April 25, 2012 Dinner – Roasted Duck with Wild Rice and Roasted Vegetables.

April 25, 2012 Dinner – Roasted Duck with Wild Rice and Roasted Vegetables.

            Tonight I put on 1 cup of Wild rice with three cups of water and 1 tsp. of dehydrated Knorr chicken stock and went to meditate.  When I arrived at home at around 8:30 p.m. Suzette had put the duck halves into a 375° to roast for about twenty to thirty minutes (Two duck halves are cleaned and ready to roast are packaged in cryovac bags.  We buy a package of two 14 ounce duck halves for $13.95 at Costco) and Suzette had put the PPI roasted vegetables (potatoes, garlic cloves, cubed onion, sliced Brussels sprouts and sprigs of fresh rosemary, tossed with garlic olive oil and baked in a ceramic casserole dish last night) into the microwave to heat for about five minutes.

I went to the basement and fetched a Pennywise Pinot Noir (Costco, $7.87) and when the duck began to brown and seemed well roasted and the vegetables hot, we plated up. We separated the breast and wing quarter from the thigh and leg quarter and each of us took a thigh and leg quarter with a pile of roasted vegetables and couple of spoonfuls of wild rice.

This is an exceedingly easy meal to make.  I did not make an orange sauce this evening because I had made poached pears on Sunday with the juice and zest of a whole lemon to give it a bit of tartness along with the sweetness of the poaching syrup.  The poached pears were a nice accompaniment to the fatty roasted duck.  It seems as if Suzette did not prick the duck skin to release the fat.

I can not say enough good things about the joy of eating such a meal and the ease of its preparation.  Using partially prepared ingredients such as the duck halves and PPIs, it is possible to have a great meal without putting forth much effort.  It is like walking into a great restaurant and having a great meal for just the cost of the ingredients (about $12.00 for this dinner with wine for two people, because only half of the duck was eaten and only half of the bottle of wine was drunk) so there are some great PPI’s left.  The only drawback is, having to clean up the dishes.

A French dark chocolate truffle and a glass of Bailey’ Original Irish Cream with a healthy splash of cognac are the nightcap that helps me enjoy the writing of this review.

Bon Appétit