Duck & Beer

A couple of months ago I randomly bumped into a college friend and teammate who I hadn't seen since graduation. I can't quite remember how one thing led to another, but a couple weeks after that chance encounter I ended up at his place with another friend taking my first steps into the beer nerd world. I can still remember the taste and feeling that night of my first sip ever of a sour beer. Being a complete beer newbie I offered up my cooking skills to feel not like a useless parasite at beer tasting night. My buddy Andrew told me that he was planning to serve a flight of Trader Joe's Unibroue Vintage ale, 2011 through 2013.

After a lengthy discussion that in no way distracted me from more important things, we decided that it would pair particularly well with a darker fruit such as dates or figs. Having never cooked duck before, I decided to do sous vide duck breast with a balsamic fig glaze. Paired with that would be maple mashed sweet potatoes and sauteed spinach with garlic chips.

This meal served a dual purpose: it was my sister's birthday the next day and I was able to use this an test meal and to do 95% of the prep work ahead of time. The kicker for Courtney's dinner was the dessert. One more picture of the duck because it was beautiful: