Duck Fat Risotto

For one of our holiday celebrations I made Cassoulet. While that bit of heaven was baking all day long, I skimmed off the extra stock and duck fat and tucked it away into the freezer for something special.

Not that cleaning out the kitchen is special but I just knew that special stock would make a wonderful risotto and it did! I kept it very simple, shallots, garlic, a little Thyme, white wine and the hidden gem. Now, L. claims he hates duck, well, he gobbled this up and was quit surprised to learn it was "duck". Served it with some simple sauteed spinach - lots of olive oil, garlic and Meyer lemon zest and the left over bottle of white Burgundy. For dessert we had some of that left over Bittersweet Chocolate Tart. Amazing what you can come up with, with all the things just laying around the kitchen. Too good of a meal for being a Monday.

Bittersweet ...

bit·ter·sweet (btr-swt) n. 1. A woody vine of the genus Celastrus, especially the North American species C. scandens and the eastern Asian species C. orbiculata, having small, round, yellow-orange fruits that open at maturity to expose red seeds. Also called staff tree. 2. See bittersweet nightshade. 3. A dark to deep reddish orange. adj. 1. Bitter and sweet at the same time: bittersweet chocolate. 2. Producing or expressing a mixture of pain and pleasure: a movie with a bittersweet ending. 3. Dark to deep reddish-orange.

There have been a few episodes the past couple of months that have been "bittersweet" for me. This event came at a perfect time.

As well, I am a chocolate addict. I would eat it everyday of the week if I could. The darker and the deeper the chocolate the better. No semi-sweet, milk chocolate for me!! It is like a bad drug. For this event which was hosted by Apartment Therapy The Kitchen, I choose a bittersweet chocolate tart - I love it because it is incredibly bitter (70% chocolate) and just a little sweet (hardly any sugar). I love to have it drizzled with olive oil and sea salt, or a drizzle of cream, or maybe a ripe red raspberry; but, this time around, the slight bite of the chocolate and the slight sweetness of the crust went incredibly well with a deep dark espresso! Pure sin ..... all things bad turned into one good thing!

Unfortunately, for you the viewers, the photos are terrible. As it was a very last minute decision, I forgot until half way thru the process that I was suppose to take a few photos of the baking process as well a few of the finished process. Because of chilling times, etc.. I missed all the wonderful natural light and had to work with what I had. I can assure you all ... this is a fantastic tart and you should definitely make it when you are feeling the need to be a little bad!