Thursday, April 24, 2008

A Little Something Special

Duck is one of those ingredients that I always feel I have to make something special with. Not your run of the mill meat and potatoes kind of thing. So when Martin came home from the grocery store with duck legs, I went in search of the perfect recipe to use them in. And I found it in the form of Duck Leg Guazzetto.

The duck is braised in a lovely broth with wine and rosemary and dried mushrooms and all this results in the most tender meat I’ve ever tasted. I found the recipe on A Mingling of Tastes, a blog I just recently discovered via Food Blog Search (that nifty little tool you see there at the right of the screen). I’ll certainly be going through the archives for other little jewels like this one!

I didn’t change much to the recipe, just omitted the whole cloves and used a package of mixed, dried mushrooms. I didn’t make the suggested toasted pasta, I didn’t have time, but instead served it with Pantacce, a flat, square shaped pasta that went really well with this. Other than that the recipe is perfect. You can find it over here. Thank you Julie!

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16 comments:

Ginny said...

Delicious! I've never actually cooked duck because it is one of those "special" meats! I should give it a shot! :)

RecipeGirl said...

I wish my husband would come home with treasures like duck! I've actually never cooked duck. It's something on my "list" though!

Yours looks great!

grace said...

pantacce. i've never heard of it, i've never seen it, but i'm definitely fascinated by it.

guazzetto. i've never heard of it, definitely can't pronounce it, but i want some right now. :)

Nic said...

I've not seen that pasta before - looks great in this dish.

Elle said...

Is it wrong that I'd like this for breakfast??

Brilynn said...

Duck sounds wonderful! It's not something I have very often.

Anonymous said...

I've never had duck.
This looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

i love duck, and i'm with you on the "specialness."

i actually have some duck legs in my freezer from the last time i made duck (i only needed breasts, but ended up having to buy a whole bird). and now they have a destiny.

i've never heard of the pasta shape, but i like it!

Anonymous said...

What a great picture. . . and such a tasty way to use leftover duck. It's cheap here in China, way cheaper than chicken. We eat it as pan-fried duck breast, usually, but this provides an excellent alternative suggestion. Thanks!

Ben,
www.savourasia.com

Patricia Scarpin said...

I have never tried duck, LyB, but by the look of this dish I know I'd be licking the plate!

Julie said...

Your version looks beautiful! That pasta is a perfect choice, but you must try the scraggly, toasted homemade stuff (although it probably won't look as pretty)!

Vicarious Foodie said...

This looks so good. I've never made duck before, but this is inspiring me!

test it comm said...

That duck dish looks great and sounds really tasty! I have yet to try duck but it is definitely on my to try list.

Lore said...

My duck memories since I was a kid involve some serious smoke in the kitchen. Since then I tried to stay away from it, your dish though looks delicious and I love that pasta touch!

Anonymous said...

I had duck for the first time at the Corks & Forks event I went to. I loved it! This looks delicious.

LyB said...

Ginny - This is really a perfect recipe to try duck, it's easy and the meat ends up perfectly tender!

RecipeGirl - Thank you! I love when he gets stuff like this!

Grace - lol! When we were eating this I couldn't stop saying "guazzetto", with this fake Italian accent!

Nic - Cute, huh?

Elle - Mmmm, guazzetto for breakfast!

Brilynn - We hadn't had duck in years before this, we won't wait years to make it again though!

Carrie - Thank you!

Michelle - I only discovered this pasta shape recently and I love it!

Ben - Thanks so much!

Patricia - lol! Thanks sweetie!

Julie - I really wish I'd had time to make the pasta, I'll definitely try it next time.

Vicarious Foodie - Thank you!

Kevin - This is a great dish to start with.

Lore - No smoke involved with this dish! :)

Kristen - Thank you, it is really good.