duck

Just read Garlic and Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl, lately editor of the late Gourmet. Read it again actually; I read it when it first came out several years ago, and didn't enjoy it all that much then. I've since been to NYC several times, and when I read it before, I was still mad at her because of the changes she'd made in the magazine when she took over.

This time I loved it.

I also cooked tonight. Not sure what you'd call it, but it was the breasts from that whole duck I bought at Critchfield's last week, and I marinated them for awhile (probably not long enough) in Madeira. Sauteed them in butter, rapidly, until they were rare. Made a sauce with the Madeira, some red wine, shallots, mushrooms (shallots and mushrooms sauteed earlier in butter), chicken broth, the syrup from a can of dark cherries, and finally the cherries. Didn't manage to thicken the sauce but the boys thought the duck was really, really good. Served it sliced and spread onto mashed potatoes (I forgot that I had some french bread....) with the cherries and mushroom sauce poured over everything. Evidently they really liked it all.

Also made garlic soup (Gascon staple in the wintertime, doesn't keep at all well, but easy to make, cheap, and good for you), and a green salad.

Wasn't ready until 9:00 p.m. but they were watching the World Series game anyway.

Lillie