Christmas Dinner.

Our Christmas dinner was a huge success. We had:

An appetizer of bacon-wrapped apricots & bacon-wrapped dates (stuffed with goat cheese)
- 30 minutes in the oven at 350.

A delicious side of kale, green beans, and mushrooms - Found out that the man thinks kale is "too chewy." I loved it, though.

Another delicious side of root vegetable pancakes (similar to potato pancakes but with root vegetables & scallions)

And a main protein of duck breasts topped with a pomegranate sauce. I merged two recipes into one to make the duck breasts. Here's what I did.

Duck Breasts with Shallot & Pomegranate
(Originally from Eating Well)

2-4 duck breasts
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Score the skin of the duck breasts in criss-cross fashion - making sure to not cut the meat. Salt & pepper the breasts. In a low temperature skillet, place the breasts skin side down. Cook the skin for about 30 minutes or until most of the fat is rendered. It should be a lot!! Save the fat for a later use - except for 1-2 tablespoons for the shallot.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the breasts from the skillet, & put into a rectangular baking dish. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Let the duck rest for 10 minutes after removing it from the oven.

In a saucepan, place 1-2 tablespoons of the duck fat & the shallot. Saute the shallot. Add 3/4 cup of the pomegranate juice & reduce to half. Stir the rest of the pomegranate juice & cornstarch in a small bowl until the cornstarch dissolves. Add to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. (I was too impatient for the reduction. That's why the sauce in the picture is runny.)

Slice the duck on the bias, & top with the pomegranate sauce.

Enjoy!!