Roast Duck….hmmm. I don’t know any more….there are so many alternatives. Tonight I went to my 90 year old French friend Micheline and were joined by her delightful grand-daughter Sabrina, who I think I am secretly in love with, and by a duck….though not for long!
It was MY duck and has lived in Micheline’s deep freeze for most of it’s life….but that is another story.
Chinese Duck for instance, ready prepared from the supermarkets are remarkably good, and all the faffing about with hot water, rubber gloves, and vaseline needed for a crispy finish has all be done for you.
Or Duck breasts….all plump and pert, devoid of the oceans of fat in a full-blown DUCK, and let’s face it, there’s not much on a DUCK other than tit and leg anyway….bony damn beast!
They’re a bugger to carve too….despite Sabrina’s excellent carving skills, we were left looking at something that resembled a car-crash a la French motorways in August, which makes you think twice about having seconds…and every time I have roast duck, about an hour later (like about now) I have pangs of guilt that I have eaten a whole load of grease my arteries could probably do without.
But it was tasty, well cooked, with roast potatoes, beans and spinach – no coconut 
– and a rather below par orange sauce which was my contribution to the evening….but which was rather…yes, you guessed it…fatty.
Desert (sic) was quite good Spanish strawgogs, soaked in lemon juice and sugar, with some excellent frozen yoghurt. Wine was the ubiquitous and in my humble opinion eminently suitable Pinot Grigio.
But I fear a reapraisal of the whole burning issue of DUCK may be overdue!
Previous dinner posts from Peter
- Another culinary highlight ... but of a different kind. - May 17th, 2013
- A saturday evening in .... - April 20th, 2013
- Fish pie followed by Peter's Tiramisu ! - March 19th, 2013
- Borough Market, London - March 2nd, 2013
- “There were Angels dining at the Ritz .... and the motor was parked in Berkeley Square” - January 26th, 2013
LOVE LOVE LOVE DUCK!
Have you tried soaking strawberries in balsamic vinegar? It’s an awesome surprise.
Actually I have, and I agree…it’s fantastic. I also soak them in Kir sometimes (with the added lemon) – that is also good.
…I dont mean Kir, I mean the liquor you make it with…..redcurrent is it, or some red berry liquor. Have YOU tried whole strawberries dipped in Nutella……¬ ! OMG as teenagers say !
…and also have you tried fresh ground pepper…..also amazing (you can tell I love strawberries!)
Mmmm, duck fat.
And that plate doen’t look at all like a French car wreck.
With all those strawberries going down the hatch lately, you should at least be quite regular.
If you wish to thoroughly enjoy your dinner, take a thirty-mile country walk after breakfast, and don’t touch anything till you get back. How your eyes will glisten at sight of the white tablecloth and steaming dishes then! With what a sigh of content you will put down the empty beer tankard, and take up your knife and fork! And how comfortable you feel afterwards, as you push back your chair, light a cigar, and beam round upon everybody….
DON”T WORRY It has to do with a duck- SO SO Love Jerome – read it here http://www.ralphmag.org/jerome1I.html
looks surely delicious
I had a friend who was a chef who had a bottle in his kitchen at all times labeled “Fuck Dat”
Yup Islander…10 32 on the dot….! Abby….love the English…bit disappointed it wasnt yours!!… Es el…you probably saw me struggle for a title to my piece…didnt dare include that word…!