Thursday, December 4, 2008

Can't eat out all the time

Roasted duck legs and potatoes with a chicken stock/shallot/coriander/dijon sauce.

Simple week night dinner. It all went into a 425 oven. First just the legs. Then, once they rendered a bit of fat, the potatoes. When the potatoes were done the oven was turned off and the legs and potatoes were put on a plate to rest in the still hot oven while the sauce was put together.

For the sauce, most of the remaining fat was drained from the pan used for roasting, and in went diced shallots and ground up corriander. Then the stock was added and reduced, and finally some mustard. That's it. The only hard part for me was removing the legs from the whole duck. Taking animals apart is one of the many things that reminds me how much of a cook I'm not. But it worked out well enough (and if it didn't, the duck vendor, noted below, sells parted out animals). Only thing missing was bread to sop up the extra sauce.

And to you, the one who asks, "Yea, but what are you drinking?" see below. I came home to find the half-pictured bottle of home brew on my back steps. A pleasant suprise since I was pretty sure who left it. It's a really nice drink, and I think the name written on the card describes it perfectly.

Duck legs are from Plum Creek, and are available at North Union Farmers Markets at Shaker and Crocker Park (and the Shaker Indoor Market during the winter). Corriander from Urban Herbs at the West Side Market.