What I Ate For Dinner

Pan-seared and oven-roasted duck breast is one of my favorites--right up there with sea scallops and braised lamb shanks. And with the graces of my Safeway Club Card, I've recently been able to secure morsels of my most beloved fowl at half the going rate. This, I should add, is one of my greatest coups to-date using my new shopping method. I used to go to the farmers' market and cruise the stalls, stalking the freshest produce and choicest cuts. That's a great way to cook, if you have the time and the cash. I don't always. So, I came up with an improvised (but still interesting) alternative: go to Safeway and buy whatever meat is cheap, and figure out the meal from there. Saves cash and obviates delicate deliberations. That's how I got into Tri-Tip. Same with Beef Ribs. And I'm still trying to figure out something to do with 13 pounds of pork shoulder, because that stuff is always on sale. La cuisine du marché be damned! This is La Cuisine Pragmatique de Safeway!

So, I got the whole bird since it's only 8 bucks (that is, with your Safeway card; $16 normally). Slice off the breasts and that's all we need for this one. Save the thigh/drumstick nugget for another time.

Start by scoring the skin of the breasts several times to allow the fat below to render out. Then throw them in a sauté or fry pan heated to medium-high. I don't think you have to even put oil in the pan since you'll soon have duck fat rollin' out by the barrel. Render out the fat and crisp the skins. I usually remove the liquefied fat halfway through to reduce smokage/stinkage.

Once seared, the breasts will only take a few minutes (7-8?) in an oven preheated to 350. To allow for a margin of timing error, let them rest on the stove while you start the potatoes and carrots. Put a quarter-inch coat of the liquefied duck fat on the bottom of a skillet, and when heated to medium-high, roll in with a one-inch dice of potatoes and carrots. Sometimes they stick, so be sure to push them around a few times with a spoon as you season with salt and pepper. With the root vegetables, you're going for golden-brown on the edges of the potatoes. They should still be firm to the tooth when finished. Should take 10 or so minutes.

Throw the duck in the oven once you have the taters goin'. Look for doneness on the duck as you would on filet mignon. It should still be tender, even soft, to the touch and juicy when you pull it out. As I say, this won't take long in a preheated oven, so keep an eye on it.

Now the sauce. Sauté shallots in duck fat (you can't throw it down the disposal, so you might as well use it up now) until blonde. Then add two cubes of demi or a half-cup (or so) of beef or chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. While that's happening, place several blackberries (or raspberries) in a glass and fill with enough red wine to cover the berries. Smash the berries against the side of the glass with a spoon. You probably want to do this over the sink with the glass pointed away from you since any splatter quickly becomes an irredeemable stain. You don't need to purée this all the way; just get some of the berry liquid out and call it done. Consider it a rustic, provincial preparation. Pour the wine/berry mix in with the demi/stock and simmer for a few moments. Thicken if you need to with a simple roux (equal parts oil and flour), season and you're done. This sauce can go on most anything and is excellent with duck.

I finish this one off with green beans. Sauté them in duck fat on medium-high heat briefly (a minute or two) and then kill the heat and deglaze with a thick coat (half inch) of white wine. Turn the heat back on to medium and allow the beans to simmer in the wine until they green up (you'll notice a change in color) and become firm to the tooth. It should only take a moment. Et Voila!