Duck With Pear Sauce And Wilted Greens Food

WARM WILTED WINTER GREENS

Steps:

• Cook honey and balsamic together over medium-high heat in a large saute pan, about 5 minutes. Toast walnuts in a small skillet; set aside to cool.
• Pile greens on a platter. Stir mustard into balsamic-honey dressing, then whisk in about 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil; pour over greens. Season greens with salt and pepper and garnish with walnuts, pomegranate seeds, shavings of Parmesan, and shallot.

CRISPY DUCK BREASTS WITH PEAR AND GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from duck breasts. Heat a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until very hot. Pat breasts dry and season with salt. Put breasts, skin sides down, in skillet and reduce heat to moderate. Cook breasts 20 minutes, or until skin is crisp and mahogany-colored, removing fat from skillet as it is rendered with a metal bulb baster (or very carefully pouring it off). Turn breasts and cook about 2 minutes for medium-rare or to desired doneness. Transfer breasts to a plate and keep warm, covered loosely.
• While duck breasts are cooking, peel pear and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and sauté pear until lightly browned, about 1 minute. In a measuring cup stir together apple juice and cornstarch. To pear add Calvados or Armagnac. Stir in cornstarch mixture, peppercorns, demiglace or bouillon cube, and thyme and simmer, stirring, 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
• Serve duck breasts, sliced, with sauce spooned over them and garnish with thyme sprigs.

TUSCAN CHICKEN WITH WHITE BEANS AND WILTED GREENS

Steps:

• Arrange onions, fennel and garlic in bottom of slow cooker. Place beans on top of vegetables. Pour over chicken broth.
• Season chicken all over with salt and pepper and place on top of vegetables and beans in the slow cooker. Sprinkle rosemary over chicken. Place roasted red pepper slices on top of chicken. Arrange Swiss chard all around chicken.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
• Slice bread and grill or toast, then drizzle with olive oil. Rub hot bread with garlic clove and serve with meal.

GINGER SEA BASS OVER WILTED GREENS

Steps:

• Cut 4 (12-inch-square pieces) of aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Working with 1 foil sheet at a time, place the foil sheets on the work surface. Place 1 1/2 cups of spinach in the center of each foil sheet. Top with a sea bass fillet. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic, then drizzle 2 tablespoons of Marsala, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil over the fish and spinach. Gather the foil sheets over the fish. Fold in the foil edges and pinch tightly to seal. Place the foil packages on a heavy large baking sheet.
• Bake until the spinach wilts and the fish is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer the packages to wide shallow bowls. Cool 5 minutes. Open package and fold down to reveal fish, being careful of hot steam. Squeeze the lime juice over the fish. Sprinkle the basil over and serve.

ROASTED PEAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Split the pears in half and cut out the core. Brush the flesh with 2 tablespoons olive oil and place face down on a hot grill. Wrap the garlic and shallots in an aluminum foil pouch, pour in 2 tablespoons olive oil along with a little bit of water to create steam and seal. Place the packets on the hot grill and roast until soft, about 15 minutes. In a saucepan, combine remaining oil, chicken broth, rosemary and vinegar. Add the grilled pears, roasted garlic and shallots to the saucepan. Cook until the mixture reduces by half. Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Serve with Leg of Lamb.

BRAISED DUCK LEGS WITH POLENTA AND WILTED CHARD

Steps:

• For the duck:
• Prick duck skin all over with a paring knife or carving fork; season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss with thyme, garlic, bay leaves, and juniper berries, pressing aromatics onto legs to adhere. Let sit 30 minutes (or preferably do this the day before; cover and chill).
• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 225°F. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium and cook onion, carrots, and celery, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add wine, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half, 6-8 minutes. Add 1 cup water and slip duck legs (including aromatics), skin side down, into liquid. Cover and braise in oven on lower rack until duck is submerged in its fat, 1 1/2-2 hours. Turn duck skin side up and cook, covered, until tender (the bones will wiggle easily in the joint), 1 1/2-2 hours longer.
• Transfer duck to a deep baking dish; strain liquid into a large measuring glass or medium bowl. Skim fat into dish with duck; set aside braising juices. Chill duck, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days (cover and chill juices if chilling duck more than a couple of hours).
• For the polenta:
• While duck is chilling, preheat oven to 225°F. Bring milk and 2 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper; slowly stream in polenta, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking often, until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Cover and transfer to lower rack in oven. Bake until polenta is thick and grains are soft, 20-30 minutes. Whisk to smooth out.
• For the assembly:
• While the polenta is in the oven, bring reserved braising juices to a boil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook until thick enough to coat a spoon, 15-20 minutes. Stir in vinegar; keep sauce warm.
• Remove polenta from oven; keep warm. Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Transfer duck legs, leaving fat behind, to a large rimmed baking sheet, placing skin side up. Roast on top rack until skin is crackling crisp, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove ribs and stems from chard leaves by slicing away leaf from both sides of stalk. Slice stalk in half lengthwise; cut into 3"-long pieces. Tear leaves. Heat half of oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook garlic, tossing, until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add stems to skillet and cook, tossing, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with garlic.
• Add remaining oil to skillet; add chard leaves a handful at a time, letting them wilt slightly before adding more, and cook, tossing, until chard is just wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in chard stems and garlic and transfer to a platter. Top with red pepper flakes and squeeze lemon over.
• Whisk Parmesan and butter into polenta. Serve duck with polenta, wilted chard, and sauce alongside.