A friend visited me for Solstice this year which meant I had someone to cook for other than myself. Luckily my health has improved so much that I was able to cook for us both days she was here. On Yule I roasted a duck, made wild rice with almonds and dried cherries, and orange glazed parsnips. We had fresh pomegranates for dessert. The day after Yule I broiled lamb shoulder steaks and made oven roasted asparagus with garlic. My guest got to sample a lot of new foods and I got to feed someone other than myself, which is one of my favorite things. 🙂

I cooked the duck low and slow, piercing the skin to release the fat underneath the skin then basted the duck with the orange juice and molasses and turned up the heat. The skin turned a beautiful mahogany color and was super crispy and flavorful. The duck fat from the bottom of the pan can be saved and used in other recipes.

1 duck, thawed, rinsed and patted dry
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 satsumas or clementines, quartered
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 Tbs molasses
1 tsp finely minced rosemary
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300*F. With a fork, pierce the skin all over the duck. Liberally salt and pepper the bird, inside and out. Truss the duck with butcher string. Stuff the inside of the bird with the sprigs of rosemary and citrus quarters. Place the duck in a roasting pan with a rack and cook for 4 hours. Every hour turn the duck over and pierce the skin with a fork. You want the fat underneath the skin to melt and drip off the bird. Combine the orange juice, molasses and minced rosemary. After 4 hours, increase the oven temperature to 400*F. Brush the orange glaze all over the duck. Roast at higher temperature for ten minutes. Baste the duck with the rest of the glaze, turn it over and cook for another ten minutes. Remove the duck from the oven, remove citrus and rosemary from the cavity and discard them, and let duck rest for ten minutes before carving.