A Ducky Dinner

 

Perhaps you may have read my post about the recent book launch of Red Jacket's gorgeous new cookbook Fruitful penned by Brian Nicholson and Sarah Huck. Naturally I couldn't wait to partake of some of the fruitful bounty found in the pages and was enticed enough by the recipe for Pan-Seared Duck Breast with Honey Gooseberries, that I started there when I assembled a brace of friends over for dinner. Although the duck was in the Spring and Early Summer section, I went right ahead and made it anyway, in the height of summer. It was terrific.

We chose our wines: I stuck with a Matchmaker Viognier, full of body and gently fruity (some of which I had added to the sauce) while my friends latched onto a highly suitable Celita Sangiovese red with nosy aromas of black cherries.

It was just about here when I added the Viognier to the softening, simmering gooseberries in olive oil, thyme, honey, sea salt and a good snort of ground black pepper!

Top pic is the finished dish. Check out the full recipe found in Fruitful and do enjoy!  And thanks to Red Jacket Orchards and all the folks behind Fruitful! Now go buy the cookbook and celebrate the seasons!

A Fruitful Launch Party!

Red Jacket just launched their new cookbook Fruitful--Four Seasons of Fresh Fruit Recipes at The Johnson Room in the fabulously fantastic NoMad hotel and gratefully, I was in attendance with a pal of mine in tow. For over 50 years, Red Jacket has been the purveyor of carefully considered fruits and juices--now, Brian Nicholson (third-generation owner) and food writer Sarah Huck have sealed it all with a kiss with Fruitful. Masterly chef Daniel Humm (Chef/Owner, awe-inspiring Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad) is a contributor to the book and was gracious enough to pause as I took the photo, above! The book is gorgeous, bursting with recipes that I cannot wait to stick a fork into. Apart from summery, fruit-filled pies or cobblers, there are many other ruminations that include: a Rhubarb Tom Collins; duck breasts, pan-seared with honeyed gooseberries; pork chops with apricot-rosemary sauce; grilled shrimp skewers with prosciutto and peaches; and (insert gasp! here) vanilla cream cheese cupcakes with black raspberry buttercream.

As we pored over the pages at the event, there was Champagne on hand and a few exclusive cocktails that were passed around, namely the relieving Charlie Watts with Red Jacket Apricot Stomp, a potent blend of rums from Barbados, Guyana, and Batavia, spicy tellicherry black pepper and refreshing doses of pineapple and lemon. We snacked on a number of nibbles too: rounds of beets marinated in white vinegar, topped with goat cheese and caraway seeds; salted French breakfast radishes, some of which were wrapped in a delicate shawl of creamy butter; foie gras on brioche toasts dotted with a cherry and rhubarb coulis and what I believe was a slight sprig of tarragon, to further the effect.

Cheers to such a fruitful collaboration and thank you to Nancy and Pam at Trent & Company for the kind invite!