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Duck with Cherries

Anonymous August 28 2005

4 pound duck, cleaned, and giblets

Salt

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 small onion

1 garlic clove, rushed

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 wineglass red wine

Freshly ground black pepper

Sugar

1/2 pound Bing cherries

Season the duck, by rubbing the skin and the inside of the carcass with salt. Put to one side, in a large casserole dish. Arrange the

carrots, onion and giblets around the duck. Sprinkle the garlic,

marjoram and basil over it. Pour in the wine and about 1 cup water,

and add salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Cover the casserole and

bake in a preheated 350 oven for 2 hours or until the duck is

tender. Remove the casserole from the oven. Uncover and pour off the

liquid and vegetables into a large saucepan. Put the duck onto a

plate and set aside to cool. Boil the contents of the saucepan over

a high flame until reduced by half. Strain off the liquid into a

small bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Discard the

vegetables. Meanwhile, stem and pit the cherries and put

into a bowl. Take the chilled liquid out of the refrigerator. The fat

content should form a layer on the surface. Remove this. Reheat the

remaining liquid until not quite boiling. Pour over the cherries and

chill in the refrigerator until the sauce has turned to jelly. Remove

from the refrigerator, unmold from the bowl and slice. Serve the duck

cold, surrounded by slices of the jellied sauce in which the cherries

are embedded.