Pâté de Canard en CroûteLast week a group of my friends and I were out for dinner. As is ofter the case, our table talk turned to wine. The discussion ended up with us deciding to taste a vertical of Le Cigare Volant, a wine my friend Andria had a 7 bottle vertical of.
What to have for dinner? Since we had recently seen the movie Julie/Julia my buddy Sam said lets have " Pâté de Canard en Croûte".
I thought about it for a second and decided what the heck. All in this recipe took 3-4 solid hours of focused prep time and that doesn't include cooking or shopping.
Was this the most amazing thing I have ever eaten (nah), was it one of the most spectacular things I have presented on a set table (hell, yes!).
Monseiur Duck
Boned.........45 minutes!
Stuffed and Trussed
Browned
Wrapped with Pastry Dough and Oven ReadyWould I make this again.......Hmmm, maybe. This is a big fat show-off of a dinner entree and you really need a group of wine and foodie geeks (my friends in Spades) to appreciate it. Trust me, if you make this for dinner, even just once, no one who was at the table will ever forget that night. Bon Appetit!
Do you think the pastry adds anything to the dish? Normally I think pastry is one of the essential food groups, but this time I think a boned, stuffed duck could stand alone as a showpiece. I am so impressed that you made it!
ReplyDeleteHi Foodycat-The pastry really is for the cooking (think clay pot cooking). The pastry shell is pretty spectacular as well. I think I was the only one who really dug into the crust.
ReplyDeleteI tired the crust also,it just looked too fantastic not to eat some. This dish was very good and very impressive. The only debate at dinner was whether it should be eaten chilled or hot. Norm served it chilled. He definitely made the right call. Thanks again. Greg
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