Whistler trip 13

Did a duck ala orange with basil tomato basmati rice. Accompanied by canned corned kernels (the trader joe version is pretty good out of the can), and (for the last time) left over ribollita.

The rice was pretty good - garlic was fried in melted butter, then rice was added and coated in the fat. Add water and bring to boil. Then add cherry tomatoes and chiffonaded basil and leave the rice to finish covered in low heat. With salt and more veg it could have been a complete main dish in its own right.

The duck was cooked till slightly past medium. I started with this recipe for the sauce

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Duck-a-lOrange-102145

but added Thyme and even more orange juice and stock and a little sweet red wine, and reduced it even more.

Then I seared the duck breasts in a pan, added the sauce and finished cooking the breasts in a braise with pan covered, monitoring the internal temp till the doneness desired. Took the meat out and reduced the sauce a bit more then added butter and flour to thicken and enrichen it.