Duck Tale

       More Letters From Paradise  
         
              Duck Tale

I like duck. And so on a whim I bought a frozen duck. It was beautiful. By that I mean that I didn't have to sit in a blind freezing my butt off, and blowing a duck call. There were no feathers to pull off, no insides to be removed. There it was, clean and frozen solid. It was about then that I decided to make a memorial Sunday dinner. A  dinner we would always remember.

I have been cooking for many years, but this time I wanted to do something special.So I consulted Julia Child's "Mastering the Art   of French Cooking." There I found a recipe for duck stuffed with sausage and apples. It sounded good, and I had most of the ingredients. Three items had to be purchased.

I set to work. The duck thawed in a sink full of water. I browned the sausage, and then lightly browned the apple slices in the remaining fat. Next,Julia told me to place the sliced apples on a platter and sprinkle  a mixture sage, cinnamon, salt, sugar over all. Then I was directed to sprinkle two tablespoons of Cognac over all. This was beginning to look pretty good. The Cognac was another of the items that had to be bought, the other two were Port wine, and sausage.

After the sausage had cooled, I was told to pour a reduction of Port and beef broth over it. Next I was to delicately mix the apples and sausage, and place the stuffing in the duck. So far, so good. The duck was roasted for an hour and a half. I sliced the bird, mashed the potatoes, nuked the peas, grabbed the salad and we were ready to eat.

We had a guest for dinner Pete, a WWII vet. We all sat down and then came a crash from the kitchen. Teena took off to find out what had happened. I never visited the scene of the crime, but she told us later about the event. Our white, fluffy dog Mai Tai, had jumped up to the kitchen counter and seized the duck carcass. There was a struggle, the carcass went down the trash chute, the dog to his prison. There was duck grease everywhere. She was a long time cleaning up the mess, and her dinner got cold. And frankly, I don't think that after all that work, it wasn't worth the trouble. Sorry Julia.

I wanted a dinner to be remembered and I got it. I was reminded of the short story and movie "A Christmas Story." I'm sure you have seen it. Remember how the father in the story didn't have turkey for dinner as the neighbor's dogs ran off with the bird. And, what did they end up having for dinner at a Chinese restaurant, duck!

      Aloha
      Grant