.pan seared duck with sesame ginger glaze.

Have you ever felt uninspired? Lately I've been feeling that way and then compound it with Spring Break and a husband working wonky hours.... well.. it's enough to drive me crazy.


I hope everyone had a great Easter. It was a crazy busy weekend for us, and since we had no special plans, our big dinner got put off until Monday. I made pan seared duck breast with a sesame ginger glaze, roasted fingerling potatoes, salad, and rolls. I was going to make a coconut mousse cake, but we still had brownies left and I decided not to make the cake until later this week. (I can't wait!)


I looked everywhere for 2 weeks for duck breast. Virtually impossible to find!!! My good friend, Deb was over here last week for scrapbooking and lunch and she mentioned a shop over near her home that had specialty type meats so I called and yesss they had some! So I had the husband pick it up on his way home from work on Friday. Two breasts cost me $20! Yikes. I think I might take up duck hunting in the very near future because this turned out amazing. Paige (my 7 yr old) loved it so much and told me I had to make it again soon. (I'm thinking I might make roast duck lo mein. mmmm)


This is a very easy dish to make. It's uncomplicated, which is refreshing when it comes to a holiday meal.


First, in a saucepan you need to put the glaze ingredients.


1/4 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 dash red pepper flakes


Bring to a boil until it thickens. Set aside. This can be made days in advance and held in the fridge. I made some last week to have with lettuce wraps and sealed it in a ziploc and tossed into the freezer. All I had to do was pull it out and heat. Perfect!


Heat a little olive oil in a skillet with a couple cloves of peeled and crushed garlic. Sear each side of the duck breast for 4-5 minutes, starting with the fat side down. Use a spoon to continually spoon some of the fat over the top of each breast as it cooks. Pull from the pan and put in a baking dish. Pour some glaze on top of the duck and put in a 400* oven for 10 minutes.


Serve with rice or potatoes, salad, and bread.


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AZ-Z_fQXybIkZGcydmZqcW1fMTY0azc1ems5ZDY&hl=en