Friday, November 14, 2014

Pan-Seared Duck Breasts without Kumquats




Per Nana~
This week's recipe is for pan-seared duck breast with kumquats. 
After reading of the difficulty other bloggers were having to find 
kumquats, I decided to use tangerines instead and hope they had
 enough flavor for the syrup. 
I did not have a fruity wine to use in the sauce so I substituted an 
aperitif wine called Dubonnet instead.  The sauce came together 
well and the taste was pleasant. 
I really enjoyed the duck with the slices of citrus, they really 
complimented each other perfectly. This is definitely a recipe I 
will be repeating, knowing how easy and simple it is to prepare. 
Per Tricia~
My family has really enjoyed the duck recipes from Dorie Greenspan's 
"Around My French Table" and this week was no exception. 
Although I was disappointed to not locate fresh kumquats, I am now
 having fun keeping my eyes open so I can taste them when they are in season.  
My favorite moment of the kumquat hunt was when the salesperson in
my local produce market explained that they "had lots of weird ingredients,
 just not the weird stuff you want". Fair enough. 
In a completely different direction, but still citrus flavored, 
I simply subbed canned mandarin oranges.
 Sacrilege.
 And yummy.

 I drained the cans and just followed the recipe. I also used the delicious 
Saratoga Olive Oil Company's balsamic vinegar which I scored the last 
time I was visiting fellow Dorista, Cher (www.crazyworldofcher.blogspot.com).  
Need to get back up their with Nana to visit both :)
 Another fun revelation this week was that you could buy small
 containers of wine which are effectively "juice boxes" for adults. 
I had never seen containers so small - about 2 cups. Fabulous for 
needs like this recipe, though the salesclerk did not seem to 
appreciate my "juice box" reference. 
As expected the recipe was straight forward, easy and the results delicious. 
I unfortunately gave my duck a bit too much heat or time in the pan and 
it was cooked more than I aimed for, but still very good. The taste testers were 
delighted and we will gladly revisit this one again. Hopefully with kumquats. 

Happy French Friday ~

14 comments:

  1. Nice recovery, you two! I thought about using mandarin oranges, too. I'm still not a huge fan of duck - but at least I tried it! And, I think the juice box for adults is funny!

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  2. Excellent, both of you! Tricia, I love the "weird ingredients" comment because I told my husband to go look in the "weird fruit section" at the grocery store. He didn't know what I meant until I explained it was the display where they don't have a lot of the items so it's kind of this catchall for, well, the weird fruits. I'm going to have to look for that juice box wine! Nana, your plate looks beautiful and I'm glad it worked out with the wine substitution!

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  3. Great job, ladies! I'm glad both the tangerines and the mandarin oranges worked out well. I had to look up the Dubonnet. Sounds like something I would enjoy.

    (I love the portable wine containers! They look just the right size to take to the beach)

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  4. Wine juice boxes for adults! Love it! Nana and Tricia…both of your dinners look fabulous! I love the idea of using mandarin oranges…an easy alternative! Nana you are so right..the citrus complimented the duck perfectly! We loved this dish too! Another winner from Dorie! Have a great weekend!

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  5. First, will you two wait to visit Ms. Cher until I make my Hyde Park-Run (FDR)? I'm going to Boston (Kennedy) first so maybe can persuade Betsy to come with me. Have not worked out timing or logistics yet - recuperating from Texas trip and dealing with Winter. Please keep telling us about your house, Tricia. That's so exciting and I need to enjoy other people's houses now. You women did fine with your duck breasts this week. For those of us who live in a kumquatless world, we all seemed to improvise quite well. I am keeping my eyes open for kumquats also - have never cooked with them and cannot remember eating with them. I'm interested in those juice boxes. Even if the clerk didn't find that funny, I do. Probably the gal who apologized for not having "your"weird ingredients (I don't find kumquats wierd) doesn't know that we Doristas all own a lifetime supply of Pure Rose Extract and Rose Water. Now we're talkin' wierd.

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  6. Mmmm Dubonnet! Great work this week ladies!

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  7. Yes, Bill would be happy for me to make this again...so if I see some kumquats, I'll be sure to grab them. LOL about your produce guy not having the weird stuff you need, when you need it, Tricia :) Looks like a stellar job by you both.

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  8. I enjoyed your juice box reference:-)

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  9. I'm with you in the "really enjoyed this one" camp. Tricia, you must keep your shopkeepers laughing. I know that I was chuckling at the comments flying at you this week, especially the juice box one. Nana, do you get those kinds of comments when you are hunting things down to share with Tricia?

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  10. Juice boxes, Tricia? I need a grown up juice box! Good to know that a can of mandarins worked here! Nana, your roast and sauce look delicious! Give the Doristas a heads up when you visit Cher! Maybe several of us would want to make a trip northeast!

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  11. I am looking forward to trying this when kumquats finally hit the market. Your versions look delicious!

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  12. We loved the duck/orange combination too. Love the story about "weird stuff" and "juice boxes". It is always the little tid-bits that make the post fun.

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  13. Now, that is the kind of juice box I can get into.
    Tricia, glad to see you scored some stuff from that store. I love that place (and yes, you do need to come back!)

    Lovely job with the dishes, ladies.

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  14. Nana, I love that you used Dubonnet (the late Queen Mother's favourite drink) - I used Moscato, not red wine. Tricia, the canned mandarins are so bright and colourful.

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