Seared Duck Breast with Cherries and Port Sauce

I’ve only had duck a handful of times in my life, but this is one of the tastiest. It is also a plus to make it when Michigan cherries are in season. Our only complaint: duck is rather expensive; when we made this last week, we decided that the next time, it would be very easy to substitute a pork chop, or maybe a chicken thigh. Originally from Bon Appetit.

2 5- to 6-oz. duck breast halves, or 2 pork chops
2 Tbs chilled butter, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped shallot
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
16 halved, pitted sweet red cherries
4 Tbs tawny Port
2 Tbs honey

Place duck breast halves between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound lightly to even thickness (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch). Discard plastic wrap. Using sharp knife, score skin in 3/4 inch diamond pattern (do not cut flesh).

Melt 1 Tbs butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle duck with salt and pepper. Add duck, skin side down, to skillet and cook until skin is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn duck breasts over, reduce heat to medium, and cook until browned and cooked to desired doneness, about 4-8 minutes. Transfer to work surface, tent with foil to keep warm, and let rest 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour off all but 2 Tbs drippings from skillet. Add shallot to skillet and stir over medium heat 30 seconds. Add broth, cherries, Port, and honey. Increase heat to high and boil until sauce is reduced to a glaze, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Whisk in 1 Tbs cold butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Thinly slice duck. Fan slices out on plates. Spoon sauce over and serve.

Carnitas Guisado

(Stewed Little Meats)

I had a lot of roast pork left over from my birthday luau and a need to cook mass quantities of it before it went bad. I made one version of this stew but truly nailed it on the second go. Here's what you need.

3 lbs pork (mine had already been roasted, but you could toss in uncooked pork butt and still get a good stew out of it).
3-4 potatoes (experiment with this, I tried reds the first time around and yukon golds the second)
1 c carrots, chopped
1 c celery, chopped
2 cubanelles
1/2 c minced garlic (I'm not crazy, you're the one who's crazy, you're driving me crazy!)
2 Tbsp course ground black pepper
1 qt chicken stock
2 c spicy tomato base (when I got my roast pork from the market, they included about a pint of hot sauce. I'm not sure what goes into it, but I suspect it's a combination of tomatoes, water, jalapenos, garlic and vinegar - experiment with your own or just find a spicy, tomatoey - that's a word! - alternative).
1 Tbsp Cilantro
1 Tbsp Thyme
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano

Toss all ingredients into your 6 qt crockpot and set a course for stew. About 7-8 hours on low should cook all the ingredients, soften the harder vegetables, and get the smells mixing around in there really well. The second time I made this it was for a potluck at work and I did it for 4 hours on high. The flavor was great, but the potatoes were harder than I prefer. I like them to completely break down and thicken the liquid. Enjoy.