Wednesday Dinner

I found this recipe in June July Fine Cooking. Remember the Fresh Cherry Margarita? It was on the next page. I cut the recipe in half for Jim and I but we also just split a 1# duck breast. It was easy and as stated very elegant looking. I will warn you however the sauce is deadly on clothes. Serves 6
1 ½ C red wine such as Zinfandel, Shiraz or Merlot (We used Zin)
1C Ruby port
1 1 1/4 “ piece of fresh ginger peeled
1T Granulated sugar
1T balsamic Vinegar
1t cornstarch
2 C sweet cherries, pitted and halved (About 11 oz)
2T coarsely cracked black peppercorns
3# skin-on duck breasts.
For the sauce, you can make ahead of time and just do the duck at the last minute if making for company.
Put the wine, port, ginger and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce by half, about 8 – 12 minutes. In a small bowl mix the vinegar and cornstarch and whisk into the wine mixture. Discard the ginger. Reduce the heat to low and add the cherries. Simmer slowly to warm the cherries. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Put the duck breast on a work surface skin side up. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a grid pattern, cutting just halfway through the thickness of the skin. Season the the duck generously with salt. Scatter the creaked pepper on a small baking sheet and press the duck into the pepper, coating both sides evenly.
Heat a heavy-duty 12” skillet over medium heat and arrange the duck skin side down and cook until the skin is deep golden brown and the fat from the skin has rendered, about 6-8 minutes. Discard all but about 1T of fat. Turn the duck and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 135 degrees. This took me the full 8 minutes for the 1# breast. Transfer to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil for about 10 minutes. Cut the breast on the diagonal into ½” thick slices and serve with warm sauce.
We had asparagus and a glass of the Zinfandel we used in the sauce with it. This was a great meal, not cheap; the duck breast was $10.00.  I need to make friends with a hunter!