elaborate grand schemes

I really had wanted to include duck confit in the cassoulet, but didn't really have the time to make some. But since it was already on my brain, I had to get it out of my system. Unfortunately, the whole plan involved buying and butchering 3 whole ducks.

pan-seared duck breast with butternut squash gratin
The natural by-product of harvesting duck legs, is duck breasts. I seared these and made a spicy port sauce to go with them. The butternut squash had been sitting in my root veggie bin for ages already, so I thought a gratin would be a nice complement to the duck.
[duck: duck breast, salt, pepper; sauce: ancho chile, chipotle chile, shallots, port, thyme; gratin: butternut squash, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese]