might do swiss chard. Separate rib from leaf. Rough chop the ribs and blanch them in salty water, then plunge in ice water. Chop the leaves, combine it all in a pan with already sauteed shallot and a little garlic, and white wine, olive oil. Wilt. Or instead of this, braised medallions of fennel.

It's hard to underseason a duck. You could probably pick the wrong seasonings but assuming you pick the right ones, and I do assume that, use plenty.

Good luck.

Edited March 5, 2004 by ned (log)

[sabg]

I've always enjoyed wild rice with duck.

What wine(s) will you be serving? We had a fabulous Tokay with fois gras at La Pinsonniere in La Malbaie, Quebec. I wish I had remembered to ask (again) for the name of the wine--it was served by the glass at the recommendation of the sommelier--just divine with the fois gras.

i know next to nothing about wine other thatn i love it.....i really want this dinner to be very special and would go with your recommmedation...if you have more info i would really appreciate it...thanks sooo much

[sabg]

i am haveing an all duck dinner...sauteed foie gras (first time cooking) confit (first time cooking) crispy skin skin breasts.  need some suggestions for sides or should i just have a bucket of schmaltz nearby?

It's not hard at all. Just remember to have the pan really hot, and remember not to overcook.

For health reasons I eat and cook a lot of duck. Remember that the publication in 1991 of the"French Paradox" studies in Europe concluded that it was the mono-unsaturated nature of the duck and goose fat that was lowering the rate of heart disease - unbelievably lowering it- of the people in the Southwest of France; only in America was it said that the conclusion was that red wine had an effect - in Europe, where wine drinking is a given, nobody thought of that as a factor. But they did want to know why the death rate from heart disease in that region was so incredibly low as to pull the entire French rate to the rank of lowest on earth, and that's how they discovered the nature of the fat. The "paradox" is that it's saturated fat, yet it lowers bad cholesterol and raises the good.

You can see my most recent all-duck dinner here:

My own all-duck dinner

For sides, I like something dark and leafy green. I find it goes well with the fatiness of the fattiness of the duck. I like one of those salad mixtures (the organic ones at Whole Foods are superb and nicely bitter) with lots of strong flavors, and make a dressing with shallots, walnut oil, mustard, sherry vinegar, and a touch of something sweet like the teeniest hint of apricot preserves - it's a nice counterpoint to the greens and the duck. And I also like a baked yam with this meal - nothing candied, just a nice organic yam or sweet potato, simply baked in the oven. Of course, the traditional side is potatoes cooked in the duck fat, but with so many duck parts in the meal, I like things that offset them.

Hope this helps.

are they truffles next to the raw foie gras?? ummmm how did you enjoy your wine selections??