3:33 PM 2/23/98

Mimi Hiller made this recipe the night she, Mark Horne, my friend Tom
from Ireland, and I made dinner.  This comes from French Food
American Accent by Debra Ponzek and Joan Schwartz.  We all liked this
very much.  Although the recipe calls for dried cranberries, we used
dried cherries because Mark and I were attracted to them at the
dried fruit stand in the Santa Monica farmer's market.  For the
vinaigrette, we used B.R. Cohn Champagne vinegar.  If you love
vinegars and haven't tasted this one yet, I suggest you make a point
of it.

Warm Duck Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts

Makes 4 servings

For the Braised Duck Legs

4 duck legs (from two 5-pound ducks)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Season the duck legs well with
salt and pepper.

Over medium-high heat, heat a medium skillet until smoking and sear
the legs, skin-side down, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.  Turn and
sear the flesh side 1 minute.

Place the legs skin-side up in a pot large enough to hold them snugly
and add the stock, spices, and herbs.  Bring to a boil over high heat
and then place in the oven for 1 hour.  Reduce the oven to 375
degrees F, turn the legs, and cook 30 minutes longer.  Remove from
the oven and cool in the cooking liquid.

Remove the duck legs when cool and discard the cooking liquid, which
will be fatty.  [The cooking liquid is gorgeous.  Do not throw it
away.  Refrigerate it.  Defat it.  Use it in another dish.]  Discard
the duck skin and pull the meat from the bones (it will come off very
easily) and shred it.

To Serve

4 cups mixed greens
1/2 cup Walnut Vinaigrette [see below]
4 tablespoons dried cranberries (we used dried cherries)
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped toasted walnuts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette, cranberries, walnuts, and duck.
Season lightly with salt and pepper, toss, and divide among 4 serving
plates.

Walnut Vinaigrette

Makes about 1/2 cup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra, if needed
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar, plus extra, if needed
6 tablespoons walnut oil
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk the salt with the vinegar until dissolved.
Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified.  Whisk in the thyme.
Taste, and season with pepper and a little more salt, if needed.
Add more vinegar, if needed.

