This was the first time I ever cooked duck. I was expecting to fail, bearing in mind the rule of thumb that you should try the duck at any restaurant to find out if the cooks really know what they’re doing. So it was a pleasant surprise when I didn’t have any problem. I brined it and roasted it just like a chicken, and in fact the dark meat you get from a duck seems less susceptible to overcooking. The real difficulty came when I tried to carve it and cut it. We eventually gave up and ate it with our fingers like buffalo wings. How they cut up a Peking Duck into perfectly symmetrical medallions that taste good with Mandarin pancakes, I don’t know. Roasted duck is good with an orange sauce from Joy of Cooking that uses some marmalade (half a cup, but less than that would probably be fine), two tablespoons soy sauce, a tablespoon vinegar, and a tablespoon triple sec. Reduce the sauce and have fun.

(Photo: Pirate chess set for sale, Des Moines, Iowa.)

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