Duck a la Dimanche

Dinner with Blairgourmand and Petit Poulet is always an extravagent event so we agreed to divide the duties for Sunday night. The advantage of Sunday night was that people were less inclined to drink themselves silly, whereas this is almost expected on a Saturday night chez Blairgourmand... unless, of course, you are pregnant.

Menu

Terrine of Minced Pork, Chorizo, Bacon and other really yummy meats served with a salad of frisee, pear and parmesan

Caneton Roti a l'Alsacienne

Steamed Carrots

Cauliflower au gratin

Hasselback Potatoes

Pate Brisee Sucree

Tarte Normande Aux Pommes

So Blairgourmand made the vegetables and a pregnant friendly terrine - not a skerick of offal in sight, which was a relief to the offal averse Le Gourmand and Petit Poulet. The result was fabulous. It was difficult to be restrained and just eat an entree sized piece. Blairgourmand was very much looking forward to his lunch the following day, hopefully with a plethora of cornichons, as they made a very late appearance on the plates for entree.

We arrived with the stuffing prepared and the shell baked for the pastry when it became apparent that I had bought the bag with the chicken not the duck. Quelle catastrophe! Le Gourmand valiantly drove home to switch the birds and I chopped the obligatory onion and carrot to strew around the duck while it cooked and soak up the duck fat (did we eat these at the end once we had strained the gravy? I cannot answer this question for fear it may incriminate me)

The duck was, once again, when it finally arrived, not the meatiest I have ever come across and it was just enough to feed four. It was stuffed with pork sausage in a port and stock reduction mixed with peeled apple pieces, lightly sauteed and sprinkled with port, sage and cinnamon. The flavours were vibrant and punchy and effectively made an extra side when we removed them from the duck. The duck was cooked Julia side, breast up, side up, other side up and then breast up again, with a few extra minutes under the grill at the end to make the skin yummier. The sauce was made by pouring off the fat and adding two cups of duck stock to the pan, reducing by half and adding port, then straining and adding some enrichening butter. This took a while to reduce, possibly because I was not using my trusty Le Creuset roasting pan.

We had used the duck fat which was sealing the duck stock from last time to add a little je ne sais quoi to the potatoes. The cauliflower was creamy and delicious and the carrots were naturally sweet and a little crunchy. All together I found the meal less rich than I expected, although I commented that this could be the result of a month of intensive Julia eating. I also decided that as the only difference between Caneton Roti a l'Alsacienne and Caneton Roti is the stuffing, and I had stuffed it the other way for by Caneton a l'Orange, that I would count tonight as cooking both recipes. This decision followed the experience of Memere that the Caneton Roti by itself was a little plain.

Interlude - a welcome rest for our stomachs, happily punctuated by the arrival of French Toast. French Toast works for an establishment that makes amazing cheese toast (you may have visited one of these establishments as a teenager) and has promised me that he will endeavour to keep me in good supply in the last month of pregnancy if he possibly can. Unfortunately he was working late at said establishment and was only able to make it for dessert. While he waited we fed him terrine and he snacked on leftover carrots and gravy.

I had accidentally made a pastry base using the more delicate and sweeter Pate Brisee Sucree instead of the Pate Sablee. This was probably a blessing in disguise as it meant I was much more careful in preparing the pastry shell and the tart and I avoided burning the pastry. This was also due to diligent removal (and consumption) of the darker edges of the pastry sides at each stage of cooking. The part-cooked pastry shell was filled with 2 peeled, cored and thinly sliced Golden Delicious apples, coated in sugar and cinnamon and cooked for twenty minutes. Meanwhile I made the custard using 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg beaten together, with 1/4 cup flour, half a cup of cream and 3 tablespoons of brandy. This I poured over the cooked apples, and returned the tart to the fridge for at least another twenty minutes (It took a little longer to cook than Julia indicated). Serve warm.

Boys really love apple pie. Or at least these four boys did. Petit Poulet had bought some yummy ice cream (thank goodness Julia doesn't have an ice cream recipe). Blairgourmand thought it was one of my best desserts of recent times. We were all full as the proverbial googs.