Duck!

You know what I did last night? I cooked a duck. We were supposed to go to a party held by Wolf's Godfather, but when you've had a bad night's sleep and it takes an hour to just try and get out of the house.

Plus the last time I went to one of his parties, I scared the hell out of a bunch of drunk college boys with my very pregnant belly. I don't want to give them cardiac arrest with a baby. What kind of mother would I be if I took my child to a house party? One trying to kill college boys obviously.

Now back to the duck. The funny thing is, despite all the new and ever exhausting jobs that come with a new mother, I seem to have more time than ever to cook. It seems to impress my mother and mother-in-law. But hey, no one is bringing casseroles of well...casserole, so what choice would I have anyway?

Sure, I used to spend all day long cooking for people at work. But now marooned at home in our lovely light filled apartment surrounded by various unfriendly and alarming neighbors, my hand is never far from a chopping knife, slippers always dusted with parsley clippings and flour.

So, duck. I'd never cooked duck meat before. Eaten a lot, of course. It was lovely. Rich, creamy meat and crispy skin. You hardly have to season the thing duck fat and meat are so full of flavour. I basted it with a stock made from the wings, neck and usual vegetable subjects and propped it on top of some peeled potatoes. The potatoes underneath absorbed the duck fat and tasted wonderful.

If you plan on roasting duck, two things:

One: Don't buy a whole duck unless you're good with all that carcass ripping, spine cracking stuff, because  they are a bloody hard bird to carve. Just get the breasts and legs really. Those are the best parts. Or unless you plan on making a duck soup from the carcass.

Two: Have the camera handy. Which is what I should have done to capture the golden, burnished skin of my amazing looking roast duck. Because you'll be looking at it in all it's glory for about 30 seconds before it's legs will be ripped off by waiting partners. Hence my lack of picture. I could have gotten one of the carcass I suppose, but it looked fairly ravaged.

Doing something old school like a roast duck gives you an amazing sense of accomplishment. It's not something I would have said four months ago, but it's wonderful to bask in your domesticity. I actually feel happy when I put Josh's home made lunch in his bag, and sneak in a few extra cookies for him to find during his break. I expect I'll enjoy making Wolf's school lunches when the time comes. All I need to do is find a way to enjoy doing dishes, and I'm set.