Day Four - A Matter of Taste - Duck Breast with Dried Cherries and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Duck....I've eaten duck before.  My mother used to cook it around the Christmas Holidays.  I remember she would curse under her breath because there was so much fat, that it would spill over in the oven and smoke the house and set the fire alarm off.  I think she's master the technique of cooking duck, but it's usually a full duck from the grocery store.  I've also have had duck in a few restaurants and never been disappointed

Today my goal was to make the duck breast equally or better than what I've tasted in the past.  Only one catch....I don't like cherries.  But I figured, I would suck it up and follow the recipe, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

When I purchased the duck breast, I was shocked at the cost of $10.00 a piece.   I realized later that it would have been more economical to buy a full duck and boned it myself. I'll surely take that approach next time.

I scored the duck, seasoned it, seared it and baked it.  I made the sauce, reduced it, glazed it with butter and added the cherries.  I made the fingerling potatoes with all the fixings.

This meal was the best meal I've had in a longtime.  My husband agreed with me as well. The dried cherry sauce was amazing with the duck.  I even went back for more sauce.  I thought the sauce would be sweet and over powering, but it was mellow and the cherries with the duck melted in your mouth.  The potatoes were simple to make and tasted great.  It was a mindless effort with a fantastic out come.  Although, my husband did ask if he was eating pork.  For $10.00 a duck breast, I wasn't impressed by his comment.  Then he reassured me that it tasted like really great pork.  The duck breast didn't even look like pork.  Go figure. 

Although the book called for a California Pinot Noir to make and pair with the meal.  I used a Malbec wine from Argentina that I had in the house.  I couldn't bring myself to go to the LCBO today.  The Malbec was a nice match. It complemented the dried cherries and brought out the flavors in the duck and the spices that were rubbed into the skin.

This meal was a great treat today.  It took little effort to make and tasted amazing.  You got to like that.

The Cookbook Addict.