Didja Ever?

Every year, we have a Friends & Family Halloween Cruise. For Halloween 2011, we flew from all over the country and met in Miami to embark on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. 


I'd cruised before. Several times. I knew what to expect. But I was surprised on the third night of the cruise when we settled into the main dining room and had a big friends & family dinner. On the menu was something new, called a didja. As in the picture of the menu above, the didjas were all things that you may have heard of, but never tried. We missed it on the first two nights because we didn't eat in the main dining room, but I personally made sure we didn't miss it after that. Here's what we had:


Night 3 Alligator
Night 4 Oysters
Night 5 Shark
Night 6 Escargots
Night 7 Frog Legs


I am proud to say that I tried almost all of it. 


Now duck may not be as rarely eaten as some of the above, but until recently, I had never had it. I enjoyed it the last two times I'd had the opportunity to try it (once as hors d'oeuvres an another time I tasted a friend's entree).


I'd never cooked it before, so I decided to give it a whirl. 




I used a recipe from www.ducks.com, which I had no idea would have recipes! There were even videos on how to properly cook a duck. The duck came out wonderfully. Mr. Flairy is excited because I said I'd like to cook duck more often.


Duck Breast with Grand Marnier Sauce
Gluten Free.

Ingredients

• 4-6 skinless duck breast fillets
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, strained
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/3 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
• 3/4 cup chilled butter, cut into 6-7 pieces
• 2 green onions, shredded lengthwise

1. Rub the duck breast fillets with olive oil, salt, white pepper, and ground coriander. If time allows, wrap the seasoned duck in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown the fillets on both sides or until medium-rare, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the duck to a plate and lightly cover with foil for 5 minutes.

2. To prepare the sauce, combine orange juice, sugar, orange zest, and half of the Grand Marnier in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the liquid is reduced to 2-3 tablespoons. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until thoroughly blended, and then whisk in the remaining Grand Marnier.

3. Slice duck diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Spoon the sauce onto plates and arrange the duck over the sauce. Top the duck with shredded green onions.

Tip: If the duck breasts you purchase still have a layer of skin and fat on one side, leave it on as you cook the opposite side. After the opposite side is cooked, take it off the heat and peel the skin/fat off. It comes off very easily, without a knife, but have one handy for couple spots of tough spots that may come up. Then return it to the pan and cook that side.