Saturday, March 16, 2013

March 14, 2013 Duck Salad

March 14, 2013 Duck Salad

We decided that we needed to eat the PPI roasted duck quarters in the fridge and because the weather is warming, we would eat outside for the first time this year.
So after a ride to Rio Bravo on the tandem at around 6:00, Suzette fetched the organic greens and I fetched the duck quarters and Suzette assembled the salad, while I made a dressing

Shallot Dijonnaise Dressing Recipe

I added to a mixing bowl a bit less than ¼ cup of white wine vinegar, 2 cloves of mash garlic, 1 tsp. of Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard.  Then I start adding slowly while stirring the mixture with a whisk, about 1 cup of mixed olive oil and grape seed oil, a dash of herbs de Provence and salt and pepper.  Then I minced a large shallot and some sundried tomatoes and put them into the dressing and let it sit for five to ten minutes to mix the flavors. 
I do not use specific measurements for dressings because I determine the balance of ingredients by taste but 3-4 parts oil to 1 part vinegar is a good ratio.  I try to get the mixture to the point that it does not have a sharply bitter vinegar aftertaste when I taste the dressing.  Sometimes it helps to let the dressing sit for a minute to blend the flavors and then I re-taste it to see if the vinegar has begun to dominate again.  When the vinegar taste is just slightly discernible, but not bitter, the dressing is in balance for me.

Suzette sliced Roma tomatoes, and chopped a large Mexican green onion and heated the duck in the microwave and then sliced each quarter and assembled them on the salads.  Then I returned to the Kitchen and fetched and sliced of Manchego cheese and cut the slices into bite sized pieces and sprinkled them onto the salad.  We then added a few croutons and I dressed the salads and we were ready to eat.
Suzette set the patio table and I fetched and opened a bottle of 2007 Cellier du Rhone Cotes du Rhône red from the basement and we took our salads and glasses of wine to the patio for a lovely dinner

Bon Appétit

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