Step out of tradition this Thanksgiving with duck instead of turkey.

I will as I always do, cook duck for Thanksgiving. The reason is the fat. A duck may look slimmer but when cooked it rarely dries out, while a turkey that’s leaner often does. To choose a leaner meat may be a good idea in general, but I definitely prefer something tastier.

If you think the duck renders too much fat while baking, I suggest you spoon off the overflow for use in other treats. Potatoes fried in duck fat are heavenly and a duck fat omelet is marvelous. When done right, duck fat even stores really well.

I also recommend using all the parts that come with it. The liver can be chopped up and sautéd with shallots, coriander and cumin or seasoned with lime and cilantro for a perfect appetizer. The neck (head and feet) and rest of the giblets make a great base for a stock (see below). This week’s recipe is my own creation, but I learned the baking method from both my mother and Elizabeth David (French Provincial Cooking, 1960). Happy Thanksgiving.

Duck in Port
Serves 4 people

One duck (about 5lb/ 2.5 kg) free range/wild/ organic
One lemon
2-3 teaspoons salt
Pepper

Fig and prune stuffing
10 prunes
10 dried figs
One cup (240 ml) Port
Thyme

Under the duck
About 2 lb (almost a kilo) small potatoes, cut in wedges
4 parsnips, cut in wedges
Some sprigs of thyme
Salt & pepper

For the stock (will be used to baste the duck)
Duck neck and giblets (head and feet if available)
One small onion, sliced
One small carrot, sliced
Small piece of celery (or any other vegetable that you may have)
One cup (240 ml) white wine
5- 6 leaves of sage (or any other herb you have on hand)
6 black pepper corns
2 teaspoons salt
Water

The day before: Cut the figs and prunes into small pieces and soak them with port overnight for at least 6 hours.

About an hour before you roast the duck you need to prepare the stock. Take out the giblets and the neck from the duck. Sauté the different parts in a saucepan. When brown add the sliced onion, carrots and pour in the white wine. Let it bubble and reduce for a couple minutes. Add thyme, sage, pepper corns and salt. Cover with water and let simmer for about an hour. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.

Rinse the bird under running cold water. Rub the duck inside and out with lemon. Rub on some salt and pepper. Fill the duck with the fig and prune stuffing (reserve the remaining juice for the sauce below or add it to the stock).

Put the duck on its side on a rack in a roasting pan. After 30 minutes in the oven @345°F (175°C), turn the bird on the other side and pour ½ – one cup of warm stock over the bird (keep some for later if making a sauce). Let it cook for another 30 minutes. Prepare the potatoes and parsnips. Place them in a bowl and sprinkle on some thyme, salt & pepper. Toss well together with your hands. Take the duck out and turn the bird facing up. Place the potatoes and parsnips at the bottom of the pan. Stir around a little so the potatoes and parsnips get well coated with the duck fat and stock. If there is too much liquid or fat jut take it aside for later use. Put the bird back into the oven and cook for about 45-60 minutes. The breast should be gorgeously brown and the legs loose. Take out the bird and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes before carving. The potatoes and parsnips should be ready about the same time but depending on the duck they may need less or longer to get ready. They should be soft inside and slightly crisp on top.

While the duck is resting you can make a simple sauce (optional) to go with the bird. Heat up some butter or some of the duck fat that you have set aside. Let a couple of the stuffed figs and prunes cook with it. Add some of the remaining stock and port juice. Let simmer for a bit before adding a little cream. Season with salt & pepper.

Other nice sides are: lingonberry or cranberry sauce, gherkins, string beans, Brussel sprouts and baked cabbage (check out my own recipe at the bottom of this post).

This recipe works also with goose or even turkey. You will have to adjust the recipe a little as these birds often come larger. I have also used this recipe with chicken on other occasions with great success.

Illustrations by Johanna Kindvall

The post This Thanksgiving: Duck in Port appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ceramic household containers remind us of where so many of our products come from.

For someone who does most of her writing online, using a keyboard, I have an awful lot of pens. And even though I rarely use them, they always end up all over the place. This is part of the reason why I was thrilled to come across these Cargo Containers by California-based designer Daniel Ballou. There’s also something thought-provoking, even haunting, about scaling down such an industrial item — from 8 feet to 8 inches —and rendering it in a more precious material.

Ballou lives and works in Long Beach, CA, which inspired the design of these pieces.

“I live and work next to one of the busiest shipping ports in the country,” says Ballou. “Cargo containers are everywhere, stacked up on ships just outside the breakwater and piled up in huge lots inside the port. Visually, the repetition of the stacked containers is impressive. It’s massive and utilitarian but has a lego quality, and the random color patterns somehow always look great together. The idea of ceramic household containers with the same form seemed like a great contrast with the brutal and industrial real thing. This is the first project I’ve done in ceramic, but the material felt right since it’s warm and imperfect.”

Beyond a play on form and scale, the use of shipping containers also serve as a reminder of where it all comes from, and makes us think twice about the stuff we think we need.

Ballou says: “Shipping containers can be a symbol for some cultural questions about consumerism and globalism, which I think is partly why they are gaining so much popularity in architecture. Besides simply having fun with the contrast, the containers are a reminder of where virtually all of our products come from. Most likely whatever you put in the container has been in a cargo container before.”

Daniel Ballou’s containers are available through Areaware. They’re $24 for a set of two — either blue and white or gray and orange.

Images: Daniel Ballou; splorp

The post Cargo in Miniature: Reminding Us Where Our Stuff Comes From appeared first on EcoSalon.