i go through cooking phases.

we all do.

mine are usually dictated by the seasons…

in the summer my menus revolve around what i can pick up at the farmers market. during the winter…it’s what meat i have stock piled from the previous summer/fall (i’m starting to run low).

most winters i swear by my crock pot. this year, she sat in my pantry. alone, hardly ever touched. i don’t know. it’s like, to cold. i just want to stand by my stove and keep warm.

it’s gonna get warmer right? it has to. and i promise i wont complain when it does. well, at least for now. i’m bound to complain sooner or later (smile).

until then. i braise. i sit by the stove. i plan to keep warm (i also intend to enjoy the last of my summer/fall bounty, it’s almost time to re-stock!).

so happy second week of spring. i’m still sitting inside…still by the stove…still slow cooking my little heart away.

before….

after…

duck cassoulet 

  • 2 duck legs
  • 2 onions sliced
  • 2 carrots sliced into bite sized pieces
  • 4 cloves of garlic roughly sliced
  • 1 cup of white wine
  • 1 cup of chopped whole canned tomatoes
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • handful of parsley
  • 1 15oz can of cannanneli beans
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper
  1. pre-heat your oven to 350. 
  2. take a dutch oven and set it on the stove. heat up the pan using a medium flame. 
  3. take your duck and clean it. score the fat with a knife and set it skin side down in the pan. don’t touch it. brown the duck and tun when easy to lift from the pan (should take about 10 minutes on a medium flame) flip and brown on the other side for 5 minutes. remove the duck from pan and remove all but about 2 tbl of duck fat from the pan. return pan to stove top. 
  4. to pot add sliced onion, carrot and garlic. saute for about 5 minutes or until veg is softened. 
  5. add wine and deglaze the pan. scrape up all the bits and boil for about 2 minutes. add tomatoes and stock. mix. add beans, parsley and bay leaves. bring to a boil and then turn off the heat. add duck back to pan and bake for 2 hours or until liquid has almost evaporated and duck is falling off the bone. 
serve with pasta, with rice…or just a huge chunk of bread. 
0saves


If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.